General College Football Thread - 2012

[Lestat]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

That idea is grating me terribly right now. Louisville is the same kind of situation. As soon as Strong started turning the program around, I commented to my wife that it doesn't mean anything because the better he does, the faster he moves on to a better program. Then they have to start over from scratch.

I just rooted for Michigan as a kid and they never had that problem so until I went to college, I didn't realize the issue that it is. Now I've been following Louisville for a few years and the whole thing is infuriating. The only bit of happiness I could take from it all was seeing Petrino's whole life fall apart. I take it as karma for leaving Louisville...

a lot of that though, has to do with schools not willing to pay top dollar to keep coaches and not building facilities to compete with top tier schools.
now your Louisville,Boise St,Vandy,Arkansas programs are building new facilities, paying their coaches, increasing the assistant coaching pool and trying to tie themselves to the coach to breed loyalty.
look at Vandy, James Franklin rebuffed a 5 mil per year offer from Arkansas due to the athletic director promising new facilities, upgrades, increasing the money for Franklin and his assistants via raises and fully committing to winning.

[DivineLegion]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

That idea is grating me terribly right now. Louisville is the same kind of situation. As soon as Strong started turning the program around, I commented to my wife that it doesn't mean anything because the better he does, the faster he moves on to a better program. Then they have to start over from scratch.

I just rooted for Michigan as a kid and they never had that problem so until I went to college, I didn't realize the issue that it is. Now I've been following Louisville for a few years and the whole thing is infuriating. The only bit of happiness I could take from it all was seeing Petrino's whole life fall apart. I take it as karma for leaving Louisville...

The good news for NC State is they are losing a MONSTER senior class, so it will take Doeren time to get this team in favorable light.


It makes you wonder though, this whole notion of namesake advancement, what could have been for some of these "lesser" football programs. Where would NU be without Devanay, Bama without Bryant (20 years w/o championship contention), you don't get that in modern college football. Maybe Boise state with Chris Peterson, or Mark Dantonio with MSU.

[24champ]

Andy Staples on twitter is saying that NIU will be in the Orange Bowl playing FSU.

[That One Guy]

Originally Posted by DivineLegion

The good news for NC State is they are losing a MONSTER senior class, so it will take Doeren time to get this team in favorable light.


It makes you wonder though, this whole notion of namesake advancement, what could have been for some of these "lesser" football programs. Where would NU be without Devanay, Bama without Bryant (20 years w/o championship contention), you don't get that in modern college football. Maybe Boise state with Chris Peterson, or Mark Dantonio with MSU.

Yeah, you just don't see the big names staying anymore. I think Saban might be the next because there's really nowhere else for him to go and he's already decided he didn't like NFL. That said, though, another aspect is scandal. That's arguably what got whatshisface at Ohio State and probably why Carroll left USC. I don't know why Meyer left Florida, exactly, but those are the ones which were really notable and well known in their current positions. Those longtime coaches didn't have the scandal issues to ruin their tenure.

[SoCalBronco]

Originally Posted by DivineLegion

He was the DC at Wisconsin before he took over the NIU program two years ago, after taking over NIU his record is 23-4 as a head coach. I like the idea of having a young enthusiastic head coach with a defensive background. State had a boat load of defensive talent this season, and the only thing keeping them from competing in the ACC was miserable coaching. I wish Dana Bible would stick around, but Yow wants a complete overhaul. Only time will tell I guess. My biggest fear is Doeren leaving the program if he is successful in turning around, and a bigger school comes calling.

That's always a concern yes. I'm actually quite concerned that we'll lose Golden after next season, as I'm about 80% sure Miami will win the ACC next year and make an appearance in the Orange Bowl and that will be the first season after sanctions are announced so he'll try to maximize his earnings at its highest point before the scholie reductions start to kick in (although we are going to self impsoe 5 ships for this year's class in addition to the 2 bowls). I think he's waiting right now because he knows next year should be an excellent season with what is arguably the deepest WR corps in the country and a full OL all back, with Morris back and ofcourse Duke starting. The offense will be killer next season and the defense should improve. Coupled with FSU losing alot of defensive talent means we should be the preseason favorite to win the conference. They'll need to pay 3m to keep him and I dont think they'll pay that kind of money. So I'm concerned about our situation also.

[SoCalBronco]

Originally Posted by 24champ

Andy Staples on twitter is saying that NIU will be in the Orange Bowl playing FSU.

Yeah, due to quirky BCS rules, Oklahoma got displaced by FIU and it really ****ed up the BCS Bowls picture.

BCS: Alabama vs. Notre Dame
ROSE: Stanford vs. Wisconsin
FIESTA: Oregon vs. Kansas State
SUGAR: Florida vs. Louisville (garbage game)
ORANGE: FSU vs. NIU (even more of a garbage game)

So no one is going to care about 2 of the BCS games....prolly not what the networks wanted.

[24champ]

I wonder what the line in Vegas will have FSU favored by?

[SoCalBronco]

An early look at the bowls...

New Mexico Dec. 15 1 p.m. Albuquerque, N.M. Nevada vs. Arizona- Rich Rod and the Cats will win.....in a beatdown. Meck77 will party like its 1993.

Potato Dec. 15 4:30 p.m. Boise, Idaho Toledo vs. Utah State- I'll defer to SSJ on this one. He knows Toledo football. Interested to see if Gary Andersen is all that.
Poinsietta Dec. 20 8 p.m. San Diego San Diego State vs. BYU - I can't pick against BYU, otherwise Khan will badmouth DJ on the podcast. Since that would be unacceptable, I think the Cougars will prevail over the Aztecs. BYU has actually played pretty well in spots this season, especially at ND.
St. Petersburg Dec. 21 7:30 p.m. St. Petersburg, Fla. Ball State vs. UCF - Storm Johnson will introduce himself to America. Stud!
New Orleans Dec. 22 Noon New Orleans East Carolina vs. Louisiana-Lafayette ESPN - Lame.
Las Vegas Dec. 22 3:30 p.m. Las Vegas Boise State vs. Washington ESPN - This is actually a very intriguing matchup. Boise is a little weaker than they usually are and Washington disappointed for most of the season. Nailbiter.
Hawaii Dec. 24 8 p.m. Honolulu SMU vs. Fresno State ESPN- June Jones returns home to Hawaii for the second time with the Mustangs. They'll beat up on the Bulldogs and after the game Jones will knock up a hottie on the Hawaii women's volleyball team.....again. RB Zach Line will have a huge game and maybe he can have some of Jones's sloppy seconds.
Little Caesars Dec. 26 7:30 p.m. Detroit Western Kentucky vs. Central Michigan ESPN - We've had one poster already eagerly anticipating our predictions for the Little Ceasars Bowl. Here's my call: Little Ceaser's Square/Rectangular Pizzas circa the 1990s > Little Ceaser's round pizzas now. They tasted much better back then, too. Oh and the little Roman troll guy that said "Little Ceasers...Pizza....Pizza" on the commercials were the bomb. Shame on you for ****ing it up, Mike Ilitich.
Military Dec. 27 3 p.m. Washington, D.C. San Jose State vs. Bowling Green ESPN- I'd love to watch this game....if I wanted to fall asleep that is.
Belk Dec. 27 6:30 p.m. Charlotte, N.C. Duke vs. Cincinnati ESPN - This is actually a really nice matchup. Duke has a nice passing game under Cutcliffe with a good QB and some weapons and Cincy has played well this year, upsetting VT. It will go down to the wire.
Holiday Dec. 27 9:45 p.m. San Diego UCLA vs. Baylor ESPN - Another exciting, high scoring matchup. One of my former co-workers was hoping UCLA could go to the Holiday Bowl so she could go to the game. You can go there now, Josie....she'll prolly stay in La Jolla now that she has a nice private firm gig. Over/Under for this game has to be like 60 points. I'll go with UCLA by 7. The Mayor with 150 yards and 24champ will proclaim that he's a first round pick even though he's really not.

Independence Dec. 28 2 p.m. Shreveport, La. Louisiana-Monroe vs. Ohio ESPN- You know there's too many Bowls when Louisiana-Monroe is playing. Maybe the schedulers are putting them in there as a shoutout to the late Ted Knight. "Monroe!" I'll go with Frank Solich and the Bobcats.
Russell Athletic Dec. 28 5:30 p.m. Orlando, Fla. Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers ESPN- Vag Tech has played Vag worthy football this year. We held them to 12 even though our defense was the college equivalent of the Broncos 07-08 defenses, except worse (Yes, Denver fans, there were worse safety tandems in history than Calvin Lowry and Marquand Manuel....Kacy Rodgers II and A.J. Highsmith for one). Surprising since they are always coached well. Rutgers has played well albeit in the Big Least. I'm going to go with Beamer and Bud Foster with a month to prepare.
Texas Dec. 28 9 p.m. Houston Minnesota vs. Texas Tech ESPN - Seth Doege and the Raiders Air Raid offense will beat the crap out of Jerry Kill's Gophers. Still think firing Glen Mason because of a terrible half of football was a great idea?
Armed Forces Dec. 29 11:45 a.m. Fort Worth, Texas Rice vs. Air Force - I'll go with Calhoun and the Falcons here.
Fight Hunger Dec. 29 3:15 p.m. San Francisco Arizona State vs. Navy ESPN2- Have not seen much of Navy this year. ASU should prevail, by about 10, even though they smoked pole the second half of the sason. Alas, Girls Gone Wild was filmed at ASU, that's worth at least a FG and probably more.
Pinstripe Dec. 29 3:15 p.m. Bronx, N.Y. Syracuse vs. West Virginia ESPN - Very entertaining matchup. Holgorsen's offense will be tough to stop. Take the over.
Alamo Dec. 29 6:45 p.m. San Antonio Texas vs. Oregon State ESPN- Probably Mack Brown's last game as coach before his "retirement". Oregon State was a nice surprise this year in the Pac 12 and that saved good guy Mike Riley's job. This should be one of hte better bowls of hte bowl season. Too close to call, although I prefer the UT cheerleaders. Hook em.
Buffalo Wild Wings Dec. 29 10:15 p.m. Tempe, Ariz. Michigan State vs. TCU ESPN- The over/under will probably be 15...take the under. Just kidding. Michigan State's defense came to play this year, but they just didnt have the weapons to complement LeVeon Bell. This should be a nice 23-20 game.
Music City Dec. 31 Noon Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt vs. NC State ESPN- NC State DB Amerson reminds me of Deltha O'Neal, either with a pick or gets royally burned. I like the NC State QB Glennon, but I think Vandy will win a close game here.
Sun Bowl Dec. 31 2 p.m. El Paso, Texas Georgia Tech vs. USC CBS- Partying hard on New Year's Eve in...........El Paso? Surely not what Barkley envisioned when he came back. For those bettors out there, you can make a killing on this game. USC will DESTROY GT. If you have 2-3 weeks to prepare for GT's scheme, you can corral it and they've had issues in bowl games as a result. USC will drop a bomb on GT in this game. I hate USC, but I can make some easy money betting on them here. Even though this wasn't possible, I was hoping someone could sponsor an Underachiever's Bowl, with USC playing Florida State. Preseason No. 1 vs. the Perennially "greatest 4 loss team of all time". Instead of fans kicking stupid field goals at the half, Dr. Pepper could have a cooler contest with proceeds going to charity based on whether Matt Barkley or EJ Manuel would throw the game ending backbreaker INT. Alas, it wasn't to be. The Trojans will beat the crap out of the Jackets in the Sun Bowl, though.

Liberty Dec. 31 3:30 p.m. Memphis, Tenn. Iowa State vs. Tulsa ESPN - Havent seen much of either of these teams this year, not sure where to go on this.
Chick-fil-A Dec. 31 7:30 p.m. Atlanta Clemson vs. LSU ESPN-Should be a very entertaining game, but I think the SEC speed will get the better of Clemson in a tight game. I like this matchup alot though.
Heart of Dallas Jan. 1 Noon Dallas Purdue vs. Oklahoma State ESPNU- Danny Hope got fired from Purdue. It doesnt matter, the Boilermakers had no hope of winning this game anyway.
Gator Jan. 1 Noon Jacksonville, Fla. Mississippi State vs. Northwestern-Dan Mullen needs a nice win here otherwise the seat might get a bit hot.
Capital One Jan. 1 1 p.m. Orlando, Fla. Georgia vs. Nebraska ABC - You have to feel for Georgia. I actually dont know what will happen here. Both teams are disappointed after their conf title game appearances. I think Georgia is better, but Nebraska is so Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, you dont know if they'll be awesome or trash. Should be entertaining.
Outback Jan. 1 1 p.m. Tampa , Fla. South Carolina vs. Michigan ESPN- The Ol Ball Coach should be lauded for having a very good season even without Lattimore for much of hte year. Defense is the name of the game for the Cocks now. I think they'll bottle up Michigan's offense here.
Rose Bowl Jan. 1 5 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. Wisconsin vs. Stanford ESPN- These teams are mirror images of each other in how they recruit and how they play. Tough, hard nosed on offense and defense with the run game setting up everything else. Stanford should prevail. Look for David Shaw to get a look from the NFL.
Orange Jan. 1 8:30 p.m. Miami Northern Illinois vs. Florida State ESPN- There was alot of handwringing this election season about candidates talking about "legitimate rape". I'll tell you this, this game legitimatelly will be a rape. I'm not surprised Dave Doeren isn't coaching this game, cause he'd be walking away from the stadium all bow-legged. Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock will blush at how much of a rape this game will be. Only Jimbo Fisher's poor coaching and a couple dumb EJ Manuel turnovers will keep it close for a quarter. FSU is the most talented team in the entire country. Rape. This game will be such a bore that Requiem will turn off this game in the middle of the 2nd quarter to hit some more hot asians....even though he's waited 7 years for the chance to watch his Noles to appear in an Orange Bowl.
Sugar Jan. 2 8:30 p.m. New Orleans Florida vs. Louisville ESPN- Florida has America's best defense. Memo to Teddy Bridgewater, You're not playing in the 305 no more son, street ball isnt going to work against this defense.
Fiesta Jan. 3 8:30 p.m. Glendale, Ariz. Oregon vs. Kansas State ESPN- The best bowl of the entire season. This could have easily been the title game. I think the Ducks speed is a little too much for the Cats to handle.
Cotton Jan. 4 8 p.m. Arlington, Texas Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma FOX- Excellent matchup of former Big 12 opponents. A&M really deserved to be in a BCS bowl this year and Oklahoma was robbed of an appearance as well. Should be a great game. I'll go with Johnny Football over (Not so) Big Game Bob.
Compass Jan. 5 1 p.m. Birmingham, Ala. Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi ESPN- Is it just me or is Pitt playing in this particular bowl almost every year? I'll go with Ole Miss.
GoDaddy.com Jan. 6 9 p.m. Mobile, Ala. Kent State vs. Arkansas State ESPN - Kent State had a great year and they should beat Arkansas State, even though Gus Malzahn is doing good work there. Jack MF Williams should do the coin toss...because he is all that and a bag of chips.
BCS Championship Jan. 7 8:30 p.m. Miami Notre Dame vs. Alabama - While not as good as the last few years, Alabama is still clearly the better team on paper. The biggests mismatch here is the Bama D against the ND O. The only thing is ND reminds me alot of 2002 OSU. Sometimes its just your year even if you play like garbage week after week. That's exactly what happened with 2002 OSU. It wasn't rational, it wasnt explainable, it certainly wasn't impressive, but somehow, someway they did it. I have this sinking feeling about ND finding a way to fraud it out (again), but I think Bama is just a little too overwhelming for them, talent wise. I'm forced against my will to root for dickhead Saban, just so that Mark May can humiliate the Daffy-Duck sounding "Dr. Lou". Since this game is in Miami, maybe some of the local Cane fans can let the Bama fans wear their "Pro Bowlers vs. Pedophiles" T-Shirts to the game.

[24champ]

I don't see how The Mayor won't be a first round pick. He just torched one of the best run defense in the country.

[SoCalBronco]

Haha...I knew you would take the bait, 24!

[24champ]

Originally Posted by SoCalBronco

Haha...I knew you would take the bait, 24!

Bastard!

[That One Guy]

Bridgewater=RG3v2

Never doubt the man. He'll be healthy by then. If the OL can hold up long enough for him to get rid of the ball, you can't count him out. He'll have to do it alone, though, which will be a tall order.

Ya know, I haven't said this in a while so it's about time: F Rich Rod!

Oh, and I'm insanely impressed by the college knowledge (hey, that rymed!). There's so many teams...

[SoCalBronco]

Bridgewater is a good college QB. I dont think he's anywhere near as dynamic as RG3 though, however as a fair disclosure I am bitter because he decommitted from Miami (and took Eli Rogers with him) when Shannon was fired. I think Strong will take a big job pretty damn soon and his stud recruiter Clint Hurtt will be a fine High School coach......since he won't be coaching in the NCAA for like 5 years after the Sugar Bowl (I'm thinking of a phrase and it sounds alot like "show-cause"). I think Keith Brown will end up being an excellent cover defender as a LB and an NFL starting WLB for many years. He's still a baby, but he'll grow into a great player.

[That One Guy]

Originally Posted by SoCalBronco

Bridgewater is a good college QB. I dont think he's anywhere near as dynamic as RG3 though, however as a fair disclosure I am bitter because he decommitted from Miami (and took Eli Rogers with him) when Shannon was fired. I think Strong will take a big job pretty damn soon and his stud recruiter Clint Hurtt will be a fine High School coach......since he won't be coaching in the NCAA for like 5 years after the Sugar Bowl (I'm thinking of a phrase and it sounds alot like "show-cause"). I think Keith Brown will end up being an excellent cover defender as a LB and an NFL starting WLB for many years. He's still a baby, but he'll grow into a great player.

You depress me. I don't know why I keep clicking this thread.

[SoCalBronco]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

You depress me. I don't know why I keep clicking this thread.

Don't be depressed. Louisville is a good team with alot of good talent. They have recruited South Florida very well and now they are moving to the ACC which will give them more revenue, assuming the league does not crumble. If ND eventually becomes a full member, that will be another financial boon for Louisville. It's a good program.

[Crushaholic]

Collin Klein wins the 2012 Johnny Unitas award...


http://www.kansasfirstnews.com/news/...2Po2gcD_g.cspx

If I have to start up the Collin Klein hype machine MYSELF, I will do it. That damn freshman is NOT getting the Heisman...

[SouthStndJunkie]

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema has accepted the vacant coaching position at Arkansas, a source told ESPN.

Bielema owns a 68-24 record in seven seasons at Wisconsin, which is set to make its third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance despite going just 8-5 this year.

[SouthStndJunkie]

I think I'd rather have the Wisconsin job than inherit the mess, scrutiny, and expectations at Arkansas.

It's not easy to win consistently enough in the SEC to appease their fan bases and alumni.

[Kid A]

Originally Posted by SouthStndJunkie

I think I'd rather have the Wisconsin job than inherit the mess, scrutiny, and expectations at Arkansas.

It's not easy to win consistently enough in the SEC to appease their fan bases and alumni.

Plus, tough as Ohio St may be, SEC West is a bloodbath. Big challenge for sure.

He was making $2.7 million a year at Wisconsin. What's U of A giving him?

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by Kid A

Plus, tough as Ohio St may be, SEC West is a bloodbath. Big challenge for sure.

He was making $2.7 million a year at Wisconsin. What's U of A giving him?

That's what I mean....that's a tough job to walk into.

I'm sure Arkansas ponied up and gave him a fat raise.

[24champ]

Bilema and his assistants are going to get paid, and if they don't do well then they get a nice buyout check. SEC is turning into a professional league with all the money being thrown around.

[24champ]

So with Bilema leaving Wisky, that's potentially 3-4 interim coaches in the BCS bowls.

Gonna be a boring Bowl season with all these coaching turnovers.

[SoCalBronco]

That's great news....that helps us with Alex Collins.

[SoCalBronco]

Malzahn to Auburn......allegedly. Maybe his wife will stay off TV this time

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by SouthStndJunkie

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema has accepted the vacant coaching position at Arkansas, a source told ESPN.

Bielema owns a 68-24 record in seven seasons at Wisconsin, which is set to make its third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance despite going just 8-5 this year.

anyone have an edumacated opinion on this guy, I know nothing... not real excied about this guy.