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Two teams will be going for history to be the first D-I team to achieve a record of 15-0. Penn and Yale did so back in 1890s, and three FCS teams (1989 Georgia Southern, 1996 Marshall, and 2013 North Dakota State) have done it as well. However it is Alabama and Clemson who will be facing off for the sole top-division football perfection through 15 games.
ORANGE BOWL
Alabama 45 Oklahoma 34
The Crimson Tide put an end to this one early on taking a four touchdown lead in the second quarter. The Sooners fought back but could never get closer than 11 points.
COTTON BOWL
Clemson 30 Notre Dame 3
The Irish did exactly what everyone thought they would, rolling over early against the Tigers and limping to the finish line. All this Notre Dame team needed was an overrated linebacker with an invisible dead girlfriend.
This defeat was more damaging than Notre Dame may realize. Not only did they lose the game but also benefit of doubt in the future. Had UGA not lost to LSU back in October, you have to think that both participants in the SEC Championship Game would have made the playoffs. But according to the seeding, Notre Dame would’ve made it in over the Sooners. That may change in the future.
Below are the results for the golden-domers when playing in major bowl games (Fiesta, Sugar, Cotton, Orange, BCS, NY6) since the 1994 season:
Season | BOWL | Res | Opponent | ND | OPP | DIFF |
1994 | Fiesta Bowl | L | #5 Colorado | 24 | 41 | -17 |
1995 | Orange Bowl | L | #8 Florida State | 26 | 31 | -5 |
2000 | Fiesta Bowl | L | #5 Oregon State | 9 | 41 | -32 |
2005 | Fiesta Bowl | L | #4 Ohio State | 20 | 34 | -14 |
2006 | Sugar Bowl | L | #4 LSU | 14 | 41 | -27 |
2012 | BCS National Championship | L | #2 Alabama | 14 | 42 | -28 |
2015 | Fiesta Bowl | L | #7 Ohio State | 28 | 44 | -16 |
2018 | Cotton Bowl Classic (CFP Semifinal) | L | #2 Clemson | 3 | 30 | -27 |
Their average margin of loss in that span is just under three touchdowns (20.75).
Was it the name on the jerseys that got the Irish in the playoff this year? It is hard to deny 12-0 but look at the twelve and how ND got to 12-0. Plus, they had no conference championship game to play - something the committee has said matters.
Many critics think it is long past time for the Fighting Irish to join the ACC or another conference full-time. But I say, let them stay independent. They won’t be making another playoff for a long time.
SHORT HISTORY OF CFP SEMIFINALS
In the five years/ten games of the CFP, only two of the matchups have been close. The average spread has been 21 points.
SEASON | BOWLS | WINNER | LOSER | SCORE | DIFF |
2014-15 | Rose Bowl | Oregon | Florida State | 59-20 | 39 |
Sugar Bowl | Ohio State | Alabama | 42-35 | 7 | |
2015-16 | Orange Bowl | Clemson | Oklahoma | 37-17 | 20 |
Cotton Bowl | Alabama | Michigan State | 38-0 | 38 | |
2016-17 | Fiesta Bowl | Clemson | Ohio State | 31-0 | 31 |
Peach Bowl | Alabama | Washington | 24-7 | 17 | |
2017-18 | Rose Bowl | Georgia | Oklahoma | 54-48 2OT | 6 |
Sugar Bowl | Alabama | Clemson | 24-6 | 18 | |
2018-19 | Orange Bowl | Alabama | Oklahoma | 45-34 | 11 |
Cotton Bowl | Clemson | Notre Dame | 30-3 | 27 |
With so many lopsided games in a four-team playoff, it is really a good idea to have expanded playoffs to delay the inevitable?
This bowl season about to see losses by the committee's No. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 teams.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 2, 2019
Not exactly the strongest argument for an 8-team playoff.
ESS-EE-SEE
PEACH BOWL
Florida 41 Michigan 15 - Feleipe Franks is an odd one. He only plays well when his fans hate him. With freshman Emory Jones breathing down his neck, the Gators quarterback passed for 173 yards and ran for 74. However, the main thing Franks did was not make any stupid decisions which has been his calling card as of late. Shea Patterson’s dream of a national championship for Michigan and hearing his name called in the first round of the next NFL Draft will have to wait. He was sacked five times and threw two picks - one returned for a score.
MUSIC CITY BOWL
Auburn 63 Purdue 14 - That Gustavo Malzahn is one crafty veteran. Wetting your pants against UGA and Alabama got Kickstarter campaigns going to buy you out. But you come out and smack Rondale Moore and Purdue right in the mouth. Now maybe they’ll give you another extension!!! (Dear sweet benevolent Lord, please let that happen.)
Taking a page from Alabama, the Tigers scored touchdowns the first nine times they touched the ball not counting a halftime kneel down. Aubie wide receivers ran wild with 378 yards on only 16 receptions (23.6 ypr). When the War Plainsmen Tiger Eagles reached 63 points in the third quarter, Gustavo actually did the classy thing and took the air out of the ball. They could’ve easily reached 77. Purdue’s phenom Moore got his (11 rec, 94 yds) but missed out on scoring.
On a sad note, “Tyler Trent, the former Purdue student who inspired countless sports fans with his gratitude and grace, died from a rare form of bone cancer on Tuesday. He was 20 years old.” Please no tasteless jokes in comments.
That moment you realize your team would be 7-5 in the SEC and your whole belief system is a sham... #UCF #FiestaBowl pic.twitter.com/PmpIjenagT
— Nick Cole (@NickColeSports) January 1, 2019
FIESTA BOWL
LSU 40 UCF 32 - With the Bayou Bengals down about a dozen players, UCF finally ran into big boy football. This game was jam-packed full of penalties (including two LSU players ejected for targeting), mistakes, and muffs of every kind, yet LSU came out on top. Congratulations on their National Championship!
CITRUS BOWL
Kentucky 27 Penn State 24 - Benny Snell becomes UK’s all-time leading rusher on a 12 yard TD run that put the ‘Cats up 27-7 in the third. PSU came back to make it 27-24 but Snell (26 car, 144 yds, 2 TD) slammed the door on the comeback.
Bevo is not here for this mascot meeting. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/KXgaQzGm0W
— Danny Davis (@aasdanny) January 2, 2019
A sign of things to come...
SUGAR BOWL
Texas 28 Georgia 21 - Remember Jake Fromm from the LSU game and Jake Fromm from the SECCG? Guess which one showed up for the Sugar Bowl. Actually, if you took Fromm’s first three quarters of the SECCG and the fourth quarter of the Sugar Bowl, you would have a legendary performance. But life doesn’t work like that. The UGA quarterback was awful up until the Longhorns stretched their lead to 28-7 with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter. After that, he was 9 of 11 with two TDs to make it look close but their final score came with 14 ticks left on the clock. The Dawgs made too many mistakes and Texas came ready to play. Grown-up Bobby Hill passed 19/27 for 169 yards and ran for three touchdowns. The funny thing is, Tejas thinks they are “back”... again. They aren’t quite. Don’t forget they lost to Maryland.
The reality for Georgia this season is the following
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) January 2, 2019
1) 11 wins is fantastic
2) you lost to the 3 best teams you faced
3) tougher on twitter than you were in the Sugar Bowl
FYI: 2018 #1 QB and #2 overall prospect 5-star Justin Fields did not play a single snap for UGA even though Fromm struggled. This feels like Kirby being spiteful.
PICK. SIX. @AGGIEFOOTBALL!!!
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 1, 2019
Tyrel Dodson to the pic.twitter.com/ilnGPMlUpC
GATOR BOWL
Texas A&M 52 NC State 13 - After a slow start, the Aggies finally got going and did not slow down. Trayveon Williams ran for 236 yards and three touchdowns against a Wolfpack team that came into the game as the 13th best in the nation against the run, giving up only 109 yards per game. NC State QB Ryan Finley did not look like the NFL prospect that everyone said he was. He completed 19 of 32 for 139 with two picks, one returned for a score.
OUTBACK BOWL
Iowa 27 Mississippi State 22 - What is the Clanga version of “Clemsoning”? That is what MSU did. Nick Fitzgerald finishes his career in ugly fashion passing 14/32, 152 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT. The Bullies had a chance to take the lead late but Fitz threw a pick into the end zone and it was basically over at that point.
LIBERTY BOWL
Oklahoma State 38 Missouri 33 - The Cowboys led 35-19 in the fourth but allowed Drew Lock & Co. to comeback to trail by only 5 with 6 minutes to play. Mizzou had a chance to win getting down to a first down on the OSU 18-yard line with 2:17 to play. The play-calling would seem to indicate that Barry Odom and Derek Dooley were getting a little too cute, assuming they would score a touchdown with no time left on the clock. The Tigers ran the ball on four straight plays and gained nine yards instead of letting Lock win the game with his arm. Terrible.
TEXAS BOWL
Baylor 45 Vanderbilt 38 - In a rare entertaining early bowl game, these two teams fought blow-for-blow but the ‘Dores ran out of time. Ke’Shawn Vaughn ran for 243 in a losing cause.
Will Muschamp is the happiest guy in America about the way Michigan is playing because hardly anybody will talk about his team completely no-showing in the Belk Bowl.
— Gabe DeArmond (@GabeDeArmond) December 29, 2018
I’m just being honest and real here... but that kind of performance and lack of preparation and focus is what got Muschamp fired at Florida. #Gamecocks had a month to prepare for an average team and got the doors blown off.
— Rob Proffitt (@BreakinDownFilm) December 29, 2018
Shamelessly hopping on the Bama bandwagon full speed. As a lifelong gamecock fan, I feel as if I deserve it for the shit we’ve been through. #RollTide
— Hampton Tiller (@Hampton_Tiller) December 30, 2018
BELK BOWL
Virginia 28 South Carolina 0 - The Gamecocks should be put on SEC probation for this embarrassing lethargic catastrophe. This was the first time SC has been shut out since 2006.
Ok-lots of people will disagree with me, but this game is making me FURIOUS with Will Grier. I cannot believe he quit on his team like that. They’re a mess without him- totally unfair to the fans and his team mates. My goodness. #WVU
— Devin Newsom (@DevinNewsom) December 29, 2018
OTHERS
ORLANDO BOWL
Syracuse 34 West Virginia 18 - With star senior quarterback Will Grier sipping mimosas on a beach somewhere, WVU struggled with backup quarterback Jack Allison at the helm. The Mountaineers actually led 18-17 in the fourth quarter. Although, the Orange would score on the first play of the final quarter and Allison threw an interception on the next play. Syracuse would kick a field goal and in the blink of an eye the lead was 27-18. WVU would go three-and-out and that basically ended all hope.
Urban Meyer referred to Zach Smith's legal issues and his own lies to protect his assistant as "the stuff in the summer."
— Joan Niesen (@JoanNiesen) January 2, 2019
I can't wait to no longer have to listen to him talk--and to broadcasters talking circles around his particular brand of hypocrisy.
ROSE BOWL
Ohio State 28 Washington 23 - I must confess. I boycotted watching this crap. This game was a mismatch from the beginning and I just knew ESPN was going to glorify Urban like he is some legendary hero. Disgusting.
Eerily similar to the Sugar Bowl, anOSU built a 28-3 lead and UW scored a bunch of too little too late points at the end.
INDEPENDENCE BOWL
Duke 56 Temple 27 - The Owls led 27-14 but Duke QB Daniel Jones (30/41 423-5-2) brought his team back with a vengeance. Look for his name to be called on Day 1 or 2 in April’s NFL Draft.
PINSTRIPE BOWL
Wisconsin 35 Miami 3 - Home Improvement star Jonathan Taylor ran for 205 yards and a touchdown in an unforgiving freezing cold Yankee Stadium. Wisky is used to those kind of conditions. Miami? Not so much.
Also...
- Minnesota thumped Georgia Tech 34-10 in some random bowl sending Paul Johnson on his way in an fittingly boring game.
- TCU beat Cal 10-7 in overtime. This was one of the worst bowl game since the infamous 2008 Sun Bowl. The two teams combined for 9 interceptions & 15 punts. For one stretch, the two teams exchanged interceptions on four straight series.
- Cincinnati beat Va Tech 35-31 in a sloppy (23 penalties) contest in the rain in Annapolis, MD. The Hokies finish 6-7. Remember when Justin Fuente was the hot young coach? (No Pepperidge Farms jokes...)
- Oregon 7 Michigan State 6 - The Ducks sucked for 3+ quarters amassing a mere 111 yards. Yet all it took was one fourth quarter touchdown drive to take the coveted Redbox Bowl trophy. Regardless, good for Mario Cristobal who helped build the Alabama dynasty with his dynamic recruiting (Alex Leatherwood, Calvin Ridley, Cam Robinson, Daron Payne, Jerry Jeudy, Jonah Williams, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ross Pierschbacher, Quinnen Williams, etc., etc. etc.).
- Stanford 14 Pitt 13 - Pitt dominated all the stats except the one that counts. The Trees were 1 of 10 on third down conversions. They were outgained 212 to 344 and had 12 first downs to Pitt’s 18, but still managed to win. The good news is we don’t have to hear from Gary any more for a good long while.
- Northwestern 31 Utah 20 - The Two Utes led 20-3 at halftime and allowed NW to do the rest of the scoring.
So many bad games....
Here we go Redbox Bowl pic.twitter.com/g4EC3ORaix
— Hondo Carpenter (@HondoCarpenter) December 31, 2018
#NoMoreSantaClaraGames
College football needs to realize that nobody wants to go to Santa Clara, California. And ‘no’, they don’t want to go to San Jose either. San Fran is inconveniently located an hour away on a good day.
Somehow, the 49ers’ four-year old stadium has weaseled their way into CFP mix. New Orleans and Miami are destination cities. Atlanta and Dallas are fun cities that are centralized. Pasadena is the Rose Bowl (Remember the Rose Bowl!). As much as we deride the importance of this historical old bowl, it is a treat for teams to play there - just ask any Bama fan who went to the 2009-10 BCS National Championship Game or any UGA fan that went last year.
But here we have crappy Santa Clara with it’s mini-malls, Chipotles and TGI Friday’s plus all the high prices and high sales taxes neatly intact. There is no beach and even the Bay is all gross, boring or industrialized. We already have similarly bland Glendale, AZ as a bowl site but at least the weather is warm in Arizona.
Why do we need a third CFP location in the Pac-12 footprint?
The official attendance for the PAC-12 Championship Game between Utah and Washington was 35,134, but there was nowhere near that at the game. The upper decks were blocked off. Then on Monday, there was the always riveting Redbox Bowl between two teams with decent followings, Oregon and Michigan State. As you can see above, it was not a big hit with fans. Official attendance: 30,212 but that might be generous.
It will be interesting to see how many Alabama and Clemson fans are going to spend BIG bucks on a seven-hour flight, tickets, meals, hotel, and rental car (you’re going to need a rental car), etc. Sorry, honey. No braces this year. We gotta go to Santa Clara.
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THE WACKY WORLD OF CFB PROGNOSTICATORS
Desmond Howard whiffs again! Desi picked Okie to beat the Tide. Of course Captain Steroids picked his alma mater to win. Meanwhile, crazy ol’ Corso was the voice of reason while donning an elephant head.
- DESI - CFP:
MichoverWVU; Bama overUW;Michover Bama. - CORSO - CFP: Clemson over
UW;WiskyoverUGA;Wiskyover Clemson. - HERBIE - CFP: Bama over
UW; Clemson overPSU; Bama over Clemson.
MY PICKS
- CFP: Bama over Okie; Clemson over
PSU; Bama over Clemson.
While we are on the subject here, normally unbiased Kirk Herbstreit had a whole lotta “Gary” in him during ESPN’s broadcast of the Orange Bowl. He kept picking on Alabama - often incorrectly - while defending the Ewok Hobbit for his inadequacies. It was one of the worst calls I have heard out of him.
BAMA STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Louisville (2-10)
- Arkansas State (8-5) - The Red Wolves fell to Nevada in OT 16-13 in the Arizona Bowl.
- La-Laf (7-7) - Lost bowl game.
- Citadel - (5-6)
- BONUS: Bama cross-over Mizzou (8-5) lost the Liberty Bowl to Okie Lite at the 8-yard line.
- Texas A&M (9-4), LSU (10-3), and Auburn (8-5) won.
- MSU (8-5) and UGA (11-3) lost.
ADOPT-A-TEAM
We didn’t do too well on adoptions this year. Let’s hear some suggestions for next year.
- FAU! (5-7) - Extra time for Lane Kiffin to hit South Beach night clubs with a big fake mustache.
- Hawaii (8-6) - The Rainbow Warriors fell to Louisiana Tech 31-14 in the Hawaii Bowl. A hui hou...
COUSINS
- Troy (10-3) - QB Sawyer Smith threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns against a tough Buffalo team in the Dollar General Bowl in Mobile, AL. Neal Brown has three straight double-digit win seasons, going 31-8 over that stretch, and still no job offers from P5s.
- South Alabama (3-9) - UAB, Troy, Auburn, and Alabama all won their bowl games. Get with the program, Jags!
THAT ANNOYING STEP-BROTHER WHO JUST WON 11 GAMES
UAB (11-3) - The Blazers thumped Northern Illinois 37-13 in the Joey Freshwater Boca Raton Bowl. Honestly, I don’t know how they did this. God bless Bill Clark for his loyalty and sticking around during the two-year exile and still putting up seasons of 8-5 and 11-3 with a C-USA crown.
SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS
It was a historical year for the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy winner.
- Army (11-2) - At the Armed Forces Bowl, the Black Knights beat up Houston, took their lunch money and stole their girlfriends to the tune of 70-14. The Cadets racked up 507 yards on the ground and completed all 4 of their passing attempts - one for a touchdown. The Cougs could only muster a mere 90 yards on the ground. Army earns their first 11-win season in program history.
- Air Force (5-7) - The Falcons signed three during the ESP highlighted by Keele & Peele All-Star linebacker SirVocea Dennis.
- Navy (3-10) - The Middies signed two including 3-star safety B.J. Gibson from Walton HS in Marietta, GA who spurned USF, Temple and others to attend the Naval Academy. Hooyah!
CONFERENCE BOWL RECORDS
- ACC - (5-5-1)
- Big Ten - (5-4)
- Big 12 - (4-3)
- PAC-12 - (3-4)
- SEC - (6-5)
STATS OF THE WEEK
- TCU third-string quarterback Grayson Muehlstein completed seven passes to teammates and four to opposing Cal players, yet his team still won.
- Vandy QB Kyle Shurmur moved past Jay Cutler (8,697) for most career yards passing in school history with 8,865.
- Lovie Smith returns to Illinois for a fifth season despite a record of 9–27 (4–23 in the B1G). Nine wins in FOUR YEARS! He must have compromising pictures of the President and AD.
- UCF has not won a single game this year.
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Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to whoever the hell is in charge of the First Responder Bowl between Boston College and Boise. The game was suspended because of lightning. A few hours later at 2:20pm CT, bowl organizers simply up and canceled the game that had already played ten minutes or so with BC leading 7-0 in the first quarter.
So a bowl whose sponsor (Servpro) is a disaster restoration business and is named after first responders has been canceled due to a lightning delay?
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 26, 2018
Can't make this up.
This is a travesty and KK doesn’t think she is being overdramatic. You have two teams who have worked so hard to get to play in historic Cotton Bowl Stadium - the first time for both teams - giving up their Christmases to be 1,600 miles away. Imagine the disappointment of seniors having the rug pulled out from under them. This is probably the last time they will ever strap on the helmet, and pads and it’s over just...like....that.
“It sucks,” said Boise quarterback Brett Rypien, whose four-year starting career ended waiting out a storm. “That’s the only way you can put it. You fly all the way down here and, unfortunately, the weather wasn’t good enough.”
Think of the fans who probably spent thousands of dollars to be there. The game started at 12:30pm CT. They couldn’t wait a few more hours and try and get the game in??? As for TV, the game could have easily been moved to ESPN2 since they were replaying forgettable boxing matches from the past year all day long.
It was known for several days that thunderstorms were expected to strike the Dallas area on Wednesday afternoon and potentially disrupt the game. How is it they had no contingency plan? Play the game a day earlier or a day later. Move the game to Jerry’s World or Jerry’s World Jr. SOMETHING!
So many questions.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 26, 2018
1) Do the fans get a refund?
2) Do the schools still get their full payouts?
3) Does ESPN now owe the sponsor a buyback?
4) Bet some of the coaches had a bowl win bonus.
Both Boston College and Boise announced that fans who purchased tickets through the school would receive a full refund. BC also generously offered a free ticket to any other school event in the next 12 months. The Idaho Statesman reported that the Smurfs will lose $25K over this catastrophe. The ESPN-owned bowl will be keeping their money thank you very much. If KK was ACC Commissioner, she would sever ties with this bowl.
The game was officially ruled a no-contest and the stats do not count.
Passer efficiency rating before the Orange Bowl:
— Ben Jones (@BW_Jones) December 30, 2018
Tua Tagovailoa - 202.3
Kyler Murray - 204.8
Passer efficiency rating for the Orange Bowl:
Tua Tagovailoa - 236.7
Kyler Murray - 139.1
Full season passer efficiency rating today:
Tua Tagovailoa - 205.2
Kyler Murray - 199.2
#HeismanRecall
I’ve been saying for years - probably since the 1992 season - that the Heisman and all the other awards need to wait until all the games are finished playing before prematurely handing out trophies. I wonder how many voters would change their votes today.
Tua was near-perfect against the Sooners in the Orange Bowl. pic.twitter.com/NpdXB3ITH3
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 1, 2019
Lincoln Riley tried to shield his diminutive quarterback from the national press by leaving him back at the hotel on media day because the little guy was “under the weather”. Riley sent his kicker as a replacement. It seems more than coincidence that for the second year in a row his less-than-eloquent Heisman-winning quarterback misses out on a barrage of entrapment rat poison questions from reporters before their playoff game. Besides at 5-foot-8, Tiny Tim should be used to being “under” things. The day before, he was seen at bowl activities and did not miss any practice time for the whole time the Sooners were in Miami.
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THE SICK REPORT
- An MRI on Sunday showed that Alabama SAM linebacker Christian Miller pulled a hamstring against Oklahoma as opposed to tearing it. His status is uncertain for the championship game against Clemson but this is good news. Practice video.
- Tua Tagovailoa was back to his spectacular self but he has probably been sore since the game ended. Thank goodness the Tide gets nine days to heal.
- As of now, Clemson DL Dexter Lawrence is still suspended for pulling an Urkel with PEDs.
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DRAMA
- Fan favorite Jalen Hurts has continued to fend off talk of transfer that he called “assumptions” last week in Miami. Could he possibly stick around for one more season? He loves him some Alabama and another year under Enos throwing to those crazy good receivers (even if it’s in the fourth quarter) could be better than getting battered somewhere else. Stay tuned...
- Miami coach Mark Richt decided/agreed to retire after a 7-6 season and a 35-3 walloping at the hands of Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl. It’s a sad ending for one of the really nice guys of college football. Richt came from the Bobby Bowden coaching tree at FSU. He led Georgia from 2001–2015 with a 145–51 record and a pair of conference titles. He came within a fingertip of a national championship in 2012 until Nick Saban and CJ Mosley squashed his dreams. [Processed®] Richt was 26–13 in three seasons at Miami.
- Speculation as to a Richt replacement quickly moved to Oregon’s Mario Cristobal, UK’s Mark Stoops and FAU’s Lane Kiffin atop of the ASSumption list. However, nobody saw what was coming. The ‘Canes hired Richt’s OC Manny Diaz within 12 hours or so of the retirement announcement. Diaz had just taken the head job at Temple on December 13, leaving the Owls and a few newly hired assistants who left other jobs to join him in a lurch. According to a Temple source, there is a “significant” buyout that Miami will have to pay the Owls. [SIDE NOTE: Miami and Temple face off home-and-home in 2020 and 2023.]
- As for Cristobal, if the ‘U’ approached him at all, he easily could’ve turned them down. He might just have a Jeff Brohm scenario where the coach would rather stay and build on what he has rather than return to his dumpster fire alma mater. Stoops’ contract pays him $4 million this season. His base salary increases by $250,000 each year, reaching $5.25 million through 2024. That would have been tough to walk away from, especially when expectations might be lower in basketball country than they would be on South Beach.
- Speaking of Cristobal and Oregon, Ducks star quarterback Justin Herbert has decided to return for his senior season. As of last week, Herbert was the highest rated NFL prospect at quarterback and a potential first rounder. Maybe it is for the best because he looked like ass for most of the Redbox Bowl.
- Monday saw several heads roll in the NFL including the Falcons firing OC Steve Sarkisian. They also canned their DC and ST coach. Let’s hope the only reason Dan Quinn comes to Tuscaloosa is to scout Tide players to draft with the 14th pick.
- Former Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens is a top candidate to get the Browns job.
KARMA
- Remember ol’ Rich Rodriguez, former West Virginia coach who had an offer to come to Alabama but turned it down and the Tide had to settle for Nick Saban? He ended up going to Michigan and was fired after three failed seasons. He was next hired at Arizona by Greg Byrne (!!!) but fired after six years of mediocrity and a sexual harassment lawsuit in January 2018. Well... RichRod was hired as offensive coordinator at Ole Miss! If you recall the rumors, a big reason RR turned down Alabama was because his snooty wife didn’t like Tuscaloosa. I am not sure if the two are still together but if they are... ENJOY OXFORD, RITA!
- Speaking of wives who did not like T-town... After a mediocre two seasons and fielding a team that flat out quit against Army in a 70-14 defeat in the Armed Forces Bowl, Houston has seen enough of Major Applewhite. The former Texas quarterback went 15-10 in two full seasons leading the Cougars. It is an odd move to fire him in such a short time and finishing this most recent campaign at a respectable 8-5. Much of this coach-killing can probably be linked directly to the antics of prima donna Ed Oliver but Applewhite does not appear to have the best people skills either. Applewhite was Saban’s first OC at Alabama but returned to the Lone Star state after his nagging wife got homesick. After returning to Austin, he had “an inappropriate relationship with a student at the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.” Oh my but Karma is a beeyotch.
- Unbelievably, West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen name was instantly attached to the Houston job and a few days later he agreed to take over the non-Power 5 team. This must be so humiliating for WVU and the Big XII to lose a coach to an AAC school. Holgorsen returns to the school where he spent two seasons as offensive coordinator in 2008-09 under then-head coach Kevin Sumlin. Reports have said that Holgorsen had been negotiating an extension with WVU and the school would not agree to his demands (Houston will reportedly pay him $20 million over five years). However, the real reason is more likely that Dana has been losing more hair looking at his future in Morgantown with Will Grier, David Sills, and Gary Jennings moving on to the NFL.
- Might Neal Brown or Butch Jones be candidates to take over WVU?
- Holgorsen’s step down to a lower level is not unheard of. You may recall Tommy Tuberville left Auburn for Cincinnati and look how that worked out. [Processed®]
KARMA TO COME?
- Buffalo quarterback Tyree Jackson has decided to grad-transfer for his final season despite being the starter for the last three seasons and leading the Bulls to their best season ever. I know some of you are gonna disagree but it’s a pretty lousy selfish thing for him to do to the school that plucked the former barely 3-star out of obscurity and gave him a chance when nobody else wanted him.
- With a big thumb in the nose at the rest of the world outside of Columbus, Ohio State head a-hole Gene Smith announced that serial-liar Urban Meyer will become his assistant AD. Can you believe these f**kheads?
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EYEBALLS
The Orange Bowl had a 10.4 overnight rating with the Cotton Bowl right behind at 10.3. Along with the Peach Bowl, Birmingham was the highest-rated market for all three games with more than 50% of the market watching Bama defeat Oklahoma.
Orange Bowl (Bama vs Okl)
- Birmingham 51.3
- Tulsa 31.5
- Oklahoma City 30.7
- Greenville, SC 23.3
- Nashville 20.5
- Knoxville 20.2
- Columbus, 20.2
- New Orleans 19.9
- Atlanta 17.4
- Jacksonville 15.6
Cotton Bowl Classic (Clem vs ND)
- Birmingham 31.3
- Greenville 26.4
- Oklahoma City 19.7
- New Orleans 19.5
- Tulsa 19.0
- Columbus 18.9
- Nashville 17.8
- Knoxville 17.7
- Dayton 16.6
- Atlanta 15.9
Peach Bowl (Fla vs Mich)
- Birmingham 19.3
- Detroit 14.8
- Columbus 12.5
- Jacksonville 11.8
- Dayton 11.0
- Tampa-St. Pete 10.7
- New Orleans 10.6
- Nashville 10.0
- Tulsa 9.8
- Knoxville 9.7
THIS WEEK
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Under Armour All-America Game Orlando, FL 5pm/6pm ESPN2
(There will be a preview/game thread)
TEAM FLASH:
- OT Evan Neal SIGNED
- S Jordan Battle SIGNED
- DL Justin Eboigbe SIGNED
- DB Brandon Turnage SIGNED
- DE/LB King Mwikuta SIGNED
- DB Christian Williams COMMITTED but may not be a part of this class.
- DT Ishmael Sopsher UNCOMMITTED, Bama vs LSU on NSD.
TEAM BALLAHOLICS:
- K Will Reichard SIGNED
- ILB Shane Lee SIGNED
- DE Kevin Harris SIGNED
- OT Amari Kight SIGNED
- OL Darrian Dalcourt SIGNED
Saturday, January 5, 2019
U.S. Army All-American Bowl San Antonio, TX 12pm/1pm NBC
(There will be a preview/game thread)
EAST:
- QB Taulia Tagovailoa SIGNED
- RB Trey Sanders SIGNED
- DL Antonio Alfano SIGNED
- DL Byron Young COMMITTED but hasn’t signed yet.
- DE Khris Bogle ANNOUNCING during game.
WEST:
- LB Christian Harris SIGNED
- LB Henry To’oto’o UNCOMMITTED
- CB Marcus Banks ANNOUNCING during game.
@BamaProUpdates CJ says hey pic.twitter.com/oUjKHcmkmv
— Cary Moss (@CaryMoss) December 31, 2018
#ALABAMA
If #Alabama gets 14 wins this season, Nick Saban will surpass Lou Holtz (13 ahead), Bo Schembechler (11), Steve Spurrier (5), and Hayden Fry (2) for Division I-A/FBS wins. 15 ties him with Mack Brown. pic.twitter.com/yBnshbcF8T
— CB969 (@CB969onRBR) August 31, 2018
Nick Saban has surpassed Thylvester Lou Holtz in career I-A wins and has done so in ten less seasons. Although Mack Brown has returned to coaching, it should be no problem keeping him at bay.
(For clarification, this list is FBS/I-A wins only. No wins while coaching at FCS/I-AA or lower level schools are included.)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 15, Monday, January 7, 2019, 7:00pm/8:00pm
CFPCG: Clemson vs ALABAMA
49ers Stadium, Santagodforsaken Clara, CA
ESPN - Announcers Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit with Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi.
Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe and Ian Fitzsimmons will call the game on the radio. And of course there will be the many ESPN formats that include Eli Gold’s call.
Alabama is currently a -6 point favorite with an over/under of 59½.
Did you notice how subdued the post-Orange Bowl celebration was for the Tide? Only the walk-ons and third-stringers were doing much celebrating. Almost none of the players put on the shirts. This is peak Process®. One more mile to go...
#RollTide
Poll
Who is your #3?
This poll is closed
-
34%
Oklahoma
-
13%
LSU
-
27%
anOSU
-
14%
still UGA
-
10%
Other