jeeHappy New Year and New Decade! Well, we did it. We got through another season alive. Although the Crimson Tide did not get to the playoffs, it was still a pretty good year and Alabama went out with a statement win over Mr. Khaki Pants Sleepover. A record of 11-2 is not so bad when you consider one loss was to the #1 team and the other was a fluky road loss with a back-up quarterback and peewee league referees. Most teams would kill for an 11-win season.

Even with one game left to play, the SEC pretty much dominated bowl season.

LET’S GO BOWLING

Conference Bowl Records with one to play:

• ACC: 4-6
• BIG TEN: 4-5
• BIG 12: 1-5 - OUCH!
• PAC: 4-3
• SEC: 7-2
• AAC 4-3
• Sun Belt 3-2
• C-USA 3-5
• MAC 3-4

SEC BOWLS

• Citrus Bowl: Alabama vs Michigan WIN
• CFP Semifinal, Peach Bowl: LSU vs Oklahoma WIN
• Sugar Bowl: UGA vs Baylor WIN
• Orange Bowl: Florida vs Virginia WIN
• Belk Bowl: Kentucky vs Virginia Tech WIN
• Music City Bowl Mississippi State vs Louisville LOSS
• Outback Bowl: Auburn vs Minnesota LOLOSS
• Gator Bowl: Tennessee vs Indiana WIN
• Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs Oklahoma State WIN

BOWLS, PHASE 2

SEC

I will spare you the recaps since you all probably already know what happened.

CITRUS BOWL Alabama 35 Michigan 16 - khaki pants are now brown.

OUTBACK BOWL Minnesota 31 Auburn 24 - back to mediocrity with you.

SUGAR BOWL Georgia 26 Baylor 14 - They have no alibi. That was ugly.

BELK BOWL Kentucky 37 Virginia Tech 30 - Bowden running, running, running.

GATOR BOWL Tennessee 23 Indiana 22 - Indy collapse.

OTHER STUFF

ROSE BOWL Oregon 28 Wisconsin 27 - Mistakes kill.

ALAMO BOWL Texas 38 Utah 10 - Can you believe the CFP committee wanted to put the Utes in the playoff???

SUN BOWL Arizona State 20 Florida State 14 - Another ugly.

ARIZONA BOWL Wyoming 38 Georgia State 17 - Didn’t watch.

MOBILE BOWL ULL 27 Miami-OH 17 - The Ragin’ Cajuns finished the season with 11 wins, most in program history.

Thank you for another year of fine service, Ron.

SALUTE OUR TROOPS

Two of the service academies had outstanding seasons. Navy’s only losses came against Memphis (12-2) and Notre Dame (11-2). Air Force lost to Boise (12-2) and Navy. With the change of the rules allowing graduates to pursue professional sports before fulfilling their military obligations, expect these programs to continue to enjoy grand successes.

• Air Force (11-2) - The Falcons defeated Washington State 31-21 in the CHEEZ-IT Bowl. It is the first 11-win season in school history and could result in a spot in the final national rankings.
• Navy (11-2) - The #21 Midshipmen took down Kansas State 20-17 in the Liberty Bowl. QB Malcolm Perry was dazzling, rushing for 213 and even completing 5 or 7 passes for 57 yards and a TD. One of the nation’s best turnarounds, Navy was 3-11 a season ago.
• Army (5-8) - No bowl after being 11-2 a year ago.

STAT OF THE DAY

• If you have read “Random Thoughts” before, you know I have been digging at Jonathan “TayTay” Taylor’s futile Heisman campaign this season. [He had good yardage totals but disappeared when the team needed him the most.] That was before ESPN broadcasted this little gem: 18 career fumbles, 15 lost in three seasons. I’m no expert but that sounds like a LOT of fumbles regardless of carry totals. If you watched the Rose Bowl, you were witness to number 15 and dare I say it was a key contributor to the Badgers’ defeat. Wisconsin lost three balls on New Year’s Day and finished the season with 26 fumbles, 17 lost - tops in all of FBS.

WTF REACTION OF THE DAY

Jeez, Kirby. Chill the f out.

LOL REACTIONS OF THE DAY

I love Herm’s reaction. He’s looking around like “what the heck is that? Why am I still dry?”

Hilarious that Solich ate one of the french fries. Why can’t you be cool like that, Kirby?

COACHING CAROUSEL

There has oddly been little very movement among the big name coaches in the NFL and college. Hopefully, everyone is waiting for the National Championship game to end before raiding Dabo and O’s kitchens. NFL targets won’t be poached until their team loses in the playoff.

ICYMI, Joe Moorhead was given the boot at Missy State. He will be on the Clanga-Clang payroll through 2022. MSU claimed that they would have a replacement in place by “the end of the weekend” but clearly that didn’t happen. I think they are starting to realize who they are. We are starting to see that Bullies AD John Cohen may be in above his head. A long time baseball coach, he was promoted to AD in 2016. It was an odd move since nowadays most schools don’t go that route any more. An AD in the 21st Century needs to be a CEO type who works his way up, not a good ol’ boy who knows a lot about one sport. Cohen was the one who hired Moorhead in the first place.

MSU is currently the only FBS school with an opening at head coach. Probably the best candidate to replace Moorhead is ULL’s Billy Napier. However, he told reporters he was “not a candidate”.

Some of the names being knocked around:

• Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz (55) - Yes, the son of Thylvester the Cat, Lou Holtz. He has coached Louisiana Tech since 2013 with a 56–36 record. Before that he flopped around South Florida for three years (16-21) before previous stops at UConn (34-23) and East Carolina (38-27). He would be a terrible hire, so consider him the leading candidate.
• Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham (53) originally played and coached under Frank Beamer at Va Tech. He was Defensive Coordinator/Scapegoat at UGA (2010-13) before moving on to Louisville. Dan Mullen brought him into Starkville for his last season there and carried him to Swampland. Since most of the world is moving towards offensive-minded coaches, it make sense that this bass-ackwards program would be interested in DC who has never been a head coach before.
• Austin Peay head coach Mark Hudspeth (51) was the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Mississippi State from 2009-10. He returned for one season as the tight ends coach in 2018 before leaving to take the head coaching job at Austin Peay. Why that is so important is beyond me, but there it is. He is a Mississippi native who went 9-4 each season from 2011-14 at Louisiana Lafayette before many of those wins were vacated for an NCAA violation involving a former assistant. The next three seasons for ULL were losing campaigns and he was fired. Another awful candidate.
• SEC Network analyst Gene Chizik (58) - Yes, seriously. Bruce Feldman reports that the former Auburn HC interviewed with Miss. State on Saturday but the next morning removed himself as a candidate. smh
• UAB head coach Bill Clark (51) is the best candidate but is getting very little love.
• LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda (43) - It has been pretty well documented that he has been looking around. Once again, we have a defensive-oriented coach who has never led a program. However, he might be okay someday soon. He would be better off leading a non-P5 program for awhile instead of jumping into the fray with the big boys on his virgin voyage.
• Ross Dellenger‏ reports that “Mississippi State’s search has zeroed in on former Bulldogs QB and Patriots SPT coordinator Joe Judge, but there has been a delay. He interviewed for the Giants’ HC position Monday. With Matt Rhule no longer a candidate at NYG, the situation grows even more complicated.”
• Other names include Tulane head coach Willie Fritz and Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson. I can’t see Mike Leach happening but who knows?

MOAR COACHING STUFF

• Lane Kiffin added controversial ex-Maryland coach DJ Durkin to the Ole Miss staff. Durkin was fired at Maryland in October 2018 after being on extensive leave during an investigation into the death of Terrapins player Jordan McNair earlier that year. The investigation also focused on the culture of Maryland’s program during Durkin’s tenure.
• Miami has hired SMU offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee to take over for Ghost Dad Dan Enos. Lashlee played for Gustavo Malzahn in high school and later OC for him at Arky State (2012) and Auburn (2013-2016).
• Pete Thamel reports that San Diego State head coach Rocky Long is looking to demote himself to college defensive coordinator. Coming up on 70 years old at the end of this month, I suppose he doesn’t want to be the head man anymore but has a desire to continue coaching. Syracuse is a prime target. If this goes through, perhaps southern California native Dave Aranda will take his spot at SDSU.
• Sources say Baylor coach Matt Rhule is finalizing a deal to become next coach of the Carolina Panthers.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to Georgia fans who are walking around like they are cock of the walk for their ugly win over an overrated Baylor team in the Sugar Bowl.

HEISMAN HYPE

How did they do?

I’m just gonna say it: Mac Jones and Najee Harris had better bowl games then most of these guys. Call me a Gump if ye must.

DRAMA

• Brock Vandagriff, the top quarterback in the Class of 2021, decommitted from Oklahoma last Wednesday. Living just outside of Athens, GA in Bogart. It’s odd that he didn’t commit to UGA. Don’t be surprised if a Coach Bowl Cut is up to some hijinks.
• Georgia has paid a $10,000 fine and imposed multiple recruiting restrictions following impermissible benefits provided to football recruits. The violations included providing discounted or free school apparel. In another incident, a staffer retweeted and added text to a writer’s Twitter post about a recruit verbally committing to the Bulldogs who had not yet signed a LOI. This is a big no-no and something they teach you on Day 1.
• Starting Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman has oddly opted to grad-transfer for his final season of eligibility, saying he wanted to “prepare for the next level.” The XFL? Newman is a good quarterback who led the Demon Deacons to an 8-5 record, but there is no next level that starts with an “N” for him as a quarterback.
• Vanderbilt LT Devin Cochran has also entered the transfer portal as a grad-transfer. Cochran started 32 games the past three seasons for the Commodores. I guess he is tired of losing. With Derek Mason returning, that is guaranteed in 2020.
• Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor and Georgia RB D’Andre Swift have declared for NFL draft. It is going to be a crowded one for running backs.
• Surprising nobody, Chase Young confirmed his early departure.
• Also leaving for some reason is Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. I assume it is to return kicks.
• Auburn DL Nick Coe is rolling the dice. He opted to sit out the bowl game while far superior DLs Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson played. It sounds like Uncle Godfather Mentor strikes again.
• WR Nico Collins has wisely decided to return to Michigan for 2020. Seeing the Alabama receivers first hand probably helped nudge him in the right direction. Teammate Donovan Peoples-Jones must not have been paying attention since he has entered his name into the draft.
• Other early entrants of note include Isaiah Wilson OT Georgia; Andrew Thomas OT Georgia; Laviska Shenault WR Colorado; Albert Okwuegbunam TE Missouri (what a wasted college career); CeeDee Lamb WR Oklahoma; Kylin Hill RB Mississippi State; C.J. Henderson CB Florida; Jacob Eason QB Washington; Lynn Bowden WR Kentucky; Cam Dantzler CB Mississippi State; Fightin’ Willie Gay LB Mississippi State; A.J. Dillon RB Boston College; J.K. Dobbins RB Ohio State; Wisconsin WR Quintez “Don’t Call Me Bo” Cephus.
• Urban Meyer celebrated the new year by dropping bricks from a rooftop onto the heads of disabled orphans on their way to pick up puppies from a shelter.
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer celebrated the new year by eating the puppies.

EYEBALLS

It was a strange move by ESPN/ABC to schedule the Citrus Bowl and Outback Bowl for the same noon CT time slot. You just knew the Auburn game would get killed (3.985 million viewers).

(Only one game remains and I wouldn’t blame you for skipping it if you have a tender gag reflex. If you are not interested in watching the Pizza Party Cult or a the Indecipherable VooDoo Oaf lift the Big Beer Tap, then you can go here.)

Monday, January 13, 2020
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: CLEMSON vs LSU
7:00/8:00 pm ESPN

Saturday, January 25, 2020
SENIOR BOWL, Mobile, AL
12:30/1:30pm NFL Network
S Jared Mayden, LB Anfernee Jennings, DT Raekwon Davis, and LB Terrell Lewis are on the South roster, though it is unclear if Lewis will play. Also included as a late invitee is QB Jalen Hurts.

#ALABAMA

FROSH

Three true freshmen started all 13 games this season:

• Linebacker Shane Lee (47 solos, 39 assts, 4.5 sacks, 6.5 TFL, 1 INT, 3 QBH, 2 forced fum, 1 fum recovery)
• Linebacker Christian Harris (29 solo, 34 asst, 7.5 TFL, 5 QBH, 1 forced fum, 2 fum rec)
• Offensive guard Evan Neal (freshman All-American)

The following true freshmen all played more than four games and cannot redshirt this past season:

• DB Jordan Battle 13 games played
• DT Byron Young 13
• DBDeMarcco Hellams 12
• WR John Metchie 12
• DT DJ Dale 10
• TE Jahleel Billingsley 9
• DE Justin Eboigbe 9
• LB King Mwikuta 9
• RB Keilan Robinson 8
• OL Darrian Dalcourt 7
• DB Marcus Banks 7
• QB Taulia Tagovailoa 5
• K/P Will Reichard 5 (potential medical hardship?)
• P Ty Perine 6

The following true freshmen participated in four or less games this season and have redshirted:

• DB Scooby Carter 4 - still on the roster
• OL Pierce Quick 4
• DE Braylen Ingraham 2
• OL Amari Kight 1
• DB Brandon Turnage 1
• DT Ishmael Sopsher 1
• QB Paul Tyson 1
• OL Tanner Bowles 1
• DE Kevin Harris 0 - I totally forgot about this former 4-star.
• RB Trey Sanders 0 - Sadly, we’ll probably only get to see this former 5-star in crimson & white for two seasons.

Nick Saban is now seventh in career wins as a FBS/I-A coach (FCS/D-II wins not counted). Mack Brown, who led Saban at the beginning of the season, now trails him by three. Brown almost has twice as many losses as the Crimson Tide coach. Fifth place is well within reach for Saban in 2020.

NEXT

GAME 1: Kickoff Classic, JerryWorld, TX

Alabama vs Southern Cal

Saturday, Sept 5, 2020; Time & TV TBA

See you in the fall!

#RollTide