Jumbo Package: College Football Playoff Committee moves forward with plans for a 2020 season

One of Nate Oats’ biggest gets of the offseason was all-Ivy Jordan Bruner. The 6’9” forward is every bit the hard-hat kind of player around which Oats wants to establish a new culture. Bruner even singled out fellow lunch pail-er Herb Jones in an interview with SI:

“Herb is a dude that plays hard,” Bruner said. “He seems like a guy who do whatever he needs to do to win. He is a competitor and I love that about him. Before he got hurt, they were playing really well and beating a lot of teams.”

...The mindset he is bringing to Tuscaloosa could very well be the missing piece to a program that has not gone further than the second round in the Big Dance since 2004.

“Those expectations are exactly what I said they are,” Bruner said. “I am going to come in and try to use my experience to hold guys accountable and try make sure that is the mindset of the whole team. We are to talented not to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.”

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I’m about to show you the very worst Tua Hot Take of the NFL Draft season.

Ready for it?

How about this...”It is embarrassing to watch Tua throw a football.”

That one is going to age as well as a chicken livers left in the summer sun, then shoved in a tacklebox and forgotten about for a few weeks.

If that sounds both disgusting beyond description and autobiographical on my part, let me assure you it is both of those things.

I was an EMT to pay the bills during my prior life as a professional death metal musician — and to this day, that is still the worst carnage I’ve ever happened upon in my life.

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Logistics don’t stop for no virus, so the College Football Playoff Committee has begun its preparations for the event to occur as-scheduled.

Hancock said there currently isn’t any particular benchmark date to make major decisions by, but that the planning period for organizing the playoff “is extensive,” and that the staff is currently finishing the budgeting process. They also have to design and purchase décor, lease buses, secure hotels, contract for services with the media, and complete a variety of other planning the public doesn’t usually see.

“There’s a long ramp-up time for this,” he said. “Could it be shorter? Sure. What is it? I don’t know. Would it be the same? No, it wouldn’t be the same. I can promise you the Super Bowl people are knee-deep into Tampa prep right now. Knee deep. We all do the same thing. We’re all very deliberate about our planning. Could we do it without that ramp-up time? Yes.

Interesting words from Hancock here, since it seems to directly contradict remarks made by PAC 12 commissioner Larry Scott just yesterday, where he said that the CFP discussions had established a deadline of late May.

If it’s the latter, then folks we’re probably not getting a playoff. But, if we take Hancock at his word, and there’s no reason not to at this stage, then all options are still on the table and there’s no late Spring/early Summer drop-dead day.

Besides, it’s Larry Scott. What the hell would he know about playoffs anyway?

That said, Scott was not alone in echoing the end-of-May deadline. Chris Fowler also said yesterday that he’s heard the same timeline. And, it could be that Scott was Fowler’s source.

But, Fowler is also optimistic based on those discussions that there will be some sort of football played at some point in the 2020-2021 academic year...all options really are on the table.

And here we thought just the XFL played in May.

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No matter what happens though, there is one almost-guaranteed loser in all of this: Small programs that rely on paycheck games. Athletic departments are taking a beating, and cancelling guaranteed $1.5m victories will almost certainly be en vogue.

Well, make that two potential losers. Students are starting to sue their schools for prorated tuition, meal plans, parking, housing, and all of the hundreds of other little nibbles and add-on costs that have helped drive COA through the rood.

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Fear not, though. We have live. sports. somewhere. on. the. globe.

Taiwanese live baseball started up yesterday!

Taiwan has kicked the hell out of the virus with some of the planet’s most aggressive screening, testing, and isolationism measures. As a result, they’re getting back to normal a little bit quicker than most.

Good on you, Real China (tm).

Yeah, I said it. Come at me, Xi, you lying commie bastard.

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Let’s send the real sports out with some ‘crootin. First, we have 5-star center Moussa Cisse. The guy has an unreal 92 scholarship offers. And, he has pared that list down to 10 schools.

Alabama made the cut!

Needless to say, with all of the wing depth, shooters, and talented new faces that Oats brought in, the arrival of a game-changing big would instantly make Alabama a contender...nationally. (Someone please call the doctor: this gonna’ last a lot longer than four hours.)

In the other major revenue sport, football, our friend Kegs ‘n Eggs, better known as Adam Kramer, did an outstanding feature on The Mountain, Bryce Foster. from Katy, Texas.

He’s a 17-year-old, 6’5”, 330-pound future Olympian and 5-star tackle from Texas. He, like Mousse, is on everyone’s wish list — though he’s relatively cool on the Tide at the moment. Alabama has offered, but no OV has been set.

Sadly, this delightfully violent young man is almost certainly going to wind up close to home :(

Still, it’s a great story.

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Spencer has a point here, in his Banner Society piece. Why not open up archival college football games? A lot of America is collectively cooling our jets until-or-through May. And, if we can watch bad NFL games on demand, or the 2019 Masters replayed for the 16th time, why not some classics from the vault?

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Finally, a programming note.

We’ve given you the All-Saban offensive team. And that was a lot of fun. This week, I’m bringing you something different: The all-underappreciated offensive team; guys who didn’t get enough love or who changed the program without accolades and honors etc. You should know by now how much I love those kinds of players. They truly make a program.

It will not be voted on. This is not a democracy; it’s a cheerocracy. But hopefully you’ll enjoy it nonetheless. Look for the first piece, on the offensive line, tomorrow.

Have a great one. Row Tahd.