College Football 2018: Its Tua's world... we're just living in it

[Ferrum Aeternum]

8 hours ago, S John said:

OU / Bama is going to be fun.  I actually think of all the 3 non-Bama teams in the playoff that OU has the best chance of beating them so I’m glad we are guaranteed this match up.  I don’t think Clemson or ND, who are great teams in their own right, really do anything that Bama has not already seen and utterly crushed this year.  

OU is a completely different brand of football and Bama will not have seen an O anywhere near as capable as the Sooners.  I think Alabama will still win because OU has been shaky on D all year, but I think they’ve got the best chance in the field to unseat Saban.

I agree. Given past experience, this is the type of team that gives Bama's defense fits, and Murray is having a season for the ages.  

The long layoff will greatly benefit Bama though, as it gives Tua plenty of time to rest up and get healthy. I think it will be an epic shootout. 

[lokisnow]

12 hours ago, S John said:

OU / Bama is going to be fun.  I actually think of all the 3 non-Bama teams in the playoff that OU has the best chance of beating them so I’m glad we are guaranteed this match up.  I don’t think Clemson or ND, who are great teams in their own right, really do anything that Bama has not already seen and utterly crushed this year.  

OU is a completely different brand of football and Bama will not have seen an O anywhere near as capable as the Sooners.  I think Alabama will still win because OU has been shaky on D all year, but I think they’ve got the best chance in the field to unseat Saban.

Eh. I have a feeling it will closely resemble the national championship game between OU and USC

[S John]

1 hour ago, lokisnow said:

Eh. I have a feeling it will closely resemble the national championship game between OU and USC

You mean vacated?  

[lokisnow]

4 hours ago, S John said:

You mean vacated?  

Saban and the SEC has what USC never had, a contract with ESPN and a commitment by the entire sports media to look the other way no matter what they hear. Besides no espn exec is ever going to allow any stories to air or proceed that harms their money train.

Until that goes away, no one is “harming” even one hair of any elite school SEC football players, and that means no vacated nuthin so long as they’ve paid up current protection monies with Don Bristol. :-p

but sacrificial lambs from the Kentucky’s and vanderbilts will probably be a regular thing to show they’re willing to go after the SEC heh. Same thing as exposing the corruption inherent in the big schools am I right? 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I heard an amazing stat this morning. There have been 290 plays in the last two Alabama-Georgia games. Alabama has only led on nine plays and won both games. 

[Rhom]

I’m listening to ESPN radio talk about Kyler Murray’s stats compared to Tua for the Heisman... have they completely forgot that Tua has sat the fourth quarter of every regular season game?!!?

And the fact that Murray has played against the Big 12?!!?

[Rhom]

Urban Meyer stepping down after Rose Bowl.  Ryan Day who served as coach during Meyers suspension will take over as head coach with no search.

I say he’s out for a year... two at most... then he’s coaching somewhere again.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

15 hours ago, lokisnow said:

but sacrificial lambs from the Kentucky’s and vanderbilts will probably be a regular thing to show they’re willing to go after the SEC heh. Same thing as exposing the corruption inherent in the big schools am I right? 

The ESPN deal has served to secure and strengthen the larger SEC programs' power structure. Someone on another message board put forth some interesting statistics about the SEC, and how slanted it has been toward a few programs, not just since signing the deal with ESPN, but also for decades prior. The deck has been firmly stacked for 55 years and counting: 

The “Big Six” (Ala, Aub, LSU, Fla, Ga, Tenn) is 55-0 since 1963 in winning the SEC and going the big game - Sugar Bowl, BCS, Playoff etc.  Those 6 teams have attended 100% of the 27 SEC Championship games since 1992.  The rest of the SEC has played in 7 of the 27. ( Arky 3, Mizzou 2, SC 1, MSU 1)  75% of the time it is Big Six v. Big Six.  100% of the time Big Six wins.
 

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

Urban Meyer stepping down after Rose Bowl.  Ryan Day who served as coach during Meyers suspension will take over as head coach with no search.

I say he’s out for a year... two at most... then he’s coaching somewhere again.

Most people are saying this but I'm not so sure. What does he have left to prove at this point? He's won national championships at two different schools, he's beaten Saban directly, he's owned Harbaugh. 

Maybe if Brian Kelly leaves Notre Dame, he might be willing to take that on. Apart from that I'm not seeing it. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Rhom said:

Urban Meyer stepping down after Rose Bowl.  Ryan Day who served as coach during Meyers suspension will take over as head coach with no search.

I say he’s out for a year... two at most... then he’s coaching somewhere again.

He’ll be in Green Bay on Jan 3.

[Rhom]

1 hour ago, Ferrum Aeternum said:

Maybe if Brian Kelly leaves Notre Dame, he might be willing to take that on. Apart from that I'm not seeing it. 

I saw this suggested on my favorite UK blog:  What about Clay Helton making it another year, possibly two at USC.  Urban "consults with his doctors" then "seriously talks with his family" and then "at their urging" takes the job in LA?

[Ferrum Aeternum]

3 hours ago, Rhom said:

I saw this suggested on my favorite UK blog:  What about Clay Helton making it another year, possibly two at USC.  Urban "consults with his doctors" then "seriously talks with his family" and then "at their urging" takes the job in LA?

That would help the Pac 12 get back to serious national contender status, overnight. 

I am more intrigued though by this NFL idea that @Tywin et al. has come up with. I don't think it's going to happen, but it'd be interesting to see if he could replicate say, Pete Carroll-level success. I don't remember his name ever coming up for an NFL job before, which is where a lot of my skepticism toward the idea is rooted. 

ETA: Brett McMurphy called his resignation back in August, and even mentioned a possible jump to the NFL. So there's that. 

[Kalbear]

5 hours ago, Ferrum Aeternum said:

The “Big Six” (Ala, Aub, LSU, Fla, Ga, Tenn) is 55-0 since 1963 in winning the SEC and going the big game - Sugar Bowl, BCS, Playoff etc.  Those 6 teams have attended 100% of the 27 SEC Championship games since 1992.  The rest of the SEC has played in 7 of the 27. ( Arky 3, Mizzou 2, SC 1, MSU 1)  75% of the time it is Big Six v. Big Six.  100% of the time Big Six wins. 

 

I'm not sure I understand this - but I think it's not true if I do understand this. Auburn lost to FSU after winning the SEC, as an example. Is this just talking about the big six winning the SEC championship?

5 hours ago, Ferrum Aeternum said:

Most people are saying this but I'm not so sure. What does he have left to prove at this point? He's won national championships at two different schools, he's beaten Saban directly, he's owned Harbaugh. 

Maybe if Brian Kelly leaves Notre Dame, he might be willing to take that on. Apart from that I'm not seeing it. 

He really likes coaching, at least parts of it. It has nothing to do with proving anything (he didn't have anything to prove after Florida either) and everything to do with his shitty personality. 

[Ferrum Aeternum]

Just now, Kalbear said:

I'm not sure I understand this - but I think it's not true if I do understand this. Auburn lost to FSU after winning the SEC, as an example. Is this just talking about the big six winning the SEC championship?

Right. The gist of the thread was "which program of the remaining 8 would be most likely to take a seat at the table" (A&M makes the most sense, fwiw). It's not big news that certain programs have had a lot more success than others, but to not have even one outlier in 55 years is...improbable.

[Corvinus85]

I suppose with Meyer out, we can look to Harbaugh's Michigan finally winning the B1G. 

[Rhom]

6 hours ago, Ferrum Aeternum said:

The ESPN deal has served to secure and strengthen the larger SEC programs' power structure. Someone on another message board put forth some interesting statistics about the SEC, and how slanted it has been toward a few programs, not just since signing the deal with ESPN, but also for decades prior. The deck has been firmly stacked for 55 years and counting: 

The “Big Six” (Ala, Aub, LSU, Fla, Ga, Tenn) is 55-0 since 1963 in winning the SEC and going the big game - Sugar Bowl, BCS, Playoff etc.  Those 6 teams have attended 100% of the 27 SEC Championship games since 1992.  The rest of the SEC has played in 7 of the 27. ( Arky 3, Mizzou 2, SC 1, MSU 1)  75% of the time it is Big Six v. Big Six.  100% of the time Big Six wins.
 

Most people are saying this but I'm not so sure. What does he have left to prove at this point? He's won national championships at two different schools, he's beaten Saban directly, he's owned Harbaugh. 

Maybe if Brian Kelly leaves Notre Dame, he might be willing to take that on. Apart from that I'm not seeing it. 

Do you have a link to the article on your Big Six?  I'd be interested in sharing it over at the UK blog I frequent.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Well I think this situation allows us to draw one of three likely conclusions:

1. Meyer is really done. There are rumors that people close to him legitimately fear that he will die on the sideline. 

2. Meyer wants out, and considering he said OSU was his dream job in college, that leads me to believe he's going to the NFL.

3. OSU wants to be rid of him, and this is the best way to let him leave with dignity. This seems like the least likely option to me.

Only time will tell, but I have a hard time seeing another option unless there's a different college job he wants. 

[Kalbear]

Ya know, Cleveland has an opening, and it is in Ohio...

[Bronn Stone]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Well I think this situation allows us to draw one of three likely conclusions:

1. Meyer is really done. There are rumors that people close to him legitimately fear that he will die on the sideline. 

 

I think this is the closest to my feeling.  Meyer is legitimately at risk of dying on the sidelines.   But I don't think he is done.  I think the bug will bite him again down the road.  Two years seems a little soon, IMO.  But I think he'll be somewhere in 2022-ish.

[Kalbear]

Notre Dame or Cleveland. 

[Rhom]

22 hours ago, Ferrum Aeternum said:

The ESPN deal has served to secure and strengthen the larger SEC programs' power structure. Someone on another message board put forth some interesting statistics about the SEC, and how slanted it has been toward a few programs, not just since signing the deal with ESPN, but also for decades prior. The deck has been firmly stacked for 55 years and counting: 

The “Big Six” (Ala, Aub, LSU, Fla, Ga, Tenn) is 55-0 since 1963 in winning the SEC and going the big game - Sugar Bowl, BCS, Playoff etc.  Those 6 teams have attended 100% of the 27 SEC Championship games since 1992.  The rest of the SEC has played in 7 of the 27. ( Arky 3, Mizzou 2, SC 1, MSU 1)  75% of the time it is Big Six v. Big Six.  100% of the time Big Six wins.

I've thought a little bit more about this since yesterday when we talked.  In all fairness, until 1990 there were only 10 members of the conference... so 6 is a pretty big number.  Florida really wasn't all that good until Spurrier got there.  They didn't have a conference championship until 1990.  So they are sort of a "Johnny Come Lately" in football terms.  Its still an eye popping statistic, but when put in terms like that I don't know that I can complain too much.