College Football

[TheHoundRules]

[quote name='H von T' post='1600327' date='Nov 25 2008, 17.26']I cannot wait for Saturday to get here. I want the Gators to absolutely destroy Florida State. As long as Meyer can keep the team focused I think Florida's offense should score at least 42 on the Semenholes. Our DL lost two tackles against the Citadel, but I think we have enough depth that that won't matter too much. FSU's OL isn't that great and Ponder's been an erratic QB. And then comes Alabama, but I'll worry about them later.

I was surprised that Georgia opened up as 8.5 point favorite over Ga Tech. Georgia's defense will need to play disclipined, assignment football against GT's offense and they have been the exact opposite all season. Stafford should be able to put up some points and I think Georgia will win, but it will be by less than a touchdown.[/quote]

I actually think FSU is going to keep it close. Florida wins, but closer then people think.

I completely agree about the UGA vs. GT game. This game scares me. GT is going to put some points up. Our defense has been inconsistent and undisciplined. I do not think anything will change this weekend. It should be a high scoring game which means it will not be a high scoring game.

[Fez]

Its nice that Buffalo finally has a no-pressure game to play in, they've already clinched the MAC East, and are waaaaaay to far down overall 1-A standings to have to worry about impressing BCS voters. No matter what happens we're probably be going to the International Bowl, even though the winner of the MAC usually has the bowl game that in Detroit, because the Int'l Bowl is in Toronto, which is right next door. And we want to become THE Western New York team (screw you Syracuse), also like every other team based in Buffalo, the Bulls want that Toronto market.

Its a good thing too that this last game has no pressure, 'cause no one is gonna be there. Its the day after Thanksgiving, all the students are gonna be home still, and the its the biggest shopping day of the year anyway. Might be a good time too in the second half to see what level the stars of next year are at right now. After all Drew Willy will be gone (and I bet he'll be a 4th or 5th round draft pick), one of the other QBs is gonna have to step it up.

[S John]

[quote name='Triskele' post='1600402' date='Nov 25 2008, 18.40']S John - Have you heard Cowherd's rant about Bill Stewart? I don't know if it's focused on him so specifically but he always uses him as the example. He says something to the effect of "If I took over Microsoft they'd be fine...for a week." I think you can see the point he's making. It's a good analogy but I think it's way too early to say whether or not it appropriately applies to Stewart and WVU specifically.[/quote]


Yea I've heard Cowherd talk about Stewart a few times. I'm not the biggest Cowherd fan, guy kinda gets on my nerves, but I think he might have a point about Billy Stewart. Time will tell. The news isnt all bad. Stew's in his first year and we arent terrible, but we are woefully inconsistent. We've lost a lot of games cause of 3rd and shorts. So IMO, a lot comes down to the loss of Slaton and Schmitt. Devine is a fantastic back, but smaller than even Slaton was and we have nothing resembling a short yardage bruiser like Schmitt. Nothing. I dont think we've got a back over 200lbs.

On the upside, it looks like we've got the best recruiting class coming in that WVU has ever had. Next year will be interesting without Pat White, our back-up Jarret Brown will start and he's pretty good. Might be one of the best back-ups in the nation, honestly.

Anyway, way I see it is that Stewarts got at least 3 years. If Stewart can win the Big East or even get us in the 9 win range without Pat White then I think youve gotta give the guy a little credit. I'm disappointed in our season, but as far as transitional coaches go, it really could be a lot worse.

[Rhom]

[quote name='S John' post='1600590' date='Nov 25 2008, 22.52']Yea I've heard Cowherd talk about Stewart a few times. I'm not the biggest Cowherd fan, guy kinda gets on my nerves, but I think he might have a point about Billy Stewart. Time will tell. The news isnt all bad. Stew's in his first year and we arent terrible, but we are woefully inconsistent.[/quote]

I've heard him throw Tubby Smith in there as an example too. I think I like Cowherd as a whole. He's a blowhard, but I've never really seen him play favorites (other than USC I guess) and he does come up with rational arguments for even the things that I disagree with him on.

[quote name='S John' post='1600590' date='Nov 25 2008, 22.52']Anyway, way I see it is that Stewarts got at least 3 years. If Stewart can win the Big East or even get us in the 9 win range without Pat White then I think youve gotta give the guy a little credit. I'm disappointed in our season, but as far as transitional coaches go, it really could be a lot worse.[/quote]

It feels like White has been there for 8 years... jeebus, is he really gone next year???


My main reason for posting in the thread today is because I heard the line on the Notre Dame vs. USC game this weekend... 32 points. Ouch. And I'm not sure ND can cover.

All the Notre Dame fans that screamed they were justified in firing Willingham need to be taking a good hard look at Charlie Weis. I don't know any coaches that have done less with more that are currently roaming the sidelines.

[S John]

[quote name='Billy Clyde' post='1600813' date='Nov 26 2008, 07.49']All the Notre Dame fans that screamed they were justified in firing Willingham need to be taking a good hard look at Charlie Weis. I don't know any coaches that have done less with more that are currently roaming the sidelines.[/quote]

Yea, thats the best part. Chili-dog Charlie has the same win percentage as Willingham after the same time period, and to top it all off, the only good season they had with Weis was the one when it was all Willingham's players!

I don't think Charlie's head is on the chopping block just yet, I think theyll give him another year. If he has one more bad year though, they have to get rid of him or else it would be a total outrage after what happened to Willingham. OTOH theyve got a long way to go before they are going to be dominant again, its a tough job and an enless hire-fire cycle isnt going to get it done.

I think, in the end, parity is what is going to kill Notre Dame. The teams around them are comparatively much better than in the old glory days and its going to be a pretty rocky road back to the top. I personally hope they continue down the path of thier old rivals the service academies, an amusing relic of times past.

[AndyP]

Shouldn't ND apologize to Willingham about now? It is funny how bad Ty's Guys like Brady Quinn were.

[Rhom]

[quote name='S John' post='1601003' date='Nov 26 2008, 11.02']Yea, thats the best part. Chili-dog Charlie has the same win percentage as Willingham after the same time period, and to top it all off, the only good season they had with Weis was the one when it was all Willingham's players!

I don't think Charlie's head is on the chopping block just yet, I think theyll give him another year. If he has one more bad year though, they have to get rid of him or else it would be a total outrage after what happened to Willingham. OTOH theyve got a long way to go before they are going to be dominant again, its a tough job and an enless hire-fire cycle isnt going to get it done.

I think, in the end, parity is what is going to kill Notre Dame. The teams around them are comparatively much better than in the old glory days and its going to be a pretty rocky road back to the top. I personally hope they continue down the path of thier old rivals the service academies, an amusing relic of times past.[/quote]

I tend to agree about needing longer than 3 years to turn a program around... but you should be able to see the progress going in the right direction after 3 years. Weis is definitely back-sliding. College Football is much harder to turn around than College Basketball. One or two good recruiting classes get you back on top of the world in roundball. Football requires depth and quality at every position. It takes 4-5 solid recruiting classes in a row generally to build to that stage. At least, that's what we're telling ourselves at Kentucky where we are striving to achieve mediocrity year in and year out instead of being a bottom dweller. :lol:

Of course, it isn't easy to convince schools like Notre Dame of that when Nick Saban steps in at Alabama and has them competing for a national title after two years.

[lokisnow]

[quote name='Billy Clyde' post='1601036' date='Nov 26 2008, 08.42']I tend to agree about needing longer than 3 years to turn a program around... but you should be able to see the progress going in the right direction after 3 years. Weis is definitely back-sliding. College Football is much harder to turn around than College Basketball. One or two good recruiting classes get you back on top of the world in roundball. Football requires depth and quality at every position. It takes 4-5 solid recruiting classes in a row generally to build to that stage. At least, that's what we're telling ourselves at Kentucky where we are striving to achieve mediocrity year in and year out instead of being a bottom dweller. :lol:

Of course, it isn't easy to convince schools like Notre Dame of that when Nick Saban steps in at Alabama and has them competing for a national title after two years.[/quote]
It took Gary Pinkel seven years to turn Missouri around. That's why I don't think that he'll be taking the Washington job, totally different recruiting base and he's not a strong enough coach to get the results as quickly as a program like washington would want. I'd imagine they'd fire him after three seasons.

otoh, it took Pete Carroll turned USC around in his second year, going from unranked at the start of the season to fourth and winning the rose bowl. Like saban, there are coaches out there that can quickly turn around a program, but they are more the exception than the rule.

[Ken Stone]

[quote name='lockesnow' post='1601105' date='Nov 26 2008, 12.33']It took Gary Pinkel seven years to turn Missouri around. That's why I don't think that he'll be taking the Washington job, totally different recruiting base and he's not a strong enough coach to get the results as quickly as a program like washington would want. I'd imagine they'd fire him after three seasons.

otoh, it took Pete Carroll turned USC around in his second year, going from unranked at the start of the season to fourth and winning the rose bowl. Like saban, there are coaches out there that can quickly turn around a program, but they are more the exception than the rule.[/quote]

Bob Stoops went like 6-6 his first year at OK then won the NC the year after, and has kept his team at a high level ever since.

ETA: If you have a coach that needs to "Get his own recruits in there" you aren't dealing with a coach that can turn a team around. That difference-making coach will take the players he has and have them playing at a high level pretty quickly.

[Kalbear]

[quote]ETA: If you have a coach that needs to "Get his own recruits in there" you aren't dealing with a coach that can turn a team around. That difference-making coach will take the players he has and have them playing at a high level pretty quickly.[/quote]The promising thing about Weis was that he took the players Willingham had not done well with and turned ND into a contender in his first year.

The damning thing about him is that he's done exceptionally poorly with his own recruits, which likely means a lot of middling years ahead.

ND really should be a gold mine for someone. ND consistently has players begging to play there. Recruiting is cake. Why is it so hard to coach them? I realize that ND doesn't have the connections to the South and to Cali compared to USC/SEC/tOSU teams, but still...they should be up there regardless. They shouldn't be struggling to beat Navy.

[Rhom]

[quote name='Kalbear' post='1601153' date='Nov 26 2008, 13.18']The promising thing about Weis was that he took the players Willingham had not done well with and turned ND into a contender in his first year.

The damning thing about him is that he's done exceptionally poorly with his own recruits, which likely means a lot of middling years ahead.

ND really should be a gold mine for someone. ND consistently has players begging to play there. Recruiting is cake. Why is it so hard to coach them? I realize that ND doesn't have the connections to the South and to Cali compared to USC/SEC/tOSU teams, but still...they should be up there regardless. They shouldn't be struggling to beat Navy.[/quote]

They may not have the connections to the south and to Cali... but in how many states is the number one team in the biggest classification named St. Xavier, Trinity, or some other variation of a common Catholic name for a high school? Notre Dame should be able to walk onto any campus of those schools and have a their pick of the litter.

[Gold Storm]

Noter Dame was able to recruit back in the day because every Catholic priest and school recruited for them; however, that has changed in the past 15 years or so. Catholic schools and priest do not have the sway they used to have. The demographic had changed in America and some kid growing up in the inner city could care less about what some priest has to say. But the boosters and alumni at Noter Dame still think of the Noter Dame of old and they do not recruit they just take a pick of the player wanting to come there. They will not get better till they realize that college football has changed and they have to go out and pound the pavement and recruit. That the average kid thinks the Four Horsemen are wrestlers not football players and they have no idea who in the hell Knute Rockne was or is.


Hey Triskele thats pretty cool that your brother was named PAC-10 defensive player of the week for the third time this year, especially for a guy that was named the started after that one kid (I forgot his name) left Oregon State. I hope too god that he has a great game on Saturday.

[Arakasi]

The problem with ND is not their recruiting classes. They've been highly ranked, top 10 classes. The problem is that Weis is horrible at developing talent. He is not a hands on coach at all and doesn't know how to turn athletes into football players.

[WarGalley]

I knew I should have taken a roadtrip to the [url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081126/ap_on_fe_st/odd_restroom_romp;_ylt=As2gcnn62BiykyMyhjjUp3YDW7oF"]Metrodome[/url] when I was in college:

[quote]MINNEAPOLIS: While the Hawkeyes were stomping the Gophers on the Metrodome field last weekend, police said two Iowa fans were having a romp of a different kind in a restroom. Both events, police say, had their share of cheering fans.

A 38-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man turned to a handicapped stall for their tryst Saturday evening.

On the field, the Hawkeyes were on their way to 55-0 trouncing of the Gophers. In the restroom, a crowd of intoxicated fans gathered to cheer the off-the-field event.

Eventually, a security guard tipped off University of Minnesota police. Officers had to interrupt the couple to cite them for indecent conduct, a misdemeanor.

Police Chief Greg Hestness said the woman initially gave a false name to officers. [b]She was released to her husband and the man was released to his girlfriend.[/b]

Both people in the stall were intoxicated.[/quote]

Heh.

[S John]

Currently at my uncle's house in northern West Virginia. Tomorrow morning the convoy meets at 7:00 am, then we roll 20 deep to Pittsburgh. Hoping to get there around 9 so that we can get good and wasted before kick-off. You know its serious when the old guys are the ones that want to make sure we have time to get our buzz on. I'm pretty stoked about this game, have a feeling I'll have to dust off the old trash talking skills for the pregame tailgating. I haven't been to an away game at Pitt, my uncle said there is going to be a good bit of it flying around. Looks like the temps will be in the 30's, so not bad at all by backyard brawl standards.

[Fez]

Sweet.

Score tied 7-7, middle of the 2nd quarter, 4th and 6 on our 20 yard line, and we go for it. That was awesome, I love this team's mentality. Paid off too, the Bulls have now driven to Kent State's 42.

Go Bulls!

EDIT: Shame we couldn't get a score there, on the other hand we downed the punt at Kent's 2 yard line. So good field position for us if we can get an early stop.

[WarGalley]

Looks like[url="http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-tennessee-kiffin&prov=ap&type=lgns"] Kiffin's headed to Tennessee[/url].

[WarGalley]

[quote name='FezRock' post='1602520' date='Nov 28 2008, 15.03']Sweet.

Score tied 7-7, middle of the 2nd quarter, 4th and 6 on our 20 yard line, and we go for it. That was awesome, I love this team's mentality. Paid off too, the Bulls have now driven to Kent State's 42.

Go Bulls!

EDIT: Shame we couldn't get a score there, on the other hand we downed the punt at Kent's 2 yard line. So good field position for us if we can get an early stop.[/quote]

I've been sporadically checking the game out online (I'm at work) and it looks like it could come down to the last second. Wish I could watch it.

ETA: Damn.. Kent just took a 3 point lead with 5 min left.

[Fez]

[quote]I've been sporadically checking the game out online (I'm at work) and it looks like it could come down to the last second. Wish I could watch it.

ETA: Damn.. Kent just took a 3 point lead with 5 min left.[/quote]


Well that was a shame. I imagine it was tough for the team to get too excited about the game considering they'd already clinched the division title. Kent St. caught them looking to the game against Ball State in the MAC Championship it would seem.

Still, Starks and Roosevelt broke the school single-season records for rushing and receiving yards respectively; so that's nice.

[Gold Storm]

Some great games today, PITT WVU, LSU Arkansas, and Nebraska Colorado all went down to the last minute. The kicker for Nebraska made a go ahead 57 yard FG in the last minute of the game, he will never have too buy a drink or a meal in Lincoln again. :cheers: