COLLEGE FOOTBALL - WEEK 15
Well that was boring. TOB was hoping for some one-possession barn burner games in the Conference Championships, but it was not to be. All the favorites won, which is causing some BIG10 folk to be a little butt hurt. TOB understands, and had the same thoughts himself…until you dig a little deeper.
If there is one constant over the last 12 years in college football, it is the SEC. USC had a run in the mid 2000’s with Pete “One Step Ahead of the Posse” Carroll, Texas had a run with Vince “I Fly Southwest BY MYSELF” Young, and now Clemson is making some noise. The constants: Bama, Auburn, LSU, Florida. Since 2006, one or both of those teams has been in the National Title Game, with the SEC taking home 8 titles in 12 years. That is an absurd percentage, and a track record that should not be ignored even though players change year over year. Unlike many other sports (Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, maybe soccer - TOB is still not sure if that is a sport or an activity) game planning, in game adjustments, and coaching matter as much if not more than talent. College football is even more slanted due to recruiting. Get the best players AND have the best coaching, well, that’s how you become Nick Saban.
Back to Ohio State feeling like they got screwed. TOB is an SEC honk, proudly, and typically down on the BIG10, equally proudly. However, TOB was of the mind set that Ohio State deserved to be in given that they had one bad loss (so does Clemson and Oklahoma), and one justifiable loss (so does Alabama and Georgia). Additionally, if the committee was willing to let in 2 loss Auburn for winning the SEC (which they were, Auburn was ranked 2 going into their game with Georgia), then how could you not let in a 2 loss BIG10 winner, especially when they probably had a harder schedule (Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State, Oklahoma)? Well, as mentioned previously, TOB did some digging…and not that deep. Who was left out of the final four last year? BIG12. Who sort of snuck in while not winning their conference? Ohio State. How did Ohio State do that year? Lost 31-0 to Clemson. Perhaps the committee felt they extended an olive branch to Ohio State last year and they shit the bed. The PAC12 is also out this year, after Washington was crushed by Bama last year in the semi-finals. It is likely the committee figured Bama and Ohio State were a toss up, but given the recent history, Bama got the nod. Hard to form a compelling argument against that, though Urban tried.
Great season overall, a few teams making some runs no one really expected (Notre Dame…until the last two weeks…), and what a coaching carousel! Let’s take a look at how different things will look under the headset next season:
Jimbo Fisher: Florida State –> Texas A&M. Apparently once a coach wins a National Title, it’s time to go. Urban Meyer won two titles at Florida, had a 9-4 season, and the fans were calling for his head, saying he’d lost it. Fans only appreciate the journey, once you’ve gotten to the top they expect it every year. LSU knows what I’m talking about.
Dan Mullen: Mississippi State –> Florida. As predicted by TOB! Its amazing Mullen was able to recruit and win in Starkville, MS, essentially the armpit of America (and possibly the world). Mississippi has some beautiful towns (Oxford, Biloxi, okay, so two towns), but Starkville is not one of them.
Chip Kelly: Unemployed –> UCLA. The chipper is back in college, and the PAC12 no less. This should be fun!
Jeremey Pruitt: Unknown –> Tennessee. TOB has no idea who Jeremey Pruitt is, but Tennessee trying to find a coach has been hilarious. Reminds TOB of the sad drunk girl at the bar telling guys that she is a great girl, she just intimidates men. Then she throws up on her shoes. In retrospect, Lane Kiffin may have done it right. He took her home, made her feel good about herself, and gave her a fake name.
Herm Edwards: TV Personality –> Arizona State. What would happen if Stephen A. Smith, with dementia, was given a head football coaching job at a big school with high expectations? Well, we are about to find out! TOB is incredibly excited to bet against Herm next season. It should be noted that his former agent is the athletic director which no doubt led to this hire. This looks like a bad move for Herm, since he has become the lovable lunatic on ESPN, causing people to forget that he was a pretty bad NFL coach. He seems to be a good motivator, but no telling how he will recruit or actually coach a game. This may end up hurting his reputation and cost him his job at ESPN after he is fired 4 games in. “Come on TOB, give him at least one full seasons, you’re being too harsh.” – No one actually, everyone is aware he’s crazy after this press conference where he didn’t know the team was the Sun Devils:
Now for the segment that Vegas is trying to get TOB to stop running, Tony and Cheech make picks sure to go wrong!
Last weeks’ results:
Cheech (30-23-2): No picks - Cheech finishes with a 56.6% winning percentage. Not bad, but probably not making any money…
TOB (21-33-1): 5-0 – great way to start the bowl season!
Memphis (+7.5) over UCF – WIN
Oklahoma (-7) over TCU – WIN
Georgia (+1) over Auburn – WIN
Clemson (-10) over Miami – WIN
Ohio State (-4.5) over Wisconsin – WIN
This week:
Cheech:
No picks. Still waiting to make his run at the bowl games.
TOB:
Navy (-3) over Army – no rationale, just that ND plays Navy.
A few final thoughts...as TOB is writing this, there is yet another Harry Potter Marathon on Freeform (formerly ABC Family) as there is three out of four weekends a month. TOB enjoys this very much and if College Gameday hasn't started yet, this is a typical Saturday. There is one big problem with this scenario, the commercials. Namely, the Freeform Original shows. TOB cannot imagine a scenario in which "The Fosters" would be on in the TOB household. Unless, tho only other options were "Skip and Shannon" and "Cowherd and Whitlock." In that case, TOB would run with scissors until there was an incident.
Regarding Harry Potter, particularly the first few movies, it is increasingly disturbing how he is treated by is aunt and uncle. His being dumped on them is a bit odd, but this type of thing is no so uncommon as to be rude to the boy. He is a bit strange, no doubt, but at worst he has some sort of mental condition (doing "magic", seeing things, the wild stories), at best, he has a social anxiety like Asperger or mild autism. Either way, this couple is treating a child, their nephew, like he is a danger to society simply because he is different. TOB is by no means a bleeding heart, but upon the 80th viewing of "The Prisoner of Askaban," I finally had enough.
-Tonyonball
