I hate to say I told you so, but, yeah, I told you so. TCU got to the national championship on a wing and a prayer. They had a great season and were very entertaining throughout the season. However, Georgia wins that game seven, probably eight times out of ten. The SEC also defends their title as the best conference but given that Georgia was pretty much out played by Ohio State in the semi-finals for most of the game, the line between the SEC and Big 10 is getting razor thin. Nonetheless, congrats to the Georgia Bulldogs.
As much as I want to say TCU will beat Georgia in the College Football National Championship, I will believe it when I see it. It was great to have two playoff games be actually competitive. Both of the games were very entertaining and made for good New Year’s Eve entertainment, far better then whatever was being rolled out by Ryan Seacrest, et all. Haven’t we all had enough of seeing drunk donks milling about Times Square? Unlike the previous season’s playoff blowouts, all four team showed up, mostly. Michigan was a bit late, but eventually the real Wolverines arrived. It was strange to see TCU try to hold a lead when all they did this year was comeback in almost every game they played. Except, notably, the game I saw them in at Colorado where they steamrolled the Buffs. While TCU deserves to be in the championship, I would not blame the Michigan faithful feeling a bit cheated. I have seen some bad calls in my day, but the video reversal of the Wolverine endzone catch by Roman Wilson was atrocious. It should never have been overturned. I have less of an issue with the lack of a targeting call on final play of the game, but you see similar hits of that nature get called a targeting every week during the regular season. Hard to say what impact either of these calls would have on the result of the game, but suffice it to say they wouldn’t have been positive for TCU. The Horned Frogs earned the right to play for the national title, but it feels like Michigan was the better team, if only ever so slightly.
Thankfully, there was no such controversary with the second game. It was non-stop action at the Peach Bowl. When Georgia went ahead with 54 seconds, I thought they scored too soon. It looked that way when the Buckeyes made it inside the Bulldog forty in short order. The Ohio State offense either stalled or the coaches got conservative with their play calling, settling instead for kicking the field goal for the win. Unfortunately, the kick was pulled left from the start and the SEC has another team in the championship game again. It isn’t though the Bulldogs don’t deserve it, but ugh, I am really tired of the SEC winning the championship.
As for the other bowl games, it was generally feast or famine. There were either great games / upsets or massive blow outs. For me, having a man cave with multiple tv’s is critical to optimizing the experience. We were in the process of moving and I didn’t get my temporary man cave fully up and running until right before New Years Eve. To my dismay, my current rendition only has two TVs. (Yes, my life is one of very small grievances – first world problems indeed). Unfortunately, I missed most of the bowl season. Luckily, I was up and running for FBS playoff games and did manage to catch Tulane’s amazing upset of USC in the Cotton Bowl. It was a great reminder of why I love college football. Let’s hope the national championship game continues to reinforce that sentiment.
TCU gets warm welcome from the Colorado students
A note interesting only to me:
My wife says to me “Who’s in the national championship again?”
Me: “Georgia and Texas Christian University – TCU”
Wife: “Hey, I saw them, didn’t I? Where was that again?”
“Colorado” I answered, realizing that my wife has about one tenth of one percent of the interest I have in college football.
Lastly, I would be remiss in not recognizing the plight of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills DB who collapsed on the field after making a tackle on a kick return. My brother’s heart stopped in a similar fashion while he was exercising and was, thankfully, revived by the fortuitous chance coincidence of paramedics being very nearby. After a stint in intensive care, including a drug induced coma, he made a full recovery and with a special pacemaker in place, continues to workout every day. While my brother’s forty time pales in comparison to Hamlin’s, I am hopeful that Damar makes a similar recovery.
That’s all I got – enjoy that national championship.
“Tailgates funded by the Industrial – Military complex”, the ribbon of covid germs and the sweet smoke of Mary Jane floating above the Buffalo student section, rental car downgrades, shared sun screen, free bobble heads, “The top of the mountain is just around the bend”, well-traveled dormitory beds, “It never rains this hard in Colorado Springs – well, I only need to make it until halftime”, $10 seatbacks, not dancing with “Ruthie” at the Wrangler, an awkward representative of the Idaho Liquor Control Board, free meatballs, being on the President’s drink list, huckleberry syrup, 100 miles of windmills, “It’s a dry heat”, the whitest place in America, “Why would anyone steal a somanystadiums.com sign?”, Engineering lab restrooms, Utes mom’s sneaking ‘pre-game, get me through this game’ fireball shot, the mother-in-law suite, banned pumpkin spice air freshener, euchre tutorials, a little whiskey, “Give me 15 minutes, I will be back up and ready to go”, the pessimistic Hoosier fan, a happy birthday serenade from 54 pairs of ripped jeans, “No, I think those girls really like us”, cornhole for cash, gas station po’ boys, unlimited spaces at SHS tailgates, Bearkat Band march-by’s, and friends who know how to represent.
Another season is in the books. It was a great year with 11 stadium visits, although two technically did not count. All my visits do not seem to improve my prediction skills however. In the final week, I went 2 -1 with a push. I still finished above .500 for the year, but it felt like a disappointment. Speaking of disappointment, I don’t know what happened to Wyoming this weekend but they got blown out by Fresno State. I was right about South Carolina. Shane Beamer has that team on fire right now, beating Tennessee and Clemson in consecutive weeks. USC looked great and in particular, their QB Caleb Williams. The Trojans are a fun team to watch. My big disappointment though was my bad beat when Bama score a very late and meaningless touchdown against Auburn to make that game a push. Other thoughts on last week:
It kind of felt like Ohio State more fell apart then Michigan dominated. The Buckeye defensive approach was questionable.
I was stoked to see the “Civil War” Oregon vs Oregon State game was on at a decent time – before nine pm. Unfortunately, when Oregon went up 31 – 10 in 3rd quarter, I pushed the game off my three screens. Imagine my surprised when I turned it back on to see Oregon State score to go up 38 – 34. Doh!
Oklahoma vs Texas Tech was another fun game to watch. Classic Big 12 lack of defense. I don’t think the Sooners are SEC ready.
Congrats or something to the Texas A&M Aggies upsetting LSU. It was a nice win, but was the win really worth rushing the field? That, in a nutshell, are the current low expectations at College Station.
No official picks for championship weekend, but of course, I do have some thoughts.
UTSA as a program has been really strong lately. The should have no issue with North Texas and win Conference USA. The Roadrunner experience at the Alamodome is a good one.
I know Utah beat USC earlier this season, but I still like the Trojans tonight.
Everyone has TCU on upset alert and given how the Horned Frogs have squeaked out some games this year, it makes sense. I still think they win.
I still have not been to see the Ohio Bobcats in action, it feels like this year would have been the time to do it. The ‘Cats win the MAC
Sun Belt = Fun Belt and this game should be no exception: I will take Troy in that one
Tulane should win the American. UCF has disappointed me a couple of times this year.
Michigan will handle Purdue. More importantly, let me be clear that if USC and TCU win, I don’t want to hear any nonsense about putting the Buckeyes in the playoff instead of the Trojans. They knew the stakes when they played Michigan last week.
I like Mac Brown, ergo, I like UNC over Clemson. No logic there, just a personal preference for the Tar Heels.
Of course, it is Thanksgiving but even better, it is Rivalry week. This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. The traditions, the trophies, and the “plain old hate” make this a great week to watch football. It does not, however, make it a great week to pick games. I know it is a cliché to say throw out the records, but it isn’t completely inaccurate either. Thankfully, my 2 – 2 weekend ensures I will finish over .500 this year. It won’t be by much mind you, but it is always a positive to be above the line for the year.
UConn should have been a push, but they just fell apart at the end. I couldn’t find the Va Tech – Liberty game anywhere on my tv, even with all the sports channels I get. Not surprising, given how bad the Hokies have played this year. I will happily lose the pick to see them end their season on a high note. Their game against Virginia has been, appropriately, cancelled following the Va shooting tragedy. Wyoming didn’t beat Boise State but they should have. They did easily cover though. I had already written off Colorado State as a loss when I went to bed after the UCLA – USC game. I was pleasantly surprised Sunday morning when I saw they covered. Some other thoughts for the last weekend:
I told you last week that by both Ohio State and Michigan had trap games on hand with Maryland and Illinois respectively. Michigan, in particular, almost botched that game but continuing to run risky plays after they were safely in field goal range.
Stayed up for the USC – UCLA game. It was worth it.
I had IU vs MSU on a side tv and was shocked to see the Big Ten network cut away from the OT to go to the snoozer Rutgers – PSU game. Unbelievable.
I don’t know what was more surprising – that South Carolina whupped Tennessee or that their coach, Josh Heupel, felt he needed to wear all baby blue instead Volunteer Orange to be seen on the sideline.
UNC had a tough loss against Georgia Tech. Their wide open receiver drops the winner in the end zone, and then their defense can’t make a stop to get the offense the ball back.
Last weekend of picks and I am going with a lot of underdogs. Wyoming is getting 15 points against Boise State. We had a great time watching the Cowboys beat Tulsa in OT earlier this year. They showed a lot of pluck in that game so I like to take them whenever they are getting double digit points. South Carolina smacked Tennessee all over the place last weekend, and they are still getting 14.5 points against Clemson. I think they can hang. I am relying on their rivalry with Alabama to keep Auburn motivated enough to stay within 22 points of the Crimson Tide. The only favorite I am picking this week is USC over Notre Dame. It felt like the Trojans could score at will last weekend against UCLA. I don’t think the Fighting Irish are going to be able to hang with that firepower. Some other random thoughts for the weekend.
Michigan – Ohio State is obviously the big game. Honestly, the best result for the Big Ten would be for the game to end up with a 35 – 31 and then both could make the argument that they both belong in the playoff. Of course, they shouldn’t. Winner stays, loser goes home. Note to Buckeyes and Wolverines, your playoffs start on Saturday
How about that Wake Forest vs Duke is actually a relevant game this year. Not crazy relevant, but still an interesting game.
I am kind of pulling for Oregon State vs Oregon. The Ducks are three point favorites, but it feels like they are going to win by more than that.
The game that only a mother could love this week is New Mexico at Colorado State. Both teams are 2 – 9. They should be paying folks to see this game.
