The OFFICIAL 2016 College football RANDOM THOUGHTS thread
- Thread starter Ed MOTHERFUCKING G
- Start date
Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
The 2016 season begins with a scheduling oddity. A week before everyone else kicks off, Cal and Hawaii meet Aug. 26 in Sydney, Australia, a city that has never hosted a college football game.
If a historic trip Down Under isn't unusual enough, Hawaii then travels nearly 9,500 miles to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to play the Wolverines. After returning to Oahu, a mere 4,440 miles from the Big House, for the home opener against Tennessee-Martin, Hawaii crosses the Pacific yet again to visit Arizona on Sept. 17.
Mercifully, a bye week arrives to salvage what's left of the Bows' body clocks.
That's just one of many scheduling superlatives, mostly of the nonleague variety, to snack on while awaiting the end of the interminable offseason.
Most diverse away-game schedule: Virginia Tech
The Hokies might not be playing in Australia, but taking the field at Bristol Motor Speedway (estimated seating capacity: 150,000) on Sept. 10 against Tennessee might feel just as bizarre. The Hokies also play at one of the FBS' three remaining indoor facilities (Syracuse's Carrier Dome on Oct. 15), an NFL venue (Pittsburgh's Heinz Field on Oct. 27) and historic Notre Dame Stadium (Nov. 19).
Toughest off-campus schedule: USC
An easy choice here, although Clay Helton's first full schedule as USC coach is anything but easy. The Trojans open with a neutral-site game (in name only) against defending national champion Alabama in Arlington, Texas. Two weeks later, they visit defending Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champ Stanford, followed by a trip to always-tough Utah. In November, USC travels to Washington, a popular pick to win the North division, before finishing league play against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
Softest nonleague schedules: Boston College and Baylor
At least Baylor shares the designation this year. The Bears' future schedules thankfully are improving, and a nonleague slate featuring Northwestern State, SMU and Rice should soon be a thing of the past in the playoff era. Boston College failed to win an ACC game last year, but it shouldn't have trouble racking up nonleague wins by facing Massachusetts, FCS Wagner, Buffalo and Connecticut, teams that all finished with sub-.500 records last fall.
Friendliest opening stretch, Power 5: Michigan
The spring/summer of Jim Harbaugh should become the autumn of Harbaugh, because Michigan's momentum isn't likely to abate. The Wolverines ease into the season with five consecutive home games, beginning with globetrottin' Hawaii, followed by UCF, which was 0-12 in 2015, and Colorado, which has eight consecutive losing seasons. Penn State and Wisconsin should provide challenges, but there's a good chance Michigan heads to Michigan State on Oct. 29 with a 7-0 mark.
Friendliest opening stretch, Group of 5: Temple
After a breakthrough 10-win season in 2015, the Owls have an opportunity to pile up early victories again. They play four of their first five at home, facing three FBS teams that went 2-10 last season (Army, Charlotte and SMU), as well as FCS Stony Brook. Their only road trip comes Sept. 17 at Penn State, which Temple thrashed 27-10 in last year's opener. The Owls don't leave the state until Oct. 6, and their first two road games come against teams with new coaches (Memphis and UCF).
Toughest home slate: Texas A&M
It feels like Kevin Sumlin's future will be determined at Kyle Field, or at least on Texas soil, this season. Texas A&M has important road games, such as a Week 3 trip to equally desperate Auburn and an Oct. 22 visit to Alabama, but the season likely will be shaped at home. Texas A&M opens against UCLA, which hired offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone from A&M this past offseason. There's also a neutral-site clash against Arkansas and three home SEC blockbuster games (Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU).
Weekday warriors: Toledo
As a longtime contender in the league known for #MACtion, Toledo is no stranger to playing games on nontraditional days. But Saturday football will be just a part-time event for the Rockets and first-year coach Jason Candle. Toledo plays half of its games on weekdays, including three on Wednesdays, one of which takes place Nov. 9 against Northern Illinois at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field.
Toughest league-opening stretch: Wisconsin
The Badgers play their toughest overall schedule in recent memory, which begins with LSU at Lambeau Field and then ratchets up in the Big Ten. Wisconsin visits defending Big Ten champ Michigan State in its league opener, followed by a trip to potential league favorite Michigan. After hosting Ohio State, the Badgers visit rival Iowa, which won the Big Ten West last year.
Other teams with rough slates to open league play include Arizona (Washington, at UCLA, at Utah, USC, Stanford, at Washington State) and Tennessee (Florida, at Georgia, at Texas A&M, Alabama).
Most unreasonable road trip: Georgia Southern
Power 5 coaches whining about back-to-back road games should take a glance at what awaits Georgia Southern and first-year coach Tyson Summers this fall. Georgia Southern will play four consecutive road games between Sept. 24 and Oct. 22, visiting Western Michigan, Arkansas State, Georgia Tech and New Mexico State. The Eagles will go 41 days between home games. That's just wrong.
Most unreasonable series of road trips: Louisiana-Monroe
The schedule-makers are picking on the new coaches this year. New Warhawks boss Matt Viator opens against Southern before a three-game trip against Oklahoma, Georgia Southern and Auburn. If that isn't enough punishment, ULM has two more back-to-back road trips and plays consecutive home games just once.
Idaho also has a good case here, with two three-game road trips, including a Washington-Washington State-UNLV swing in September.
Most unreasonable conference road trips: Arkansas State and Idaho
Sense a theme here? The Sun Belt schedules are, well, not fun. Defending league champion Arkansas State is one of six Sun Belt teams that will endure a three-game road trip. The Red Wolves' swing comes at the end of the season, with conference games against Troy, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State. Idaho's second three-game road trip occurs within the league, with games at Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State.
Strangest Power 5 nonleague road game: Miami at Appalachian State
This is no knock against Appalachian State, one of few FCS powers to make a smooth transition to the FBS, going 18-7 in its first two seasons with wins in 17 of its past 19 games. But the idea of Miami, The U, a five-time national champion, rolling into Boone, North Carolina, on Sept. 17 seems bizarre. It's great for Appalachian State, but you just don't see schools like Miami agreeing to home-and-home series like this one.
Other oddities include Mississippi State playing Massachusetts in Foxborough, Arizona State visiting UTSA, and Maryland playing road games against Florida International and UCF in consecutive weeks. FIU actually hosts two Big Ten teams, Indiana and Maryland, in back-to-back weeks.
Other Power 5 schedule oddities: Stanford and Vanderbilt
Schedules for Power 5 programs have become pretty standard. Teams play at least seven home games, or six home games plus a neutral-site contest. Road games are restricted as much as possible and open weeks often break up grueling stretches. But defending Pac-12 champion Stanford will play only six home games with six true road games, including UCLA, Notre Dame and Oregon. Vanderbilt plays consecutive road games three times without an open week between the games. After hosting Florida on Oct. 1, the Commodores don't play an SEC home game until Nov. 19 against Ole Miss.
Reunion Saturday: Sept. 10
The Week 1 schedule is incredible/electrifying/seismic/enrapturing/(insert sunny adjective here) and, we hope, a sign of things to come in the playoff era. But Week 2 carries significance beyond The Battle At Bristol, which is all of those nice things, too. Week 2 reunites longtime rivals Penn State and Pitt, which met annually between 1900 and 1992 but haven't played since 2000. Utah and BYU played much more recently -- their last game, in fact -- but end their brief regular-season hiatus at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Most fan-friendly travel schedule: Oklahoma
Sooner fans saving up for another potential College Football Playoff run will like the way the schedule begins. Oklahoma will play its first eight contests within the state or across the border in Texas, where it opens the season against Houston at NRG Stadium, and then faces Texas at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 8. Although the Sooners' Oct. 22 trip to Texas Tech is a bit taxing for fans, things could be much worse.A slate of states: Minnesota
The Golden Gophers play their first four games against "states," opening with Oregon State before facing FCS Indiana State, Colorado State and Penn State. The only thing missing? Hayden Fox and his Minnesota State Screaming Eagles.
Most country-spanning road schedule: Massachusetts
Life as an FBS independent not named Notre Dame means playing games just about anywhere you can get them. Massachusetts, a first-year independent, will begin its season at Florida and end it at Hawaii. In between, the Minutemen visit the Tidewater (Old Dominion), the Southeast (South Carolina), the South (Troy) and the Utah Valley (BYU). Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech merit mentions here; they both play seven road games in seven states.
Most basketball powers on one schedule: Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons' schedule sets up for a possible bowl run. It features games against several of the nation's most prominent basketball schools. Wake Forest begins Week 2 at Duke, winners of five national titles in basketball. Two weeks later, the Deacs visit Indiana (five national titles). They also travel to Louisville (three national titles) and NC State (two national titles) and host Syracuse (one national title). They do miss North Carolina (five national titles).
Most diverging September schedule: Kent State
The Golden Flashes begin the season by visiting two-time national champion Penn State and end the month by visiting 16-time national champion Alabama, which won it all in 2015. Kent State's other two September opponents aren't exactly in the same class. After Penn State, the Flashes host North Carolina A&T and Monmouth. At least North Carolina A&T went 10-2 last year and won a share of the MEAC championship.
Most Ohio-centric schedule: Bowling Green
Were you expecting Ohio State? Amazingly, Urban Meyer's current team will play more games across state lines than his former squad. Beginning with a trip to Ohio State, Bowling Green plays four of its six road games within the state (Ohio, Toledo and Akron are the others). The Falcons' longest trip takes them to Memphis, and they visit Northern Illinois on Nov. 1.
If a historic trip Down Under isn't unusual enough, Hawaii then travels nearly 9,500 miles to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to play the Wolverines. After returning to Oahu, a mere 4,440 miles from the Big House, for the home opener against Tennessee-Martin, Hawaii crosses the Pacific yet again to visit Arizona on Sept. 17.
Mercifully, a bye week arrives to salvage what's left of the Bows' body clocks.
That's just one of many scheduling superlatives, mostly of the nonleague variety, to snack on while awaiting the end of the interminable offseason.
The Hokies might not be playing in Australia, but taking the field at Bristol Motor Speedway (estimated seating capacity: 150,000) on Sept. 10 against Tennessee might feel just as bizarre. The Hokies also play at one of the FBS' three remaining indoor facilities (Syracuse's Carrier Dome on Oct. 15), an NFL venue (Pittsburgh's Heinz Field on Oct. 27) and historic Notre Dame Stadium (Nov. 19).
An easy choice here, although Clay Helton's first full schedule as USC coach is anything but easy. The Trojans open with a neutral-site game (in name only) against defending national champion Alabama in Arlington, Texas. Two weeks later, they visit defending Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champ Stanford, followed by a trip to always-tough Utah. In November, USC travels to Washington, a popular pick to win the North division, before finishing league play against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
At least Baylor shares the designation this year. The Bears' future schedules thankfully are improving, and a nonleague slate featuring Northwestern State, SMU and Rice should soon be a thing of the past in the playoff era. Boston College failed to win an ACC game last year, but it shouldn't have trouble racking up nonleague wins by facing Massachusetts, FCS Wagner, Buffalo and Connecticut, teams that all finished with sub-.500 records last fall.
The spring/summer of Jim Harbaugh should become the autumn of Harbaugh, because Michigan's momentum isn't likely to abate. The Wolverines ease into the season with five consecutive home games, beginning with globetrottin' Hawaii, followed by UCF, which was 0-12 in 2015, and Colorado, which has eight consecutive losing seasons. Penn State and Wisconsin should provide challenges, but there's a good chance Michigan heads to Michigan State on Oct. 29 with a 7-0 mark.
Friendliest opening stretch, Group of 5: Temple
After a breakthrough 10-win season in 2015, the Owls have an opportunity to pile up early victories again. They play four of their first five at home, facing three FBS teams that went 2-10 last season (Army, Charlotte and SMU), as well as FCS Stony Brook. Their only road trip comes Sept. 17 at Penn State, which Temple thrashed 27-10 in last year's opener. The Owls don't leave the state until Oct. 6, and their first two road games come against teams with new coaches (Memphis and UCF).
It feels like Kevin Sumlin's future will be determined at Kyle Field, or at least on Texas soil, this season. Texas A&M has important road games, such as a Week 3 trip to equally desperate Auburn and an Oct. 22 visit to Alabama, but the season likely will be shaped at home. Texas A&M opens against UCLA, which hired offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone from A&M this past offseason. There's also a neutral-site clash against Arkansas and three home SEC blockbuster games (Tennessee, Ole Miss and LSU).
As a longtime contender in the league known for #MACtion, Toledo is no stranger to playing games on nontraditional days. But Saturday football will be just a part-time event for the Rockets and first-year coach Jason Candle. Toledo plays half of its games on weekdays, including three on Wednesdays, one of which takes place Nov. 9 against Northern Illinois at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field.
The Badgers play their toughest overall schedule in recent memory, which begins with LSU at Lambeau Field and then ratchets up in the Big Ten. Wisconsin visits defending Big Ten champ Michigan State in its league opener, followed by a trip to potential league favorite Michigan. After hosting Ohio State, the Badgers visit rival Iowa, which won the Big Ten West last year.
Other teams with rough slates to open league play include Arizona (Washington, at UCLA, at Utah, USC, Stanford, at Washington State) and Tennessee (Florida, at Georgia, at Texas A&M, Alabama).
Power 5 coaches whining about back-to-back road games should take a glance at what awaits Georgia Southern and first-year coach Tyson Summers this fall. Georgia Southern will play four consecutive road games between Sept. 24 and Oct. 22, visiting Western Michigan, Arkansas State, Georgia Tech and New Mexico State. The Eagles will go 41 days between home games. That's just wrong.
The schedule-makers are picking on the new coaches this year. New Warhawks boss Matt Viator opens against Southern before a three-game trip against Oklahoma, Georgia Southern and Auburn. If that isn't enough punishment, ULM has two more back-to-back road trips and plays consecutive home games just once.
Idaho also has a good case here, with two three-game road trips, including a Washington-Washington State-UNLV swing in September.
Sense a theme here? The Sun Belt schedules are, well, not fun. Defending league champion Arkansas State is one of six Sun Belt teams that will endure a three-game road trip. The Red Wolves' swing comes at the end of the season, with conference games against Troy, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State. Idaho's second three-game road trip occurs within the league, with games at Appalachian State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Texas State.
This is no knock against Appalachian State, one of few FCS powers to make a smooth transition to the FBS, going 18-7 in its first two seasons with wins in 17 of its past 19 games. But the idea of Miami, The U, a five-time national champion, rolling into Boone, North Carolina, on Sept. 17 seems bizarre. It's great for Appalachian State, but you just don't see schools like Miami agreeing to home-and-home series like this one.
Other oddities include Mississippi State playing Massachusetts in Foxborough, Arizona State visiting UTSA, and Maryland playing road games against Florida International and UCF in consecutive weeks. FIU actually hosts two Big Ten teams, Indiana and Maryland, in back-to-back weeks.
Schedules for Power 5 programs have become pretty standard. Teams play at least seven home games, or six home games plus a neutral-site contest. Road games are restricted as much as possible and open weeks often break up grueling stretches. But defending Pac-12 champion Stanford will play only six home games with six true road games, including UCLA, Notre Dame and Oregon. Vanderbilt plays consecutive road games three times without an open week between the games. After hosting Florida on Oct. 1, the Commodores don't play an SEC home game until Nov. 19 against Ole Miss.
Reunion Saturday: Sept. 10
The Week 1 schedule is incredible/electrifying/seismic/enrapturing/(insert sunny adjective here) and, we hope, a sign of things to come in the playoff era. But Week 2 carries significance beyond The Battle At Bristol, which is all of those nice things, too. Week 2 reunites longtime rivals Penn State and Pitt, which met annually between 1900 and 1992 but haven't played since 2000. Utah and BYU played much more recently -- their last game, in fact -- but end their brief regular-season hiatus at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Sooner fans saving up for another potential College Football Playoff run will like the way the schedule begins. Oklahoma will play its first eight contests within the state or across the border in Texas, where it opens the season against Houston at NRG Stadium, and then faces Texas at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 8. Although the Sooners' Oct. 22 trip to Texas Tech is a bit taxing for fans, things could be much worse.A slate of states: Minnesota
The Golden Gophers play their first four games against "states," opening with Oregon State before facing FCS Indiana State, Colorado State and Penn State. The only thing missing? Hayden Fox and his Minnesota State Screaming Eagles.
Most country-spanning road schedule: Massachusetts
Life as an FBS independent not named Notre Dame means playing games just about anywhere you can get them. Massachusetts, a first-year independent, will begin its season at Florida and end it at Hawaii. In between, the Minutemen visit the Tidewater (Old Dominion), the Southeast (South Carolina), the South (Troy) and the Utah Valley (BYU). Middle Tennessee and Louisiana Tech merit mentions here; they both play seven road games in seven states.
The Demon Deacons' schedule sets up for a possible bowl run. It features games against several of the nation's most prominent basketball schools. Wake Forest begins Week 2 at Duke, winners of five national titles in basketball. Two weeks later, the Deacs visit Indiana (five national titles). They also travel to Louisville (three national titles) and NC State (two national titles) and host Syracuse (one national title). They do miss North Carolina (five national titles).
The Golden Flashes begin the season by visiting two-time national champion Penn State and end the month by visiting 16-time national champion Alabama, which won it all in 2015. Kent State's other two September opponents aren't exactly in the same class. After Penn State, the Flashes host North Carolina A&T and Monmouth. At least North Carolina A&T went 10-2 last year and won a share of the MEAC championship.
Were you expecting Ohio State? Amazingly, Urban Meyer's current team will play more games across state lines than his former squad. Beginning with a trip to Ohio State, Bowling Green plays four of its six road games within the state (Ohio, Toledo and Akron are the others). The Falcons' longest trip takes them to Memphis, and they visit Northern Illinois on Nov. 1.
Depression eating is real breh.
Champ realized his career trajectory is in a tailspin and all he can do to cope is 2nds n 3rds at the local Golden Corral
Naw, it's those Gamecock Club meetings. When I saw him in December I promise he was much smaller then that. They gave him a bus with snacks and shyt on it and he went in on them I guess lol. Or maybe our Offense is more fukked then I think it is.
Also, @portcityplaya he did change and has a suit on now lol.
Man i thought that was a lineman
Gamecocks head to media day and Champ out here dressed like shyt.
Lucky_Lefty
Dreams Are Colder Than Death...
is that Roy Jones Jr, Jr???
Gamecocks head to media day and Champ out here dressed like shyt.
Woodwerkz
R.I.P. King Bean #8 #24 and Little Deuce #2 Gigi
It's time for Clemson and FSU to be in different divisions. Shyt is for the birds knowing that who ever wins that game will most likely play for the title. Waiting on the U to come back has been a decade of patience testing so that fabled "FSU vs MIA just ain't happening. Swap out MIA and Clemson and keep it moving.
When the Southeastern Conference voted to add Missouri in 2011, it was widely viewed as a marriage of (television) convenience. Missouri wasn’t a major power in either revenue sport (no conference football titles since the 1960s, and zero Final Four appearances), didn’t represent a natural rivalry for any current member and isn’t even really in the South.
What it had, however, was the allure of two major markets in St. Louis and Kansas City with a lot of cable subscribers that could help get the SEC Network — still merely in the planning phase at that time — off the ground.
To date, though, Missouri’s biggest contribution to the SEC is in the off-field drama department. There seems to be an endless supply; enough that its athletics director decided Wednesday after 15 months on the job he’d rather give it a go at Baylor of all places.
Roughly an hour before first-year Missouri coach Barry Odom was set to make his debut here at SEC Media Days, USA TODAY Sports reported that Mack Rhoades, the man who hired him last December, had accepted the athletics director job at Baylor.
The same Baylor that just fired everyone — president, athletics director, football coach — after an investigation into how the school handled sexual assault complaints involving athletes. The same Baylor whose football program is going to lose two years of recruiting when the next coach comes in, setting it up for a significant fall from the national contender status it has grown accustomed to over the last few years. The same Baylor that is going to face years' worth of lawsuits, potential donor issues, enrollment struggles and potentially involvement from the Big 12 and NCAA.
So if Baylor is a complete mess at the moment, what does that make Mizzou?
Since taking advantage of a weak SEC East in making the championship game, here are the major headlines Missouri has had to deal with — all during Rhoades’ 15-month tenure:
►A boycott by the football team in November related to racial tension on campus, which helped speed up the resignation of the university system president.
►The sudden retirement of football coach Gary Pinkel, who is fighting lymphoma, after 15 seasons.
►The suspension of quarterback Maty Mauk, then dismissal following a video that surfaced on social media that showed him snorting a white powder.
►A major NCAA infractions case in men’s basketball, which included a loss of scholarships and a postseason ban (though at 10-21, the Tigers weren’t a threat to make any postseason tournament in the first place).
►The removal of baseball coach Tim Jamieson, who had been at the school more than two decades.
►A Title IX investigation into allegations of verbal abuse by softball coach Ehren Earleywine, which prompted some players to release a statement that they were playing under protest.
That kind of constant athletic department dysfunction used to be Tennessee’s job. Now it’s Mizzou’s, which isn’t the job Rhoades thought he was inheriting.
Missouri fans will not remember him fondly or be able to cite a single major accomplishment under Rhoades, but it’s hard to get much done when your entire first year as an athletics director is spent putting out fires and your future is uncertain with the school’s administrative leadership completely in flux.
Missouri is in a rough place right now, and not just athletically. Enrollment and donations are down. Dorms have closed because the rooms aren’t being filled. The protests last fall, which were at least somewhat an outgrowth of the unrest inFerguson, Mo., shined a spotlight on racial relations that has made recruiting African-American athletes and non-athletes even more challenging.
And those issues played a big part in why Missouri hired Odom, who, despite his obvious coaching talent, has a thin résumé for an SEC head coaching job.
Odom, who played linebacker at Missouri from 1996-99, wanted the job regardless of the athletics director. He was a star defensive coordinator under Justin Fuente at Memphis and returned to Missouri last season, where he led a top-10 defense. Even with the news of Rhoades’ departure breaking right before his SEC Media Days debut, Odom looked calm and in control. His performance should be reassuring to Missouri fans.
“(Rhoades) and I talked a lot last night just about opportunities in life and in general,” Odom said. “We’ve worked through a bunch of things in the last eight months together. But the direction and leadership of Missouri, I look forward to representing Mizzou. I look forward to representing and leading our football program and our athletic department, and we're going to go find a great one. I look forward to being involved with that and helping if they want my help.
“Mizzou is a special place and has been a really great place for a long time. And the future for our program and our university is really bright. You know, we need someone in that role that is looking forward to having a great vision on taking us to a new level of success.”
Still, without a solid and stable administration behind him, there’s little chance Odom can make this work. In years past, Missouri could have counted on one of the many disciples of former athletics director Mike Alden to come back and right the ship. But even members of that group will look at Missouri, in its current state, with a skeptical eye.
Missouri would do well to consider elevating Wren Baker, whom Rhoades hired from Memphis as his top deputy and is considered a rising star in the world of athletics administration. Missouri needs continuity, and Baker has both the intelligence, people skills and media savvy to make the best of a rough situation.
Though it doesn’t look good for Missouri to lose Rhoades to Baylor, all it takes is one good hire to get things turned around. If not, Odom’s opening statement here — “I hope that I have the opportunity to be here many, many times” — is destined to go unfulfilled.
Que Lewis. He was the top JUCO player in 2014, but we didn't get much production out of him which was probably due to the defense we ran last season.
O.iatlhawksfan
Devoted Joel Embiid hater
Finebaum always being a chatty patty about a coach's job security. I think every coach should just spaz out on him
If you haven't notice yet, all finebaum does is try to keep up controversy and keep his ratings high so he can get paid. He's doing the same thing he was doing when he was just on the radio in Birmingham. I stopped listening a looooooong time ago......
