Category: Columnists

What I think, know and believe about the college football world, and what might be the wildest college football day ever, all in the latest College Football Cavalcade.

Sorry if this column sucks, it’s not my fault …

The defense can’t stop/sniff out/defend Wisconsin’s jet sweep play, even though it’s being hammered by it over, and over, and over, and over …

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– Check out all the past Cavalcades

Before we get going …

The Cavalcade will change up a bit for the next few weeks for a variety of reasons – this horribly-timed Thanksgiving thing doesn’t help – and will come out every day or so in a more compact, quicker version … after this one.

Like you thought you’d get a Sirr Parker reference when you woke up this morning

In 1998, college football was trying out this whole new BCS thing to finally get rid of – or at least, lessen – the idea of a split between the polls to determine a true national champion. 

And, of course, the system went kablooey on one of the weirdest, wildest, most amazing days in college football history, starting with me almost dying. 

Long story short … in New York City visiting a friend, got wicked pissed the night before, tried to revive with a healthy smoothie in the morning, got the free bee pollen booster, throat almost completely closed an hour later in the middle of Manhattan, went to hospital, got IV from friend of my friend – who happened to be the New York Giants’ team doctor – and then left. 

(By the way, fair warning, bee pollen like that isn’t actually from bees. I’m not allergic to bee stings so I didn’t even think about it, but as it turns out, bee pollen is concentrated ragweed. So if you have hay fever or other types of seasonal allergies, consuming it is like shooting an anaphylactic speedball into your system.)

And then the day got interesting.

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Tennessee was 11-0 and No. 1 in the BCS standings, 10-0 UCLA was No. 2, 11-0 Kansas State was third, and 11-1 Florida State was fourth going into the final weekend of the 1998 regular season.

UCLA and its high-octane offense was supposed to go to Miami early in the year, but the game got pushed to December 5th because of Hurricane Georges. It wasn’t supposed to be a problem for the unbeaten Bruins to win and be a lock to play for the national title, but some Edgerrin James guy ripped off 299 yards for Miami in a stunning 49-45 win. 

That opened the door for Kansas State to move up into the top two with a win over Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats were dominating, word of the UCLA loss spread across the stadium, and just as the BCS Championship invite became a lock … Texas A&M and Sirr Parker roared back, won 36-33 in overtime, and K-State was effectively out.

After the two mammoth upsets earlier in the day, Tennessee took care of business that night with a 24-14 win over Mississippi State for the SEC championship. It went on to win the national title over very-good-not-special Florida State team, who was on a ten-game winning streak including a stunning win over a loaded Florida on Thanksgiving weekend.

The UCLA-Miami game, the Big 12 Championship, and the SEC Championship all went down on December 5th, 1998.

Remember this, because there’s a good chance it’s going to be referenced in terms of craziness on December 19th, 2020. 

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So here’s what we’re supposed to get on a few Saturdays from now in mid-December. 

The Pac-12 Championship – which will probably go the night before on Friday. This only matters if the winner is unbeaten and played a full schedule to go 7-0. If it’s an unbeaten Oregon vs. an unbeaten USC, it’s going to be a thing.

The SEC Championship – which will most likely be Florida vs. Alabama. However, throwing a wrench into the College Football Playoff things could be a Texas A&M game on that same day to make up one of its postponed matchups. More on this in a moment. 

The Big Ten Championship – which will most likely be Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, unless Indiana and Northwestern have something to say about it. 

The ACC Championship – which will most likely be Notre Dame vs. Clemson, unless the Tigers suffer a shocking loss and/or the Irish gag twice. Making this really, really, really interesting, though – potentially – is Miami’s rescheduled date against Georgia Tech for the 19th. More on this in a moment.

The American Athletic Conference championship date is still trying to be determined, but we’re all adults here and we can talk openly – Cincinnati isn’t getting into the College Football Playoff. 

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough college football fun for you, your 2020 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl is going off a 7:00 pm that Saturday night.

To be realistic here, the Big Ten isn’t getting two teams into the College Football Playoff, but the champion – as long as it’s unbeaten or has one loss – is almost certainly going to take up one spot. 

The SEC champion is a mortal lock to take another spot no matter what, and let’s just assume that the ACC champion will get in, too. 

If unbeaten Alabama loses to Florida in a decent battle, that’s it. We have our College Football Playoff, and nothing else matters – Florida, Alabama, Big Ten champ, ACC champ. However, if Florida loses, it’s almost certainly out. 

Texas A&M will be in a weird place – no, not College Station.

It’ll have beaten Florida and its only loss was on the road at Alabama. If the Aggies can get back on the field and start playing again, and if they win out, they’ll have a great case for that fourth spot. However, they’ll likely have to be impressive on December 19th against whatever team they have to deal with. 

The ACC Championship will be an even bigger deal. Assuming Clemson has just the one loss to Notre Dame, it’s in with a win and another ACC title.

Notre Dame is in if it’s unbeaten and beats the Tigers again, and there’s a real shot that it’s in even with a loss depending on how close it is. If it’s a Clemson blowout, that’s where A&M comes in, and that’s where an unbeaten Pac-12 team – if there is one – enters the discussion. 

And then there’s the massive elephant in the room – what happens if one of the teams in this mix can’t go because of COVID issues? 

So gear up, get ready, and hope we can get through the finishing kick of the regular season to get to mid-December for a day of college football we all deserve. 

But be sure to order your Revive Alive Pina Colada Energy Smoothie without any of the other stuff.

America’s newest family-friendly fun-time … Think, Know, Believe

What I think, know and believe about the college football world, what will happen the rest of the season, and are Cincinnati and BYU THAT good? All in the latest College Football Cavalcade.

Sorry if this column sucks, it’s not my fault …

Along with Jim Harbaugh, James Franklin, Kirby Smart, Jeremy Pruitt, Chip Kelly, Will Mushchamp, Les Miles, Lovie Smith, and for just over 57 minutes, Clay Helton, Twitter wanted the column fired at some point on Saturday.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– Check out all the past Cavalcades

– You REALLY like BYU & Cincinnati?
– Group of Five program reality
– The College Football Playoff will be, in …
I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century

However, watch how quickly it all goes from cute to really, really, really annoying …

Puff that chest out this week you Indiana fans, you.

Northwestern fans, you chirp over a 3-0 start with the hope of going to a second Big Ten championship in three years.

Liberty fans, you go annoy the hell – sorry, heck – out of those Virginia Tech people you work with.

Coastal Carolina fans, you get to point out that not all teams from South Carolina lost this weekend.

Tulsa, dream of possibly playing in the American Athletic Conference Championship and being a factor again for the first time since 2016.

Arkansas fans, you WOO PIG your butts off after what you did to Tennessee.

Cincinnati fans, your team is going to really and truly be in the College Football Playoff discussion.

Maryland fans, you bask in the glory of a magical last five quarters of college football including the first win over Penn State since 1961. Rutgers fans, enjoy that you beat the team that beat Michigan and have as many victories as the Wolverines.

UTEP fans, your team is 3-3. UTSA fans, your team is 4-4. Kansas fans, your team is … Kansas fans, basketball season is around the corner.

We all focus on the Alabamas, Ohio States and Clemsons of the college football world, but what gets lost in the narrative is how miserable an existence it is to be a superfan of a blue-blood powerhouse program.

Really, have you ever met an Ohio State fan who’s truly happy? Winning the Big Ten title like the team did last year would be reason for parades at most programs, but the only thing Buckeye fans remember is the loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff.

Really, have you ever met an Alabama fan who’s able to enjoy the moment? Win an SEC championship and throw it on the pile – it doesn’t matter without a national title. Even then, it’s all about whether or not the Tide can win it next year, too.

So in this year of so much unhappiness, let’s celebrate the unbridled joy experienced by the fan bases of so many afterthought programs.

With all that said, fans of some of those teams, please stop reading now.

I don’t like being the person who yucks anyone’s yum (that’s a TOTAL lie), but …

– You REALLY like BYU & Cincinnati?
– Group of Five program reality
– The College Football Playoff will be, in …
I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century

NEXT: You REALLY think BYU and Cincinnati are that good?

What I think, know and believe about the college football world, the Wisconsin situation, and Ohio State’s toughest opponent, all in the latest College Football Cavalcade.

Sorry if this column sucks, it’s not my fault …

It has no shot of winning Pennsylvania.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– Check out all the past Cavalcades

– Ohio State’s Toughest Opponent
– I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century

“You’ve got to stick to your principles.”

I went to the University of Wisconsin.

Having lived around colleges and in that world for most of my life, I’ll put the Madison campus, the atmosphere, and the entire scene up against any other college experience you could possibly name.

I was there during the Don Morton regime and his veer offense.

I was there at the very beginning of the Barry Alvarez era from the moment he came to campus.

I know all the stories first-hand, and I know everything about how this football program and athletic department were built up to be the model to emulate for any school trying to become consistently amazing on the field, in the classroom, and in the bank account.

I’m totally objective when it comes to analyzing Wisconsin among Big Ten programs and in the national landscape, but of course I want my guys to do well.

That’s my school.

So I say this having paid a whole lot of money while earning my stripes with that place, and knowing that this year’s team – if healthy – is probably a stone-cold lock to win the Big Ten West, play for the Big Ten Championship, and have the puck on its stick with a shot at the College Football Playoff.

Unless the Big Ten can figure out some way to get these two teams to play, Wisconsin should totally be tagged with a forfeit for not being able to field a team to play Nebraska.

I’m not going to blame any program that can’t go because of an outbreak of COVID-19 – everyone can do everything right and still have a problem. However, football-wise, there’s a harsh reality here.

Nebraska could’ve played last weekend and Wisconsin couldn’t, so why should the Huskers be punished?

I’ve been a Big Ten sympathizer from the start of the coronavirus issues, as the conference was trying to spin a hundred plates at once, but on this, the conference totally blew it with an eight game in eight week schedule without any fail-safes built in.

My idea all along was a two-strike rule. You budget one week into the schedule for make-up games – like at the very end right before the Big Ten Championship – and if a game needs to be rescheduled, fine. If you need a second game to be changed, then that’s a forfeit for the team that can’t make it.

Now, what happens if and when Wisconsin comes back and – for sake of the theoretical argument, and assuming there’s no way it can host Purdue this weekend – rolls through the rest of its schedule and goes 6-0?

Is that fair to Nebraska, who didn’t get a key home game that could’ve put it in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten West with a win?

Is that fair to, say, 2-0 Northwestern, who has to get through the grind of an eight-week schedule healthy?

Is that fair to all the other Big Ten teams that played last weekend?

How happy would Michigan be right now if it simply got a CANCELLED against Michigan State rather than the loss by playing the game?

What if, say, Maryland couldn’t go? No one would’ve given a second’s worth of thought that Minnesota was going to win that game after the Terps’ performance in a 43-3 clunker against Northwestern to start to season.

On the flip side, it’s totally not fair to the other teams in the West if Wisconsin really is that good and Nebraska missed the division’s powerhouse.

We’re all just trying to get through the day, this week, and life in general right now, and no one in college football has a good way to do anything but keep everything going.

But the Big Ten has to think of something quick when it comes to the Big Ten conference race, or this will be a mess.

So …

Because the Big Ten can’t have nice things …

Here’s my solution, and you’re not going to like it.

Wisconsin at Michigan, Penn State at Nebraska. Both games are on November 14th. You cancel them both, Wisconsin goes to Nebraska on that day, and the West is ultimately decided by who has the most wins in division play.

– Ohio State’s Toughest Opponent
– I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century

NEXT: Ohio State’s toughest opponent

What I think, know and believe about the college football world, the 4th best team in college football, and the Big Ten kicks off, all in the latest College Football Cavalcade.

Sorry if this column sucks, it’s not my fault …

Unlike Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, the column will NOT be apologizing in any way for scoring a late touchdown instead of taking a knee despite being up 28 points. What are you going to do about it, call a time out with three seconds left? Oooooooooh, that’ll sting. Go for it – prolong your agony.

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– Check out all the past Cavalcades

– Big Ten 21-Day Rule
– 4th Best Team In CFP Race
– I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century

And I still say Margot was safe on the attempt to steal home

I know we live in a world where reality has gone bye-bye. However, in this time of deep division, a horrific number of moral failings, and too many moronic opinions voiced by people who feel empowered to go full jerkweed, let us all come together as one nation, under a groove, and with one voice to agree on one undeniable truth …

Indiana’s Michael Penix SO didn’t get in on that two-point conversion to beat Penn State.

Opinion-wise, this is Green Needle or Brainstorm – you can read this either way and your brain will interpret it correctly.

Acceptable Reaction and Opinion 1: Penix didn’t get in, you can clearly see it on the replay, the officials botched this huge, and Penn State should’ve won.

Acceptable Reaction and Opinion 2: It’s Penn State. (bleep) it.

Now 22-1 all-time goes to 22-2, and it didn’t have to be that way …

I’ve fought with several people over the last few days on this, and I absolutely understand the theory behind the other side of the argument.

But I’m right.

To whiteboard what happened, Penn State was up 21-20 in the final minutes against Indiana when RB Devyn Ford had a clear path for a touchdown. All he had to do was fall down on the one-yard line and that was it. IU wouldn’t have been able to stop the clock and Penn State would’ve won.

In a similar situation on Sunday, I actually like that Todd Gurley accidentally scored against Detroit – Atlanta was losing late, and you never, ever, ever, ever assume anything, including a chip shot field goal. In this case, again, Penn State was up.

I can’t blame Ford for what happened. You’re asking the world out of a college running back in the heat of the moment to not score a touchdown when he gets a chance. ALL that hard work and ALL these guys go through to have a shot at the glory – going down when the end zone is right there goes against every possible instinct.

Okay, so Ford gets in and Penn State is up 27-20 with 1:42 to play. To me, this situation is the equivalent of basketball types who desperately scream about why a team that’s up three in the final seconds should foul and put the other team on the free throw line rather than allow a possible game-tying three-pointer.

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I’m Mr. Never Go For Two Unless You Absolutely Have To, but in this case you’re already up seven with 1:42 to play. You go for two. Always.

It’s a relatively risk-free, free-pass chance to win the game right there.

At worst, you miss, and the other team still has to go 75 yards or so for a touchdown. (Actually, the worst that could happen is the two could be returned the other way, but we’re not being that guy right now.)

If you miss and the other team roars back and scores a TD, the coach will almost certainly kick the extra point and take the thing into overtime. If he doesn’t and chooses to go for two and the victory, then that’s on you to win the game with a stop.

However, in Penn State’s case, if you go for two when up seven and convert, you’re up nine, game over, get on the bus, go home. Kick the extra point, you’re up eight, and Indiana is still alive.

Penn State kicked the extra point. Penn State lost.

– Big Ten 21-Day Rule
– 4th Best Team In CFP Race
– I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century

NEXT: The Big Ten’s 21-Day Rule