Five College Football Cavalcade footballey opinions and, like, other stuff
5. Oh what might have been …
Just how many storylines would we have had out of the Big Ten with the schedules in the original version?
Indiana is obviously good, and it would’ve ripped through most of its schedule, but with one problem – Sept. 4 at Wisconsin. That was going to be the opener before the Hoosiers’ cream-puff non-conference slate.
Michigan State was scheduled to go to BYU, Washington was hosting Michigan, Ohio State was supposed to go to Oregon, and Penn State would’ve had a warm-up against Kent State before going to Virginia Tech. Also, how interesting would the San Jose State game in Happy Valley have been?
Cincinnati was originally supposed to play at Nebraska at the end of September, and …
We didn’t get Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field.
4. Oh COME ON, Notre Dame
Clemson was without Trevor Lawrence after he contracted the virus, the team is trying to get it all together and stay healthy, and what happens after the loss to Notre Dame? The student body decides to hold a super-spreader event by running on the field after they were specifically and forcefully told not to.
Irish head coach Brian Kelly had this one figured out fast, getting his players to get in the locker room immediately.
Good on Notre Dame for cranking down stricter guidelines and penalties going forward, and for testing the students after being doorknobs, but … too late.
3. Yes, I do need help. Why do you ask?
I’m going to put this out in the world so we can properly prepare just in case we need to discuss later, and then we’ll all move on to bigger, more pressing issues.
Liberty just beat Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Let’s say it beats Western Carolina, wins at NC State, and then dropkicks UMass by 40 before facing an unbeaten Coastal Carolina on the road. That would mean three road wins over the ACC and a victory over an unbeaten Sun Belt team would be on the resumé.
Let’s then say Clemson loses at Virginia Tech in the regular season finale. Your 2020 Liberty Flames would HAVE to be ranked ahead of the Clemson Tigers, and …
I’ll stop there before getting truly weird with this.
2. The moral of the story: If you’re really, really hot, wonderful things can happen for you, too.
The idea of the Cinderella story sounds nice right up until it all blows up into a flaming ball of bad sports.
You show me a massive upset on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and I’ll show you an 85-53 loss to North Carolina a few days later.
I’m not totally evil – not totally. I’d sort of like to see a Group of Five program get its chance in the College Football Playoff.
But for all those who want to see Cincinnati or some other GO5er in the show, I have two Sugar Bowls – a 2010 51-24 Tebow-led Florida win over the Bearcats and a 2008 41-10 Georgia win over Hawaii – I’d be happy to make you watch.
1. But playing Jacksonville State certainly would’ve helped.
Why is Scott Frost getting a free pass?
The world seems to want every big-name college football coach fired, but guys like Harbaugh, Franklin, and Smart actually won big things at a Power Five level. Frost did a wonderful job at UCF, but after losing to Northwestern, the Huskers are now 9-17 since he took over just over two years ago and 6-14 in the Big Ten.
But it’s Scott Frost, and it’s the same problem Michigan is having with Jim Harbaugh. These guys are legends at their respective schools, and the fan bases want so much to see them succeed.
Here’s the other problem. If you do launch Frost – and this goes for Harbaugh, too – you know he’s going to instantly crush it at whatever that next job is.
No pressure or anything on the two head coaches, but Nebraska hosts Penn State this week.
– You have fun, fans of new big teams
– You REALLY like BYU & Cincinnati?
– Group of Five program reality
– The College Football Playoff will be, in …
I Think, I Know, I Believe
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century