Tag: Lovie Smith

Notre Dame Intrigue Remains Undeniable

Who has the best non-conference schedules in college football this year? Hint: the teams that scheduled Notre Dame (and a couple others).

Love them or hate them, you have a feeling when you hear the three words “Notre Dame football”.

For some it’s love and admiration and memories of Ara Parseghian or Lou Holtz’s squads being an annual powerhouse.

For others it’s anger and a team that gets too much love from the national media and “is always overrated”.

Either way there is a feeling attached to Notre Dame football, even if they haven’t won a national title since 1988 and that feeling presented itself in a recent list put together by Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman.

Tramel ranked the non-conference schedules of the 64 Power Five teams based on how interesting they are.  The grand takeaway?

If you schedule Notre Dame gets major points.

On Tramel’s list you’ll find USC first, Georgia Tech two, Wisconsin fourth and Stanford fifth. Meanwhile, Louisville and Clemson can both also be found in the top eight.

Navy and Western Michigan are the two Group of Five schools that Notre Dame will play in 2020.

The common theme of the list in terms of the Fighting Irish?

Those six teams all have an out of conference schedule that features Notre Dame.

Wake Forest (14) and Pitt (17) also make the top twenty.  Arkansas (25) and Duke (29) round out Notre Dame’s Power Five opponents in 2020 as all ten of those teams appear in the top half of this list of intrigue.

Even without a national title to their name in decades, Notre Dame has again reached the point of national intrigue that had escaped it from the late-nineties until 2012, with the exception of 2005 and part of 2006.

Other thoughts on the list:

Georgia (13) is the only SEC program playing two Power Five programs out of conference (Virginia and Georgia Tech).  I get the SEC is loaded but that’s a pretty sorry fact.  I guess that’s what happens when so few are ever willing to travel out of conference.

Sorry case from the Land of Lincoln squads as Northwestern (63) and Illinois (64) check in as the last two on the list.  A combined Tulane, Central Michigan, Morgan State, Illinois State, Connecticut and Bowling Green between the both of them?  Keep it.

USC gets it.  Along with Notre Dame and UCLA they’re the only other program who has never played an FCS school and with Alabama and Notre Dame on the schedule the Trojans deserve credit for doing it right.

The list makes me remember how much I dislike the neutral site games.  Why can’t Notre Dame and Wisconsin play in each others home stadiums instead (they might, actually)?  Alabama and USC opened against each other in 2016 and will again this year – why not do a home-and-home instead of neutral field it up?  College campuses help make the great game of college football even greater and I’d never be opposed to the big-time OOC showdowns taking place in each others home fields.

College Football Morning Announcements – May 28, 2020

Summarizing the day that was – NCAA extends dead period, Iowa State’s ticket plan – the model for NCAA? And Big Ten Icon Gone

Good morning and welcome to another Thursday.  We’re 93 days until college football kicks off the 2020 season (more on that in posts to come today) and there are some newsworthy things to discuss so that’s exactly what we did this morning in the tenth edition of the “College Football Morning Announcements” with yours truly.

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In this episode:

NCAA Extends Recruiting Dead Period – FIW

Iowa State Announces 2020 Ticket Plan – USATODAY

Big Ten Icon is Gone – USATODAY

Where Are They Now: A look at the last 5 Bucs coaches

Find out what the last five Bucs head coaches are up to these days.

Bruce Arians enters the 2020 season with perhaps the most talented roster he’s ever had during his coaching career.

The two-time NFL Coach of the Year will have the luxury of having Tom Brady under center leading his offense, and the Bucs now have a legitimate shot of making it to the postseason for the first time since 2007.

That 12-year playoff drought has been a painful won for Tampa Bay fans, and it has seen its fair share of coaches come and go. With that, let’s take a look at the last five Bucs coaches and see what they are up to now.

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Looking back at the Jay Cutler trade 11 years ago today

Let’s take a look at the trade that went down in 2009, and the career that QB Jay Cutler had as a Chicago Bear.

Eleven years ago today, the Chicago Bears traded for quarterback Jay Cutler. Let’s look back at the trade that went down in 2009, and the career that Cutler had with the Bears.

In early 2009, the Bears traded Kyle Orton, a pair of first-round picks and a third-round pick to the Denver Broncos for their hopeful franchise quarterback in Cutler.

By comparison, during Orton’s three seasons with the Bears, he had a record of 21-12, while Cutler had a record of 17-20 in his first three seasons in Denver.

Orton was a proven winner here in Chicago, and Cutler had a bit of an attitude and seemed like he didn’t get along with the coaches in Denver, so maybe the trade was a little questionable at the time.

In his first season in 2009, Cutler threw for 3,666 yards, 27 touchdowns and 26 interceptions, while starting all 16 games. Ouch. It wasn’t the first year in Chicago many hoped for Cutler. The Bears went 7-9 and ended up missing the playoffs, and the Broncos ended up going 8-8 and also missing the playoffs. So you could call it a draw for both teams in the first year of the trade.

In 2010, it seemed like Cutler was a completely different quarterback, as he led the Bears to an 11-5 record, and they ended up winning the NFC North. In 15 games, Cutler threw for 3,274 yards, 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. That was a 10 interception drop-off that he had in 2009, which was a huge improvement.

Then in 2011, Cutler suffered an injury that cut short what was playing out to be a magical season when he broke his thumb against the Chargers. In 10 games, he threw for 13 touchdowns and 7 interceptions with a 7-3 record. Instead of a return trip to the playoffs, Chicago finished with an 8-8 record and were left wondering what could’ve been if Cutler had stayed healthy.

The Bears traded for Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall in 2012. Marshall and Cutler played together in Denver from 2006-2008, and they were reunited in Chicago.

Cutler ended up missing the ninth game in 2012 after getting hit hard during the Houston Texans game. The Bears ended up finishing 10-6 and still found a way to miss the playoffs. The 2012 season ended up being the last year for Lovie Smith as Bears head coach after nine years with the team, which included a Super Bowl appearance in 2006.

General manager Phil Emery quickly found a replacement for Smith, hiring offensive guru Marc Trestman in 2013. Trestman was a part of Steve Young and the 49ers’ success in the ’90s and he has won championships in the Canadian football league.

Cutler once again struggled with injury in 2013, where he only played in 11 games. He threw for 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the Bears to a 5-6 record. Entering Week 17, the Bears and Packers matched up for the last game of the regular season, the Packers were 7-7-1 and the Bears had a record of 8-7. The Packers delivered a brutal 33-28 defeat, and the Bears missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record in Trestman’s first year as head coach.

In 2014, Cutler went 5-10 as the starter, he threw for 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The Bears missed the playoffs with a 5-11 record. After only two seasons, Trestman would end up getting fired.

In 2015, changes were needed for this Bears’ team. They would find a new general manager in Ryan Pace, a new head coach in John Fox and Marshall and Martellus Bennet would leave the team.

In Cutler’s final two years with the Bears in 2015 and 2016, he started 20 games, throwing for 4,718 yards, 25 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Bears ended up missing the playoffs in Cutler’s last two years, with records of 6-10 in 2015 and 3-13 in 2016.

During the 2017 offseason, the Bears held the third overall pick in the NFL Draft, and Bears’ fans know how that turned out as Pace would trade up from the third overall pick to the second overall pick to draft Mitchell Trubisky. Still a questionable move to this day on why Pace traded so many future picks just to move up one spot.

Even before drafting Trubisky, Cutler’s career as a Bear came to an end. He spent eight seasons in Chicago, leading them to a 51-51 record as starter, throwing for 154 touchdowns and 109 interceptions. But during those eight years, the Bears only made the playoffs once.

Seeing Cutler play with guys like Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Devin Hester, and Johhny Knox, to name a few, was exciting.

Cutler was by far one of my favorite Bears. When the Bears traded for Cutler, how did you feel? Did you like the trade? What was your favorite moment?

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If there was a No. 7 seed, the Bears would’ve made the playoffs in 2011 and 2012

With the proposed new CBA, there would be a No. 7 seed in each conference. When it comes to the Bears, things could’ve been much different.

One of the changes with the NFL’s proposed new collective bargaining agreement is that the playoff teams will expand from 12 to 14. That means there would be seven playoff spots up for grabs in each conference.

Obviously that changes things moving forward in the NFL with a presumed third wild card team in the mix. But how would it have impacted the league over the last decade?

When it comes to the Bears, things could’ve been much different. First off, their

If the Bears made the playoffs in those three consecutive seasons (2010-2012), Lovie Smith would’ve retained his job as head coach, which means we would’ve escaped the Marc Trestman era. It also makes you believe that general manager Jerry Angelo would’ve survived for another couple of seasons with three consecutive playoff berths.

What about quarterback Jay Cutler? Would his entire trajectory with the Bears have been shifted with two additional playoff appearances? Cutler missed the final six games of the 2011 season with a broken right thumb. But Smith was confident Cutler would return in time for the playoffs.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know for sure how having a seventh playoff spot would’ve affected the Bears. But perhaps it’ll help them moving forward in the future — that is, if the NFLPA approves the new CBA.

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Big Ten Bowl Impact: Illinois vs California

We look back on the Redbox Bowl game between Illinois and California and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

With the 2019 college football season officially in the books, it’s time to look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.

As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:

1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.

2019 Redbox Bowl: Illinois vs California

The matchup

Like Indiana and Michigan, Illinois came into this game as an underdog. The Illini had a great season to get to six wins, and their reward was a talented but inconsistent Cal team. Cal was a very good team with Chase Garbers at the helm, but the Golden Bears struggled without him. Garbers was back for this game, which was good news for the Bears.

What went right

The first quarter was a solid one for Illinois. After an opening drive ended in a field goal, the Illini responded to a Cal touchdown with a 15-play touchdown drive of their own. Cal’s advantages in this game were obvious from the outset, but Illinois managed to mask it in the first quarter with a good offensive game plan that was well-executed.

What went wrong

Basically everything else after that. Garbers and the offense weren’t unstoppable, but Illinois couldn’t really get stops. The offense wasn’t explosive, but it did a great job of extending drives and keeping the Illinois defense on the field.

Illinois played well enough throughout the game to possibly keep it close, but the talent disparity was too much to overcome at the level that the Illini did play. It wasn’t a particularly exciting or compelling game, but it was definitely better than last season’s Redbox Bowl disaster.

Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact

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Ranking the top 20 Bears games of the decade

On the eve of a new decade, we’re counting down the Bears’ best games of this past decade — including some real blasts from the past.

Between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2019, the Chicago Bears played 164 games, including three playoff games, compiling a record of 78-86. Surprising playoff runs in 2010 and 2018 were sandwiched around lengthy stretches of mediocrity from 2013-2017, and fans were treated to a below-average product for much of the decade.

Still, there were quite a few bright spots for the NFL’s charter franchise during the last 10 years, including memorable games that provided thrilling victories. As a disappointing 2019 season concludes, let’s look back on some of the better games and moments the ’10s had to offer.

To kick off the next decade as we enter 2020, here are my top 20 Bears games from the 2010s.

20. 2019, Week 14, Cowboys at Bears

Bears 31 – Cowboys 24: Easily the best game of an otherwise disappointing season, the Bears offense came alive in primetime against the Cowboys, with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky accounting for all four touchdowns with his arm and legs in arguably his best game as a Bear. On defense, despite not creating a turnover, the unit frustrated the Cowboys offense all evening with QB pressures and excellent play from their secondary. The matchup was a pseudo-playoff game, with the Bears keeping their hopes alive for one more week in a complete-team win.

19. 2018, Week 8, Bears at Bills

Bears 41 – Bills 9: While the Buffalo Bills weren’t a powerhouse in 2018, the Bears defense still made their offense look completely inept in a blowout. Forcing four turnovers, including three interceptions from quarterback Nathan Peterman, the Bears scored twice on defense thanks to outside linebacker Leonard Floyd’s pick six and safety Eddie Jackson’s fumble recovery, and limited the Bills’ offense to just 264 yards. The reason this game isn’t higher on the list is due to the Bears offensive performance, as they gained just 190 yards.

 

18. 2011, Week 1, Falcons at Bears

Bears 30 – Falcons 12: No, this wasn’t the Bears-Falcons matchup that saw the debut of quarterback Mike Glennon, this was the first game following the Bears heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the NFC Championship game. Led by quarterback Jay Cutler, who threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns, the Bears won convincingly against the reigning NFC South champions and held the Falcon offense to just six points. This game also featured an impressive performance from Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, who had an interception and a fumble recovery for a score. The defense had a total of three takeaways and started the 2011 season with a bang.

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