Tag: Pac 12

Each Power Five conference team that the Texas Longhorns have not played

There are five teams from the Power Five conferences that the Texas Longhorns have yet to face off against.

Texas has a long, storied history of playing college football that dates back to 1893. Continue reading “Each Power Five conference team that the Texas Longhorns have not played”

Report: Ohio State AD Gene Smith has not been contacted by Pac-12

According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State AD Gene Smith has not been contacted about the open Pac-12 commissioner job.

Shortly after the news broke that the Pac-12 was parting ways with commissioner Larry Scott, names began to circulate about a potential replacement. One of the most prominent names that came up from multiple people was Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith.

Smith has ties to the Pac-12 as the former AD of Arizona State, has been very visible serving on several committees within the NCAA, and leads one of the largest revenue-generating athletic departments in the country. In other words, the marriage would make some sense at least.

However, according to a report from the Columbus Dispatch (subscription may be required), Smith has not been approached by anyone from the Pac-12.

“Honored to be mentioned,” Smith wrote in a text message to The Dispatch, “but I have not been contacted by anyone.” He went on to say that the mentioning of his name was “pure speculation” at this point.

Scott’s tenure on the left coast has been marked by an inability to generate revenue and television deals like some of his other Power Five colleagues. The power and landscape has shifted the most in the biggest revenue sport, college football, and the Pac-12 has struggled to keep up. Because of that and other reasons, the conference’s CEO group voted to end his contract a year early. He will go through June with the league looking for a replacement.

Ryan Day was asked by reporters last week if he has had any conversations about his name coming up and wasn’t shy about his feelings for his boss when he said that he had not.

“I haven’t talked to him about any of that stuff,” Day said, “but if anything like that ever happened, certainly that would not be good. His leadership has been unwavering this past year and probably some of his best work, I would think. Not trying to speak out of school, but he’s done a tremendous job.”

We must note that despite Smith confirming that he has not been contacted, he did not make a point to make a comment on what would happen if he was tapped on the shoulder for interest.

We’ll obviously stay on top of anything that comes further from his name coming up, but at this point, it sounds like there’s still plenty of homework for the Pac-12 to perform.

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REPORT: Alabama AD Greg Byrne being considered for Pac-12 Commissioner position

Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne has only been with the Crimson tide for a few years, but is apparently now being considered for…

News recently broke of Larry Scott, the Pac-12 commissioner, planning on stepping down from the role by the end of June. With the announcement, conference officials have already begun their search.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN took to Twitter to report some of the names he has already heard from sources. All of the names mentioned are athletic directors from across the country, one of which being Alabama’s athletic director, Greg Byrne.

Byrne has ties out West. He was born in Idaho, graduated from Arizona State, worked in administrative roles at both Oregon and Oregon State and was the athletic diretor at Arizona prior to accepting his current role in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Byrne has been at Alabama for almost four years and has made hires such as baseball coach Brad Bohannon and head basketball coach Nate Oats.

No official word on his candidacy for the position has been made public, nor has he publicly stated anything regarding the potential opportunity.

Roll Tide Wire will publish any information made available.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban wants a Power Five commissioner

With all of the different variances among the Power Five conference, Alabama head coach Nick Saban thinks that there is a need for a commish

The 2020 college football season was one that we have never seen before. Three conferences decided to play initially in the ACC, Big 12, and SEC. The Big Ten and Pac-12 both chose to cancel their seasons before later deciding to play once again. In a year that needed uniformity more than any other, there was none. Five different voices made five different decisions.

According to 247Sports, Alabama head coach Nick Saban is calling for a Power Five commissioner.

“One of the things that I think this year has proven more than anything else is we should have a commissioner for college football, at least for the Power 5 conferences, because all these conferences made different rules for how we should play the season,” Saban said.

The Big 12 decided on a 10-game schedule that involved one nonconference game. The ACC also allowed for a nonconference game on the schedule, while the Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC all opted for a conference only schedules. We also saw the ACC cancel games towards the end of the year to ensure a Notre Dame-Clemson game could be played and to protect two of the top four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Saban believes there should be Power Five commissioner to run the conferences in unison. Given that the individual commissioners run their conference as they see fit, it would probably be a good idea. This would put everyone on the same page and we wouldn’t be in a situation that the CFP committee is in trying to decide who is in and out with all the variances.

Who knows if the next college football season will have similar circumstances surrounding it, but a single commissioner over the five major conferences doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

 

Another bowl game has been canceled

Over the last week, we’ve seen a couple of bowl games make the announcements that their annual contests won’t be played at the conclusion of the 2020 college football season. The Pinstripe Bowl made their cancelation known over the weekend while the …

Over the last week, we’ve seen a couple of bowl games make the announcements that their annual contests won’t be played at the conclusion of the 2020 college football season.

The Pinstripe Bowl made their cancelation known over the weekend while the Sun Bowl followed suit a few days later.  Now we get word that an annual game out west won’t be played this season as the Las Vegas Bowl has been cancelled for 2020.

The Las Vegas Bowl was set to be played between a Pac-12 team and SEC team this season and was to be played this December.  The SEC and Big Ten are set to alternate a tie-in to the game starting in 2020 and going through 2025.

The Las Vegas Bowl becomes the ninth bowl game to be canceled this post-season, joining the: Bahamas Bowl, Fenway Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Motor City Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Red Box Bowl and Sun Bowl.

As of now the plan is for the Las Vegas Bowl to resume in 2021 and be played for the first time in the new Allegiant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

Fallout of Ohio State’s cancellation at Illinois

Who gains the most from Ohio State’s misfortunes? Three teams are probably a bit happier than any others after Friday night’s news.

News came out Friday night that No. 4 Ohio State would not be playing at Illinois on Saturday due to a COVID-19 outbreak on their team.

With the Big Ten getting to their season late and not allowing for any bye weeks it means that Ohio State will only have a maximum of six regular-season games in 2020, but that is certainly no guarantee which means the Buckeyes likely trip to the Big Ten Championship Game yet again is also hardly a certainty.

In order to be eligible for the Big Ten Championship Game a team must play at least six conference games this season.  Ohio State has had two of their eight canceled and with the way things are sounding in Columbus combined with the Big Ten guidelines for players being able to return to play, it’s anything but a guarantee that the Buckeyes will be ready to take on Michigan State next week.

So what does it mean and who then gains from this?

Factor in Oregon’s unlikely loss at Oregon State Friday night and with all due respect to Colorado, USC and Washington, its nearly impossible to see a Pac-12 team making the College Football Playoff, not that I thought it was likely before.

But what about Ohio State?

Say the Buckeyes get their final two games in and are eligible for and win the Big Ten Championship, I have trouble believing they don’t get in, even if I’d have a real issue with a team only playing seven games having done enough to prove itself compared to teams who have played 11 or 12.

But if Ohio State doesn’t get their six games in then there is probably nobody in college football happier than the folks in Evanston, Cincinnati and College Station.

Ohio State would still be eligible to play the Week 9 crossover game the Big Ten is doing this year and would likely face Wisconsin.  But assuming if there is an unbeaten Big Ten champ does that really matter?

Northwestern would get a chance to go to the Big Ten Championship Game unbeaten and play Indiana instead of Ohio State.  The Wildcats and their backers would have to be thrilled as they’ve lost 32 of their last 33 meetings with Ohio State dating back to 1971.  Northwestern has been able to do a lot since Gary Barnett turned their program around in the mid-nineties but compete with Ohio State is not one of them.

If the Wildcats win the Big Ten at 9-0 and you can’t leave Northwestern out of the College Football Playoff and you’re certainly not letting two Big Ten teams in.

Cincinnati fans have to be thrilled as well because they now have more than just an outside chance at the College Football Playoff.  The Bearcats sit at 8-0 and if they beat Tulsa next weekend will have wins over three teams that were ranked when they met.

For comparison, Ohio State has one.

The folks in College Station, Texas have to like these developments as well seeing as it’s virtually impossible to expect them to be able to catch Alabama after getting boat-raced by the Tide, but Ohio State potentially only having five wins is hard to sell.  If Northwestern were to get to the Big Ten Championship but fall to Indiana then Texas A&M and Cincinnati are very likely battling it out for a spot.

Now how does all of this affect Notre Dame?

It doesn’t guarantee anything but their wiggle room to get in even if they lose the ACC Championship Game certainly got bigger with today’s news and results.

CBS Sports Bowl Projections should infuriate Notre Dame fans

If you’re a Notre Dame fan and CBS Sports latest projections end up playing out, you have every right to be FURIOUS.

Remember what feels like forever ago when Notre Dame last played a football game and Brian Kelly met the media and stated his team had already completed a Big Ten schedule and played more games than any Pac-12 program would?

Why would Kelly feel the need to start politicking for a potential College Football Playoff spot already?

If you didn’t already know, then the latest CBS Sports bowl projections done by Jerry Palm should answer that question for you.

In the projections Palm has the College Football Playoff matchups being:

Rose Bowl:  No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson
Sugar Bowl:  No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Oregon

So, where is Notre Dame?

Palm projects the Irish to be in the Orange Bowl taking on Florida.

Now let’s set the record straight here and give him credit for remaining consistent in his projections. He has had Oregon in the playoff for a few weeks now. But the idea of this should drive college football fans everywhere besides the West Coast bonkers.

Palm is right when he mentions that no unbeaten Power Five team has ever been left out of the College Football Playoff. But it’s also worth noting that no season has ever proceeded like the 2020 season has as we see some teams still just starting their seasons while others are in the home stretch.

The grind of a regular season should matter in determining the four teams who will play in the College Football Playoff. Assuming Palm is right and Notre Dame doesn’t win the ACC Championship (which I don’t think is anywhere near as guaranteed as the masses seem to believe), if it wins the final three regular-season games it will be 11-1 with that one loss coming to a team they had previously beaten.

It would still be four more wins, an entire month’s worth, more than a potential unbeaten Oregon or USC had on the year. It would also be three more wins over Power Five opponents than either the Ducks or Trojans would have, assuming one ran the table.

I don’t blame Palm for this, he’s projecting what he thinks happens, not what he’d do.

But, at some point, logic has to kick in for the CFP committee in realizing a team playing that many fewer games simply can’t present anywhere near the same caliber resume as those who have been playing since early September.

At least I hope they realize that otherwise this entire CFP could be looking flat-out dumb a month from now.

BYU’s bluff called, dash own College Football Playoff dreams

BYU will have nobody to blame but themselves when they don’t play in the College Football Playoff next month.

It wasn’t likely that BYU would do enough to make the College Football Playoff in 2020 but you can certainly cross it off even as a remote possibility after what transpired Sunday evening.

BYU, who sits at 9-0 overall and is ranked in the top 10 nationally, had their bluff called on Sunday and will now have nobody to blame but themselves when they ultimately don’t make the College Football Playoff this winter.

For context, we actually have to go back a few days to set the stage, as the Pac-12 announced Wednesday that they would allow each conference member to schedule one out of conference game, adding some wiggle-room to only a six-game regular-season schedule for those who don’t make the conference championship game.

When that was announced there was hope an interest that a few intriguing games would be added to the 2020 college football slate, but one that was proposed since the announcement won’t be played and not doing so is making BYU look foolish.

According to reports from several in the college football community, The University of Washington reached out to BYU on Saturday about scheduling a game later this year.

The Huskies are 2-0 on the year with only two games being played to date and only two games currently scheduled for the rest of the year.  Although not viewed as a College Football Playoff contender themselves, they’d certainly offer a chance for BYU to have another name win on their resume that they hope is good enough to earn them a trip to the CFP.

According to Bruce Feldman, BYU essentially said “thanks but no thanks” to Washington’s offer because they’d like to first know where they sit in the first College Football Playoff Rankings that are due out Tuesday evening.

Here’s a hint for everyone in and around Provo, Utah:

You’ll probably be eighth just like you are in both the AP and Amway Coaches Polls and you’ll be behind another Group of Five team in Cincinnati, just like you are in the AP and Coaches.

Even with Heisman contender, Zach Wilson, BYU needs a good amount of help building their resume if they think they have any shot at crashing the CFP party, and not taking Washington up on their offer does them no favors in that regard.

Even if they were to schedule Washington and win they’d still have an uphill battle but passing on an opponent of even that caliber will kill whatever chances BYU had of making the dance.

Ralph Russo of the AP reports that BYU has concerns over potentially being dropped by Washington if another Pac-12 game was to be made available to them on the same date.

Let me just ask, though:  what if there wasn’t a Pac-12 team that suddenly became available to play for Washington?

It makes BYU look laughable as they tweeted a picture of Wilson on November 20 wearing a bandana that read: “any team, any time, any place”

Except for if they’re a Power Five team who has a history of winning.

Then they’re not for that.

Remember this if and when BYU finishes the season undefeated yet you hear moans that they didn’t get a fair shake about playing in the College Football Playoff.

They’ve got nobody to blame but themselves for looking this foolish.

Updated: List of this week’s college football games canceled/postponed due to COVID-19

Add another top team to the list of college football programs who won’t be playing a game on Saturday afternoon after this ACC cancellation.

Yesterday we shared with you the list of all college football games that had been cancelled or postponed as a result of COVID-19.  We said then that we would be surprised if anymore came to be but that in this 2020 world we’re living in that we couldn’t be certain.

My exact words on the matter were as follows:

As of Friday afternoon, it’s hard to imagine any more college football games being called off for this weekend but it’s certainly a possibility in this strange time. – Nick Shepkowski 

Well, it turns out we can add to the list we put out on Friday as No. 4 Clemson’s game at Florida State has been postponed due to a positive test of a Clemson player on Friday.

That’s certainly a shocker for both teams as well as the entire ACC and all of college football.

Here is an updated list of all the Saturday games that have been cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19:

No 4 Clemson at Florida State
Ole Miss at No. 5 Texas A&M
Georgia Tech at No. 12 Miami (FL)
Charlotte at No. 15 Marshall
No. 22 Texas at Kansas
Central Arkansas at No. 24 Louisiana
Michigan State at Maryland
Wake Forest at Duke
Houston at SMU
UL Monroe at Louisiana Tech
UNLV at Colorado State
San Jose State at Fresno State
Navy at South Florida
Arizona State at Colorado

Here’s to hoping I’m not having to update this list again later today.

 

Complete list of postponed/canceled college football games this weekend

COVID-19 continues to terrorize the country. Here are all the college football games that were called off this weekend as a result.

In a year like none, we’ve ever seen in college football and one we hope we never see again, at least in terms of trying to play the grand game through a global pandemic.

In the meantime, we continue to have cancellations and postponements for games that were scheduled to be played this week.

As of Friday afternoon, it’s hard to imagine any more college football games being called off for this weekend but it’s certainly a possibility in this strange time.

Here is the complete list that is up to date with every game that has been called off for this weekend:

Ole Miss at No. 5 Texas A&M
Georgia Tech at No. 12 Miami (FL)
Charlotte at No. 15 Marshall
No. 22 Texas at Kansas
Central Arkansas at No. 24 Louisiana
Michigan State at Maryland
Wake Forest at Duke
Houston at SMU
UL Monroe at Louisiana Tech
UNLV at Colorado State
San Jose State at Fresno State
Navy at South Florida
Arizona State at Colorado

Many believed LSU and Arkansas would be canceled as well but as of Friday afternoon reports have that game being all-systems-go for Saturday.