Steveo’s Salvos: Week 2, September 8, 2021

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Told you so, Paul…UConn

Note our comments in Steveo’s Salvos back in Week 1.  Oklahoma’s defense showed already they are not all cracked up to be what soothsayers like Mr. Finebaum would like us to hear.  Tulane not only pushed back to come up short,40-35, but they did it after the game was moved to Norman because of Hurricane Ida… Regarding UConn belonging in the FCS, they were one of a few FBS programs (Washington, Duke and Tulsa among others) that took a hit from the FCS.  Holy Cross’s win, 38-28, over the Huskies initiated the eventual, immediate resignation of HC Paul Edsall. He holds a 6-28 record since he started his second stint at Storrs …

  • We just refuse to watch another Oklahoma defense get pushed around in another CFP game this year.

Paul, there’s more

Regarding the aforementioned Mr. Finebaum, why is he “worried” about LSU? First of all, we know he’s an Alabama fan.  However, what does it mean to him or to the rest of the football world besides LSU fans what happens to LSU?  I thought reporters, at least on a national stage, should not indicate any bias.  A lot of people would like to see more balance in the competition among all the schools to challenge for the national championship. If he’s worried about only one SEC team, or even two only, making the playoffs, why should he worry about LSU?  Is he worried that a PAC-12 team like UCLA now has a shot?  Heaven forbid!… I think we’ll be directing more Steveo’s Salvo’s toward this college football “expert” as the season continues.  

  • Paul, LSU had their way big during their 2019 Championship season. Let’s get some other teams a shot!

Not what we are hoping for, but…

We’ve looked forward to this week’s matchup between Navy and Air Force.  This will be the sixth time we’ve seen these two rivals clash for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.  We were wrong in our prediction for an upset by Texas State over Baylor last week, but this week, we’re pretty sure about this week’s outcome.  Despite the rivalry, the similarities in the offense, and the emotions that will be in the air on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Air Force is primed for a big win here at the Naval Academy.  Navy’s offense is just lacking the skill at QB needed to run the triple option effectively.  To be successful, they not only need to put up a lot of points on the board, but they need to keep the other offense off the playing field. 

Navy lost big to a very good Marshall team last weekend, 49-7.  Air Force clipped FCS Lafayette last week, 35-14.  Surely, they looked ahead to this game in that match-up.  The Falcons bring back depth at every position after the starting team of the last two years opted out and came back this season for an additional year.  They know their triple option and will be prepared under HC Troy Calhoun.  Somehow Army (winner over Georgia State last week) and Air Force recruited the talent these past few years to keep the effectiveness of the triple option intact.  We expect the Falcons, disappointingly, to dominate the Mids.  The USNA will have to play their best game of the year to win this one, but we don’t think emotions alone will be enough. … We’re invited as proud Navy Blue and Gold supporters to attend the CBS Sports College football show in the Captain’s BBQ area before the game. Host Bucky Jones will be there with analysts Rick Neuheisel and Brian Jones.  Maybe I should bring a Goat head and a Falcon head to predict the winner before the 3:30 EST kickoff…Go Navy!

  • We don’t envision a Navy post-game celebration over Air Force like we did here in 2019, but if they pull this off, it would be even bigger!

Review of last week’s games we had our eyes on

Surprisingly great defense by now No. 10 PSU in 16-10 win over now No. 17 Wisconsin. But why couldn’t the refs find their hankies on definitive, illegal grounding penalties against the Badgers?… Shocked by then No. 18 Iowa’s overwhelming 34-6 win over No. 17 Indiana.  Maybe the Hoosiers visit to the Western Kentucky game we’ll attend September 25 will be more interesting than we anticipated…UCF trailed Boise by 21-0 in the second period, but Dillon Gabriel of UCF tossed four TDs to Hank Bachman’s two for the UCF win, 36-31.  Dyllon Lester’s INT for the Golden Knights halted a Boise State drive on the UCF seven with 2:07 left. Our kind of a game!…Ohio State topped Minnesota, 45-31, but not without a controversial no-call confirmed by the Big Ten. So much for replays…VA Tech defeated UNC at home, 17-10, to knock the Heels from their No. 10 spot in the polls to No. 24. Tech climbed to 19 and held Heisman candidate Sam Howell to 17 of 32 for 208 yards, TD, and three INTs. So much for his chances…

With a 10-7 win by No. 5 Georgia over No.3 Clemson, the Dawgs nudged the Tigers down to No. 6 in this week’s poll, for now.  The only TD came on a pick-six by UGA. At least for now, the CFP looks a little different…  Not sure who can knock Alabama from the top spot, but for now, the others here seem a little more open to fall than many suspect. Oklahoma and Ohio State struggled some, but everyone has at least 10 games left. Even if you want to count this week’s Alabama-Mercer contest as a game worth counting, among some other 28 FBS-FCS matchups , what a waste of a second week of games for the most part. Look who else is playing a level down this week: Clemson, Oklahoma, LSU, West Virginia, Kansas State, Florida State, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Marshall, Indiana, Northwestern, Fresno, and Auburn.  Instead of playing down, these programs should be playing each other this week.

At least we bulk up our schedule

Our plans to attend Northwestern at Wisconsin on November 13 fell through as reported last week, but “tell ya what we’re gonna do”.  Our Wake Forest buddy, “Bug” Harton, said he had some classmates booked for the Demon Deacons’ Homecoming against Duke on October 30.  Seeing the Dukes lose in one of those other FCS upsets to Charlotte last week, we accepted Bug’s invite to change to meet him on November 13 for the NC State game. At least these two teams dominated some similar competition in Week One. The Wolfpack drubbed South Florida, 45-0, and Wake did in Old Dominion, 41-10… On October 30, now being only a five-and-a-half-hour drive to Clemson, we’re looking to head there for the first time when Florida State visits.  After seeing McKenzie Milton come in to get the ‘Noles coming back against Notre Dame Saturday night, this could be a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to the other Death Valley… See our updated 2021 Tentative Schedule. We make it tentative for reason like these.

  • Last time we saw Clemson play in 2017, Syracuse pulled a 27-24 upset over the No. 2-ranked Tigers.

Games we look forward to, but not attending this week

“Kansas at Coastal Carolina?”, you ask.   First of all, congratulations to the Jayhawks under first-year HC Lance Leopold not being one FBS team to succumb in an opener against an FCS team.  They defeated South Dakota, 17-14.  We added No. 16 Coastal to our schedule last week for a date on October 7 at Arkansas State.  Interested to see how KU stands up to a very legitimate program on the rise on the road after Leopold’s short-term intervention joining this program…Western Kentucky at Army. We have WKU in our plans this year at home against Indiana and Middle Tennessee. Army as usual, looms as our last regular season game versus Navy.  WKU defeated FCS UT Martin to open while the Cadets overwhelmed Georgia State, 43-10, with 258 rushing yards and dominant clock control. If WKU can compete with Army, we’ll have a sense for what they can do against Indiana.  We’re also considering another Army game if they make it to this season’s Independence Bowl against a PAC-12 team in Shreveport, LA…

No. 3 Ohio State plays No. 13 Oregon (should be more games like this on week 2) at home.  Just getting by with a break against Minnesota should be an incentive for the Buckeyes, but games like this are what the PAC-12 teams like the Ducks are looking for to break into the CFP. Too bad their DE Kayvon Thibodeaux is out…Ball State won the MAC last season, so they should press No. 11 Penn State after a battle last week against Wisconsin.  Their game the following week we’ll be attending when No. 25 Auburn comes to State College. Trap game early? The Nittany Lions will test the Cardinals to get their offense on track more quickly than they did against the Badgers…No. 9 Iowa State struggled with tough FCS Northern Iowa last week unexpectedly to a close 16-10 victory.  Now comes another instate rival in No. 10 Iowa who blasted No. 17 Indiana unexpectedly, 31-6, last week. Expectedly, this should be a great game among the corn stalks!…

  • And the last time we watched Auburn play, they slammed Purdue in The Music City, 63-14. At the half, they led 56-7. We spent the second half over at the now closed “Benchmark” right across the Cumberland River.

Goodbye to “The Bam”

Steveo’s Salvos sends condolences to his family and memories of a game played back in 1970 that changed college football forever, especially in the South. Sam “The Bam” Cunningham, USC and later New England Patriot fullback known as a hard, tough fearless runner bulling through defenders near the goal line, passed away at the age of 71. We remember watching that game on TV as kids when USC defeated Alabama’s all-white team in 1970, 42-21.  It opened Alabama ‘s HC Paul “Bear” Bryant eyes to start recruiting Black Athletes for The Crimson Tide, and changed the future of college football from then on thanks to Sam’s performance.  Cunningham earned All-American honors in 1972. He captained the Trojans to the national championship in 1972. Against Ohio State in the 1973 Rose Bowl, when he ran for four touchdowns, earning MVP honors, in a 42-17 win.  He’s in both the College football Hall of Fame and is the leading rusher in New England Patriot history. We were never USC fans, but always admired him for his toughness when we watched him play.  He was fun to watch.

Tennessee teams

Got to see Austin Peay defeat UT Chattanooga in a pretty good first game last Thursday, 29-20.  We’ll definitely look for other UTC games to go to in that venue…The Vols soundly defeated hapless Bowling Green as expected, 38-6, while totaling 471 yards on offense in HC Josh Heupel’s UT debut before 82,314 at Neyland Stadium. Next up come the Pitt Panthers (1-0) to Neyland.  They conquered an even weaker team in UMass last week, 51-7. The outcome of this game will be more indicative of where the Volunteer’s season is heading…As for Vanderbilt, new HC Clark Lea has an even deeper hole to dig out of after a 23-3 loss at home to FCS East Tennessee State. Maybe it will get easier when the Commodore’s set sail to Colorado State this weekend. The Rams also lost to an FCS foe, South Dakota State.  Later this season, the ‘Dores will host UConn, loser to FCS Holy Cross…Did we mention that neither Tennessee nor Vanderbilt play on our schedule this year? We have Memphis and Tennessee State at upcoming home games, but at venues where we attended bowl games respectively (at Liberty and Music City at Nissan Stadium).

  • Austin Peay’s defense stuffed Chattanooga’s Ailym Ford (32) on this play in their opener for both last Thursday. We expect to see these two Tennessee teams finish 2021 with winning records and FCS playoff hopes.

Here we go again – realignment

To make up for its losses of Texas and Oklahoma, The Big Twelve and four other schools look for new agreements going forward. By the end of this week, BYU, Cincinnati, Central Florida, and Houston could be joining up with the remains. The question is when? The American Athletic loses three reducing its membership to eight teams. It may need another member or two. We figure Army. More to be bandied about in coming days.

  • We got to see Cincinnati and Central Florida square off last year in an American Athletic Conference game. The AAC has deserved to be recognized as a the sixth “Power’ conference these past few years…Now?

Game 615: Baylor Bears baffle Bobcats of Texas State, 29-20

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  • Texas State’s Bobcat Stadium attracted over 26,000 for their opener vs. Baylor from nearby Waco.

San Marcos, TX – Baylor visited Texas State for the first time ever and played a defensive scheme that baffled a potent Bobcat passing game. They replaced their own from the previous five seasons with a potent ground game to win the opener for both teams, 29-20.  The Bear defense scored the first seven points of the game and forced a safety on the last play to settle the final score.  In between, they held the Bobcat offense to 235 total yards, only 79 on the ground.  The Bears controlled play with a strong running game.  RB Trestan Ebener totaled 120 yards on 20 carries. Backfield mate Abram Smith toted the ball 19 times for 118 yards and two TDs. 

  • Trestan Ebener (1) gains in first quarter action.

Quick strike

     Texas State recovered a Baylor fumble on their 20 to start their second series of the game as Baylor defeats Texas State.  TSU QB Brady McBride (20 of 40, 156 yards, TD, 3 INTs) soft-tossed a safety valve pass to his right. S J T Woods read it perfectly to streak through for a very quick pick-six to give Baylor a quick, 7-0 lead.  A roughing the kicker penalty kept TSU’s next possession alive.  The Bobcats capitalized to drive for a 21-yard FG by Seth Keller to trail, 7-3, heading into the second period.

     Following a missed Baylor FG, the Bobcat offense drove the length of the field.  At the BU 12, McBride threw a 12-yard TD pass to Marcell Barbee (4 catches, 56 yards, TD), TSU’s leading receiver from 2020.  Trailing with :36 left in the first half, Smith scored his first TD from three yards out. BU finished a 75-yard drive to lead, 14-10.

  • Baylor pass break-ups like this limited the TSU passing attack.

Halftime Review

     After a year of Covid, 26,573 fans attended the BU-TSU opener, the sixth meeting between the two programs. This was the first for TSU as an FBS program and the first ever at San Marcos between the two.  The game should be a boon for the Bobcat program as Baylor trekked as only the second Power Five school to visit.  A win here would stir a lot of interest back into the TSU program to hopefully ramp up future attendance. To enhance the game atmosphere, the administration opened the end zone area near the Bobcat team entrance as a concession area to invite fans to get more involved in the game from the field level. 

  • Moving concessions to the end zone at field level should add to the game atmosphere at Bobcat Stadium before and during game action.

     Through our daughter Alex’s boyfriend, Zach Rittle, the Director of Development for the TSU Athletic program, we joined the Bobcat Club to support the sports programs there.  Our contributions provide benefits to enjoy the Bobcat Club when we get down to visit them.  It’s definitely a great experience for us to enjoy when we visit Bobcat Stadium.  Glad to see their the fans coming back this season!  We hope the Bobcats can mix it up in the Sun Belt Conference.

  • A Texas State halftime tradition, the Strutter Dance Team!

Baylor bears down

     To start the second half, Baylor extended their lead on Isaiah Hankins’ 43-yard FG, 17-10.  The Bear defense forced a Bobcat punt to take over again from their 30.  Five plays later, Smith ran 13 yards for his second score to seemingly put this game out of reach, 24-10, against a seemingly lethargic Texas State offense.  In response, TSU went to the air. McBride connected on five passes the move the Cats to the Bears’ 21.  They stalled there, however. Keller booted a 38-yard FG to put the home team back to within eleven.

  • Abram Smith barrels in for his second TD of the day for the Baylor Bears.

Oh, those turnovers

     In the fourth, Head Coach Jake Spavital’s offense continued to go through the air. S Jalen Pitre put quick end to that strategy with an interception to put the Bears at the Bobcat 27.  The TSU D, consisting of many transfers, threw Ebener for a loss of six yards to the nine on a third down.  From there, Hankins put up another three to lead 27-13 with 9:35 left.

     With time in favor of Baylor, the next Texas State drive seemed to seal the final result as another INT, this time by S Jairon McVea, looked like a game-killer.  The defense came up tough though and forced the Bears to turn the ball over on downs on a fourth and 17 at TSU’s 35.  On third and ten from this starting point, McBride’s pass attempt fell incomplete to nullify a chance for the Bobcats to get back into this game.  However, a roughing the passer penalty gave the Cats a new life.  The hit on McBride gave the Bobcats floundering offense a spark it needed.  That spark ignited the running of Jamyl Jeter (eight rushes, 45 yards, TD).  He carried the ball five times on this scoring drive taking it over from the two with 1:19 left to play to get into striking distance, 27-20.

  • TSU RB Calvin Hill runs for a short gain.

Never say “die”

     The Cats defense stepped up to force a punt again on fourth down while burning their final two time-outs.  With 15 seconds and the TSU offense backed up on their own ten, a razzle-dazzle play ended up with McBride scooping up the ball in the end zone after the ball had already passed the line of scrimmage.  He winged it downfield for an illegal forward pass resulting in a safety to settle the final score at 29-20. 

     Baylor beat the Cats for the sixth time against no losses.  It was a disappointing start for the Bobcat fans among the 26,573 in attendance.  They couldn’t attend last year, but can the look past this opening loss to come back to cheer their Bobcats on to some wins for the rest of the year.  A win at their next away game will help.

  • Texas State will be looking for QB Brady McBride to put it altogether against FIU next week to put the offense on the right track.

Extra points:    

The Bears host FCS Texas Southern next Saturday at McLane Stadium in Waco.  The Bobcats travel to Florida International (1-0) of Conference USA next Saturday.  FIU defeated Long Island University, 48-10, a second year FCS program.  CFF.com travels east to see Navy (0-1) host Air Force (1-0) to honor those lost on and since 9/11 on the 20th anniversary of the attack.  Navy fell big to Marshall Saturday, 49-7.  Air Force defeated FCS Lafayette, 35-14.

  • Yours truly, “St. Laurie”, and Alex had it made in the shade prior to the game at the Bobcat Club’s Pavilion thanks to Zach!

Game 614: For openers, No. 20 Austin Peay jolts No. 18 UT Chattanooga, 30-20

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Chattanooga, TN – Austin Peay scored a go-ahead touchdown late in the third, shutdown UT Chattanooga in the fourth, scored seven more, and upset the No. 20 Moccasins, 30-20, to chants of “Let’s go Peay! Let’s go Peay!”  The Governors finished a 76-yard drive with an eight-yard pass to WR Drae McCray from Draylen Ellis to take the lead, 23-20.  On this Thursday night, constant penalties negating key gains, questionable play-calling, and several officiating blunders contributed to opening game sloppiness, but all kept the game on a level field of play for the most part. Despite impressive numbers from Governor QB Ellis (23 of 33, 345 yards, four TDs, 2 INTs), both squads will need improved QB play to challenge for championships in their respective conferences, the Ohio Valley and Southern Conference, going forward. UTC QB Drayton Arnold struggled completing 11 of 26 for 130 yards, a TD, and two INTs.

Inexperience trumped by energy

     Tyrell Price’s three-yard TD run gave the Moccasins the lead, 7-0, midway through the first.  Ellis connected with WR Baniko Harley (six catches, 137 yards, TD) on a 35-yard seam route when LB Daniel Brent jumped the gap offsides to leave Harley uncovered.  Surprisingly, 31-year-old APU Head Coach Scotty Walden elected to go for an early two-point conversion, rarely called, that failed.  However, as the game progressed, the energy of the young coach exuded enthusiasm to his players through his young coaching staff along the sideline throughout.  What he lacks in experience, he makes up for it with a high energy level.

  • Young Austin Peay HC Scotty Walden, in black left, brings enthusiasm to his players through his young coaching staff. Some seen here.

Ref mistake leads to heads-up play

     Aside from this TD, the Moccasin defense kept the pressure on Ellis early whenever he dropped back. On the other side of the ball, holding penalties killed momentum for UTC.  In the second, a diving interception along the sideline by DB Jonathan Edwards of the Governors put his team at the Moccs 39.  Ellis and offense capitalized quickly on a missed call by the officiating crew.  After a tackle out of bounds, UTC Safety Brandon Dowdell got tangled up behind the APU bench.  Unable to return on to the field until the ball was snapped, Ellis took advantage of the missing player and connected with a wide-open DJ Render for a 30-yard score and a 13-7 lead.  To add insult to injury, the Moccs got hit with a sideline warning probably for arguing their player could not get back on the field.

  • UTC LB Kam Jones makes one of four unassisted tackles, seven overall.

 Need a rulebook review

    The Mocc’s offense responded quickly on the subsequent drive led by RB Ailym Ford (17 rushes for 61 yards). His 34-yard TD jaunt regained the lead for UTC, 14-13.  Not sure of the rules here in this case, but the refs nullified APU’s ensuing kickoff return because a player who didn’t make the return signaled for a fair catch.  The Govs took over on their five.  Doesn’t a fair catch put the ball at the 25 for safety reasons? Maybe only if the returner gives the signal? We have to check this out.

     Following exchanged punts, APU’s next possession started from their 24.  Harley (six catches, 137, yards, TD) took a 46-yard reception he caught off a tip to UTC’s 24.  The Moccs held, but PK Maddux Trujillo converted a 26-yard FG to take a 16-14 Governor lead into halftime. 

  • Ailym Ford nears end zone for UTC.

Our halftime review

This televised FCS contest with regular media timeouts and too many penalties lasted longer than any FCS contest attended in our past.  Even in FCS playoff games, media time-outs seemed fewer and shorter.  When you see a guy on the field holding a digital, LED clock to count down the length of the time-out, the game is destined to be prolonged. Officials went to a viewer on the field to review several critical calls, but replays rarely appeared on Finley Stadium’s big screen. Frustrating, since they apparently had television coverage.  Evidently, the Southern Conference has a more lucrative TV contract than the Colonial Athletic, Ivy League, or Patriot League where we’ve attended many games.

Seesaw third

     In the third, UTC regained the lead on a sideline pattern from 12 yards out to WR Reginald Henderson in the end zone to regain the lead, 20-16.  The missed PAT made up for the Governors’ failed two-point attempt earlier in the game.  Late in the third, the TD pass to McCray put APU in the lead for good.  Their next possession in the fourth seemed destined for failure.  On the second of two consecutively errantly, lofted Ellis passes, SS Brandon Dowdell fielded the ball like a punt for his second INT of the game.  UTC went three and out, however, putting APU back on offense from their 14 with the ensuing punt. 

  • WR Drae McCray tumbles with 8-yard TD catch in third to take APU lead for good.

    The Governors rolled the length of the field on the wheels of RB Ahmaad Tanner doing the bulk of the ground work. He gained 103 yards on 19 carries, and took it in from the four on this drive with 8:14 remaining to extend the Governor’s lead, 30-20.  According to the game program the number 5 jersey he wore indicated he was TE William Wilcox, and the PA announcer obliged.  Not until a review of the game stats did Tanner get credit for his exploits on the field.  Through the end, Wilcox received credit, and no one corrected the announcer.   The Governor fans of the 8,114 in attendance, started their unique chant of, “Let’s go Peay! Let’s go Peay!”  What other team can appropriately celebrate that way in a stadium that sells beer?

  • UTC defense forces QB Draylen Ellis to pick up some short yards on a scramble.

Force of nature

     The Governor’s defense halted the next Moccasin possession with Edward’s second pick of the game.  “Let’s go Peay!” grew louder with their Governors in control.  Starting from the 21, Tanner continued to carry the offense to control the clock and continue the cheers.  UTC Head Coach Rusty Wright, an alum, decided to use his final three time-outs to extend the game still needing two scores.  This was now taking too long.  After having enjoyed dinner and $3 drafts at the Chattanooga Brewing Company across the street from Finley right before the game, the APU chant started to sink in.  Game over.  “Let’s go Peay!”

Extra points: 

     Finely Stadium in downtown Chattanooga is a great and comfortable venue to enjoy UTC games.  They even sell actual paper tickets (to add to our extensive collection), a rarity these days, and offered free game programs.  We’ll plan to go back.

  • Big hooray! No face masks on cheerleaders!

     Both squads play again on September 11 – the Moccs host North Alabama and APU visits to one of our favorite tailgate sites, The Grove at Ole Miss.  Can’t imagine how Lane Kiffin has planned for them.  His defense will probably attain some stats to build on.  The week after, UTC ventures into SEC territory when they travel north to Kentucky.  CFF.com travels to San Marcos, TX to see Texas State host Baylor.

     We combined this football adventure with a historical excursion as we visited and toured nearby Lookout Mountain Battlefield.  The North and South fought “the Battle above the Clouds” here in November 1863. It amazes to realize the toughness and courage of the men who fought on both sides to accomplish things under adverse conditions and without the technologies developed since.  Hauling heavy equipment up and down this 2,100-foot mountain as well as attacking  and defending in the fog and clouds are astounding feats of strength and bravery.   Chattanooga claimed keys for both sides in their struggle as four railroad lines converged into the city from different directions needed for transporting troops and supplies throughout the South.  The 20-lb cannons fired balls two and a half miles from atop the highest point in the area.   Finley Stadium sat below within reach.  See below.

  • Finley under fire in 1863. Alabama Regimental Artillery trained on Chattanooga from Lookout Mountain. Blue and yellow structure below is UTC’s Finley Stadium.

Steveo’s Salvos : Week 1, 2021

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Week 1 and “Week 0”

     Heading into Week #1 of the 2021 college football season, we present our perspective of “Week 0” before the two games ahead of collegefootballfan.com this week to open up our schedule. Thursday night, our opener finds us in Chattanooga for the first time to watch the UTC Moccasins of the Ohio Valley Conference host the Austin Peay Governors of the Southern Conference.  Both ranked, FCS schools appear on our schedule in our 42nd year. On Saturday, our featured FBS game brings us to San Marcos, Texas for the second year in a row to see the Texas Bobcats compete.  They’ll host the Baylor Bears.  We’re looking for the underdog host team of the Sun Belt to spring an upset over the Power Five team…

We finally found out why the heck they call the first weekend of college games, “Week 0”.   Basically, most games played that week feature teams that will play games at Hawaii and Hawaii itself.  This weekend of a very limited schedule gives all those teams the option of opening earlier. They receive an additional bye week on their schedules to compensate for their long trip out to the islands.  The NCAA also give every such team the option to schedule a 13th game for the season. This season, only the Rainbow Warriors accepted that opportunity. Funny, they picked up a second game against struggling New Mexico State, a team that lost to D-2 Tarleton State in a Spring game…

Note that UCLA, San Jose State, New Mexico State, and Fresno who play the Bows during the first half of their slate played this past weekend… Waivers can also be made.  In the case of Nebraska versus Illinois, their opener changed to Champaign, Illinois since the originally scheduled game in Dublin, Ireland got nixed due to Covid…

  • Collegefootballfan.com attended a Week 0 game in 2017 when the Rainbow Warriors travelled all the way to Amherst, Massachusetts to defeat the UMass Minutemen, 38-35.

Maybe the grass is greener…In Illinois

     One of the heroes of the Illini’s 30-22 win over the supposedly improving Huskers turned out to be QB Artur Sitkowski. Sitkowski, the much-maligned QB who transferred from Rutgers, completed 12 of 15 for 124 yards, two TDs, and no INTs. Rarely did he enjoy such a win with stats like that on the Banks of the old Raritan…Bret Bielema enjoyed a successful coaching debut at Illinois after failing to turn around football fortunes at Arkansas. His style of power football may garner better results in the Big Ten than in the SEC…

  • In 2019, Rutgers Soph QB Art Sitkowski (8), now playing for Illinois, racked up passing yards despite a game plan short on long tosses. Boston College triumphed 30-16. RU finished 2019 at 2-10. He led the Illini to a 30-22 win against Nebraska last Saturday.

Think “FCS, FCS, FCS”

Fresno slammed UConn, 45-0.  At the end of this season, if UConn and UMass continue to lose miserably, both should consider going back to play FCS football in the Colonial Athletic Association. This FBS endeavor has to be too costly financially for one thing.  On the other hand, with their schedules and their inability to recruit and compete at this level, the desires to enjoy football for fans and alum in the FBS makes no sense. Do their fans really enjoy following a schedule against dominant programs or even so-so competition from the far reaches across the country?  From Fresno to New Mexico State to Clemson to Florida State? Most of this fan base roots on Sundays for the New England Patriots for their football pleasure and dollars.  

UConn will play Holy Cross and Yale.  Rhode Island and Maine both play at UMass this year. They should continue to compete at that level with schools sharing similar geography, athletic budgets, history, and academic standards.  The best shot either of these two have a winning an FBS game this season is when the two meet on October 9 in Amherst…There are a few other programs we would offer this advice to, but later.

  • The high point of UMASS FBS football history on November 3, 2018.

Games we look forward to but not attending this week

  Of course, No. 19 Penn State at No. 12 Wisconsin ranked Big Ten teams in the season opener; No. 17 Indiana at No. 18 Iowa – what other conferences allow this to start a season?… Boise State at Central Florida – two top Group of Five schools challenging each other to open with new head coaches…No. 4 Ohio State at Minnesota – a new QB on the road for OSU against a conference foe that has been improving…No. 10 North Carolina at Virginia Tech – Heisman candidate Sam Howell shows us what he’s got going into this season…

  • 2019 Military Bowl Game MVP, Freshman Sam Howell (7), looks down field on a touchdown drive in UNC’s win over Temple.

No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 5 Georgia in Charlotte – opener between two Final Four contenders. D.J. Uiagalelei steps in permanently to replace Trevor Lawrence.  It’s his team now…No. 16 LSU at UCLA – Tigers struggled last season and UCLA comes in with a dominant win over Hawaii.  Is this the surprise team Herbie says they’ll be?… No. 23 Louisiana at No. 21 Texas.  Billy Napier’s Ragin Cajuns no longer travel under the radar.  What has Sarkisian done by now to make the Longhorns better? … South Dakota (FCS) at Kansas. Any win at KU under Lance Leipold on such short notice will be a feather in his cap.  

  • We watched the Ragin Cajuns win 44-34 over Texas State last season. We expect Louisiana to continue to roll, but we also expect the Bobcats to win more games off their 2-10 record of a year ago.

Collegefootballfan.com’s 2021 preseason prologue #2, August 26

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OU, stop kidding!

SEC analyst/promoter Paul Finebaum should stick to commenting only on the SEC regarding preseason forecasts.  When prompted, he predicted Oklahoma brings the next best shot to the national championship after Alabama.  Maybe wishful thinking on his part.  Maybe he’s using his perceived influence to set something up for The Crimson Tide once again.  Collegefootballfan.com suggests to keep the projected Big Twelve champ out of the mix this year no matter what they rank, Oklahoma in particular.  We stated after 2019 that we’d buy no more Peach Bowl or Orange Bowl CFP tickets because of the risk that the Sooners might show up again.  People put up the kibosh on Notre Dame making the playoffs because of their previous inept performances.  Finebaum says the Sooners “have one of the two-three best quarterbacks in the country with Spencer Rattler. They really have a better defense than anyone is giving them credit…. We’ve laughed at their defenses in the past. Not anymore. They will surprise you with their defense.” 

Laugh at Finebaum now.  Substitute “Rattler” with Mayfield, Murray, or Hurts.  Been there, done that.  Big Twelve defenses don’t exist. In the CFP games we attended in 2015, 2018, and 2019, Oklahoma showed up with similar credentials and the three QBs under center now playing in the NFL. Two of the three won Heisman’s. In case anyone including the esteemed Mr. Finebaum forgot, here are the results of these three OU embarrassments: 2015 – Clemson 37 OU 17; 2018 – Alabama 45 OU  34; 2019 – LSU 63 OU  28. We sat through three very non-competitive, playoff games. We didn’t have a TV to change channels.  So much for Oklahoma defense, 48.3 ppg against playoff competition.  If this is what the Sooners bring to the playoffs, bring in a Group of Five team for once to prove their worthiness instead. If the OU’s and ND’s can’t provide some excitement as proven, bring in a team looking to make a drastic statement instead of the programs that have proven they can’t challenge for the top spot. Open up the possibilities. Don’t bring back the same old, worn-out routines.

  • All night, LSU put the hurts on Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts in the 2020 Peach Bowl . LSU’s defense showed up, not OU’s!

Flexible, mobile, and agile

Our plan to attend Northwestern at Wisconsin on November 13 may fall through.  Disappointed if it does since a trip to Camp Randall sits high on our bucket list of stadia and the Badgers are one of only four FBS teams ranked in the preseason on our current 2021 schedule (we know this will change before the season is through).  However, with our new location and more flexible time, we will make up for this potential loss with another new venue and another ranked team without having to cancel another game on our slate. As a matter of fact, we’re doing it any way!  On Thursday October 7, we plan to travel a few hours to Jonesboro, Arkansas, home of the Arkansas State Red Wolves where we will see them host up-and-coming and reloaded Coastal Carolina, ranked in everyone’s preseason Top 25.  Of interest, ASU plays under new HC Butch Jones fresh off three years as DC at Alabama after years as HC at Central Michigan and Tennessee (85-54 career record). QB Grayson McCall returns to CCU as 2020 Sunbelt Player of the Year for the 11-2 Chanticleers.  Last season, the Chants whipped the Wolves, 52-23.  We’ll see what Jones does to shut McCall down.  Should be fun!…

As for the November 13 void we may have to fill, looking at one of two of lower-level games.  One choice is an FCS Ohio Valley Conference game where UT Martin visits Tennessee Tech in nearby Cookeville, a first-time venue. We already have Tech scheduled at Tennessee State on October 16, but Cookeville and UT Martin will be two more firsts to record.  The second choice should be a very competitive D-2 contest in the South Atlantic Conference between Tusculum of Greenville, TN and Carson-Newman, a perennial D-2 contender. Tusculum QB Rogan Wells played QB for former D-2 national champ, Valdosta State, and turned some heads during SAL spring competition this year. We’ll have plenty of time to decide what to do that weekend before November rolls around.  We’ll be monitoring all the early action for any late season changes to find the best games possible. 

  • Like Badger RB Jonathan Taylor against Penn State, our chances to see Wisconsin at home continue to elude us. Like the Lions here in 2018, we’ll catch up.

Quick start, coming up!

Next week, Thursday night, Austin Peay at UT Chattanooga! Both FCS programs have FCS aspirations in their respective Ohio Valley and Southern Conferences for championships and playoffs in this “kickoff classic”…  Two days later, Baylor at Texas State in San Marcos.  We look for the Group of Five Bobcats to knock off the Power Five Bears at home.  The Bobcat offense comes back intact as does the Baylor defense, but with changes at OC and at QB for the Bears, expect a lot adjustments to be made under fire. For the first time in five years, Charlie Brewer will not be at QB. He opted to go play for Utah.  That tells us something.  The Bobcat defense was vulnerable last season, but the Coaching Spavital Brothers of TSU have had a season to focus on improving their defense together. An experienced core returns on defense that fell in some close losses last year including a 7-point loss at home in last season’s opener to an eventual 7-3 SMU.  QB Brady McBride returns healthy after a shortened season in 2020 with Marcel Barbee and Travis Graham coming back as key receiving weapons.  Four of five OL starters also come back experienced blocking for two RBs with over 500 yards apiece last season.  Bobcats are primed for a turnaround this season in the improving SunBelt.

  • Texas State QB Brady McBride warms up prior to last year’s loss against eventual No. 19 Louisiana, 44-34. With improved defense, the Bobcats look to catch in the Sun Belt this year.

Return to our good, old stomping grounds

The two following weekends after our Texas trek, we head back to our two most attended and two favorite venues of all in the annals of our college football history – Annapolis, Maryland and State College, Pennsylvania!  Both weekends, sandwiched around a beach stay with family in Delaware, should be memorable to say the least.  Navy hosts Air Force on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It will be a solemn occasion at Navy- Marine Corps Memorial Stadium before the action takes place on the field.  Navy needs to find improved QB play for their vaunted triple option this season (open at home the week before against Marshall) against a very tough schedule in 2021.  Air Force shows up with experience at every position after the starters from the 2019 season all opted out in 2020 and are allowed to return to play this year. Of course, the triple option is the Falcon offensive, bread-and butter under HC Troy Calhoun (101-72).  No defense is more prepared for Navy’s offense more than the Air Force for a very early first leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy…

The following Saturday, Penn State hosts Auburn for the first time ever in a regular season contest between these two highly successful programs. The Nittany Lions and Auburn Tigers have tussled twice before but only on New Year’s Day. On January 1, 1996, Joe Paterno’s squad defeated Terry Bowden’s team, 43-14, in the Hall of Fame Bowl. Seven years later on the same date, Tommy Tuberville’s charges defeated JoePa’s Nittany Lions in the Capital One Bowl, 13-9.  From 2011-13 as HC at Vanderbilt, James Franklin’s Commodores defeated Auburn, 17-13, in 2012 for the first time the ‘Dores defeated the Tigers since 1955.  This year, Auburn visits State College with their first-year HC Bryan Harsin fresh from eight years leading Boise State to a very successful,76-24, mark. His new DC brought “on the plain” is Derek Mason, a season removed as HC at Vanderbilt where he took over after Franklin’s departure to PSU in 2014.  Franklin counters with a new OC, Mike Yurcich, a year removed from the same status with the Texas Longhorns. These two teams will square off again next season at Auburn.  We hope to be there as well.  After our east coast tour of 2021, we’ll be touring many new campus sites and seeing some more new teams around Tennessee and Kentucky primarily.  Looking forward to some great games!  Check back with us regularly.

  • Navy and Air Force will meet early this year on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Emotions in Annapolis will truly be stirred for both academies by recent events in Afghanistan.

Collegefootballfan.com’s 2021 preseason prologue #1, August 10

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Hail to Bobby Bowden!

We always admired Bobby Bowden as a Head Coach, as a leader, and as a man over the years observing him from a distance.  He lined up competitive, non-Conference games for his Seminoles over the years, and his teams always performed at top-notch levels focused on being the best.  His openness with the press and the good humor he brought to a profession under much pressure made him a joy to listen to during interviews. He always expressed the accolades for his success through his players and coaching staff. We also reminisce about the scene in the movie “We are…Marshall” when new Marshall HC Jack Lengyel approaches Bowden for help when he coached at cross-state, “rival” West Virginia. Not only does he open up to his vault of information to Lengyel, but when doing so the newly appointed Marshall mentor notes the memorial stickers on the helmets honoring the Marshall team lost in the devastating plane crash 50 years ago. 

I remember Coach Bowden depicting the next move heading into retirement after his final game as going on to the “next big event.”  As I moved on into my retirement this past month, he moved on to that event.  Reports confirmed he did it with class, with dignity, with his family at his side, and with faith in God.  As in most of his life and bringing up a loving family, he generally did things the right way.  What more can anybody do?  Rest in Peace and be happy forever, Bobby Bowden!

Searching for stability, in Tennessee and beyond

 You can see why college football players don’t want to commit to programs they sign up for when their coaches remain non-committed to maintaining stability to keep their systems intact at the expense of their players.  As usual, this off-season many coaches transferred from one program to another whether they wanted to or not, and we will be seeing some of these key movements first-hand at several needy programs to determine if the grass is greener.  Some Head Coaches (HCs) will be just pulling out the weeds first. Gus Malzahn got bought out by Auburn. He landed on his feet bringing his pass-happy strategy now to Central Florida.   There, we watched Josh Heuple coach last season in a hard-fought loss to tough Cincinnati where he leaves behind his successful 28-8 mark and a credible passing attack.  He left Orlando to take on the big job to revamp Tennessee after the firing of Jeremey Pruitt (3-7 last season and no bowl games since 2016).

We’ll be at the Auburn-Penn State game on September 18 to see what new AU HC Bryan Harsin brings to the Tigers against the Lions in this one.  He leaves Boise after eight years with a 76-24 record. We moved to Tennessee so we’ll be keeping an eye on how quickly the Volunteers can recover.  We moved into the Nashville area, and nearby, Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason got axed after a winless season to become Harsin’s DC coordinator at Auburn.  Clark Lea, a former Vanderbilt FB and previously defensive coordinator at Notre Dame the past three years, returns to his alma mater not too far from us the make the Commodores more competitive in the SEC.  We’ll have close-up views to this year’s results with all these comings and goings.  A lot of reconstruction going on in the state of Tennessee where we at CFF.com also look for a more permanent residence.

  • Josh Heupel leaves behind UCF QB Dillon Gabriel for Gus Malzahn. The returning Junior starter averaged 357 yards per game and tossed 32 TD passes in 2020.

Projects continue at the “Recycling Center”

Other coaching changes in college football seem to revolve around Tuscaloosa where the “Master Recycler”, Nick Saban, has a penchant for taking the tired, the poor, and the hungry from among the coaching ranks and continues to dominate college football despite the revolving door of assistants around him.  Coaches come and go seemingly to be enlightened before moving on with supposed wisdom accumulated to spread success to other schools in need of such wisdom… 

The aforementioned Jeremy Pruitt left the recycling center to bring success to Tennessee, but that desired result did not come to fruition.  Lane Kiffin did the same after leaving Tennessee and is now trying to bring some of that learned Alabama magic to Ole Miss.  It seems that he never lost his touch to enlighten with his scoring capabilities, but you’d think he would have picked up a few pointers (or assistants) on the other side of the line even if only through “osmosis”. Last year at Ole Miss, one year removed from Tuscaloosa, his offense ranked number three in total offense nationally, but crashed abysmally to a catastrophic No. 126 nationally on defense.  You’d think he would have taken some time to pay attention to what the Master Recycler was doing on the other side on defense. If he had any “smarts”, he could have learned something like the Master’s former DC, Kirby Smart, who took learned knowledge to Georgia and applied it to both sides of the line where he’s built a record of 52-14 over five years.  He still can’t defeat the Master, however (0-3).  The recycling continues… 

Alabama’s latest OC, Steve Sarkasian, left to bring wisdom to the Texas Longhorns in 2021.  Successful as an OC at USC before stumbling with the Washington Huskies as HC, will he bring some defensive acumen to UT with him learned from the Recycling Master?  Butch Jones, leaves Alabama as the defensive coordinator after leaving Tennessee for further edification.  Let’s see what he brings to Arkansas State in 2021… Talk about recycling.  The Master brings in Bill O’Brien to the Recycling Center after a so-so stint with the Houston Texans as head man.  Prior to that, O’Brien did a pretty good job revamping a Penn State program after the downfall there caused by the Jerry Sandusky monstrosity. In two years, O’Brien brought back respectability through some trying time.  Prior to that, he was known as Tom Brady’s QB Coach at New England. It sounds like O’Brien has a foundation to build on and the capability to go elsewhere after a few short years with the Recycling Master… 

And this season, we’ll see another prodigy from Alabama take over the reins of another program first-hand.  On October 2, Marshall comes to Murfreesboro under their new HC Chris Huff, late as RB coach for the Tide the past two years after 16 seasons at the both the college and pro levels, to take on Middle Tennessee State. Huff’s Thundering Herd comes off a 7-3 season with a stable of RBs and an offensive line intact led under center by a returning frosh QB Grant Wells with a solid season under his belt.   Previously, HC Doc Holliday started off last season with a 7-0 record, but the school (rumored to possibly be pressured by the West Virginia governor) ousted him after 11 successful seasons with a 6-2 bowl record.  A record of 1-2 in conference championship play supposedly led to his downfall. Sounds like a potential recycling project, doesn’t he?  Stay tuned.

  • “Master Recycler” under observation by young assistants prior to 2018 CFP Orange Bowl win over OU.

Moving a Mountain on to the Plains

Talk about digging out of a hole.  Who would ever take on the Kansas Jayhawk job after the likes of Charley Weis, formerly of Notre Dame, and Les Miles, formerly of LSU couldn’t get his program on the rise?  We thought that both of these guys would at least have some influence to bring some improved talent to Lawrence with their resumes, but that didn’t happen.  The Jayhawk’s current move sits well with us, and hope it works out for them…  Easily we saw that HC Lance Leipold of Buffalo would take on something else, but not this! After six NCAA D-3 championships at Wisconsin-Whitewater (109-6) and the turnaround of a bewildered Buffalo Bulls program, we know Leipold would move on to bigger and better opportunities.  We thought for sure that he was the right guy for the Illinois program, but Kansas? 

At 0-9 a year ago under Miles, the Kansas program is flatter than the plain the Lawrence campus sits on. Since their last winning record of 8-5 in 2008, they have won only 29 games during the last 18 seasons.  But, it’s worse than that!  Eight of those wins were against FCS schools.  They lost to three FCS schools over that period of time as well. That is only 1.16 wins annually over FBS competition during that stretch.  Only ten were against “Power Five “schools.  We’re rooting for Lance who took over the beleaguered Bulls and made them a presence in the MAC.  He left Buffalo after achieving a 37-33 record, but the last three seasons he achieved a mark of 24-10 including two bowl wins. He improved the Bulls with talent brought in from around the country. If he can do that in Lawrence, Kansas, the Jayhawk fans may eventually see a mound of progress on their flatlands. 

More coaching moves to watch

Shane Beamer with no head coaching experience, but previously under the tutelage of his Hall of Fame father, Frank at Virginia Tech, should be interesting to watch at South Carolina.  Some experienced defenders left that program, but that should probably help him.  When we watched the Gamecocks against Kentucky last season in a 41-18 loss, their tackling was pathetic, atrocious, and horrible to say the least.  Some of these players ended up at other programs – including Penn State.  It will be very interesting to watch any such isolated performances by one DB transfer versus Auburn…

Steve Sarkisian moving to Texas as HC most likely means he’ll be calling the plays for UT, so James Franklin of Penn State absconded with UT’s former OC, Mike Yurcich, after firing his OC Kirk Ciarrocca after one year. Franklin seeks explosiveness in his offense he didn’t have last year.  Yurcich has Pennsylvania ties from coaching previously at “The Ship” – a strong D-2 PSAC program at Shippensburg State…

In another aspect of our timely move to Tennessee, Eddie George takes over as HC of Tennessee State, a Historically Black College in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) , this year.  We plan to attend the Tennessee State vs. Tennessee Tech game on October 16 this season.  The only time we watched the 1995 Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State play was against Penn State during his junior season.  PSU’s Ki-jana Carter outplayed George in a 63-14 Nittany Lion win over the Buckeyes on the way to an undefeated season and a Rose Bowl victory. George played nine seasons for the Oilers/Titans winning Rookie of the year in 1996.  He earned Pro Bowl Honors four times accumulating 10,441 yards and 68 TDs. He finished his career in 2006 with Dallas…

Morgan State, another Historically Black College in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, will play under Tyrone Wheatley, a former Michigan RB.  He’s had a year to recruit for the past year while the Bears opted out due to Covid. Since his graduation from U of M in 1996, Wheatley played 10 years in the NFL and has coached since at both the pro and collegiate levels since. At Michigan, he ranked highly in the nation for his recruiting prowess. Unlike Eddie George, we saw him have a record-setting day rushing versus No. 13 Penn State in a 21-13 victory by No. 21 Michigan.  

  • Before the Penn State game in 2019, we predicted we’d see Buffalo Bull Head Coach Lance Leipold coaching a “Power Five” team next season, but we never envisioned wayward Kansas would be his destination.

For our opener

On Thursday, September 2, we plan to open 2021 with two strong FCS programs entering this season.  For us, now in Tennessee, we get to see two programs from the Volunteer State play for the first time in a new venue when the Moccasins of UT Chattanooga host the Governors of Austin Peay.  Both teams come off fairly strong spring seasons and rank in preseason FCS polls.  As with most programs, both come in with experience based on the NCAA extension of players’ eligibility because of the shortened 2020 Covid season. UTC started well before Covid ended their spring season prematurely and comes back with a strong defense and a prominent FCS RB in Ailym Ford. The Southern Conference will be competitive and the Moccs should be right in the thick of it for postseason play.  Lindy’s ranks them at No. 21 in their preseason poll…   

With Jacksonville State leaving the Ohio Valley Conference to join the new Western Athletic Conference after winning the OVC championship in the last six of seven years, Austin Peay and Murray State are considered favorites.  Austin Peay WR De’Angelo Wilson had over 500 yards in a 4-2 spring under new HC Scott Walden, and DB Kordell Jackson earned preseason First Team All-American honors from Lindy’s.  They start 2021 ranked at No. 11.  We’ll be seeing some impressive talent and post-season FCS contenders in this opener at Davenport Field in Finley Stadium, home of UT Chattanooga football.

Oh brother!

Our first FBS game of the season is two days later in San Marcos, TX where the Texas State Bobcats of the Sunbelt host the Big Twelve’s Baylor Bears.  The Bobcats averaged 27.7 ppg against some good teams despite a 2-10 record.  With the return of QB Brady McBride, RB Brock Sturges, two of their three best receivers, and four starters returning to the OL, the offense under HC Jake Spavital should be ready to break out. The defense returns with starters from a defense that allowed 38.2 ppg, falling in at No. 125 in total defense.  This is where the Bobcats have to show vast improvement under their DC Zac Spavital, brother of Jake. Talk about pressure! The hot seat is at family BBQs… Baylor comes off a 2-7 season without the services of QB Charlie Brewer for the first time in half a decade.  There will be some adjustments with former BYU OC Jeff Grimes calling the plays, and a solid core of ten starters return on defense. This should be a surprisingly good matchup if the Bobcat defense steps up. Oh, Brother Zac?

  • The Texas State Bobcat defense will have to narrow down the running lanes against the likes of Baylor and Louisiana unlike what we saw them do against the Ragin Cajuns in 2020.

Looking too far ahead to post-season play

We look forward to playoff possibilities every year at the non-FBS levels to fill in weekends around Army-Navy and before the Bowl season. With our relocation, the opportunities seem enticing based on some preseason predictions regarding teams within reach for playoff games in the FCS.  The aforementioned Austin Peay and UT Chattanooga make that list as does the WAC’s Jacksonville State in Alabama now coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. East Tennessee along with Mercer (GA) and Samford (AL) all in the SoCon, Murray State of the OVC, and James Madison (VA) of the Colonial Athletic also offer possibilities…

At the D2 level, Tusculum located in Greenville, TN will challenge for the South Atlantic Conference with QB Rogan Wells who transferred from previous champ Valdosta State to make them a formidable contender… News from D-3, OL Brian Biskaduros of Muhlenberg made Lindy’s First team All-American team.  We watched his line open the holes in a 2019 D-3 playoff victory over Salisbury State in the quarterfinals. The better news for us was that his OC Josh Carter from that program is now at the Alma Mater, Juniata College, as HC after sitting out one season of Covid. Good luck to HC Carter to get our Eagles flying to new heights…

We also like this – the D3 Championship will be within reach for us again this season and in years to come.  This year’s finale will be played on Tom Benson Hall of Fame Field in Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of course, in what we call the annual Mount Union Invitational, the Purple Raiders campus is a short drive from there.  Four Raiders made the Lindy’s All-American team. The D-3 powerhouse residing in Alliance, Ohio will have even more incentive to win it all this year unless Wisconsin Whitewater or last year’s champ, North Central, can cut them off at the pass…In 2022, the D3 championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.  Sounds good to us!  We penciled it in already.

  • View of Gold side of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium from the Anchor Club. It probably won’t be as crowded and it won’t be as warm for a D-3 Stagg Bowl setting, but we still plan to be there!

College football 2021: Coping with a year of changes

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Collegefootballfan.com has made its move to Tennessee.  Despite packing, hauling, driving, unpacking, flying back, and doing it all again to what so far seems to be a great move, we now begin to set our sights on the up-and-coming college football season. Check out this year’s schedule. Once again, like every year, we look forward to planning, to the travels, to the tailgating, to the traditions, to meeting with fellow fans, and finally after a season of limited games, to a full schedule! However, a few college football rule changes in 2021 have us concerned.

     With our relocation to Tennessee, we’ve slated seven new venues to attend and five new teams, all FCS, on our slate.  We still have our traditional sites like Annapolis, Maryland and State College, Pennsylvania, ticketed along with our regular season finale at the Army-Navy game.  We even have bowl venues set prior to the season based on our proximity within the Volunteer State.   As usual, we have our mix of preseason Top 25 teams (four) and Bottom 25 teams (two) with the majority ranked somewhere amid the remaining 80 teams.  However, all our match-ups look pretty even to allow us to see potentially, good, competitive games.  Intentionally, this last point is what helps CFF.com “cope’ with all the pending changes we question that can impact the competitive nature of college football in the long term.  Basically traditionalists, but understanding reasons for some changes, but not all, we’re not sure where our beloved game of college football is headed, and it’s got us worried. 

  • Because we’ve moved to the Nashville area, don’t think we’re going to many Vanderbilt games. We can see some of the SEC’s best, but we don’t want to sit through non-competitive games. We’ll give new HC Clark Lea a few years to steer the Commodores in a better direction.

There is no “I” in team, but there is in “NIL”.

     This “Name, Image, and Likeness” rule raises our biggest concern.  Like fantasy football focus, it takes away the aura of the ultimate “team” sport, and it changes it into games played by individuals primarily for their own benefit and profit, more now than ever.  Now young athletes will be selling their likenesses and personalities for financial gain.  Of course, winning was the ultimate goal, but already in an unbalanced recruiting process, the NIL provides more advantages to the “brand” names of college football. 

We’ve already heard that the “branding” issue already emphasized by Alabama HC Nick Saban implied how the advantage of his Alabama “brand” inspires more talent like that of QB Bryce Young to “matriculate” at Alabama.  He’s already getting a million bucks for the privilege of becoming the next starting QB for The Tide. It’s all about potential.  Last season, he completed 13 of 22 passes for 156 yards and one TD.  What high school QB is the next incumbent Alabama millionaire? 

  • Who masters the media and adapts better to college football rule changes better than anybody else? This guy.

 Who needs athletic scholarships anymore?

     It’s not about “scholar-athletes” any more. Who needs a scholarship? Sponsors are going to pave the way for recruits to attend the college of their choice in the future.  Not that it wasn’t under the table in the past, but now it’s all above board. It’s not somebody with a wad of cash, now it’s a corporation with a contract.  Will these scholar-athletes even have to go to class?  The NFL is the big winner once again – they spend no money on the development of pro football talent.  A lot of other people are doing it for them. 

One-time portals?

    Also, this new portal rule is a farce.  We agree transferring should still be an option to spread talent when certain programs horde the best talent that keeps players off other teams on their bench to prevent them from playing elsewhere.  Look at former LSU QB Joe Burrow as your prime example after he sat stifled at Ohio State.  The NCAA rules now that a player can transfer just once, play elsewhere immediately, and lose no playing time or eligibility.  Sounds ok.  However, a player can do it again if things don’t work out or do work out after the initial move.

Think about the latter.  A waiver can be granted to a player to move on the first time.  So, a player sits on the bench for School A, transfers to School B, leads team B to glory, gains significant NIL recognition for his exploits, and all of a sudden a “sponsor” makes an offer to attract him to school C. Is that an acceptable reason to grant him a waiver?  Who will even know such an offer was made?  By the way, is he still passing in his school work?  If the current school flunks him, does he have to stay in school to make up grades so he cannot transfer?  Does anybody really care what his grades are?  Will the NFL draft him so he can make a lot of money despite not continuing to play in college?  Everyone knows the answer to that one.

  • Joe Burrow proved his worthiness to transfer from Ohio State to lead LSU to the national championship
    as we saw him fire the Tigers past Oklahoma in the CFP Peach Bowl in 2019, 63-28.

SEC! SEC! SEC!

     Texas and Oklahoma clamor to join the SEC who will receive an even more lucrative television contract when they both get approved.  Why don’t all schools just leave the NCAA and join the SEC?  This is getting boring.  There are currently 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools playing football consisting of the “Power conferences” and “The Group of Five”.  Take the Top 64 teams (include Notre Dame, of course) with the most football financial acumen and put together four divisions of sixteen teams each.  Pull out some of the weaker teams in this first group (i.e., Vanderbilt, Kansas, and Rutgers) and replace them with others from the Five (i.e., Cincinnati, Central Florida, and BYU for example).  Allow FCS schools who want to measure up to FBS status to join the second group of teams.  Don’t play across these two new divisions to avoid diluting schedules outside the designated divisions, set up playoffs within the two groups (at least eight teams in each instead of the paltry number of four), and play for separate championships as the FBS and FCS do today.  Call them FBS-I and FBS II.  Other teams in both go on to play in Bowl Games (or consolation games as we think how most should now be referred to).

  • Though we mention eradicating the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from future “Power” conferences, what program has a bigger market to exploit the new NIL rule with? On the other hand, where is there more NIL market competition than the NY-NJ metropolitan media market?

Football 101-104

     Of course, with the NIL, portals, loose transfer rules, sponsor money, and other such changes without any controls, the “Power” teams will start recruiting from the “Group” schools.  Whoever’s in charge (Congress? LOL!) can limit contacts to make changes before the official spring practices season begins, whenever that is.  And if it interferes with class time, nobody cares, right?  We’ve mentioned it before and we will do it here again.  Professional Football and Professional Basketball are big businesses right now (Major League Baseball could eventually fit into this mix when they follow these player development strategies eventually).  These Institutions of Higher Learning should add Football and Basketball studies, per se, as part of their course curriculum.  There is a job market they supply the talent for already, correct? The small percentage of athletes who make it to the next level, make it to the top of their intended profession.  All of those who don’t will have to rely on whatever minor studies they chose to fend for their employment elsewhere.  Maybe the NFL could throw some funds into this – ha!

How Collegefootballfan.com will approach the 2021 season

     Until anybody figures out how this should all work out, we all already know the five or six teams who are going to play for the four spots in the College Football Playoff in 2021.  No surprises there, so for what it is worth, we’re going to attend at least another 20 college football games this season.  What we are going to do is continue what we’ve always done for the past 42 years.  We will attend various games at different venues with friend old and new to enjoy the aura, the spectacle, the atmosphere, the excitement, and the traditions of seeing two college football teams clash on the gridiron to play hard, and may the best team win on the final play of whatever game we are at.   Afterward, we’ll tailgate some more, travel back to our new home or wherever, and write about the overall great experience.  This is why we can’t wait!

  • In 2021, we will attend our 8th straight Army-Navy game which will be played in The Meadowlands of Jersey this year. Is there any chance a Cadet or Midshipman now has a chance to make more money than the Commander-in-Chief of the United States? The answer is “no” as per military agreements students of the academies adhere to.

Collegefootballfan.com making a big move in 2021

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Relocating to Tennessee

     Living in New Jersey for a lifetime,  the end of my career as a Purchasing professional comes to a halt on June 30.  St. Laurie and I both look forward to semi-retirement.  Neither of us wants to work full-time any more, but we both know we’re going to continue to work at least on a part-time basis as we are both used to having schedules and goals to achieve. So we both intend to spend less time working and devote more time to other interests since we no longer want to obligate ourselves to long hours, long commutes, and worn-out routines we have lived with for over 40 years now.  They were mostly good years, but now we’re ready for a new lifestyle.

    One thing for me, this means more time to focus on college football.  Going to games, planning trips, game schedules, meeting up with friends, updating and upgrading this website, and keeping up more with the ongoing stories behind the scenes rather than tracking prices and trends of raw material prices as I do now for my current professional strategies. That equates to 8-12 hours more per day of newly found freedom.  Believe me.  Time is on my side – finally!

 Location. Location. Location.

  In addition to more time, the move to Tennessee gives me different options and travel opportunities being closer to the heartland.  I always tell friends who ask ,”Why Tennessee? Why Nashville?”  One of the main reasons I tell them is its location.  Most places we like to  travel to are within a day’s drive, or less than a two-hour flight, and I’ll have the time to do that now.  Games in Texas, Florida, and Boston, closer to  our kids and extended family and friends, give us places to stay tied with other reasons to visit. 

      From another perspective, there are some schools, FBS and FCS, within a couple hours drive from where we will be living.  These offer me new places to go without the high cost of travel now, especially now that we’re on a retirement budget.  We’ll miss friends and great times we enjoyed living in NJ,  but we look forward to the new opportunities Tennessee offers us in many aspects of our personal and family lifestyles.  I look forward to new adventures to be enjoyed as far as my college football interests go.  Also, Nashville will attract many friends to come visit us for music, festivals, sports, and other attractions they will come to see.

    With our relocation, you’ll note many new venues and FCS teams we look forward to seeing this year for the first time.  Additionally, you’ll see we’ll keep our ties to regular favorites like Penn State and Navy as well as the Army-Navy game.  We’ll be closer to our buddy Jim “Bug” Harton to drive out to Winston-Salem to see his Demon Deacons play while we enjoy some Bourbon together! Planning to spend Christmas at our new home and having our kids join us, we even have two bowl game in Tennessee already slated on our pre-season, tentative schedule.  Usually we wait to see what bowls we’ll go to, but these are two good ones. 

Push past 2020! 

   We look forward to another great season for collegefootballfan.com, especially now as we reach beyond Covid-19.  Check back here for further progress as I try to improve this website with more time I can dedicate to this passion I have for college football.  Check out a very different schedule below compared to what we’ve done in the past.  Many new places to go and teams to see.  Can’t wait! Click here for our 2021 Collegefootballfan.com Schedule.

Pro draft preview 2021: some of the best prospects seen in action

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Despite attending only three NCAA FBS in 2020, we saw our share of top talent in previous years who will be some of the top picks in this week’s draft. Like a great upset, it’s great to say we saw some raw talent play who becomes a well know player at the next level. Some of these include WR Pierre Garcon’ of Mount Union, QB Joe Flacco of Delaware, and even QB Malcolm Perry of Navy who made it as a wide receiver last year for the Dolphins. Not sure who will surprise us this year, but our preview here features those predicted to be at the top of the charts for the first few rounds. Check back with us after the draft comes to an end. That is where we pull out the guys low on the radar who could become household names.

  • Alabama’s DeVonta Smith, Heisman Trophy winner will enhance any pro receiving corps. The Philadelphia Eagles traded up to beat out NFC East rival Giants to grab him at No. 10 in the draft.
  • NDSU QB Trey Lance led the Bison to their seventh FCS title in eight years. We question if one season with the best program at this level is enough to assure success at the next level when joining a team struggling to build on a few wins. Lance got drafted third overall by a very good San Francisco 49er organization. We’ll see how he develops.
  • North Carolina WR Dyami Brown Is projected to get picked in Round Three. Right on the money! The Washington Football team selected him as the 82nd player in the draft. We hope they come up with anew mascot soon.
  • SEC’s leading rusher Kevin Harris (20) of South Carolina should be one of the higher picks at running back in 2022.
  • WR Sage Surratt (14) of Wake Forest and his brother Chazz, a LB at UNC, should both find their way to NFL rosters this weekend. Sage is waiting for free agency. Chazz joins the Vikings as the 78th player selected overall in 2021.
  • Penn State LB Micah Parsons (11) puts hit on Terps Anthony McFarland in 2019. He sat out 2020. He should be well rested, but possibly rusty stepping up at the next level in 2021. The Cowboys who selected him at No. 12 will find out!
  • North Carolina RB Javonta Williams looks to go early among RBs. As the No. 35 draftee, he heads to Denver.
  • Clemson Tiger RB Travis Etienne (9) should be ready for the next level. As the No. 25 selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars, he joins his Clemson teammate QB Trevor Lawrence whom the Jags took at No. 1.

Game 614 postponed until April 17

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Covid-19 rose it’s ugly head Friday night to postpone our Spring fling in Youngstown. Collegefootballfan.com is down but not out. Didn’t realize how much we were looking forward to this until “Slippery Rock” Bob called me with the news right before heading out the door. Can’t wait, but at least there’s still football in the air for us this spring. Let me know if you can join us. Here’s some positive signs of spring without masks!

Also looking forward to some other new venues in the fall as well.
Wake up for Wake Forest!
Rutgers cheer-leading squad – Jersey Girls!
Sound person for CBS TV sports looks like a lonely job, but somebody’s got to do it!
Houston Cougar cheer team strikes pose.