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College Football Awards Week 13 (2017) November 27, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Big XII, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, Bulldogs, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Dabo Swinney, East Carolina, FIU, Florida State, Frank Solich, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Gus Malzahn, Hurricanes, Idaho, Kentucky, Lamar Jackson, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Mark Richt, Maryland, Matt Luke, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nick Saban, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Pac-12, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Rocky Long, San Diego State, San Jose State, Seminoles, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tom Herman, UCF, UMass, USC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 13] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Glad I'm not him: Nick Saban, Alabama
Lucky guy: Matt Luke, Ole Miss
Poor guy: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rocky Long, San Diego State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mark Richt, Miami also: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking … anything: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Penn State (defeated Maryland 66-3)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: TCU (defeated Baylor 45-22)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to No. 20 Memphis 70-13)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: San Jose State (defeated Wyoming 20-17)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Kentucky 44-17)
Dang, they're good: Auburn
Dang, they're bad: East Carolina
Can't Stand Prosperity: Miami
Did the season start? Alabama
Can the season end? Arkansas
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
Play this again: No. 6 Auburn 26, No. 1 Alabama 14
Play this again, too: Ole Miss 31, No. 14 Mississippi State 28
Never play this again: No. 20 Memphis 70, East Carolina 13
What? Ole Miss 31, No. 14 Mississippi State 28
Huh? No. 21 Stanford 38, No. 8 Notre Dame 20
Are you kidding me?? Pittsburgh 24, No. 2 Miami 14
Oh – my – God: No. 6 Auburn 26, No. 1 Alabama 14
(rankings are current AP, post-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Wisconsin in the B1G championship (Indianapolis)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 20 Memphis @ No. 15 UCF (AAC championship)
Upset alert: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Also: No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 6 Auburn in the SEC championship (Atlanta)
Must win: (any championship game with playoff implications)
Offensive explosion: No. 12 TCU @ No. 4 Oklahoma (Big XII championship)
Defensive struggle: (jury's still out)
Great game no one is talking about: No. 21 Stanford vs. No. 11 USC in the Pac-12 championship
Intriguing coaching matchup: Mark Richt of Miami vs. Dabo Swinney of Clemson
Who's bringing the body bags? Louisiana-Monroe @ Florida State
Why are they playing? UMass @ FIU
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia Southern @ Coastal Carolina
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Idaho @ Georgia State
Week 13 Random Thoughts:
This weekend was one of reckoning for teams vying for playoff contention. Some survived, others went down in flames. One, surprisingly, was Alabama. In hindsight, the Tide was somewhat fool's gold. All their tough conference games were at home. The season's opener against Florida State was supposed to be a very marquee matchup, but it quickly became a rout once the Seminoles' starting quarterback was knocked out of the game (and out for the season), thus sending FSU's season town the toilet before it truly began. Last week should have been a greater warning than most of us acknowledged, what with Mississippi State giving the Tide a scare on the road. They escaped, only to face their first real test of the whole season, ironically at its end. They failed to step up to the challenge. Conversely, Auburn has proven they are the real deal, a playoff-worthy contender.
Clemson seems to have bounced back very nicely from the loss of their starting QB. Having handily defeated a good South Carolina team, they now prepare for this upcoming week's ACC championship game. There they face Miami, who surprisingly lost to Pitt in their first loss all year. The inopportune loss was bad enough, but they looked listless in defeat as well, perhaps convincing a critical mass of voters that the Hurricanes are not the playoff-worthy team we thought they were. All that said, they still clinched their division for the first time since its inception, and now face the Tigers this upcoming week. The odds favor the Tigers, but then again, there are compelling reasons why we line 'em up and play.
Ohio State stated off slowly against Michigan in "The Big House," allowing the Wolverines to score two touchdowns. But the Buckeyes eventually got going and eventually rolled to victory. While Alabama failed to knock Auburn out of contention, Notre Dame's convincing loss to Stanford and Miami's sudden loss could nevertheless keep the door open for their playoff hopes. Next step is to beat Wisconsin the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis this upcoming weekend.
Texas seemed to have rediscovered their offense on the road last week at West Virginia. This week, they could only muster 23 points, at home, to Texas Tech, who is hardly the defensive juggernaut. Things have improved this year with the Longhorns compared to the previous few seasons. Case in point, the Horns remain bowl-eligible. But much work and improvement clearly remains. The biggest objective is: find offensive consistency.
Louisville is finally playing back to form, practically scoring at will over a deceptively formidably Kentucky squad. Whether Lamar Jackson deserves a return trip to Manhattan for Heisman consideration is neither here nor there, but his team is in a far better position than it was last year, trending the proper direction as they await their bowl bid destination.
Okay, so my "near-perfect playoff scenario" is already compromised. This is not a huge surprise. In hindsight, Alabama was not the juggernaut we thought they were, and Miami was not as far along as they seemed earlier this year (but at this rate, Mark Richt will bring them into legit contention). Perhaps, at this rate, it could be Clemson, Auburn, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. With that in mind, Auburn is to face Georgia for a rematch, this time in Atlanta. The Bulldogs shall surely be out for revenge. The bottom line is, the reckoning is not over yet. Buckle up.
But seriously, Ohio State, ditch those gray-black uniforms. They look horrible.
College Football Awards Week 12 (2017) November 19, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Akron, Arkansas, Badgers, Baylor, Boston College, Bruins, BYU, Central Florida, Charlie Strong, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clemson, Dave Clawson, Egg Bowl, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Frank Solich, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kevin Sumlin, Kilane Sitake, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisville, Matt Luke, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Paul Chryst, Purdue, Scott Frost, South Alabama, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCF, UCLA, UConn, USC, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Wisconsin, Wolfpack
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 12] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Glad I'm not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Poor guy: Matt Luke, Ole Miss
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Frank Solich, Ohio U
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirk Ferenz, Iowa
Desperately seeking … anything: Kilane Sitake, BYU
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Syracuse 56-10)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Mississippi State (defeated Arkansas 28-21)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Illinois (lost to Ohio State 52-14)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Navy (lost to No. 8 Notre Dame 24-17)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Northwestern (defeated Minnesota 39-0)
Dang, they're good: Ohio State
Dang, they're bad: South Alabama
Can't Stand Prosperity: Iowa
Did the season start? Oklahoma State
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Oklahoma
Play this again: Texas A&M 31, Ole Miss 24
Play this again, too: Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40
Never play this again: Florida State 77, Delaware State 6
What? Akron 37, Ohio U 34
Huh? Wake Forest 30, No. 19 NC State 24
Are you kidding me?? Kansas State 45, No. 13 Oklahoma State 40
Oh – my – God: Purdue 24, Iowa 15
(rankings are current AP (post-week 12, pre-week 13)
Ticket to die for: No. 9 Ohio State @ Michigan also: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 6 Auburn
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: none
Best non-Power Five matchup: South Florida @ No. 15 UCF
Upset alert: No. 2 Clemson @ South Carolina also: No. 8 Notre Dame @ No. 22 Stanford
Must win: Indiana @ Purdue also: No. 9 Ohio State @ Michigan
Offensive explosion: No. 14 Washington State @ No. 18 Washington
Defensive struggle: Florida State @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Louisville @ Kentucky
Intriguing coaching matchup: Scott Frost of Central Florida vs Charlie Strong of South Florida
Who's bringing the body bags? Baylor @ No. 12 TCU
Why are they playing? Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte
Plenty of good seats remaining: UConn @ Cincinnati
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Vanderbilt @ Tennessee
Week 12 Random Thoughts:
Today yielded no earth-shattering upsets. How could it, with so many highly-ranked teams inexplicably engaged in body bag games so late in the year? Nevertheless, some interesting upsets did ensue. Pathetic Akron took down perennial MAC contender Ohio U, for example. Kansas State defeated Oklahoma State on the road. Unranked Wake Forest (now 7-4, surprisingly) upset No. 19 NC State, putting a blemish on an otherwise impressive year for the Wolfpack. Even more amazingly, Purdue went on the road to play Iowa, a game where nobody, least of all yours truly, gave them a chance to win, and yet they did anyhow. Don't ask how the same team that embarrassed Ohio State by the worst margin in more than two decades could lose two weeks later at home to a lesser team. There is no rational explanation.
Texas earned a great win, on the road, over West Virginia. Two weeks ago, the Longhorns gave a pitiful offensive performance against TCU, and offered only a middling performance in their win over Kansas last week. Naturally, this turn of events gave the Longhorn faithful cause for concern. Whether these concerns are no longer valid remains to be seen. But adjustments were clearly made, to the point where Texas was able to win, convincingly, in a tough environment, against a favored team. Looks like progress, and the Horns are now bowl-eligible to boot. Next week they close the regular season at home against Texas Tech, which will be a decent test to see if they can maintain their current level of performance.
Remember my earlier speculation about Purdue's bowl chances having evaporated? Wad that thought up and toss it out the window. Purdue's surprising upset over Iowa – on the road, no less – has given their season a new life. Don't ask how this came to pass. Be all that as it may, this upcoming week, both Purdue and in-state rival Indiana shall play each other for two things, not just one. Not only will they play for the Old Oaken Bucket trophy, but also for bowl eligibility. No telling the last time the stakes were that high for the two teams.
Every season, there is always a surprise or two. One such this year is Central Florida, who currently undefeated and ranked first in the All-American Conference East Division. At a current rank of no. 15, head coach Scott Frost seems to know what he is doing. This is the same Scott Frost who was the capable, tough, dependable quarterback who led Nebraska to a share of the national title with Michigan in the 1997 season. After several years as a back-up QB in the NFL, he gradually worked his way up the ranks in coaching. With a relatively easy schedule remaining, the Golden Knights could remain undefeated going into the ultimate conference showdown at season's end. Then, they face 9-1 South Florida, led by Coach Charlie Strong. Surely that is to be one of the most intriguing of coaching matchups of the year!
Shout-out to Notre Dame for wearing very cool-looking, throwback-inspired uniforms during their game against Navy. I sincerely hope that more teams with gold in their school colors have the good sense to copy those nice-looking gold pants that the Irish wore this week.
Just several weeks earlier, Louisville could not beat Wake Forest or Boston College. Now, they seem to have turned things around. Their 56-10 walloping of Syracuse is a sure sign the Cardinals are playing back to form, and are doing so just at the right time, as they take on in-state rival Kentucky this upcoming week.
UCLA just fired Jim Mora, Jr. Ironically, the Bruins lost last night to cross-town rival USC by a respectable margin, 28-23. But the powers that be in Westwood clearly did not like the direction the program was headed. Mora helped create high expectations for the Bruin faithful, but sadly failed to deliver (UCLA is now 5-6). Then again, the school is only partially committed compared to USC, or to any other program that is determined to compete for a national title. Firing the current head coach shall thus not solve this systemic problem.
With Wisconsin's win over Michigan, the Badgers continue their undefeated streak and are on a certain course to represent the Western Division in the Big Ten championship. All Ohio State has to do is beat Michigan this upcoming week for the rights to butt heads with the Badgers. My scenario for the best possible playoff scenario thus continues, but more pratfalls remain.
The best game on Thanksgiving is not played in Detroit or Dallas. No, rather it is usually the "Egg Bowl," the annual Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State grudge-match that shall once again kickoff on the evening of the fourth Thursday in November. Let us enjoy it, and God Bless America!
My Nearly Perfect Playoff Scenario November 16, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: ACC, Alabama, AP, Auburn, B1G, Baker Mayfield, Big Ten, BYU, Clemson, college football, Crimson Tide, Georgia, Hurricanes, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, NCAA, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pac-12, playoffs, poll, TCU, Utah State, Wisconsin
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The developments in this past week of college football have shaken up the polls yet again, thus further modifying the playoff projections. Given the current state of affairs, if the new AP poll is of any indication, here's how I think things could play out.
The current top eight in the AP poll is as follows:
- Alabama
- Miami
- Oklahoma
- Clemson
- Wisconsin
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Ohio State
So, based on current polling and whom the teams have yet to play, who goes into the final four of the playoffs? My scenario could lead to near-perfection.
Let's start with Alabama. Mississippi State almost beat them at home. So, the Crimson Tide is vulnerable. Nevertheless, they'll get an easy win over a cupcake in Mercer this Saturday. That leaves us with Auburn at No. 6. Strange things happen in rivalry games. Even stranger things happen in the Iron Bowl, arguably the most heated, bitter rivalry in college sports. Bama thought they would be playing for the national title until the famous "kick-six" incident of 2013, for example. Nevertheless, let us say for the sake of argument that Bama beats Auburn. On paper, this is entirely possible. Auburn will thus have three losses, and be eliminated from playoff consideration.
The Tide remains undefeated, and goes onto the SEC championship game in Atlanta. There, they play Georgia, who was briefly No. 1 before getting their asses handed to them by Auburn. Now at No. 7, they'll still give Alabama a good challenge in Atlanta. But on paper, the odds still favor The Tide. Let us thus accept the law of averages and say Bama wins. Again. Having knocked out both Auburn AND Georgia, Bama as undefeated AND SEC champs, also ranked No. 1, instantly clinch a playoff berth.
Berth No. 1 of 4: Alabama
Next up is Miami. After tearing Notre Dame a new one in Hard Rock Stadium, the Hurricanes now sit at No. 2 in the AP. They have also clinched the Atlantic Division of the ACC for the first time since the conference split into those two divisions. To remain undefeated in the regular season, they need to take out Virginia (at home) and Pittsburgh (on the road). Both are doable, obviously, though keep an eye out for the Canes having to deal with cold Pittsburgh weather in late November.
At any rate, the Hurricanes are now slated to play Clemson, currently No. 4 in the AP, for the ACC Championship. That game will be in Charlotte in early December, effectively a home game for the Tigers. IF the Hurricanes can overcome this huge challenge and triumph over Clemson, they shall be undefeated, ACC champs, and shall have clinched the second spot in the playoffs. This could actually be the most tenuous of contingencies. Nevertheless…
Berth No. 2 of 4: Miami
Oklahoma currently sits at No. 3. Aside from Iowa State, the Sooners have risen to the occasion each game, recently beating a tough TCU squad. OU quarterback Baker Mayfield is a more mature version of Johnny Manziel: someone capable of making special things happen. Despite legit challenges from strong teams within the conference, nobody can credibly take the Sooners down this year. If these shadows remain unchanged, they'll surely clinch a playoff berth.
Berth No. 3 of 4: Oklahoma
That leaves us with the last spot. In this scenario, three out of the eight are already in. Three of the remaining five are out. That leaves us with the remaining two: Wisconsin and Ohio State. "But wait," you protest, "Ohio State already has two losses, one a both recent AND embarrassing one to Iowa." A valid point you would raise, to be sure. But here's the deal. The Buckeyes' schedule is still much stronger than Wisconsin's, for one. Whereas OSU had the guts to play a tough OU squad that, as already mentioned, shall surely be playoff-bound, Wisconsin padded their schedule with Utah State, Florida Atlantic, and a weak (for this year) BYU.
Moreover, IF Ohio State shows up ready to play, they can beat anybody. Would you want to coach head-to-head against Urban Meyer? I didn't think so.
Finally, both Wisconsin and Ohio State, if both win out, are destined to butt heads in the Big Ten Championship game. They both need to beat Michigan to guarantee this scenario. Should they play each other for the B1G title, and should Ohio State actually triumph, Wisconsin shall be effectively eliminated. Why? Again, their relatively weak schedule without winning their own conference. Meanwhile, Ohio State will be the last team standing in the top eight in the current AP poll. Could winning the B1G over an undefeated team be enough to get them back into playoff contention? I would wager "yes."
Berth No. 4 of 4: Ohio State
Yes, this scenario is contingent on many factors. Change one major factor (Bama loses to Auburn, for example), and it all falls apart. Wisconsin and Ohio State's viabilities depend on both beating Michigan. Miami still needs to face Pittsburgh in the cold of late November at Heinz Field. After that, they must face down Clemson. Obviously, that's a tall order.
If, however, all these things come to pass, it would be a nearly geographically-perfect playoff line-up. Alabama would represent the south. Miami could represent urban, coastal fans of the game. Ohio State could represent the Midwest, the Big Ten, and its demographic TV-viewing juggernaut along with it. Finally, Oklahoma could represent other parts of Middle America. Indeed, the only problem with this scenario is that it lacks a Pac-12 team. If it did, we would have perfection. Too bad the Pac-12 teams ended up cannibalizing themselves this year, but that could be the case with the B1G, too, depending on how things truly do come to pass. The only way we'll know one way or the other is to keep lining them up and playing.
College Football Awards Week 11 (2017) November 13, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Army, Auburn, Ball State, Butch Jones, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Dan Mullen, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeff Monken, Kansas State, Louisville, LSU, Mark Richt, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, New Mexico, Nick Saban, North Carolina, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Utah, Virginia Tech, Washington, Wyoming
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 11] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Mark Richt, Miami
Glad I'm not him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Lucky guy: Nick Saban, Alabama
Poor guy: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Jeff Monken, Army
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Desperately seeking … anything: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Texas A&M (defeated New Mexico 55-10)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Alabama (defeated No. 16 Mississippi State 31-24)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to Missouri 50-17)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Mississippi State (lost to No. 2 Alabama 31-24)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated No. 12 Michigan State 48-3)
Dang, they're good: Ohio State
Dang, they're bad: Georgia Southern
Can't Stand Prosperity: Georgia
Did the season start? Virginia Tech
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Miami
Play this again: No. 2 Alabama 31, No. 16 Mississippi State 24
Play this again, too: No. 15 Oklahoma State 49, No. 21 Iowa State 42
Never play this again: Northern Illinois 63, Ball State 17
What? Georgia Tech 28, No. 17 Virginia Tech 22
Huh? Stanford 30, No. 9 Washington 22
Are you kidding me?? No. 7 Miami 41, No. 3 Notre Dame 8
Oh – my – God: No. 10 Auburn 40, No. 1 Georgia 17
(rankings are current AP (post-week 11, pre-week 12)
Ticket to die for: None, except maybe Michigan @ No. 8 Wisconsin
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Carolina @ North Carolina
Best non-Power Five matchup: Fresno State @ Wyoming also: Army @ North Texas
Upset alert: Utah @ No. 9 Washington
Must win: Texas @ West Virginia also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: SMU @ No. 18 Memphis
Defensive struggle: No. 21 LSU @ Tennessee
Great game no one is talking about: Arizona @ Oregon
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Paul Chryst of Wisconsin
Who's bringing the body bags? Citadel @ No. 4 Clemson
Why are they playing? Wofford @ South Carolina also: Mercer @ No. 1 Alabama
Plenty of good seats remaining: Coastal Carolina @ Idaho
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Louisiana-Monroe @ No. 10 Auburn
Week 11 Random Thoughts:
Is it safe to say that Miami (Fla.) is back as a top-tier program? Already ranked No. 7 going into this weekend's game, they crushed No. 3 Notre Dame at home, 41-8. They remain undefeated in one of the toughest conferences in football, now at the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll (Clemson is now at No. 3). If these shadows remain unchanged, they could face Clemson in the ACC Championship game early next month (ticket-to-die-for in the making?). If they win that, it would be close to certain that the Hurricanes would be in the playoffs, and rightly so. So yeah, sure looks that way.
It's a good thing I listed Butch Jones as "Desperately seeking…anything" because as of today (Nov. 12), he got the ax at Tennessee. This became an increasingly urgent necessity as the season progressed. Despite the solid recruiting classes Jones brought in at Tennessee, he was unable to translate the talent into wins on the field. Barely winning over lousy UMass was cause for concern. Losing a squeaker to a mediocre Florida was bad enough. Losing to Georgia in a blowout – one of the worst in recent program history – was a major embarrassment. Losing to Kentucky – something the Volunteers very rarely do – was obviously unacceptable. Getting crushed by hated Alabama became inevitable – which didn't make it any less unpalatable to the Tennessee faithful. The final nail in Jones' coffin was a blowout loss to Missouri, of all teams. So, Jones is now out at Tennessee. Time for the replacement coaching search games to begin!
While this was a great weekend for college football (despite some unexpectedly one-sided outcomes – looking your way, Georgia and Notre Dame), next week shall be something of a let-down. The only game resembling a marquee matchup is No. 19 Michigan vs No. 5 Wisconsin. Half of the SEC is wasting the upcoming weekend with body bag games. To wit: Mercer plays at Alabama; Wofford plays South Carolina in an annual late-season affair (why??); Auburn dialed up a "w" with Louisiana-Monroe. Florida would also be included, except for the fact that UAB has a much better record (7-3) than the Gators (3-6). Not to be outdone, Clemson had to get in on the act by playing the Citadel.
At least the other half of the conference was exercising some degree of sense by scheduling real games. Kentucky plays at Georgia. LSU plays at Tennessee, which will no doubt further contribute to the Volunteers' collective misery. Texas A&M plays at Ole Miss in what should be a good game. Missouri, surprisingly offensively spry, plays at Vanderbilt.
Purdue's bowl eligibility hopes for the year are quickly dwindling. They currently stand at 4-6, and have to win out over both Iowa and Indiana. Whereas the latter seems winnable, the former, not so much. The Boilers did themselves no favors by losing on the road to conference cellar-dweller Rutgers, then blowing a 4th-quarter lead at home to Nebraska. The good news is that if Purdue ends up at 5-7, they'll still have won more games than the entire Hazell era combined.
All that said, there are some decent games that might not be of huge consequence. Syracuse plays Louisville, for example, and Kansas State plays Oklahoma State. Arizona at Oregon is also a good match-up, and Utah has the potential to upset Washington. So there are enjoyable games this weekend, we'll just have to search more diligently than usual for them.
College Football Awards Week 10 (2017) November 6, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Big Ten, Bill Connelly, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, Buckeyes, Bulldogs, Coastal Carolina, David Beaty, Florida, Gators, Georgia, Hawkeyes, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Joel Klatt, Kansas, Kansas State, Kirk Ferentz, Longhorns, Louisiana, Maine, Mark Richt, Miami, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Neal Brown, Nevada, New Mexico, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Troy, UCLA, UMass, Urban Meyer, Utah, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 10] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Glad I'm not him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Lucky guy: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Poor guy: James Franklin, Penn State
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: (none)
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Neal Brown, Troy
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Desperately seeking … anything: David Beaty, Kansas
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: San Diego State (defeated San Jose State 52-7)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Arkansas (defeated Coastal Carolina 39-38)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: San Jose State (lost to San Diego State 52-7)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: UMass (lost to No. 16 Mississippi State 34-23)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Florida 45-16)
Dang, they're good: Alabama
Dang, they're bad: Kansas
Can't Stand Prosperity: Ohio State
Did the season start? Stanford
Can the season end? Florida
Can the season never end? Michigan State
Play this again: No. 24 Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24
Play this again, too: Kansas State 42, Texas Tech 35
Never play this again: San Diego State 52, San Jose State 7
What? No. 25 Washington State 25, No. 21 Stanford 21
Huh? West Virginia 20, No. 15 Iowa State 16
Are you kidding me?? No. 24 Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24
Oh – my – God: Iowa 55, No. 6 Ohio State 24
(rankings are current AP (post-week 10, pre-week 11)
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Notre Dame @ No. 10 Miami also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Louisiana @ Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five matchup: Toledo @ Ohio U
Upset alert: No. 25 Washington State @ Utah
Must win: No. 24 Michigan State @ No. 6 Ohio State also: No. 8 TCU @ No. 5 Oklahoma
Offensive explosion: West Virginia @ Kansas State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 20 Oklahoma State @ Iowa State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Brian Kelly of Notre Dame vs. Mark Richt of Miami (FL)
Who's bringing the body bags? No. 22 Arizona @ Oregon State
Why are they playing? New Mexico @ Texas A&M
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ Nevada
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Maine @ UMass
Week 10 Random Thoughts:
As Bill Connelly reminds this time of the year, November is for everything. Teams are what they are at this point of the season. A loss now can sink a team's season. With that in mind, let us examine the following:
Just when we thought Ohio State had a shot at the playoffs after a big win over Penn State, this week, the Buckeyes turned right around and spoiled it for all of us. It's not that they lost, it's how they lost that's the true disgrace.
Anyone with any discernment knew that Iowa would be a tough out for any team. They took Penn State to the very wire, after all. Perhaps too many on Ohio State's team thought they were on Easy Street after taking down the Nittany Lions last week. Guess again, guys. The Buckeyes failed to score in the whole second half until 4:37 remained in regulation. By then, it was too little, too late. The Hawkeyes triumphed in dramatic fashion, 55-24, giving the Buckeyes their worst loss since 1994. Ouch. Not exactly a playoff-caliber performance, guys. Speaking of which, kiss those hopes goodbye for the year, and let that be a lesson to all of us to always bring one's "A" game.
Remember when Texas seemed to have found an offense last week against Baylor? Yeah, that was a false alarm: fool's gold. The Longhorns only mustered a single touchdown (2nd quarter) the entire game, losing it 24-7. The Horns' defense was impressive, all things considered, but their offense is frankly non-existent. Why? Much of it revolved around a young offensive line that is still trying to gel. Even if QB Shane Buechele had time in the pocket, his receivers failed to get separation (some blame the offensive coordinator for failing to scheme properly). Their own self-inflicted mistakes that translated to penalties obviously did them no favors, either. It all added up to an incoherent mess on the offensive side of the ball, and the score at game's end showed it.
This weekend has rightly been dubbed "elimination weekend," but that could surely apply to other weekends to come this month. Notre Dame has yet to play resurgent Miami, and after that they must face Stanford: both are on the road.
Penn State did themselves no favors by losing to Michigan State on the road. With that loss, their playoff aspirations for the year are over, but in the Nittany Lions' defense, the game was much closer (21-14) than Ohio State's disastrous outing at Iowa. The long rain delay in the middle of the game likely interfered with their rhythms, too.
Speaking again of Ohio State, they have no time to lick their wounds, as the Spartans come calling this upcoming weekend.
South Carolina has quietly become bowl-eligible with six wins, despite their most recent loss, on the road, to border rival Georgia. To be sure, the Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 2 in the playoffs, so the loss, on paper, was expected. Now the Gamecocks face a depleted Florida Gators squad, at home, where the odds are likely they can amass win No. 7 for the year.
Georgia, meanwhile, faces a potential pitfall when they venture into No. 14 Auburn to engage in "the oldest rivalry in the South".
Washington State squeaked by Stanford. Now they must face Utah, who crushed UCLA, 48-17. Here is yet another potential upset in the making. Joel Klatt, are you paying attention yet?
In another window into the current state of Big Ten football, resurgent Purdue is, currently, a slight underdog to Northwestern. Another potential conference "Toilet Bowl" awaits with Illinois facing Indiana (the latter's record is deceptive, though). Also, Iowa now has to face undefeated Wisconsin; not a good time to be on Cloud Nine after taking down the mighty Buckeyes.
College Football Awards Week 9 (2017) October 30, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, B1G, Ball State, Baylor, Big Ten, Boilers, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, Central Florida, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, David Shaw, Florida, Florida State, Gamecocks, Gary Patterson, Gator Bowl, Gators, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Iowa, Iowa State, Irish, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim McElwain, Jimbo Fisher, Justin Fuente, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Mark Richt, Miami, Miami (Florida), Miami Hurricanes, Michigan State, Mike Riley, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, SMU, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Miss, Stanford, Steve Addazio, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo, UCF, UMass, Urban Meyer, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 9] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Glad I'm not him: James Franklin, Penn State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford also: Mike Riley, Nebraska
Poor guy: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Gary Patterson, TCU
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Steve Addazio, Boston College
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim McElwain, Florida
Desperately seeking … anything: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: UCF (defeated Austin Peay 73-33)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Stanford (defeated Oregon State 15-14)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Baylor (lost to Texas 38-7)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: North Carolina (lost to No. 8 Miami 24-19)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Boston College (defeated Florida State 35-3)
Dang, they're good: Georgia
Dang, they're bad: Baylor
Can't Stand Prosperity: TCU
Did the season start? Louisville
Can the season end? Florida State
Can the season never end? Ohio State
Play this again: No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38
Play this again, too: Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31, 3OT
Never play this again: Toledo 58, Ball State 17
What? Houston 28, No. 17 South Florida 24
Huh? Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31, 3OT
Are you kidding me?? No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38
Oh – my – God: No. 25 Iowa State 14, No. 4 TCU 7
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 1 Alabama @ No. 19 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 15 UCF @ SMU
Upset alert: Texas @ TCU also: No. 18 Stanford @ No. 25 Washington State
Must win: No. 13 Virginia Tech @ No. 9 Miami
Offensive explosion: No. 8 Oklahoma State @ No. 11 Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ Missouri
Great game no one is talking about: No. 25 Iowa State @ No. 22 West Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Also: Justin Fuente of Virginia Tech vs. Mark Richt of Miami
Who's bringing the body bags? UMass @ Mississippi State
Why are they playing? Southern Miss @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Charlotte @ Old Dominion
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Coastal Carolina @ Arkansas
Week 9 Random Thoughts:
The Ohio State-Penn State game was one that certainly lived up to its hype. Its implicit billing as the game of the year certainly was that, with stakes no less high than a possible playoff berth on the line. Buckeyes are now ranked No. 3 and have the opportunity to control their own destiny. Three out of the four remaining games are going to be challenges, however. Iowa is up next (remember, they took Penn State down to the wire), followed by Michigan State (a deceptively deadly team as of late), a potential break with Illinois, with Michigan (self-explanatory) to cap off the season. Urban Meyer needs to keep the team focused these next four weeks for a trip to Indianapolis for the B1G championship.
In the meantime OSU, ditch those grungy-looking all-gray uniforms. They looked horrible.
Few things are as distasteful as seeing your team blow a 4th-quarter lead. Purdue did just that at home against Nebraska. First they embarrassed themselves in a defensive struggle on the road against lowly Rutgers, now this. This upcoming week's game against Illinois is surely a winnable one, but then again, that's what we all thought about Rutgers and Nebraska a couple of weeks ago. Worse yet, Northwestern has been resurgent as of late, and Iowa is as competitive as ever. Indiana might still be a winnable game, and thus it is not reasonable for the Boilers to emerge at season's end 5-7, which is a still a step in the right direction from the disaster that was the Darrell Hazell era.
As predicted, Texas got well on Baylor. The respite will not last, as next game they face TCU, arguably their toughest opponent of the year, in Fort Worth, no less. Moreover, the Horned Frogs will be quite angry after just losing – unexpectedly – their first game of the year to newly-ranked Iowa State.
Let us hold our horses about Notre Dame. Yes, they have only one loss, to current No. 2 Georgia, no less, and their strength of schedule is formidable. But they're also enjoying a senior-laden offensive line with a limited offense. Furthermore, the Irish have yet to face two of their toughest opponents not named Georgia. In two weeks they face a resurgent Miami Hurricanes, and they close out the season on the road at Stanford. Eastern Timezone teams tend not to fare very well on the road against West Coast teams. Just sayin'. In the meantime, cool the hype on Notre Dame until their season concludes.
Speaking of Georgia, they rose to the occasion yet again this year by handily defeating Florida. In recent years, the Bulldogs have struggled in their annual rivalry games against the Gators. This time, the Dawgs kept that unpleasant past in the rearview mirror. Seemingly treating it like any other game, they went into the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and took care of business, so much so (42-7) that Jim McElwain might be in danger of losing his job. Now ranked No. 2, they potentially control their own destiny. But next game up is South Carolina, a potential trap game, as Will Muschamp has coached the Gamecocks to a surprising 6-2 start. Moreover, the remaining three games after that – in order, Auburn, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech – each offer their own unique challenges. If the Bulldogs remain in playoff contention, they shall have to earn it.
Oh, and Tennessee lost…again…this time to another rival of sorts, Kentucky. As of this writing, officials at the University of Tennessee are contemplating Butch Jones' tenure. Many of us are wondering what has taken them this long to get to this point, let alone giving Jones the ax.
Where Joel Klatt is right and wrong about Notre Dame October 28, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Ara Parseghian, Brian Kelly, Colin Cowherd, David Cutcliffe, David Shaw, Duke, football, FOX, FS1, James Franklin, Jim Harbaugh, Joel Klatt, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Stanford, Urban Meyer, Vanderbilt
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Joel Klatt is a rising star in college football broadcasting, and rightfully so. His analysis during the games he helps broadcast of FOX is very insightful. His talent makes him the perfect up-and-coming asset that an up-and-coming network like FS1 needs right now. Klatt's sit-down interviews with regular TV show hosts on FS1 are just as informative, and his input always makes for great conversation. Any engaged listener can always walk away from listening to such interviews thinking that their understanding of the college game has deepened.
On the matter of the state of highly-ranked academic powerhouse schools in the "Power Five" of college football, however, the veracity of his analysis is mixed. It all centers around his understanding of the current state of Notre Dame football.
As Colin Cowherd of FS1 has noted for years, Notre Dame flourished at a time when it was one of the very few programs that was reliably put on national TV every week of the season. All that changed when sports networks decided to start broadcasting more teams consistently in the 1990s. With that, Notre Dame's monopoly on national attention soon evaporated. Soon, ND had to compete with schools whose campuses offered warmer winters and prettier coeds, institutions such as Texas, Florida, USC, LSU, Florida State, Georgia, and the like. None of these schools had the same level of academic requirements as ND, either, meaning it is much easier to admit recruits there as well.
None of this is to say that cold-weather schools cannot do well at the highest level, and Klatt quickly points this out. On the contrary, in the 2014-2015 playoffs, Urban Meyer's Ohio State team beat out a tough Alabama squad to play for the national title. Indeed, the Buckeyes handily defeated Oregon to win it. Moreover, Michigan has been considerably on the rebound since they hired Jim Harbaugh, and Penn State has returned to national power status under recruiting wizard James Franklin.
Even ND hired a highly-capable coach in Brian Kelly in December of 2009. By the 2012 season, he took Notre Dame to a national title game. To be sure, they got crushed my Alabama, 42-14, and in highsight, much of ND's high ranking was a product of wishful thinking. This season (2017) they are currently top-ten in the rankings (No. 9 as of Oct. 27), but they have reached their ceiling with a senior-dominated team, and even they lost at home to an even better team in Georgia.
Moreover, other academically-rigid schools have been winning games (e.g., Stanford), and in some cases, have started to win more than they have in a long time (e.g., Duke). So clearly schools with high academic standards can win some games. So why is Notre Dame still limited in this day at age?
It turns out that a school with cold weather and high academic standards does not automatically mean that the football team will be a conference/Power Five doormat, provided that you have the right coach. Northwestern seems to have that, for example, in Pat Fitzgerald. In the Wildcats' case, it helps that the campus in is the vibrant, urban setting of Evanston, Ill., right on the edge of Chicago proper and a half-hour commuter train ride into downtown and all the scads of action that huge city has to offer.
In the case of Duke, they are in Durham, N.C., part of the "Research Triangle", an area with much growth and dynamism as of late. Plus, the winters are much milder there than they are in the Rustbelt. It also helps that Duke found a capable coach in David Cutcliffe.
In the case of Stanford, which is even more academically stringent than Notre Dame, it enjoys the advantage of the idyllic beauty of Silicon Valley. Temperatures in December can sometimes peak in the lower 70s. Stanford University is one of the most architecturally amazing college campuses in the world. Even with the extra recruiting hurdle of having to admit each player to the school as a student before they can sing a letter of intent to join the team, David Shaw still manages to make them competitive in the Pac-12 north division, sometimes winning the division outright.
In addition to Notre Dame's cold weather setting and academic rigidity, two other factors hinder the program today. One is the religious overtones (a turn-off to recruits who have far more options today, both in the Big Ten and also the warm-weather schools). The other is that its relatively isolated. It takes almost two hours to drive to the heart of Chicago. The next-closest spot of major population is Fort Wayne, Ind., followed by Toledo, Ohio. Neither Northwestern, Duke, Stanford, or even Vanderbilt have to contend with those two recruiting hindrances.
These factors, all combined, have hurt Notre Dame's brand in the eyes of many coveted recruits today. Joel Klatt acknowledges the earlier-mentioned factors (cold weather and academics), but has ignored these latter items, which combine to make a considerable difference.
To be sure, there are schools even more isolated than ND. Nebraska is geographically worse off, as is Penn State. The latter is back in contention, again, thanks to the recruiting prowess of James Franklin (it helps that PSU is arguably the most amazing campus in the B1G, and Beaver Stadium is the second-largest stadium in the country by capacity).
Is Klatt correct in that Notre Dame is still a strong brand? Yes, but only for legacy/tradition reasons. Because of their past success, they are still a legitimate "traditional power", but that legacy has increasingly less cache to marquee recruits who might look askance at Michiana's dreary winters, the school's religious overtones, etc.
The real take-away from this discussion is how insane ND fans are who call for Brian Kelly's ouster. Without him, the team would be lucky to go 7-5 this season, as opposed to the top-ten rankings the team currently enjoys. Just to observe, the Irish will be lucky to win two of their next four games. But that aside, the fan base's insanity is a function of unrealistic expectations that need to be tempered in a day and age where the Rustbelt is no longer the heart of the American economy and talented football players have far more options of where to play than they did during the days of Ara Parseghian.
In conclusion, can Notre Dame still win games? Absolutely. As Fitzerald, Shaw, Cutcliffe, Harbaugh, and Franklin have demonstrated, the right coach at the right place proves that winning football games in a prestigious academic setting is indeed possible. Brian Kelly is surely the optimal coach for Notre Dame, and his accomplishments are nearly miraculous in the context of his strategic difficulties. Given the aforementioned problems hindering Notre Dame, the program is at best an eight-win program. To win any more than eight ought to exceed expectations if those, too, are properly tempered in the context of the current age.
College Football Awards, Week 8 (2017) October 22, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Alabama, Baylor, Boston College, Bulldogs, Butch Jones, BYU, California, Clay Helton, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Houston, Hurricanes, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas State, Kentucky, Kirk Ferentz, Kliff Kingsbury, Larry Fedora, Matt Campbell, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Sam Ehlinger, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Spartans, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tigers, Tom Herman, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vols, Volunteers, West Virginia, Western Michigan
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 8] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: James Franklin, Penn State
Glad I'm not him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: Tom Herman, Texas
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Clay Helton, USC
Desperately seeking … anything: Larry Fedora, North Carolina
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Virginia Tech (defeated North Carolina 59-7)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Miami (defeated Syracuse 27-19)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Tennessee (lost to No. 1 Alabama 45-7)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Baylor (lost to No. 23 West Virginia 38-36)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Missouri (defeated Idaho 68-21)
Dang, they're good: Alabama
Dang, they're bad: Georgia Southern
Can't Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? Michigan
Can the season end? Tennessee
Can the season never end? Penn State
Play this again: No. 9 Oklahoma 42, Kansas State 35
Play this again, too: No. 10 Oklahoma State 13, Texas 10
Never play this again: Missouri 68, Idaho 21
What? Rutgers 14, Purdue 12
Huh? Iowa State 31, Texas Tech 13
Are you kidding me?? Boston College 41, Virginia 10
Oh – my – God: No. 13 Notre Dame 49, No. 11 USC 14
(rankings are current AP (post-week 8, pre-week 9)
Ticket to die for: No. 2 Penn State @ No. 6 Ohio State (B1G game of the year?)
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Houston @ No. 16 South Florida
Upset alert: No. 14 NC State @ No. 9 Notre Dame
Also: Florida State @ Boston College
Must win: No. 3 Georgia @ Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 10 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: California @ Colorado
Also: Mississippi State @ Texas A&M
Intriguing coaching matchup: James Franklin of Penn State vs Urban Meyer of Ohio State
Also: Kirk Ferentz of Iowa vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who's bringing the body bags? No. 8 Miami (FL) @ North Carolina
Why are they playing? Austin Peay @ No. 18 UCF
Plenty of good seats remaining: San Jose State @ BYU
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Texas State @ Coastal Carolina
Week 8 Random Thoughts:
Poor Texas. Try as they might with their strong defense, offensively they cannot score enough points to get over the proverbial hump. Yesterday in Austin, they held No. 10-ranked Oklahoma State, with the most productive offense in the county, to only 13 points. However, the Longhorns in turn could only score 10 points. Texas seems to have a capable quarterback in Sam Ehlinger, but he is only a true freshman, and the offense seems to rely too much on his guts and determination alone. Part of the problem is that many of the offensive players are still young, and shall have to grow in experience, and presumably in capability as well. The tentative verdict is that it will simply take time for the Horns to return to Top-10 status. They are close, but not there yet.
Speaking of taking time, Purdue practically controlled their own destiny. Current trajectories indicated they had a clear path to start a decent winning streak after getting beat up by a couple of conference heavyweights. Then they lost by two points on the road to Rutgers. Yes, Rutgers. What happened? Most likely, defensive coordinators around the league have taken notice of the tricks that Jeff Brohm has been left no choice but to use on account of the dearth of talent that his predecessor has left him. Thus, for Purdue to show marked, consistent improvement, things shall take more time. Basically, Brohm will need to bring in better recruiting classes so as to beat his opponents on the field with talent instead of trickery. This of course is not to blame the man for what he is doing right now. If we were in his proverbial shoes, we would likely find ourselves left to resort to the same things.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is officially a dumpster fire. Sure, we all knew at this rate that Alabama would blast them into defeat, but what none of us anticipated was the lack of dignity on the Vols' part. The obscene gesture to Bama's fans by one of Tennessee's defensive backs after a pick-six is a black eye to the program, and could only hasten Butch Jones' eventual departure as head coach. But that aside, the Volunteers do have talent on their team. Jones has sadly failed to harness it properly, to say nothing of orchestrating that talent into a cohesive effort at the top level that the SEC demands.
To put it another way with regard to the Vols and their current dumpster-fire status, they are to play Kentucky next week. Tennessee is currently 3-4, while the Wildcats, who usually only barely belong in the SEC, are 5-2. Yes, that means the world is officially upside-down.
Meanwhile, it's always mildly intriguing when two conference foes who are about to butt heads share the same thing in common. Think: Mississippi State vs. Georgia, as both are the Bulldogs. Think also: LSU vs. Auburn, or Missouri vs. LSU, or Auburn vs. Missouri. All three are the Tigers. In the case of Mississippi State and Texas A&M, though, both have the same school colors of maroon and white, and both play each other next week. What makes things even more intriguing is that both have quietly amassed a respectable 5-2 record in the course of the season. After that game, those records shall inevitably diverge.
This week was a statistical anomaly, specifically with a cluster of defensive struggles. Who would have thought that Indiana at Michigan State would have been such a defensive struggle, with a 17-9 outcome in the Spartans' favor? Even more to the point was the aforementioned 13-10 outcome at Texas. That the Horns held the Cowboys' high-powered offense to just 13 points (including one overtime) must surely cause Mike Gundy to reach for the Rolaids while watching film today. If that's not enough, the Purdue-Rutgers affair ended at 14-12 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. Northwestern and Iowa kept the score low at 17-10. UConn triumphing over Tulsa 20-14 does not count in past eras, but might as well in a time where the hurry-up, no-huddle offense is de rigueur. Same thing goes for Western Michigan over Eastern Michigan, 20-17…in overtime, no less.
College Football Awards Week 5 (2017) October 2, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arkansas, Bowling Green, Butch Jones, BYU, Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia State, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Kentucky, Kirby Smart, Louisville, LSU, Miami (OH), Mike Bobo, Mike Gundy, Mike Jinks, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, P.J. Fleck, Purdue, Rutgers, San Diego State, San Jose State, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Troy, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Utah State, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State, West Virginia
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 5] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia
Glad I'm not him: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Poor guy: P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Mike Bobo, Colorado State
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Mike Jinks, Bowling Green
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Louisville (defeated Murray State 55-10)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Florida State (defeated Wake Forest 26-19)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Miami (OH) (lost to No. 22 Notre Dame 52-17)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Wake Forest (lost to Florida State 26-19)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Georgia (defeated Tennessee 45-0)
Dang, they're good: Alabama
Dang, they're bad: San Jose State
Can't Stand Prosperity: USC
Did the season start? North Carolina
Can the season end? Bowling Green
Can the season never end? Georgia
Play this again: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
Play this again, too: UCLA 27, Colorado 23
Never play this again: No. 11 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
What? Utah State 40, BYU 24
Huh? New Mexico 49, Air Force 38
Are you kidding me?? Troy 24, No. 25 LSU 21
Oh – my – God: No. 16 Washington State 30, No. 5 USC 27
(rankings are current AP (post-week 4, pre-week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU: either that, or No. 1 Alabama @ Texas A&M?
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Eastern Michigan @ Kentucky
Best non-Power Five matchup: Colorado State @ Utah State
Upset alert: No. 5 Georgia @ Vanderbilt also: Maryland @ No. 10 Ohio State
Must win: No. 17 Louisville @ No. 24 NC State
Offensive explosion: No. 23 West Virginia @ No. 8 TCU
Defensive struggle: LSU @ No. 21 Florida
Great game no one is talking about: Arkansas @ South Carolina also: Duke @ Virginia
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jeff Brohm of Purdue vs. P.J. Fleck of Minnesota
Who's bringing the body bags? No. 19 San Diego State @ UNLV
Why are they playing? Charleston Southern @ Indiana
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Coastal Carolina
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Missouri @ Kentucky
Week 5 Take-aways:
There were so few upsets this week that I had to scape near the bottom of the barrel in order to fill in all four degrees of upset slot, and even then I barely made it. However, similar to last week, there were lots of near-misses. Unlike last week, however, there were few near-misses of major consequences. Nevertheless, to wit:
Northwestern has unexpectedly struggled this year, yet for a good portion of the game actually led formidable Wisconsin, before the Badgers eventually came back and beat the Wildcats, 33-24. Still, given how weak the Wildcats have seemed up until now, such a loss to such a strong team is hardly disgraceful.
Florida State had to struggle to beat lowly Wake Forest 26-19, much like Louisville had to do last year to beat the Demon Deacons. Thus, Wake Forest remains one of the most enigmatic of teams. Kentucky, who has proven to be a decent team, only beat Eastern Michigan 24-20. To be sure, part of the reason is that the Eagles are no longer a gutter team. In case you forgot, they were actually a bowl-bound team last year. No, that was not a dream.
Lowly Charlotte almost earned their first "W" of the year (of the program?) before just missing out at the end to gradually-improving Florida International. In case you have forgotten, Butch Davis is now the Panthers' head coach, so that would explain the improvement. Meanwhile, it has been established that Ohio U is a decent team. Under Frank Solich's leadership, they contend perennially for the MAC title. How then does one explain THIS? By "this," I mean A) beating UMass by only eight points, and B), allowing the Minutemen to score 50 points on the Bobcats. Yes, the score was 58-50. Try not to overthink this, or you too will be sucked into a quandary vortex.
One of the most interesting studies in uniform contrast was the Oklahoma State at Texas Tech game. The Cowboys wore matte-black helmets with chrome-silver grilles, along with trendy, gray pants. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders, who have been associated with black helmets for 15+ years, wore white helmets with a plain-looking "TT" logo, red jerseys, and white pants with traditional red-black striping. The contrast was thus the trendy vs. traditional look, which was all the more intriguing since, from what I surmise after looking over things on The Helmet Project, Texas Tech chose this evening, for some reason, to wear throwback unis from ca. 1974: weird.
Speaking of weird, "body bag games," so-called because of the gross mis-matches on paper, are supposed to be 'gimme' games for the heavily favored team. Apparently Troy never got that memo when they ventured into Baton Rouge to take on the Bayou Bengals. That's right, the Trojans upset the Tigers – again, in Death Valley – 24-21. Coach Orgeron's backside, meet chair that overnight just got really hot.
Speaking of hot seats, after Tennessee's historically embarrassing loss to Georgia at home, Butch Jones' hot seat has reached the most extreme of levels of hot, colloquially known as the "ejection seat". We all know that at this rate, it's just a matter of time, folks.
College Football Awards, Week 3 (2017) September 17, 2017Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Aaron Rogers, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Cardinals, Clemson, Dabo Swinney, David Cutcliffe, Duke, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Ed Orgeron, Florida, Florida International, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Jim McElwain, Jim Mora, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lamar Jackson, Louisville, LSU, Matt Rhule, Memphis, Miami, Michael Vick, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Purdue, Rice, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Tigers, Toledo, Tom Herman, Tulane, UCF, UCLA, UMass, UNLV, USC, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Will Muschamp, Wolverines
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(Note: All rankings are current AP [week 3] unless otherwise noted.)
Wish I were him: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Glad I'm not him: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Lucky guy: Jim McElwain, Florida
Poor guy: Jim Mora, UCLA
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Will Muschamp, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Cutcliffe, Duke
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Desperately seeking … anything: Matt Rhule, Baylor
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated Tulane 56-14)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Auburn (defeated Mercer 24-10)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: East Carolina (lost to No. 16 Virginia Tech 64-17)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Vanderbilt (defeated No. 18 Kansas State 14-7)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Purdue (defeated Missouri 35-3)
Dang, they're good: Clemson
Dang, they're bad: UTEP
Can't Stand Prosperity: Kansas State
Did the season start? LSU
Can the season end? Rice
Can the season never end? Duke
Play this again: No. 4 USC 27, Texas 24
Play this again, too: No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Never play this again: Arizona 64, UTEP 16
What? No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20
Huh? Memphis 48, No. 25 UCLA 45
Double Huh? Northern Illinois 21, Nebraska 17
Are you kidding me?? Vanderbilt 14, No. 18 Kansas State 7
Oh – my – God: Mississippi State 37, No. 12 LSU 7
(rankings are current AP (post-week 3, pre-week 4)
Ticket to die for: No. 16 TCU @ No. 6 Oklahoma State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: UCF @ Maryland
Best non-Power Five matchup: Ohio U @ Eastern Michigan
Upset alert: No. 17 Mississippi State @ No. 11 Georgia
Must win: Notre Dame @ Michigan State
Offensive explosion: Toledo @ No. 14 Miami
Defensive struggle: Pitt @ Georgia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: Duke @ North Carolina
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jim Harbaugh of Michigan vs. Jeff Brohm of Purdue
Who's bringing the body bags? UNLV @ No. 10 Ohio State
Why are they playing? UMass @ Tennessee
Plenty of good seats remaining: Florida International @ Rice
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Georgia Southern @ Indiana
Week 3 Take-aways:
The Clemson-at-Louisville game was the game of the week, and on paper, such a designation was obvious. But sometimes these "games of the week" become lopsided affairs. This was sadly such a game, whereby the Tigers triumphed over the host Cardinals, 41-27. Did the game's outcome have to weigh so heavily in favor or Clemson? No. The problem for Louisville was a combination of a few things. For one, the Tigers' offense had incredible speed in their skill positions that kept Louisville's secondary on their toes the whole night. The second was their powerful offensive line opened up huge gaps up the middle, allowing their runningback to gain lots of yardage between the tackles. Much of that could have been cancelled out had Louisville's offense been allowed to fire on all proverbial cylinders. Why the hindrance? Because head coach Bobby Petrino seemed bent on trying to mold Heisman winner Lamar Jackson into another Aaron Rogers, when he is clearly another Michael Vick instead. Petrino is apparently so bent on micro-managing his quarterback that he has forgotten that an artist needs to be allowed to be, well, an artist. Let Jackson play to his strengths, and Louisville's offense shall rise to the level of its potential. But as long as Petrino continues to micromanage the offense the way he currently is, the Cardinals' offense shall continue to stagnate. The choice is that simple.
Meanwhile, what a game in Los Angeles. The 2005-2006 BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was the greatest college football game of my lifetime. This was the first time Texas and USC had played each other since, and like the previous game, it did not disappoint, with plenty of drama and big plays on both sides. Despite the unranked Horns' eventual loss, the moral victory is theirs in that they took the No. 4-ranked Trojans into overtime and only lost by a field goal. For the first time this year, Texas finally played up to its potential. Even though moral victories are not counted in any statistic or record book, this is one that Coach Tom Herman can build upon if he is smart about it.
That said, the moral victory for Texas might have been an actual one had it not been for the Longhorns' four turnovers that game.
Meanwhile, what a difference an offseason and change of coaches can make. Purdue was a gutter team last year. Then, out with previous head coach Darrell Hazell, in with new head coach Jeff Brohm, and the difference in team performance is as stark as night and day. The Boilermakers have grown into a team not to be taken lightly. Their only loss was to a strong Louisville team. The following week they won, handily, over Ohio U, one of the best teams in the MAC. This week, they journeyed to Missouri to take on the Tigers, whom the Boilermakers rolled, 35-3. This upcoming weekend, they play No. 8 Michigan. On paper, the odds heavily favor the Wolverines, but do not be surprised if Purdue takes Michigan to the wire just like Texas did with USC this week.
As an aside, Kentucky has beaten South Carolina for the fourth straight time. The past two times, Will Muschamp has been at the helm of the Gamecocks. How many more times are the fans going to tolerate such an embarrassing loss to a team that barely belongs in their conference before they run Muschamp out of town on a rail?


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My favorite times with Cole are in the morning, after he's eaten. He's always in a good mood and so sweet. He was just laying on the floor this morning playing with his feet and faking us out on him rolling over. :)
With the long weekend we have a few little projects we want to do. One of them is to put down some more mulch and weeding our front flower bed. It's gotten a little out of control with it being so hot and us not wanting to get outside and fix it up! We talked about making a headboard for our guest bedroom, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not. The weather here is supposed to be so nice starting tomorrow - highs in the 80s! We've had 42 days over 100 this summer and we are over it! We are wanting to get in a good run with this great weather either Sunday or Monday. Other than that, we will be watching college football. OU comes on tonight and Tony's Dad is coming over to watch with us since he's in town until tomorrow. I guess we will be checking Texas's game on the computer since it's not on TV here.
Hook 'em Horns! (and Boomer Sooner for Tony)

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm sure at one time, or in some little corners of the world, feeding your baby is very simple. It should be…it's essentially this: have food, give to baby, done. But here in 21st century first-world Pacific Northwest, it is, as most baby-rearing topics, fraught with controversy and complexity. I am not proud to admit that I spent hours researching when to start solids, what to feed, and how to feed solids. And as with all things babyish…the "method" you choose and the way you do it is totally personal and should just be whatever works for your family. I'm not going to judge, and anyone who does has entirely too much time on their hands. Okay, I might judge a little bit…but mostly because people do weird things and I like making fun of them. But I digress.
We decided to start trying out solids around 4.5 months. At that point it was just little tastes of things. Some of my reasoning behind starting then is because that's about the age when an infant's iron stores from birth start to be depleted, and iron isn't supplied by breast milk alone. I thought I'd start introducing some solids slowly so by the time Miri was six months she'd be taking small amounts of fruits and veggies for additional nutrients. I also decided to start with purees. Apparently, that's controversial too. The latest baby-feeding trend is called "Baby-led Weaning." This is slightly misleading, since you're not "weaning" your baby off breast milk or formula, just introducing solids. The more I read about BLW the more turned off I got, it struck me as rather cult-like, with an all-or-nothing attitude. You can't really start BLW till baby is at least six months old, and for the first weeks to months baby may not actually ingest anything. Plus, it seems really messy. And that is unacceptable to me. Seriously…I've been grossed out by pictures of babies with food on their faces for decades. Stop it already people.
So I read a fairly neutral book about picking and choosing bits of pureed feeding and BLW, it made a lot of sense to me, so that's what I'm doing. Translated: I'm just going to feed my baby food.
I was gifted a Beaba Babycook so I wanted to take advantage of it. Turns out all you do is: dice food, steam food, puree food. Then, give to baby or freeze. Easy peasy. But since I'd spent so much time reading and researching and stressing over this, the least I can do is document the process for you.
Step One: Get some food. Miri's first food was a sweet potato, but here I'm documenting the pear.
Step Two: Peel and dice the pear into little chunks, put into steamer basked. Put water into steamer opening on top of Babycook, turn knob to "steam."
Step Three: The little orange light shuts off automatically when it's done steaming. Now you have soft delicious pear chunks! Empty the steamer basket into the pitcher. I added some of the water from steaming but you don't have to, it depends on how soupy you want your puree. Then turn knob to "blend."
Step Four: Pour puree into an ice-cube tray or a tray specially made for this. This is an Oxo Tot Baby Freezer Tray. I like that it has a cover so the food doesn't absorb any weird smells from your freezer. Like if you have venison dog food in your freezer.
I let it freeze overnight, then pop the little cubes into freezer bags and label them. The portions end up being about one tablespoon which is convenient, right now that's about a serving for Miri.
Defrost a cube in the fridge overnight, et voila, gourmet baby meal!
Miri is a big fan of my "cooking!"


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The research into EFT is growing and looks promising in explaining the effect described in the case studies of many who use it. One Harvard study discovered –
"The stimulation of acupuncture points has been shown over the course of a ten-year research program at Harvard Medical School to rapidly reduce limbic system arousal" (Fang 2009)"
This means that the stress chemicals that get released into the body when the fight/flight response is activated in the brain (due to a threat) can be decreased by tapping.
In ancient times threats were short lived and these stress hormones helped us to escape mortal danger but often in Western society the stress response can be overstimulated due to threats such as stress at work, or problems with relationships, or anxiety that arises from overwhelm – having to much to do, too little time and too much pressure.
Another study of 216 healthcare workers found anxiety and depression dropped by 45%. They also reported levels of pain dropped by 68%. It seems that when tapping the brain releases feel pain killing hormones into the body as well as reducing levels of stress hormones. Research also suggest that feel good hormones can be produced when tapping and this indicates why EFT can be used as a positive feeling enhancing tool as well as a painkiller or to calm in situations of trauma.
Personally, I have seen and experienced time and time again a sense of calmness from tapping which over a short time begins to replace the original worry or fear. These worries and fears affect us mentally and physically and if not released can cause bigger problems down the line. You may be able to think of a time you had negative thoughts circling round and a tightness in the chest or knotted stomach – these are mental and physical symptoms of too much stress in the body. Over time it can cause emotional blocks and issues and can even be attributed to physical illnesses,
What I have noticed is that when the mind and body become calm, thinking becomes clearer and intuition is heightened. Suddenly rather than being immersed in a problem it is possible to take a step back and see what the best course of action is. And in addition to this, through Positive EFT, I have discovered how to create and enhance feelings of success, motivation, happiness and love. This is something that can be used as a daily empowering tool and only takes a couple of minutes.
If you are interested finding out more about what scientific research has taken place so far, the AMT has a great list so you can have a look at the bits that interest you the most – https://theamt.com/eft_studies.htm


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After Temperance River, we headed south to the next state park, Tettegouche State Park.
We went on a shorter hike at this park, about two miles long to a few different waterfalls.
Forest Floor
Good Man
Over Baptism River there was an extremely rickety looking (and feeling) bridge.
Water Under the Bridge
Baptism River
Bridge Over Baptism River
With Good Man
Two Step Falls
Rainbow Spray
By the end of our hike, we'd hiked nine miles total. I know other people hike a lot more than that in a day, but for us it was a record, and I felt like I had "won." I felt like I'd beaten the lingering pain from my tailbone injury.
We went to a restaurant recommended by the B&B owners, the Rustic Inn Cafe. While everyone else around us was chatting and laughing, Good Man and I just sat and stared at each other. We were bone tired, but it felt so good.


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These bands are also great giveaways for personal occasions like birthdays, and even as a brilliant vogue accessory. These bands are even worn by people of all ages. If you have an event like a children's charity, then you can even give these bands away as a promotion about your charity. You may possibly even have an enterprise and can give these bands away as a token along with the main product or services you offer.
These "Live Sturdy" bracelets are becoming mistaken for Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) warnings. THIS IS NOT Real. Health care personnel, emergency personnel have to have a Residing WILL or an ADVANCE DIRECTIVE prior to they will cease existence-conserving precautions. Not a single individual has died as an end result of sporting a Lance Armstrong bracelet.


text: Computers and other technology are used throughout the school. Computing skills are taught as a discrete subject and as a means of supporting other areas of the curriculum. Each of the 4 classrooms is equipped with either an interactive whiteboard or a touchscreen board. The children make good use of laptop computers with wireless connection to the internet. In the academic year 2015-2016, the school will be in receipt of a set of ipads which will be used to further enrich the children's computing skills.


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It's easy for immigrants to see the superficial differences between Canada and their native countries. But it's hard to see those differences beneath the surface, which are the context of communicating with local people. Today Kathleen Wynne opened a window for the participants to experience communication with government official. As the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Don Valley West, Kathleen was Minister of Education of Ontario and now is Minister of Transportation. Her participation in the community gathering demonstrated how, in Ontario, government officials interact with citizens and residents. This event allowed the participants a chance to understand some of those difference beneath the surface.
At the start, Kathleen briefly recalled her career beginnings and getting involved in provincial politics and explained her current responsibilities in the Ontario government. Also she listed a few programs that are designed to help immigrants integrate into Canadian society. When describing the differences in the responsibilities that the governments of different levels take on, she mentioned her experience of facing people not recognizing them during her visit to their home. Then, Kathleen left the majority of time to the participants so that they could ask their own questions, which led to an interactive part of this session.
On the formation of riding boundaries, Kathleen explained that they depended on population and distinguished between ridings and wards, which are federal/provincial level and municipal level respectively. About Ontario's focus on the manufacturing industry, she talked about the importance of innovation and green technology and the positive effect of increasing transportation costs of off-shore products. About the decision-making of provincial policies, she described how the caucus and the committee of different parties work in this process. On the relationship between the provincial Party and the federal Party, she explained the different roles a political leader and a president play and how a party is organized by sharing the same philosophy at both provincial and federal level. Also, she explained the two-sword length distance between two sides in the meeting avenue and how the Speaker controls the order during an emotional and fierce debate in parliament.
Due to the limited time, some questions and concerns were not raised. But by directly communicating with Kathleen, the participants got to break some assumption regarding government and political parties and experience the way that government officials are approached in Canada.
This website is provided for your convenience. If you'd prefer to call or email, my staff and I would be happy to hear from you.
Delivering a Plan for Care and OpportunityMarch 28, 2018
Helping Families Save Money and Fight Climate Change At HomeDecember 13, 2017
Making Auto Insurance More AffordableDecember 06, 2017
Ontario Implementing Plan to Create Fairness and OpportunityNovember 14, 2017
Ontario Implementing New Protections for Condo Residents this FallJuly 25, 2017
Students Will Now See OSAP Amount and Net Tuition Fees Online
Now accepting nominations!


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SOURCE: RealtyTrac
February 18, 2016 00:01 ET
Originations Still Up 1 Percent Annually Thanks to Increase in Refinances, HELOCs; Purchase Originations Post Biggest Quarterly Decrease in More Than Five Years; Big Bank Origination Share Down From Year Ago, Non-Bank Share Jumps
IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - February 18, 2016) -
RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation's leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its Q4 2015 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report, which shows 1.6 million (1,552,329) loans were originated on residential properties (1 to 4 units) in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 14 percent decrease from the previous quarter but still up 1 percent from a year ago.
The loan origination report is derived from publicly recorded mortgages and deeds of trust collected by RealtyTrac in more than 950 counties accounting for more than 80 percent of the U.S. population.
The 14 percent quarterly decrease was fueled primarily by a 24 percent quarter-over-quarter decline in purchase originations -- the biggest quarterly drop in purchase originations in more than five years, since the third quarter of 2010. Purchase originations accounted for 38.8 percent of all originations in the fourth quarter, while refinance originations accounted for 42.8 percent and Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) originations accounted for 18.5 percent. Refinance originations were down 7 percent from the previous quarter but were still up 2 percent from a year ago, while HELOC originations were also down 7 percent from the previous quarter but were still up 7 percent from a year ago.
"The 24 percent drop in purchase originations in the fourth quarter of 2015 was well above the average 15 percent seasonal slump in the fourth quarter over the past 10 years," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "New mortgage rules implemented at the beginning of October likely contributed to the decrease, but weakness in some local economies could also be contributing to the decrease, most notably in oil producing markets such as Houston and Oklahoma City, both of which saw purchase originations decrease by double-digit percentages both quarterly and annually."
All 65 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 5,000 loan originations in the fourth quarter posted a quarterly decrease in purchase loan originations, while 31 of the 65 metros (48 percent) posted year-over-year declines in purchase originations, led by Raleigh, North Carolina, (down 41 percent); Omaha, Nebraska (down 21 percent); Cincinnati, Ohio (down 21 percent); Richmond, Virginia (down 20 percent); and Austin, Texas (down 17 percent).
"Primary causes of the decrease were lending institutions embracing new TRID guidelines implemented in October, as well as abnormally low listing inventories across the country," said Michael Mahon, president at HER Realtors, covering the Ohio markets of Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. "We would expect Ohio markets to bounce back quickly this year due to a growing jobs market in many areas of the state, which has led to increased activity of millennial demographic home purchasers finding Ohio communities with attractively valued homes for taking advantage of FHA loan products."
There were a total of 10 metro areas with a year-over-year decrease of 10 percent or more in purchase loan originations:
Among the 65 metro areas with at least 5,000 loan originations in the fourth quarter, those with the biggest year-over-year increase in purchase loan originations were led by Nashville, Tennessee (up 79 percent); Knoxville, Tennessee (up 41 percent); Memphis, Tennessee (up 30 percent); Providence, Rhode Island (up 25 percent); and Albuquerque, New Mexico (up 18 percent).
"Total loan originations in Seattle are higher when compared to a year ago largely because of an increase in refinance activity," said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market, where refinance originations increased 8 percent from a year ago and Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) originations increased 33 percent from a year ago. "The rapid rise of home prices combined with historically low interest rates continues to drive many Seattle-area homeowners to refinance.
"The decline in purchase originations in the fourth quarter is not surprising and is primarily a function of seasonality," Gardner continued, explaining the 27 percent quarterly drop in Seattle purchase loan originations. "Home sales simply slow down over the holidays. Furthermore, the Seattle housing market continues to suffer from the lowest inventory levels I've seen in almost two decades. As a result, we saw a drop in home sales during fourth quarter, which therefore caused purchase originations to fall as well. "
There were a total of 10 metro areas with a year-over-year increase of 9 percent or more in purchase loan originations:
Markets with the biggest year-over-year increase in refinance originations were Nashville, Tennessee (up 80 percent); Knoxville, Tennessee (up 46 percent); Memphis, Tennessee (up 31 percent); Denver, Colorado (up 28 percent); Grand Rapids, Michigan (up 25 percent); Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida (up 23 percent); Portland, Oregon (up 21 percent); Des Moines, Iowa (up 19 percent); Tulsa, Oklahoma (up 19 percent); and Albuquerque, New Mexico (up 19 percent).
"The quarterly drop was mainly caused by four factors," said Joe Jackson, with Home Mortgage Alliance a joint venture with RE/MAX Alliance, covering Colorado, where purchase originations were down 3 percent year-over-year, counter to the 28 percent annual increase in refinance originations. "Those four factors were 1) seasonal swing, 2) TRID implementation, 3) low home-for-sale inventory, and 4) new home formations in multi versus single family housing. The first is to be anticipated each year, the second is a one-time event and may impact the first quarter but not the future, while the third and fourth are more unknowns. The low inventory could be helped in the short run by a low interest rate or rising rate, but longer term we see a shift out of multi-family into single family to give the purchase mortgage business a lift in that area."
FHA origination share drops for second straight quarterAfter reaching a five-year high of 20.1 percent in the second quarter of 2015, the share of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan originations decreased for the second consecutive quarter in Q4 2015. FHA loan originations accounted for 17.8 percent of all loan originations during the quarter, down from 19.9 percent in the previous quarter, but still up from 15.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Share of big bank originations decline, non-bank origination share soarsAmong the top 10 loan originators in terms of number of loan originations in the fourth quarter, those with an increase in share of originations compared to a year ago were Caliber Home Loans (up 61 percent); LoanDepot (up 52 percent); Freedom Mortgage (up 40 percent); Guaranteed Rate (up 18 percent); and Quicken (up 10 percent).
Meanwhile top 10 originators with the biggest decline in share of originations compared to a year ago were JP Morgan Chase (down 30 percent); Bank of America (down 27 percent); US Bank (down 13 percent); and Wells Fargo (down 8 percent).
Report methodologyRealtyTrac analyzed recorded mortgage and deed of trust data for single family homes, condos, town homes and multi-family properties of two to four units for this report. Each recorded mortgage or deed of trust was counted as a separate loan origination. Dollar volume was calculated by multiplying the total number of loan originations by the average loan amount for those loan originations.
Data Licensing and Custom Report OrderInvestors, businesses and government institutions can contact RealtyTrac to license bulk foreclosure and neighborhood data or purchase customized reports. For more information contact our Data Licensing Department at 800.462.5193 or email@example.com.
About RealtyTrac
RealtyTrac is a leading provider of comprehensive U.S. housing and property data, including nationwide parcel-level records for more than 130 million U.S. properties. Detailed data attributes include property characteristics, tax assessor data, sales and mortgage deed records, distressed data, including default, foreclosure and auctions status, and Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). Sourced from RealtyTrac subsidiary Homefacts.com, the company's proprietary national neighborhood-level database includes more than 50 key local and neighborhood level dynamics for residential properties, providing unrivaled pre-diligence capabilities and a parcel risk database for portfolio analysis. RealtyTrac's data is widely viewed as the industry standard and, as such, is relied upon by real estate professionals and service providers, marketers and financial institutions, as well as the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury Department, HUD, state housing and banking departments, investment funds and tens of millions of consumers.
RealtyTrac Media Contact:Jennifer von Pohlmann949.502.8300, ext. email@example.com and Report Licensing:firstname.lastname@example.com
RealtyTrac Media Contact:Jennifer von Pohlmann949.502.8300, ext. email@example.com and Report Licensing:email@example.com
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Use this space to cheer the creator along, and talk to your fellow backers.
Have a question?
Joseph Evans III on
We want to place a name other than the backer's name on the silk-screened tile. Can you confirm that we will have that opportunity.
Name to be silkscreened should be:
Ollie Evans IV
Thank you!
Mitch Black on
Super stoked to be a part of this. Can't wait for the build. Definately plan to help out if I am able.
Ramsey Bivona on
How do you pledge for more than one item? I want a reader deck and a you go girl shirt? But it only lets me accept one and not both!?!!
Jeremy Parrino on
I can't wait to start to see how great the bowl turns out. Super stoked! Thanks to everyone who gave time, money and especially sweat.
Pete Marks on
Parisite IS skateboarding!!!! Blood, sweat, and tears...you can have my money now too!! Love what you guys did and what you're doing.
Joey O'Mahoney on
@tothepoint You're right! this board needs to get moving. Why? Because this project changes lives. I know this, it has changed mine!
This comments board needs to get moving. Comments and Updates are great ways to keep the campaign noticed. Been over a week since an update... hey Parisite People... What you got to say?
Let's keep the hype/notice happening
Brian PhilpotSuperbackeron
How can we pledge on more than one item!!?


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When it comes to the all-important subject of college football in the state of Alabama, Regions Financial Corp. isn't scared to show its true colors.
Regions says, "Roll Tide."
To celebrate the University of Alabama's 14th national title in football, which the team won Monday night, Regions is issuing a Crimson Tide 2011 national championship checkcard. Regions also put out a card for the 2009 Crimson Tide championship team.
Regions has an exclusive deal with Alabama to issue the debit cards. When Alabama's bitter in-state rival, the Auburn Tigers, won the football national championship a year earlier, Bank of America Corp. had the honors of issuing the school's celebratory credit card.
If the LSU Tigers had defeated Alabama in Monday night's BCS National Championship Game, it appears Capital One Financial Corp. would have had the right to issue a the LSU-celebratory card. Capital One offers an LSU Tigers Platinum MasterCard credit card. Capital One did not respond to a request for comment.
The latest card from Regions does not come with rewards specific to the football team or the athletic program. The benefits are fairly standard-issue, including cash-back rewards and fraud protection.
Regions hopes to satisfy existing customers with the Crimson Tide branded cards and paper checks and perhaps pick up a few new customers, says Tom Brooks, the Birmingham, Ala., company's head of cards and payments. "We know that customers have a special affinity for their universities and pride in displaying their allegiance to their university," he says. "We also hope there are potential new customers."
The Regions Bank Crimson Tide checkcard is part of a broader promotional agreement with the university's athletic department, not the alumni association, which is the case with a number of other banks' collegiate deals, Brooks said. The Regions Bank marketing package includes signage rights at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and other athletic facilities. Regions has not disclosed terms of the deal with the university's athletic department.
Regions is slowly getting back into the credit card business, so there is no immediate plan to expand into Crimson Tide-branded credit cards, says spokeswoman Evelyn Mitchell. Regions in June agreed to acquire the $1 billion portfolio of Regions-branded credit cards from Bank of America's FIA Card Services unit.
While Regions also has sports-licensing deals with the Southeastern Conference, the Ole Miss Rebels and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., seems to be the national leader in the college-athletic licensing market. B of A has deals with many colleges, including Notre Dame and Southern California.
Bank of America even has a deal with another football team crowned national champions this year — the North Dakota State Bison. The North Dakota team claimed its first national title on Saturday, winning the Football Championship Subdivision title.