College Football Random Thoughts Week 14: Flag Planting, Brawls, and ACC Debacle

BRAWLS

Michigan 13 Ohio State 10 – Michy booted a 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left to clinch the upset in Columbus. Overrated anOSU quarterback Will Howard threw two interceptions in the game. It was a pretty poor effort by both teams. The Buckys had 252 total yards. UM had 234. Two-headed rushing monster Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for only 67 rushing yards.

Following the final whistle, there was a bit of smack-talking that escalated into a brawl when one UM jackass thought it would be cool to plant a Michigan flag in the middle of the Ohio ‘O’. What a surprise. Once again, Michigan is in the middle of a brawl. It’s a different head coach but same old lack of class. It seems like this behavior is a part of the Wolverines culture and what it means to be a “Michigan Man”.

In a bit of controversy, some law enforcement agents used pepper spray to subdue players. For the record, it did work somewhat.

GOING VIRAL

This younger generation of player is definitely different. It used to be that players concentrated 100% on the challenge ahead of them that Saturday. However, it seem clear that many of these guys are looking at their phones all day leading up to their afternoon and evening kickoffs (and probably at halftime), because several other teams emulated this “flag planting” act across the country as the day went on.
(Don’t try and tell me it was all coincidental.)

NC State 35 UNC 30 – The Wolfpack sent Mack Brown out with a home loss in his final game as a head coach, while becoming bowl eligible in the process.

Same thing here. Some jerkwad NCSU player thought planting a flag in the middle of the Tar Heels’ field would be an acceptable act with all parties involved. What an unfortunate way to end Brown’s career.

Florida 31 Florida State 11 – The Seminoles lost FIVE fumbles to up their turnover margin to -16. Only CMU and USM were worse in this department this year.

Who else but Florida Man? The post-game fracas was a microcosm of the seasons of the two teams. On one side, Florida’s Billy Napier showed great composure and leadership by getting in the middle of the melee and doing a remarkable job of getting his team away from the center of the maelstrom. On the other side, you had Mike Norvell whose top priorities were to blame Napier and to grabbed the flag and throw it away.

Arizona State 49 Arizona 7 – A pitchfork plant caused another melee out west. That’s another spin on this whole thing.

BYU and Houston didn’t even wait around for the ceremonial flag planting to get in a scrape. The Mormon Cougars beat the heathen Cougars 30-18.

IRON BOWL

Alabama 28 Auburn 14 – The Crimson Tide committed 4 turnovers and still had few problems dispatching of the Tigers.

Aubie’s only touchdown came courteous of one of the worst rulings of the season. Down 28-6 on a 2nd & 10 at their own 13 yard line, Aub runs a pretty lame play that results in an incompletion. Long after the whistle, WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith drives Bama DB Devonta Smith several yards off the field right into the Aubren bench – in full view of the damn head linesman. When several Aubie players attack Smith, teammate Malachi Moore comes to his aid and a whole scuffle breaks out. In the end, Smith and Moore get personal foul penalties. Nothing is called against the AU bench nor Lambert-Smith who at the very LEAST should have been flagged for unnecessary roughness. Instead of 3rd & 10 at the 13 – or more suitably half the distance to the goal at 3rd & 17 at the 7 and a half – the Tigers got a fresh set of downs with the ball at the 28 and some new life.

ACC DEBACLES

Syracuse 42 Miami-FL 38 – The ‘Canes blew a 21-0 lead and ruined their chance for an ACC title – and possibly a spot in the CFP. Despite their 10-2 record, the ‘U’ ain’t beat nobody, PAAAAWWWLLL. Jeff Sagarin ranks their schedule 61st in the nation.

SEC

South Carolina 17 Clemson 14 – Down by 4 on 3rd and 16 with a little over a minute to go, SCar QB LaNorris Sellers stuck a dagger into Dabo’s heart with a 20-yard scamper for the go-ahead score. Clem tried to make a comeback getting down to the SC 18 but Cade Klubnik threw a pick with 12 seconds to go. Had that ball hit the ground, the Tigers may have kicked a game-tying field goal.

Georgia 44 Georgia Tech 42 (8 OT) – The Yeller Jackets had a chance to make a statement win over the Dwags in Athens. In front of a half-full stadium, GT blew a 27-13 advantage with under 4 minutes to play. Up by 7 with just over 2 minutes remaining, Tech QB Haynes King lost a fumble at his own 31 yard line. On the ensuing possession with UGA at 2nd & 7, Tech was flagged for PI in the end zone, but it appeared that the pass had been tipped, which negates any PI. However, the officials did not even bother to review and Georgia quickly ran a play. So instead of 3rd & 7 at the 29, the Bulldogs were set up with 1st & 10 at the 14. Carson Beck would connect on a game-tying score a few plays later.

Going on late on Friday night and into Saturday morning, the two rivals fought for 8 overtimes. In the 7th extra frame, Tech had two chances to win it but pulled out a ridiculous play – you know the kind where five offensive linemen split out wide and there is only a center to defend the QB. It’s a play that NEVER works and it did not this time either. However, pass interference was called and the YJs had another shot at it. On the second attempt, a clumsy quarterback power play was terribly executed and they moved to the top of the 8th. A UGA safety blitzed his way through the line untouched and pressured Beck into an incompletion. Georgia would score on a RB run to end the marathon.

[SIDE NOTE: I can’t tell you how many comments I saw from Dwags fans with a lovefest for GT head coach Brent Key about how they like him and they are glad he is at Tech blah blah blah. Yeah, it’s so easy to love the opposing coach when he loses. What a BS fan base. Had they lost the game, they probably would accuse him of driving a bus full of schoolchildren off a bridge.]

SEC

Texas 17 Texas A&M 7 – The Longhorns built a 17-0 halftime lead but the offense looked rather shabby in the second half. In the third quarter, Quinn Ewers threw a 93 yard pick-6 and fumbled inside the red zone. In the 4th quarter down 17-7, the Aggies block a punt and had the ball at the 19. TAMU gets it down to the one foot line with under 5 minutes to play. Instead of kicking a field goal on 4th down to make it a one score game, the Aggs go for it and are stuffed. TAMU would get the ball back with under two minutes but a sack and strip would end it. A&M could muster only 248 yards of offense.

Tennessee 36 Vanderbilt 23 – The Commodores jumped out to a 17-7 lead after 15 minutes and then crumbled like a cookie. It is further evidence that Diego Pavia (8/17, 104 yds, TD, INT, 45 yds rushing) was a “Stephen Garcia” a few months ago. Lately, he has played more like Stephen Hawking. UT’s Nico Iamaleava tossed 4 TD passes while Dylan Sampson ran for 178.

Ole Miss 26 Mississippi State 14 – Despite having two wins on their season, MSU brought their A-game to the first half. Meanwhile, OM brought their meh-game, leading only 17-14 at the break. In the second half, MSU got back to sucking and the Rebs were still meh. If the Ackbars were hoping to leapfrog Bama in the rankings, they needed a big showing on Friday. They didn’t get it. Jaxson Dart was only 14 for 24 passing with 143 yards and one TD.

Mizzou and Arky had a bit of a tiff as well. Tigers won 28-21

Louisville 41 Kentucky 14 – A miserable season for UK comes to an end at 4-8. Mark Stoops is on the hot seat.

OTHER STUFF

Boise 34 Oregon State 18 – 226 rushing yards and a TD for Ashton Jeanty. The Beavers finish 5–7.

Baylor 45 Kansas 17 – The Jayhawks (5-7) miss out on a bowl, but they sure spoiled a lot of teams in November. Meanwhile, the Bears (8-4) wrap the regular season with six wins and are one of the most dangerous teams heading into bowl season. Two months ago when BU was 2-4, people were calling for Dave Aranda’s head.

Notre Dame 49 Southern Cal 35 – Up by 7, the Irish converted 99 yard and 100 yard pick sixes on back-to-back 4th quarter series.

Oregon 49 Washington 21 – Move along. Nothing to see here.

Penn State 44 Maryland 7 – Must be nice.

Iowa State 29 Kansas State 21

WHEN WILL THEY START LISTENING??

KIDS, THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T GO INTO SHOTGUN ON YOUR OWN GOAL LINE

KARMA OF THE WEEK

Jalen Milroe beat Auburn’s Demarcus Riddick (#16) to the corner on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Riddick claimed that he was faster than Milroe. He also announced that he “will not lose to Alabama while I’m here,” which I thought meant that he planned to enter the transfer portal.

SCOOP STRIP AND SCORE OF THE WEEK

TRIPPIEST CELEBRATION OF THE WEEK

FACT OF THE WEEK

MOST ANNOYING PLAY CALL OF THE WEEK

Seriously, what is wrong with this guy?

MOST ANNOYING REPEATED PLAY CALL OF THE WEEK

My gawd. Every time UGA touched the ball, Joe Tessitore mentioned that Georgia will be in the playoffs with a win. Besides being uber-annoying, it was also kinda half-true. They would also be in had they lost by 90 and beaten Texas this Saturday.

NOT A PENALTY

HURDLE OF THE WEEK

CATCH OF THE WEEK

FOOTBALL CRAZIES OF THE WEEK

Spotted in College Station before the Texas-TAMU game, the craziest thing is how perfectly normal everyone else is acting while walking next to a guy RIDING A FRICKIN STEER WITH A DOG ON HIS LAP DOWN A PUBLIC STREET!

PUNCHLINE OF THE WEEK

“What happened?” Way to take charge there, coach.

LAME FAN BASE OF THE WEEK

Georgia fans were filing out of the stadium with the Dwags trailing the Yeller Jackets by 14 with 5 minutes to go.

NAME OF THE WEEK

Charlotte 49ers RB Cartevious Norton

STATS OF THE WEEK

• Clemson had more losses against SEC teams than ACC teams this season.
• Oklahoma finished this season with more Big 12 wins (1-0, Houston) than Oklahoma State (0-9).
• Miami has still not won an ACC title since joining the league back in 2004.
• Iowa State has their first ten-win season in program history. And all it took was getting rid of Texas and Oklahoma!
• Washington ended the season 6-0 at home and 0-6 on the road.
• Michigan RB Donovan Edwards who was overly hyped in the preseason including having him spotlighted on the EA Sports College Football 25 Video game, finishes the regular season with 589 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, second on his team in both categories. His rushing total is good for 140th most in FBS.
• A year after running for 1,732 yards, Okie Lite RB Ollie Gordon lands at 43rd on the rush chart with 880 yards.

• Ashton Jeanty has compiled 2,288 rushing yards and 28 TDs thus far in 12 games. Boise is guaranteed to play at least two more games for a total of 14. Former Okie State RB Barry Sanders holds the FBS record for all-time single-season rushing with 2,628 yards 37 scores in 1988 and did so in 11 games. For some dumb reason back in the 80s, bowl stats were not counted among totals – even though legitimate accurate stats are easily available. Some of these idiot reporters at ESPN and the AP are saying Jeanty still has a chance at the record when they add in his post-season stats. In addition, D-1 teams were only allowed to play 11 regular season games and there was no conference championship game or playoff. One more caveat: Sanders was playing Big 12 foes, while Jeanty faced Oregon and then MWC foes.

ACCEPT YOUR FATE

Texas A&M wrapped the regular season with four losses (8-4). New head coach, same old output. This is who you are.

GAMEDAY SIGN OF THE WEEK

“MARCEL CAN’T READ”
If you don’t know, Reed is the TAMU quarterback.

THE WACKY WORLD OF DESI

What has Kirk Herbstreit been smoking?

Some random internet bozo was the College GameDay guest picker.

RECEIPTS

The GD crew’s picks:

They say the best thing about making preseason sports predictions is that nobody will remember them three months later. Pepperidge Farms remembers and so do we. That is some pretty awful picks, experts.

GameDay will be in Atlanta for the SECCG.

As I am sure regular readers of Random Thoughts and RBR know, Urban Meyer is not one of our most favorite people in the world. Putting personal feelings aside, for a guy who has won 187 games including three Nattys, he doesn’t seem to have much insight into the game of football beyond the obvious. 2024 is his fourth season with Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and he has not once said or done anything memorable. It feels like he is not putting the work in, like he thinks he can just show up and shoot from the hip and everyone will swoon.

ADOPT-A-TEAM

• UNLV (10-2) The Runnin’ Rebs beat Nevada 38-14 to make Mountain West title game. Remember that time their QB quit on them in midseason for selfish reasons? Whatever happened to that guy?
• Indiana (11-1) pummeled piss-poor Purdue 66-0.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• WKU (8-4) kicked a 50 yard field goal with 3 seconds left to defeat Jax State 19-17. BOWL
• USF (6-6) lost to Rice. Ugh. BOWL
• Wisconsin (5-7) had five chances to achieve 6 wins and failed.
• Vandy (6-6) finishes the season on a three game losing streak. Do you believe in the “Stephen Garcia Syndrome” now? BOWL
• South Carolina (9-3) is one of the hottest teams in the nation right now. Six straight wins since losing to Alabama. BOWL
• Mizz (9-3) had a struggle win over Arky. BOWL
• LSU (8-4) destroyed Oklahoma 37-17. BOWL
• UGA (10-2) really shoulda lost to Ga Tech. BOWL, probably CFP
• Tenn (10-2) beat Vandy. BOWL, probably CFP
• Mercer (10-2) – beat Furman in the first round of the FCS Playoff, will face Rhode Island (11-2) on Dec 7.
• Oklahoma (6-6) predictably fell on their asses vs LSU. BOWL
• Auburn (5-7) lost to Alabama by double digits in Tuscaloosa for the seventh straight time. They will NOT be going to a bowl.

COUSINS

• Troy (4-8) – The Trojans fortunately found a team worse then them in Southern Miss (1-11). They win their finale 52-20. It was an awful year for in-over-his-head Gerad Parker, who can’t even spell his name correctly. Troy won’t fire him after one fall, but this hire is looking like a big mistake. #MaybeNealBrown?
• South Alabama (6-6) – An ugmo 45-38 loss to Texas State at home on Senior Day ends the regular season for the Jags. BOWL
• Jacksonville State (8-4) – The Gamecocks had their hearts broken by WKU 19-17. The defeat for JSU snapped an 8-game win streak. BOWL

THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO LEAVES THE OVERHEAD LIGHT ON DURING RED EYE FLIGHTS

• UAB (3-9) – The Dragons lose to Charlotte who just fired their moron coach. Trent Dilfer is 7-17 in two seasons and has successfully demolished all that Bill Clark had built.

SALUTE TO OUR TROOPS

• Army (10-1) – The Black Knights survive UTSA 29-24. The win has the Cadets finishing the regular season 8-0 in the AAC and earning the right to host the championship game on Friday.
• Air Force (5-7) – Despite the losing record, the Falcons ended the season on four straight victories after winning at San Diego State 31-20. What could have been…
• Navy (8-3) – The Midshipmen thumped ECU 34-20 with 458 yards of offense.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

Eliminated: Boston College, Cal, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, UNC, Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Arizona, Baylor, BYU, Colorado, Center Florida, Cincy, Houston, Kansas, K-State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, WVU, Utah, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnie, Michigan, Nebraska, Sparty, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, Southern Cal, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Wazzu, Arky, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Mizzou, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.

Endangered: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee.

Extremely Endangered: Clemson, Miami, SMU, Arizona State, Iowa State, Indiana, Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Boise, UNLV.

A way WAY WAY too early look at the College Football Playoff (CFP) picture:

POWER TWO

• SEC – UGA will face Texas in the Championship Game. Unless the Bulldogs get obliterated, both teams should make the CFP field. After that, there are several SEC teams teams that deserve consideration. Tennessee (10-2) seems like a lock. After that, it’s Alabama and South Carolina. Ole Miss and Mizzou are highly unlikely.
• Big Ten – Oregon will play Penn State in the Big Ten championship game. Indiana and anOhio State are probably in.

SECOND TWO

• Big 12 – Iowa State vs Arizona State will play for the conference title and it seems likely that the loser will not be invited to the Football Prom. But who knows with this Looney Tunes Committee?
• ACC – What a catastrophe in the ACC! Miami (10-2, 6-2) got upended by Syracuse and will not play in the ACCCG. More importantly, they could miss out on the CFP. Even with a 10-2 record, the résumé is really weak. The 3rd place ‘Canes did not play Clemson or SMU and lost to 4th place Syracuse. Clemson (9-3, 7-1) lost their in-state championship to South Carolina. The Tigers have a similar problem in that they have no big signature win. The best win is Pitt (7-5), while losing to UGA, Ville, and SCar. Unless they win the ACCCG game, they will not make the CFP. The best win for SMU (11-1, 8-0) is Duke. Impressed? This looks like a one-bid league.

AT LARGE

• PAC-2 – No at-large here. Wazzu (8-3) awaits a bowl invite. Oregon State went 5-7.
• Indies – Notre Dame (11-1) will receive an at-large bid.

PARTICIPATION TROPHY

With Tulane choking on a turkey bone Thanksgiving night against Memphis, picking the Boise-UNLV winner as the Participation Trophy winner will be the easiest decision made by the CFPC.

• MWC: Boise (11-1) will face UNLV (10-2) in the MWCCG on that ugly-ass blue field.
• AAC: Even with the loss to Memphis, Tulane plays at Army in the championship game.
• C-USA: Despite losing to Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State will host the Conference USA title game on Friday at 6 p.m. in a rematch with the Hilltoppers.
• Sun Belt: Marshall at ULL.
• MAC: Ohio vs Miami (OH) in Detroit.

RANK ‘EM IF YOU GOT ‘EM

This one is the big one for teams hoping for at-large bids. The AP Poll below has Alabama as #11 as does the Coaches Poll. If the CFPC agrees, the Tide has an excellent chance of getting in as an at-large team.

1. Oregon (62) – plays PSU
2. Texas – plays UGA
3. Penn State – plays Oregon
4. Notre Dame – TBD
5. Georgia – plays Texas
6. Tennessee – TBD
7. Ohio State – TBD
8. SMU – plays Clemson
9. Indiana – TBD
10. Boise – hosts UNLV
11. Alabama – TBD
12. Arizona State – plays ISU
13. South Carolina – TBD
14. Miami – TBD
15. Ole Miss – TBD
16. Iowa State – plays ASU
17. BYU – TBD
18. Clemson – plays SMU
19. UNLV – plays BSU
20. Colorado
21. Illinois
22. Mizzou
23. Syracuse
24. Army
25. Memphis

In the above scenario, Oregon, Texas, SMU, and BSU would be the top 4 as conference champs. If the CFP rankings somewhat match the AP, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which the Crimson Tide does not make the final top 12 rankings seeing how they will be idle this week.

Hypothetical CFP bracket:

1. Oregon bye
2. Texas bye
3. SMU bye
4. Boise bye
5. Penn State vs Arizona State (winner play #4 Boise in the Fiesta Bowl)
6. Notre Dame vs Alabama (winner play #3 SMU in the Peach Bowl)
7. Georgia vs Indiana (winner play #2 Texas in the Sugar Bowl)
8. Tennessee vs Ohio State (winner play #1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl)
9. Ohio State at Tennessee
10. Indiana at Tennessee
11. Alabama at Notre dame
12. Arizona State at Penn State

The higher seeds get to host in their home stadium in the first round. The second round goes to designated bowls that are chosen by seeds 1-4 in order. That part is a guess. Oregon would likely opt for the Rose. New Orleans is half as close to Austin, TX as the Scottsdale, AZ. SMU is about 280 miles closer to Atlanta than Scottsdale but the Mustangs could possibly want to make the winner of Bama-ND travel further.

The next college football playoff rankings will be announced tonight, Tuesday, at 6pm/7pm on ESPN.

LET’S GO BOWLING!

• When Hawaii (5-7) beat New Mexico (5-7) early Sunday morning – denying the Lobos of a bowl birth – that made it a perfect 82 teams with at least 6 wins. That number fills all the post-season slots that are available.
• Oregon (12-0) remains the only FBS team to go undefeated in 2024. The Montana State Bobcats (12-0) were the only FCS team to accomplish this same feat.
• Only four teams went unbeaten in their conference: Oregon 9-0 in the B1G; SMU 8-0 from the ACC; Boise 7-0 of the MWC; and who could leave out Oregon State 1-0 from the PAC-2? (Army still has to play Navy.)
• 13 SEC teams are bowl eligible. Staying home in December are Auburn, Kentucky, Missy State, and Auburn. Did I mention Auburn would not be going to a bowl?

LET’S GO BLOWING!

• THEY DID IT! Congratulations to Kent State for achieving the dubious dishonor of the Triple Golden Sombrero for going 0 for the season in the most pathetic way. The Fightin’ Nick Sabans (0-12, 0-8) wrap their 2024 campaign with a blowout loss to Buffalo 43-7. KSU picked up 10 first downs to 26 for the Bulls and were outgained 446 to 209. A truly spectacular failure.
• Seven teams did not record a win in their conference: Oklahoma State 0-9, Purdue 0-9, Mississippi State 0-8, Kent State 0-8, Southern Miss 0-8, Nevada 0-7, and of course Washington State 0-1.
• Kentucky and Auburn picked up unlucky number 7 on Saturday.

Krazy Kristi’s “SHUT UP!” of the Week goes to Madison Avenue suits who think they know CFB fans. By now, you have probably seen this annoying Coke commercial.

Do any of the people in this ad look like the average CFB fan, much less someone who is so invested in a game that they scream at the TV? It’s a good bet all of these actors live in New York City or L.A. and have never been to a college football game in their lives. #GOML

HEISMAN HYPE

That Colorado guy.

Voting for Heisman Trophy started yesterday, Monday. This is when all the lazy people send their ballots in. Deadline for voting is 5 pm ET Monday, Dec. 9

THE SICK REPORT

• Two days before playing South Carolina, Clemson lost OG Trent Howard to an ACL injury in practice.
• Jacksonville State QB Tyler Huff left the game midway through the third quarter and did not return to the game. His status for the C-USA Champ game is TBD.

R.I.P.

Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Former Alabama player and AD Bill Battle has died at 82. The Birmingham native played end for Paul W. “Bear” Bryant from 1960–1962 (freshmen weren’t eligible back then) with a national championship in 1961. After a stint assisting at Oklahoma and Army, he was hired at Tennessee to coach ends under Doug Dickey. After Dickey left for Florida, Battle was promoted to head coach at age 29. Despite having a decent record at 59–22–2, Battle was forced out after the 1976 season, allowing Pitt National Champ coach Johnny Majors to usurp the throne. Truth be told, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to Battle. He would go on to become a highly successful licensing executive in the early days of those ventures.

Sadly, Battle’s father suffered a heart attack after collapsing in the stands while watching his son coach the Vols in the 1974 Liberty Bowl. It is events like this that can make a person think about their future. College football coaches did not make the ridiculous salaries back in the 1970s like they do today. It has to be thought that his father’s death made him contemplate his next move after his rude dismissal at UT.

Battle founded Collegiate Licensing Company, known as CLC, in 1981 and was president and CEO for 21 years. The company licensed college sports apparel and memorabilia.

After a distinguished career in the private sector, he would be named athletics director at the University of Alabama following the unexpected death of Mal Moore. Battle was never angling for a career as a college administrator but as Bryant famously said, “when Momma calls, you just have to come runnin’ ”. He helped the university through some tough times, serving as AD from 2013–2017 while Alabama took two football and two men’s golf National Championships.

People around RBR who knew or met the man say he was a such a nice and good person. He was generous as well. Battle and his wife, Mary, donated millions of dollars to the university including funds to help pay for scholarships of seven Crimson Tide softball seniors so they would be allowed to come back and play one more season in 2021 following the cancellation of the 2020 season.

DRAMARAMA

• Amazingly, the Big Ten finally took a stand on their little darlings with fines of $100K each against Michigan and Ohio State for their melee.
• Former Stanford and Colts QB Andrew Luck is returning to his alma mater to serve as Football GM.
• Former starting Southern Cal QB Miller Moss is in the Quitter Hole.
• Although he had meh 2024 season (61 rec, 676 yds, 6 TD), former 5-star Mizzou WR Luther Burden has decided to skip whatever bowl game the Tigers get invited to and enter the 2025 NFL draft.

KOACHES KORNER

If you have ever had to relocate a stubborn elderly family member from their home to a retirement community, then you know what the UNC administration was up against last week. Head Coach Mack Brown made comments that he wants to stick around and coach the Tar Heels for as long as humanly possible. The timing of his comments feels like conversations had already begun and he was trying to get the public on his side. But it was not to be. Mack will not be returning to the sidelines in Chapel Hill next season, but he will finish out 2024.

It was his second stint with Carolina. The 73-year old coached one season at I-AA App State (6-5) and three at Tulane (11–23), which I suppose was good enough for North Carolina to hire him in 1988. He had matching 1-10 seasons to get his UNC career going before he turned the Heels into a winning program. Then in 1998, he took the Texas job and won a Natty in 2005 in the famous Vince Young game. After losing the 2009 BCS Championship Game to a certain Alabama Crimson Tide team, things went down hill for Mack. Over the next four seasons, his Longhorns went 30-21 and he got the boot. Following several years as an on-air personality, he returned to UNC in 2019 and was kinda meh. In his second go-around, those teams have gone to a bowl every year but they have lost the last four.

Former Browns head coach and Bama QB Freddie Kitchens has been named interim coach. He had been UNC’s run game coordinator and tight ends coach since 2023.

• Embattled Neal Brown is out at West Virginia after a 6-6 showing this year. The former Troy head coach went 37–35 of six seasons and seemed to never say anything right at WVU.
• Continuing a weird new trend, Gus Malzahn is resigning as Center Florida head coach to become the new offensive coordinator at Florida State.
• Purdue is pulling the plug on coach Ryan Walters after two seasons. He’s gone 5-19 in his two years at the school, including 1-11 this year. With three years left on his contract, he will be walking away with almost $9.4 million. Seriously, y’all. Teach your kids how to be college football coaches.
• It’s a bit surprising to hear that Appalachian State has fired coach Shawn Clark after five seasons. This year was his first losing season at 5-6. Considering the damaging weather events the area had in September, that record does not seem at all that bad. He was 3-1 in bowl games.
• Following three consecutive seasons of 4-8, FIU is ridding themselves of coach Mike MacIntyre. MM now has losing records at three programs, SJSU, Colorado and now the Panthers. In 12 seasons as a FBS head coach, he has only had two winning campaigns.
• Former Falcons flop head coach Arthur Smith has been contacted about the opening at UNC. The former Tar Heel is currently the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The problem here is that the Steelers are likely headed to the playoffs, which begin Jan 11 and end Feb 9. It’s probably not a great idea to have a new coach who is trying to rebuild a program start out several weeks behind. Other dates of note: Early Signing Day is tomorrow. The Winter Transfer Portal opens Dec 9 and closes Dec 28. Getting someone hired asap might be advantageous.
• Rice has hired Davidson head coach Scott Abell, which is an interesting choice. He was a baseball player in college (Longwood) before starting his football coaching career at the high school level. He would eventually get the head job at D-III Washington and Lee followed by the FCS Davidson gig in 2018. Three times he took the Wildcats to the playoffs 2020-2022, but each time fell in the first round. His 2023 team went 7–4 and the ‘Cats went 6–5 this season with no post-season either year. He must be a dang good interview because that is not a strongest of résumés.
• In a bit of a surprise, Temple has hired K.C. Keeler away from Sam Houston. Keeler had been at SHSU since 2014 and helped the program transition to FBS two years ago. This season the Bearkats went an impressive 9-3. Before Sam Houston, he coached at Delaware for 11 seasons winning one I-AA championship (and losing two) and coached guys such as Mike Adams and Joe Flacco. Temple seems like a worse job than SHSU, and it is. But at 65, it is likely that the Pennsylvania native is looking at the Owls gig as his final stop before retiring. Philly is a one hour drive from his hometown of Emmaus, PA.
• Urban Meyer’s daughter once asked him how stars die. “Usually an overdose,” was his reply.
• Fat F*** Phil Fulmer got a job at a movie theater as a movie screen.

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

So, why is it that all the Aubie fans wanted to bury Bryan Harsin deep in the woods of Lee County, but daggumbit Hugh Freeze gawna figger it out!

Speaking of Harsin, check out this Tweet and look reeeal close at it.

TEEVEE

It is often discussed how many of Nick Saban’s former coaches and players have gone on to great things on the gridiron after leaving the Capstone. One new aspect is former Tide players moving into national media positions. For many years, viewers did not hear from former Bama players on the airwaves, even though the Tide has always been a big part of the sport. Much like the long Heisman drought in T-town, the presence of announcers has also changed since Saban first came to town. Of course, Saban himself is a part of ESPN’s GameDay. Mark Ingram II is a member of the FOX Big Noon Kickoff crew and frankly is the most entertaining one. We also have – for better or worse – Greg McElroy on ESPN and the SEC Network. I’d even go as far as to say that Paul Finebaum has blossomed thanks to the Saban Dynasty. On the rise is Damien Harris who has been working with CBS Sports. Barrett Jones is doing play-by-play mostly for ESPN Radio for college football and occasional NFL broadcasts. While not a Saban player, Roman Harper is killing it at the SECN. AJ McCarron might be next after he finally hangs up his cleats.

If you have a double sawbuck burning a hole in your pocket, you can get into the B1GCG and still get some change back.

THIS WEEK

It’s Conference Championships Week. Several of these games might just be CFP play-in games.

Unless noted by city in parentheses, games take place in the higher seed’s stadium.

Friday, December 6

C-USA: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State 6pm/7pm CBSSN

MWC: UNLV at Boise 7pm/8pm FOX – Play-in?

AAC: Tulane at Army 7pm/8pm ABC

Saturday, December 7

Big12: Iowa State vs Arizona State 11am/noon ABC (Arlington, TX) – Play-in?

MAC: Ohio vs Miami (OH) 11am/noon ESPN (Detroit, MI)

SEC: Georgia vs Texas 3pm/4pm ABC (Atlanta, GA)

SBC: Marshall at ULL 6:30/7:30 ESPN

Big Ten: Penn State vs Oregon 7pm/8pm CBS (Indianapolis, IN)

ACC: Clemson vs SMU 7pm/8pm ABC (Charlotte, NC) – Play-in?

#ALABAMA

• DL Tim Keenan was attended to while down on the field during the Iron Bowl, but he returned to the field and should be okay.
• Alabama played a lot of guys in this game. According to the participation chart, Bama played 53 different players.
• Most notable was Geno VanDeMark coming in at guard for Jaeden Roberts and Wilkin Formby for Elijah Pritchett at right tackle.
• DaShawn Jones subbed in for Zabien Brown at cornerback on several occasions.
• Tight ends CJ Dippre 3-46, Josh Cuevas 3-31, Robbie Ouzts 2-15 each had multiple receptions. Dippre had an additional 12 yard catch that was negated by a phantom holding call on Germie Bernard.
• Speaking of Germie, what a fantastic game he had. His 7 receptions for 111 yards represents the first time in his three year college career that he has gone over 100 yards.
• Bray Hubbard. If you don’t have a #18 jersey by now, then get out.
• I wonder what Graham Nicholson is thinking about right now. He has attempted 8 field goals all season. Only Navy (7 with one more regular season game to play) and Boston College (4) have attempted less. Nicholson kicked 28 a year ago at Miami (OH).
• Auburn has something like a 40 Iron Bowl game streak of not getting called for holding against Alabama. We will have our research team work on getting you the exact number.

GAME 13: TBA

Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3, 5-3) vs ???

As we await the penultimate CFP rankings release, it bears reflecting on the expanded playoff. It has certainly made for a much broader base of arguments of who should get in and who shouldn’t. However, there have been some setbacks. In years past, we would have been admitted to the hospital with laughter after anOhio State blows another big game. Instead, it is just kind of a light chuckle. They will still be in the playoff and might host a first round game with potentially SMU or Boise to follow. So does that mean the meeting they condescendingly call “The Game” has less meaning. In short, yes. Michigan loves beating them, but it didn’t ruin their season like it would have in the past.

Most readers here are Alabama fans, but can we get honest here? Is this 9-3 Tide team really worthy of a shot at the Big Beer Tap Trophy? For that matter, is Penn State with their weak schedule? Good not great Ohio’s Tate ? Notre Dame who lost to NIU? Sloppy-ass Georgia? Exposed Indiana? Boise? SMU? None of these teams really move the needle. And don’t forget, they want to expand to 16 teams. TBH, I wouldn’t mind going back to the misunderstood and wrongfully criticized BCS and let Oregon and Texas duke it out on January 1.