I’ve long been an advocate of waiting until after the bowl season to begin a college football playoff, and this season’s results are a vivid demonstration as to why. If we went back to traditional tie-ins for the bowls, then selected four teams when it was over, we would have both a more entertaining system and a fairer bracket. Let me explain why.
It didn’t take long for the “TCU made a statement” and “TCU proved they belonged in the College Football Playoff” rhetoric to ratchet up after the Horned Frogs demolished Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve. TCU’s backers in the national media were ready to pounce.
It was a trying first year for Charlie Strong as he began his tenure as the Texas football coach. The Longhorns struggled to a 6-6 record, far from acceptable at the school with its own network and the most popular program in a football-mad state. But Texas showed some strides at the end of the season and that makes Monday night’s bowl game with Arkansas all the more important for Strong to continue building momentum for his program
One of the more intriguing matchups on the college football bowl undercard is the December 29 game between Arkansas and Texas (9 PM ET, ESPN). It should be fun because it’s the renewal of a once-great rivalry in the old Southwest Conference—the Razorbacks and Longhorns played an epic game in 1969 that settled a national championship. And it will also be revealing, as we continue to see whether second-year head coach Bret Bielama can make Arkansas football a serious player in the SEC West.
The runner-up is even more certain to get a spot one of the New Year’s Six major bowl games—likely the Fiesta. And if you, for the moment, cede the championship to Oregon, the race for the runner-up spot is intriguing.
The runner-up is even more certain to get a spot one of the New Year’s Six major bowl games—likely the Fiesta. And if you, for the moment, cede the championship to Oregon, the race for the runner-up spot is intriguing.
It was a great day for ACC football this past Saturday, as the conference went 11-0 in non-conference games, including the most notable result of the day, Virginia Tech’s 35-21 win at Ohio State. Here’s the Notebook Nine on the ACC, the nine notable items about the league after two weeks and moving forward…
It was a great day for ACC football this past Saturday, as the conference went 11-0 in non-conference games, including the most notable result of the day, Virginia Tech’s 35-21 win at Ohio State. Here’s the Notebook Nine on the ACC, the nine notable items about the league after two weeks and moving forward…
Today has some really good college football games, which makes it somewhat annoying that four of them are going to more or less conflict with each other time-wise. I’m old enough to remember when the Noon ET time slot used to have at least one really good game going. Now everything is backloaded to prime-time. But here’s some thoughts on the big games of today, starting with the late afternoon USC-Stanford game that starts in about an hour and a half.
College football Saturdays are back, and without further adieu, here’s the Notebook Nine, the nine best games of the day for the Saturday of college football Week 1. Games are listed in order of kickoff time so you can plan your Saturday accordingly… Penn State-Central Florida (8:30 AM, ESPN2): A top ‘o the morning to […]
When we heard the phrase “Group of Five” in conjunction with college football, that natural tendency is to think of the five power conferences. But there’s another Group of Five at the reverse end of the college football spectrum. Conference USA, the American, the MAC, Mountain West and Sun Belt all represent the college football midmajors. We’re going to target the nine teams from these leagues mostly likely to have national impact.
The Oklahoma Sooners haven’t won the Big 12 football title since 2010, but they enter this season as a heavy favorite to get back on top of the conference and to perhaps do much more. The Sooners status as prohibitive conference favorite and serious national contender is testament to how much the perception of a program can change after two games.