Paul Chryst Named Coach at Wisconsin

((ht: host.madison.com))

We first told you about this story last week. But Wisconsin couldn't "officially" hire now former Pitt Panthers coach Paul Chryst until they fulfilled the legal requirement of having the job posted for a week.

The Badgers have a 6pm (Central) press conference scheduled where Chryst will be introduced. And like we said in the above paragraph, it's not a surprise to anyone.

Chryst grew up in Madison. He played for the team in the late 80's and got his coaching start with the Badgers. He was the teams offensive coordinator from 2005-2011.

Chryst had a tough job rebuilding Pittsburgh after some tough years. He had a 19-19 record with the Panthers in 3 seasons.

He'll replace Gary Andersen who left after 2 seasons to jump over to Oregon State. That move surprised many people, but Andersen claimed it was because of the lack of support by administration that caused the move.

Wisconsin plays Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

Reports: Paul Chryst to Get Wisconsin Job

((ht: jsonline.com))

It didn't take long for the University of Wisconsin to find someone to replace departed coach Gary Andersen. Andersen left Madison earlier this week to take the open coaching job at Oregon State.

Reports circulating out of Wisconsin say that soon-to-be former Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Paul Chryst has accepted the job.

Chryst has been at Pitt for the past three seasons with a 19-19 record, but the Panthers have shown great improvement each season.

It should be noted he is a Wisconsin grad and a long time Badgers assistant when the opportunity opened up in Pittsburgh. Armed with head coaching experience, he should be a good fit for the folks in Madison.

Here's the original story on the move from The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

The move also opens up the Pittsburgh job. The Panthers are all in on the ACC at this point and it should be a fairly attractive opening for whomever takes it.

It should be noted that Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez posted the job just yesterday, the guess is he already had his man (Chryst) ready to roll.

Virginia Tech Still Owns Virginia, Keeps Bowl Streak Alive

Remember back on September 6th when Virginia Tech manhandled Ohio State 35-21 at the Horseshoe?

Who knew the Hokies would blow all their good karma that night in Columbus.

Since then Virginia Tech went 3-6 with the low point last week at Wake Forest not scoring a single point in regulation time and losing to the Demon Deacons 6-3 in a game that turned college football back to the leather helmet days.

With the bowl streak and a winning season in jeopardy Virginia Tech had to take care of business against bitter rival Virginia to reach those goals.

Plus the Hokies needed that good karma to return and somehow the Wahoos bring that out.

It was apparant the lady luck would wear the maroon and orange Friday night when down 20-17 Virginia's defense imploded when Mike Moore was called on a person foul penalty and then Henry Coley was flagged for pass inference.

Then with under 2 minutes left Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer hit tight end Bucky Hodges for 50 yards to the 10.

A play later Brewer and Hodges connected again for a nine yard touchdown as the Hokies prevailed 24-20.




"I've said all along I really like this football team," Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said after the game.

Frank Beamer has liked this football team despite the unexpected and inexcusable losses but with all the injuries the Hokies have suffered on the offensive line, defense and at running back it was hard to keep a consistent line up out there.

What had Beamer beaming after the game was the Hokies kept some streaks alive:

22nd straight bowl appearance.

11th straight win over Virginia.

Thanks to our players & fans, we get to keep this for another year. #Hokies pic.twitter.com/uKwviazgjy
— Bill Roth (@VTVOICE) November 29, 2014

"I try to look at it the way it is: to me, this group of players has done a great job," Beamer said. "This coaching staff and this group of players has done a great job with the circumstances as far as personnel in and out. ... We've had to overcome some things."

Yet here is Virginia Tech going to a bowl game after all that.

It must be karma.

Virginia's Mike London Will Return As Head Coach In 2015

Any speculation that Virginia head coach Mike London was going to be axed should the Cavaliers
lose to arch rival Virginia Tech Friday has been squashed.

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage announced today that London would remain as Virginia's head coach for the 2015 season.

"It was important to see improvement in our football program this season,” Littlepage said in a statement released by UVA media relations. “I’ve seen signs of progress in many areas. Through the staff changes made over the last two years, we are better at teaching the game and in the overall development of the student-athletes. We also continue to notice the commitment by this group of coaches and student-athletes to their academic and community responsibilities."

The Wahoos have improved to a 5-6 season and will be bowl eligible should Virginia defeat Virginia Tech Friday night for the first time since 2004.

“I trust the plan Mike has in place and believe his leadership provides the best opportunity for Virginia football to be successful in the future.” Littlepage said.

ICYMI: UNC Football Spray Paints Duke Locker Room and Practice Field After Win

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Oh geez North Carolina football, can you not act like you've won a game before?

The Tar Heels had much to celebrate this past Saturday. The team beat arch-rival Duke, spoiling the Blue Devils ACC title hopes on Duke's home field. And the win got the Tar Heels bowl eligible.

But it's what happened afterwards which forced UNC head coach Larry Fedora and athletic director Bubba Cunningham to offer a full-fledged apology and offer restitution.

The reason: The Tar Heels spray painted the visitors locker room and practice fields at Duke's football practice facility next to the stadium.

The damage is estimated at over $25,000.

Cunningham and Fedora have spoken to their counterparts at Duke and offered their apologies as well.

Our partners at the ACC Digital Network provide the reason for Saturday's over zealous celebrating:

Worst Game Ever: Wake Forest Beats Va. Tech 6-3 in 2 OT's

We post this only because it's a contender for the worst College Football game ever.

Wake Forest beat Virginia Tech 6-3 in 2 overtimes Saturday in an ACC Football game that may have redefined the term "Winning Ugly".

We should also add at the end of regulation, the game was tied at 0-0.

And while the game only featured 4 turnovers, 3 by Va.Tech, it also only featured 488 yards of total offense. Samaje Perine of Oklahoma ran for 427 and accounted for 446 yards by himself in his game.

The only intriguing storyline here, how many missed field goals would be kicked before someone made one. Tech only missed in, by Joey Slye in the 1st OT. Wake's Mike Weaver missed 3.

And while Slye finally made one in the 1st OT, Weaver hit one in each of the OT periods, enough to get the win.

Both the Hokies and the Demon Deacons punted 9 times each, and not a touchdown was scored in a College Football game for the first time since 2005. We should note, neither of the teams in the 2005 game play in an alleged "Power 5 Conference".

Wake coach Dave Clawson said after the game "We put offensive football back 100 years". We say, this brand of football, in this game...was extremely offensive if you actually tried to watch it.

We will spare you the game highlights...mostly because there weren't any and just show you video of the Weaver's game winning kick and the celebration...

Morning Wrap: FSU Rallies Against Miami; Stays Undefeated

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We will say this about the Florida State Seminoles; they ain't pretty, but they keep winning.

FSU scored the go-ahead TD with just over 3 minutes left in the game Saturday night vs. Miami, saving their undefeated season and winning the game 30-26.

The 26-yard game winning run by Running Back Dalvin Cook capped a furious rally that continued a pattern where the 'Noles fall behind in the 1st half, only to right the ship and rally, coming back for the win.

Jameis Winston threw for 304 yards and a TD, Cook had 92 rushing yards and scored twice for the 10-0, 7-0 in the ACC. For the Hurricanes, Duke Johnson ran for 130 yards and a score. Miami drops to 6-4, 3-3 in the ACC.

The path to the playoffs continues getting wider and wider for Florida State as the other undefeated teams continue to fall while the Noles keep coming back and winning. The final two games of the season for FSU are both easily winnable. And while not garnering lots of respect among the College Football Experts, FSU is an early lock for the CFB Playoff.

Your highlights from ESPN.com:

Not Much Love For The Seminoles

The volume of the noise surrounding Florida State continues to get ramped up.

Forget about Jameis Winston and his off the field issues.  That has been well documented.

Now Florida State is slowing dropping in the College Football Playoff Selection Rankings after being leapfrogged by one loss Oregon this week.

There are those who believe the Seminoles shouldn’teven be in the four team playoff for lack of impressing anyone.

“I thought the name of the game was to keeping winning.” Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said.  “I don’t know what they’re (the CFP Selection Committee) to send or what’s trying to go on.”

It appears that this Florida State team is a victim of their success from last season which was off the charts.  An FBS record 723 points and averaging 51.6 points per game and FSU scored less the 40 points only twice last season.

“You don’t win games like we did last year.” Fisher said. “No one had done it in 68 years.”

This season the Seminoles have scored over 40 points just three times but Florida State remains 9-0 this season.

“We win.” Fisher said. “I think we are great in our own way.  Maybe each team has a different style, but I love this team.”

It appears Florida State is a team that everyone else loves to hate.

“What somebody thinks of us – I hate to say but it’s none of my business.” Fisher said. “We just control how we play. We’ve won every conference game except one by double digits.  I’m very happy with the way we’ve played.”

Saturday Florida State takes on Miami in a rivalry game at Sun Life Stadium.

The Seminoles have won four in a row over the Hurricanes.  Since Miami made Sun Life Stadium their permanent home Florida State is a perfect 3-0 on that turf.

Should Miami prevail against Florida State Saturday, and that could happen, watch FSU free fall in the rankings.

That’s about the only way you will keep the Seminoles out of the playoffs.

“We’ve just got to keep playing well and winning.” Fisher said. “We’re going to have our hands full going to Miami.”

Yes you will.

Morning Wrap: Clemson Runs Away From Wake Forest

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So it was an ACC Football game, on the 4-letter and probably didn't mean much in terms of the chase for the playoffs.

But it was a fun game.

Clemson rode QB Cole Stoudt's 282 yard, 3 Passing TD performance to a solid, if unspectacular 34-20 win over Wake Forest Thursday night in Winston-Salem.

The Tigers defense held Wake to 119 yards of offense including a grand total of 7 rushing yards.

Yes, seven.

The win moves Clemson to 7-2 overall,  6-1 in the ACC and keeps their ACC title game hopes alive, Wake drops to 2-7, 0-5 in the ACC.

Your highlights from ESPN.com:

Is This The Worst Trick Play Execution Of The Year...???

((HT: James Poling's Vine))

Well, it was Syracuse...


So, it was supposed to be a double-reverse, flea-flicker pass.

Didn't work at all...

Morning Wrap: FSU Gets Comeback W vs. Louisville

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It wasn't pretty.

But pretty doesn't matter as long as you are undefeated and have nothing but teams you should beat left on your schedule.

The Florida State Seminoles overcame a 21 point deficit Thursday night at Louisville and came back to beat the Cards 42-31.

The game was somewhat of an offensive shootout, 1000 yards of offense between the two teams. FSU QB Jameis Winston threw for 401 yards...but also had three INT's. Louisville RB Michael Dyer ran for 134 yards and 3 TD's and Cardinals receiver DeVante Parker had 214 receiving yards.

But after sleepwalking through most of the first half, FSU got a touchdown just before the end of 2nd quarter and went into halftime down 21-7.

The win moves FSU to 8-0 on the season. They will be heavy favorites in their last 4 games, with only 1 road game, a visit to Miami in mid-November.

The Seminoles, love them or hate them, will be one of your 4 playoff teams this season.

ESPN.com gives us the highlights:

ICYMI: Miami Embarrasses Sloppy Va. Tech

It wasn't exactly a prime time performance for the Virginia Tech Hokies at home.

The University of Miami came into Lane Stadium Thursday night and pounded the hapless Hokies 30-6 behind Duke Johnson's 249 yards rushing and 2 TD's.

Va.Tech fumbled on their first three possessions of the 2nd half, already down 24-0, which means they pretty much never had a chance.

Really there isn't much else to add about this game. The ACC, outside of Florida State isn't much of a playoff factor. The win did move the Hurricanes to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, while Tech falls to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC.

The only impact may be to Ohio State who the Hokies inexplicably were able to beat earlier in the season. The worse Va. Tech plays the worse the loss looks to the Buckeyes who are trying to overcome their horrible Big 10 schedule and slip into the playoff.

Here are your highlights from ESPN.com:

Barely: FSU Escapes With Win Over Notre Dame

It was a heck of a game under the lights in Tallahassee Saturday, almost living up to the attempt at hype.

Florida State held on to beat Notre Dame 31-27 in a game that ended on a offensive pass interference call.

The Irish thought they had the game won when QB Everett Golson on 4th down, lofted a 2-yard TD pass to Corey Robinson with 13 seconds left in the game. The TD would have been a game winner.

But the referees called a penalty against one of Notre Dame's split receivers appeared to block the defender trying to cover Robinson.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was apoplectic saying "We coach that play every day. And we do it legally and that's the way we coach it. We don't coach illegal plays".

Well, it sure looked like a pick. Instead of bouncing the defender the receiver drove the guy backwards.

Anyway...

The maligned Jameis Winston was impressive for Florida State, throwing for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns. His passing was needed as the Seminoles were only able to run for 50 yards.

It also sets FSU up for a straight run to the College Football Playoff. They will finish the season with a run of crappy ACC teams and finish the regular season with the hapless Florida Gators. They'll likely end up undefeated.

Your highlights from ESPN:

Tyler Murphy Outduels Jacoby Brissett In The Battle Of Florida Quarterbacks.

Tyler Murphy

The Florida Gators have had issues at quarterback.


Jeff Driskel has lost the confidence of his head coach Will Muschamp and Gator fans.

Wouldn't you love to have kept Tyler Murphy or Jacoby Brissett.

Both are making an impact in the ACC.  Murphy at Boston College and Brissett at NC State.

They met at Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina in the battle of Florida quarterbacks.

This one belonged to Murphy who threw for 101 yards and rushed for a 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Murphy's first was this 47 yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead.


And then this 26 yard touchdown run that put away the Wolfpack 30-14


Jacoby Brissett threw for 174 yards and a touchdown,

"It all comes down to me playing better, which I have to come back next week and do," Brissett said.

NC State has now lost 11 straight ACC games and has never won a conference game during the Dave Doeren era.

"We all want microwaved results, me included, I know our fans do, I get it." Doeren said,

Things You Can't Unsee: Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney Doing the Happy Dance

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Whoa! On a day where you should never say you've seen it all, somehow a video like this pops up and reassures us that the Internet always gives....

We won't go into a lengthy description of this video other than to say "Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney, Clemson Homecoming, Dabo Dances to Happy".

Yeah...some others appear in the video and while the lip synch is really, really badly edited there is little bad you can say about the Pharrell song because really, we do feel better after hearing it...

If we could just get Dancing Dabo out of our brains...

ICYMI: Saturday's Hit of the Day. Ga.Tech Punter Spinebusted by Miami

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Oooofff....

Yeah, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would have been proud of this hit.

Check out what happened Saturday night during Georgia Tech's win at Miami.

The Yellow Jackets Ryan Rowdell runs the fake...and successfully. However he Rowdell will be forever reminded what happened at the end of the play.

Rowdell runs right into Hurricanes safety Marques Gayot. Gayot wraps him as Rowdell inexplicably tries to jump.

Gayot takes that leap as he makes the tackle and executes a picture perfect, WWE version of a spinebuster. No, he didn't follow it up with the people's elbow and Rowdell was stunned, but not hurt. We don't think the ref dropped and counted three.

How Does North Carolina Give Up 70...???

((HT: WNCT-TV))

Larry Fedora has some 'splaining to do...

How, in the age of trying to improve your defensive stock do you do this...???

Allow East Carolina QB Shane Carden to throw for 438 yards
Allow three second quarter touchdowns, including a pick-6
Allow 789 total yards by the Pirates offense
Allow the most points scored in school history
Allow the most yards in school history

Bottom line was that the Tarheels did and it ended up being a 29-point loss (70-41) that, really, didn't even seem that close...

Here's the highlights- obviously condensed a great deal for television sake
Greenville, NC | News | Weather | Sports - WNCT.com

The American Conference now has its poster child in both Carden and East Carolina. It will be interesting to see what happens in their conference with them and, more importantly, just how much of a leash the coaching staff in Chapel Hill will have going forward.

ICYMI: FSU Survives Clemson in OT

It wasn't a pretty win, but it will still go down as a "W" in the scorebook.

It went to overtime and took a tremendous effort by the #1 ranked, defending champ Florida State defense to save them.

But it was overshadowed in some respect by what happened before the game ever started.

Despite suspended star QB Jameis Winston inexplicably dressing out and starting to warm up before the game, the Seminoles stay undefeated with a 23-17 win over Clemson. Winston would be chewed out by his head coach Jimbo Fisher, sent back to the locker room and reappear in sweats.

Winston's suspension meant backup QB Sean Maguire got the start in a big ACC game. And while Maguire didn't exactly shine and almost lost the game, throwing an interception with just over 2-minutes left and Clemson driving for a possible game winning score.

But 'Noles DT Eddie Goldman knocked the ball out of Tiger RB C.J Davidson's hands and FSU recovered.

FSU's Karlos Williams would score the game winner in overtime and FSU escaped on their home turf, without their immature, star QB.

ESPN.com gives us the highlights:

While We Were Sleeping: FSU Benches Jameis Winston for Entire Game

The Lack of Self Awareness tour of Heisman Trophy Winner Jameis Winston continues.

While we were sleeping, late Friday night, Florida State University released a tersely worded statement announcing their star quarterback with judgement issues would sit out the entire game Saturday night against Clemson.

The reason, though not initially stated is that Winston wasn't totally truthful when describing what happened to Coach Jimbo Fisher or administrators earlier this week.

According to multiple witnesses and a ton of Twitter traffic, Winston inexplicable jumped on a table in the FSU Student Union and yelled out a vulgar internet meme.

That unto itself, if were a random student would not be a punishable event or even noteworthy. But when you are the defending Heisman Trophy winning quarterback on the defending National Champion football team, you are held to a bit of a different standard.

Combine that with Winston's two well documented run-ins with the law since he's been in Tallahassee and you've got a recipe for someone who needs to learn, badly, that there are repercussions for being an idiot.

We, and many others, question whether he realizes this.

USC Couldn't Figure Out Tyler Murphy, Boston College Wins 37-31

Murphy's law was in full display Saturday night at Boston College,

Eagle quarterback Tyler Murphy rushed for 191 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown in B.C.'s 37-31 win over USC.



"Tyler Murphy played like a big time player here tonight." Boston College head coach Steve Addazio said.

"It means a lot to me." Murphy said.  "It’s pretty easy on my part because I have guys who want to work and sacrifice for each other."

Those guys Murphy's referring to is Boston College's offensive line which dominated Southern California's defense allowing the Eagles to rush for 452 yards.

“Running the ball has always been our identity." Boston College center Andy Gallick said.   "We always take pride in it, whether it’s working or not, we always try to get back to it. Getting ready for this weekend, we realized what kind of defensive front we were going against and the fronts USC had, the high caliber talent they have and we took it upon ourselves to show how good of an offensive line we can be. I think that tonight we showed that our rushing game speaks for itself.”

"The goal, obviously, of being Pac-12 champs is very alive for us," USC head coach Steve Sarkisian said. "I thought we came out playing well, and for whatever reason I thought we lost it. I've got to figure that out."