The End Of An Era, The Beginning Of An Era...

I'll admit it...

I was walking around in 70-plus degree weather yesterday...

All day...

I have seen all the different photos on social media from all of my friends and fellow media describing something going on in most of the country, but I'm going to have to say that I have no immediate recollection of what you're talking about. I remember walking through some jet ways in Minneapolis where I felt like I was walking through that beer commercial where the spelunker is trying to save the very meal his bartenders are trying to serve by bringing the glass bottle they just carved out of the nearest, ultra-convenient mountain side with an ice pick...

And, I dropped to my knees in profound thanks when I got into the concourse where the heat was working...

I'll admit it again...

I'm a very poor responder to cold... and the epic cold the east is taking care of for me can be sent on its way, thank you, by the time I return...

I had a football game to watch...

As someone who was a victim of the "Wide Right" and "Wide Left" eras at my alma mater where your time is marked by missed field goals at the most key moment against your hated rival- and you can recite the kickers who missed them and the direction the missed kicks missed- all of this talk about shoo-in national titles came across my ears with all the smoothness of a 7-year-old kid playing the cello for the first time- because his grandmother thought it would be a good idea...

The chalk across the chalkboard feeling when the kaolin fails to do its job because it isn't pointed enough to create the quadratic equation for Geometry class...???

That feeling...

And as the point spread against an "underdog" Auburn team climbed from 8 to 10 or 10-and-a-half points (depending on the independent businessman you follow for such advice), your hands go straight into "earmuffs" mode the closer you got to kickoff. Sure, the younger generation attached to the current Heisman Trophy winner came into the Arroyo Seco with entirely too much confidence. But they will understand, some day, not necessarily this one- that when you're given all the information and get to study from all angles that nothing is as easy as it's made to look...

I'll say this without qualification...

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is crazy...

And I don't mean that in a bad way at all...

He's the guy who works in his basement at all hours trying to figure out how to make time travel economical for the middle-class family of four. He'll be more than happy to figure out a way to make your sedan run on something that smells like cooking grease, but gets 427,000-miles per gallon. And, if there's a bomb set to go off attached to your ankle, and all he has is a plastic six-pack holder and a to-go bag from In-n-Out Burger...

He'll figure something out...

Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson isn't too far behind Malzahn, either... he just needs to figure out the cooking grease equations his boss has on the whiteboard...

In the first half of this title game, Malzahn ran his game that got Auburn to the last game of the year. It included a pass down the seam to a tall receiver that you had to go deep into the stat book to ask yourself who he was and did he, in fact, exist before Monday night. To even find who Melvin Ray exactly was, you had to know exactly where North Florida Christian School was and that Casey Weldon was his high school coach (Yes, the FSU Casey Weldon, but hang on to your conspiracy theories- for now).

Ray had caught only four other passes the entire season and his 6-3 height advantage was used mainly on special teams...

Until he was so blatantly ignored travelling down the seam, that it was 14-3...
((HT: ESPN))


Johnson dialed up 30 days worth of coverages that freaked out Jameis Winston and kept him in the pocket- and also kept the Seminoles from running their offense quickly enough to tire a defense that had given up yards all year...

They, simply, weren't doing it...

But football is all about adjustments... and you can talk about the fake punt Jimbo Fisher called being absolutely huge to keep his team from getting blown out of the gym...

It was...

And you can talk about how FSU pushed everything offensive from the tackle box (where Auburn likes to make it's three and four-yard gains all night if you let them) to the edges where their superior pursuit speed gave it more of a shooting gallery look going from side-to-side and gaining little yardage in the second half...

It did...

But it took a kickoff return by Levonte Whitfield...


And a 50-yard pass that set up the winning score as part of a 21-point fourth quarter to turn Auburn's last chance with the football into something that looked like a failed attempt at a Cal-Stanford play to chase one more miracle...

It took an entire half for Winston to find Kelvin Benjamin as a receiver and, doing the math, Devonta Freeman only got to run the ball 11 times in the entire game.

"Fortunate" is a word I would use as an alum to determine what happened at the Rose Bowl for Florida State fans. And with Tre Mason, Nic Marshall, and a lot of people returning, I look at Auburn to do some strong things next season...

Even if, with this new playoff system, the arguing will only escalate since more teams will be left out of the loop when you even get to choose more to be involved in a four-team playoff...

A few non-game points to close:

The Rose Bowl has no concept how to deal with incoming crowds...

The sign to your right was a microcosm of the day... they actually use it to keep some kind of control from the moment the gates allow you into the stadium proper and attempt to get to your seat. And, this "crown control" actually kept a lot of people from missing a lot of the pre-game activity on the field.

Do not misunderstand... the Rose Bowl is a gorgeous venue for football...

They just need a lot of Ess-E-Cee ushers and state troopers to get you in and out in the fashion with which the rest of the world is accustomed...

Translation: "A timely fashion..."

And, the other note...

The beauty of coming to Southern California is getting to sample some of the best food ever...

The unifier of all faiths from the Rose Bowl...
In-n-Out Burger...

This was our besieged and overrun In-n-Out across the freeway from our hotel in Universal City. They didn't think that there would be a big crowd, so they were understaffed...

Woefully so... but you notice that there are fans from both teams there- and the crew that keeps the Florida State appaloosa, Renegade, happy for his cross-country ride back to Tallahassee.

One FSU fan, obviously, dialed up on liquid courage wanted to know if there were any "National Championship winners" in the building. And yelling this question made him the envy of none...

A Seminoles fan waiting to place his own order in front of him turned and requested that he stay classy about the win...

"You don't want us compared to those 'Canes, do you?"

Eastern rivalries are never far from anyone, anywhere...
And that's football for you...

Enjoy the off-season people, National Signing Day is only a month or so away...
And it starts all over again...

Tallahassee: All The Pressure Is On You...

Last time out, we sat here and talked to you about how impactful Georgia kids have been in Auburn's remarkable run- and will continue to be so for quite some time as long as guys like Rodney Garner and Dell McGee are on the sidelines helping out Gus Malzahn...

Same applies for Florida State as they have made their run to the Rose Bowl...

In a conversation I had with Lowndes play-by-play voice Wes James on the GPB Sports "Football Fridays in Georgia" podcast earlier in the season, Wes talked about one of the best athletes he's ever seen in Telvin "The Terminator" Smith- who went from Lowndes to Tally and is a mean dude in their linebacking corps...

Revisit it hyah...

Smith is one of 8 kids on the current roster that are from Georgia- most from south Georgia- that are this/close to winning a national title...

Once again, following on a theme...
This may not sit well in Athens and places in the state they came from...

I saw Florida State coaches at the Georgia Dome looking at talent at the Football Championships last month- and they'll get their share of them if they can close the deal...which a national title can do very easily...

On the field, once again, I will re-emphasize that in the game coming up tomorrow the yards Florida State gets will have virtually no correlation with their effectiveness. Same goes for Auburn...

I have reminded people, in today's football, all the yards you get on offense (or, conversely, give up on defense) simply DO NOT MATTER... if you don't put the ball in the end zone, all the effort to get into a scoring situation (or allowing a scoring situation) will either be for naught (or get you a shut out)...

Auburn is playing with house money- even more so after the Alabama fold in the Sugar Bowl to Oklahoma. There is no way, now, that Auburn (who is not going to finish below the Tide in any way in any poll- barring a blowout of monumental proportions at the Rose Bowl) will end up any worse than #4.

The Tigers will give up yards- it's their way...

Just look at games against Texas A&M on the road and Missouri in the Ess-E-Cee title game...
You see what that got them...
((HT: SEC on CBS))


But they'll also get yards... it'll take them a while to figure out what they can do and what they can't against one of the fastest defenses they've played all year.

Any Florida State fan who thinks this game will spiral out of control one way or the other- especially in their favor- is sadly mistaken and dealing in false bravado. Duke hung with you too, if you remember, a few weeks back...

Remember... the Rose Bowl also swapped out their natural grass after the Michigan State-Stanford game, so the teams will be playing on a new surface... and it'll take both squads a while to get adjusted.

If FSU loses, it's another step in the "Well, you're not like what you were in the 1990's"- and you still can't close the deal. If FSU wins, all the talk will be about the 1990's and how this could be the beginning of another run like the Bowden years...

If Auburn wins, it was simply meant to be and the talk will be about dolphins, unicorns, and harmonic karmic events.
If Auburn loses, it'll be one of the biggest "atta-boys" in the modern college football era...

Here's Florida State getting ready for the title game- as one... as they always have...
((HT: WTVM-TV))
WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather

So, look for something closer than you think...

It's only your college destiny that hangs in the balance...

Bee-Cee-Ess Preview: Auburn, Destiny, And Taking From Your Neighbor's Plate

There are two stats that don't mean anything (or, actually, "less and less" is more accurate) in today's football- regardless of level...

Time of possession and yards allowed...

Hear me out...

In the days of power football, you wanted to keep the other guy off the field since he ran (literally) the same offense you did. If you kept the other guy's running game off the field, and you capitalized on your drives with points, the other guy simply didn't have the opportunity to score.

Today, I dare you to tell me how the streetball/basketball on grass/spread offenses really give a tinker's damn about time of possession. In the college game, we've seen Baylor, UCF, Clemson, Ohio State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Northern Illinois, and any other pass happy-five wide outfit not care and cover the field from one end to the other in a few minutes.

Auburn's offense is the same way...

And it took the shortening of the playbook and familiarizing yourself with an athlete's talents that has put Auburn one game away from an improbable title- probably, the most shocking one of them all in the BCS era...

“It wasn’t something I was used to,” he told Ryan Black of the Macon Telegraph. “… In high school we ran the spread. But as I got here, they sat me down and taught me how the offense worked and (I) studied on film and watched what we do. It went from there and I got better as the weeks went.”

In that state title game for Wilcox County's Patriots, you could see Marshall had the arm to ad lib when he needed to and had the speed to make something out of less than nothing...
((HT: GPB/GHSA))


Auburn Undercover's Philip Marshall caught up with FOSG Wilcox County Head Coach Mark Ledford to talk about Nick's development and success...


But look deeper... and the invasion by Rodney Garner in taking Georgia talent away from his old boss has shone out...

The defensive front is young with Gabe Wright (Carver-Columbus), Carl Lawson (Milton), and Montravious Adams (Dooly County)...

CJ Uzomah (North Gwinnett) has finally found a home as a tall wide out that gives match-up problems on the outside...

And the upcoming recruiting classes include QB Tyler Queen (North Cobb) in 2015, and Kal Bessent a DB from Camden County, Myron Burton an ATH from Peachtree Ridge, Dontavious Russell a DT from Carrollton, and Stanton Truitt a QB from Monroe Area High who will be ATH'd in college...

And one of the largest flaws in Georgia's approach to winning in the Ess-E-Cee has given their neighbors their best shot of one of the best turnarounds in Division I history...

And that should be a big red flag to the folks in Athens...

Love This: ESPN With Multiple Ways to Watch BCS Title Game

((ht: espn.com))

For all the grief we give (in good fun) to our friends at ESPN, they on occasion come up with some absolutely fantastic ideas
and innovations that we really genuinely look forward to seeing.

The latest.

The "BCS Megacast". The "Megacast" is an ambitious plan to not only televise the BCS Championship game (featuring FSU and Auburn) on the mothership (ESPN), but in multiple ways on the entire ESPN programming platform.

We will try and explain.

You can watch the game with Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbrstreit's call on ESPN. Or you can watch the game with a panel of experts, coaches and players talking about it and answering social media questions on ESPN2.

You could watch ESPN News where you'll get the game along with real time analysis of plays in the "Film Room". And then there's the "Sounds of the Game" on ESPN classic which will just be the game along with natural sound provided by the in-stadium microphones.

Or….you can tune into the "BCS Command Center" on ESPN Goal Line which will provide split screen replays of every play of the game. Then there is the Radio Call presentations available on ESPN 3. There, you can find the game along with the radio calls from your favorite team.

You can also find the BCS Spider cam, the above stadium camera, also available on ESPN3.

There are a few other options, but we think you may get the idea.

To read in more detail, here's the ESPN Press Release about the "MegaCast"

Okay, we have to admit, this is impressive. If you have even the slightest interest in this game, you can watch it from any perspective you can possibly imagine.

Admittedly to some, this will be overkill and overwhelming. But if you are a voracious media consumer, you'll love it.

The challenge we are going to have. Watching it. Since it's on a work night, I won't get to stay up and watch much of the game since my workday begins at 5 a.m, but it's nice to know if I did, there are multiple ways I could watch it….if the wife would let me.

Bowl-a-Palooza Begins: Picks and Pans From The Season of Wasted Memories

((Overheard at random bowl game presentation))

Bowl Game Rep: "Congratulations coach, you and the (fill in team) get to travel to (fill in city) to play in the 45th annual (fill in the blank) bowl."
Coach or Athletic Director: "Thanks. It's an honor to play in the (fill in the blank) game. After finishing 4th in our conference, we consider it an honor." "We hope our fans will come out to visit your fine city and watch us win our 7th game of the season."
Bowl Game Rep: (leans over to AD)--"We can talk later about tickets. You'll be obligated for about 12,000 of them.
AD: "Huh"?
Bowl Game Rep: "Don't worry, we will sell them to you at face value. You can then sell them, give them away, whatever you want to do"
AD: "What if we don't sell all of them?"
Bowl Game Rep: "Well, that's up to you. As long as you pay us for the tickets, what you choose to do is up to you"
AD: "Uh, okay"

Now imagine you are Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst. Your team had a disappointing 8-4 season. You are picked to go to the Gator Bowl. Your opponent? The Georgia Bulldogs, otherwise known as the team you played last year.

The ticket allotment (Nebraska Buys): 12,000. Now, just 11 days from the game you've sold 3,000 of them. Guess who's on the hook for the rest? Add that to the cost of hauling the band, the athletic department and everyone else to Florida and guess who is losing money on this deal?

But Bowl Games are wonderful. Right? They are the way thousands of College Football addicts come down from their season long high and find an excuse to not engage with family during the holidays.

Sounds cynical and narcissistic? Yeah, it does. But that's exactly how modern day college football works.

Deal with it.

If you've read this far, here's a list of this years games and who we think will win them:

Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Washington St. vs. Colorado State. Our Pick: WSU 43, CSU 31

Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: Royal Purple? What's that? Fresno St vs. USC Our Pick: USC 33, Fresno St 21

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Not to be confused with Famous Jameis the FSU QB. Buffalo vs. San Diego St. Our Pick: Buffalo 27, SDSU 10

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: We are obligated to pick the Cajuns here. Tulane vs. La. Lafayette. Our Pick: LaLaf 35, Tulane 27

Beef O'Brady's Bowl: Bad food, bad game. East Carolina vs. Ohio. Our Pick: ECU 37, Ohio 10

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Yay! Trip to Hawaii. Oregon St vs. Boise St. Our Pick: OSU 45, BSU 37

Little Caesar's Bowl: Do we all get $5 pizzas now? Bowling Green vs. Pitt. Our Pick: Pitt 27, BGSU 21

San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Long title, dull game. Northern Illinois vs. Utah State. Jordan Lynch (NIU) 33, Utah St 23

Military Bowl: Hoping to come in close to budget. Maryland vs. Marshall. Maryland? Our Pick: Terps 31, Herd 21

Texas Bowl: Uh…yeah. Minnesota vs. Syracuse. Our Pick: Gophers 27, Orange 21

Fight Hunger Bowl: No, Jennifer Lawrence and the Hunger game won't be here. Washington vs. BYU. Our Pick: Huskies 41, Cougars 17

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Nothing says college football better than Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame vs. Rutgers. Yawn. Irish 23, Rutgers 17

Belk Bowl: Discount clothing for everyone! North Carolina vs. Cincinnati. Yawn. Tar Heels 31, Bearcats 27

Russell Athletic Bowl: This might be a good one. Louisville vs. Miami. Our Pick: Teddy B (Louisville) 43, The U 31

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Try the Spicy Garlic. Kansas St vs. Michigan. Yawn. Wildcats 35, Wolverines 23

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Hopefully the chopper works. Navy vs. MTSU. Huh? Navy 31, MTSU 28

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: This might be a good one. Georgia Tech vs Ole Miss. Ole Miss 27, Ga. Tech 23

Valero Alamo Bowl: Good matchup, 2 uninterested teams. Oregon vs. Texas. Oregon 43, Texas 23

National University Holiday Bowl: 2 dull bowl games in San Diego? Arizona St vs Texas Tech. ASU 41, T-Tech 37

AdvoCare V100 Bowl: What is V100? A radio station? Boston College vs. Arizona. Good matchup. Arizona 37, BC 33

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Pretty, but doesn't work well. UCLA vs. VaTech. UCLA 34, VaTech 20

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Sure. Enjoy your BBQ. Miss. State vs. Rice. Rice 31, Miss St. 28

Chick Fil A Bowl: Great storyline, not-so-great game. Texas A&M vs. Duke. Johnny Football's 45, Duke 31

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl: The teams aren't interested, the fans even less so. Georgia vs Nebraska. UGA 41, Nebraska 31

Heart of Dallas Bowl: Why? North Texas vs. UNLV. Do you care? UNLV 23, N.Texas 21

Outback Bowl: Best halftime press meal. Period. LSU vs. Iowa. Tigers 20, Iowa 14

Capital One Bowl: Most depressing stadium ever. Game won't be much better. S.Carolina vs. Wisconsin. Gamecocks 28, Badgers 21

Rose Bowl: 'Nuff Said. Michigan St. vs. Stanford. Cardinal 24, Sparty 21

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Just like the chip, not pretty or deep. Baylor vs. UCF. Bears 47, Golden Knights 37

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Will this finally shut Bob Stoops up about the SEC? Alabama vs Oklahoma. Crimson Tide 35, Sooners 20

ATT Cotton Bowl: Decent not great. Missouri vs. Okie State. Mizzou 31, Okie State 21

Discover Orange Bowl: They still play this game? Good matchup. Ohio State vs Clemson. Tigers 41, Buckeyes 40

BBVA Compass Bowl: Congrats, you won a trip to Birmingham. Houston vs. Vanderbilt. Vandy 33, Cougars 24

GoDaddy Bowl: If you are interested. We aren't. Ball St. vs Arkansas St. Arkie St. 34, Ball St 23

Vizio BCS National Championship. This might be fun. The only fun one. FSU vs. Auburn. Seminoles 48, Tigers 47

Your CFB Title Game Locations Are Set for 3 Years

We now know where the 1st 3 College Football Championship games are going to be held.

And yeah, before you say it, we know, the 1st game has already been announced, the inaugural game in January of 2015 will be held at Jerry World in the Dallas suburbs (Arlington, TX)

On Monday, the "Group" running the "College Football Playoff" announced the locations of the next two games. Your winners: Glendale, Arizona in 2015 and Tampa, Florida in 2016.

Your explainer from ESPN.com RIGHT HERE

Feel better now?

Yes, for those not up to speed, the BCS goes away January 6th at the end of the Auburn/FSU game. And while nobody knows how the "Playoff" will play out, it likely will make people feel better than the largely unpopular BCS system.

However, we say that knowing that despite the 4-team playoff system, team 5 and 6 will no doubt be hating the new system too...

ICYMI: Auburn Outscores Missouri, The BCS Magic Carpet Ride Continues….

Talk about your dream season. Yeah, we're talking about you Auburn…

After snatching victory from the jaws of defeat twice in the final 3 weeks of the regular season, Auburn University is BCS title game bound.

The Tigers, behind 46 carries and 304 yards rushing from running back Tre Mason, beat Missouri in an SEC track meet masquerading as a football game, 59-42.

The game didn't exactly feature a lot of defense, but Auburn's did enough to stop Mizzou when it needed to.

And that was all Tiger coach Gus Malzahn's high powered offense needed. 545 yards rushing was more than enough to overcome 2 Nick Marshall fumbles and 10-penalties.

CBS Sports gives us our highlights:



So…the Auburn win, combined with the Ohio State gag job makes everyone south of Kentucky (SEC world) happy and continues the run of SEC teams in the title game.

It sets up an Auburn/FSU game which should be just as high scoring as this one. Though we might add the Seminole defense is considerably better than Missouri's.

We won't make our pick for that game here, but we will add that it will be hard to pick against Auburn, who will not be favored. The Tigers have escaped twice and if you ask even the most die-hard of Tiger fan in August if they thought this game would happen, they'd be lying to you through their teeth.

Auburn Athletics shows the scene at the famed Toomer's Corner, a scene that got even crazier once fans realized Ohio State was losing and their beloved Tigers were Pasadena bound…

ICYMI: Florida State is BCS Title Bound After Pounding Duke

So, all the talk about Florida State doing what the ACC normally does, which is gag in the spotlight…well, that never happened.

The #1 ranked Seminoles took care of business Saturday night, winning the ACC Championship in Charlotte, NC over a game Duke squad, 45-7.

And was never that close.

Famous Jameis Winston threw 3 TD passes, 2 of them to Kelvin Benjamin, and Florida State's defense shutout the Blue Devils until the end of the game  when they gave up a late touchdown.

The win, seals FSU's berth in the BCS title game on January 6th, likely vs. Auburn. And it gives the so-called college football experts, a month to argue about who is better…

((note--It also sets up what should be an interesting month for Brother Jon, who went to FSU and his better half Patty who went to Auburn. Have fun with this one kids))

Your highlights from ESPN:

Why Ga. Southern Beating Florida Means More to Me Than It Does You

By now if you are a College Football fan, you know that Georgia Southern beat the University of Florida 26-20 Saturday afternoon.

And yes, anytime an FBS (Div-1AA) team beats a FCS (Div-1) team, it's a big deal. It's even bigger if they beat a team from the once mighty SEC.

It also gives the SEC bashers (everyone who lives outside the Southeastern U.S) more fuel to argue the SEC isn't what people think it is. Especially this year.

You can argue that Florida had so many injured players and was playing their 3rd string QB. And for what it's worth, Ga. Southern was down 16 scholarship players with injury too.

But no, the reason it means more to me than you: I went to Georgia Southern. I was there when the program was in year 2 (1983--I'm old). I was there for the first two National Championships the Eagles won (1985, 1986).

GaSouthern vs. SCState 1985

Going to a smaller school is different than going to a big one. Especially if you live in the south. Sports talk radio, TV and others don't pay attention to the little guys. Ever. They consider games like this a joke.

It's tough when your whole life you get asked "You Georgia or Florida?" or growing up in Florida it was "Florida or Florida State?".

How 'bout neither?

Me…and most of my friends don't consider ourselves bandwagon jumpers. Living in the South, there are millions who claim to be fans of schools they never attended. And many of them are the psychotic ones with the tricked out decorated buses or traveling all over the southeast going to games or doing crazy stuff degrading or trying to embarrass their opponents. Not us.

No, sorry, if you went to a small school like Georgia Southern, that's your team. It's always your team. You don't get to pull for anyone else.

When I graduated from Southern (1988), my friends and I tried to go to all the "Big School" games we played afterwards. We were there in 1986 when we played Florida, in a thunderstorm and set a "Then" stadium record for most yards rushing. We lost 38-14, but we were hoarse for a week.

I didn't get to go to Tallahassee in 1988 when we led FSU 10-6 after 3 quarters. I was working my 1st TV job in Lynchburg, Virginia. And when I came back from working a UVA football game late that afternoon, my Sports Anchor told me "You guys are beating FSU", my 1st response was "I call bullshit". We didn't win, we lost 23-10. But we scared them.

Fast forward a couple years. We were in the stands, at Jordan-Hare stadium when the Eagles walked to the locker room at halftime, leading Auburn 17-3. We all made a pact if we won, we were going to get arrested. We didn't win, but we scared the crap out of them.

It's hard to explain the attachment that I have to the football team. I'm not a crazed SEC type fan who's entire life in the fall revolves around going to or stopping the day to watch every second of the game. I haven't named my dog Eagle or have blue and white painted stuff around my house. I have one Georgia Southern t-shirt and a GSU sweatshirt. But Southern always has a place in my heart.

Heck, how could it not? When I was there, I was at every game. In 1986, I was a DJ on the campus radio station, WVGS. My shift was 10 a.m-1 p.m. And at the time, we started all our games at 1:30. That gave me just enough time to get across campus and make the game.

In 1987, I actually worked the games. I was a Broadcast major and we traditionally shot all the games from the top of the press box. I took it one step further. We scrounged up a second set of gear and while we took turns shooting up top, I would spend the second half and eventually the whole game on the field.

That's where I really got hooked.

Before long I was going to practice on Monday's and interviewing coach Russell and some players about the upcoming game and shipping it to TV stations around the state. By midseason, we started traveling to the games we could drive to. I got to know some of the players and had a couple of them play on my intramural basketball team. And the coolest thing to me, when I saw Erk Russell, he would always say hi to me.

True side story--Every Monday, when I interviewed him, we'd start the same way. "So coach, talk about last Saturday's game. How did the team play and how does it get you ready for next week?" "Well, Phil, 38 is more than 17, we won, they lost, so I guess it was a good week. It should help us be ready when ______ comes to town".

I always have kept up with Georgia Southern Football and always made it known they're "My Team". But I sort of bent my own rule. Some of you know I worked in Sports for a long, long time. And covered the University of Georgia for some 10-years. Got to know some of the behind the scenes folks there and had a nice, cordial relationship with coach Richt. Heck, Brother Jon, Brother Wilkie and I wrote a book about Georgia Football.

And admittedly, I like to see them win.

But Georgia Southern is always in my heart. My 4.5 years there were some of the best--and worst times of my life. I'm so thankful I went there instead of a big school.

True side story--I was accepted at the University of Florida coming out of Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida. But it was conditional--I would have had to go to summer school and do well before being accepted for a fall term.

I never went.

And if I did, I would never have made it through the core curriculum. I barely made it through my 1st two years at Southern.

So that's why Georgia Southern beating Florida means more to me. Southern had played 20 games against Division 1 schools, we'd never beaten one. Florida had played 47 games against non-Division 1 schools, they'd never lost.

Neither of those statements will ever be said again.


Here's the TV story from fellow Georgia Southern grad Frank Sulkowski of WJCL-TV in Savannah who also knows just how big of a deal this is:

Derek Carr Has A Senior Day To Remember

Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr won't forget his senior day and neither will the fans who attended the game at Bulldog Stadium.

Carr complete 27 of 37 passes for 527 yards and seven touchdowns which broke the school record for touchdown passes in a single game and tied the Mountain West Conference record.

Three of Carr's seven touchdown passes were of 50 or more yards,

Oh by the way Fresno State crushed New Mexico 69-28 to give the Bulldogs there first 10 win season since 2001.

(Thanks KMPH-TV)


KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source
"I couldn't have scripted it better," Carr said  "It was really fun. The best feeling is when you prepare so hard and you go out and execute at that kind of level. That's the most fulfilling thing football-wise."

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/23/3627419/fresno-state-football-pregame.html#storylink=cpy

"He's as good as there is in the country and that is why I think it is very well deserved that he should be in the Heisman discussion," Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter said. "He has led us to a 10-0 record, which is the most important thing for a quarterback."

Carr just might lead Fresno State to a BCS bowl game.

Fresno State, who is 15th in the BCS rankings will need to defeat San Jose State next week and then win the Mountain West Championship Game to get it done.  

Then hope so stay ahead of Northern Illinois and Central Florida in the BCS standings.  Should the Bulldogs stay ahead of the Huskies and the Knights and remain in the top 16 they will get a bid.

Here's a Fresno State senior day feature worth watching (Thanks KFSN-TV)

Potential Victim Warned by Police: The Curious Case of Jameis Winston

((ht: tampabay.com))

For those of you not up to speed, there appears to be a sexual assault case from late 2012 that may or may not implicate Florida State redshirt freshman phenom Jameis Winston.

The victim in the case, a then Florida State University student says she was attacked after a rendezvous with a yet unknown male at a Tallahassee area bar in November of 2012. She called police, who responded to her apartment and filed a report. While making the report, the woman identified Winston as the alleged perpetrator.

Her family released a statement Wednesday morning to the St. Petersburg (FL) Times. The statement says she was told, her life could "Be Made Miserable" and that Tallahassee was "A Big Football Town".

That statement was not given with context.

The part of this report that is concerning many is this: Very little, if anything that happened that November night in 2012 was made public...until last week (about a year later). And nobody knows (at this point) if Winston was involved or not. His name does not appear on any search records. It does not appear that any search warrants period were issued in relation to the case. A case the District Attorney, Willie Meggs classified last week as "A Cluster".

Read the St. Pete Times story RIGHT HERE

Unlike many of our blogging brethren, we won't jump to any conclusions here. Though we will say, the whole mess does not make much sense. Why would Tallahassee police not investigate the claim/report? Why was it not made public until word somehow leaked out...nearly a year later? If Winston was a suspect, why was he not mentioned in the report or in the subsequent alleged investigation? And for that matter, why did Tallahassee police (a) allegedly threaten the victim and (b) not say anything about this until now?

There's also the matter of the victim describing her attacker as a 5-9 to 6-0 male, about 220-240 pounds. Winston is 6-4, 220.

The case is a bit of a distraction for the 10-0 Seminoles as they close in on a BCS berth. The team has 2 games remaining this season one against Idaho and the rivalry game with Florida, both are likely wins
. The question some Sports Writers have asked is "What happens if Winston is suspended?"

The answer is pretty simple, right or wrong, if charged, the discussion of his status may change, but considering how long it took for the allegations to actually emerge, does anyone think this will be resolved before the Seminoles season ends in 2 weeks?

Ohio St. WR Talks Smack on 'Bama/Florida St.--UPDATE: Meyer Ranks Team Over FSU

Guess there's a reason they play the games, but it's still interesting to hear.

Ohio State backup wide receiver Evan Spencer was asked an innocent question about how he thought his Buckeyes would fare against #1 Alabama or #2 Florida State.

It was his answer that's getting him much more attention than his job performance.

Spencer told Cleveland.com that; "We'd wipe the floor with both of them". Perhaps an honest answer to an honest question. But not one that Twitter or Sports Bloggers will let slide.

And no, we don't believe that Ohio State would beat, nor wipe the floor with either of the two aforementioned teams.

But it does make for some amusing conversation.

On a somewhat related note--OSU coach Urban Meyer took time on Monday to explain why he picked his team #2 over Florida State.

Something scant few others did….

Courtesy: Cleveland.com

Bama Handles LSU and FSU Over Wake in Cakewalk: BCS Takes Shape

It's never easy to figure out who will be the last two teams standing under the current BCS system.

Thankfully, that system goes away soon.

In the meantime, the struggle to define and recognize the actual two best teams continues. And this year, it seems to be taking shape.

Alabama continued their run of staking a claim in the BCS title hunt by easily dispatching LSU Saturday night 38-17.

Sure, the game was close in the 1st half, but the Tide outscored the Tigers 21-3 in the 2nd half to close things out. 3 A.J McCarron TD passes, combined with T.J Yeldon's 133 rushing yards and 2 TD's, were more than enough to overpower LSU.

The win leaves Alabama with a 9-0 (6-0 SEC) record, and assured them of holding the #1 ranking in the BCS poll due out Sunday night.

It also leaves the Tide in sight of yet another BCS title. As of this week, their likely opponent…FSU. The only challenge left on the schedule? The Iron Bowl game at Auburn.

Your Saturday night Bama/LSU highlights (Courtesy: CBS Sports)



As for the aforementioned Florida State. Well, they just keep beating the crap out of inferior ACC teams.

This weeks victim: Wake Forest. FSU jumped out to a 42-0 1st half lead and well, they never looked back, winning the game 59-3.

The game 6 interceptions by the Seminole defense and a fumble return for a touchdown. No, Jameis Winston didn't have a crazy good game….but he didn't need to.

The 'Noles have it easy from here. Two more ACC games and the grand finale against a really bad Florida Gator team.

Your Wake/FSU highlights: (Courtesy ESPN)

One Bee-Cee-Ess Crasher's Dreams Smashed As Louisville Loses

((HT: ESPN))

And the big guys can thank...

Central Florida...???

A 31-7 run by the Knights and Blake Bortles' 11-play, 75-yard drive put his team up 38-35 with 23 seconds left gave Teddy Bridgewater little chance to do anything other than a Hail Mary to resurrect their season.

Here's the highlights...


"I said, 'Let's get some 2-minute calls ready,'" Bortles said after the game. "We knew we were going to have to go 2-minute. ... Our offensive line did a great job, and our receivers did a great job of getting yards after the catch."

Bortles finished 21-of-32 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns while Storm Johnson rushed for 109 yards and a TD on 18 carries...

Today in Useless Polls: Your Preseason AP Top 25 College Football Teams

((ht: ap.org))

For those of you who keep track of such things, the perhaps final and for many fans, definitive preseason college football poll is now out a mere 2-weeks before the season kicks off.

And while the SEC crazies and other big college football fanatics live and die by such things, they are essentially meaningless to most. The only thing these polls do is eliminate a large chunk of teams from competing for the final BCS title to ever be called BCS.

The reason we say that: Simple. If you aren't in the top 10, it will take an incredible run of luck and more than a few upsets for you to get there. And....really, in several cases, your team probably isn't as good as they are picked, but because they have a big reputation, they always show up on this list.

Naysaying being what it is and because despite the "Rich get richer and poor get poorer" mentality of College Football, we love to watch. And most of you really do get into things like this.

Think of it as a pre-cursor to our own poll that begins on opening week: We call ours "The Dirty Dozen and the Bottom of the Barrel". Look for it in 2-weeks.

In the meantime, your AP Poll:

1) Alabama (58 1st place votes)
2) Ohio St. (1)
3) Oregon
4) Stanford
5) Georgia (1)
6) South Carolina
7) Texas A&M
8) Clemson
9) Louisville
10) Florida
11) Florida St.
12) LSU
13) Oklahoma St.
14) Notre Dame
15) Texas
16) Oklahoma
17) Michigan
18) Nebraska
19) Boise St
20) TCU
21) UCLA
22) Northwestern
23) Wisconsin
24) USC
25) Oregon St.

Notice any trends?

Some 80's music to celebrate such an 80's poll:

College Football Playoff Already Hacked

Well, that didn't take long.

We told you Tuesday evening about the Lords of College Football naming their new playoff system "The College Football Playoff".

And that playoff system came replete with its own website and a choice of logos put up to a fan vote.

In the "That didn't take long category" the fan vote---it was already hacked. The people who run the website announced today (Website link is RIGHT HERE, that an IP Address from Austin, TX (Yes, Longhorns fan, you are now a suspect) hacked the site, voting over 50,000 times.

From the Playoff's (Yes, it's possessive) Facebook page:

Our contractor running the logo vote has informed us that it has caught a cheater with an IP address in Austin, TX who cast 50,251 votes for logo number four, in violation of our contest rules. While we're pleased to know how popular our site is, this individual's IP address has been blocked and all his votes have been removed from logo four's tally.

As a result, the correct, updated tally shows logo one has 26%, logo two has 38%, logo three has 27% and logo 4 has 9%, with more than 60,000 votes having been cast in less than 24 hours.

On the advice of our contractor, the vote percentage totals will be announced twice daily at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., ET until the contest closes on Monday, April 29. This will allow the technical experts to prevent any further irregularities from occurring. We have been pleased with the excitement that has been created with the contest. In this particular case, there was a little too much excitement.


Really the only thing we wonder about this: Could this actually be an explanation for the random, non-release of the alleged BCS Computers? Could it be the reason nobody really knew the formula that made up the BCS?

Nah, if it did, the mediocre Longhorns would have been doing something other than playing in the Alamo Bowl. Ha!

Attention: The College Football Playoff Will Be Called The College Football Playoff

Logo Choice 1

So, College Football fan, your new and improved, 4-team playoff system will be called---wait for it---The College Football Playoff.

Yes, that's right, the geniuses who run college football (not the NCAA--the former BCS) has decided to re-brand itself. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of research and consultant fees went into this research and they came up with a title that, well, wasn't called the BCS.

It is now called the College Football Playoff.

Logo Choice 2

It's like a random sports producer titling his new Sunday night Sports Show the Sunday Night Sports Special. (inside joke for those who know me)

And, best of all College Football Fan, you can have a say in what the new logo will look like. Plus you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about the playoff.

Read the press release RIGHT HERE

Check out CollegeFootballPlayoff.com RIGHT HERE

Logo Choice 3

The site also contains a playoff schedule and a list of the games. The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl will be a part of the semi-final round rotation. That rotation is also expected to include the Fiesta, Cotton and Chick-Fil-A Bowl as well. Every three years a combination of 2 of those games will get the semi-finals.

The finals, well, those will be played, at least in year one, at JerryWorld in Dallas (Cowboys Stadium). It's expected to rotate to other cities and sites, much like College's version of a "Super Bowl".

Logo Choice 4

So stay tuned, you've got one last season of the BCS and it's mysterious computers. The new and "improved" system will be chosen by a "Selection Committee" in 2014. That committee, yet to be determined, will use a combination of schedule strength, performance, head to head results, reputation (who said that?) and other criteria to pick their 4 best teams.

Teams from all conferences are supposed to be eligible for this, including conferences such as the Sun Belt, Conference USA, The Mountain West or The American Athletic Conference (former Big East comprised of former Conference USA teams).

All kidding aside, we are very intrigued to see how this works, it certainly is an improvement over the old system. And if it is the beginning of change to the anachronistic bowl system that rewards only the people who run them, then by god, we are all for it.

Something to Ponder: Our Plan To Make College Football Equal To All

Yes, this will be column 8,412,338 on how to fix College Football, because whether you want to admit it or not, the game is broken.

And its all about money and equality--or the lack of it.

We started thinking about this the other day when our alma mater (Georgia Southern) was officially named a member of the Sun Belt Conference and took the leap from 1-AA where we were a perennial title contender, to D-1, where we'll never be one.

Really, that's the crux of the problem here.

College Football has become a game of "Have's" and "Have Not's". And to be totally honest, Division 1 Football SHOULD be broken into 2, or even 3 categories.

If you are still reading this; you probably are asking "Why?"

The thought came to me on Tuesday when an Atlanta area Sports Talk Radio host was making completely uninformed commentary on Georgia Southern's jump. In his world view, you are D-1 "Big Boy" football or you don't exist.

And that's the problem in a nutshell.

The blanket just doesn't fit. It has never fit and it never WILL fit.

It bothered me because I want my school to be able to compete for a "National Title", but now, moving to Division 1, they never will.

They can't. They won't be allowed. And they don't have the talent. Georgia Southern could play Alabama or Ohio State or Georgia or USC 100 times and never beat any of them.

Not once. Not ever.

And that's just wrong. If you are a Division 1 school that can only afford a recruiting budget of $2 million a year, how can you compete against a school that pays their coach that much?

How can you compete against a school with a $10+ million a year recruiting budget?

You can't. You will never get the same athlete's, same coaches or have the same facilities.

Ever.

That's why we say College Football should be broken back up.

The Cartel (BCS Schools) control everything. If you aren't one of them now, you will NEVER be one of them. The nature of the system prevents it.

So let them go it alone. Let them play "Big Boy" Football. Let them be DIVISION 1.

Why not have the 40 or so schools with $10+ million budgets and 70,000-plus seat stadiums and $100 million athletic associations play against each other all the time?

Those schools will and will continue to make briefcases full of money because of that. And even some of those 40 or so schools lose some money trying to keep up.

For a smaller D-1 school, there's no way to make any money.

None.

For Georgia Southern, their travel budget just tripled. There athletic budget, the same. Sure, the students agreed to a $75 person increase in their student fees to subsidize it, but that ain't gonna be enough. For a school with 20,000 students. That's $1.5 million. Add in alumni donations etc and no, you still will never be Georgia.

That's why we want to propose a change. A fairly radical change considering College Football doesn't like such things.

But it needs to be done to give the smaller "Big" schools a chance. A way to compete. A way to have their own title.

Here's our proposal:

Make it a "Sub-NFL" type of thing. 4 Conferences with 10 teams each, top 2 in each go to a playoff and a title. ESPN would pay Billions for it. (Well, actually cable and satellite subscribers would---but that's another story)

It's what the general, unknowledgeable public wants anyway right?

Then take the rest of Division 1 and make them a subset. Take your Sun Belts, your Conference USA's, your MAC's and other conferences and let them play under the old system. Or if you want, the old "Corrupt" bowl system.

But the two groups need to be separate.

And it's for the reason's above. And I'm talking about some surprises. Take your Kentucky's out of the SEC, take your Wake Forests out of the ACC and your Northwestern's out of the Big 10.

Because they'll never win the BCS or whatever they are going to soon call it title.

Ever.

Why should anyone in the Sun Belt have to try and go 12-0, win their conference, win a conference championship game and then pray they MIGHT get invited to a playoff game? And then get killed in said game?

I'm sorry Troy, Central Michigan, Colorado State, North Texas and others, none of you will get to the current College Football playoff....ever.

It's not like this level of football would be totally left out of the TV Money, they wouldn't. Where there used to "1" Sports Network (ESPN), now there are 4 of them. And they need programming.

No, none of these schools would not draw the ratings of a Ohio St/Alabama game, but they wouldn't have to.

Think about this:

College Football in many ways is mirroring the current business climate. CEO's and mega-corporations are making money and getting paid in obscene amounts, but the worker's aren't seeing it.

And the workers will never see it.

We know full well, this will never happen. The NCAA should make it happen if for no other reason than to restore some integrity on some level. But the "Cat" is already out of the bag.

The NCAA doesn't control the College Football playoff system now, and it's out-of-control. Someone needs to reign it back in. Someone needs to make it fair to all.

And that's why they should adopt our system. Really it's quite simple:

Division 1(FBS)---The ESPN league (The Top 40)
Division 1A--The FOX Sports league (The next 82)
Division 1AA-(FCS)---The NBC Sports Net League (Stays as is)
Division 2------The CBS Sports Net League (Stays as is)

Because we like video to cap our stories--our thoughts in song form:

Big Place, Big Game: College Football Championship Likely For JerryWorld

((espn.com))

So, the "Go big or go home strategy" may have worked after all.

According to a report Tuesday afternoon by Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com, College Football's new national championship game appears to be headed for JerryWorld--Cowboys Stadium for those unfamiliar with the lingo.

That game will be played January 12, 2015 in the 100,000-plus seat temple of everything excessive.

Yes, 2015.

Oh, by the way, McMurphy says for what its worth only Tampa, Florida and JerryWorld made bids.

Read the entire McMurphy story on ESPN.com RIGHT HERE

For those unfamiliar, the BCS Cartel goes away after the upcoming College Football season. After that, we change to a 4-team playoff. And yes, there is a LOT of money involved.

And though JerryWorld gets game #1, there's no guarantee they get any others. But what a "Big" start.

We've railed on many a time about the gross inequalities in college football and this continues the trend. Don't mistake though, we love the game, we just hate the greed and pure money grabbing that's gone along with it.

You'll see one of about 15 teams in every college football championship game from here until forever, or until the Lords of the BCS realize they can make bazillions more with an even bigger playoff system.

How About A "Try Safety...?"

Sure, okay...

The HQ will bite on this one...

Let's see... if a point-after attempt is blocked, you recover it in your endzone, try to advance it, and get tackled... this is what happens...
((HT: ESPN on ABC/youtube))


A one-point safety... and both in the history of the NCAA happened to Brad Nessler...
Well played, sir...

Here's the other... November 26, 2004...
((HT: ABC Sports/youtube))