COLLEGE FOOTBALL - WEEK 0?
And away we go! College football is back…well sort of. Trying to take a page out of the NFL’s book by having some feature game the week before things really kick off for the entire sport seems gimmicky and lame. Will TOB watch…yeah probably. You win College Football, you always do. Late to the game here, but has anyone else seen this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFJz2IMUeDE
Solid.
Going back through the archives TOB noticed a solid segment involving actual conversations with TOB’s special lady. These stories could fill a book, so let’s get right to one. It came to TOB’s attention recently that when said lady is talking about getting somewhere in a hurry, she says she needs to make a “V-line.” When pressed on this, she claims, “You know, hurry up and get from one place to another place and then another place, like a V.” Confused, TOB tried to explain that it was a reference to the phrase, “Point A to point B,” and that her description was more like a detour, which would be slower, and not at all the point of expressing urgency. This led, as most of these conversations do, to a blank stare, agreeing to disagree, and TOB feeling sad. TOB wishes this was not a true story.
Before we get to the college football, just a note that a baseball article is coming. After 5 solid months TOB finally has a handle on baseball…yeah, that’s why an article hasn’t been written all season, just collecting data…
Enough appetizers, on to the main course, College!
Not too many hot storylines coming into this season. If anything, most pundits are predicting an NBA like season with all roads leading to another Clemson/Bama semi-final or final. TOB would be okay with that, two of the best teams of the last 10 years playing essentially a best of 5 series over the course of a decade. Clemson currently has one game against a top 25 opponent, so if they fall off something must have gone drastically wrong (or Trevor Lawrence petitioned to the NFL, sued the NCAA, and the golden goose is finally destroyed). Just because the end is relatively predicable doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the journey! Three things TOB will be watching closely this season (as the love drains from TOB’s special lady’s eyes):
1. Your boy Jim Harbaugh. Will he finally beat Ohio State? Will anyone care now that Urban Meyer is gone? Can he win the BIG10 with one loss and make the College Football Playoff like he’s been promising for four seasons? Not even close to the hot seat at this point, but would like to see them have some success given that it’s always a good time when that lunatic is on TV.
2. Can the wunderkind Lincoln Riley produce another Heisman Trophy Winner? Jalen Hurts seemed destined for that a couple of years ago under Saban, perhaps he can be Baker 2.0?
3. How can the NCAA make people care about bowl games again? TOB was an early adopter of the playoff being a bad idea for the overall college football experience. There have been 2 semi-final games within one score since the inception of the playoffs. I’m not sure we really needed to add the third and fourth teams, it’s pretty clear who the top two are. All that has happened is that outside of their own fan bases, no one cares about the Sugar, Fiesta, Rose, or Orange Bowls unless they are one of the semi-final games. Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes would be disturbed to find out that no one gives a shit who won the Rose Bowl the last three seasons…quick, name the winner. One idea TOB came across is this:
https://www.bannersociety.com/2019/8/22/20812441/bowl-games-week-0
TOB is fully on board with this. Great match ups for the most part, and it keeps some teams (most of the Power 5) from starting off with a cupcake. ESPN would love the content through July and August. Unlikely to ever happen, but would be a big step in the right direction. Move all of the non-BCS bowls to the beginning of next season, keep the four big ones at the end, and adopt the plus 1 system Herbie has talked about for years. All would be right in the world…until it isn’t.
Remember when TOB did picks against Cheech, TOB used to dominate (that’s how I remember it anyway), well, we are back. Starting off this year with some futures bets. The games last night do not count, and it’s a little silly that now Miami and Florida are going to have 3 bye weeks during the season. That’s a full on advantage. According to Robert the Cheech (no additional research was done), Notre Dame plays 8 games where the opponent is coming off a bye. TOB can’t wait to justify a 9-4 season with that little nugget.
Cheech’s picks, TOB’s analysis:
Houston +600 to win AAC – Houston always seems to have a high powered offense. AAC is a pretty impressive conference, all things considered, with Memphis, Houston, Cincinnati, and those boners at UCF. Relative longshot here with Houston, but not a bad play.
Michigan +195 to win BIG10 – We are supposed to not pick favorites here, this seems like a slam dunk with Urban going to spend more time with his family…or travel weekly with Gameday and actually spend less time at home, but whatever, it’s not like he’s one step ahead of the posse and there will be some serious sanctions at Ohio State in the next few years. Pete Carroll 2.0? Michigan seems to get up for the little games, but it’s about time Jim Harbaugh won a big game.
Western Michigan +450 to win MAC – Gotta love that Tuesday night Maction. Hard to say much about this, I have no idea. Ohio is good, I guess, maybe Northern Illinois?
Washington +325 to win PAC12 – Big fan of Chris Peterson. They should have a bounce back year after going 9-4 or something like that last year. People are high on Oregon again, but they can’t seem to recapture that Chip Kelly magic. Would just be nice for someone in the PAC12 to have less than 3 losses late in the year so they can pretend to make the final four.
Georgia +650 to win National Championship – According to Cheech, “emotional hedge for if they beat ND.” They have been flirting with it the last two years. They’ve led for 280 of the 289 snaps against Alabama the last two playoff matchups. Kirby Smart seems to be the next long tenured SEC coach.
TOB’s picks, TOB’s analysis:
Wisconsin +1600 to win BIG10 – They will likely be the representative from the West, even if they have 2-3 losses. Just have to have one big win over Michigan or Ohio State.
Texas +275 to win BIG12 – Big bowl win over Georgia, Tom Herman is done chasing strippers and ready to make the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma due for a regression with Jalen Hurts. He isn’t the passer Baker or Kyler are, and it will really handcuff that offense.
Washington State +700 to win the PAC12 – TOB just loves Mike Leach. Lots of offense and the rest of the PAC12 is shaky. Take the big number and cross your fingers!
Georgia +250 to win SEC – Similar reasons to above. Tua may not play the full season due to injury or NFL talk. One slip up by BAMA could mean a different rep in the SEC Title Game (similar to a few years ago when Georgia won the SEC and BAMA still went to the playoff).
Northern Illinois +450 to win the MAC – No real reason other than to bust Cheech’s balls. Same odds as Western Michigan, different directional school. Northern > Western
Will break down the Miami/Florida game next week (maybe). Not much to say, Florida should have won the game about 6 times but kept giving Miami a chance for some reason. Florida is probably a 14 point better team than Miami, and if they can clean things up they will be tough. Looks to be an up and down year for the new Miami coach. Keep that turnover chain in the locker room this year, no one cares about a 7-5 team creating turnovers.
GO IRISH!
-Tonyonball
