NCAA Football 2024 (national discussion)

The Dawgs defensive line was so dominant that even the refs couldn't just give the game to Texas. Shameful, shameful, shameful performance by the refs. Overturning the pass interference call and not assessing Texas any sort of penaly for fans throwing I'm a real wanker for saying this. I'm a real wanker for saying this. on the field should get all of them to never work an SEC game again. And for these guys to be working a #1 vs #5 matchup? Pathetic.
I admit that i don't really understand the "targeting" penalty, but in neither case did the defensive player strike the head of the tackled player. In fact, the second one the guy did exactly what i though players were supposed to do: he drove his shoulder (pads) into the receivers chest. How is football supposed to be played if one is not allowed tackle withe shoulder pads?
What i saw from UGA was dominance from the defensive line all night, and 1st half dominance of the offensive line as well. Although Beck will have 3 interceptions on his stat sheet, there should only be 2, and of those 2 one was a poor catch-tip deflection. If UGA's recievers hadn't dropped 7 passes, UGA probably scores 50+.
As for who goes to #1? It'll be Oregon, because they won and are still undefeated from the #2 position. It should be UGA, who has lost to a then #5 'Bama at 'Bama, and then went to Texas and beat #1 Texas. Oregon beat formerly #2 OhSU at home, but otherwise has played...hernh? Barely, just barely beating Kentucky does not look good for the Dawgs though...
 
The Dawgs defensive line was so dominant that even the refs couldn't just give the game to Texas. Shameful, shameful, shameful performance by the refs. Overturning the pass interference call and not assessing Texas any sort of penaly for fans throwing I'm a real wanker for saying this. I'm a real wanker for saying this. on the field should get all of them to never work an SEC game again. And for these guys to be working a #1 vs #5 matchup? Pathetic.
I admit that i don't really understand the "targeting" penalty, but in neither case did the defensive player strike the head of the tackled player. In fact, the second one the guy did exactly what i though players were supposed to do: he drove his shoulder (pads) into the receivers chest. How is football supposed to be played if one is not allowed tackle withe shoulder pads?
What i saw from UGA was dominance from the defensive line all night, and 1st half dominance of the offensive line as well. Although Beck will have 3 interceptions on his stat sheet, there should only be 2, and of those 2 one was a poor catch-tip deflection. If UGA's recievers hadn't dropped 7 passes, UGA probably scores 50+.
As for who goes to #1? It'll be Oregon, because they won and are still undefeated from the #2 position. It should be UGA, who has lost to a then #5 'Bama at 'Bama, and then went to Texas and beat #1 Texas. Oregon beat formerly #2 OhSU at home, but otherwise has played...hernh? Barely, just barely beating Kentucky does not look good for the Dawgs though...
Targeting is about the tackler using the crown of the helmet not if you hit the offensive player in the head- and/or if the offensive player is “defenseless”.

Georgia was definitely the better team but Texas simply did not come to play. It was knocked back by Georgia’s physicality and speed. Texas found out what being the hunted is like against a team that knows both sides of that coin. I’m not convinced Georgia is deserving of the top ranking right now but by the end of the season it is very possible.
 
The Dawgs defensive line was so dominant that even the refs couldn't just give the game to Texas. Shameful, shameful, shameful performance by the refs. Overturning the pass interference call and not assessing Texas any sort of penaly for fans throwing I'm a real wanker for saying this. I'm a real wanker for saying this. on the field should get all of them to never work an SEC game again. And for these guys to be working a #1 vs #5 matchup? Pathetic.
I admit that i don't really understand the "targeting" penalty, but in neither case did the defensive player strike the head of the tackled player. In fact, the second one the guy did exactly what i thought players were supposed to do: he drove his shoulder (pads) into the receivers chest. How is football supposed to be played if one is not allowed tackle withe shoulder pads?
The refs had a terrible moment with the overturned pass interference call. I actually did not see the play as pass interference - the offensive player initiated contact with a defensive player who was largely stationary and then both were hand-fighting - but even if my view was right, correcting that call during a delay caused by a shower of debris from the fans sets an awful precedent. There absolutely needed to be a fifteen-yard penalty against Texas for that debris shower.

That said, the targeting calls were both clearly targeting (tackling by lowering and using the crown of the helmet is textbook targeting), and the refs let another more borderline UGA helmet-to-helmet contact go, so “the refs couldn’t just give Texas the game” is quite the overstatement for one terrible moment.

For actual game impact, I have more beef with the refs in the Miami-Louisville game (ignored an obvious hold that led to a Miami big play and made two other bad mistakes favoring Miami) and the Alabama-Tennessee game (25+ penalties called, some weird calls and no-calls).
 
Targeting is about the tackler using the crown of the helmet not if you hit the offensive player in the head- and/or if the offensive player is “defenseless”.

Georgia was definitely the better team but Texas simply did not come to play. It was knocked back by Georgia’s physicality and speed. Texas found out what being the hunted is like against a team that knows both sides of that coin. I’m not convinced Georgia is deserving of the top ranking right now but by the end of the season it is very possible.
I suspect this is going to happen a lot in the mega conferences in particular the SEC and Big 10. The schedules are such gauntlets that you just cant get up for every one of these tough opponents. Will lead to a lot of surprising results.
 
I suspect this is going to happen a lot in the mega conferences in particular the SEC and Big 10. The schedules are such gauntlets that you just cant get up for every one of these tough opponents. Will lead to a lot of surprising results.
One other aspect will be imbalances in conference schedules. In the B1G this year, for instance, the addition of the 4 new teams drove Penn State off of Indiana's schedule (pretty much a guaranteed loss most years for the Hoosiers) and replaced them with post-national title game Washington, who lost most of their talent and their head coach. Combine that with Michigan being way down from last year, and Ohio State's the only really tall mountain on their schedule. They probably dropped Iowa or Wisconsin in favor of UCLA, too.*

On the flip side, Michigan has both Oregon and Ohio State on the schedule, plus Illinois in a very good year for them and Indiana in an historically good year (and Texas out of conference). If they hadn't been decimated by graduation after last season and were still good, they'd be talking about how hard the gauntlet is they need to run, and grumbling that Iowa only plays one ranked team all year.

I don't follow it as closely, but I'm sure some of this is happening in the SEC as well. Somebody lost out on a Miss State matchup and has to play Texas instead, but someone else is perfectly happy to be getting Oklahoma instead of LSU this year. Can't believe I'm saying that about Oklahoma.

* FWIW, based on what I've seen, I think if Rourke's injury only keeps him out a week, Indiana will beat Michigan State and Michigan, be competitive with OSU and be slotted as the #3 or 4 B1G team depending on how Oregon, OSU and PSU finish out, which gives them an outside shot at the playoffs. Which is crazy; this is Indiana we're talking about. They just absolutely trashed Nebraska, who is not a bad team, 56-7. That offense is legit. Will be interesting to see how long Cignetti's there and where he ends up - I would assume after next season at the latest he's moved on to a bigger perch somewhere.
 

Not huge but Mike Houston has been let go at ECU.
The coaching carousel starts
I have to assume Norvell's on death watch, right? Massive buyout or not, they just lost to us for the first time ever and it's like every week brings a new form of humiliation for them.

If they do decide to pay up and move on, seeing as he's apparently righted the ship and figured out how to get some wins in addition to attention in Boulder, what do we think are the chances of Coach Prime being next in line in Tallahassee?
 
I have to assume Norvell's on death watch, right? Massive buyout or not, they just lost to us for the first time ever and it's like every week brings a new form of humiliation for them.

If they do decide to pay up and move on, seeing as he's apparently righted the ship and figured out how to get some wins in addition to attention in Boulder, what do we think are the chances of Coach Prime being next in line in Tallahassee?
I gotta think so, although it may be tough to fund a big buy-out of the coach with a simultaneous expensive effort to get out of the ACC deal.

I dunno about Coach Prime there, but it would be an intriguing option to consider.
 
I gotta think so, although it may be tough to fund a big buy-out of the coach with a simultaneous expensive effort to get out of the ACC deal.

I dunno about Coach Prime there, but it would be an intriguing option to consider.
At this point, were I calling the shots for FSU hiring, I'd go for it. Prime would at least bring some buzz to the Seminoles program after this disastrous year.
 
At this point, were I calling the shots for FSU hiring, I'd go for it. Prime would at least bring some buzz to the Seminoles program after this disastrous year.
Problem is there is nothing to say that Deion is going to stay in CFB once his sons go to the league. He's doing better at CU this year vs last but its still been a lot of chaos and I have no confidence that CU can beat a legit top 10 team. FSU is going to need someone more stable than Deion, or at the very least, Deion needs to prove that his way of running a program works long term. I also don't think FSU can afford to buy out Norvell right now.
Right now you are looking at Mack and Billy Napier most likely leaving their jobs, and those will be attractive to certain candidates. There's always a surprise fire and if I had to guess that would be Brent Venables at OU. Coming into this season I felt the chances of Manny getting offered another high profile gig after 1 season at Duke would be pretty low, but if he finishes 8-4 or better, I wouldn't count it out. Number 1 target is going to be Cignetti and possibly the Vandy coach depending on how they finish.
 
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I gotta think so, although it may be tough to fund a big buy-out of the coach with a simultaneous expensive effort to get out of the ACC deal.

I dunno about Coach Prime there, but it would be an intriguing option to consider.
Sunbelt hasn’t yet offered, so I think getting out of the ACC has taken a back burner.
 
I have to assume Norvell's on death watch, right? Massive buyout or not, they just lost to us for the first time ever and it's like every week brings a new form of humiliation for them.

If they do decide to pay up and move on, seeing as he's apparently righted the ship and figured out how to get some wins in addition to attention in Boulder, what do we think are the chances of Coach Prime being next in line in Tallahassee?
As long as they don’t go after another alumnus
 
* FWIW, based on what I've seen, I think if Rourke's injury only keeps him out a week, Indiana will beat Michigan State and Michigan, be competitive with OSU and be slotted as the #3 or 4 B1G team depending on how Oregon, OSU and PSU finish out, which gives them an outside shot at the playoffs. Which is crazy; this is Indiana we're talking about. They just absolutely trashed Nebraska, who is not a bad team, 56-7. That offense is legit. Will be interesting to see how long Cignetti's there and where he ends up - I would assume after next season at the latest he's moved on to a bigger perch somewhere.
I've got two kids currently at IU and, as luck would have it, I will be in attendance next week as they try to stay unbeaten against Washington with College Gameday in town. The transformation Cignetti has made in Bloomington is truly remarkable. IU has deep NIL pockets and have activated a dormant but rabid fanbase. It's probably too much to hope that he would stick around, but if he's paid like a top coach and can pay the players like a top program...I dare to dream.
 
I suspect this is going to happen a lot in the mega conferences in particular the SEC and Big 10. The schedules are such gauntlets that you just cant get up for every one of these tough opponents. Will lead to a lot of surprising results.
I get what you are saying when it comes to something like Bama losing to Vandy... but for Texas to not get up for Georgia?!?!? How do you not get up for a home game against arguably the most dominant team in the sport over the past several years? It isn't like Texas has gone through this gauntlet of tough games and just had nothing left in the tank for UGA. For a SEC team, Texas' schedule this year is absurdly easy (no Bama, no Ole Miss, no Tennessee, no LSU, no Mizzu).
 
Problem is there is nothing to say that Deion is going to stay in CFB once his sons go to the league. He's doing better at CU this year vs last but its still been a lot of chaos and I have no confidence that CU can beat a legit top 10 team. FSU is going to need someone more stable than Deion, or at the very least, Deion needs to prove that his way of running a program works long term. I also don't think FSU can afford to buy out Norvell right now.
Right now you are looking at Mack and Billy Napier most likely leaving their jobs, and those will be attractive to certain candidates. There's always a surprise fire and if I had to guess that would be Brent Venables at OU. Coming into this season I felt the chances of Manny getting offered another high profile gig after 1 season at Duke would be pretty low, but if he finishes 8-4 or better, I wouldn't count it out. Number 1 target is going to be Cignetti and possibly the Vandy coach depending on how they finish.
Manny has deep recruiting roots in the state of Florida. With both the Florida and FSU coaches doing exceedingly poor jobs for proud programs with unreasonable alumni bases, it might not take more than a year of success at a place like Duke -- certainly two would do it -- for the bigger boys to come calling.
 
Manny has deep recruiting roots in the state of Florida. With both the Florida and FSU coaches doing exceedingly poor jobs for proud programs with unreasonable alumni bases, it might not take more than a year of success at a place like Duke -- certainly two would do it -- for the bigger boys to come calling.
His failure at Miami will make them pause. UF cannot afford another failure after Muschamp, Mullen and Napier, they have to nail a new hire with a proven winner.
At the same time ADs make stupid decisions over football all the time, so them trying to hire Manny after striking out against their primary targets, wouldn't surprise me.
 
His failure at Miami will make them pause. UF cannot afford another failure after Muschamp, Mullen and Napier, they have to nail a new hire with a proven winner.
. . .
Don't forget McElwain. Speaking as a Gator, we only wish we could forget him. But the record books -- and checkbooks -- don't lie. :cry:
 
His failure at Miami will make them pause. UF cannot afford another failure after Muschamp, Mullen and Napier, they have to nail a new hire with a proven winner.
At the same time ADs make stupid decisions over football all the time, so them trying to hire Manny after striking out against their primary targets, wouldn't surprise me.
Might it already be too late for UF? Their next hire could potentially get them back to the elite, but the Gators have a lot of bodies to climb over to get back into the top tier of the SEC pecking order right now, especially with Texas in the conference, and if Oklahoma eventually returns to its traditional helmet school status, even more.

Could it be that its natural water level as a program is ultimately closer to what we've seen in the last 15 years than in the 20 year flowering of the Spurrier and Meyer eras (Ron Zook excluded, and also dismissing the probationary '80's)? What is Florida's status in terms of having its pick of available coaches on the carousel? It might not be as attractive a job when Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, A&M, Texas, and Tennessee are all in good times. Or are they seen more as in competition with FSU and Miami? Is the infrastructure/NIL pipeline in Gainesville better than at those other places?
 
Might it already be too late for UF? Their next hire could potentially get them back to the elite, but the Gators have a lot of bodies to climb over to get back into the top tier of the SEC pecking order right now, especially with Texas in the conference, and if Oklahoma eventually returns to its traditional helmet school status, even more.

Could it be that its natural water level as a program is ultimately closer to what we've seen in the last 15 years than in the 20 year flowering of the Spurrier and Meyer eras (Ron Zook excluded, and also dismissing the probationary '80's)? What is Florida's status in terms of having its pick of available coaches on the carousel? It might not be as attractive a job when Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, A&M, Texas, and Tennessee are all in good times. Or are they seen more as in competition with FSU and Miami? Is the infrastructure/NIL pipeline in Gainesville better than at those other places?
I'm of the opinion that the worst things to happen to UF, FSU and Miami has been the rise to USF, UCF and FIU. 3 additional FBS schools in their state cannot have helped things for them.
 
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