Author: rickro51 Page 12 of 31

One of the byproducts of the pandemic was to offer an additional year of eligibility to athletics.  For eligibility, 2020 did not count at all, which, come to think of it, is far from a terrible idea, in general.

Check out some of the 6th year QBs who have seemingly been around forever:

Stetson Bennett IV (Georgia)

N’Kosi Perry (FAU)

Chris Reynolds (Charlotte, starting for a 5th year)

Sean Clifford (Penn State)

However, none of that quartet hold a candle to the following duo:

1. Missouri’s 2nd string QB, Jack Abraham!  Abraham is a 7th-year senior!  He started off at Louisiana Tech and later started 27 games at Southern Miss.  Mizzou is Abraham’s 4th stop as the nomad got a lot of pine time at Mississippi State in 2021.
2. Incarnate Word’s QB wonder, Cameron Ward, has transferred to Washington State.  Ward’s transfer has created an opportunity for 7th year QB Lindsey Scott (Scott’s previous stops were at LSU, Mizzou and Nicholls State)

Welcome to the modern, wacky world of insta-transfers!

Let’s hope these QBs can come up with good thesis topics! (Just kidding – with their NIL money, they can purchase a poor grad student to run interference).

With all the messed up, screwed up elements in today’s college football framework, the Odyssey believes it fitting that two former starting QBs for USC will be slinging the ball tomorrow evening in Pittsburgh.

John Denver is a country boy and, no doubt, he is delighted that West Virginia will be making a short trip to play the city boys at Pitt on September 1.

John, you have company, as College Football Odyssey is equally delighted!!

Among all the stupidities in scheduling the past decade, easily the worst has been the omission of these archrivals on each other’s schedule (although Texas not playing A&M and Missouri not playing Kansas get honorable mention).

If EVER two archrivals needed each other to spruce up their schedule, it is Pitt and West Virginia.

West Virginia found a lifeline in the Big 12 in the 2010 version of conference musical chairs. But when your nearest conference rival (Iowa State) is 900 miles distant, there can be no denying that a shotgun marriage was arraigned. West Virginia would have been thrilled to have received an invitation to the geographically sensible Atlantic Coast Conference but the ACC evidently did not want to be associated with victorious couch burnings and a so-so academic reputation.

In a sport where the trappings of tradition had unparalled import, West Virginia’s recent schedule has totally flunked aside from the occasional game against Virginia Tech. The Odyssey hoped that Mountaineer players got full credit for frequent flyer miles on their far-flung trips to the Heartland. This geographic mismatch could have been ameliorated by retaining their regional rivalry with Pitt. But, no!!  Tragically,  2011 was their last rivalry game.

How regional is their rivalry? VERY! It is 75 short miles from Pittsburgh to Morgantown. Contrast this to the distance to an in-state program that West Virginia has shunned: Marshall. The distance between Huntington and Morgantown is 209 miles.

For as much as West Virginia needs this rivalry, Pitt’s need is equally acute. In the good ole days, Panther fans annually had two great rivalry games in West Virginia and Penn State. Panther fans were appalled that the Penn State grudge match took a 16-year hiatus, starting in 2001, and is currently dormant. Regional ACC games with Syracuse and Boston college have negligible oomph in comparison. From an attendance standpoint, Pitt’s need to have its regional rival back on their schedule is even more acute than for the Mountaineers. It is never easy for a college team to compete for fans where there is the looming presence of the NFL. Many empty seats are at Heinz Field when Pitt plays. Which makes the presence of the West Virginia game on their schedule that much more important.

Given how important tradition is in college football, some of the Pitt-West Virginia games still resonate generation(s) later. Consider:

1965

West Virginia’s 63-48 victory over Pitt was the highest scoring college game to date -ever.  Some of the wire services kept asking for confirmation of the score, fearing  a glitch

1970  
Bobby Bowden is an institution.  However, in his first year at West Virginia’s helm, his coaching career was careening toward the trash bin after an epic meltdown at Pitt.  West Virginia sprinted to a 35-8 halftime lead.  Bowden changed their ultra successful game plan in an ill-fated effort to milk the clock: “We’re going to run the ball in the 2nd half.”  Pitt also changed its game plan, using their bigger size to stay in Power I sets.  Pitt’s scintillating 36-35 comeback win was devastating for Mountaineer fans:  How much so?  Irate fans were literally pounding the visitor’s locker room door at game’s end, literally wanting a piece of Bowden’s hide!  

1989

Some ties were epic!  The Harvard-Yale 29-29 tie will live forever.  West Virginia was sporting a 31-9 lead in Morgantown in the 4th quarter.  What could go wrong?  Turns out, plenty if you were a WV supporter.  Ed Frazier’s 42-yard field goal at the gun tied the game at 31 and sent Pitt players into a frenzy.

1994

Is there any other rivalry where a team goes down by 3+ touchdowns so often and then storms back:  Take a bow, Pitt!!  The Panthers spotted West Virginia a 31-6 lead.  No problema. Pitt stormed back to take a 41-40 lead.  EXCEPT the Mountaineers’ Chad Johnston saved the day:   His 60-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left gave WV a 48-41 triumph was equal parts ecstasy and relief.

2007

Never has had a Pitt-WV game turned out to have more national import.  To play in the national championship game, all the 2nd-ranked Mountaineers needed to do was post a win against a lowly Pitt team that limped into Morgantown with a 4-7 record. Las Vegas installed WV as a 4-touchdown favorite.

West Virginia’s electric run offense was stifled, both before and after an injury to its star QB, Pat White.  The Mountaineers never made Pitt pay with the pass for the Panthers’ 8-man and 9-man fronts.  Pitt’s shocking 13-9 upset had reverberations far beyond Morgantown:

LSU backed into the title game with 2 losses!  The Bayou Bengals and Les Miles took full advantage.  Rich Rodriquez’s God-like status in West Virginia would go to hell.  He bolted for Michigan in an ill-fated marriage that was sabotaged by none other than Lloyd Carr.  With LSU in the title game, Miles’ purported plans to head to his alma mater in Ann Arbor were thwarted.

Take Me Home, Country Roads!  The Odyssey hears John Denver even if modern-day college football has tragically become tone deaf.

Scott Frost has become a national pinata in the past 24 hours for unimpeachable reasons.  How do you explain a 5-21 record in one-score games as the Husker coach?  How do you explain an all-time record:  7 straight losses by single digits?

How do you explain losing to a team that you walloped 56-7 in 2021?  Let us explain.  You team has stormed back from a 17-14 halftime deficit to score 2 TD’s in the third quarter.  Sporting an 11-point lead and huge momentum, Frost decided that an onside kick was in order.  OOPS!  Northwestern said “thank you” for the great field position and quickly scored.

A 31-28 loss ensued, arguably the biggest clunker in Frost’s hideous closet.  Nebraska was likely the more talented team but one cannot help but think that if the coaching roles were reversed and veteran Northwestern coach, Pat Fitzgerald, was coaching the Cornhuskers, Nebraska would have wound up on top.

Poor Husker fans!  Usually, an early sign of the coming winter in Lincoln comes in early November via the first frost.  The Nebraska fans in Dublin observed what may prove to be a football winter in August with yet a different Frost warning.

In few sports is coaching more paramount than college football.  Another example:  With the possible exception of Michigan, Utah State was THE surprise team of 2021.  Picked to finish 5th in the Mountain Division, the Aggies romped to an 11-3 record and a conference crown that featured a 46-13 smackdown of San Diego State in the title tilt.  Utah State’s first-year coach, Blake Anderson, proved to be nothing short of a miracle worker.

Anderson’s outfit did something unusual yesterday in their expected triumph over UConn.  For the seventh time in Anderson’s brief tenure in Logan, the Aggies recovered from a double-digit deficit to triumph!

So, the Odyssey will do no more bashing of the forlorn Frost.  Instead, we salute Pat Fitzgerald and Blake Anderson:  both true Anti-Frosts!

The Odyssey has been in a dark place in 2022 as instant transfers, NIL and destructive conference realignments have all eroded our deep love of college football.  If ever a sport needed a czar who could act for the benefit of college football……The rich do not always need to get richer (at the risk of sounding like Bernie Sanders).

However, last Friday brightened our mood.  We were in Fort Collins and had not had a chance to see Canvas Stadium in person.  One of the Ram football players let me in to view a charming 41,000 stadium that returned CSU games to an on-campus site in 2017. With San Diego State’s new stadium debuting on September 3 against Arizona, the Mountain West can now brag about having two of the coolest lower-capacity stadiums in the country.

When I said some brief hellos to a number of the CSU players as they entered the stadium, I was talking to them about being in the Big House in 15 days.  They were smiling and uniformly enthusiastic about their opener.  Their enthusiasm washed off on me.  The Odyssey is in love with college football again.  While the author is an unabashed University of Michigan fan (partly due to two degrees), let’s hope these CSU players have some big moments in Ann Arbor.

In 1895, the doctrine of “separate but equal” rocked America and became a landmark Supreme Court decision in “Plessy vs. Ferguson.”  The concept of segregated schools was ratified.   Plessy vs. Ferguson allowed Jim Crow to thrive for almost 60 years.  Not until 1954, did the Supreme Court toss the concept of “separate but equal” on its keister.

The expanded Sun Belt conference offers  21st century testimony to “Separate but Equal” not being a viable concept.   The ascendance of the Sun Belt has been aided by brilliant expansion selections, as attractive teams have gradually been added to the conference.  While App State had always been hell-on-wheels, even in its Division 1-AA heyday, who could imagine that the likes of schools like Coastal Carolina and Louisiana would start big-time flexing of their muscles?

Expansion in 2022 to 14 teams  has resulted in 2 7-team divisions.  One problem:  The power structure is so tilted to the East as to invite comical parody.  In addition to App State and Coastal in the East, 2 newbies, Marshall and James Madison have been traditionally successful programs.  The East is so strong that a traditional powerhouse, Georgia Southern, is generally picked to reside in 2022’s East cellar..  That Southern has won 6 FCS championships speaks loudly as to its historical pedigree.

Meanwhile, the West is anchored by 3 teams that one could charitably say have less-than-mediocre history in Texas State, Louisiana Monroe and South Alabama.  Two others, Troy and Southern Miss, sported traditionally good programs but have fallen on hard times.  Arkansas State formerly was the lynchpin of the West, winning 5 Sun Belt titles in 11 years, but limped to 2-10 in 2021 in large measure to a horrific defense.  As long as that master of platitudes, Butch Jones, is at the helm, the Odyssey wonders if ASU will regain its former stature.

This fall, we would not be shocked if 6 East teams are better than any in the West.  Maybe the Sun Belt should have followed the Pac 12’s recent lead to get rid of divisions.  The gauntlet that the East champion must survive will be nothing like the potential walk in the park that the West champ (likely Louisiana) will enjoy.

Meanwhile,  the 2 giants of big-time football, the SEC and Big 10, are silent as to their future plans to retain divisions as expansion to 16 members is imminent.  One popular theory in the SEC is that a “pod” system will be introduced.  Under the pod system, each school would retain 3 annual rivalry games.  The six additional conference games would mean that in any four-year period each conference member would play each of the other 12 members twice.   The pod system would remedy the current issue is that most teams in the SEC East rarely play teams from the West.  Will the SEC expand from 8 to 9 conference games to make this a reality?  The Odyssey thinks so, even though one of the SEC’s traditional non-conference creampuff games would have to bite the dust.  If the pod system is introduced in either the SEC or Big 10, the current division structure would likely be eliminated.

If only the Sun Belt could blow up its division structure for 2022!

It has been almost impossible to quell my zeal for my passion for college football during the past 60+ years.

Seemingly, the impossible has happened.  The Odyssey is revolted from recent developments:

1. The departures of Texas and Oklahoma compromised the stature of the Big 12 conference.  A year later, USC and UCLA did even more damage to the future of the Pac 12.
2. Money has become an unmanageable gorilla in college football, particularly when it comes to TV broadcast deals.  Paying large sums to players for their NIL (name, image and likeness) also opens up a can of worms.
3. The ease of movement via the transfer portal has had many unintended effects.  The rich seem to have gotten richer.  Alabama poached Jahmyr Gibbs, the 1,200 yard running back from lowly Georgia Tech.  Of course, we should all feel sorry for Alabama’s lack of talent especially after Nick Saban labelled Alabama’s 2021 SEC champion campaign as “a bit of a rebuilding year.”  I am irritated at the players who abandoned the team that helped them develop (unless there is a coaching change).   Georgia Tech, coming off a 3-9 campaign, definitely could have used Gibbs.
4. The hell with many traditional rivalries.  Who can wait for UCLA-Maryland games or USC-Rutgers?  At least my perverse side will delight in seeing how the SoCal teams will fare in the Midwest on a dreadful November day.
5.  The immense amount of travel that teams like USC, UCLA and West Virginia will impose on their football players means even less time on campus for those who actually want to study something.
6. What is the impact on the Olympic sports created by conferences that make little geographic sense?                                                                          Don’t get me wrong.  I will still get excited about many games this fall.  But it will take a long time to get this awful taste out of my mouth.

Please excuse the conceit of this article but I wish to share the best 25 games that the Odyssey has attended over the past 60 years.  After loudly complaining about opt outs and an underwhelming bowl season, the least the Odyssey can do is finish our season’s articles on a REALLY upbeat note.  After you peruse this list, you might better understand our passion for college football.

#1: 2017  Oklahoma 62,  Oklahoma State 52.   Want offense?  Try 38-38 in an absolutely unbelievable first half.  Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph both led seemingly unstoppable offenses in a heated rivalry game.

#2  1991 San Diego State 52, Brigham Young 52.  Marshall Faulk was far from the only offense for the Aztecs as speedy SDSU ran “go routes” all night.  SDSU needed to win the game to secure the Western Athletic Conference championship.  The situation was well in hand with a 45-17 lead in front of an enthused, packed house.  What could possibly go wrong?

#3  2001 Hawaii 72, Brigham Young 45   BYU came into its final regular season game 12-0 but jet lagged.  The Cougars’ schedule maker was masochistic as the Cougars had to play an afternoon game in Honolulu after a night game the previous Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi.  The sellout crowd at Aloha Stadium, always fired up to play BYU, were ecstatic as return man Chad Owens went absolutely bonkers. By the end of the first quarter, Owens had a kick return TD, a punt return TD and another long return.  By game’s end, Owens totaled 342 return yards, making a mockery of the former mark of 284 yards held by Minnesota’s Tutu Atwell.   The future King of the anti-Vaxxers, Tim Rolovich, was stellar in piloting Hawaii, hurling 8 TD passes.  All the scoring made the game run so long that ESPN felt compelled to pull the plug before game’s end.

#4 1981  USC 28, Oklahoma 24   What is better than a #1 vs #2 showdown at the legendary Coliseum?  Despite 10 fumbles by the Sooners, losing 5, Boomer was nursing a 24-21 lead with two seconds to go.  At which point,  tight end Fred Cornwall caught the game winner for the Trojans.

#5 1990 Michigan State 28, Michigan 27.  Despite Michigan losing its opener at Notre Dame, somehow the Wolverines ascended to #1 several weeks later.  MSU, as is often the case, played its game of the year against the Maize and Blue.  The game was tied at 14-14 midway through the fourth quarter when fireworks went off.  MSU scored a go-ahead touchdown only to have Desmond Howard respond with a 95-yard kickoff return. State scored another TD before Elvis Grbac found Derrick Alexander for a UM touchdown with six seconds left.  Michigan went for the win with a two-point conversion (no overtime existed in 1990).   Howard was mugged in the end zone by Eddie Brown just before attempting to grab the conversion pass.  Ruled no catch.  Wolverine fans are still waiting for the interference call to be made.  The apology from the Big 10 the following day was small consolation.

#6 1973 Ohio State 10, Michigan 10.  In a battle of undefeateds, top-ranked OSU visited #3-ranked UM during Episode #5 of the 10-year war between Woody and Bo.  OSU could not hang on to an early 10-0 lead in this titanic defensive battle  An injury to Wolverine QB Dennis Franklin was a big factor in OSU winning a 6-4 vote to make a repeat appearance at the Rose Bowl.  The ensuing explosion from Schembechler registered on the Richter scale.

#7  2015 Ole Miss 43, Alabama 37     Fueled by  being +5 in turnovers,  Ole Miss’ 2nd consecutive upset win against the Tide (the Rebels had entered the game being 1-25 on the road against Bama) prompted many talking heads to pronounce the end of the Alabama dynasty.  LOL!

#8 2005  USC 50, Fresno State 42.  In the last Golden Era of USC football, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Pete Carroll had each become bigger than any Hollywood star.  The two-time defending champions had great difficulty in containing Fresno QB Paul Pinegar before finally surviving in a shootout that provided the 32nd straight victory for the Trojans.

#9 1986 Iowa 39, San Diego State 38.  Believe it or not, SDSU has played in exactly one Holiday Bowl.  BYU had hogged the berth for the Western Athletic Conference champion (and the related Holiday Bowl bid)  but the Aztecs upset BYU 10-3 to claim the 1986 title.  The hometown Aztecs converted a 21-yard field goal with  47 seconds left to grab the lead.  Their ensuing pooch kick did not prove to be genius as Iowa was gifted with excellent field position after Ronnie Harmon’s 48-yard return.  Their ensuing 41-yard field goal sent Aztec fans home sad.

#10 2021 Michigan State 37, Michigan 33.  The archrivals had never met undefeated and as Top 10 teams in late October.  The Wolverines squandered a 30-14 lead late in the 3rd quarter, despite totaling 552 yards of offense. Kenneth Walker III fueled a spirited Spartan rally.  Walker provided the most legendary performance in the intense rivalry as the shifty runner tallied 5 touchdowns on 197 rushing yards.  Michigan’s brilliant defensive end, Aidan Hutchinson, scored on a strip-sack TD in the 2nd quarter only to be overturned after several minutes of analysis.  Later, the Big 10 acknowledged that the officials had made mistakes in the game.

#11 2005 Texas 38, Michigan 37.  Vince Young was on his way to establishing himself as the greatest player in Rose Bowl history.  The Texas QB was unstoppable in the second half as he engineered a last-ditch, comeback win.  His play gave notice as to what happen one year later in yet another epic comeback in the Rose Bowl to dethrone USC for the national championship.

#12 2001 South Carolina 37, Alabama 36.  The Odyssey views Gamecock fans as THE best.  Williams-Brice always rocks despite the anchor of many mediocre seasons.  Alabama held a 36-24 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to go behind a brilliant game from option QB, Tyler Watts.  The Gamecocks responded with two late TD’s to win its first game EVER against the Tide.  Not only did the goal posts come down but they were carted outside the stadium as we were almost hit by a wayward goalpost.

#13 2013 Ohio State 42, Michigan 41.  The Buckeyes arrived in Ann Arbor 11-0 and huge favorites against the Wolverines. QB Devin Gardner had the game of his life and kept the Wolverines alive against a potent OSU offense led by Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde.  When UM scored in the last minute, Brady Hoke elected to go for 2.  No bueno.

 #14 2001  Ole Miss 35,  LSU 24. Spending Saturday night in Baton Rouge for a rivalry game should be on everybody’s bucket list.  First-year starter, Eli Manning, did not get the memo that he was supposed to be intimidated as he led the Rebels to a comeback victory.  Afterwards on talk radio, fans ripped into the LSU coach for the upset loss, questioning his competence.  The coach’s name: Nick Saban.

#15 1992 USC 31, San Diego State 31.  The Aztecs blew a chance for a program-changing win as USC made a shocking visit to San Diego in the opener.  SDSU’s Andy Trakas missed field goals from 30 and 55 yards in the game’s final moments as San Diego State was pained by another bitter tie.  Skeptics wondered if Marshall Faulk’s gaudy stats were a byproduct of playing against lesser competition.  Faulk’s 220 yards in 27 rushing attempts emphatically answered that question.

#16  1988 Oklahoma State  62, Wyoming 14.   This Holiday Bowl mismatch was less a game than a coronation for the greatest offense of its generation.  The Cowboys’ excellent QB, Mike Gundy, had a stellar receiver to target, Hart Lee Dykes.  I probably should mention that Oklahoma State also happened to have a running back named Barry Sanders. In Sanders’ college finale, he did not disappoint with 222 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns to wrap up what was the best season ever for a running back.

#17  1971 Michigan 10, Ohio State 7.  Billy Taylor’s game-winning TD run  with 3 minutes to go would ordinarily have been the highlight.  Not even close!  When pass interference was not called on Michigan’s Tom Darden in the game’s final moments, Woody went berserk.  The crazy man, totally despised in Ann Arbor,  stormed onto the middle of field, breaking a yard marker over his knees en route. The crazed Hayes provided the greatest moment of theater ever for the ecstatic fans in the Big House.  Goodbye Woody, indeed!

#18 2011 Baylor 50, TCU 48.  Baylor’s opener propelled Robert Griffin III into the Heisman race.  More known for his legs going into 2011, Griffin was 21 for 27 for 358 yards against a Horned Frog team coming off an undefeated year and a Rose Bowl victory.  Griffin’s long-ball accuracy was amazing, particularly against a team with the defensive pedigree of the Horned Frogs.

#19 2016 Arkansas State 27, Georgia Southern 26.  A mid-week game in Jonesboro found many leaving the game early.  Big mistake!!  Like there are lots of entertainment alternatives in rural Jonesboro??  Arkansas State overcame 5 turnovers for their improbable triumph.  On ASU’s game-winning drive, the Red Wolves faced 4th and 16 in their own territory in the last two minutes, having used its timeouts.  QB Justice Hansen, not exactly a speedster, rambled for 18 yards on a desperation scramble.  Hansen later found Omar Bayless in the corner of the end zone with 9 seconds left.

#20 2010 Boise State 33, Virginia Tech 30.  Never has an opener in the BCS era had more buzz than this tilt at Landover, Maryland. Such buzz was partly reflected by two passionate fan bases.  When Virginia Tech’s D took the field with 2 minutes to go, nursing a 30-26 lead, the Hokies left way too much time for Kellen Moore to perform his magic (Moore is the all-time leader in QB victories with 50).  Moore only needed a minute to drive down the field and find Austin Pettis for the 13-yard game winner.

#21 1986 Arizona 34, Arizona State 17.  Since the Pac-8 had expanded to the Pac-10, the bitter rivals were in a frantic race to see who would get to the Rose Bowl first.  Arizona State had been on the doorstep multiple times only to be denied by excruciating upsets to Arizona.   In 1986, ASU Wildcat-proofed their trip to the Rose Bowl.  At 9-0-1, ASU visited Tucson with the Rose Bowl bid in tow.  ASU QB Jeff Van Raaphorst proceeded to throw for 437 yards.  While  not showing in the stats, Van Raaphorst really tossed for an additional 106 yards!  Sadly, for ASU, those 106 went to All American Chuck Cecil in the middle of the fourth quarter while ASU was driving deep in Wildcat territory.  Cecil’s game-turning Pick Six electrified the crowd in a way the Odyssey has never seen.  As ASU walked off the field with their 5th consecutive loss to UA in the Territorial Cup, the Sun Devils suffered the further indignity of being pelted by roses from jubilant Wildcat fans. That the Sun Devils would beat a Michigan team, quarterbacked by Jim Harbaugh, in the Rose Bowl provided great balm.  But ASU fans will never forget those repeated horror shows in Tucson.

#22  2003  Ole Miss 43, Alabama 28.  I doubt that Heaven has got anything over a sunny, Saturday afternoon at the Grove.  Especially when Eli Manning goes berserk, leading the Rebels to a 24-0 lead in the first quarter.  The final score was misleading as the Rebels coasted over their frequent tormentors.  Carrying my infant son on a papoose, I uttered to him at the end of the first quarter: “Don’t expect it ever to be this good again.” Manning has special status in the Odyssey.  I saw Ole Miss play 6 times during his tenure, 3 times as a double-digit underdog:  their record was 6-0, including wins at Death Valley and The Swamp.

#23 1972 Washington 22, Purdue 21.  The ranked Huskies were stunned at halftime, trailing 21-0 at Ross-Ade Stadium.  Gary Danielson’s legs were magic as the Purdue QB would rush for 213 yards.  However, the Huskies had the best-named QB in history, Sonny Sixkiller.  More than just a name, Sixkiller excelled in the second half comeback.

#24. 2016 Oklahoma State 43, Kansas State 37.  The visiting Cowboys overcame a two-possession deficit in the fourth quarter at rabid Manhattan.  It was cool to enter a stadium with turrets named after its still-coaching legend, Bill Snyder.  As we encountered a huge picture of Donald Trump during the tailgate and were deeply moved by the pre-game tribute for the five branches of our national security forces, the Odyssey was pretty sure that Hillary Clinton was not going to carry Kansas the following Tuesday.

#25. 2003 Southern Miss 40, TCU 28.  10-0 TCU visited the Rock in Hattiesburg.  The Golden Eagles’ upset victory propelled Southern Miss to the Conference USA title and prompted the Odyssey to participate in its first ever field storming.

SPECIAL HONORABLE MENTION:  2011 San Diego State 23, Army 20.   Visiting West Point and the banks of the Hudson River on a beautiful September afternoon, while observing the 10th anniversary of 9/11, was remarkable.  At halftime, a USA flag was unfurled to cover the entire field. Army’s 407 yards rushing and 42 minutes of possession could not overcome 3 lost fumbles.  The outcome of the game felt secondary to the celebration of America.

STAY HEALTHY AND SEE YOU IN AUGUST!!

Why is ESPN so preoccupied with mind-numbing, endless, unceasing promotion of the CFP semis?  For the most part, the games turn in to total duds and, worse, ESPN devalues the rest of the bowl slate when they act like only the CFP exists.

With heartfelt congrats to UCF, Michigan State, South Carolina and UAB, this bowl season will go down as the worst.  The CFP semis were the worst ever if you were not Alabama and Georgia fans.  Watching paint dry would been a thrill, comparatively speaking.

Bowl games were scraped because of the Omicron variant.  The Odyssey felt particularly bad for NC State fans.  To have a game cancelled within 5 hours of schedule was AWFUL!  Imagine paying for an expensive, cross-country flight and a hotel room only to have a a 12th-hour rug pulled under your feet.  To add insult to considerable injury, the weather for the NC State fans, on the days leading up to the game, was terrible by San Diego’s lofty standards.

Countless opt outs to boot.  We understand a star running back like Kenneth Walker III opting out.  NFL running backs are not forever.  However, for those of you who want to protect your 4th round draft grade, get a clue!

Purists found another reason to dislike Ohio State:  4 of their stars are defacing the “Granddaddy of them All” by not playing this afternoon.  The Odyssey believes that the Rose Bowl is SPECIAL.  If you listen to the Paul Finebaums of the world, they do not comprehend the singular appeal of the Rose Bowl.  The Odyssey has attended 15 Rose Bowls and there is no better way to start the New Year, especially when the sun is out as it will be when Utah takes the field against the Buckeyes.  The San Gabriel Mountains are beautiful.  Pasadena is a vibrant town.  Watching the sun set is totally picturesque.

As if a metaphor for this season’s bowl travesty, the Odyssey attended Thursday night’s Arizona State-Wisconsin tilt with a heavy heart. We much preferred their format where the Mountain West Champion played a Pac12 team. The Group of 5 keeps getting devalued. Instead, Sin City’s game should have been billed the Disappointment Bowl if truth in advertisement was an industry standard. Wisconsin had seemingly righted the ship after 3 early losses before an upset to Minnesota kept them out of the Big 10 title game.

ASU’s season was a mistake-filled disappointment, marred by undisciplined play.  The game turned out to be appropriate for this bowl season, as it started out as a yawner.  Wisconsin built up a 20-6 halftime lead as Arizona State’s offensive playbook seemed to consist of two plays:  “Jayden Daniels scrambles to the right” and Jayden Daniels scrambles to the left.”

To ASU’s considerable credit, the Sun Devils showed up in the second half.  ASU shut down the Wisconsin offense and made the game an interesting 20-13 affair well into the fourth quarter.  With almost 6 minutes left, credit the Badgers’ criticized QB, Graham Mertz.  On a pivotal 3rd and 12, Mertz threw a beautiful ball 30 yards down field for a critical first down.

Allegiant Stadium is an excellent venue.  UNLV should be able to lure some recruits who otherwise would be disinterested in the Rebels.

Maybe the 4 New Year’s bowl games will offer some salvation for this year’s meltdown.  Now that the bowl system has been trashed, there can be no question as to what the best day of the college football calendar is:  No longer on January 1st, the Odyssey cannot wait for 2022’s Rivalry Saturday.  We are already counting down.  HAPPY NEW YEAR from the ODYSSEY! 

Happy Holidays, Conference USA! Let’s take a look at your life raft.

Your Conference was not doing so well before the American Athletic savaged the Conference with 6 poaches.  3 others bolted for the Sun Belt.

UAB was a quality addition to the American, particularly after its Independence Bowl upset of BYU. So is UTSA, as it ascends under Jeff Traylor.

But look at the quality of the American’s other poaches from USA.

Rice:  The Owls cannot draw flies, even in the Texas heat.

Charlotte:  Its charming stadium is the smallest in the FBS.

FAU:  Another program that plays in front of family and friends.

North Texas:  Still pining for the days of Hayden Fry.

So, with 4 “less desirables” leaving for the American and 3 others (Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion) bolting for the Sun Belt, imagine the “quality” of the leftovers in USA.

UTEP: A shame that the program does not deserve the charming Sun Bowl

Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky were so concerned with the mass defections to the American that they flirted with the MAC.

Louisiana Tech: Try getting to Ruston. Not easy!

Florida International: So broke that the program resorted to 2nd-hand equipment.

With only 5 leftovers, who came to the rescue to augment the ailing conference? Independents Liberty and New Mexico State signed up. At least, Conference USA will have a second rivalry game: UTEP vs New Mexico State.

Two FCS thoroughbreds have agreed to join: Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State. The Odyssey does not understand why so many FCS powers want to be a much smaller fish in a larger pond. However, both programs will give Conference USA a touch of class. Badly needed, in our view.

Conference USA’s  desperation has to make UMass and UConn feel even worse.  The left-out 0rphans without a conference.  Although not being sought after by Conference USA is a mixed blessing!  

Michigan State and Pittsburgh were among college football’s greatest surprises this year.  MSU was picked by many to finish last in the Big Ten East.  Kenneth Walker III and Kenny Pickett led their teams with stellar seasons.  Both just announced they are abandoning their team and will sit out the Peach Bowl.

Both have made a mockery that football is a team sport.  As good as Pickett was, a big part of his success can be attributable to the stellar Jordan Addison fetching his passes.   Walker needed his O Line.

The Odyssey understands that the risk of injury is everpresent and that there are few contracts for most NFL players.  We do understand that Jake Butt’s injury in the Orange Bowl 5 years ago cost him money.  But when players say they want to sit out to “help prepare for the draft”, the lack of transparency is irritating.   When Pickett says “Pitt forever”, laugh out loud.  You can’t have it both ways, Kenny.

How will Pickett and Walker be “preparing for the draft” when Pitt plays MSU in the suddenly debased Peach Bowl?  Likely, on their couches, perhaps with a cold one in hand.