Author: rickro51 Page 18 of 36

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.

Somehow, the college football world keeps topping itself in shocking developments. As stunning as the coaching exits of Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly were, such news was not as shocking to the Odyssey as Bo Nix announcing his entry into the transfer portal. The Auburn QB had his best year in 2021 before an ankle injury shut him down. Nix led Auburn to victories at LSU, as well as triumphs over Arkansas and Ole Miss.

But those are mere details. Bo Nix was loved as an Auburn legacy. His dad, Patrick, is one of Auburn’s all-time best QBs, leading the Tigers to an undefeated 11-0 mark in 1993. Obviously, Nix had an issue with the Auburn coaching staff. He was not won over by first-year coach, Bryan Harsin. Perhaps Nix was ticked off at Harsin’s early firing of their receivers’ coach or the season-end dismissal of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.

In this era of instant transfers, players have never had more power. Harsin’s world has flipped upside down. His promising debut started to unravel when Auburn blew a 28-3 lead against Mississippi State on the Plains. To say that their loss to Bama was devastating would not be hyperbole. The Nix loss is another gut punch to Harsin. He may not be able to recover at a program with a very quick trigger finger.

What’s next? The Odyssey wonders. About the only story that could surprise us more is if another legacy star, Aidan Hutchinson, announces that he is giving up his NFL career so that he can be a grad assistant coach at Ohio State.

Never has the Carousel been crazier at season’s end than in 2021.  EVER!

The Odyssey has expressed its disdain at Texas and Oklahoma’s selfish arrogance in their bolt for the SEC.  Not only did the Odyssey take great pleasure that the Big 12 championship game included neither traitor, Oklahoma discovered that one of the first casualties of their move to the SEC was none other than Oklahoma.  Who can blame Lincoln Riley for bolting?  Instead of weekly blood letting in SEC games, he can enjoy weekends at Manhattan Beach (Note to Coach Riley:  With all the big bucks you now have, you can afford a chauffeur.  Traffic in downtown LA is  a touch different than in Norman or Greenville).  If the transfer portal results in Oklahoma being crippled with a mass exodus for Tinseltown, the Odyssey will cry few tears.

I do not understand why LSU hired Brian Kelly.  Sure, he is a damn fine technical coach but on the important Bayou charm scale, Kelly might register a negative score.  Repeatedly showing his questionable character upon his exits from Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame, do not expect the Odyssey to be rooting for Kelly.  If Dave Aranda was gettable, that would have been a better fit for the Bayou Bengals.  Notre Dame should do just fine with the youthful Marcus Freeman at the helm.

Normally, the Odyssey abhors the truckloads of cash sent off to fired coaches.  However, given the way that Miami let Manny Diaz twist in the wind for two weeks, I am glad Diaz pockets $8 million on his way out the door.  Particularly, because Diaz was a favored native son of Miami because his old man was once Miami’s mayor.

The Mountain West featured the best and worst coaching performances of 2021.  Blake Anderson made a curious lateral move in leaving Arkansas State for the Cache Valley.  However, Utah State’s 10-3 record and Mountain West championship was beyond belief.  The over/under win total for the Aggies in August was 3.5.  Colorado State rectified a horrible hire in Steve Addazio.  Addazio had a mediocre record at Boston College and had no ties to the region.  To boot, his run-first approach was at odds that CSU’s recent history of producing excellent wide receivers.  His 4-12 record as Rams’ coach well matched his dour personality.  I am excited for CSU that Mike Norvell was hired though anybody other than Addazio would have been a step forward.  With their splashy stadium, CSU should be a major player in the Mountain.

Jim Mora must REALLY want to coach (or need the money) when he took the UConn job.  Given that UConn has no conference to play in, the Husky job seems like a road to nowhere.

At this minute, Oregon, Virginia and Nevada are on the clock.  Where will the Carousel stop when the music ends?  Stay tuned.

If the University of Texas athletic department were instead a woman in the 16th century, assuredly UT would be forced to wear a scarlet letter in public.  For no administration has done as much damage to college football for its own selfish interests than Texas in the 21st century.

The former Big 12 conference was terrific before the Texas got too big for its britches and established the Longhorn Network in cahoots with ESPN.  When the Longhorn Network announced its plans to air high school games, Texas A&M (and others) cried foul.  Missouri followed A&M out the door to the SEC.  Colorado escaped to the Pac12.  Nebraska found a lucrative financial haven in the Big 10.

The revamped Big 12 was still a strong, viable conference with the additions of TCU and West Virginia.  For the second time, the Longhorns pulled the rug under the Big  12 by bolting for the SEC in July (with help from accomplice Oklahoma).  Again, remaining members of the Big 12 were imperiled.  The second time around, the Big 12 again did its best to mitigate damage by adding BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston.  Still, the Odyssey remains pissed that Texas again did not give a damn about the general good of the region and its Big 12 brethren.

Therefore, the Odyssey attended Texas’ finale against K-State on Friday with a grim satisfaction.  The Longhorns were riding a 6-game losing streak (its longest since 1956 which was the catalyst in hiring the legendary Darrell Royal for the 1957 season) and were greeted by indifference of a half-full stadium in their home finale.  All of the Stadium’s references to  the Longhorns’ many conference championships further mocked the current state of the program: 25 in the Southwest Conference (yet another conference Texas was instrumental in breaking up) but none since their last Big 12 championship in 2009.

That the Longhorns could hold K-State scoreless in the second half and hold off the Wildcats 22-17 did not seem just to the Odyssey.  K-State likely would have been victorious if started QB Skylar Thompson had not been sidelined.  The Wildcats’ reincarnation of Darren Sproles in Deuce Vaughn could not overcome their total lack of a passing game.

The sad thing about having disdain of the Longhorns for their many traitorous actions is that there is lots to like in the Texas program.  Its band is absolutely terrific as its pre-game show is worth the price of admission.  Its legacy songs of “The Eyes of Texas”, “Deep In The Heart of Texas” and “Fight Texas” would warm the heart of the coldest souls.

So, please excuse the Odyssey if we do not root for Texas in the SEC.  Our hope is that Vandy will enjoy the company in the bowels of the augmented superpower.

There are many huge games on rivalry weekend.  The Odyssey will not be in attendance for any of them.  Instead, we will be in Austin to see if the Texas Longhorns can break their 6-game losing streak against Kansas State.

Just the mention of the word “Kansas” should give all Longhorn fans the shakes after the events two weeks ago.  Texas made a Kansas QB, Jalon Daniels, scheduled for a redshirt, into a national star in a stunning 57-56 overtime loss. Daniels, forced to scramble out of the pocket, found walk-on fullback, Jared Casey, for the game-winning 2 pointer.

The aftermath:

Kansas fans in Austin were chanting “SEC” after the game.

Casey is making commercials thanks to NIL.

Matthew McConaughey has gone into hiding.

Steve Sarkisian is making regular phone calls to his agent to make sure his buyout language is ironclad.

Texas does catch a potentially big break.  Kansas State QB, Skylar Thompson, is listed as questionable.  Even if Thompson plays, he is likely to be less than 100% – a big deal since Thompson’s legs have been an important element to the Wildcat offense.

Kansas State would love to win this game.  A victory would tie the all-time series at 11.   Who knows how many more KSU-Texas games will come off in the future.

The Odyssey wishes all a HAPPY THANKSGIVING (especially in the Sarkisian household).

Based on recent games, the Odyssey suggests SMU hosting Tulsa this Saturday.

Check out the scores of their recent contests:

2020    Tulsa 28, SMU 24     2 Overtimes

2019     SMU  43, Tulsa 37     3 Overtimes

2018     Tulsa 27, SMU 24

2017      SMU  38, Tulsa 34

2016     Tulsa 43, SMU 40     Overtime

History suggests that the Mustangs will be celebrating on the Hilltop come Saturday night.  The home team has won all of these nailbiters.

Once Texas and Oklahoma decided to abandon their Big 12 brethren for more greenbacks, speculation has run rampant as to how the SEC would adapt to its schedule with 16 teams.

There appears to be consensus on one important point:  The number of conference games will increase from 8 to 9.

Many speculative references to “pods” brought back images of Woody Allen in “Sleeper”.  Option #1 would result in 4 pods, as follows:

POD #1:   Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina

POD #2:   Alabama, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Tennessee

POD #3:   Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU and Texas A&M

POD #4:   Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri

You would play the other teams in your Pod annually.  In a 4-year period, you would each team in the other pods twice.  The Pod approach would address one complaint in the current 14-team format: One rarely plays most teams in the other division.  The Odyssey finds this Pod feature to be quite attractive.  However, there would be winners and losers in such construction.

Before we go into our deep dive, we believe Texas A&M and Missouri could be interchanged.  Texas and Texas A&M should play each other annually.

WINNERS of this POD Approach:

Arkansas:  Renewing its rivalry with Texas and starting a rivalry with neighboring Oklahoma is spicy.  Nor will the Razorbacks mind not having to play Alabama every year.

Auburn and Alabama:  You get Vandy each year, which means a fun trip to Nashville every other year for your fans.

Florida and LSU:  No longer would they be each other’s  annual crossover opponent.  Most years, that will ease their schedule relative to others.

LOSERS of this POD approach:

Ole Miss:  No more annual game with Vandy?  Boo hoo.

Kentucky:  Losing its two neighbors in Tennessee will badly hurt.  The lost tradition in the Tennessee-Kentucky rivalry would be painful.  Nobody in their Pod is an easy drive from Lexington.

Tradition:  In addition to Texas-Texas A&M and Tennessee-Kentucky, several other traditional rivalries would no longer be played annually:  The Deep South’s oldest rivalry, Auburn vs Georgia would no longer be annual event.  The two SEC schools closest to each other, Alabama and Mississippi State, would not play annually.  OUCH!

Conference title game:  In some years,  the Pod approach will be less straight forward than the Division format in determining who plays in Atlanta.

OPTION #2 would do much better at preserving traditional rivalries by retaining the two-division approach, as follows:

EAST:  Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

WEST:  Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma

In Option #2, only 2 crossover games would be played.  Meaning that in any 8-year cycle, you would play members of the other division only twice.

Since the Odyssey is a staunch believer in tradition, we have some preference for Option #2.  Option #2 is also more equitable than being in a Pod which turns out to be unusually strong or weak in a given year.

Please let the Odyssey know what you think.  We will be happy to forward all comments to the SEC.

Saturday. At 7pm EST (4pm on the West Coast), the need for multiple devices with WIFI and/or, at the very least, being adept with a remote became apparent.

Miami had rallied from a 17-point deficit at Florida State to take a 28-23 behind 4 TD passes from star freshman QB, Tyler Van Dyke. In the final minute, the Seminoles converted a 4th and 14 to stay alive. Jordan Travis’ sneak with 30 seconds to go sent Seminole fans home deliriously happy.

If you dialed into this rivalry game, you were missing out on Iowa State’s furious comeback from 21 down to tie Texas Tech 38-38. No problema for the Red Raiders. Just dial up a walkoff 62-yard field goal.

ESPN+ was offering another nail biter. North Texas and UTEP were locked in a 17-17 tie that seemed destined for overtime until a 58-yard pass was completed in the waning 15 seconds. This enabled a game-winning field goal for the Mean Green.

Three thrillers came to a conclusion in the matter of minutes. No wonder we love this sport!!

Imagine it is August 2021.  A psychic tells you that Illinois will be 4-6 through its first 10 games.

You peruse the Illini schedule and are tasked to figure out where their 4 wins would come from:

• Nebraska
• UTSA
• at Virginia
• Maryland
• at Purdue
• Charlotte
• Wisconsin
• at Penn State
• Rutgers
• at Minnesota

You would have had no shot at guessing the 4 accurately.  Rutgers, Maryland and UTSA would all be likely choices.  NOPE.  0-3 against those folks.

How about beating Nebraska, at 10th ranked Penn State, at a ranked Minnesota squad among the Illini’s 4 triumphs?   The only “predictable” win among their 4 proved to be Charlotte.

New coach Bret Bielema has relied on a ground attack (surprise, surprise) to give the Illini a chance to score upsets.  Illinois rushed for an astounding 357 yards against a good Penn State defense and controlled the game in Minneapolis with their rushing attack.  Illinois came ever so close to a 3rd impressive road win at Purdue.

Weird!  But not more bizarre than playing a 9-overtime game with 10 consecutive failures on 2-point conversions!  If Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone were still active,……..