Author: rickro51 Page 26 of 29

in the case of 3 teams (and, possibly, a 4th) starting with the letter “N”   — “N”  stands for “Nervous” and “Not very good”

Let’s consider the “N” teams achieving significant success this decade who should be worrying in 2017.

NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels were so loaded at QB talent in 2015 that the 2nd choice in the 2017 draft, Mitch Trubisky, was riding the pine behind dual-threat Marquise Williams.

Not only do the 2017 Heels have to deal with Trubisky’s loss, but other stars, namely:

1,000+ yard RB Elijah Hood

1000+ yard wide receiver, Ryan Switzer

Three starting offensive linemen, included two who garnered all-ACC honors.

OUCH!  North Carolina has not yet achieved the status of a “reload program.”

Their talent exodus reminds me of the Everly Brothers’ last signficant hit (1964’s underrated “Gone, Gone, Gone“)

The only positive thread I can see for the 2017 team is the fact that they get to host the opener against a reeling Cal squad.  For the Heels to have a chance to have a successful season, they will need to win September games at Old Dominion and home versus Duke.  In other years, this would have happened.  In 2017, the Odyssey predicts that Carolina will lose at least one of those games.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Chandler Harnish,  Jordan Lynch and Drew Hare, all sterling dual threat QBs, are long gone.  The trio catapaulted the Huskies to a decade of glory in the MAC, as they specialized in winning the West and tormenting many good Toledo teams.  To elevate themselves above the MAC pack, NIU was heavily dependent on stellar quarterback play.  During Hare’s injury-riddled last two years, no QB stepped into the  massive void.  Au contraire!

Coming off a rare losing season, the Huskies do not appear to have solved their QB woes.  Worse, their defensive line shows few signs of shoring up their rushing defense   The Huskies gave up 201 yards per game.  Unhelpfully, two of their non-conference games are against two of the most rushing-minded teams in the country, Boston College and San Diego State.  The Huskies also pay a visit to Nebraska.  Even their 4^th non-conference foe, Eastern Illinois, while likely not up to their past Jimmy Garoppolo-like standards, may not be an automatic W.  Especially if one recalls that NIU succumbed to a supposed FCS morsel last year in Western Illinois.   If the 2017 Huskie QBs manage to consistently find receivers, they will probably be disappointed.  All-league wideout, Kenny Golladay, is gone and the rest of the wide receivers appear to be mere dinner scraps.   Can a solid offensive line overcome all these warts?

Phil Steele strongly disagrees with the Odyssey.  He makes NIU the 10^th most improved team in the country per his “coveted” Most Improved Team list.  Honest to God, Steele uses the term “coveted” on page 258 of his annual.  Steele also says that past teams on his Most Improved team list were “blessed.”    Hmmm, we think Steele does not adhere to one of the Ten Commandments that addresses worship of false gods.

The Huskies finished 5-7 in 2016, 5-3 in the MAC.  The presumption is that Steele believes that the 2017 Huskies will finish at least 7-5 or 8-4.  Despite the weakening of the MAC West (WMU no longer has their successful, hypercaffinated head coach, CMU did lose their stellar QB, Cooper Rush, and one has to be skeptical if EMU can catch lightning in a bottle again — no matter how awesome you view Chris Creighton’s coaching ability), the Odyssey respectfully disagrees.

The Odyssey CALLS OUT Phil Steele.  We  believe NIU’s ceiling is 7 wins and we will not be the least bit surprised if the Huskies do not have a winning regular season.   THIS IS IT, Phil!!  The Odyssey has the guts to say that a traditional MAC power will struggle and NOT be one of the most improved teams in college football.   We further predict that the Huskies will not win more than one of their non-conference tilts against a -conference schedule which is not exactly murderer’s row.  In Steele’s own preseason poll, the highest ranked foe is Nebraska (#39).  In fact, the Huskers are the only team the Huskies play in 2017 ranked #54 or above!  In other words, the Odyssey is making this call in spite of NIU’s cush schedule.

If the Odyssey is wrong in this regard, we will employ all possible humility, admit we were wrong and profusely congratulate Phil.  Further,  if we prove right, we absolutely promise not to anoint ourself as a God.  There are already too many Gods in the world.

NEVADA

This year’s  Wolfpack edition will again be a far, far cry from the 2010 WAC champs that finished 11^th in the final AP poll.   Colin Kaepernick will never be a pariah in Reno!    Nevada does return one major weapon in running back James Butler.  Butler amassed 1,336 rush yards in a run-first offense.  New coach Jay Norvell  is revamping everything but downtown  Reno.  Norvell is installing an Air Raid offence.  We hope Butler does not become diminished in the process.  New defensive coordinator,  Jeff Casteel, is installing a new 335 defense that he previously employed under the noted eye of defensive guru, Rich Rodriguez,  at both West Virginia and Arizona (yes, the Odyssey occasionally stoops to sarcasm.  We apologize).  This defense is geared to give higher priority to pass-first attacks but opponents will not forget that last year’s version of the Wolf Pack was the worst rushing defense in I-A ball last fall, surrendering a whopping 298 yards per game.    Against this D, opponents will call their first rushing play before they get off the bus.    How bad is the 335 against the run?  You could ask Brad Bielema to reminisce about his good ole days at Wisconsin that he now must crave (BB is 10-22 in SEC conference games. He had it so, so good in Madison!)  One of Bielema’s offenses gleefully ran the ball for 357 yards, which included  28   successive rushes,  in a 48-28 smashmouth laugher in Ann Arbor against one of Rodriguez’ lightweight 335 D’s in RichRod’s last year at the helm.

In the short-term, we fear Norvell’s first Wolfpack squad will suffer from a “square peg, round hole” syndrome when a new coach installs systems which woefully match existing personnel.  When Rodriguez fatefully took over the Maize and Blue in 2008, he installed his run-based option office despite having two QB’s who could run most of the day in the shade of the same phone booth (Does anybody remember Stephen Threatt?).  Thankfully, for suffering Michigan fans, Denard Robinson subsequently came to Rodriguez’ rescue on the offensive side. Last year, Bronco Mendenhall’s 2-10 pratfall at Virginia in his flawed debut was partly due to the changing of the guard.   His strong desire to run was not negated by a terrible O line and his installation of  his preferred 3-4 defense.  OOPS!

The Odyssey makes a second call which flies in the face of Steeledom.  Phil calls for Nevada to come in 2^nd in the anemic  Western division of the Mountain West, currently comprised of San Diego State and 5 high school teams.  Our prediction is that transition woes will keep the Wolfpack from finishing either first or second in this tissue-soft configuration.

NEBRASKA

We are sorely tempted to add Nebraska to the list of 2017 “N” disappointments.   After all, when a traditional power is heavily reliant on a QB transfer from Tulane of all places, can despair be far away? However, Tanner Lee has lots of potential and has impressed some pro scouts.  Because of anemic Green Wave offensive lines, he was treated like a human piñata in New Orleans.  Lee was sacked so much, I was sadly reminded much of the last time a human being endured endless and needless physical abuse in New Orleans. The great Archie Manning was rendered mediocre by no semblance of an offensive line during his decade as the Saints QB.  We suspect Tanner Lee will have a better fate in Lincoln.

We are calling for Nebraska to have a disappointing year record-wise (7-5 or 6-6 is our call) but that will partly be the byproduct of a tough schedule.  Even if their game at Oregon proves not to be imposing, the Huskers have the bad luck of drawing both Penn State and Ohio State from the East.  The schedule offers few salvations. Well, there  is a home game against Northern Illinois (ba da ding!)and an opener against an Arkansas State team which lost their entire offensive line .  Another reason for pessimism in Lincoln is their November 4 home date against another “N” school, Northwestern, which has the feel of a trap game.  While we project many “N” schools to disappoint, the Odyssey projects the Wildcats to be one of the two national sleepers of the year if the Wildcats can ignore the injury bug (always an issue at the depth- challenged private school).

Mike Riley is such a nice guy that we hope we are wrong in calling for a disappointing record in Huskerdom.

The Odyssey has a one-word description for the 2 Playoff games on New Year’s Eve:   boring.  Only worthwhile if you had run dangerously low on your valium prescription.

ESPN and others talked ad nauseum about the 2 playoff games.  At halftime of most of the other bowl games, the analysts could not resist repeating the same analysis over and over and over…The mania over the playoff was a real shame because the other bowl games provided many memorable and overlooked storylines.

The Granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl, merely provided one of the greatest bowl games of all time.  None of USC’s 25 Rose Bowl triumphs were any more stirring than their 14-point, 4th quarter comeback to win 52-49 on a 46-yard field goal at the gun.  Sam Darnold’s 453 passing yards and 5 TD passes not only put him in the record books but placed the freshman on the Mount Rushmore of Rose Bowl QBs alongside Vince Young and Ron VanderKelen.

The fourth quarter of the Orange Bowl was also epic.  A crippled Michigan team, missing their two best players, Jabrill Peppers and Jake Butt, roared back with two 4th quarter TDs to take a 30-27 lead only to see  a 65 yard kickoff return propel the Seminoles to a last-minute victory.

The obscure Idaho Vandals became a fantastic story.  The Vandals were kicked to the curb by the San Belt Conference earlier this year and were relegated to their only reasonable landing spot, the underrated Big Sky Conference…Their demotion to 1-AA clearly fueled them in their bowl game against Colorado State in Boise.  Idaho was a 16-point underdog but laid waste to the unsuspecting Rams.  Has any team leaving the top division ever gone out in such style?  A great story which was ignored by the national media.

The national media also ignored two of the greatest mysteries since the Bermuda Triangle.  How did Baylor, losers of 6 straight games and saddled with a disinterested Shock Linwood (he sat out to “prepare” for the NFL draft) show enough interest to manhandle Boise State?

What happened to the Washington State offense?  The Cougars averaged 40 points a game and were facing a Gopher depleted defensive backfield with one of college football’s great pass/catch tandems in Luke Falk to Gabe Marks.  So, naturally, WSU goes to a dink and dunk offense in the first half which made me wonder if Marks was even playing.   The Gophers, not a defensive juggernaut even before the 10 suspensions, kept Washington State out of the end zone until the game’s last minute.

While we are at it, let’s give Samaje Perine his due props for breaking the Sooner rushing record of the immortal Billy Sims.  The media has not yet given enough props to 2017 Big 12 football.  The bowl performances of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State plus Texas’ expected ascendance in 2017 make the Big 12 the Odyssey’s pick as the most improved conference in 2017.

The Odyssey is deeply disappointed but not surprised at the media’s bowl coverage.  After all, when ESPN’s Elisa Sadeghi earlier broached the subject that Alabama should rest players and not focus on their Iron Bowl grudge game against Auburn, the media bar was set so low that it could be vaulted by a midget.

We hope you have enjoyed the Odyssey this year.  We wish all of you good luck and great health before we rendez vous in August!!

With the playoffs less than 3 days away, it is time for the Odyssey to vent.   A number of talking heads have opined that expanding the playoffs to 8 teams would be a significant improvement.  What hogwash!!

Let’s take a look at teams 5-8 if we had an expanded playoff.  All have proven themselves as not being college football’s best team — we have the quaint notion that the best team should be crowned not the hottest team or the one with the most opportune draw.

Michigan — a fine team but one whose offense went dormant for large stretches of their games against Wisconsin, Ohio State and Iowa.  They lost their last 2 road games.  National champions do not do such.

Oklahoma — Your two losses were decisive and the Big 12  was underwhelming.  Two Heisman finalists can not hide that you do not have a defense.

Penn State — This is a hot team — but not necessarily a great team.  Granted, their linebacking corps was decimated early in the year and was a large reason for their 49-10 slaughter in Ann Arbor.  However, national champions are not 2-time losers with a 39-point loss on their resume

USC – Terrific second half of the season but three losses including 52-6 to Alabama.  C’mon.  Could Sam Darnold make that much difference against the Tide?  I do not think even Jesus Christ could make up for the 46 point difference.

Some of the proponents of an 8-team format  favor the highest ranked Group of 5 team to be one of the 8.  OK, but that would have meant Western Michigan against Alabama in the quarterfinals?!?!

One of the proponents of an 8-team playoff had Ohio State as the #3 seed and Michigan as the #6 seed.  A rematch?  Archrivalries lose some of their juice if they are played more than once a year.

Proponents of the 8-team playoff do not address the logistical issues of another round of games during the holiday seasons and the problems created for large amounts of fans who may not want the added expense or travel of another round.

Two mediocre St. Louis Cardinal teams have won the World Series in the past decade.  One Connecticut team that won the NCAA tournament was the #9 seed —-in the Big East tournament!!!  The other UConn men’s tourney winner was a #7 seed…Color me old fashioned but I like the ENTIRE season to count.

The bowl system, while bloated, offers many teams the fun impetus of going into the off season riding the tide of  a win…In an expanded playoff, 4 more excellent teams would wind up their season with a loss.  In the current playoff setup, there are 3 excellent non-playoff matchups:     USC-Penn St     Michigan-FSU    LSU-Louisville

Do not FURTHER MESS with the sanctity of college football’s regular season.  IN most other sports, the regular season is not that meaningful…Let’s keep college football special and deeply differentiated from other sports.

The ODYSSEY wishes you a very, very happy new year!

Good!

We predicted season win totals for 3 teams:

Wake Forest over 5.5 wins (6-6)        Check

Middle Tennessee State over 7.5 wins (8-4)  Check in spite of the early November injury to star QB Brent Stockstill

We predicted over 9/9.5 wins for Houston (9-3)  So, this was either a push or a loss, depending on which number one got.  In our analysis, we thought there was a reasonable chance for Houston to beat either Oklahoma or Louisville.  They decisively triumphed over both.  We were shocked that the Cougars could beat both those teams and still lose 3 games…Their loss to SMU is one of the head scratchers of the year.

Early in September, we posted a cautionary blog  “Oregon should not be quacking just yet”  This was after Oregon’s less than impressive opening win over UC Davis… Oregon beat Virginia to become 2-0 but the rest of their season was an unmitigated disaster.   The Ducks finished 4-8 and an upcoming Oregon State team applied the final slight.

The Odyssey is deeply saddened that bowl season will be without two premier stars in Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey… we understand the injury concern but deciding not to play does not feel right.  Your thoughts?

In completing your bowl picks, reflect on a team’s attitude.  Particularly during the bowl season, said attitude is of paramount importance.  Michigan had its heart broken in the Ohio State epic.  Louisville was getting talked up as a playoff team before the Cardinals performed a repeated faceplant in its last two games as heavy favorites versus Houston and Kentucky.  Nor can Georgia  feel too good, blowing a 4th quarter, 27-14, lead at home against archrival Georgia Tech, to cap a very underwhelming season in Athens.

Both Michigan and Louisville play teams who will be excited to play in a bowl game.  Florida State is a formidable opponent, cruising into Miami on the wings of a comprehensive victory over the archrival  Gators.  LSU players, who profess to orgasmically love Ed Orgeron, should be excited that Orgeron now has the gig on a permanent basis.   This bodes poorly for the Cardinals’ matchup against LSU.  Motivationally, these games feature teams on opposite arcs.

Picking a team that has lost its head coach is always a bit dicey.  Temple, Western Kentucky, South Florida and Houston have lost their coaches in the past two weeks.

Since the bowls are so often unpredictable, I would never place too much confidence in a schizophrenic team.  Not only has Houston lost its coach, but the Cougars are beyond impossible to figure out.  They absolutely clocked the two strongest teams on their schedule:  Oklahoma and the Cardinals. Houston’s loss to Navy in Annapolis is understandable but their setback to SMU was incomprehensible.  Houston should have been buoyant after it blew the doors off of Louisville.  loving its sackfest against the Cardinals’ offensive line while making Lamar Jackson look very mortal.  The euphoria did not last.  In its next game, Houston sleepwalked thru the 1st half against Memphis and allowed the Tigers to pull off an upset.

Houston is a 3 point favorite against SD State in Sin City.  On talent, Houston clearly deserves to be favored.  But Aztec fans will happily make the 5-hour drive as Southern Californians look for the tiniest excuse to make the drive thru the high desert.  Despite the awesome talents of Greg Ward Jr. and Ed Oliver, all the intangibles point to San Diego State.

Meanwhile, Baylor has fantastic momentum going into the Cactus Bowl, riding the crest of a 6-game losing streak.   Which Central Michigan deeply appreciates, as, at least, the Chippewas will not have the most negative momentum heading into a bowl.  More good news for CMU:  Nobody will EVER be able to take away the illicit, but beyond awesome, ending in the Oklahoma State game!  Thank God!

A lot of the conference championship games are being viewed as ho-hum affairs.

To wit:

While the transgender community is proud that the ACC game is being moved from Charlotte to Orlando, one can buy a ticket on StubHub for $7.50.  But at least the folks in North Carolina no longer have to worry about being viciously assaulted in the restroom.  What does that tell you when folks will pay 10 times more to see Mickey Mouse than either Clemson or the Hokies??

With Alabama being a 24-point favorite, one can have a fierce debate whether its contest with injury-riddled Florida could better be described as a coronation.

Tickets to the Big 10 championship game are easily had.  I guess folks are not that excited when the neither of the conference’s two best teams are there.

BUT…………………..

In Motown, at Ford Field, the joint will be as rockin’ as if Martha and the Vandellas was singing “Dancing In The Street” followed, of course, by “Heat Wave” and “Nowhere to Run.”

The MAC ‘s conference has always been so lightly attended that the upper section of Ford Field was not even opened.  The highest (announced) attendance was 28,000.  However the Western Michigan Boat Rowers will be attracting an estimated crowd of 47,000.  We think this could be the final game for PJ Fleck, Boat Rower #1.

The Odyssey never misses a great story and, on site,  we will have one of the esteemed Midwestern sports journalists, Bronco Chris, back on the Odyssey by popular demand.  On Gameday, Bronco Chris had a sign, “Boise is not a State.”  This was at a time when Bronco fans were worried that Boise would finish ranked higher than Western Michigan.  No worries, WMU, a COURAGEOUS goal line stand by Air Force last Friday eliminated any concerns.

So, check out Bronco Chris’ comments below that will be posted in the next 24 hours or so.

The Odyssey will be reporting from the hotbed of one of college football’s most intense rivalries:  Florida-Florida State.  Cannot wait!

FFF and I will be taking off this morning from Disney World and watch the Michigan-OSU game at a fun sports bar in Gainesville.  Then, we, amidst many Gator fans will make the 2 hour trek to Florida’s capital city for the tilt.  Please see comment section tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we salute the boat rowers of Western Michigan for their undefeated season!

There are a zillion statistics in college football.  But I can guarantee you that an all-time record was set last Saturday in the non-football hotbed of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Texas State’s miserable season got worse on Saturday.  They conducted a turnover fest which was highlighted by turnovers on EACH of their first 4 possessions.  Hapless New Mexico State, a team that recently got kicked out of the Sun Belt Conference, was more than grateful to be the beneficiary of such largesse.

Who was the leading tackler for Texas State in the first half?  None other than their center, Aaron Brewer!!!!  Not a defensive center.  Not a center linebacker.  Not a center safety.  A FREAKIN’ center.  I feel confident in saying that in the 60 years of two-platoon football that this stat is a first.  The ODYSSEY bows to you, Mr. Brewer!  Your percentage of possible tackles is so high that to call you a human tackling machine is certainly no hyperbole.

Now, a comment to ESPN.  You had a commentator last week make a comment so ridiculous and ignorant that she should be fired or put in a different position.  Immediately!  (BTW, we are not misogynists in this regard.  For example, we find Heather Dinich to be quite competent).  Relative newcomer, Elika Sadeghi, opined that Alabama’s position in the playoff was so secure (true enough) that the Tide should consider resting players in their Auburn game.  Say what?!?!?!

The Iron Bowl is one of three transcendent rivalry games in the country.  Most in the country and anybody in the South are aware of  its import.  And, in Alabama, good Lord, the passion surrounding this game is OFF THE CHARTS.  So, for somebody to suggest that Alabama go less than full tilt in their annual grudge match shows unparalleled ignorance.  Either that or a sad, misguided perception that the playoff is all the matters and to hell with the other 124 teams that do not make the playoffs.  While I have been uncomfortable with ESPN’s preoccupation with the playoff at the expense of numerous other great stories on the college football scene, this statement was the most unbelievable I ever heard a paid commentator make.

The media has gauged that the pussy-grabbing male public wants to look at attractive women.  ESPN is not alone in wanting to feature good-looking female who wears a different designer dress in each appearance but can we ask ESPN a favor?  If you want to have your version of Megan Kelly at Fox News, please have her show a modicum of knowledge.  Because in addition to Ms. Kelly’s considerable good looks, she is also intelligent.  The college football world deserves the same degree of intelligence.

We are impressed that GAMEDAY will be making its first appearance at a MAC venue in 13 years.  VIVA Kalamazoo and the undefeated Western Michigan Broncos!!  We do believe there is one team in the state of Michigan that could beat Iowa.

That is the opinion of Bronco Chris, our ODYSSEY correspondent who will be attending the game against hapless Buffalo.  Unlike Kirk Herbstreit, Bronco Chris will be attending the game and not be jetting off to Morgantown.

We doubt that ESPN even knows about the importance of Michigan State Highway 131 unlike those living in the Western part of Michigan’s lower peninsula.  So, get the news on these Broncos from the locals…Look for Bronco Chris’ observations after the game from the Comment section of this post.

The University of Oregon probably has one division 1-A record:  The longest time since it has fired a head coach.  That is about to change.  And Oregon’s atypical 3-7 record is far from the only reason.

The news that West Linn, Oregon’s Elijah Molden was going to rival Washington is absolutely crushing for the Ducks.  The highly touted cornerback should have been a lock to go to Eugene.  His dad, Alex, was an All American defensive back who played on Oregon’s 1995 Rose Bowl team.  Elijah’s mother was also an Oregon alum.

Molden indicated that Oregon was not even his SECOND choice, expressing a preference for Stanford.  Ouch!!  He mentioned that it seemed more likely that the coaches at Stanford and Washington would be there during his college years.  Double Ouch!!

The state’s other most highly ranked recruit, defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu, also passed on the Ducks.

Oregon’s fall from its national championship game participation, two years ago, has been both swift and shocking.  Helfrich, who seems to be a nice guy and received praise for his development of star QB Marcus Mariota, does not seem to have the chops in the recruiting world.  Their defense this year has been absolutely defenseless.

Sad for him but utterly necessary for an Oregon program that seems to falling off the face of the earth.

One of our early September posts was titled, “Not Time for Oregon to Quack Just Yet.”  We thought their initial two wins over UC Davis and Virginia were fool’s gold.  However, not even the Odyssey could foresee the out-of-control dumpster fire in Eugene.  We just hope that region has enough hoses and fire trucks!