Author: rickro51 Page 28 of 36

2018 K-State football keeps going down the rabbit hole.  On Saturday, Texas won their first game in the Little Apple since 2002, jumping off to a 19-0 halftime lead.

78-year-old coaching icon, Bill Snyder, shifted quarterbacks at halftime.  The ineffective Alex Delson was benched in favor of Skylar Thompson.  Thompson’s ability to throw the ball provided the Wildcats with a strong pulse as K-State rebounded to make a game of it, losing 19-14.  Truly, a tale of two halves.

For the second straight week, the post-game comments from 78-year-old coaching icon, Bill Snyder, were both curious and a bit disturbing.  For the second straight year, the Wildcats’ QB position has devolved into a confusing carousel.    When Snyder was asked if it would have made a difference if Thompson would have played the whole game, Snyder said “no.”  When asked if Thompson had shown enough to be the clear starter, Snyder said that the skills of both quarterbacks would continue to be employed.

Wow!

Bill Snyder will be turning age 79 on Sunday.  His Wildcats have already lost 3 games (and came perilously close to losing a 4th to an FCS team in their opener.  Thank God UTSA was on their schedule).   Best case for KSU this year appears to be a 4-8 mark.  We would not even pencil in a sure win for K-State on November 10 in their Sunflower State rivalry with downtrodden Kansas.  Please, Mr, Snyder, we wish you a great 79th but think about the future of the K-State program (The Odyssey wrote a longer piece in this regard a week ago.)

A typically sweltering Orlando afternoon did not deter the Odyssey from showing up for the Central Florida-Pitt game yesterday.  If one thought that the cheekiness of the Knights’ self-proclaimed 2017 national championship would have stopped in January, one would have been very mistaken.  Upon entrance into Spectrum Stadium, possibly the first item noticed is the “2017 National Champions” verbiage prominently posted on the facing of the press box.  I was fantasizing that Alabama would show up and the affair could be decided once and for all.

Like Alabama, the 2018 version of UCF football shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.  Like Alabama, in  Mackenzie Milton, UCF has one of college football’s very best quarterbacks.  Like Alabama, both star quarterbacks hail from the seemingly endless supply emanating from Honolulu.  Like Alabama, the UCF quarterback is a prime Heisman Trophy candidate.   Like Alabama, the game morphed into a rout that turned the entire second half into garbage time (Alabama laid a 49-0 thrashing on hapless Louisiana Lafayette yesterday in the first 30 minutes).

In Orlando, a Group of Five team hosted a Power Five team.  The game proved to be a mismatch with roles reversed.  Behind the arm of the redoubtable  Milton, UCF sprinted to a 38-7 halftime lead behind 317 yards of offense.  After the Knights jumped off to a 14-0 advantage, Rafael Araujo Lopes’ scintillating 85-yard punt return touchdown gave the Panthers momentary hope.  Fools’ gold as that notion turned out.  The other key play of the game occurred late in the 2nd quarter with UCF up 28-7.  A rare poor throw from Milton resulted in a 90-yard interception return that was wiped out by a roughing the passer call.  Ballgame.

The Odyssey was stunned by one element.  UCF’s 2017 defense would never be classified as a defensive juggernaut.  In pulsating wins over South Florida and Memphis, both were scorefests where Milton and Company needed to tally half a zillion points to narrowly prevail.  The 2018 UCF defense was stripped of  linebacker Shaquem Griffin and defensive back Mike Hughes, both high NFL draft picks.  So how on earth could  the hapless Pittsburgh offense not find the end zone until deep into the second half??

The Panthers were even more irritating on defense.  In the game’s first 25 minutes, no fewer than 4 times after big UCF gains, time was stopped because of a Pitt “injury.”  Football is a tough, tough game but the Pitt defense has to be the most brittle on this planet.  Was it remotely possible Pitt was faking because of the UCFast offense?  Since we are now in the era of “fake news,” I  can almost appreciate the irony.  But, please, change the rules, NCAA, to charge a team a timeout for each such stoppage.

Time to admit it, Pitt.  Pat Narduzzi is a flop of a coach.  He was hired because of his prowess as a defensive coordinator at Michigan State.  How many good defenses has he had at Pitt?  If you answered zero, that is not fake news.  Instead, Pitt’s defense allowed the Knights 30+ points for UCF’s 17th consecutive time in their not-coincidental 17-game winning streak — in the first half alone, mind you.

UCF has so much momentum that the heat did little to dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm.  In the Deep South, TV is the devil when it comes to scheduling day games in September (an often lovable devil, one must confess).  The UCF band paid a tribute to the band Chicago at halftime.  One of the songs was “Make Me Smile.”  For the many UCF fans in attendance, how could you not?

Before reading this, understand that I have been a big fan of Bill Snyder.  It cannot be overemphasized that K-State football was historically the worst among Division 1-A schools when he took the reins in 1989.  And I’m not sure there was a close 2nd, this side of Vanderbilt.

His petulant remarks after yesterday’s 35-6 trashing at West Virginia were inexcusable.  “I can’t coach a team that can’t get 6 inches.”  OK, so don’t coach the team going forward.  Please!  The Wildcats have already been manhandled twice in the first month (Two weeks ago, Mississippi State ran roughshod over K-State).

Traditionally, Kansas State’s recruiting classed have never ranked highly.  This is partly due to K-State’s heavy reliance on junior college talent.  The conclusion was that Snyder had few peers in coaching ’em up.  For most of his career, we would have heartily agreed.  However, their talent gap in 2018 seems even more pronounced.  Besides All-American right tackle Dalton Risner, can you readily identify another elite player on K-State?  I cannot.

Now, in addition to throwing his team under the bus yesterday, there are some disturbing coaching elements that are contributing to the demise of this year’s Wildcats.  Snyder’s decisions have given a lot of credence to the adage “If you have 2 quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.”  For the 2nd straight year, the quarterback carousel has not worked in Manhattan.  Post-Jesse Ertz, the QB play has been substandard.  Yesterday, 3 of West Virginia’s touchdowns were exact carbon copies:  a 1-yard TD pass to the tall (6’4″) David Sills.  Fine, we understand single coverage on the first of the 3 alley oops — that follows the book.  But when West Virginia keeps calling the play over and over, should not K-State modify coverage?  Should the coaching staff also be thrown under the bus?

Bill Snyder has been viewed, rightfully, as a savior in Manhattan.  He is the only current FBS coach who has a stadium named after him.  When you enter the KSU stadium from the west, it looks like an entrance to a medieval castle.  Like royalty, the 78-year-old icon wishes to pass the baton to his son, Sean.  This passing of the torch smacks  more of 16th century France than 21st century America.  What has Sean done to deserve this?  With the exception of Godfather 2, sequels are generally a big disappointment.  The Odyssey thinks that K-State would have been much better served to have kept Jim Leavitt from leaving after his second stint in Manhattan.

Recruiting against the aged Snyder will be easier and easier with each passing year.  I can personally attest to the tyranny of time.  As a youth, I could catch a pitcher all day and not ache.  Yesterday, as a 66-year-old, even squatting for 15 minutes to catch my son proved a difficult effort.  In his prime, Willie Mays was one of the best centerfielders.  EVER.  So, when he wandered around as a 40-year-old New York Met in an epic struggle to catch a routine fly ball, an eternal message was reiterated.

Mr. Snyder, please take a much deserved curtain call and call it an era.  If you truly care about K-State football, exit right or exit left.  But please exit!

Tulsa is a mid-major with one of the lowest enrollments in the FBS.  While Tulsa has not been a consistent power since the 1940’s, in their good years they generally have featured a stellar passing attack.  Glenn Dobbs, Heisman runnerup Jerry Rhome, Gus Frerotte, TJ Rubley, GJ Kinne and Dane Evans have all been stellar for the Golden Hurricane.

After Tulsa’s latest turnoverfest against Temple, their mark stands at 1-3.  The Golden Hurricane has committed 9 turnovers in their past two games, both winnable with fewer turnovers.   The current QB, Luke Skipper, has been a culprit and has been falling well short of Tulsa’s vaunted QB tradition.  To be competitive in the rugged American Athletic Conference, a terrific QB is needed to not be an afterthought in the neighborhood of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Arkansas.

Today, one of the best quarterbacks in America will be playing in Lynchburg, Virginia against FBS newbie, Liberty.  His name: Mason Fine.  His school: North Texas.  The Mean Green were the only FBS school to offer Fine a scholarship.

Now, the baffling part.  Despite a prolific prep career in Locust Grove, 50 minutes east of Tulsa, Fine did not get an offer from nearby Tulsa.  Oklahoma State liked Fine but was worried about his short height.  Fine is listed at 5’11” which likely means he is at most 5’10”   So, one of the best quarterbacks in recent history in Eastern Oklahoma has produced is leading a startling renaissance in Denton, Texas.

Schools like Oklahoma State can afford to occasionally miss on a quarterback since they can often dig into their recruiting well, but Tulsa’s mediocre QB play has been the difference between their current 1-3 mark and a possible 4-0 record.   While this development greatly cheers folks in Denton, Texas, Fine’s excellence has to greatly sting the Golden Hurricane.

When you see “Oklahoma State 44, Boise State 21,” you might assume that Oklahoma State was significantly better than Boise.  Well, you know what they say about assumptions.

Last Saturday’s game at Stillwater looked to be a pick em.  In fact, a number of experts picked Boise to win because of the Broncos’ big perceived advantage at quarterback.  Boise had 4-year starter, Brett Rypien, while Oklahoma State trotted out former walk on, Taylor Cornelius, Mason Rudolph’s backup the previous 4 years.  To boot, Cornelius had never taken meaningful snaps in a big game (with all due apologies to Missouri State and South Alabama).

Gundy’s play calling in the first half went against totally against his history as he kept calling on QB draws that effectively used Cornelius’ 230 pounds to good effect.  It helped Cornelius get into the flow of the game, so that when he was called on to throw his first bomb (after all, this is Oklahoma State), success!

Even though Boise has an experienced offensive line, Okie State took advantage of  a weakness at right tackle and, combined with some blitz creativity, sacked Rypien 7 times.

Two touchdowns resulted directly from punt blocks.  Boise’s tall punter has a slower than average “get off” time that the Cowboys exploited twice to turn the game on its head.

One element was predictable.  One might have thought that the loss of stellar receivers, James Washington and Marcell Ateman, might have impacted OSU’s ability to throw the ball.  Is the receiving cupboard in Stillwater ever bare?  Answer: NO.

My favorite coaching mullet  was more than worthy of his lifetime contract on Saturday.

During the summer, talking heads were weighing this question:  Who was better:  The Big 10 East or the SEC West?  In retrospect, this was as funny as any utterance ever from Dave Letterman or Jay Leno.

Saturday was probably an all-time downer for the Big 10 in non-conference play.  The Associated Press poll started in 1936.  On Saturday, the Big 10 suffered the embarassment of losing to more unranked teams on any date since the AP started tallying opinions (we grant the skewness of this stat since we are now talking of the Big 14).

There were so many lowlights, it is hard to know exactly where to start.  In an early game, winless Temple ventured to unbeaten Maryland.  To make matters worse for the Owls, they were without Frank Nutile, their starting QB.  No matter.  Temple pounded Maryland, 35-14, recording 7 sacks and limiting the Terps to 195 yards of offense.  In what would be a recurring theme, Maryland’s offense scored 0 of their two touchdowns against a team that had allowed FCS Villanova 405 yards.  Startling how many touchdowns in Big 10 games were scored by defense and special teams.

When Nebraska’s freshman wonderkind QB, Adrian Martinez, did not go against Troy, the Huskers’ 2nd straight nonconference loss was  understandable.  Nebraska actually a 100+-yard edge in offense but a Troy punt return for a touchdown was key in the Trojans’ 24-19 upset win.

The most pitiful loss was probably by Rutgers.  The Scarlet Knights managed to be routed 55-14 by traditionally even more pitiful Kansas.  Like Maryland, to even get to a paltry 14 points, they needed a special teams touchdown.

The most consequential loss was BYU’s 24-21 upset at Madison.  Many thought the Badgers were prime playoff material.  But losing to a BYU team fresh off a loss to Cal is  going to go tabbed by the committee as a bad loss.  Kiss the playoffs goodbye, Wisconsin.  Hard to see Bucky winning at Michigan, at Iowa, at Penn State and then in the Big 10 title game.

On Saturday night, after all these Big 10 travesties had been processed, normalcy seemed to return to Evanston — at least for a half.  Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson threw a TD pass just before halftime to give the Wildcats a 21-3 lead over Akron.  Somehow, Akron scored three defensive touchdowns in the 2nd half to shock a team, 39-34, that had won 10 games in 2017.  For Akron, it was their first win against a Big 10 member since a 1894 win over Ohio State.  The Zips were called Buchtel College and their coach was none other than legendary John Heisman.

Even Michigan looked somewhat lethargic against SMU.  A 36-point favorite, the Wolverines were only winning 14-7 with 17 seconds to go in the 1st half before a 73-yard interception return touchdown by Josh Metellus totally changed the complexion of the game.  The Maize and Blue are surely not all the way back.

Michigan State’s upset loss in the desert a week ago looks worse now as Arizona State succumbed to a Mountain West team, San Diego State, on Saturday night.

True, Ohio State looked quite good in their 40-28 win over TCU, featuring two defensive touchdowns.  They may well get bored playing the Big 10 schedule. After all, there is only so much lipstick you can put on a pig.

The latest Odyssey doubleheader was blessed with beautiful weather in which summer said, “Don’t count me out just yet.”

The sold out Glass Bowl was rocking for a once-in-a-lifetime visit from 5-time national champion Miami.  When the Hurricanes sprinted off to 21-0 lead, Rocket fans were gloomy.  However, a TD drive just before halftime reduced the deficit and rejuvenated the crowd.

Despite a fierce pass rush from Miami’s excellent defensive front, Toledo twice reduced Miami’s lead to 7.  Hanging on to a 28-21 lead, the key drive occurred late in the 3rd quarter when Miami converted 3 third down conversions and one 4th down conversion to take an insurmountable 35-21 lead.  If unsuccessful on any of those conversions, the crowd would have been loud enough to hear at the Michigan state line.

Both teams could be buoyed by their QB play.  “Maligned Malik” Rosier no more?  The Hurricane QB tossed two TD passes and added 3 TD runs as he scampered for 80 yards.  For the Rockets, the biggest question entering 2018 was who was going to replace Logan Woodside at QB.  Question answered!!  Mitch Guadagni was calm in the face of Miami’s pass rush, often found his talented receivers and showed a lot of ability to step up in the pocket and run when needed (77 yards rushing on the day).

Overall, the game was a great advertisement for college football.  Please, Power 5 teams, make more visits to the Group of 5!!  Fun environment when it occurs.

A quick 55 minutes later, we walked into the Big House, expecting to see a rout.  Surprise!  Michigan found itself in a dogfight with downtrodden SMU.  Michigan punted on its first two possessions and was nursing a 14-7 lead with 17 seconds to go in the half.  SMU was driving  in UM territory.  Ben Hicks threw an ill advised pass that Josh Metellus intercepted.  Metellus more than made up for his pass interference infraction on the previous play.  He made a spectacular 73-yard return as the half ended.  A stupendous momentum changer and the first “Reverse Hail Mary” the Odyssey has seen.

The second half was sloppy.  When a televised game, replete with 3 minute media timeouts, is coupled with numerous penalties, the game loses its flow.  As Donald Trump might tweet, “SAD”

Michigan does not appear to be playing up to its ability.  Is it coaching that accounts for the inordinate number of penalties or just an unfocused team?  In the first half, Jim Harbaugh’s play calling might have made Bo Schembechler look like a raving maniac in comparison.  Coach, you now have a quarterback!  Let him play!  Shea Patterson looked great, but he only had 18 passing attempts.  And to try to grind it out on the ground when you only have, at best, a very average offensive line does not make a ton of sense.  Michigan’s tackles have taken most of the heat but, honestly, their interior often was unable to dominate the SMU defensive line in rushing attempts.

Michigan will be heavily favored when Nebraska comes to town next Saturday.  But if the Wolverines play like they did on Saturday, expect the game to be a bit closer than the experts think, particularly if Nebraska’s wonderkind freshman QB is fully recovered from the injury suffered in last week’s heartbreaker against Colorado.

SMU made a QB change in the 2nd half and the move achieved some very positive results.  WIlliam Brown gave the Mustangs some hope for the future.  UM did not effectively cover mighty mite, James Proche, as Proche wound up with 11 receptions for 166 yards.

In the doubleheader, 3 teams seem headed on an upward trajectory.  For Michigan, Shea Patterson gives the Maize and Blue a lot of hope. But in both the Notre Dame game and yesterday, there is still a lot to clean up if Jim Harbaugh is going to get his critics off his back.

The Odyssey flies in to Detroit this evening so we can catch one of the most anticipated Glass Bowl games ever.  Miami and its turnover chain play Toledo at noon.

Toledo’s strong football tradition has long bedeviled Power 5 teams courageous enough to travel to the Glass Bowl.  15 years ago, the 9th-ranked Pitt Panthers, featuring superstar receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, were upended, 35-31.  Toledo native, Joe Tiller, brought his first Purdue team to Toledo only to be upset.

Both teams enter  the game coming off slaughters of FCS teams.  Toledo’s unusual bye week has given them two weeks of preparation time.   In last year’s game, the Rockets led at halftime, 16-10, only to have the roof fall in during the 2nd half in Miami’s 52-30 triumph.

Perhaps memories of last year’s game will give “Maligned Malik” Rosier some much-needed confidence.  Rosier threw for 333 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Rockets.  However, Miami’s current 4-game losing streak against FBS teams has featured equally problematic play from both Rosier and his offensive line.  The Hurricane offense looked dreadful against an admittedly strong LSU defense in their opener.

Toledo has a deep stable of skill position players to trouble Miami’s elite defense if the Rocket’s first-year starting QB (presumably Mitchell Guadagni) can play well.  This is the biggest question as to whether the Rockets can pull off another Glass Bowl upset.

After the game, we will travel North on US23 to Ann Arbor (only about a 50-minute drive) to catch the later part of the Michigan-SMU game.  It is not often that a trip to the Big House is an afterthought.  However, SMU’s performance in the first three quarters of their opener against North Texas was arguably the worst of any FBS team in 2017.  To say we expect a noncompetitive game would be an understatement.

Two seismic streaks thankfully ended on Saturday.  Kentucky went into Gainesville, sporting a 31-game losing streak against the Gators.  Two of their recent losses to Florida were unbearably excruciating.  Dominating both lines of scrimmage, the Wildcats prevailed 27-16.  NO college team is good enough to beat Kentucky 32 games in a row!!

An even longer streak was snapped in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.  The woebegone Jayhawk program had lost 46 consecutive road games (Where have you gone, Mark Mangino??).  Kansas dominated Central Michigan.

We hope the partying went well into the night in both Lexington and Lawrence.  Like cholesterol, there are both good and bad celebrations.  At a soggy Purdue stadium, a catastrophic celebration occurred.  Down 17-12, with 6:41 to play, D.J Knox rips off a 45 yard TD scamper for the Boilermakers.  18-17, Purdue.  Mr. Knox was so excited that he was penalized for excessive celebration.  OOPS!!  Purdue was forced to settle for a PAT instead of going for a 2-point conversion.  19-17, Purdue….16-point underdog Eastern Michigan kicks a game-winning field goal at the gun.

This was a devastating loss for Purdue.  For the second straight home game, they arguably outplayed their opponents only to be sporting an 0-2 record.  The Boilers have to play improved Missouri and Boston College teams the next two weeks before embarking on Big 10 play.  It looks like all the progress Jeff Brohm made last year may be reversed in 2018 — despite the epic talents of Freshman scatback Rondale Moore.

Coaching is always of paramount importance in college football.  Never more so in Week 1.

Kevin Sumlin is the new Arizona head coach in the wake of the Rich Rod firing.  Arizona possesses the best running QB in the country in Khalil Tate.  Nobody else is really close.  Sumlin limited Tate to 8 nondescript carries while morphing Tate into a long-bomb passer.   Not coincidentally, the Wildcats succumbed to double-digit underdog BYU.   Not that Tate does not have a good arm but…..if Kevin Sumlin were lucky enough to have a prom date with Kate Upton, he would probably ask her to dress in a burlap bag.

The biggest coaching mismatch of the week occurred in Tallahassee.  Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, commenced his 32nd season in Blacksburg for an excellent reason.  His inexperienced defense (his 2-deep is riddled with Freshmen and Sophomores) went on the road against perennial power Florida State as a touchdown underdog.  VT held Florida State to a field goal in a 24-3 upset win.  New FSU coach, Willie Taggart,  now has to deal with questions like “Why in the hell did we hire this guy?”

For the fourth year in a row or so, Florida State’s offensive line appears to be a weakness.  Ditto for Michigan and Miami (Florida).  How these powers can not attract and groom quality offensive line personnel boggles the mind.  Shea Patterson, Michigan’s hoped-for savior, cannot perform miracles when he is constantly on the run.  Of course, it might help if Jim Harbaugh’s play calling was not so predictable.

On a more positive note, Hawaii’s new Run and Shoot and its genius play calling by Tim Rolovich and staff continues to be a revelation.  How did a team supposed to be one of the very worst of the 130 D-1 programs suddenly became a candidate to win double-digit games.  Fantastic!!!