Author: rickro51 Page 9 of 30

The transfer portal causes the Odyssey much pain.  We are torn.  Certainly, everybody deserves the right to “better themselves.”  However, we keep thinking that the portal is a way for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.  We intensely dislike Group of 5 teams morphing into de facto farm clubs for the Power 5.  Yuck!!!

Two examples from this week’s announcements:  Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec announced his intent to transfer.  Jeff Hafley and the rest of the folks in Chestnut Hill cannot be happy today.  The Eagles provided a home to Jurkovec after his transfer from Notre Dame.  BC’s 2022 was curtailed by a spate of injuries that weakened an already suspect offensive line.  If Jurkovec thought that the offensive line in 2023 would not offer significant improvement, one can better understand his decision.   Still, the decision feels a touch disloyal to a program that needs all the help it can muster.

Sometimes, “the rats are not leaving a sinking ship” but a ship that is sea worthy.  Nobody questions the viability of Iowa’s football program under the 20+-year tenure of Kirk Ferentz.  However, a shoddy offense torpedoed a defense that was generally magnificent in  2022.   Two of Iowa’s most prestigious recruits in recent years at wide receiver, Arland Bruce IV and Keagan Johnson, have bolted this week.  Undoubtedly , the two wideouts saw what last year’s wide receiver transfer from the Iowa program, Charlie Jones, did at Purdue this fall.  Jones morphed from relative obscurity into one of 2022’s most statistically accomplished receivers with 97 catches for 1,199 yards and 12 TDs.

Note to Iowa receivers:  Incoming transfer portal QB, Cade McNamara, is not a hack.  McNamara only led Michigan to its first Big Ten championship in 17 years.  The Odyssey will root for McNamara in 2023 as he was dealt a tough hand at Michigan after a very successful 2021.  We feel badly that McNamara is not fully appreciated by Maize and Blue faithful.  It is a shame Iowa does not play Michigan in 2022 as we would have rooted for McNamara to have a good game versus his former squad.

There will be more entrants into the transfer portal that give the Odyssey indigestion.  We will have lots of aspirin ready.

Thank God there are conference championship games outside the Power 2.  Neither a 4-loss Purdue team or a 3-loss LSU team move the needle.  Of course, now that the Odyssey has thrown shade on these games, expect at least one of these 17-point dogs to pull the upset.

One aspect of conference championship games that the Odyssey finds distasteful is the high frequency of rematches.  One of the beauties of college football is that “one and done” is the norm.

However, 2 tasty rematches are on the docket this weekend.  Can USC punch its ticket to the playoff with a victory over Utah?  The Utes posted a scintillating 43-42 victory in Salt Lake City on a gutsy, last-minute, 2-point conversion.  Can any mortal defense slow down Caleb Williams?  The Odyssey likes USC in this game on the theory that beating a quality team twice has proven to be difficult if history is any measure.

The Odyssey notes that Utah won an interesting tiebreaker with 2 other teams that went 7-2 in the Pac12, Oregon and Washington.  If the first tiebreaker to determine team #2 in the Pac 12 title game was head-to-head among the 3 teams, Washington would have won out with a 1-0 mark.  The Huskies beat Oregon in a thriller and did not play the Utes.  However, the Pac12’s tiebreaker was the team whose opponents had the highest win-loss percentage in conference play.  Advantage Utah. (Remember that each Pac12 team does not play 2 conference opponents).

TCU has impressively gone through the Big 12 undefeated.  Impressive in the sense that the Big 12 had 0 weak sisters this year.  While the Horned Frogs would be a great story to get to the playoffs undefeated, Kansas State is a hell of a team with two excellent QBs.  We do not think TCU will beat the Wildcats a second time.

Speaking of rematches, the Odyssey would throw up if Ohio State makes the playoff and again plays Michigan.  The Game is simply not The Game if played multiple times in a year.  We shall see!

We all love epic college football games — when such epics occur in rivalry games, a truly special place exists in college football lore.

What better place to host an epic rivalry game than the Rose Bowl?  To those fanatics on the Paul Finebaum show (and Finebaum himself), they may never understand that the Rose Bowl will always reign supreme as the gold standard for college football venues.  As humanity has sadly learned over and again, no cure exists for ignorance.

To say that USC’s 48-45 survival was one of the very best in USC-UCLA history was undoubtedly true.  However, in the NOW of 2022 and the transfer portal, traditional history was on a collision course with the seismic changes in the college game.

Were the USC Trojans a collection of student-athletes or a modern-day mercenary army including 26 players from the transfer portal??  The crown jewel of the Trojans’ unprecedented transfer portal haul was Sooner refugee, Kaleb Williams.  That Williams threw for 470 yards and kept a spirited Bruin squad at bay in the 2nd half tells only part of the story.  Like his counterpart at UCLA, Dorian-Thompson Robinson, Williams possessed Houdini-like escapability.

When USC had the ball in the waning minutes, nursing its 48-45 cushion,  a shroud of despair must have enveloped Bruin faithful.  How do you stop the unstoppable?  But just as the seas miraculously parted for Moses, two highly improbable events transpired.  UCLA actually sacked Williams on a key third-day play.  One shocking development begat another:   a USC punt!  The Odyssey, in rapt attendance, had to rub their eyes at such shocking events.

With 2 minutes left, UCLA’s anti-transfer portal QB, 5th-year starter, Thompson-Robinson, had has chance to make history.  Beating the hating Trojans, winning the Pac12, getting UCLA to play in the Rose Bowl on January 1 for the first time in the 21st century were all in as clear a view as the nearby San Gabriel mountains.   Literally one drive and two minutes separated DTR from being atop the Mount Rushmore of the LA rivalry.  To DTR’s credit, perhaps his 2021 performance in leading to UCLA’s offense romping to 66 points in their demolition of the Trojans had already qualified him for rivalry immortality.

Nobody could question Thompson-Robinson’s toughness.  Playing hurt in the 2nd half, he led UCLA to 513 yards of offense that would have slayed teams with a lesser QB than Williams.   When UCLA had the ball at their own 10 with 2 minutes to go, the Bruins did not absolutely have to drive the length of the field to reach their zenith.  A game-tying field goal was also in the equation.

UCLA’s last-ditch play calling was curious.  Pass after pass after pass.  One first down was generated.  Alas, for the Westwoodites, USC snagged a dagger, the Trojans’ 3rd pick of the game.  While USC had done a better job of corraling Zach Charbonnet in the 2nd half, Charbonnet is clearly one of the college game’s premier running backs.  In UCLA’s ill-fated drive, not one rushing touch for Charbonnet.   Hmmmm……Time was important but the Odyssey believes that the Bruin effort would have been enhanced by a Charbonnet citing.

As if to contrast with college football’s modern day NIL, transfer portal world, the Golden State’s other traditional rivalry was simultaneously taking place 400 miles North.  The modern game seems to have passed by both Stanford and Cal.  The “Big Game” seemed like a forlorn testament of what used to be.  Sadly, college football interest in San Francisco has flagged so badly that the Big Game cannot come no longer come close to selling out.  Both Big 10 rejects do not seem to have more than a passing interest in recent changes in the college football universe.

Oklahoma fans can also  provide ample testament to college football’s revolution.  Sooner fans once cheered wildly for both Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams.  The Odyssey wonders what the folks in Norman were wondering on Saturday as both Rattler and Williams lit the college world on in different uniforms?

One need not love all aspects of a revolution, but a revolution we clearly have.

Running an elite college football program is big business.  Check out the vast number of names in a typical athletic department staff directory.

Even head coaches as elite as Nick Saban rely on assistants such as Kirby Smart, Jimbo Fisher, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian to keep them atop the college football world.

Consider the Clemson coaching tree.  Inevitable that Clemson assistants would be plucked to run other programs.  How have they fared?  Abysmal is not in any way hyperbolic.

Chad Morris proved to be in of the worst hires in SEC history after his Arkansas debacle.  First-year Oklahoma coach, Brent Venables, is mired with a 5-5 record for the proud program..  Sooner fans are wondering if the Sooners will make it to bowl eligibility.  Not that becoming bowl eligible will start to make up for a historic 49-0 beatdown in the Red River Rivalry.

Tony Elliott is currently dealing with tragedy at Virginia with the senseless shooting of three of his players.  So, we do not want to be cruel and pile on.  However, Elliott’s departure from Clemson as offensive coordinator has seemed to have two results.  Clemson QB, DJ Uiagalelei, has improved from terrible to slightly better than average in Elliott’s absence.  But the shocking change has been the unthinkable demise of Virginia QB, Brennan Armstrong.  Armstrong was one of the very best QBs in 2021.  His regression in 2022 has been stunning.

Last and far from least.  Earlier this month,  South Florida fired Jeff Scott after a humiliating blowout at the hands of Temple.  USF was willing to pay a buyout that may approach $10 million.  Big money for a program with small attendance.  Scott’s awful 4-26 mark forced USF’s hand.

Given these records, the Odyssey totally bows down to Dabo.

After Arizona’s spine-tingling 34-28 upset over UCLA at the Rose Bowl Saturday night, the Odyssey offers the following observations:

The Wildcats are the best team with a losing record (4-6) in the country with no close second.   With their upset over UCLA, Arizona added its win over the Bruins to quality wins over North Dakota State and San Diego State

With whirling dervish Jayden DeLaura at QB, there is no more entertaining team in the country.  He can be erratic with his never-say-die scrambles in the pocket, but DeLaura is incredibly dangerous and always great theater.

The Wildcats may have the best receiving corps in the country.  Some great receivers are going to be the recipient of single coverage.  Jacob Cowing broke UTEP’s heart by transferring to UA this year.  Freshman Tetairoa McMillan is one of the most heralded recruits in Wildcat history.  Sophomore Dorian Singer has had a breakout campaign.  De Laura also has a talented safety valve in tight end Tanner McLachlan, another sophomore.  While Cowing may opt for the NFL, this crew is going to continue to be a headache in 2023.

Arizona’s downfall in 2023 has been the byproduct of a porous defense and an unrelenting schedule (Their last 5 games have been against Washington, Oregon,  USC, Utah and UCLA.  YIKES!!!).   The Wildcat D finally showed up in the Rose Bowl.  Dorian Thompson-Robinson was under pressure all night.  As the expected point total for UCLA was 48.5 per our friends in Las Vegas, this Wildcat D was not supposed to make its presence felt in Pasadena.

With home games left against Washington State and Arizona State, Arizona has a chance to become bowl eligible.  The last time their archrivals paid a visit to Tucson, the Sun Devils laid a historic 70-7 humiliation on the Wildcats that brought shame all the way to Bisbee.  If somebody offers you UA+62 against ASU in the 2022 Territorial Cup, my advice is to take the wager!  Arizona will be sky high for this year’s ASU tilt!

Arizona’s combined record in 202o and 2021:  1-16, lowlighted by their ASU 2020 humiliation and a loss to Northern Arizona.  Congrats to Jedd Fisch for resurrecting a once proud program!    2023 cannot come soon enough for the Arizona football program.

The Big 10 West is the Division that nobody has taken a strangle hold.  Illinois has already beaten Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota and is currently in the driver’s seat with a 4-2 division record.  If the Illini win in Champaign against Purdue on Saturday, they will have a hammerlock on the West title.

BUT IF ILLINOIS LOSES ON SATURDAY…….

Can you believe there is potential for a 5-way tie for the West at 5-4 that is not far fetched?!?!

Let’s assume that Illinois also loses at Michigan before beating Northwestern in the finale.  Illinois finishes at 5-4.

Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota all sit at 3-3.   Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin all play each other.  For a 5-way tie to occur, the trio needs to go 1-1 against each other and win their other division game.

Wisconsin plays at Nebraska on November 19.  The Badgers will likely be favored.

Iowa is home versus Nebraska on November 25.  Iowa will definitely be favored.

Minnesota is a 17-point favorite over Northwestern this Saturday.

With an Illini loss to Purdue, all the above looks plausible.

However, Purdue’s future looks like the weak link in the 5-way-tie scenario.  Purdue’s final two games are against the Big 10’s 2 weakest teams:  Northwestern and AT Indiana.  Rivalry games are unpredictable so an Old Oaken Bucket upset is not impossible.

The Odyssey cannot recollect a 5-way tie for a title and we do enjoy occasional chaos.  What would be the tiebreaker in event of a 5-way tie?  The first tiebreaker would be the record against the other 4 co-champions:

Illinois would be in good shape with a 3-1 mark.

Iowa would be 2-2.

Wisconsin would be 2-2.

Purdue would be 2-2.

Minnesota would be 1-3.

The Odyssey’s mischievous side is rooting for a 5-way tie!  However, the experts in Las Vegas say that the Illini are a touchdown favorite to put all such chaos to rest.

Each year, some obscure records get set that will likely never get equaled. For example, Weber State lost its game against Montana State because of the 4 times Weber’s long snapper hiked the ball over the head of its punter!! The resulting points from the four Safeties for Montana State provided more than the margin of victory for the narrow Bobcat win.

There are 5 FBS teams in Alabama (Don’t worry, Jacksonville State. The Odyssey will include you in 2023). The 5 squads from Alabama were less than 6 minutes away from all 5 squads being involved in overtime!!

LSU’s epic 32-31 victory over Alabama was the headliner. Brian Kelly showed a lot of guts in having the Bayou Bengals go for 2 in the game’s first overtime. Auburn battled back from a 21-point deficit at Cowbell U to force overtime. Alas, the TIgers fell short in OT for interim coach, Cadillac Williams.

In Birmingham, UAB lost a heartbreaker in double OT to Texas San Antonio as their cursed 2022 campaign continues. Their 4-5 record is deceptive as all 5 losses were of the one-possession variety.  Bill Clark is definitely missed!

Troy ventured to Lafayette to play ULL.  The Trojans were facing a 17-0 deficit in the third quarter before Troy mounted a comeback.  The Trojans knotted the game before Kimani Vidal scored on a 22-yard scamper with 5 seconds left.  Nice comeback that averted overtime.

Like Troy, South Alabama overcame a double-digit deficit to triumph against Georgia Southern.  LaDamian Webb, who ran wild all game to the tune of 247 yards, broke a 31-31 tie with the game winning TD.

Those Alabama football  fans who cannot handle high stress levels had a tough Saturday.  Lesson learned for those who love “Sweet Home Alabama”:  Win the damn game in 60 minutes!

Nobody, and I mean nobody, predicted what has transpired in the ACC’s Coastal Division this year.

Two months ago, if somebody had circled the October 15th Duke-North Carolina game as the Division’s pivotal contest in 2022, you would have thought that they were the village idiot.

North Carolina’s TD with 18 seconds to play against the Blue Devils produced a 38-35 victory over their archrivals.  The 74-yard drive was led by Freshman wunderkind Drake Maye.  Maye quickly dispelled any angst over the departure of Sam Howell.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, has been better than Maye, with due apologies to Bryce Young and CJ Stroud.

Duke has been an even bigger surprise under new coach, Mike Elko.  The Blue Devils also have a QB revelation in Riley Leonard.  But Leonard is far from the whole story. Elko’s chops as a defensive coordinator have produced defensive wonders in Durham.  The Blue Devils look nothing like the team that was predicted to win all of 2.5 games in 2022.   If Duke had just held on against the Tar Heels, you would now have a tie for the top in the Coastal.  As it stands, North Carolina’s 2-game lead in the Coastal looms huge.   If Mack Brown can rid itself of his 0-for-forever record in Charlottesville tomorrow, the Coastal title becomes close to a certainty.

The Carolina schools have been the division’s pleasant surprises.  In the zero-sum game of division winners and losers, there have been huge disappointments.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, foresaw Miami’s dual humiliations at home by both Middle Tennessee and Duke.  Mario Cristobal was supposed to be their savior when he bolted from Oregon.  Wow!! One of the 10 Commandments says not to worship false Gods.

Defending ACC champ Pitt has also been a massive disappointment.  The Panthers already are sporting 3 conference losses, including a stunner to a Georgia Tech that has already fired its coach.  What on earth happened to the team that took Tennessee to overtime?  Kedon Slovis’ QB regression is part, but certainly not all, of their malaise.

One certainty:  No division has produced more surprises to date than the ACC Coastal.  Just another reminder that college football can be very unpredictable!

When Miami visited Virginia on Saturday, one of these massively disappointing squads was going to feel some relief.  ONLY because overtime mandated that one team had to win.

Quarterback play for both squads has been shockingly poor.  Brennan Armstrong was arguably the most dynamic QB in 2021.  Then, all hell broke loose in Charlottesville.  Last year, Armstrong threw for an astounding 4,449 yards with 31 TD passes.  In 6 games, the talented lefty threw for 400+ yards.  However, 2022 has been a different story.  Armstrong has had to endure a rebuilt offensive line that was crippled by the defection of 2nd team all-American center, Olusegun Oluwatimi, to Michigan.   Bronco Mendenhall surprisingly retired.  New coach, Tony Elliott,  has not exactly provided the secret sauce.  In Armstrong’s 8 games this year, he has thrown more picks (9) than TDs (6).  Armstrong is averaging a paltry 202 yards passing per game.

Armstrong must feel beyond frustrated.  Against the Hurricanes, tight end Grant Misch dropped a pass in the end zone that would have provided the game’s ONLY touchdown.  The Cavalier defense must also be beyond frustrated.  For the 2nd consecutive game, Virginia allowed the opponents fewer than 300 yards and ZERO touchdowns.

As disappointing as Virginia’s season, Miami has proved to be an even bigger dud.  With all the hoopla surrounding the hire of Mario Cristobal, nobody could have imagined home losses to Middle Tennessee State and Duke even if one was an inhabitant of the Twilight Zone.  If one was penciling projected wins for the Hurricanes in August, those two games would have been at the top of the list.

Tyler Van Dyke grabbed Miami’s QB job, mid-2021, and was considered one of the best QB’s entering 2022.  The Todd McShays of the world were touting him as a future high draft pick.  Mysteriously, the bottom has fallen out for Van Dyke in 2022.  He relinquished the QB post to Jake Garcia after some dreadful performances.  Van Dyke did not even see the field in Charlottesville.

As if to echo the disappointing QB play, no touchdowns were scored in regulation — or the first overtime — or the second overtime.  Miami finally won on a 2-point conversion in the 4th overtime to mercifully end the game.  If there was real justice, the game would have ended in regulation as a 6-6 tie.

The lack of offense provided yet another example as to the dangers of betting on college football.  At halftime, the score of the snoozefest was 3-0.  Condolences to the bettors who sagely took the total of under 21.5 in the 2nd half.  The bane of “under” bettors is overtime.  It took the fourth overtime for the second half “over” to come home in the 14-12 drama.

Nobody and I mean NOBODY saw the lack of offensive production for either squad in 2022.  Some elements of college football will remain an eternal mystery.

The Odyssey was sickened when Oklahoma and Texas announced their move to the SEC in 2021.  SICKENED!!

In so doing, the two traditional powers decided to destroy many zesty regional rivalries.  The worst outcome will be the end of the annual Bedlam game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.  REALLY?!?!  C’mon Oklahoma state legislature — earn your keep and do whatever it takes to keep this game on the schedule.  We scoff at their athletic directors who say that scheduling the game will become impossible.  Get real!!  Your fans would love the banishment of a non-conference cupcake off the schedule in favor of Bedlam.

With the actual exit date of the Sooners and Longhorns still unclear, their 2022 games at many conference venues may be their final visit.  Texas Tech fans get far more geeked up to play Texas than any other team.  When the Red Raiders hosted the Longhorns and upset Texas in overtime last month, a joyous field storming resulted.  Last Saturday, Texas generously coughed up a 14-point lead and lost at Oklahoma State, 41-34.  Don’t you think the spirit of Boone Pickens celebrated like it was 1999?

TCU’s sendoff of Oklahoma in Fort Worth was the most deliciously emphatic.  Brent Venables was hired as the new coach in Norman due to his defensive chops.  Wonder how Venables felt when TCU torched his defense for 478 yards:  in the FIRST half!  The Horned Frogs 55-24 blowout of Oklahoma has been one of the season’s shockers.

There are 5 more chances for vengeful sendoffs in the last 5 weeks of the regular season:

10/29   Oklahoma at Iowa State

11/5      Texas at Kansas State (Get healthy, Adrian Martinez)

11/12    Oklahoma at West Virginia

11/19    Texas at Kansas (Be fantastic if the Jayhawks can again upset UT)

11/26   Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Make no mistake.  All 5 of these home teams will be sky high for these “farewell” tilts.  Make no further mistake:  The Odyssey will root for these home squads to go 5-0, but would gladly “settle” for 4-1.

Since Texas has not been able to win a Big 12 championship in seemingly forever, moving to the SEC and being a middle-of-the-pack member may not produce a big change in their results.

However, we think Oklahoma is making a mistake in moving to the SEC from a success standpoint.  The Sooners’ recent dominance of the Big 12 will not be matched in the SEC.  Mark that down as a certainty.  We wonder how well that Oklahoma will do in the NIL, money-is-first era.  The Sooners have always heavily relied on Texas preps for their excellence over the past 70 years.  With Texas and Texas A&M having deeper pockets their virtually any other program, the Odyssey questions whether the Sooners will maintain their same level of success in recruiting the Lone Star state.  Toss in the fact that an upcoming Arkansas program also heavily recruits Texas and we predict a Sooner dropoff in the SEC.

In which case, could Oklahoma become a new version of Nebraska?  A former power that falls on harder times and unsuccessfully flails away in an effort to regain glory.

The Odyssey sure hopes so.  We are mad at the crippling of a great regional conference.  Rock groups often go on farewell tours to adoring fans.  The farewell tours of Oklahoma and Texas won’t exactly be met with the same fate as the  Eagles.