College Football Odyssey

Now that IU has completed its shocking run, reflection as to the best playoff format will marinate in the off season.  12 teams is a nice number for a playoff.  Likely, the schedule should be moved up so that the season ends before January 19, but that is a detail.

Big 10 honcho, Tony Pettiti, wants to expand the playoff to 24 teams with oodles of automatic qualifiers.  Just the latest example as to how stupid the human species can be.  College football has always had the best regular season of virtually any sport.  Now, 24-team proponents want to see 8-4 teams in the playoff?!?!  No THANK YOU!

This preeoccupation with the playoff and its unwarranted expansion devalues the regular season and rivalry games.  STOP THE INSANITY NOW!!

Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi.  “Heartbreak Hotel” was one of his signature songs.  How appropriate for the Ole Miss fans today!!  The Odyssey is heart broken.

The Rebels were outplayed for most of last night’s game against Miami.  The Hurricanes had the ball for a whopping 42 minutes.  Miami converted 13 0f 21 plays on 3rd or 4th down, compared to 2 of 10 for Ole Miss.  Yet the gritty Rebels fought back to take a 27-24 lead with 5 minutes to go.  The Rebs’ star QB, Trinidad Chambliss, had come alive behind an offensive line that had surprisingly neutralized Miami’s awesome defensive ends.

Give Carson Beck and the Hurricanes credit for a season-saving drive to win the game with a Beck scramble with 15 seconds to go.  Still, the redoubtable Chambliss threw two passes to put Ole Miss in position for a Hail Mary.  Sure, there was pass interference on the game’s final play, but as so often happens in key moments, the referees swallowed their whistles.

For the Odyssey, this was more than a football game.  While we drove from San DIego to be in attendance last night, this was no less than a morality play.  We were upset at the way that Lane Kiffin departed, especially to the Rebels’ arch rival.  What a delicious story if the Ole Miss saga continued on a winning note.

Miami was the better team last night.  But can you blame us for wanting the continuation of a great story?

Lane Kiffin may post a heart break emoji today.  But there had to be a big part of him to hope the Rebels lost.  Can you imagine his legacy if Ole Miss actually kept winning???  Damn, so close.

A lot of experts correctly note that that college football has undergone a profound sea change in recent years.  No f*cking kidding!  Before NIL and the transfer portal, the Alabamas of the world could stockpile stellar recruiting classes on top of each other.  Such reality meant that the caste system in college football was firmly in place.

Such talent imbalance still happens but the underdog now has more remedies.  Recruiting rankings implied that Alabama should have been a huge favorite over Indiana.  The Crimoson Tide had no less than 57 players who had been tabbed as 4-star or 5-star recruits.  Indiana had only 8.  Final score:  IU 38, Alabama 3 in a blowout!  How is this huanly possible?

IU Coach Curt Cignetti had to be a fantastic talent evaluator in all his transfer portal pickups the past 2 years.  Nothing short of breathtaking.  The Cignetti mantra:  “I take production over potential.”

As brilliant as Cignetti is in all facets, he does not stand alone in the realm of awesome talent evaluation.  Whatever one thinks of the mercurial Lane Kiffin, transfer additions have propelled Ole Miss in recent years.  Consider their 2  superstars in the backfield, Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy.  Chambliss was recruited out of D-2 Ferris State to be a backup as Oxford local, Austin Simmons, was bequeathed the QB job.  Then, Simmons got hurt as he proceeded to become the 21st century version of Wally Pipp.  Lacy was an underutilized running back on 2024’s Mizzou squad, being limited to a paltry  24 carries.  Missouri had stars in its eyes when they garnered one of the most coveted transfer portal jewels in ULM’s Ahmad Hardy.  Impact on Lacy:  :Goodbye Columbis, Hello Oxford.

There would be great irony if the two biggest winners in the transfer portal met each other for the national championship.  In the upside down, bizarro world of college football, that would be quite fitting!

The concept of Failing Forward was perfected by the new LSU coach, Lane Kiffin.  After AL Davis bad mouthed him and fired Kiffin from the Raiders, Kiffin found gigs at Tennessee and then USC!

The University of Michigan can relate.  The jury was still out on Sherrone Moore.  Obviously, one of Moore’s body parts was also out.  Frequently!   When Kyle Whittingham was hired to be the new boss in Ann Arbor, nobody has any doubts about his coaching chops.  Whittingham’s Utah teams faced Michigan 3 times, twice in Ann Arbor.  Even with arguably lesser personnel, Utah went 3-0 against the Maize and Blue.  If that is not testimony enough, consider that Michigan has only beat Utah once, 10-7, in 2002.  Whittingham was on the Utah staff that stymied UM’s offense.  Thus, each time Michigan has faced Utah, Willingham’s troops shone.

If Whittingham can hang on to most of Michigan’s young, talented roster in the next week, Moore’s indiscretions will be a God send.

The Odyssey’s initial reaction to the staffer with whom Moore had an affair was quite negative.  It appears that she finally pulled the plug and Moore and fessed up to the Michigan AD when it served her purpose.   But what does the Odyssey really know?  Initially, we wanted UM to do the impossible – how can you fire a whistle blower without legal reprecussions?  Given the Whittingham hire, our opinion has changed.   She was brilliant and deserves a raise!!

With playoff expansion, an increasing train of thought is that the other bowls are pretty useless.  Often true, but yesterday’s Hawaii Bowl provided ample evidence to the contrary.  Hawaii roared back from a 21-0 deficit to Cal, winning with a last-minute, 22 yard TD pass, triumphing 35-31.

This ending was gripping enough but the circumstances were even more extraordinary.  Hawaii QB, Micah Alejado, took a hard hit as Hawaii was driving for a tying field goal or game winning TD.  In comes backup QB, Luke Weaver, whose only pass happened to be the game winning 22-yard strike in the corner of the end zone.

Hawaii capped a turnaround year which was bookended by wins over the ACC’s two Bay Area squads, Stanford and Cal.  In his fourth year, Timmy Chang has gradually increased the fortunes of the Rainbow Warriors as the stench of the Todd Graham era has gradually dissapated.  Hardly any Group of 6 teams can claim 2 victories over the Power 4.  Hawaii’s ascent is even more impressive given that the financial resources of the Rainbow Warriors are limited.

The Hawaii comeback spoiled the homecoming of star Cal freshman QB, Jaron-Keawe Sagopoutele.  JKS threw for 353 yardss and has warmed Cal hearts by announcing his return to Strawberry Canyon in 2026.

If you told Timmy Chang today that non-playoff bowls do not matter,he might just shake his head and skoff.

TJ Finley is pursuing a 7th year of eligibility so he can play for a (drumroll, please!) 7th program!!

Even in the mind-numbing, insta-transfer portal era, this possibility is beyond the realm!

Let’s check TJ’s program history:

LSU                     2020

Auburn                2021-2022

Texas State          2023

Western Ky          2024

Tulane                   Spring 2025

Georgia State        2025

Finley’s career started out so well in Baton Rouge.  In his first start against South Carolina he threw for 285 yards on 17 for 21 passing.  However, character issues helped compromise his unprecedented odyssey.  At 2 of his stops, he was arrested:  once for evading police and one drug-related arrest.

The Odyssey will be very, very curious if Mr. Finley plays ball in 2026.

UConn football has dealt with unsettling news since concluding a successful 9-3 campaign which included a win over ACC champ Duke.

Head coach Jim Mora left Storrs for a venue, Colorado State, that has not had any true success since its long gone Sonny Lubick days.  Theirt two offensive superstars, QB Joe Fergano and WR Skyler Bell, have opted out of its upcoming Fenway Bowl game against Army.

So, we propose that their 2025  season be instantly transported back to 1995.  In which case, UConn would be celebrating an undefeated season with a 9-0-3 mark.   Overtime in college football was implemented in 1996. Amazingly, all 3 Huskie losses this year were in overtime.  OK, we are being party poopers in mentioning that their 3 overtime losses were not to a murderer’s row of opponents (Syracuse, Delaware and RIce) but, still, undefeated is undefeated.

So, UConn fans, we are delighted to transport you back to 1995.   Happy Holidays!

With the growth in members within a conference, the conference schedules are skewed as a team misses playing almost as many teams as it plays.

Thus, tiebreakers come into play.  Annoyingly!  Amazingly, a 5-loss Duke team got the nod for the ACC’s championship game.

Virginia is in the game as the conference’s only 1-loss team.  Even their 1 conference loss comes with an asterisk, ast their loss to NC State had been deemed a “non-conference” game.  Duke, Miami, SMU and Pitt all had 2 losses.  Duke was deemed the 2nd team in the title game because the winning percentage of its “common” conference opponents were the highest of the 4.  Which means that the ACC is praying for a Virginia win.  If Duke wins, there is great danger that there will be no ACC team in the playoff.  Automatic bids are only granted to the 5 highest ranked conference champions.If Miami’s Mario Cristobal ever learned how to be a good in-game coach, none of this chaos would have occurred.

In the Mountain West, 4 teams tied at 6-2.  Computer rankings determined that UNLV travel to Boise for its champion tilt.  The Odyssey wonders if the computers weighed the heavy factor that QB Maddux Madsen missed a chunk of the second half of the season.

The MAC tiebreaker provided another insane matchup.  Miami, Toledo and Ohio all tied with 6-2 records.  Miami lost to both Toledo and Ohio yet wound up in the conference title tilt!!!  The MAC’s ultimate tiebreaker came down to records against common opponents.  Miami went 3-0 in that tiebreaker so they are in!

The results from those conferences make the way the SEC solved their 4-way gridlock at 7-1 look relatively tame.

Early last week, the Ole Miss Athletic Department announced that Lane Kiffin’s coaching future would be determined by Friday’s Egg Bowl at Starkville.

Then, late last week, there was a revised announcement that there would not be announcement until AFTER the Egg Bowl.  One does not need to be a card sharp to see who holds the cards and who caused the slight, but important, revision in Ole Miss’ posture.

Why did Lane Kiffin force this slight, but important revision in Ole Miss’ stance?

The Odyssey offers several Scenarios and invite you to comment as to which is the most likely.

SCENARIO A:

Kiffin knows he is leaving.  He has reached a detente with the AD to not announce until  after the Egg Bowl – on the theory that the players might be down if Kiffin announced his leaving before the Egg Bowl.   Under this scenario, he would not coach Ole Miss in the playoff should the Rebels prevail.

Probability:  30%

SCENARIO B:

Kiffin will stay at Ole Miss if they win the Egg Bowl.  If not, he says goodbye to Oxford.  Kiffin is smart enough to know that if the Rebels make the playoff and he bolts, the negative national perception  will be quite strong..  This situation is somewht reminiscent of the Les Miles situation at the end of 2007.  He was allegedly planning to leave LSU for his alma mater, Michigan, until the Bayou Bengals backed into the national title game with 2 losses.  Miles stayed in the Bayou.

Probability:  40%

SCENARIO C:

Kiffin will remain the Ole Miss coach until the end of the season, including the playoffs, then bolt.  The transfer portal and recruiting windows make this approach less than ideal for Florida and LSU.

Probability: 20%

SCENARIO D:

Kiffin plans to stay at Ole Miss, regardless of the season’s outcome.  Kiffin loves the attention and would perversely enjoy throwing a wrench in the planning for LSU and Florida, particularly LSU.  He has that type of mischievous nature!

Probability: 10%

We have previously chronicaled how Oregon State blew games against Fresno State and Sam Houston State due to epic special team failures.  Last Saturday, Utah State suffered the same fate at UNLV.

Regulation ended at 23 all.  Utah State’s place kicker, Tanner Dinker, had to feel terrible.  He missed a game winning 42 yarder that would have won the game in regulation.  It was his 2nd missed Field Goal of the game in addition to a missed extra point.  Dinker had yet another chance for salvation with a game winning 41-yarder in overtime.  Dinked again as the squads went to double overtime.  The Rebels eventually scored a winning TD to win 29-26.   DInker’s failures were perplexing as he was 10 for 10 on Field Goals leading into their UNLV tilt.

The impact of special teams keeps getting undervalued even with yet another graphic example of its import.