2021 NCAA College football thread.

eagle eye

Some big shocks in week 1. Clemson go down to Georgia, North Carolina go down to Virginia Tech, LSU get best by UCLA, then Wisconsin lose at home to Penn State and Iowa thump Indiana.

On top if that Oklahoma struggled mightily at home to Tulane and similarly Oregon struggled big time at home to Fresno State.

I'm currently watching my beloved Fighting Irish who are getting on top against Florida State in Tallahassee. The star player is Kyle Hamilton, as a Patriots fan I'd love if we got him in the draft but that's highly unlikely. He'll be a star in the NFL, of that there is no doubt.

eagle eye

So half an hour later that nice 18 point lead is down to three. Seminoles are looking really good now.

Great to see former UCF starter McKenzie Milton taking the field for Florida State.

If you are not aware of his history, he was an outstanding QB for UCF before an awful injury which lead to reconstructive knee surgery two years ago. He came on just now and went 4 for 4 to set up a touchdown. His injury was so bad they thought at one stage that his leg would never be right. For him to get back on a football field is quite incredible, must have took serious hard work to get back.

eagle eye

Irish win in overtime. That'll do.

Florida State will be tough to beat fir anybody.

el Fenomeno

I didn't realise Milton had transferred to FSU. I thought his injury was the end of him and he had graduated by now. The details of his injury were awful - apparently his artery was so badly damaged in that leg that they had to surgically take a vein out of his other leg and put it into the damaged leg to restore blood flow so he wouldn't lose his lower leg. That's pretty gnarly.

manafana

I have few College football jerseys I'm trying to offload, anyone here know best place, not looking for much but adverts seems quiet for that sort of thing?

eagle eye

Drake Stoops is Bob's son. I've no clue what his numbers might be like at a pro day but he's definitely a football player, always open it seems.

Very Wes Welker type of player.

Mississippi State absolutely robbed on two plays here in the 4th quater against Memphis.

Punt return for a td for Memphis when they had two number 4 on the field and the official having waved his hand to stop play. But play continued.

Mississippi state then appeared to gather an onside kick. Went under review. Penalty for blacking was called despite no flags and review being for ball travelling 10 yards or not.

Fr Tod Umptious

Kerry native David Shanahan was the punter for Georgia Tech last night v Clemson.

He saw plenty of game time, 7 punts for an average of 39 yards.

His first one was a poor one but after that they looked much better.

eagle eye

Tennessee fans making a show of themselves. They were unhappy with a call that they were short on 4th down, a correct call I might add, and started hurling bottles and all sorts onto the field. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin got hit by a golf ball. Teams have moved away from the sidelines for their own safety.

Thing is there's still 54 seconds and Tennessee have all three timeouts so it's not over. I hope they end it now though, that's what those fans deserve.

deisedude

Cincinnati Bearcats up to 2 in the latest AP poll. Did a study exchange in Cincinnati back in 2009/10 probably their last best year when Tim Tebows Florida beat them in the Sugar Bowl. Delighted to see them doing so well now

theoneeyedman

This thread is pretty dead, but in an attempt to revive it....

Lots of big games today, as the conference finals and play off places are nearing completion.

Huge occasion in Ann Arbour, where #5 Michigan have turned over #2 Ohio Buckeyes to throw a spanner in the top 4 playoff standings.

The Iron Bowl on later, Bama need to lay down a marker for Georgia, who won well earlier.

Coming to a boil nicely.

eagle eye

I don't think Alabama have any hope against Georgia. I think the playoff four will be Georgia, Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame.

The latest rankings certainly suggested that Alabama would be out if they lose the SEC Championship game.

theoneeyedman

Agreed, Georgia look better thus far, but it's hard to back against Bama in a knock out game with Saban at the Helm.

eagle eye

Alabama down by seven at halftime and missing their star receiver Jameson Williams for the rest of the game after he got thrown out for targeting on special teams.

That'd leave to playoffs almost all set unless Wisconsin pull off the shocker in the Big Ten championship game.

el Fenomeno

And the Iron Bowl is headed to OT. Unbelievable catch by the Bama receiver to tie it up.

theoneeyedman

Never write off Bama.

Pulled it out of the fire when it matters. Bound for the top 4 now surely, and nobody will fancy facing them in a one off game.

eagle eye

Somehow some way Alabama get the win. I think in the fourth quarter Auburn threw it away moreso than Alabama got it done.

Just insane and it'll be interesting to see how the rankings are affected by that, could see Bama dropping to four.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234187#Comment_118234187

I think they drop to four after that and out when they get beaten by Georgia.

el Fenomeno

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234193#Comment_118234193

They won't drop to 4 with Ohio State having lost. I reckon they either stay as they are at 3, or even get 2. The committee want Alabama in the playoffs so won't drop them.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234191#Comment_118234191

Had the brilliantly named Tank Bigsby not stepped out of bounds on that 9 yard run with under w minutes to go Auburn would have won it.

Alabama would not have had enough time to mount that comeback.

Great job by the Auburn kicker to nail the 49 yarder when his previous best was in the low 30s

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234224#Comment_118234224

The committee don't want anybody in the playoffs. They dropped to three after winning by 56 points over New Mexico State.

Now they went to triple overtime with a team who'd lost their last three games. That doesn't look good. Meanwhile no.2 got beaten by Michigan who'll jump to two and Cincy will move to three.

It puts Alabama exactly where they should be as they don't want two SEC teams in it if they can help it. By putting them at four it means you lose you are out.

theoneeyedman

It'll be interesting next week.

Some (eg CBS) predicting Alabama at #3, so all riding on the Georgia game. I dunno, might drop to 4,would the fact that Auburn's QB was literally hobbling around on one leg late on go against them as well?

Form would say Georgia, but who knows with Alabama in a one off game? Certainly wouldn't rule them out.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234855#Comment_118234855

Just clarify the position, Auburn lost their previous three games. Their starting QB is our for the rest of the season and their backup started and was injured for most of the second half.

I'm confident they drop to four based on all I've seen from the ranking committee since it began.

The reasons are that Cincinnati won well and Alabama struggled and the committee don't want two teams from one conference if at all possible.

Only way Bama make it is if they beat Georgia and with their offense struggling so much against Auburn they are going to get destroyed by Georgia.

Georgia will control time of possession and win by more than seven points imo.

el Fenomeno

Lincoln Riley is leaving Oklahoma and off to USC.

el Fenomeno

And now Brian Kelly is bidding farewell to Notre Dame to join LSU.

el Fenomeno

Drama already with Lincoln Riley and USC.

He announced the staff that was following him to USC, and Roy Manning (Oklahoma CB coach) was NOT one of them. So you'd assume Manning was staying at Oklahoma.

California based high school CB Domani Jackson yesterday said he'd narrowed his decision to either USC or Alabama. When asked about USC, he said:

"Lincoln Riley has been blowing my phone up and that’s been impressive,” Jackson said. “With all that he has going on, for him him to take all this time to reach out to me shows me a lot. He wants to come in for a home visit but this week is pretty crazy so that will probably happen next week.

“He said he wants send in coach (Alex) Grinch (DC) first and then he’ll come in later. I’ve heard from coach Grinch too and also Roy Manning, who was the DB coach at OU. I’ve been texting back and forth with coach Manning and looking forward to meeting those guys in person.

"He talked about their track record at Oklahoma for getting DBs drafted,” Jackson said. “He said they put three in the Draft the last three years with two starting in the League (NFL) right now. He said to give them a chance and said they’re about to do something special so I’m going to give them a shot for sure."

So basically, Manning has been helping to recruit prospects for USC while still being an Oklahoma employee, and while still actively recruiting for Oklahoma (he was literally visiting recruits for Oklahoma yesterday with new head coach Bob Stoops who took over from Riley).

Basically, the insinuation here is that USC had agreed in private with Lincoln Riley a long time ago (they fired Helton in early September) that he would be their new head coach. Riley didn't want it announced while Oklahoma were still pushing for the playoffs. As soon as they lost to Oklahoma State at the weekend, effectively ending their playoff hopes, USC announced the hire. And while Riley had agreed to join them back in September, he (and his staff) have been recruiting for them while on Oklahoma's payroll (several 4* and 5* recruits have already decommitted from Oklahoma and flipped to USC).

This could get murky.

Realt Dearg Sec

I was really wondering reading your post what the significance of it all was and then read that last couple of lines and was like...oh jaysus that's gonna be fun to follow.

Kelly going to LSU is bad news for ND, I think on balance he has been really good, overseen a revival of the program and made them consistent contenders for the playoffs even in the face of a difficult recruiting situation against the likes of Alabama etc. Doesn't have a great record against other top teams, but the next hire will come in with huge expectations now.

On another note, his move is a reminder of how obscene coaching salaries are on the context of how much cfb exploits the players. Pay for play can't come soon enough.

MileHighGuy

Wow, the end to the Big 12 championship game was something else. Oklahoma State blew it a bit really, but credit to Baylor. Notre Dame will be delighted.

MileHighGuy

I don't watch too much College football, as so many of the games tend to be lop sided, but that was very enjoyable.

SEC Championship next....great

theoneeyedman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118270039#Comment_118270039

Oklahoma blew it alright, result blows any chance they had of sneaking into the top 4 obviously.

Some play at the end, great footrace to the pylon won by the defender.

MileHighGuy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118270050#Comment_118270050

Yeah, it looked like he just had the edge for a split second, but great tackle by the defender. I like that these things are decided on the field although, it will be slightly sour if ND get into top 4 somehow, by not having a championship game to play.

blackcard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118270039#Comment_118270039

Baylor almost blew it too, 2 field goal misses, dropping a punt, not getting a 4th down, giving away a penalty on 3rd and long. It was fitting that it was the Baylor defence that made the last crucial play

eagle eye

It's all on the table now. Two chances for the Fighting Irish to get in, a Georgia win or a Houston win.

Go Bulldogs!!! Go Cougars!!!

MileHighGuy

Well this has turned around in a hurry.

Crazy stat, Georgia has only behind for 20 minutes...... All season.

MileHighGuy

Georgia get behind too much, this QB does not look capable of bringing them back from behind. He looks poor against this Alabama D.

This could get ugly if the Georgia D doesn't get a stop here.

MileHighGuy

4 flags in a row.... It was a PI, but a better thrown ball and it was a TD.

Georgia badly needed that. Penalties from Alabama helped them on their way.

MileHighGuy

Georgia need to step up the pressure on Young. Having his way with them in first half.... Through the air and on the ground.

Georgia D looks tired, a long half time might suit them.

Fr Tod Umptious

Interesting comments at HT.

Both panelists agreed that even if Georgia win you cannot excluded Alabama from the playoff because basically the way they are playing they are one of the top four in the country.

Big difference from last week when they were certainly not playing like a top 4 team.

I think the OSU loss earlier helps Alabama a lot.

Cincinnati are struggling to get ahead of Houston, but they just scored a TD as I type this.

Assuming Michigan win tonight and Georgia come back and win would Alabama be ranked 4 (no conference title and two losses) and end up playing Georgia again in the SF?

All to play for.

el Fenomeno

Young is making a mockery of this "historic" defence.

el Fenomeno

3 TDs in under 5 minutes has Cincinnati playoff bound. The committee must be fuming!

Fr Tod Umptious

Alabama are not losing this one, so unless Michigan lose its going to be as you were for the playoff.

MileHighGuy

Well whatever about the permutations, a huge wake up call for Georgia here.

Not often you see a #1 team get manhandled like this.

el Fenomeno

That's all she wrote.

It'll take a spectacular bottle job from Michigan for Notre Dame to be considered. But I guess if anyone can bottle it, Michigan would be your shout...

eagle eye

They said there was no way Georgia would not make the playoffs. That's because nobody thought, including myself, that they could get blown out. Alabama up by 21, if they win by any more than that it'll be interesting.

Fr Tod Umptious

Georgia still have a chance, two TDs down and lots of time left, plus stopped Alabama easily on the last two drives.

MileHighGuy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118270662#Comment_118270662

Well they didn't lose by 21, but the scoreline flattered them. Totally dominated. They looked cooked once they fell behind early in the game.

I don't think they could be dropped outside #4, but a Michigan win should see them drop to 4 i would think.

Fr Tod Umptious

BT Sports showing the ACC championship game instead of the Big 10.

That's annoying

I'll have to find it elsewhere

theoneeyedman

Reports of Alabama's demise greatly exaggerated last week, here and elsewhere. These are the games to be winning, knock out games. Can Georgia recover from this. They have time but a big loss. Will they meet in the Semis is the next question, they will try to avoid that scenario I guess, but it's possible.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118271614#Comment_118271614

I'd say Georgia will drop to 3 rather than 4, Alabama will be 1 and thus they will "luckly" avoid each other.

Alabama

Michigan

Georgia

Cincinnati

Jimmy Two Times

Loss of John Metchie is massive for the Tide.

Having 2 marquee receivers makes things a whole lot harder for the opposition. Probably be too strong for the Bearcats so possibly a repeat of the SEC Game although I''d love to see a Bama Wolverines showdown.

Some crop of receivers produced by Saban in the last few years, Jones, Cooper, Ridley, Jeudy, Ruggs,Smith, Waddle and now Metchie and Williams.

Roll Tide 😀

el Fenomeno

The #1 high school recruit in the nation - DB Travis Hunter - has decommitted from Florida State and commited to.....

FCS team Jackson State, who are coached by Deion Sanders.

This is a huge deal, and is directly linked to the new image licensing rules. The rumour is that Hunter is committing to Jackson State having been promised somewhere between $1m and $2m (depending on the rumour you believe) from Barstool Sports for a documentary following him.

Its murky water, because Deion Sanders works for Barstool too since he left NFL Network. There's an implication here that Sanders is part-funding the deal himself.

We can expect reform of the NIL rules pretty quickly now that it's opened up competition for the FBS teams. They won't like that.