Octopus Overlords

Apollo wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 4:00 pm Auburn's new coach has improved the team on a weekly basis. While it is still very unlikely, I wouldn't be shocked if Auburn was able to upset Alabama this year. But if Bama and Georgia win out and Bama beats Georgia in the SEC Championship game, it's hard to imagine that both of them won't be included in the CFP. Which makes the fight for those last two spots REALLY interesting.

Remember that Bama has not looked very good in their True Road Games. Barely beat Florida, lost to Texas A&M, beat Miss St. @ Auburn is going to be tough on them, IMHO.

Quite the ruckus at Washington after head coach Jimmy Lake was caught on camera smacking and pushing a player on the sideline after a mistake. Looks like they're going to buy out his contract and send him packing.

https://twitter.com/ChrisOnSports/statu ... 0504573954

Hugh Millen, former team captain & Washington QB, stated on 950 KJR that UW is buyout negotiations with coach Jimmy Lake.

I suspect this is an excuse to simply cut ties and move on, as Lake doesn't seem to have head coaching chops. I was really hoping UW could do Utah a favor and take down ASU on Saturday so we could have a chance at clinching the P12 South, but I'm guessing UW plays with even less of a pulse than they have been. Bummer.

Michigan escapes against Penn State. If Ohio State handles Purdue will they face Michigan for the Big 10 championship?

I looked it up and OSU plays Michigan State next week then Michigan the week after that. Could be some great games.

Good hell, Utah damn near blew it as a 24.5 point favorite against a 1-9 team (1-20 in their last 21) who was playing their 3rd string QB. We looked like an absolute mess today (had yet another punt blocked for a TD, which makes 3 on the year...WTF??) but managed to close things out in the last 5 minutes with a long TD drive. It doesn't give me a ton of confidence going into next week, but Utah is notorious for losing WTF games like that in years past. Whittingham's "November Curse" has been a running joke for a long time, so...progress?

Magic number is down to 1. Need to win one of our last two against Oregon and Colorado (both at home), or have ASU lose a game to wrap up the P12 South.

Jaymann wrote: Sat Nov 13, 2021 4:34 pm Michigan escapes against Penn State. If Ohio State handles Purdue will they face Michigan for the Big 10 championship?

I looked it up and OSU plays Michigan State next week then Michigan the week after that. Could be some great games.

If Ohio State beats Michigan and Michigan State then they will likely play Wisconsin for the title of Big 10 champs.

I would have loved to come in here if Arizona beat Utah.

Isgrimnur wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:18 am I would have loved to come in here if Arizona beat Utah.

Arizona is definitely trending in the right direction. They've played a number of ranked teams close this year (Utah, BYU, and Oregon...through 3.5 quarters) and they've got lots of fight, although not a ton of talent. Fisch was a good hire and they'll be back in the mix within the next couple years. i don't hold nearly the animosity for AZ as I do for ASU, and would love to see them turn it around in Tucson.

In other news, Kansas just beat Texas in OT...in Austin. Apparently the Kansas fan(s?) were chanting "SEC, SEC, SEC".

And stupid Washington completely forgot how to tackle so Utah still hasn't clinched.

SEC Shorts was hilarious this week:

Lake officially out at Washington. They paid him $9.9 million to leave after less than two years...oof.

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:55 am

Isgrimnur wrote: Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:18 am I would have loved to come in here if Arizona beat Utah.

Arizona is definitely trending in the right direction. They've played a number of ranked teams close this year (Utah, BYU, and Oregon...through 3.5 quarters) and they've got lots of fight, although not a ton of talent. Fisch was a good hire and they'll be back in the mix within the next couple years. i don't hold nearly the animosity for AZ as I do for ASU, and would love to see them turn it around in Tucson.

In other news, Kansas just beat Texas in OT...in Austin. Apparently the Kansas fan(s?) were chanting "SEC, SEC, SEC".

And stupid Washington completely forgot how to tackle so Utah still hasn't clinched.

Sark is just killing it in Texas!

I’ll be at the game when #23 Utah plays #3 Oregon tonight. Should be a fun one, and might be the biggest regular season game in Utah history.

However, Utah finds itself in the very weird spot where a win might actually hurt their chances of getting to the Rose Bowl.

- If Utah wins, they clinch the P12 South and a spot in the CCG game, most likely a rematch against Oregon. However, it would also knock Oregon out of the #3 spot in the playoff rankings. Which means that Utah would need to beat them twice in two weeks to get to the Rose Bowl (once today and once in the CCG). That’s a tall order.

- if Utah loses today, they can still clinch the South next week against CU at home (definitely not a guaranteed win, but pretty likely) or an ASU loss (also not likely) Beating a ranked team would strengthen Oregon’s playoff resume and keep them in the #3 spot. When Oregon and Utah meet in a couple weeks for the CCG, a win would automatically send Utah to the Rose Bowl, but a loss probably would too. Because Oregon would go to the playoff, so Utah would be the likely replacement.

All of that is meaningless though, and I guarantee that Whit will have the team ready to play tonight. FPI puts Utah as a 62% favorite, which I think is insane. I doubt we win tonight (defense is still too young), but I do think we give Oregon a pretty good game, then get them in the rematch in a couple weeks.

If Utah wins it will be interesting to see if Cincy gets in.

Wow, I turned on Oregon - Utah to check the score and it is over at half time.

Wow Cincy may get in.

Just got home from the game. Um...wow. Absolutely did not expect that, but it was damn fun. Probably the loudest game I've ever been to.

Whit becomes Utah's all-time winningest coach. Tavion Thomas smashes the Utah single season rushing TD record. Largest crowd in Rice-Eccles stadium history. Highest ranked team to ever play here, and Utah absolutely dominates them.

Pretty good night.

Skinypupy wrote:Just got home from the game. Um...wow. Absolutely did not expect that, but it was damn fun. Probably the loudest game I've ever been to.

Whit becomes Utah's all-time winningest coach. Tavion Thomas smashes the Utah single season rushing TD record. Largest crowd in Rice-Eccles stadium history. Highest ranked team to ever play here, and Utah absolutely dominates them.

Pretty good night.

Nice win! I didn't think Oregon would win that game, but I did not expect them to get pummeled like that.

In other news, Oregon is now in a must win situation in the Civil War next weekend just to make the Pac-12 Championship game. Wow.

That had to be a fun win for UCLA too! I know USC is really down, but that was a serious ass-kicking. Points allowed by USC in their home games this year: 42, 45, 42, 34, 62. Thats…not good.

In other news, Florida fired Dan Mullen today. Unsurprising.

Short of a couple big losses I don't expect Cincy to get in. Granted, I wouldn't mind that happening.

Also, I expected Utah to win last night. Oregon hasn't really looked good in any game other the the OSU win. OSU would beat them by 35 now.

Skinypupy wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 11:11 am I’ll be at the game when #23 Utah plays #3 Oregon tonight. Should be a fun one, and might be the biggest regular season game in Utah history.

However, Utah finds itself in the very weird spot where a win might actually hurt their chances of getting to the Rose Bowl.

This is a similar situation to what UNC was in last year. If they had beaten ND, ND wouldn't have made the playoffs and would instead go to the Orange Bowl. But since UNC lost and ND got in the playoffs, UNC got to go to the Orange Bowl. It speaks a bit to the wonkiness/stupidness of the bowl system that losing can result in a better outcome.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am It speaks a bit to the wonkiness/stupidness of the bowl system

So does the fact that almost every team goes bowling. We were 2-8 last year and bowl eligible! That’s messed up IMO, and totally cheapens the whole idea of ‘going bowling’

Everybody gets an ‘A’!

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:58 am
Everybody gets an ‘A’!

If you can generate ad/tv revenue, you get an 'A'.

On the plus side, the Big Ten East is coming down to Michigan-OSU on Saturday, as God intended.

On the negative side, I'm going to spend all week convincing myself we actually have a chance only to see us get curb stomped again.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:58 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am It speaks a bit to the wonkiness/stupidness of the bowl system

So does the fact that almost every team goes bowling. We were 2-8 last year and bowl eligible! That’s messed up IMO, and totally cheapens the whole idea of ‘going bowling’

Everybody gets an ‘A’!

Wasn't that COVID related last year? They needed to fill bowl slots.

I've never fully understood the issue with "too many bowl games". Oh no! More free football for me to watch during the holidays!

ImLawBoy wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:45 am On the plus side, the Big Ten East is coming down to Michigan-OSU on Saturday, as God intended.

On the negative side, I'm going to spend all week convincing myself we actually have a chance only to see us get curb stomped again.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:58 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am It speaks a bit to the wonkiness/stupidness of the bowl system

So does the fact that almost every team goes bowling. We were 2-8 last year and bowl eligible! That’s messed up IMO, and totally cheapens the whole idea of ‘going bowling’

Everybody gets an ‘A’!

Wasn't that COVID related last year? They needed to fill bowl slots.

I've never fully understood the issue with "too many bowl games". Oh no! More free football for me to watch during the holidays!

See above: it cheapens what was supposed to be something special

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 12:43 pm

ImLawBoy wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:45 am On the plus side, the Big Ten East is coming down to Michigan-OSU on Saturday, as God intended.

On the negative side, I'm going to spend all week convincing myself we actually have a chance only to see us get curb stomped again.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:58 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am It speaks a bit to the wonkiness/stupidness of the bowl system

So does the fact that almost every team goes bowling. We were 2-8 last year and bowl eligible! That’s messed up IMO, and totally cheapens the whole idea of ‘going bowling’

Everybody gets an ‘A’!

Wasn't that COVID related last year? They needed to fill bowl slots.

I've never fully understood the issue with "too many bowl games". Oh no! More free football for me to watch during the holidays!

See above: it cheapens what was supposed to be something special

See above: Oh no! More free football for me to watch during the holidays!

Heartbroken to hear of the death of longtime Alabama football columnist Cecil Hurt. When you wanted real insightful news about Alabama, you looked to Cecil. When you wanted to check out some wild rumor about Alabama sports, you looked to Cecil. When you wanted a laugh you looked him up on Twitter.

He covered Paul Bryant when he was fresh out of college in the early 80s. He covered Perkins, Stallings, all the failed dark ages coaches, Shula, and finally Saban. He was witty, objective, and honest.

Rest in peace Cecil.

msduncan wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 1:43 am Heartbroken to hear of the death of longtime Alabama football columnist Cecil Hurt. When you wanted real insightful news about Alabama, you looked to Cecil. When you wanted to check out some wild rumor about Alabama sports, you looked to Cecil. When you wanted a laugh you looked him up on Twitter.

He covered Paul Bryant when he was fresh out of college in the early 80s. He covered Perkins, Stallings, all the failed dark ages coaches, Shula, and finally Saban. He was witty, objective, and honest.

Rest in peace Cecil.

Yep, huge loss to journalism. He told it like it was whether you wanted to hear it or not. He was the Bama beat writer but he didn't sugar coat anything. Pure professional and will be missed.

Sorry to hear that Alabama peeps!

Ugly win is still a win. Holding a team to 148 total yards of offense is pretty impressive, even if our offense sputtered and our special teams - which had been so good for so many years - continue to be an abject disaster (one FG blocked, gave up a kickoff return for a TD). My guess (hope?) is that this game was simply the combination of a hangover from last week and looking forward to next.

P12 title game awaits…hoping third time’s the charm.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 12:43 pm

ImLawBoy wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:45 am On the plus side, the Big Ten East is coming down to Michigan-OSU on Saturday, as God intended.

On the negative side, I'm going to spend all week convincing myself we actually have a chance only to see us get curb stomped again.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:58 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:00 am It speaks a bit to the wonkiness/stupidness of the bowl system

So does the fact that almost every team goes bowling. We were 2-8 last year and bowl eligible! That’s messed up IMO, and totally cheapens the whole idea of ‘going bowling’

Everybody gets an ‘A’!

Wasn't that COVID related last year? They needed to fill bowl slots.

I've never fully understood the issue with "too many bowl games". Oh no! More free football for me to watch during the holidays!

See above: it cheapens what was supposed to be something special

It's always been that way. You had the elite bowls and the lesser consolation bowls. The elite bowls were for football. The lesser bowls were for the fans, students, and athletes/band/cheer squad.

The Championship cheapened the elite bowls somewhat and blurred the lines between the elite and consolation bowls.

Ohio State at Michigan with national championship berths on the line. And it's snowing in The Big House, does it get any better than this?

I pulled up the fight, and a football game broke out.

Michigan just went up 28-13 and is looking dominant. Fun game so far.

Michigan looking really good. Why do I still think that they are going to lose?

Damn Michigan. Everyone in the stadium knows the run is coming, and they’re still ripping off massive chunk yards on every attempt. Very impressive way to close out the game.

That’s definitely a good way to get off the coaching hot seat.

Harbaugh finally gets off the snide. This is why he turned down NFL jobs.

Michigan has dominated and they deserve this win.

Michigan won because I didn't start watching until the middle.of the 3rd quarter.

Jaymann wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 4:34 pm Harbaugh finally gets off the snide. This is why he turned down NFL jobs.

He actually smiled after the game. I didn't know he could smile.

I am sure my old man (who loves Ohio State) is probably somber now, but really, it's better for the rivalry for Michigan to win today. I think Michigan is hard pressed to find a coach better than Harbaugh, so I am glad he has gotten that monkey off his back. I was pretty surprised they won but good for them.

Holy shit, Bama.

If that Auburn RB had simply gone down in bounds, we’d be looking at a completely different playoff picture right now.