After a crazy weekend of college football, it’s time to dissect what we saw and what is going on in and around the college football world. With only two weeks left in the regular season (not counting conference championships or the Army Navy game), the race to the playoff is heating up all around the country. There’s a lot to talk about from this past weekend so let’s dive into it!
Is Florida State God’s favorite team, the luckiest team in America, or just really good?
In one of Saturday’s marquee games, Florida State took on Miami (FL) in the Saturday Night Football slot on ABC. Just like some of their other games this year the Seminoles fell behind early, and fell behind big. Florida State was down 16-0 at one point in the second quarter, then 23-10 at halftime. At the half everyone was thinking, “Yup, we’ve this this story before”, knowing Jameis Winston would bring the Seminoles back. But in every game that the Seminoles have fallen behind early they seem to get every good call, bounce, play, EVERYTHING in the second half. It’s amazing! Everything can go wrong for them in the first half, but in the second half everything will go right for them. For example, in the 3rd quarter with about 4 and a half minutes left, Jameis Winston attempted to throw a pass on a 3rd and goal from the 11 yard line. As Winston dropped back he saw a cutting receiver across the middle, who was surrounded by Miami defenders. Probably against better judgment, Winston threw the pass to the receiver in the middle of the field, but it was swatted away by a Miami linebacker. Whether it be by fate or dumb luck, when the ball got swatted away it fell in the hands of Florida State running back Karlos Williams and he walked into the end zone untouched.
Yes, I understand that Karlos Williams was in the right spot at the right time, but that doesn’t mean it was a lucky play. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on Florida State. It’s just that after seeing so many lucky breaks for the Seminoles, it just makes you wonder. Florida State went on to win the game with great defense in the second half, shutting down Miami’s stud freshmen quarterback Brad Kaaya.
Melvin Gordon’s date with history
In what was one of the two Big Ten games on Saturday where two ranked teams faced off with each other, Wisconsin and Nebraska were expecting to line up and run the ball down each others throats. With two of the top backs in the country going at it, running yards were to be expected. The real question was which running back would steal the show? It became very obvious very quickly which back was going to take the football game over. Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon broke the NCAA record for rushing yards in game on Saturday with 408 yards, passing LaDainian Tomlinson’s previous record of 406 yards in 1999. After seeing Gordon break the record, LT tweeted out this:
The record was broken on a 26-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter, one of 4 touchdowns Gordon had on the day. The 26-yard touchdown run that Gordon had in the 3rd quarter that broke the record just so happened to be his last rush of the day. Yes, that means Melvin Gordon ran for 408 yards in just THREE QUARTERS! It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. The Badgers go on to play Iowa and Minnesota to end the season and then possibly a trip to the Big Ten Championship game in Indy. Gordon is 719 yards away from the single season rushing record set by Barry Sanders in 1988.
Ohio State vs. ESPN?
The past two weeks the Ohio State Buckeyes have taken care of their opponents, beating Michigan State (at Michigan State) and Minnesota (at Minnesota). In both games, Ohio State has dominated the game, even though the score line may not always reflect it. After both games though, the ESPN headline has not reflected the actual game. After the Michigan State game the original headline read, “Ohio State Outlasts Michigan State”. If you had watched the game, you would have seen Ohio State dominated the game and Michigan State made it closer in garbage time. Then this past week, Ohio State was rolling over Minnesota, but then suddenly it got close. Yes, Minnesota made it a close game, but I would argue the Buckeyes were always in control considering all Ohio State had to do to close out the game was recover an onside kick. After the Buckeyes scored at the 7:37 mark of the 3rd quarter, the Ohio State lead never shrunk under 7 points. But yet again, if you read the ESPN you would think that Minnesota was dominating Ohio State but the Buckeyes ended up winning. The headline ESPN wrote for the game was, “Ohio State Escapes Minnesota”. Escapes? I’m not so sure that escapes is the correct word to use. Meanwhile in other parts of the country, TCU did escape against a terrible Kansas team. The Horned Frogs were down by 10 at one point in the 3rd quarter and rallied to win by 4. Kansas is one of the worst teams, if not the worst team, in the Big 12 and TCU should have easily handled them. But after the game, the ESPN headline read, “TCU Passes Test In Lawrence”. ESPN let me ask you, what test did they past?? Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee took offense to the headline disparity and tweet this:
Needless to say, Ohio State is fighting an uphill battle to get into the playoff and ESPN is not helping them out.
Florida Gators Coach Search Begins…..NOW
On Sunday it came out that the Florida Gators coach Will Muschamp will not return for next season. This news in not surprising at all, as the Gators have struggled the past two seasons under Muschamp. But, now that this is official, the Florida Gators have to decide who they will go after in the coaching search. VFTWC has compiled a list of coaches that the Gators should give a call to:
- Jim McElwain (Colorado State Head Football Coach)- McElwain was the Alabama offensive coordinator and quarterback coach before becoming the head coach at Colorado State in 2012. McElwain has an impressive coaching résumé and has his Rams sitting at 9-1.
- Todd Graham (Arizona State Head Football Coach)- Graham is a great coach at ASU and has the Sun Devils in the top 10 of the college football playoff rankings. Graham is a great defensive coach and if he can get the right OC, than the fit could work.
- Chip Kelly (Philadelphia Eagles Head Football Coach)- Do I think Chip Kelly is going to leave Philly? No, not at all. But the Gators have to try. Kelly is an offensive guru and he can turn the Florida program around. Florida is still a premier coaching gig for any football coach, and Kelly has always love coaching in college.
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks Head Football Coach)- Another coach that I don’t think will leave his position, but I think Carroll would be a good fit for the Gators. Carroll was a great coach at USC and loved the college scene. If the Gators can land Carroll, than Carroll can land some great coordinators.
Penn State’s Environment
This past weekend I attended the Temple vs. Penn State football game in State College, PA. This was my second time attending a Penn State football game and each time I’ve attended, I’ve walked away thinking, “Wow, this environment is amazing”. I’ve been to a lot of college football games and Penn State ranks up there with the best environment I’ve ever been in. (And believe me, I grew up in a Big Ten family and I am not a Penn State lover one bit). From the student section (who is top notch), to the music selection (always up tempo, keeps the energy high, and lots of crowd sing-alongs), to the rest of the crowd (who is very involved and is very informed with what is happening) the Penn State football environment is like no other.
Panoramic Shot of Beaver Stadium
Views From The Water Cooler 