Week of 12/21 - College Football News Every Day

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12/27:

  • Very sad news…Utah freshman running back Ty Jordan died of an accidental shooting on Friday night. Making this tragedy even worse - his mother just passed away this past August of cancer.

  • When North Carolina A&T announced their intention to leave the MEAC for the Big South, it put their intense rivalry with NC Central in doubt. Fortunately the game, known to some as a family feud, will continue to be played for the next ten years thanks to an agreement between the schools. These teams have played since 1924, with the Aggies leading the all-time series 52-34-5.

  • Since ULM announced that they hired Terry Bowden as their next head coach, I have questioned their decision. I wondered why they didn’t hire an up-and-comer coach, but looking at the lack of their success since moving to the FBS in 1994, maybe he is just what they need because he has won everywhere he has coached (career record 175-114-2). The Warhawks really have nothing to lose.

12/26:

  • I am happy to see Bret Bielema back in the Big Ten at Illinois. He never achieved success at Arkansas, but if he can achieve close to the success he got at Wisconsin, the Fighting Illini fans will be very happy.

  • Looking forward to tonight’s bowl game between Coastal Carolina and Liberty. This will be the 15th meeting between the teams, but the first one with both teams as FBS members. An interesting note - the last time Coastal Carolina started the season 11-0 back in 2014, Liberty beat them 15-14 in the Big South regular season finale.

  • Division II football this spring doesn’t look good as only four out of sixteen conferences have committed to play by putting out only abbreviated schedules. Guess we will have to wait until Fall 2021 for full participation from both Divisions II and III.

12/25:

  • Hawaii won yesterday’s New Mexico Bowl that was played in Frisco, Texas. Thankfully Houston’s tough season has come to an end as the Cougars endured eights games that were either canceled, postponed, or rescheduled.

  • The four Heisman finalists were announced last night. I am hoping that DeVonta Smith wins because of the way that he has shined since teammate Jaylen Waddle was lost for the season with an injury. If he wins, Smith will be the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard did it in 1991.

  • Former MAC opponents face off in the Camellia Bowl on this Christmas Day. It will be a strength vs. strength matchup as the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense (Buffalo) will face college football’s No. 2 rushing defense (Marshall). I am thinking that the difference will be the Thundering Herds freshman quarterback Grant Wells. He has struggled the last two games, but if he returns to form, Marshall might gain the edge in today’s game.

12/24:

  • Tulsa has had a strong defense all year, and it was great to see their star linebacker, Zaven Collins, win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy - honoring the nation’s top defensive player. A day after the award, Collins announced that he is entering the NFL draft, and he won’t play in the Armed Forces Bowl.

  • Coaching changes are happening fast and furious, and I’m not sure about Arizona hiring Jedd Fisch - especially since the thing going for him over others is his connection with the university president. They had an opportunity to bring in someone connected with former Wildcats head coach Dick Tomey, San Jose State’s Brent Brennan, but they looked the other way. Not sure that this hire is going to work for them.

  • Looks like Alabama has locked up the top recruiting class in 2021 with their latest 5-star commitment, running back Camar Wheaton out of Texas. Nick Saban beat out OU for Wheaton’s services, as well has the Longhorns, who have failed miserably in keeping the best talent in-state. Just another example of the rich getting richer…

12/23:

  • Kudos to Auburn for hiring Bryan Harsin away from his alma mater where he has coached for the last seven years. While the head coach of Boise State, Harsin had a 69-19 record, and won three Mountain West titles - the last one coming in 2019. Big thing to watch - will he want Kevin Steele on his staff, who pushed for the job even before Gus Malzahn was fired.

  • And speaking of Boise State, it looks like they might be in discussions again with the American Athletic Conference about becoming their 12th member. They have to find a conference closer to home for their other sports, but adding the Broncos to replace UConn is a big win for the AAC.

  • I have to mention that there was a lot of talent at the quarterback position in last night’s bowl games! Zach Wilson, a 3-star recruit, cemented himself as possibly the second quarterback taken in next year’s NFL draft. And the other three quarterbacks (Dillon Gabriel, Carson Strong, and Michael Pratt) will all return next year and carry their teams to successful seasons in 2021 and even 2022.

12/22:

  • I am not sad to see South Carolina leave the bowl scene, but the loss of UAB will be felt. The Blazers end their season at 6-3 (could easily have been 8-1) and as Conference USA champions. The bowl game would have been a great swan song for Spencer Brown, who surpassed 4,000 rushing yards for his career last week.

  • The 2021 Air-Force-Navy football game has been moved to September 11th next year in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America. What would make a bigger impact is to have these two service academies play the game at Yankee Stadium!

  • Today I learned about a trophy game that has fallen below my radar - until now. Charter members of the SEC, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, play for a silver-plated cowbell. It took a printer running out of toner to find the trophy that had been put away in storage sometime between their games in 2009 and 2016.