Grab Bag Time!

I'm sure my millions of readers world wide have noticed that CFB365 has been a little slow lately. Well, more like a lot slow. Truth is I've been incredibly busy lately. Contrary to popular belief, I do in fact have a life. And since I can't find a competent co-writer for this blog, when I have little downtime, this illustrious site suffers.

Since I've been M.I.A. for a while, I thought it would be nice to throw a bunch of crap together in one single post. There's really no rhyme or reason to any of this, just a bunch of random thoughts about college football at this point in the season.

Enjoy!
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Coaching Carousel

There's already been a few firings this season. Both Tommy West of Memphis and Mike Sanford of UNLV have received the pink slip from their bosses. While both Memphis and UNLV are out looking for that next great coach that no one has ever heard of, I thought I should take a look at a few other schools that I will probably be right there with them in the next few weeks.

Notre Dame - Out: Charlie Weis - No obligatory "coaches on the hot seat" discussion can officially begin until Charlie Weis is mentioned. Weis is proving to everyone what this here blogger has always known: The man cannot coach! He's good at calling offensive plays, but he will never have what it takes to run an entire team. Finally, after 5 seasons, the Irish will let him go. In: Brian Kelly - Kelly is the favorite to accept the Notre Dame coaching vacancy when it becomes available. Of course the Irish will contact Urban Meyer and Bobby Stoops, but it is widely believed both of those coaches will give ND a big "No Thank You!".


Virginia - Out: Al Groh - Groh has made a habit of saving his job with late season pushes. This season has been different. With the amount of talent that Groh has been able to amass at UVA, it is hard to believe that they have never seriously contended for an ACC crown. In: Skip Holtz - This is basically the same move I was calling for at the end of last season. Holtz has done a great job of keeping East Carolina at the top of C-USA. Time to see what he can do at a BCS level program.


Louisville - Out: Steve Kragthorpe - Was in over his head as soon as he took the job. Perhaps he can take over for some C-USA or MWC school (I'm thinking UTEP or UNLV). Kragthorpe just doesn't have what it takes to coach a BCS school. And supposedly, that's what Louisville is. In: Charlie Strong - As much as I would hate to see Charlie leave the Florida sideline, he deserves to be a head coach somewhere. The best way to turn around a falling program is to start with defense. I think Strong is pretty decent on that side of the ball.


Akron - Out: J.D. Brookhart - Brookhart should be the first of these coaches to go. He has put together absolutely nothing during his tenure at Akron. In: Chuck Martin - All Martin has done is win two national titles at Division II Grand Valley St. Some would argue if Akron is actually a step up for Martin, but I'm sure he could use the Zips as a nice stepping stone. You have to look no further than former GVSU head coach Brian Kelly to provide an example.


Kansas - Out: Mark Mangino - I really don't see how Mangino can keep his job after this season. Even if the allegations turn out to be false, the damage has already been done. No parent in their right mind would send their kid to play for Kansas while Mangino is roaming the sideline. In: Kevin Sumlin - Sumlin has done a tremendous job in his short stint at Houston. Who's to say he's not the next Urban Meyer?
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Heisman Race

This year's Heisman race has been anything but clear. There are a bunch of good players, but no real great performances really stand out. Here's how I would vote for the Heisman if I actually had a vote.


Toby Gerhart - Stanford RB - All the pub at the running back position has been surrounding Mark Ingram this year. While I think Ingram is a great player, there is no doubt in my mind that Gerhart is a better back. The only thing hurting Toby is that he plays for Stanford and not an SEC or Big Eleven school. The USC game should have earned him a few more votes.





Mark Ingram - Alabama RB - Ingram is the best player on what is arguably the best team in the country. Just think. Where would Bama be without Ingram? Probably not undefeated and getting ready to play Florida in the SEC championship.







C.J. Spiller - Clemson RB - He can run. pass, catch, and return kicks and punts for touchdowns, One of the more exciting players in the nation, it's a shame that C.J. might not even get an invite to NYC this year.










Tim Tebow - Florida QB - I'll admit, this is more of a lifetime achievement vote than anything. However, Timmy is the QB for the number one team in the country. That's gotta count for something. A big game against FSU could catapult him even further on this list.










Colt McCoy - Texas QB - Pretty much the same as Tebow, this is a lifetime achievement vote. The only reason why I even have these two players is because there is a lack of other viable candidates. Plus they are both quarterbacks of undefeated teams.
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Rivalry Week

This weekend is loaded with traditional rivalry games. For the most part these games are played for state bragging rights and recruiting superiority. Here's a quick look at some of my personal favorite games of this weekend. (Note: Oregon v. Oregon St. is one of my favorite games, but it is not listed since they will be playing next week. I hope to have more material to discuss the Civil War in the coming days.)

Florida v. Florida St. - Of course this was gonna be one of my favorite games. The Gators have dominated this rivalry in the Urban Meyer era. However, the series is even since Good 'Ol Bobby came to Tallahassee. This game will be extra special as it will be the last game at the Swamp for Seniors Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes.






Alabama v. Auburn - The Iron Bowl returned back to Alabama's favor with last years victory. The win erased all the bitter memories created by Tommy Tuberville. If Auburn can pull off the upset this week, they will knock Bama out of the title picture (unless they can bounce back and beat Florida in Atlanta). Now tell me that's not something Auburn will be playing out of their minds to do.




Washington v. Washington St. - The Apple Cup might not have the records and title implications that other rivalry games have this year. But you can throw all that crap out the window when the Cougs and Huskies get set to do battle. I truly enjoy this game ever year. It's a shame it's not the traditional last game on the schedule this season.






BYU v. Utah - The Holy War is always a good game to watch. This one has no MWC title implications, but the two teams hate each just the same.








Clemson v. South Carolina - The Battle for the Palmetto State just hasn't been the same since the two teams decided to duke it out on the field a few years ago. It just seems a little tame as of late. A win against Clemson could turn Spurrier's season around for the better.
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BCS Bowl Game Predictions

Here's the way I see the BCS shaping up.


Orange Bowl - Cincinnati v. Georgia Tech - The Big East and ACC champs will meet in what will easily be the most boring bowl game of the season. Should be a nice farewell victory for Brian Kelly before he leaves to take over the Notre Dame job.


Fiesta Bowl - Oklahoma St. v. TCU - A high powered offense meets a very stingy defense. I like TCU's chances of continuing the MWC tradition of destroying BCS opponents in BCS bowl games.


Sugar Bowl - Alabama v. Boise St. - I just think there will be too much pressure on the BCS commissioners to include an undefeated Boise St/ team in this year's festivities. Even though a team like Penn St. will most likely get this invite, it would be nice to see the Broncos shred the Crimson Tide defense.


Rose Bowl - Oregon v. Ohio St. - While I wouldn't be surprised if this were Oregon St., I think the Ducks are the favorite to represent the PAC-10 in this year's Rose Bowl. Of course, keeping with tradition, Oregon will dismantle Ohio St.


BCS National Championship - Florida v. Texas - I think both Florida and Texas will survive rivalry week and their conference championship unscathed. Setting up what should be an exciting title game. Tebow v. McCoy could go down as one of the best QB match-ups of all time.
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Ultimate Fantasy League Update

For those of you that have been following CFB365's Ultimate Fantasy League, I commend you. For those of you that haven't, good luck following this segment. It's conference championship time in the UFL. Here are the match-ups. Remember, each conference champion gets an automatic bid into the 16 team playoff starting next week.

SEC - Florida v. Alabama - Just like real life, these two teams will meet to decide the SEC Championship. Bama was one of only two teams to go through the regular season undefeated. This is easily the best match-up of the conference championship week.


Big XII - Texas v. Nebraska - Nebraska overtook Kansas on the last week of the season to earn a spot in the title game. Texas was able to fend off a surging TCU team. This should be a blowout win for the Longhorns. We'll see....


Big Ten - Ohio St. v. Iowa - For awhile there it looked like the Big Ten would be decided by a title game between Wisconsin and Iowa St. However, things evened out the last 2 weeks of the season and the two best teams in the conference will meet. Ohio St. is the obvious favorite.


PAC 10 - Arizona v. Boise St. - The Wildcats used the early stumbles by California to secure their spot in this game early on. Boise St. has been the most consistent team in this conference. I think everyone is a little surprised that USC wasn't even a factor in the conference title race.


ACC - Virginia Tech v. South Florida - The Bulls reach the title game by default. Although they were able to keep East Carolina from wrecking the party. Either way, Va Tech is the odds on favorite to win this one.


Big East - Penn St. v. Cincinnati - Cincinnati was the other undefeated team that I alluded to earlier. This might actually turn out to be a close call. Penn St. did suffer two late season losses, including one to Cincy. We'll see if they can rebound and secure their spot in the playoffs.


Mountain West - Houston v. Colorado St. - Colorado St. held off Baylor to avoid an ALL-Texas Title Tilt in the MWC. The Rams have to be one of the biggest surprises of the season in the UFL. We'll see if they can keep their luck going against the Cougars.
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Week 2 Picks

Last Week - I don't remember.

My predictions were a little off last week. I had to shake the rust off of a long ass summer. I'm back this week baby! Hopefully....

Here's this week's absolutely right picks.

Clemson @ Georgia Tech
Colorado @ Toledo
Syracuse @ Penn St.
North Carolina @ Connecticut
Eastern Michigan @ Northwestern
Western Michigan @ Indiana
Central Michigan @ Michigan St.
Stanford @ Wake Forest
Fresno St. @ Wisconsin
Duke @ Army
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo
Iowa @ Iowa St.
Troy @ Florida
Marshall @ Virginia Tech
Arkansas St. @ Nebraska
Kent St. @ Boston College
Morgan St. @ Akron
Texas @ Wyoming
Houston @ Oklahoma St.
BYU @ Tulane
TCU @ Virginia
Notre Dame @ Michigan
Howard @ Rutgers
Idaho @ Washington
East Carolina @ West Virginia
Louisiana Tech @ Navy
SMU @ UAB
UCLA @ Tennessee
Weber St. @ Colorado St.
Eastern Washington @ California
Jacksonville St. @ Florida St.
James Madison @ Maryland
Murray St. @ NC State
FIU @ Alabama
Vanderbilt @ LSU
Idaho St. @ Oklahoma
South Carolina @ Georgia
Bowling Green @ Missouri
Mississippi St. @ Auburn
Air Force @ Minnesota
Ohio @ North Texas
Hawaii @ Washington St.
Kansas St. @ UL-Lafayette
Illinois St. @ Illinois
New Hampshire @ Ball St.
Memphis @ Middle Tennessee
Texas Southern @ UL-Monroe
UCF @ Southern Miss
Rice @ Texas Tech
SE Missouri St. @ Cincinnati
Kansas @ UTEP
South Florida @ Western Kentucky
Western Illinois @ Northern Illinois
USC @ Ohio St.
Miami(OH) @ Boise St.
Prairie View A&M @ New Mexico St.
Tulsa @ New Mexico
Southern Utah @ San Diego St.
Northern Arizona @ Arizona
Purdue @ Oregon
Utah @ San Jose St.
Oregon St. @ UNLV

Upset Alerts

East Carolina over West Virginia - WVU was the most disappointing team to me in week 1. They looked horrible against Liberty. This could be another upset victory for the Pirates.

Air Force over Minnesota - Minny needed overtime to beat Syracuse last week. Air Force hung up 70. I'll take the Falcons.

Washington St. over Hawaii - How sad is the PAC-10 when one of their schools beating a WAC team is considered an upset?

Notre Dame over Michigan - Granted, this isn't an upset. However, this makes two straight weeks that I've picked the Irish to win a game! That's a new record.

Charlie Weis is Fat (And other reasons why these coaches might get fired.)

Time for my yearly round-up of the coaches on the hot seat this season. I was unsurprisingly accurate last season. That's bad news for these guys...




Robb Akey- Idaho. Akey is this year's winner of the Gregg Robinson award. That prestigious piece of hardware is given to the one coach that defies all odds and is given another year at his god-awful institutions. Past winners include Gregg Robinson. That's some good company. Also, it's a tradition for the Gregg Robinson award winner to be fired within a year of winning the award. So expect Akey to be out of Moscow by year's end.

Possible Replacement - Someone who will be fired 3 years from now. It's the natural cycle at Idaho.







Steve Kragthorpe - Louisville. Fortunately for Kragthorpe, the Rick Pitino scandal will take off some of the heat that Steve has been feeling at Louisville. Unfortunately for Stevie-K, his coaching ability (or lack thereof) will put all the heat square back on him by October.

Possible Replacement- This seems like a good spot for Turner Gill.






Bob Toledo - Tulane. I'm still trying to figure out how in the hell Bob Toledo even got this job in the first place. I don't see the Green Wave being any good this season, so I think Toledo will be leaving the Big Easy pretty soon.

Possible replacement - How about Tommy Bowden coming back to New Orleans. The Wave haven't been nearly as good as they once were under Bowden.





Neil Callaway - UAB. When I sat down and thought of all the coaches I wanted to include on this highly respected list, I have to admit that Neil Callaway wasn't one of my first choices. This had nothing to do with the fact that I think the Blazers will be better this season. I actually completely forgot about UAB and Neil Callaway. The worst thing for a college football to do is to become irrelevant.

Possible Replacement- Tyrone Willingham. Imaging Willingham and Mike Davis at the same tiny institution.




Charlie Weis - Notre Dame. The poster boy for coaches on the hot seat this season. Weis will need to do better than a trip to the Hawaii bowl this season to keep his job. One good thing for Charlie is that he has a solid defense in South Bend this year. Also, an easy schedule, especially by Notre Dame standards, should help the Irish rebound somewhat.

Possible Replacement- We all know who Notre Dame's first choice is going to be. We'll just agree that that isn't happening. So I'll say the field.




Al Groh - Virginia. Groh saved his job two seasons ago. He found himself back on the hot seat after missing a bowl game last season. A similar result this year could lead to his dismissal. Groh's sticking point used to be his recruiting prowess. However, he is even slipping in that department recently.

Possible Replacement- Skip Holtz. If he can pull off another good season at ECU.







Doug Martin - Kent St. If Martin can't get the Golden Flashes into a bowl game this season, he might be getting the pink slip. Martin needs to take full advantage of Eugene Jarvis while he has him.

Possible Replacement- Someone from the D-II that no one has ever heard of.





Paul Wulff - Washington St. I usually like to give coaches a 3 year grace period before calling for their job. However, there are certain special circumstances in which I can make an exception. This is one of those instances. If the Cougars suffer through another season like last year, Wulff will be out.

Possible Replacement - Some USC assistant.








Mark Snyder - Marshall. I really have no insightful knowledge on this one. I just know that Marshall hasn't been good for a couple of seasons. Howe many more can Snyder stay around for? In my opinion, one.

Possible Replacement - Maybe the UF-Marshall connection will make it's way over to the gridiron, and Billy Gonzalez gets a head coaching gig.







Ron Zook - Illinois. I'm definitely not an Illinois insider, but I gotta imagine that the fans are growing weary of Zook's inconsistency. This I can speak of firsthand. Zook can recruit, but he absolutely cannot coach. How does someone with Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn at their disposal miss a bowl game? I guess the Zooker needs to start a fight with an entire frat house to start feeling the heat.

Possible Replacement - Another Gator, Charlie Strong.








Bret Bielema - Wisconsin. The Badger win total has been decreasing every season under Bielema's tenure. If that trend continues this season, Wisconsin could be missing out on a bowl game. That's an unforgivable offense in Madison. One that could cost Bielema his job.

Possible Replacement - Whoever the hell Barry Alvarez wants.







Jim Leavitt - South Florida. I know Leavitt is the architect of the South Florida program. A program that is on a meteoric rise. But some blame has to be thrown his way for the Bulls lack of success in late season games. If USF suffers another late season collapse, especially in George Selvie and Matt Grothe's last season, Leavitt could be feeling some serious heat in Tampa.

Possible Replacement - One of the many top notch assistants on Leavitt's coaching staff.

Weekly Picks

Last Week - 43-11

Overall - 161-33


For some reason it seems like I missed a lot more than 11 games this past week. I guess my awesomeness is hard to fathom even for myself. If it wasn't for the PAC-10, most notably Arizona, Arizona St. ad California, I might have had back-to-back weeks of single digit misses.

I have to make my picks early this week because their is a monster showdown on Wednesday.

As I did last week, I will highlight my pick.

Kansas St. @ Louisville (This is the momentous game I spoke of on Wednesday.)
West Virginia @ Colorado (I think Dan Hawkins will have his bunch ready to play some division 1 football.)
Baylor @ Connecticut
Troy @ Ohio St. (Just barely.)
East Carolina @ North Carolina St. (The dream season continues.)
Temple @ Penn St.
Mississippi St. @ Georgia Tech
Ohio @ Northwestern
Florida Atlantic @ Minnesota (For the second straight season.)
Iowa @ Pittsburgh
Central Michigan @ Purdue
Alabama @ Arkansas ('Bama wins the Douchebag Bowl.)
South Carolina St. @ Clemson
UCF @ Boston College
Eastern Michigan @ Maryland
Akron @ Army
Buffalo @ Missouri
Wyoming @ BYU
Arizona @ UCLA
Indiana St. @ Northern Illinois (Jerry Kill's first win as a Husky.)
UL-Monroe @ Tulane
Florida @ Tennessee (It will be closer than last year....But not by much.)
Boise St. @ Oregon (I like Boise St., but not enough.)
Houston @ Colorado St.
Notre Dame @ Michigan St.
Virginia Tech @ North Carolina
Northeastern @ Syracuse ( I know I said I'd never pick the Orange again, but I'm giving them one more chance.)
Miami(FL) @ Texas A&M
Rutgers @ Navy
Marshall @ Southern Miss
Utah @ Air Force
Alabama St. @ UAB
Idaho @ Utah St. (Quite possibly the worst game of all-time.)
South Florida @ Florida International
Rice @ Texas
Massachusetts @ Texas Tech
Wake Forest @ Florida St.
Sam Houston St. @ Kansas
Ball St. @ Indiana (Nate Davis to Dante Love all game long.)
Murray St. @ Western Kentucky
Vanderbilt @ Ole Miss
Portland St. @ Washington St.
Kent St. @ UL-Lafayette
Middle Tennessee @ Arkansas St.
SE Louisiana @ Louisiana Tech
Wofford @ South Carolina
Tennessee Tech @ Western Michigan
New Mexico @ Tulsa
Miami(OH) @ Cincinnati
LSU @ Auburn (The game of the week.)
Georgia @ Arizona St.
Nicholls St. @ Memphis
TCU @ SMU
Fresno St. @ Toledo
San Jose St. @ Stanford
Iowa St. @ UNLV
New Mexico St. @ UTEP


Upset Alert: UNLV has a real good chance to take down it's second straight BCS opponent when they host Iowa St. Portland St. will give Wazzo all they can handle as well. Also, it might not be considered an upset, but Florida St. will be playing for all kinds of respect when they host Wake Forest on Saturday, Of course, the 'Noles probably don't care too much about respect anyway.

Week 3 is in the books

Week 3 finally provided some of the upsets that we've been waiting for. New Mexico beat Arizona, Maryland took down California, UNLV knocked off Arizona St. and Charlie Weis didn't break both legs.

Here are a few of the stories that stood out to me from week 3.


Defense wins championships


There were a few undefeated teams that got it done on the defensive side of the ball this week. As we all know, offense is fun to watch, but it's the defense that wins championships. If these teams can keep up that level of play on the defensive side of the ball, they could be looking at the NC in January.

• Georgia- The Bulldogs won a traditional SEC game by knocking off the Gamecocks on the road 14-7. Georgia's defense held South Carolina's rushing attack to just 58 yards on 16 attempts. That's an average of 1.1 yards per rush! The Dawgs also forced two late turnovers to seal the victory, a Mike Davis fumble at the goal line, and a last second interception by Reshad Jones.
• BYU- The Cougars absolutely dismantled UCLA 59-0 at home. While BYU's offense is being lauded across the nation today, I would like to recognize their defensive efforts. The Cougars shut down Norm Chow's offense. The Bruins only converted on 20 percent of their third down attempts. UCLA only manged 9 rushing yards in the contest and turned the ball over 4 times. This was a drastic improvement for BYU's D compared to last week's escape vs. Washington.
• Auburn- The Tigers defeated Mississippi St. in a baseball-type score of 3-2. Auburn only gave up 162 total yards to the Bulldogs (78 passing and 38 rushing). Auburn's Walter McFadden came through with a huge pick in the final minutes to seal the game for the Tigers. With the way Auburn's offense has been struggling, the D will have to continue to carry this team.
• Oklahoma- The Sooners made Ty Willingham's seat a little warmer by defeating his Huskies 55-14. The Sooners are on an absolute roll both offensively and defensively. OU allowed only 87 rushing yards to Washington on Saturday. The Huskies were only able to average 2.6 yards per rush. Oklahoma also forced 3 fumbles in the contest.
• LSU- When the Tigers actually play this season, it's their defense that looks exceptional. LSU knocked off North Texas 41-3 this week. The Bayou Bengals held the Mean Green to 155 passing yards and 44 rushing yards. LSU also picked off North Texas once.
• USC- Everyone and their mom saw USC dismantle Ohio St. 35-3. USC's offense wasn't overly impressive to me. Their D, on the other hand, was amazing. The Buckeyes only mustered 136 passing yards and 71 rushing yards vs. the Trojans. USC also forced 1 fumble and they got a pick 6 against Todd Boeckman before the half. Rey Maualuga was EVERYWHERE last night.
• Wisconsin- The Badgers capped off Saturday night by putting up a solid defensive effort in their 13-10 win over Fresno St. The Badgers only allowed 15 first downs to Tom Brandstater and the Bulldog offense. Brett Bielema's bunch also forced 1 fumble and 1 interception.

Hurricane Ike


Hurricane Ike was barreling down on Texas this weekend. Several games were moved or cancelled to accommodate this bitch. Here were a few games that were effected by Isaac.

• Baylor vs. Washington St. - This game was moved to Friday. I'm sure that news didn't even register to fans of the two schools. If anyone at all watched this game, they would know that the move didn't effect Baylor at all. The much improved Bears ran all over the horrible Cougar D en route to an impressive victory.
• Arkanas @ Texas - This game was postponed all together. If I were Bobby Petrino, I would be a total douchebag. Also, I would just forfeit the game and keep my bye week. Their schedule is going to be brutal.
• Air Force @ Houston- Dallas was the site of this monumental throwdown. Air Force defeated the Cougars rather handedly. I must say, I am more and more impressed each week with this Falcons football team.
• Louisiana-Monroe vs. Alabama A&M - This was another game that was moved to Friday night. It was also another game that was viewed by a total of 12 people. The Warhawks registered their first win of the season.
• TCU vs. Stanford - This game was moved to 10 am local time to accommodate the storm. The early start time definitely didn't help the Cardinal. They were throttled by an impressive TCU team. No one is talking about TCU in the Mountain West. BYU and Utah better watch out.

The seat gets hotter



After week 3, here are a few coaches that should be updating their profile on careerbuilder.com as we speak.

• Jeff Genyk- Eastern Michigan. The Eagles lost to a bad Toledo team on Saturday. Genyk's squad looked very bad in the process. If EMU cared dick about their program (which they don't) Genyk would already be long gone.
• Greg Robinson- Syracuse. There are a few mysteries in life that can never be explained. The Bermuda Triangle, the Sphinx nose, why Mark May hasn't been bitch slapped by Lou Holtz yet, and how in the hell is Greg Robinson still employed by Syracuse.
• Tommy West- Memphis. The Tigers were expected to be much improved this season. Instead they are total garbage. Their loss to Marshall on Saturday was disastrous for West and Memphis.
• Tyrone Willingham- Washington. Unfortunately, Coach Ty has not been able to get his ass of the hot seat. I know I've said t before, but I feel really bad for this guy.
• Chuck Long- San Diego St. No matter what the Aztecs do the rest of this season, Long will probably be out of a job in December.
• Mike Stoops- Arizona. Just when it seemed like Stoops was coming off the hot seat, his team goes out and loses to previous winless New Mexico. Arizona is the Clemson of the West.