From Scott
If you're David Blackburn, who do you force to tell you "no"?
Scott -
Excellent question, and the truth of the matter is regardless of how distressed/concerned/perplexed/you name it any UTC fan is about the football program A.R. (After Russ), we can offer this without hesitation.
If we're Johnny Mocs Fan this morning, Blackburn is the guy we'd want making the hire. Period.
As for the no list, the first call is Jason Simpson, who was a finalist along with Hugh Freeze and Russ Huesman the last time the Mocs found themselves in this spot. Simpson, a former UTC OC, has fashioned a strong program at UT-Martin. The next no we'd require is Bobby Lamb, who has ties to our area anyway (not that that matters a great deal mind you) and is a universally respected football dude.
Now if you are into the 'Jim Foster' model of a national splash hire that catches everyone by surprise, call Les Miles. It's not like he's doing anything right now, and the worst he can say is "Thanks, but no thanks."
We'd be 12 shades of shocked if its a power five coordinator or even a primary position coach at a top-30 program because of the overwhelming money difference. But who knows which of those guys may be a) unbelievably unhappy; b) dying for a shot at running their own ship or c) some of each.
That said, taking a power five assistant can be grand slam of called out on strikes looking because a) those cats are used to overcoming problems with a checkbook that UTC simply can not match and b) not unlike big-program transfers, if they are looking to get out of somewhere, they could very well be part of the problem.
Finally, if you are looking for a name out of left field, we think if he's ever interested in becoming a college coach that Maryville High School coach George Quarles would be a rock star as a college coach.
Former UTC football coach Russ Huesman talks to the media in December 2016 during his last news conference at McKenzie Arena. Huesman, a former Mocs football player, is now at Richmond.From Matt
Does UTC balking on $100k to match Richmond show that they aren't really serious about winning football games?
Matt -
No, not at all.
Private school with more coin. That's how it goes some times, and this is one of those times.
In fact, that UTC lifted its number as high as it did - reported in the low $300s - is more than we expected. In a lot of ways, as great as Russ was here, it may have been the perfect time to make the move all things considered, and that from each side.
That said, football just became more expensive for the Mocs either way.
The numbers got out about what Russ was making, so getting a new coach in a lot of ways sets that baseline at the current number for a new coach who has not accomplished anything close to what Russ did to earn that number.
That's the pay-it-forward state of affairs of college athletics.
So it goes.
From Patrick
Did you see the Minnesota story? Crazy stuff. What do you think?
Patrick -
It's a monster deal on a lot of levels.
Here's the quick back story:
The administration at the University of Minnesota suspended 10 players this week for roles in an alleged sexual assault in September. Four of those suspended players were suspended for the first three games of the season following the accusation.
In October, authorities closed their criminal investigation into the allegation and did not make any arrests or charges in the incident. Despite the lack of official charges - which are not exactly a determining factor in awful and compromising situations involving allegations like these - the school suspended the players from all team activities as the Gophers approach a bowl date with Washington State.
But the story is far from finished. The rest of the team announced Thursday night that they will boycott all team activities - up to and including sitting out the bowl game, which would cost the school millions in revenue, fees, tickets and who knows what in forfeiture payments - until the 10 players are reinstated.
The suspension is in place for now, but the attorney for the 10 players told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the school's office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action recommended that five of the players be expelled, four be issued one-year football suspensions and one player getting school probation.
It's a mess in a lot of ways, and while there is no good way to handle allegations and actions like these, the extreme mismanagement of cases like this are amazing. Think about Baylor football and the mismanagement of coaches and administrators in dealing with and not acting on claims by the victims. Then think about Duke lacrosse in terms of the over-zealousness that frequently comes with the 'guilty until proven innocent' when charges like these are issued.
It's a nasty deal for sure, and if they are guilty of sexual assault - especially multiple players against one woman making these claims, which makes the mind wonder to horrifying places for dads of daughters - then a three-game suspension seems pretty light. But if they are not - and the police did not file charges, remember - what then.
And rest assured, while we all have gotten a kick out talking about the story at Wake Forest with the bitter radio dude giving out plays and game-plan ideas and whether you would use them or not, this issue is paramount to the current status of college sports.
There's the issue of sexual assault, which is a bigger and bigger crisis for programs - especially big-time football and basketball teams - because of so many factors. Age, star-power, alcohol, testosterone, you name.
Now add the Title IX implications and lawsuits schools have to guard against. Not to mention the perception details that come with something like this. Chief among those, at least from the university's position is the simple fact that if parents believe the school is not active in protecting its female students, well, you can start closing buildings and leasing space to DeVry or the University of Phoenix. Period.
On the other side, however, the school needs to be fair to its students, regardless of status or importance, and false claims (if these are indeed not merit-worthy of a criminal charge) must be vetted and acted upon as well.
Not sure where the school is in that vetting process, although it feels like unless new evidence has come to light, that this should have happened earlier. As for the rest of college sports and the NCAA in general, the team protest is another issue entirely.
This does not feel like a faux protest like the Missouri players did 13 months ago for that rich kid on the hunger strike. The Minnesota boycott was announced by three team leaders to the media last night after a players-only meeting. This feels real and has the look of two sides drawing a line in the sand.
Like we said and wrote when the Missouri thing happened - and the Tigers then got their way and did not miss the game they threatened to boycott - this will happen again.
And what happens if the next time it's 45 minutes before a NCAA tournament game or Friday night before one of those high-profile season-opening football games at a neutral site? What do I think of this? I don't know what to think, but we could very well be on the edge of this potentially being a culture-changing event in the history of college sports.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) scores a touchdown ahead of Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson (22) after a reception in the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Scott Eklund) From GM and several others
Seattle 24-3.. you were spot on with your prediction! Just listen to 105.1 the zone who needs Vegas! Who else you like this weekend?
GM -
We did our college bowl picks (round 1 version) in Thursday's 5-at-10. You can check that here.
If we were going to handicap a Twitter dispute/potential fist-a-cuffs, well, this Twitter exchange leads us to believe that Keith Stone, who tweeted "@TG3II if I ever see you in public we're fist fighting over your fantasy football performance this year" to Todd Gurley best hope he never sees Mr. Gurley, who responded simply "Pull up then."
Gulp. Hard swallow for Mr. Stone.
As for NFL picks, well, the Frisky 4 went a nice and tidy 3-1 last week in its debut, and if you add in last night's Seattle and the under pick, well, that's five of our last six. Let's try to build on that shall we. (Lines are from VegasInsider.com as of Friday morning.)
Green Bay minus-5 over Chicago. The Bears are done. The Packers are surging. Yes it's a road game, but home NFL games are not as valuable in our view as home college games. Everyone travels first class. The pros are way more used to it. The destinations are major cities with much easier accommodations. So, beyond late season motivation - Packers trying to get to the playoffs; Bears trying to get into the top three of three draft - ask yourself this simple question: Is the difference between Aaron Rodgers and Matt Barkley really worth only five points?
New England minus-3 over Denver. The Broncos simply can not run the football. They had 18 yards against Tennessee last week for Pete's sake. And is there one coach in the league who is better at picking at a one-dimensional offense than Bill Belichick? Yes the Denver defense will keep this close, and yes, the fact that Denver is playing for their postseason lives is valuable. But if you buy the half and cut it down to the core, are you taking Gary Kubiak and trevor Siemian over Belichick and Tom Brady? Nope, neither would we.
Pittsburgh minus-3 over Cincinatti. Careful, there's some research coming. Interesting tidbit here: The Steelers are 8-5 overall and 8-5 against the spread. Since the Steelers are a very popular team with the entertainment-seeking public, they have been an underdog once all year - losing as a 7.5 home 'dog 27-16 to New England. Simply put, when the Steelers win, those who have picked the Steelers win. We think the Steelers, who have collected four consecutive victories, win in Cincinnati. Winning.
Tennessee-Kansas City under the 43. In their six home games, the stingy Chiefs defense has allowed 16.2 points per game, and that's with a sizable chunk of that total coming in the season-opener against Philip Rivers and the Chargers. Now that it has turned cold in K.C., the Chiefs have allowed 13, 19, and 14 points to visitors in their last three at Arrowhead. This is important. Now add in the fact that each coach loves the check down, and each coach knows that his team really needs this game (meaning fewer chances) and less than six TDs seems like a given when either side would take 17-14 right now and move on.
From scole023
What am I going to win for winning the Bowl contest? I love to win stuff.
P.S. You still talk too much.
scole023 -
Great question, and we probably should have addressed this earlier.
We almost always offer up a meal of the winner's choice in gift-card fashion, and some other hot-ticket items depending on what we can pilfer from sponsors. We might throw in some Lookouts tickets and smoother trinkets. (If we somehow manage to hook up a deal with a car dealership, well, that likely will stay in house, so there's that.)
Entry update: With the deadline looming in 13 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds from when the 5-at-10 (remember, 5 things at 10 a.m. each Monday through Friday) was published Friday, we have almost 30 entries. If we get enough (say in the 50-plus neighborhood) we may have a runner-up prize, too.
So for the final time, here's the entry list for the Bowling for Bowls of College Bowl Game Success (Bowler optional):
One-point games (8 games; 8 points possible)
New Mexico Bowl - New Mexico (-7.5) vs. UTSA
Las Vegas Bowl - Houston (-3.5) vs. San Diego State
Camellia Bowl - Appalachian State vs. Toledo (pick 'em)
Cure Bowl - UCF (-6.5) vs. Arkansas State
New Orleans Bowl - Southern Miss (-3.5) vs. La.-Lafayette
Miami Beach Bowl - Central Michigan vs. Tulsa (-11.5)
Home Loans Bowl - South Alabama vs. Air Force (-12.5)
Poinsettia Bowl - BYU (-8.5) vs. Wyoming
Two-point games (8 games; 16 points possible)
Boca Raton Bowl - Memphis vs. Western Kentucky (-4.5)
Potato Bowl - Idaho vs. Colorado State (-13.5)
Bahamas Bowl - Eastern Michigan vs. Old Dominion (-3.5)
Armed Forces Bowl - Louisiana Tech (-3.5) vs. Navy
Dollar General Bowl - Ohio vs. Troy (-3.5)
Hawaii Bowl - Hawaii vs. MTSU (pick 'em)
Heart of Dallas Bowl - Army (-9.5) vs. North Texas
Military Bowl - Temple (-13.5) vs. Wake Forest
Three-point games (8 games; 24 point spossible)
National Funding Holiday Bowl - Minnesota vs. Washington State (-6.5)
Catcus Bowl - Boise State (-7.5) vs. Baylor
Pinstripe Bowl - Pittsburgh (-5.5) vs. Northwestern
Russell Athletic Bowl - West Virginia vs. Miami (-2.5)
Foster Farms Bowl - Indiana vs. Utah (-7.5)
Texas Bowl - Texas A&M (-2.5) vs. Kansas State
Birmingham Bowl - USF (-10.5) vs. South Carolina
Quick Lane Bowl - Maryland (-1.5) vs. Boston College
Four-point games (7 games; 28 points possible)
Belk Bowl -Arkansas vs. Virginia Tech (-6.5)
Alamo Bowl - Oklahoma State vs. Colorado (-3.5)
Sun Bowl - Stanford (-3.5) vs. North Carolina
TaxSlayer Bowl - Georgia Tech (-4.5) vs. Kentucky
Cotton Bowl - Western Michigan vs. Wisconsin (-7.5)
St. Petersburg Bowl - Miami (Ohio) vs. Mississippi State (-12.5)
Independence Bowl - NC State (-4.5) vs. Vandy
Five-point games (7 games; 35 points possible)
Outback Bowl - Florida (-2.5) vs. Iowa
Music City - Nebraska vs. Tennessee (-3.5)
Orange Bowl - Michigan (-6.5) vs. FSU
Citrus Bowl - LSU (-3.5) vs. Louisville
Liberty Bowl - Georgia vs. TCU (pick 'em)
Sugar Bowl - Auburn vs. Oklahoma (-4.5)
Rose Bowl - USC (-6.5) vs. Penn State
Seven-point games (2 games; 14 points possible)
Peach Bowl - Washington vs. Alabama (-15.5)
Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Clemson
The national championship will serve as a tie-breaker as it arises.
Deal? Deal.
Go ahead and enter. Don't cost nothin' after all.