Tennessee issues
OK, tough week in Knoxville. Scratch that.
Tough couple of months in Knoxville.
I'll ask: The demolishing effort against a better-than-most-realize Missouri team seems like a year ago, no?
Well, even with the disappointing and lopsided results since halftime of the Georgia game - UT has been outscored 163-54 in its last 18 quarters - this week has served some added gut punches.
There was Derek Mason getting fired over the weekend, which may not seem like a UT thing, but consider this: Sure, a lot of Vandy coaches have been fired through the years, and Mason has the second-best winning percentage among Commodores coaches in the last quarter century. But Mason was 3-3 against the Vols, the second-most wins against UT for a Vandy coach all-time, so beating UT doesn't even carry the same weight to the Vandy backers and big wigs.
Then there were the comments from the Gators players, which ranged from polite to politically correct to the downright "Bless Your Heart" level of back-handed insults like this from UF beat writer Thomas Goldkamp: "James Houston on where the UF-UT rivalry ranks for him: 'I've personally never played a Tennessee team that was competitive against us, but it's Tennessee-Florida.'"
Then there have been a couple of huge decommitments from what was a top-10 class, including five-star linebacker Terrence Lewis, the nation's No. 17-ranked prospect nationally and the No. 1 inside linebacker in the country.
And then there is the news that junior outside linebacker Kivon Bennett was booted from the program after being arrested and charged with multiple felonies after police found a handgun and a lot of pot and drug paraphernalia in his car.
Man, that's a tough run.
Playoff rankings
The top four remained the same. Shocker, right? (Heck, the top six remained intact from last week for that matter.)
But the second-round of rankings Tuesday night was not without a couple of eye-openers.
First, a lot of national folks are saying Georgia is overrated at 8. OK, I guess.
But we'll ask, and this is the question about this process, whether it's during a normal college football season filled with passion or an abnormal college football season filled with a pandemic: Are we ranking the best teams or the best résumés?
Because if Georgia (6-2 and No. 8 in the rankings) played Cincinnati (8-0, No. 7) on a neutral field, the Bulldogs are at least a touchdown favorite. (Side note: While we are here, I think BYU and Cincinnati missed a golden chance to be the talk of a rather lackluster college football Saturday if they had scheduled an impromptu face-off for this weekend and billed it as a possible play-in game of unbeatens.)
In the big picture, the easy answer is "both" in terms of ranking the rosters or the results, but that brings us back to the four spots that determine who plays for the title.
But the balance of the two, and which one is weighted more - how is Iowa State with a loss to Louisiana at 9? - makes the lack of transparency an issue, past present and in our non-Corona future.
Which leads us back to the debate, because in terms of the rosters THE Ohio State is favored over every team in the country not named Alabama, and that includes Clemson with a healthy Trevor Lawrence.
As for the limited number of games on THE Buckeyes' COVID-crippled schedule, here's what committee chair Gary Barta said during the broadcast:
"A lot of discussion about a number of games a team plays. It's not anybody's fault, but trying to evaluate a team that's four games in vs. a team that is seven, eight or nine games in is a problem, and it's created by the pandemic. The more games a team brings in, the more we have to evaluate.
"It was talked about a lot and specifically talked about in the room about whether Ohio State goes to four or whether Texas A&M goes to four and Ohio State goes to five. A lot of discussion about that. At the end of the day, the offensive firepower of Ohio State, all the weapons they have, the win over Indiana. And then we did have an additional game to evaluate Texas A&M - they beat LSU 20-7. At the end of the day, the committee just decided that Ohio State was still a better team than Texas A&M, deserved to be No. 4. But definitely a lot of discussion about number of games played."
So, basically, the top four remained the same despite the Corona, as did the unknown behind the decisions - and the frustration that comes with it - every time the committee releases a ranking.
And that's an issue of clarity, not COVID.
So the first four - Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and THE Ohio State - remained the same, with Texas A&M and Florida at 5 and 6.
The pieces, though, offer some odd challenges, and ignore this simple fact at your detriment: The committee has to realize that it needs THE Ohio State. Desperately.
Because, while Texas A&M gets a huge benefit in its argument for the 4 spot if THE Ohio State does not play for the Big Ten title because the Aggies will have a better strength of schedule (currently 8th to THE OSU's 77th) and a better win (A&M beat Florida), think of the yawns from outside the South if your playoff includes any combination of the top seven but not THE Buckeyes:
Who wants to see a 1-4 rematch between Alabama and A&M after the first one was akin to the varsity playing the jayvee? And that could present a very real likelihood of two SEC teams and two ACC teams in the final four, making a regional sport even more regionally isolated.
Smart move
Speaking of college football - wow, we got college football heavy today, huh? - the ACC moved its chess pieces while the Big Ten continued to ponder its options in checkers.
While the Big Ten continues to ponder what to do about the dwindling number of games on the schedule - a problem the league created with its back-and-forth indecision in August, ACC commissioner John Swafford acted with a clear vision on the final prize - a shot (or possible shots) at a title and the monster checks that the conferences covet that come with inclusion in the playoff.
The ACC cancelled games for Notre Dame and Clemson scheduled for Dec. 12, meaning that each has the weekend off before meeting in the ACC title game, provided Clemson handles its business as a 22-point favorite at 3-5 Virginia Tech on Saturday.
That decision gives Notre Dame and Clemson the chance to completely isolate for two full weeks within their programs and greatly enhance the ability to avoid COVID.
It's a smart call, especially since the ACC has a very real chance to get two spots in the playoff if Clemson avenges its regular-season loss to Notre Dame in a competitive ACC title game.
And it comes with relatively little cost, considering the limited attendance and the guaranteed TV money that will come with the replacement games.
You also have to wonder if the SEC is pondering a similar scenario considering that Alabama whipping Arkansas and Florida facing whichever LSU Tigers who have not opted out does nothing for anyone on Dec. 12.
This and that
- So the NBA is starting training camp. Yeah, hard to believe, I know.
- I'll admit it, I'm excited for a 3:40 p.m. NFL kickoff. On a Wednesday no less.
- Want to know how you've been covering sports - or news for that matter - for an extended period of time? Well, there's this headline in the TFP about Zach Dragoo getting his first win as a coach. He is a former player we covered, and his dad Mark was a long time coach there before him. And yes, get off my lawn and turn down that loud rock-n-roll.
- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on Alabama taking its show on the road, and here's his take on UT's Eric Gray chasing a 1,000-yard season.
- Holy cow, watching college basketball - the mid-day Maui Invitational from Asheville, N.C. no less - with Bill Walton doing the analysis is like a Martian having a conversation with a fungo. (Yes, that's a quote from Bull Durham "Who dresses you? Don't you think this is a little excessive for the Carolina League?)
- Speaking of the college football playoff rankings, apparently Kirk Herbstreit stepped in it with his analysis about Michigan, and the former THE Ohio State quarterback and alum apologized after the show.
- We frequently talk about bad beats, and the Eagles' backdoor cover that cost one bettor $500,000 was staggering. Well, how about this story about a 10-team parlay that had four NFL picks that needed three backdoor covers and a last-second goal-line stand in a 10-point game to cash. Each of the games worked out and a $50 parlay turned into $35,392.
- Kansas survived a terrible shooting night to topple Kentucky and Michigan State went to Duke and topped the Blue Devils. Is there any crowd situation that looked more surreal than the Cameron Crazies being replaced in a big game with cardboard cutouts? Side note: Of the four blue bloods that played last night, Michigan State looked the best, no?
Today's questions
It's Wednesday, so we'll start this way:
Which of the top four in the college playoff will NOT make the playoff?
Which of the power college basketball programs
Which aspect of coaching is Jeremy Pruitt's biggest strength?
As for today, Dec. 2, let's review.
Aaron Rodgers is 37 today. Yeah, that's a little older than I thought too.
Britney Spears is 39 today. Monica Seles is 47.
On this day in 1845, James Polk announced to Congress that the U.S. should aggressively expand to the West, and the term 'Manifest Destiny' was hatched.
Rushmore of 'Destiny' and be creative.