2009 College Football Predictions

[guru]

A terrific read by the local columnist. Hits all the points, specific and general.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2009 ... /1007/SPT/

When coaches with options say they’re staying – when they talk about loyalty as they ink the contract extension – there’s only one move to make, and that’s for your coat....

...Now, he’s just like everyone else. Almost no coach in quasi-amateur college sports finishes what he starts. Either he’s fired or he leaves....

... You could suggest he’d have a better team here next year than he did this year. You could say that Notre Dame is the college equivalent of the Dallas Cowboys, a pretty box that once contained diamonds. You could offer that quality-of-life issues make staying here overwhelmingly obvious.

You could throw all that out there, and you’d be right every time.

UC is not Notre Dame, though.

Only Notre Dame is Notre Dame.

[gh]

I can't help but draw a parallel between the Cincy fans and Mrs. Tiger. Both now realize that if you throw enough (insert object of temptation here) at somebody, they'll cave.

[jazzcyclist]

I can't help but draw a parallel between the Cincy fans and Mrs. Tiger. Both now realize that if you throw enough (insert object of temptation here) at somebody, they'll cave.

It all depends on whether Brian Kelly had an open marriage with Cincinnati or not. For example, when Nick Saban was in Baton Rouge, he never pledged his endless love to LSU nor did he try to hide the fact that he would like to give the NFL a try one day. Similary, Les Miles also has open marriage with LSU and Tiger fans are well aware of the fact that his heart will always be in Ann Arbor.

[jazzcyclist]

The question I'd like to ask Brian Kelly is what he would have done had Cincinnati made it into the championship game, which is what would have happened if the Big 12 referees hadn't put one second back on the clock last Saturday night. Would he have abandoned a team that was about to play for the national championship or would he have put the talks with Notre Dame off until January 8?

[Dutra]

The question I'd like to ask Brian Kelly is what he would have done had Cincinnati made it into the championship game, which is what would have happened if the Big 12 referees hadn't put one second back on the clock last Saturday night. Would he have abandoned a team that was about to play for the national championship or would he have put the talks with Notre Dame off until January 8?

I'd bet that if the bowl games were being played over the next two weeks there would be less coach jumping at this time of the season but it would begin immediately after the bowl games.

The reason the coach has to make the move now is for recruiting reasons. It's the delay in scheduling that is the problem.

There's no easy answer to the Kelly situation.

[jazzcyclist]

The question I'd like to ask Brian Kelly is what he would have done had Cincinnati made it into the championship game, which is what would have happened if the Big 12 referees hadn't put one second back on the clock last Saturday night. Would he have abandoned a team that was about to play for the national championship or would he have put the talks with Notre Dame off until January 8?

I'd bet that if the bowl games were being played over the next two weeks there would be less coach jumping at this time of the season but it would begin immediately after the bowl games.

The reason the coach has to make the move now is for recruiting reasons. It's the delay in scheduling that is the problem.

There's no easy answer to the Kelly situation.

But there are too many recent examples that contradict your theory. In 2004, Urban Meyer didn't go to Florida until after his Utah team beat Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl and Nick Saban didn't leave LSU until after he coached the Tigers in the Cotton Bowl. In 2001, Steve Spurrier didn't leave Florida until January 4, which was three days after Florida played in the Sugar Bowl. The reason recruiting isn't really an issue is because recruiting shuts down between the middle of December until the second week of January. That's called the "dead period". The most important thing is to have a coach in place by the time recruiting starts up again in January. If Kelly had coached the Bearcats through the Sugar Bowl, he would have only missed out on a week of recruiting. For the most part, his first recruiting class will be the same guys that Charlie Weis was recruiting anyway. The first recruiting class always has the previous coach's fingerprints all over it. That's how Trindon Holliday, a Nick Saban recruit, ended up playing for LSU. Les Miles wasn't too high on him, but he decided to honor the offer Saban had already made to him.

Furthermore, why would Notre Dame give a damn that the guy they want has a team in the playoffs? If they don't respect the BCS bowls, I don't see why they would respect the playoffs.

[DrJay]

In the BCS boardroom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFws5ri5Tb8&feature=fvw

[jazzcyclist]

The Penn State football team is spending almost two weeks in Florida. They arrived in Daytona Beach over the weekend and held their first practice on Tuesday. Today they'll bus to Orlando where they'll stay until their New Years' Day match-up with LSU. Notice that Paterno also let the players travel to Florida on their own rather than force them to ride on the team plane. By doing this, the school can legally give the players a lot more money (in addition to their per diems) than it will cost them to travel to Florida on their own, since they'll either car pool or fly on one of the budget airlines such as Southwest, and the schools intentionally use the most over-priced plane ticket they can find as their guideline. Paterno also said that there will be no curfew unless the players force him to impose one by acting irresponsibly. Mack Brown is doing the same thing regarding his teams' travel to Los Angeles. In these days, a school's bowl travel is another selling point that's talked about during the recruiting process, when coaches must compete with each other in relating to kids who are younger than their own grandchildren in many cases. Of course these two-week vacations in Florida, southern California and New Orleans will be a thing of the past if the playoff jihadists ever get their way.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/c ... 1432.story

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewsspo ... state.html

[donley2]

With the performance of the Mountain West teams so far (3-0) and if TCU rolls Boise State as I really expect, I am hard pressed to find a scenario that does not lead me to believe that TCU could play with (and possibly defeat) any team out there this year.

[jazzcyclist]

With the performance of the Mountain West teams so far (3-0) and if TCU rolls Boise State as I really expect, I am hard pressed to find a scenario that does not lead me to believe that TCU could play with (and possibly defeat) any team out there this year.

I would have rather seen TCU take on Florida than Cincinnati. The Bearcat defense has me concerned that the Sugar Bowl could get ugly early.

[guru]

I would have rather seen TCU take on Florida than Cincinnati. The Bearcat defense has me concerned that the Sugar Bowl could get ugly early.

Things just changed big time for Florida.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4772952

[jazzcyclist]

I would have rather seen TCU take on Florida than Cincinnati. The Bearcat defense has me concerned that the Sugar Bowl could get ugly early.

Things just changed big time for Florida.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4772952

Talk about sending shockwaves throughout college football. Now we'll have to wait for the other shoe to drop. This sounds ominous.

I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to reevaluate my priorities of faith and family. After consulting with my family, Dr. Machen, Jeremy Foley and my doctors, I believe it is in my best interest to step aside and focus on my health and family.

[guru]

It's sure not hard to think brain tumor after that "cyst" was discovered on his brain a few weeks ago.

[Pego]

It's sure not hard to think brain tumor after that "cyst" was discovered on his brain a few weeks ago.

Do you have a link to some such info?

[Pego]

ESPN reports the cyst as an arachnoid cyst. That is a congenital, asymptomatic condition - essentially nothing.

They also report a "heart muscle defect". That could mean all sorts of things.