Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The CFP, Final Grades and the MMQ's


It's that time of year when there’s nothing left but window dressing bowls for teams that don’t make the CFP which means it’s time for the MMQ grades and the MMQs!  But First,

The CFP

Talk about your INTRUIGING plot twists!!! So, at #5, Michigan is still in the middle of the mess!  Amazing, but not so much when you really think about it.  Michigan has victories over 3 teams in the Top 10, which can’t be ignored!!  Wiscy has one victory over a team in the top 25.  PSU has one victory over a team in the top 10 (osu).  One of them will improve to 2 victories this weekend, but not exceed Michigan’s Top 10 Win totals.  If Washington or Clemson loses, regardless of who wins the B1G Championship, the Committee is more or less saying, “We’re NOT going to have a repeat of last season where we totally screwed up and DIDN’T put a superior suckeyes team in the CFP (that destroyed the Domers in the Fiesta Bowl) and instead, put in a sparty team, that won the B1G Championship, but turned out to be a really bad team - in the end.  And they totally embarrassed themselves on national TV.  In addition, we REALLY screwed up putting in an Oklahoma team (that couldn’t play a lick of defense) over a Stanford team that DESTROYED their B1G 10 opponent (Iowa) in the Rose Bowl.  Nope – NOT GONNA’ DO THAT AGAIN.  And we don’t care who we piss off in the process.”

And you can bet that some folks in Happy Valley and Madison are going to be PLENTY PISSED OFF about that result if the winner Saturday doesn’t jump the team that beat them both (Michigan).  But the Committee appears poised to do just that. 

And I’m not sure that’s entirely a bad thing (and I’m speaking objectively here– HONEST!!!).  Does PSU or Wiscy want to go into the CFP ala sparty in the 4th slot only to be demoralized by Bama?  Look what happened to sparty this season after that humiliation.  Me-thinks that the committee is looking to the past with both eyes wide open as to which team can compete against Bama (based on coaching and overall statistics) and at least give the audience a game instead of a 4 hour blow-out of mega proportions.  Which is probably what you’d get with either Wiscy or PSU. 

So, Clemson and Washington both have to win.  If one of them loses….CHAOS!!!!

The Grades

Michigan Offense:  C+  I was going to give this a D based on what I thought were pretty good reasons, but then I looked at Bill Connelly’s SP+ Rankings after the last game.  Michigan is still in the top 30 overall offensively (28th), and the number 2 team overall SP+.  That’s pretty good, but nowhere near A or B work, but definitely better than the D I originally planned.  If Michigan was in Indy for the B1G Championship and a shot at the CFP, this grade would be different. (For those of you not familiar with the SP+ rankings, Bill does a great job of adjusting all stats for opponent level, “meaningful game time” stats vs. garbage minutes at the end of the game, etc.)  Probably the best stat site out there.

Michigan Defense:  A+  I’m not sure what more they could have done and what more we could have asked.  Michigan maintained it’s overall #1 rank in the SP+ on Defense which is why Michigan has been able to hang on to the overall #2 rank for the season.  This defense was plenty good enough to win a Championship, but the offense failed them too many times…. And of course, there’s this: 

http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112916aad.html

The entire Defense was recognized and received all B1G 10 Honors.  Each and every player.  So, yeah, I guess an A+ here is warranted by the ole MMQ! 

Special Teams:   B   Why the B?  While JP was the real deal on returns, I’m not sure he took advantage of each and every opportunity he was presented with.  And while his performance was better than B work when he did make returns, I have to look at what could have been.  Also, kicking in general gave us some grey hair early in the season, but then Allen seemed to right the ship.  Iowa definitely cost the special teams a half grade (punt coverage team) and could have changed the outcome of the season. 

Coaching:   B   While the pre-season prep time was clearly something this team needed, 4th quarter performance in games that mattered was a major issue.  And some of that has to fall on the coaching staff and the guy calling plays.  As I stated earlier, sparty last year, Iowa and osu were all winnable games.  One first down at critical times in all of those games results in a “W”.   Good coaches need to figure out how to call those games at the end, get that first down, and win them.  The B or B+ was there, just get one first down in either of those critical games this season.    

Overall:  B   A 10-2 season is nothing to be ashamed of, but when expectations are so high and you have only defeated one of your rivals, well, it’s a problem.  I guarantee you Coach Harbaugh knows it and will work hard to fix it in the future. 

The MMQ’s

Every year I come up with some awards for outstanding players, coaches, teams and whatever other what-not that I feel are worthy of an MMQ award.  In no particular order (and because I just like making stuff up as I go), here we go!

The MMQ for Best Game of the Season:  Michigan vs. osu.  I considered a couple of others, (actually, not really) and this game by far topped them all.  2nd place was probably the Clemson-Louisville game that went down to the final seconds, but for sheer stakes on the table, all or nothing, leave everything on the field, it has to be Michigan-osu.

The MMQ Game We THOUGHT was the Best Game of the Season:  domers vs. Texas wins over sparty vs. domers.  Turns out that Labor Day game for the ages was a bunch of shiny things wrapped up in pretty paper that had absolutely no substance to it what so ever, in the long haul.  Ditto that sparty –domers game that was simply a battle of ineptitude, as it turned out.  Strong’s gone, Kelly’s looking and neither team has much to hang their hat on this season. 

The MMQ Player of the Year (that won’t win the Heisman):  I’m a little biased on this one, but I do think that Jabrill Peppers is the most exciting player to watch in college football.  Defensive End Jonathan Allen from Bama also controls games and is a handful for any team he faces, but for sheer excitement when he touches the ball, I’m giving it to Peppers.

The MMQ Coach of the Year:  PJ Fleck.  I was torn on this one, I really was.  Fleck has set records in the MAC and given Western Michigan something to talk about for generations to come.  I wanted to give it to Harbaugh (again, bias) but losing the way Michigan has lost is somewhat on the coaching staff.  Other coaches strongly considered were McEntyre (Colorado), Franklin (PSU), Peterson (Washington) and Chrsyt (Wiscy).  Where Fleck ends up after next Saturday will be interesting to see, and my money is on Purdue right now. 

The MMQ Dumpster Fire inside of a Tire Fire Team of the Year:  This one is SO HARD.  Three candidates immediately jumped to mind:  sparty, domers and Rutgers. (Also considered:  Arizona, Texas, Purdue, BC, and UCLA.)   Seeing as how everyone kind of knew that Rutgers was a disaster heading into the season and everyone is giving Chris Ash at least 5 seasons to right the ship, I can’t put them in first place.  NOBODY saw the disasters at sparty and the domers coming, but which one is worse?  Sparty has to play in the B1G East and they also beat the Domers rather decisively.  The domers opponents this season are barely playing 0.500 ball, meaning that the domers had a fairly easy schedule.   And while the sparty record at 3-9 is worse than 4-8, that heads up victory has to count for something.  And Anthononio isn’t actively looking for other gigs, as far as we know, unlike Kelly, who wants to bail on the sinking ship.  WINNER:  The Domers it is. 

The MMQ Team of the Year:  While it’s easy to give this to an undefeated team and Bama seems like the logical choice, I’m leaning a slightly different way.  Everyone kind of expected Bama, Michigan, osu, and Clemson to be pretty good.  But there’s a team in the Pac 12 that is really good and will probably give fits to the rest of the Pac 12 for years to come.  WINNER:  Peterson’s Washington Huskies are a great team and still have a shot at winning the Pac 12 and going to the CFP.  And NOBODY predicted that pre-season.

The MMQ for “What Could Have Been” Season:  Again, it might be too early to hand this one out as we still have a weekend of football left. (especially if Clemson or Washington lose)  But not everyone is playing and the CFP is probably pretty set with regards to who’s in and out.  Several teams are in the running for this one:  Wiscy, PSU, osu, Colorado, USC, Okie State and Michigan.  I have a very funny feeling that only 1 B1G team gets in and it’s not going to be the one that everyone THINKS is going to make the CFP.  Michigan’s losses (by 1 and 3 points) and osu’s loss (by 3 to PSU) are clearly the closest losses for the teams considered.  Michigan decisively beat Colorado, Wiscy and PSU, so they’ve been eliminated from consideration.  If osu is left out of the CFP for the 1-loss to PSU (assuming it’s Bama – Clemson – Washington – PSU/Wiscy winner) than osu can claim the award.  Otherwise, it’s Michigan.   

The Most Poorly Officiated Game of the Year:  Again, another close one, but I do have a personal bias on this one.  Candidates:

Michigan vs. osu:  reasons have been stated and are obvious

Okie State vs. Central:  Recall the play at the end of the game that SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED and was due to an officiating screw up where refs were suspended for two weeks.

While I’m still bitter about the subjective officiating calls that were and were NOT made in the Michigan-osu game, the Central-OSU game has to be the winner.  In what could be an easy decision to simply say the last play didn’t count, take the points off the board, the NCAA (and Las Vegas) isn’t allowing it.  Crazy.  

The MMQ for the Most Overrated Conference of the Year:  Anyone else besides the SEC in this discussion is a non-starter.  Clearly a conference that started with 8 teams in the top 25 (and 5 in the Top 10) pre-season to only have 1 Top 10 Team in the final rankings is worthy of this award.  I know all about the Big Xii, but they weren’t supposed to be that great to begin with.  However,

The MMQ for the Most Disappointing Conference of the Year: Can easily go to the Big Xii.  They stink on ice and Texas and Oklahoma are leading the way with that stink.  The Big Xii’s non-conference record was also atrocious, giving them this award hands down.  Not to mention wasting all of our time with expansion that never happened.

The MMQ for the Worst Coaching Performance of the Year:  This one is close.  I’m not sure any of these coaches quit (maybe one), but they certainly didn’t do themselves any favors with things they said and did during the season.  This award came down to coaches that are still active.  IF you got canned somewhere along the way, I’m eliminating you from consideration as you’re already history.  This award has to go to a coach that will be back on the same team next season (and as of this writing, hasn’t been fired), and probably in the top 5 as far as the Hot Seat goes.  In no particular order: 

Butch Jones – Cremesicles were unanimous favorite to win SEC East, and blew it.  Not only that, but losing to a lousy Vandy team to end the regular season has the torch and pitchfork crowd fired up. 

B. Kelly – domers were a top 10 pre-season team with 1st round QB

Dantonio – sparty was a pre-season top 15 team with plenty of returning talent

Smart – Georgia was not a dumpster fire and the cabinet wasn’t bare. Should have been a 9 win floor for Smart… 

Rich Rod – 5th season on the job and he goes 3-9 after being a dark-horse pick pre-season by some observers?

Grobe – is he even coaching Baylor or just letting the assistants run the show?  Baylor on a 5 game skid after starting 6-0.  To be fair, Grobe doesn’t even have to be fired as he told the AD he’s done after the bowl game. 

Chris Ash – lost by a combined 228-0 to Michigan, osu, and PSU.  Even for a first year, that’s not good…

And the winner is:  Kelly.  I know it sounds like I’m always picking on the guy, but he is the only coach on the list that calls his players and assistant coaches out for not executing or playing good enough to win.  My guess is that a lot of schools have seen that as well, which is why his nosing around for another job didn’t go so well.  The biggest reason for him winning the award:  I asked myself if I had to take coaches off this list to fill vacancies, who would be the last one I picked (Grobe excluded)?  Rich Rod right before Kelly were the last two. 

The MMQ for the Well That’s Fabulous Moment of the Year:  Again, close.  Okie State-CMU was considered, firing the winningest head coach at a school in the SEC was also considered, and playing a football game in a hurricane that could have been played on Sunday was considered.  A couple of those have already received awards, so I’m giving this one to Hurricane Bowl.  And the fact that the domers tried to pass the ball like the heavy stuff wasn’t going to come down for quite awhile!!!

MMQ for the Most Improved Team of the Year:  Always tough, but without question the coaching change that Clay Helton made at QB for USC had a tremendous impact on that teams performance.  And after watching a lot of the USC Washington game, there’s not a coach in his right mind that would WANT to play USC right now.  That’s improvement. 

The MMQ for the Most Non-Football Related Issue that Occupied Our Time:  It’s close, and items considered were Baylor sexual abuse, Targeting Rule Discussion(s), and Big Xii Expansion.  Winner:  Big Xii Expansion.  Tired of listening to it and talking about it. 

 

Monday, November 28, 2016

So Close, And Yet So Far......




This is a hard Monday to post.  I haven’t looked forward to a Post-Thanksgiving Monday in a long time, and the most recent one (read: win) I can remember is beginning to fade.  The season is over, with the exception of the Bowl Game (probably the Orange against FSU) and the Defense should be praised for holding the suckeyes to 3 points for nearly the entirety of regulation.   But before I get ahead of myself:

First – It was a great game that lived up to the hype.  That so rarely happens in football that its nice to see when it does happen.  2 OT thriller was great for the neutral fan.  Had to be.  I would have loved watching any other two rivals play in a game like that and watch it go down to the wire.  Only problem was – I had a dog in the race.

Second – Thank you Coach Harbaugh for making this game matter again.  I’m looking forward to the next seasons and better results.  I know I shouldn’t be results oriented and that these are 18-22 year old kids, but we all want to win. 

Yep, It’s hard to post for many reasons, but the primary one is this: This has been a “So Close, and Yet so Far” season for the Wolverines. 

  1.  In the games that have actually been close and competitive, Michigan has two road losses by a combined 4 points. 
  2. Michigan’s performance in the 4th quarter on the road is abysmal, and needs a lot of thought and deep reflection during the off season by Coach Harbaugh.  He needs to learn how to put teams away. 
  3. And Michigan, while many believe is still one of the best 4 teams in the country, is effectively out of the CFP.
  4. And they’ve lost to the suckeyes – again.
  5. And somehow, two teams Michigan BEAT decisively (PSU and Wiscy) are playing for the B1G Championship.  That is the one I’m struggling with the most.  That fact alone has me scratching my head wondering what’s wrong with the B1G and CFP in general. 

I know, there’s a mathematical way and if all the stars align correctly and everyone that needs to crap the bed craps the bed that there’s still some weird scenario where Michigan gets into the CFP.  To that I have this comment:  Right...

I’ll get the lousy officiating in a minute, but that’s NOT why Michigan lost the game.  Costly interceptions, a goal line fumble, and squandered opportunities always – ALWAYS – come back to haunt you.  I’m not saying you can’t make mistakes.  But when an opportunity presents itself, not capitalizing is, in many ways and in my mind, worse than the mistake you could make going after the opportunity.

I could go into some long “bitter” rant about how poor the officiating was.  I believe if you were neutral, there’s no way not to agree that the officiating was atrocious.  And it would be nice to see that get corrected, somehow.  The most controversial calls:

  1. The pass interference that was called on Delano Hill that WASN’T PI.  The ball was uncatchable.
  2. The Pass Interference that WASN’T called on the suckeyes when Speight threw to Grant Perry in OT and Perry had no chance to make a catch as he was practically tackled before the ball got there…
  3. And finally, the first down that wasn’t.  I guess it was as the officials on the field saw it one way and the replay guys couldn’t reverse it based on what they were looking at.
  4. Calling an unsportsmanlike on a coach for yelling at the officials is bad form, officiating people.  Get over yourselves.  You’re not more important than the game. 

Any or all of those go a different way, and you have a different outcome of that football game. 

And here’s a little thing that I’m not sure how the B1G let happen:  The head referee was previously dismissed from B1G officiating for screwing up and was allowed back into the ranks.  And he was also from ohio.  Not to mention he was a self-proclaimed osu fan.  Can someone explain that to me? 

Does that warrant the tirade that Harbaugh went on in his post-game presser?  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times:  When Michigan got Jimmy to come back, I posted “He’s an asshole, but he’s OUR KIND OF Asshole.”  You get everything with Jimmy, like it or not. 

When the sting of this subsides, I’ll attempt to post and regale the team’s accomplishments and the Defense’s excellence on the season.   It’s a shame this team can’t play for more, as they are more than worthy and deserve the shot. 

The Rest of the Mess

This has to be the WORST SEASON in the SEC EVER with the exception of Bama.  Why?  I’ll tell you why:

Arkansas @ Mizzou:   Mizzou was a 3 win team going into the final game – and they were awful.  Yet, somehow, this 3 win team finds a way to beat BB’s Hogs and keep Arkansas out of a New Year’s day game…

Georgia Tech @ Georgia:  GT has been a disappointing team this season and had clinched a bowl berth last week with 6 wins.  Georgia was at home and needed a victory to play on New Year’s day as well.  Yet somehow, Kirby Smart LOST this season finale at home…

Miss State @ Ole Miss:  Ole Miss was a team that earlier in the season somehow had Bama down 3 scores and it was looking like an upset in the making. Since that day, Ole Miss has stunk the place up and has multiple NCAA sanctions coming.  Miss State OWNED ole Miss on Saturday.  Hugh Freeze will be looking for a job soon! 

Tennessee @ Vandy:  Mason has been hurting at Vandy ever since taking over for James Franklin, but he found a way to take another 3 win team and beat the Cremesicles, the SAME CREMESICLES that were supposed to win the SEC East and vie for a National Title.

South Carolina @ Clemson:  I thought the Game Cocks were playing better football.  I was wrong.  Really Wrong.  Clemson destroyed the Cocks and have more or less put an exclamation mark on how bad the SEC East is. 

Florida @ FSU:  Ditto Florida.  Won the SEC East which is like winning 2nd place in a beauty contest with 2 participants.  FSU DESTROYED Gatorland.  I’m not even sure a team of All Stars from the East could compete against Bama, much less the Gators on Saturday. 

Wiscy vs. Gophers:  Talk about your so close and yet so far games!!  Gophers couldn’t close the deal, however, and Wiscy quietly escapes to play for the B1G Title in Indy on Saturday. 

LSU @ Texas A&M:  Another disaster of a finish for Sumlin.  A&M wasn’t even competitive on the field at the end, and looked as if they were mailing it in….Speaking of which:

PSU vs. MSU:  Final sparty record:  3-9.   In what should have been a somewhat competitive game, sparty went all SOS and proved once again why they are and will for the future tenure of Antoninus’ regime be stuck in 4th to 5th place in the B1G East.   I foresee the day when Durk’s Terps challenge for the perennial 4th place spot (Michigan, osu, PSU 1-2-3) and sparty will be looking for a new head coach. 

Eye-wa vs. Cornsuckers:  Smiling Mike Riley isn’t smiling today as he explains his team’s ineptitude against the Hawkeyes.  Granted, the game was at Kinnick, but the Conrnsuckers just plain didn’t show up. 

Trojans vs. domers:  Final domer record:  4-7 Amidst a growing cacophony of “rumors” that B. Kelly was out looking for a job, there was even louder tweets and press releases coming from Kelly’s camp that he’s in love with domerland and never leaving!!  Of course, all that went south when someone was able to determine

TCU vs. Texas:  NOW IT’S OFFICIAL:  Charlie Strong GONE!!!

The 5 Stages of Slappy Fan Grief

  1. Denial and Isolation –Any team that’s going to lose their head coach this season to a better opportunity that’s out there waiting.  Western Michigan, Houston, etc.  All those fans will operate under the belief that the coach doesn’t matter that much now that the program is “established”.  It matters  A LOT…   
  2. ANGER –Domers They’ve owned this spot all season and they’ve gotten louder with the rumors flying that Kelly is dis-loyal for looking elsewhere.  There’s a bunch that are even jubilant that he might actually find a sucker that want to take him for close to what he’s making in Domerland now. 
  3. Bargaining –LSU Tigers.  Got Ogeron after firing Les after the 4th game, which, if I’m Aleva (the LSU AD), I’m wondering why I fired Les at all assuming I was hiring Ogeron?  The rumor is that the price tag on both Herman and Fisher was too steep and Aleva figures he can wait another couple of seasons and ride the “coaching carousel” out with Coach O and a better offensive coordinator.
  4. Depression –Michigan Fans  I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m depressed.  Should have won that game.  This rivalry has been too one sided and it’s time to flip the script. 
  5.  Acceptance – Is it Basketball season yet???

 

Idle Thoughts from Saturday

-Game Day at 7:00 AM. 

-Granted, they’ll probably just end up repeating everything at the end…

-It’s finally here!

-364 days of waiting to right the wrongs of the past…

-I believe this is the season!

-Cautiously optimistic!

-Somehow, what you believe and what actually happens is never the same thing.

-Speight – looks good!

-Speight – What are you doing???

-God…Don’t lose like this.

-10-7 at halftime. 

-This game is winnable.

-Just stop making mistakes!

-Okay – good score!!!

-Awesome!!!  Another score of separation in the 4th should seal it.

-What are we doing?

-Why conservative?

-MOVE THE FOOTBALL, DAMMIT!!!

-This is painful.  Squandering a lead like this sucks. 

-This officiating is horrendous….

-What are we doing?

-Can the osu kicker miss one more?  Please?

-Nope.  OT. 

-Are you kidding me???  A flag THERE?????

-After everything else we’ve seen?

-Fine – 2 OT’s is better than 1. 

-Where’s the flag!!!!

-OMG….this is too much

-We stopped him!!!  No way is that a 1st down!!!

-Biggest replay review of the season.

-I hope they get it right.

-You’ve got to be kidding me. 

-Why have replay?

-This is nuts….

-And it’s over.

-How can we dominate a team and lose?

-4th quarter problems need addressing, Jim.

-You had this one and let it get away.

-Till next season, I guess…

-I hate losing to these guys.  I really do.

-For the neutral people, yes, it was a great game.

-For the losing fans, this pain will linger.

THE MMQ’s “I DON’T NEED A COMMITTEE!”

13 Weeks into the season and the field is just about final.    

Top 4 teams in the Country and the first two out:

  1.  Bama
  2. Suckeyes
  3. Clemson
  4. Wiscy
  5. Michigan
  6. Washington

If the committee is truly trying to pit the best 4 teams against each other, it would recognize that Wiscy lost to both Michigan and OSU.  PSU at least beat osu but was destroyed by Michigan.  If the Buffalos can somehow pull off the Pac 12 upset, that would help Michigan’s case.  So, for the Championship Rooting Guide:

B1G Championship:

Wiscy vs. PSU   As a Michigan fan, you’re rooting for the Nittany Lions.  If they win a miserable squeaker of a game (9-6, for example), the committee could argue that Michigan’s destruction of PSU is significant and that the game really didn’t prove anything regarding who the better team was Saturday.

Pac 12 Championship:

Colorado vs. Washington.  You want to root for the Buffalos here.  They many not get into the CFP with a win, and Michigan’s victory over them looks that much better.

ACC Championship:

Clemson vs. Va Tech.  Root for Va Tech and hope for the upset.  Another Clemson loss and the near loss to NC State should be enough to keep them out of the CFP

SEC Championship:

Bama vs. Florida    Root for Florida.  It’ll be a complete waste of time, but root for them anyway. 

The Hot Seat

Week #13’s Hot Seat Mascot.  Heading into the play-offs with a Hot Blonde seems like a good way to finish, donchathink???  This week’s Hot Seat Mascot:  Jade Bryce!!!! 

 

 




ZAPPED List

We’ll keep track of who’s gone as the season progresses….

  1. Miles and Cameron – LSU Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. 
  2. VanGorder – Domer D-Coordinator. 
  3. Ron Turner – FIU. 
  4. Hazell PURDUE!
  5. Tim DeRuyter – Fresno State. 
  6. Charlie STRONG- Texas.  So now that’s official and Texas wasted not time hiring Herman!
     
    Electric Chair of Death Seat!

  1. Kelly and $warbuck$ - I know this one is getting old, but I’m still not going to rule out that Kelly could be gone in addition to $warbuck$.  It’ll be a mid December decision that will either get one or both of these guys. Another scenario - $warbuck$ resigns his position and Kelly will be doomed.  Which is maybe why he has his agents exploring his options?

The Hot Seat – Guy’s that have Hot Seats but Won’t get Canned, Immediately

  1.  Rich Rod – Arizona.  The Top 5 on the Hot Seat are kind of all tied for 1st in my mind right now.  Therefore:
    1. Todd Graham – this love affair is over!!!
    2. Helfrich – Oregon.  With Kelly at San Fran sitting a 1-10 and not long for the NFL world, is Chip eyeing his old office?
    3. Butch Jones – Cremesicles.  A train wreck at the end of the season.  Butch has worn out his welcome and Vols are tired.   
    4. Grobe – Baylor.  He’s gone.  But who can Baylor possibly hope to get with the shit show that’s going on down there?
  2. Kirby Smart – Georgia a mess….and losing to GT doesn’t help.
  3. ANTONIO, MARK – They won’t fire him but next season is a massive re-building year.  Is he up to it? 
  4. Sumlin  Texas A&M.  Gotta have him on the list again…
  5. Muschamp – still here just because it would be THS without Will! 
  6. Mike Riley – Still not Husker Football in Lincoln.  This experiment close to over.
  7. Malzhan – Auburn wasn’t even competitive in the Iron Bowl. 

Short List of Available or Desirable Head Coaches

  1. Jimbo Fisher –SEC or Texas Job?  ….
  2. Kiffin – Somebody will hire him.  Might as well go for broke…
  3. PJ FleckRowing the Boat….for Purdue?
  4. Willie Taggart  - Oregon????
  5. Les Miles AVAILABLE FOR HIRE – Spent the Weekend in Michigan!!!
  6. Mike Leach – The Pac 12 is taking notice!!!
  7. Dan Holgersen – IS he available?
     
    And HIRED!!
     

  1.  LSU – Ogeron!  Aleva figures as long as he’s paying Miles, he can’t afford another $5M Coach.  He’ll stumble along with Coach O, but if Coach O falters in 2 seasons, he’ll be out of a job!
  2. Texas – HERMANN!  Did anyone not see this one coming?  Than you haven’t been reading the MMQ!

Side NFL NOTE:  The Lions are rolling along and are above 50% to make the play-offs!  When was the last time we said THAT around here?