College Football, 2021-22

[Berkut]

Wow, going and and beating OSU at home! The Pac-12 definitely needed that.

[grumbler]

Wow, going and and beating OSU at home! The Pac-12 definitely needed that.

So did the Big Ten.

[PDH]

Wyoming is Wyoming.  They dominated 3 quarters and the Pokes were up 42-22 vs N. Illinois.  Then they had to have a last minute drive to win after falling behind 43-42...

Still, 2-0 is better than beating your dick with a ball-peen hammer.

[Berkut]

Arizona is Arizona.

It's going to kind of suck when they beat NAU next week to end The Streak. NAU?

[Admiral Yi]

Haweyes ballin'.

[grumbler]

I was surprised that Michigan's win over Washington came through running up the middle.  The very things that worked for Montana failed for Michigan, and the reverse.  I'm not sure why Michigan's pass blocking suddenly turned to shit, but it didn't matter in this game.  31-10 is pretty sweet.  2-0 is sweeter.

[grumbler]

Wyoming beat Ball State worse than Penn State did! 

The Michigan-Northern Illinois game was boring, in a good way:  Michigan scored touchdowns on its first nine drives (only even reaching third down twice in those drives) and every player not injured got to play... except the punter.  NIU isn't very good, but they DID beat Ga Tech.

The surprise team of the year for me is Rutgers.  They are 3-0 after beating nondescript teams, which might make one say "so they haven't played anybody yet," but that's what people for years have said about the teams that played Rutgers, not about Rutgers.  Greg Schiano just might be as good a coach as his partisans have claimed.

[Berkut]

I am beginning to suspect that Arizona is not a very good football team.

[grumbler]

I am beginning to suspect that Arizona is not a very good football team.

I thought that Zona would turn the corner under RichRod, but that just didn't happen.

[ulmont]

NIU isn't very good, but they DID beat Ga Tech.

Ga Tech also isn't very good, keeping Clemson close notwithstanding.

[Berkut]

I am beginning to suspect that Arizona is not a very good football team.

I thought that Zona would turn the corner under RichRod, but that just didn't happen.

Fixing a team like Arizona is very simple, and at the same very, very hard to do.

I am in a couple Wildcats forums, and there is always talk about this offense, or that defense, or some scheme or the culture, or "will to win". I really like that one - you hear it every time the team loses a game you would not think they ought to lose. "WE NEED A TEAM THAT WANTS IT MORE!!!!". That was the big knock on the last coach. He just didn't want it enough, apparently.

It's all horseshit. Or rather, it is all worrying about step D when you already failed on step A.

A team like Arizona cannot compete, cannot win, cannot be a relevant part of the Pac-12 until it starts recruiting its "share" of talent. It never has, and hence it never will have more than transitory success. All the rest is bullshit if you are taking your 2 and 3 star recruits up against the other P12 teams 3 and 4 star recruits, much less the good teams 4 and 5 star recruits.

Arizona being a basketball school, the comparisons are always there. Lute Olson knew how to coach! Lute Olson knew how to get in the head of his opponents. Lute Olson's players loved him and would do anything for him! Sean Miller knows the game better! Blah blah blah. Lute Olson recruited Sean Elliot to come to Arizona. Sean Miller would never even deign to look at a 3 star recruit it was all 4 and 5 stars, elite talent. They were not out there hoping to find diamonds in the rough, they just recruited the actual diamonds everyone knew about.

Fisch seems like a great guy, and a good coach. He's done all the right things so far - reached out to the community, spends time at Arizona high schools, accessibly to the media, seems like he really values culture and doing things the right way. That is all great.

Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. Can he do that?


RichRod was not able to. Neither was Stoops, and neither was Sumlin.

[PDH]

As the Grognard said, Wyoming actually played a full game.  Ball State, that powerhouse of the State of Ball was outgunned at War Memorial Stadium yesterday.  Probably seeing mountains was a shock to the players, and the clash of Brown and Gold in the Wyoming uniforms undoubtedly confused them more. 

In the end, Wyoming took it one down at at time, moving the ball with three yards and a cloud of dust to wear down the opposition over time as they matriculated the ball down the field.

[grumbler]

(snip)
A team like Arizona cannot compete, cannot win, cannot be a relevant part of the Pac-12 until it starts recruiting its "share" of talent. It never has, and hence it never will have more than transitory success. All the rest is bullshit if you are taking your 2 and 3 star recruits up against the other P12 teams 3 and 4 star recruits, much less the good teams 4 and 5 star recruits.

RichRod's claim to fame was his ability to coach up his 2 and 3 star West Virginia players and, by using an unorthodox offense, beat teams that had better players.  That's why i thought he might be able to take Arizona to the next level, at which point recruiting gets a lot easier.

Unfortunately, I think that, by the time RR got to Arizona, defense had figured out his pass-heavy option offense and 3-3-5 defense.  He wasn't a good enough recruiter or coach to recover from that.

Hope you enjoy Don Brown.  He's a great interview.

[PDH]

Wyoming at UConn.  Wyoming was like a 4 TD favorite at one point, but we all know that's silly.  In fact, when I opened the ESPN Gamecast Wyoming was down 13-0.

Eventually, with 5 minutes left in the 4th, Wyoming was up 17-16, and got an interception.  Then the Pokes marched down to make it 24-16 with less than 3 minutes left.  Never willing to let a chance to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, W-Y-O let the Huskies march down the field, aided by 3 straight Pass Interference calls in 4th downs, and UConn scored a TD.  Wyoming did stop the 2 point conversion, and got the onsides kick to win, but to win by 2 over a team that lost to Holy Cross by 10...

Let's just say I'm glad I have been through this before (in fact, year after year).

[Admiral Yi]

Nice comeback victory by Iowa at home against Pedo St.