A View from Big Ben: Napoleon and Hooker, Oklahoma's turn, Cincinnati no thanks

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London Vol

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#1
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WOULD LIKE HENDON HOOKER

A man was being recommended for promotion to Napoleon, who was quoted as saying “I know he is a good General, but is he lucky?” The French General knew the importance of luck.

At the end of Spring Camp Harrison Bailey was anointed as the leader in the quarterback stable. Then throughout Fall Camp it was widely reported that Joe Milton was the No 1 quarterback and it actually wasn’t even close.

Fast forward to early in the 2nd quarter of the second game of the season which was against Pittsburgh, Milton was first sacked then fumbled but more importantly he suffered a lower leg injury. Without that, when if at all, would Josh Heupel have turned to Hendon Hooker? The injury forced Heupel’s hand and as they say “the rest is history”.

Now Coach Heupel may have made the switch soon after this moment but the truth is we will never know. But what we do know is that, this time Josh Heupel was lucky



WHAT GOES ROUND COMES ROUND - OKLAHOMA

12 months ago, Tennessee was in free fall with players tripping over himself rushing to the door marked “EXIT”. Like any good buzzard circling the dying carcass Oklahoma swooped in and helped themselves to the best meat, or to be exact Morris, Gray and Lawrence. Well 12 months later Oklahoma find themselves with their franchise quarterback and projected No1 pick in the 2022 drafts in the transfer portal. The head coach fleas to USC who also hope to cherry pick the best coaches at OU to go with him. Now reports suggest a mass exodus of players is about happen and all this at the worst time as the First National Signing Day is only less than 2 weeks away. Oh, and Tennessee who are riding a new wave of optimism after an impressive season are now well placed to “return the compliment” and exercise the old adage “what goes round comes round” and swoop in for the players we fancy.



CINCINNATI IN THE PLAY OFFS IS NOT GOOD FOR FOOTBALL


I guess today Cincinnati will be awarded a place in the Play Offs, whilst congratulations to them, it is not good for the fans or many Universities in my opinion.

Football is at its best when the teams are evenly matched and basically you don’t know who will win until maybe the last play. This is proven by the groans every year when Big 5 teams announce 3 cupcake games. These games are usually poorly attended (not good for the University coffers) These games do not draw big TV audiences (not good for the TV companies and then it will affect how much they pay for the TV rights) These games are not good for the fans attending as they are normally nothing more than a glorified scrimmage (Forgetting the result, what was more of a spectacle this season Ole Miss or South Alabama?)

Now back to the title, Cincinnati had the 96th strongest schedule this season before yesterday, Tennessee’s was 5th by the way. Now that schedule is like The Vols playing 10 cupcake games as well as Vanderbilt (Indiana) and Ole Miss (Notre Dame). The only toss up game on that schedule would be Ole Miss hence that be only chance to stop us posting a perfect season and then, thanks to the current system, a play-off place.

Now look at Ohio State (I really don’t like them for some reason but I will not allow this to cloud my judgement) They went 10–2 this season. They lost to possibly the No1 team in the rankings in Michigan as well as Oregon who reached their own championship. If OSU had scheduled say Savannah State instead of Oregon, they would have been 11-1 and most probably been selected above The Bearcats for the play offs (I also believe they would are a much better team than Cincinnati). They must be kicking themselves for providing a great match against Oregon and this will no doubt be reflected in their future scheduling this will be to the detriment of football.

Back to Tennessee,this week could be very interesting who will commit, both from High School as well as the Portal.

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
 
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#2
#2
Good post.

Yes, I'm sorry, but I can't help but think "The grass isn't always greener" for those 3 that transferred to Oklahoma. Not only did we have a good season, but now they've lost their coach AND they can't transfer anywhere else without losing a year. They're stuck. I hope it was worth it!

Hooker definitely is a gamer. He may not have the strongest arm like Milton, but he definitely turns it on when the lights come on. It makes me shudder to think about how Pruitt would have misused Hooker. Heupel definitely lucked into Hooker, because Milton was a dud. If Hooker comes back, then I think we have a real shot at a great season next year as well.

The real question concerning Cincinnati is: "Are all good records created equally?" On the one hand, a team can only play who is on their schedule. They can't control how good each team will be when they play them, as these OOC games are scheduled years in advance. So, winning all of your games is great. But should that automatically get you a spot? It's hard to say. I remember back in, what, 2008? Auburn goes undefeated, doesn't get a shot at the National Championship. Unfair? Definitely.

If you run the table, you oughta get a seat at the table. If you get destroyed, well, you get destroyed. But I agree that that doesn't make for great television. Do I think Cincy has any chance against Bama or Georgia or Michigan? No way. Do I think that they're better than Oklahoma State, Baylor, or Notre Dame? Nope. But I can't argue with the fact that they've beat everyone put in front of them, and that's an extremely tough task to do. They have zero chance to be National Champions in my opinion, but they should get the opportunity to get smacked in the mouth on National television. They've earned that.

Is it good for college football? Not really. I don't think you can really compare the "haves" of the Power 5 to the "have nots" of the Group of 5. And the problem is that we are trying to do just that in this playoff system. The sooner that the Power 5 can break off to do their own thing the better. Because Cincinnati would absolutely win a playoff of Group of 5 teams. That playoff would look something like Cincinnati, Louisiana, BYU, and San Diego State. And honestly, those games would be pretty entertaining. But there will be nothing fun or entertaining about watching Bama play Cincy.

If I made the rules, I'd make the Power 5 conferences play by these rules: 8 team playoff, 5 conference champions, and 3 teams voted in by the coaches of all Power 5 teams. Teams in Power 5, if they get a transfer from a Group of 5, that player has to set out a year to be eligible. If a player goes down from a Power 5 to a Group of 5 team, that player is eligible immediately. Players cannot transfer from one Power 5 team to another, but in theory could transfer to a Group of 5 and then subsequently a Power 5. This would help keep the Group of 5 competitive, and eliminate this stupid portal crap.

I don't like the fact that Cincinnati will be in. I do agree with you that it's bad for college football, because it really is comparing apples and oranges. In no world will Cincy's schedule be like Georgia's or Alabama's or anyone in Power 5 ever. So, I fully suspect that Cincy will get the floor wiped with their faces by Bama, and it'll be a boring matchup.

Good post overall. Appreciate your insights.
 
#3
#3
Good post.

Yes, I'm sorry, but I can't help but think "The grass isn't always greener" for those 3 that transferred to Oklahoma. Not only did we have a good season, but now they've lost their coach AND they can't transfer anywhere else without losing a year. They're stuck. I hope it was worth it!

Hooker definitely is a gamer. He may not have the strongest arm like Milton, but he definitely turns it on when the lights come on. It makes me shudder to think about how Pruitt would have misused Hooker. Heupel definitely lucked into Hooker, because Milton was a dud. If Hooker comes back, then I think we have a real shot at a great season next year as well.

The real question concerning Cincinnati is: "Are all good records created equally?" On the one hand, a team can only play who is on their schedule. They can't control how good each team will be when they play them, as these OOC games are scheduled years in advance. So, winning all of your games is great. But should that automatically get you a spot? It's hard to say. I remember back in, what, 2008? Auburn goes undefeated, doesn't get a shot at the National Championship. Unfair? Definitely.

If you run the table, you oughta get a seat at the table. If you get destroyed, well, you get destroyed. But I agree that that doesn't make for great television. Do I think Cincy has any chance against Bama or Georgia or Michigan? No way. Do I think that they're better than Oklahoma State, Baylor, or Notre Dame? Nope. But I can't argue with the fact that they've beat everyone put in front of them, and that's an extremely tough task to do. They have zero chance to be National Champions in my opinion, but they should get the opportunity to get smacked in the mouth on National television. They've earned that.

Is it good for college football? Not really. I don't think you can really compare the "haves" of the Power 5 to the "have nots" of the Group of 5. And the problem is that we are trying to do just that in this playoff system. The sooner that the Power 5 can break off to do their own thing the better. Because Cincinnati would absolutely win a playoff of Group of 5 teams. That playoff would look something like Cincinnati, Louisiana, BYU, and San Diego State. And honestly, those games would be pretty entertaining. But there will be nothing fun or entertaining about watching Bama play Cincy.

If I made the rules, I'd make the Power 5 conferences play by these rules: 8 team playoff, 5 conference champions, and 3 teams voted in by the coaches of all Power 5 teams. Teams in Power 5, if they get a transfer from a Group of 5, that player has to set out a year to be eligible. If a player goes down from a Power 5 to a Group of 5 team, that player is eligible immediately. Players cannot transfer from one Power 5 team to another, but in theory could transfer to a Group of 5 and then subsequently a Power 5. This would help keep the Group of 5 competitive, and eliminate this stupid portal crap.

I don't like the fact that Cincinnati will be in. I do agree with you that it's bad for college football, because it really is comparing apples and oranges. In no world will Cincy's schedule be like Georgia's or Alabama's or anyone in Power 5 ever. So, I fully suspect that Cincy will get the floor wiped with their faces by Bama, and it'll be a boring matchup.

Good post overall. Appreciate your insights.

Many thanks TNHopeful505 and I agree will practically all your points. I know my comments were hard on Cincinnati because they did everything that was asked of them, including an impressive win at Note Dame but as you well put, who ever gets them in the play offs effectively get a bye to the final and that is exactly what was not the object of the playoff selection..

I also agree that the playoffs should be 8 teams exactly how you laid it out.
 
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#4
#4
Always love your posts, but disagree with a few things here

A small nitpick is calling Rattler OK’s franchise QB. He was displaced, no one in Norman is sad to see him leave

My bigger complaint is saying Cincy being in the playoff is bad for football. Huge disagree. At the end of the day, wins and losses matter. Ohio state lost to an Oregon team at home that is significantly worse than the notre dame team Cincy beat on the road. Continuing to exclude Group of 5 teams from the playoffs is a self fulfilling prophecy, because coaches realize they can’t reach the pinnacle so they leave, and administrators realize the same thing so they try and move up to the bigger conferences. This makes it so the Group of 5 conferences fall even further behind. I for one am happy to see a 12-0 Cincy team that won @notre dame and just beat a really good Houston squad rewarded for their efforts, and I hope they stomp Alabama and Georgia on the way to a Natty
 
#5
#5
I subscribe to the theory that the TN transfers from last year were banished because they were the financial beneficiaries of Pruitt's nefarious doings. I'm sad that one may get a NC ring but c'est a vie.

An expanded playoff format will allow places for the Cincinnati's of the world and an opportunity for them to get thrashed early in the process or prove their worth. I hope Cincinnati doesn't run the table this year but it is a possibility.

I'm just bummed out that the one night that I decide to be a Georgia fan leaves me almost as butt hurt as if bama had beat Tennessee. I hope errybody in bama gets the clap.
 
#6
#6
Always love your posts, but disagree with a few things here

A small nitpick is calling Rattler OK’s franchise QB. He was displaced, no one in Norman is sad to see him leave

My bigger complaint is saying Cincy being in the playoff is bad for football. Huge disagree. At the end of the day, wins and losses matter. Ohio state lost to an Oregon team at home that is significantly worse than the notre dame team Cincy beat on the road. Continuing to exclude Group of 5 teams from the playoffs is a self fulfilling prophecy, because coaches realize they can’t reach the pinnacle so they leave, and administrators realize the same thing so they try and move up to the bigger conferences. This makes it so the Group of 5 conferences fall even further behind. I for one am happy to see a 12-0 Cincy team that won @notre dame and just beat a really good Houston squad rewarded for their efforts, and I hope they stomp Alabama and Georgia on the way to a Natty

I also will be delighted Vol49er if Alabama and Georgia dont win it all. It will be very interesting to see how Cincy really make out because it has been a contentious question for many years and as TNHopeful505 put it well, comparing Power 5 and Group 5 it really like is comparing apples and oranges.

One other point, it gonna be salacious to watch Georgia suffer a 4 week nervous breakdown of self doubt.
 
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#7
#7
Cincinnati is exactly what college football needs.

It's what everyone has been pining for forever.

A non power 5 to actually have a chance to win a national title.

Who wouldn't want the underdog to have a shot?

And look a year ago they lost to UGA by 2 points and since then they've gone undefeated including being the only team to beat Notre Dame on the road.

Theyre going to be in the playoff and they have earned and I hope they win the whole damn thing!
 
#8
#8
Good post!

Discussing Cincy, I must disagree for a couple reasons, though. First, everybody loves a good Cinderella story and we, as college football fans, have been deprived of that storyline with the playoff system so far. College athletics is at its best when presented with compelling David vs Goliath narratives. Most people who pay close attention will never forget the Boise St vs Oklahoma bowl game, or Appy St taking down Michigan in the big house… but I already forgot what most of the Power 5 vs Power 5 bowl game outcomes from last year were. This is good TV if we give it the opportunity to be.

Second, parity in college football is important and the game has been slipping away from parity for a while now. There are a lot of big fan bases around the country with a lot of high hopes, and if those hopes dwindle over time because the same 6 teams keep playing in the playoff, then the fandom wanes with that hope. Seeing a Cincinnati make the playoff this year reassures a lot of those fan bases that their team could achieve the same heights next year or the year after, power 5 or otherwise. It’s important to keep that dream alive, and healthy for the game long-term.

That’s my POV
 
#9
#9
WHAT GOES ROUND COMES ROUND - OKLAHOMA

12 months ago, Tennessee was in free fall with players tripping over himself rushing to the door marked “EXIT”. Like any good buzzard circling the dying carcass Oklahoma swooped in and helped themselves to the best meat, or to be exact Morris, Gray and Lawrence. Well 12 months later Oklahoma find themselves with their franchise quarterback and projected No1 pick in the 2022 drafts in the transfer portal. The head coach fleas to USC who also hope to cherry pick the best coaches at OU to go with him. Now reports suggest a mass exodus of players is about happen and all this at the worst time as the First National Signing Day is only less than 2 weeks away. Oh, and Tennessee who are riding a new wave of optimism after an impressive season are now well placed to “return the compliment” and exercise the old adage “what goes round comes round” and swoop in for the players we fancy.





GO VOLS

You love to see it.
 
#10
#10
Good post!

Discussing Cincy, I must disagree for a couple reasons, though. First, everybody loves a good Cinderella story and we, as college football fans, have been deprived of that storyline with the playoff system so far. College athletics is at its best when presented with compelling David vs Goliath narratives. Most people who pay close attention will never forget the Boise St vs Oklahoma bowl game, or Appy St taking down Michigan in the big house… but I already forgot what most of the Power 5 vs Power 5 bowl game outcomes from last year were. This is good TV if we give it the opportunity to be.

Second, parity in college football is important and the game has been slipping away from parity for a while now. There are a lot of big fan bases around the country with a lot of high hopes, and if those hopes dwindle over time because the same 6 teams keep playing in the playoff, then the fandom wanes with that hope. Seeing a Cincinnati make the playoff this year reassures a lot of those fan bases that their team could achieve the same heights next year or the year after, power 5 or otherwise. It’s important to keep that dream alive, and healthy for the game long-term.

That’s my POV
Yes I agree the play offs have become a closed shop and a revised play offs with 8 teams (5 power 5 champions, the group of 5 champion and 2 wildcards would be the best of both worlds thus allowing a great team that happened to be in a tough conference in and a “cinderella” team like Cindy and previously UCF)
 
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#11
#11
I think we ALL would be just fine seeing Cincy beat Georgia and/or Bama.

Cincy, in making the playoffs, carries with it a giant weight of being the first group of 5 team to make it. If they are able to hang with Bama (assuming Bama is #1, and Cincy #4), then they will convince the football world that Group of 5 schools should be given equal weight. However, if they get absolutely thrashed, then they will make it harder to trust a record from the G5, no matter how good it is. You can hear it, right? "Well, we gave that undefeated G5 school a shot, and it absolutely crapped the bed."

I realize that a P5 team can do the same, but the harm will not be as significant as if a G5 school did it.

Is it fair? No. But, G5 schools have been clamoring for a shot for years, and they will finally get it. And honestly, I feel like what Cincy does with it will set a precedent for how the CFP treats G5 schools.
 
#12
#12
I don't know what to make of Cincy. They played a terrible schedule, but did beat a Notre Dame team on the road early in the season. ND was ranked 6th going into this past weekend, but take a look at ND's schedule. They played exactly one team in the current top 25 and lost to them at home.

If I were voting, Cincy would be 4th just because there are no other teams really deserving of the 4th playoff spot.
 
#13
#13
I don't know what to make of Cincy. They played a terrible schedule, but did beat a Notre Dame team on the road early in the season. ND was ranked 6th going into this past weekend, but take a look at ND's schedule. They played exactly one team in the current top 25 and lost to them at home.

If I were voting, Cincy would be 4th just because there are no other teams really deserving of the 4th playoff spot.
My original concern wasn’t whether Cincy deserve a place in the top 4, my concern was any team can dumb down its schedule to improve its win/loss ratio but those easier games are what I believe most football fans wants to eradicate not encourage,
 
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#15
#15
The only upside of Cincinnati getting in the playoffs this year is the Group 5 argument/experiment will be put to bed for once and all.
 
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#16
#16
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WOULD LIKE HENDON HOOKER

A man was being recommended for promotion to Napoleon, who was quoted as saying “I know he is a good General, but is he lucky?” The French General knew the importance of luck.

At the end of Spring Camp Harrison Bailey was anointed as the leader in the quarterback stable. Then throughout Fall Camp it was widely reported that Joe Milton was the No 1 quarterback and it actually wasn’t even close.

Fast forward to early in the 2nd quarter of the second game of the season which was against Pittsburgh, Milton was first sacked then fumbled but more importantly he suffered a lower leg injury. Without that, when if at all, would Josh Heupel have turned to Hendon Hooker? The injury forced Heupel’s hand and as they say “the rest is history”.

Now Coach Heupel may have made the switch soon after this moment but the truth is we will never know. But what we do know is that, this time Josh Heupel was lucky



WHAT GOES ROUND COMES ROUND - OKLAHOMA

12 months ago, Tennessee was in free fall with players tripping over himself rushing to the door marked “EXIT”. Like any good buzzard circling the dying carcass Oklahoma swooped in and helped themselves to the best meat, or to be exact Morris, Gray and Lawrence. Well 12 months later Oklahoma find themselves with their franchise quarterback and projected No1 pick in the 2022 drafts in the transfer portal. The head coach fleas to USC who also hope to cherry pick the best coaches at OU to go with him. Now reports suggest a mass exodus of players is about happen and all this at the worst time as the First National Signing Day is only less than 2 weeks away. Oh, and Tennessee who are riding a new wave of optimism after an impressive season are now well placed to “return the compliment” and exercise the old adage “what goes round comes round” and swoop in for the players we fancy.



CINCINNATI IN THE PLAY OFFS IS NOT GOOD FOR FOOTBALL


I guess today Cincinnati will be awarded a place in the Play Offs, whilst congratulations to them, it is not good for the fans or many Universities in my opinion.

Football is at its best when the teams are evenly matched and basically you don’t know who will win until maybe the last play. This is proven by the groans every year when Big 5 teams announce 3 cupcake games. These games are usually poorly attended (not good for the University coffers) These games do not draw big TV audiences (not good for the TV companies and then it will affect how much they pay for the TV rights) These games are not good for the fans attending as they are normally nothing more than a glorified scrimmage (Forgetting the result, what was more of a spectacle this season Ole Miss or South Alabama?)

Now back to the title, Cincinnati had the 96th strongest schedule this season before yesterday, Tennessee’s was 5th by the way. Now that schedule is like The Vols playing 10 cupcake games as well as Vanderbilt (Indiana) and Ole Miss (Notre Dame). The only toss up game on that schedule would be Ole Miss hence that be only chance to stop us posting a perfect season and then, thanks to the current system, a play-off place.

Now look at Ohio State (I really don’t like them for some reason but I will not allow this to cloud my judgement) They went 10–2 this season. They lost to possibly the No1 team in the rankings in Michigan as well as Oregon who reached their own championship. If OSU had scheduled say Savannah State instead of Oregon, they would have been 11-1 and most probably been selected above The Bearcats for the play offs (I also believe they would are a much better team than Cincinnati). They must be kicking themselves for providing a great match against Oregon and this will no doubt be reflected in their future scheduling this will be to the detriment of football.

Back to Tennessee,this week could be very interesting who will commit, both from High School as well as the Portal.

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
This Cinci thing will work itself out. First non-P5 playoff birth... Perfect record... Put them in against UGA or BAMA. Let them get dismantled as ugly as possible. Shut down the "but they had a perfect season, they can only beat who they play..." argument.

Really? Maybe they should play different teams then.
 
#17
#17
I like the idea of Cincy.

There’s never been a need for all 4 teams in the playoff, and everybody knew that going back 50 years there’s never been a need. But somebody has to take that slot. They will have a chance to win out and if they do, we’ll call them the champion no matter strength of schedule.

that 4th slot is all in good fun. It really does not matter who takes it, and honestly I don’t understand why people blubber so much about it.
 
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#18
#18
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WOULD LIKE HENDON HOOKER

A man was being recommended for promotion to Napoleon, who was quoted as saying “I know he is a good General, but is he lucky?” The French General knew the importance of luck.

At the end of Spring Camp Harrison Bailey was anointed as the leader in the quarterback stable. Then throughout Fall Camp it was widely reported that Joe Milton was the No 1 quarterback and it actually wasn’t even close.

Fast forward to early in the 2nd quarter of the second game of the season which was against Pittsburgh, Milton was first sacked then fumbled but more importantly he suffered a lower leg injury. Without that, when if at all, would Josh Heupel have turned to Hendon Hooker? The injury forced Heupel’s hand and as they say “the rest is history”.

Now Coach Heupel may have made the switch soon after this moment but the truth is we will never know. But what we do know is that, this time Josh Heupel was lucky



WHAT GOES ROUND COMES ROUND - OKLAHOMA

12 months ago, Tennessee was in free fall with players tripping over himself rushing to the door marked “EXIT”. Like any good buzzard circling the dying carcass Oklahoma swooped in and helped themselves to the best meat, or to be exact Morris, Gray and Lawrence. Well 12 months later Oklahoma find themselves with their franchise quarterback and projected No1 pick in the 2022 drafts in the transfer portal. The head coach fleas to USC who also hope to cherry pick the best coaches at OU to go with him. Now reports suggest a mass exodus of players is about happen and all this at the worst time as the First National Signing Day is only less than 2 weeks away. Oh, and Tennessee who are riding a new wave of optimism after an impressive season are now well placed to “return the compliment” and exercise the old adage “what goes round comes round” and swoop in for the players we fancy.



CINCINNATI IN THE PLAY OFFS IS NOT GOOD FOR FOOTBALL


I guess today Cincinnati will be awarded a place in the Play Offs, whilst congratulations to them, it is not good for the fans or many Universities in my opinion.

Football is at its best when the teams are evenly matched and basically you don’t know who will win until maybe the last play. This is proven by the groans every year when Big 5 teams announce 3 cupcake games. These games are usually poorly attended (not good for the University coffers) These games do not draw big TV audiences (not good for the TV companies and then it will affect how much they pay for the TV rights) These games are not good for the fans attending as they are normally nothing more than a glorified scrimmage (Forgetting the result, what was more of a spectacle this season Ole Miss or South Alabama?)

Now back to the title, Cincinnati had the 96th strongest schedule this season before yesterday, Tennessee’s was 5th by the way. Now that schedule is like The Vols playing 10 cupcake games as well as Vanderbilt (Indiana) and Ole Miss (Notre Dame). The only toss up game on that schedule would be Ole Miss hence that be only chance to stop us posting a perfect season and then, thanks to the current system, a play-off place.

Now look at Ohio State (I really don’t like them for some reason but I will not allow this to cloud my judgement) They went 10–2 this season. They lost to possibly the No1 team in the rankings in Michigan as well as Oregon who reached their own championship. If OSU had scheduled say Savannah State instead of Oregon, they would have been 11-1 and most probably been selected above The Bearcats for the play offs (I also believe they would are a much better team than Cincinnati). They must be kicking themselves for providing a great match against Oregon and this will no doubt be reflected in their future scheduling this will be to the detriment of football.

Back to Tennessee,this week could be very interesting who will commit, both from High School as well as the Portal.

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS
I agree for the most part, but as for Cincinnati, I honestly think they have earned the right to be a part of the playoff. Their SOS may not be great, but they have done what they were supposed to do to make it in. Maybe they get blown out in the first match up, but at least the system worked as it is supposed to. I remember watching them play Georgia in a bowl game in the last bowl season. Georgia won, but Cincinnati led for most of the game. And really, with the playoff format changing, they would have been in anyway.
 
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#19
#19
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WOULD LIKE HENDON HOOKER

A man was being recommended for promotion to Napoleon, who was quoted as saying “I know he is a good General, but is he lucky?” The French General knew the importance of luck.

At the end of Spring Camp Harrison Bailey was anointed as the leader in the quarterback stable. Then throughout Fall Camp it was widely reported that Joe Milton was the No 1 quarterback and it actually wasn’t even close.

Fast forward to early in the 2nd quarter of the second game of the season which was against Pittsburgh, Milton was first sacked then fumbled but more importantly he suffered a lower leg injury. Without that, when if at all, would Josh Heupel have turned to Hendon Hooker? The injury forced Heupel’s hand and as they say “the rest is history”.

Now Coach Heupel may have made the switch soon after this moment but the truth is we will never know. But what we do know is that, this time Josh Heupel was lucky



WHAT GOES ROUND COMES ROUND - OKLAHOMA

12 months ago, Tennessee was in free fall with players tripping over himself rushing to the door marked “EXIT”. Like any good buzzard circling the dying carcass Oklahoma swooped in and helped themselves to the best meat, or to be exact Morris, Gray and Lawrence. Well 12 months later Oklahoma find themselves with their franchise quarterback and projected No1 pick in the 2022 drafts in the transfer portal. The head coach fleas to USC who also hope to cherry pick the best coaches at OU to go with him. Now reports suggest a mass exodus of players is about happen and all this at the worst time as the First National Signing Day is only less than 2 weeks away. Oh, and Tennessee who are riding a new wave of optimism after an impressive season are now well placed to “return the compliment” and exercise the old adage “what goes round comes round” and swoop in for the players we fancy.



CINCINNATI IN THE PLAY OFFS IS NOT GOOD FOR FOOTBALL


I guess today Cincinnati will be awarded a place in the Play Offs, whilst congratulations to them, it is not good for the fans or many Universities in my opinion.

Football is at its best when the teams are evenly matched and basically you don’t know who will win until maybe the last play. This is proven by the groans every year when Big 5 teams announce 3 cupcake games. These games are usually poorly attended (not good for the University coffers) These games do not draw big TV audiences (not good for the TV companies and then it will affect how much they pay for the TV rights) These games are not good for the fans attending as they are normally nothing more than a glorified scrimmage (Forgetting the result, what was more of a spectacle this season Ole Miss or South Alabama?)

Now back to the title, Cincinnati had the 96th strongest schedule this season before yesterday, Tennessee’s was 5th by the way. Now that schedule is like The Vols playing 10 cupcake games as well as Vanderbilt (Indiana) and Ole Miss (Notre Dame). The only toss up game on that schedule would be Ole Miss hence that be only chance to stop us posting a perfect season and then, thanks to the current system, a play-off place.

Now look at Ohio State (I really don’t like them for some reason but I will not allow this to cloud my judgement) They went 10–2 this season. They lost to possibly the No1 team in the rankings in Michigan as well as Oregon who reached their own championship. If OSU had scheduled say Savannah State instead of Oregon, they would have been 11-1 and most probably been selected above The Bearcats for the play offs (I also believe they would are a much better team than Cincinnati). They must be kicking themselves for providing a great match against Oregon and this will no doubt be reflected in their future scheduling this will be to the detriment of football.

Back to Tennessee,this week could be very interesting who will commit, both from High School as well as the Portal.

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS

Love your clear-headed commentary, and agree on all points. I especially like the Portal Justice being meted out to OK - this new free agency model upends a lot of the "rich get richer" status quo. Your comment about Cincerella in the playoffs rings true, but I believe this issue points out the need for an explanded playoff system (12 teams) which is currently under discussion.

College Football Playoff expansion: Dan Patrick offers details, timing of latest developments

Under your believable scenario with Ohio State, we could have two B1G teams and 2 SEC teams in the playoffs (legitimate, but not entertaining for half the country). If US high schools can have expanded playoffs, why not college football?
 
#21
#21
I don't know what to make of Cincy. They played a terrible schedule, but did beat a Notre Dame team on the road early in the season. ND was ranked 6th going into this past weekend, but take a look at ND's schedule. They played exactly one team in the current top 25 and lost to them at home.

If I were voting, Cincy would be 4th just because there are no other teams really deserving of the 4th playoff spot.

This just points up what I have said for years. The press and the committees protect the ND program. No Cincy beating ND does not show that they are a really good team, just that ND is and usually is a fair - to - middling team.
 
#22
#22
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE WOULD LIKE HENDON HOOKER

A man was being recommended for promotion to Napoleon, who was quoted as saying “I know he is a good General, but is he lucky?” The French General knew the importance of luck.

At the end of Spring Camp Harrison Bailey was anointed as the leader in the quarterback stable. Then throughout Fall Camp it was widely reported that Joe Milton was the No 1 quarterback and it actually wasn’t even close.

Fast forward to early in the 2nd quarter of the second game of the season which was against Pittsburgh, Milton was first sacked then fumbled but more importantly he suffered a lower leg injury. Without that, when if at all, would Josh Heupel have turned to Hendon Hooker? The injury forced Heupel’s hand and as they say “the rest is history”.

Now Coach Heupel may have made the switch soon after this moment but the truth is we will never know. But what we do know is that, this time Josh Heupel was lucky



WHAT GOES ROUND COMES ROUND - OKLAHOMA

12 months ago, Tennessee was in free fall with players tripping over himself rushing to the door marked “EXIT”. Like any good buzzard circling the dying carcass Oklahoma swooped in and helped themselves to the best meat, or to be exact Morris, Gray and Lawrence. Well 12 months later Oklahoma find themselves with their franchise quarterback and projected No1 pick in the 2022 drafts in the transfer portal. The head coach fleas to USC who also hope to cherry pick the best coaches at OU to go with him. Now reports suggest a mass exodus of players is about happen and all this at the worst time as the First National Signing Day is only less than 2 weeks away. Oh, and Tennessee who are riding a new wave of optimism after an impressive season are now well placed to “return the compliment” and exercise the old adage “what goes round comes round” and swoop in for the players we fancy.



CINCINNATI IN THE PLAY OFFS IS NOT GOOD FOR FOOTBALL


I guess today Cincinnati will be awarded a place in the Play Offs, whilst congratulations to them, it is not good for the fans or many Universities in my opinion.

Football is at its best when the teams are evenly matched and basically you don’t know who will win until maybe the last play. This is proven by the groans every year when Big 5 teams announce 3 cupcake games. These games are usually poorly attended (not good for the University coffers) These games do not draw big TV audiences (not good for the TV companies and then it will affect how much they pay for the TV rights) These games are not good for the fans attending as they are normally nothing more than a glorified scrimmage (Forgetting the result, what was more of a spectacle this season Ole Miss or South Alabama?)

Now back to the title, Cincinnati had the 96th strongest schedule this season before yesterday, Tennessee’s was 5th by the way. Now that schedule is like The Vols playing 10 cupcake games as well as Vanderbilt (Indiana) and Ole Miss (Notre Dame). The only toss up game on that schedule would be Ole Miss hence that be only chance to stop us posting a perfect season and then, thanks to the current system, a play-off place.

Now look at Ohio State (I really don’t like them for some reason but I will not allow this to cloud my judgement) They went 10–2 this season. They lost to possibly the No1 team in the rankings in Michigan as well as Oregon who reached their own championship. If OSU had scheduled say Savannah State instead of Oregon, they would have been 11-1 and most probably been selected above The Bearcats for the play offs (I also believe they would are a much better team than Cincinnati). They must be kicking themselves for providing a great match against Oregon and this will no doubt be reflected in their future scheduling this will be to the detriment of football.

Back to Tennessee,this week could be very interesting who will commit, both from High School as well as the Portal.

I always enjoy your comments and observations


GO VOLS

Hey London -
Little off subject (would have made this a thread but can't figure out to make one:rolleyes:) But just to add to your thoughts on our season, I THINK BAMA OWES US A THINK YOU!!! Looking back, even though we were soundly beaten, we showed Bama how to attack Ga. That is, their defensive back field. At the time I was surprised at how well we did attacking the Ga. d-backs. As I watched Bama yesterday, I saw them attack much the same way we did. I think Bama must have watch our Ga. game tape and used what they saw to further expose that Ga. weakness. I can't remember anyone else exposing their D-backfield like we did til that time or after. That is until yesterday.
 
#25
#25
Typical of you savannah fan for posting an insightful post :)(I always look forward to your contributions). I had planned to use it next week. Anyway to support your observation, Nick Saban (what ever you think of him one thing he is not is a fool) would have notes that Tillman went for 200 yards and Jones for 44, yesterday Williams 184 and Mechie 97. It makes smile to think we might have played a small part in yesterday’s annual meltdown for the boredawgs
 
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