2015 NCAA Football Thread

[Trojan97]

Tough loss for the Golden Bears. Receivers really lost it for them tonight. Tons of drops/deflections that ended up going for picks. Kenny Lawler in particular had an awful game and had a pass go through his hands for a INT, a poor route that resulted in an INT, and a drop right off the hands while open in the endzone that forced Cal to kick a FG instead of getting the TD.

Could not be more proud of the D. Despite all the turnovers they really hung in there and caused a few of their own and had great pressure all game long. Booker had a big night but he's fantastic. I couldn't believe the number of times he carried D-lineman for a yard or two despite being met in the hole. He's a great player. Wilson did not impress me in the slightest. I thought he was poor despite hearing lots of hype for him this year.

Really disappointed overall to not get the win despite looking like the better team in many parts of the game. With that said, I'm now convinced the Golden Bears can play with anyone left on their remaining schedule and that's a damn good feeling.

Onto the bye.

[ResAlien]

Michigan and our totally destined for the NFL head coach are now almost playing with house money. Huge matchup with little brother this weekend, if Rudock can continue his Trent Dilfer impression and the D and run game keep dominating they may have a chance. Getting both them and ohio state at home this year looked to be a wasted opportunity but I'm really impressed so far. Their sole loss was a close game to the best team in the PAC 12. No delusions of championships yet but things look good.

Speaking of the PAC12 it sounds like USC's HC has a pretty serious alcohol problem right now, showing up drunk to meetings and possibly games as well. From a football standpoint does anyone think USC may use this leave of absence as a way to move on to another HC? I don't know how committed to him their admin is. Rough situation all around.

[transplant99]

Steve Sarkasian has been fired by USC.

Dude is outta control with drinking and pain pills apparently.

"After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of the university and our student-athletes, I have made the decision to terminate Steve Sarkisian, effective immediately," USC athletic director Pat Haden said in a statement.

On Sunday, Sarkisian was asked to take an indefinite leave of absence. Haden said Sunday it was "clear to me that he was not healthy."

A player told ESPN via text that Sarkisian "showed up lit to meetings again today." Another source said he showed up Sunday morning and "appeared not normal," and then was told to leave.

"They wouldn't let him come to practice," the source said.

Sarkisian is going through a divorce. His behavior while apparently under the influence of alcohol and painkillers at the Salute to Troy function in August drew national headlines, and he later apologized. He also added then that he would be getting unspecified treatment, but didn't believe he had a drinking problem, blaming his unsteady appearance on combining alcohol and medication.

[MRCboicgy]

Good lord. Hope he gets right.

[transplant99]

What a day for coaches... now Steve Spurrier has resigned his position with South Carolina.

The "ole ball coach" is a legend IMO...love him or hate him and he had plenty of people fall into both categories.

Wonder if it's a health thing based on the timing.

[tvp2003]

Boy, sounds like a pretty sad situation for "Coach Sark". First the Kiffin fiasco and now this.

[ResAlien]

On the levels of losing that needs to be in the "I'm going to murder a baby" tier. Unbelievable end for Michigan to lose. If that punter gets murdered in his sleep no one will shed a single tear

[Senator Clay Davis]

That is way up there in most shocking endings ever. Never really seen a botched punt snap to lose the game.

[Zach]

LOL that was amazing. He should have just jumped on it.

[transplant99]

USC A.D. Pat Haden collapsed on the sidelines before this game. Hope he is ok and looked OK as he walked off under his own power. Been a pretty miserable week for him.

[Sainters7]

Guess I haven't watched USC in awhile, when did they switch to those clear chrome facemasks? I likes it.

[transplant99]

So that Michigan punter has received death threats.

Unbelievable that people forget...its just a freaking game.

[GirlySports]

holy! it's a monsoon in Lansing on ABC.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Second week in a row with a special teams disaster to end a game, this time FSU gets a 56 yard FG to win blocked and Georgia Tech runs it back 78 yards for a TD to win.

[PIMking]

Clemson will blow their doors off

[browna]

Wow. More unlikely looking than the Stanford/CAL play of working... but it did.
http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/mi...ick-1739861960

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by browna

Wow. More unlikely looking than the Stanford/CAL play of working... but it did.
http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/mi...ick-1739861960

And it should never have counted, for multiple reasons.

The ACC announced Sunday it has suspended the on-field officiating crew as well as the replay official and communicator for two games following errors on the final wild play that gave Miami a 30-27 win over Duke on Saturday.

The list of errors the ACC acknowledged:
• Replay official Andrew Panucci should have ruled Miami back Mark Walton was down before releasing the ball on one of the laterals. If the proper call had been made, the game would have ended in a Duke victory.
Said Duke coach David Cutcliffe after the game: "I'm going to just tell you like it is: I thought the guy was down. And I think pictures will prove me right."
• The on-field officials failed to penalize Miami for an illegal block in the back at the Miami 16-yard line. If called, the ball would have been placed at the Miami 8-yard line and the game would have been extended for an untimed down.
• The on-field crew failed to penalize Miami receiver Rashawn Scott for leaving the bench and running onto the field before the play ended. The penalty would not have negated the touchdown because it would have been enforced as a dead ball foul.
• The block in the back penalty that was called -- at the Duke 26-yard line -- was picked up after the officials conferred, which is appropriate. They correctly determined that the block was from the side. The replay official was not involved in the decision to pick up the flag; however, referee Jerry Magallanes did not effectively manage communication and properly explain why the flag was picked up.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Playoff rankings out

1. Clemson
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor

So wow they hate the Big 12 and still value the name over everything. Though I actually like seeing Baylor at 6 because now they have all the motivation in the world to drop 100 points on someone to try and actually get the committee's attention. I also am confused why Alabama is 4 and Florida is 10 when Florida has a better resume across the board and they both have 1 loss.

[JayP]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Playoff rankings out

1. Clemson
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor

So wow they hate the Big 12 and still value the name over everything. Though I actually like seeing Baylor at 6 because now they have all the motivation in the world to drop 100 points on someone to try and actually get the committee's attention. I also am confused why Alabama is 4 and Florida is 10 when Florida has a better resume across the board and they both have 1 loss.

The problem is that Baylor doesn't have anything resembling a quality win right now. Their schedule is backloaded though so if they can make it through the OU/OSU/TCU gauntlet in November unscathed they won't have any issues climbing the rankings.

And I'm sure Will Grier's suspension plays a big part in Alabama being ahead of Florida. I don't agree that Florida has a better resume though - they played no one in non-conference play while Alabama has a blowout win over a 7-2 Wisconsin team. They've looked fairly similar in conference play so Alabama is rewarded for scheduling a good opponent out of conference and winning handily.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Actually as we saw last year, Baylor and TCU are going to have a huge problem making the playoff even if they win out (no title game again likely to come into play). To have Notre Dame ahead of them is the tell, Notre Dame's best moment this season is a loss that they were handily behind before a late rally. Basically if Clemson kept their foot on the gas, Notre Dame gets blown out and is probably outside the top 10. Instead they closed the gap and it now looks like a "good loss", even if watching the game they looked badly outmatched.

But as I've said Baylor (and TCU) now know they have to basically historically destroy teams to get notice. I'm looking forward to seeing if one (or both) drops 100 points on someone in the next few weeks. Baylor in particular has had chances to go for it, getting into the 60's in the third quarter a few times. I'd love to see a 105-17 game personally.