Sometimes the success of a program is how a teams schedule is set up. Who do you play and WHEN do you play them? Are you a cold weather team playing in the warm weather or are you a warm weather team playing in the cold? Teams hate coming to the desert in September because it's so hot, likewise, warm weather teams don't like heading North in late October or November. Do I have to mention the Sun Devil/Oregon State game last season? The future schedules are here and I am trying to figure out how some teams will fare. First up: Arizona Wildcats.
Of course, you can have the best schedule known to mankind, but when injuries happen, that tends makes things moot in terms of success of a team. Unless you are Ohio State, but that is the exception, not the rule.
Arizona and their non-conference schedule is not the strongest. They start off with the University of Texas at San Antonio. They did give the Wildcats a pretty strong game last year in San Antonio. UTSA had one of the most experienced teams in the country last year, this year is different for them and at that the end of the day, they are not UCLA or Oregon, so Arizona should win this game going away at home. Next up for the Cats is Nevada. I think this is the game that may be a tough one for the Wildcats. Washington State went to Nevada last year and lost. It's a loud, difficult atmosphere to play in and Nevada isn't a slouch at their level, so Arizona needs to have their helmets on tight. Those players for the Wolfpack would love to knock another big Pac-12 team off and knock one off that has played for the Pac-12 Conference title. These first two games will be tough. The last game should be a game to "pad the stats". They are playing a home game against Northern Arizona University. NAU is coming down to Tucson to get paid. I see this game as a total blowout.
The non-conference schedule for teams needs to be stepped up because the playoff committee for the College Football Playoff is looking at strength of schedule as one of those determining factors. Like I stated earlier the Wildcats do not have a tough non-conference schedule, so they SHOULD get out of the gate 3-0. Nevada may change that, but in the end I think the Cats have more talent to win all three opening games.
League play in the Pac-12 is very difficult. It's a cannibalistic type of league. The Pac-12 eats its own most years and this upcoming season will be no different. Especially in the Pac-12 South division, which in my opinion may just be the toughest division in all of college football. Five out of the six teams in this division went to a bowl game, so whoever comes out of the south will be a very battle tested team.
Arizona starts league play with the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins should still be pretty tough, they will be going through growing pains at the quarterback position because of the departure of the talented Brett Hundley. The Cats won't have quite the growing pains under center as Anu Solomon is coming back, so having the Bruins in Tucson is going to be a benefit for them.
After the home league opener, they travel to The Farm up at Stanford. That'll be a difficult game. The Cardinal will have Kevin Hogan back and will have just as much experience, if not more than the Wildcats. This will be a tough battle for them because Stanford is big and likes to push and smash people on the field. How will the Cats respond to this? That'll be the question I'll have going into this game.
I can see the Cats being 4-1 in their first five games. The next couple of game are very winnable for the program. They have Oregon State at home. It's hard to tell what the Beavers will be like with a new quarterback, new coach, and new offensive/defensive system being implemented. The Beaver game is a home game for the Cats, so with all the change with OSU, the Cats should be 5-1 after that. Next up, is a game with Colorado. Colorado is just struggling. No easy way to put it. This game could be a stat game for the offense. I see Arizona being 6-1 at this point. Then they get Washington State at home. Washington State should have a good recruiting class coming in, but their youth is going to keep them from making big strides in 2015, so after this game I see Cats being 7-1. This is where things get interesting for the Wildcats.
During the last four games of the year, they have three of those games on the road. They have to play Washington, USC, and Arizona State on the road. The last home game will be Utah. It's tough to play in Seattle late in the year. The weather is always a concern for a warm weather team going North in late October, plus it's on Halloween, crazy things can happen on that day. USC is going to be tougher with them having all their scholarships now available to them. They are returning some very good talent and the recruiting is going to go well for them because, let's face it, they are the Trojans. They always recruit well. Utah will be a scrap of a game as well. They won't make things easy because they like to push and smack people around like Stanford does. Then it all culminates with The Territorial Cup at Arizona State. The Devils will have a good team as well and have a fairly experienced quarterback in Mike Bercovici coming back, so that'll be tough game. Rivalry games are always a toss up for me. Anything can happen and usually does. The Devils will be looking for revenge from the 2014 Territorial Cup.
After all is said and done, the Cats should/could end up being 8-4 or 9-3. The last quarter of the season is going to be tough for them and will decide if they play for the Pac-12 Conference Championship. There is plenty of talent down in Tucson and I, for one, will be looking to see how they handle the success of 2014 and how it translates to 2015. Bear Down....
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Oregon: Post Marcus Mariota
The last few years have brought unprecedented exposure for the Oregon Duck program. There have been a ton wins, a Heisman winner, big bowl games, a playoff berth, and shots at national championships in 2011 and 2015. The one underlying factor in all of this is that Marcus Mariota has been a big cog in all of this success. He is taking his talent to the NFL and Oregon fans will forever be grateful for the spectacular times he gave them, but he is now gone. What does the future hold for the Ducks in the post-Mariota era? Good question...
For the entire column go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter@pigskinopinion
Email me: mike.wilson@cfbroundtable.com
For the entire column go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter@pigskinopinion
Email me: mike.wilson@cfbroundtable.com
Sunday, January 25, 2015
What's Wrong with Wazzu?
When people get lost they usually say, "I'm in the middle of nowhere." They might even get scared that they may not be heard from again. That's what some people think of Pullman, Washington, home of the Washington State Cougars football program. The closest major city is 90 miles away in Spokane. The last decade or so that's what playing football in the rolling hills of Pullman has been like for coaches and players.
Now, I'm not the guy that is going to dump a bunch of negativity on Washington State for playing in a small town. As an alumni of Oregon State, I know what the struggles are for a school in a small town. However, at Washington State they have turned into a doormat in the Pac-12 North division. Wins have been few and far between and it's been tough to maintain any continuity with players or coaches who leave for programs that win. When the wins are not plentiful, it's tough to get talent to come to your school.
When they hired Mike Leach, the offensive guru, who coached Texas Tech to some success with his high octane, quick strike offense that finally created some noise for the program that they had not had since the days of Ryan Leaf. Yep, Ryan Leaf. In Leach's third year, he has amassed a record of 12-25 overall, but is 7-20 in the parity rich Pac-12 Conference. It's a program that had not recruited well before Leach's arrival and not really recruited any better since he has got to Pullman. Due to this recruiting issue it's made the reclamation project that much tougher.
This past year for them was very tough. They ended up 3-9 in a division dominated by the Ducks. Ironically, the game against the Ducks went down to the end with the Ducks pulling out close win over the Cougars in Pullman. However, in the end, when one looks at their season, you see offensive bursts, defensive busts, a youthful team getting exposed, and what some fans call a crazy officiating call at the worst moment. Fans are frustrated that the Cougs did not learn how to close a game and get the win. In other words, they don't know how to win yet. They are young and they dealt with a major blow to possible wins when Connor Halliday went down with a season ending injury to his leg and ankle. Leach now has a young, inexperienced quarterback in Luke Falk and that will either show promise which he did at the end of the year or he will be over matched at the Pac-12 level. I saw him play live and he threw for 601 yards, but he did have to throw 74 times to get those 601 yards, but in each of his starts he threw for at least 340 yards in each of his starts after taking over from Halliday.
Leach is making 2.75 million which pretty good money anywhere, but in Pullman that money can go a long, long way. Provides a pretty comfy lifestyle in the Palouse. However, when you make that kind of scratch, people expect results or "other" things will happen to you as a coach, like getting fired. Leach needs to make some in roads in the win column and into getting more talented kids to Washington State or his stint is over there. This is something that could affect his legacy as a coach and any future jobs that may come his way. Only the future will tell us what eventually happens.
Washington State Athletic Director Bill Moos thought he was hitting a home run. Well, as one alumni has put it... "it has been more like a sharp single into the gap that might be a leg double." That, in a nutshell, is the conundrum that is facing the Washington State program because their rivals in Seattle, the Washington Huskies has a coach that is in essence trying to put a fence around the state of Washington in recruiting.
I have been to both campuses and if I am Washington high school football recruit, it really is a no brainer where I would go. Seattle has what most kids look at now, great facilities, a great coach, a big city with lots to do, and just a better "vibe" to it. On top of that, it has been winning a bit more than the Cougars. In the end, kids do look at how successful the program has been and what their future success looks like. That's where the Cougs fall short. They don't have that success and that is really to bad because Washington State fans are great fans.
When Mike Leach was hired he was viewed as a miracle drug by many Cougar fans. With what the fans have seen so far and with some sobering realities that they have to admit to, the ills of the program may be to much for Leach to overcome. I hope I am wrong...
Now, I'm not the guy that is going to dump a bunch of negativity on Washington State for playing in a small town. As an alumni of Oregon State, I know what the struggles are for a school in a small town. However, at Washington State they have turned into a doormat in the Pac-12 North division. Wins have been few and far between and it's been tough to maintain any continuity with players or coaches who leave for programs that win. When the wins are not plentiful, it's tough to get talent to come to your school.
When they hired Mike Leach, the offensive guru, who coached Texas Tech to some success with his high octane, quick strike offense that finally created some noise for the program that they had not had since the days of Ryan Leaf. Yep, Ryan Leaf. In Leach's third year, he has amassed a record of 12-25 overall, but is 7-20 in the parity rich Pac-12 Conference. It's a program that had not recruited well before Leach's arrival and not really recruited any better since he has got to Pullman. Due to this recruiting issue it's made the reclamation project that much tougher.
This past year for them was very tough. They ended up 3-9 in a division dominated by the Ducks. Ironically, the game against the Ducks went down to the end with the Ducks pulling out close win over the Cougars in Pullman. However, in the end, when one looks at their season, you see offensive bursts, defensive busts, a youthful team getting exposed, and what some fans call a crazy officiating call at the worst moment. Fans are frustrated that the Cougs did not learn how to close a game and get the win. In other words, they don't know how to win yet. They are young and they dealt with a major blow to possible wins when Connor Halliday went down with a season ending injury to his leg and ankle. Leach now has a young, inexperienced quarterback in Luke Falk and that will either show promise which he did at the end of the year or he will be over matched at the Pac-12 level. I saw him play live and he threw for 601 yards, but he did have to throw 74 times to get those 601 yards, but in each of his starts he threw for at least 340 yards in each of his starts after taking over from Halliday.
Leach is making 2.75 million which pretty good money anywhere, but in Pullman that money can go a long, long way. Provides a pretty comfy lifestyle in the Palouse. However, when you make that kind of scratch, people expect results or "other" things will happen to you as a coach, like getting fired. Leach needs to make some in roads in the win column and into getting more talented kids to Washington State or his stint is over there. This is something that could affect his legacy as a coach and any future jobs that may come his way. Only the future will tell us what eventually happens.
Washington State Athletic Director Bill Moos thought he was hitting a home run. Well, as one alumni has put it... "it has been more like a sharp single into the gap that might be a leg double." That, in a nutshell, is the conundrum that is facing the Washington State program because their rivals in Seattle, the Washington Huskies has a coach that is in essence trying to put a fence around the state of Washington in recruiting.
I have been to both campuses and if I am Washington high school football recruit, it really is a no brainer where I would go. Seattle has what most kids look at now, great facilities, a great coach, a big city with lots to do, and just a better "vibe" to it. On top of that, it has been winning a bit more than the Cougars. In the end, kids do look at how successful the program has been and what their future success looks like. That's where the Cougs fall short. They don't have that success and that is really to bad because Washington State fans are great fans.
When Mike Leach was hired he was viewed as a miracle drug by many Cougar fans. With what the fans have seen so far and with some sobering realities that they have to admit to, the ills of the program may be to much for Leach to overcome. I hope I am wrong...
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Brett Hundley: Good Pro?
People in Chandler, Arizona know him. People in Pasadena, California know him. Pac-12 defensive coordinators know him. This somebody is Brett Hundley. Arizona native, former UCLA quarterback, and future NFL draft pick. Which round does he get picked? Not sure. Who picks him? Don't know. All I know is that whichever team picks him is going to get a mightily talented quarterback that can be the face of the franchise at some point.
For the entire article go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter: @pigskinopinion
Email me: Nikebeav@gmail.com
For the entire article go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter: @pigskinopinion
Email me: Nikebeav@gmail.com
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Can Colorado Break Out?
Nobody likes the "bottom feeder" feeling in aspect of society. Sports is no different. Every league, conference, and division has them. While growing up in the Northwest, in particular, Oregon, we had two teams that were consistently considered "sure" wins. Oregon and Oregon State were not what they are today. Young Duck fans may not believe that, but that is simply the way it was. It was even worse in Corvallis for Beaver fans. In Boulder, Colorado fans are wondering when they will get off the mat and challenge other teams in the Pac-12 South Division and not be the doormat of the whole Pac-12.
Since the Colorado Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 from the Big 12 they have been struggling to forge a winning record. In all honesty, the program has been in decline for over 10 years and when you are on the decline in a Power 5 Conference it doesn't add up to much success. When teams have gone into Boulder, they are hoping for a win over a struggling team, but they are wanting to get out of town with a clean bill of health. Colorado has given some teams a ballgame from time to time, but I would suspect that most of the fans that show up to support the team go with a frame of mind that tells them that a win probably isn't in the future.
It's a tough road to become a winner in the Pac-12 because there are so many talented teams in both the North and South divisions. Another problem for the Buffs is that they are in probably the toughest division in all of college football. The Pac-12 South is very deep in talent. In fact, every team in the South division went to a bowl and will be returning a lot of the talent that brought them to their bowl games. All those teams have their quarterbacks and many skill players coming back as well and that'll make the road to victory much more difficult.
Now, in defense of Colorado they have had a revolving door of coaches and lack of good recruits. Anybody who looks at this situation in Boulder with any common sense knows that when you have coaches coming and going and no substantial talent to compete it is a recipe for losing. The record for Colorado this was 2-10 overall, and 0-9 in the Pac-12, good enough for last place in the south division. Obviously being a little sarcastic about that last comment about being "good enough", but even Buffalo fans has to look at their dire situation and see the slight humor in it.
What do they have to look forward to? Well, they do have their quarterback, sophomore Sefo Liufau who threw for 3,200 yards, 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. That is someone who has some experience behind him and can make things happen on the field. Anytime you have 3,200 yards passing it is clear that he can do some things with his arm. Liufau will certainly be the man in spring ball, but there are glut of guys trying to get the back up position and that'll be place that fans will want to look to. The problem with these guys trying to get the back up position is that they have hardly any experience, so if for some unforeseen reason Liufau goes down for any length of time, Colorado will be a bigger world of hurt.
One good thing for Colorado quarterback is that his leading receiver will be returning. Nelson Spruce who caught 106 passes for 1,198 yards. He also averaged over 11 yards a catch. Behind Spruce are four other receivers that played in at least 9 games and have at least 350 yards in receiving. The second leading receiver on the Buffs was Shay Fields who caught 50 balls for 486 yards. The Buffs will be looking for bigger and better things out of Fields. Fields was a freshman this past year, so he has a lot of room for growth. Having to guys on the outside that can stretch a defense will be a weapon that Head Coach Mike MacIntyre will look to use often. His offense ranked 38th overall and that is something to build on going into spring ball.
The Buffs will have to work on their defense. Keeping teams out of the end zone is obviously something teams need to do, Colorado is no different. Colorado was ranked 98th against the run and 96th against the pass. Overall they ranked 110th in total defense. That has to get better. Out of the 12 games they played, 11 teams scored at least 30 points. You can't win at any level giving up at 30 points a game. Bottom line is until they start playing some defense in Boulder, wins will few AND far between.
At the end of the day, Colorado, as stated earlier, is in a very tough predicament. A tough conference, an even tougher division, and not enough talent to compete at a high level right now. It doesn't mean that things can not turn around for the Buffaloes, but it is an uphill climb and the mountain top is very far away.
Since the Colorado Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 from the Big 12 they have been struggling to forge a winning record. In all honesty, the program has been in decline for over 10 years and when you are on the decline in a Power 5 Conference it doesn't add up to much success. When teams have gone into Boulder, they are hoping for a win over a struggling team, but they are wanting to get out of town with a clean bill of health. Colorado has given some teams a ballgame from time to time, but I would suspect that most of the fans that show up to support the team go with a frame of mind that tells them that a win probably isn't in the future.
It's a tough road to become a winner in the Pac-12 because there are so many talented teams in both the North and South divisions. Another problem for the Buffs is that they are in probably the toughest division in all of college football. The Pac-12 South is very deep in talent. In fact, every team in the South division went to a bowl and will be returning a lot of the talent that brought them to their bowl games. All those teams have their quarterbacks and many skill players coming back as well and that'll make the road to victory much more difficult.
Now, in defense of Colorado they have had a revolving door of coaches and lack of good recruits. Anybody who looks at this situation in Boulder with any common sense knows that when you have coaches coming and going and no substantial talent to compete it is a recipe for losing. The record for Colorado this was 2-10 overall, and 0-9 in the Pac-12, good enough for last place in the south division. Obviously being a little sarcastic about that last comment about being "good enough", but even Buffalo fans has to look at their dire situation and see the slight humor in it.
What do they have to look forward to? Well, they do have their quarterback, sophomore Sefo Liufau who threw for 3,200 yards, 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. That is someone who has some experience behind him and can make things happen on the field. Anytime you have 3,200 yards passing it is clear that he can do some things with his arm. Liufau will certainly be the man in spring ball, but there are glut of guys trying to get the back up position and that'll be place that fans will want to look to. The problem with these guys trying to get the back up position is that they have hardly any experience, so if for some unforeseen reason Liufau goes down for any length of time, Colorado will be a bigger world of hurt.
One good thing for Colorado quarterback is that his leading receiver will be returning. Nelson Spruce who caught 106 passes for 1,198 yards. He also averaged over 11 yards a catch. Behind Spruce are four other receivers that played in at least 9 games and have at least 350 yards in receiving. The second leading receiver on the Buffs was Shay Fields who caught 50 balls for 486 yards. The Buffs will be looking for bigger and better things out of Fields. Fields was a freshman this past year, so he has a lot of room for growth. Having to guys on the outside that can stretch a defense will be a weapon that Head Coach Mike MacIntyre will look to use often. His offense ranked 38th overall and that is something to build on going into spring ball.
The Buffs will have to work on their defense. Keeping teams out of the end zone is obviously something teams need to do, Colorado is no different. Colorado was ranked 98th against the run and 96th against the pass. Overall they ranked 110th in total defense. That has to get better. Out of the 12 games they played, 11 teams scored at least 30 points. You can't win at any level giving up at 30 points a game. Bottom line is until they start playing some defense in Boulder, wins will few AND far between.
At the end of the day, Colorado, as stated earlier, is in a very tough predicament. A tough conference, an even tougher division, and not enough talent to compete at a high level right now. It doesn't mean that things can not turn around for the Buffaloes, but it is an uphill climb and the mountain top is very far away.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Recruiting Wars
What do college football fans get all excited about this time of year once the National Championship game is over? Recruiting. Recruiting. Recruiting. Fans start taking notice of who has a verbal commit or has signed with their school. College football fans also put a lot of stock into these recruits and how it will make their program better in the coming years.
Recruiting gets fans, coaches, and even sports writers excited when they see or don't see who is coming to their perspective campuses. Texas football legend Darrell Royal once said "It's not about the X's and O's but the Jimmys and Joes." What Royal allegedly said here is right on point with recruiting. People matter and the type of people who a coach recruits matters to viability of his program.
Recruiting matters. It's matters a whole lot.
Most college football coaches will tell you that recruiting does matter and that great players make their coach look even greater. To me, it's pretty simple math. If a team has more talented football players, then they have a greater chance at winning more games. Nick Saban has won his titles with some pretty talented athletes. Some people say coaching plays an equal role in winning, but I disagree with that. You could be the greatest coach on the planet like a Nick Saban, but if he didn't have those gigantic offensive and defensive lines, great running backs, and quarterbacks would he have all those national titles? I think not. Michigan has had some great teams in the history of that school, but have not been winning like usual the last few years. Is it the coaching or the talent of those kids? I still say it's the players.
People like saying that Phil Jackson is a great coach. He is, however, he still had the best talent on the planet to win his 11 NBA titles. When you have Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal it helps an awful bit.
Back to college football. Kids getting recruited these days have lots of options and are very much up on all the different ways they can get to know a school. Social media has changed everything for coaches. Coaches have to continually sell their program. That is why facilities, weight rooms, uniforms (Oregon), and who outfits the school have become such an increasingly huge part of the whole recruitment process. If a player goes up toe Eugene, Oregon and checks out what the Ducks have to offer and then goes to San Diego State, it's really a no brainer for that athlete. They go play for the Oregon Ducks. Schools are spending big, big money on how their facilities look and it is paying off handsomely for the big programs. Every Pac-12 university has undergone a face lift to improve their status with recruits. Public relations and advertising have put their footprint on college football.
Once schools get their facilities in check they want to get into the top 10 of recruiting classes. Schools that have played for the National Championship in the past seven years, averaged top 8 classes. That tells me that the better players have been on the better teams and are winning of winning titles for the school and their coaches.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I am saying that coaches can simply role out the ball and the players just play great. The coaches do coach, but when the talent is that much better than everybody else it makes it easier for the coaches to do their job. Coaches can't coach speed, so when they get the faster players it's like playing men against boys.
In the end, recruiting is the big tool that coaches have that will spell doom or spell wins for them. The bottom line of college sports is winning, that is what coaches are judged on and fired on, so it is up to them and their coaching staffs to recruit the best players that fit their system. Fans and alumni hope that their coach is a master at getting the players that will bring glory to the team. Here's to wishing...
Recruiting gets fans, coaches, and even sports writers excited when they see or don't see who is coming to their perspective campuses. Texas football legend Darrell Royal once said "It's not about the X's and O's but the Jimmys and Joes." What Royal allegedly said here is right on point with recruiting. People matter and the type of people who a coach recruits matters to viability of his program.
Recruiting matters. It's matters a whole lot.
Most college football coaches will tell you that recruiting does matter and that great players make their coach look even greater. To me, it's pretty simple math. If a team has more talented football players, then they have a greater chance at winning more games. Nick Saban has won his titles with some pretty talented athletes. Some people say coaching plays an equal role in winning, but I disagree with that. You could be the greatest coach on the planet like a Nick Saban, but if he didn't have those gigantic offensive and defensive lines, great running backs, and quarterbacks would he have all those national titles? I think not. Michigan has had some great teams in the history of that school, but have not been winning like usual the last few years. Is it the coaching or the talent of those kids? I still say it's the players.
People like saying that Phil Jackson is a great coach. He is, however, he still had the best talent on the planet to win his 11 NBA titles. When you have Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal it helps an awful bit.
Back to college football. Kids getting recruited these days have lots of options and are very much up on all the different ways they can get to know a school. Social media has changed everything for coaches. Coaches have to continually sell their program. That is why facilities, weight rooms, uniforms (Oregon), and who outfits the school have become such an increasingly huge part of the whole recruitment process. If a player goes up toe Eugene, Oregon and checks out what the Ducks have to offer and then goes to San Diego State, it's really a no brainer for that athlete. They go play for the Oregon Ducks. Schools are spending big, big money on how their facilities look and it is paying off handsomely for the big programs. Every Pac-12 university has undergone a face lift to improve their status with recruits. Public relations and advertising have put their footprint on college football.
Once schools get their facilities in check they want to get into the top 10 of recruiting classes. Schools that have played for the National Championship in the past seven years, averaged top 8 classes. That tells me that the better players have been on the better teams and are winning of winning titles for the school and their coaches.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I am saying that coaches can simply role out the ball and the players just play great. The coaches do coach, but when the talent is that much better than everybody else it makes it easier for the coaches to do their job. Coaches can't coach speed, so when they get the faster players it's like playing men against boys.
In the end, recruiting is the big tool that coaches have that will spell doom or spell wins for them. The bottom line of college sports is winning, that is what coaches are judged on and fired on, so it is up to them and their coaching staffs to recruit the best players that fit their system. Fans and alumni hope that their coach is a master at getting the players that will bring glory to the team. Here's to wishing...
Mannions Replacement at Oregon State
It's going to be a whole new era in Corvallis in 2015. New head coach, new coaching staff, and new quarterback. Beaver fans did get a little spoiled in terms of having a veteran quarterback taking the snaps for the team over the course of the last few years. Did it translate into wins? Yes and no, but having a quarterback who knew the system was advantage that a lot of teams would have died to have.
For the entire article go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter: @pigskinopinion
For the entire article go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter: @pigskinopinion
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Mariota or Winston?
Now that Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota have both declared for the NFL Draft the question now becomes which one gets selected first. Right now I have seen draft boards that have Winston at the top and I have seen boards that have Mariota at the top. Which one goes first?
Tampa Bay is selecting first and does need a quarterback, needs some excitement, and just something positive for the team. My first inclination would be that Tampa Bay would take Winston before Mariota because he played at Florida State and the fans would prefer a guy that was in state already. He's a big personality type of guy and would certainly bring excitement to this franchise. However, when you look at the WHOLE player and what may or may not scare a GM away from a player, everybody that knows of Jameis Winston knows that he comes with some baggage. A general manager of any team will/may be uncertain to attach his trailer to a young athlete that has had a sexual assault case brought against him, stealing crab legs, and yelling obscenities in a lunch room at school. Maturity is certainly called into question with Winston. Maybe he is past it and has learned, but only time will tell with that. The part of Jameis Winston that has matured so far is his on field game. He has the tangible things a general manager likes, such as size, strength, arm strength. He also is a leader and has been in high pressure situations such as the 2014 National Championship, ACC Title game, The Rose Bowl, and many other tight regular season games. Remember Notre Dame anybody? I'm sure the Irish fans do.
Some how he found a way to get the job done in tight situations and kept the Seminoles in the College Football Playoff picture. Many people felt they were getting lucky, like the Clemson game, when Winston was out of the line up. If it wasn't for a poorly designed pass play, err, pick play Florida State would have had a loss and probably does not get into the football playoff. Winston's ability to lead his team down the field against Auburn last year to throw the winning pass said so much about his ability to stay calm in that situation and deliver a win for his team. If he wasn't by then, he certainly was on the radar of most NFL teams after that game.
The NFL will do their due diligence with all of Winston's off the field problems and come to a conclusion about how big of a risk he will be to them. What he will need is a team that has some solid veterans that can show Jameis how to conduct himself as a pro and keep him on the straight and narrow.
Next up is the Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota. He is just about the antithesis of Jameis Winston. He doesn't have the off field baggage like Winston has. What Jameis doesn't have off the field Mariota has in spades. He relies on his island roots to maintain a low profile and humble attitude towards his teammates and his game. It's never about him, it's about the whole team and what he can do to make his team better. GM's will eat that kind of attitude up and want him as the face of their franchise.
Where Marcus will kill it in the whole draft process is the interview. He speaks very soft and carries himself in a way that makes parents look at him as someone that their children can look up to. In the image conscious NFL, that'll go along way for Mariota.
Marcus Mariota will have to make sure during his pro day that he shows the scouts that he can make all the necessary drops in terms of coming from under center. Mariota did not take hardly any snaps under center unless it was at the end of the game where the Ducks were just running out the clock. He has the size, decent arm (not as good as Winston's), great speed, intelligence, and all the off field positives that you would want. His footwork from under center will have to improve between now and his pro day, then from his pro day to when he gets to training camp. The question I have is his footwork from under center and if he is a system quarterback that can make his progressions. I saw games where he showed that he could go through his progressions, but the NFL is a different animal and he is going to have to intake a ton of information in his pre read snaps in the pro's. That'll be a big aspect of his game that show if he can develop into the type of quarterback that a team like Tampa Bay may want.
In the end, it's a toss up in terms of talent. I really think that their on field play is a wash to me. Where they separate each other is with their off field behavior and if you are going to invest millions of dollars in a quarterback you can't be wondering if they are going to appear on the 5pm newscast. That's not a risk GM's should have to take, so I would take Marcus Mariota and leave Jameis Winston to another team. The off-season is here, so lets sit back and see how it unfolds.
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Tampa Bay is selecting first and does need a quarterback, needs some excitement, and just something positive for the team. My first inclination would be that Tampa Bay would take Winston before Mariota because he played at Florida State and the fans would prefer a guy that was in state already. He's a big personality type of guy and would certainly bring excitement to this franchise. However, when you look at the WHOLE player and what may or may not scare a GM away from a player, everybody that knows of Jameis Winston knows that he comes with some baggage. A general manager of any team will/may be uncertain to attach his trailer to a young athlete that has had a sexual assault case brought against him, stealing crab legs, and yelling obscenities in a lunch room at school. Maturity is certainly called into question with Winston. Maybe he is past it and has learned, but only time will tell with that. The part of Jameis Winston that has matured so far is his on field game. He has the tangible things a general manager likes, such as size, strength, arm strength. He also is a leader and has been in high pressure situations such as the 2014 National Championship, ACC Title game, The Rose Bowl, and many other tight regular season games. Remember Notre Dame anybody? I'm sure the Irish fans do.
Some how he found a way to get the job done in tight situations and kept the Seminoles in the College Football Playoff picture. Many people felt they were getting lucky, like the Clemson game, when Winston was out of the line up. If it wasn't for a poorly designed pass play, err, pick play Florida State would have had a loss and probably does not get into the football playoff. Winston's ability to lead his team down the field against Auburn last year to throw the winning pass said so much about his ability to stay calm in that situation and deliver a win for his team. If he wasn't by then, he certainly was on the radar of most NFL teams after that game.
The NFL will do their due diligence with all of Winston's off the field problems and come to a conclusion about how big of a risk he will be to them. What he will need is a team that has some solid veterans that can show Jameis how to conduct himself as a pro and keep him on the straight and narrow.
Next up is the Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota. He is just about the antithesis of Jameis Winston. He doesn't have the off field baggage like Winston has. What Jameis doesn't have off the field Mariota has in spades. He relies on his island roots to maintain a low profile and humble attitude towards his teammates and his game. It's never about him, it's about the whole team and what he can do to make his team better. GM's will eat that kind of attitude up and want him as the face of their franchise.
Where Marcus will kill it in the whole draft process is the interview. He speaks very soft and carries himself in a way that makes parents look at him as someone that their children can look up to. In the image conscious NFL, that'll go along way for Mariota.
Marcus Mariota will have to make sure during his pro day that he shows the scouts that he can make all the necessary drops in terms of coming from under center. Mariota did not take hardly any snaps under center unless it was at the end of the game where the Ducks were just running out the clock. He has the size, decent arm (not as good as Winston's), great speed, intelligence, and all the off field positives that you would want. His footwork from under center will have to improve between now and his pro day, then from his pro day to when he gets to training camp. The question I have is his footwork from under center and if he is a system quarterback that can make his progressions. I saw games where he showed that he could go through his progressions, but the NFL is a different animal and he is going to have to intake a ton of information in his pre read snaps in the pro's. That'll be a big aspect of his game that show if he can develop into the type of quarterback that a team like Tampa Bay may want.
In the end, it's a toss up in terms of talent. I really think that their on field play is a wash to me. Where they separate each other is with their off field behavior and if you are going to invest millions of dollars in a quarterback you can't be wondering if they are going to appear on the 5pm newscast. That's not a risk GM's should have to take, so I would take Marcus Mariota and leave Jameis Winston to another team. The off-season is here, so lets sit back and see how it unfolds.
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Tuesday, January 13, 2015
National Championship Afterthoughts
It's over with. Columbus is ecstatic, Eugene, well, not so much. The title game and the playoff were a tremendous success and will continue to be in 2015. With this season over, a few questions to ask. What does Oregon do from here? What does this season mean for SEC? Does Ohio State title mean the Big 10 is better than thought? What about the Pac-12?
For the entire column, go to www.cfbroundtable.com
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For the entire column, go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinion
Monday, January 12, 2015
Marcus Mariota "You Can't Stop Me" ||Heisman Campaign||
Heisman Trophy winner and leader of the Ducks...
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Pac-12 Quarterbacks to Watch
With Oregon and Ohio State getting set to do battle on Monday night. Thoughts of next year have already gone through fans minds and my mind. The Pac-12 is losing some pretty good quarterback talent. Sean Mannion, the all-time Pac-12 passing leader is gone, Brett Hundley is leaving UCLA early, Marcus Mariota is probably leaving Oregon after his Heisman Trophy season. He may also leave with a National Championship ring as well. That is a lot of talent leaving the conference, but if you look around the Pac-12, there is plenty of talent returning.
First of all, lets look down in the desert. At Arizona State, the Sun Devils will have Mike Bercovici at quarterback. He will be a senior and comes with experience. That experience he received came in 2014 because the Sun Devil starter, Taylor Kelly, went down with an injury. Bercovici came in and the offense didn't really miss a beat. Even in a humiliating loss to UCLA Bercovici came in a threw for 488 yards. Being in attendance at that game I did come away impressed with his skills. He's a more complete quarterback than Taylor Kelly. His footwork is better, better arm strength, and his football IQ is high. He will be the unquestioned leader of the team coming into next year. With Berco coming back along with DJ Foster and other leaders, ASU will be a force to reckon with in the Pac-12 South and for the whole conference.
Heading down the highway to Tucson, Wildcat fans have a lot to be happy with. They have some great young talent on the offensive side of the ball, and one of those talents is their quarterback Anu Solomon. Coming into 2014, the Wildcats didn't know who was going to be their quarterback. Through spring and summer ball, Coach Rodriguez settled on Solomon. He did not disappoint at all. He guided the Cats to the Pac-12 South title. He was very good in a win at Oregon which was probably the signature win for the program this year. He had a Hail Mary pass against California that secured another win, and finally he overcame some rough play in the Territorial Cup to lead the team to a win over their hated rival Arizona State. He was a red shirt freshman this year and that came with some growing pains. Anybody that watched the ASU game, Pac-12 Championship, and the Fiesta Bowl will tell you that he struggled. The last play in the Fiesta Bowl will tell all you need about having a young quarterback. Solomon needed to throw the ball away if the play wasn't there, he took a sack, and without any timeouts that was the ballgame for the Wildcats. I am confident that he will take all he learned from 2014 and get better in 2015. Things are looking up for Arizona.
Heading west on I-10 you come to the University of Southern California. The Trojans will have all of their scholarships available to them and now they will have their quarterback as well. This is a quarterback that threw for 3,800 yards, had a completion percentage just under 70%, and had a quarterback rating of 169. Those are stats that will make any USC fan happy and make Head Coach Steve Sarkisian smile from ear to ear. Kessler is not your spread type of quarterback, he is mobile, but he is not a Marcus Mariota running He's more pro-style than spread. He's got good footwork, good arm, and he can read defenses. He's not the biggest of quarterbacks standing 6'1", 210 pounds, so with him, timing with his receivers is critical. Another year with Coach Sarkisian will further hone his quarterbacking skills.
Let's head north to Washington State. Out in Pullman, Washington Head Coach Mike Leach has a freshman quarterback that provided hope for the future when Connor Halliday went down with a season ending injury. He came in and threw for 471 yards against Oregon State and got a one of the few wins for the Cougars this year. He's big, 6'4", 208 pounds. So he is a little slight in terms of weight, but being a freshman he certainly has time to put that weight on. With the offense that Leach has Falk will put up the numbers, the question I have is will he have the weapons to have sustained success. Seeing this guy in action as well this past year, Falk has all the tangible things you want. He has size, arm strength, he can move around. Leach will get him more focused on reading the defense, progressions, etc. The only thing Falk lacked this past year was experience. He became the starter the last four games of the year. Once this young quarterback gets some more experience under his belt, he will be a force in the Pac-12 North division.
Lastly, down in the Bay area, we have California who will be returning their two quarterbacks in Jared Goff and Luke Rubenzer. It's a two headed monster. Goff is the more polished quarterback who has size, arm strength, and is your more pro-style type of quarterback. On the other hand, you have Luke Rubenzer who is the spread offense type of quarterback. Head Coach Sonny Dykes uses this two quarterback system to keep the other team off balance and force their opponent to game plan for the two quarterback threat. Goff is the quarterback that I would tend to go with. Goff has the threat of throwing the ball deep down field, Rubenzer, who was a true freshman is not there just yet. Luke comes in to run the spread and give the opponent a different look. Going into 2015, Coach Dykes will have to decide between the two quarterbacks and go with one. I'm not a big fan of the two quarterback offense and for California to take that "next step" they need one leader in the huddle. Not two.
Contrary to public rumor, Kevin Hogan should return to help the Cardinal get back to what college football fans have been accustomed to. A hard, smash mouth, play action team that wins. Hogan is a leader who has done quite a bit for Stanford. He's won a Pac-12 championship, won a Rose Bowl, and has been a thorn in sides of the Ducks. I see him coming back because why would he go somewhere else and try to learn a whole different offense? Why would he try and get used to a different coaching staff? I don't see that happening. He comes back and will lead a young Stanford team to better things in 2015.
All in all, the Pac-12 will have plenty of quarterback talent to watch and the conference will continue to rival any Power 5 conference with their quarterback play.
First of all, lets look down in the desert. At Arizona State, the Sun Devils will have Mike Bercovici at quarterback. He will be a senior and comes with experience. That experience he received came in 2014 because the Sun Devil starter, Taylor Kelly, went down with an injury. Bercovici came in and the offense didn't really miss a beat. Even in a humiliating loss to UCLA Bercovici came in a threw for 488 yards. Being in attendance at that game I did come away impressed with his skills. He's a more complete quarterback than Taylor Kelly. His footwork is better, better arm strength, and his football IQ is high. He will be the unquestioned leader of the team coming into next year. With Berco coming back along with DJ Foster and other leaders, ASU will be a force to reckon with in the Pac-12 South and for the whole conference.
Heading down the highway to Tucson, Wildcat fans have a lot to be happy with. They have some great young talent on the offensive side of the ball, and one of those talents is their quarterback Anu Solomon. Coming into 2014, the Wildcats didn't know who was going to be their quarterback. Through spring and summer ball, Coach Rodriguez settled on Solomon. He did not disappoint at all. He guided the Cats to the Pac-12 South title. He was very good in a win at Oregon which was probably the signature win for the program this year. He had a Hail Mary pass against California that secured another win, and finally he overcame some rough play in the Territorial Cup to lead the team to a win over their hated rival Arizona State. He was a red shirt freshman this year and that came with some growing pains. Anybody that watched the ASU game, Pac-12 Championship, and the Fiesta Bowl will tell you that he struggled. The last play in the Fiesta Bowl will tell all you need about having a young quarterback. Solomon needed to throw the ball away if the play wasn't there, he took a sack, and without any timeouts that was the ballgame for the Wildcats. I am confident that he will take all he learned from 2014 and get better in 2015. Things are looking up for Arizona.
Heading west on I-10 you come to the University of Southern California. The Trojans will have all of their scholarships available to them and now they will have their quarterback as well. This is a quarterback that threw for 3,800 yards, had a completion percentage just under 70%, and had a quarterback rating of 169. Those are stats that will make any USC fan happy and make Head Coach Steve Sarkisian smile from ear to ear. Kessler is not your spread type of quarterback, he is mobile, but he is not a Marcus Mariota running He's more pro-style than spread. He's got good footwork, good arm, and he can read defenses. He's not the biggest of quarterbacks standing 6'1", 210 pounds, so with him, timing with his receivers is critical. Another year with Coach Sarkisian will further hone his quarterbacking skills.
Let's head north to Washington State. Out in Pullman, Washington Head Coach Mike Leach has a freshman quarterback that provided hope for the future when Connor Halliday went down with a season ending injury. He came in and threw for 471 yards against Oregon State and got a one of the few wins for the Cougars this year. He's big, 6'4", 208 pounds. So he is a little slight in terms of weight, but being a freshman he certainly has time to put that weight on. With the offense that Leach has Falk will put up the numbers, the question I have is will he have the weapons to have sustained success. Seeing this guy in action as well this past year, Falk has all the tangible things you want. He has size, arm strength, he can move around. Leach will get him more focused on reading the defense, progressions, etc. The only thing Falk lacked this past year was experience. He became the starter the last four games of the year. Once this young quarterback gets some more experience under his belt, he will be a force in the Pac-12 North division.
Lastly, down in the Bay area, we have California who will be returning their two quarterbacks in Jared Goff and Luke Rubenzer. It's a two headed monster. Goff is the more polished quarterback who has size, arm strength, and is your more pro-style type of quarterback. On the other hand, you have Luke Rubenzer who is the spread offense type of quarterback. Head Coach Sonny Dykes uses this two quarterback system to keep the other team off balance and force their opponent to game plan for the two quarterback threat. Goff is the quarterback that I would tend to go with. Goff has the threat of throwing the ball deep down field, Rubenzer, who was a true freshman is not there just yet. Luke comes in to run the spread and give the opponent a different look. Going into 2015, Coach Dykes will have to decide between the two quarterbacks and go with one. I'm not a big fan of the two quarterback offense and for California to take that "next step" they need one leader in the huddle. Not two.
Contrary to public rumor, Kevin Hogan should return to help the Cardinal get back to what college football fans have been accustomed to. A hard, smash mouth, play action team that wins. Hogan is a leader who has done quite a bit for Stanford. He's won a Pac-12 championship, won a Rose Bowl, and has been a thorn in sides of the Ducks. I see him coming back because why would he go somewhere else and try to learn a whole different offense? Why would he try and get used to a different coaching staff? I don't see that happening. He comes back and will lead a young Stanford team to better things in 2015.
All in all, the Pac-12 will have plenty of quarterback talent to watch and the conference will continue to rival any Power 5 conference with their quarterback play.
Friday, January 9, 2015
A Selfish Duck
Really? Are you kidding me with this? Now? Tells you a lot about Darren Carrington folks. This was a selfish act of epic proportions. I know it's a "next man up" mentality with the Oregon Ducks, but this is just ridiculous. Carrington evidently decides to blaze up in Eugene and puts his whole teams National Title hopes in jeopardy on Monday night...
For the whole column go to www.cfbroundtable.com
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For the whole column go to www.cfbroundtable.com
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinion
Expand the Playoffs
It's official. People love it. A lot. What is this that they love you say? It's the College Football Playoffs. The ratings tell us that the football crazy public does and anybody that does not see this is in some kind of weird denial. Now what does the NCAA do with the current playoff system? Blow it up and expand it so more teams have the chance to participate? I think they will.
Now the current contract with ESPN runs through 2020 or something like that, but with the ratings bonanza that the four letter network has got and the immense craziness at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, I think the money hungry people at the NCAA will want to go to ESPN and say "Hey, you know that contract we had, lets, uh, you know, renegotiate that thing..." I guarantee that ESPN will say that that will not be an issue because that means more money. There is so much more money to be made and more exposure for these programs that the NCAA will have no real other choice other than to expand it.
How much do they expand the playoffs? The prevailing thought is that they will go to a six or eight team playoff. I have been of the train of thought to keep it at four, but am coming around to the thought of the eight team. You can have first round byes, you could have teams have a home field advantage scenario, and you could include games in cold weather stadiums. I am not sure that I would want it to go as far as 12 teams because then you start diluting the talent pool in terms of teams that really deserve a shot at being in the playoff. I wouldn't want this playoff to turn into the NCAA basketball tournament. There are to many teams in that tournament. Let's face it. Everybody likes the underdog, but in the end people generally want to see the "big boys" go at each other. So for football, it's turned out nice this year by seeing Alabama take on an Ohio State, watch Florida State deal with Oregon. People tune in for something like that. They wouldn't necessarily being tuning for a Florida State-Washington game or a Oregon-Kansas State game if we had a bunch of different rounds in the college football playoff. Each round needs to have major teams going at each other.
I think when they expand the playoffs to probably an eight team format then you can have seeding and have the top two seeds have first round byes. People say that wouldn't be fair. I say, so what. This is not little boy football where we hand out trophies just being there. If you want a first round bye, go earn it by your play on the field and who you play. I would even say that the top two seeds could have home field advantage when they play their first games in the playoff. That may put a team in a cold weather situation such as playing in Oregon or at The Horseshoe in Columbus, but if those teams earn that right, they earn that right.
I am not sure that I am totally convinced that I like expanding it, but I am a realist when there are hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars involved with something like this. To much money can be made by people who want that money, so in the end, the playoffs will get expanded and the NCAA will get what it always wants.... money. Just saying...
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Now the current contract with ESPN runs through 2020 or something like that, but with the ratings bonanza that the four letter network has got and the immense craziness at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, I think the money hungry people at the NCAA will want to go to ESPN and say "Hey, you know that contract we had, lets, uh, you know, renegotiate that thing..." I guarantee that ESPN will say that that will not be an issue because that means more money. There is so much more money to be made and more exposure for these programs that the NCAA will have no real other choice other than to expand it.
How much do they expand the playoffs? The prevailing thought is that they will go to a six or eight team playoff. I have been of the train of thought to keep it at four, but am coming around to the thought of the eight team. You can have first round byes, you could have teams have a home field advantage scenario, and you could include games in cold weather stadiums. I am not sure that I would want it to go as far as 12 teams because then you start diluting the talent pool in terms of teams that really deserve a shot at being in the playoff. I wouldn't want this playoff to turn into the NCAA basketball tournament. There are to many teams in that tournament. Let's face it. Everybody likes the underdog, but in the end people generally want to see the "big boys" go at each other. So for football, it's turned out nice this year by seeing Alabama take on an Ohio State, watch Florida State deal with Oregon. People tune in for something like that. They wouldn't necessarily being tuning for a Florida State-Washington game or a Oregon-Kansas State game if we had a bunch of different rounds in the college football playoff. Each round needs to have major teams going at each other.
I think when they expand the playoffs to probably an eight team format then you can have seeding and have the top two seeds have first round byes. People say that wouldn't be fair. I say, so what. This is not little boy football where we hand out trophies just being there. If you want a first round bye, go earn it by your play on the field and who you play. I would even say that the top two seeds could have home field advantage when they play their first games in the playoff. That may put a team in a cold weather situation such as playing in Oregon or at The Horseshoe in Columbus, but if those teams earn that right, they earn that right.
I am not sure that I am totally convinced that I like expanding it, but I am a realist when there are hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars involved with something like this. To much money can be made by people who want that money, so in the end, the playoffs will get expanded and the NCAA will get what it always wants.... money. Just saying...
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Thursday, January 8, 2015
Championship Experience
This time of year always brings back great memories for me and probably for my brother. On January 4, 2006 we got to attend probably the best college football game ever. We saw University of Southern California take on the University of Texas. We saw Vince Young run all over the Trojan defense and score the winning touchdown at the end of the game. Thrilling, phenomenal, unbelievable are only a few words that describe this experience...
For the entire article, go to www.cfbroundtable.com.
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For the entire article, go to www.cfbroundtable.com.
Follow me on twitter: @pigskinopinion
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Quarterback Changes at Stanford?
The college football off season is always full on rumor, innuendo, and partial facts. Case in point, Stanford and their possible change at quarterback. Kevin Hogan is their current quarterback and the rumor mill has him moving on to places like Texas, Michigan, and even Maryland. What? Are you kidding me? Moving on from Stanford? Why?
Look, a lot of this is just conjecture right now. Message boards are putting out things that are not true, or at least things that can not be confirmed right now. I like to call it wishful thinking because I just do not see it happening. I could be wrong about this, I have been wrong before, but I get "gut" reactions to things such as this and sometimes my gut tells me yes, I can certainly see it happening, and other times it tells me no, this is not going to happen. As previously stated, I don't see Kevin Hogan moving on from Stanford and being a fifth-year graduate quarterback, much like Russell Wilson did when he went from North Carolina State to the University of Wisconsin to play.
Kevin Hogan is the guy that took over for Andrew Luck after Luck went number one in the NFL draft. He's also the guy that has won a couple of games against mighty Oregon, a Pac-12 Championship, and a Rose Bowl for Stanford. He's also won 25 games as a starter for the Cardinal. He's helped make Stanford Head Coach David Shaw look like a genius since Shaw has taken over for that guy that just took over Michigan.
Since the Stanford Cardinal beat up on Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl and Hogan took home the MVP of the game there has been speculation that Hogan may have played his last game for Stanford. This is something that has not been confirmed or even denied by the parties involved, but there is no fact to the thought that Kevin Hogan is leaving.
Like I said earlier, I don't see this happening. He's done some pretty special things at Stanford and would love to continue those special things as a graduate school quarterback. Rumors have said that Hogan and his head coach have clashed over how the offense has been run. Hogan supposedly doesn't like Shaw's conservative type of offense. Really? A quarterback and coach clashing over how the offense is run. I would act shocked, if I was. This happens more than people know or would even care to know. I look at that as not a big deal, but other fans at other schools who need a quarterback run with this kind of rumor.
A perfect example would be the University of Michigan. Fans would love to have a quarterback of Kevin Hogan's talent because they don't know who is going to be their quarterback in 2015. It's a question mark for Jim Harbaugh and his staff. Landing Kevin Hogan would be an absolute coup. Especially with the hated rival Ohio State having so much success and possibly winning the National Championship in the next few days. Message boards are saying: "He is rumored to be considering a fifth year transfer. He was recruited by Harbaugh, but has played his entire career for David Shaw. He could immediately shore up the questions at QB. Definitely seems like something at least worth exploring for JH." Quotes like this almost want to make it seem like Michigan is going to pursue it. However, nothing has been confirmed at all. It's fans dreaming big and WANTING Hogan to land in Ann Arbor. The Michigan fan base isn't the only one wanting to land a big fish.
Texas fans want everything, all the time. In this case, it's no different. At the SB Nation's Texas Longhorns blog they are pointing out the differences that David Shaw and Kevin Hogan apparently have to help drive people to think that Hogan definitely wants out. The blog is pointing out all of Hogan's stats and ends with the line "People treat him as if he's chopped liver. He's not." Those who know anything about football and more specifically Stanford football, know that he is not chopped liver or a horrible quarterback.
He has a slow release, but that is something that is easily worked on with any number of quarterback gurus that help college kids get ready for the NFL draft.
Hogan has been dismissive of questions concerning his future, but from what I have heard it is simply questions about the NFL and not questions about his relationship with David Shaw. Who knows. Hogan may in fact be tired of the Stanford offense, but if you think about why he would want to leave you will get a puzzled look on your face.
Stanford is returning a huge amount of players on the offensive side of the ball. He should have four returning linemen, three great running backs, solid tight ends, and two great wideouts to help stretch the field for the Cardinal. With those returnees, why would Hogan go to a totally new program, a totally new offense, when he has already been reassured by Coach Shaw that he is the starter in 2015 if he returns. On top of that, why go to Texas, Maryland, or Michigan and play for teams that are worse than Stanford? That's a very valid question to ask these quarterback starved fan bases.
In the end, Kevin Hogan is not going anywhere. I don't see this happening because if he returns, he is THE man, has a loaded offense, and already knows the offense. He should want to finish what he started on The Farm. He will, however, you have to love the off season rumor mill.
Look, a lot of this is just conjecture right now. Message boards are putting out things that are not true, or at least things that can not be confirmed right now. I like to call it wishful thinking because I just do not see it happening. I could be wrong about this, I have been wrong before, but I get "gut" reactions to things such as this and sometimes my gut tells me yes, I can certainly see it happening, and other times it tells me no, this is not going to happen. As previously stated, I don't see Kevin Hogan moving on from Stanford and being a fifth-year graduate quarterback, much like Russell Wilson did when he went from North Carolina State to the University of Wisconsin to play.
Kevin Hogan is the guy that took over for Andrew Luck after Luck went number one in the NFL draft. He's also the guy that has won a couple of games against mighty Oregon, a Pac-12 Championship, and a Rose Bowl for Stanford. He's also won 25 games as a starter for the Cardinal. He's helped make Stanford Head Coach David Shaw look like a genius since Shaw has taken over for that guy that just took over Michigan.
Since the Stanford Cardinal beat up on Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl and Hogan took home the MVP of the game there has been speculation that Hogan may have played his last game for Stanford. This is something that has not been confirmed or even denied by the parties involved, but there is no fact to the thought that Kevin Hogan is leaving.
Like I said earlier, I don't see this happening. He's done some pretty special things at Stanford and would love to continue those special things as a graduate school quarterback. Rumors have said that Hogan and his head coach have clashed over how the offense has been run. Hogan supposedly doesn't like Shaw's conservative type of offense. Really? A quarterback and coach clashing over how the offense is run. I would act shocked, if I was. This happens more than people know or would even care to know. I look at that as not a big deal, but other fans at other schools who need a quarterback run with this kind of rumor.
A perfect example would be the University of Michigan. Fans would love to have a quarterback of Kevin Hogan's talent because they don't know who is going to be their quarterback in 2015. It's a question mark for Jim Harbaugh and his staff. Landing Kevin Hogan would be an absolute coup. Especially with the hated rival Ohio State having so much success and possibly winning the National Championship in the next few days. Message boards are saying: "He is rumored to be considering a fifth year transfer. He was recruited by Harbaugh, but has played his entire career for David Shaw. He could immediately shore up the questions at QB. Definitely seems like something at least worth exploring for JH." Quotes like this almost want to make it seem like Michigan is going to pursue it. However, nothing has been confirmed at all. It's fans dreaming big and WANTING Hogan to land in Ann Arbor. The Michigan fan base isn't the only one wanting to land a big fish.
Texas fans want everything, all the time. In this case, it's no different. At the SB Nation's Texas Longhorns blog they are pointing out the differences that David Shaw and Kevin Hogan apparently have to help drive people to think that Hogan definitely wants out. The blog is pointing out all of Hogan's stats and ends with the line "People treat him as if he's chopped liver. He's not." Those who know anything about football and more specifically Stanford football, know that he is not chopped liver or a horrible quarterback.
He has a slow release, but that is something that is easily worked on with any number of quarterback gurus that help college kids get ready for the NFL draft.
Hogan has been dismissive of questions concerning his future, but from what I have heard it is simply questions about the NFL and not questions about his relationship with David Shaw. Who knows. Hogan may in fact be tired of the Stanford offense, but if you think about why he would want to leave you will get a puzzled look on your face.
Stanford is returning a huge amount of players on the offensive side of the ball. He should have four returning linemen, three great running backs, solid tight ends, and two great wideouts to help stretch the field for the Cardinal. With those returnees, why would Hogan go to a totally new program, a totally new offense, when he has already been reassured by Coach Shaw that he is the starter in 2015 if he returns. On top of that, why go to Texas, Maryland, or Michigan and play for teams that are worse than Stanford? That's a very valid question to ask these quarterback starved fan bases.
In the end, Kevin Hogan is not going anywhere. I don't see this happening because if he returns, he is THE man, has a loaded offense, and already knows the offense. He should want to finish what he started on The Farm. He will, however, you have to love the off season rumor mill.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Wildcat Disappointment
Youth, inexperience, and not being ready to play can get your team into trouble. These three things came to fruition for the Arizona Wildcat in the Fiesta Bowl. Arizona came into this game wanting to get rid of the taste of the Pac-12 Championship game in which Oregon ran them right off the field. That was the plan anyways.
In the blink of an eye, Boise State took a 21-0 lead on the Wildcats and it was only by getting a touchdown in the first quarter that the Cats stopped the bleeding. However, Arizona came out very slow on offense and on defense. They seemed at least a step slow on both sides of the ball and the Broncos took full advantage of it. The Broncos scored on two long scores on their first two drives and it wouldn't be a Boise State Fiesta Bowl appearance if they didn't do some kind of trick play. Boise State breaks out the Statue-of-Liberty play and scores their third touchdown of the first quarter.
From there Arizona was not able to muster any kind of comeback on the Broncos for the first half. The score at the half was 31-17 Boise State was ahead, but I had the feeling that Arizona was not going to be able to get back into the game due to their horrible defense in the first half. They couldn't tackle, were slow on their feet, and almost looked disinterested in the game. They should have shown more energy because Boise State had plenty of energy coming out of the gate.
The second half of the game was a little bit different. Arizona showed the energy that they should have had in the first half. They started making some plays on both sides of the ball. However, Boise State was still making enough plays to keep the Wildcats far enough away on the scoreboard that it never felt like the Cats were not going threaten.
Arizona needed to take bigger chunks of the lead away and they couldn't do that. Anu Soloman committed a couple of interceptions at critical times and that lead to two touchdowns by Boise State. Solomon, as talented as he is as a young quarterback, is still a young quarterback. The interceptions were bad, bad throws made with bad decisions. You could tell that Head Coach Rich Rodriguez was starting to become a little frustrated with his quarterback with those interceptions. Rich Rod did not pull him like he did against Oregon, even though some of the fans may not have argued with that move.
The move that really showed Anu Solomon's inexperience was the last play of the game. The Cats quarterback got his team down in the red zone, but the team had no timeouts left to use. With 14 seconds left to play he had a couple of plays left to score the touchdown and two point conversion they needed. Enter youth and inexperience. Solomon rolls out and to his credit was trying to make a play, but he had very little time to make a play. He needed to throw the ball away once he saw nothing open, instead he takes a sack, the clock runs out. Game over.
Anu Solomon will learn how to better manage the pocket when he is passing, he will know when to run or throw the ball away, and finally when to NOT take a sack. He's a good quarterback, he will get better and Rodriguez will get him better.
There is a lot of young talent at the skill positions for the Arizona Wildcats and all the experience that they got this year will be put to good use in 2015. Coaches and fans have great optimism heading into next year and another Pac-12 South division title should be within grasp for them again. They have solid leadership on the team and the chemistry is only going to get better. Bear Down Arizona fans, better things are coming your way.
In the blink of an eye, Boise State took a 21-0 lead on the Wildcats and it was only by getting a touchdown in the first quarter that the Cats stopped the bleeding. However, Arizona came out very slow on offense and on defense. They seemed at least a step slow on both sides of the ball and the Broncos took full advantage of it. The Broncos scored on two long scores on their first two drives and it wouldn't be a Boise State Fiesta Bowl appearance if they didn't do some kind of trick play. Boise State breaks out the Statue-of-Liberty play and scores their third touchdown of the first quarter.
From there Arizona was not able to muster any kind of comeback on the Broncos for the first half. The score at the half was 31-17 Boise State was ahead, but I had the feeling that Arizona was not going to be able to get back into the game due to their horrible defense in the first half. They couldn't tackle, were slow on their feet, and almost looked disinterested in the game. They should have shown more energy because Boise State had plenty of energy coming out of the gate.
The second half of the game was a little bit different. Arizona showed the energy that they should have had in the first half. They started making some plays on both sides of the ball. However, Boise State was still making enough plays to keep the Wildcats far enough away on the scoreboard that it never felt like the Cats were not going threaten.
Arizona needed to take bigger chunks of the lead away and they couldn't do that. Anu Soloman committed a couple of interceptions at critical times and that lead to two touchdowns by Boise State. Solomon, as talented as he is as a young quarterback, is still a young quarterback. The interceptions were bad, bad throws made with bad decisions. You could tell that Head Coach Rich Rodriguez was starting to become a little frustrated with his quarterback with those interceptions. Rich Rod did not pull him like he did against Oregon, even though some of the fans may not have argued with that move.
The move that really showed Anu Solomon's inexperience was the last play of the game. The Cats quarterback got his team down in the red zone, but the team had no timeouts left to use. With 14 seconds left to play he had a couple of plays left to score the touchdown and two point conversion they needed. Enter youth and inexperience. Solomon rolls out and to his credit was trying to make a play, but he had very little time to make a play. He needed to throw the ball away once he saw nothing open, instead he takes a sack, the clock runs out. Game over.
Anu Solomon will learn how to better manage the pocket when he is passing, he will know when to run or throw the ball away, and finally when to NOT take a sack. He's a good quarterback, he will get better and Rodriguez will get him better.
There is a lot of young talent at the skill positions for the Arizona Wildcats and all the experience that they got this year will be put to good use in 2015. Coaches and fans have great optimism heading into next year and another Pac-12 South division title should be within grasp for them again. They have solid leadership on the team and the chemistry is only going to get better. Bear Down Arizona fans, better things are coming your way.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Physical Ducks
Coming into the game with Florida State the Ducks heard the critics say that they were to soft to win a big game or a championship. Well, Thursday night at The Rose Bowl they showed that the soft label should not be used when people talk about Oregon. They made life miserable for the former defending champs and sent them packing back to Tallahassee...
For the complete article go to www.cfbroundtable.com.
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For the complete article go to www.cfbroundtable.com.
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