Monday Grab Bag: Season's over

With the college football season now officially over (I do not recognize the bowls as being actual football, just a tax-free football alternative) it's time to bitch and moan about the BCS.  And how!  Today in the bag I'll dive right into the national bitch-a-thon over the LSU/Alabama rematch, mention some football recruiting news, and talk about the Kizla-backed candidate for the CSU coaching gig.

Click below for the bag...



Around the nation of football - 

College Football

LSU vs Georgia - For most of the first quarter it looked as though Coach Miles had left his offense in Baton Rouge.  Failing to get a first down throughout the opening 30 minutes, and allowing Georgia to take a 10-7 halftime lead, the Tigers were only in the game due to their typically fantastic defense holding the Bulldogs at bay, and the special teams antics of the Honey Badger. In the second half, the Tigers returned to being the team we thought they were, and cruised to a 42-10 victory.

The Tigers are deservedly the #1 team in football, having marched through their schedule unblemished.

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State - Pokes coach Mike Gundy knew his back was against the SEC wall, with Alabama seemingly locked into 2nd place, and that his only hope was busting instate rival OU in their final game of the season while 'Bama remained idle.  The Cowboys did just that in their 44-10 crushing of the Sooners.  It was only the 9th win for OSU over the red juggernaut since WWII.

It's always nice to see the Sooners crushed.

In my estimation it should've been enough for OSU to leap-frog Alabama who, and let's be honest here, played a rather weak schedule this season.  While 'Bama was playing a soft version of an SEC slate (filled with the pathetic fluff of the worst Florida team in three decades and both dregs from Tennessee) and the North Texas's and Georgia Southern's of the world, OSU at least had the common decency to play a schedule worthy of a title contender.  Yes, the Cowboys did inexplicably lose to lowly Iowa St last month, but it was in double overtime, and the game was played only hours after the death of multiple people from the OSU athletic department.

The Cowboys, and their potent offense, deserve a shot at LSU, and the fact that they don't get it, and an undeserving squad of SEC also-rans gets the nod instead, only highlights the inescapable failure that is the BCS.

Virginia Tech vs Clemson - The Hokies get crushed in the ACC title game (always an unwatchable affair) and get a BCS berth anyway.  Why am I supposed to care about this again?  Why not the more deserving squads from K-State or Boise St?

The bowls, and their resulting bloated excess, are the very definition of self-serving bullshit.  It's a Jurassic obsession from the heady days when teams never left their region and the only way to catch a game was on the radio.  It's a pathetic excuse for championship determination that needs to go the way of the dodo.


NFL
 
Kansas City at Chicago - *Sigh* Already without Jay Cutler, my Bears are now saddled with the loss of Matt Forte... just in time for me to see my first Bears game.  That noise you hear is the sound of the season slowly dying in the corner; would someone please put it down so we can all move on?

Season's over, *clap* *clap* *clap-clap-clap*

Green Bay at New York - The Giants gave it a game, but 58 seconds is way to much time for Aaron Rodgers, who made a mockery of the 2-minute drill.  The Pack is now 12-0, and a soft end to the season schedule is the only thing separating them from perfection.


The bullshit is thick this time of year - The CU coaching staff has a lot of work to do this offseason.  With 28 seniors departing the program, and very little talent littering the junior and sophomore classes, recruiting is critical to future success.  To that end, the Buffs hosted an eye-popping 15 recruits on the first full weekend of recruiting season.

Word is that CU received no new commitments, which is bad, but that things are looking up for a few 4* recruits who made the trip to snowy Boulder over the weekend.  As always with recruiting news based on the whims of 17 year olds, take it with a grain of salt.  I'll believe the hype on signing day.


The CSU coaching search - Fresh off of firing their athletic director, the Rams fired Coach Steve Fairchild over the weekend after losing to arch-rival Wyoming.  Ho-hum, whatever, not like anyone didn't see that coming after the Rams completed their 3rd consecutive 3-9 season.  I'm falling asleep just thinking about it.

What is interesting is one of the potential names floating around the inter-webs: Gary Fucking Barnett.  The rumor, given main-stream credence by the Denver Post's own Mark Kiszla, is not one to snark at.  Coach Barnett has been itching to get back into coaching, and his roots along the Front Range go back to the 70s.  He's a BCS caliber coach, with local connections, who would work for cheap; it would actually be a good hire for CSU.

Hey, remember when CU used to win football games?  This guy made it happen.

My only problem is that I'm still loyal to Coach Barnett, and I wouldn't want to see him fail.  It would make the RMS one hell of an awkward affair.  Still, with the time running out for him to get back into coaching, I have to say I hope he gets the job.  It'd be good to see Ole Barny back on the sidelines again.


Happy Monday!