NCAA Football Thread

[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

WOW! What a game between Florida/Florida State. I am still in shock that Zook and his crew have been fired, I really wouldn't be suprised if UF changes their mind and at least offers Zook and the Offensive Coordinator to stick around. Especially given the fact that they were the first coaching staff to win against Florida State on the road in 18 years.

And the best news is FSU is now out of the ACC Title picture, next stop UVA and finally Miami. Hokies for the BCS!!

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[jonnycomelately]

Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush are both filthy and until someone beats them I don't see why they shouldn't get a chance to repeat as National Champions or at least 1.5X National Champion. Matt Leinart is what Mark Brunell should have been but not quite as good as Steve Young in my eyes. He can make the throw take the hit. He just seems to make big plays when he needs to. Expect big things from him in the NFL.

MIKE WILLIAMS IS GOING #1. YOU LOVE THAT SHIT.

[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

USC aint going nowhere unless they lose to UCLA

Both Miami & SF need QBs. Theyll take Leinart & Aaron Rodgers, depending on what order it goes. Braylon Edwards will also be Top 5

[jonnycomelately]

Top 5 Picks in the Draft Potentially as of now

Washington(trade w/ SF)- Mike Williams, WR/USC (Daniel Snyder needs another jersey to sell and he's not gonna bail on Mark Brunell just yet)

Miami- Matt Leinart, QB/USC (The A.J. Feeley, Jay Fiedler Experiment is over)

San Francisco(trade w/ WAS)- Aaron Rodgers, QB/Cal (Good day Tim Rattay, could not happen if they go after Drew Brees instead, but they won't)

Cleveland- Braylon Edwards,WR/Michigan (Whoever is coaching this team next year needs to give Jeff Garcia another T.O., but without the gay jokes)

Tennessee- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT/Virginia (If Steve McNair retires, then Tennessee will need a big guy to guard his replacement or Billy Volek and open holes for Chris Brown and if this guy comes out, he'll be Top 7.

[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Coach Tyrone Willingham was fired by Notre Dame on Tuesday after three seasons in which he failed to return one of the nation's most storied football programs to prominence.

Fall From Grace

On any number of levels, the fact that Tyrone Willingham will not be returning illustrates how Notre Dame is not Notre Dame anymore. The university that has not let a coach go without him fulfilling his contract let Willingham go three years into a five-year deal. The 16-year gap since its last national championship now looks as if it will stretch beyond 20.

The unique quality of which Notre Dame has been so proud of for so many years -- that it doesn't do things the way the typical "football factory" does -- became a lot less visible around 1:15 ET Tuesday afternoon. Sending a coach on his way three years into a contract is what any school would do. Florida and Stanford come immediately to mind.

A member of Willingham's staff used the words "frustrated" and "unhappy" Tuesday morning to describe the head coach's state of mind and said that Willingham was in a meeting in which his future would be decided. What we await to hear is whether the University of Washington, whose rumored pursuit of Willingham has been swirling about the coaching fraternity for the last 24 hours, had any effect on Willingham's surprising departure.

-- Ivan Maisel, ESPN.com 

Willingham went 21-15, including 6-5 this season. The Fighting Irish lost 41-10 to No. 1 Southern California on Saturday.

"We simply have not made the progress on the field that we need to make," athletic director Kevin White said in a news conference. "Nor have we been able to create the positive momentum necessary in our efforts to return the Notre Dame program to the elite level of the college football world."

Players now are considering not playing in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28, and White said he didn't know who would coach the game. Notre Dame accepted the invitation from bowl officials on Sunday.

The decision to sever ties with Willingham was made during an emergency meeting of the univeristy's board of trustees Monday night, ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel reports. At the time, seven assistants were on the road recruiting. Upon learning of the decision Tuesday afternoon, Willingham called his coaches and, according to one source, said to them "come on in, we're done."

Sophomore free safety Tommy Zbikowski told ESPN.com's Wayne Drehs the team had scheduled a meeting for late Tuesday afternoon to dicuss bowl preparations. Instead, the team attended an emotional meeting at 1 p.m. with Willingham and White, who said they "decided to go in different directions."

"I feel bad for the seniors," Zbikowski said. "First they have to go through the [bob] Davie firing, then [George] O'Leary and now this. Those guys have constantly helped the underclassmen and they've been so selfless, and now they have to go through this again. The other bad part is most of the coaches were out recruiting, so we didn't even get to talk to them.

"The best way to describe it is shock. You hear about this stuff on the message boards, but no one thinks it can happen, and then there's a meeting called out of nowhere and it happens."

Willingham's firing comes after a season in which the Irish pulled off upset victories over Michigan and Tennessee but also were beaten badly by USC and Purdue. Student groups were planning a protest on campus Tuesday evening to call for Willingham's firing; he faced criticism from fans much of the season.

White praised Willingham's handling of the team, especially the Irish's strong academic record.

"From Sunday through Friday our football program has exceeded all expectations, in every way," he said. "But on Saturday, we struggled. We've been up and down and sideways a little bit."

“ The best way to describe it is shock. You hear about this stuff on the message boards, but no one thinks it can happen and then there's a meeting called out of nowhere and it happens. ”

  — Sophomore Tommy Zbikowski to ESPN.com's Wayne Drehs

Notre Dame's loss to USC marked the fifth time the Irish lost by 31 points or more under Willingham -- including three against the rival Trojans. By comparison, the Irish under Davie had just one such loss; Lou Holtz and Dan Devine had none.

Notre Dame hired Willingham, the first black head coach in any sport for the Irish, from Stanford to replace O'Leary. The former Georgia Tech coach resigned five days after taking the job because he admitted lying about his academic and athletic achievements on his résumé.

With Tony Samuel fired by New Mexico State and Fitz Hill resigning as San Jose State coach last week, there are now only two black head coaches in Division I-A: Karl Dorrell at UCLA and Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State.

Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association, said he was disappointed with Notre Dame's decision.

"In three years, I think he has done everything, short of winning a national championship and I don't think he inherited national championship talent," he said.

Keith told ESPNews that the firing makes it seem that black coaches are held to a higher standard than their white counterparts. Davie, Willingham's predecessor, compiled a 21-16 record during his first three seasons, but was retained for the duration of his contract. He finished with a five-year record of 35-25.

Willingham had two years left on his contract.

"This sends an alarming message to African-Americans," Keith said.

In his first season, Willingham had many fans recalling Notre Dame's glory days, taking over a losing squad and turning things around immediately. The Irish won eight straight games to start the season before finishing 10-3 and going to the Gator Bowl.

But during his second year, the Irish fell to 5-7, with four of their losses coming by 26 points or more. It was Notre Dame's third losing record in five seasons, the team's worst stretch in 115 years of football.

One coach certain to be mentioned as a possible replacement for Willingham is Utah's Urban Meyer, an Irish assistant between 1996 and 2000. The Utes are 11-0 and ranked No. 5 in their second year under Meyer.

Meyer said he hadn't heard about Willingham's departure from Notre Dame until he was asked about it by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Asked whether he has had any contact with Notre Dame or whether he would be interested in coaching the Fighting Irish, Meyer responded: "I won't comment on it."

Notre Dame has won eight AP college football national championships, more than any other school, with the last in the 1988 season under Holtz. Players from the school have won the Heisman Trophy seven times, also the most in college football.

But the Irish haven't won a bowl game since ending the 1993 season ranked No. 2 after beating Texas A&M 24-21 in the Cotton Bowl. Since then, the Irish have lost six straight postseason games.

[jonnycomelately]

Man I thought ND would at least give Ty Willingham to the end of the season to lick his wounds. I heard on the radio on the way home that Urban Meyer was in South Bend today interviewing as Willinham's possible replacement. I know he didn't have a good season at all but that's a lack of respect in my book.

[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

That job is pretty much Urban Meyer's. Meyer has an escape clause in his contract thae he can leave for Notre Dame, Michigan or Ohio State with no penalty. Meyer was an assistant at Notre Dame under Bob Davie.

[jonnycomelately]

Urban Meyer made Notre Dame feel like a bunch of morons. He is now accepting the job at Florida. That's hilarious, hey Irish try to find somebody now when your first and what seemed like only choice turned you down for Florida. Granted, Florida is the better job at this point in time by leaps and bounds but you guys thought you had him no questions asked. You were sadly mistaken. Have fun in your search, your program will stink for years.

[existence02]

And the best news is FSU is now out of the ACC Title picture, next stop UVA and finally Miami. Hokies for the BCS!!

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Miami beats Virginia Tech

I watched the USC/Notre Dame game. USC is very, very good. Matt Leinart should in the Heisman and will be a Top 5 pick in April

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[Agent Risktaker]

Well, syco, we're about to find out if your predicition was correct. USC will destroy UCLA, in my opinion, but we'll be sure later today.

Oh and what was that, a huge run for a touchdown by USC as I was typing this? Damn, it's already happening.

[Javs]

Well, syco, we're about to find out if your predicition was correct. USC will destroy UCLA, in my opinion, but we'll be sure later today.

Oh and what was that, a huge run for a touchdown by USC as I was typing this? Damn, it's already happening.

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Edited December 4, 2004 by Javs

[existence02]

Well, syco, we're about to find out if your predicition was correct. USC will destroy UCLA, in my opinion, but we'll be sure later today.

Oh and what was that, a huge run for a touchdown by USC as I was typing this? Damn, it's already happening.

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20-10 at the end of half. Including a total bullshit call that would have given UCLA a touchdown, and allowed USC to kick a field goal. Should be a tie game right now.

USC sure does always seem to get those gamebreaking calls don't they?

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[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

And the best news is FSU is now out of the ACC Title picture, next stop UVA and finally Miami. Hokies for the BCS!!

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Miami beats Virginia Tech

I watched the USC/Notre Dame game. USC is very, very good. Matt Leinart should in the Heisman and will be a Top 5 pick in April

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[Agent Risktaker]

USC is headed to the Orange Bowl, syco eats his words, and if the NCAA isn't totally biased against the SEC, we should see USC/Auburn if they can get the big win over Tennessee. Oklahoma should move down to #3 with a weak matchup with Colorado unless, as I said, SEC gets shat on.

[Javs]

Well, syco, we're about to find out if your predicition was correct. USC will destroy UCLA, in my opinion, but we'll be sure later today.

Oh and what was that, a huge run for a touchdown by USC as I was typing this? Damn, it's already happening.

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20-10 at the end of half. Including a total bullshit call that would have given UCLA a touchdown, and allowed USC to kick a field goal. Should be a tie game right now.

USC sure does always seem to get those gamebreaking calls don't they?

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[VinceMcMahonForPresident]

USC & Oklahoma for the Title. The way it should be.

[Agent Risktaker]

It happened last year with USC, giving them the Orange Bowl slot this year whether they deserved it or not. The AP seems to have a hard-on for Oklahoma, as they've sent them to the National Championship both years. Just another reason why NCAA Football should have playoffs instead of this BCS shit. First, let's look at the undisputed facts:

- USC has the obvious #1 ranking after what occured last year, so this is between Auburn and Oklahoma. Strangely though, I doubt Auburn will have the same fate next year as USC did this year if they go undefeated due to the bias against SEC teams.

Now, let's look at the two team's schedules.

Oklahoma

Bowling Green, Won 40-24 - Oklahoma's Citadel.

Houston Won 63-13 - Oklahoma's Louisiana-Monroe.

Oregon Won 31-7 - Weak.

Texas Tech Won 28-13 - B-Level team

Texas Won 12-0 - The only challenge they faced all year

@Kansas State Won 31-21 - B-Level Team

Kansas Won 41-10 - C-Level Team

@Oklahoma State Won 38-35 - Oklahoma's Iron Bowl.

@Texas A&M Won 42-35 - B-Level team

Nebraska Won 30-3 - B-Level Team

@Baylor Won 35-0 - C-Level Team

Colorado Won - Colorawho? How did they get into the Championship?

Auburn

Louisiana-Monroe Won 31-0 - C-Level Team

@Mississippi State Won 43-14 - B-Level Team

LSU Won 10-9 - A-Level Team

The Citadel Won 33-3 - Bowling Green, anyone?

@Tennessee Won 34-10 - Powerhouse

Louisiana Tech Won 52-7 - C-Level Team

Arkansas Won 38-20 - B-Level Team

Kentucky Won 42-10 - C-Level Team

@Mississippi Won 35-14 - B-Level Team

Georgia Won 24-6 - A-Level Team

@Alabama Won 21-13 - B-Level Team

Tennessee Won 38-28 - SEC Championship and a powerhouse.

So, basically we've got this.

Oklahoma: 1 meaningful win if you don't count Oklahoma State in an overall weak Big 12 conference.

Auburn: 4 meaningful wins if you don't count Alabama in an overall strong SEC conference.

Obviously, the edge goes to Auburn. While syco sighted that's what you get for facing The Citadel, what do you get for facing Bowling Green then? So can Auburn beat USC? Yes. With a strong defense to keep USC down the entire game and Jason Campbell and Carnell Williams to lead a strong offense, they most certainly could beat the Trojans who rely on a slow start. Auburn, on the other hand, get things going quick and have scored in 9 games on the opening drive. It would be an interesting game, but I can see Auburn winning it.

[DMN in the House]

Comparing Bowling Green to The Citadel is a sign you know nothing about college football.

Bowling Green is 8-3, and bowl eligible in D-1A. The Citadel is 3-7, and didn't make the playoffs in D-1AA.

I don't dislike you like some people AR, but think before you post

Anyway, as a FSU fan/student, what do you think about Florida's hire of Urban Meyer?

Edit: Changed 'proves' to 'is a sign'. Don't want to be too much of an asshole.

Edited December 5, 2004 by sycodmn

[Javs]

Comparing Bowling Green to The Citadel is a sign you know nothing about college football.

Bowling Green is 8-3, and bowl eligible in D-1A. The Citadel is 3-7, and didn't make the playoffs in D-1AA.

I don't dislike you like some people AR, but think before you post

Anyway, as a FSU fan/student, what do you think about Florida's hire of Urban Meyer?

Edit: Changed 'proves' to 'is a sign'. Don't want to be too much of an asshole.

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[DMN in the House]

Quite easily.

Both the Pac 10 and the Big12 can claim two of the top 5 teams in the nation, the SEC can't do that.

In fact, the thing that drags both the SEC and the Big 12 down is their weak bottom teams. Baylor, Kansas, Vandy, Kentucky... really...

If you didn't watch Pac 10 football, you wouldn't understand, but more then any other major conference in the nation, except maybe the ACC, which still has Duke, any team can beat any other team. All the teams feed of the California talent, and have talent to beat anyone on any given day. Most competitive conference in the nation.