2016 College Football Thread

[Mr. X]

So practices are just around the corner.

News today that Illinois has fired Bill Cubit, the first big move of new AD Josh Whitman.

[Meacon Keaton]

And for those living under a rock, Crazy As Batshit Jim Harbaugh has been picking a fight with the SEC, Tennessee, in particular, because he took the Michigan team down to IMG Academy in Florida for their Spring practices. Tennessee offered like a dozen IMG kids scholarships like literally two weeks ago, so Butch Jones isn't happy about it.

[Mr. X]

And now the rumour mill says that Lovie Smith will be the new Illinois HC.

[gunnar hendershow]

2 hours ago, Meacon said:

And for those living under a rock, Crazy As Batshit Jim Harbaugh has been picking a fight with the SEC, Tennessee, in particular, because he took the Michigan team down to IMG Academy in Florida for their Spring practices. Tennessee offered like a dozen IMG kids scholarships like literally two weeks ago, so Butch Jones isn't happy about it.

I love Jim Harbaugh, his psychosis is a breath of fresh air.

[Meacon Keaton]

I bet my friend $20 that they'll catch him butt-naked humping the statue of Bo Schembechler in the next few years. The man is absolutely mental.

[Plubby]

LOVIE  

[HailtotheYo]

On 3/5/2016 at 17:15, Mr. X said:

And now the rumour mill says that Lovie Smith will be the new Illinois HC.

W/L record irrelevant if this hire goes through.  He's the kind of guy needed to get that program rebuilt correctly.

 

Smart is already pulling recruits from Bama http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/14893543/qb-recruit-jake-fromm-commits-georgia-bulldogs

[Meacon Keaton]

I wonder if that commitment will stick, since Georgia signed the #1 pocket passing quarterback just last month. Either way, I'd be much happier seeing Georgia go on a ten-year playoff run than Alabama.

[DMN in the House]

I'm not really sure how I feel about UCLA going into this season. Great recruiting class, Rosen should be better, but they're losing a LOT. I don't actually expect USC to get much better this season, so I feel like they still have a shot, and Kevin Hogan is FINALLY FUCKING GONE from Stanford, so maybe the Bruins could actually beat the trees, but... man, I dunno.

[GhostMachine]

1. Fuck Jim Harbaugh.

2. Like the Lovie Smith hiring at Illinois, but at the same time I think it was a douchebag move firing Cubit just because of an AD regime change. Part of me hopes they have a lousy record for the next couple of seasons, but part of me hopes Smith does a damn good job there.

[HailtotheYo]

Well Cubit was a holdover from the slew of coaches that were hired all together and promptly indited in the next 12 months for the abuse/etc that went on.  He also wasn't all that great at the job (he was the OC the two previous years that weren't any better). 

The new AD is completely flushing things out and actually trying to build (take a look at Lovie's contract) ....

[Meacon Keaton]

If Lovie puts himself around some top-level recruiters, I think he's the kind of coach that could flourish greatly as a college coach. If he beats Michigan State, Ohio State, and Michigan every now and then, I'll be a big fan.

[HailtotheYo]

Zook showed that the athletes will come, so he shouldn't have too much trouble getting them.  He just needs to get them all at the same time, not 3 or 4 every 3 or 4 years. 

[gunnar hendershow]

Lovie should be fine at Illinois just coasting by with 7 wins every year. He gets the program on a good foundation, brings in good players, gets alumni interested during a nice 10-win season. I thought Zook would be able to do that, but he never had consistency.

[Mr. X]

I'm eager to sit back and watch what Lovie may bring to Illinois football. If within the first couple of years he can get us in the top 4-5 of the conference, it would already be an improvement from the last few seasons. Being a yearly contender for the conference title would also be a huge deal because our football team has been pretty shit for nearly all of my life.

[HailtotheYo]

The good news is that it's a Big10 school ... even with Sparty doing what they've done the last couple of years the conference is wide open for another school to step up and establish themselves.  There's no reason Illinois can't be that school. 

[GhostMachine]

Lame Kitten's wife has filed for divorce. 

 

[Mr. X]

Just bought one $99 season ticket for Illinois football.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Mr. X

[Plubby]

Pls report back on all the games! 

[Meacon Keaton]

You should go to the spring game. I've always wanted to go out to South Bend for the spring game.