2009 Bowl Games

As I’m sure you’re well aware, Charlie Weis was fired today. So let’s get down to business: Who are the realistic candidates for the head coaching position at Notre Dame in 2010?

First, Notre Dame needs a gameplan. It needs to revolve around TEAM and CLASS. Midwest values are appreciated but not required, and a strong graduation rate is definitely important. Catholics and alums are also major tide-changers, but you have to look past that if it doesn’t work out with the alums.

Second, Urban Meyer gets an open invitation at all times, up until the very last second. I don’t see it happening, but he should be given first choice and a near-blank check offer. Also don’t waste your time too much – you already got burnt once.

After that, it’s time to get serious:

• Brian Kelly, Cincinnati – Cincinnati can go no higher than this. He bought low and it’s time to sell high. He’s an Irish Catholic, a constant winner, and actually plays defense. The cons are that it still might be a riskier selection for Notre Dame than some others, such as…
• Bob Stoops, Oklahoma – He recently denied coming, but he will be given plenty of phone calls. I honestly think Stoops still has some work in Oklahoma before leaving, but this would make a great hire for Notre Dame. Don’t be surprised if this happens.
• Tom Bradley, Penn State – This defensive coordinator will bring the D back, and has consistently put out the type of players that Notre Dame wants – hard hitting, smart playmakers. They also graduate. Problem is that he might be the heir to the Paterno throne.
• Kirk Ferentz, Iowa – Interesting. I honestly see Ferentz’s next move into the NFL, and it may be very soon. He’s a Catholic, but no Notre Dame ties at all, and also not as defensive-minded as some of the others. Ferentz also doesn’t have that “kiss the baby” mentality that Notre Dame needs to bring back.
• Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern – I really like this guy as a coach. He can bring a team together better than most, and he’s Irish-Catholic. Word is, though, that Fitzgerald is very happy at Northwestern. I don’t see him leaving Chicago anytime soon, and think one of the above contenders will beat him to it anyway.
• Jim Harbaugh, Stanford – A Michigan grad? Great for the rivalry, but would it happen? This guy is a hot commodity – young, recruits smart ones, Midwest roots, and should definitely be a backup selection if the above don’t pan out.
• Charlie Strong, Florida – Worked at Notre Dame from 95-99, and needs a look more serious than anyone is going to give to him. He’s worked under Holtz, Spurrier, and Meyer – wow. He can recruit southeast. His defense is lean and mean. Drawback is that he’s got no head coach experience, but clearly needs to be HC somewhere soon. I’m still a fan, but realism doesn’t make this happen.
• Steve Addazio, Florida – Notre Dame ties (OC in 02-04), and this guy can clearly coordinate an offense. He’s not defensive-minded, and alum, or Catholic, but people will be talking to him.
• Jeff Jagodzinski, Tampa Bay Buccaneers / Ex-Boston College – Nobody is talking too much about this one, but he’s a winner at the college level. Keep him in the back pocket.

And now time to get unserious:

• Brian Billick, ex-Baltimore Ravens – I don’t know. Rumors are swirling and many would put this in the serious section, but does Notre Dame have time to BS around with yet another NFL-based experiment? He hasn’t coached college ball for 20 years, and Notre Dame fans don’t want to deal with the leaning curve.
• Jon Gruden, ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Great coach, no class, see above. Forget about it.
• Turner Gill, Buffalo – Notre Dame has sadly already proven their race affiliation, and it doesn’t exactly lie with dark-skinned individuals. This might go for Charlie Strong too. A bright future both of these have, but not in South Bend. *puts flak jacket on…*
• Bill Cowher, ex-Pittsburgh Steelers – Again with the NFL thing. Don’t count on it. Plus, Cowher is about to get paid a bajillion dollars by some NFL team. Notre Dame has pockets but shouldn’t bother with his.
• Jim Tressel, Ohio State – After the USC game, half of Ohio would have loved this. Things seem to have calmed down now.
• Skip Holtz – I’d probably get hate mail if I didn’t mention it. He’s on every list, but he’d be lost out there.

I know there’s plenty of others, including Randy Edsall (Connecticut), Mike Gundy (Okie State), Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech), Chip Kelly (Oregon), Will Muschamp (Texas DC… but apparent heir to the throne?), Houston Nutt (Mississippi), Gary Patterson (TCU), Chris Peterson (Boise State), and more, so feel free to discuss.

Note – I am not a Notre Dame fan but do support their return to glory. I actually kind of miss when their fanbase had that arrogant pride they once had.

It’s crunch time folks! The conference championship games this weekend, especially Florida vs. Alabama, have never been bigger. So let’s take a look at how we think the At-Large Bids to the BCS Bowl Games will pan out:

1. Obviously the UF-Alabama loser goes.

Also, I think it’s obvious that Texas goes if they lose to Nebraska.

So after that, let’s look at some situations:

If Texas and Cincinnati win:
2. TCU
3. Iowa
4. Boise State

If Nebraska and Cincinnati win:
2. TCU
3. Texas
4. Iowa

If Nebraska and Pitt win:
2. TCU
3. Texas
4. PENN STATE

If Texas and Pitt win:
2. TCU
3. Iowa
4. PENN STATE

My thinking is this. Nobody cares about Cincinnati on any level (collegiate, professional, respect as a city, etc). If they lose to Pitt, they’re gone.

Now what’s up with this Penn State business? Well, if Pitt goes, then I think that any bowl game with the chance to match Pitt vs. Penn State should take it – this will be a great backyard showdown and I think a lot of people would travel hard and pay to see this.

Boise State, like a 1-loss Cincinnati, is on the outside looking in. Sorry, but you can’t deny the ability for Iowa and/or Penn State to bring the thunder in terms of travelers.

Wild Card – What if USC stumbles into the 14th ranking? Will a bowl take them (3 losses) over one of the smaller 1-loss schools? They shouldn’t… but money talks and USC has a little but of that stuff. Don’t be surprised if the magic finds a way to happen.

Another thing not covered is if Oregon State beats Oregon. If Oregon stays in the top 14, this is another way a BCS bowl will kill a smaller school off.

Man we need an 8-team playoff. Solves all of this garbage.

Is your team going? Find the best deals on BCS Game Tickets!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have to say, this Rivalry weekend has had two incredible games.

Texas outgunned Texas A&M in what was the highest-scoring game in the rivalry. Remember in 2005, when Vince Young’s dominant team barely escaped Kyle Field? Same situation here — never take rivalry games for granted!

However, winners like Vince Young and Colt McCoy find ways – and in this case, Colt had to pass (and RUN!) for a crapload of yards on every drive, and it worked.

Is the Texas defense really legit, or is the rest of the Big 12 miserable at scoring against a decent team this year, and A&M exposed some major issues? Hot wide receivers can scorch this defense, and a big passing attack in Texas’ bowl game might be the end of this darling season. I don’t see the SEC scared just yet.

On the other hand, Alabama and Auburn… a very nice scare for Bama. Nobody knew what was going to happen here. The line was changing from -12.5 to -8 in favor of Bama. I hope you didn’t bite on that. In rivalry games, stay away from the lines and consider the points or just make a friendly 5 dollar bet.

In the end, Auburn’s defense was a massive letdown, but who’s surprised? Their defense has been a massive letdown all year long.

Both of these conferences have championship games, and Texas is going to have to keep bringing the thunder to get through that Nebraska defense. The SEC, on the other hand… we can’t wait.

Let’s admit it – even on an off year, Bob Stoops doesn’t lose at home very often. But this year, against a powerful Oklahoma State team, the Sooners will go down – despite being the 10 point favorite.

The best team Oklahoma has played at home is Kansas State. K-State put 30 on the board, something they’ve only done that twice this season.

OU’s blowout against Texas A&M is nothing impressive. The Aggies had already been blown out twice away from Kyle Field. They play just as erratically as OU.

Tulsa lost five in a row and is probably bowl-ineligible. Baylor is about to guarantee ineligibility by losing in College Station to the Aggies. Idaho State is a joke – they’re 1-10…

OU cannot beat the good teams. The combined record of teams they’ve beaten, including the road game at KU, is 25-37. K-State has the best mark at 6-5.

Combined record of teams that have beaten OU: 40-12. Sorry, but this year, Oklahoma can’t play with the big boys.

OU has been lucky that all of the good teams have been outside of Norman, or that home mark wouldn’t be sitting at 65-2 this year. And after this weekend, it will be 65-3.

Now for the next question: Where will Oklahoma State end up in the bowls? Our guess the Cotton Bowl Game against LSU.

Just wanted to talk with all you michigan faithfuls out there…Yep thats you Kevin.  Whats it like, i mean yea The Ohio State loses a game or two, but we always make a bowl.  I mean really Michigan not even a bowl game!! Thats just a joke your state sucks and everything about Michigan sucks.  Maybe you should join the Canadian football league…

A note to Canada…

Dear Canada,

We are offering you a gift…

Here is Michigan take it its all yours!!!!

We don’t want any money we don’t need to trade anything.  Just take the state and everything that goes along with it.  I hear they have a nice lake or something like that…

The End!!

ANN ARBOR IS A WHORE

Despite Ohio State’s near-lock for the Rose Bowl (assuming there’s no 2007-style nuclear meltdown that somehow puts them in the BCS National Championship Game so that they can get creamed again), there’s a lot of questions circling the Big Ten, and whether or not the conference will get a second BCS Bowl Bid.

Let’s say the Big Ten gets a second bid. The question comes down to who gets to go – Iowa or Penn State?

Personally, I believe Iowa deserves to go — hands down. They beat a bowl bound Big 12 team in Iowa State on the road and a solid PAC-10 Arizona by double digits. Additionally, they beat Penn State by a double digit margin, won at Michigan State, and won at Wisconsin.

Penn State played Sisters of the Poor four times in their out of conference games, and lost to the two best teams they played at home by double digits: Ohio State and Iowa.

Iowa should and probably will get the nod to the Fiesta Bowl. They are easily a top-10 traveling team, and their fans will dominate the Arizona Valley area. Plus, you know that Ferentz will bring it in his bowl game, as always. Iowa’s fanbase in the midwest covers a great deal of geographical territory, too.

Penn State, meanwhile, proved nothing more than the fact that they can beat mediocre teams this year, and is off to the Capital One Bowl against a team like Ole Miss.

Comments are welcome – especially from you Lions out there!

I bet this guy did…

Welcome! This is a new site that will be your one-stop shop for the 2009-2010 NCAA Bowl Games. We have a lot of exciting plans, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Football Game Tickets – Compare prices to get the best deals
• Bowl Schedule
• College Football Message Board – Where we allow relatively-unmoderated trash talk and all the fun stuff that other forums don’t!
• And a secret idea that BlackBerry and iPhone users will absolutely love!

Stay tuned!
Your trash-talkin’ webmaster