Here are some random thoughts about Week 12 of the college football season…
- UCLA didn’t fire Jim Mora because they don’t want to lose to Florida on the chance to hire Chip Kelly or because he failed to win a PAC 12 title in his six seasons in Westwood. Mora lost his job because he failed to make UCLA the dominant program in Los Angeles during a time when crosstown rival USC was down and because he essentially won nothing with Josh Rosen, arguably the number one overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft, as his quarterback.
- Speaking of Chip Kelly, the PAC 12, a Power 5 conference that will more than likely not have a team selected for the college football playoff for the second time in four years, needs him just as much or even more than UCLA does as their next head football coach.
- It’s hard to believe in today’s college football that Army is 8-3 even though they have completed 18 passes all season.
- This Saturday’s matchup between Alabama and Auburn is more than just an annual renewal of a fierce in-state rivalry. The winner of the Iron Bowl has won the SEC and played for the national championship in seven of the last eight seasons.
- Over the coming weeks, several athletic directors will begin their search for a new head football coach. Shortly thereafter, these A.D.’s will identify their number one choice to lead their program. Some will get the man they wanted while others will have to go to Plan B. For those athletic directors who are forced to hire their second choice, all is not lost. Just ask perennial national title contender, Alabama. When the Crimson Tide were looking for Mike Shula’s replacement in 2007, their first choice was then West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriquez. Rodriquez turned Alabama down, so athletic director Mal Moore offered the position to his second choice, a former college and NFL head coach by the name of Nick Saban. Saban accepted and you know the rest.
- Minutes after they suffered their second loss of the season, a 55-24 thrashing at Iowa,, the chances Ohio State had of making the college football playoffs seemed non-existent. It’s now the penultimate week of the college football regular season and the Buckeyes, much to their critics chagrin and disbelief, are poised to make the playoffs for the third time in four years. If Ohio State wins out against Michigan this weekend and then Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship, and Alabama and Oklahoma win out, the college football playoff selection committee will have to choose between a two-loss Buckeye squad and the loser of the ACC title game, either Clemson or Miami, for the fourth and final spot. There are a lot of “what if’s” for Ohio State to have a chance at a national championship but the prospect is certainly a lot better than it was three weeks ago.
- Here’s installment one of the Coaching Carousel Speculations, a guess of who will become the new head coach at the following schools that are actively searching for a replacement:
- Florida—Matt Campbell, head coach Iowa State
- Tennessee—Dan Mullen, head coach Mississippi State
- UCLA—Chip Kelly, former Oregon and Philadelphia Eagles head coach
- Based on his statistical performance, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield will in all likelihood win this year’s Heisman Trophy. His performance as a football player has been unparalleled. Sadly, the same can’t be said for his behavior. Once again, the childish, immature Baker Mayfield reered its ugly head, this time against Kansas last Saturday when he chided Jayhawk fans from the Oklahoma bench and grabbed his crotch and shouted expletives towards the Kansas sidelines. These ongoing antics are tiresome, boorish and beneath the level of a player with Mayfield’s talents. If he can allow the actions of a 1-9 Kansas team get underneath his skin, heaven help him when it comes time to play Alabama or Clemson. If there was any other player who could come close to matching Mayfield’s performance this season, he surely would not win the Heisman. But as the Heisman voters have shown in the past, a player’s character or his off-the-field antics doesn’t affect who wins the award. If it did, Cam Newton, Johnny Menzies and Jameis Winston never would have won. So, despite his deplorable behavior Mayfield will win this year’s Heisman, even though his questionable character is what everyone will remember about his 2017 season and his college career. And that, it truly unfortunate.
ONE MAN’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS—WEEK 12
THE FINAL FOUR
1.Alabama
2.Miami
3.Oklahoma
4.Clemson
FIRST FOUR OUT
5.Wisconsin
6.Auburn
7.Georgia
8.Ohio State
NEXT FOUR OUT
9.Central Florida
10.Notre Dame
11.USC
12.TCU
The HoosierBolts Byline 