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Rich Rodriguez now faces the central task of making sure his players don’t lose faith after a classic Arizona stomach-punch loss against USC. The one original Pac-10 member without a single Rose Bowl appearance has to stay the course. If it does, the Pac-12 South is still there for the taking. The winner of this division will probably have at least two conference losses by season’s end. Arizona can overcome just about any scoreboard obstacle, but the Wildcats’ offense needs to be able to score more than 13 points through three quarters at home. The Wildcats were stuck on 13 after 45 minutes in home games against California and USC. The Wildcats overcame the Golden Bears. They weren’t able to make one last kick against USC. Start-to-finish consistency on offense is what Rich Rod has to cultivate over the next month and a half.

Rich Rodriguez was right to turn down South Carolina and stay at Arizona

0 comments by on 12/7/2015

Rich Rodriguez did the right thing by turning down the South Carolina job. Had he accepted the job, it would have been an even bigger mistake than bolting West Virginia for Michigan. Make no mistake about it: South Carolina isn’t the glamorous job some in the media are making it out to be. Sure, it’s […]

5 reforms for the bowl selection process

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The bowl selection process demands improvement. It demands improvement for reasons that go far beyond the reality of seeing Georgia State play 5-7 San Jose State in Orlando on CBS Sports Network before Christmas. Yes, bowl matchups can and should be better, but it’s about so much more than that. I have long believed bowl […]

COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 21: Ezekiel Elliott #15 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs into Damon Knox #93 of the Michigan State Spartans and Riley Bullough #30 of the Michigan State Spartans at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter at Ohio Stadium on November 21, 2015 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

College Football Playoff: Give me Eight Teams

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The final College Football Playoff rankings are out, and according to almost everyone in the media and beyond, there was an absence of controversy this year. Notre Dame tapped out last week and all the conference championship games went to form, leaving a somewhat drama-free, status quo four-team selection with Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and […]

The bill comes due for Ohio State, locked outside the playoff

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In the College Football Playoff era, if you don’t win the game everybody circled before the season, there is no reason to feel left out when the committee overlooks you on the day the tickets were handed out to the Dance. This is true even if you were king a year ago. The Ohio State Buckeyes entered […]

What the Committee Taught Us: Selection Day

0 comments by on 12/6/2015

Last year, the College Football Playoff selection committee threw us a huge, if not completely unexpected, curveball on Selection Day. No one was sure how the committee would deal with the TCU/Baylor/Ohio State debate. TCU was expecting to be in because they were sitting at No. 3 the previous week, but we have learned in […]

2015 in review: for the four playoff teams, fragility was a friend

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What to make of the now-concluded push for the College Football Playoff? Four teams clearly made the cut, but that’s not the same thing as saying that we know these are the four best teams in college football for the 2015 season. Is Alabama better than 11-1 Ohio State? Is Oklahoma better than 10-2 Notre […]

Will Muschamp, South Carolina, failing upward, and the ghost of Ron Zook

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In the coming days, college football reporters will sift through the drama which unfolded Saturday, as University of Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne didn’t merely say that Rich Rodriguez would remain his program’s football coach: It is currently a point of dispute as to whether or not South Carolina made an offer to Rodriguez, only […]

Complete Bubble Watch and Bowl Projections: December 5

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Bubble Watch The original plan was to have a Bubble Watch here for any teams that would be debated for the final Playoff spot. Well, there aren’t any. The four Playoff teams are locks. I was thinking of presenting Stanford’s resume for comparison against Michigan State’s and Oklahoma’s resumes, but there really is no point. […]

AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 14: Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys breaks away from linebacker Willie Harvey #16 of the Iowa State Cyclones as he scrambles for yards in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on November 14, 2015 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mason Rudolph; Willie Harvey

Three 2015 finales invert the ending of the 2011 college football season

0 comments by on 12/5/2015

History breathes so deeply in college football, this realm in which schools carry the memories of past glories and slights with a passion the pros can’t match. History acquires a larger shadow and a longer life than in professional sports. Ancient feuds, special seasons, crushing heartbreaks — they’re all harbored with more concern and care. […]

Houston claims first AAC crown and New Year’s Six bowl bid

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The first AAC championship would clearly be decided by one aspect of the competition: Houston’s offense against Temple’s defense. Yet, the other matchup ultimately told the tale of why Tom Herman’s first regular season as a collegiate head coach became a complete success. Houston’s offense and Temple’s defense lived up to the billing on Saturday, […]

Syracuse Hires Dino Babers as Head Coach

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The ACC’s head coaching vacancies have all been filled. On Saturday, just hours after Virginia hired Bronco Mendenhall as its new head coach, Syracuse made its move. The Orange hired Dino Babers to be their next football coach. Babers succeeds Scott Shafer, who had been the Orange’s head coach since 2013. In his three seasons […]

Brigham Young head coach Bronco Mendenhall talks to his team in the second half during action against Texas Christian at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, October 16, 2010. TCU defeated BYU, 31-3. (Sharon Ellman/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)

With Bronco Mendenhall leaving for Virginia, BYU’s future becomes even more uncertain

0 comments by on 12/4/2015

Yes, the University of Virginia very handsomely compensated former head coach Mike London. Yes, the school will give new head coach Bronco Mendenhall a highly competitive financial package. Yes, Mendenhall is a noticeably better coach than London. Virginia football improved on Friday evening. However, one must ask if the Cavaliers improved enough in an ACC […]

Clemson and North Carolina: reunited in the spotlight, 34 years later

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Saturday night in Charlotte, the Clemson Tigers and the North Carolina Tar Heels will play one of the two biggest games in the history of their ACC series. A thorough survey of the history of Tigers-Heels reveals only one other mountaintop moment the two schools shared on the gridiron. That it occurred 34 years ago […]

20 for 20: week 13

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There will not be 20 games of significance this upcoming Saturday, so this marks the regular-season finale of 20 for 20. The box score of the week goes to Iowa-Nebraska. The Huskers piled up numbers. Iowa didn’t convert a single third down. However, Old Demon Giveaway doomed Big Red. It’s a tale as old as time: […]

The 10 most misleading games of the 2015 college football season

0 comments by on 12/3/2015

Remember when Virginia defeated BYU in a weather-interrupted season opener in 2013? Remember last year, when Texas A&M blasted South Carolina in a Thursday-night opener, seeming to suggest that it was ready to enjoy a huge season… only to flounder instead? At the end of a college football regular season, we’re left to recall and […]

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