OT: D1

[Fightingscot82]

Well, so much for JMU's argument about being undefeated and left out of bowl season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Curt is said to be a favorite for the Syracuse job.

[Ship69]

I’m still going to root for Michigan because there’s no program I like less than Ohio State. And if Urban Meyer wasn’t bad enough, Ryan Day may be an even bigger a-hole. I also had to live in Columbus for almost 7 years and I can’t imagine a more nauseating fan base. At least Harbaugh is entertaining I suppose. I think top to bottom that Michigan is a little better than Ohio State, and it’s in the Big House.

No matter how it plays out, my hope is the Ohio State misses the playoffs. There’s a chance there will be four undefeated teams and if that happens, I suspect they’ll all be in. After that, there will likely be several really good one-loss teams to sort through. I think this game is a play-in game.

Dedpite their victories over a punchless PSU, I'm not convinced either of these teams is all that great. Ohio State did barely edge Notre Dame. Michigan hasn't really played anyone of note other than Penn State. I don't see either of them beating Georgia or maybe even Oregon if they make the playoff.

From my years of following Big 10 football, Ohio State is probably one of the most obnoxious fan bases, while Michigan tends more toward arrogance. One of my favorite football moments was riding the shuttle bus from Northwestern's Ryan Field in 1996 after Northwestern had beaten them for the second year in a row and listening to the Michigan fans onboard whine about how they'd lost two straight to Northwestern.

[IUPNation]

Curt is said to be a favorite for the Syracuse job.

I'd rather he go to Happy Valley.

[ctrabs74]

One of my favorite scandal defenses was North Carolina's where they basically said their program shouldn't be penalized for academic cheating because it wasn't only the athletes who were cheating. In other words, the athletes didn't get a special advantage since others cheated as well.

And, it apparently worked, since Carolina got a slap on the wrist from the NCAA, probably because it's Carolina.

[ctrabs74]

Well, so much for JMU's argument about being undefeated and left out of bowl season.

If anyone was going to ruin a storybook season, then of course it was going to be App State.

[ctrabs74]

I’m still going to root for Michigan because there’s no program I like less than Ohio State. And if Urban Meyer wasn’t bad enough, Ryan Day may be an even bigger a-hole. I also had to live in Columbus for almost 7 years and I can’t imagine a more nauseating fan base. At least Harbaugh is entertaining I suppose. I think top to bottom that Michigan is a little better than Ohio State, and it’s in the Big House.

No matter how it plays out, my hope is the Ohio State misses the playoffs. There’s a chance there will be four undefeated teams and if that happens, I suspect they’ll all be in. After that, there will likely be several really good one-loss teams to sort through. I think this game is a play-in game.

The only way THE Overrated State University misses the playoffs is if they somehow beat Meatchicken and end up getting "ugly balled" to death by Iowa in the B1G title game. That's highly unlikely if you saw the way the Banana Beaks played against State Penn earlier in the season.

[Ship69]

Iowa's offense is a joke. They scored a combined 20 points against Minnesota and Northwestern and have lost to Northwestern if the Wildcats had had Bryant at QB that game.

[IUP24]

Curt is said to be a favorite for the Syracuse job.

He's come out of his shell a great deal at JMU. He doesn't even appear like he's the same person that was coaching at IUP. Did anyone see him on Gameday? He was playing to the crowd, joking with the crew on set, etc. He wouldn't have even agreed to go on that set 10 years ago.

While Syracuse is an ACC school, I do question the resources they have to put into the program. It's a basketball school in a very tough location to recruit. Not to mention it's not in a state or area known for producing a lot of football talent you can recruit. Dino Babers got 8 years there though, so there's some thought that you at least have time compared to other P5 schools.

I think JMU is such a gold mine of a job in my opinion. It's the perfect storm. That's a school in a state with a lot of growth, in a very nice area of VA, and an alumni base with a lot of wealth, resources, and connections. JMU's enrollment is also booming too. The school is very clearly committed to pumping money into athletics, football specifically. And at the current time, they are the best program in the best Group of 5 conference. I'm not saying it is or isn't a better job than Syracuse. But if I was Curt, I would take the Luke Fickell route and think long and hard if this was the one I wanted to leave for. In the era of all this school and conference movement, it's not unrealistic to think that JMU could end up in a much bigger conference sooner than later.

[IUP24]

I’m still going to root for Michigan because there’s no program I like less than Ohio State. And if Urban Meyer wasn’t bad enough, Ryan Day may be an even bigger a-hole. I also had to live in Columbus for almost 7 years and I can’t imagine a more nauseating fan base. At least Harbaugh is entertaining I suppose. I think top to bottom that Michigan is a little better than Ohio State, and it’s in the Big House.

No matter how it plays out, my hope is the Ohio State misses the playoffs. There’s a chance there will be four undefeated teams and if that happens, I suspect they’ll all be in. After that, there will likely be several really good one-loss teams to sort through. I think this game is a play-in game.

You and I can commiserate about this together LOL... Although I'm still living in the echo chamber...

The interesting thing is that I actually think Ryan Day is a decent coach. I really do. But I agree, I think he's a first-rate clown. I think his biggest mistake was not taking the Washington Commanders job when it was supposedly offered to him a few years ago. I think he's very bad at playing the game Urban Meyer played with the media in my opinion. Meyer was great at taking pot shots at opponents, not just Michigan. That was kind of his MO. But Meyer could back that up against any team, because his program was on a different level than everyone else. And Ohio State still is, to be fair. Michigan is a different program though, and that's kind of where Day's schtick has worn thin.

Day lost me two years ago when he went off on a reporter in Columbus for saying "Michigan" when she asked a question in a press conference the week before the OSU/Michigan game. He lectured the woman on "not saying that word inside this building." Be a professional man. She's just doing her job; she's not a fan - at least she's not supposed to be. Then he grabbed the microphone on the field after beating ND and went after 90 year old Lou Holtz because Holtz said his team struggles to run the ball and alluded to them being "soft." That's nothing different than every host on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus have said over the last two years about Day's team. You need to have thicker skin than that. I think he basically tries to take on the fan persona and play the villain like Urban Meyer did. He's just not very good it. You can tell when he does it, it's really forced.

The tough part for Day is that the gap between Ohio State and Michigan is now pretty much non-existent. And I truly don't think that's his doing or anything that he's done poorly at OSU. I don't think people realize how bad of shape Michigan was in when Harbaugh took over. It just took him this long to get the program to this level. People are judging him on one game a year, when the comparison between what Urban Meyer did to Michigan isn't really fair given that Michigan is on a much different level now.

[IUP24]

The only way THE Overrated State University misses the playoffs is if they somehow beat Meatchicken and end up getting "ugly balled" to death by Iowa in the B1G title game. That's highly unlikely if you saw the way the Banana Beaks played against State Penn earlier in the season.

I'm trying to dissect this correctly.

Are you saying that if OSU loses to Michigan they will still make the playoffs?

[IUP24]

I'd rather he go to Happy Valley.

I do wonder if Franklin himself is simply ready for a change of scenery. Or at least is getting close to that point. Sometimes that happens with coaches. His program's high water mark was in 2017. I think he's in a position with Penn State currently that he should go 10-2, at minimum, every year. As it stands now, he has to actually coach 2 games a year: Ohio State and Michigan. When he needs to play Iowa or Wisconsin in a crossover game, his program is better than those teams and their talent, not scheme or approach, typically wins out. As the B1G is currently structured, he will make the playoff every year in an expanded 12-team playoff. But I don't think his current program is anything close to what they were in 2017.

Now... As Oregon, USC, Washington, and UCLA come in, he may have a couple other tougher games built into that schedule that impact how fans view him, or the outside media, given what his record may be. I think Oregon and Washington are both better this season, but I don't view that as being an annual thing at Washington.

All that said, he was linked to USC two years ago and he had no interest. He has also been linked to the Florida job previously as well and had no interest. But I wonder if he is at the point where he may entertain some of those calls if they came.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

He's come out of his shell a great deal at JMU. He doesn't even appear like he's the same person that was coaching at IUP. Did anyone see him on Gameday? He was playing to the crowd, joking with the crew on set, etc. He wouldn't have even agreed to go on that set 10 years ago.

While Syracuse is an ACC school, I do question the resources they have to put into the program. It's a basketball school in a very tough location to recruit. Not to mention it's not in a state or area known for producing a lot of football talent you can recruit. Dino Babers got 8 years there though, so there's some thought that you at least have time compared to other P5 schools.

I think JMU is such a gold mine of a job in my opinion. It's the perfect storm. That's a school in a state with a lot of growth, in a very nice area of VA, and an alumni base with a lot of wealth, resources, and connections. JMU's enrollment is also booming too. The school is very clearly committed to pumping money into athletics, football specifically. And at the current time, they are the best program in the best Group of 5 conference. I'm not saying it is or isn't a better job than Syracuse. But if I was Curt, I would take the Luke Fickell route and think long and hard if this was the one I wanted to leave for. In the era of all this school and conference movement, it's not unrealistic to think that JMU could end up in a much bigger conference sooner than later.

I think some bigger fish than Syracuse will come calling. Many jobs will open here soon.

[ctrabs74]

I'm trying to dissect this correctly.

Are you saying that if OSU loses to Michigan they will still make the playoffs?

I meant that Ohio State could beat Michigan and lose to a "weaker" Iowa and potentially get left out depending on what happens elsewhere. I doubt Ohio State makes the playoffs with a loss to Michigan (I should have made that clearer), though crazier things have happened.

[Chuck Norris]

I'm trying to dissect this correctly.

Are you saying that if OSU loses to Michigan they will still make the playoffs?

It’s possible. If say, Georgia and Michigan run the table and Florida State loses to Louisville then Washington/Oregon is essentially a play in game and I think OSU would be next in line, though it might be a real close call if Texas is a one loss Big 12 champ.

The most interesting (and potentially awful) scenario would be if Bama beats Georgia and Washington, Florida State and the OSU/Michigan winner are unbeaten. How far would Georgia fall and Bama rise in that scenario? Could an unbeaten get left out?