TOP STORIES
The Pac-12 has been a non-starter in CFP discussions.
They are not on probation. Or even double-secret probation. No one is even questioning their status as a Power 5 conference. Maybe they should. Maybe it's time for the Pac-12 to show its other four Power 5 Conference brethren it still deserves a seat in the main dining room. ...read more
A Jersey Guy: With NCAA, Sometimes Idiocy Rules
Headline news in college football Friday morning: Notre Dame on probation for recruiting violations. Big stuff right? The holier than thou Irish, quick to remind everyone of the "Catholics vs. Convicts'' t-shirt which appeared before a long ago Miami vs. Notre Dame football ...read more
A Jersey Guy: What Happened to Hoops on Tobacco Road?
"You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip slide way—Slip Sliding Away, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel Lots of strange, head-scratching occurrences in this pandemic dominated college basketball season as we move through a bumpy season toward March Madness.. But this one ...read more
When the Irish Visited the Gipper in the Rose Garden. . .
I don’t want to get political here. And I won’t. When I talk to people I agree with, it’s reassuring but kind of wistful. And when I talk to people I disagree with, it goes to places I don’t want to go. Learned that a long time ago. One of the many reasons I stuck to sports. ...read more
With UT facing a most uncertain coaching search, the long-time assistant deserves a serious look
If you’re a Tennessee football fan, Monday is what rock bottom looks like. For those of you who missed the drama, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, two assistant coaches and six football administrators were fired for what UT Chancellor Donde Plowman called a “stunning” number ...read more
Time for Enigmatic Illini to Solve the Puzzle
Here we are again. It is a very encouraging measure of progress that Illinois basketball is relevant again. On their best days, the Illini have a roster that looks like it could reach the Final Four. On their befuddling days, the Illini look like a team that is on the brink of ...read more
A Jersey Guy: A Tale of Two Programs
They are not linked together by anything--not geographically, not athletically, not culturally. Yet New Mexico State and the University of Connecticut, ranked 126th and 128th (out of 130) in 2020 pre-season football rankings, have one common bond.( Old Dominion, of Conference USA ...read more
The Latest TMG Podcast
To listen or download this week's podcast (1/13/21) with Tony Barnhart, Mark Blaudschun, Herb Gould and Tom Luicci, talking a season that was 2020, click HERE. For the Archive of Past Episodes Click HERE The complete TMG Podcast archive (2017-2020) is also available via these ...read more
A Jersey Guy: Big Ten WILL be a Factor in March Madness
With the 2020 college football season finally in the record books, it is time to switch our focus to hoops. So in both a catch-up and look-ahead mode, here are our Top 10 question—and hopefully—answers about the 2020-21 college basketball season. 1. Will there even be a Final ...read more
When there was doubt that the season would happen, players like Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence stepped up.
After a college football season that we will never forget, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide lifted the CFP national championship trophy Monday night in Miami Gardens, Fla. Saban said afterwards that his seventh national championship was his “ultimate team”--not for what it ...read more
Alabama Puts Exclamation Point on This Asterisk Season
Hail to Alabama. The Crimson Tide rule the college football roost again. For the sixth time in the last 11 seasons. Yes, this makes seven-time national champion Nick Saban—who started with an extra point at LSU before putting up his touchdown in Tuscaloosa—the greatest college ...read more
A Jersey Guy: Tide is Very Offensive
They were—as usual—relentless. In this COVID-19 asterisk season, there were almost no guarantees; ranging from whether games would actually be played to who would play or Coach on any given weekend. Like everyone else, Alabama dealt with this season on a week by week basis, ...read more
In this COVID-challenged season, Saban calls this his "ultimate team."
In many ways, it really wasn’t a fair fight. When Alabama took the field Monday night it had the No. 1 (DeVonta Smith), No. 3 (Mac Jones), and No. 5 (Najee Harris) vote getters for the Heisman Trophy. Playing behind the best offensive line in college football, the results were ...read more
Luicci's Live Look-In Of Alabama-Ohio State National Championship game
A warning before we get started here: These live-game observations will probably not age well. But that's fine. It will put me in good company with some of the college football media "experts" whose knee jerk Twitter observations have the shelf life of 30-second media timeout. ...read more
The Locksmith Says Goodbye Columbus; Alabama To Cover
The spread is up to 9. That's fine. A couple of reasons why you can give until it hurts and still feel safe with Alabama tonight. First off, we've seen Alabama look good 12 times. Ohio State has essentially done that once against a quality team. The uncertainty over Justin ...read more
Tide Rolls One More Time
One more game, one more crowning moment for Alabama and Coach Nick Saban, who will win his seventh national championship (six at Alabama) on Monday night. The latest casualty will be Ohio State, which started late, but has surged at the end of the season, led by QB Justin Fields. ...read more