Rankman Saturday
Counting down the days until Nick Saban's 67th birthday (Halloween) while wondering how Milwaukee's micro-Brew manager Craig Counsell would have mixed-and-matched his pitching staff in an 18-inning World Series game...
For what it's worth, USC hasn't fired a head coach after a loss to Arizona State since Sept. 29, 2013...
USC, ranked preseason No. 15, fell to 4-4 after Saturday's loss at the Coliseum. It was Clay Helton's first home defeat after a 19-0 start. Gaining traction: Helton's success rate being tied directly to Sam Darnold. Helton was 20-4 with Darnold at quarterback is 11-10 with everyone else...
USC was banged up Saturday, down several key players and starting third-string quarterback Jack Sears because of injuries to JT Daniels and Matt Fink. But that's not going to wash with the Trojan fan base, which actually thought true-freshman Daniels was going to be this year's savior...Because of that great scrimmage at the Coliseum...?
Daniels has been fine, and so was Jack Sears on Saturday, but I never bought the hype on USC in 2018...
So now what? Fire Helton? Go ahead. Since that intrusive TSA screening of Lane Kiffin at LAX, USC is 49-20 overall and 29-16 without Darnold. The options seem clear: Go get a better coach or go get a better Darnold, which could be Daniels if he's given time to develop his own 20-4 burst...
I guarantee you that USC, had it kept Kiffin, would be 49-20 or better since they fired him. Better question: what would the Trojans be had they hired Ed Orgeron instead of Steve Sarkisian...?
My two cents on USC: Nobody in administrations past or present has proven they can hire, or want to pay for, a can't-miss coach. And what's a can't miss these days? Everyone says it's Purdue's Jeff Brohm, whose team fell to 4-4 after Saturday's loss to Michigan State....
So take your lumps, USC, but do fundamentally change the way the offense is being run and sold. Then hope to make the 2019 preseason rankings, because everyone, even pollsters, want and expect the Trojans to be good...
So you're saying they have a chance? The Washington State Cougars, with their overtime win at Stanford, moved up to No. 11 in Sunday's USA Today Coaches poll and should hold a similar position in Tuesday's first release of the College Football Playoff Rankings. The Cougars played a weak non-conference but their No. 55 schedule strength in Sunday's Sagarin ratings is stronger than No.1 Alabama (60). Make sure, Cougs, you drop that stat before Alabama plays at LSU this week...
Quote of the weekend, from SEC Network analyst Matt Stinchcomb, after Kentucky defeated Missouri, 15-14, on an un-timed down at the end of regulation: "That's the butt-ugliest win I've ever seen in football, there's no other way to describe it..."
Mind you, Stinchomb could have missed Kentucky's 14-7 over Vanderbilt last week. In that one, the Wildcats completed three passes for 18 yards...
Just heard something about Oregon State scoring 24, fourth-quarter points at Colorado and then winning in overtime, but that just can't be true...
Doodles heard lots of Saturday promotion on ESPN affiliates for Tuesday’s first reveal of the College Football Playoff Ranking...Almost makes you think the show is on that network...Heard stuff like “Can’t wait” and “Should be interesting” before coming up with my own conclusion: “You can phone this one in..."
Was able to form this opinion after seeing Clemson jumped out, 28-0, on its way to 59-10 over Florida State. And also by assuming Notre Dame will take care of Navy later this evening (the Irish did)...
What’s going to be so interesting? Two of the teams in the top four, Alabama and LSU, are off this week. They play next week in Baton Rouge. Now that’s going to be interesting...
The third team in the first four will be Clemson and the fourth with be Notre Dame. Michigan, also with an open week, with its only loss to Notre Dame, will probably be fifth. Or Georgia, maybe, after an impressive cocktail victory over Florida...
The committee will say “You’ve got to go out and play people,” but that depends who you are...Alabama and Clemson ranked No. 60 and No. 34 in the latest Sagarin SOS. So what? Alabama are clearly, at this point, the No.1 and No. 2 teams in the country...
Good god, is Clemson trying to impress the judges. Good god, is it ever working. The Tigers were almost showing off late in the first half when they lined up half their “Fearsome Four” defensive front in the offensive backfield for a ram-rod touchdown against the Semi-noles...
It was nothing but a brute show of might and force when 300-pound “tailback” Christian Wilkins took a hand off and plowed behind 340-pound “fullback” Dexter Lawrence into the end zone…
Since being told it was playoff vulnerable because of a weak schedule, Clemson has defeated North Carolina State and Florida State by the combined score of 100-17...
It's all in how you look at it: Purdue Coach Jeff Brohm, after last week's win over Ohio State, was the hottest coach in America. He left Saturday with the same 4-4 record that has Florida State fans calling for Willie Taggert's job...
Wait, though, I heard once that records can be misleading...
Utah’s 41-10 victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Friday night was as predictable as a rejected interview request to visit ChipKelly’s wine cellar to discuss his childhood...
Utah IS the best team in the Pac South and possibly the entire conference (Wazzu fans can certainly argue), with a chance to avenge only losses to either Washington (21-7) or Washington State (28-24) in the championship game.
After a shaky 2-2 start, which included falling behind Weber State in the opener, Utah has won four straight Pac 12 games in commanding fashion. The Utes have scored 40, 41, 42 and 41 points in wins over Stanford, Arizona, USC and UCLA.
Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham should be considered an interview-worthy candidate for any coaching position that should become open in the greater Southern California, major-college region.
Utah has, at long last, found rhythm and balance in coordinator Troy Taylor’s offense and now may not be stopped.
“There’s a lot of confidence in the locker room,” Utah tailback Zack Moss said after rushing for 211 yards against a 2-6 team coached by a wise-cracker guy who wasn’t supposed to be 2-6 for the money he is making. “There’s a lot of juice at practice, it’s just flowing in the right direction.”
Mark it down here. Utah is the team to beat. The Utes close at Arizona State , Oregon, at Colorado and Brigham Young…
Utah, even though it has yet to win the South Division, made the right move in leaving the Mountain West back in 2011. The Utes, yes, went undefeated in 2004 and 2008 but had no chance of getting picked to play for the national title. Ask Central Florida about that.
Utah is Exhibit A in the argument against Group of 5 champions being seriously considered for the College Football Playoff...Utah hasn't come close to going undefeated in the Pac 12, but if it ever did it...
Utah is killing the Southern California “optics” scene. The Utes have defeated UCLA three straight years and clinched the L.A. City Championship for a third time by sweeping USC-UCLA: (2018, 2016, 2014)…