A few 2021 College Football Observations

[Sooner Lion]

1. Coaching contracts are out of control and will come back down to earth over the next couple of years. This all started with Jimbo getting a long-term $90 million deal at Texas A&M. Sumlin was 51-26 (66.2%) over 6 years at Texas A&M. Jimbo is 34-14 (70.8%) in his four years at A&M. That's a lot of money to improve your winning percentage by 4.5%. All my Aggie colleagues want Fisher gone. However, if they fire him, they owe him close to $100 million! I should have went to law school and been a sports agent.
2. Michigan finally figured out a way to beat Ohio State. After five years of trying to out Ohio State, Ohio State, Harbaugh built his team around the Michigan Wolverines of the 70's. Tough as nails up front with skill player sprinkled in. Look like it worked yesterday. Is this the recipe for beating Ohio State in the future? Time will tell.
3. I've believed for a long time that recruiting equals success in college football. This 2021 season has me rethinking this approach. My new approach is recruiting + player development + game day coaching + player buy-in = success. Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Pitt are all having solid seasons despite average recruiting over the past four years. Despite being 11-1, Alabama is not near the team they've been for the past 10 years. Clemson has all those high recruits with three losses. Pay attention to Sam Pittman down in Fayetteville, they were a few plays away from an 11-1 team this year. He is the most genuine HC you will see and the recruits are starting to take notice. I think player buy-in trumps the other three factors.
4. The College Playoff has to be expanded to 8 teams minimum. The rich are clearly getting richer. Cut the regular season down to 10 games, play the conference championship games and then start the playoffs. They should also up the minimum number of wins to go to a bowl game to 8. It's crazy to see a bunch of 6-6 and 7-5 teams playing in a bowl with 10,000 fans.
5. I find it humorous that neither Oklahoma nor Texas are playing in the Big12 Championship game. I think Texas' problems are rooted in the Austin culture. They are still trying to figure out if the "Eyes of Texas" is racist. Oklahoma, on the other hand, will be back!
6. The PAC 10 is becoming more and more irrelevant in the college football playoff. The B1G blew an opportunity a few years back by adding Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska to the conference. They should have been camped out in Austin, Norman, Los Angeles and Seattle instead. Could you image the TV rights?
7. Georgia is by far the best team I've seen play this year. Best defense since.................maybe the 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions? Georgia is giving up less than a touchdown per game. They have an offense that just exploits you. I think a great defense sets up their solid offense. I think they are the big favorite to win the National Title this year. (No shit Sherlock, I know). Michigan may be the only team that can match up with them.

 

[DaytonBuck]

The team that beats Georgia will have a solid passing game. That ain't Michigan. Not sure Michigan could score on them. That one could get ugly.

I'll be interested to see what Alabama can do vs. them.

 

[katchthis]

1. Coaching contracts are out of control and will come back down to earth over the next couple of years. This all started with Jimbo getting a long-term $90 million deal at Texas A&M. Sumlin was 51-26 (66.2%) over 6 years at Texas A&M. Jimbo is 34-14 (70.8%) in his four years at A&M. That's a lot of money to improve your winning percentage by 4.5%. All my Aggie colleagues want Fisher gone. However, if they fire him, they owe him close to $100 million! I should have went to law school and been a sports agent.
2. Michigan finally figured out a way to beat Ohio State. After five years of trying to out Ohio State, Ohio State, Harbaugh built his team around the Michigan Wolverines of the 70's. Tough as nails up front with skill player sprinkled in. Look like it worked yesterday. Is this the recipe for beating Ohio State in the future? Time will tell.
3. I've believed for a long time that recruiting equals success in college football. This 2021 season has me rethinking this approach. My new approach is recruiting + player development + game day coaching + player buy-in = success. Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Pitt are all having solid seasons despite average recruiting over the past four years. Despite being 11-1, Alabama is not near the team they've been for the past 10 years. Clemson has all those high recruits with three losses. Pay attention to Sam Pittman down in Fayetteville, they were a few plays away from an 11-1 team this year. He is the most genuine HC you will see and the recruits are starting to take notice. I think player buy-in trumps the other three factors.
4. The College Playoff has to be expanded to 8 teams minimum. The rich are clearly getting richer. Cut the regular season down to 10 games, play the conference championship games and then start the playoffs. They should also up the minimum number of wins to go to a bowl game to 8. It's crazy to see a bunch of 6-6 and 7-5 teams playing in a bowl with 10,000 fans.
5. I find it humorous that neither Oklahoma nor Texas are playing in the Big12 Championship game. I think Texas' problems are rooted in the Austin culture. They are still trying to figure out if the "Eyes of Texas" is racist. Oklahoma, on the other hand, will be back!
6. The PAC 10 is becoming more and more irrelevant in the college football playoff. The B1G blew an opportunity a few years back by adding Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska to the conference. They should have been camped out in Austin, Norman, Los Angeles and Seattle instead. Could you image the TV rights?
7. Georgia is by far the best team I've seen play this year. Best defense since.................maybe the 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions? Georgia is giving up less than a touchdown per game. They have an offense that just exploits you. I think a great defense sets up their solid offense. I think they are the big favorite to win the National Title this year. (No shit Sherlock, I know). Michigan may be the only team that can match up with them.

I think they said that when Nolan Ryan signed the first million dollar contract

 

[bison13]

1. Coaching contracts are out of control and will come back down to earth over the next couple of years. This all started with Jimbo getting a long-term $90 million deal at Texas A&M. Sumlin was 51-26 (66.2%) over 6 years at Texas A&M. Jimbo is 34-14 (70.8%) in his four years at A&M. That's a lot of money to improve your winning percentage by 4.5%. All my Aggie colleagues want Fisher gone. However, if they fire him, they owe him close to $100 million! I should have went to law school and been a sports agent.
2. Michigan finally figured out a way to beat Ohio State. After five years of trying to out Ohio State, Ohio State, Harbaugh built his team around the Michigan Wolverines of the 70's. Tough as nails up front with skill player sprinkled in. Look like it worked yesterday. Is this the recipe for beating Ohio State in the future? Time will tell.
3. I've believed for a long time that recruiting equals success in college football. This 2021 season has me rethinking this approach. My new approach is recruiting + player development + game day coaching + player buy-in = success. Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Pitt are all having solid seasons despite average recruiting over the past four years. Despite being 11-1, Alabama is not near the team they've been for the past 10 years. Clemson has all those high recruits with three losses. Pay attention to Sam Pittman down in Fayetteville, they were a few plays away from an 11-1 team this year. He is the most genuine HC you will see and the recruits are starting to take notice. I think player buy-in trumps the other three factors.
4. The College Playoff has to be expanded to 8 teams minimum. The rich are clearly getting richer. Cut the regular season down to 10 games, play the conference championship games and then start the playoffs. They should also up the minimum number of wins to go to a bowl game to 8. It's crazy to see a bunch of 6-6 and 7-5 teams playing in a bowl with 10,000 fans.
5. I find it humorous that neither Oklahoma nor Texas are playing in the Big12 Championship game. I think Texas' problems are rooted in the Austin culture. They are still trying to figure out if the "Eyes of Texas" is racist. Oklahoma, on the other hand, will be back!
6. The PAC 10 is becoming more and more irrelevant in the college football playoff. The B1G blew an opportunity a few years back by adding Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska to the conference. They should have been camped out in Austin, Norman, Los Angeles and Seattle instead. Could you image the TV rights?
7. Georgia is by far the best team I've seen play this year. Best defense since.................maybe the 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions? Georgia is giving up less than a touchdown per game. They have an offense that just exploits you. I think a great defense sets up their solid offense. I think they are the big favorite to win the National Title this year. (No shit Sherlock, I know). Michigan may be the only team that can match up with them.

I agree on number 4 but they will never shorten the season.

 

[Anison]

1. Coaching contracts are out of control and will come back down to earth over the next couple of years. This all started with Jimbo getting a long-term $90 million deal at Texas A&M. Sumlin was 51-26 (66.2%) over 6 years at Texas A&M. Jimbo is 34-14 (70.8%) in his four years at A&M. That's a lot of money to improve your winning percentage by 4.5%. All my Aggie colleagues want Fisher gone. However, if they fire him, they owe him close to $100 million! I should have went to law school and been a sports agent.
2. Michigan finally figured out a way to beat Ohio State. After five years of trying to out Ohio State, Ohio State, Harbaugh built his team around the Michigan Wolverines of the 70's. Tough as nails up front with skill player sprinkled in. Look like it worked yesterday. Is this the recipe for beating Ohio State in the future? Time will tell.
3. I've believed for a long time that recruiting equals success in college football. This 2021 season has me rethinking this approach. My new approach is recruiting + player development + game day coaching + player buy-in = success. Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Pitt are all having solid seasons despite average recruiting over the past four years. Despite being 11-1, Alabama is not near the team they've been for the past 10 years. Clemson has all those high recruits with three losses. Pay attention to Sam Pittman down in Fayetteville, they were a few plays away from an 11-1 team this year. He is the most genuine HC you will see and the recruits are starting to take notice. I think player buy-in trumps the other three factors.
4. The College Playoff has to be expanded to 8 teams minimum. The rich are clearly getting richer. Cut the regular season down to 10 games, play the conference championship games and then start the playoffs. They should also up the minimum number of wins to go to a bowl game to 8. It's crazy to see a bunch of 6-6 and 7-5 teams playing in a bowl with 10,000 fans.
5. I find it humorous that neither Oklahoma nor Texas are playing in the Big12 Championship game. I think Texas' problems are rooted in the Austin culture. They are still trying to figure out if the "Eyes of Texas" is racist. Oklahoma, on the other hand, will be back!
6. The PAC 10 is becoming more and more irrelevant in the college football playoff. The B1G blew an opportunity a few years back by adding Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska to the conference. They should have been camped out in Austin, Norman, Los Angeles and Seattle instead. Could you image the TV rights?
7. Georgia is by far the best team I've seen play this year. Best defense since.................maybe the 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions? Georgia is giving up less than a touchdown per game. They have an offense that just exploits you. I think a great defense sets up their solid offense. I think they are the big favorite to win the National Title this year. (No shit Sherlock, I know). Michigan may be the only team that can match up with them.

On #3 - I wonder if “transfer portal” is part of that equation as well - or could replace “player development” in some instances? MSU took 20 players from the transfer portal this off-season including Walker and several other contributors. The pre-transfer MSU roster is probably a sub-.500 team.

 

[Sloppyjoe69.5]

1. Coaching contracts are out of control and will come back down to earth over the next couple of years. This all started with Jimbo getting a long-term $90 million deal at Texas A&M. Sumlin was 51-26 (66.2%) over 6 years at Texas A&M. Jimbo is 34-14 (70.8%) in his four years at A&M. That's a lot of money to improve your winning percentage by 4.5%. All my Aggie colleagues want Fisher gone. However, if they fire him, they owe him close to $100 million! I should have went to law school and been a sports agent.
2. Michigan finally figured out a way to beat Ohio State. After five years of trying to out Ohio State, Ohio State, Harbaugh built his team around the Michigan Wolverines of the 70's. Tough as nails up front with skill player sprinkled in. Look like it worked yesterday. Is this the recipe for beating Ohio State in the future? Time will tell.
3. I've believed for a long time that recruiting equals success in college football. This 2021 season has me rethinking this approach. My new approach is recruiting + player development + game day coaching + player buy-in = success. Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Pitt are all having solid seasons despite average recruiting over the past four years. Despite being 11-1, Alabama is not near the team they've been for the past 10 years. Clemson has all those high recruits with three losses. Pay attention to Sam Pittman down in Fayetteville, they were a few plays away from an 11-1 team this year. He is the most genuine HC you will see and the recruits are starting to take notice. I think player buy-in trumps the other three factors.
4. The College Playoff has to be expanded to 8 teams minimum. The rich are clearly getting richer. Cut the regular season down to 10 games, play the conference championship games and then start the playoffs. They should also up the minimum number of wins to go to a bowl game to 8. It's crazy to see a bunch of 6-6 and 7-5 teams playing in a bowl with 10,000 fans.
5. I find it humorous that neither Oklahoma nor Texas are playing in the Big12 Championship game. I think Texas' problems are rooted in the Austin culture. They are still trying to figure out if the "Eyes of Texas" is racist. Oklahoma, on the other hand, will be back!
6. The PAC 10 is becoming more and more irrelevant in the college football playoff. The B1G blew an opportunity a few years back by adding Rutgers, Maryland and Nebraska to the conference. They should have been camped out in Austin, Norman, Los Angeles and Seattle instead. Could you image the TV rights?
7. Georgia is by far the best team I've seen play this year. Best defense since.................maybe the 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions? Georgia is giving up less than a touchdown per game. They have an offense that just exploits you. I think a great defense sets up their solid offense. I think they are the big favorite to win the National Title this year. (No shit Sherlock, I know). Michigan may be the only team that can match up with them.

This is all a great take. 🤡

 

[okinburg1]

This is all a great take. 🤡

Except the part about Georgia's defense. Bama was the first team they played all season with a pulse and they carved them up. They're good, but nowhere near an all time great D.

 

[sdwcpa]

On number 2: Time will tell if it was a one off perfect storm for Michigan-home field, weather conditions that favored their game- a very young and probably over confident OSU team or if it is the start of a new trend. OSU was not going to beat Michigan for eternity. Nobody said it better than former OSU player Josh Perry on Eleven Warriors. he said that Michigan played like they were waiting for that game their entire lives and OSU played like they couldn't wait to get out of the snow.

With Harbaugh's comments about Day after the game and Desmond Howard's classless comments at the Heisman ceremony next year's game at the Shoe should be interesting to say the least.