75 Comments

If Wilcox lands JKS now and starts him day 1…look out.

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Skattebo WOW. He's a local Northern California guy. He went to Rio Linda High which is in Sacramento County just next to the border of Sutter county. His type of player is a "coaches dream".

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There is nothing more wonderful than seeing Tosh the Traitor get his ass kicked. I DESPISE ANYONE THAT HURTS THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. And I'm not even a Cal grad! I married into a family of California Golden Bears.

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Yet another cautionary tale on the inevitable disaster that IS marriage….;-)

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That concludes the west's portion of the post season. The region went 3-9, and 2-10 was the worst that could have happened because of 2 west vs west matchups. USC is the only team from the west that beat a team from east of the foot of the Rockies. This will not help anyone west of the great plains in the eyes of the general public, and therefore the media, who control the $s and the exposure. And as we have seen eyeballs and $s are the bullets the current gunfight is fought with.

There are obvious differences between ASU & Fresno, or Oregon and anyone, or Colorado and Colorado St., or San Jose St and Washington, and their circumstances, generally and with their individual game assignments. But the overall results pretty much shout that upgrades are needed everywhere.

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i dont think anyone even in their most lopsided scenario had this type of mugging

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I have mixed feelings seeing Uncle Phil's All Stars trip over their webfeet, but, despite it all, I think I hate tOSU a little bit more than the Ducks.

Did not see this coming.

Of course, Herbstreit will need to make a statement about how "out of place" Oregon is in the CFP.

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1. The bye is proving to be a negative.

2. It is not a problem of the personnel. It is coaching, which has manifested itself in several ways today.

3. Herbie said nothing of the kind. He can tell the difference between manpower and scheme. SMU and Indiana were, in aggregate, outmanned. Oregon's problem is not the same problem.

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Either Oregon, based upon the rules agree upon qualified as they did or did not. They got manhandled today.

The bothersome thing about Herbie is for him to make any such statement about who "should" be there. Alabama did not prove to be a contender this year. Herbie and the ABC punditry have shown a clear bias for the SEC and that is, if nothing else, off putting or should be to the rest of us.

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And, the SEC didn't do too well in post season toilet bowl games. Texas, a recruit from the Big 12, is doing well but I still don't equate them with the SEC.

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SEC lean is a case of reading too much into a strong body of recent work that did not translate to what actually happened this year. A trap often fallen into, in part because past performance is, or has been, a good predicter of continuing performance. In the new era of just about everything being radically different, it is no longer nearly as good an indicator.

The SEC is still overall resource rich, although look out for the B1G; the intriguing thing will be to see what adjustments they make now that they have a body of results that no matter the spin won't be acceptable in a number of corners. They are not stupid, and will see they have work to do, no matter what they or anyone else says publicly.

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I have no problem with the bye, I think the bigger issue is the higher seed has to play at a neutral site. If anything the first round games should be at a neutral site and the second and 3rd round games should be a home game for the highest seed.

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That gets cross-wise with the major bowls, and they pay a large portion of the bill.

You can't reduce the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl to the status of the LA Bowl and the Heart(burn) of Dallas Bowl. Financial and political suicide all around.

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With the mess that CFB is now in this is a refreshing perspective; though it's too bad it has to be accompanied by the evangalism. I was turned off by Danielson's constant references to his faith, but respect his perspective on the state of CFB.

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Dude. The evangelism is soooo creepy IMO. I find his particular brand so disturbing and distasteful bc he applies it to his entire team and by extension the entire school and community. “HE is OUR champion”. Is HE? Is the entire BSU community devoutly Christian? I can live with him espousing his own beliefs, even though I always cringe at all the god talk in football. But keep it personal. Don’t presume that your entire team and school wants JC as its mascot, especially at a public tax payer supported institution. It’s gross, divisive and crosses a line. He’s the coach and should seek to be more inclusive of all faiths or lack thereof.

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Money has always mattered, and it does now more than ever. But culture and coaching/mentoring/leadership still do too, and has always mattered when it comes to differential results. And there are more than a few ways to do it. The challenge will be finding the best balance, and that won't be the same balance and trade offs everywhere. Never has been, and never will.

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That evangelism stuff is fine for evangelists, but not for the average secular football fan.

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The most unfortunate part is that I’m pretty sure it’s part of his recruitment strategy. Not that he is insincere in his faith but the constant outward expressions on TV are strategic

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Does this mean the OSU coach is off the hot seat for the moment?

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Not yet. A couple of more games to play.

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Wow, Oregon is getting smoked. Who saw this coming?

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Tosh Lupoi is playing checkers. Chip Kelly is playing 3 dimensional chess.

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I think Tosh Lupoi is fiddling with his butt plug. In case you didn’t notice, I’m no longer a fan of his.

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I say this thoughtfully...FUCK TRAITOR TOSH

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If you didn’t see it on College Gameday, Saban showed video of all the mental mistakes the Duck D committed in the second half of the Penn St game. Didn’t say anything directly about Lupoi but destroyed him indirectly for his D often being out of position and making mental mistakes. Loved it!

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As a recruiter, he is a huge asset. No one anywhere at any time has thought of him as a high level x & o s coach when not dealing with an overmatched opponent, and that I'm confident will never change.

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Tosh Lupoi’s defense getting chewed up by Chip Kelly. There’s a reason Nick Saban fired him.

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Welp, looks like the Devin Brown question will not be settled soon.

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Guess this is the hold up.

If Brown is the play, are we at all pleased with it?

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Not sure. Honestly. QBs can look good on paper and be a washout in application.

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I just wasn’t all that impressed with him v. Missouri last year in that Ohio State offense, though it was admittedly a small sample size.

Immobile guys with accuracy issues are worrisome….but he was a 4* recruit…

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Yeaah, well, Nando, too was more of a pocket passer.

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Mendoza is accurate, especially on intermediate routes.

Just not so sure Brown is, but again, limited sample size.

If he is the plan, it’s maybe worth a shot. But I’d just love a guy with more starts…

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There is a reason why Ohio State hired Chip.

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Tosh’s D getting torched.

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I mean, you love to see it.

Serves the Ducks right, rolling with those laughably awful uniforms in the f-ing Rose Bowl.

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ASU had a great comeback. But the last break went UT's way. Disappointing to me

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Dillingham is the second year coach at ASU and doing a brilliant job. He hasn’t had the benefit of recruiting for the last five years like Sark has at Texas. Give him time and he’s got a young really good quarterback. You think about if they converted one of those red 3 failed zone attempts they would’ve won this game. Skattebo is a baller. That kid is so much fun to watch. He is football incarnate, just tough.

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I remember Skattebo when ASU played Cal in 2023. Even though Cal squeaked out that game somehow, Skattebo really stood out to me as a classic old school runner, a Csonka type as you put so well

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Skattabo played for Sacramento State in 2023. Troy Taylor was his coach.

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He was at Sac State in ‘21 and ‘22, rushing for over 1300 yards in’22. In my mind, I remembered him as playing against Cal for Sac State but it was actually for ASU. He really stood out

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False. Scattebo played for ASU in ‘23.

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That 4th and 10…sigh.

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Amazing.

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Sark is such a dynamic playcaller. Dude knows offense so well.

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I hear he is a good bartender too. :). But, seriously, a serious football mind.

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Actually, Sarkesian is sober. When he was hired by Nick Saban he had stopped drinking and he was one of Saban‘s rehab projects. He’s a changed man. I did not previously like him, but now I’m actually a big fan of his. He stopped drinking, but he also credits Saban was saving his life. If you don’t know the story, when he went to Alabama he was required to take a physical exam. All the assistant coaches are required to take the same physical as the players. When Sarkisian took his exam, they found an aortic aneurysm and he went into surgery immediately. They said if he waited another 4 to 6 weeks, he would’ve been dead. So he’s a changed man and he’s a hell of a coach and he’s a better coach for his experience. Coach Saban believes in second chances and so do I. If you believe in second chances, the coach Sark is a stellar example of success of that mindset.

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Indiana and ASU showing what can possibly happen to Cal once they make a coaching change…

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And they raise their entrance acceptance requirements for transfer athletes. Cal's is 11%. Indiana's is 82% and ASU's is 89.8%

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Though it’s not as if Indiana and ASU loaded up on 4 and 5* players and road them to the CFP…Cignetti and Dillingham are just elite program leaders who know how to coach, know how to build a staff, and have quickly instilled a winning culture in their programs. To date, Wilcox has exhibited none of those characteristics, and has done none of those things.

Hopefully the Harsin/Rolovich/Anae troika can change this. Though it’s hard to imagine Cignetti and Dillingham would ever treat a nationally televised bowl appearance as if it were the spring scrimmage.

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Yes, our defense remains good and will be better with more offensive stamina.

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Get beat by teams that are (still) in a whole different stratosphere.

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It’s certainly better than getting beat by Mountain West runner-ups that are in a whole different stratosphere….

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Hehehe!

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I agree.

We need to shit or get off the pot.

If we aren't seeking national relevance, we should just be happy to fade away.

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That’s exactly what is going to happen if Cal continues to cling to these rigid, self-imposed academic requirements of athletes.

Which may in fact have been the plan all along. When the system no longer values academics, as is the case with the current one, then Cal revenue sports are on the fast track to irrelevancy and relegation if they do not adapt.

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Seems like we've had this conversation every year with about the same results.

OMG We're in a Groundhog Day time loop!

I think we've been pacificed for the past ten years or more.

Seriously, Lyons is our last hope.

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We totally have…it’s just taken on greater meaning now because the stakes have been raised by ESPN and Fox Sports…which is why I continue to harp on Wilcox, TBH.

If the CFB landscape were the same as when Wilcox played for Rich Brooks, I’d readily admit the urgency to win may not be as great. And sure, at Cal historically, a guy that has made a bowl 4 times in 8 seasons and generally fields an almost competitive team every season would maybe have a longer leash. It’s just things have changed so drastically…

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DOINK

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Is AsU on their 4th string kicker?

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Woo hoo. College kickers

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