2020 College Football Discussion and Pick 'Em Thread

[ultraviolet]

A little late, but f*** Notre Dame. They are always so overrated, you’d think the committee would’ve learned from the ND fiasco in the playoffs last year, but no. Should’ve been A&M. Not Cincinnati, they barely beat Tulsa, I can’t even imagine how bad Bama would destroy them.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

Tennessee is out of the liberty bowl, they should let Army take their place.

[Dereich]

A little late, but f*** Notre Dame. They are always so overrated, you’d think the committee would’ve learned from the ND fiasco in the playoffs last year, but no. Should’ve been A&M. Not Cincinnati, they barely beat Tulsa, I can’t even imagine how bad Bama would destroy them.

What part of Texas A&M's 28 point loss to Alabama makes you think a rematch would be a compelling matchup? At least Notre Dame can say that they showed that in their best win (even if it was fluky) they could beat a playoff team. The best Texas A&M could do was a fluke over a three-loss Florida. And Notre Dame's second best win is over a ranked North Carolina while Texas A&M's is over an unranked Auburn which just fired its coach. The SEC this year (outside of Alabama, of course) was a dumpster fire that did nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Complete disgrace. 9-2 Army being shut out of a bowl game is more damaging to America's soul than anything Trump ever did.

One of the loser schools need to do the patriotic thing and cede their bowl berth to Army.

It's quite surprising that they couldn't find an opponent literally. Like, Rutgers and Texas Tech were projected to maybe play in bowls and I couldn't find any news article about them opting out, so why isn't one of them playing Army? And if they both did a soft opt-out, surely someone out there, even a bad Sun Belt team or something, would have played.

I didn't realize until halftime of today's bowl game where it was mentioned that the Pac-12 refused to play them because they did not want to prepare for the triple option. Pretty lame and pathetic.

[Donerail]

Tennessee is out of the liberty bowl, they should let Army take their place.

Well, Tennessee doesn't get to make that call. It's in the SEC bowl pool, so the bowl committee is contractually obligated to offer the spot to an SEC school if there's one remaining. Since there's no win requirement this year, right of first refusal goes to winless, coachless Vanderbilt, which just so happens to be a short 3-hour drive across the state from the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

That said, Vandy could have been in the Birmingham Bowl and declined, so it's likely they'll opt out of this one too. Might be better to move Mississippi State to the Liberty & open a spot for Army in the Armed Forces Bowl (they're on the same day), but who knows if that's logistically possible.

[Santander]

Complete disgrace. 9-2 Army being shut out of a bowl game is more damaging to America's soul than anything Trump ever did.

One of the loser schools need to do the patriotic thing and cede their bowl berth to Army.

It's quite surprising that they couldn't find an opponent literally. Like, Rutgers and Texas Tech were projected to maybe play in bowls and I couldn't find any news article about them opting out, so why isn't one of them playing Army? And if they both did a soft opt-out, surely someone out there, even a bad Sun Belt team or something, would have played.

I didn't realize until halftime of today's bowl game where it was mentioned that the Pac-12 refused to play them because they did not want to prepare for the triple option. Pretty lame and pathetic.

We should not be surprised by such unpatriotic behavior from those Californians.

[Santander]

A little late, but f*** Notre Dame. They are always so overrated, you’d think the committee would’ve learned from the ND fiasco in the playoffs last year, but no. Should’ve been A&M. Not Cincinnati, they barely beat Tulsa, I can’t even imagine how bad Bama would destroy them.

What part of Texas A&M's 28 point loss to Alabama makes you think a rematch would be a compelling matchup? At least Notre Dame can say that they showed that in their best win (even if it was fluky) they could beat a playoff team. The best Texas A&M could do was a fluke over a three-loss Florida. And Notre Dame's second best win is over a ranked North Carolina while Texas A&M's is over an unranked Auburn which just fired its coach. The SEC this year (outside of Alabama, of course) was a dumpster fire that did nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt.

And even then, the SEC landed 3 teams in non-playoff NY6 bowls, which is 2 more than they deserved this year.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Complete disgrace. 9-2 Army being shut out of a bowl game is more damaging to America's soul than anything Trump ever did.

One of the loser schools need to do the patriotic thing and cede their bowl berth to Army.

It's quite surprising that they couldn't find an opponent literally. Like, Rutgers and Texas Tech were projected to maybe play in bowls and I couldn't find any news article about them opting out, so why isn't one of them playing Army? And if they both did a soft opt-out, surely someone out there, even a bad Sun Belt team or something, would have played.

I didn't realize until halftime of today's bowl game where it was mentioned that the Pac-12 refused to play them because they did not want to prepare for the triple option. Pretty lame and pathetic.

We should not be surprised by such unpatriotic behavior from those Californians.

The football team at the Ungratefully Spending our Money Academy has nothing to do with patriotism.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Tennessee is out of the liberty bowl, they should let Army take their place.

Looks like that's going to happen.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

https://twitter.com/ArmyWP_Football/status/1341181455704068096

It is confirmed now! Edited in the pick'em

[Santander]

https://twitter.com/ArmyWP_Football/status/1341181455704068096
It is confirmed now! Edited in the pick'em

Army vs WVU, what a patriotic matchup! God bless America!

[NewYorkExpress]

Switching my pick in the Liberty Bowl from West Virginia to Army.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2020/12/21/ballots-college-football-coaches-amway-coaches-poll-panel/6548641002/ Wow....Dabo Swinney ranked Ohio State #11 in his Coaches Poll ballot, clear he does not respect his opponent in the Playoff lol

[Never Made it to Graceland]

https://twitter.com/ArmyWP_Football/status/1341181455704068096
It is confirmed now! Edited in the pick'em

Army vs WVU, what a patriotic matchup! God bless America!

Puke-worthy. I hope we don't have to pay for the welfare queens to all make the trip to the Liberty Bowl like we do for the Army Navy game.

[Santander]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2020/12/21/ballots-college-football-coaches-amway-coaches-poll-panel/6548641002/ Wow....Dabo Swinney ranked Ohio State #11 in his Coaches Poll ballot, clear he does not respect his opponent in the Playoff lol

Okay SEC teams in #4, 5, and 6, lol. Delusional.

https://twitter.com/ArmyWP_Football/status/1341181455704068096
It is confirmed now! Edited in the pick'em

Army vs WVU, what a patriotic matchup! God bless America!

Puke-worthy. I hope we don't have to pay for the welfare queens to all make the trip to the Liberty Bowl like we do for the Army Navy game.

Why do you hate America?

[Never Made it to Graceland]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2020/12/21/ballots-college-football-coaches-amway-coaches-poll-panel/6548641002/ Wow....Dabo Swinney ranked Ohio State #11 in his Coaches Poll ballot, clear he does not respect his opponent in the Playoff lol

Okay SEC teams in #4, 5, and 6, lol. Delusional.

https://twitter.com/ArmyWP_Football/status/1341181455704068096
It is confirmed now! Edited in the pick'em

Army vs WVU, what a patriotic matchup! God bless America!

Puke-worthy. I hope we don't have to pay for the welfare queens to all make the trip to the Liberty Bowl like we do for the Army Navy game.

Why do you hate America?

Because I'm smarter than the av-arage bear.

[Dereich]

Saturday, December 26th

FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL
Liberty vs #12 Coastal Carolina Noon EST ESPN

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL
South Carolina vs UAB Noon EST ABC

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, TX
#19 Louisiana vs UTSA 3:30 PM EST ABC

LendingTree Bowl at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium in Mobile, AL
Western Kentucky vs Georgia State 3:30 PM EST ESPN

Tuesday, December 29th

Cheez-It Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL
#21 Oklahoma State vs #18 Miami (FL) 5:30 PM EST ESPN

Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
#20 Texas vs Colorado 9 PM EST ESPN

Wednesday, December 30th

Duke's Mayo Bowl at Bank of America in Charlotte, NC
Wake Forest vs Wisconsin Noon EST ESPN

TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN
Iowa vs Missouri 4 PM EST ESPN

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
#6 Oklahoma vs #7 Florida 8 PM EST ESPN

Thursday, December 31st

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, TX
Tulsa vs Mississippi State Noon EST ESPN

Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, AZ
Ball State vs #22 San José State 2 PM EST CBSSN

AutoZone Liberty Bowl at Liberty Bowl Stadium in Memphis, TN
West Virginia vs Army 4 PM EST ESPN

Mercari Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX
Arkansas vs TCU 8 PM EST ESPN

Friday, January 1st

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA
#8 Cincinnati vs #9 Georgia Noon EST ESPN

Vrbo Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL
Auburn vs #14 Northwestern 1 PM EST ABC   I really don't like this prediction...I wouldn't hesitate to pick Auburn if they weren't coachless

Rose Bowl Game - CFP Semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX
#4 Notre Dame vs #1 Alabama 4 PM EST ESPN   45-20 Alabama

Allstate Sugar Bowl - CFP Semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA
#3 Ohio State vs #2 Clemson 8 PM EST ESPN  31-17 Clemson

Saturday, January 2nd

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, FL
#23 North Carolina State vs Kentucky Noon EST ESPN

Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL
Ole Miss vs #11 Indiana 12:30 PM EST ABC  This should actually be a really fun game.

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ
#25 Oregon vs #10 Iowa State 4 PM EST ESPN

Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL
#5 Texas A&M vs #13 North Carolina 8 PM EST ESPN

[Donerail]

The Auburn search has gone, uh, poorly — it sounds like they are attaching some ridiculous conditions to the job, which has led to some well-regarded G5 coaches (Napier, Bill Clark of UAB) to turn down the job. Reading between the lines, a pack of boosters got the consensus necessary to axe Malzahn and most want DC Kevin Steele, but they can't muster enough support for Steele; as a result, they've resorted to looking for someone else but imposing various conditions (like retaining Steele) that make the job unattractive to any coach who wants to bring in his own people. This apparently was enough to deter Napier and Clark but not Boise's Bryan Harsin.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1341501077250781186

rip

[NewYorkExpress]

It's official. Boise State Head Coach Brian Harsin will be the next Head Coach at Auburn.

Auburn has hired Boise State coach Bryan Harsin to take over its program, replacing Gus Malzahn following a rapid search process, a source tells CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. Harsin was 69-19 in seven seasons as the Broncos' coach, winning Mountain West titles in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

In joining the Tigers, Harsin again follows in the footsteps of Malzahn. He previously took over Arkansas State in 2013 after Malzahn was hired by Auburn. Harsin went 7-5 and won the Sun Belt in his lone season with the Red Wolves before heading out west to lead his alma mater Boise State.

Harsin is known for a system that puts an emphasis on physicality along both lines of scrimmage and a creative offensive scheme out of the spread. His system has produced 3,000-yard passers in four of his first six seasons and, had Hank Bachmeier not suffered from injury last season, could have put up a fifth.

The biggest question facing Harsin now is his staff. Recruiting is the most important aspect of any SEC coach's job, and Harsin's limited experience in the SEC footprint could become a problem if he doesn't hire the right assistant coaches. It's unclear who will be on Harsin's first staff on the Plains, but a group of energetic recruiters with deep ties in the south will help him transition to his new role in the toughest division in college football.

Who's the most likely person to replace Harsin at Boise State? I'm honestly thinking Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is a possible hire there.

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1341501077250781186

rip

Just wait a few days and some other team will wuss out. Kick Tennessee and South Carolina out of the SEC anyway.

[Dereich]

Auburn picking someone whose only experience in the South was one year at Arkansas State almost a decade ago is...uh...interesting. Recruiting against Alabama, LSU, and Georgia is hard enough as is without adding a handicap like this. It sure doesn't look to me like dumping Gus this year was the right move.

[NewYorkExpress]

Auburn picking someone whose only experience in the South was one year at Arkansas State almost a decade ago is...uh...interesting. Recruiting against Alabama, LSU, and Georgia is hard enough as is without adding a handicap like this. It sure doesn't look to me like dumping Gus this year was the right move.

I'm sure Steve Sarkisian would have said yes if asked.

[Donerail]

I'm sure Steve Sarkisian would have said yes if asked.

Sark turned down the interview. No one with better options wants a job where they'll be coaching under the kind of restrictions Auburn was reportedly trying to impose.

Who's the most likely person to replace Harsin at Boise State? I'm honestly thinking Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is a possible hire there.

Why?? Chadwell's spent his whole career in the South — no chance he leaves for a job in the Mountain West. Most likely candidates are Oregon DC Andy Avalos (former DC at Boise), Cowboys OC Kellen Moore (played QB at Boise), Falcons OC Dirk Koetter (former Boise coach who may be looking for a retirement job), or someone with success in the region like Jeff Choate at Montana State or Brent Brennan at SJSU. It's a very appealing but tricky job — they're probably leaving that conference and need a good recruiter to balance out their talent-sparse region.

[NewYorkExpress]

I'm sure Steve Sarkisian would have said yes if asked.

Sark turned down the interview. No one with better options wants a job where they'll be coaching under the kind of restrictions Auburn was reportedly trying to impose.

Who's the most likely person to replace Harsin at Boise State? I'm honestly thinking Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell is a possible hire there.

Why?? Chadwell's spent his whole career in the South — no chance he leaves for a job in the Mountain West. Most likely candidates are Oregon DC Andy Avalos (former DC at Boise), Cowboys OC Kellen Moore (played QB at Boise), Falcons OC Dirk Koetter (former Boise coach who may be looking for a retirement job), or someone with success in the region like Jeff Choate at Montana State or Brent Brennan at SJSU. It's a very appealing but tricky job — they're probably leaving that conference and need a good recruiter to balance out their talent-sparse region.

The last time Boise State hired a head coach, they hired Harsin, who had previously been the head coach at Arkansas State and an assistant at Texas.

It's not unrealistic to think Chadwell's a plausible hire.