Category: College football

What people are missing in conference realignment

Ah, it’s been awhile since I’ve waded into the conference realignment mularkey.

Why is that? Well, partly because I didn’t feel a particular need to quote Joe Biden. 

I also haven’t had much to add to the discussion. Many of us know the basics by this point, I think. 

But more critically, my hesitation is also about the potential for sounding downright stupid. 

That’s not a “me” problem, specifically, but I’m not immune. I’ve dropped some stinkers in the realignment prediction business while studiously trying to avoid doing exactly that. The minefield that is this game within a game is perilous. 

Granted, some of the worst offenders in that regard don’t really mind being galactically wrong. For them it’s not about being right or wrong. They’d prefer to make noise and get attention and the aftermath can be whatever it will be. Like a loud politician overpromising and under-delivering, the show is the show, and it is king above such trivial concerns as truth or decency.

But my point is that NO ONE is immune to stepping in it. 

And I’d usually prefer not to.

What compels me to jump back in is a fair bit of conviction about where this thing is actually headed, and it’s not an outline or theory that seems to be getting a whole lot of traction right now.

So, let’s talk about it some.

Continue reading What people are missing in conference realignment

Kansas State football’s 20 best wins of the last decade

Okay, let’s do this.

The Kansas State football team has had a number of big wins over the past decade. The two-year run in 2011 and 2012 could have filled an entire list by itself. But the program’s success extends beyond those two seasons. And every player who contributed to the program deserves recognition in some way.

So with that in mind, I established a couple of ground rules in putting together a best wins of the decade countdown. Firstly, I figured it would be fairest to all individuals to make sure every single KSU team of the decade was represented. To do that effectively, there was no way I could limit this list to 10 or even 15. So 20 was the number I settled on.

I also wanted every Big 12 opponent K-State defeated to appear on the list and a range of non-conference opponents too. The only exception to this rule here is Missouri, which barely missed the cut as being a part of an ugly-as-sin game and only sharing the conference with KSU for two seasons. Hey, it was satisfying as heck to send them out with a loss, but the concession needed to be made to make room for everything else. Consider that game our honorable mention.

And with that, we can get rolling. Here is my take on K-State’s 20 best wins of the decade.

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Trying to get a handle on the future of the Big 12

Recently, I’ve been reading more message board and social media chatter from Big 12 fans, specifically Oklahoma and Texas fans, about the next round of realignment, and where their schools might ultimately end up.

So let’s roll up our sleeves and jump back into this puddle of mud, shall we?

Continue reading Trying to get a handle on the future of the Big 12

Halloween fun in New Orleans

Hey all, here’s another update from my work sphere, as I’ve produced a few thing for Southern Weekend over the past few weeks. Leading off is this fun video about a cool New Orleans haunted house we take the kids to visit every year now.

A few more things after the jump!

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Random Draft Thoughts 2018

I grew up a Cincinnati Bengals fan, ergo, Draft Day is like a holiday. Longtime Saints fans can relate to this, I’m sure.

For the longest time, I would sit there, writing down the players’ names & info as they came off the board, so that I would have a hard copy of each NFL first round and learn the basics on who these players were (though who am I kidding, I was already a big enough fan to know these guys already).

I’m not sure what the point of this was, or is, other than to say that yes, I’ve followed this almost compulsively for a very long time.

With all that said, I thought I’d continue my draft tradition of writing down some thoughts prior to the big event. Obviously, please take this with a grain of salt as I have massive blind spots.  For a great example of this, see my opinion, or lack thereof, on Lattimore last year (I didn’t like him because I thought he was a massive injury risk).

So, yeah.

But here we go anyway. Here’s one guy’s clearly flawed opinion.

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The optimistic vs. pessimistic take on 2018 Kansas State football

Ah, Kansas State football.  Coming off a disappointing 2015 season full of injuries and disaster (when your wide receiver is taking snaps at quarterback, it’s a disaster), the program rallied around the athleticism and game management of quarterback Jesse Ertz to rebound to 9 wins in 2016. Naturally, Ertz went down to injury in 2017* to take away all of that positive momentum.  Playing a pair of young kids at quarterback transformed consistent performance into wild highs (such as crazy comebacks against ISU/Texas Tech and a win in Stillwater against a Top 15 OSU) and wild lows (KU and TCU … though in fairness the lowest of lows came with Ertz still in the lineup vs. Vanderbilt).  The end result was a somewhat disappointing 8 wins.

* Hmm, maybe all these quarterback injuries indicate a need for a re-evaluation of an offensive game plan that regularly calls for your quarterback to carry the ball 20 times a game.

In the offseason, Kansas State has suffered massive player and coaching defections, creating even more instability.

So what now?

Continue reading The optimistic vs. pessimistic take on 2018 Kansas State football

Let’s do a preseason Top 25!

This is some mix of how I rank the teams now before the 2017 season, and how I see it ending up … which should line up more than it sometimes does in these kinds of lists. Some folks will be like, “I rank Clemson No. 1 because they’re defending champs even though I predict them to lose five times this year.” This is not that … I want this to reflect this year, not last.

Anyway, here’s how I see it.*

* Most of this will be comically inaccurate, but that’s part of the fun. I know this going in.

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Some Thoughts on the Draft

Let us be clear: the NFL is very “ugh” right now.

But I still find it hard to hate the thing completely.  For one reason, I hear rumors that the New Orleans Saints are still very much a part of the league (even despite the absurd punishments handed down during “Bountygate”).  For another, the good flavor of the Falcons blowing a 25-point lead in the Super Bowl is still fresh.*  And finally, the draft itself is always going to have some merit even for people who hate the NFL because it’s one last chance to see their favorite college players paraded in front of the camera before they’re officially professionals.  So, yay.

* This is one of the more improbable things I’ve seen in my sports-watching lifetime.  Like, the Falcons literally had to have everything go completely wrong for them to pull it off … and they did it!  And my enjoyment of it was fueled by a persistent Falcons hater laughing at them and dancing around my living room throughout the proceedings.  It was truly a memorable and enjoyable experience, even for someone disillusioned by the league and basically anything that it tries to do.

Continue reading Some Thoughts on the Draft