College Football Week 15 – Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama
Champions crowned, playoff set,
Tennessee still doesn’t have a coach
and the return of the native
Champions were crowned on Saturday, as the 10 FBS conferences held their championship games. Four of the games determined who was in and who was out of the playoff.
Meanwhile, the week leading into championship Saturday contained more drama (or was it comedy) than any TV soap opera – thanks to Tennessee. And finally, on Saturday night, it was the return of the native, as UCF Coach Scott Frost announced he is going home to Nebraska.
For the college football purists out there, like me, who don’t want college football to become the NFL, Saturday was the quarterfinals of the playoff. Auburn was eliminated. Miami was knocked out. Wisconsin was sent home. Meanwhile, Oklahoma, Georgia and Clemson solidified their spots in the four-team playoff.
When we went to bed Saturday night – or was it Sunday morning – the only thing in doubt was who would be the fourth team in the playoff – Alabama or Ohio State.
The Big 12 championship game, between Oklahoma and TCU, was first on the agenda on Saturday. Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield was 15-for-23 and no interceptions, passing for 243 yards and four touchdowns, as OU downed TCU, 41-17.
Mayfield, the soon to be Heisman Trophy winner, also rushed for 65 yards. The Sooners improved on their 18-point win – 38-20 – over TCU during the season. This time OU beat the Horned Frogs by 24 points. The win guaranteed Oklahoma a spot in the playoff.
The OU-TCU game was followed by the SEC championship game between Auburn and Georgia – also a rematch. The Tigers and the Dawgs met just three weeks ago, with Auburn winning big – 40-17. The game was important, because the winner would be in the playoff and the loser would be out. It was different this time. Georgia won big – 28-7.
Georgia came with a running game and Auburn didn’t. And Georgia’s leading rusher wasn’t Nick Chubb or Sony Michel, although they contributed. The Dawgs leading rusher was freshman D’Andre Swift. Swift rushed for 88 yards on 7 carries, averaging 12.6 yards a carry.
It was obvious that Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson wasn’t the player he was three weeks ago. Johnson was hurting and not in top condition. Couple Johnson’s weakened performance with the fact that quarterback Jarrett Stidham had one of his worst games of the season. So Georgia became the second team Saturday that was assured a spot in the playoff.
Next up was the ACC championship game between Clemson and Miami. Like the SEC title game, the winner of the ACC game would be in the playoff, while the loser would be out. Unlike the Big 12 and SEC games, Clemson and Miami had not met during the season. This was a first encounter.
Well, it wasn’t much of an encounter. Clemson trounced Miami. With 1:01 to go in the third quarter, the Tigers led the Canes, 38-0. Clemson went on to win 38-3. Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant was 23-for-29 and no interceptions, passing for 252 yards and one touchdown. Miami quarterback Malik Rosier completed less than 50% of his passes, while tossing two interceptions. Clemson became the third team to punch its ticket for the playoff.
In the last game, undefeated Wisconsin met Ohio State for the Big Ten championship. A Badger win would assure Wisconsin a spot in the playoff. But a Buckeye win wouldn’t necessarily assure Ohio State a spot in the playoff. The Buckeyes had two losses on their record.
The game was close. Wisconsin could have pulled it out in the end, but failed to do so. Neither quarterback performed well. Both threw two interceptions. But Ohio State’s A.J. Dobbins made the difference. Dobbins rushed for 174. The Buckeyes beat the Badgers 27-21.
Wisconsin was definitely out of the running for the playoff. But the win gave Ohio State a chance of becoming the fourth team in the playoff. After all, the Buckeyes were the champions of the Big Ten. It would be either 11-2 Ohio State or 11-1 Alabama. But we would have to wait until Sunday afternoon to find out.
There were other conference championship games, but none that would have an impact on the playoff. Still, each had their own statement to make. In the AAC title game, UCF beat Memphis 62-55 in two overtimes, in what was the most exciting of all the games. With the win, UCF finished the season 12-0, the only undefeated FBS team in the country.
Friday night, USC won the Pac-12 championship game, beating Stanford, 31-28. But with two losses, including a bad loss to Notre Dame (49-14), the Trojans weren’t really in the running for the playoff. It would take a miracle. Still the Trojans had an outstanding season.
Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic Owls won the Conference USA championship, beating North Texas, 41-17. FAU (10-3) finished the season on a 9-game winning streak. Toledo won the Mid-American Conference title, with a 42-28 win over Akron. The Rockets finished the season with an impressive 11-2 record.
Boise State, a regular season loser to Fresno State last week, beat Fresno State on Saturday to claim the Mountain West Conference championship. Last week the Broncos lost to the Bulldogs, 28-17. In the title game, Boise State scored late to beat Fresno State, 17-14.
The Sun Belt Conference doesn’t have a championship game. However, two regular season conference games Saturday determined the outcome of the Sun Belt title race. First, Appalachian State beat Louisiana-Lafayette, 63-14. The win gave the Little Mountaineers a share of the championship.
Appalachian State would share the title with the winner of the Troy-Arkansas State game. In a thriller, Troy scored late and beat Arkansas State 32-25. So Troy and Appalachian State finished the season as co-champions of the Sun Belt.
One other game from Saturday is worth mentioning – also in the Sun Belt Conference. New Mexico State beat South Alabama, 22-17. Trailing the Jaguars by 1 point – 17-16 – the Aggies scored the winning touchdown with 0:32 left in the game.
So why was this game worth mentioning? Well, the win made New Mexico State bowl eligible for the first time in 57 years. The Aggies last played in a bowl in 1960. They beat Utah State 20-13 in the Sun Bowl. Yesterday, New Mexico State accepted a bid to the Arizona Bowl. Ironically, the Aggies will play none other than – Utah State.
Shortly after noon on Sunday, the college football playoff committee named the four teams in the playoff. Clemson, Oklahoma and Georgia were seeded first, second and third respectively. Seeded No. 4? – Alabama. Yes, Alabama over Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished 5th in the playoff poll.
Remember up above when I referenced USC’s bad loss to Notre Dame. Well, Ohio State, also an 11-2 team and a Power Five conference champion like USC, also had a bad loss – a bad loss to Iowa, 55-24. That’s what kept the Buckeyes out of the playoff.
Saturday’s championship games were full of drama as was the debate over who should be the fourth team in the playoff – Alabama or Ohio State.
Last week, during the days leading up to Championship Saturday, Tennessee’s search for a new coach took center stage, but it was more like a comedy, not a drama. It was more like a circus – a clown act.
It began as a drama when word broke that Greg Schiano would be named the Vols new coach. Reaction to Schiano was not good to put it mildly. Students, fans, even state legislators in Tennessee protested the hiring of Schiano. The protests were so strong that Tennessee athletic director John Currie notified Schiano that the deal was off.
With Schiano out of the picture, Tennessee went after Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. But ultimately, Gundy turned down the Vols. SMU coach Chad Morris was mentioned, but Morris showed no interest. Then Tennessee went after Duke coach David Cutcliffe, a former assistant coach at Tennessee.
Like Gundy, Cutcliffe ultimately said, “No.” Now Tennessee was the butt of jokes on social media. Commentators said that Tennessee was damaged goods. After Cutcliffe’s refusal, Tennessee sought out NC State coach David Doeren.
Doeren appeared to be a done deal. Heck, NC State fans have been trying to get rid of him for years. Tennessee was doing them a favor. But to Tennessee’s embarrassment even Doeren said, “No.”
At a Wednesday night basketball game in Knoxville, Tennessee fans began chanting, “Fire Currie. Fire Currie.”
Meanwhile, in the midst of all of this, former LSU coach Les Miles raised his hand and said, “Hey Tennessee. I’d like to be your football coach.” Miles words apparently fell on deaf ears – for a while at least.
The next day, Currie took off to Pullman, Washington, to hire Washington State coach Mike Leach. But while Currie was in Pullman, he was summoned home by Tennessee chancellor Beverly Davenport.
Davenport responded to the chants of the Tennessee fans. She fired Currie and made former Vols football coach Phillip Fulmer the athletic director. Fulmer is now searching for the new coach. Apparently, Fulmer has made contact with Les Miles. Stay tuned.
As I see it, Tennessee can blame its problems on Chip Kelly. Back when it was thought that Kelly was going to Florida, Tennessee was set to hire Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen. But when Kelly chose UCLA over Florida, the Gators turned their attention to Mullen and he accepted Florida’s offer. That’s when Tennessee turned its attention to Schiano. How do you go from Mullen to Schiano? That’s like going from a filet mignon to hamburger.
So, if Kelly had gone to Florida, Mullen would have gone to Tennessee and Currie would still be athletic director in Knoxville. Meanwhile, the search goes on.
By the way, a note of interest to Gator fans: Florida plays Mississippi State in Starkville on September 29 next year. It should be fun. Stay tuned!
In addition to the mess at Tennessee, last week was full of coaching carousel news. Mississippi State hired Joe Moorhead to replace Dan Mullen. Moorhead has been the offensive coordinator at Penn State under James Franklin. Prior to Penn State, Moorhead, a former quarterback at Fordham, was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Connecticut (2009-2011). Then he was the head coach at Fordham (2012-2015). Under Moorhead, Fordham was 38-13
In Tallahassee, Jimbo Fisher announced he is leaving Florida State for Texas A&M. The Aggies are paying Jimbo $75 million over 10 years. Jimbo has wanted out of Tallahassee ever since his messy divorce a couple years ago. If the deal hadn’t fallen through, he would have gone to LSU last year.
After a few days of rumors, Arizona State has hired Herm Edwards. Edwards is a former NFL coach at the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.
Sometime after UCF’s win over Memphis on Saturday, Knights coach Scott Frost announced he is leaving UCF to become the coach at Nebraska. This move was anticipated. Frost is a native of Nebraska and former quarterback for the Huskers. His parents still live in Nebraska.
Sunday, Nebraska held a press conference to introduce Frost – not that he needed an introduction. Frost is an offensive genius. His coaching should be a boost to Nebraska’s lagging offense. But it is important that he hire a strong defensive coordinator in Lincoln. He didn’t have that at UCF and his approach was often one of outscoring the other team.
Back at UCF, former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin is the primary target of UCF officials.
Up at Auburn, there had been rumors that Gus Malzahn might leave the Tigers for the opening at Arkansas. But Sunday, Malzahn signed a new deal with Auburn that pays him $49 million for the next seven years.
My final Best of the Group of Five: UCF (12-0), Memphis (10-2), South Florida (9-2), Florida Atlantic (10-3), Toledo (11-2), Boise State (10-3), San Diego State (10-2), Fresno State (9-4), Troy (10-2) and North Texas (9-4).
An update on the playoff games and the other New Year’s Six bowls: In the first playoff semifinal game, No. 3 Georgia plays No. 2 Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl. In the second playoff semifinal game, No. 4 Alabama plays No. 1 Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Both games will be played on January 1. The championship game will be played a week later on January 8.
In the Cotton Bowl Classic on December 29, No. 5 Ohio State plays No. 8 USC. In the Fiesta Bowl on December 30, No. 11 Washington plays No. 9 Penn State. In the Orange Bowl on December 30, No. 10 Miami plays No. 6 Wisconsin. And finally, in the Peach Bowl on January 1, No 12 UCF plays No. 7 Auburn.
It was good to hear from Stephanie Stein and Jeff Grimm and last week.
This Friday – December 8 – I’ll post my annual “CFW Extra – Bowl Game Preview.”
Have a good week!
Touchdown Tom
December 4, 2017
Weekend Recap
GAME OF THE WEEK: Making a statement – Clemson 38, Miami 3 (Touchdown Tom said: Clemson 26, Miami 20). Clemson only had 77 yards rushing, but that was enough to beat Miami. The Tigers had 254 yards passing. The Canes had nothing at all, no running or passing. By late in the third quarter, Clemson led 38-0. Miami kicked a field goal with 3:29 left in the game to keep from being skunked. Clemson took the ACC championship with the win. Attendance in Charlotte: 74,372
RUNNER UP: Wisconsin wasn’t On – Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Wisconsin 22, Ohio State 21). Except for a 7-7 tie in the first quarter, Ohio State led throughout the game. But the Buckeyes could never shake Wisconsin. The Badgers kept it close. Wisconsin had no running game, as Ohio State held the Badgers to 60 yards rushing. Jonathan Taylor was a no show. Rushing is where the Buckeyes were strong – 238 yards. Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins rushed for 174 yards. The win gave Ohio State the Big Ten championship. Attendance in Indianapolis: 65,886
REST OF THE BEST: Revenge – Georgia 28, Auburn 7 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 28, Auburn 24). When Auburn moved down the field and scored early in the first quarter to go up 7-0, it looked like it was going to be a repeat of the first meeting between the two teams. But the Tigers went to bed after that and Uga outscored them 28-0. Auburn’s potent offense only managed 259 total yards. The Tigers also suffered two turnovers. Georgia won the SEC championship. Attendance in Atlanta: 76,534
Can you say Heisman – Oklahoma 41, TCU 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma 31, TCU 27). A close game at halftime – OU led 24-17 – the Sooners put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring TCU, 17-0. OU had 461 total yards on a well-balanced attack of 218 yards rushing and 243 passing. TCU only had 83 yards rushing. Oklahoma claimed the Big 12 championship with the win. Attendance in Arlington: 64,104
Closer this time – USC 31, Stanford 28 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 27, Stanford 26). On September 9, USC beat Stanford 42-24. USC had the better quarterback, and Ronald Jones was healthy, while Bryce Love wasn’t. Sam Darnold passed for 325 yards and Jones rushed for 140 yards. Love, suffering from a high-ankle sprain, finished with 125 yards. The Trojans had 501 total yards to 343 for the Trees. Stanford never led in the game. Attendance in Santa Clara: 48,031
Thriller – UCF 62, Memphis 55 (2OT) (Touchdown Tom said: UCF 46, Memphis 40). What a game! UCF led, Memphis led and the game was tied at the end of regulation. The teams combined for 1,479 total yards – 965 of those yards passing. UCF won in spite of having four turnovers in the game. The victory gave UCF the AAC championship. Attendance in Orlando: 41,433
Reversal – Boise State 17, Fresno State 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Fresno State 27, Boise State 21). Last week, in the final game of the regular season, Boise State scored 17 points against Fresno State. The Broncos lost that game, 28-17. This week, Boise State scored 17 points again against the Bulldogs, but the Broncos won this one. Fresno State took a 14-10 lead late in the second quarter and held the 4-point lead until late in the fourth quarter. Boise State went up 17-14 on a touchdown with 4:42 left in the game and held on to win. The teams were even in the stats. With the win, Boise State claimed the MWC championship. Attendance in Fresno: 24,515
Holy – Toledo 45, Akron 28 (Touchdown Tom said: Toledo 31, Akron 30). Toledo built up a 38-0 third quarter lead and went into cruise control for the rest of the game. Akron scored 21 of its 28 points in the fourth quarter. The Rockets had 561 total yards on a balanced attack of 254 yards rushing and 307 passing. Toledo had five turnovers in the game. Toledo running back Terry Swanson rushed for 180 yards. The win gave Toledo the MAC championship. Attendance in Detroit: 16,225
How do you like me now – Florida Atlantic 41, North Texas 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida Atlantic 30, North Texas 22). Under first-year coach Lane Kiffin, FAU built up a 34-0 early third quarter lead and went into cruise control for the rest of the game to win the Conference USA championship. The Owls had 633 total yards on a well-balanced attack of 281 yards rushing and 352 passing. North Texas only had 81 yards rushing. FAU’s Devin Singletary rushed for 164 yards. Attendance in Boca Raton: 14,258
Cutting it close – Troy 32, Arkansas State 25 (Touchdown Tom said: Troy 37, Arkansas State 36). Trailing Arkansas State by 1 point – 25-24, Troy scored a touchdown with 0:17 left in the game to come from behind and beat the Red Wolves. There were five lead changes in the game that remained close throughout. Arkansas State dominated the stats – 31 first downs to 14 for Troy and 606 total yards to 293 for Troy. But the Red Wolves had three turnovers. Troy only had 47 yards rushing in the game. The win gave Troy a share of the Sun Belt Conference title. Attendance in Jonesboro: 27,462
….AND ONE TO KEEP AN EYE ON:
Dominating – Appalachian State 63, Louisiana-Lafayette 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Appalachian State 29, Louisiana-Lafayette 19). Appalachian State had 608 total yards on a well-balanced attack of 357 yards rushing and 251 yards passing. Two Appalachian State running backs rushed for more than 100 yards – Daetrich Harrington – 118 yards, and Jalin Moore – 110 yards. The win gave Appalachian State a share of the Sun Belt title. Attendance in Boone: 23,411
Week 14 Results: 9 correct picks, 2 fumbles (81.8 percent)
For the Season: 159 correct picks, 64 fumbles (71.3 percent)
ELSEWHERE IN FLORIDA:
Florida State 42, Louisiana-Monroe 10 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 58,780
Florida International 63, Massachusetts 45 – Attendance in Miami: 14,004
Superlatives
Impressive Passers:
Memphis’ Riley Ferguson – 30-42-1 for 471 yards; New Mexico State’s Tyler Rogers – 40-61-1-451; North Texas’ Mason Fine – 28-44-2-356; Massachusetts’ Andrew Ford – 30-44-1-349, and USC’s Sam Darnold – 17-24-0-325.
Impressive Rushers:
Toledo’s Terry Swanson – 180 yards; Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins – 174 yards; Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary – 164 yards, and Florida State’s Jacques Patrick – 155 yards.
Also, USC’s Ronald Jones – 140 yards; Coastal Carolina’s Osharmar Abercrombie – 133 yards; Stanford’s Bryce Love – 125 yards, and Massachusetts’ Marquis Young – 125 yards.
TT’s Annual Picks
My choice for “Coach of the Year” from each of the FBS Conferences
AAC: Scott Frost – UCF; Runner-up: (tie) Mike Norvell – Memphis and Charlie Strong – South Florida
ACC: Mark Richt – Miami; Runner-up: Dave Clawson – Wake Forest
Big 12: Lincoln Riley – Oklahoma; Runner-up: (tie) Gary Patterson – TCU and Matt Campbell – Iowa State
Big 10: Pat Fitzgerald – Northwestern; Runner-up: Jeff Brohm – Purdue
C-USA: Lane Kiffin – Florida Atlantic; Runner-up: (tie) Butch Davis – Florida International, Seth Littrell – North Texas and Bill Clark – UAB
MAC: Jason Candle – Toledo; Runner-Up: Terry Bowden – Akron, Lance Leipold – Buffalo and John Bonamego – Central Michigan
MWC: Jeff Tedford – Fresno State; Runner-up: Matt Wells – Utah State
Pac-12: Clay Helton – USC; Runner-up: David Shaw – Stanford
SEC: Kirby Smart – Georgia; Runner-up: (tie) Gus Malzahn – Auburn and Dan Mullen – Mississippi State
Sun Belt: Neal Brown – Troy; Runner-up: Scott Satterfield – Appalachian State
My choice for 2017’s national “Coach of the Year”
Kirby Smart – Georgia
Lincoln Riley – Oklahoma
Scott Frost – UCF
If I had a vote for the Heisman Trophy, my ballot would be cast as follows
Baker Mayfield – Oklahoma
Bryce Love – Stanford
Mason Rudolph – Oklahoma State
2017’s most surprising team or teams from each FBS conferences
AAC: – UCF
ACC: – (tie) Virginia and Wake Forest
Big 12: – (tie) Iowa State and TCU
Big Ten: – Purdue
C-USA: – (tie) UAB, Florida Atlantic, North Texas and Florida International
MAC: – (tie) Akron, Buffalo and Central Michigan
MWC: – Fresno State
Pac-12: – (tie) Arizona State and Arizona
SEC: (tie) – Missouri and Mississippi State
Sun Belt: – Georgia State and New Mexico State
2017’s most disappointing team or teams from each FBS conferences
AAC: – Tulsa
ACC: – Florida State
Big 12: – Texas
Big Ten: – (tie) Nebraska and Michigan
C-USA: – (tie) Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee
MAC: – (tie) Miami, Bowling Green and Western Michigan
MWC: – Hawaii
Pac-12: – (tie) UCLA, Utah and Colorado
SEC: – (tie) Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas
Sun Belt: – Georgia Southern
Quotes of the Week
“I’d be hurt if Nebraska wasn’t interested in me. We’re undefeated. I’m from there. When you win a lot, people are interested in you,” UCF coach Scott Frost.
“I remember how you would talk about being committed to the program and cheering for the team, and talking about loyalty to the program. So I’m wondering, where is your loyalty to the program, Jimbo,” a Florida State fan questioning Jimbo Fisher at Fisher’s radio show on Wednesday night.
“It is great to be home. Now I’m sitting here in front of you with my dream job, in my dream town, at my dream school,” new Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith.
Touchdown Tom’s Prediction for
This Week’s One Biggest and Most Intriguing Game…and then none
GAME OF THE WEEK: 1. Army (8-3) vs. Navy (6-5) – Ind. vs. AAC – 3 pm ET, Saturday, CBS – Army will be trying to make it two wins in a row over Navy. Prior to last year, Navy had won 14-straight games and 17 of the last 19. It hasn’t been a good series for the Cadets in recent years. Both teams come into the game rated equal. Army has the better record, but Navy played a tougher schedule. Both teams have strong quarterbacks. The Middies upright the ship – Navy 29, Army 26.
YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:
Georgia (12-1) has completed its season.
ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:
Miami (10-2), Florida State (6-6), UCF (12-0), Florida Atlantic (10-3) and Florida International (8-4) have completed their seasons.
Your 2017 Conference Champions
AAC: – UCF
ACC: – Clemson
Big 12: – Oklahoma
Big Ten: – Ohio State
C-USA: – Florida Atlantic
MAC: – Toledo
MWC: – Boise State
Pac-12: – USC
SEC: – Georgia
Sun Belt: – (tie) Troy and Appalachian State
Touchdown Tom
P.S.
Not exactly college football related, but with the gray skies of early December upon us, the college football season was fading fast. As the fans were talking about new coaches, bowl games and the Heisman Trophy, the number one song in the country…
…75 years ago this week in 1942 was “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
…70 years ago this week in 1947 was “Near You” by Francis Craig and His Orchestra
…65 years ago this week in 1952 was “Why Don’t You Believe Me?” by Joni James
…60 years ago this week in 1957 was “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke
…55 years ago this week in 1962 was “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by The Four Seasons
…50 years ago this week in 1967 was “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees
…45 years ago this week in 1972 was “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy
…40 years ago this week in 1977 was “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone
…35 years ago this week in 1982 was “Truly” by Lionel Richie
…30 years ago this week in 1987 was “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” by Belinda Carlisle
…25 years ago this week in 1992 was “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
Not exactly college football related, but sadly there were two passings of note last week – Jim Nabors and Mitch Margo.
Jim Nabors, whose portrayal of Gomer Pyle on the 1960s TV hit “The Andy Griffith Show,” died last week at his home in Hawaii. He was 87. Nabors later became a star of his own television show, “Gomer Pyle, USMC.” After two years on the Griffith show, Nabors was given his own show, “Gomer Pyle, USMC.” It proved to be a viewers’ favorite, sometimes reaching No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings. The show ran for five years. His subsequent variety show, “The Jim Nabors Hour,” had a two-year run. When he wasn’t acting, Nabors was singing in a glorious baritone. He moved to Hawaii in the 1980s. Jim Nabors was born on June 12, 1930, in Sylacauga, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a business degree. Nabors was a fixture at the Indianapolis 500, singing “Back Home Again in Indiana” at the motor race’s opening ceremony for more than 35 years.
Mitch Margo, an original member of the Tokens, the singing group best known for their hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” died last week at his home in Studio City, California. He was 70. Margo was only 13 when he and his brother joined the Linc-Tones, who soon renamed themselves the Tokens. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1961 and one week in 1962. Margo was a multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, guitar, bass, drums and percussion. The Tokens other hits in the 1960s included “Tonight I Fell in Love,” “He’s in Town,” “I Hear Trumpets Blow” and “Portrait of My Love.” The Tokens also produced records for the Chiffons, the Happenings, Randy and the Rainbows and Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was Margo’s idea for the Happenings to do an up-tempo version of the Gershwin brothers’ “I Got Rhythm.” The record reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts in 1967. Margo wrote “Laugh” for the Monkees (1967) and “Slow Dance” for the Carpenters (1989). Mitchell Stuart Margo was born on May 25, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. He left the music industry to serve in the Army from 1969 to 1972, in the Special Services division.
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