College Football Week 20 – Clemson reclaims the national title

You’re simply the best 

You held Alabama, a team that averaged 48 points a game this season, to 16 points.

“Better than all the rest.”

You scored 44 points against Alabama, a team that held opponents to 16 points a game this season.

“You’re the best.

Better than all the rest.

Yes, Clemson won the national championship, beating Alabama, 44-16. With the Tigers trailing the Crimson Tide, 16-14, early in the second quarter, Clemson proceeded to score 30 unanswered points, all within the second and third quarters, while holding Alabama scoreless for the last 44 minutes and 18 seconds of the game.

Better than anyone I’ve seen”

Alabama had the ball for 11 series in the game and only came away with points on three of those series – two touchdowns and a field goal, all within the first 15 minutes and 42 seconds of the game. On Alabama’s first series of the game, Clemson intercepted Tua Tagovailoa and returned it for a pick-6. In the second quarter, on Alabama’s fifth series of the first half, Clemson intercepted Tagovailoa for the second time. Clemson played defense.

“I hang on every down you play.”

Meanwhile, Clemson had the ball for 10 series in the game and came away with points on six of those series – five touchdowns and a field goal, all within the first three quarters of the game. Clemson played offense.

Clemson’s freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence was 20-for-32, passing for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. This against an Alabama defense that only gave up 187 passing yards a game during the season.

Alabama definitely had problems on defense. Those problems seemed to begin in the last 42 minutes of the semifinal game last week when Oklahoma outscored the Crimson Tide, 34-17.

In last year’s championship game, when Alabama was trailing Georgia by two touchdowns at halftime, Nick Saban replaced quarterback Jalen Hurts with Tua Tagovailoa at the start of the second half. Tagovailoa rallied the Crimson Tide to a victory.

Last month, in the SEC championship game, when Alabama was trailing Georgia by two touchdowns in the third quarter, Nick Saban replaced quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with Jalen Hurts. Hurts rallied the Crimson Tide to a victory.

In the championship game last night, when Alabama was trailing Clemson 31-16 at halftime, Nick Saban did not replace Tua Tagovailoa with Jalen Hurts. Hurts did not enter the game until there was 11:12 on the clock in the fourth quarter with the Crimson Tide trailing the Tigers, 44-16.     

Clemson won its second national championship in the CFP era. The first one came two years ago, also over Alabama, 35-31. Last year, Clemson lost to Alabama, 24-6, in the semifinals. Revenge must be sweet.

So, Nick Saban must be waking up this morning, thinking, “My, that was some nightmare I had last night.”

While South Carolina fans must be waking up this morning, thinking, “And we’re still stuck with Will Mustake.”

Last night, Clemson, you were the best.

“Better than anyone.”

Meanwhile, two spots were filled in the coaching carousel last week, while one remained open and a new one opened up.

As expected, West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen was officially named the new coach at Houston. Holgorsen replaces the fired Major Applewhite.

Expecting the Holgorsen move, West Virginia acted quickly, finding its new coach. WVU athletic director Shane Lyons only interviewed two prospects – Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Troy’s Neal Brown – to replace Holgorsen.

Saturday, Neal Brown officially became West Virginia’s 35^th head coach. The 38-year-old Brown is one of only six FBS coaches who won 30 or more games the past three seasons. In four years at Troy, he was 35-16. Troy was 3-0 in bowl games under Brown.

His 2017 Trojan team beat No. 25 LSU, 24-21, in Tiger Stadium, ending LSU’s 49-game non-conference winning streak. This past season, Troy beat Nebraska, 24-19, in Lincoln.                                                                                                                                        

Prior to his head coaching position at Troy, Brown was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at three schools – Troy (2008-2009), Texas Tech (2010-2012) and Kentucky (2013-2014). He is a native of Danville, Kentucky.

Brown is already building his staff in Morgantown. Yesterday, it was reported that Minnesota offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Ciarrocca is expected to join the Mountaineers in the same position.

It’s been more than full week now since new Temple coach Manny Diaz abandoned the Owls, after only 17 days, to return to Miami to replace Mark Richt as the Hurricanes new coach. As a result, Temple is looking for a new coach for the second time this season. Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko is reported to be the latest leading contender. Stay tuned.   

Temple actually made out pretty good in the loss of its two coaches. Georgia Tech is paying the Owls $2.5 million for the buyout of Geoff Collins. Miami is paying Temple $4 million for the buyout of Manny Diaz. That’s a $6 million pay day. Not bad.

And, of course, Troy is in the market for a new coach, after Neal Brown left to take the West Virginia job. Once Temple and Troy find their coaches, there will be 25 new coaches in FBS college football next season – 11 at Power Five schools and 14 at Group of Five schools.

In the latest movement among coordinators, Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is leaving the Buckeyes to become the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma. Grinch was the defensive coordinator at Washington State from 2015 to 2017. Shortly after the Grinch announcement, new Ohio State coach Ryan Day fired Greg Schiano, the Buckeyes’ other co-defensive coordinator.  

Replacing Grinch and Schiano at Ohio State are Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison and San Francisco 49ers defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley. Mattison and Hafley will be the new co-defensive coordinators for the Buckeyes.

Responding to critics, who question Notre Dame’s validity in the college football playoff, Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick said over the weekend that Notre Dame would be willing to play a 13-game regular season schedule if the NCAA would let them. That’s Swarbrick’s counter to the Power Five conference champions playing a 13-game schedule – 12 regular season and one conference title game.

The problem is if the NCAA let Notre Dame play a 13-game regular season schedule, then football’s governing body would have to let all FBS teams play a 13-game regular season schedule. Swarbrick needs to realize that until Notre Dame joins a Power Five conference, people will always question the school’s validity in the playoff.

Speaking of post-season activity, here’s how the conferences finished in their bowl-game competition. Among the Power Five conferences, the SEC, Big Ten and the Big 12 were all winners – finishing  above .500. But just barely. The SEC was 6-5, the Big Ten was 5-4, while the Big 12 was 4-3.  

The ACC split even at 5-5. The only loser among the Power Five was the Pac-12 at 3-4. The Pac-12 just won its three games by a combined 4 points.

In the Group of Five, Conference USA took the prize. C-USA was 4-2. The Mountain West and Sun Belt conferences were 3-2. Definitely, the two worst conferences in bowl action were the AAC at 2-5 and the Mid-American at 1-5.

And finally, Clemson not only handed Alabama its worst loss under Nick Saban, but also the SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas has opened with Clemson as the heavy favorite to win it all again next year. Stay tuned!

“You’re simply the best.”

Touchdown Tom

January 8, 2019

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

The final CFW of the 2018 season – CFW - Week 21 – will be posted on Monday morning, January 14.

Weekend Review

FCS (Division I-AA) Championship Game

North Dakota State 38, Eastern Washington 24

Quotes of the Week

“I’ve decided to transfer to Ohio State University where I will continue to pursue my undergraduate degree and play football for the Buckeyes,” backup Georgia quarterback Justin Fields.

“I don’t see it. The four-team format is extremely popular,” College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock, on expanding the playoff.

“People didn’t like the BCS. People really like the College Football Playoff. It’s way different,” College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock.

“Everybody’s vegan on the West Coast,” former Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf, on why participation in football is minimal on the Pacific Coast.

“As far as expanding the number of teams in the Playoff, it’s way too soon. Much too soon to know if that is even a possibility. It’s fair to say the speculation about expansion has outdistanced the reality of what the commissioners and the presidents have discussed. If a decision were to be made down the road, the presidents would be the ones to make it and we are not there yet,” CFP board of managers president Mark Keenum.

“The Tide faithful: heading for the exits. The Clemson faithful: partying,” ESPN’s Chris Fowler, during the fourth quarter of the championship game.

“A single game doesn’t define a team,” Alabama coach Nick Saban, after the championship game.

Touchdown Tom

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but there were five passings of note last week – Daryl Dragon, George Welsh, Dean Ford, Christine McGuire and Sylvia Chase.

Daryl Dragon, the “Captain” of Captain and Tennille, whose string of soft-rock hits in the 1970s included “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Muskrat Love,” died last week in Prescott, Arizona. He was 76. The Captain and Tennille (Toni Tennille) reached the Top 10 seven times from  1975 to 1979. Dragon’s stage name came from his many days as a backup musician with the Beach Boys in the 1960s and early 1970s when he wore a captain’s hat on stage. Mike Love would introduce him to audiences as the “captain of the keyboards.” Daryl Dragon was born on August 27, 1942, in Los Angeles. “Love Will Keep Us Together,” written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, became a worldwide hit in 1975, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart and winning the Grammy Award for record of the year. “Do That To Me One More Time” (1979) was the Captain and Tennille’s last big hit. The couple divorced in 2014.  

George Welsh, legendary Virginia football coach, died last week. He was 85. Welsh coached Virginia from 1982 to 2000 and brought a program, that had fallen on hard times, back into the national spotlight. He took over a program that had posted just two winning seasons in the past 29 years. The Cavaliers were 1-10 the year prior to his arrival. Virginia won nine or more games four times during Welsh’s tenure. He coached the Cavaliers to two ACC titles. His record at Virginia was 134-86-3. Prior to Virginia, Welsh coached Navy to a 55-46-1 record from 1973 to 1981. George Welsh was born in Coaldale, Pennsylvania, on August 26, 1933. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956. He served as an assistant coach at Penn State under Rip Engle and Joe Paterno.

Dean Ford, vocalist for the Scottish band Marmalade, whose voice was heard around the world on the group’s biggest hit, “Reflections of My Life,” died last week in Los Angeles. He was 72. Ford had a heady decade in the mid and late 1960s, as Marmalade had hits in Britain and elsewhere in Europe. In America, “Reflections of My Life” reached Billboard’s Top 10 in May 1970, after achieving even greater success in Britain. Dean Ford was born Thomas McAleese on September 5, 1946, in Airdrie, Scotland.

Christine McGuire, the eldest of the singing McGuire Sisters, who struck gold on the pop charts in the 1950s with “Sincerely,” Sugartime” and other hits, died last week at her home in Las Vegas. She was 92. The McGuire Sisters, Christine, Dorothy and Phyllis, were the musical embodiment of popular culture in their day, singing for audiences who watched “Your Hit Parade” on television and listened to Perry Como and Patti Page. After appearing on “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” in 1952, the McGuire Sisters soared to national fame. They remained one of the nation’s most popular vocal groups into the 1960s. “Sincerely” (1955) and “Sugartime” (1958) reached No. 1 on the pop charts. In 1965, the group’s popularity began to fade and the McGuire Sisters broke up in 1968. But they made a successful comeback in 1985 and went on to perform for 19 years at casinos and clubs in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere. Ruby Christine McGuire was born in Middletown, Ohio, on July 30, 1926. The McGuire Sisters had their first Top 10 hit, “Goodnight Sweetheart” in 1954. Sister Dorothy McGuire died in 2012.

Sylvia Chase, an Emmy Award -winning correspondent whose professionalism and perseverance in the 1970s helped a generation of women infiltrate the boys club of television news, died last week in Marin County, California. She was 80. Chase was an original member of the reporting team for the weekly ABC News magazine “20/20,” a correspondent for another ABC News series, “Primetime,” and the producer and host of a daytime program for CBS, “Magazine.” She also anchored the nightly news on KRON-TV in San Francisco. Sylvia Belle Chase was born on February 23, 1938, in Northfield, Minnesota. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA in 1961. After working for several radio and television stations in Los Angeles, she joined CBS News in New York in 1971. Chase was later a correspondent on the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.” She was hired by ABC News in 1977. In 2001, Chase moved to PBS.