College Football
Week 21 – To Times Gone By
That Was The
Season That Was
And let’s hope we never have another one like it again.
Oh, I’m not talking about who won and who lost. Alabama had a great run to the national championship.
I’m talking about the COVID-19 pall that hung over the entire season from start to finish. It was like a dark cloud hanging over the season. From one week to the next, you never knew what games would be postponed, what games would be canceled and what games would be played.
There were no interconference games between the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. No North Carolina-Auburn, Michigan-Washington, Ohio State-Oregon, Iowa State-Iowa, Texas-LSU, Tennessee-Oklahoma, USC-Alabama, Notre Dame-Wisconsin. All games scheduled to have taken place during the 2020 season, but canceled.
There were no fans in the stands. No tailgating. No bands on the field performing their pre-game and halftime shows. No cheerleaders firing up the crowd. COVID-19 made for a gloomy season. It took the wind out of our sails.
If the season taught us anything, it taught us that the ACC and SEC should be playing nine conference games, instead of eight. Neither conference suffered for playing additional conference games in 2020. Between them, they placed seven teams in the top six bowl games.
It also taught us that Notre Dame should be playing in a conference and not as an Independent. The Irish had a lot more meaningful season in 2020, playing in the ACC. They had something to play for – a conference championship. The Irish were challenged and they met the challenge.
Come on ACC and SEC. Start playing nine conference games every season, like the Big 12, the Big Ten and the Pac-12 do. Come on Notre Dame. Join a conference for football, like all other Power Five teams.
Back in August, as we were approaching the start of the season, we had to take things “One Day at a Time.” Because rest assured, we couldn’t be sure at all. We didn’t know what was going to happen.
The Ivy League started it. The Ivy League was the first conference to cancel its season. The Ivy League was followed by the Big Ten, the Pac-12, the MAC, the MWC, three FBS Independents and all 13 FCS conferences. The news was grim. Some players were opting out of the season.
Not only were football seasons being canceled, but Olympic sports programs were being dropped. Athletic departments were furloughing employees and cutting salaries. No football, no money.
In the Big Ten, there was an uproar over the cancellation – an uproar from the some of the schools, some of the players and some of the parents of the players. Nebraska coach Scott Frost was irate. He wanted Nebraska to play teams from another conference. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields started a petition to get the Big Ten to reverse its decision.
But fortunately, the ACC, Big 12, SEC, AAC, C-USA and Sun Belt conferences forged ahead. Come hell or high water, they were going to play football. Although most moved their starting dates out one or two weeks.
“Our guys need to lead their lives like Paul Finebaum did in college,” South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, on how his players need to spend their time in order to keep from getting COVID-19.
As Week 1 approached, the Big Ten was talking turkey. The Big Ten athletic directors started thinking about starting a football season in January – maybe even around Thanksgiving. A group of eight Nebraska players filed a lawsuit against the Big Ten for canceling the season. Meanwhile, at the other conferences, practices continued, with some interruptions, for the opening games.
Week 1 came and went. Instead of USC-Alabama, Michigan-Washington, North Carolina-UCF and Virginia-Georgia, we got Central Arkansas-UAB, South Alabama-Southern Miss, SMU-Texas State and Houston Baptist at North Texas. I guess that’s why they call it the blues.
Week 1 had no brand names on its marquee. No Power Five teams played. BYU beat Navy, 55-3. Against Eastern Kentucky, Marshall racked up 627 total yards and 34 first downs. Army held Middle Tennessee to 184 total yards, and SMU’s Shane Buechele passed for 367 yards.
The biggest news came out of Athens, Georgia. Jamie Newman, Georgia’s No. 1 quarterback announced he was opting-out of the 2020 season. And news out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. After losing to South Alabama, 32-21, Southern Miss fired its head coach Jay Hopson. And news out of the Midwest. Rumors surfaced that the Big Ten might reverse its decision and start playing football on or around October 10.
“I heard Paul Finebaum talking about Vanderbilt. He didn’t think they could win one game. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how Vanderbilt’s going to win one. They don’t have Arkansas on their schedule,” Steve Spurrier.
By Week 2, I was feeling terrible for my friends whose favorite team or teams are in the Big Ten or Pac-12. In particular, I was feeling sad for my Nebraska friends. They could only dream about a football season. Can you imagine being a Nebraska fan and having to go through the fall without any football in Lincoln?
Well, there was hope. The Big Ten formed a Return to Football task force chartered with preparing a plan for a safe resumption of football in October. Dream along with me.
The big news in Week 2 came out of the Midwest. If was all about the Sun Belt belting the Big 12. In Ames, Iowa, Louisiana smacked Iowa State, 31-14. In Manhattan, Kansas, Arkansas State stunned Kansas State, 35-31. And in Lawrence, Kansas, Coastal Carolina put the hurtin’ on Kansas, 38-23.
The Mike Norvell era got off to a shaky start in Tallahassee. Georgia Tech rallied in the second half to beat Florida State, 16-13.
“While I understand the Big Ten Conference’s decision to postpone the football season because of health and safety considerations, the communication of information from the Big Ten following the decision has been disappointing and often unclear. However, we still have an opportunity to give our young men what they have worked so hard for: A chance to safely compete for a national championship this fall,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day.
Week 3 and the Big Ten was back in the saddle again. The conference announced it would start playing football on October 24 – an 8+1 conference only schedule. No non-conference games.
Oklahoma State escaped Tulsa, 16-7. Dillon Gabriel passed for 417 yards and four touchdowns as UCF downed Georgia Tech, 49-21.
“What I can’t understand is why he got the job in the first place. I just don’t know how anybody can take Les Miles seriously,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, on Kansas coach Les Miles.
By Week 4, it was roll out the barrel, the gang’s all here, as the Pac-12, MAC and MWC all announced they would begin playing football – starting in late October to early November. Everyone playing a conference only schedule. So the only FBS schools not playing football in 2020 were Connecticut, New Mexico State and Old Dominion.
The SEC began play in Week 4, with the opening shocker being Mississippi State 44, LSU 34. Miss State had 623 yards passing and only nine yards rushing. There was a shocker in the Big 12 too – Kansas State 38, Oklahoma 35. It was K-State’s second-straight upset of the Sooners. In the wildest game of Week 4, Texas beat Texas Tech, 63-56 (OT).
Two Florida quarterbacks passed for more than 400 yards. UCF’s Dillon Gabriel passed for 408 yards in the Knights 51-28 win over East Carolina. And the Gators Kyle Trask passed for 416 yards in Florida’s 51-35 win over Ole Miss. Gators receiver Kyle Pitts had eight receptions for 170 yards and four touchdowns.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell, quarantined with COVID-19, watched on TV as his Noles lost to Miami (Florida), 52-10.
“We know how to respond to a loss around here,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley.
Eight Top-25 teams lost during Week 5 – six in upsets. The big upset came in the Big 12 where Iowa State knocked off Oklahoma, 37-30. The Sooners were 0-2 in Big 12 play.
SMU’s Shane Buechele passed for 474 yards, as the Mustang beat Memphis, 30-27. Virginia Tech’s Khalil Herbert rushed for 208 yards, as the Hokies downed Duke, 38-31.
“Losing bothers me the most. This university deserves better. And it’s very frustrating,” Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, after the 33-31 loss to TCU.
In Week 6, Oklahoma-Texas went to four overtimes, LSU lost again, we became convinced that Florida had no defense and Duke finally won a game. All this, plus Arkansas got screwed, Alabama-Ole Miss put 111 points on the board and Tennessee was definitely not ready for prime time.
In the Red River Showdown, Oklahoma beat Texas, 53-45 (4OT). It was Oklahoma’s third-straight win over Texas, and the Sooners ninth win in the last 12 games. Heavily favored LSU lost to Missouri, 45-41. Mizzou racked up 586 total yards. LSU fell to 1-2.
Texas A&M upset Florida, 41-38. The Gators are 1-8 against Jimbo Fisher. Entering the Syracuse game with an 0-4 record, Duke won its first game, beating the Orange, 38-24.
Auburn beat Arkansas, 30-28. But actually, according to the rules of the game, Arkansas beat Auburn, 28-27. Near the end of the game, Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, needing to stop the clock, spiked the ball. But he spiked it behind him. That’s an incomplete backward pass. Arkansas got the ball and should have won. But the referees didn’t rule it a fumble. With 0:07 on the clock Auburn kicked a 39-yard field goal to win.
Unbelievably, Ole Miss put up 48 points on Alabama, but that wasn’t enough to win the game. The Crimson Tide won the game, 63-48. And Tennessee fell to Georgia, 44-21. The Vols had -1 yard rushing.
“The scoreboard in the end will not reflect it nor will our record. But Razorback football were winners on Pat Dye Field tonight. I am so proud of everyone associated with this program. This is just the beginning,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, following the Auburn-Arkansas game.
In Week 7, we determined that the only thing normal about the season was Alabama and Clemson. Alabama beat Georgia, 41-24, and Clemson wrecked Georgia Tech 73-7. In the unnormal, South Carolina knocked off Auburn, 30-22. Arkansas beat Ole Miss, 33-21. Kentucky shocked Tennessee, 34-7. Wake Forest toppled Virginia, 40-23, and Florida State stunned North Carolina, 31-28.
In Bama’s win over Georgia, Mac Jones passed for 417 yards, Najee Harris rushed for 152 yards, DeVonta Smith caught 11 passes for 167 yards and Jaylen Waddle caught six passes for 161 yards. In Clemson’s win over Georgia Tech, Trevor Lawrence passed for 404 yards. Ironically, Jones and Lawrence were both 24-for-32 passing.
In the battle of the unbeatens in the Sun Belt, Coastal Carolina slipped by Louisiana, 30-27. UCF’s Dillon Gabriel passed for 601 yards, but UCF fell to Memphis, 50-49.
“I did something today that I’ve never done. I messed up, threw a beer bottle through my window and my wife left me. Yeah, and I don’t even drink. I had two beers. I wasn’t even drunk. I just can’t stand to watch this team anymore. I can’t do it. My blood pressure is up, and I’m cool and I’m calm. I don’t get this way. Tennessee football has done that. I didn’t do it. Blame it on Jarrett Guarantano. I can’t watch this team anymore. I can’t watch them next week. I can’t watch them the rest of the season. I can’t watch them anymore,” a Tennessee football fan, calling into a Knoxville talk radio show after the Vols lost to Kentucky.
The Big Ten began play in Week 8. In Justin Fields, the Buckeyes grow. Ohio State beat Nebraska, 52-17. However, much of the rest of the Big Ten didn’t playout as predicted. Hence, we had Rutgers 38, Michigan State 27, Indiana 36, Penn State 35 (OT) and Purdue 24, Iowa 20.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields completed 20 of his 21 passes (95.2%) against Nebraska. Rutgers’ win over Michigan State was its first Big Ten victory in 21 games. With proper clock management, Penn State would have defeated Indiana. But Nittany Lions coach James Franklin lacked the skills to manage the clock.
Back to normality, Alabama beat Tennessee, 48-17, and Clemson downed Syracuse, 47-21. Alabama quarterback Mac Jones was 25-for-31, passing for 387 yards. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence passed for 289 yards.
The unnormal in the SEC and ACC: Missouri 20, Kentucky 10, and Wake Forest 23, Virginia Tech 16. In the AAC, Cincinnati humiliated SMU, 42-13. Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder accounted for 301 yards – 126 passing and 179 rushing.
Like the Big Ten, the Mountain West Conference began play as well. Boise State rocked Utah State, 42-13, and San Jose State stunned Air Force, 17-6. Little did we know then but it was the beginning of San Jose State’s undefeated regular season.
Six Top-25 teams lost in Week 8.
“Y’all are a disgrace. Your officiating is absolutely atrocious. If y’all want to just keep gifting Auburn wins, just say it,” an Ole Miss fan, on the officiating in the Auburn-Ole Miss game.
All in Week 9, Clemson got a scare, Dan Mullen got a little weird and five Top-25 teams lost.
Playing without quarterback Trevor Lawrence (out with COVID), Clemson trailed Boston College, 28-13 at halftime. The game remained tense and close until the end, but Clemson pulled it out 32-28.
As the first half came to an end in the Missouri-Florida game, the players got into a brawl. The fists were flying and the coaches were involved. Florida coach Dan Mullen and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz got into a shouting match. Mullen had to be held back by his staff.
Eventually, the teams left the field, but Mullen left the field waving his arms, inciting the fans. Then Mullen returned to the field, waving his arms reminiscent of Rocky Balboa at the top of the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. At the post-game presser, Mullen appeared in a Darth Vader costume. Well, it was Halloween.
Texas beat Oklahoma State, 41-34 (OT). Virginia upset North Carolina, 44-41, and West Virginia surprised Kansas State, 37-10. Auburn crushed LSU, 48-11, and Ohio State put down Penn State, 38-25.
“The answer is starting to become clear: The Harbaugh era (at Michigan) is doomed to mediocrity, frustration and unfulfilled promises. Both sides need to figure out how to engineer a graceful exit,” USA Today columnist Dan Wolken.
The Pac-12 and MAC began play in Week 10. USC scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to rally from a 13-point deficit to beat Arizona State, 28-27.
In the two big games of the week – Clemson at Notre Dame and Florida vs. Georgia – one was a thriller and one wasn’t. In the thriller, in South Bend, Notre Dame beat Clemson, 47-40 (OT). In the dud, in Jacksonville, Florida topped Georgia, 44-28.
Undefeated BYU downed Boise State, 51-17. Indiana added to Michigan’s woes. The Hoosiers beat the Wolverines, 38-21. Texas slipped by West Virginia, 17-13. Virginia Tech lost to Liberty, 38-35.
And Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “It used to be that good defense beats good offense. Good defense doesn’t beat good offense anymore.”
COVID was the big winner in Week 11. Fifteen games were canceled or postponed. That was almost half of all the games played – 34.
Four games in Week 11 kept us on the edge of our seats. With 0:25 left in the game, USC scored a touchdown to beat Arizona, 34-30. In Blacksburg, Miami (Florida) rallied from an 11 point deficit late in the game to beat Virginia Tech, 25-24.
In Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels rallied to score 28 unanswered points in the final 18 minutes of the game to beat Wake Forest, 59-53. North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell passed for 550 yards and six touchdowns. Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman passed for 429 yards and four touchdowns.
In Lincoln, the Huskers blew a 27-6 halftime lead, but managed to hold on and beat Penn State in a thriller, 30-23. Penn State fell to 0-4.
Stanford put on a big late game rally, but came up short. Trailing Colorado, 35-16, six minutes into the fourth quarter, Stanford scored back-to-back touchdowns, with three minutes still on the clock. But Colorado held on to beat Stanford, 35-32.
Trailing South Carolina, 42-38 early in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss scored 21 unanswered points and beat the Gamecocks, 59-42. Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral was 28-for-32, passing for 513 yards. West Virginia knocked off TCU, 24-6.
Florida exploded for 63 points, as the Gators beat their former quarterback Feleipe Franks. Florida downed Arkansas, 63-35.
On the 50th anniversary of the tragic plane crash, Marshall beat Middle Tennessee, 42-14. The Herd improved to 7-0.
“I’m certainly shaken, but not deterred,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, on learning that a fourth SEC game had been called off due to COVID.
By Week 12, it was a Tale of Two Cities. It was the best of times for Cincinnati (8-0), Coastal Carolina (8-0) and Marshall (7-0) – all three teams in the AP Top-25 Poll. It was the worst of times for Will Muschamp and Jim Harbaugh. Muschamp was fired by South Carolina. Harbaugh’s Wolverines were struggling at 2-3.
Undefeated Indiana and Ohio State met in Columbus. When it was over, Ohio State beat Indiana, 42-35. It was the Buckeyes 30th-straight win over the Hoosiers. In Conway, South Carolina, a one-loss Appalachian State took on undefeated Coastal Carolina. When it was over the Chanticleers beat App State, 34-23.
A favored Nebraska lost to Illinois. The Banned Indians upset the Huskers, 41-23. Following the game, Husker fans torched coach Scott Frost on social media. In a thriller in the AAC, Cincinnati downed UCF, 36-33.
Two unbeatens met in Evanston, Illinois. When it was over Northwestern beat Wisconsin, 17-7. In Eugene, former Oregon coach Chip Kelly returned to his old stomping grounds. His UCLA Bruins put up a good fight. When it was over in Eugene, Oregon edged UCLA, 38-35.
In the AAC, Tulsa rallied to beat Tulane, 30-24 (2OT). In Minneapolis, a bad pass interference call enabled Minnesota to beat Purdue, 34-31. And Georgia finally found a quarterback. J.T. Daniels passed for 401 yards, as the Dawgs beat Mississippi State, 31-24.
And about 90 minutes before kickoff, Florida State called off its game in Tallahassee against Clemson, using COVID as the excuse.
“This game was not canceled because of COVID. COVID was just an excuse to cancel the game,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, on the Florida State canceling the Clemson-FSU game.
“Football coaches are not doctors,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell, on the cancelation of the Clemson-Florida State game.
“I’m not really worried about what they say down there in Tallahassee. I’ve been in this league 18 years. I’ve been the head coach for 12 years. They’ve had three head coaches in four years,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, on Florida State’s reasoning for calling off the Clemson-Florida Stare game.
Week 13 was a scaled-back Thanksgiving and scaled-back football. Americans cut back on their Thanksgiving travel and had smaller gatherings. Football scaled-back too. Thirteen games were postponed or canceled due to COVID.
The first CFP rankings were released. No surprise. Alabama was No. 1 followed by Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State. Texas A&M and Florida were knocking on the door at 5th and 6th respectively.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, Iowa State outscored Texas 10-0 in the fourth quarter. The Cyclones beat the Longhorns, 23-20. The other Iowa school was victorious too. In a good game, Iowa came out on top of Nebraska, 26-20.
After a 17-17 halftime tie, Notre Dame came out strong in the second half and downed North Carolina, 31-17. In “The Big Game,” California scored a touchdown with 0:58 left on the clock. But the Golden Bears extra point kick was blocked. Stanford beat Cal, 24-23. In the battle for the State of Oregon, the Beavers shocked the Ducks. Oregon State downed Oregon, 41-38.
On Saturday, Florida beat Kentucky, 27-14, and Alabama stomped Auburn, 42-13. In Columbia, Missouri, Vanderbilt soccer player Sarah Fuller made history, becoming the first woman to play in a Power Five football game. Unfortunately for Fuller Vanderbilt lost to Missouri, 41-0. So her kicking was limited to one second-half kickoff.
Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson tied the FBS record for most touchdowns in a game and almost broke the record for most rushing yards. Patterson scored eight touchdowns and rushed for 409 yards. Buffalo beat Kent State, 70-41.
Syracuse blew play calling and clock management at the end of its game, resulting in a 36-29 loss to NC State. Penn State got its first win of the season, beating Michigan, 27-17. Two of Saturday’s most exciting games were in the Big 12. Oklahoma State downed Texas Tech, 50-44, and Baylor beat Kansas State, 32-31.
Ole Miss won the Egg Bowl, beating Mississippi State, 31-24. Trailing 21-0 at halftime, Washington rallied in the second half to beat Utah, 24-21.
Vanderbilt fired Derek Mason and Shane Beamer surfaced as the leading candidate for the South Carolina job.
“I want to tell all the girls out there that you can do anything you set your mind to,” Vanderbilt interim placekicker Sarah Fuller.
Week 14 and “Mama told me not to come. This is the craziest season that could ever be. Don’t turn on the lights cause I don’t want to see.” If the 2020 season wasn’t crazy enough, it got crazier in the ACC and the Big Ten.
First, the ACC called off Clemson’s and Notre Dame’s last game of the season. Both teams had already qualified for the conference championship game and the ACC didn’t want to jeopardize their chances for making the playoff.
Then, the Big Ten was talking about lowering its required number of games from six to five to qualify for the Big Ten championship game. This a ploy to get Ohio State into the title game. The Buckeyes had only played five games and their sixth and qualifying game was in danger of being canceled due to COVID.
Kirk Herbstreit went so far as to say that he wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan pulled a fast one – using COVID as an excuse to cancel the Ohio State game to keep the Buckeyes out of the conference title game. He later apologized to Michigan for making the statement.
The feature game of Week 14 was a battle between two undefeated Group of Five teams – BYU and Coastal Carolina. The game lived up to its billing. In the end Coastal Carolina won a thriller, 22-16. The Chanticleers stopped BYU on the one-yard line as time expired.
In Auburn, Texas A&M hoped to keep its playoff hopes alive against the Tigers. Trailing 20-13 as the fourth quarter began, Texas A&M scored 17 unanswered points and beat Auburn, 31-20. In Fort Worth, Oklahoma State got knocked out of contention for the Big 12 title game, when the Cowboys fell to TCU, 29-22.
Arkansas and Missouri put on quite a show in Columbia – an offensive and exciting show. As time expired, Missouri kicked a 32-yard field goal and beat Arkansas, 50-48. The teams combined for 1,218 total yards. In Seattle, Stanford led Washington, 31-10, late in the third quarter. The Huskies scored 16 unanswered points. But ultimately, Stanford held on to upset Washington, 31-26.
Then in Berkeley, 0-3 California hosted 3-1 Oregon. It should have been a piece of cake for the Ducks. But California’s defense was stingy. The Bears upset the Ducks, 21-17.
Louisiana got its first ever win over Appalachian State. The Rajin’ Cajuns beat App State, 24-21. Marshall lost its first game of the season, falling to Rice, 20-0.
Southern Miss and South Carolina hired new coaches, while South Alabama fired its coach. Urban Meyer informed Texas that he wasn’t interested in becoming the Longhorns’ coach.
“They’re doing everything they can to convince him.” Football Scoop’s John Brice, on Texas trying to lure Urban Meyer to be the Longhorns next coach.
Week 15 turned out to be a disastrous for the Florida Gators and Gus Malzahn.
A stupid penalty proved costly for Florida – an unexpected loss to LSU. And Gus Malzahn was fired by Auburn.
Late in the LSU-Florida game, with the score tied 34-34, Gators cornerback Marco Wilson ripped the shoe off an LSU player and threw it downfield. This when Florida had just stopped LSU on third down, forcing a punt. But the unsportsmanlike penalty on Wilson gave LSU a first down. Six plays later, the Tigers kicked a 57-yard field goal and won the game, 37-34.
Kirk Herbstreit was right. Michigan used the COVID card and the Ohio State-Michigan game was canceled. But as expected, the Big Ten lowered the bar. The required six games to play in the conference’s championship game was reduced to five games – thus allowing Ohio State a spot in the title game.
Utah State hired Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson as its new coach. Arkansas State in turn hired Butch Jones to be its new coach.
Nebraska had another close encounter, but in the end, the Huskers lost to Minnesota, 24-17. Western Michigan and Ball State met for the MAC West Division title and a spot in the MAC championship game. Ball State won, 30-27.
Coastal Carolina remained undefeated. Trailing Troy, 38-35, with only 1:55 to go in the game, Coastal Carolina scored a touchdown with 0:35 on the clock to win the game 42-38. Trailing UCLA, 38-36, in the closing seconds of the game, USC scored a touchdown with 0:16 on the clock to beat the Bruins, 43-38.
With the score tied, 24-24, Stanford kicked a 39-yard field goal with 1:48 to go in the game to beat Oregon State, 27-24. In Miami Gardens, North Carolina torched Miami, 62-26. Arizona State trounced Arizona, 70-7. The next day, Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin was fired.
Trailing Nevada, 20-7, at halftime, San Jose State rallied in the second half to beat Nevada, 30-20. Florida State finally found a team it could beat. The Noles outscored Duke, 56-35. In the annual Army-Navy game, the Cadets shutout the Middies, 15-0. It was a boring game – the teams only combined for 279 total yards.
Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller made history again. Against Tennessee, she became the first woman to score a point in a Power Five football game. Fuller kicked two extra points.
“Sitting on the bench, the Miami defense looks shell-shocked,” ESPN’s Chris Fowler, early in the second quarter of the North Carolina-Miami (Florida) game, with Miami trailing 21-3.
“The Miami defense looks exhausted in addition to shell-shocked,” ESPN’s Chris Fowler, late in the second quarter of the North Carolina-Miami (Florida) game, with Miami trailing, 31-3.
The conference championship games were played in Week 16. Following the games, the four playoff teams – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame – were named and the bowl spots were filled. Indiana was miffed it didn’t get a New Year’s Six bowl. The Hoosiers blamed the Big Ten for not backing them.,
The best of the conference title games was the Florida-Alabama tilt for the SEC title. Alabama won, 52-46. Florida came closer to beating Alabama than any other team all season. The Tide came into the game averaging a 33-point winning margin over its opponents.
Army won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, beating Air Force, 10-7.
Bret Bielema was named the new coach at Illinois. Northwestern athletic director Jim Philips was named the new commissioner of the ACC.
“If I thought that my presence here was not something that was a positive for the University of Alabama, or with the program, with the players, then I’d say it would be time not to do it anymore,” Alabama coach Nick Saban, on when he will retire.
In Week 17, we learned that Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had Ohio State 11th in his Coaches Poll ballot. Nebraska coach Scott Frost had Notre Dame 5th on his ballot, behind 4th place Texas A&M.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron fired his defensive coordinator Bo Pelini after just one season on the job. Pelini was unpopular with LSU fans during the season. Obviously, he was unpopular with Orgeron too.
Appalachian State won the first bowl game of the season. App State beat North Texas, 56-28, in the inaugural Myrtle Beach Bowl. BYU pounded UCF, 49-23, in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Catching most everyone by surprise, Auburn hired Boise State coach Bryan Harsin as its new coach. A blast form the past – Terry Bowden – was name the new coach at ULM.
The four finalists for the Heisman Trophy were revealed – Alabama’s Mac Jones, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Alabama’s DeVonta Smith and Florida’s Kyle Trask.
In the best of the 10 bowl games played during the week, Liberty beat Coastal Carolina, 37-34 (OT) in the Cure Bowl in Orlando.
“Oklahoma is a good matchup, but they’re not on our level. They’re not the SEC. They’re not the Florida Gators. So we should put on a good show,” Florida linebacker James Houston, before the Oklahoma game.
Week 18 contained a big surprise. Texas fired Tom Herman and hired Steve Sarkisian.
One CFP semifinal game went as expected, the other one didn’t. In the expected outcome, Alabama rolled over Notre Dame, 31-14. In the unexpected outcome, Ohio State rolled over Clemson, 49-28.
In the locker room after the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz dropped the bowl’s trophy. The Lenox crystal trophy hit the floor and shattered into many pieces. Following a chippy pre-game and game in the Armed Forces Bowl, Mississippi State and Tulsa gave us a brawl to beat all brawls after the game. It was a sad, unfortunate and nasty affair.
The Associated Press named DeVonta Smith as college football’s player of the year. The AP also named Coastal Carolina’s Jamey Chadwell as college football’s coach of the year.
Oklahoma stomped Florida, 55-20, in the Cotton Bowl Classic. San Jose State lost its first game of the season in the Arizona Bowl. The Spartans lost to Ball State, 34-13. And Cincinnati lost it first game, losing to Georgia, 24-21, in the Peach Bowl. In the final bowl game of the season, Texas A&M beat North Carolina, 41-27, in the Orange Bowl.
Fifteen bowl games were played during the week. The Big 12 was 5-0 in bowl games. The ACC was 0-6.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what Dabo’s answer is when they ask him if he still thinks Ohio State is the 11th best team in the country,” NBA player LeBron James.
Last week – Week 19 – Alabama won the national championship, downing Ohio State, 52-24. It was Bama’s 18th national title and Nick Saban’s 7th. Shortly after the game, we learned that Bill O’Brien would replace Steve Sarkisian as Alabama’s offensive coordinator.
Alabama’s DeVonta Smith won the Heisman Trophy.
Marshall coach Doc Holliday was fired, while Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was signed to a new five-year contract. Meanwhile, Boise State hired Andy Avalos as its new coach. Will Muschamp turned down Steve Sarkisian’s offer to become the defensive coordinator at Texas.
And in the final AP and Coaches Polls, Texas A&M finished ahead of Notre Dame in the 4th spot. Wonder where Dabo Swinney positioned Ohio State on his ballot?
“That’s better news to Ohio State than winning the national championship,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, on Michigan extending Jim Harbaugh’s contract for another five years.
“Michigan fans just can’t comprehend that Jim Harbaugh is a failure as a coach,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, on Michigan extending Harbaugh’s contract for five years.
That brings us up to Week 20.
Closing out the news on the 2020 season, new ULM coach Terry Bowden named former West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez as his offensive coordinator. And Rodriguez’s son – Rhett – will transfer from Arizona as a graduate transfer to play quarterback for ULM.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt remains on shaky ground in Knoxville. Adding to the intrigue, Tennessee hired former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele to be a defensive assistant for the Vols. Defensive assistant? Some speculate that Pruitt will be fired and Steele will become the head coach at Tennessee. Stay tuned!
At Michigan, Jim Harbaugh hired the Wolverines all-time leading rusher Mike Hart to be Michigan’s new running backs coach. Then Harbaugh announced that Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Mike Macdonald would be the Wolverines new defensive coordinator.
The latest candidate to turn down Steve Sarkisian for the defensive coordinator job at Texas is Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. Lanning initially gave indication that he would accept Sarkisian’s offer. But later changed his mind. Earlier, former South Carolina coach Will Muschamp and Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom turned down Sarkisian. It seems no one wants to coach defense at Texas.
But Urban Meyer didn’t turn down the Jacksonville Jaguars. The former Bowling Green, Utah, Florida and Ohio State coach was named the new coach of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
On Saturday, Marshall named the replacement for Doc Holliday. The Thundering Herd hired Alabama associate head coach and running backs coach Charles Huff to be Marshall’s new head coach. Huff, a native of Denton, Maryland, played football at Hampton University.
Indiana coach Tom Allen hired Georgia defensive backs coach Charlton Warren to be the Hoosiers new defensive coordinator.
There are some rumors out of Gainesville that Dan Mullen is giving serious thought to replacing defensive coordinator Todd Grantham with former Texas defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Stay tuned!
That’s brings us to the end of the 2020 season. It certainly was an odd and unusual season. One that many would like to forget. Only the Alabama fans will remember it as a good season. And rightfully so. It had to be a tiring and trying season on the players and coaches, attempting to follow and maintain all the COVID protocols.
Looking ahead to next season, we can only hope it will be one of normalcy – packed stadiums, bands and cheerleaders on the field, no masks, no opt-outs, no canceled or postponed games. Just good ole college football as we know it.
As is typical this time every year, the so-called “Way Too Early” polls for 2021 are out. Here’s a sampling. Take them for what they are worth. Thake them with a grain of salt.
Vegas Odds Makers: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Ohio State, 5. Georgia, 6. Notre Dame, 7. Texas A&M, 8. Iowa State, 9. Florida, 9. Texas, 10. USC, 11. North Carolina, 12. LSU, 13. Cincinnati, 14. Oregon, 15. Miami (Florida), 16. Indiana, 17. Wisconsin, 18. Oklahoma State, 19. Iowa, 20. Auburn, 21. Penn State, 22. Northwestern, 23. Arizona State. 24. West Virginia, and 25. Washington.
CBS: 1. Clemson, 2. Oklahoma, 3. Georgia, 4. Alabama, 5. Ohio State, 6. Iowa State, 7. Cincinnati, 8. LSU, 9. North Carolina, 10. Texas A&M, 11. Notre Dame, 12. Florida, 13, Indiana, 14. USC, 15. Miami (Florida), 16. Iowa, 17. Oregon, 18. Texas, 19. Coastal Carlina, 20. Oklahoma State, 21. Wisconsin, 22. NC State, 23. Liberty, 24. Missouri, 25. Louisiana.
ESPN: 1. Clemson, 2. Alabama, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Georgia, 5. Ohio State, 6. Texas A&M, 7. North Carolina, 8. Iowa State, 9. USC, 10. Indiana, 11. Cincinnati, 12. Iowa, 13. Oregon, 14. Washington, 15. Notre Dame, 16. Florida, 17. Wisconsin, 18. Ole Miss, 19. Louisiana, 20. LSU, 21. Texas, 22. Penn State, 23. Coastal Carolina, 24. Liberty, 25. Miami (Florida).
USA Today: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Clemson, 5. Ohio State, 6. Iowa State, 7. Texas A&M, 8. Notre Dame, 9. Cincinnati, 10. Florida, 11. North Carolina, 12. Indiana, 13. Oregon, 14. Wisconsin, 15. LSU, 16. Penn State, 17. USC, 18, Iowa, 19. Miami (Florida), 20, Texas, 21. Arizona State, 22. Michigan, 23. Oklahoma State, 24. Coastal Carolina, 25. Boise State.
SI: 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Georgia, 4. Oklahoma, 5. Ohio State, 6. Cincinnati, 7. Iowa State, 8. Iowa, 9. Texas A&M, 10. Notre Dame, 11. North Carolina, 12. Indiana, 13. USC, 14. Florida, 15. Washington, 16. Oregon, 17. Coastal Carolina, 18. Penn State, 19. Texas, 20. LSU, 21. Wisconsin, 22. Ball State, 23. West Virginia, 24. San Jose State, 25. NC State.
Mac Jones, Kyle Trask and Zach Wilson will be gone. Most likely Justin Fields will be gone too. Gone to the NFL.
However, based on 2020 performances, there are a slew of quarterbacks to look forward to in 2021. They include North Carolina’s Sam Howell, USC’s Kedon Slovis, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, UCF’s Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, Ole Miss’s Matt Corral, Auburn’s Bo Nix, Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels, Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan, Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman, Nevada’s Carson Strong, East Carolina’s Holton Ahlers and Marshall’s Grant Wells. And others who are unknown to us now, but who will rise to stardom in 2021.
The 2021 season will officially begin on the long Labor Day weekend of September 2-6. Although, as has been experienced lately, there will be a handful of games played on Saturday, August 28. A few teams – mostly Group of Five – always like to jump the gun.
There are some interesting interconference games on the first two weekends of college football in 2021. Over the five-day Labor Day weekend, we can look forward to Georgia-Clemson (in Charlotte), Miami (Florida)-Alabama (in Atlanta), Louisville-Ole Miss (in Atlanta), Kansas State-Stanford (in Arlington, Texas), LSU-UCLA, Notre Dame-Florida State, West Virginia-Maryland, Boise State-UCF, Louisiana-Texas, Marshall-Navy, Texas Tech-Houston, East Carolina-Appalachian State, Oregon State-Purdue, Oklahoma-Tulane and South Florida-NC State.
Then on the second weekend of the season we can look forward to Texas-Arkansas, Washington-Michigan, Oregon-Ohio State, Texas A&M-Colorado, NC State-Mississippi State, Iowa-Iowa State, Pitt-Tennessee, California-TCU, South Carolina-East Carolina, Illinois-Virginia, Tulsa-Oklahoma State and South Florida-Florida. It will be here before we know it.
But for now I must bid you farewell and go into hibernation for seven months. Thank you all for being great readers during the past 22 weeks. Come the late days of summer, I hope to write to you again. Stay safe!
“The moon just went behind the clouds.”
That was the season that was!
Touchdown Tom
Quotes of the Week
“I came here to win championships. That’s the goal. We’re here to chase greatness. That’s why I’m here. I don’t think it’s going to take us as long as many might think. This work will be all gas and no brakes,” new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, at a press conference in Austin last week.
“I am so proud that you are our head football coach. I cannot wait to see what you do,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, on new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian.
“Yeah, I think he’s a little bored and he loves coaching. He’s been out two years now and he’s been getting the itch to come back and coach. I think the Jaguars will name him their new coach. I think he will take it within the next few days. I think he’ll do well," Steve Spurrier, on Urban Meyer becoming the new coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“No coach does less with more than Kirby Smart,” ESPN’s Booger McFarland, on the Georgia coach.
Touchdown Tom
P.S.
Not exactly college football related, but in mid-January, as college football fans were putting the lid on another great season and shifting their attention to college basketball, the number one song in the country…
…75 years ago this week in 1946 was “I Can’t Begin To Tell You” by Bing Crosby, and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra
…70 years ago this week in 1951 was “The Tennessee Waltz” by Patti Page
…65 years ago this week in 1956 was “Memories Are Made Of This” by Dean Martin
…60 years ago this week in 1961 was “Wonderland By Night” by Bert Kaempfert
…55 years ago this week in 1966 was “We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles
…50 years ago this week in 1971 was “Knock Three Times” by Dawn
…45 years ago this week in 1976 was “Convoy” By C.W. McCall, and “I Write The Songs” by Barry Manilow
…40 years ago this week in 1981 was “The Tide Is High” by Blondie
…35 years ago this week in 1986 was “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne and Friends
…30 years ago this week in 1991 was “Love Will Never Do (Without You) by Janet Jackson
