Jon Joseph

Coaching carousel and B1G moves that could help the depth of the conference. I think? Maryland - Mike Locksley does not win games from October on. Replace him with Jim Mora, who has done more with less at UConn, and come up with the money to keep true frosh QB Washington on board. Mora never should have been fired by UCLA. UCLA - Make sure that booster Casey Wasserman signs off on the hire and comes up as promised, with the money to give the new hire a chance to compete. Hire Dan Mullen from UNLV, a team that defeated UCLA this season, and keep Bruin forever, Jerry Neuheisel on the staff, along with QB Nico I on the team. Mullen never should have been fired by Florida. Wisconsin - With many young studs on defense, and this season's brutal schedule, I like Fickell getting another season. Michigan State - The boosters disappeared when Mel Tucker flamed out, and the trade in mortgages was hit by an increase in interest rates. But folks still eat Domino's Pizza (for some reason I don't understand), and there are other Sparty grads with money. Keep J. Smith and invest the buyout money into the program. It's hard to have success with development players today when players can earn more money to be developed, or not, elsewhere. Purdue -I believe the Boilermakers made the right hire in Barry Odom. Purdue is playing more respectable football, but with a thin roster is wearing down at season's end. To win B1G on the football field as well as on the basketball court, show Barry the money. Penn State - He certainly isn't lovable, but Brian Kelly wins football games. He was 34-14 at LSU and defeated ranked football opponents. He's won everywhere he's coached, including 113 wins in twelve seasons at Notre Dame. North of the Mason-Dixon, Kelly is a fit. USC - With recruiting finally aligned and an impressive incoming class, the Trojans should finish no worse than 8-4 this season. Riley is starting to get it as a play caller in the B1G. SC is averaging 7.1 yards a rushing attempt (2nd in CFB 😁) this season. Even with losses vs. Iowa, Oregon, and UCLA, he'll get at least one more season. Here's hoping the Trojans' run D doesn't improve before next season. UW - Fisch is fried East of the Rockies. He is not at risk of being fired, but with all of the coaching openings, will he hang in at UW long enough to build a deeper roster? I'd just as soon see him off the UW hook. Minnesota - I have no intention of letting a Gopher out of its hole come Friday night, but as long as Fleck wins seven to eight games every season, I don't see him getting a better offer to leave Minnesota, or him being fired. Rutgers - At 5-5, Rutgers is on the cusp of going bowling again. Win the 6th game, and Greg Schiano has met the standard of success. The take from Down South - Iowa never should have been ranked. Oregon lucked out Saturday night and should be ranked below every two-loss SEC team. 🤪 I am looking forward to eight SEC teams having one more loss next season and Ole Miss not playing The Citadel in November. Ground and Pound the Gophers! Light rain is predicted for Friday evening, wouldn't that be a nice change?

Forum friends, we're a member of a nationwide Mega-Conference, and we're reaping the good and the bad. Compare Oregon's conference schedule with Wisconsin's; the Badgers have a far more difficult schedule in 2025 than OBD, even without adding on a trip to Alabama. In 2027, OBD plays at Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, and UW. Plus plays a game on the road at Baylor. The home slate: Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, and Purdue. Brutal. The conference schedules do, for the most part, balance out over five seasons. Rutgers schedule this season compared to last season is far more difficult. Indiana will have its turn in the box. However, having Michigan and Ohio State as permanent opponents is more difficult than new power Indiana drawing Purdue. When the computers went to work in 2023, preparing schedules for an 18-team conference, did the machines know that Indiana in 2024 and 2025 would qualify for the playoffs? Compare Oklahoma's SEC schedule this season and last to Texas. The Longhorns have far easier conference schedules. Ditto Mizzou and Ole Miss compared to Florida. As to the conference intentionally trying to screw over OBD with a Friday night game after a Saturday game in the Central time zone, check out UCLA's closing schedule. Week 9, at Indiana, Bye, Week 11, Nebraska, Week 12, at Ohio State, Week 13, UW, Week 14, at USC. The conference took the money and gave up total scheduling freedom to the media entities writing the checks. These unbalanced mega-conference schedules are the primary reason I back Tony Petitti's AQ PO model, with the last week of the regular season as PO play-in week. The team that is in 2nd place in the standings plays at 1st place. The winner is the conference champ, and both are in the PO field. Third place hosts Sixth place, Fourth place hosts Fifth place. The winners are in the field; the losers are still eligible for one of two at-large spots in the 16-team field. (The third AL team will be Notre Dame.) The season ends, and the POs start a week sooner than today. As to this season, it is neither Indiana's nor OBD's fault that Penn State has not won a conference game this season. Frustrating? Heck yes. But I sure prefer this to playing Beavis and Wazzu twice in the regular season. GUM UP THE GOPHERS!

CBS's Tom Fornelli's Week 11-12 PO Take - https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-rankings-projections-fornelli-acc-champion-sec-big-ten-big-12/

Week 11 - SP+ 1. Ohio State/ 2. Indiana/ 3. Oregon/ 12. USC/ 15. Iowa/ 18. Michigan/ 20. Penn State/ 21 UW/ 23 Illinois/ 25 Nebraska

Fisch didn't do himself any favors with Florida with yesterday's loss to Wisconsin. Two guys who won't be headline hires but could be in the mix for 'lesser' openings are Jim Mora, who never should have been fired by UCLA AD train wreck Dan Guerro, and Jack Dickert, who caught a plane out from Wazzu to Wake Forest. In the 2024 and 2025 seasons to date, Mora at Independent in football, UConn has two more ACC wins than Mike Norvell at Florida State. More conference wins in 2025 than Dabo Swinney. Dickert, with the lowest budget in the conference, has Wake at 6-3 with upset wins over SMU and UVA. Jason Eck, who led Idaho to many FCS wins, has New Mexico at 6-3, and the Lobos put up a fight against Michigan in Ann Arbor. Ken Niumatalolo has done a good job at San Jose State without running a triple option offense. I'm not sure that guys with no head coaching experience will be a sure thing hire.

Never a discouraging word regarding OSU and WSU's spendthrift waste of millions of dollars in a futile attempt to have a reconfigured, so-called Pac-12 qualify as a Power conference. Or whatever the goal may have been. Nothing about the two Pac left behinds destroying the Mountain West conference, only to end up with a Mountain West minus Las Vegas, plus Gonzo as CBB partner, and a Texas State program two time zones away. Journalism is about the search for truth and justice without concern for money, right?

Ole Miss defeating The Citadel in Oxford just means more to AP voters than OBD's win in Iowa City? The pushback against Petitti's perfectly logical AQ PO format, as warranted by on-field results this season, has made the Big Ten CFB's whipping boy. The ACC and the B12 deserve more than two teams in the PO field? Texas's loss at Florida, OT escapes against Kentucky, and Mississippi State, a 3-point home win over Vandy? A great loss and three great wins, right? 🤬 To state the obvious, losses to SEC teams just mean less, and wins over any and every SEC team just mean more. The 4th-place Big Ten finisher should not be in the PO field? The SEC should put six teams in the PO? This horse manure cements my backing of Petitti's PO format, including conference sixth place at third place and fifth place at four play-in games. Here's a ranking that isn't Southern fried. https://masseyratings.com/cf/fbs/ratings Eight Big Ten teams in an objective top 25. Plenty of SEC teams are in the top 25. So, four each automatically in the field, with a chance for additional at-large representatives, simply mirrors what we've seen on the field to date. This Tuesday, I hope we do not see the committee mirroring the AP.

At least the Committee, unlike AP voters, had Iowa ranked. The B1G is being dumped as a result of the 'Back-to-Back' champion Big Ten conference is better than the SEC!' recency bias. Try and find an article that doesn't trumpet the SEC as being deeper and better than the B1G. That notes how weak the SEC is at the bottom of the conference. I never bought into the Big Ten recency bias, and I expected this kind of pushback would be coming. But add in the vitriol in response to Tony Petitti's AQ PO format, and the criticism has become Hive Mind propaganda. The Texas loss to Florida was a good loss, right? The OT escapes by Texas from Kentucky and Mississippi State show how hard it is to win on the road in the SEC! Hmmmm. Yesterday - Kentucky 38, Florida 7. Georgia 41, Mississippi State 21. Yet, the two Texas escapes in OT will continue to be touted as terrific wins. In Nashville yesterday, a mediocre at best Auburn team took the great Diego and Vandy into OT. 2-loss Vanderbilt at No. 16 was ranked ahead of every B1G 2-loss team. I don't believe the sea-going Commodores would have won in rainy Kinnick last night. Texas at home gave up 31 points to this Vandy squad while escaping with a 34 to 31 win. What a great win! Is it any surprise that Sark is lobbying for 3-loss SEC teams to make the PO? I support Petitti's PO plan. In a 16-team PO model, four B1G teams with play-in games to determine teams three and four deserve to be in the field. I saw nothing out of the ACC and the B12 yesterday that convinces me that these two conferences should have more than two teams in a 16-team PO field. A one-loss BYU should not be ranked above 1-loss Oregon. Tuesday night. Will a one-loss Texas Tech, with the loss to unranked ASU, remain ahead of one-loss OBD, with the loss coming against the committee's 2nd-ranked team? A PO field sponsored by SEC broadcast partner ESPN that is a Bowl Extrazaganza and not a true PO that has the better teams playing on their home field, makes more sense than Petitti's plan? I don't think so. Make the Gophers Grovel! Beat the Fleck out of Minnesota.

HUH? 🤢🤮

What OBD and Moore didn't do? 🤪 When it mattered, Moore led a game-winning drive, including a terrific throw to a blanketed wide receiver. And OBD's FG kicker in a pressure situation and in terrible weather came through. In November, Iowa, under Kirk Ferentz, was 5-1 in Kinnick Stadium against top 10 teams. Kirk and the Hawkeyes are now 5-2 in November versus top 10 teams. With a reshuffled O-line, OBD rushed for 261 yards. Iowa rushed for 140. The passing game was not there until it mattered tonight. A TE who will be drafted in the 1st round, as well as OBD's best WR, who will also go early in the NFL draft, were not able to suit up. Another receiver who will be drafted in April left the game in the first series on offense. OBD won both LOS, playing in the kind of weather the Hawkeyes wished for. Playing the kind of bully-ball Iowa is known for. THIS was a terrific win for the Oregon coaches and players. A game that many an 'expert' predicted OBD would lose. 8-1 with the loss coming against the PO Committee's 2nd-ranked team. Win out and host a 1st round PO game? Are You Not Entertained!

Man of Oregon Justin Wilcox is a Louisville Slugger!

It doesn't matter. Captain Dan and Ex-O Dante will torpedo Fleck's leaky rowboat. But will SC defeat Iowa? With UW getting Badgered and battered in Madison, we need to fight on for SC for one more week. 🤬

I'm sorry to off half-clocked. Mari-oh-oh wins, but he is ordered by his Boosters to watch the Indiana at Penn State, and Oregon at Iowa end games.

From 1,000 miles away (😁sorry), they're holding a Wake at UVA!

Upon further review. 😍😍😍 Having re-watched the 4th Q and the Iowa FG kicker making a career-long 58-yard FG in the driving rain, OBD D players being mugged all game with 0 holding penalties called, the offense out-rushing smash-mouth Iowa, a stellar Ducks run D, stud starters on the bench, and more, lost in-game? No worries. OBD's FG kicker mans up in brutal conditions and under max pressure and seals the deal? I haven't watched this movie before. This is one of the guttiest wins I've ever seen in seven decades of watching CFB. One that comes close was the Rose Bowl in 1966, when DB Bob Stiles overcame two knockout punches and was knocked out for the third time when making a game-saving tackle in UCLA's huge upset over Michigan State. (Yes, younger fans, this was once the norm. The concussion protocol was a coach throwing a bucket of water in your face. 🤪) This is exactly the kind of game that Kirk Ferentz and Iowa do not lose in November. And the win at Penn State, as the Nits showed against the Hoosiers today, was not a nothing-burger win. PSU and Iowa were road games that the majority of the top 25 teams would have lost. And Dan and his assistants are doing this with 14 new starters and subs starting for the new starters? And diaper dandies on display? Remarkable. Sink the Row Boat - Grease the Gophers!

Have you ever been in a monsoon and tried to pull a hanky out of your back pocket? 😁 I'm kidding. A spot on comment.

With no intention of being pejorative and just askin', does OBD need an S+C coaching change? Too many 4th Q fades. Get into the PO and with all hands on deck? A team that finished in 4th place in the B1G last season won it all.

Do not go East UW. Thanks for letting us SEA another east of the Rockies dog show. 💩

Vandy doesn't freeze and takes care of Auburn if you please. Will this 2-loss team still be ranked ahead of 2-loss SC?

AMEN - Solid, Gut Check, Overcoming Dings, Road Victory! 8-1 - That was a difficult watch, but it turned out to be fun in the rain, not the sun. Will the Committee still have OBD ranked behind 1-loss BYU? 2-loss Vandy ahead of 2-loss SC? Kirk Ferentz in November vs top 10 teams, is now 5-2 😍. Herbie, clean up the Streit!

PLEEEEZE, don't tell me that SEC games mean more and are more physical than Big Ten games and that the SEC is that much deeper than the B1G. A team without a conference win gave the committee's 2nd-ranked team everything it could handle. Another team without a win in the conference gave the No. 1 team a battle. Last night, Northwestern played hard for 60 minutes. All of the 2-loss B1G teams ranked lower than every SEC 2-loss team is Horse Bleep. The next coach at Penn State will have a heck of a QB on his side. And Indiana showed it could come from behind to win another tough road game.

You were almost drummed, Fernando. But you managed to MenDoza PSU. Good On U! 27-24. Whew!

Despite Hell's Cow Bells, No. 5 UGA was not mUGA'd.

B? YU? I can't Bear It! This was the Day PO chances died?

Herbie hazing and hating on the Ducks - Iowa 16 - OBD 15 🤬🤬🤬