GatOrlando

Miami and Los Angeles don't have fans. They have occasional spectators who show up for only the glitzy matchups. Schedule Notre Dame , Michigan, or Ohio State and it will be packed. That could also be due to several alumni living in those cities. All you have to do is go compare the Super Bowl celebrations. When the Rams won in 2022 it wasn't packed. When the Chiefs, Bucs, and Eagles won you had packed streets or boats in Tampa. Terrible fan-bases. USC and Miami are also private schools with many snobs. They wouldn't sully their hands mingling with us common folk.

I think guys like Luke Fickell or Scott Frost will serve as a cautionary tale going forward. But there will always be those programs that will always get a guy to pick up the phone and probably a raise. Penn State and Florida are two of those jobs. The resources and prestige that goes along with the recruiting base is going to tempt anyone. Oregon is now one of those jobs btw. Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Georgia, LSU, Texas and USC are in that category.

I know most of us, most even too young to remember Steve Spurrier, have that as the "Florida Guy". We want offense, we want brashness. We want a guy that gets mad when he is up by thirty five and there is a field goal allowed. Steve was our first ever Heisman winner, and he's the one who led Florida to it's first ever National Title. Florida was kind of in the same boat Oregon is in now. Always good, sometimes great, but they just couldn't get over the hump until 1996. I was a kid and that team made me a Gator fan for life. It truly could've been FSU if it were them that smoked Florida in that Sugar Bowl. I had family and friends who went to both schools. Are we delusional in thinking you have to have a huge personality to win at Florida? Probably, but it's in our DNA. It's like the first car you owned, or the very first time you went on a date. The first sticks with you. Kids growing up today will remember the first time Oregon wins that first title. They will associate that coach and that system as the way it needs to be done going forward.

Steve Spurrier said there were three steps that any Gator coach had to complete to be a success. 1.) Win the state- That means recruiting and beating FSU and Miami. 2.) Win the SEC- Obviously that means beating Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU. The traditional big three rivalries which will now change as the Florida vs LSU rivalry will not be protected. 3.) Compete for National Titles- You gotta do the first two before you can even contemplate the third. Well maybe not anymore, the playoff opens up the chance for programs like Alabama and Ohio State to win the title without winning their league. I still think all three would be the goal every year. Florida hasn't won anything since 2008, so there's going to be a process. I think the program is going to go after a proven P4 head coach this time. I think Jon Gruden would be an interesting choice to go along with Kiffin, Fisch, and Franklin. Will Wisconsin, South Carolina, North Carolina, and FSU soon follow suit? Probably not a great time for Arkansas, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma State to be looking for a proven P4 coach imo. Arkansas and UCLA might just stick with Petrino and Skipper.

Well Florida lost to a former Oregon head coach this year.

I just saw that Jon. I heard there was a meeting scheduled for today so it was probably decided this past Monday. I'm glad Billy went out with a win, but the air feels a little fresher. That sounds terrible, but the man was just in over his head. He'll get ten million dollars to soothe the pain. He'll get an additional 13 million spread out over the next four years if he isn't hired by anybody else. Time to move on. Who's next?

The Gators are officially parting ways with Billy Napier. I just hope we don't see the team give up now. Spoiling the season for Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Georgia would be pretty sweet. It would also help Oregon get a higher seed. Getting into the top four ensures a bye. Being in the top 8 ensures a home playoff game. The B1G has the top two teams in the country again. Alabama is up to fourth, Texas A&M is third. Oregon, Georgia and Ole Miss are packed pretty tightly together. Notre Dame is up to twelve, so they are going to be playoff bound again. USC dropped out while Michigan re-entered. Illinois is 23.

Well Kirk is now doing MNF, he's doing the 3:30 ET games. He has that segment where he travels from Game day to whatever game he's doing with his dog Peter. Franklin might get the Saban rub that way. Would it still count?

The mighty Beavers are locked in a ferocious battle against Louisiana Lafayette at home right now. Third quarter, they are down 13-10, truly a classic. That interim coach is coaching for his career. I don't know his name, but he kind of looks like Patrick Stewart. " Phasers ready Mr. Worf"

I feel bad for Wisconsin fans. Two straight weeks of not scoring a point is going to stretch to three next week. Oregon wants to dominate, and I think they want to prove a point going forward that they aren't going to mess around with middling to lower tier B1G squads. Wisconsin made the game ugly last year. Oregon is going to pounce. The only question is will Fickell make it to Eugene and then get fired, or is he gone tomorrow?

There's usually a clause in the contract that doesn't allow that. The coach has to seek out a comparable deal because it essentially nullifies the previous employer from having to payout the entire sum. It's the same but on a much smaller scale for people receiving unemployment. You have to show that you are seeking employment. I'm not sure if the contract is exclusively for head coaching jobs, or if it covers getting a gig in the media. But it's a big reason why Jimbo Fisher isn't the coach at West Virginia today. Jimbo knew West Virginia couldn't come close to paying him ten million a year for the next five years, so he's happy to just collect that check.

It's a real shame that people go after the family of a football coach if that's the case. Yeah the guy made millions and didn't meet expectations, but the daughter had nothing to do with that. Social media really let's too much go on these days. I would never support any action against the family of anybody, I don't care if that person was rude to me or had some issue that caused me strife. You don't hold a child responsible for the actions of a father or mother. This is a freaking football coach. Yeah we all love our teams and will hold the coach responsible for the results. I'm not happy with the job Billy Napier has done, and I think it's time for him to be let go after this year. But if I heard anybody I associate myself with heckle the man or his family, I would give that person a piece of my mind. Let's all remember these guys make a ton of money, but they worked very hard to get these jobs. Many hours and time away from their families, essentially becoming surrogate fathers to many 16-22 year old guys.

They might be able to buyout the daughter's tuition at Penn State. Possibly the Jim Knowles contract and a Happy Meal.

I don't think Oregon State has the resources to give Smith near the amount he is making at Michigan State. That means MSU would still be on the line for the full buyout I think. I know there are some big time boosters up there, but I can't see them wanting to be on the tab for two large payouts concurrently(Meltdown Tucker) along with whatever it would take to pry away a big time hire.

I don't know if anybody caught the James Franklin interview on Game day today. If not , I'll just give a few bullet points. ° He was shocked to be fired on the Sunday following the Northwestern loss. His second straight loss as a twenty plus point favorite, and third straight B1G to open the season. ° He has no plan to retire. He has no hobbies and plans on coaching somewhere else next year. This actually should be a positive for Penn State fans, as it takes them off the hook for the record breaking 49-55 million dollar buyout owed to him. ° He still loves Penn State, but his daughter will not be attending the school next year. Take from that as you will. ° He said "We will win a National Title somewhere" , and "I had a great twelve years". He won 106 games there, and had six seasons of ten plus years. He won one B1G Title, but won only four games combined vs Ohio State and Michigan. Penn State was the third wheel in the B1G before Oregon joined the league. They are now arguably the fifth or sixth, depending on where you put Indiana and USC moving forward. Both Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit expressed their distaste for the firing of a man who was only one game from playing for a National Title last year. Of course they failed to mention all the resources and expectations that went into this "All Out" year. Penn State just paid over three million dollars on Jim Knowles, and probably much more in roster retention and transfer portal players to win it all this year. The team is out of the discussion two weeks before Halloween and lost to two of the worst B1G teams in back to back weeks. Mostly a very predictable interview, but the timeline of his firing has been told two different ways. I don't have validation on this, but I heard from certain Penn State fans that the firing was pushed by boosters and went down differently than how Franklin described it. Who knows. I find the fact that he said he was treated very well there, but his daughter would not be attending next year as interesting. Maybe it's nothing, but most kids go to certain Universities because of their degree choice. So if Franklin were to be hired by perhaps a Big 12, ACC, or SEC school, would his decision come down to picking a place with the same level of academic standards as Penn State?

Mari-Oh-No!!!

The Duck has that Husky at every corner. Their only hope is to get Lanning hooked on Starbucks.

If they really want to show their disdain they must refer to Oregon as the team down south. They took the first step in getting Adidas, but that's a minor step imo. I would've tried Puma or some rugged outdoor company. Adidas is for European Futbol.

I forgot about Bray and Oregon State. They should hire coach Klein and see if the Waterboy has any availability yet. So it's three coaches fired, two Beavers conquered, and one coach getting the money tree.

Oregon got two guys fired and one a huge pay raise this year. Will a third get fired after the Ducks host the Badgers?

All credit to Indiana, but this "big" game didn't seem to elicit the same type of energy at the Whiteout game, or the game last year with Ohio State. Maybe I'm wrong, but perhaps this top ten matchup was just bigger on one side. Oregon was the proven commodity, they were the brand and the power that held the crown. I only caught a little bit of GameDay, but I heard the Oregon crowd booing the mention of Ohio State more than Indiana. The loudest boos were aimed at McAfee when he trolled the crowd and picked Indiana to win(correctly unfortunately). Perhaps I'm wrong, but maybe Indiana wasn't given the amount of respect they've earned. As long as Cignetti is there I think they will win, and he has no reason to leave. He's older than Lanning, Day, Smart, and even Dabo, so he has a long history of success. Just Google or ask him 😂.

Boise State and Gonzaga have been misled into thinking they are finally joining a conference that provides them a real chance to compete in a power league. It's a real shame the Big 12 wouldn't take Boise and the Big East couldn't take Gonzaga.

Just remember the same people who laud you and give you the flowers first are the same ones who'll be the first to throw stones. Just look at Alabama. Look at Texas or Oklahoma. Heck look at Notre Dame and Ohio State last year. You know, the two teams that won three and four straight playoff games respectively.

As a self proclaimed Ducks bandwagon fan myself for this year, I can safely say I'm not leaving. My loyalties will always be Florida first, but I'm firmly behind Oregon winning it all this year. Let those other bandwagon jumpers start doubting. It was a ten point loss at home to a top ten team. It broke an 18 game home winning streak and the first ever B1G conference loss(Rose Bowl was a playoff game).