I thought Maryland would be an interesting choice for cultural reasons. Nike vs Under Armour. Pacific Coast vs Atlantic Coast. Uniforms galore. But Maryland really is more of a basketball school. Mike Locksley is likely on the hot seat this season, so it will be interesting to see if the Terrapins decide to invest in their football program with a guy that can build that place up if Mike is let go after this year.

My other interesting choices would be Nebraska or Iowa. Both have pretty strong football history and strong fanbases. I know they aren't as exciting picks as the big three, but both have potential to be ten win teams if everything goes right. Do you believe in Rhule as the guy to finally fix Nebraska? He broke the decade plus stretch of not winning a bowl game just this past season. Dylan Raiola is a potential dark horse to become a Heisman contender.

With Iowa it's more about having just a pulse on offense. They got the transfer QB from North Dakota State, and apparently he has impressed in Spring and Summer camp. If he can just get them to average twenty points they could be a threat with Phil Parker's defense.

Imagine the NFL playoffs being seeded off a committee. "Hmmmm..... I think 12-5 Kansas City should be the one seed based off playing in a harder division.". Despite the fact Baltimore, Buffalo and Houston, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have better records. But Denver LA Chargers and Vegas all went 9-8. Meanwhile the Jets, Browns, and Titans all were so terrible that they dragged their division sos down.

Beano Cook once said there would never a playoff because college football would always need the bowls. We need to cut this antiquated way of thinking.

I don't think Stefanski is a bad coach. I think he was sabotaged by the Deshaun Watson deal. Why go out of house and pay the amount they did in salary and draft picks for a guy that had such concerns and was injury prone? Imagine if they kept Baker and used those three first rounders on players that could help them. I know a few receivers they could have had to go with Chubb, Cooper,Njoku and what a pretty strong offensive line.

The problem for DG going anywhere else is I don't think anybody else would've drafted him above the sixth round. The one place that will give you the chance is also the one place that has a history of making bad decisions. If DG is going to make it, he's going to have to be that good.

The added pressure is now the fan support Sheduer is going to get. Those fans are desperate for a savior, they loved Baker. I think they see Sheduer as a guy with charisma and the ability to lift up the play and confidence of his teammates, much like Baker. I don't know if DG has that in him.

1 hour ago, Mike West said:

I kind of liked your offense last year. I believe the OL was a bit of a hinderance to its effectiveness. Both QBs looked good at times, and would have performed better if they weren't under constant pressure. I'm also hoping Lagaway stays healthy. The guy really makes the team better. They play with much more intensity. They are a darkhorse SEC Title contender in my opinion. And of course, now that Saban is gone, everyone is sleeping on Alabama. Alabama scares me. They have a coach that elevates his QBs, and they have a QB that fits that system in Simpson.

Lane Kiffin ruined it for me last year. They blew games they shouldn't have, which dulled my enthusiasm for him (still like him, but I'm suspicious of him big time).

Napier plays it way too cautious for people wanting what most Florida fans see as the program that brought offense to the SEC under Spurrier and Meyer. Remember most Big 12, ACC, and PAC TEN fans said SEC football was ugly. People forget that many Saban teams won with QBs like Greg McElroy. Remember 2011? The BCS title game that was so bad that it finally gave us a playoff.

But Napier calls the game very old school, and he's said it is because we haven't had receivers. Well Billy that's part of your job. When you get transfers like Mertz and Elijah Badger, and you don't even get in the game for guys like Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Iniss, or all of Ohio State and Alabama's past three deep receiver classes that all consist of Florida born and raised dudes, that's a problem. It isn't like the boosters wouldn't give you some extra cash as they were willing to raise the cash for your pretty hefty payout and the amount it would take to pay the overrated Kiffins buyout at Ole Miss. You just have to abandon this old school approach that makes you think it's still the good old days of smash mouth 90's Phillip Fulmer vs one of the Shula boys.

Running the ball the first two times on three quarters of your drives, or throwing a screen isn't innovative. You can't expect Lagway to shrug off two defenders on third and long to deliver a drive saving throw. You know why the defense blitzed on third downs? They didn't respect any of the receivers. They knew we didn't have any vertical threats or even a crossing route that a tight end could run. You had a RB on the edge and three non threatening receivers running straight verticals. Three verticals and a tight end that couldn't block in on protection!

To quote Charles Barkley" That's terrible!!!".

1 hour ago, Drake said:

Good question.

DG has been successful everywhere he plays. Because of his size there are doubts whether his game translates to the NFL. My Duck sense (I am a total homer) tells me that he gets his shot, and becomes a starter.

His success will probably depend upon whether he has an offensive line that gives him time to settle into the role.

I've heard it said that if he was four inches taller than he would've been a first round pick. I've seen his tape and heard the comps to Drew Brees. But Brees had a very unique launch point from a QB. Drew would take the two or three step drop and from the pocket he would arch his ball at a 35 degree angle with his head tilted upward. How he saw the field like that? I don't know, but he was a 70 percent passer.

DG doesn't have the arm of Russel Wilson, Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield. He doesn't have the precision to do what Drew could do in the pocket imo. I would comp DG to Doug Flutie. Many think Doug had a cannon for some reason, but I think he was most dangerous due to his wheels and ability to escape the pocket without top flight speed. If DG is to last in the NFL that is his path imo. I saw way too many batted balls when DG was with UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon when he went against NFL dlineman like Abdul Carter or Jack Sawyer. There are 6'5 dudes littered up and down those rosters.

Marcus Mariota went second in 2015, he didn't become what many thought. But he's a reliable backup.

Justin Herbert went fifth in 2020, he's been an incredible regular season QB. Still looking for his first playoff win, but he's a top 10 QB.

Bo Nix went in the bottom of the first last year. He started of slowly the first six game, but took off after that. Finishing in the top 4 of the OPOTY. He is the unquestioned future in Denver.

Dillion Gabriel shockingly went in the third round this past draft. Now he is going to the place where QBs go to perish, and he is competing against many narratives. But the coaches in Cleveland seem to love him. He is currently hurt and it's looking like Flacco will be their QB. Can Dillon stick and be a starting QB? Is he destined to be a backup?

13 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

Don't forget to throw Princeton (28 championships), Yale (27), Harvard (12), Minnesota (9) and Army (5) in the mix of blue bloods. Everybody else is "new money" compared to those teams (minus Notre Dame).

To me those championships are like all the al heavyweight titles you have in boxing. I was born too late to see a real world champion.

14 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

I agree; those other traditional blue-bloods have their 'Nattys, and while Oregon is an elite team at this time, we will not be a blue-blood until we win a few. Hence those other programs have their traditionals established, and Dan would just be following in their history already built. The expectations would be high, and he would simply be trying to "match" what has been done in the past.

At Oregon...he can establish a legacy unlike any other prior coach in Eugene, and I think he wants to. He has stated that he wants his boys to all graduate from the same high school, and the youngest is now 11 years old, thus I believe we have six years of him, minimum.

He strikes me as the type of guy that once he has won a 'Natty or two at Oregon...he will have "done-it" at the college level, and will want to match the best defensive minds in the NFL.

Although he could be a "Lifer" here if he wanted to!

Recruits....Come to Oregon!

Blueblood, ha!! A meaningless term to me. I guess it's a way to make Nebraska feel good about itself. But realistically Oregon is, has, and will be a better program than Nebraska for twenty plus years now. You've been better than Texas, USC, Notre Dame, Florida, Penn State, Miami, Florida State, Texas A&M, LSU,Tennessee, and yes even Michigan as well.

Yes I realize 6 of those have won National titles in that time period. But Oregon has performed at a higher level consistently and lost two title game appearances.

15 hours ago, TerryM9 said:

For me personally, Taggart was a blip-- I got to the point with Mario that I could barely stand to watch Oregon play, the offense was so predictable any defensive coordinator in the country could stop it, I was not sorry in the least to see him leave, and then he managed to even do that poorly.

Many Seminole fans wish everyone could forget that hire too. But as long as they sit on that old horse and laugh at others without realizing they're in quicksand, I'm gonna remind them it's been a decade plus since they've won anything.

14 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

After opening the wallet last season, Ole Miss boosters were let down by Lane not having the team ready to play every week. How do you lose to Kentucky at home and later destroy Georgia? How with a 1st round draft pick at QB do you flame out against a Florida team and miss the PO?

Yes, QB DJ Lagway played QB for the Gators in the win against Ole Miss, but he threw for 180 yards, respectable but not noteworthy. Ole Miss QB Dart threw 3 picks, and a team that averaged 38.6 points scored 17. This went beyond choke and into gag me with a spoon (😁) territory. In addition to the Kentucky loss, Ole Miss pulled defeat from the jaws of victory against LSU. In this debut for the Florida job, Lane helped save Billy Napier's job.

I think Lane is the kind of coach who will come close, but no cigar.

I do believe Dan will stay in Eugene until his youngest child graduates from high school. I think one of the things that motivates Dan is bringing the first football national championship to Oregon.

Thanks for the terrific comments.

What's ironic is many Gator boosters were willing to pay the Napier buyout and go after Lane. I think Lane is just a more loud mouth version of Dan Mullen. Dan couldn't or wouldn't put in the effort to recruit, and Lane would prefer to recruit out of the transfer portal because he doesn't really want to put in the time to get high school kids and mold them. It would be a massive mistake to give that guy 10 million a year.

I want an offensive guy that will bring back the fun and gun system Steve made famous. I would like a guy like Dillingham if that were possible. But I think it's only fair that Billy get a full year to show what he can do. Lane Kiffin can play his little games in Oxford, let Auburn or LSU hire him. I don't think Lane will pull a Malzahn, Fisher, or Orgeron and win a random title with one freaky QB run. I think he's a 7-10 win guy at best.

11 minutes ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

No. Probably because Oregon recovered pretty quickly and was able to put him in the past. Tennessee had to go through a lot of bad coaches before landing on Heupel.

Lane also left in the middle of the night. Willie has turned out to be a one hit wonder while Lane later turned his career around at FAU and Ole Miss.

I'll ask this. Are Oregon fans angrier at Willie or Mario? I know you got an upgrade with Lanning, but he wasn't a sure thing coming in as an unknown from Georgia. Oregon seems to just be a program that gets a better coach each time one leaves. Take Helfrich out of there and you have Chip Kelly, Mario Christobal and now Dan Lanning.

I don't think you'll have an issue of having Dan leave for a better college job. Oregon is at that level where you can't move upward anymore. Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, LSU, Penn State,Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, USC, and hopefully Florida very soon are all tier one. But it's a lateral move from Oregon at this point imo.

Do Oregon fans dislike Willie as much as Tennessee fans do Lane? Both left after one season to coach at their "dream" jobs. Both got fired.

Basic rules of the South.

Love your parents.

Love your country.

Provide for your family.

Honor your beliefs.

Honor your SEC football program.

You had an Alabama fan poison an over 100 year old tree on the Auburn campus during Iron Bowl week back in 2012. The genius called up Pawl and bragged about it. He got in trouble over that and didn't regret a thing.

10 hours ago, Nevada Dawg said:

GO DUCK!!

Maybe the ugliest mascot is ole pug-face UGA, but for some reason, many chicks absolutely swoon over him, lol.

I normally don't like UGA because of obvious reasons( mostly because Georgia has been the class of the SEC while Florida has flunked out) but I love BullDogs. They have a unique beauty to them.. I can see UGA attracting the ladies, but he's no Odin😂

That monstrosity of a mascot at Stanford is iconic for reasons. For me they make the trees from Wizard of Oz look good. You are called the Stanford Cardinal. Just become the fifth best Cardinal in sports.

Being that this is Lee Corso's retirement year, I wish he could've done an Oregon game and an Ohio State game. Those are his two favorite mascots.

11 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

If anyone does not like the military videos I post--just ignore them please. I do know we have a ton of vets, and family members of vets on this forum and thus do find these occasional posts interesting. I will not post them often, but when it is slow--it can add some interest.

And no, I will not get into if we need them or why...as again that will turn political in a heartbeat, and we don't want that. Just enjoy, comment or ignore please.

Some people decry the time and money wasted on a very violent game...

I love our armed forces. My grandfather served in the second world war. My father served in Vietnam. I went against their Army roots and joined the Air Force, or Chair Force as many Marines called us 😅. I've got some stories about meeting those guys.

The technology we have that most don't even know about would shock your most ardent gear head. I won't get into even the little bit that I know about. But it's amazing stuff. I have a buddy who is looking to go back, but he wants to go into the Space Force. I can't even imagine the stuff he might see if that happens.

There was a time when pilots had to shoot at their enemies through their propellers. We went from there to the ENIGMA machine where the British decided the German's UBOAT transmissions. Fast forward to the 60's and we had BlackHawk copters that could navigate in dense rainforests.

Fast forward to the 90's and we had Hummers that could traverse the dryest deserts or the muddiest swamps. Fast forward ten more years and we had stealth bombers that were almost invisible to radar. Now we have bunker busters, and apparently drones that will fight for us. The next step is obvious and scary, if you believe the Terminator or Matrix movies.

Maybe one day we could stop building things to destroy ourselves. Imagine if we used all those resources to build something like a space station, or a moon base. Heck maybe find Atlantis. If you believe it existed.

Strength of schedule is amusing to me in many ways. I know it's a metric that SEC people use quite often. But here's the problem. Let's say Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, Alabama, and Ole Miss all start in the top 20. All of those teams automatically are given a boost when they play each other. Missouri can lose to Texas and they won't drop far. Texas will gain the boost from playing Missouri and it's labeled a top 15 win. Missouri can lose four games to top 15 teams and they won't drop. They will be given the benefit of the doubt because they lost to four top 15 teams.

But Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Washington, Maryland, and Michigan State will all start out the season with the same record as those in the SEC. They will not get the benefit of the doubt, and losses accrued will be punished far more severely. Oregon can beat Illinois before Illinois has a chance to prove they were a ten win team, and Oregon will not get the initial bump for beating Illinois, Nebraska, or Maryland. So each loss will lower their perceived ranking and the wins will give them less padding. After all losing to an unranked Illinois is far worse than a top 15 Missouri. But why did Missouri get the benefit of the doubt when the season started? Because they won ten games the season prior and won a Cotton Bowl over a less than motivated Ohio State squad.

I don't know why this is hard to understand. I'm not jealous of other SEC squads and defecting my loyalties. First of all I am a fan of one team and will never cheer for Georgia or Tennessee in the playoff. If that makes me some kind of turncoat or Benedict Arnold, so be it. But we all know if you start on third base because of your brand or conference affiliation, you have a major headstart over those that have to win big from the start, and you better not lose even after you start off with a bang. A two loss Texas will always be given the benefit over a a one loss Indiana.

If you don't take my word for it, look at this preseason SOS list. Go look at the last five years, look at the end season loss columns. Then look where those teams started the next year. Look where the benefit is given.

https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/ranking/schedule-strength-by-other?date=2025-01-21

13 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

This is not good for Florida and college football fans.😧I hope this young man will be good to go and throw for many TDs.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/dj-lagway-injury-floridas-star-qb-heisman-hopeful-day-to-day-with-lower-body-issue-ahead-of-fall-camp/?ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=460842&ET_RID=52482716

Napier said it's nothing that will go past next week. More precautionary.....I hope. Our season rests on that young man's arm.

40 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

Notre Dame is going to go the way of its Independent Life Support System ACC.

When the ACC craters, ND's independence hopefully goes along with it.

By the way, Coach, how did playing 4 G5 opponents work out for you in 2024? That Northern Illinois team was a real witch, right?

I love and respect many things about Notre Dame.

I love the history. I love Rudy. I love the fact Notre Dame not only has great football players, but great young men with high academic achievements. I love the song "Here Come The Irish". I love coach Holtz, even if he's a bit over the top. I love the sign "Play Like a Champion. I love Touchdown Gosh. I love the uniforms.

But it's time for Notre Dame to join a conference. Actually it's time for college football to let Notre Dame know it's time to join a conference. Nobody has gotten more favorable positions than Notre Dame. They didn't have to split any of their playoff run revenue. They get that massive NBC deal, and they get their own special seat with the CFP committee.

Time to save the ACC and join up Notre Dame.

41 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

The Gators have a brutal schedule, once again. I noted going into last season that the SEC could be PO way laid by the schedules handed to the top teams. Compared to Florida, Oklahoma, and Georgia, the SEC welcomed Texas with open arms, and the Horns, Tennessee, and Mizzou had relatively easy slates compared to Florida. And we're doing this again?

What in the world is the AD who arranged the Gators' schedule trying to prove? Being the King of Florida, don't forget a win over South Florida might help a high school recruit choose Florida over FSU and Miami, but how much so in today's world of pay-for-play? In a CFB world where a team has to play 16 or 17 games to play for a championship, what sense does it make to load up OOC? Especially with a selection committee that seems to count Ws and Ls, and that's it.

Florida would be better off playing Vandy in a ninth conference game than playing at Miami.

But schedule disparity is not unique to the SEC. There are sites that rank Wisconsin with the toughest schedule in 2025. Conversely, there's Michigan with a tough road game at Oklahoma, but with a conference schedule against opponents that went 27-54 in 2024.

The in-conference SOS disparity is the reason why I think Petitti's AQ formula makes sense. At the end of the regular season slate, the first and second teams in the standings are going to the PO, notwithstanding the winner of the championship game. How do you parse teams three through six when No. 3 had an easy conference schedule and the No. 6 team's schedule was brutal? Settle it on the field.

More fans would have skin in the game late into the season, the play-in games, and the champ game would be the 12th conference game, ending the season a week earlier, and the PO could end a week earlier. And at a time when athletic departments need the money, there would be more media money paid for three meaningful end-of-the-regular-season games.

I don't understand why Sankey moved away from the AQ PO Model, which is leaving money off the SEC table? An extra at-large PO spot or two is two birds in the bush. A 9th conference game, and a model that includes PO play-in games, is a bird with benefits in the hand. Plus, with the AQ model, you are not trusting a committee that does its business in the dark with deciding on the top 4 teams from the conference.

Was Tennessee the third-best team in the SEC last season, or a team that benefited from a by comparison easy schedule? I know I would have tuned in to watch Tennessee versus Ole Miss and South Carolina versus Bama.

Good luck to the Gators in 2025. I'm hoping we'll see payback when Texas visits The Swamp.

When Foley was our AD he had a strict no leaving Florida for any OOC game. Florida would play FSU but the schedule would fill out with FIU, Citadel, and Bishop Sycamore. When Stricklin got hired he got us involved with an opening week game in Dallas vs Michigan.

There was an outcry from Miami and UCF fans that Florida was dodging them. Yes that's for real, UCF fans are much like Oregon State without the heritage of at least ever being a conference mate. But Stricklin thought it would help recruiting by playing games in Miami and Orlando. Why he didn't see the two year slate coming after Texas and Oklahoma were announced as joining us beyond me. Everybody knew Florida was going to draw Texas.

As far as beating Texas this year, it all depends on keeping Lagway healthy and BN not calling the same predictable and boring offense he has the first three years. Matter of fact Napier just needs to give up play calling like Ryan Day did, and Day is much better at it btw.

Many SEC fans get mad when I say the league needs to go to nine conference games. Like you said, that would actually make Florida's schedule easier. It's the Ole Miss, MSU, Vandy, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri like schools that protest the loudest. The same schools that spout off about the strength of the league top to bottom.

Rhett Lashlee made a very valiant point in saying the SEC has six schools that have carried the league. I look at the B1G and see Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State. Now you have Oregon, USC, and maybe Washington.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25230453-notre-dame-ad-opposes-big-tens-cfp-bracket-model-you-have-earn-it-field

"I happen to think that there should be automatic qualifiers for the Power 4 conference champions, and there should an automatic qualifier for the highest-rated G5 champion," he told Pete Sampson of The Athletic. "But then, whether it's 12, 14, or 16 (teams), I think you have to earn it on the field.

And those should be at-large berths. I think that's the best way, the most repeatable way, to get the very best teams to compete for a national championship year-in and year-out. And I think most people agree with that. Both the decision makers, the general public, football fans, I think that's what people want to see."

12 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

CBS ranks the 2025 SEC SOS -

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/sec-strength-of-schedule-rankings-2025-georgia-catches-favorable-draw-oklahoma-staring-down-rough-road/

SEC teams predicted 1st loss -

Saturday Down South

Predicting every SEC team’s first loss in 2025

No one made it through the SEC unscathed during the 2024 season. Here’s where each program will stumble first in 2025.

Vanderbilt doesn't have a tough ooc conference game ever. FSU may be garbage, but they are still capable with transfer Cosstellanos(still a fool for calling out Bama). Plus top 15 Miami, top ten Georgia, Texas, and LSU, and potential top 20 Tennessee, and Texas A&M. I may be somewhat biased Jon, but is there a tougher set of games on paper?

You know I don't buy the whole SEC can't play nine conference games because of some sos metric SEC coaches use as a crutch, but the Gators play two in State rivals that are P4 programs. Last year we had 3 ooc games vs P4 opponents. UCF was Big 12, even if they may still have had an American Conference roster as they've only been there two years, their third coming this year.

Pettiti needs to be loud and clear like Sankey is in getting his point across . Nine conference games across the board. An in season cross conference slate every year, that way the depth of the conferences can show out.

No the ACC and Big 12 aren't on the same level. But the B1G wasn't near that level before they became ruthless and closed the gap. The SEC never missed the 4 team playoff, sending two teams multiple times. The B1G champion missed out a couple times, heck an undefeated ACC champion missed out in favor of a one loss SEC team. You gotta earn your respect in this game, the Big 12 has one playoff win in their entire history. The ACC had one program win the whole thing twice, but no other member even came close to making it in( outside of FSU getting blown out in '14 and being passed over in '23).

Good on Deion, I hope he is feeling better. Battling that can be debilitating, kudos for him to not only beat it, but also continue to work hard and lead Colorado to ten wins while doing so.