The last three quarters of that game was probably the worst football I have ever seen. It’s the game for Rich-Rod’s job and possibly Greg Robinson’s career, and how can you possibly come in that unprepared. Has no one explained to those idiots that you are allow to make adjustments after the opening snap?
I have simply never a seen a team execute so poorly play after play, There was simply not one area in which they looked competent.
The talent level is pretty much even. I just don’t understand how they can possibly fail every single fundamental of Football.
Rod has to go now. I have been patient, but I don’t care who we get after that debacle, anyone else at all.
That was beyond abominable game preparation.
I don’t know how Rich Rod couldn’t be done. If the AD was going to keep him regardless, then he should have come out earlier and given him his full support. If there was any question in his mind at all, it was put to rest today.
Seriously though, I think the AD is waiting to save the 1.5 million, and being so tight-lipped so that Rich Rod doesn’t have any way to say “they already decided to fire me before Jan. 1, so I should get 4 Million, not 2.5.” He sued his previous school to not have to pay the buyout to them (didn’t win).
Has the Big Ten won a bowl game yet? Seriously, lots of suckitude from the Midwest, not terribly surprising. Also, Rodriguez strikes me as a bit of a scumbag, although I can’t put my finger on why exactly.
Thanks, I’d looked for that, but didn’t go far enough back. Looks like the Big 12 might be the suckiest conference. Texas Tech just hung on to beat Northwestern and Oklahoma State (11-2) beat an Arizona team (7-6) that had no business playing against them.
One of the reasons I hate the Bowl games instead of a playoff is you get teams that shouldn’t be in the post-season (my Florida team this year would be a prime example) and often stupid mismatches because of commitments, instead of getting meaningful games. Sure, a seeded playoff would also have mismatches, but the occasional upset would actually mean something and eventually you’d get some seriously competitive match ups.
Nevermind that it would render conference titles meaningless and render all bowls except for the playoffs moot. A playoff would only serve to further seperate the haves from the have nots. And as a fringe benefit all the alumni of lesser programs would get those “unmeaningful” bowl games robbed from them. That sounds like a blast. As if we aren’t force fed enough Texas, Florida, OSU, USC, Auburn as it is.
Let’s say that conference titles were what qualified a team for the playoffs. Seems like conference titles now mean a lot more than they used to, not less. What if each of the 11 FBS conferences gets their champion into a 16-team playoff with the rest of the field padded out with at-large bids? This would give every conference and independent team an equal chance at the title. You can’t possibly tell me that the current system–where Boise/TCU/Utah can go undefeated and be shut out of the title game by a 1-loss SEC team–is a more fair way to handle things? Playoff games would be independent of Bowl games and will be held at the home stadium of the better-ranked team for the opening rounds, with semi finals and finals at a neutral site.
The bowls will still survive, but the current system needs some adjustment. Bowls force schools to sell ticket quotas and charge face price for them, knowing full well that many will go unsold at full cost, sticking the school with the bill. No travel reimbursements either. In most cases, the school’s bowl payout is a fraction of the expenses incurred. That said, the bowls themselves make out like bandits. Commissioners of the major bowls make over half a mill and even the lower bowls give out several hundred thousand dollar salaries. Meanwhile extravagant parties, golf outings, college visits, etc. are conveniently funded by bowl accounts. Is it really worth it for a 7-6 team from the Mountain West Conference to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses and unpaid tickets just to give the coach, players, and alumni a feel-good send home to the year. Outside of the major bowls, most universities lose a lot of money by going to a bowl game. The only way it works now is through revenue sharing within the conferences.
You might think, “Hmm, sure sounds like the bowl games would be in trouble” and you’re right, the bowl system is in trouble. With a small amount of reform and cost/payout restructuring, bowl games could be made to be more efficient under a new system that includes playoffs. You might see more local bowl games held near where the teams homebases are. This would mean more fans can attend and less travel expense. Regular season games pull in millions of dollars, so it’s hard to believe adding another game to the end of the season would suddenly stop making sense just because there is a playoff system.
At least Rodriguez had the courtesy to make The AD’s choice an easy one by turning in an impressive bowl performance.
Amusingly, right now, the second article Fox2’s list of related articles (after “Michigan Suffers Worst Bowl Loss in History”) is “What is the ‘Choking Game’, ‘The Fainting Game’, The ‘Pass Out Game?’”
Les Miles (LSU)
Brady Hoke (San Diego State)
Ralph Friedgen (Maryland)
John Gruden (at home on his couch)
Chris Petersen (Boise State)
Bo Pelini (Nebraska)
Randy Edsall (UConn)
Kyle Wittingham (Utah)
Brent Venables (Oklahoma)
Kirby Smart (Alabama)
