2013 NCAA College Football

[geauxforbroke]

Great win for the Noles. The SEC streak had to end at some point. I'm glad it was Jimbo that ended it. Good memories from his time at LSU.

[MS256]

Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier quit to take the same position at Michigan (thank God) and Lane Kiffin interviewed for the job to replace him.

If nothing else at least I'll get to see if it was always Saban that was dictating the style and tying the OC's hands all these years, or if it was just a strange coincidence that the last two OC's did exactly the same thing in exactly the same way.

[geauxforbroke]

Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier quit to take the same position at Michigan (thank God) and Lane Kiffin interviewed for the job to replace him.

If nothing else at least I'll get to see if it was always Saban that was dictating the style and tying the OC's hands all these years, or if it was just a strange coincidence that the last two OC's did exactly the same thing in exactly the same way.

A Michigan alum from work emailed me this morning about what a win it is for Michigan to "steal" the OC from 'Bama. I just lol'd

[saevel25]

God how can Lane Kiffin still get a job. He's a total ass-hat.

[MS256]

A Michigan alum from work emailed me this morning about what a win it is for Michigan to "steal" the OC from 'Bama. I just lol'd

Nobody is happier for Michigan to have him than I am.

Although I'm not sure he was allowed to do anything besides what he did under Saban. Time will tell.

[geauxforbroke]

God how can Lane Kiffin still get a job. He's a total ass-hat.

Yeah, but he's a pretty good OC. I certainly wouldn't hire him to run my program, but if Saban is the HC, you know he won't be able to act like a little sh*t. I think it would be a pretty good hire for Bama.

Full disclosure: I can't stand Kiffin, but I can separate personal feelings from how effective a coach is. Saban is an untrustworthy a-hole, but I also think he's the best college football coach in the past 30 years.

[MS256]

Yeah, but he's a pretty good OC. I certainly wouldn't hire him to run my program, but if Saban is the HC, you know he won't be able to act like a little sh*t. I think it would be a pretty good hire for Bama.

Full disclosure: I can't stand Kiffin, but I can separate personal feelings from how effective a coach is. Saban is an untrustworthy a-hole, but I also think he's the best college football coach in the past 30 years.

Falls in the category of *Anything would be an improvement* for me.

Personally I would have let Saban walk to Texas instead of caving to the new contract. Sure he's a great coach and recruiter but a fresh face with new ideas wouldn't have bothered me, even if it meant a few years of mediocrity.

But I'm in a microscopic minority with that kind of thinking.

[saevel25]

Yeah, but he's a pretty good OC. I certainly wouldn't hire him to run my program, but if Saban is the HC, you know he won't be able to act like a little sh*t. I think it would be a pretty good hire for Bama.

Full disclosure: I can't stand Kiffin, but I can separate personal feelings from how effective a coach is. Saban is an untrustworthy a-hole, but I also think he's the best college football coach in the past 30 years.

He was only OC for two seasons at USC when they had Reggie Bush. I think a blind man could make that offense run.

Then he sucked in the NFL, he sucked at Tennessee, and he sucked at USC. I am not impressed at all. All he has done is road his daddy's coat tails his whole life.

[geauxforbroke]

I am not impressed at all.

Noted.

[MS256]

Trey Mason going to NFL.

No disrespect to Heisman Trophy winners and players on my favorite team but he was the best player I saw this year in college football.

On that note: No way I would use a top ten draft pick on a running back anymore. The game has changed too much and running backs don't have quite as much value toward winning as they used to have (when they are healthy, which isn't that often).

[SloverUT]

He was only OC for two seasons at USC when they had Reggie Bush. I think a blind man could make that offense run.

Then he sucked in the NFL, he sucked at Tennessee, and he sucked at USC. I am not impressed at all. All he has done is road his daddy's coat tails his whole life.

Actually, as much as this pains me to say this, I don't think Kiffin sucked at Tennessee.  He went 7-6 and went to a bowl game with limited talent and managed to beat Georgia and South Carolina (ranked) that year.

And this is coming from someone that literally wish the guy never coached football again..

[SloverUT]

Trey Mason going to NFL.

No disrespect to Heisman Trophy winners and players on my favorite team but he was the best player I saw this year in college football.

On that note: No way I would use a top ten draft pick on a running back anymore. The game has changed too much and running backs don't have quite as much value toward winning as they used to have (when they are healthy, which isn't that often).

I agree.  Mason and the Auburn decimated Tennessee this year and I think they threw like 7 passes.  I knew Auburn was legit after watching that game, but that is mostly because I hadn't seen them play much before that.

[saevel25]

I would take OSU's Carlos Hyde over Trey Mason in the NFL. Just body size. For how small and shifty Mason is, he only average 5.5 yards a carry. Hyde average over 7 yards a carry. He didn't have the TD numbers but he could carry the rock deep into the 4th quarter and just wear down defenses. I just think Hyde projects into a better NFL starter. I see him as a Michael Turner type back.

[geauxforbroke]

Not a lot of talk about Jeremy Hill, but I guess that's a good thing since he's decided to stay at LSU. Averaged right at 6.9 ypc and 16 TDs. I think he's going to be really exciting in the NFL, just glad it won't be next year.

[teamroper60]

Falls in the category of *Anything would be an improvement* for me.

Personally I would have let Saban walk to Texas instead of caving to the new contract. Sure he's a great coach and recruiter but a fresh face with new ideas wouldn't have bothered me, even if it meant a few years of mediocrity.

But I'm in a microscopic minority with that kind of thinking.

Given his track record, I would not have been surprised if Saban had bolted for Texas but seriously, this line of thinking always puzzles me.   The guy had multiple losses in a season for the first time in 3 years and you are ready to throw in the towel on him?   Why? Most programs in the country would love to have that record.

Of the 25 years Bear Bryant coached the Tide, he had multiple losses in a season 12 times.  Woody Hayes had 19 of them in his 28 years at Ohio State.  Bo Schembchler had 15 of them in 21 years at Michigan.  Barry Switzer had 8 of them in 16 years at Oklahoma and Tom Osborne had 19 of them in the 25 years he was at Nebraska.  I could go on and on but the point is, if you look back at most of the really good coaches over the years, they almost all had a bunch of years where they didn't meet their usual standards but even in those years, their records were better than most teams and they all are considered legends at those schools.  The second commonality to all of them is that they were at their respective schools for a damn long time!  There is something to be said for continuity.   Fans (and boosters and AD's) need to realize that even the best of the best are going to have sub-par years and one or two years below expectations does not mean a coach should be replaced..  You won't and can't win every game every year.

[Augustabound]

Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier quit to take the same position at Michigan (thank God) and Lane Kiffin interviewed for the job to replace him.

If nothing else at least I'll get to see if it was always Saban that was dictating the style and tying the OC's hands all these years, or if it was just a strange coincidence that the last two OC's did exactly the same thing in exactly the same way.

So why the "lateral move"? He was tired of having his hands tied by Saban and wanted to go somewhere he could coach his game?

[MS256]

So why the "lateral move"? He was tired of having his hands tied by Saban and wanted to go somewhere he could coach his game?

Very possible. Always seemed strange that he used the same plays and formations that McElwain used and I've heard Saban make the statement that you couldn't teach proper defensive techniques in practice using a hurry-up spread offense.

Also possible that the Auburn game showed Saban he needed to go in another direction offensively (which he's never done before). Most of the best high school quarterbacks are coming out of spread systems and it's getting hard to find the pocket passer that can compete with them. Not a whole lot of Peyton Mannings or Tom Bradys around.

I don't think a drastic change is in order (it's not like Alabama has fallen off of the map) but a tweak or two wouldn't hurt. At least put a fullback in the backfield like LSU does at a minimum.

[MS256]

Given his track record, I would not have been surprised if Saban had bolted for Texas but seriously, this line of thinking always puzzles me.   The guy had multiple losses in a season for the first time in 3 years and you are ready to throw in the towel on him?   Why? Most programs in the country would love to have that record.

Of the 25 years Bear Bryant coached the Tide, he had multiple losses in a season 12 times.  Woody Hayes had 19 of them in his 28 years at Ohio State.  Bo Schembchler had 15 of them in 21 years at Michigan.  Barry Switzer had 8 of them in 16 years at Oklahoma and Tom Osborne had 19 of them in the 25 years he was at Nebraska.  I could go on and on but the point is, if you look back at most of the really good coaches over the years, they almost all had a bunch of years where they didn't meet their usual standards but even in those years, their records were better than most teams and they all are considered legends at those schools.  The second commonality to all of them is that they were at their respective schools for a damn long time!  There is something to be said for continuity.   Fans (and boosters and AD's) need to realize that even the best of the best are going to have sub-par years and one or two years below expectations does not mean a coach should be replaced..  You won't and can't win every game every year.

Make no mistake. My thinking has nothing to do with losing games. I thought Alabama would be lucky to win 9 games this year so I think they did a great job.

My thinking is that he already had the highest paying contract and I wouldn't have let him threaten me into re-negotiating it. If he doesn't want to coach at Alabama for the contract he had I would have let him go.

None of those coaches you mentioned came around after every season with an implication they were leaving if they didn't get a new contract. They were very happy where they were.

P.S. Sorry for not using the multi-quote but I didn't see this comment.