What a wild week this has been, and we've barely escaped the grasp of the weekend full of games that we witnessed. There was nothing supremely special about most of the games played, but the drama that bled out of them were something to behold. We had four fired (or quitting) coaches, a massive suspension, the return of a coach from suspension, and a major injury that will shift the look of the Heisman race. Here's our observations as we head into another week in the 2015 season...
Point One: No coach is safe it seems
As soon as the weekend ended, we had three fired coaches and another who resigned. It started with the suspension, and a day later the firing of Steve Sarkisian at USC, which had just as much to do with a subpar performance as it did his alcohol and pill addiction. Secondly, as was reported by several sites, including this one, Randy Edsell was fired at the conclusion of the Ohio State game at Maryland. The 3rd firing of the last few days came at North Texas, when after getting destroyed by FCS Portland State by a score of 66-7, Dan McCarney was let go. The final coach to sink to the bottom of the coaching Dead Pool was Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, who instead of sticking with the party line of retirement, came out today and said that he was resigning. In other words, he quit. There will be more such moves in the coming weeks, but I have no memory of recent years where many coaches were already axed before we even got to Halloween.
Point 2: Over the counter supplements may have wrecked Florida's dream season
Will Grier, a RS freshman QB at Florida, worked to get the starting nod as the season started to wear on, and he placed the Gator offense on his shoulders, and the Gators may be one of the most surprising teams in the nation along with Michigan and Utah. After taking some over the counter supplements (yeah, right), he tested positive for PEDs and has been suspended for one calendar year. With his suspension, Florida now has to take to Traeon Harris, who is not nearly the passer that Grier is. That makes Florida a more one dimensional team without Grier, and that may crush the Gator's chances of winning the SEC East.
Point 3: The circus will continue at Rutgers as Kyle Flood returns
Rutgers coach Kyle Flood returns this week after a 3 week forced vacation after tampering with a professor to change grades. Rutgers has been an absolute circus, a dumpster fire that has been an embarrassment to the Big 10, so much so that there are those in higher circles in the league now questioning the very decision to give Rutgers membership in the grand ole league. Flood will likely make the end of the season as coach, but he will not last any longer than that. Flood has been at the center of the storm of the mess that is his program, and an independent investigator is now looking at the program from top to bottom.
Point 4: The Heisman race shifted somewhat when Nick Chubb's season ended
I don't really think that Nick Chubb was a Heisman favorite at this point of the season, but he was in the top five without a doubt. Chubb suffered a major knee injury in the Georgia loss to Tennessee last weekend, and with Chubb going down, Georgia's hopes of an SEC title are gone with him. They don't have QB play that is consistent, they don't have a ton of depth, and their biggest motor is now on the shelf. Leonard Fournette now has a clear path to the trophy if he isn't beaten by Trevone Boykin.
Point 5: Charlie Strong saved his job by beating Oklahoma
Once again, I do not believe that Charlie Strong was going to be fired this season. I do believe that big picture, Strong is the right guy to lead Texas into a new era. After shocking Oklahoma last weekend, I think that is a stronger position to have. Strong has to get his own guys onto the roster, get rid of the flotsam that Mack Brown left behind, and he has to have time to fix all that was broken, and there was plenty. Strong needs two more seasons to get the machine running right.
Point 6: Pat Haden should be shown the door now, not in June
There have been questions about whether Haden would return as AD after his current contract expires next June. The mere fact is that in a very short time, he has been through five coaches in his department, and may be in position to hire a 6th if he isn't stopped. No AD, again in recent memory, has fired more coaches in football and basketball mid-season than Haden, and that's not the look of a competent AD. There is absolutely no way that Haden should be in charge of hiring the next head football coach at USC, and to ensure this, he should be terminated now, rather than allow him to do more damage as he heads out the door now.
Point 7: All of the top ten recruiting classes in the game mean nothing if you cannot win
Tennessee, Oregon, Georgia, USC, etc. All of these programs have been lauded for their insanely high ranked recruiting classes over the last few, sometimes several seasons. It means NOTHING! Tennessee is struggling as much as they ever have after three seasons of these "sterling" recruiting classes, and now Butch Jones is suffering some public backlash for the first time. Oregon will now have at least 3 losses heading into November for the 1st time since 2004. Georgia is suffering a lack of depth, has no QB, and has a line that has struggled at times. USC was under sanctions, but even then recruited the allegedly very best that were available. Most of those vaunted recruits at USC went on to what were supposed to be huge NFL careers. Most of those individuals were busts, and USC has been a dumpster inferno from the inside out. These top ten recruiting classes were meaningless as it turns out, as they haven't helped a lick. Boise State has almost all 2 and 3 star players, and they annually win somewhere around 10 games per season, and the NFL boasts more 2 and 3 star recruits than any other ranking. At the end of the day, some of these recruit rankings are just plain useless and overrated.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Leonard Fournette is now the fastest back to reach 1000 yards in LSU football history, and now has more yardage at this stage of the season than Bo Jackson had during his magical 1986 run. Fournette may very well be the very best back the nation has seen in 30 years, and the idea that he should sit out next season to save himself for the NFL draft is ludicrous.
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