College Football: 2018 Season

[AnthonyD1993]

The ACC replay booth crew doing the Army/Navy game really has blown it today. Saying that they've been terrible would be an understatement to how bad they've done with so many reviews taking way too long to get call.

 

[JohnBM01]

Get to know your 2018 Heisman Trophy winner...

...Kyler Murray (QB, Oklahoma)!

Congratulations to Murray on winning this season's Heisman Trophy.

 

[JohnBM01]

This weekend starts up the most magical time of the year- Bowl games! Here is what is coming up for this Saturday:

* Celebration Bowl: North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State
* Cure Bowl: Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
* New Mexico Bowl: Utah State vs. North Texas
* Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona State vs. #21 Fresno State
* Camellia Bowl: Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan
* New Orleans Bowl: Middle Tennessee State vs. Appalachian State

There are plenty more Bowl games to come between now and the National Championship Game. If your favorite team(s) made the Bowl season, congratulations! Hope your favorite team(s) win. If not, still enjoy the Bowl games. Also, don't forget about playoff action across other levels of college football.


Methinks I've said enough. Now go enjoy some postseason college football already!

 

[JohnBM01]

Here are a number of musings of college football...

Last night, the NCAA Division 3 National Championship was between Mount Union and Mary Hardin-Baylor. Mary Hardin-Baylor, a Texas school, defeated Ohio's Mount Union 24-16. Both teams were 13-0 on the season. The Crusaders of UMHB finished undefeated over the Mount Union Purple Raiders. Mount Union is an NCAA Division 3 football powerhouse. Some of the better D3 football schools are Ohio Northern, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Occidental College, Washington and Jefferson, and more.

Today was the NCAA Division 2 football championship between Ferris State and Valdosta State. It was a 49-47 final score as the Valdosta State Blazers defeated the Bulldogs of Ferris State. Even cooler story? Valdosta State won the title and finish unbeaten. So congratulations to this Georgia school on being atop the D2 football mountain. Better luck next season to Michigan's Ferris State.

On the NCAA FCS front, there were semifinal matches between South Dakota State at North Dakota State, and then Maine at Eastern Washington (and their ugly red football field). Your FCS National Championship for 2018 will be Eastern Washington against North Dakota State. I know who one GTPlaneteer is rooting for...

The Celebration Bowl kicked off the 2018-2019 Bowl Game stretch, and it was between North Carolina A&T and Alcorn State. This is essentially the National Championship of football among HBCUs (historically-Black colleges and universities). It was a 24-22 victory for the Aggies of NCAT over the Alcorn State Braves.

I found out my University of Houston Cougars will play the Army Black Knights next Saturday afternoon in their Bowl Game. I found out Army has a better record than Houston- the Coogs are 8-4 while Army is 10-2. Usually, Army is one of the sorriest teams in all of college football. Not so much these Black Knights.


That's all. Hope you're enjoying all the remaining college football action!

 

[JohnBM01]

Terrible shame. You would feel sorry to lose to Army in football. I expected the University of Houston to lose to Army. However, I wasn't expecting the Cougars to lose 70-14 to the Black Knights, like they did today in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. Absolute disgrace a team that could have been MUCH better than what they shown today. The "Houston Takeover" felt more like "Houston Taken Over." Ouch.

Social media wants head coach Major Applewhite fired. This is just a terrible shame of a game. Even with certain key players not playing in this game for Houston, it is still bloody inexcusable to put up a crappy performance like the Coogs did in this game. Still, it makes no damn difference to 🤬 up THIS bad against a normally sorry team (though having an amazing season).


Hopefully your favorite team(s) won and keep winning in the postseason. So congratulations to all other winners of postseason college football. Too damn bad my Cougars got spanked.

 

[JohnBM01]

College football Bowl games are back underway. Sadly, the match between Boston College and #25 Boise State was cancelled because of lightning. On right now as of the time of this post is the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit. Minnesota leads Georgia Tech 13-3 at the Half.

The biggest games are coming up on Saturday with the Semifinal rounds of the College Football Playoff. First off is Clemson vs. Notre Dame, and then Alabama vs. Oklahoma. There are players suspended for Clemson and Alabama heading into this weekend. So it will be interesting to see how much of a difference some of these players will make for their respective teams.


That is all. Enjoy the rest of the Bowl games!

 

[JohnBM01]

Auburn destroyed Purdue 63-14 today in the Music City Bowl. They set the record for most first-half points in any Bowl game ever, not to mention Auburn scoring the most points in any bowl game by an SEC team. Their first seven drives all resulted in touchdowns. The Tigers even scored a defensive touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers. It was 56-7, Auburn at the half. Auburn scored 21 unanswered points until Purdue hit pay dirt for one of only two times today.

On right now is the Camping World Bowl between No. 16 West Virginia and No. 20 Syracuse. No score as of the time of this post.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Auburn destroyed Purdue 63-14 today in the Music City Bowl. They set the record for most first-half points in any Bowl game ever, not to mention Auburn scoring the most points in any bowl game by an SEC team. Their first seven drives all resulted in touchdowns. The Tigers even scored a defensive touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers. It was 56-7, Auburn at the half. Auburn scored 21 unanswered points until Purdue hit pay dirt for one of only two times today.

Seems fitting. It doesn't matter if it's my Bengals, Reds or Boilers, they all fail miserably when it counts.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well, you waited long enough. Now... it's here- the College Football Playoff semifinal games! We got Clemson vs. Notre Dame followed by Alabama vs. Oklahoma. The winners of these two games will play for the National Championship on January 7, 2019. The losers... better luck next season.

Not to be forgotten, there are also the non-CFP Bowl games.


I hope you get to enjoy some college football today and tonight. Good luck to all teams playing today and tonight.

 

[Jezza819]

I think it's Clemson's championship to lose. I think they should get by ND. Alabama has only once gone undefeated in this run of championships and never does well as the #1 seed. They seem to need a loss somewhere to snap them into shape to make a championship run.

 

[JohnBM01]

When January 7, 2019 rolls around; we're going to have ourselves a little game to determine the National Champion in NCAA FBS. Let's set this bad boy up...

"In this corner... from Clemson, South Carolina- the Clemson Tigers! And in this corner... from Tuscaloosa, Alabama- the reigning, defending champions- the Alabama Crimson Tide!"

Clemson handled Notre Dame easily 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Alabama took down Oklahoma 45-34. So we are assured an undefeated National Champion for the 2018 season of college football. This is a rematch of a few other CFP Finals. Clemson has beaten Alabama before. Alabama has beaten Clemson before. Question is... who'll take this Alabama-Clemson match? Maybe a lot of people aren't as intrigued as two usual suspects are back in the National Championship Game. But... that's your match. This is the game to be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on January 7, 2019.

So tell it, GTPlanet... who takes this match?

 

[GTFan24]

Sings in melody: "Its the same song and dance every single year.... why do i even care? Its so ****ing dumb!"

And i thought the NBA was horrible in terms of parity holy ****.

 

[TetsuKobura]

Sorry, but if Georgia destroys Texas, I don't want to hear any more comments about Georgia not being a top 4 team. Notre Shame once again got ousted in the big game that actually mattered. Hell, it was worse than the 2012 National Championship.

 

[JohnBM01]

If Georgia defeats Texas, that will mean even more fuel to the fire to make the College Football Playoff an eight-team playoff. I'm pretty sure even UCF wishes to even get a sniff of playing for a National Championship, even if they played a mostly soft schedule in a quite good conference. I still think the CFP will eventually hit eight teams. If/When it gets to eight- perfect. Don't try to do things like... you know, play-in games or something. I always feel you have four No. 1 teams, and then four deserving teams to be among the No. 1 teams.

We'll see what happens when most of the other Bowl games play themselves out. And maybe Alabama and Clemson are simply the two best teams. I'm sure in ALA and CLEM's minds, if you want a better National Championship Game, play better and beat 'Bama and Clemson. Like Ric Flair said- "to be the man, you got to beat the man."

I don't have a horse in this race between Alabama and Clemson. All I know is that you are not the best until you beat Alabama. Every other NCAA FBS team can only dream until they prove themselves to be atop NCAA FBS college football.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

That was one of the worst performances from Michigan that I've seen in a while. Florida absolutely made them look like chumps.

 

[JohnBM01]

Yeah, AnthonyD1993, that was pretty ugly. As if losing bad at Ohio State was bad enough, losing to Florida (take nothing away from them) as horribly as they did was even worse to close out 2018 for Michigan. I think Michigan will bounce back regardless. You know, Michigan football is like Kansas basketball- reload, not recruit. The only thing I wonder is if Jim Harbaugh will still be coach or if some other possible big name could try to turn around Michigan. Speaking of coaches getting fired...

The University of Houston fired Major Applewhite. Houston is a good team, but 2018 wasn't very good despite eight or so wins. We still did pretty well even with players getting injured as well as defender Ed Oliver skipping the Armed Forces Bowl. That 70-14 loss to Army surely did not sit well with us Houston Cougars fans. All congratulations to Army on not being a chew toy for a change, but I think Applewhite had to go, as good as he is.


The final Bowl games of 2018 are tomorrow, including games like the Hyundai Sun Bowl between Stanford and Pittsburgh in El Paso, TX.

 

[TetsuKobura]

Jimboland certainly delivered!

Cullen Gillespia getting that TD was pretty awesome considering he’s a senior walk on.

 

[JohnBM01]

52-13 is quite the statement. Great job by the Texas A&M Aggies to sink North Carolina State this hard last night in the Taxslayer Bowl.

On right now are a handful of Bowl games- the Citrus Bowl (Kentucky vs. Penn State), the Outback Bowl (Iowa vs. Mississippi State), and the Fiesta Bowl (LSU vs. UCF). So go enjoy some college football to start 2019.

 

[JohnBM01]

A few notes from New Year's Day:

* UCF's 25-game winning streak is over thanks to LSU's 40-32 victory over them in the Fiesta Bowl.

* Ohio State tamed Crash's Washington Huskies 28-23. Outgoing Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer says he'll never coach again despite getting this great win over Washington.

* #15 Texas took down #5 Georgia 28-21 in the Sugar Bowl.


And now a very sad note- the Purdue super fan, Tyler Trent, who was battling cancer, died at the age of 20 yesterday. He became such an inspiration for the Purdue football team. My condolences go out in loving memory of Trent and all whom have known and loved him.


The only remaining Bowl game to be played is the National Championship Game between Alabama and Clemson Monday next week. You all can still discuss who you think will win this one, unless you'd rather let the players play it out to determine who will win.

 

[Dolph Drago]

And now a very sad note- the Purdue super fan, Tyler Trent, who was battling cancer, died at the age of 20 yesterday. He became such an inspiration for the Purdue football team. My condolences go out in loving memory of Trent and all whom have known and loved him.

I didn't realize he was that close to the end.

 

[Jezza819]

I still think Clemson is going to win it and I'm an Alabama fan. The number 1 ranked team hasn't won a game yet in this mini rivalry. We've only went undefeated once in this stretch of championships, our secondary is a little suspect this year, Clemson has a good enough defense to harass Tua and force some errors.

I did see where they are having trouble moving tickets for this game. It being in California and so far away from both schools isn't helping much.

 

[TB]

Seven out of the last eight. Crazy.

 

[dlshearon]

I’m pulling for Clemson,(got to many Bama friends and being from TN) but I think Bama will pull out the W.

Still should be a 4 team playoff.
It has been a heck of a season!

 

[JohnBM01]

Tonight is the night. We will see either the University of Alabama or Clemson University take home the National Championship in NCAA FBS college football. The Crimson Tide or the Tigers will play for it all in Santa Clara, California at Levi's Stadium. I am hopeful this will be a competitive game. Unless... Imagine Dragons and Lil' Wayne put on a better show than Alabama and Clemson, of course.


Anyhow, good luck to both teams, and congratulations to the eventual National Champion.

 

[MoLiEG]

Round 3 is up. May the best team win.

And unlike the Warriors/Cavs rivalry, this one actually refreshes itself every year.

Is going to be a heck of a game.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here is your winner... and NEEEEEW National Champions- the Clemson Tigers! 'Bama been bested. And... this one wasn't even close once Clemson really got rolling. It was a 44-16 whacking of the Crimson Tide. Alabama probably wishes the National Championship was a best-of-3 or something to show they are better than Clemson. However, they weren't. The Clemson Tigers will be heading back to Clemson, South Carolina with another championship trophy.


Congratulations to both teams on excellent seasons. Thoughts on this game?

 

[AnthonyD1993]

No way in hell that I would have predicted Clemson blowing out Bama like they did. The Clemson defense completely owned the Tide and the Offense tore apart Alabama's secondary. That is probably one of the biggest surprises of the season.

 

[Jezza819]

It played out about like I expected. Alabama's secondary was the weakest unit on defense the entire year. The defense as a whole was uncharacteristically not as strong as in previous years. The score I came up with after both teams won their semi final games was 34-17 Clemson so I was kind of close. The number one ranked team rarely wins this game. The team that lost the previous meeting wins the next one. Alabama is a horrible favorite in these games. All of their championship seasons except one they had lost a game somewhere. It just wasn't in the cards for Bama to win that game.

 

[dlshearon]

Cherry on top to one heck of a season!
Looking forward to this fall.

 

[JohnBM01]

A week ago, we saw Clemson decimate Alabama for the National Championship. This is my usual Salute to Champions post. Remember- it is not name dropping if it doesn't make sense. So here are the champions worthy of love:

* NCAA FBS: Clemson
* NCAA FCS: North Dakota State
* NCAA Division 2: Valdosta State
* NCAA Division 3: Mary-Hardin Baylor
* NAIA: Morningside College (Iowa)
* NJCAA: East Mississippi

Congratulations to these and any other college football champions. We mostly focus on NCAA FBS, but I try to make these posts about all levels of college football. Still a ways to go until about late August when we do it all over again.

The most curious case to me is where Kyler Murray will go. Will the 2018 Heisman winner take on the NFL, or will he get into Major League Baseball? I usually think of Bo Jackson in regards to playing pro football and pro baseball. Plenty of football QBs have gone from football to baseball. Look at Jeff Samardzija going from Notre Dame QB to baseball pitcher. Most recently, Tim Tebow from Florida QB and his many NFL teams... to trying to play baseball. So we'll see what happens with Kyler Murray.


I hope you enjoyed the 2018 season of college football.


[UPDATE] Kyler Murray declared for the NFL Draft today. Best of luck to him on the pro football level.