2020-21 College Football Thread

[GooooMarquette]

Yep. Sarah was well supported by teammates, coaches, fans.

Mizzou fans cheered for her prior to and after her kickoff. Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz approached her pregame and told her he was a big fan. Eli has 4 daughters. Mizzou players Larry Rountree etc..were also very supportive.

Yep- kudos to the Mizzou staff, team and fans. They all seemed very supportive.

[GooooMarquette]

On a separate note - Harbaugh gowne?

Losing to 0-5 Penn State at home. Oof!

[skianth16]

Wow.  That is quite the take.

How about this.  She was selected for this opportunity and had the guts to follow through with it despite having to deal with people with dumb opinions like yours.

If she had worked for her opportunity it would be a different story. She didn't. That's why I don't see this is as anything more than a PR story.

Again, I'll point out the women who dedicated themselves to achieving their goals to my daughter. That's far more inspiring to me.

[GooooMarquette]

If she had worked for her opportunity it would be a different story. She didn't. That's why I don't see this is as anything more than a PR story.

Again, I'll point out the women who dedicated themselves to achieving their goals to my daughter. That's far more inspiring to me.

She worked her tail off for many years to become a high-level D1 soccer player...and the skills she developed were the reason she was picked today. It doesn't diminish her accomplishments - or the work it took to achieve them - just because her moment of fame came on a different field.

It would be very different if she was just picked at random out of the student body, but that is FAR from what happened.

[The Sultan]

She worked her tail off for many years to become a high-level D1 soccer player...and the skills she developed were the reason she was picked today. It doesn't diminish her accomplishments - or the work it took to achieve them - just because her moment of fame came on a different field.

It would be very different if she was just picked at random out of the student body, but that is FAR from what happened.

And was there PR involved?  Sure.  That's obvious. 

But you don't think her parents are proud of her?  Do you think they view this as a mere "patronizing pat on the head?"  C'mon...

[skianth16]

She worked her tail off for many years to become a high-level D1 soccer player...and the skills she developed were the reason she was picked today. It doesn't diminish her accomplishments - or the work it took to achieve them - just because her moment of fame came on a different field.

It would be very different if she was just picked at random out of the student body, but that is FAR from what happened.

Totally agree she had to have worked hard to be a starter on the soccer team. But that's not why she's being celebrated. Plus the coaches didn't even give her a real chance to show her skills today. And that's why it feels disingenuous.

I'm not trying to say that Sarah deserves criticism here. In fact, she's probably pissed she didn't even get a real shot tofay. I'm just saying this doesn't seem like a legit way of being the first woman to play power conference football. There will undoubtedly be a woman in the near future who earns a spot after working hard at kicking. Or maybe a sprinter who develops her hands skills to be a receiver. And that will be a cool story worth all the attention and accolades.

But when it comes to examples of women I'd want my daughter to emulate, I'm not pulling up this clip on youtube to show her.

[skianth16]

And was there PR involved?  Sure.  That's obvious. 

But you don't think her parents are proud of her?  Do you think they view this as a mere "patronizing pat on the head?"  C'mon...

Do you think Vandy plays her if they're not 0-7?  Do you think the coaches call for a squib if they think she can kick for a touchback? Do you think a male soccer player squibbing a kick 30 yards gets any attention?

If any of these are a "yes" then this isn't just for the sake of the headline. But if they're all "no" then maybe this was more PR related than equality related.

[MU82]

Buffalo RB had 400+ yards and 8 TDs today!

[Mr. Nielsen]

Yep. Gameday was pretty bad.

GameDay is always bad. Big Noon Kickoff for me on FOX/FS1. 

[JWags85]

Totally agree she had to have worked hard to be a starter on the soccer team. But that's not why she's being celebrated. Plus the coaches didn't even give her a real chance to show her skills today. And that's why it feels disingenuous.

I'm not trying to say that Sarah deserves criticism here. In fact, she's probably pissed she didn't even get a real shot tofay. I'm just saying this doesn't seem like a legit way of being the first woman to play power conference football. There will undoubtedly be a woman in the near future who earns a spot after working hard at kicking. Or maybe a sprinter who develops her hands skills to be a receiver. And that will be a cool story worth all the attention and accolades.

But when it comes to examples of women I'd want my daughter to emulate, I'm not pulling up this clip on youtube to show her.

It's not popular, but I think you have a point. Contrast this story with Mo Isom at LSU 7-8 years ago. Another very accomplished goalie who held multiple records at LSU, but she spent the better part of a year training with LSU's special teams and went through open tryouts. She ended up not being selected for a very good LSU team but it was an impressive trailblazing path.

Or Katie Hnida who was an actual HS kicker before her unfortunate time at CU and then New Mexico.

Nothing against Fuller and there is plenty of pride and praise to be had for her seizing a unique opportunity and challenge, but it's far more of a fluke than a wall being broke down IMO.

[The Sultan]

Buffalo RB had 400+ yards and 8 TDs today!

Dude can coach.

[cheebs09]

Buffalo RB had 400+ yards and 8 TDs today!

I thought the Packers played the Bears this week.

[JWags85]

Dude can coach.

What Leipold is doing at UB is truly incredible.  This is a program with no modern football history. They were a mediocre FCS school when they jumped to FBS around 2000. Turner Gill had one pretty good year that got him the Kansas job. Leipold' successor had some NFL talent come through but again had 1 good year and got fired the next.  The MAC is kind of a cyclical conference that sees many of the good programs have ebb and flows with great stretches. But Buffalo was the exception with Eastern Michigan.  They are REALLY tough this year. That offense is a wagon

[Marquette Fan]

I'm not so sure this is the example we want to point out to our daughters. She didn't dedicate herself to an ambitious goal and have to work hard to get there. She was pretty much hand-picked to fill an empty spot to make a few positive headlines for a horrible team. Then once she was in the game the coaches basically put her in a situation with no ability to fail. (there was no reason to squib a kick against a Mizzou team who ranks 13/14 in kick returns in the SEC)

There are so many more examples of women who put in years of hard work to achieve something great that I'll point out to my daughter. And if she shows an interest in football, I'll show her some clips of the female kickers that have won their spots in tryouts and worked hard for their playing time. A patronizing pat on the head for doing something nearly all other members of the team could have done isn't something I'll telling my daughter to aim for. I want her to know she can be better than that.

I stand behind my first comment and think it's a good example for my daughters.  She is a hard working college athlete - it's not as it they picked her up off the street this week. 

[The Sultan]

What Leipold is doing at UB is truly incredible.  This is a program with no modern football history. They were a mediocre FCS school when they jumped to FBS around 2000. Turner Gill had one pretty good year that got him the Kansas job. Leipold' successor had some NFL talent come through but again had 1 good year and got fired the next.  The MAC is kind of a cyclical conference that sees many of the good programs have ebb and flows with great stretches. But Buffalo was the exception with Eastern Michigan.  They are REALLY tough this year. That offense is a wagon

I knew he would succeed there if they gave him time. The question is where does he go now? 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Typical unnatural carnal knowledgeing Northwestern. This is why we can't have nice things.

Big 10 and the selection committee breathes a sigh of relief.

[GooooMarquette]

Typical unnatural carnal knowledgeing Northwestern. This is why we can't have nice things.

Big 10 and the selection committee breathes a sigh of relief.

Crazy day in the Big Ten. Penn State beats Michigan, Rutgers beats Purdue and Michigan State beats Northwestern. The only favored team to win was Indiana.

And Ohio State and Wisconsin are both at risk of missing the minimum number of games to qualify for the championship.

[The Sultan]

Wisconsin already has.  They are going to have to hope for a bunch of cancellations from other teams here on out.

[MU82]

Northwestern offense was really bad.

[dgies9156]

Do you think Vandy plays her if they're not 0-7?  Do you think the coaches call for a squib if they think she can kick for a touchback? Do you think a male soccer player squibbing a kick 30 yards gets any attention?

If any of these are a "yes" then this isn't just for the sake of the headline. But if they're all "no" then maybe this was more PR related than equality related.

Vanderbilt needed to do something to salvage what was, even by Vanderbilt standards, a terrible season. Vandy's football and basketball teams are all but irrelevant with the football team sinking to levels not seen since the immortal Bill Pace in the 1960s.

The only reasons they're in the SEC is the SEC pays Vanderbilt millions and Vanderbilt gives the SEC an air of class. Otherwise, they'd drop football and join the Big East in basketball and other sports.

[GooooMarquette]

Wisconsin already has.  They are going to have to hope for a bunch of cancellations from other teams here on out.

Yep. I only said 'at risk' because of the uncertainty over how many games might yet be canceled...but IMO they are toast. I believe about 10 of the remaining 14 games would need to be canceled to adjust the eligibility criteria.

[CreightonWarrior]

Alabama better without Saban?

[shoothoops]

Vanderbilt needed to do something to salvage what was, even by Vanderbilt standards, a terrible season. Vandy's football and basketball teams are all but irrelevant with the football team sinking to levels not seen since the immortal Bill Pace in the 1960s.

The only reasons they're in the SEC is the SEC pays Vanderbilt millions and Vanderbilt gives the SEC an air of class. Otherwise, they'd drop football and join the Big East in basketball and other sports.

Vandy needed a kicker.  Derek Mason and Darren Ambrose are good friends. Vandy assistant soccer coach Ken Masuhr contacted Sarah while she was packing to go home after winning the SEC Soccer Title the weekend before, in Orange, AL. to see if she was interested.

She was good enough to meet with them within the hour. Vandy Deputy AD Tommy McClelland, and Vandy Assistant AD Jason Grooms brought the idea to Vandy AD Candice Storey Lee and she signed off on it. It was good of Sarah to help them out. Sarah made 38 yard field goals in practice.

Former Vandy kicker Ryley Guay, a Medical Student, is going through COVID-19 protocols and practicing. He has one year of eligibility left (2017-2019) and may finish out their last two games.

The new Chancellor, new AD, new Deputy AD, are aware of the outdated facilities and many infrastructure needs. A small $5 million football locker room upgrade will happen after the season ends. An announcement is expected any time, for a larger more expensive football facility. It would appear they will get their own facility and not a shared one such as at Northwestern etc...but they are getting one.

All Anyone watching Sarah's game yesterday needed to do was look to the South End Zone to see Mizzou's newly opened $100 million football facility, initiated by Gary Pinkel for any inspiration and to see one example of what the other SEC teams are doing. Vandy is a founding member, 1932. Vandy is one of the best teams in the SEC in several non-revenue sports. Last football upgrade, 1981. Long overdue, and still too slow, but it is going to happen.

[GooooMarquette]

Alabama better without Saban?

#firesaban

[GooooMarquette]

All Anyone watching Sarah's game yesterday needed to do was look to the South End Zone to see Mizzou's newly opened $100 million football facility, initiated by Gary Pinkel for any inspiration and to see one example of what the other SEC teams are doing. Vandy is a founding member, 1932. Vandy is one of the best teams in the SEC in several non-revenue sports. Last football upgrade, 1981. Long overdue, and still too slow, but it is going to happen.

This is a much-overlooked aspect of Vanderbilt's non-monetary value to the SEC. Two recent National Championships (2014 and 2019) in baseball; 2015 National Champions in women's tennis; strong programs in men's tennis, women's lacrosse and soccer, and men's and women's golf. Those programs don't directly bring $$ to the SEC like football and basketball, but they help keep the conference's name in front of sports fans year-round.

And speaking of revenue sports, Vandy's women's hoops program is excellent, and the men's hoops program is very competitive.

So while they are very different from the football power schools in what they bring, they most certainly bring more to the conference than just academics.