2020-21 College Football Thread

[dgies9156]

I'm not surprised Derek Mason would possibly be the one to give her a chance. He's one of the better people in the game.

And, he's got a team that only players wearing Orange and White truly fear.

Mr. Mason may be a goner at the end of the year. In the less-than-august annals of Vandy football, this year's team stacks up as one of the worst. Challenged only by last year's team and any team in the Jack Green/Bill Pace era.

[MU82]

A 1 loss ND will be in the playoff. Especially if that loss is Clemson

Depends. What if Florida wins out including v Alabama in the SEC title game?  Both a one loss Florida and Alabama get in over ND.

The team that can’t slip up is Ohio State.

I agree with Sultan, but also agree with jes that I probably gave ND too little a chance with a loss to Clemson.

Of course, ND could lose to UNC on Friday, making all this moot. Here's hoping ... although it is kind of fun watching Bama or Clemson roll ND in the playoffs.

[shoothoops]

And, he's got a team that only players wearing Orange and White truly fear.

Mr. Mason may be a goner at the end of the year. In the less-than-august annals of Vandy football, this year's team stacks up as one of the worst. Challenged only by last year's team and any team in the Jack Green/Bill Pace era.

And that doesn't change that Mason is one of the good people in the game.

As Vandy head football coach, Mason is not someone that can do more with less resources and infrastructure. In order to be successful at Vandy, the football coach is someone that needs to be able to do more with less. This is likely going to be his last season at Vandy, unless he gets a year COVID-19 delay. Mason was close a couple of seasons, and he has dominated rival Tennessee often, which pleases many there.

All one has to do is go to every, or any, school in the SEC and compare and contrast infrastructure and resources with Vandy. Vandy hasn't upgraded its football stadium since 1981. The football team shares a lot of space and resources with other sports and the University. The fundraising arm of the University was removed from campus and moved to a nearby hotel (Lowes) for years. (It is moving back)

David Williams who was a good man, and good at a lot of things, but he wasn't a fundraiser. When he retired, snd then unexpectedly passed away, the next AD was inexperienced, and, the University thought he was too big of a spender. He lasted one year.

There is some recent encouragement with the new Chancellor, new AD, new Associate AD fundraising hire. They need several hundred million dollars worth of infrastructure improvements. (When it rained last year, the baseball team's World Series winning watch party moved inside Memorial Gym, which didn't have AC in late June.) Hoops did get a $5 million gift for that AC and practice gym update. (They need another.)

So no, Derek Mason hasn't won enough, and, he's had enough time to be a bit better than he has. But he also wasn't living in a world of apples to apples either. Hopefully the next coach will have an easier chance to be successful.

It's all the more impressive just how good Vandy's non-revenue programs have been, baseball, tennis, golf, soccer, bowling (yes bowling) etc...they have some really good non-revenue programs.

Perhaps Vandy can get one of those $270 million facilities like Northwestern? I'd say football facility, but I know NU shares it with other programs. Vandy is the type of place that prefers to integrate the football team within the student body and other teams.

[GooooMarquette]

It's interesting. (I follow Women's College Soccer). Vandy graduated two very good Keepers last year who shared playing time. As an incoming Senior, Fuller played sparingly in her soccer career at Vandy. She wasn't the starting keeper this year, but she took the spot after a few games in which the starting keeper, a Sophomore, struggled.

Initially, Fuller also struggled quite a bit, but she was improved a bit, and she was solid in the SEC Tourney, which Vandy won. (Mostly due to elite play between the 18's,.increased scoring, and limiting chances).

I'm not sure if she'll get a chance in the football game. I'm also not sure how well she'd do. It would be a good story if she had a chance and succeeded. I'm not surprised Derek Mason would possibly be the one to give her a chance. He's one of the better people in the game.

Maybe she has a strong (and accurate) leg that works better on the football field than the futbol pitch? Like a Sebastian Janukowski....

Anyway, it'd be great if she gets a shot.

Sounds like you know quite a bit about Vandy and Nashville. You live there?

[shoothoops]

Maybe she has a strong (and accurate) leg that works better on the football field than the futbol pitch? Like a Sebastian Janukowski....

Anyway, it'd be great if she gets a shot.

Sounds like you know quite a bit about Vandy and Nashville. You live there?

Some soccer and football kicker assets are similar, and, some are different. Fuller does have a strong leg. In soccer, her goal kicks, free kicks, punts, pass backs, were good but inconsistent. She at times could pass the ball end to end of the field.

When describing her soccer play, some of her initial challenges were positioning, footwork, hands, etc...which would all be different in football. But she did improve as the season went along.

I hope she gets a chance and does well. it would be good for her, the sport, and Vandy. We'll see.

(I do know some folks at Vandy. I also know some soccer/place kicker families that kicked in college and professional ranks. Sent you a PM)

[MU82]

Key play in ND-UNC game:

Early in 3Q with score tied, UNC has ND stopped. 4th-and-1 at ND’s 24. Everyone in the stadium knew ND was only lining up on offense to draw D offside ... and UNC went offside anyway. After the gift 1st down, ND goes methodically downfield to score go-ahead TD. Stoopid!

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Ugh.  This Notre Dame team is really good.  This team can play with Alabama.

[JWags85]

You can’t take away the Clemson win, but I’m still not sold on ND. Their offense just disappears for quarters at a time. Happened against Louisville. Happened against a BAD GT team in the second half. Happened here against a UNC team that gave up 40+ to far inferior teams. Seems like another good regular season that ends with Bama or OSU holding them to 10 pts on the CFB Semi and thrashing them. Ian Book has terrible pocket presence very often.

Ugh.  This Notre Dame team is really good.  This team can play with Alabama.

Their offense has been spastic today. Defense is very good but they won’t score 20 on Bama

[Mr. Nielsen]

Notre Dame was fantastic today versus a very good UNC offense.

[shoothoops]

Clemson was fortunate to get their win over BC. They lost to ND.

Ole Miss lit up the scoreboard v Alabama and could have won the game. Georgia led Alabama for 2.5 quarters.

All of these teams are certainly beatable. All great teams, ND included.

UNC is going to be a very good football program under Mack Brown.

[JWags85]

Clemson was fortunate to get their win over BC. They lost to ND.

Ole Miss lit up the scoreboard v Alabama and could have won the game. Georgia led Alabama for 2.5 quarters.

I don’t think they were fortunate. They started slow with a true freshman QB in his first ever start and a flukey fumble that led to a TD return. Outside of that play, it would have been a one score game at half. In the second half, BC got manhandled and never got past the Clemson 45. Midway through the 3rd Qtr, it was blatantly obvious that Clemson was winning the game, regardless of score

And with all due respect, did you watch the Ole Miss/Bama game? It was incredibly fun, one of the best games of the year. But Ole Miss couldn’t stop Bama, Bama never punted. They were never in danger of losing, regardless of what Kiffin’s offense could put up against a system he knew VERY well. It was just when those stops would happen for Bama. They played the entire game in cruise control

[wadesworld]

The fog in this Oregon/Oregon State game is awesome

[shoothoops]

I don’t think they were fortunate. They started slow with a true freshman QB in his first ever start and a flukey fumble that led to a TD return. Outside of that play, it would have been a one score game at half. In the second half, BC got manhandled and never got past the Clemson 45. Midway through the 3rd Qtr, it was blatantly obvious that Clemson was winning the game, regardless of score

And with all due respect, did you watch the Ole Miss/Bama game? It was incredibly fun, one of the best games of the year. But Ole Miss couldn’t stop Bama, Bama never punted. They were never in danger of losing, regardless of what Kiffin’s offense could put up against a system he knew VERY well. It was just when those stops would happen for Bama. They played the entire game in cruise control

I did watch the Ole Miss v Bama game. The story of the game was Alabama's inability to stop Ole Miss. Everyone knew Ole Miss didn't have a good defense. Kiffin is hustling to find juco defenders for next season because Ole Miss wasn't left with any. Alabama didn't play the game on cruise control. That's incorrect. The game was tied in the fourth quarter. It was also a one possession game throughout the fourth quarter until a minute left in the game.  We can't change the facts of the game. 647 yards, 48 points.

Clemson came back to win over BC in the 4th quarter. BC had chances to retake the lead in Clemson territory in the 4th quarter. BC led much of the game. Those parts of the game count too. Again, we can't change the facts of the game.

You are trying waaaaay too hard here to make these look like "Cruise Control" wins in these games. They were anything but for both Alabama and Clemson. I think objective observers can see that. Again these are still great teams, but they struggled at times this season. All teams have.

You made excuses for both Clemson and Alabama in your analysis. Freshman QB here, fluke play there, a coach that knew the other team there etc....but your inconsistency is not applying that to ND as well. Why is it okay to make excuses for the other teams but not them? Here, I'll play. ND started two new offensive lineman today but still put up 31 points and 480 yards of offense and controlled the ball for almost 35 minutes.

Back to the main overall point. Objectively, like it or not, Notre Dame is certainly in the same class as both Alabama and Clemson this season. You may not like them, but they have already shown that regardless of what happens with them down the road. And of course, they already defeated Clemson.

[GooooMarquette]

The fog in this Oregon/Oregon State game is awesome

OSU hanging right in there too....

[DegenerateDish]

Indiana is an astonishing +4400 right now on DK to win the Big 10. Just sayin...

[JWags85]

OSU hanging right in there too....

Some of the worst officiating I’ve ever seen to end the game. Funny enough, it benefited OSU. That Oregon DL was gassed, they weren’t going to stop runs inside. So all the missed offsides and TERRIBLE spots depriving OSU of earlier TDs just ended up killing clock and burning Oregon’s TOs

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I love when Oregon State beats Oregon.  I don't know of another case where you have two public universities in the same conference, who are completely mismatched resource wise.  And they are only about 50 miles apart.

I guess you have Washington and Washington State, but those campuses are located in completely different regions of the state

[shoothoops]

Disappointed to see the initial ESPN Gameday panel reaction to Sarah Fuller dressing for Vandy today. They came across as rather immature and childish in my opinion, especially Howard and Pollack. I am not surprised she has the respect of her coaches and teammates.

I would have perhaps considered Hopkins, Shamburger, Brighton, Elwell etc...first, from a standpoint of athleticism + strong leg. But Fuller does have the size and leg strength, though not as consistent. I hope to see Sarah knock through a few PAT's and perhaps a short FG.

[GooooMarquette]

Disappointed to see the initial ESPN Gameday panel reaction to Sarah Fuller dressing for Vandy today. They came across as rather immature and childish in my opinion, especially Howard and Pollack. I am not surprised she has the respect of her coaches and teammates.

I would have perhaps considered Hopkins, Shamburger, Brighton, Elwell etc...first, from a standpoint of athleticism + strong leg. But Fuller does have the size and leg strength, though not as consistent. I hope to see Sarah knock through a few PAT's and perhaps a short FG.

Missed the Gameday comments. Shame if they made light of it.

Too bad Vandy's offense has been so pathetic - they've only made it past midfield twice, and outside of reasonable FG range (closest would've been a 51-yarder). And a PAT seems even more unlikely.

At least she got into the game for Vandy's one and only kickoff today....

[GooooMarquette]

FSU's game canceled on gameday for the second straight week.

https://apnews.com/article/college-football-football-florida-coronavirus-pandemic-clemson-tigers-football-9d3f6a15ca9fe53e8ea75d115df302c6

Gotta really suck for UVa, which was already in Tallahassee when the postponement was announced....

[shoothoops]

Missed the Gameday comments. Shame if they made light of it.

Too bad Vandy's offense has been so pathetic - they've only made it past midfield twice, and outside of reasonable FG range (closest would've been a 51-yarder). And a PAT seems even more unlikely.

At least she got into the game for Vandy's one and only kickoff today....

Unfortunate that she didn't get a chance offensively.

Yep. Gameday was pretty bad. Insecure sexism is alive and well.

[Marquette Fan]

Unfortunate that she didn't get a chance offensively.

Yep. Gameday was pretty bad. Insecure sexism is alive and well.

I made the mistake of reading some Facebook comments on articles about her - lots of sexism there of course.  I did like seeing all the people put someone in their place though who accused them of picking her instead of a men's soccer player to get attention as Vandy hasn't had a men's soccer team for many years.

I love the example she sets for my two girls - want them to think they can do anything they want to when they grow up.  They've inherited their mother's lack of athletic talent so it won't be anything in athletics but it still is a nice example.

[shoothoops]

I made the mistake of reading some Facebook comments on articles about her - lots of sexism there of course.  I did like seeing all the people put someone in their place though who accused them of picking her instead of a men's soccer player to get attention as Vandy hasn't had a men's soccer team for many years.

I love the example she sets for my two girls - want them to think they can do anything they want to when they grow up.  They've inherited their mother's lack of athletic talent so it won't be anything in athletics but it still is a nice example.

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.

[skianth16]

I made the mistake of reading some Facebook comments on articles about her - lots of sexism there of course.  I did like seeing all the people put someone in their place though who accused them of picking her instead of a men's soccer player to get attention as Vandy hasn't had a men's soccer team for many years.

I love the example she sets for my two girls - want them to think they can do anything they want to when they grow up.  They've inherited their mother's lack of athletic talent so it won't be anything in athletics but it still is a nice example.

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.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

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.

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.