2024 College Football Thread

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Lot of that is built on a soft Big Ten West

They gave up a bunch late to both Notre Dame and Michigan, but otherwise the defense was absolutely fine last year.

[Pakuni]

Lot of that is built on a soft Big Ten West

Yup.
Opponents offensive rank last year (out of 130):
Penn State - 82nd
Eastern Michigan - 79th
Notre Dame - 46th
Michigan - 29th
Illinois - 112th
Army - 83rd
Purdue - 34th
Iowa - 121st
Rutgers - 120th
Northwestern - 116th
Minnesota - 99th
Arizona State - 72nd

So, they played zero top 25 offenses, only three offenses in the top half and five ranked 99th or below.
Those three top half offenses managed to put up 78 points (not counting Notre Dame's two pick-sixes).
I'm sure the defense was fine, but they definitely benefited from a marshmallow soft schedule in which nearly half their opponents' offenses ranked in the bottom quarter of college football.

[Uncle Rico]

They gave up a bunch late to both Notre Dame and Michigan, but otherwise the defense was absolutely fine last year.

Sure, it’s fine.  And they’re a smart, disciplined defense but if they were plying dynamic offenses, I’d doubt they’d have the same numbers. 

Michigan defenses were quite good, too, and then Ohio State ran all over them.  Big Ten defenses simply lack elite speed to be truly great

[WhiteTrash]

No, it would give them a chance to upgrade the Ivy League’s academic standing.  It would be another feather in their academic cap

Well played sir.

[JWags85]

Karl Dorrell got canned at CU yesterday as well.

Now up to 5 P5 coaches that got the boot before October really began

G Tech
Arizona St
Nebraska
Wisky
CU

Leashes aint getting longer.

CU is a fascinating program fall off.  Really solid program all through the 70s and 80s.  Then Bill McCartney turned them into a power.  Neuheisel and Gary Barnett kept them in some varying level of good standing, but then starting with Dan Hawkins disaster there the program has turned into a joke.  Interestingly similar to Nebraska, a former B12 rival.

Its a program with a great campus, great stadium, great history, lot of built in advantages.  But they can't even keep talent home.  Colorado has had 20-25 Top 400 recruits over the last 5 years.  CU only got 1.  Utah has become a pretty rich recruiting area.  CU isn't grabbing any of that.  Oregon has really swooped in and started raiding what used to be their territory.  And thats just thinking Rocky Mountain area advantages.  Not even considering CA or TX where they used to recruit well and don't stand a chance at the moment.

You gotta wonder if they bring Bieniemy back and overlook his black marks from 15 years ago.  I don't think he's getting an NFL HC look this year or next.  Otherwise, I think Illinois' DC is a CU alum and that defense has been legit.

[Pakuni]

Karl Dorrell got canned at CU yesterday as well.

Now up to 5 P5 coaches that got the boot before October really began

G Tech
Arizona St
Nebraska
Wisky
CU

Leashes aint getting longer.

CU is a fascinating program fall off.  Really solid program all through the 70s and 80s.  Then Bill McCartney turned them into a power.  Neuheisel and Gary Barnett kept them in some varying level of good standing, but then starting with Dan Hawkins disaster there the program has turned into a joke.  Interestingly similar to Nebraska, a former B12 rival.

Its a program with a great campus, great stadium, great history, lot of built in advantages.  But they can't even keep talent home.  Colorado has had 20-25 Top 400 recruits over the last 5 years.  CU only got 1.  Utah has become a pretty rich recruiting area.  CU isn't grabbing any of that.  Oregon has really swooped in and started raiding what used to be their territory.  And thats just thinking Rocky Mountain area advantages.  Not even considering CA or TX where they used to recruit well and don't stand a chance at the moment.

You gotta wonder if they bring Bieniemy back and overlook his black marks from 15 years ago.  I don't think he's getting an NFL HC look this year or next.  Otherwise, I think Illinois' DC is a CU alum and that defense has been legit.

The Athletic did a great piece last year on the fall of CU football.
Lots of reasons for it, but the biggest is that the Texas and California recruiting pipelines that built them into a powerhouse mostly dried up when McCartney left and Texas, under Mack Brown, and USC, under Pete Carroll, became national powers again.
They also had too many off-field problems and whiffed on some coaching hires.

If you're a subscriber:
https://theathletic.com/3253765/2022/04/18/colorado-buffaloes-big-8-pac-12-decline/
 

[Billy Hoyle]

Karl Dorrell got canned at CU yesterday as well.

Now up to 5 P5 coaches that got the boot before October really began

G Tech
Arizona St
Nebraska
Wisky
CU

Leashes aint getting longer.

CU is a fascinating program fall off. Really solid program all through the 70s and 80s.  Then Bill McCartney turned them into a power.  Neuheisel and Gary Barnett kept them in some varying level of good standing, but then starting with Dan Hawkins disaster there the program has turned into a joke.  Interestingly similar to Nebraska, a former B12 rival.

Its a program with a great campus, great stadium, great history, lot of built in advantages.  But they can't even keep talent home.  Colorado has had 20-25 Top 400 recruits over the last 5 years.  CU only got 1.  Utah has become a pretty rich recruiting area.  CU isn't grabbing any of that.  Oregon has really swooped in and started raiding what used to be their territory.  And thats just thinking Rocky Mountain area advantages.  Not even considering CA or TX where they used to recruit well and don't stand a chance at the moment.

You gotta wonder if they bring Bieniemy back and overlook his black marks from 15 years ago.  I don't think he's getting an NFL HC look this year or next.  Otherwise, I think Illinois' DC is a CU alum and that defense has been legit.

The tactics McCartney used for recruiting did not go over well in Boulder despite the success. While people look back on the success they had, including the 1990 co-national title, many in Boulder also remember the rash of arrests among the football team.

Per friends in Boulder at at CU, the biggest issue CU has had in recruiting is the population of Boulder and negative recruiting used by coaches, telling Black players they don't want to go there. Until recently, Boulder is currently 88% white. It is still less than 1% Black and the CU student population is only 2.6% Black. Additionally, CU has the reputation as a rich kid school, and the city of Boulder is very wealthy (the median home price is over $1 million). College sports is secondary for students and citizens there. Kids would rather ski or hike on the weekends than go to games. Plus, CU doesn't put much money into sports. CU just isn't a place where football success can be sustained.

If they want an experienced head coach with ties to the region, they should go with Bronco Mendenhall. He'd be a good guy to stabilize the program.

[Billy Hoyle]

I should have been more specific . My friend the Big Badger Benefactor was actually saying that they are not embracing NIL.

Is he sure? They have two already, a NIL launch platform and the Varsity Collective, just launched with some big backers. Plus, they have the advantage of being the only game in town in Madison. And they were one of the first schools in the Big Ten to adopt Alston benefits, which, IMO, is more important than NIL (and what MU needs to do) as it provides benefits to everyone.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Is he sure? They have two already, a NIL launch platform and the Varsity Collective, just launched with some big backers. Plus, they have the advantage of being the only game in town in Madison. And they were one of the first schools in the Big Ten to adopt Alston benefits, which, IMO, is more important than NIL (and what MU needs to do) as it provides benefits to everyone.

Not sure the now former football coach was fully on board though.

[JWags85]

Per friends in Boulder at at CU, the biggest issue CU has had in recruiting is the population of Boulder and negative recruiting used by coaches, telling Black players they don't want to go there. Until recently, Boulder is currently 88% white. It is still less than 1% Black and the CU student population is only 2.6% Black. Additionally, CU has the reputation as a rich kid school, and the city of Boulder is very wealthy (the median home price is over $1 million). College sports is secondary for students and citizens there. Kids would rather ski or hike on the weekends than go to games. Plus, CU doesn't put much money into sports. CU just isn't a place where football success can be sustained.

The demographics of CU isn't starkly different than other big football schools.  USC about 4%.  U of Utah has less than 200 black students that aren't on the football or basketball teams.  Oregon is 2.5% AA.  U of Michigan is about 4%.  ND about the same.  And none of those, outside of USC, are in diverse areas.  I don't buy that the greater demographics of a college town are a huge selling point.  Otherwise how does anyone go to ND.

As for the bolded, thats simply not true either.  Even though they've sucked, they still average 45-50K fans, in a stadium that holds just over 50K.  Its the flagship university of a state that likes football.  Maybe the wealthy REI crowd in Boulder proper doesn't go to games, but that doesn't mean gameday at Folsom isn't packed.  They just averaged over 50K fans against last year.

CU's athletic department budget is around $90MM.  They're not Oregon, but they're easily average, if not a bit higher, in the Pac12.  Hardly spendthrifts

The recruiting comparisons to the heyday of CU football is very valid and a huge issue as they severely lack talent.  However, the rest is just excuses for poor performance.  Drive around the greater Boulder, or even Denver, area on a fall Saturday and there is black and gold everywhere.  The spirit shops on campus are massive and have every CU monagramed item you could think of.  Acting like its Mountain Country Club U with no athletic appeal or support is just unsubstantiated.

[Hards Alumni]

I think this is probably much more about something else other than two straight bad conference losses. I mean it's fairly common for B10 coaches to go into Columbus and get their asses handed to them--------Chryst isn't  the first and he sure won't be the last. And while Illinois was an embarrassing stinker, a coach of his tenure should be allowed one of those once in a great while.

You'd have to be an insider to know for sure, but my guess is that he had lost complete control over the locker room and/or the confidence of his coordinators and assistant coaches.

Notwithstanding what happened at Nebraska, the mid-season timing is a little odd. And to my Badger fan friends ( the few that I have) be careful what you wish for.

Nope.  He was widely loved by the players and staff.

[Billy Hoyle]

CU's athletic department budget is around $90MM.  They're not Oregon, but they're easily average, if not a bit higher, in the Pac12.  Hardly spendthrifts

The recruiting comparisons to the heyday of CU football is very valid and a huge issue as they severely lack talent.  However, the rest is just excuses for poor performance.  Drive around the greater Boulder, or even Denver, area on a fall Saturday and there is black and gold everywhere.  The spirit shops on campus are massive and have every CU monagramed item you could think of.  Acting like its Mountain Country Club U with no athletic appeal or support is just unsubstantiated.

The main reason Tucker left CU for Michigan State was money - CU would not pony up to pay him nor his assistants. They're the DePaul of the Pac-12. Overall their football operating expenses are is 8th in the Pac-12.

[Uncle Rico]

Nope.  He was widely loved by the players and staff.

Rich donors pushed him out.  End of story

[WhiteTrash]

The main reason Tucker left CU for Michigan State was money - CU would not pony up to pay him nor his assistants. They're the DePaul of the Pac-12. Overall their football operating expenses are is 8th in the Pac-12.

That may have been the best decision CU has made in past two decades.

[Uncle Rico]

That may have been the best decision CU has made in past two decades.

Michigan State blinked too early, LSU is glad they did

[Billy Hoyle]

Michigan State blinked too early, LSU is glad they did

it's not like MSU themselves is paying him though. It's two billionaire donors. MSU's inferiority complex killed them with Tucker - "he beat Michigan twice, we must keep him and give him Jimbo Fisher money. I mean. that worked out for TAMU..."

[Uncle Rico]

it's not like MSU themselves is paying him though. It's two billionaire donors. MSU's inferiority complex killed them with Tucker - "he beat Michigan twice, we must keep him and give him Jimbo Fisher money. I mean. that worked out for TAMU..."

Well, that’s all major football schools.  The schools aren’t paying these buyouts and contracts.  Priorities and all

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

This is insane.

https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/1577461664601223169?s=20&t=8eqZON8Nx_-bf-2FgYaT2A

And of course, the AD who signed this deal moved on to LSU.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This is insane.

https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/1577461664601223169?s=20&t=8eqZON8Nx_-bf-2FgYaT2A

And of course, the AD who signed this deal moved on to LSU.

We have just stupid money here

[Billy Hoyle]

This is insane.

https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/1577461664601223169?s=20&t=8eqZON8Nx_-bf-2FgYaT2A

And of course, the AD who signed this deal moved on to LSU.

And they were bidding against themselves to give him that ridiculous contract. It's just Monopoly money for these schools now.

[Pakuni]

The Athletic did a deep dive into the firing of Chryst. Basically chalks it up to a lot of disorganization, especially in the recruiting department, and a failure to get the most out of his talent.
It seems la bit like this is the athletic department getting its side out without putting is name behind it, but still a decent read.

https://theathletic.com/3661745/2022/10/06/paul-chryst-fired-wisconsin-jim-leonhard/?source=emp_shared_article

[Hards Alumni]

The Athletic did a deep dive into the firing of Chryst. Basically chalks it up to a lot of disorganization, especially in the recruiting department, and a failure to get the most out of his talent.
It seems la bit like this is the athletic department getting its side out without putting is name behind it, but still a decent read.

https://theathletic.com/3661745/2022/10/06/paul-chryst-fired-wisconsin-jim-leonhard/?source=emp_shared_article

Mailing it in, is basically what I've heard around here.

[4everwarriors]

$11 mil plus what he's already earned is not a bad way to ease inta retirement, hey?

[Hards Alumni]

$11 mil plus what he's already earned is not a bad way to ease inta retirement, hey?

It feels more like a face plant into retirement, but yeah easy street for sure.

[4everwarriors]

Aka IDGAF, hey?