After a bit of a break to handle some stuff off the scene we're back with Fetch Friday and it is a solid one in the way that you folks like; public call outs, people being stupid and yay, recruiting. As friend of the fetch mentioned today Ann Curry should be on here every week and starting next week she will be. But the kid is tired with all the tennis that's been going on and some of the ugly you're about to see today does not fit with how awesome Ann happens to be.
I felt this jam would be a solid lead in for what we're about to get into...
So yesterday we had two relatively well known recruits make some impactful decisions with regards to their football futures. Joshua Garnett, a five star offensive lineman, decided to go to Stanford over Michigan while James Summers, a four star quarterback but also athlete, elected to drop NC State and head over to Chapel Hill. Yes, that means plenty of inappropriate angry whining to go around. We started with Gunner Kiel and now we've stepped it up to two recruits this week.
As you all should well know I took Tuesday to write a quick spot on Gunner Kiel and the way fans are reacting to a kid they don't know and his decision not to go to LSU. Ultimately it is something that has become a pet cause and rightfully so, adults being nasty to and about kids for a decision that they have no bearing on is getting out of hand. It is the ugliest part of the sport and "just ignore it" has absolutely not done anything positive. Time to try something new folks.
Thanks to Mike Maniscalco and Mark Thomas over at ESPN620 and ESPN Triangle I get the chance to talk a bit more about discouraging this type of behavior. Ultimately it has to be a peer focused effort because Joe Fan in Random State, USA likely won't change his tune because Michael Felder says it is unacceptable. It takes a cultural effort from individual communities; physical, fan and online communities, to stem the tied and change what they will and will not "be ok with" out of their populations. Thanks to Shannon Penn for the audio.
To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.
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Yesterday the nation's number one quarterback recruit, Gunner Kiel from Indiana, reportedly decided that Louisiana State University was not the place for him, instead he would stay closer to home and go to Notre Dame. If you've followed Kiel at all you know he originally intended to stay close to home by committing to Indiana, going to play with his brother even, but that didn't last for long as he switched to college football power LSU. We've come almost full circle as he returns home to play his ball.
So a teenager has committed to three places, has yet to actually enroll so there's a chance he could change his mind again and spurned one of the nation's more consistent winners in the last decade. You know what that means right?
It means get crazy if you're a fan of anyone and everyone. LSU fan go ham on Gunner Kiel. College football fan in general do your worst about a teenager because that's what makes you a big man. Basically say whatever you want to say about a kid, because he isn't certain about where he wants to spend the next three to five years of his life.
Our bloguin colleague The Subway Domer took the time to write a bang up post about talking to recruits and why every fan should just leave the entirely alone. Truly a great cause, a fantastic point is made and as we travel into the offseason that is definitely one of the main focuses that we should all have to help make college football a bit better.
But honestly, I'm willing to go one step further. Not just in trying to stop folks from talking to recruits but rather rallying for civility and humanity when dealing with recruits in general. Don't be that guy people. Kids change their minds. In today's atmosphere of school's over offering, coaching changes and intense battles prospects, are being goaded into commitments and then opt out when they feel uncomfortable.
no commentsThe first Fetch Friday of the young offseason and ugh this is hard folks. Yes, we've got recruiting and some hires to be made plus the NFL Draft and spring ball but ya know it just isn't the same as having real life ball so hard action. First Friday since August where we ain't go football to look forward to, that shit cray.
We've had a pretty busy week here at the site as we took the LSU offensive gameplan to task following their awful showing against Bama and then we talked with Bomani Jones about where a playoff fit into the college football hierarchy of needs. Some of the more non-awful work that's been done over on site so check it out.
Because today is the 60th Anniversary of the Today Show and they have already played this song three times I'm going to roll it out there too. I'm fairly certain Ann Curry likes this jam.
We've got an interesting conversation to have as the plus-one and the whole BCS world is really getting intriguing now.
Big, big show today as we get long time friend of the program Bomani Jones on to talk about his most recent article over at his new spot, SBNation. You may also know Bomani Jones from his stops on Around the Horn, which he does again this Friday. Bomani wrote a nice piece explaining why, with so much going wrong in the world of college football, a playoff to sate the fans is far from the first thing that should be on folks' agenda. The premise of this is fantastic as college football pundits and fans alike devote such a major portion of their energy and passion to complaining about the BCS and advocating for a playoff on a damn near daily basis.
Jones and I don't waste much time early as we get right to the heart of the matter; the NCAA can't even get universities to cover the full cost of scholarships for the athletes involved or insure the players future at a university but folks are worried about how many more games they can squeeze out of these guys for their own entertainment? The rhetoric has long been about the selfishness of the BCS, of school presidents, of the conferences and how they don't care about fans who "deserve" or "really want" a playoff. Simply put, what about the players?
Novel concept really, being concerned with the actual human beings doing all the work in this process. Bomani and I discuss why the players do seem to be lost in the shuffle, the utter hypocrisy of the schools involved, the disconnect between fans and the reality of college athletics and what can be done to close this gap. To go along with Jones' article I highly recommend the following; Tyler Branch in The Atlantic and all the Joe Nocera info you need from his stop on the podcast.
The second half of the podcast is one of the more chill yet informative and opinionated half hours on college football you'll get. Bomani and I meander through the college football world hitting a myriad of topics that all come up organically in a stroll through the landscape. Everything from Dana Holgorsen's bro-ness plus Jim Mora Jr. and Paul Chryst having new jobs longer than Kevin Sumlin and Larry Fedora to the unique awesomeness that is an Oregon official visit, Texas' high ceiling going forward and Texas A&M making Alabama an even better recruiting school.
Get this podcast in your earholes folks, it'll do you good. Oh and if you're going to be in the New York City area on February 8th, Bomani will be speaking at NYU.
To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.
If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedburner, but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS Feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for "In The Bleachers"on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.
Blackberry users like your fearless leader can paste this link into the "Add Podcast Channel" option when you download the Blackberry Podcast App.
Got a question? Email it in to InTheBleachers @ GMAIL (dot) COM
Yes, we're on the Google+ so find "+Michael Felder" on there and we'll get you in the ITB Circle!
Hit us up on Twitter @InTheBleachers!
The season has come to an end and before we get into the conversation with respect to recruiting, the draft and spring ball we do need to tie up this season's loose ends. We've got our final blogpoll here for your consumption. In addition to the blogpoll check out some "other things" starting with the Audible Audibles podcast out from Husker Locker folks and then take in this great read from Bomani Jones on the whole playoff outcry in relation to collegiate athletics.
In The Bleachers Ballot - Week 16
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide |  1 |
| 2 | LSU Tigers |  -1 |
| 3 | Oregon Ducks | -- |
| 4 | Arkansas Razorbacks | -- |
| 5 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 6 | USC Trojans | 2 |
| 7 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 2 |
| 8 | Michigan St. Spartans | 4 |
| 9 | Stanford Cardinal | -3 |
| 10 | Wisconsin Badgers | -3 |
| 11 | Boise St. Broncos | 6 |
| 12 | Georgia Bulldogs | -2 |
| 13 | Michigan Wolverines | 5 |
| 14 | Houston Cougars | 5 |
| 15 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 9 |
| 16 | Baylor Bears | -2 |
| 17 | TCU Horned Frogs | -1 |
| 18 | Oklahoma Sooners | 2 |
| 19 | Clemson Tigers | -8 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech Hokies | -5 |
| 21 | Florida St. Seminoles | 2 |
| 22 | Kansas St. Wildcats | -9 |
| 23 | Missouri Tigers | -1 |
| 24 | Northern Illinois Huskies | 1 |
| 25 | Temple Owls | -- |
| Dropouts: Nebraska Cornhuskers | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
So there's the poll, we'll knock out a quick run down after the jump. Plenty to hit on right quick.
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Last night I walked into the game with absolutely no belief in AJ McCarron, the Bama wide receivers or their ability to tax the LSU secondary. I walked away with my mind changed and as impressed as I've been by a gameplan since Bama did the same thing in 2009 against the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game. Those were Bama's keys to the game offensively; getting LSU off balance, making a quarterback who had been neutral at best become a positive and spelling Trent Richardson with heavy doses of Eddie Lacy.
It worked.
That said it also helps to acknowledge LSU's disastrous hand that was played. While Bama's gameplan entering game was to totally flip their offensive style in an effort to tax LSU it seems the Bayou Bengals decided to change their entire gameplan, focusing on "what sort of worked last game." Honestly it was one of the lazier gameplans we've seen; a sophomoric attempt at cutting corners towards a championship by refusing to actually attack Bama and stubbornly abandoning the things Jordan Jefferson and the Bayou Bengal offensive weapons do best.
To be fair here we'll rip LSU's offense first because too much blame will be placed on Jordan Jefferson and not nearly enough on the play calling. Going into this game Jefferson was a clear plus for the LSU unit and somehow, the kid who played so well dating back to the end of last year and into the 2011 season turned into mush. As fun as people seem to find ridiculing Jordan Jefferson and ultimately being validated for what they said in September the fact is last night was far from "all Jordan Jefferson's fault."
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Tonight's the night folks as number one LSU takes on number two Alabama for the BCS Championship. There will be plenty of debate with respect to the polls should Bama wins and everything will be right if the Bayou Bengals put the Tide down in New Orleans. A lot of people have their BCS game predictions, their players to watch and all the storylines covered entering the game. We've discussed this game plenty, both with Russ Mitchell from CFN and with ESPN's Charles Arbuckle so check those shows out if you need more primer for the game.
I'll be live tweeting the game and hoping to stay out of twitter jail but I do want folks to know that if the jailing does happen I'll be at the back up account for more of the same insight. I'm pretty damn excited about this game; defensive football at its finest with plenty of great strategy to watch. A true chess match between Nick Saban-Kirby Smart and John Chavis as they look to shut down the opposition's offenses.
This is the type of stuff that I love to see. I'm a sucker for a defense capable of doing everything right. A slave to the minutia of it all with regards to changing coverages, using multiple fronts and bringing pressure from all over the place. So with that in mind I figured in addition to the livetweets and the in-game discussion I'd drop some watching hints as to what I'm going to be looking at during the game.
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Today we've got the BCS Championship Game as the capper to our season and it is shaping up to be an absolute slugfest. We've got Bama and LSU. The Tide and the Tigers. Alabama and the Bayou Bengals. I broke the game down on Fetch Friday with Russ Mitchell and highly recommend that show as you get ready for the game. Today we've got another BCS Breakdown with ESPN's Charles Arbuckle. Arbuckle is an analyst for the WWL so we get a chance to talk the game from a number of angles.
Charles and I get into the rematch idea one last time before we kickoff a little discussion on what each team can do to win this ball game. Saban vs Miles. Bama's defense vs the option and a quarterback run threat will be the biggest keys to the game and that should tell your story. For Bama to win they need to get good effort from their punters, some tremendous play from not just Trent Richardson but Marquis Maze and Eddie Lacy as well. On the LSU side expect their defense to play strong and dare the Tide to throw the ball. All in all we're looking at a game that should be another classic as the nation's two best teams take the field.
Oh and if you all didn't know Charles Arbuckle is a former UCLA tight end so I take the time to wrap up the podcast by talking about his thoughts on the new hire for the Bruins. We talk Jim Mora and what the new coach can do to help bring some success back to the school. He offers some great insight as someone close to the program that ultimately wants UCLA to get back to winning ball games and competing in the Pac-12.
To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.
If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedburner, but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS Feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for "In The Bleachers"on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.
Blackberry users like your fearless leader can paste this link into the "Add Podcast Channel" option when you download the Blackberry Podcast App.
Got a question? Email it in to InTheBleachers @ GMAIL (dot) COM
Yes, we're on the Google+ so find "+Michael Felder" on there and we'll get you in the ITB Circle!
Hit us up on Twitter @InTheBleachers!
We've got a great guest on the show this evening to talk about Saturday's BBVA Compass Bowl down in Birmingham, Alabama, someone who will be there talking about all the action, ESPN's own Charles Arbuckle. The analyst joins us to discuss a game that is quite interesting given the circumstances in which both teams enter the game. For SMU we have a team entering who thought they were about to lose their head coach to Arizona State. In Pitt we have the team that ultimately did lose their coach to the Sun Devils.
Should be an interesting contest as both teams are down their best player; Pitt's Ray Graham and SMU's Zach Line, and are fighting to finish off the season on a positive note. For SMU they're looking to get their second bowl win since 1984 and continue to build on the success that June Jones has brought them. Meanwhile Pitt, with new coach Paul Chryst set to take over after the game, is in a familiar space and the guys on the field know they have to fight for one another to be successful after the adversity this program has faced in the last 13 months.
To listen to the show click here or subscribe to one of the methods listed below.
If you want the podcast you must subscribe to the Feedburner, but if you want to subscribe to the blog please use the RSS Feed. This is for iTunes to be able to archive the shows. You can also search for "In The Bleachers"on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast that way.
Blackberry users like your fearless leader can paste this link into the "Add Podcast Channel" option when you download the Blackberry Podcast App.
Got a question? Email it in to InTheBleachers @ GMAIL (dot) COM
Yes, we're on the Google+ so find "+Michael Felder" on there and we'll get you in the ITB Circle!
Hit us up on Twitter @InTheBleachers!
