2019 NCAA Football Offseason Thread (formerly Targeting Thread)

[dfwabel]

While the AP Poll is not released until Monday, August 12, Mercury News' Jon Wilner released his Top 25 yesterday. 

Note that Wilner's is not a preseason 25, but where he thinks teams will end the season.

 

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Oklahoma

4. Michigan

5. Georgia

6. Utah

7. LSU

8. Iowa State

9. Oregon

10. Texas

11. Notre Dame

12. Ohio State

13. Michigan State

14. Florida

15. Missouri*

16. Army

17. Stanford

18. Syracuse

19. Washington

20. Virginia Tech

21. Fresno State

22. Nebraska

23. Cincinnati

24. Washington State

25. Texas A&M

(Also considered: Auburn, Boise State, Florida State, Iowa, Kentucky, Miami, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, San Diego State, TCU, UCF, UCLA, USC, Virginia and Wisconsin)

 

*-Missouri is currently ineligible for a bowl game due to academic misconduct and additional academic benefits
Brett McMurphy also released his AP ballot this week. 

 

[dfwabel]

Week 0 College GameDay will be at Walt Disney World, but will Ol' Crimson, the Wazzu flag, be there too?

 

Admission to the park is required.  They will be begging folks to be in the area where they are shooting.  No signs or banners either.

[dfwabel]

On Wednesday, Louisiana-Lafayette HC states that his players need to give $50 to join the school's athletic foundation.  He changes his course (somewhat) on Friday

 

Quote

Ragin' Cajuns football coach Billy Napier defended an initiative Friday to have players pay $50 a year to become members of the school's athletic foundation, arguing he would help to pay if athletes couldn't.

Napier, who has been criticized in national media for introducing the idea, didn't back down from his earlier comments that his players would contribute to the Ragin' Cajuns Athletic Foundation at the introductory rate of $50 a year.

On Wednesday, Napier told reporters: “We’ve started kind of a new initiative for our players. It was really all about gratitude. All players — scholarship members in particular, and we’re going to ask the walk-ons, it’s optional for them — it will be mandatory from here on out for our scholarship players to become a $50 level member of RCAF. 

"And that’s probably a little bit unheard of and a little bit unique, but I think it’s, um, this is a place where I think that would be appreciated," he said. "And I think it’s part of the type of program that we want to have.”

Following Napier's comments at his press conference Wednesday afternoon, UL released a clarification to media, stating "student-athletes will be encouraged to join the RCAF at the introductory level during their college careers."

Napier maintained Friday he still intends for all players to participate, even if he has to pay the cost for them.

 

[Cosmic]

On 8/13/2019 at 8:56 PM, dfwabel said:

They will be begging folks to be in the area where they are shooting. 

If they are shooting from the train station, they won’t have to/won’t be able to have a crowd right behind the stage. You’ll just see the crowds headed to ride rides in the background. They can run an early parade down the street if they want to, as well. If they need to cut to a crowd shot, they can use cast members (employees), like they largely do when they tape the Christmas parade telecast in early November.

 

(6:30 here will probably be the view)

 

[Goatiest Maximian]

I would love to see a football game between Caltech and MIT that would be awesome.

[dfwabel]

A week from the season starting...

LSU is good with licensing their logo and wordmark thought

https://www.wbrz.com/news/college-themed-bud-light-containers-unveiled-for-lsu-other-schools/

 

[dfwabel]

AP Poll released

 

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Georgia

4. Oklahoma

5. Ohio State

6. LSU

7. Michigan

8. Florida

9. Notre Dame

10. Texas

11. Oregon

12. Texas A&M

13. Washington

14. Utah

15. Penn State

16. Auburn

17. UCF

18. Michigan State

19. Wisconsin

20. Iowa

21. Iowa State

22. Syracuse

23. Washington State

24. Nebraska

25. Stanford

Others receiving votes:

Missouri 117, Army 94, Mississippi State 87, Miami (FL) 70, Northwestern 63, TCU 57, Virginia 44, Boise State 38, Cincinnati 16, South Carolina 15, Virginia Tech 12, Fresno State 8, Utah State 8, Minnesota 7, Memphis 6, Appalachian State 5, West Virginia 3, Oklahoma State 3, Arizona State 3, Arizona 1, USC 1

 

If you want to know how everyone voted, go to College Poll Tracker

 

[alxy8s]

2 hours ago, dfwabel said:

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Georgia

South Carolina and Texas A&M both play all three. 

 

2 hours ago, dfwabel said:

Others receiving votes:

USC 1

Wow. First time they've been unranked in the preseason since 2001.

[dfwabel]

21 minutes ago, alxy8s said:

 

Wow. First time they've been unranked in the preseason since 2001.

USC will be fortunate to start 3-3.

2-4 is likely.

0-6 or 1-5 are quite possible.

 

Both Clay Helton and Lynn Swann are on thin ice. Game 6 is at Notre Dame.

 

Remember, Urban Meyer is now crosstown working on the FOX pregame show with Reggie Bush and Leinart.  With the new signing period, it's better to fire your coach early to name a replacement sooner to save your recruiting class.

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, dfwabel said:

USC will be fortunate to start 3-3.

2-4 is likely.

0-6 or 1-5 are quite possible.

 

Both Clay Helton and Lynn Swann are on thin ice. Game 6 is at Notre Dame.

 

Remember, Urban Meyer is now crosstown working on the FOX pregame show with Reggie Bush and Leinart.  With the new signing period, it's better to fire your coach early to name a replacement sooner to save your recruiting class.

If Urban had headaches in Columbus where he could pretty much do whatever he wanted, why would he come back at USC? Would they be able to pay him as well as Fox does, in addition to the pay he still gets as a professor/athletic department employee? I think they'd be better off trying to get Pete Carroll back in town, or a coach with much less baggage than Meyer. 

[dfwabel]

58 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

If Urban had headaches in Columbus where he could pretty much do whatever he wanted, why would he come back at USC? Would they be able to pay him as well as Fox does, in addition to the pay he still gets as a professor/athletic department employee? I think they'd be better off trying to get Pete Carroll back in town, or a coach with much less baggage than Meyer. 

They (nearly) all come back.

 

Plus, USC needs a shiny football coach to be the distraction to the mess inside the university as a whole.  And the Pac 12 needs them to be the leader.

 

 

While the term of provost, then president Max Nikias gave them a top 25 ranking from US News and started gentrifying the surrounding area, it also caused much turmoil.

 

Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, dean of the Keck School of Medicine, was filmed using meth and was a 21 year old woman who OD'ed a a Pasadena hotel room in his presence.

His replacement, Rohit Varma , was forced out after a few months due to sexual harassment claims and is now in charge of Keck's Eye Institute.

The Social Work and Business School deans resigned in April following separate scandals.  The Social Work Dean basically lied about her budget for years.

The student health center OB/GYN was assaulting students for 20+ years, specifically non-American Asian women with less fluency in English and another story with a health center physician came to light last week.

 

And that's even before the federal admissions scandal involving "Aunt Becky".

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, dfwabel said:

They (nearly) all come back.

 

Plus, USC needs a shiny football coach to be the distraction to the mess inside the university as a whole.  And the Pac 12 needs them to be the leader.

 

 

While the term of provost, then president Max Nikias gave them a top 25 ranking from US News and started gentrifying the surrounding area, it also caused much turmoil.

 

Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, dean of the Keck School of Medicine, was filmed using meth and was a 21 year old woman who OD'ed a a Pasadena hotel room in his presence.

His replacement, Rohit Varma , was forced out after a few months due to sexual harassment claims and is now in charge of Keck's Eye Institute.

The Social Work and Business School deans resigned in April following separate scandals.  The Social Work Dean basically lied about her budget for years.

The student health center OB/GYN was assaulting students for 20+ years, specifically non-American Asian women with less fluency in English and another story with a health center physician came to light last week.

 

And that's even before the federal admissions scandal involving "Aunt Becky".

So why deal with all that crazy?

[dfwabel]

19 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

So why deal with all that crazy?

To be the first to win three national championships at three schools.  And he's just 55.  He will be itching to return and unless Notre Dame opens up, USC is going to always be his next "dream job".  B. Wayne Hughes, Sr., the founder of Public Storage, will likely lead the charge, but sports-centric trustees include Frank J. Fertitta III and Ed Roski.

[dfwabel]

Arkansas State HC Blake Anderson taking a leave of absence due to his wife's breast cancer.

 

 

[Red Wolf]

Wendy Anderson has died. I wish I had the words for days like this.

 

 

[dfwabel]

The Magic Kingdom will allow signs for Saturday's episode of College GameDay

 

I'll assume that Ol" Crimson will fly at the end of the show on the flag pole at the train station at some time during the show.