CHAOS, WE TELL YOU
My goodness, things are flying sideways and on fire for day after the national title game. Captain Awesome, please come and help us clarify all this madness.
CAPTAIN AWESOME: OKAY!
Help us, Captain Awesome. You’re our only hope.
A report has determined that you are fiery, motivated, and sometimes liar-ish. The internal report conducted by USF shows that Leavitt lied on multiple occasions during the investigation and that other players saw Leavitt slap a player with an open hand. Lying always makes a situation worse, something GI Joe taught us in a special thirty second ad at the end of a cartoon once.
Alabama. Trophies. Wal-Mart. Yeah, that’s happening. Life is so much better than you could write it, and that includes stories about graven images of tiny, fierce men.
The 3-4 comes to Gainesville. Or something like it, as Miami Dolphins assistant George Edwards comes to Gainesville while Chuck Heater gets the “co-DC” title. It’s a system Florida fans should be familiar with, as the 2006 defense featured Strong co-calling plays with Greg Mattison. Edwards is a 3-4 guy schooled by, among other people, Nick Saban. (Cue crashing power chords, lightning, frightening music.) He’s also played under Spurrier at Duke and was a GA under Spurrier in the 90s, so he’s got the love and all until he coughts up a late lead.
Groh-mentum: You can’t contain it, you can only hope to hire it. Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Dave Wommack is out after a season where Tech muddled along the bottom of the ACC’s defensive rankings, and his replacement may bring only the kind of electricity you can get when you pay top dollar for a sweatshirt with cut-off sleeves: Al Groh. Mockable but effective, Groh is a good recruiter and always had good defenses at Virginia. He’s also collecting money off his buyout that may or may not be voided due to taking a new job, so hold your excitement screw that Jackets- AL FUCKIN’ GROH! Let’s see some titties and fireworks people! Streetlight! PeeepaaaaaawhoaaaohoAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Treebeard like home. Arkansas’ favorite Ent/qb is officially staying at Arkansas, meaning the Razorbacks will be officially horrifying on offense next year, and not in the way you’d like them to be as an opponent.
Bebe Bye Bye. Tech receiver is declaring for the draft, as is Joe McKnight.
1
haybeav says:
McKnight is tired of driving his girlfriends Land Rover, so he’s going out to buy his own
January 8th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
2
zzgator says:
Edwards played under Spurrier at Duke, then was a GA at UF for Spurrier.
January 8th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
3
zzgator says:
Is Pete going to be as cordial to McKnight on the way out the door as he was to Sanchez?
January 8th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
4
zzgator says:
As soon as I posted that I see a rumor that Pete might be out the door himself to Seattle…so perhaps he WILL be cordial to McKnight.
January 8th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
5
Geaux Irish says:
YO JOE!
You could put together an entire episode of Robot Chicken if they re-dubbed those GI Joe PSAs.
January 8th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
6
Tim James says:
There is almost too much to comment on here. So uh… 100 cocktails to the stray cat out in the parking lot. It’s chaos!
January 8th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
7
Domer Guy says:
Carroll possibly on his way to Seattle, taking o-coord with him? http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4808557
Methinks Pete knows that the NCAA is on its way, and his seat is getting warm.
/wishfulthinking’d
January 8th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
8
SC-Eer says:
Al Groh to GT as an underling? Now ain’t that just special.
And there’s still no HC love out there for Ron Prince. As a fan of a BE opponent to USF, would you crank up the bandwagon to get Ron a gig in Tampa, yes?
January 8th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
9
Xihix says:
A good defense? I’m sure it will GROH on us if Al is our new defensive coordinator. Also, good luck to Beybey in the NFL. He’s a great receiver, though with an off season to add weight, Stephen Hill will be just as good, and possibly better in two years. He has better hands and is taller.
January 8th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
10
dc trojan says:
Domer Guy - Your wishful thinking overlaps with my usual cheery outlook on life. Floyd got bounced for a couple of decent years and sanctions, Carroll gets a little more courtesy for his record.
January 8th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
11
BoKno says:
Blanco Nino - my new hotel checkin name
January 8th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
12
softbatch says:
Lol, I see that the best of the re-dubs has its own domain now. http://porkchopsandwiches.org/
January 8th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
13
Crabapple Buck says:
Pete Carroll to the NFL rumors is a season unto itself. He has it made at SC, even if the NCAA pays a visit, he will somehow escape blame and continue recruiting 5*’s and keeping peace in East LA.
Domer Guy had better hope that SC is decent in the years to come or the ND schedule will take a further hit. They are the one team you can count on to give ND credibility in the event the Irish ever get their shit together. WMU won’t do that.
January 8th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
14
jdub says:
Ugh.
OK, I just read the USF report.
Now, I’m certainly prepared to believe that Leavitt slapped the kid, (although nowhere in the report did I see anything specifically saying he “choked” the kid… there are mentions of “hands around the neck area of the jersey,”) etc., etc.,
But I have to say after reading it, it certainly reeks of being retconned - that the investigators came to their conclusions and then, in writing the report, tried to write it as an excuse for a firing than as an independent review.
Which, of course, once they decided to fire him, they had to do, I guess.
For example:
He [the alleged victim) does not in any way appear to be a person who would be untruthful, even when he denies what he was reported to have said. He gives no basis for concluding that he would speak to his teammates about the incident in anything other than an accurate way.
I'm gonna point that sentence out again -
He [the alleged victim) does not in any way appear to be a person who would be untruthful,
[doesn't seem like the kinda kid who would lie]
even when he denies what he was reported to have said
[asserts the falsity of his earlier statements]
Now, counsel might point out that he had a motive for changing his story… regret over harming coach, feeling intimidated, etc. Sure.
But, might he have exaggerated things to himself and other students in the immediate aftermath, and then felt he had to correct the record? NO! IMPOSSIBLE!
So, yeah, based on the report, it looks like he slapped the kid. But bear in mind that the report is an excuse for a firing, not a comprehensive examination of all the collected evidence.
I know, because I write these kind of reports for a living.
/rant
January 8th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
15
Kevin@LSU says:
You never know though. Mora is gone after just a season and that could be because Seattle had perked Carroll’s interest….
January 8th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
16
drogue says:
Snead declared today too.
Giggety Giggety
January 8th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
17
tzubear says:
I agree Kevin@LSU. I think this did play into Mora’s demise.
Cant explain exactly why, but I am pretty confident Carroll will leave for Seattle.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
18
I'm A Lasagna Hog says:
While Groh’s defenses were decent, he was thoroughly destroyed in recruiting (especially in-state) by Beamer&staff.
January 8th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
19
The Guys Get Shirts! says:
Crabapple, one could say the same thing about Ohio State’s schedule the past two years.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
20
Me says:
Ron Prince would be a nice fit for U$C
January 8th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
21
Sue E. Pig says:
Mallett to return… Best birthday present evar.
January 8th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
22
Gone Gator says:
Jdub@14 — You are right about the Leavitt report. While there is no doubt he roughed up the kid, it is no different than any other hyperactive coach (more typically an assistant) does on the sideline every week in high school and college football. Leavitt got fired as much for saying things like “I own this building” and fanciful lying (“I encouraged the player after I saw that he was down”) than the actual conduct.
A shame for him; he turned down bigger $ and platforms for USF and they threw him to the curb first chance they had.
January 8th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
23
Crabapple Buck says:
TGGS @ 19
You didn’t watch much football during bowl season if you think our season was just SC. Fact: tOSU beat 5 ten win teams this year. Navy, Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa and Oregon. All were bowl winners except Oregon. So put that in your ill informed pipe and smoke it.
January 8th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
24
Golden Hand says:
@18 Eh, as long as Giff Smith is at Tech, they’ll get the smart kids. They can’t recruit the dumb ones; they flunk out.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
25
Mr. Pelican Pants says:
Wow! 3 yrs into the process, we are the MNC winners…..that is what is the really crazy part is being here and watch it unfold….Nick Saban took a floundering, aimless bunch of so so players from a low wattage regime, went out, got the best players he could and told them he would make them champions. Even in his first year, at 7-6, most of those losses were by 7 pts or less, and of those points, I am sure in many occasions they were set up by JPW somehow , someway….if Nick Saban wasnt a 2 time BCS coach, he would be guy in Corporate America who takes companies and fires everyone, cuts the dead weight, then makes that company profitable. The face of the SEC changes every year. It seems that the team who is favored to win it all, usually stumbles since the target on their back gets bigger and having to carry that weight doesnt help. Georgia had it last year, Florida had it this year…and both times we snuck up on em. I just wonder who will sneak up on us next year….
But the best food for thought from this year..we beat all the past BCS Champions all in one year….Texas-2005,Florida-2006 and 2008,LSU-2007….all had the same coaches…..and all were pretty solid…..and we won the Heisman…finally…so this year was alot of first, and its gonna make alot of teams take a long hard look on how Bama got so good so fast in one of the nations best conferences…..you cant tell me Notre Dame wouldnt pay 6 mill a yr to a guy like Saban to win a MNC in under 3 yrs….hell, I’d call you a liar the day we hired him if you guaranteed a MNC in YEAR 3 with what he inherited…..ULM loss, getting Croomed, and Jimmy Johns Cooked Crack Warehouse, and the next 2 yrs going UNDEFEATED thru the SEC regular season…..TWICE…..and the anomaly in all of this is….we played our worst game in turnovers, special teams, penalties, Passing game, sacks, you name it, all the things that should have killed you in other games, like Florida, and we still won…..even if they had a QB that hadnt learn to shave that burned us when we were blitzing the corner on every down…..I tried to think if we would have had a playoff of all conference winners, who would we have ended up playing in the final game? Boise St? …and I bet Nick Saban is Skyping a recruit to play DB right now……..
January 8th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
26
TAFKasTOSU says:
Pants…
What Saban has done is not rocket science. It’s simple, here are the most important numbers everyone needs to know…25, 32, and 29 = 86 players over 3 years.
Those are the numbers for Saban’s recruiting classes. Now granted, not everyone made it in, but those are very high recruiting numbers.
Let’s compare those to some numbers of other schools:
Ohio State 15, 20, and 25 = 60 players.
USC 18, 19, and 18 = 55 players.
Penn State 21, 14, and 27 = 62 players.
Texas 24, 20, and 20 = 64 players.
Notre Dame = 18, 23, and 18 = 59 players.
Anyone else see a trend here???
Why in the hell is no one talking about this…it has completely slipped under the radar that Saban has mastered the art of oversigning and cutting team rosters. He did the same thing at LSU.
Until Saban and Alabama get in line with the rest of the country in terms of recruiting numbers they will get zero respect from me and everyone else in the country should do the same. This is a competitive advantage and something needs to be done about it.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:00 am
27
JD says:
I would like to thank Pete Carroll for blowing my little ham-fisted school clean off the front page in a matter of hours. I mean, we’re just no match for ESPN’s throbbing hard-on for all things USC.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:33 am
28
DougoUConnPlaysFootball? says:
I’d stow the “ZERO RESPECT!!!11!1!!!” talk until someone, you know, actually beats Alabama.
January 9th, 2010 at 8:10 am
29
Super C says:
From BCS glory (excluding this past season) to NFC West obscurity…..it’s like he’s willingly choosing to climb down the ladder of success.
Ron Prince for USC, or Texas Tech, or USF, whichever.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:13 am
30
TechDan says:
@28: Like Utah?
January 9th, 2010 at 10:33 am
31
Techie says:
Oversigning rosters is a time-honored tradition in the SEC. The glory days were the 60s.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:41 am
32
TAFKasTOSU says:
Alabama is sitting on 22 commitments with a little less than a month to go. We all know they will take 28 players, so 86 + 28 = 114. That’s 29 over the 85 limit over a 4 year period.
That is utter bullshit. I can see having to sign a large class everyone once in a while, like say 25 guys one year after a couple of 18-20 classes, but to repeatedly sign the max every year is blatant.
The NCAA needs to regulate this. Just make it mandatory that every school take the exact number of players every year. If every school went into the recruiting season know that they could take 22 guys every year, regardless if you need them all or not, and you weren’t penalized for it, every school would do it. And then every school would always be working with the same numbers.
This is the reason why Saban left the NFL…he even said it himself that there was no way to get a competitive advantage in the draft and the more you win the more of disadvantage you were at.
Like I said, until Saban quits signing the max number of players every year and shows a little bit of integrity in the recruiting/roster management department he goes ZERO respect from me…not that he cares or has time for that shit.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:59 am
33
OldSouth says:
32, the majority of teams sign the 25 limit most years. Also, most teams will lose 3-4 a year prior to the season starting, and another 5-8 before that classes reaches its senior year from dismissals, transfers, academics, etc. Ole Miss pushed the bounds around the high 30’s last year and the SEC intervened and said “no more than 28 from here on out.”
And no, the NCAA will not mandate everyone taking the same number of players each year. For them to force an institution to sign more players if they have less is absurd.
For some reason, nobody complains when every major coach pushes rules to the limit, but does not break them. Saban isn’t even pushing a rule here, but you still come after him. Strange. (I’m not a Bama fan, either).
January 9th, 2010 at 11:26 am
34
DougoUConnPlaysFootball? says:
Say what you want about Saban’s recruiting practices; the man is coiffed like a king- a king, I tell you!
January 9th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
35
TAFKasTOSU says:
You’re wrong and the numbers prove it. Not every school signs the max number every year…pull the numbers for the B10 and compare them to the SEC, it’s not even close. You live in a dream world if you think it is not an advantage.
Like I said, until an SEC team wins the NC with respectable recruiting numbers I will continue to believe that it is an advantage.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
36
DougoUConnPlaysFootball? says:
If it is such an advantage then why doesn’t the B10/everyone else sign eleventy-gazillion players?
January 9th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
37
Alan says:
DougoUConnPlaysFootball@36: Because it gives them an excuse for losing
January 9th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
38
NewAZTiger says:
BCS trophy in Wal-Mart. Stay classy Alabama.
January 9th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
39
arlo says:
Alan,
We should just give everyone a trophy and be done with it. I’m sure there will be a push to change the rules where winning programs will be hobbled and everybody gets to pass the trophy around. Someone somewhere will decide the SEC has won its fair share…
January 9th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
40
Philip says:
Hey Texas Tech, remember all that offense and points you guys use to get every game? Well, kiss it good bye now that Tuberville’s in town. You’re going to love watching all of 21 combined points being scored and learn what defense truly is. I got to experience it for 9 years and now it’s your turn. Enjoy!
January 9th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
41
fatduck says:
What’s the o/u on weeks until USC gets Calipari’d?
January 9th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
42
PAK says:
Ugh. Tom Hammond’s Floating Head isn’t content ruining ND football for me, now he’s infecting the NFL playoffs on NBC. And is that Theisman doing color commentary? Worst. Broadcast. Ever.
January 9th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
43
seanbs says:
Let’s start the Leach to USC movement right here.
January 9th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
44
psuphiman80 says:
Congrats Texas Tech AD, you now have a guy who will kiss your ass, the rings, and play your game. Wait what? You don’t have a ring? My bad. Way to fire your best coach and asset. I’ll look forward to Baylor beating you in the future.
January 9th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
45
RIP Logan Young says:
@26, 32, 35:
Quite possibly the most moronic series of posts I have ever read on this blog. Or on the internet, generally.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
46
Mr. Pelican Pants says:
Well I know one thing, even with oversigning, we can only take so many good players, and then we will have other good players going elsewhere in the SEC that want to play early…a thing that Saban does well is recruiting JUCO players who instantly start and make an impact, w/Cody making the biggest impact for us..I thought Tubbs would have waited on the LSU job next yr, instead of going to TT…and I think he would have been a great fit at USF, since he has had great success at Miami with recruiting that area…so who gets the coveted USC job? I thinl Carroll is pulling a back door Saban…go to the pro’s til the ND job opens up, then get a ton of cash thrown at him when they fire Brian Kelly on yr 3…..
January 9th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
47
Brophy says:
Its Saturday, 9 December….and Brent Musburger has just now made his final reference to let you know that Mark Ingram’s dad is a felon.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
48
The Guys Get Shirts! says:
Oh, Crabapple, since you couldn’t take a good-natured jibe in the spirit with which it was intended, I’ll take your bait. First, please read what I wrote again (or have it read to you). I said “the past two years,” not just this season. I’ll grant you that OSU played some good teams this year. In between, OSU played Toledo, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue (oops) and New Mexico State. OSU played Michigan, too, who also sucks, but at least that’s a rivalry game.
But last year…wow. Besides USC, OSU played powerhouses Youngstown St., Ohio, Troy, Minnesota (all at home), Purdue and Illinois. Also, it’s hard to give OSU credit for Michigan even in a rivalry game, since that was the worst Michigan team in like 80 years. We can go back further, if you want. 2007’s schedule is, quite frankly, terrible: Youngstown St., Akron, Washington, Kent St., and it goes on like that. In 2006, OSU bookended the season with tough teams, but the middle was filled with cupcakes.
If you want to blame the league for being weak, I’m right there with you. Just don’t get all indignant and act like OSU’s schedule is a meatgrinder year in and year out.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
49
RHYJ says:
@44: Not really doing a good job of discrediting their argument. I’d like to see an Alabama fan defend the practice of drastically oversigning on an annual basis. You can only have 25 actually make it to school, and that ignores the fact that you’re capped at 85 anyway. How, or why, is it that Alabama has such high turnover? Same for the other regular offenders.
The reason I care? I know that college football is essentially a minor league for the pros, but they’re supposed to be students and athletes. Promising far more scholarships than you can give is a low move in general, but especially so considering the socioeconomic background of a lot of the kids in the game.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
50
North 2 says:
Nice to see Urbs taking it easy and only talking to recruits about every day or so.
Sad to say, but I hope his kids enjoyed whatever time they got out of him over Christmas, doesn’t look like they’ll be getting much more.
January 9th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
51
alex hamilton says:
Looks like someone at The Ohio State University has sand in his mangina.
You know, according to a coach that actually went undefeated in the state of Ohio last season, Ohio State gets its pick of whomever they want each year. I tend to believe that Brian Kelly knows what he’s talking about more than some fan of a lackluster, overrated program.
The only advantage that Alabama and the SEC enjoys over TOSU is that we don’t get fat in the 30 plus days after we beat an overrated rival to end the regular season. Our boys actually work their asses off and whip your teams into submission.
Ohio State is a joke.
January 9th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
52
Go Big Rev says:
Texas Tech pulls the double “D’OH!” by missing out on Ron Prince AND not handing the reins over to Ruffin McNeil…
http://www.redraiders.com/2010/01/09/tuberville-to-be-named-tech-head-coach/
January 9th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
53
MBD says:
Pants,
My guess is that Tubbs wants no part of Nick Saban, hence he passes on the LSU job. As far as UCF, I’ve read that they are notoriously cheap, so the probably couldn’t throw enough money at him to satisfy that Texas sized ego he has.
January 10th, 2010 at 3:46 am
54
DougoUConnPlaysFootball? says:
51-
Wrong. Tubbs wants no part of Kiffin. Imagine the horrible shit Kiffin would say about Tubb’s tectonic plate-sized ears.
January 10th, 2010 at 4:55 am
55
OldSouth says:
35-
Sorry, when I say “most teams sign the max” and your counterargument is “NO NOT EVERY TEAM SIGNS THE MAX,” you fail.
When I agree that your situation, if true, would be an advantage, and your counterargument is “you’re wrong, it’s an advantage,” you fail.
When you assert that a coach should be stopped for doing something that isn’t against (or even butt up against) any rule, you fail. If it’s unethical or unjust, the duty lies on the NCAA to change the rule. If it’s not, then other coaches ought to be doing their part to catch up. Whining about what a coach does within the rules is silly.
Finally, now you extend it to the whole SEC? Do you have proof that LSU and Florida both won each of their national championships because they employed the same despicable strategy? You haven’t offered it. Even if you do, you still haven’t shown how this violates any rule. And even then, you haven’t disproved the elephant in the room, which is that Alabama needed to max out its signings because of scholarship losses through the previous regime and the probation related to it.
You are the reason people hate OSU.
Fail.
January 10th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
56
cantcatchuf says:
Orson, I have to ask with Carrol running off to Seattle, did you go driving down the interstate again? If so, keep it up, and maybe we can be rid of Saban.
January 11th, 2010 at 12:12 am
57
Biggus Rickus says:
It’s nice to see TAFKasTOSU back typing up screeds against Saban and/or the SEC. Really takes me back to ‘07 when he was typing the exact same fucking points. Over and over.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:37 am