And so, the table is set for this year’s college football playoff. Alabama not only upset Georgia; they thoroughly dominated them on both sides of the ball. And by doing so they earned the #1 seed and will face Cincinnati in one semifinal, and Georgia will face the Wolverines of Michigan in the other big game. Cincinnati, after going 13-0, is the first non-Power Five team to make the CFP, and Michigan is dancing for the first time since the inception of the four-team bracket eight years ago.
I had to get my final fix in and made my way through the Caldecott tunnel Saturday evening to watch USC take on Cal in a meaningless makeup game. We stopped in for a quick beer at a USC players’ parents tailgate to say hello to the parents of USC tight end and Ginger recipient Erik Kormmenhoek. Erik played his final collegiate game on this chilly evening in Strawberry Canyon. Unfortunately for Erik, the Cal Bears won this game by a score of 24-14. USC brought its band with them who clearly outperformed the Cal marching band throughout the contest. And,yes, the USC song girls were lovely as always. Kudos to the Cal student section who must have known I was there last night as they showed up in force versus the pathetic showing six weeks ago that I witnessed.
Around the Country - Conference Championship recap:
ACC - Pitt defeats Wake Forest 45-21
AAC - Cincy over Houston 35-20
Big 12 - Baylor squeaks by Oklahoma State 21-16
Big Ten - Michigan dominates Iowa 42-3
Conference USA - UTSA tops Western Kentucky 49-41
MAC - NIU pulls out a win over Kent State 41-23
Mountain West - Utah State embarrasses San Diego State
46-13
Pac 12 - Utah throttles Oregon for the second time in
three weeks 38-10
SEC - Bama knocks off UGA 41-24. (Bryce Young has my
vote for Heisman!)
Sun Belt - Louisiana and Billy Napier get the win over
App State 24-16
Bieber - At the time of last week’s article going to press, we had just learned of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly’s news that he was departing for LSU. What we didn't know were all the classless details surrounding this move. With Notre Dame being one of the five true blue bloods of college football, one would question Kelly’s motives in wanting to leave such a coveted position. Notre Dame had just wrapped up an 11-1 season and had a legitimate shot at making the college football playoffs. Any normal leader would be thrilled with this potential opportunity. Brian Kelly is no normal leader. Twelve years ago, he did the exact same thing to Cincinnati when he left them immediately for Notre Dame despite his team getting into a then BCS bowl game against Florida. It was classless then and it is equally classless this time. Allegedly, when Kelly flew back to South Bend to address his team (after the news was out), he parked in the Notre Dame head coach’s spot. After his cowardly two-minute meeting with his team, he returned to his car and found a $60 ticket on his windshield, stating the spot was reserved for the head coach of Notre Dame football. To prove his true phoniness, apparently this Massachusetts-born and Midwestern-groomed man developed a deep Southern accent overnight. He addressed the LSU basketball crowd with a beautifully perfected Southern drawl. The meme factory was hard at work with that news. Coach Kelly, we hope a gator chases you into your new plantation in the bayou. Enjoy the Bieberware!
Ginger - To my buddy CK who donated two tickets and a parking pass to me for last night’s Cal game. You have done me this solid several times through the years, and I am greatly appreciative. I will sponsor a beer call for you over Christmas as a token of my gratitude.
Next Up - I will be taking a break from live games for the time being. I will be watching Army vs. Navy this year on my new YouTube TV subscription. There is a possibility I will go to the FCS championship in Frisco, Texas, on January 7 as my only other game this season. I finished the regular season with 16 college games, eight of which were first time stadiums, one NFL game, and one high school game. I will do my next write-up after the semifinals are played in four weeks.
Happy Tailgating!
