And Then There Were Two
College football’s national championship is set as it will be the number 1 Alabama Crimson Tide facing off with the number 2 Clemson Tigers. For each team, they made easy work out of their semifinal opponent, and this will be a matchup many have anticipated all season long.
For Clemson, they handily defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In the Cotton Bowl, Clemson won 30-3. Their defense was everything that was expected, despite not having star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who is serving a suspension for PED’s. The Tigers held Notre Dame to just a single field goal in the first quarter and shut them out the rest of the way. In the game, Notre Dame’s Ian Book threw for just 160 yards with an interception while they held Dexter Williams to a paltry 54 yards on the ground.
For Clemson’s offense, Trevor Lawrence continued his sensational play throwing for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. Justyn Ross had 6 catches for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns and running back Travis Etienne went for 109 yards and a touchdown for Clemson.
In the Orange Bowl, the other semifinal, Alabama handed Oklahoma their second loss of the season, winning 45-34. It was a battle of the Heisman Trophy winner versus runner-up, and in this case, the runner-up won. That is not to say that Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, the Heisman winner, played poorly. He went for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns while also rushing for 109 yards and another touchdown. In fact, he showed every reason why he won the award, but Tua Tagovailoa showed why he was in the running, too. Tagovailoa went for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns. The two leading receivers for each team were CeeDee Lamb for Oklahoma (8 catches, 109 yards, 1 touchdown) and Devonta Smith for Alabama (6 catches, 104 yards, 1 touchdown). For Kyler Murray, it is now on to his professional baseball career (he was drafted and signed with the Oakland Athletics, although some reports have him second-guessing that decision given his football success) while Tua Tagovailoa will be heading to the national championship game.
The CFP Championship will be played on Monday, January 7 at 7:00 pm CST at Levi Stadium between Clemson and Alabama.
Coaching Carousel In Full Swing
Tis the season for coaches to be fired and hired left and right, and the last couple days have been no exception. The most noteworthy has been at the University of Houston. Just a couple days ago they fired Major Applewhite after just two years and a 15-11 record. It didn’t help that they were embarrassed to the tune of a 70-14 loss to Army in the Armed Forces Bowl, but Applewhite never seemed to have a chance. UH seems like they have found their next coach in West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen. Although it hasn’t officially been announced yet, it seems like it is simply a matter of time as the wheels have already been set in motion for Holgorsen to get out of his duties at WVU and head to Houston. For Holgorsen, it will be a bit of a homecoming, as he spent time as offensive coordinator at UH under Kevin Sumlin.
In other coaching news, Manny Diaz has been hired as a head coach… again. After leaving Miami to take the head coaching position at Temple, Diaz has spurned them to return to Miami, now as head coach. This is in part due to the abrupt retirement of Mark Richt on Sunday. If there is one positive for Temple, though, it is that Miami has to pay $4 million in buyouts to Temple for him to return.
In assistant news, Rich Rodriguez has found a coaching position again. After a career spent with West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona, mostly as a head coach, Rodriguez will be moving to Ole Miss to serve as an offensive coordinator on Matt Luke’s staff.
Redbox Bowl A Perfect Example Of Why Players Should Skip Meaningless Bowl Games
There is one school of thought that says that players who have played their collegiate career should play every game possible, including a meaningless bowl game if their team is invited to one. There is another school of thought that says that these programs have prepared these young men for their possible future occupations (i.e., the NFL) and thus, they should preserve their bodies for their future employment. For Michigan State’s Kenny Willekes, he probably wishes that he had thought like the latter. In the Redbox Bowl, a meaningless bowl game that has no national championship ramifications, Kenny Willekes suffered a broken leg which may alter any draft plans he may have had.
Willekes is a redshirt junior, and although he has not said whether he planned to enter the draft or not, he was probably more than ready to. This season he was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Lineman of the Year and was dominant with over 76 tackles and 8 sacks. Unfortunately, many of the collegiate athletes face backlash from coaches and fans alike if they choose not to play in their team’s bowl games, but given the financial incentives that staying healthy has for these players, it is probably a smart decision and one that Willekes probably wishes he had made.
Pat Fitzgerald Does It Again
Pat Fitzgerald may be one of the most underrated and, frankly, best coaches in all of NCAA football. He has built a strong football program at Northwestern, particularly for a scholar that is generally more revered for its academics than its athletics. That has not stopped Fitzgerald from putting together a top-25 program, and it was in full display on New Year’s Eve. The Wildcats beat up on the number 20 Utah Utes in the Holiday Bowl, winning 31-20. After leading his team to the Big Ten championship (albeit in a loss to Ohio State), Pat Fitzgerald saw his team rally for 28 points in the third quarter and upend the Utes. Most impressive was the Wildcats’ defense, which caused turnover after turnover. While Pat Fitzgerald has been requested to interview for the Green Bay Packers job, it seems that he has carved out a nice little home at Northwestern, one that might be hard for him to leave.
