College football week 11 thread: Lion Eyes

Which is the biggest reason that Jimbo is out. His record against top teams, and over the last couple of years even P5 teams, is abysmal. You can't go 45-25 at a place like that and not get the axe.

If Franklin hadn't repeatedly gone back to the well for more money (and demanded all sorts of stuff in addition) he probably wouldn't have quite so much heat on him.

 

Penn State’s less-obvious issue is that there is no other middle class team in the Big 10 at the moment to provide “nice” wins, not the program-changing kind that Michigan or OSU would be but ones that give you a Top 25 scalp and make alums feel like splurging on the rib-eye downtown after the game.

Michigan State and Wisconsin used to fill that niche. Iowa technically does on paper, but watching their offense causes tumors in lab animals. So a 10-win season in State College feels like (and is) empty calories. That may be an underrated niche for USC and the PNW schools to fill.

 

Another thing is saying '10 wins will get you into the playoffs next year.' To be smoked by teams you couldn't beat in the regular season?

 

I lol’ed

 

It's a somewhat obvious choice

Mike Elko - Head Coach - Football Coaches - Duke University

 

Jimbo Fisher hasn't won a road game in TWO YEARS. I don't care who you are that will never cut it.

 

The problem with Franklin is that when you get to the point where you beat everybody but the best two teams on your schedule, you need to beat them once in a while

He's 20-4 the last two years, two losses to Ohio State, two losses to Michigan. And then you throw in recruiting rankings: right now their class is a spot in front of Michigan's. Last year is was 14th, three in front of Michigan. Two years ago it was sixth, three spots ahead of Michigan's

 

I don't really buy that. It's a program that hasn't won a title since 1987. Back in 2016 when PSU had Saquon, Chris Godwin and Trace McSorley and won the Big Ten title, that fanbase thought it was going to be like that every year moving forward. And it wasn't. Penn State hasn't been able load up on elite recruiting classes like Ohio State or Alabama can and they can't afford the recruiting misses either.

Drew Allar was like a five-star All-American HS Player of the Year kid and he's been fine most weeks, but clearly he struggled in the two big gamex. He's 19, he should get better with experience, but given the way quarterbacks in college perform at a much higher level earlier in their careers he also might be what he is.

Watching Saturday's game and it was clear that Michigan's players were better , recruiting rankings be damned. Penn State has two very nice, highly-rated running backs and they were OK, but Blake Corum was a fucking beast with his nosed caved in and doing whatever it took to win. Penn State's best receiver had one catch for six yards. You can the coaching lovechild of a three-way between Vince Lombardi, Bear Bryant and Bill Belichick, but if you're best players can't it done in big games...it doesn't matter.

 

I hate saying recruiting rankings are stupid, because they have some value. But they don't take any sort of scheme fit or coaching style into consideration. Last year Penn State had the 14th and Michigan had the 17th...Exactly what made Penn State 14 and what made Michigan 17 and what is really the difference between the 14th and 17th ranked class. It could be as simple as the 4th DB Penn State took in their class is a four-star and Michigan's 4th DB in the class is a three-star. It's nothing really.

 

But at worst they show the teams/talent should be on the same level, and the matchups haven't been close.

 

Problem is he was there assisting Jimbo, so he's already witnessed the goings-on from inside the asylum. Why go from place where the seat is absolutely Antarctic straight to the blast furnace? (Well, $$$$$, duh. But is there another reason? To some there doesn't need to be.)

We can look at Jimbo and say that. But then we should also mention that Florida State was already off the top of the mountain and sliding downhill when he received a call from College Station, a lifeline really. Jameis Winston and Kelvin Benjamin were gone, Dabo was gaining major traction at Clemson and some kid named Deshaun Watson was the best quarterback in the ACC. $75M fully guaranteed just for going there, signing your name and pledging that you'll bring home hardware. Then a $95M extension because the deep-pocketed sorts in College Station couldn't bear to be money-whipped by their moneyed peers in Baton Rouge. What a complete joke. And joke was obviously on them.

Of course, Tallahassee was delusional and sacrificed Willie Taggart because he couldn't engineer a miracle literally overnight (Mike Norvell didn't, either ... so either they got tired of writing outsized checks, could no longer afford to do so or realized that it wasn't going to be an overnight job). But after hearing about a buyout of $76M, suddenly Taggart's $17M buyout seems almost reasonable by comparison. Nice work if you can get it.

 

What are you talking about? Over the past five years, Penn State won by 7 in 2019., won by 10 in 2020, Michigan won by 4 points in 2021, blew them out of the water last year and won by 9 on Saturday. The games have been competitive.