What a day and some more evidence for the sit the games out if you are early draft pick crowd. I really don't have that strong an opinion on guys sitting out the bowl games TBH, I wish there was an 8-team play-off so more programs would have hopes to gain entry thus having a better chance of some of the top recruits. if the play-offs are all that matters now, why not at least expand it and give more kids a chance at it and more programs to be able to more realistically recruit using the lure of playing for a title.
The bowl games are still fun these last few days including New Year's Day bowls but having more games matter to gain entry into a final 8 in the last month, and more programs get to experience a play-off game with a big prize at the end is a good mediation for the extreme top-heavy nature of the proceedings AND more top guys on top teams will play in the post season. This won't guarantee that the top 3-4 teams won't be the same ones most years, but it can only help as with the current situation the national Semifinals are overwhelmingly not really competitive. A foregone conclusion.
Corral going out ended my Ole Miss play [Not really because it was still 7-7 in the 4th quarter but deep down, I knew} but it really made my UNDER position much stronger and that stayed well UNDER as it was a really popular play yesterday which kind of scares you a bit, but all the metrics and trends pointed that way and was a very solid value and play.
Getting Iowa at + 3.5 was HUGE, as it went that way at a few places' later morning yesterday. They choked the game away really, only needing a yard to seal it away, but punted then didn't play any defense against a very pedestrian UK offense. Too many games this year having games where I only needed a a first down and or stop to win and not getting either. This one was another example but getting the hook turned a push into0 a nice win. Iowa ironically was a turnover machine as Petras is just mistake prone.
Notre Dame literally is incapable of winning a New Year's Day bowl. On a 0-10 run now. It gets worse. The Irish gave up 30 straight points after moving it at will in the first half. Only scored again in garbage time [yes onside kick at the end but 30-0 really happened} . And how about this. The Irish were on a 49-0 when scoring at least three offensive touchdowns. Brian Kelly and the Irish were on a 40-game streak of winning outright when favored. Both of those streaks went kaput in new coach's first game. Yikes. Now the game went all the way down to PICK in some places but the Irish were favored for the last few weeks.
Arkansas was pumped up and won which we thought they would but thought Penn State may stay a bit closer with a small hedge position. WRONG. Razorbacks were the bigger opinion, and they came through nicely over a Penn State program that has been mired in MEH, the last 20 plus games after a hot start in 2019. Of course, they paid a king's ransom for Franklin. He can recruit really well. I think they rise from this mediocre fog going forward. Professional college QB Clifford comes back for year six.
Was it just me or did Utah QB look like he was about 34 years old? Long stringy sweaty hair , he appeared to be a great fit for the role of the Cowboy drug runner sidekick, looking very natural with his boots up on the table sipping a corona squinting into the sun.
Kirk Herbstreit kind of stepped in it again, with his the '" players don't love football like we did when we were so eager to get some bowl swag and play for the school no matter what. Different time. I mean even the holier than thou crowd like Bruce Hooley[I corresponded with him back in the day} with his Jim Tressel ran a renegade program because some kids sold some gold pants and other junk look stupid now. They looked stupid then, but now? It was a matter of time, and most could see this type of 'Growth" happening. Kids getting a slice of pie, the money becoming so huge that it was looking more and more like complete exploitation. I mean the nerve of the kids not thinking that a ring or some pants meant something so large that it was an actual crime to sell them? Sanctimonious adults like Hooley and his ilk abounded. There is always a problem when people suppose other's emotions and motives. Kirk did say that some do care and love the game, but he really couldn't recover from this and while not an outlandish opinion by any means, just not good to make that type of blanket statement kind of castigating a generation even if somewhat accurate. Are kids more entitled now? YES. But it isn't as simple as that.
The one-point Herbstreit made that I have made before is say a guy like UGA TE Bowers who is 19 with an already NFL body and skill set just decides to stop playing football and work on his measurables for the combine the next two seasons? Of course, his is an exception and there aren't a lot of these kids out there, but I and many others reading these spaces know of High school kids who get a lot of offers really early at 14-15 years old can sometimes become less motivated and to adopt the feeling that they already made it, and their commitment to their team wanes and it became all about them and the next step. College kids are going to think more about themselves when it comes to making a big first contract and rightfully so. Will Corral lose money? We don't knw the extent of his injury of course{hopefully not serious or affecting his status} but this occurrence will only give kids a stronger thought of not playing.
What incentive do kids who get that 4th or 5th star in HS have to keep playing if only slightly hurt or uncomfortable? You are football players, that's part of the deal. A kid like Bowers while still very draftable whether he plays football again at all for the next couple years have to keep playing for a very real reason. Because they are sought after for being football players and you get better at football by playing actual games . Yu become a more competitive tougher player by playing games. You learn to battle and compete playing games. You learn to accept contact and initiate contact on the field against other players with pads on who are trying to punish you and are competing against you.
Why do boxers spar as they do when they prepare for a fight? They do so not just to sharpen their offensive skill and punching combinations, but to train their body to accept contact and some punishment more effectively. You skip too many games or sit out too many You lose these opportunities for growth. Missing a bowl game isn't a huge deal, but I think if you open up the play-offs a bit you will get more top kids finishing the season with their teams.
Posted a few NFL thoughts earlier this week and may post another thought or two. Weather is going to be a rare larger factor today in some places. trying to figure late COVID and or injury stuff, weather and line moves.