GoDaddy.com Bowl Preview <formerly GMAC Bowl>

MT Qb Dwight Dasher can close out his career on a high note in the 2011 goDaddy.com Bowl (Icon SMI)

Kickoff: 8:00 pm EST Thu Jan 6, 2011
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Miami (OH) Redhawks

Notes:

• By winning their last three games, the Blue Raiders (6-6) earned a second consecutive bowl berth for the first time since joining the FBS in 1999.  MTSU did it in thrilling fashion rallying past Sun Belt Conference co-champion FIU on a late touchdown run for a 28-27 win December 4 making them bowl eligible.
• The Blue Raiders are headed to their third bowl game in five seasons despite being tied for most turnovers in the nation with 33.
• Miami had the nation’s best turnaround going from 1-11 in 2009 to 9-4 and MAC Champions in 2010.  The difference between Miami’s 1-7 conference record last year and the team’s 7-1 mark in 2010 is the greatest in the MAC’s 64-year history.
• Michael Haywood will not coach Miami in the bowl game after he was hired to replace Dave Wannstedt at Pitt and then dismissed from Pitt based on a domestic violence charge; DB coach Lance Guidry will serve as interim coach for the game.
• Miami is 6-3 all time in bowl games; MTSU is 1-1.

Key Players: Read the rest of this entry →

We get some interesting emails every week – one of my 2010 goals is to post the best ones so great ideas get a voice to the freakiest and geekiest college football fans in the country.

Today, we highlight Mickey the Piker:
“Here’s a statistic that will tell you how difficult it is to win football games at Vanderbilt — Bobby Johnson won 29 games in eight seasons … which is the fourth most in school history…..”

Bobby Johnson retires from Vanderbilt 50 days before kickoff

I pull for teams like Vandy almost as much as my alma mater.  I mean, how can you ever root against kids who have to work their ass off in the classroom and on the field for their sport?!  I’ll wager you this:  90%+ of the guys that play football at Vandy are better MEN than the guys that play at <insert State U here>.

I remember a few years ago when QB Jay Cutler played that OT game at Florida – I sat there watching it obviously wanting Florida to win but also thinking how “great” it would be for college football and student-athletes everywhere if Vandy won.

Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking FBS football is anything more than “minor league” – except they don’t get PAID over the table anyway – football.  THAT’s WHY people love Tim Tebow but even St. Timothy majored in some BS like “Family, Youth and Community Services.”  What a football degree that is… He could have at least majored in “Religion” or “Philosophy” but he couldn’t hack the academic workload plus football.

At Vandy, they don’t get that break…maybe Johnson realized he no longer had the fight to continue.

His press conference ceratinly left more questions than answers.

You have to RESPECT what Vandy, Duke, Stanford, Rice, “Weak Forrest”, et al are up against in “FBS” football.  Baseball and basketball are different and they can compete because they need far fewer players for a team but football will always be  the most difficult academic/sport challenge.

As we head into the Spring Practice season for Division I-FBS schools, this is a good time to check out all the coaching changes that happened in the off-season….and the impact they will have on fantasy football this upcoming fall.

Almost 20% of Division I-FCS schools changed coaches in the off-season, with the biggest moves taking place at Notre Dame (Brian Kelly…from Cincinnati...photo, thanks SI.com), USC (Lane Kiffin…from Tennessee), and Florida State (Jimbo Fisher….already named head coach before Bobby Bowden retired).

Although there were a large number of coaching moves in the off-season, this does not mean there will be a large impact on fantasy football for the 2010 season.  In fact, a number of the moves brought in similar-type coaches and similar-type offenses to coaching-change schools….and….a number of the schools brought in conservative coaches to replace more up-tempo coaches.  Check out our list of the top Coaching Changes in 2010….and their fantasy impact…

Read the rest of this entry →

Derek Dooley’s (pictured left, thanks Icon SMI) departure from Louisiana Tech only turned heads because of where he was going – and even then the general perception of his arrival to Knoxville was “who the heck is this guy?” (or, in some circles, “why is Tennessee getting the son of Georgia’s AD?”). Dooley has the misfortune of following Phillip Fulmer as Tennessee’s next functional head coach, since the only thing we can really count on from the Lane Kiffin Blip (Era implies a multi-year stint) is entertaining press. Fulmer, for all his faults, had a fantastic run in the 90s which serves in part as the reason Tennessee fans have been so frustrated these past few years.

Dooley …well, he may be successful, although I think he may be a bit in over his head for the next season or so. There’s a bit of a learning curve when going from the WAC to the SEC, pedigree or no, and given the difficulty filling the coaching positions so far (as of this writing, Tennessee still doesn’t have a defensive coordinator) it’s going to be a slower process than usual. The only mitigating factor – and it’s a big one – is that the Volunteers are so decimated by losses that it’s not going to make a ton of difference in 2010. Read the rest of this entry →

Let me go on record to say that I love this head coach change. The MAC just got one heck of a ball coach and the rest of the conference will be watching closely to see what he puts together at Mt. Pleasant. Dan Enos knows offense, so if you are looking at this from a fantasy perspective take note. It never hurts to put together a draft strategy early.

What exactly could this mean for those looking for offensive production? Passing yards baby! Let’s dig into that background and see if Central Michigan will remain a viable team for next years draft. Read the rest of this entry →