Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 5: Stanford Wants a Word

College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 5

College Football is the only sport that can show you what it’s like to simultaneously feel alive and like you want to die? That is why is it is by far the greatest sport there is! Before we get to College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 5, you can reference the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings for Week 4.

The two most frustrating parts of being a college football fan are the biased polls and the terrible non-conference schedules. Last week the AP poll had BYU (2-1) ranked #25, but Cal (3-0) who beat BYU only received enough votes to be #30. And it had Wisconsin who lost to BYU but had played nobody ranked above both teams. These are the kinds of things that regularly happen in polls. I cannot change the schedules but I can rank the college football top 10 teams by the correct criteria: quality wins, schedule played, and dominance. Most polls including the College Football Playoff Committee give college blueblood teams a massive “benefit of the doubt.” I don’t believe in that. The best teams who play the best schedules will always be ranked highest. Only the games that have been played matter. I re-rank the top 10 every week from scratch. The previous week’s rankings do not factor into the next week. So, the rankings will change every week as more games are played.

1.  Alabama (4-0)

Alabama is so good that Nick Saban has asked the media to write about the things they don’t do well. He needs something to show his players, so they don’t get complacent. The only thing that can stop the Crimson Tide right now is complacency. Tua Tagoviloa is improving on his near perfect play at quarterback. This week against Texas A&M he threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns. Granted, his job is a lot less stressful knowing Alabama’s defense and running game always show up.

2. Notre Dame (4-0)

My biggest knock on Notre Dame was their inability to throw the ball with their quarterback Brandon Wimbush. Brian Kelly must have read the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 4 because he replaced Wimbush with Ian Book. Book was impressive throwing the football against Wake Forest. I am extremely close calling Notre Dame a playoff team. Next week they get a test at home from Stanford.

3. LSU (4-0)

LSU only played Louisianna Tech this week, but they dominated. And the Tigers still have two quality wins over Miami and Auburn. LSU’s Achilles heel has not changed in nearly a decade. They do not have a dangerous passing attack. LSU will lose one or two games this season if Ed Orgeron cannot turn Joe Burrow and the passing attack into a real threat. The LSU defense continues to be stout. We will see what they are made of in a couple weeks when they play Georgia.

4. Stanford (4-0)

I almost threw up at the end of this game. The bottom line is that despite being dominated by Oregon all game, Stanford made plays when it counted. The best player on Stanford’s team is not Bryce Love, it’s KJ Costello. David Shaw’s team is always run first. But he will need to use the pass to set up the run if the Cardinal hope to make the College Football Playoffs. Stanford is boring to watch, but they win and are tough to beat.

5. Oklahoma (4-0)

Oklahoma squeezed out an OT victory against Army. Army was 19 seconds shy of having three entire quarters of possession. Every top team faces a couple of gut-check games each season, and this was one for the Sooners. Ordinarily, a team could take a huge fall after a close game against an unranked non-power 5 opponent. However, any time you play a triple option service academy, you could be in for a dogfight. Kyler Murray and the Sooners still look great at the #5 spot.

6. Clemson (4-0)

It appears Dabo Swinney is going to turn the quarterback reigns over to Trevor Lawrence. Kelly Bryant is a good quarterback, but the situation at Clemson is the same as Alabama. There is an incumbent quarterback who has won a ton of games, but the young kid is just making the team undeniably better. When teams this good have a legit passer it makes them a clear top 10 team. After Virginia Tech lost to Old Dominion today, it doesn’t look like there will be much opposition for the Tigers in the ACC.

7. Ohio State (4-0)

Ohio State got Urban Meyer back from “suspension” and didn’t miss a beat. Dwyane Haskins feasted on Tulane for lunch. He is the best passing quarterback Urban Meyer has coached since Alex Smith at Utah (No Cam Newton doesn’t count for this discussion. The Buckeyes are extremely fast, strong, and athletic. Ohio State may be the only team in the country who can line up athlete for athlete with Alabama. The Michigan game may be the only time Ohio State is challenged for the rest of the season. That TCU win doesn’t look so hot after they got beat up by Texas this week.

8. Georgia (4-0)

Georgia is EXTREMELY talented, and I believe they are a good team, but the fact remains that their schedule has been extremely soft so far. Their best wins are against South Carolina and Missouri. Neither one of those teams has beat anyone of any significance. So, until Georgia gets some quality wins, they will rank way below where their potential lies. Jake Fromm and his wide receivers seem to be getting in a good grove. If he can continue to play at a high level, the Bulldogs will have a shot to knock off Bama in the SEC championship.

9. Washington (3-1)

Washington knocked off Arizona State who beat Michigan State. That looks like a solid win. The Washington vs. Stanford game in a few weeks will be for a spot in the College Football Playoffs. I still believe that Washington has the second-best defense in the country behind Alabama. They are fast and physical. The good news for the Huskies is that Jake Browning had a solid game. If he can occasionally be special against good teams, Washington will be in the conversation for a top 4 spot.

10. West Virginia (3-0)

Will Grier had a week off and only got stronger. The Mountaineers  Kansas State led by Grier’s 356 yards and five touchdowns. Their schedule provides many opportunities to move up the rankings. Next week West Virginia has a showdown with Texas Tech who opened up a can of whoop-ass on the #10 team from the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings for Week 4, Oklahoma State.

Next Up:

Penn State, Texas, Michigan, Oregon (all need a quality win)

I know some of you are steaming mad right now because your team is ranked too low or is unranked. Take a breathe and realize that your fandom is causing irrational thoughts. Leave a comment or shoot an email: ImMad@unafraidshow.com… Yes, that is the real email address.

Hot Takes: FitzMagic will fade, Urban Meyer Shut Up, GGG got robbed

Game 163

Unafraid Show is introducing a new weekly staple called HOT TAKES: These are hot takes and fun from the weekend. Send us your hot takes to ImMad@unafraidshow.com and they may make the next week post. Do not read any further if you are easily offended.

NFL

1. Enough with the ties in the NFL. We can’t just be friends. You called me those names, and I wore those outfits. We CANNOT just be friends. How can the cities of Green Bay and Minnesota accept a tie? Raiders vs Rams would never accept a tie. They would do a duel in the parking lot, Carr vs. Goff. Someone would die, but someone would WIN.

2. I applaud Vonte Davis for retiring at halftime of Bills game. Teams cut, release, and bench players (Bill Belichick/Malcolm Bulter) without notice. They don’t care about the precarious positions it put families, relationships, or friends in. So, why should I feel bad for the team? I shouldn’t and don’t. But it does suck for his teammates.

Donald Trump is calling this a win. Two weeks ago Davis would have retired during the anthem; now he did it in the locker room instead.

3. The Buffalo Bills are bad, but the Arizona Cardinals are worse.

4. Don’t expect this Ryan Fitzpatrick magic to last if he is named the starter. Every time he is the backup he plays excellent, but when he’s named the starter, it all falls apart. I love the FitzMagic outfit though.

5. Jaguars > Patriots, even when the playoffs come this year.

6. The NFL is smart. They got NFL fans are more mad about the roughing the passer calls than players kneeling.

Sidenote: what was Clay Matthews supposed to do, ask him to fall or lay a pad down for Kirk Cousins before the hit?

7. Patrick Mahomes will be better than Sam Donald, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson combined.

College Football

1. Urban Meyer should quit while he is ahead. All this talking isn’t convincing anyone. It is only going to make reporters dig for more dirt that will actually get him fired.

Meyer is the guy who gets away with a crime then writes a book called, ” If I Did It”.

2. The NCAA is going to lose the Alston v NCAA case, and the landscape of college athletics will forever be changed. Players will be getting paid sooner rather than later.

GGG vs Canelo Robbery

GGG got worked by the judges. I wouldn’t trust boxing judges to judge a bake sale. They continuously deliver head-scratcher decisions. Boxing needs to make the judges scorecards public after each round. I bet there would be more knockouts when fighters press because they know they are behind!

When I see Canelo standing up to all those GGG power punches all I can think of is the PED tests for Canelo and how they may have made stronger.

People/Politics

1. Mueller must have had Paul Manafort’s ass in a sling if pleading guilty to two counts, forfeiting over $46 million in accounts and real estate, waving your right to an attorney, and snitching is your best option.

2. Things I’m waiting to hear about Tom Arnold and Mark Burnett’s Emmy’s preparty fight, but know I won’t:

I’m tired of these THUGS.

Spoiled brat millionaires.

What a terrible example to all the kids who aspire to be like them!

Send us your hot takes to ImMad@unafraidshow.com and they may make the next week post.

Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 4: Alabama or Bust

College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 4

College Football is by far the greatest sport there is! Before we start, you can reference the College Football Top 10 Rankings for Week 3.

The two most frustrating parts of being a college football fan are the biased polls and the terrible non-conference schedules. I cannot change the schedules but I can rank the college football top 10 teams by the correct criteria: quality wins, schedule played, and dominance. Most polls including the College Football Playoff Committee give college blueblood teams a massive “benefit of the doubt.” I don’t believe in that. The best teams who play the best schedules will always be ranked highest. Only the games that have been played matter. I re-rank the top 10 every week from scratch. The previous week’s rankings do not factor into the next week. So, the rankings will change every week as more games are played.

1.  Alabama (3-0)

Geez… It is just too easy for Alabama to score with Tua Tagoviloa at quarterback. He is accurate, has weapons, and can run when the play breaks down. he is the best signal caller that Nick Saban has ever had. They cannot be stopped, by anyone. Then there is the defense; they are fast, physical, and disciplined. Just hand Nick Saban another National Championship now if Tua stays healthy. Imagine how much he would be worth if the NCAA system wasn’t a joke and he could trade on his own name, likeness, and image.

2. LSU (3-0)

Huge wins for Coach O over Miami and Auburn. LSU has earned a huge jump into the Unafraid Show College Football Top 10. As usual, the Tigers have a good defense. They slowed Auburn’s offense which has given them fits over the last couple seasons. But, the most impressive part of LSU’s game this year has been their passing offense. Joe Burrow proved he can be trusted to throw the football a lot. If he can keep this up, the Tigers had a shot against Alabama. Not really, maybe they can keep it close though.

3. Oklahoma (3-0)

The Sooners are explosive. They lost their starting running back Rodney Anderson for the season last week, but the offense didn’t miss a beat. My next statement is not an exaggeration. Oklahoma’s offense may be more explosive with Kyler Murray at quarterback than last years’ Baker Mayfield led offense. As long as the Sooners stay focused they have a great shot at the College Football Playoffs top 4.

4. Ohio State (3-0)

Ohio State made it to the end of Urban Meyer’s “suspension” 3-0.  The Buckeyes were on the ropes against TCU but ended up winning with an extremely dominant second half. Ohio State has so much speed and athleticism at their skill positions. Every time the wide receivers or running backs touch the football they can score. Dwayne Haskins is the most accurate passer the Buckeyes have had in recent memory. This kid can spin it.  Did I mention that their defense is fast and physical too?

5. Notre Dame (3-0)

In general, I am a Brian Kelly doubter. However, this 2018 Notre Dame team appears to be different than the overhyped versions the past few seasons. Maybe they won’t fizzle out toward the end of the season. The Fighting Irish have been extremely physical on both sides of the ball through the first three games. The reality for Notre Dame is that they can run the ball against anybody, but will struggle if they are forced to pass it. That means as good as the Fighting Irish aren’t a real threat to the big dogs.

6. Clemson (3-0)

The Tigers deserve respect for handling their business in the face of adversity. Hurricane Florence is bearing down on many of their player’s families yet they won big. The only frustrating part about their win was that it was against Georgia Southern. Clemson got me all excited about them after beating Texas A&M, but again their schedule again let me down. Two of their three wins are against Furman and Georgia Southern. If Clemson is supposed to climb back up in the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 they will need to dominate their upcoming ACC schedule.

7. Stanford (3-0)

Just like Clemson, Stanford played a cupcake which only makes teams fall in the rankings. Byrce Love didn’t even suit up for the Cardinal against UC Davis. Next week, Stanford will need all hands on deck as they head up to Eugene, Oregon to face the Ducks.

8. Georgia (3-0)

Georgia is EXTREMELY talented and I believe they are a good team, but the fact remains that their schedule has been extremely soft so far. Between Georgia, Clemson, and Stanford, Georgia has had the least impressive quality win. The Bulldogs beat South Carolina soundly, but we have no idea how good South Carolina is. They will opportunities to move up the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 as they play some known quantities like LSU and Auburn.

9. Washington (2-1)

Washington got a quality win against Utah in week 3. The Huskies defense showed up big and shut the Utes down. Their defense is really really good. The only team I’ve seen with a better defense this season is Alabama. The only downside to this team is that if the Huskies defense ever struggles, they will lose the game. Jake Browning cannot win the game for Washington. They better hope it never comes to that, but it will.

10. Oklahoma State (3-0)

Welcome to the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Cowboys. Hopefully, you can stay for a while.

*Newsflash – Oklahoma State has a defense. Yes, you read that correctly. Oklahoma State has a defense. They beat a really solid Boise State team. Taylor Cornelius is throwing the ball every bit as good as Mason Rudolph was last season. The Big XII has three quality teams that could make the playoff, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and TCU.

Next Up:

Virginia Tech, Penn State, Auburn

I know some of you are steaming mad right now because your team is ranked too low or is unranked. Take a breathe and realize that your fandom is causing irrational thoughts. leave a comment or shoot an email: ImMad@unafraidshow.com… Yes, that is the real email address.

Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 3

College Football Top 10

The two most frustrating parts of being a college football fan are the biased polls and the terrible non-conference schedules. I cannot change the schedules but I can rank the college football top 10 teams by the correct criteria: quality wins, schedule played, and dominance. Most polls including the College Football Playoff Committee give college blueblood teams a massive “benefit of the doubt.” I don’t believe in that. The best teams who play the best schedules will always be ranked highest. Only the games that have been played matter. I re-rank the top 10 every week from scratch. The previous week’s rankings do not factor into the next week. So, the rankings will change every week as more games are played.

1. Alabama

The Crimson Tide have looked good in every area in their first two games, so they sit on top of the top 10. Tua Tagoviloa at QB makes Alabama seem to be unbeatable at this point. Their schedule has not been extremely tough with wins against Louisville and Arkansas State, but they have dominated.

2. Ohio State

Ohio State gets a lot of credit because they have played two Power 5 teams. Neither of them was any good, but the Buckeyes bludgeoned them. The Ohio State is off to a hot start, but we will see what they are made of against TCU in week 3. Urban Myer can make the game plan, but can’t help them on the sideline as he serves the last game of his “suspension.”

3. Clemson

Great win against Texas A&M. Clemson has the second best win of the season. They battled the weather and a hostile environment in College Station. Clemson has the same caviar problem Alabama has. They have two QBs who can win games for them.

4. Auburn

The best win of the season so far is Auburn over Washington. This week they had a bye, but that win is still carrying a ton of weight. And the Tigers do the unthinkable; they play back to back tough games. The rubber will meet the road in Week 3 when LSU rolls into town.

5. Oklahoma

WOW. Oklahoma’s offense looked unstoppable against both FAU and UCLA. Many People expected a dropoff after Baker Mayfield departed for the NFL, but that has not happened. Kyler Murray has been lighting it up. The OU wide receivers are the best group in college football.

6. Stanford

Stanford has done exactly what Stanford has always done, WIN! They have already knocked off USC and SDSU. No team in college football can claim to have two better wins. Most teams have only played one quality opponent. Stanford has something special in their quarterback KJ Costello. Bryce Love is no longer their biggest weapon.

7. Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s win over Michigan in week 1 looked even better after week 2. The Fighting Irish shut Michigan’s offense down so bad that we thought Michigan sucked. However, The Wolverines bounced back in we two, so there’s that.

I still don’t believe in Brian Kelly’s team yet. They are limited in the passing game with Brandon Wimbush at quarterback which will cost them games this season.

8. Georgia

Georgia beat South Carolina and Austin Peay. We have no idea how good South Carolina is because they played Coastal Carolina in week 1. I couldn’t be more frustrated by Georgia. My eyes tell me this is a good football team, but we only get to see them against quality competition a hand full of times all season.

9. West Virginia

West Virginia’s win over Tennessee is just a notch below Georgia’s win over South Carolina. I’m not even going to try and compare their victories over Austin Peay and Youngstown State.

Will Grier and the Mountaineers offense is showing out right now. West Virginia is in full “win Will Grier the Heisman” mode.

10. Virginia Tech

The Hokie’s took Florida State behind the woodshed in week 1. But beating FSU doesn’t look so hot when FSU narrowly escape Sanford in week 2. Yes, Sanford. Justin Fuente seems to be building something special in Blacksburg. The Hokie’s have a legit show of making the ACC championship game.

Next Up:

Wisconsin (haven’t played anybody), Washington (needs a quality win)

I know some of you are steaming mad right now because your team is ranked too low or is unranked. Take a breathe and realize that your fandom is causing irrational thoughts.

leave a comment or shoot an email: ImMad@unafraidshow.com… Yes, that is the real email address.

Colin Kaepernick and Nike – Did Nike Just Do It or Just Blew It

Colin Kaepernick

Nike almost broke Twitter when it announced that Colin Kaepernick would be the face of their 30th anniversary “Just Do it” Campaign. It has been a polarizing debate that has lingered on for days. Everyone has their opinion about the health and future of the NFL, Kaepernick, and Nike. That debate will continue as the Nike ads will start running Thursday during the NFL’s Falcons-Eagles Kickoff game. I am here to provide facts and insight on the situation.

Social responsibility, protests, and action are the American way. This country was founded on protest. However, evidence shows that protests are largely ineffective unless they disrupt the everyday lives of people. So, a Twitter protest is just a social media protest that will affect people’s buying habits for days, not months or years. In the last year, people have tried to boycott Chick-fil-a, In-N-Out, Starbucks, and the NFL. All have gone on to make more money.

Nike Just Blew It

Is having Kaepernick on the face of the campaign “bad for business”? Did Nike really alienate half its customer base? Twitter business prognosticators and an angry mob would have you believe that’s true.

The facts are that half of Nike’s nearly $36 billion of revenue in 2017 comes from overseas. And 2/3 of all Nike customers are 35 or under. So while they did piss off a specific demographic, in all likelihood they aren’t Nike’s core customers anyway. NIKE absolutely dominates the sports footwear market. And has recovered the 5.5% of its market share of US footwear it lost to Adidas in 2017.

Nike spends millions on research every year. So, choosing Kaepernick to be the face of the campaign was a very calculated decision. The company was built on rebellion and bucking the system, and Kaepernick falls right in line with that. Michael Jordan and Steve Prefontaine are Nike’s cornerstone athletes. Both bucked the system. Pre was an eccentric runner who bucked the norms. Jordan’s shoes were banned by the NFL, but he continued to wear them. Nike rebelled and took a chance on a black athlete as their pitchman in the 80s. Most companies believed it to be a risky business. We see how that turned out.

Nike’s Stock is Getting Killed

Many people believed that Nike’s stock would drop significantly and it would hurt the business. They thought that “protesters” would abandon a well-performing stock to prove a point. Well, that has shown to false so far. Nike’s stock closed at $82.18 per share on Friday, Aug. 31st.  Nike made the announcement on Labor Day when the markets were not open. By the close of Tuesday Nike’s stock was down $3 to $79.01. On Thursday, September 6th (NKE) closed at $80.40 per share. So yes, Nike’s stock is down $1.78 since the Kaepernick campaign announcement, but it appeared to be normal market fluctuation. On September 11th, the stock price reached as high as $83.57. which is the highest it has ever been. Here is Nike’s last year on the market:

Colin Kaepernick and Nike

NFL will drop Nike

The Twitter mob would have you believe that the NFL may end their relationship with Nike.

Nike is bigger and badder than the NFL. There is ZERO chance the NFL takes legal steps to remove Nike as their official apparel provider. Nike and the NFL are in the midst of an apparel contract that was just extended to 2028. It would likely cost the NFL billions in damages if they breached the contract. The thought that the NFL was blindsided by the Colin Kaepernick signing is doubtful. The league may not have had much advance notice about it, but they have known for much longer than we know. The evidence lies in the NFL’s response to Nike’s campaign, and in the league suspending any consequences to players kneeling.

The NFL responded by saying:

“The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity,” executive vice president of communications and public affairs Jocelyn Moore said in the league’s statement. “We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities. The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”

There will be some angry owners, but they will get over it. The smartest thing the NFL can do is take a page out of the NBA’s playbook. Stay out of litigation and public discord with your players. Let your players be individuals free to say and do as they please. Fans want their players on the field, not in the courtroom fighting the league.

The owners also have realized that despite what the POTUS or some of the media tell you NFL revenues and total viewership is up despite falling ratings. Nearly all television network ratings have dropped at a much higher rate than NFL game ratings. Antiquated Nielsen ratings are the biggest factor in the decrease in ratings while total viewership has increased. Those ratings do not account for “cord cutters” and people who watch games through streaming services like Amazon, Hulu TV, YouTube TV, Sling, Roku, etc.

Colleges will drop Nike

There is a faction of people who believe that universities like Alabama, Oregon, or Florida would consider dropping Nike.

There is ZERO chance that happens as well.

“Schools can’t stop any of them: Nike, Under Armour, Adidas,” said David Carter, executive director of USC’s Sports Business Institute. “They don’t have the contractual ability to do that.”

Aside from having no legal ground to void their deals, what alternative do schools have? Nike writes the biggest checks and sells the most merchandise, which handsomely increases these universities bottom line. And we all know that the NCAA always protects the bottom line before the student-athlete.

Breaking Away From Nike

I conducted a poll on Twitter. Thanks to all those who voted and shared. Reading the comments on this poll was fascinating. There were a lot of “let’s rock the vote” comments going on, which only proves my point about Twitter boycotts. They trend, but rarely result in a significant economic impact.

How can a sports fan realistically #BoycottNike? It’s impossible. Nike is the official apparel company for the NFL, NBA, most college basketball teams, and 52.8% of all FBS college football programs. So, if you want to rep your favorite team, you will be giving Nike some cash. And you will absolutely see plenty of swooshes and commercials as you watch the games. Nike also owns Converse and Hurley as well. So, good luck with that.

It is your right to hate or love Nike for signing Kaepernick. However, you have no soul if you hate this commercial.

[yotuwp type=”videos” id=”cfFs48qyQy4″ title=”off” description=”off”]

*Updated Sept. 11th 10:26 am pt to reflect Nike’s YTD stock price

Blind Resumes: Who is the Most Dominant Pac-12 Team?

Most Dominant Pac-12 Team

Who Runs the Pac-12?

College football fans love debating other college football fans about hypothetical events. Most fans rely on emotions and feelings instead of stats and facts to drive their arguments and opinions. Conversations are always heated when Pac-12 fans debate the most dominate Pac-12 team. Unafraid Show has indisputable stats to solve these debates thanks to our friend @SportsPac12. We will use the blind resumes of the four most dominant Pac-12 teams over last two decades to determine who runs the Pac-12.

If we were judging, historically USC will always win this debate because they had such a headstart on everyone else in the conference except UCLA. So, we will focus on recent history to determine who runs the Pac-12. Anybody can have an outlier season and win a conference championship, but it is extremely difficult to maintain success longterm. Take an objective look at the blind resumes to determine who currently runs the Pac:

Most Dominant Pac-12 Team

Leave a comment to submit your vote for the Pac-12 Most Dominant Team!

Can you name the teams without google help?

No matter who your favorite team is, the future is extremely bright for the Pac-12 conference. The conference has the best coaching it has ever had from top to bottom. There are multiple national championships in store for the conference over the next decade.

Check out the Pac-12 preseason rankings and predictions for who is the most dominant Pac-12 team and who will win the conference.

Team A: Stanford Team B: USC Team C: Oregon Team D:Washington

For more thoughts on who is the most dominant Pac-12 team as well as more fresh, creative, powerful content for sports fans, check out my UnafradShow podcast.

#241 Chief Wahoo Protest, Masters, Reed, Tiger, Warriors Don’t Want OKC

Should Cleveland Indians change their mascot and name? Native Americans protest Cleveland Indians mascot Chief Wahoo and the fans walking into the game mock them and flip them off.

Real Reason People Only Watch Golf When Tiger is Playing! Patrick Reed wins Masters

The Warriors need to be praying they don’t get the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
The first-round series against OKC without Steph would be a bigger test for the Warriors than healthy Steph vs Rockets.

Throwback Thursday to Sept 2, 2009: Honk If You Love The Ducks

honk if you love the ducks

Way before unafraidshow.com, there was tightend.blogspot.com. Side note, some people told me the old site name sounded like the name of a porn site. I stood on an island in the middle of the street holding a sign that said: “Honk If You Love The Ducks” and wrote about it. This post is the EXACT post from September 2, 2009. I was a young professional athlete with something to say so I started a blog. It has clearly progressed into more. This site, and a career in radio and television. I hope you enjoy. There are some gems inside.

honk if you love the ducks

I had a good time in high school, but for the most part, I felt like a fish out of water, but then came the University of Oregon. I didn’t know what to expect when I got to Eugene. All I knew about the U of O was Nike, Prefontaine “Track Town USA”, and Duck football. I learned quickly what the 541 was all about. I loved my time in Eugene. My favorite breakfast spot GJ’s, our favorite bar Taylors , the U.I. dorm, the CASS and most importantly, Autzen stadium, the crowd, and the student section. AMAZING!!! I’ll never forget Apartment #90 which consisted of #1 aka SP aka Samie Parker, #2 aka O-S*#@*y aka Onterrio Smith and myself aka Rice-Daddy. Man, if those walls could talk, lol, but I’m glad they can’t. Oregon was totally different than any other place I had ever been into my whole life, but yet it was home. Some of my fondest memories are from my time in Eugene. College was truly some of the best years of my life to date. A lot of things in my life may change, but one thing that will remain the same is I will always and forever be an Oregon Duck!

I’ll never forget every home game the PA announcer would say “It never rains in Autzen Stadium”. Which to me, being from Sunny So Cal, was very ironic, because I felt like it was always raining in the northwest. I still get chills thinking about scoring a touchdown and that loud fog horn going off and the band playing the fight song “Oregon our Alma Mater, we will guard thee on and on….”! I loved playing for Oregon, and now that I am in the pros, I love being a fan of Oregon. I always had my duck gear in my locker at the stadium. At least once a week in the offseason I workout in a Duck t-shirt, shorts, and my Nike Shox Duck editions (Oh Baby)! I even made a bet with my teammate Mo Williams 2 years ago that MY Ducks would crush his minuscule Wolverines, and of course, they did. Mo had to wear my College jersey all week, haha GO DUCKS!! I hang on to every play of Duck football. All my teammates in Jacksonville knew when we went to away games I was only going to eat dinner at a place that had my Duck’s game on! God Bless satellite tv!!

Keenan Howry and George Wrighster

Two years ago we had the National Championship and the Heisman Trophy in our grasp and it all went down the drain when Dennis Dixon fell to the ground clutching his knee. We were on cloud nine, riding high on the backs of Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart, and just that quick we had to settle for a SCHLacking of South Florida in the Sun Bowl 56-21. I was devastated. It felt like I was on that team and “we lost”. I now know what “REAL” fans go through and how they feel. I have a much deeper respect for the fans of our game.

Dennis Dixon knee injuryOn Thursday we begin our quest for another PAC-10 title and a chance at a National Championship. Although I can’t be there in person I will have my flatscreen on and my popcorn ready. It won’t be an easy game, (we are playing against former Oregon coaches). We are taking on the Broncos of Bosie State, on their “Smurf Turf”. The Broncos have a good team and are always tough at home, but I know the Ducks will take care of business. This year will be a good year for us up in Eugene and I will be here with my duck gear on cheering the whole way. I just can’t wait until my son is old enough to really appreciate the game, so I can take him to a game at Autzen Stadium, “the loudest place on earth” (for the enemy).

Autzen Stadium

I was so juiced when I saw the Ducks on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I was thinking, “finally, we are getting some respect”. I know some of ya’ll out there are skeptical of calling us a Football Powerhouse, but keep watching and trust me, you’ll see. It’s ok, I won’t say I told you so. Actually, YES I WILL!!! GO DUCKS!!!

Schedules Make it Easy For the SEC to Make the College Football Playoff

College Football Playoffs Schedule Scam

Schedules are the biggest scam in college football. The College Football Playoff Ponzi scheme, and the SEC is Bernie Madoff, same as the BCS was. All the Power 5 conferences do the work, but the SEC collects the rewards. The SEC (Bama in particular) deserves credit for winning the tournament, but often as a whole conference is severely overrated. When the CFB Playoff was formed we were told teams would be ranked based upon schedule quality and quality of wins over being undefeated. This has not been true. The curtain has to be lifted so fans can watch the season with open eyes. Isn’t it time that fans get the games we want to see and the undeniable four best teams in the playoff games? We are all being had by ridiculous schedules that manipulate who makes it to the playoff. Teams only get 12 guaranteed games per season. So why on earth should teams be rewarded for playing 3 non-competitive non-conference games per year?? Nobody really wants to pay to leave games at halftime. In 2018, Alabama and Georgia are were top 5 teams but were in the top 10 for easiest non-conference schedules. As fans, we spend our time, hard earned money, and devote our Fall lives to college football. We should we never waste an entire Saturday watching bad games!

College Football Committee Can’t Do Its Job Properly

The notion that the College Football Playoff Committee can accurately and fairly decipher who the top four teams in the country are is outrageous. How can they, when these schedules give us so few quality common opponents between conferences? This is the committee’s fault though. We will NEVER see schedules get better until the committee punishes teams that don’t win their conference or play competitive non-conference games. As a college football fan, you should absolutely be frustrated with the quality of the games we get. I’m assuming that all of you are like me and love college football and enjoy watching good games and debating other fans. If that’s the case, there is no way to be ok with a team that didn’t win their conference and played a bad non-conference schedule to be in the top 4.

The committee has essentially said that it is acceptable to lose your conference, play eight conference games while playing three non-power 5 teams, including an FCS team and get into the playoffs. Do not give me the “everybody does it” line. Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Notre Dame, USC, Miami, Cal, and others managed to schedule at least 2 power five non-conference games. That means everyone else can do it as well.

I’ve long said that college football schedules are consistently manipulated by the SEC and ACC, who have an advantage. Pac-12, Big XII, and Big 10 teams have a significantly smaller margin for error when trying to compete for championships. Let me explain how this works by using this table:

College Football Playoffs Ponzi Scheme

You can clearly see why the ACC and SEC have a win-loss advantage. Notice that there is a seven-loss difference between the ACC/SEC, and Big 10 which all have 14 teams. Seven more losses mean an additional game for each team in the BIG 10 against a team that could beat you. Imagine how easy the path to the championship would be if Ohio State could sub out that Iowa game for Mercer. Now, let’s compare those numbers to the Pac-12, which has 12 teams and 54 total conference losses. That is only two losses less than the ACC and SEC, despite having two more teams.

If that was too complicated, an easier way to explain all this is by looking at the average number of losses per team in each conference. SEC and ACC teams will lose a half-game less than all other conferences.

In theory, all this would not be a big deal if the conferences made up for that conference game with a competitive non-conference game. However, in most cases that is NOT what happens.

One of the biggest conversations when comparing teams is comparing how many losses each team has. However, all wins are not created equal. I’ve heard the argument that the Big XII, Big 10, and Pac-12 “play themselves out” of the playoffs by losing too much in-conference. The reality is playing 8 conference games instead of 9 conference games creates a systematic advantage for the SEC and ACC.

Now that we are all on the same page regarding wins and losses, I’ll explain the manipulation of the committee rankings. The current formula to manipulate your way into the playoffs is: play eight conference games, one mandated power 5 team, two non-competitive FBS games, and 1 FCS team. That FCS game often presents itself in November. It is commonly referred to as a “November Cupcake,” which is a glorified bye week against teams like Mercer, Citadel, or Wofford. The “November Cupcake” is an important component for highly regarded SEC teams to move up in the playoffs because of timing. When other conferences have ranked matchups in November, SEC teams play “November Cupcakes.” This gives them an opportunity to move up the rankings without playing a competitive game, and one of the teams from the other conference has to lose. This is the formula how you consistently end up with top 10 matchups amongst SEC teams late in the season, which makes the conference appear stronger.

Even Nick Saban (Alabama’s Head Coach) agrees with me when asked about college schedules and teams being deserving of playoff bids:

“I think it’s subjective to some degree because we don’t all play each other. I could get into my theory on this. I personally want to play all Power 5 conference teams every week. I know people say we played Mercer College and we couldn’t get a game with anybody else. All right so…  If we all had to play twelve teams from the Power 5 conferences, we would have a better feel for which conferences were the strongest and there would be more crossover play… and maybe even play more conference games.  Fans would like it better. You guys [the media] would like it better. You’d have a better inventory to show people. We wouldn’t have these games that people don’t really want to come to, players don’t really want to play in. And I think you’d have a better idea of who the best conferences and the best teams were.”

-Nick Saban on “College Football Playoff Selection Show” (December 3, 2017)

The Solution

  1. Change the college football playoffs to eight teams.
  2. Take the five power five champions and three at-large teams.
  3. One of the at-large teams has to be the highest ranked non-power 5 team.

There are two solutions to solve the scheduling imbalance and increase the greatness of college football for fans:

  1. 9 conference games, two power 5 games, and one FBS non-power 5 game to continue to give money to the little guys.
  2. 8 conference games, two power 5 games, one FBS non-power 5 game, and one FCS game to continue to give money to the little guys.

Both of these options would give the fans a much better game experience and generate more revenue for athletic departments. Teams would be more encouraged to schedule home and home non-conference games against good teams. This would make selling season tickets much easier

This would also alleviate a lot of the nonsense discussion about resumes and strength of conferences when choosing playoff teams. The committee would have more data because teams would have played more common opponents. My plan would cause television ratings and revenue increases as well. That’s more money for the NCAA, coaches, sponsors, and athletic departments to keep out of the hands of the players. And isn’t that the #1 goal of college football?

Am I Wrighster or am I wrong?

Pac-12 Media Poll picks Washington to Win the Conference: They are Wrong!

Washington Huskies

The Pac-12 media poll is out. 37 of 42 media members who cover Pac-12 football voted Washington as their favorite to win the conference. If you let the media tell it, Washington should run away with the North division and the South will be competitive with USC winning. But, recent history tells us that the likely Pac-12 champion will be someone other than who the media picks. The media has only correctly predicted the winner of the Pac-12 title game twice since 2011 (Oregon 2011, 2014). 2018 will be extremely exciting for the Pac-12. This is the best coaching from top to bottom that the conference has ever had.

2018 Pac-12 Media Poll

The media will be wrong about their 2018 pick as well. Either Stanford or Oregon will win the North division and Arizona will win the South division. Washington is well coached and their defense will be solid per the usual, but Stanford and Oregon are lurking in the shadows. Stanford has the best coach, offensive line, and running back in the conference. If KJ Costello shows up in a major way, Stanford will be a treat to go to the College Football Playoffs. Oregon, on the other hand, is the biggest wildcard in the conference. They feature a new head coach, Mario Cristobal who will bring more of the SEC conference ground and pound to the Ducks. They also have the project top NFL quarterback prospect Justin Herbert and are very talented at all positions. Arizona is a major threat to USC in the South division. The Trojans are replacing their top quarterback, running back, and wide receiver all in the same season. Arizona has a nuclear weapon at quarterback in Khalil Tate. He has the ability to win any game for the Wildcats.

No matter who wins the conference should fair significantly better in bowl season than last year.