Scrambling To Salvage Seasons

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

Last week in my column, I mentioned that Florida State University (FSU) had to reschedule an early regular season game with the University of Louisiana Monroe (UL-Monroe) that was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma to December 2, 2017 in a desperate attempt to become Bowl Eligible.

Since there are 40 Bowl Games, which begin from December 16, 2017-January 8, 2018, it's hard to not take note of certain games this weekend of teams scrambling to get into a Bowl Game.

I've always enjoyed watching and occasionally covering Bowl Games because it's another opportunity for NFL Scouts to see prospects to compliment the regular season, plus the few All-Star Games that are also scheduled.

There is no question that there is a saturation of Bowl Games and a lot of Empty Stadiums.

Yet these games do give universities, especially the smaller ones, much needed exposure to help bolster recruiting.

The Bowl Season does give student athletes a chance to extend their careers by a game.

You'll see unique match-ups that wouldn't be possible because of how difficult it is for Athletic Directors and Head Coaches to fit in when building future schedules.

In many instances, these are first time match-ups.

It's neat to see these students play in the Bahamas and Hawaii as well as other cities, plus also have the opportunity to possibly take their families.

I doubt I'd hear a complaint of a student getting to play in a warm California, Texas, Arizona or Florida city and spend some time at a popular tourist attraction as part of the business trip.

Let's not forget that in addition to the exposure and recruiting benefits, universities do get a payout to fund their athletic departments plus promote academics.

Here is a look at some of today's interesting match-ups as we examine how things play out in the coming weeks leading up to the Bowl Selection process.

1. Louisiana-Monroe (4-5) has a tough task as it faces No.6 Auburn (8-2) in Auburn, AL. Win or lose, UL-Monroe figures to get a big payday while still trying to earn additional cash in a potential Bowl Game as well as valuable exposure.

Meanwhile, Auburn must play well in an effort to keep its National Championship hopes alive. They can't have a let down today.

2. Florida State faces the Delaware State Hornets in Tallahassee, FL. Delaware State is the same university which forfeited a conference game to earn a sizable payday as it faced the Michigan Wolverines in The Big House in Ann Arbor a few years ago.

Delaware State is 2-8 while FSU is 3-6.

Who would have thought that two schools so far a way in tradition would have records like this? Yet, Delaware State figures to get a huge payday and a moral victory would be keeping this game close. FSU is clinging to dear life just to get into a Bowl Game as evidenced earlier by rescheduling Louisiana-Monroe.

3. The Florida Gators (3-6) host the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Blazers (7-3) in Gainesville. There are indeed other teams in Alabama besides Auburn and the University of Alabama, traditional powerhouse programs.

A few years ago, UAB dropped its football program only to bring it back. If the Blazers defeat the Gators, U-F will most likely be eliminated from Bowl Consideration. The only way Florida gets in with five victories is there aren't enough Bowl Eligible teams. If Florida defeats UAB, it still has a contest against state rival Florida State on November 25.

Like the Seminoles, Hurricane Irma didn't do the Gators any favors as its September 9, 2017 game against Northern Colorado was cancelled and as of yet hasn't been rescheduled.

The question remains, in a rough season, would the Gators even want to play in a Bowl Game which saw Head Coach Jim McElwain get terminated?

I would highly doubt it unless the Gators hire a new coach very quickly that endorses the idea to scout his new players. But the Gators have a lot of work to do in the meantime.

Finally, the Texas Longhorns (5-5) travel to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers (7-3) in Morgantown.

Mediocrity got former Longhorns Coach Charlie Strong fired a year ago in Texas, but he's rebounded very well at My Alma-Mater the University of South Florida with a 9-1 record.

Texas (5-5) lured Tom Herman away from the Houston Cougars with a five-year contract worth $5 Million per-year.

The Longhorns have two opportunities to reach a Bowl Game. A win over West Virginia and they'll get invited someplace. Otherwise, next week, they'll host Texas Tech (5-5) at home in Austin.

But the question remains, how long will the fans, boosters and alumni be patient with Herman if this national powerhouse doesn't regain elite status, thus having to settle for a lower tiered bowl game for a coach that figures to earn $25 Million for the length of his contract.

But as I analyze this weeks schedule, it's hard to believe that I'm writing a column on Florida, Florida State and Texas scrambling and hammering their way to get into a Bowl Game.

How times have changed and I'm doing just that.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com and is a member of The Detroit Sports Media.

College Football Week 3

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

There is one major thing that I learned about myself during week three of the college football season. I am not a professional prognosticator therefore I better stick to just informing the fans with facts and not opinions. I predicted the Florida Gators would demolish the Tennessee Volunteers by 50 plus points and the outcome was decided by just 10 by the team that makes Gainesville it's home otherwise known as the defending national champions. So here are this week's highlights.

1) In their week two win against Colorado, the Toledo Rockets defense gave up 38 points but they should have known that if they give up this many points again to intrastate rival No.11 Ohio State, the outcome could get ugly. It did as the Buckeyes whitewashed the Rockets 38-0 in front of 71,727 at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Buckeyes improved to 25-1 against current MAC schools. The Buckeyes have not lost an intrastate game from a school in Ohio since 1921 as they fell to Oberlin.

2) Since we're on the Ohio theme, former Nebraska Cornhuskers Coach Frank Solich posted a 58-19 record in six seasons with the "Big Red" from 1998-2003. He has found a home with the Ohio Bobcats (2-1) and is 25-27 after Saturday's 28-10 victory over Cal Poly. The Ohio Bobcats are located in Athens and play in 24,000 seat Peden Stadium. Solich's Cornusker's were accustomed to playing in front of crowds above 85,500 in Lincoln. During his four plus seasons he has guided the Bobcats to a bowl appearance. But one of his biggest accomplishments was on September 6, 2008 when he took his Bobcats into Ohio Stadium and lost a hard fought decision to the No.3 Buckeyes 26-14 in front of 105,002. The Bobcats travel to Knoxville and face the Volunteers (1-2) Saturday at Neyland Stadium which has a capacity of 100,011. Solich's overall collegiate record is 83-46.

3) If you're a Minnesota Golden Gophers fan and you bought season tickets to the new TCF Bank Stadium, one way to accept the first loss in this facility, which holds 50,805, is by witnessing an outstanding performance by a Heisman Trophy Candidate. Jahvid Best scored five touchdowns and rushed for 131 yards enabling the No.8 California Golden Bears to topple the Gophers 35-21.

4) After coming off a nice 17-15 victory over Kansas State at home in week two, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette came back to reality in the battle of I-10 as the No.9 LSU Tigers hammered the Ragin' Cajuns 31-3 in front of 92,443 fans at Tiger Stadium. LSU improved to 22-0 in their series with UL-L and won versus a team from Louisiana for the 23rd straight time. The Tigers are 33-0 against the Sun Belt Conference. UL-L fell t0 1-22 against ranked opponents.

5) Speaking of the Sun Belt Conference, in NFL terms when the Raiders are mentioned playing a Maryland based team, we speak of the match ups between Oakland against the Baltimore Colts or Ravens. On Saturday, The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders (2-1) defeated the host Maryland Terrapins (1-2) 32-31 in College Park as Alan Gendreau kicked a 19-yard field goal as time expired. This was the second straight win for the Blue Raiders over Maryland as they pulled off a home 24-14 upset on September 6, 2008.

6) The Delaware State Hornets (0-2) will see Maize and Blue twice this season and at the rate things are going figure to lose both games. On Saturday, the Delaware Blue Hens (2-1), who wear the same colors as the Michigan Wolverines faced their intrastate rival for the first time ever in the regular season and came away with a 27-17 win over the Hornets in Newark. A crowd of 20,585 saw this contest. The Hornets face No.23 Michigan on Oct 17 and playing in the "Big House" if my math is correct, the crowd will by five times higher in a venue that holds over 100,000.

7) What is the only way to play in the Rose Bowl if your conference has no affiliation to get there? Schedule the UCLA Bruins and after this past weekend, the Kansas State Wildcats felt the same way many Big Ten teams feel when the conference loses to the Pac 10. The Wildcats were beaten by UCLA 23-9 and dropped to 1-2 while the Bruins improved to 3-0. UCLA was 4-8 last year under first-year Coach Rick Neuheisel. The only difference in this 100,000 seat stadium was the size of the crowd as 67,311 turned out as the Rose Bowl does sellout yearly.

8) Was the Washington Huskies 42-23 win over Idaho in week two a fluke? Don't tell that to the USC Trojans, who dropped a 16-13 decision in Seattle. A crowd of 61,889 at Husky Stadium watched Washington avenge a 56-0 loss at USC last season, the worst loss in the 80-year history of this series. In the Idaho win, Washington snapped a 15-game losing streak. Washington entered this game with a 10-game Pac 10 Conference losing streak. Do you think Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian, USC's former offensive coordinator, has the Huskies headed in the right direction? Ask his former boss Pete Carroll and the answer will be an obvious yes, whose team was a nearly three touchdown favorite heading into the contest.

9) How would you like to be ESPN Announcers Sean McDonough and Matt Millen. This tandem called back to back thrillers as they watched the Michigan Wolverines defeat Notre Dame 38-34 on September 12 in Ann Arbor. On September 19, they saw No.13 Virginia Tech (2-1) defeat the No.19 Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1) 16-15 in Blacksburg, VA as Tyrod Taylor fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dyrell Roberts with 21 seconds left in the game. The Cornhuskers fell to 1-21 in their last 22 games against teams in the top 20. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech now has won 32 straight non conference home contests.

10) Perhaps Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Coach Howard Schnellenberger will have better luck with the rest of his schedule after the Owls (0-2) lost its first two road games to Nebraska 49-3 and to South Carolina 38-16. FAU's latest loss came to Gamecocks Coach Steve Spurrier, who is 37-0 in his career against teams not currently in the Bowl Championship Series. FAU faces University of Lousiana Monroe-Warhawks (1-2) in the home opener this Saturday at Ft. Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium. UL-M was spanked 38-14 Saturday by the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com