Did You See That? Week 13 And Just/Unjust Firings
Hey, “Did You See That?” is back! Just in time for rivalry week and the season of hare-brained firings. Let’s talk about it. Big Ten
Iowa 28, Nebraska 20 – The Huskers have certainly pulled things together after getting torched by Purdue a few weeks ago. So much so that if 5-7 teams are needed to fill out bowl positions, Big Red may get an invite. There’s something awesome about the idea of Mike Riley getting a bowl bonus after a 5-7 season.
Iowa, on the other hand, just keeps winning. People can minimize their season all they want – and many do – but Iowa has played twelve games and won them all. No matter what your schedule is, that’s not easy to do. And to think many, if not most, Iowa fans wanted Kirk Ferentz out of there a while ago.
Michigan State 55, Penn State 16 – Is there anything better than seeing the smug Nittany Kittens getting their haughty, delusional asses handed to them? I think not. I’ll continue to bang this drum – Christian Hackenburg is insanely overrated and James Franklin remains a mediocre coach. People act like he did something great at Vandy, but in reality he simply won the games he should have won and got pasted against good programs. Same thing is playing out here in the Big Ten.
MSU, of course, remains amazing. Mark Dantonio is 35-4 over the past three seasons and 64-15 since the start of 2010 (with six of those losses in 2012). His last six season win totals are 11, 11, 7, 13, 11, 11. Probably would be fired in the SEC.
Ohio State 42, Michigan 13 – The Harbaugh magic couldn’t turn Hoke’s bunch into a winner against the super-talented and apparently focused Buckeyes. The Bucknuts have now won four straight in this series and 11 of 12. Also, weirdly, OSU has scored 42 three consecutive years and five of the last ten. Oh where have you gone Michigan defense?
Northwestern 24, Illinois 14 – Before their rivalry game with the Cats, Illinois re-upped interim head coach Bill Cubit for two years, though his AD doesn’t think it’s “ideal.” Wha? To be fair, Cubit dragging this team to within a win of a bowl game is no small accomplishment, given the brush fire Tim Beckman left behind when he was fired on the eve of the season.
Northwestern, of course, has now won ten games… again. This is their third ten-win season in the past twenty years and their second in the past four. I’ll go ahead and say we’d happily take this at Purdue… and this is just Northwestern we’re looking up to everyone. Sigh.
Maryland 46, Rutgers 41 – Rutgers had a weird season, including controversy and wacky comebacks and collapses. So why should their final game have been any different? RU QB Chris Laviano threw for 344 yards and four TDs and the Knights held a 31-10 lead late in the first half. But when your defense allows over 650 yards, it’s hard to hold onto leads.
Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 21 – Minnesota’s season wound up in the toilet, with five losses in six games to end the season. Wisconsin winds up 9-3 (6-2) but nobody seems impressed by it. Again, we’ll take it over here in West Lafayette. Wisco holds onto Paul Bunyan’s axe for the twelfth consecutive season and 19 of the last 21.
Elsewhere
Clemson 37, South Carolina 32 – Dabo’s fall is coming, I promise you. In fact, I fully expect them to lose in the ACC title game to North Carolina. And it will be awesome.
Florida State 27, Florida 2 – When I see a team with just two points, I always think it looks more humiliating than even getting shut out. I don’t know why. But Florida seems to have mailed it in at this point and will probably get smoked in the SEC title game.
Georgia 13, Georgia Tech 7 – Tech finished off their stinker of a season by giving the Dogs a scare but ultimately Georgia won to finish 9-3. Mark Richt is 145-51 (.740) over his 15 years in Athens, making a bowl every single year, winning in double digits nine times, and only had one season of fewer than eight wins. Georgia was ranked in the top ten in eleven of his fifteen seasons. So naturally, he was fired. SEC programs are moronic.
LSU 19, Texas A&M 7 – Speaking of moron SEC fan bases, LSU tried to run Les Miles out of town but his players and the fans (and even the local media) loved the guy so much, the administration and boosters pussed out and showed their cowardly lion side. If I were Miles, I’d find a great job somewhere else and leave them high and dry during recruiting season. Miles is 111-32 at LSU (.776), with a national title, seven double digit win season and consistent success within the SEC. He’s a bum!
Stanford 38, Notre Dame 36 – I am loathe to say anything positive about Notre Dame or the angry leprechaun who coaches them, but they’ve done a pretty amazing job this year. In fact, I’d say it’s a better job than the year they went to the title game. The injuries have been insane and yet there they were, about to worm their way back into the conversation for the CFB Playoff. Thank goodness for the Cardinal.
North Carolina 45, NC State 34 – First off, I don’t get why the Tar Heels and Blue Devils don’t play during rivalry week. Second, UNC is really good. They’re 11-1, 8-0 in the ACC, and nobody is talking about them. It’ll be so much fun to see them take down Clemson this weekend.
