North Carolina Football

 We had an interesting day yesterday. Perennial also ran, Matthew Baker, ran off three in a row, as did Alex Smith, and has shot into a tie for the lead. Everyone has won at least one game - thank you Oklahoma? - and everyone has lost at least one game. Today we get rolling at 12:30PM Eastern time with my favorite bowl name: Duke's Mayo Bowl. Can't wait to see the winning coach doused with mayo at the end of the game. 

I remember going to a North Carolina v. Duke football game with RC in the early 80s. I believe LT and/or Kelvin Bryant played. Probably the two best football players in Carolina history. But what I remember about that day was walking through the university to the stadium, which RC proudly told me could never rise above the tree tops. When I went, the stadium did not have permanent endzone seating. But, good ole Mack Brown changed all that in the 90s. Now the stadium has seating in both endzones and seats upwards of 60,000 plus people. 

In these times, I believe it is important to acknowledge all of our history, not just the convenient parts. The stadium was originally financed by William R. Kenan Jr.. A graduate in the 1890s, Mr. Kenan became a wealthy industrialist, scientist, and philanthropist. He financed the original Kenan stadium and some subsequent refurbishments and expansions. He asked the University to name the stadium after his parents. However, it became known that his father was a white supremecist and led a paramilitary outfit that participated in the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 in which a defacto coup d'etat overthrew the integrated city government of Wilmington, replaced it with a government of white supremecists, and killed many prominent black citizens of Wilmington. Therefore, the University in 2018, removed the dedication plaque of the stadium and changed the stadium dedication to the son, not the father. 

It's tragic that it took until 2018 to make this change. It's even worse that so many of the massacres are kept in secrecy from us in our history books. And, it's scary that the same forces that led the Wilmington massacre of 1898 are active once more and using the same tactics of voter suppression, gerrymandering, violent intimidation, and the politics of jealousy and hate. 

So, as we watch today's bowl games that 2022 will be an election year and we must all do what we can to make sure all citizens can vote, that we must not yield to intimidation and violent rhetoric of white supremecists, and we must make sure the history we hand down to others is truthful and unafraid to confront the injustices of our forefathers. 

RC certainly did his part to chronicle that history. Make sure you read his book, They Closed Their Schools. I don't know about you, but I was taken aback at the funeral with the stories of how the book has been handed down in Prince Edward County. How RC's work led to changes of who represents Virginia in the statutory hall in the U.S. Capitol building. How there was an active movement to decrease the amount of copies of the book that were published. 

Well, I've birdwalked enough. Let's watch some football.

-The Commish

Off and Running?

Texas Tech pulled off a huge upset last night against SEC opponent Mississippi State. The vaunted SEC has lost all of their bowl games this year. Is that good news for Cincinnati and Michigan? Maybe so. Most of you picked upsets yesterday and so you are 1-0 to start the Bowl season. The big news are the changes in the bowls because of COVID. At the last minute yesterday UCLA pulled out of the Holiday Bowl so at this moment, that game is null and void. BUT, there is talk that North Carolina State and the Holiday Bowl are looking for a replacement team. So, stay tuned, I may be sending out an emergency email to get you to change or review your pick in that game.

The Sun Bowl lost Miami, but replaced them with Central Michigan. Most of you have reviewed and changed your picks on that game. But, fair warning, this Omicron wave has caused a ton of sports havoc across all sports. Things could change at any point. So please keep your email on so that I may give you a quick note should a game get changed. 

Of note on today's games, SMU v. Virginia was cancelled. So, no Fenway Bowl. Crazy times. Please wear a mask and go get your booster.

-The Commish

Preview Time

 This year I am going to publish an overall preview instead of waiting for each game to come up. So given that I have finished my baking duties, am just waiting on the others to complete theirs before eating our big meal, and have nothing else to do, I think I'll sit down and complete the first ever full preview of Bowl Season. 

This year's theme is memories. Of course I will feature memories of the namesake of this Pool, one RC Smith, who left us a year ago. I know we all miss him terribly. But I'm thankful that so many memories remain. So as I start this post let me tell you again how this contest started. RC had this idea to make the Bowl Season a little more fun for all of us. We would usually watch a ton of these games together. A newspaper man, I remember him combing through the Durham paper, the Raleigh paper, the New York Times and even the USA Today for tidbits on the games. My memory was that we were in California, in the early 80s, when we started picking the first time. We were at Louis' Cafe overlooking the Sutro Baths and the Seal Rocks, and RC had the USA Today sports section with its preview of games. Standing on the ruins of the baths was a man dressed all in black and a cape. As the waves crashed around him he would extend his arms and the cape, looking much like Batman. He must have stood out there for a good half hour commanding the waves, while we ate a rather good breakfast and picked winners and losers. Traveling with RC was always a treat. He was generally of good cheer, loved to eat (and drink), and was a student of humanities. We always seemed to have wide-ranging conversations that bounced back and forth between intense examinations of intellectual topics and humor, often silly humor. And whether that cafe is truly the birthplace of the Pool or not, I will always associate that morning with the beginning of this journey. So let's continue shall we? And let's commit to at one point during this week to having a good breakfast, reading a good article or more, and having a great conversation with someone or some others.

Now to the bowls.

Dec. 28

Holiday Bowl 

NC State Wolfpack (9-3) v. UCLA Bruins (8-4)

Favorite: NC State (-1)

This will be a matchup of Wolfpack defense versus the UCLA run game. The Wolfpack has had a solid season in the ACC with 2 of its losses by only 4 points. However, if NC State gives up more than 200 yards rushing (which it has lately), UCLA may take advantage and come out on top. Experts are saying Wolfpack, but they are playing a team that is hot and will be close to home. 

Liberty Bowl

Texas Tech (6-6) v. Mississippi State (7-5)

Favorite: Mississippi State (-9.5)

The bowl gods love this kind of matchup. Long time coach of Texas Tech, Mike Leach will bring his Bulldogs of Mississippi State into this game against the Red Raiders. Leach left Tech on bad terms, so he may look to blow out his former employer if he can. He runs a pass happy offense. Tech lost to my Longhorns so how good can they possibly be. They've already fired their coach too. But they got six wins somehow. Mississippi State has a better defense on paper and that should be enough to take down Tech. There won't be much running in this game by the way. Look for a ton of passing.

Dec. 29

Fenway Bowl

SMU (8-4) v. Virginia (6-6)

Favorite: Virginia (-2)

This should be an offensive shootout. Both teams feature highly rated offenses and leaky defenses. SMU lost some of their offensive playmakers to early departures who want to get ready for the NFL draft and not risk injury. SMU has lost its head coach to Texas Tech and will have an interim leader on the sideline. Virgnia's head coach, Bronco Mendenhall has announced this will be his last game. It will be interesting to see if weather becomes a concern, but it has been unusually warm so perhaps it will be perfect conditions for these offenses. 

Pinstripe Bowl

Maryland (6-6) v. Virginia Tech (6-6)

Favorite: Maryland (-3.5)

A battle of 6-6 teams from the Big Ten and the ACC. The Terrapins of Maryland are led by the little brother of Tua Tagovailoa, who starts for the NFL's Miami Dolphins. He will lead his passing dominated offense against a solid Virginia Tech defense. Maryland's defense seems to be a weakness and is the reason why most experts are picking Virginia Tech. Virgina Tech has fired its head coach going into this game.

Cheez-it Bowl

Clemson (9-3) v. Iowa State (7-5)

Favorite: Clemson (-1)

Clemson had an off year and just lost its defensive coordinator to the Oklahoma Sooners. Iowa State was a trendy pick to do well in the Big 12 this year but finished in the middle of the pack. The Cyclones have an experienced quarterback in Brock Purdy and a highly regarded rusher in Breece Hall. Clemson's offensive numbers are not great, but they have an excellent defense. May be a defensive struggle in Orlando.

Alamo Bowl

Oklahoma (10-2) v. Oregon (10-3)

Favorite: Oklahoma (-4.5)

So Oklahoma just lost its coach, Lincoln Riley, to USC (Southern California). They choked their last game against Oklahoma State and lost their chance at the football playoff. They have a freshman quarterback but a ton of talent. They run a high powered offense as usual so they will score points versus the Ducks. Well, Oregon lost their coach as well. Mario Cristobal is going to Miami to coach in the ACC. And like Oklahoma, Oregon choked their last game and lost their chance to be in the College Football Playoff. They also have a high powered offense. They did beat Ohio State on the road earlier in the season, so they have a high quality win on their resume. The Ducks will score points versus the Sooners. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, this should be an offensive shootout here in San Antonio.

Duke's Mayo Bowl

North Caroloina (6-6) v. South Carolina (6-6)

Favorite: North Carolina (-9)

The Carolina Bowl would be a more appropriate name, frankly. But in another battle between 6-6 teams, the Tar Heels are favored over the Gamecocks. The folks reading this blog probably know North Carolina better than I do. They feature an offense that, when it cooks, is hard to beat. An experienced quarterback, Sam Howell, leads the team. He can throw and run, but sometimes disappoints in crunch time. Mack Brown had high hopes going into the year, but in the end fought just to be bowl eligible. Clapping Mack will match wits with a first year coach named Shane Beamer. South Carolina struggles on offense but features an improving defense. Throw the records out in this condiment bowl tradition. Families will be torn apart. Look for violence in Charlotte. OK. Maybe not.

Music City Bowl

Tennessee (7-5) v. Purdue (8-4)

Favorite: Tennessee (-5)

Tennessee gets to stay in state to battle the Boilermakers from Purdue. Purdue has a potent passing attack and a decent defense and is on a roll going into the bowl game. Tennessee's quarterback Hendon Hooker has a great touchdown to interception ratio (26:3) and experts see Tennessee's future under former Oklahoma great Josh Heupel as bright. The SEC's reputation may be at play in the predictions of a Tennessee victory here.

Peach Bowl

Michigan State (10-2) v. Pitt (11-2)

Favorite: Michigan State (-2)

The big news here is that the ACC Champions, Pitt Panthers, will be without their all world quarterback Kenny Pickett. He has decided not to risk his health for the NFL draft (sheesh). So the Panthers will rely on their backup Nick Patti. Pitt forced four turnovers in the ACC Championship game which helped them shut out Wake Forest in the second half of the game and led to their victory. Michigan State had a great year based mainly on a running attack led by Kenneth Walker. But, like Pickett, Walker has dropped out of the game to protect his NFL future. In the end, the experts are left to determine which loss is greater. Evidently they think Pickett's loss as starting quarterback will be a greater obstacle to overcome.

Gator Bowl 

Rutgers (5-7) v. Wake Forest (10-3)

Favorite: Wake Forest (-14)

This will be the biggest favorite probably. Rutgers took Texas A&M's place when the Aggies QUIT because of Covid-19. Count me skeptical. A&M came in with the number 1 recruiting class so why risk that with a potential loss to Wake? Wake had a great season. They have a solid offense and have only lost to bowl eligible teams. They lost in the ACC title game because of turnovers. Rutgers, God bless them, took the game because of all the 5-7 teams, including my Longhorns, they had the toughest schedule. This should be a blowout but you never know.

Sun Bowl

Washington State (7-5) v. Miami (7-5)

Favorite: Pick 'em

Another coaching carousel game. Miami fired Manny Diaz for being bad, and Washington State fired Nick Rolovich for being an anti-vaxxer idiot. Miami has beaten some quality opponents including Pitt on the road. They have a pretty good quarterback but a lot of Covid-19 cases (thank you Governor DeSantis and crazy Florida). So there is no favorite here. The game is played in one of my favorite stadiums, the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. You can literally see across the border into Mexico from parts of the stadium.

Cotton Bowl

Alabama (12-1) v. Cincinnati (13-0)

Favorite: Alabama (-13)

We know the story here. Bama lost one game to Texas A&M on the road and then won everything else, including the SEC Championship over Georgia. They are Saban coached, so they have a great defense and a lot of talent on offense that will be drafted into the NFL. It is just reload city at Tuscaloosa. Cincinnati is the only undefeated team in college football but they play in a non-Power 5 conference. They have a solid offense and defense and a special defensive secondary which should be valuable against the Crimson Tide. I think this will be closer than the experts think.

Orange Bowl

Michigan (12-1) v. Georgia (12-1)

Favorite: Georgia (-7.5)

Georgia was the consensus number one for much of the season until Alabama throttled them in the SEC Championship. They have an excellent offense led by quarterback Stetson Bennett IV, but their defense, especially their defensive line, is the strength of the team. Michigan finally beat Ohio State and head coach Jim Harbaugh has a steady offense with a nice running game and a capable defense. But are they enough to compete with a Georgia team that will want a rematch with Alabama?

Outback Bowl

Penn State (7-5) v. Arkansas (8-4)

Favorite: Penn State (-1)

Actually the betting line is all over the place on this game. However, Penn State is the favorite in the majority of lines, but the point spread varies from Pick 'em to 4.5 points. Penn State has an excellent defense, but some of their stars have opted out of the game for NFL readiness reasons. Arkansas was picked to be much worse than their record. They overachieved and came up with 8 total wins including a 4-4 record in the tough SEC West. 

Citrus Bowl 

Iowa (10-3) v. Kentucky (9-3)

Favorite: Kentucky (-3)

Kentucky appears to be better offensively than the Hawkeyes, while Iowa appears to be better defensively than the Wildcats. Each team had solid seasons in tough conferences. Kentucky has a much better turnover ratio than Iowa, a more explosive offensive, and SEC pedigree. However, Iowa has much more experience in New Year's Day Bowl games. Should be fun in Orlando.

Fiesta Bowl

Notre Dame (11-1) v. Oklahoma State (11-2)

Favorite: Notre Dame (-2)

Would you believe Notre Dame lost their head coach going into this game? Brian Kelly ended his season with only one lost and then left the Irish for LSU. Unbelievable. Oklahoma State on the other hand has long time coach and mullet wearing Mike Gundy. Both teams feature stingy defenses, which is odd for Oklahoma State. OSU had an incredible chance to go to the College Football Playoff, but lost to Baylor when they couldn't score at the end of the Big 12 Championship game at the one yard line. The Irish promoted the defensive coordinator to head coach and will hope that they can continue to keep OSU out of the endzone.

Rose Bowl

Ohio State (10-2) v. Utah (10-3)

Favorite: Ohio State (-6.5)

The Utes of Utah won the Pac-12 Championship by beating favored Oregon. They have a strong rushing game behind running back Tavion Thomas. After starting 1-2, the Utes found their bearings and only dropped one game the rest of the year. Ohio State finally lost to Michigan after many years and thus missed the College Football Playoff. They have a balanced offensive attack and three of the best wide receivers in the country. This should be an offensive shootout.

Sugar Bowl

Ole Miss (10-2) v. Baylor (11-2)

Favorite: Ole Miss (-2)

These two appear to be evenly matched. Bayor is the Big 12 Champion and head coach Dave Aranda has continued the voodoo in Waco that has resurrected this once putrid program into relevance. The running game and defense is solid for the Bears. The Rebels of Ole Miss have a Lane Kiffin explosive offense that earned the Oxford, Mississippi, crew double digit wins this year. SEC pedigree seems to be the reason the Rebels are favored, but the Bears are well coached and will not go away easily. Baylor always has incredible athletes.

Well that's it. A quick preview of every game. My posts after this will concentrate on the race to victory amongst the contestants and my observations of the games themselves.

-The Commish

The Championship Stays in California

Chris Ross led this year wire to wire. He ran off six straight victories to take the lead and then held off Analicia Baker in the final game after she had rushed back to tie him before the Orange Bowl. Therefore, the plaque stays in San Rafael, California, but with a new name. The Commissioner has been informed that the California crew will take care of adding the name out there on the left coast for the sake of economics. 

Of course we mourn the loss of R.C. our founder during this year. Like I said before, he would want us to carry on with this great contest. I was glad to see Kirsten back in contention. Matthew had a strong year picking and ended strong. We encourage you to invite others to participate in future contests. Anyone with a connection to the family who is actually a human being. Next year we will return hopefully to a full bowl season with more than 20 games to pick, a visit to some bowls by participants in the pool, and a more colorful blog with pictures and comedic banter. 

But for now I'll leave you with this memory. R.C. loved college football. He used to take me in the summers to the North Carolina High School All-Star Football Game where he would point out Carolina signees to me as they competed. The game would always end with a fireworks show. And, as was his custom when he drove on the return trip he would tap out jazz drum beats on the dashboard as he guided the car on the freeway. One year, Tim accompanied us and I had a date! Tim in the front passenger seat sleeping. R.C. lost in jazz and driving and drumming. Me in the backseat with my date... well... I'll leave that alone. The more the merrier is the message here. Get your mind out of the gutter. The beauty of sports and music and fellowship and fireworks all wrapped up on a beautiful summer evening in North Carolina. You can't beat that. You savor that. Savor every last second of it. 

Take care on your journey. Every day is a blessing. As Jim Valvano said, a good day is when you laugh, you cry and you think. That is a great day. I hope you have plenty of them in this new year.

- The Commish

One Final Day - Four Bowls

 It has been a quick bowl pool season. Ohio State provided our upset of the season last night with a thrashing of Clemson - that's a shame. This sets up a final game of Alabama versus Ohio State. If you have read this blog you know what an anti-playoff person the author is. Here are some stats for you about the playoff:

We have had the playoff for seven years since the 2014-15 season. As it is a four team playoff there have been 28 slots available. Only 11 programs have filled those slots. No team outside the power five conferences despite plenty of candidates (take Cincinnati this year) has filled a spot. Alabama and Clemson have been in six of the seven years. Ohio State and Oklahoma have appeared four times. All seven years, at least one team who made the playoff the previous year has appeared again. Six of the seven years at least two teams have made the playoff who made the playoff the previous year. One year, three of the teams in the playoff had appeared in the previous year's playoff. This system is giving the same programs extra visibility, increasing their recruiting footprint and therefore turning college football into a pyramid scheme. Given what we know about recruiting so far, would you not expect Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma to make it in again next year? 

One of the arguments made by pro-playoff, anti-bowl advocates is that the student athletes are not motivated to play unless there is something to play for. They always use blowouts in the other bowls to make their point, especially when a big name like Georgia has some athletes opt out and lose as a favorite. But let's look at actual results. There have been 14 semi-finals played since the playoff began. Ten of those fourteen have been blowouts (the winning team has won by two or more touchdowns). Only one of those games has gone into overtime. This blowout pattern extended to this year where both games were blowouts. Overall, the average margin of victory in a playoff semi-final is 21 points or 3 touchdowns. In the six Championship games, three have been blowouts. Currently, Alabama is more than a touchdown favorite. If you look at scores of other seasons of bowls, I would argue the results are no worse, and actually a little better. We have had three really tight games in our pool this year among the minor bowls: the Peach, the Liberty, and the Cheez-It. We have had four blowouts: the Alamo, the Duke's Mayo, the Cotton and the Citrus. We have four games left. Let's hope they provide better entertainment than yesterday's semi-finals.

Today's games: The Gator Bowl - Kentucky versus North Carolina State. Real important to Candace's chances of repeating. She cannot have Kentucky win or Chris eliminates her. 

The Outback Bowl - Indiana versus Ole Miss. Matthew needs to keep an eye on this game. Unusually, most of us picked against the SEC team here.

The Fiesta Bowl - Iowa State versus Oregon. The Truck Stop Big 12 versus the Conference of Champions PAC 12 (Bill Walton Reference for those in the know)

The Orange Bowl - North Carolina versus Texas A&M. This will be emotional for us. Despite who we picked, I know we will all be rooting for the team in Carolina blue. 

Have a great day. Watch the Orange Bowl if nothing else and drink a toast as you watch to the man who created this fun. I'll have more to write at a later time.

New Year's Day

 Of course, back in the day, this was the traditional big day for bowls. All the big bowls and some minors were played on this day. You still get a lot of games, but the day no longer carries the mystique that it used to. Depending on the year and when the NFL plays, you have a varied schedule. Memories of this day for me always send me back to the George Autry parties in Chapel Hill. While most parties were on New Year's Eve, the Autry party was on New Year's Day. I think I only went to two that I can remember. But there was a "pig pickin'" (I believe that is the term) and other foods (I seem to remember quail being served one time). And there were old fashioned tube television sets in every room set to the games. People would mill around and basically the party would last all day. 

Four games for us today: Peach Bowl - Cincinnati versus Georgia

                                        Citrus Bowl - Auburn versus Northwestern

                                        Rose Bowl - Alabama versus Notre Dame

                                        Sugar Bowl - Clemson versus Ohio State

RCs rule when the Pool first started was never pick against Notre Dame. How times have changed. Notre Dame is definitely the underdog today. Clemson has never lost to Ohio State. I remember when Woody Hayes punched the kid from Clemson. That jinx lives on and I think Clemson will win again. Get ready for another Clemson versus Alabama final game two weeks from now.

I hope you have a great New Year's Day. Give someone you love a hug.