Thursday afternoon, news broke that Baylor hired former- LSU defensive cordinator, Dave Aranda to be the new head football coach for the Baylor Bears. This news came as a slight surprise to most as media outlets were trending towards associate head coach, Joey McGuire, and Virginia Tech head coach, Justin Fuente. However after the conclusion of the National Championship, Baylor athletic director, Mack Rhoades went after and hired LSU’s defensive coordinator as the new football coach.
Here is a preview of coach, Dave Aranda is and why he is such a great choice for the Baylor Bears:
Coaching History:
Dave Aranda coached the defensive line for Hawaii back in 2009. It was then a couple years later where he got promoted to defensive coordinator for Hawaii. He then went on to Utah State at the defensive coordinator for a year in 2012 where is defense ranked 15th in the country.
The next year, Aranda became the defensive coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers. He served as the coordinator there for three years, where he made Wisconsin ranked top-10 in total defense in three straight years, including a Big-10 championship appearance in 2014, and 2nd in total defense in 2015.
In 2016, Aranda got hired by the LSU Tigers after many programs were wanting Aranda as their defensive coordinator. He lead LSU defense to be ranked 5th in total defense in 2016, and 12th in 2017. This year, he coached the defense on a LSU team who arguably had the best college football season ever, and won a national championship.
Why is Aranda such a great hire for the Bears?
1.Aranda Fits the Build for Baylor
First off, Aranda has coached some of the best defenses in the country for a couple of the best teams in the country. He has coached the best, and has played the best. In 2019, Baylor had one of the best defenses in their the Big-12, a conference not normally know for defense. Now Baylor, has an well-qualified defensive minded coach coming to a team who heavily relied on its defense to win games.
Normally, Baylor hires up and coming coaches who show promise and hope, but Dave Aranda is a guy who has already has proven himself by consistently having some of the best defensive success in the country. Baylor is getting a big time defensive name to come to Waco.
2. Aranda Has Championship Experience
Any fan of football knows that experience plays a huge deal in the sports. Teams and coaches with more experience have a significant advantage. Good news for the Bears is Coach David Aranda has that elite/championship experience. He has coached a top-10 defense in the the 2 toughest conferences in College Football. Therefore, Aranda has had success against the best talent. Not only, has he had just success, he’s had championship level success. He has held opponents in the College Football Playoffs to 22 total points in the 2nd half. That is elite to do against the top offenses in the country.
His championship experience will go miles at Baylor. It raises his ceiling for what this Baylor team can do since has been there before. Fellow coaches and players will buy into his program because he succeeded at the highest level before. Not many head coaches can say that.
3. David Aranda is Great at Making Adjustments
In the big games LSU defensive coordinator, David Aranda was able to make some key adjustments for his team. In the game vs Florida, it was tied 21-21 at halftime, a game that was very back and fourth. LSU’s defense only allowed a single touchdown the entire 2nd half allowing LSU to beat Florida 42-28.
In addition, Aranda’s defense played the best in the games at the end of the year when the games mattered the most. LSU played three straight “elimination” games in a row, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Clemson. In those 3 games, they allowed just around 16 points a game in non-garbage time. Aranda showed the country his defense plays the best in big games.
Mack Rhoades just brought one of the top defensive talents, and sought after coaches to Baylor. If Dave Aranda can choose a great offensive coordinator, and recruit some great talent to Baylor, Aranda could not only keep Baylor as one of the top teams in the Big-12, but sustain that success for years to come.
Just like that College Football is nearly over for the 2019-2020 season. We can all start sulking thinking about going without College Football for the next seven months. Well the only appropriate reaction is to start gearing up towards next season because what else are we going to do…. watch golf or something?
Next season offers up some great games that we do not normally get. Here are the top-10 games to look forward to for next college football season.
10. Mississippi State at Ole Miss (Week 13)
Coming in first at #10 is the good ole Egg Bowl. Before people disagree with this one, just remember that Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach are now the coaches. Both coaches have had success elsewhere, and also never fail to bring drama into the fold in college football. Last year’s Egg Bowl featured a player pretending to pee like a dog on the field… and that was without Mike Leach. This year’s Egg Bowl should bring a lot more hype.
9. Texas at LSU (Week 2)
Well if you have not heard the news… it is almost preseason meaning Texas is back, and so is Sam Ehlingher apparently. Not sure where he was going to go in the first place.. but nevertheless this will most likely be a top-10 matchup thanks to the AP Poll voters. Last year’s matchup turned out to be a shoot-out thriller. This year in Death Valley may not be as close, but at least if it is not, then social media users around the country get the opportunity to spam “horns down” across Twitter.
8. Oklahoma vs Texas (Week 6)
At #8 is the Red River Rivalry. This game always serves as classic show down between two blue-bloods that always serves to be an entertaining game. Look at for quarterbacks, Sam Ehlinger, and whichever transfer OU gets to face off in the Cotton Bowl stadium. The winner will most likely make it to the Big-12 championship.
7. Penn State at Michigan (Week 5)
Before anyone argues that this should be Michigan at Ohio State, I wanted to put games in here that will actually be a close score in the 2nd half. Penn State will travel to Ann Arbor. This will be a great BIG-10 matchup as winner will have the luxury of losing to Ohio State on College Gameday most likely.
6. Georgia vs Florida (Week 9)
This is a key matchup of the SEC East powerhouses. Each year it seems like these teams are the two that are at the top of the SEC East. 99% that the winner of this game will go onto the SEC championship, and may just have a shot at the College Football playoffs.
5. Clemson at Notre Dame (Week 10)
This is one of the biggest matchups of the year. Why you may ask? Because Clemson and Notre Dame will finally play a worthy opponent. Clemson will have a tough opponent at the end of their schedule as they will have to win at Notre Dame to have another undefeated regular season. On the other side, Notre Dame has the opportunity to send a message to the College Football Playoff Committee as they could upset possibly the best team in College Football.
4. Ohio State at Penn State (Week 8)
Arguably the biggest matchup between BIG-10 teams of the year. Penn State played Ohio State the closest out of all the other teams in the regular season. Penn State fell just 28-17, but now the game will be in Penn State’s stadium giving them an advantage. Hopefully having the game at home can make this game one of the best of the year.
3. Georgia at Alabama (Week 3)
It is simply a blessing we get this game this year. Normally, we have to wait until the SEC Championship to see these teams play, but this year we get to see them battle it out in just the 3rd week. These SEC powerhouses only play in the regular season once ever six years. It will serve as an early opportunity to make a statement to the College Playoff Committee.
2. Alabama at LSU (Week 10)
Coming in at #2 is the showdown for the SEC West. Both teams are losing their starting quarterbacks to the draft. Last year, this game was one of the best football games all year after LSU beat Alabama 46-41. Will LSU be able to hold onto the SEC West or did Alabama decide to just take only a year off? This will serve as a high-profile matchup as winner will most likely go to the SEC championship game.
1. Ohio State at Oregon (Week 2)
This serves as the top game to look forward to in the 2020 season because we are getting the Rose Bowl in September. The best team in the PAC-12 will face the best team in the BIG-10. It is the biggest out of conference game of the year considering this game could possibly ruin one’s teams shot at the College Football Playoffs in just the 2nd week of the season. Make sure to mark your calendar for this game.
Last night, #7 Baylor fell to #5 Georgia 26-14 in the Sugar Bowl. The Bears now fall to 11-3 on the season. Baylor’s loss in the Sugar Bowl was deflating as Georgia held a 2+ score lead for most of the game, and Baylor lost for the second time in row.
As a Baylor fan myself, it was a tough pill to swallow watching my quarterback leave the game with a scary injury, and favorite team get beat on the field in a New Year’s Six Bowl. Scrolling through Twitter, it was not hard to find frustration from fans regarding the game. Leaving my seat at the end of the game, I felt dejected with a sour taste of losing. It was not until as I was leaving the stadium, that I found myself smiling seeing the insane amount of Baylor fans that made the trip to New Orleans that caused me to reflect on the season as a whole.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
While the season certainly did not end the way Baylor fans wanted it to, this is still a season to be THANKFUL for. It is easy to only focus on the most recent event, but lets not forget all what Baylor Football accomplished this season.
“I know it’s ‑‑ I know it’s painful for our guys, but they can’t let that deter what they’ve done this season.”- Coach Matt Rhule.
First only two years after a 1-11 season, Matt Rhule lead Baylor to an astounding 11-3 not only tying the record for the highest amount of Baylor wins in a season, but making it the 6th time in history that Baylor football has achieved a double-digit win season. The football games themselves were also highly entertaining featuring 3 games that were overtime thrillers. 7 of the 11 games were one-score games with 3 of those with game winning or tying drives by Baylor’s offense in the final minutes.
Baylor Football also brought national attention back to the university as they finished the season ranked #7 in the nation, was amidst the College Football Playoff conversation for majority of the season, and brought ESPN’s College Gameday back to Waco for the first time since 2015. Most college football analysts predicted Baylor to finish anywhere from 4th-8th in the Big-12. Baylor surpassed those expectations and finished 2nd in the Big-12 earning them a spot in the Big-12 championship game, their first appearance in the championship game era. Some analysts did not even expect Baylor to make a bowl game. Matt Rhule and the Bears just responded by going to the Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1957.
In addition, the Bears also brought excitement, and energy back to Baylor Football. This team put on a show each and every game bringing fans back to games. After averaging the lowest attendance per home game ever in McLane Stadium in 2018, this year’s Baylor Football broke the record for the largest attendance in McLane Stadium history with 50,223 in their game against Oklahoma. They also recorded the 3rd largest attendance ever in McLane in their win over Texas, and 8th largest in their win in the overtime thriller against Texas Tech for homecoming.
I think Matt Rhule said it best in the press conference after the Sugar Bowl:
“As I told them, we were picked to not even been here. We got to the championship game. We got to the Sugar Bowl……I’m very, very, very proud of what we did this year, very grateful for these guys to my left and for our seniors for what they’ve done.”
With most of their starters projected to return, Baylor is predicted to have another impressive season, and be in the running for a Big-12 championship. The Bears will start the 2020 season off on September 5th against the Ole Miss Rebels in Houston.
Yesterday, I was sitting at the Mavericks game with my brother discussing the top players in the NBA right now. My brother and I were each naming off top players in the league, when a fan behind us suddenly interjected because he heard us mention Kawhi.
“Kawhi does not even belong in the top-5.”- the fan behind us said.
Absolutely shocked that somebody would say such an outlandish comment, I tried not to roll my eyes and instead listed off the reasons why Kawhi is a top-5 player in the league. The fan merely breezed over my reasons only to tell me that Harden was a top-3 player in the league. That is when I knew I could not reason with this fan, so I went back to enjoy the Mavericks beat up on the Spurs.
With that being said I wanted to finalize my list of top-3 players in the NBA AT THIS MOMENT. My rankings are more of how a player can impact a team. I prefer to see how this player can make a team a force/threat in the post season.
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Averages 30.5 ppg 12.9 rebounds a game 5.7 assists a game
Right now, Giannis leads his team in points, rebounds, and assists per game. The reigning MVP has solidified himself in the top-3 because he has been the main reason why the Bucks has had so much success. The Greek Freak has brought the Bucks to the #1 seed and the conference finals. Without Giannis, the Bucks would be a fighting for a playoff spot. Giannis ensures they are one of top spots in the playoffs. All Giannis needs to do to move up in the rankings is claim the Eastern Conference crown, and show that he can beat even the top defenses.
2. LeBron James
Averages 25.7 ppg 7.6 rebounds a game 10.6 assists a game
I know some may argue this, but I cannot leave LeBron out of my top-3 list just yet. I know he is older, but LeBron continues to show he is one of the best players in the league. First off, LeBron is leading the league in assists by a whole assist (no other player is averaging more than 9.4). People will complain that LeBron is not scoring enough points. That is because is making his teammates better. Averaging over 25 points and 10 assists a game is an incredible stat. LeBron has shown that what ever team he is on can make a run in the playoffs. Not many players in the NBA can say that.
1.Kawhi Leonard
Averages 25.9 ppg 8.0 rebounds a game 5.1 assists a game
The top player in the NBA is Kawhi Leonard. Being the top player in the NBA is not just offense, but defense as well. Kawhi has a significant edge over other players when it comes to defense. He can guard almost anybody in the game. In addition, he plays incredible on the offensive side inside the paint, and beyond the arc. What sets Kawhi apart from everyone else is his clutch gene. Kawhi is one of the most clutch players in the league. Kawhi took out Giannis and the #1 seed Bucks last year, and scored when the moment mattered the most. Just look at the 2019 finals or the last second shot to beat the 76ers in game 7. LeBron has shown he is not as clutch. Just look at the 2011 finals, and the 2016 finals where it was Kyrie’s go-ahead shot that sealed the deal over the Warriors. Kawhi is a terminator on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, and he is best when it matters most. His clutch-ness even made our Top-10 moments of 2019.
Kawhi showed that he was the best player last year, and has the belt. No one has taken it from him yet.
Honorable Mentions:
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were not included because they are injured and out for the season.
James Harden- great at scoring, but he has not been able to do that in the playoffs to get his team even to the conference finals
Anthony Davis- excellent player, but LeBron is more valuable for the Lakers with his assists.
Joel Embiid- Embiid has shown he can be one of the best players. He is just not nearly consistent enough.
Luka Doncic- He has had an incredible career in the NBA thus far, but has yet to take down some of the best teams and players on a consistent basis
Below is where the other contributors rank their top-3:
Coming in hot at #6 is Kawhi Leonard’s incredible postseason run with the Raptors that ultimately lead to an NBA championship. Now just to jog your memory, this 2019 Kawhi’s first season in Toronto. The year before Kawhi missed most of the season due to a mysterious quadricep injury, so many people did not know how well Kawhi would play in 2019 nearly missing almost a year of basketball. Well we got our answer for sure that postseason.
Kawhi lead the Toronto Raptors to become the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors went on to beat the #7 seed Orlando Magic 4-1.Next they beat the hyped up #3 seed Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games where Kawhi hit game-winning magical fade away shot at the buzzer like something you only see in NBA 2k.
Then, the Raptors went to play the #1 seed Milwaukee Bucks with the leagues MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo (aka the Greek Freak). The Raptors would beat them in 6 games behind Kawhi. The Raptors last battle would be against the #1 seed of the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors. Even though, the Warriors were missing superstar Kevin Durant, this was still a Warriors team that had 3 championships, a two-time MVP, and the splash brothers. It turned out that the Warriors were no match for Kawhi as the Klaw dominated on offense and defense beating the Warriors in 6 games, and winning Finals MVP.
Kawhi brought Toronto their first NBA championship ever, did it dominant fashion, all while overthrowing the Warriors dynasty. Kawhi was so dominant, analysts started calling him “The Terminantor.” Leonard averaged 30.5 points, 9.11 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in the playoffs. NBA fans questioned if Kawhi would come back the same, and he definitely did not. He came back better proving he was a top-3 player in the NBA.
It is almost that time of year: The College Football Playoffs. The playoffs start this Saturday at 3:00 CT. The undefeated LSU Tigers take on the 12-1 Oklahoma Sooners in the Chick- Fil- A Peach bowl. This will be the 4th appearance in the playoffs for the Sooners, while this is the first postseason appearance for the Tigers. Regardless, both teams are looking for their first playoff win as the Sooners are 0-3.
The Sooners may be 0-3 in the playoffs, so far but their transfer QB, Jalen Hurts, has nothing but wins and experience. Before transferring to OU in the 2019 season, Hurts played QB at Alabama where he led the Rolling Tide to the playoffs in 2016 and 2017 (he was the backup in the 2018 season). Hurts is 3-1 as a starter in the College Football Playoffs. Hurts also has experience beating the LSU Tigers, beating them two years in a row as a starter. That type of experience can go a long way for the Sooners.
On the other side is the LSU Tigers who have stormed through the regular season. Posting wins against Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Auburn, it is no question that LSU has looked like the best team in the country. Now the Tigers are looking for their first win in the College Football Playoffs to send them to the national championship.
The biggest story this past week regarding these teams is the news that Oklahoma will be playing without three of their players. Oklahoma’s DE- Ronnie Perkins, RB- Rhamondre Stevenson, and WR- Trejan Bridges are suspended for the Peach Bowl. While it is still unclear what provoked the suspension, The Athletic’s, Jason Kersey, reported it as a “rules violation.” The biggest loss is DE, Ronnie Perkins. Perkins is considered the Sooners best pass rusher with six sacks, and 38 total tackles. This is now a major disadvantage for the Sooners as they try to stop Heisman winner, Joe Burrow, and his high-powered offense
The LSU Tigers have some bad news as well as running back Clyde Edwards- Helaire suffered a hamstring injury during practice last week. Edwards- Helaire is LSU’s leading rusher with 1,290 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. LSU coach, Ed Orgeron, said Edwards- Helaire is questionable for the Peach Bowl. However if anyone knows hamstring injuries, they know how hard they are to recover from in football. If Edwards- Helaire does not play, running backs, Tyrion Davis-Price, John Emery Jr., and Chris Curry would assume the workload. Those three running backs have a combine 118 attempts and nine rushing touchdowns on the season. The replacements have some experience; however, it would still be a major blow if the Tigers were without their starting running back.
Keys to the Game
Oklahoma
1.Run the Football
This is arguably the most important factor for the Sooners on Saturday: the ability to run the football. OU comes into this football game 11th in the nation in rushing yards per game with over 240 yards a game. This would be huge for OU as it wears down the LSU defense, open up the passing game, and keep LSU’s high-powered offense off the field.
2. Win the Turnover Battle
Oklahoma comes into the game as 13.5 point underdogs. Something underdogs cannot do in a football game if they want to win is have turnovers; therefore, OU needs to win the turnover battle. Jalen Hurts has shown this season that he struggles to hold on to the football. That cannot be the case Saturday, or else LSU will take advantage and make OU pay for it. If OU’s defense can force turnovers, that will give the OU defense a lot of confidence, momentum, and maybe some points on the board for OU.
LSU
1.Convert on 3rd Downs
One of the keys to the game for LSU is to convert on 3rd downs. LSU currently converts on 3rd downs 49.67% of the time which ranks 7th in the nation. Converting on 3rd downs will allow LSU’s offense to stay on the field and wear and tear the OU defense. This will allow receivers such as JaMarr Chase and Justin Jefferson to get involved early as well as boost the confidence for the LSU offense. OU’s defense currently is 48th in the country on opponents points per game with allowing 25.4 points per game. For LSU’s offense who averages 46.3 points per game (ranked 3rd), they should be more than capable converting on 3rd downs to put up points on the scoreboard.
2. Stop/Limit the Run
I mentioned this earlier, but LSU must be able to stop or limit the run for the Sooners. The Sooners average over 240 rushing yards a game. They run a power-style run offense that can wear down defenses. OU can run it with Jalen Hurts who has 1,255 rushing yards or RB, Kennedy Brooks, who has 976 yards on the season. This is worst case scenario for LSU: that Oklahoma is able to run all over the LSU defense to extend drives, and more importantly keep Joe Burrow and LSU off the field.
This will be a big opportunity for OU and the Big-12 to make a statement if they were to pull off the upset because the College Football Playoff committee has traditionally not shown as much respect to Big-12 teams over the years compared to teams in the SEC or Big-10.
The SEC and Big-12 champions will meet in Atlanta on December, 28th at 3:00 CT on ESPN. Both teams will be competing for a chance to play in the national championship.
Coming in at #10 for sports moments for the decade is the 2016 NCAA basketball championship where Villanova beat UNC 77-74 off a last second three-point shot. This game was a close back-and-fourth matchup between two powerhouse schools for the NCAA championship.
With 6 seconds left, UNC guard, Marcus Paige, hit an awkward double clutched 3- point shot to tie the game. 74-74. This was one of the most clutch shots seen. The defender jumped to block his shot, but Paiges double clutch allowed him to avoid the block, and still get the shot off. With just 6 seconds, left, most spectators were gearing up for overtime.
Kris Jenkins inbounds the ball to Villanova guard, Ryan Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono dribbles the ball up the floor to the 3- point line, and then turns around to flip the ball to forward, Kris Jenkins, who trailed Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono used his body to shield, so Jenkins could have clean 3-point shot. The shot goes up… and swish. Game over.
This national championship featured one of the best back and fourths in the final seconds of the decade. The game also featured big name players who went on to play in the NBA such as Villanova guards, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, as well as UNC forwards, Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks.
Coming in at #10 on sports moments of 2019 is Joe Burrow’s dominance in college football this season. Not only has his performance on the field been nothing short of spectacular, but he also has an incredible story to how he got to be the Heisman QB for the undefeated LSU Tigers.
Joe Burrow, the 3-star recruit out of Ohio, attended Ohio State University. It was there where he sat on the bench his first three seasons behind quarterbacks JT Barrett, and Cardale Jones. Burrow even got the nickname, “John Burrow,” out of mockery from his other teammates since JT’s first name was Joe. In his fourth year, Burrow lost the starting job to freshman, Dwayne Haskins. That is when Burrow transferred to LSU under Coach Orgeron. Burrow immediately became the starter and lead LSU to 10-3 and 13-0 records back to back years.
2019 was history in the making for quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow lead to LSU Tigers to an undefeated season, and a #1 seed in the College Football Playoffs. He also won the Heisman trophy after being 15,000-1 odds for the award in the preseason. Burrow’s Heisman victory featured the largest margin of victor ever. Burrow also threw for 4,715 yards (ranked 2nd), 48 touchdowns (1st), and completed 77.9% of his passes (1st). In addition, Burrow won
Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award
Greetings, as we settle into the holidays and the new year, it is important that we all take time to reflect on the past year. Therefore, we should especially take some time to reflect on the College Football season. This college football season brought a lot of moments and plays to be grateful for. Here is an accumulated list of plays and moments that ranked among the top of the entire 2019 college football season.
10. Illinois Upsets #6 Wisconsin
Coming in at #10, is the upset for the Illinois Fighting Illini over undefeated Wisconsin, 24-23. Down 13 points near the end of the 3rd, the Fighting Illini stormed back and won the game with a game winning field goal. Illinois were 31 point underdogs, but shocked the nation by giving #6 Wisconsin their first loss of the season.
Along with that particular game and game-winning kick, what Love Smith has done to this program has been impressive. He has this program on the right track, and bowl bound for the first time in 4 seasons. A traditional basketball is starting to make some headway in the College Football realm.
9. Virginia Tech Over UNC in 6 OT
If the LSU- A&M 7 OT game was the flavor blasted Goldfish, than this game is the off-brand Goldfish you find in the back of a Walmart. While this game did not carry the hype of the shoot out in Kyle Field last year (mainly due to being a measly ACC matchup), it did provide a lot of entertainment, and suspense as the game went into 6 overtimes.
A person sees 6 overtimes, and thinks a lot of scoring, but the final score was only 43-41 Virginia Tech featuring only 22 combined points scored in the 6 overtime periods. This game would be higher up on the top moments of College Football the game carried more stakes.
8. Miss State Beats Ole Miss in Egg Bowl Fluke
I look back on this game, and thank this game for giving me entertainment on Thanksgiving day since the NFL game was a blowout. Mississippi State, and Ole Miss were in a classic turkey bowl battle for the state of Mississippi, where Ole Miss was down 7 in the 4th quarter. With 3 turnovers, Ole Miss has struggled offensively the entire game, but managed to mount a 82-yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard Ole Miss touchdown with 4 seconds left to give the PAT the chance to tie the game.
Immediately after catching the touchdown, Ole Miss WR, Elijah Moore, ran to the back of the end zone in Starkville, MS and celebrated the touchdown by imitating to be a dog, and take a leak/ go to the bathroom on the Miss. State field. While the celebration was hilarious especially in a rival game, it immediately drew a flag from the official for excessive celebration. Now all the pressure was on the Ole Miss kicker as a “gimme” PAT to tie it up just got moved back a daunting 15 yards. Like a scene of the movie, the Ole Miss kicker missed the game tying PAT, and Mississippi State came away a win in the Egg Bowl all because an Ole Miss WR wanted to pee like a dog in the end zone.
If you remember… after last year’s Sugar Bowl win and missing the College Football Playoffs, UT Quarterback, Sam Ehlinger, screamed into the microphone “Longhorn Nation, we’re backkkkkk’ during the postgame. For months, the nation has been baffled by this quote. What is the University of Texas back to? Mediocrity? Bowl eligibility? Well we found out this season as in the Longhorns went 7-5 after being ranked #10 to start the season. After every UT loss this year, people all over twitter spammed the video of Ehlinger saying “we’re back” to not let any UT or their fans forget it.
7. UT Being Back
When you reflect on this College Football season, the season would be incomplete if we forgot about the University of Texas “being back” phenomenon, as well as the “horns down” takeover.
Additionally, there seemed to be a lot of drama surrounding the “horns down” gesture this year. Last season, the Big-12 started to penalize teams for making the “horns down” hand sign. After this statement by the Big-12, this seemed to only inspire fans more to show the “horns down” out of mockery. It seemed like regardless of whether UT was playing in the stadium or not, a “horns down” sign was being thrown somewhere to make fun of the Austin school. It got to be such a big deal that College Gameday did a segment over it prior to Texas’s loss to LSU.
6. Baylor’s Incredible Turnaround
On the other hand, arguably the biggest surprise in College Football has been the Baylor Bears. After going 1-11 two seasons ago, Matt Rhule took the Bears to an impressive 11-2 record including a Big-12 championship appearance. Ranked at #7, Baylor has displayed one of the best turnarounds in College Football.
This was a team that lost to Liberty and UTSA at home in 2017, and then went on to beat every Big-12 team except Oklahoma in two years later. Matt Rhule has taken the Bears where no one thought they would be.
With a double-digit win season, Baylor is back in the Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1957.
5. UCLA Beats Washington 67-63 in Shootout
This game deserves to be in Top 10 moments of 2019 because it is a game that we all love to watch: offensive shootout. This game was the game college football fans dream to see on their TV when they are debating on whether to go to sleep or somehow watch Pac-12 football on a late Saturday night. A game that featured 14 passing TD’s and over 1300 yards of total offense, this is the game that we all took apart of in our NCAA 06 video game on the Play Station 2.
Down 49-17 at one point, UCLA stormed back to put up 50 points in the 2nd half including a game-winning touchdown from 15 yards out for UCLA. This game is in the top 10 for the combination of amount of offense displayed, and an incredible comeback.
4. BYU Hail Marry Against Tennessee
If Americans love anything in sports, its a good underdog team. Americans were the underdog in the revolutionary war, and ever since they find themselves rooting for the underdog. The up and coming BYU Cougars went up to face the historically acclaimed Tennessee Volunteers from the SEC. Down 3 with 18 seconds left in the 4th quarter, BYU faced a 3rd & 6 on their own 20 yard line. Tennessee is playing a prevent defense just to keep BYU from a field goal. Next play, BYU QB, Zach Wilson, connects with WR, Micah Simon, on a blown coverage for a 64-yard bomb putting them inside the red zone. This then leads to a clutch field goal from kicker, Jake Oldroyd from 33 yards out to send the game into overtime.
BYU then goes on to win the game in the 2nd overtime by scoring a touchdown. This was such a huge moment this season because it seemed like all was lost for the Cougars, but then they made a miracle play for 64 yards in the last seconds to give them another shot in overtime against a favored SEC team sending Tennessee to 0-2.
3. Clemson Making the Playoffs Again
While Clemson’s season was generally overlooked mostly due to how flashy Ohio State and LSU looked, and the drama of the College Football Playoffs, Clemson still managed to have a very impressive season going undefeated for the 3rd time in 5 seasons. With their undefeated season, Clemson makes the College Football Playoffs yet again making this the 5th time in a row tied for most with Alabama.
This is an incredible achievement for Dabo Swinney and his team as they have made the playoffs for half the decade. This makes them one of the top College Football Dynasties of the decade (probably only behind Alabama). This achievement should be noted regardless of the Tigers’ questionable strength of schedule.
2. Bama Missing the Playoffs
What is better than a team making the playoffs for 5 years straight… a team that finally misses the playoffs after 5 years. Alabama will miss the playoffs for the first time since the College Football Playoffs were formed in 2014. Nearly the whole nation cheered when Alabama lost to Auburn in the iron bowl eliminating their playoff chances. A giant complaint in College Football was the lack of differentiation since Alabama has won the national championship 5 out of the last 10 years, and have been in the playoffs for the last 5 years.
Now nearly the whole country seems rejuvenated watching an NCAAF postseason without Nick Saban and crew.
1.Burreaux Mania & Company
Sitting at #1 College Football moment of 2019 had to be the Ed Orgeron and his Bayou Bengals of Louisiana. The LSU Tigers were the #1 story in college football this year between their new revamped offense, winning the SEC, and Joe Burrow’s Heisman run.
The nation seemed to fall in love with the university after they upset Alabama at home, and of course America’s sweetheart, Ed Orgeron. Beating two top-10 teams, and four top-15 teams made them the #1 seed in the College Football Playoffs, their first appearance since the playoffs origin in 2014.
Along with their team achievements, LSU’s players & staff won a myriad of personal awards including the Heisman, Maxwell, Davey O’Brien, Jim Thorpe, Biletnikoff, and coach of the year. The combination of these made LSU’s overarching success the #1 moment in College Football in 2019.
This Sunday at 3:25, the Dallas Cowboys travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in a battle for the #1 spot in the NFC East. Both teams come into the matchup with a mediocre 7-7 record sitting at top of the division. What has been a rather underwhelming fight for the division will all come to an end this Sunday. If the Cowboys win, they will clinch the #1 seed in the NFC East making the Cowboys the NFC East champion for the two years in a row- first time in 8 years. On the other hand if the Eagles win, they do not clinch playoff berth, but control their own destiny sitting on top of the division.
Now both teams have had an underwhelming season since the Eagles and Cowboys were predicted to have 11 and 10 wins respectively when both teams can only get a maximum of 9 wins this season. They met previously in October in Arlington where the Cowboys beat the Eagles 37-10. The Cowboys in that game looked dominant and clearly the better team; however, that was nearly 2 months ago and a lot has happened since.
Since that game, the Cowboys have lost 4 out of their next 7 games losing to all teams above .500 except for the Rams. The media has swarmed them regarding the possibility of firing Jason Garrett after losing to the Bills on Thanksgiving, and the Bears in primetime. The Eagles have also experience their share of struggles losing 3 out of their next 7 games including the Dolphins, and nearly losing to the Redskins and Giants.
The Cowboys now come into this game ranked 2nd in passing averaging 300 yards a game, and are 6th in rushing averaging 134 yards a game. On the other side, the Eagles are 16th in passing with 231.5 yards a game, and 11th in rushing with 121.4 rushing yards a game. The Cowboys offense seems to have a little bit of an advantage; however their defenses are similar being next to each other in nearly every team defensive stat. The Cowboys have won 4 games against the Eagles in a row and are looking to add a 5th on Sunday.
Keys to the Game
The key to the game for the Cowboys is to run the ball. The Cowboys have looked the best they have looked recently last week when they beat the Rams, and running the ball was a huge part of it. They had over 250 yards on the ground in their win against the wins. Establishing run will not only open up the pass for quarterback, Dak Prescott, it will eat up the clock and keep the Eagles offense off the field majority of the game.
The key to the game for the Eagles is their defense and their ability to stop the run/force turnovers. The Eagles offense is banged up with only 2 healthy wide receivers, and their running backs are banged up. This offense has struggled to score in the first half the past few games. So if the Eagles defense can put pressure on Dak to force some bad throws, or even some turnovers, then that gives the offense the boost it needs in this rivalry game.
Prediction
Predicting a game that includes the Cowboys is always tough because you never know which team will show up. I think the Cowboys are the healthier, and more talented team. Normally, I would say the Eagles, but the Eagles have struggled against bad teams the past 3 weeks (Dolphins, Giants, Redskins). Additionally, the Cowboys always seem to play well against the Eagles (winning the last 4 games against them). I am going to go with the Cowboys over the Eagles 27-20.
Dallas and Philadelphia will square off 3:25 CT this Sunday on FOX. The winner will most likely win the NFC East, and be the #4 seed in the NFC playoffs. The NFC East champion will most likely host a playoff game against either the Seattle Seahawks or San Fransisco 49ers whichever team is the runner-up.
Grad School Sports™ 