2023 College Football Thread

[GoldMember]

Welcome to the B1G, Huskies. Hope you enjoy your future years as a middling team that abandoned your 108 year west coast history. Great game by Blue!

[The Reverend Floater]

Penix gotta rattled then crumbled. Dude better come correct in the League, else he's going to get murdered.

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[Dshack89]

As a neutral fan, its a shame they called that hold that nullified the 35 yard pass. What a snoozer of a game. Bleh.

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[Adolf Allerbush]

As a neutral fan, its a shame they called that hold that nullified the 35 yard pass. What a snoozer of a game. Bleh.

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The UW fans in my orbit think the NCAA will give Mich the USC treatment. I think that's unlikely but they are cheaters.

[BmillsSkier]

It was a closely contested game until Michigan’s D took back over and let the O regain momentum. Highly entertaining game. Feel bad for Penix as he was clearly dealing with some rib injury and under pressure all game.

Blue’s skill players were just that, skilled.

Let’s do it again week 6(?) next season.

Hail!

[k2skier112]

The announcers say that Michigan is getting away with some holding, (&PI) but it was nice to see the refs letting them play. Then less than 2 minutes later the Huskies get a ticky tack holding call

Meh, fuck every PAC12 team that bailed, I hope you all suck for years

[billyk]

Where the fuck was that passing game last week???

[The SnowShow]

Isn’t Michigan still under multiple NCAA investigations?

[BmillsSkier]

Yawn.

When even the most ardent pearl-clutcher, Paul Finebaum, walks back the "Michigan title is tainted" hill he died on, you know its time to move on.

The kids proved it on the field, and any fallout from the Connor Stallions-led scouting and Harbaugh cheeseburger buying during Covid blackout period, which Harbaugh has already served a 6 game suspension, will most likely be levied against the coaching staff, not the W-L that actually played out.

[The SnowShow]

^^ we’ll see. I had to hear for years about the Cheatriots for shit like this. If people are ok with this, they should be ok with the bullshit spygate and deflategate shit.

[BmillsSkier]

I can't speak for everyone of course, but spygate and deflategate were just comedic episodes and had no real bearing on the results on the field to this fan.

[californiagrown]

The kids proved it on the field, and any fallout from the Connor Stallions-led scouting and Harbaugh cheeseburger buying during Covid blackout period, which Harbaugh has already served a 6 game suspension, will most likely be levied against the coaching staff, not the W-L that actually played out.

the covid blackout period violations will result in coaching suspensions and or some scholarship losses (which in the age of NIL doesnt really mean anything at all).

HOWEVER, the sign stealing scandal is a very big deal and i would be shocked if the NCAA doesnt take away wins and the championship from UM. That was a systematic cheating program, that even if harbaugh didnt know about, directly gave the football team an unfair advantage in this current season. If the NCAA doesnt do anything they are sending the message that you can actively cheat, and if found out you just sit your coach a few games (3 seems like the magic number for everything) and you get away with it. It sucks for the kids on the team, but because they directly benefitted from the cheating (and this wasnt a gray area of cheating like deflategate, or buying a kid a cheeseburger), their season deserves at the very least, an asterisk.

[californiagrown]

I can't speak for everyone of course, but spygate and deflategate were just comedic episodes and had no real bearing on the results on the field to this fan.

spygate should have been punished. You cannot and should not use electronic surveilance to illegally gain an advantage. Its the reason why everyone shits on the Astros, despite every other team in the league having multiple people in the dugout each night assigned to the job of picking off the opposing teams signs.

Deflategate was some bullshit. Every QB ever customizes their balls to their liking with substances, pressures, etc. In a league that literally rebuilt the rules around promoting better QB play it is mind blowing that playing with a slightly softer ball on a freezing night was too far?! The fuck?

[BmillsSkier]

the covid blackout period violations will result in coaching suspensions and or some scholarship losses (which in the age of NIL doesnt really mean anything at all).

HOWEVER, the sign stealing scandal is a very big deal and i would be shocked if the NCAA doesnt take away wins and the championship from UM. That was a systematic cheating program, that even if harbaugh didnt know about, directly gave the football team an unfair advantage in this current season. If the NCAA doesnt do anything they are sending the message that you can actively cheat, and if found out you just sit your coach a few games (3 seems like the magic number for everything) and you get away with it. It sucks for the kids on the team, but because they directly benefitted from the cheating (and this wasnt a gray area of cheating like deflategate, or buying a kid a cheeseburger), their season deserves at the very least, an asterisk.

The only problem I see with all of that is (a) they still won the games even after the scandal came out, (b) you still are assuming a direct benefit when so far no one has shown that connection (lots of dot collecting, but no dot connecting, despite reasonable inferences), and (c) the NCAA is nothing but an association of its member schools, and each and every one of those schools is going to be very weary vacating championships and wins (by the way, the Playoff is NOT an NCAA competition so good luck taking that title away) unless they want that same weaponized institution turned towards whatever is in their closets when it comes to competitive edge seeking.

CFB is no longer the sport we all knew growing up and that is rapidly including the NCAA’s oversight of the sport. I’d be surprised if the NCAA exists with respect to CFB come 2030.

TL; DR: Connor Stalions and whoever funded him are idiots, the NCAA is rapidly becoming irrelevant, Michigan still won the games on the field and the Playoff, the banners will be hung and if the stodgiest of CFB guardians in Paul Feinbaum says the season isn’t tainted and recants his earlier assertions that it would be, then maybe it’s time to turn our attention to 2024.

[californiagrown]

by the way, the Playoff is NOT an NCAA competition so good luck taking that title away)

Huh, i didnt realize that.

Im normally a "if you aint cheating you aint trying" kinda person, but UM is kind of laughable this year. Their head coach voluntarily sat out 3 games to begin the year in an effort to get ahead of NCAA sanctions, and then voluntarily sat out 3 more games at the end of the year to try and get ahead of a different, more serious scandal and set of NCAA sanctions. SMH. The Covid blackout period sanctions did not directly impact their 2023 season so i wouldnt really care about that, but the illegal sign stealing certainly did.

Final Season thoughts:

I think UGA beats bama 9/10. And UGA beats UM 8/10. They just had an off night, and bama had a really good night, on the same night. Leaving UGA out of the playoff was the right call, but if the CFP was 8 teams, i would have bet the house on UGA.

Harbaugh will run from sanctions to the NFL just like Pete Carroll did so many years ago.

this was Nick Sabans best coaching job of his career.

And also, Penix should have won the heisman.

[BmillsSkier]

Penix and Odunze became two of my favorite players to watch this year. I look forward to seeing those guys on Sundays.

I think leaving UGA out was the right call. I think leaving Florida State out wasn't; regardless of who was hurt at the end of the year - undefeated Power 5 Conference Champions hold more weight than any other consideration - Playoff Committee (paraphrasing).

I think Michigan's O line and D line were so damned good this year that even UGA could not have bested them. UGA's schedule was softer than Michigan's and they struggled against some weak competition all season long; Alabama just exposed them.

I think the 12-team playoff will be an improvement next year, but it too will come at a cost. We really won't care about bowl games outside of the Playoff, and the gulf between the top 16 or so programs and everyone else will get vastly wider.

[The Reverend Floater]

Odunze is a stud and will do well. I still don't think Penix has the mettle. Imagine that dude after Thibideau, Bosa or Hutchinson blindsides him. One of those dudes will make Michigan's entire 4th quarter feel like an Thai massage.

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[californiagrown]

Odunze is a stud and will do well. I still don't think Penix has the mettle. Imagine that dude after Thibideau, Bosa or Hutchinson blindsides him. One of those dudes will make Michigan's entire 4th quarter feel like an Thai massage.

I think that Penix would thrive throwing to a dominant big reciever. He has the ability to throw really catchable 50/50 balls and consistently give his receivers a chance to make a play. Not every QB can take advantage of talent. I dont think Penix will elevate mediocre talent, but he will elevate big talent.

I do agree that he was rattled in the championship. All his footwork, pocket presence, and mobility while remaining pass first that he displayed against Texas kind of went out the window against Michigan and he constantly had shitty footwork and threw from awkward positions when he didnt need to- it was lazy. I think he will benefit from a year or two getting that drilled into him 365 days per year at the NFL level. Something that people dont usually take into account at the NFL level is that yes, the game moves faster and holes to throw into become smaller, but also your recievers become better at adjusting to balls and making plays on the ball- Penix throws great deep balls into spots that require great college catches but expected NFL catches- Remember that Odunze wouldnt be the #1 reciever on the vast majority of NFL teams right now and i think Penix will thrive because of that jump in reciever talent.

[Rontele]

Go Blue.

[BmillsSkier]

Woah.

Go Blue indeed.

[The SnowShow]

Carroll out in Seattle. Maybe they’ll pick up Harbaugh. Seems like a good place for coaches to escape future program penalties.

[BmillsSkier]

Nick Saban retires.

Hell has frozen over.

Looks like Michigan not only won a national championship, but also brought down the dark lord of college football. That’s like winning two titles I think.

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

Go Blue.

It took a Michigan National Championship to bring you back this way. I guess that means we're going to have to wait another 26 years to see you again? Vaya con Dios my friend.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Saban slides into a fat network gig and doesn't have to deal with transfer portals, NIL's, recruitment, or the NCAA.
I think he got out while the getting was good.

[californiagrown]

Cheers to saban on one helluva career. Everything I've read and heard about him has been positive... Something more and more rare in this era