1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …
It’s happening, just like Urban Meyer hoped it wouldn’t. Just like it did seven years ago — and we all know how that ended.
What eventually will get Ohio State this season is the same thing that eventually got Florida in 2009: the unwritten standard — the sheer suffocation — of it’s not that you win, but how you win.
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In other words, if the most talented team in the nation isn’t perfect on a weekly basis, then you’ve got problems. And eventually, it’s too much to overcome.
“We did not play well,” Urban Meyer said late Saturday afternoon. “But we’ll get better.”
That was after Ohio State beat Hawaii 38-0.
“I think it was pretty good the first game,” Meyer said minutes later. “Still not perfect.”
He was talking about scoring 42 points on Virginia Tech and Bud Foster, one of the game’s best defensive coordinators.
Before we go further, understand that this is what loaded defending national champions go through. In the BCS and College Football Playoff era, seven defending champions entered ensuing seasons as prohibitive favorites to win it all — and all but 2012 Alabama failed to do so.
Among those who didn’t — FSU (2000), Miami (2002), USC (2005), Florida (2009), Alabama (2010), and FSU (2014) — Ohio State closely resembles Florida because it’s where Meyer coached, and because the similarities are uncanny.
That Florida team entered the season loaded on both sides of the ball, and had drama at quarterback from Day 1 (see: Tim, are you a virgin?). Everyone, meet Cardale Jones and JT Barrett.
That Florida team had a new offensive coordinator, offensive line coach Steve Adazzio, who took over for a popular young OC (Dan Mullen) who left for his first head-coaching job. Ohio State line coach Ed Warinner is the new OC, replacing Tom Herman who left for his first head-coaching job.
That Florida team began the season with suspensions to key players for violations of team rules. Ohio State stars Joey Bosa, Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith were suspended for the Virginia Tech game for a violation of team rules.
The most striking similarity of all: winning isn’t fun.
This is what Meyer was talking about all offseason when he stressed things would be different this season from the last time he was in this situation. He was holding this team to their own standard, not something placed on them by anyone else. The only problem is, there is no higher standard.
So when he was barraged by questions of problems on offense after scoring 38 and shutting out an opponent, the eerie reality of what already could be happening again may have finally sunk in. When you’re the champion, it’s never good enough.
“I’ve been in this situation before,” Meyer said. “I let it be a weight on the team and me, when you’re winning games. It’s like, why didn’t you score this? Why didn’t you do this? But I can promise you this — we shall enjoy it.”
But for how long? Like it or not, players and coaches hear and react to what is being said, and the narrative finds its way to a locker room and infects it.
To this day, those close to Meyer swear the 2009 season — and the way it unfolded — was the reason he left the game. More than 30 players on the Gators’ roster were either drafted by an NFL team, or went to a camp as a free agent — including five first round picks and nine players overall taken within the first 63 picks of the draft.
But that 2009 season was the beginning of the end for Meyer at Florida: he retired after losing the SEC Championship Game, then returned, then retired for good after the 2010 season (until the Ohio State job opened up).
The 2009 Florida team didn’t lose until the SEC Championship Game — but didn’t play its best game of the year until the season was deflated by the loss to Alabama. Three weeks later, Florida demolished Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl.
Forget about the quarterback competition between Jones and Barrett. Meyer himself said it best after the Virginia Tech game: “I just have to not screw it up.”
He has no control over the bigger issue at hand. When winning becomes exhaling instead of enjoyment, losing is eventually around the corner.
2. Fight On
3. The book on the Canes
Let me say this, and let it soak in all its glory: Miami played a Friday night game last week. Against FAU. On the road.
If ever there were a better indication of how far the once great program has fallen, this is it. Think Ohio State would play on Friday? Or Oklahoma, or Florida or Georgia?
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Think they’d play on the road against a Group of 5 team in their own backyard? Think they’d be tied at 20 late in the third quarter?
Frankly, it’s embarrassing. And there’s no one to blame but Al Golden.
Make no mistake, Golden walked into a mess at Miami, and it got worse when it was revealed that there was much more to the Hurricanes’ potential NCAA problems than he was led to believe by those who hired him. Then it got worse when the NCAA badly botched the Nevin Shapiro investigation — all while leaving Golden and his program in limbo.
But this team has two significant problems that not only are in direct contrast to the history of the program, but are stealing the very life from it: inconsistent recruiting and a lack of identity.
The most damning statement of all: the Canes haven’t won a conference championship since the ACC voted to add Miami in 2004.
“The difference in talent between the last time they played in the (BCS) championship game (in 2002) and now is remarkable,” said one AFC scout. “If you’re going to recruit in one area in the country, it would be Dade and Broward (counties). I don’t know how they’re not winning big.”
They’re not the bad boys of college football like they were in the 80s and 90s. They’re not even the 21st Century Canes of the early 2000s, who ignored bravado and simply pounded you into submission with sheer talent.
They’re just there. They’re a program that shows up to play, and if everything goes right, they have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. Sort of like what happened last weekend against FAU.
This week begins a brutal stretch of five games that not only will dictate the season, but likely decide if Golden is still around in 2016. It starts with a home game against Nebraska, and then games at Cincinnati, at Florida State, home games against Virginia Tech and Clemson, and at Duke.
Nowhere on that list of six games can you check automatic win.
Miami coach Al Golden (Getty Images)
4. Buying and selling
Buying
— Freshman quarterbacks. Josh Rosen (UCLA), Tanner Mangum (BYU), Kyler Murray (Texas A&M), Jake Browning (Washington), Lamar Jackson (Louisville).
— The offensive mind of Bowling Green coach (and Art Briles disciple) Dino Babers. 1,249 yards, 8 pass TDs, 2 rush TDs in a loss at Tennessee and a victory at Maryland.
— The impact of offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. The offense struggles for 45 minutes, Riley doesn’t panic and finds plays QB Baker Mayfield can execute. His play calls in the two overtimes were spectacular.
— Kentucky. The ‘Cats will break the 28-game losing streak to Florida this weekend, and could start the season 5-0 before Auburn rolls into the Commonwealth Oct. 15. Mark Stoops is much closer to brother Bob as a head coach than brother Mike.
Selling
— Louisville. The Cardinal, a sleeper pick for the College Football Playoff, must beat a talented Clemson team Thursday night in Louisville to keep from falling to 0-3 to start the season.
— QB Jeremy Johnson, Auburn. Cam Newton was the best college player of the last quarter century. Johnson was afraid to throw the ball in the fourth quarter of last week’s win over Jacksonville State. You do the math (and don’t listen to Gus Malzahn’s silly comparisons).
— Steve Spurrier coaching “four more years” at South Carolina as he said this offseason. He’s not going to stick around if it goes bad — and the Gamecocks are a bad loss at Georgia from it getting ugly early.
— Kyle Flood’s job security. You kick five players off the team for legal issues, and a week later, your best player — allegedly — throws his girlfriend to the ground. The message clearly isn’t getting through.
5. The Weekly Five
Five things Steve Patterson wished he had done before getting fired as Texas athletic director:
1. Avoided the daily nacho bar at the training table.
2. Eight seconds on Tommy Nobis.
3. Worn the Golden Hat while cruising the Midway at the Texas State Fair.
4. One word: chaps.
5. Sung onstage at SXSW with personal favorite, Rick Astley.
6. Thunder from down under
So Les Miles has this weapon, a player that can change the field and the dynamics of a game in one play. Who affects the game like few can at LSU.
And his name isn’t Fournette.
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The problem is, everyone is catching on to what Miles has been developing since the mid-2000s: Australian punters.
“The things they can do with a ball, it’s uncanny,” Miles says.
Case in point, LSU’s Jamie Keehn. While the college football world focused on superstar tailback Leonard Fournette and new Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris, Keehn was as valuable — or more — than any other player last week at Mississippi State.
Because LSU’s season opener was rained out, Harris’ first start came in a brutal road environment, and what better scenario for Keehn to constantly change the field?
He punted nine times, and five of the nine were dropped inside the 20. His ability to keep the Mississippi State offense staring at long fields in the second half was as critical as it was overlooked. To everyone but Miles, anway.
Miles loves to tell the story of his most famous Aussie punter Brad Wing, the former All-American who used a unique golf analogy to explain punters from down under.
“American punters have the driver; they love to grip it and rip it and punt it as far as they can,” Miles said. “Australian punters, the guys who grow up playing rugby, have all different clubs in their bags. They can hit and place it and drop it wherever they want. The pitching wedge that they can drop (inside the 20), and the driver.”
Wing was an All-American in 2011, and the last two Ray Guy Award winners for the nation’s best punter were Aussies: Utah’s Tom Hackett and Memphis’ Tom Hornsey. And now everyone, it seems, is embracing the overlooked weapon: Ole Miss (Will Gleeson), Penn State (Daniel Pasquariello), Michigan (Blake O’Neill) and defending national champion Ohio State (Cameron Johnston) are among a group of Power 5 schools with Aussie punters.
“As coaches, we’re always looking for ways to affect the game,” Miles said. “And you say, punter, really? Yes, punters are beautiful, too.”
7. No Hollywood ending
Welcome, everyone, to the 40th anniversary of the game that helped promote the story of a gutty, gritty kid named Rudy.
Notre Dame might need the passion and energy of 11 Rudy Ruettiger’s on defense to slow down a Georgia Tech offense that found itself midway through last season and has been dominant since.
In the last 10 games, the Yellow Jackets are averaging 46.8 points per game. Included in the stretch of games were victories over three stout defenses: Clemson, at Georgia and Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl.
The last time Notre Dame played a team that ran a similar Paul Johnson wishbone-type offense, the Irish gave up 39 points and 336 yards rushing last season in a victory over Navy. The difference in talent — and more important, the difference in quarterback play at GT with Justin Thomas — between the Jackets and Navy is significant.
Translation: it’s not going to matter who plays quarterback at Notre Dame (DeShone Kizer in for injured Malik Zaire); the problem will be Notre Dame’s inability to stop Thomas and the triple option.
8. The opening bell
Nick Saban has never lost an SEC opener at Alabama, winning eight games by an average of 23 points.
Five of those games were against average Arkansas teams, one was against SEC tomato can Vanderbilt, another was against an average Florida team and the other was against Texas A&M in Johnny Manziel’s second season — and Alabama gave up 42 points in the win.
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So there are two ways to look at this weekend’s SEC opener against Ole Miss: it will fall in line with all the others — or Ole Miss has more balance (and talent) on both sides of the ball than Alabama has seen in SEC openers under Saban.
One more thing that can’t be overlooked: Ole Miss beat Alabama last season with Bo Wallace playing quarterback. That astounding fact — and the reality that JC transfer QB Chad Kelly has played almost perfect in two cupcake games to begin the season and already is a much more dangerous factor than Wallace — might just be enough to give Alabama its first loss in an SEC opener under Saban.
9. Change of scenery
Jerrod Heard says he’s one of those game players, a guy who struggles in practice but makes everything work when Saturdays arrive and the silk jerseys go on.
Heard couldn’t beat out Tyrone Swoopes for the starting job in spring practice or fall camp (more than one assistant on the Texas staff said it wasn’t close), but got his shot after Swoopes’ struggles in Week 1.
“When the lights are on,” Heard said, “It’s definitely time for me to go.”
It’s also time for the Longhorns to use more quarterback run sets in the offense. Heard had 10 carries last week against Rice, and had 96 yards rushing — and also completed 4-of-7 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s 14 touches for 216 total yards and two touchdowns for a player some on staff questioned whether it would ever click. Now Heard is just another backup quarterback forced into significant playing time.
DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame), Tanner Mangum (BYU) and Joe Hubener (Kansas State) have all three assumed the starting role for unbeaten teams and kept the dream alive. Kizer and Mangum have had miracle finishes; Hubener has played against cupcakes.
All four backups underscore the importance of having two quarterbacks not only ready to play, but confident about where it can go.
“You need a couple of guys who know they can do it when the pressure is on,’ Strong said.
Moments before the Rice game last weekend, Heard walked up to Strong and told him, “Watch me go get these guys.”
That was Rice, this is Cal. Big difference.
Kizer, meanwhile, must perform against a white-hot Georgia Tech, and Mangum leads BYU at top 10 UCLA. Only Hubener gets another breather (Louisiana Tech) — and might wind up being the only one of the four backup quarterbacks leading an unbeaten team.
10. The Golden Rhule
Dear Power 5 presidents:
His name is Matt Rhule (the “h” is silent), and he’s on his way to leading Temple — mother of god, Temple — to a 7-0 record heading into an Oct. 31 game at Notre Dame.
Temple has won 10 games once in 120-plus years of football, and the unbeaten Owls will be favored in eight of their last 10 (maybe 9 of 10) games.
You’re welcome.