Tennessee Football is a Disaster Stuffed in a McDonald's Bag

I was going to not do sports for a week, but this story coming out of Tennessee is too wild to not talk about.

Up front, I was never a Jeremy Pruitt guy. In fact, and this includes Josh Gattis, former Alabama coaches don’t seem to truly succeed when they leave. Lane Kiffin is not a good head coach. Kirby Smart has made one title game, but he’s had some teams and talent that should have them as a contender every year. Steve Sarkisian, time will tell, but the past two head coaching jobs for him just flat out didn’t work. And now we have Pruitt. Pruitt was a total mess at Tennessee. They may be even more irrelevant at the moment than Michigan or Texas. Tennessee used to be one of the true “blue blood” programs, but they’ve crashed way, way down to earth. At least Texas and Michigan are still making bowl games in non COVID seasons. Tennessee has just been in a rut. They did start this year ranked, but they were quickly removed, and just kind of put in the trash bin the rest of the season. When news came out that Pruitt was fired, I was not surprised. Everyone could see that coming. What shook me with this story was Phillip Fulmer being let go, eight other coaches as well and the infractions, namely the money in McDonalds bags.

This is nuts. This is the type of stuff that happened in the 80’s with SMU. I think kids should be paid in the NCAA, but not like this. This is cheating. This is the wrong way to do this. This is what you do when you don’t know any better. This is what gets you caught. Add in the fact that Tennessee didn’t even have to buy him out of the rest of his contract shows how poorly he handled all the incoming infractions. Pruitt clearly didn’t learn anything from Nick Saban. I’m sure Saban has done stuff like this, but he does it smart. So does Coach K and John Calipari. I fully believe it. But Pruitt was so blatant. The other guys know how to do it quietly. Not Pruitt or Fulmer. To just hand out money in essentially trash bags, they may as well have put dollar signs on a white bag. This is so bad, I thought it was a joke. I thought I was reading The Onion when these reports came out. I’m just flabbergasted at how hard they went for it, and how poorly they executed it. Also, this is going to forever stain Pruitt. I wouldn’t hire him for any job at any level. This guy is going to have to totally revive his career, and still then, if he does it, this McDonalds money bag hand over will always stay with him, as it should.

Just a few days later, Tennessee is feeling the aftermath. Players are transferring at an alarming rate. Big time recruits are already in the portal. The university needs to not only hire a whole new staff, they also need a new AD. And a lot of big names won’t even give them an interview. This job is now tainted. I saw some people they mentioned as candidates for the job, and it’s rough. There’s a bunch of low level assistants, some non power five guys, and the name that keeps popping up the most, is Hugh Freeze. That would be a titanic mistake. I mean, the guy left a complete mess at Ole Miss, and because he had a few solid years at Liberty, he is going to get what once was a major power five job? This would only further push them into irrelevance. Freeze would find some other way to add more sanctions to a program that is going to get absolutely torched soon. As far as the AD job goes, again, who’s going to want to take on such a mess? No big names will. I guarantee that. Tennessee is going to have to take a chance, or get the Hugh Freeze of AD’s.

This could not have ended any worse for Pruitt or Tennessee. Pruitt is now a pariah. He will never be able to build himself up to a respectable head coach anywhere again. I truly believe that. Phil Fulmer’s legacy is tainted too. He has a title, but this story will also hang with him the rest of his life. And Tennessee, they may become the 21st century’s version of SMU. I don’t know that they will get the “death penalty”, but they’re going to be sanctioned to hell, and recruiting is going to be real, real tough. This whole thing is one of the wildest stories I’ve seen in my college football viewing life. I’m still dizzy from everything I’ve read. Tennessee hasn’t been great, but this is going to make them a total afterthought.

What a mess. Hopefully they don’t hire Hugh Freeze. Maybe, if they avoid him, they can save face on one thing. We’ll see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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The Disaster at Tennessee is the Biggest Question of the NCAA Coaching Carousel

The NCAA football coaches firing and hiring has begun. Last week I touched on 2 schools, Florida and Tennessee, that were in need of a new coach. Before I get into the meat of my story today I need to touch on something else involving college football coaches real quick.

First off, I am so very annoyed at all the Jim Harbaugh to the NFL rumors. Every offseason this has happened for the three years he has been at Michigan. It is great to have a coach that is this high in demand, but I'd like him to either commit or leave. I'm so sick of this happening every time at this time of year. After year one at Michigan it was the Colts. After year 2, it was the Rams. Now, about a month before their bowl game, it is the Bears. If he leaves after just 3 short years, when he gets to do whatever he wants, and is the most important person at the University of Michigan, whether you'd like to admit it or not, before beating Ohio State, or any highly ranked team, and before he gets to fully realize the potential of the kids he recruited, that would be a shame. I didn't want Harbaugh at Michigan in the first place because I knew this was going to be a yearly thing, the rumors, but now that he is there, and has been a damn good coach for this team, I do not want him to leave. I truly hope he stays, but you never know with coaches nowadays.

Also, Texas A&M did a stupid, stupid thing in letting Kevin Sumlin go. That guy had 56 wins over 6 years, was constantly in bowl games, coached a Heisman winner and got A&M up to number one in the country one year. If they don't get Jimbo Fisher, they are screwed. Sumlin did more than enough to keep that job, and A&M gave him the shaft. I hope Fisher passes on the job and they have to scramble to get a coach.

Other jobs opened since last week, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Nebraska, and I'm sure they will all vet out some decent candidates. But, all this turnover is why no team, or teams can stay relevant for long. As stated, Texas A&M was number one a few short years ago. Now, after winning 8 games this year, they fire Sumlin. The reason that teams like the University of Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma are always relevant is because they have a consistent coaching staff, or head coach. Urban Meyer has turnover with coordinators every year, but he is still the head coach. That never changes. Same with Alabama. While the coordinators leave for other jobs, Nick Saban is the constant. Auburn, after a failed experiment with a coach I cannot even remember, hired back Gus Malzahn, who was their offensive coordinator when they won the title, and they are a big time contender once again. The reason why, recruits and players are familiar with Malzahn and Auburn. And even with the whole weird Bob Stoops offseason, Oklahoma kept Lincoln Riley, the offensive coordinator, and they are playing like Stoops never left. With consistency comes winning and competing every year. I wish more colleges, and some coaches, understood that.

Now that all of that is out of the way, lets get to what I wanted to really talk about today. As I wrote last week, Florida and Tennessee were searching for new coaches. As I was hanging lights outside my house yesterday, my phone buzzed and told me that Florida was finalizing a deal with Dan Mullen, and Tennessee was doing the same with Greg Schiano. Florida got it right was my first thought. They got a guy familiar with the team, and had major success at Mississippi State. It is truly a homerun hire. But, the Schiano news shocked me. It felt like Tennessee was grasping at straws. I knew they were never going to get Jon Gruden, but Greg Schiano? What the hell, I thought. Then more and  more stories started to come out yesterday about how bad a hire this was.

Schiano is currently the defensive coordinator the University of Ohio State. Their defense is okay, but not great. He was also a failed NFL head coach, and had a "whopping" 68-67 record as the head coach at Rutgers many years ago. All of these stats came out yesterday after the announcement, but my bewildered mind just couldn't grasp the hire. I mean, it is Tennessee, they can get someone better. People were calling this one of the top ten worst hires in any level of sports of all time. People pointed out his subpar record as a head coach. People also talked about the job he had done this year. Then some people brought up the fact that he may or may not have been involved with the Penn State scandal. This brought up a whole new set of terrible circumstances. It got so bad, the local government was threatening to get involved.

So, after about half a day worth of getting the shit kicked out of them, Tennessee pulled the offer. It was one of the most bizarre things I have ever witnessed. First off, this make Greg Schiano look like an awful football coach and person. Not many teams, at least power 5 teams, will ever look at him the same again. This whole debacle will make him an assistant coach for life. Or, if he wants any shot at being a head coach, it is going to have to be low level division one, or maybe, division 1-AA.

Second, and most importantly, this makes Tennessee look like a tire fire that will comply to whatever boosters and fans say. If I were a major D-1 coach looking to move up in the college football coaching world, I would stay very, very far away from Tennessee. This is a terrible, awful look for them. After their pipe dream of Gruden fell through, it seemed like they just threw a dart and picked the first person they landed on. Then, when that choice backfired, they pulled the plug. It is a real mess in Knoxville. It got so bad that someone said that their best option may be Lane Kiffin now. They already danced that dance and it was dreadful. Hell, I don't even think Kiffin, or Derek Dooley for that matter, would want that job now. Hell, their best, and maybe only option at this point, could be interim coach Brady Hoke. Yikes. I went through that Volunteer fans, and I promise you, you want no part of that. Tennessee has a real problem on their hands, and I do not know how they bounce back from this. And Greg Schiano comes off almost as bad.

This was just a wreck from the moment it was announced yesterday. Who will Tennessee go after now, I don't know. I mentioned Hoke. But, the guys I mentioned last week, Justin Fuente, Memphis' current head coach, a lower level assistant at a major program, those type of coaches are more than likely off the table. Tennessee is going to have to dig very deep in the trash pile of coaches looking to get back in the college game. Maybe they will go after Bret Bielama now that he is available, but I don't think even he would take that job now.

I would end this by saying good luck, but after yesterday, Tennessee needs a miracle to get any kind of prominent coach. My good luck does them no good at all. They are in a bad, bad place right now, and it is going to be a long while before they get up. Hell, maybe they should have kept Butch Jones around after all.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has been waiting for his shot at a head football coaching job for years. He will keep waiting if Tennessee comes calling.

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Where are Florida and Tennesse Going to Find Their Next Football Coach?

With Rivalry Week ahead of us, it means 2 things. First, there will be some good games to watch. But, the thing I want to focus on today, coaches are getting fired, and rumors are swirling everywhere about who will coach at the big schools next year. I know that places like Oregon State, UCLA, most likely Texas A&M, most likely Arkansas, and maybe, just maybe, Washington State will be open at season's end. But, the 2 schools I want to talk about today are Tennessee and Florida.

Both these jobs are open. Tennessee fired Butch Jones 2 weeks ago. Florida let Jim McElwain go after the ridiculous death threats rumors, and the overall poor play of the Gators. These are 2 big, big time jobs. Yes, both schools have fallen on hard times, but, these jobs are still marquee in the world of college football.

For the record, both these guys deserved to be let go. Tennessee was horrendous under Butch Jones. Every year Jones was there the preseason pundits said that, "this was the year that Tennessee football was back". That never happened. His best season was probably last year, and that team was a heart attack to watch every week. And, I think they only ended up winning 8 or 9 games. Butch Jones also always said something stupid. I remember him calling his team, "champions of life". That is so dumb. He was also a bad football coach, as far as X's and O's go. Tennessee always looked unprepared and outmatched, especially this year. They have been utterly dreadful this year. It came to a head at Missouri, and I know they have won 5 straight, but Tennessee got absolutely smashed by a team that they should have at least been in the game with. Missouri scored 50 on them, while only giving up 17. This is the same Missouri team that gave up 40 plus points to Missouri State. In reality, the Volunteers quit on Jones, but Jones also quit on them. I had to go through Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, so I understand the relief that Volunteers fans have now that Jones is gone.

McElwain enjoyed minimal success at Florida. He had a better tenure there than Jones had at Tennessee. He went to 2 straight SEC title games. Yes, Florida got smashed both times by Alabama. But, they did enough in the SEC East to make it to the title game. McElwain also won double digit games his first year. He won, I think, 9 games last year. By all accounts, coming into this season, they looked like they would contend in the SEC East again. Then their first game happened. I watched it because they played Michigan. Michigan absolutely smothered them. I know Florida had 17 points, but 14 of those were on 2 pick sixes. Florida's offense looked worse than it had ever looked under McElwain. I then found out that Doug Nussmeier was their offensive coordinator, and it all made sense to me. He coordinated one of Michigan's worst offenses ever. After that game it seemed Florida could only win miraculously. They needed 2 Hail Mary's to win 2 early games. Any solid team destroyed Florida. Then the whole death threats thing. That was a total cry for help, and a way to try and keep his job. But, when pressed on it, he was caught in a lie and Florida had no other choice but to let him go. To lie about death threats is disturbing and insulting to that team and his players. Florida pretty much immediately fired him after that.

Since these 2 guys got fired there have been a million rumors about who will be their next head coach. I've heard tons and tons of random names taking over these big time jobs. The big one, and, for right now, the only name being mentioned in Knoxville is Jon Gruden. I do not want to burst your bubble Volunteers fans, but Jon Gruden will not be your next head coach. He may coach next year, but he is going to be an NFL coach if he decides to go back. I personally do not think he will return to coaching at any level next year. He has a cherry gig right now, and I think he is more than happy to call games and spout nonsense on ESPN. It is more likely to me that the Volunteers are going to go out and get not such a big name, but a good coach. Memphis' head coach could be considered. He has turned Memphis into a really explosive offensive team. Fuente at Virginia Tech would be a good fit if they want to go the defense and toughness route. David Cutcliffe has turned Duke into a decent team, and he has ties to Tennessee. I'm sure there are some good, young coordinators that should be on their radar. Look at what Kirby Smart has done at Georgia. Unfortunately the Jon Gruden stuff will, most likely, not happen. I think Tennessee will have to pick a "smaller" name head coach, but it will benefit them in the long run.

As far as Florida goes, I do not think they will get Chip Kelly, especially now that UCLA has let Jim Mora go. I know they have had multiple talks with Kelly, but why would he go to a place like Florida, where if he doesn't win right away they will be mad, when he can go to UCLA and build a team. He will have carte blanche at UCLA, a la what Jim Harbaugh gets at Michigan. UCLA will give him time to recruit and build, and I think he could turn them into a powerhouse in 2-4 years. Florida would be great for recruiting for Kelly, but everything else around that job would be rough. As I said, they would expect him to install his offense with the current players, and expect it to work right away. Florida has the speed to run that offense, but not the talent. Felipe Franks could be a good QB, but running a spread option up tempo offense doesn't fit his style. Florida does have a decent defense, but Kelly doesn't care about that side of the ball. He would probably be able to get a big name, but his lack of concern on that side of the ball would infuriate Florida fans from day one. Also, I think Kelly would prefer to go back to a conference he is familiar with, the Pac 12, as opposed to coaching in the SEC. He can already game plan for all the teams in the Pac 12. In the SEC, he would have to prepare for the Alabama's, Auburn's and Georgia's of the college football world. While I think the SEC is very overrated, I'd much rather get ready to face the Arizona's, Stanford's, USC's and Oregon's of the college football world. Chip Kelly seems like a guy that wants a cushy job, and Florida is not a cushy job at all. Florida is going to have to do the same thing that Tennessee will have to do. They need to get an up and comer or poach a good coach from another power 5 school. They should look at Willie Taggart. He has experience coaching and recruiting in Florida, and he is a hard nosed,  but offensive minded coach. Maybe they look at Memphis' coach. Again, he is an offensive mastermind. I think they need to go after an offensive coach that has experience dealing with defense.

So while all the Gruden and Kelly stuff sounds nice, I do not think it will happen for either of these schools. They will have to make what many will consider "uninspired" hires, but that could benefit them both in the long run. I'm excited to see what happens as far as who they hire though. These schools choices at head coach this offseason will shape the future of these storied programs. Hopefully neither of them will pick Lane Kiffin too. Stay far, far away from him. Especially you Tennessee.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He really needs to be careful with his Lane Kiffin criticism. What would Ty do if Jim Harbaugh left Michigan for the NFL, and the Wolverines brought Kiffin in as their next head coach? See, things could be much worse.

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Ty's Midseason College Football Redo

As I did yesterday with the NFL, today I'm going to look at college football at the mid way point. Also, much like the NFL, I got some things right, but more things wrong. That's how it goes when you are in the business of making predictions. No one is perfect, and I'm far from it myself. Anyway, let's get into what I got right and wrong, update my predictions and make some more changes.

First, let's look at the SEC, my least favorite conference. Alabama is the clear cut favorite. I think that everyone expected this. Alabama is clearly the best team in the SEC, and the nation. They have a historically great defense. They have scored 12 non offensive touchdowns, and they have only given up 12 touchdowns all year. They are elite. Their offense is just fine as well. They have a read option style QB, who is not a great passer, but an exceptional runner. He runs the read option to perfection, and, when he has an open man, he usually hits them in stride. Their offense, while not great, is just fine. Alabama is a cut above the rest in the SEC. As far as some teams that may present a "challenge", you have Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M. Some may say, you left out Tennessee, but Alabama recently beat them by 39 points. They also, just last week, beat A&M by 19 points, so they may not be much of a threat. Florida has a very good defense, but they were exposed against Tennessee in the second half of that game. Alabama is much, much better than Tennessee. Auburn may be the only team that can truly threaten Alabama, but their strength is running the ball, and Alabama's strength is stopping the run. Auburn has looked very good since Rhett Lashley took over the offense, but they will run into a buzz saw when they face Alabama's front seven. LSU could possibly pose a threat, the game is at night and in Baton Rouge, but they, much like Auburn, love to run the ball and Alabama is nearly impossible to run against. I will say, I was right about Tennessee. They are paper tigers. They should have been beaten a few times already, pulled some games out of nowhere, but have been brought back down to Earth the last two weeks. Anyway, at the midway point, Alabama is still the team to beat in the SEC.

Let's move to the Pac 12, which has been an absolute disaster thus far, minus one team. I was way, way off about Stanford. I thought that Christian McCaffrey would be dominant and lead this team to the playoff. I thought their defense would be great. I thought the lack of a decent QB would not matter. I was wrong on all three aspects. McCaffrey, while still putting up decent numbers, is literally the only threat they have, and he has missed parts of, or full games. He will not be making a return trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony. Their defense has been fine, but they have been on the field way, way too much. The lack of a good QB has crushed this team. Their passing game is no threat, so teams just load the box to stop the run, and it has worked thus far. UCLA has been incredibly underwhelming and Josh Rosen isn't even playing right now. USC, after getting crushed in their first 2 games, has looked better, but they are still 4-3. Utah is good, they have a great running game and an okay defense. They have a huge matchup this weekend, but I'll get to their opponent in a few. Oregon is atrocious, especially on defense. They cannot stop anyone and they can't settle on a QB. Oregon State is no good, Washington State is fine, but terrible at defense, Arizona State is average, Arizona is mediocre, which leaves us with one good team. That team is Washington. I was wrong about this team. I thought it was all talk, but they have lived up to the hype and then some. They are clearly the best team in the Pac 12. They have an elite offense and a very good defense. Jake Browning is putting up monster numbers, and if they get past Utah this weekend, they should have a clear path to the playoff. They are the Pac 12's only hope.

The Big 12, on the other hand, may not send a single team to the playoff. I was convinced that Oklahoma was going to have a breakthrough this year, but Bob Stoops reared his ugly head during week one. Houston trounced them, then 2 weeks later, in Norman, Ohio State throttled them. They have rebounded a bit, but they are no threat to be in the playoff. Texas started strong, but are limping to the finish line. Charlie Strong is all but done with his tenure there. TCU has been very up and down. Kansas State is in rebuild mode. Baylor is undefeated, but it is all for naught because none of this will matter because of the atrocities that they did off the field. They are going to get the death knell from the NCAA, hopefully. West Virginia, very surprisingly, has been the class of the Big 12. They have a very good offense, and in a league that thinks defense is optional, WVU actually plays really good defense. They have shut down both Texas Tech and TCU in consecutive weeks, and both those teams have great offenses. WVU is the team to beat in the Big 12, at this moment.

The ACC is still Clemson's to lose. Louisville has come out of nowhere, at least to me, but Clemson did beat them already. But, Louisville has been impressive thus far. Lamar Jackson is the front runner for the Heisman. He is putting up video game numbers, and no one, not even Clemson, truly stopped him. Florida State is average, Their QB is too young and inconsistent. Their defense is very mediocre. Dalvin Cook is very good, but he is their only threat. They have a big game against Clemson this weekend, and that game should show their true colors. Miami started out great, but they have fallen back to Earth the last three weeks. As far as some other challengers, there isn't any. NC State is average, and should have beaten Clemson, UNC has a great offense, but a terrible defense, Virginia Tech is fine, but not world beaters. This conference is Clemson's to lose. They are still undefeated, they play excellent defense and they still have Deshaun Watson, who is incredible. Until this team gets beat, I will stick with them. This weekend poses their last real threat, and if they get past FSU, they should roll to the playoff.

Now, for my conference, the Big 10. This is still a 2 team race. Ohio State, coming off their inexplicable loss to Penn State, is still a real playoff possibility. They have looked vulnerable the last 2 weeks, especially on offense, but they can go off at any time. JT Barrett is a very good QB, but he has gotten very little help from the rest of his teammates. The O line is shaky, the running game, outside of him, has been up and down, and they have no go to receiver. Their defense is awesome though. They can shut teams down. Ohio State has no room for error after last week, but if things break their way, they could sneak into the playoff. Michigan is playing incredible defense right now. They have shut down everyone that they have faced. It's hard to run on this team, and even harder to pass on them. Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown and Greg Mattison have a very, very good defense. The offense has been serviceable, but they are going to need to get better when they play better teams. Wilton Speight is still inconsistent with the long ball. Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh have not had their breakout games yet. Jake Butt has been fine, but not All American level yet. The running game has feasted on lesser opponents, but not so much on the better teams they've faced. I love their defense, but their offense needs to step it up. And, I do not care what their record is, they better be prepared for a very, very tough test this weekend at Michigan State. That team will bring their A game this weekend. As far as the rest of the Big 10, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and more recently, Penn State have looked good. Wisconsin has an incredible defense, but, much like Michigan, their offense leaves a lot to be desired. They also faced Michigan and Ohio State already, and both teams beat them. Nebraska may be the shakiest team in all of the top 10 rankings. They should have lost to Indiana and Oregon, but escaped with wins. They will probably get beat this weekend, when they face Wisconsin, but who knows, they could pull out another amazing win. Penn State has looked a lot better, but their offense is still a work in progress, and I do not trust them to be a real threat. Iowa has been underwhelming. Northwestern has looked good at times, but bad at times. Michigan State cannot seem to put it together. They can't pick a QB, and their defense is not as great as it usually is. Minnesota has 5 wins, but they have not looked impressive, and they tried everything to lose to Rutgers last week. The rest of the conference is below average. This conference is Michigan's to lose now. They have very high expectations for the first time in 10 years, so lets see how they react. This team has not been in this position for a long time, so let's see how these kids respond.

As far as other teams like Notre Dame, Houston, Western Michigan and Navy, only 2 of them have a say in being in a New Years 6 bowl. Notre Dame has been abysmal, and it all starts with their head coach. He has blamed everyone but himself, but he is the reason this team could miss out on a bowl game. They are 2-5 at the moment, so that means they need to finish the year 4-1, just to be considered for a bowl game. That will tough for this team. Houston was riding high with their opening season win at Oklahoma, but they have lost 2 of their last 3, and are out of the rankings. Western Michigan has looked great, owns 2 wins over Big 10 teams, and should rip through the MAC. They could find their way into an important bowl game by seasons end. And then there is Navy. They have played hard and played well pretty much all season long. They run that option to perfection, and they have looked really good all season. They were the first team to beat Houston I might add. I'm a Michigan fan through and through, but I have always liked Navy for some unexplained reason. It's good to see them play well.

As far as playoff teams go, right now for me, I have, from 4-1, Washington, Clemson, Michigan and Alabama. That is the exact order of the AP poll right now. I do not see that changing, unless one of these teams get upset, which could happen as soon as this weekend. So, that would pit Alabama-Washington and Michigan-Clemson in the semifinal games. Alabama will steam roll Washington and, as much as I would love to pick Michigan, Clemson has been there before and Michigan's offense is not nearly as good as Clemson's offense, so I'm going with the rematch. And, just like last season, I think Alabama will repeat. Clemson couldn't beat them last year, and Alabama's defense is way better than last year. I do not want Alabama to win, but they are leaps and bounds above everyone in college football. They are the Patriots of college football. I'm going to stick with Deshaun Watson has my Heisman winner though. He has already beaten Lamar Jackson head to head, and I think he will explode this weekend against FSU, which will solidify his place in New York.

There you have it, my mid season college football redux, redo, whatever you want to call it. College football has been so much better than the pros, so this piece was much easier and more fun to write than yesterday. Go watch some college games, they are way more fun, and quite frankly, better than the NFL, by a wide margin.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Test Ty's predictions by listening to the Mini X Millennial Man all about the upcoming NBA season. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Buddy Ryan and Pat Summitt - Legends who Defined their Sport

RIP both Pat Summit and Buddy Ryan. Both were phenomenal coaches in their respective sports. Buddy Ryan was one of the fiercest, most competitive defensive coaches that the NFL has ever seen. He was the guy behind the vaunted 85 Bears defense. Ryan may have been the greatest defensive minded coach of all time. He would get into it on the sidelines as well. He would yell and scream and even get into fist fights if he believed he was right. Buddy Ryan was a legend.

Then there's Pat Summit. Talk about a winner who's life was cut way too short. Summit had almost 1100 wins as a head coach. That is jaw dropping. Tennessee women's basketball was dominant for the majority of Summit's career. She is the John Wooden of women's basketball. She had one of the greatest basketball minds to ever grace the Earth. She was fiery as well. She was also flat out great at her job. Summit is one of the greatest basketball coaches ever, men's or women's. Summit is a true legend.

RIP to these two great sports minds. You'll both be missed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.
 

It is Time to Talk About What Peyton Manning has Done Wrong

Being a shill for bad pizza is one of many alleged crimes Peyton Manning should answer for.

Around this time last year, one or two weeks after the Super Bowl 49, all I heard about on ESPN and all other sports media shows was "deflategate". These outlets couldn't talk about this non story enough. ESPN itself has multiple channels that have sports programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I'd venture to say that at least 10 to 12 hours, passed around all their channels, ran some kind of story related to "deflategate".

For those of you that forgot, "deflategate" centered around some under inflated footballs in a game that the Patriots won 45-7 over the Colts. I've written a bunch of stuff on this non story. It's stupid and pointless and it gives people another reason to hate on the Patriots. "Deflategate" is the most nonsensical story I've ever heard. Is it morally and ethically wrong? Yes. But, is it cheating? Absolutely not. Not even close. Go ask anyone QB out there and they will all say that they like to have the balls a specific way. When Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon was asked about this, he said he always had the ball boys take a little air out of the ball for an easier grip. When Aaron Rodgers was asked about this, he said he likes the balls to be over inflated to give him a better grip. Basically, any QB will do anything to gain an advantage. "Deflategate" is akin to watering down base paths in baseball, or using a certain basketball in a certain arena. It's morally wrong, but people tend to look the other way. Who really cares and who really thinks that under inflated footballs helped the Patriots win? No one that has some sense and intelligence.

So, I figured that this year, with the recent allegations and new stories coming out involving Peyton Manning and sexual assault and having HGH delivered to his home, that ESPN would be all over this. These are actual real news stories involving another Hall of Fame QB also coming off a Super Bowl win. These allegations are much, much more serious than some under inflated footballs. I mean, we are talking assaulting a female staffer while a student at Tennessee and the HGH thing, that is steroids. With how much time is being dedicated to getting rid of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs, I figured both these stories would be plastered all over all sports media.

Well, that is unfortunately not the case. I turned on ESPN the other day when "NFL Live" was on because I naturally assumed that they would talk about these allegations and nothing else. I was very wrong. Not only did they not talk about it, they didn't even bring it up. Instead, they focused the entire hour long show on potential free agents at the tight end position. That's right, they figured that potential free agent tight ends were more important to talk about than two major stories involving an extremely high profile player. Could ESPN be anymore in the bag for Peyton Manning and the Manning family? They are just as bad as Jim Nantz when it comes to the blinders they put on whenever someone bad mouths "The Sheriff". It is appalling that they refuse to talk about these terrible, sometimes heinous accusations being brought up. When Nantz was asked, prior to the Super Bowl, why he doesn't talk about the HGH allegations, he blew it off and called it a "non story". This coming from the same guy that chastised Tom Brady last year for some under inflated footballs. Talk about a double standard. When ESPN finally did get an interview with Manning himself about the HGH, it was a total puff piece and they did not press him one single time. They basically told him that he was right and sided with him, claiming that the people accusing him where just jealous of his fame and success. This is the same network that ran, and still runs stories on "deflategate". It's sickening that they continue to defend Manning and his family when someone in his home is getting HGH sent to them. That is a performance enhancing drug and those are supposed to be illegal. I guarantee if Tom Brady, or any Patriot for that matter, had been accused of using HGH, ESPN would have been all over it, calling them liars and cheaters. But, they won't do that to the great Peyton Manning. They assumed, how could someone so wholesome cheat? Why would he do that? He would never under inflate footballs.

Well, thanks to the New York Daily News, once again no ESPN involvement, we come to find out that Peyton Manning may not be as wholesome as we portray him to be. A story was released last week claiming that while he was enrolled at Tennessee, he shoved his naked butt, testicles and penis into the face of a female trainer. When she brought this crime, yes that is a crime, to the higher ups at Tennessee, they blew her off, basically telling her that a student athlete was more important than her dignity. Then, after Tennessee paid this lady off and she moved on to do many great things as a trainer, including working with Olympians, the Manning family wrote a book and destroyed this ladies credibility. She couldn't get a job anywhere because everyone believed the "wholesome" Peyton Manning over her. Why would he lie and why would his family and the University of Tennessee lie about this? Well, as I just mentioned, what he supposedly did is a crime. You cannot force your genitalia in someone's face. What the New York Daily News story reported was, he shoved his genitalia into her face when she was occupied helping someone else. This is a very vile, very disgusting thing for a person to do. I know the Manning defenders will say that he was a kid and kids do stupid things, but this goes beyond stupid, this is disturbing. I was a kid once too, and I never thought to jam my business into anyone's face. Not ever. That takes a special kind of disturbed person. Then, to trash this lady in a book, how classless and guilty does that make one look? If I believed him before, I definitely don't believe him or his dad now. To publicly go after someone like that, that is an admission of guilt. Trying to make someone else look bad for your past childish and abusive behavior, another admission of guilt in my opinion. 

I have not heard anyone at ESPN once talk about this. The only hint of anyone talking about it was on "PTI" and all Wilbon and Kornheiser said is, "he has to speak about these allegations". They didn't attack him the way they attacked the "deflategate" stuff last year. The only people I've heard talk about these allegations are, the aforementioned New York Daily News, a great twitter follow @SportsTalkVM and the wonderful Deadspin. They are the only people that have come out and chastised this childish, abusive and criminal behavior that Peyton Manning showed while at Tennessee and while in the NFL. ESPN won't touch this story with a ten foot pole because they are afraid that they may piss off a powerful football family, but it is in their business to talk about these heinous crimes because that's what good sports journalists do. They don't hide from major stories involving major stars. They sure as hell didn't hold back from attacking Tom Brady, Bill Belichek and the entire New England Patriots franchise when they may or may not have under inflated footballs. So, why do they just stand on the sidelines and give the Manning family a free pass? Are they in bed with Papa John's too? If they are, get out of that relationship because Papa John is a monster and his pizza stinks. Are they afraid of Roger Goodell and the NFL? Yes, they one hundred percent are afraid of that and that sucks because it is really cheapening their own product.

That brings me to what I really think is the problem, and that is the fact that ESPN is hiring unqualified yes men and women to be their anchors and broadcasters. Their bosses, the NFL included, tells them to jump and they ask, how high. They are brain washed people that are terrible at their jobs. These crimes that Manning is being accused of should be talked about a whole hell of a lot more, but until ESPN hires some competent people, I will continue to go to much better news sources like the New York Daily News, @SportsTalkVM and Deadspin. At least they have the guts and the know how to attack this cheater and sexual assaulter.

Screw you Peyton Manning, you are the Bill Cosby of the NFL.

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.

Let Me Respectfully Explain Why Your Team Stinks: Ty is not impressed with Northwestern Football

This is to you Northwestern. You try so hard every year.

Today I'm going to re visit one of my favorite topics to talk about on the site. I'm going to go back to my irrational hatred blog.

I haven't written one of these in quite some time, and with college bowl season all but done, I realized how much I hate Northwestern Wildcat football. This has been a bubbling hatred for some years now. It's grown and grown a lot since they hired Pat Fitzgerald. I'll get to what I dislike about him in a bit.

I feel like they may be one of the most overrated, way to often talked about on ESPN, mediocre football teams I've ever seen. They seem to go 5-7 for three years, they'll up that to 6-6 or 7-5 for four or five years, then they'll have a season like this most recent one, when they finished 10-3 and everyone and their mother seems to think they are on the rise, especially world class blow hard, Mike Wilbon. I swear, if you listen to him long enough, you'd think Northwestern football is as good as the 96 Chicago Bulls. He's that blinded by his fandom. I mean, I love Michigan football, but I also realize that they've been very underwhelming for almost a decade now. Things seem to be turning a corner, with Harbaugh and how they finished the year, but I'll wait to start popping off at the mouth until they prove it on the field a bit more. Not the case with Wilbon. Northwestern can beat Rutgers by 1 point and you'd think they knocked off the number one team in the country when Wilbon inevitably talks about it on "PTI" the following Monday. I cannot take him seriously as a journalist anymore because of his blind love for his alma mater. I understand being a fan of your school, but when you are in journalism, as he is, you cannot be biased, especially when you have a talk show that focuses on sports. It's not a good way to conduct yourself at work.

Let's get back to some other things I don't really care for about Northwestern. I absolutely hate how arrogant and entitled their student athletes act. Sure, you guys are the Harvard of the Big Ten, but who really gives a shit. You know what other schools in your very conference are just as hard to get into? Michigan, Maryland, Penn State, Minnesota and Indiana. Really the only Big Ten school that's an absolute joke when it comes to grades is Ohio State. They could care less if you flunk out of high school as long as you are a good athlete. They are the Florida State of the Big Ten. So, knock it off with the excuse that it's harder for you to recruit elite athletes because your standards are too high. I don't care. Michigan and Penn State have equally as hard academic standards yet they're competitive and get top flight recruits in football almost every year. Hell, Maryland is almost impossible to get into and they have a top ten basketball team this year with one of the best sophomores in all of college basketball, Melo Trimble. He has to go to class just like all the Northwestern student athletes so he can make the grades to play. That excuse is old and tired. I'm done with it.

Then there's your coach, whom I've mentioned earlier. He is the WORST. The only coach I hate more than him in the Big Ten, and maybe all of college football is, Urban Meyer. At least Meyer wins, but he is a cheater, don't get that twisted. Fitzgerald's whole "blue collar" attitude and his teams very hard "work ethic" nonsense that he's always yelling is stupid. It's the worst kind of generic coach speak. He is way too giddy on the sidelines too. A head coach needs to keep his act together until they are in the locker room, where no one, except you team, can see you. I can count on both hands how many times I've seen him cheering late in a game because he thinks his team has the win sealed up, but then they blow it in typical Northwestern fashion. I love how much of an idiot this makes him look. All giddy and excited one second, then something bad happens to his team, then he's all flush with embarrassment and tries to make up excuses in the post game press conference. What a boob. He should have been fired five years ago, but a 10 win season this year has probably bought him, at least, another three or four years.

The majority of his players are mediocre as well. Their version of the spread is laughably bad and extremely slow. They haven't had a decent running back since Darnell Autry, and I cannot think of one time, at least in my lifetime, when they've had a legitimately good college quarterback. The players are sub par and it shows when they face real competition. Let's look at this most recent season as an example. Sure, they beat Stanford in the very first game of the year. It was an 11am kickoff time, making it 9am in Palo Alto, and I as I said on a blog earlier this week, that may not sound like an advantage, but it is. So, they get their signature win of the year during their very first game. Then, they rip off five straight and people are actually calling him a potential playoff team. Totally insane and totally off base. Luckily, for me and all college football fans, they went up to Ann Arbor and Michigan dismantled them 38-0. It was glorious. The following week, with some media, Mike Wilbon, saying that the game was an aberration and they'd easily recover with Iowa coming to Evanston, they got crushed. So, two legit opponents in two consecutive weeks destroy them and their "playoff" hopes. They won their next four games, against very weak Big Ten teams, to finish the year 10-2 and they were actually ranked, by the playoff committee ahead of the same Michigan team that shut them out. They finished inside the top 15, coming in at 13. They were extremely overrated by the committee at the end of the season and it showed when they played Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. Tennessee was very up and down all year, couldn't hold leads against quality opponents and finished the year at 8-4, I believe. Well, they hammered a very overrated Northwestern team to the tune of 45-6. So, against four quality opponents, Stanford, Michigan, Iowa and Tennessee, they went 1-3 with a combined score of 131-29. That's not what a top 15 team does when it plays real competition.

Now don't worry, I'm sure ESPN and Mike Wilbon will have them as a preseason top 25 team going into this year and they will regress back to their 5-7, 6-6 or 7-5 ways. The hype for this nothing program needs to end sooner rather than later. I loathe Northwestern football and it will be nice to see them float back into mediocrity for the next decade. The only really good thing I have to say about them, it's easy to get tickets when Michigan travels to Northwestern and since there's more Michigan fans there, it feels like a home game for them and their stadium and fans, for the most part, are genuinely nice people. But when that's all you have going for you as a football team, well, you will always be mid to lower level. I'm sorry, but it's true. Northwestern is to the Big Ten what Missouri is to the SEC. Very overrated, very underachieving programs.

The love for this team needs to end.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He will never respect a school who has a compass direction in their name. Hear that Parkway West? Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik. 

Charles Woodson is the greatest player to come out of the Peyton Manning draft

We all know a wolverine could tear a volunteer in half

I was watching Sports Center or NFL Network or something where they were talking about football. They were previewing the upcoming Broncos-Raiders game and they kept showing pictures of Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler, comparing the two quarterbacks. My wife was watching with me and, the longer we've been together, the more she knows about football. She asked me, during the preview of the game, "why are they only talking about Peyton Manning? Why aren't they talking about Charles Woodson more, he's had a better overall career than Peyton Manning, right?".

Now, Charles Woodson is my all time favorite football player, and yes, he is a University of Michigan alum and yes, I'm a diehard Michigan fan, so naturally, I agreed with my wife. Then, I looked much, much further into her statement and yes, I do believe, with no bias, that Charles Woodson has had a better overall career than Peyton Manning. Let's look even further into it though. Sure, Peyton Manning is the more famous player. He is a quarterback, he has way more endorsements, he has hosted SNL multiple times and he's won a Super Bowl. But, Charles Woodson won the Heisman over Peyton Manning in 1997, he too has won a Super Bowl and been to a second one and he's stayed healthy and productive his entire career. He's still producing at an All Pro level and he's the captain and leader of the resurgent Raiders defense. Peyton Manning was recently just benched, some will say due to injury, for a back up QB from Arizona State. But, was the injury the only reason Manning was benched? I've written about Manning before on the website and I think that blog speaks many truths on his benching. His ball has no more zip. He throws multiple interceptions per game. He cannot move in the pocket anymore. He's a Hall of Famer, but I think his time is done. Charles Woodson on the other hand, he's still picking off passes and making open field passes. In fact, when the Raiders and Broncos met earlier this year, when Manning was still the starter, Woodson picked him off twice in that game. No praise was heaped on Woodson and how well he's still playing for a 39 year old in the NFL. The announcers only talked about how Manning will always be a great pro and these interceptions were just a flash in the pan, he'd bounce back for sure. But, as we all know now, he didn't bounce back. Woodson has produced every week for the 6-7 Raiders. That doesn't sound so great, but when was the last time the Raiders sniffed a .500 or even a winning record? They have a legitimate shot, albeit an outside one, to make the playoffs this year. The Broncos are a lock, but it's not because of Manning, it's their defense. Sure, the Raiders have a good young QB in Derek Carr and a great young receiver in Amari Cooper, but they are led in their defensive backfield by Charles Woodson. Their defense is middle of the road in the NFL, but I say again, when was the last time the Raiders were relevant? I truly believe that Charles Woodson has a real chance to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He's been lockdown all season playing out of position as a safety.

Lets go back and look at their Super Bowl wins. I will give you the fact that Woodson didn't play in the Packer Super Bowl win, he had a separated shoulder. But, he was the anchor of that defense all season, leading them to the Super Bowl. If I remember correctly, he hurt his shoulder making an important tackle or even interception in the NFC Championship game. He laid it all on the line for that Packer team and he definitely helped them win that Super Bowl. Sure, Peyton Manning was playing when the Colts won, but they played a sorry Bears team led by Rex Grossman in their Super Bowl win. Also, the game was a sloppy mess and Manning didn't win the game for them, their defense and running game was the determining factor. The two of them also lost a Super Bowl. The Manning loss was solely on him. The Colts had a chance late against the Saints, but we all know about the game sealing pick six that he threw to secure the win for the Saints. When the Raiders, that's right, this is Woodson's second go around with the Raiders, lost to the Buccaneers, it wasn't their defenses fault, Rich Gannon threw multiple picks and took multiple sacks in that game. But, Peyton Manning will go down as the more remembered player. He is a QB and they're stars. That's the way it is in the NFL. Woodson has been solid for 18 seasons now, but he plays defense and, what's worse, he plays cornerback and safety. And, if you don't constantly run your mouth like any secondary player on the Seahawks, you don't get noticed. But, I think that's the way Woodson wants it. He won a title in college. He beat out Manning for the Heisman. He was the best and most important player on one of the all time great Michigan teams and he's done it with little to no fanfare.

Manning has been great, as I said before, he is a sure fire Hall of Famer, but it big moments, he's choked more than he's succeeded. In college, his Tennessee Volunteers could never beat Florida and got trounced by Nebraska when they had a shot at a national title. In the pros, he's won a Super Bowl, but it wasn't because he had a great game. Peyton Manning will go down as one of the all time greatest QB's in NFL and college football history, but will he be remembered as the greatest QB of all time? I don't think so. He's not even the best QB in his draft class, that title is firmly in Tom Brady's hands. But, Charles Woodson may very well be the greatest defensive back of all time in the NFL or college football. He's had a stellar career and he continues to produce. I 100 percent agree with my wife's assumption that Charles Woodson has had the better overall career than Peyton Manning. Look at all the reasons that I mentioned above. It's not just my love for Woodson, the facts can't be ignored. Tell me why I'm wrong in the comment section. 

I will go to my grave thinking Charles Woodson is not only better than Peyton Manning, but he is the best defensive back to ever play football.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once benched Rex Grossman on his fantasy team for Drew Henson. Not because Henson went to Michigan, but because Grossman stinks. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.