Izzo Fo Shizzo: Spartans are Unsung Heroes of March Madness
Photo taken by Seth Wenig
It may be his greatest coaching job ever, and that is really saying something. When you look at what Tom Izzo has done over the course of his time at Michigan State, you see a Hall of Fame type career, with now seven final four appearances and a national title back in 2000. However, I think that it is safe to say that even Tom Izzo did not even expect a run like this.
Izzo’s bunch were rather disoriented for most of the season. I mean for Pete’s sake, they lost to Texas Southern at home in December. This was a bubble team at best, and I think that many fans were just hoping that Izzo could continue his streak of getting back into the tournament and call it a decent year.
The best thing to remember about this 2015 Michigan State team, is that you can never underestimate the heart of a champion, and when things fall apart, you can always continue on to your goal if you truly believe. The Spartans were still an average team heading into the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, but something incredible happened. Yes, there were still the turnovers and sloppy play on offense at times, but the Spartans truly looked like a much different team. They came right out of the gate and stomped on Ohio State in the B1G quarterfinals, then rallied from a 23-7 deficit to defeat the Maryland Terrapins in the semifinals. The momentum carried into the championship game, where MSU had Wisconsin on their heels all game, but the Spartans lost a tough fought game in overtime. A game that they should have won in regulation.
Despite having success in the conference tournament, people were still doubting the Spartans. The NCAA committee for example, gave Michigan State a 7 seed in the East Region. Many people including myself thought that MSU was severely under-seeded heading into the tourney, but never thought that they had a prayer to get to Indianapolis.
After holding off Georgia, it seemed inevitable that MSU would probably fall against an extremely talented Virginia squad. The one thing that you must always remember is to never count out a Tom Izzo coached team in the month of March. He is the man of March for a reason. Izzo’s game plan and adjustments in the Virginia game were spectacular, and sure enough, the Spartans had the Cavaliers playing Michigan State’s game. In the Sweet 16, Oklahoma ran out of gas and looked exhausted in the second half, as MSU slowly yet surely pulled away.
Today’s win against Louisville was arguably the most impressive win of the year. Despite trailing by double digits at halftime, Izzo rallied the troops in the second half, as the Spartans looked like a completely different team. Back and forth they went, as the Spartans refused to go away. In the overtime period, MSU did what we all expected them to do at this point; show up clutch. Bryn Forbes’ 3 pointer and Branden Dawson’s put back sealed the deal, as Louisville’s offense fell apart in overtime. And once again, Tom Izzo is going to the Final Four.
Travis Trice and Branden Dawson have been the key catalysts for Michigan State during this run. Both seniors were desperate to get to a final four, and they were not going to let anything get in the way. Trice’s defense has been solid all tournament, but his ball handling skills, and lethal three point shooting have carried MSU deep into this year’s tourney. Dawson has been the best overall defensive player for the Spartans, and has been the ultimate rebounding machine. Dawson was absolutely impressive against Montrezl Harrell of Louisville in the Elite 8.
Izzo has gotten the best out of his entire team at just the right time. Bryn Forbe’s defense has drastically improved. Marvin Clark Jr. has played several valuable minutes, and can be a major energy booster off of the bench. Matt Costello and Gavin Schilling have turned their defense up big time, and have been incredibly important during this tournament run on both ends of the floor. Tum Tum Nairn has done an excellent job distributing the ball at point guard, and has done a phenomenal job at being a vocal leader on the floor. Denzel Valentine has made a few bone headed plays every now and then, but he is the most clutch player on this Spartan team outside of Trice.
Izzo has always been the most underrated coach in all of college basketball. This year’s team was doubted by many, including many Michigan State fans. It is not a coincidence that the Spartans defeated Virginia, Oklahoma, and Louisville their last three tournament games. Izzo has out-coached everyone so far, and his players have continued to play to their maximum potential.
No one obviously knows how the final four will turn out, but if you have not learned anything yet, one thing is for sure; don’t you dare count out Michigan State.
Sweet 16 Part One: It’s still Kentucky vs. everyone else
The first weekend of the 2015 NCAA tournament is over. While there are several surprise teams to advance this far, Kentucky is still the overwhelming favorite.
Bold predictions for the Sweet 16 & Elite 8:
- Kentucky will get tested, but will ultimately survive. – The Wildcats will have an interesting matchup with West Virginia on Thursday night, and then will take on either Wichita State or Notre Dame in the elite 8. This is all assuming Kentucky gets past the Mountaineers. WVU plays an up-temp style offense and they like to go fast. Kentucky has the size to disrupt West Virginia’s offense. The main question will be if the Wildcats can score consistently, especially if Bob Huggins goes into his 2010 coaching form and plays zone all night against the Cats. It should be interesting for a while, but Kentucky should prevail as expected.
- UK will have a rematch with the Shockers- You just have to absolutely love and respect what Gregg Marshall has done at Wichita State. They have some of the best guards in the country in Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet. The Shockers have done a tremendous job doing more with less talent. Plus, we all know Wichita State wants to get a shot at revenge and take down Kentucky.
- North Carolina will upset Wisconsin- I hope I am wrong about this one honestly. I love watching Wisconsin play, and I enjoy seeing Frank Kaminsky dominate every game. That being said, this will be a tough matchup for the Badgers. UNC has the size down low with Kennedy Meeks, and the athletes to beat Wisconsin. The Badgers will need to have productive nights from Dekker, Hayes, Koening, and of course Kaminsky. Marcus Paige will be the key for the Tar Heels. Don’t forget about Joel Berry either.
- Arizona will face Kentucky in the Final Four- I really think Arizona is clicking at the right time on both sides of the ball. The Wildcats are red hot on offense and it definitely helps having Brandon Ashley back. Ashley missed the tournament last year after suffering a sever injury. T.J. McConnell and Hollis-Jefferson have been extremely productive for Arizona lately. If Arizona shows up and plays hard, there is no reason for them to not make the final four.
2015 NCAA Tournament: The Madness Begins
First and foremost, I would like to say that there are many things that are so wrong with this bracket. However, I am not going to spend time talking about how they screwed up several seeds. There were several questionable calls along the way and a lot of head scratches.With that being said, here are my ten bold predictions for the first weekend of the NCAA tourney:
- Kansas will be eliminated on Sunday. The Jayhawks have not been impressive at all, and should have been on the three seed line or even four. They have absolutely no business being a 2 seed. Cliff Alexander will be out for the entire NCAA tournament as well, due to the pending investigation. Wichita State and Indiana are both capable of beating Kansas and I fully expect one of them too. Kansas is solid, but they have been overrated all year.
- Purdue will give Kentucky fits. For the record, Kentucky very well may not lose a game all year. I do not think they will lose to Purdue, but I really think that the Boilermakers can give the Wildcats a run for their money for most of the game. Purdue plays nice defense, and they have two solid 7 footers in Isaac Haas and AJ Hammons who are very talented. The big problem for Purdue is that I do not think they will be able to score on Kentucky’s defense. Matt Painter is a good coach and I think that the Boilers will give Kentucky a tough test on Saturday, but will ultimately fall.
- We will see at least two upsets in the 14/3, 13/4 seed pairings. When you look at the 3 and 4 seeds altogether, you see some decent teams, but no great teams. Notre Dame and Iowa State are the only safe bets for the first weekend, and they will both be tested in the second round. As for the opening round games, Oklahoma, Baylor, Georgetown, Maryland, and UNC better all be careful. If I was a betting man I would say watch out to Baylor and Georgetown the most. We will see upsets here as several of these teams should have been lower seeded. Yes, I am looking at you Georgetown. What. A. Joke. A four seed? You have got to be kidding me.
- Xavier and Providence will lose to both play in game teams. I just have not been impressed with either Big East team. Both have trouble consistently scoring the ball. Dayton is a tough out along with Boise State and will give Providence all it can handle. BYU should beat Ole Miss and they are easily capable of taking out Xavier.
- Virginia will lose to Michigan State. This is all assuming Justin Anderson can no longer return to full form. The Cavaliers are having major trouble scoring the basketball at the current moment. Akil Mitchell and Joe Harris are not walking through that door either. As strong as the Wahoos defense is, Michigan State matches up very well against them. The Spartans have some solid down low players in Branden Dawson, Matt Costello, and Marvin Clark Jr. Also, you can never count out Tom Izzo in March.
- Wofford and Stephen F. Austin will pull the upset bid. Arkansas is just severely overrated, and SFA has been here before. Utah is also extremely shaky as of late.
- Duke will cruise to Houston. Having arguably the easiest bracket, and by far the easiest path to the sweet 16, look for Duke to roll both opponents they play in the first weekend. There are still a lot of question marks about this team, including quality bench play. Teams like Wisconsin and Kentucky are nightmare matchups for Duke. Yes, I know Duke beat Wiscy in December, but I think the emergence of Bronson Koening has made the Badgers a much better team.
- Butler will make another run. This is a much different Bulldogs team, but they are certainly able to win several tourney games. Chris Holtmann has done a spectacular job with this team, and is an underrated coach. Kellen Dunham will need to shoot well, as Roosevelt Jones and Kameron Woods will need to be solid down low. I do not think that a Final Four is in the making, but the Dawgs could make some noise and get to the sweet 16.
- Northern Iowa will knock out Louisville. The Cardinals just have no offense and the Panthers are red hot. Seth Tuttle will give trouble to the Cardinals front court. Louisville’s offense is way too inconsistent to even consider putting them deep into the tournament.
- Villanova will prove that they are worthy of being a national champion. The Wildcats are being looked down as overrated, despite having a 32-2 record and one of the best if not the best backcourt in college hoops. Jay Wright has done a terrific job with the Wildcat bunch, and they will show just how good they really are on Thursday and Saturday.
Bracketology: My predicted 2015 NCAA Tournament Field
Midwest (Cleveland)
1.) Kentucky vs. 16) Texas Southern/ Lafayette
8.) Ohio State vs. 9.) Cincinnati
5.) West Virginia vs. 12) Iona
4.) Louisville vs. 13.) Valparaiso
6.) Providence vs. 11) Purdue
3.) Notre Dame vs 14.) Central Michigan
7.) Oregon vs. 10.) Texas
2.) Maryland vs. 15.) North Carolina Central
West (Los Angeles)
1.) Wisconsin vs. 16) St. Francis
8.) St. Johns vs. 9.) Georgia
5.) Utah vs. 12) Indiana/ Temple
4.) Wichita State vs. 13.) Louisiana Tech
6.) Georgetown vs. 11.) Miami Fl.
3.) Kansas vs. 14.) South Dakota State
7.) San Diego State vs 10.) LSU
2.) Arizona vs. 15.) Belmont
East (Syracuse)
1.) Villanova vs. 16.) Coastal Carolina
8.) Davidson vs. 9.) NC State
5.) Butler vs. 12.) Wofford
4.) Baylor vs. 13,) Georgia State
6.) North Carolina vs. 11.) Colorado State
3.) Oklahoma vs. 14.) New Mexico State
7.) Iowa vs. 10.) VCU
2.) Duke vs. 15.) Albany
South (Houston)
1.) Virginia vs. 16.) North Florida
8.) Dayton vs. 9.) BYU
5.) Arkansas vs. 12.) Stephen F. Austin
4.) Northern Iowa vs. 13.) UC Davis
6.) SMU vs. 11.) Boise State/Oklahoma State
3.) Iowa State vs. 14.) Harvard
7.) Michigan State vs. 10.) Xavier
2.) Gonzaga vs. 15.) NorthEastern
Will Kentucky ever lose? College hoops update
So we have nearly been talking about this for just about the entire college hoops season, but this is a legitimate question; will the Wildcats ever actually lose a game? To be honest, I really think that this team could go 40-0. They have all the tools, and talent to achieve this goal. Despite having several close calls so far, no team out there in America has a better bench than the Wildcats. The only thing that will potentially hurt Kentucky come NCAA tournament time will be getting in foul trouble.
This does not really even happen too often, but it could definitely be a disadvantage lurking down at Calipari’s Cats. If you really look at it through and through, you can see that Kentucky will not lose a game until at least the NCAA tourney. The SEC is an awful conference overall, and the average teams are grossly overrated. I am looking at you Texas A&M, LSU, and Arkansas. I do not care that the Razorbacks are ranked 18th, I mean seriously, who have they beaten? Exactly.
This Kentucky team is so much more different than past Wildcat’s teams. There is not a true star, elite player on this squad, but a bunch of balanced and disciplined players who seem to know their roles on the team. Karl Anthony Towns has the most potential out of this current bunch, but you cannot forget about Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker, or even Aaron Harrison.
There are so many different options on this team that they are extremely difficult to defend. Teams like Arizona, Duke, Virginia, and Villanova have a great starting five, but after that they just do not have the depth overall. This is what makes Kentucky so great. In fact, you could make a strong case as to why several teams ranked in the top ten have just as good or even a better starting five than Kentucky.
Ultimately, it will not matter unless you can force Kentucky to get into foul trouble and also hope that their offense goes completely down the toilet in a game. This is a possibility, because during the NCAA tournament, anything can happen.
However, it will be very shocking if Kentucky does not at least make the Elite 8 during this year’s tourney run. This team is just too good overall to have a slip up early on, but once again, who knows, we have all seen strange things happen in March.
Early Top 25 for 2015-2016
1.) Ohio State – The Buckeyes will have just about everyone back on both sides of the ball. The biggest storyline over the offseason will be who starts next year. Does Braxton Miller transfer? Can Cardale Jones keep his momentum or will J.T. Barrett get back what he started? It will be interesting to say the least.
2.) TCU- Trevone Boykin is back along with Aaron Green and B.J. Catalon. The Horned Frogs will be primed for a title run assuming they get in the playoff.
3.) Georgia- Nick Chubb was sensational and Malcolm Mitchell will return to Athens next year as well. The Dawgs will be the favorites in the SEC East next year.
4.) Michigan State- Connor Cook returns along with a boatload of talented players. The Spartans lose Jeremy Langford and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, but MSU will be among the nation’s elite next year.
5.) Georgia Tech- Justin Thomas has given Paul Johnson’s offense a new look with Thomas being a legitimate passing threat. The Yellow Jackets will lose some key players but should compete for the ACC crown.
6.) USC- The Trojans will have all of the talent, but will they get it done on the field?
7.) Alabama- The best recruiting class in America comes to Tuscaloosa. Despite some key losses across the field, the Tide should reload with Saban at the helm.
8.) Florida State- The Seminoles will also benefit with an easy schedule along with stellar recruiting class in Tallahassee. Now we will see how the Seminoles are without Jameis Winston.
9.) Clemson- DeShaun Watson will be a force for the Tigers next year as long as he can stay healthy. The defense will need to rebuild but the Tigers will remain among the nation’s contenders for next year’s college football playoff.
10.) Mississippi State- Dak Prescott will be back and the Bulldogs will be talented. Can they win the big games though?
11.) Oregon- The Ducks have a solid system, but they have yet to win a championship. It will be even tougher without Marcus Mariota,
12.) Notre Dame- Malik Zaire will provide a new look for the Irish. Everett Golson is expected to transfer. Notre Dame will compete for a title, but will need to win out, since they are not in a conference.
13.) Arizona State- Taylor Kelly and the Sun Devils will look to build off their 10 win season.
14.) Baylor- No more Bryce Petty, but the Bears have a perfect offensive system under Art Briles. Next man up.
15.) Boise State- The Broncos will continue to use momentum of their Fiesta Bowl victory headed into next year.
16.) Arizona- The Wildcats have a lot of potential with young talent on both sides of the ball.
17.) UCLA- Brett Hundley is gone, but UCLA will still be a solid team next year.
18.) LSU- The quarterback situation in Baton Rogue is rough, but Leonard Fournette returning at running back will keep the Tigers afloat.
19.) Arkansas- The Razorbacks will be tough to deal with next year, but will need to improve on their passing game.
20.) Wisconsin- The Badgers have a better coach in Paul Chyrst and should be in the hunt for a Big Ten division title again.
21.) Missouri- The Tigers have been under appreciated in the SEC so far, and will still be good under Gary Pinkel. The Tigers will be right there again for the SEC East title.
22.) Tennessee- The Vols will be much improved with Josh Dobbs at quarterback. Butch Jones has this thing turned around in Knoxville.
23.) Auburn- The Tigers will rebuild, but should still be competitive next year.
24.) Oklahoma- A lot of question marks are surrounding Bob Stoops and his program, but they have the talent to be a solid team next season.
25.) Ole Miss- Dr. Bo has left Oxford, but Hugh Freeze is building a competitive contender in the SEC.
Next 5: Utah, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Kansas State
Urban Meyer: The New College Football King
Urban Meyer has put himself on the platform with some of the greatest coaches in college football history. Meyer has lost just three games in his three years at Ohio State and has become just the second coach besides Nick Saban to win multiple titles at FBS schools. Meyer has given Ohio State an excellent chance to repeat as national champions next year as well.
The excellence and winning culture that Meyer has produced at Ohio State is astonishing. Ohio State is solid in every way. Their offensive line was among the best in football and they have one of the most talented running backs in Ezekiel Elliot, who set a record for the most rushing yards in national championship game history. This is one of the biggest reasons for the success that Ohio State had at the quarterback position.
Urban Meyer has also done a fabulous job of developing an elite defense. The Buckeyes had the best defensive line in all of college football this year. This was fairly obvious in the title game against Oregon.
One of the bigger story lines heading into next year will be who will start at quarterback for the Buckeyes next year. Cardale Jones played incredible in his three starts, and J.T. Barrett was unstoppable up until his injury. Braxton Miller is expected to transfer to either LSU, Florida State, or Duke. It is unlikely that he will return to Ohio State with the rising surge of Barrett and Jones.
Meyer has shown that he is right there at the upper echelon of college football with Nick Saban. Each have 3 championships, and Meyer is out to get more. I personally think that he will, and the Buckeyes very well could win the national championship again next year. With most of the skill players returning, the Buckeyes will be very dangerous on offense and defense. The biggest point of note, is that Urban Meyer has yet to lose a Big Ten regular season game in his 3 years in Columbus.
Oregon-Ohio State : Oregon is tough, but do not count out Urban Meyer and his resilient Buckeyes
The national championship game is on Monday night in Dallas. I would have never guessed that Ohio State would have been in the national title at the beginning of the year. Not to mention, I think that most people counted them out of everything after losing star quarterback Braxton Miller to a season-ending injury.
How foolish of us. How can you possibly forget about the Urban Meyer factor. Meyer has only lost 3 games in his three years at OSU. J.T. Barrett was incredible as a red-shirt freshmen before getting hurt in the Michigan game. Once again, after Barrett’s injury, everyone counted the Buckeyes out of everything again.
The Buckeyes were set to take on Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis with a third string quarterback in Cardale Jones. You know the story. Everyone counted the Buckeyes out of it, including myself, and thought that there was no way possible that they would be Wisconsin. Silly us, little did we know that Cardale Jones would take off right where J.T. Barrett would have. The Bucks dominated Wiscy 59-0.
On to the college playoff now, and it is starting to get really old in Columbus. All the naysayers once again shouted that Ohio State did not even belong on the same field with Alabama, let alone even making the inaugural college football playoff. How could Ohio State honestly defeat the great Nick Saban and the SEC champs who have dominated college football the past five seasons?
Wrong. Once again, the Buckeyes proved that they have the tenacity and toughness needed for a championship football team. And it all starts with Urban Meyer. Most people, including several analysts, thought that the Buckeyes were one year away from truly being able to compete at an elite level and national championship.
As we all know, they are wrong as well. Ohio State continues to do what they do best; proving everyone wrong, and turning naysayers into believers. The system that Urban Meyer has stabilized in Columbus is truly astonishing. Meyer has developed a winning culture that all of his players have bought into. Meyer has fixed many of the key problems to the past Buckeye teams. Defense, and especially the secondary, which were both awful last year.
Ohio State now boasts one of the best defensive lines in America, lead by star Joey Bosa. Don’t forget about that secondary either. Even though it is not dominate by any means, it is much improved. The Buckeyes offense is still their bread and butter, and they have developed one of the best passing and running attacks in the country. Ohio State has the best offensive line in college football, which is another reason why each quarterback who has played under Meyer here has had tremendous success. Not to mention, the Buckeyes have some elite skill players as well.
Cardale Jones has proven that he can most certainly take Ohio State to the promised land. A national title is much sought after in Columbus. It can most certainly happen, but the Bucks better find a way to slow down Marcus Mariota, or that national championship trophy is headed out west to Eugene.
Winners and Losers of Bowl Season
Winners:
1.) The Big Ten-
How about the B1G? The core of the conference did its job and got some impressive victories. Wisconsin was able to get a huge win over an SEC West Auburn team, who many predicted the Tigers to roll over the Badgers. Melvin Gordon was incredible as always, and only ended up being 40-something yards short of Barry Sanders career rushing totals.
Michigan State got another huge win for the conference by rallying from a 20 point deficit to knock off the Big 12 co-champs Baylor. This was a great game overall, and one of the best bowl games of the entire bowl season. Connor Cook probably had one of his worst games of his career, but was still able to make huge plays when necessary. The Spartans proved to the rest of the country that the Big Ten is tough and physical. A great win for the conference and MSU.
By far the best win was Ohio State. Just about everybody counted them out of even having a chance to knock off Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Cardale Jones played as best as he possibly could have, and Ezekiel Elliot was able to establish the run on the great Bama rush defense. Ohio State’s defense showed that up front they are just as physical and tough as everyone else. The secondary bent at times, but never broke. Urban Meyer has one special group of resilient Buckeyes. This is great for the Big Ten to have a team in the national championship game, and it will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes handle the explosive Oregon Ducks.
2.) Notre Dame-
The Irish picked up a huge win over LSU in Nashville to finish the season on a much needed positive note. Notre Dame played two quarterbacks all game as Malik Zaire played outstanding in his first ever start. Everett Golson struggled much of the game, but was incredible when it mattered most. Golson lead a late drive down the field in the fourth quarter to set up the Irish for a short field goal as time expired. As bad as Notre Dame’s second half of the season was, this was a good way to end the season on a positive note.
3.) TCU-
The Horned Frogs showed why they probably should have been left in the playoff pool, as they absolutely dismantled Ole Miss 42-3. Trevone Boykin played his best game of his TCU career, and Aaron Green was phenomenal on the ground for the Horned Frogs. TCU will be ranked in the pre-season top three next year, and quite possibly could be ranked number one. I do not think that too many people would argue this.
4.) SEC East-
Who would have ever thought that the SEC East would have gotten the conference 5 of their 7 conference wins? In fact every team in the east won their bowl game giving them a 5-0 record. The main reason that this is so startling is because the SEC East was an absolute anomaly all year. Outside of Georgia, nobody really was an elite team. No, Missouri is not as good as their ranking. Tennessee was electric in their thrashing of Iowa. The Vols could be a sleeper team to win the East next year. South Carolina won, because the Ole ball coach does not do losing seasons. Florida’s defense was awesome yesterday, but their offense is so bad that they still had to hold on for dear life.
5.) Boise State-
The Broncos showed once again that they can compete with some of the nations best teams. A huge win for Boise State heading into next year, as they could be seen as a team that could potentially make the college football playoff.
Losers:
1.) SEC West-
For being called the greatest division of all time, they were pretty awful during the bowl season. LSU lost to an average Notre Dame team, Ole Miss got absolutely hammered to TCU. Ole Miss proved that over the course of the year that they were the most overrated team in the nation. Another team who was right there with them was Mississippi State. The Bulldogs could not stop the run all night against a good Georgia Tech team in the Orange Bowl. Auburn proved that they were an average team as well, finishing 8-5 on the year. As good as Auburn’s offense was, their defense was equally atrocious. Alabama’s loss to Ohio State does not show that the Tide were overrated, but it does show that they were not the best team in the country, and had no business being ranked number one in the nation.
2.) Florida State-
Yes, Florida State got absolutely destroyed by Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but the Seminoles did not help themselves with all of the turnovers they had. Dalvin Cook, Travis Rudoolph, and Bobo Wilson were all responsible for fumbling the ball and giving it over to the Ducks. Oregon capitalized on all four of FSU’s fumbles. Still, as bad as Florida State’s loss was, the Seminoles had an accomplished season. Florida State continued to put their streak all the way to 29 games, and capped off another ACC championship. I certainly think that Jameis is gone, but we will see what he ultimately decides.
3.) Baylor-
Yikes. The Bears had the ultimate downfall in the span of one quarter. The Bears lead 41-21 over Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, and the completely fell apart. You have to credit the Spartans for never giving up and showing character, but you also have to question Baylor’s coaching staff, as they made several head-scratching decisions late in the game. Overall, this game showed that Baylor did not belong in the college football playoff.
4.) Oklahoma-
The Sooners were a pre-season top five team in the nation, and finished the year 8-5. The Sooners got absolutely destroyed by Clemson 40-6 in the Russell Athletic Bowl. This is bad for OU, because they definitely regressed over the year. Bob Stoops may be on the hot seat. This is a bad football team.
5.) North Carolina-
The Tar Heels continued to show that they were an absolute awful football team yet again. UNC got hosed by a horrible Rutgers team.
