Does College Football Need the “Pirate Playoff?”

Jon Joseph Editorials

Mike Leach, The Pirate, was roundly criticized when he suggested that college football (CFB) should have a 64-team playoff. But is this idea of his really off course? With Texas A&M slipping Oregon the weenie late at night, Ducks fans have been treated to two glorified scrimmages, with another cupcake on the menu this Saturday. My guess: Oregon’s season ticket …

Oregon and Pac-12: Is it TIME TO ABANDON SHIP?

Jon Joseph Editorials

If Pac-12 Football were listed on the NYSE, I am certain that investment guru Charles Fischer, among a host of others, would rate this stock not as a sell, but as a sell now! As happened to the Soviet Union union during the Ronald Reagan era, the current college football (“CFB”) arms race has the Pac-12 is being spent into oblivion by conference foes …

I Now Pronounce You Big 12 & Pac-12; You May Kiss the Bride

Jon Joseph Editorials

Dear Reader, the following was my response to a suggestion that all teams including Florida International, play in a postseason bowl game and a criticism of the ridiculously bloated post season. Florida International University, Bowls for everyone? All 128 schools play a post season game? An interesting idea, but if there were a players’ union or at least player representation in the decision …

Saban Coerces 2017 Najee Harris, “Go East, Young Man”

Jon Joseph Editorials

If the nation’s 2017 No. 1 recruit, running back Najee Harris from Antioch, California, stays true to his verbal commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide, he will follow QB Blake Barnett as another recent top-rated California high school football player opting to play for St. Nick Saban. Indeed, Blake was “committed” to Notre Dame and then to Oregon (for a nano-second) before he tripped to Alabama, was seduced by …

SEC (Southeastern Chickens) Renounce Roosting in Autzen

Jon Joseph Editorials

May rabies ravage the Dawgs and anthrax annihilate the Aggies! It’s not as if Oregon‘s Athletic Directors haven’t made a valiant effort. The Ducks once had home engagements scheduled with the Georgia Bull Dogs and the Texas A&M Aggies, only to be left at the altar by that castrated, chicken whip, canine University of Georgia, as well as being dumped …

Playoff Committee Ignores SOS, Good Ship Pac-12 Sinks

Jon Joseph Editorials

In 2015, the College Football Playoff Committee (Committee) seemingly paid no attention to strength of schedule (SOS.) The Committee, by design or lack thereof, has no standard metric to judge a team’s SOS. Accordingly, overall wins in 2015 trumped any evaluation of the quality of a team’s victories against  both out of conference (OOC) and in-conference opponents. 11-1 Oklahoma with a bad …

SEC Wins Again Over Pac-12 Due to Incompetence of Scott/Guerrero

Jon Joseph Editorials

I was 10 years old in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik. I can tell you with certainty that Uncle Sammy’s reaction to being eclipsed technologically by the Red Menace was far more tepid than the SEC’s response to college football (CFB) satellite camps. The U.S. turned to NASA to bridge the gap. The SEC …

The Dandy Dozen: Projections for the 2016 Season

Jon Joseph Editorials

The 2016 preseason Top 25 college football (CFB) polls, including ESPN’s FPI rankings that we reviewed last week, are pounding down the Pac-12. In the four ‘big time’ polls, the putative 2016 champion Stanford Cardinal is ranked as follows: ESPN 8; FOX Sports 11; Sports Illustrated 11 and CBS 14. The Oregon Ducks are not ranked higher than 20 in any of these polls. …

ESPN’s Evil Prediction Machine versus the Pac-12

Jon Joseph Editorials

Any college football (CFB) fan with anything more than a passing interest in the game knows that it is next to impossible to escape CFB’s ESPN media supremacy including The Worldwide Leader’s ubiquitous  prediction machine, the Football Power Index (FPI). In the near future I will be offering up my preseason 2016 CFB Dandy Dozen; the 12 teams that I believe …

An Issue Oregon Football Can’t Duck

Jon Joseph Editorials

Head trauma, including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) damage and player safety, in general, are major areas of concern today in both the NFL and in college football (CFB). With parents and guardians concerned about head injuries, participation in youth football continues to decline. In response, a number of youth leagues have eliminated tackling in both practice and in games. The Ivy League recently eliminated live tackling in …

Larry Scott: Either Lead or Get Out of the Way

Jon Joseph Editorials

Mr. Lawrence Scott Commissioner, Pacific 12 Conference 360 3rd Street, 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 Dear Mr. Commissioner, As a graduate of John Harvard’s University, I am reasonably certain that somewhere along your educational path you studied the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. The law that tells you ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ has to be one of …

A Tournament Bracket Based on Geography? LUDICROUS!

Jon Joseph Editorials

Perhaps Tulsa should not be in the field? Perhaps Monmouth, South Carolina, St. Bonnies and St. Mary’s should be in? But it’s not as if any team left out is a true threat to be cutting down the nets in Houston. And it is hard to feel sorry for ‘mid-major’ conference regular season champions left out because they did not also win their …