FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY:
BUTCH ON THE RISE (BARELY): The college football contributors on
cbssports.com unveiled their annual Power-5 Conference Head Football Coach’s rankings that along with Notre Dame includes 65 schools. Six writers for the site treated the process like Top-25 voting completing their ballots based on little more than “gut feeling” or as Tom Fornelli who wrote the story for the site explained:
There were no set parameters for how we would rank the coaches. We simply ranked which ones we felt were the best in the business based on what we thought makes a coach good or great.
Butch Jones moved up the ladder a few rungs from where he was slated after his second season at the UT helm. The CBS scribes view Jones as the exact midpoint of the profession at #33 which means there are exactly 32 coaches they view as better and 32 they view as worse. Butch moved up four spots from his 37th spot ranking of 2015.
Here is what the story said about the Vols head man:
The Vols have improved by two wins in each of Jones’ last two seasons despite some devastating losses and if that winning trend continues in 2016 we’re going to see Jones in the Top-25. Again IF that trend continues
Jones didn’t fare as well among his SEC brethren viewed by the CBS boys as only the 9th best coach in the league. He ranked above Barry Odum (62), Derek Mason (57), Mark Stoops (56), Kirby Smart (46), and Will Muschamp (44).
Butch was ranked behind Kevin Sumlin (32), Dan Mullen (31), Jim McElwain (27), Brett Bielema (22), Hugh Freeze (21), Gus Malzahn (13), Les Miles (7) and Nick Saban (1)
The writer’s Top-10 were 1-Saban, 2-Urban Meyer, 3-Gary Patterson, 4-Bob Stoops, 5-Mark Dantonio, 6-Jimbo Fisher, 7-Les Miles, 8-Dabo Swinney, 9-David Shaw, 10-Jim Harbaugh
Other rankings of note: Penn State’s James Franklin 41 (Last Year-33), Va Tech’s Justin Fuente 38 (NR), UNC’s Larry Fedora 35 (44), N’Western’s Pat Fitzgerald 34 (46), UCLA’s Jim Mora 29 (34), Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez 24 (23), Miami’s Mark Richt 18 (7), Duke’s David Cutcliffe 15 (32), ND’s Brian Kelly 12 (13) and Baylor’s Art Briles 11 (11)
Using absolutely
no parameters I offer the following unsolicited opinions of the poll:
-My Top-5 would be 1-Saban, 2-Meyer, 3-Patterson, 4-Harbaugh, 5-Dantonio
-Butch was slightly underrated both from a national and league perspective. I would probably place him just outside the Top-25 nationally and in a tie for 6th with Jim McElwain trailing Saban, Mullen, Freeze, Miles and Bielema in the SEC.
-Underrated coaches included Cal’s Sonny Dykes (53), Oregon State’s Gary Andersen (52), Mullen (31), Kansas State’s Bill Snyder (17), and Harbaugh (10)
-Those slightly overrated were Smart (46); Sumlin (32), Virginia’s Bronco Mendenhall (26), Louisville’s Bobby Petrino (25), Utah’s Kyle Wittingham (23), Okla State’s Mike Gundy (20),) , Les Miles (7) and Bob Stoops (4)
-Those vastly overrated were: Muschamp (44), Texas’ Charlie Strong (28), Iowa’s Kirk -freakin- Ferentz (19) and Malzahn (17)
MY STADIUM RECORDS: Mike Strange wrote an excellent piece about Tennessee’s history of playing in iconic stadiums outside the realm of the SEC in Wednesday’s (5-4)
News Sentinel. It got me thinking of how privileged I’ve been to have seen the Vols in action in several of the venues referenced in the article. I was fortunate not only to have seen games at these historic locations but also in the outcomes of the contests I chose to attend. Here is a brief rundown:
NOTRE DAME STADIUM: I am 1-0 with my only visit being the never-to-be-forgotten Miracle in South Bend game in 1991.
ROSE BOWL: 1-0 After watching Peyton and the 1997 Vols take down the UCLA Bruins
COTTON BOWL: 1-0 The world famous Snapper and I ended a terrific trip viewing the Vols dismantling of Texas A&M on January 1st 2005. I left the venerable venue with no clue of the calamity that would shortly befall Tennessee Football
ORANGE BOWL: 0-1 This should probably count as two losses as the Corn Huskers put a Nebrass-kickin on the Vols in the Orange Bowl after the 1997 season
SUN DEVIL STADIUM: 1-0 Saw the Vols accomplish something few have seen; a National Championship.
A connected flash back to last week’s discussion about personal sports regrets I hate that I never saw the Vols play at Grant Field or in the Sugar Bowl whether it was held at Tulane Stadium or the Super Dome. I also kick myself for failing to attend recent contests at Autzen Stadium in Oregon or Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. I’m pretty certain my life expectancy will get in the way of ever seeing the Vols in action again at either location;
BLOGGER’S CRACKIN ON YOUR CO-HOST’S SPOILER ALERT: I will almost certainly never get to see games at renowned stadiums if Tony’s “white flag” scheduling wishes are put into practice. I’ll be lucky to venture beyond state lines.
Though SEC stadiums were not included in Strange’s write-up I have also been to all the venues within the conference with the exception of Arkansas, Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas A&M. I have little or no desire to go to Fayetteville or Columbia but will most certainly see the other two in the coming seasons. Here is how I have fared on trips within the SEC
LEGION FIELD (BIRMINGHAM): 2-?-1 Saw the Vols win in 1983 and 1995 and tie in 1993. I have suppressed in my mind how many times I have driven back with the sad losing score and “Nothing Sucks Like a Big Orange” misspelled on bed sheets hung over interstate overpasses between Birmingham and Chattanooga.
BRYANT-DENNY (Tuscaloosa): 1-0 Only went in 1999. Think I’ll let that be my one and only visit.
JORDAN-HARE: 1-?-1 Saw us beat the Tigers on the way to the National Championship in 1998 and certainly had no clue we would win it all after Jamal Lewis went down with an injury that day. Was there for the tie in 1990 that felt like a loss and countless other times when the results weren’t even that good.
TIGER STADIUM (Baton Rouge): 0-1 As Dewey Warren would say, I was there the day Rohan Davey “ridiculed” our secondary in 2000.
VAUGHT-HEMINGWAY (Oxford): 0-1 Speaking of ridiculed that’s exactly what I did all the way home concerning Monte Kiffin’s ability to defend the spread after watching Dexter McCluster run for one million yards against his defense in 2009.
SANFORD STADIUM (Athens) 3-0 Saw the Vols win a thriller in 1992 then take the Dawgs to the woodshed in 94 and 96. I can still hear Larry Munson’s gravelly voice from 94 concerning James “Little Man” Stewart, Aaron Hayden and Mose Phillips,” they keep handing it to those BIG BACKS and they’re poundin, and poundin, and poundin and they’re running us out of our own house”
BEN HILL GRIFFIN (Hell) 0-?-0. A decade of ass-kickings and fan hooliganism was enough for me. Haven’t been since 1999 and won’t go again.
WILLIAMS-BRICE (Columbia, SC): 3-2-0 Saw the bitter loss in 1992 and Tyler Bray’s coming out party in 2010 (24-38). Saw wins in 94, 96 and 98
COMMONWEALTH (Lexington) ?-0-0 Easy trip and easy win as long as Derek Dooley is not involved
VANDERBILT STADIUM (Nashville) ?-0-0 See above
MLB MENTIONS:
-The Cubs continue to plow through the opposition. Their three-game sweep of the NL Central second-place Pirates in Pittsburgh to the tune of a 20-4 cumulative score was quite impressive.
-Momentary National League supremacy is up for grabs over the weekend when the above-mentioned 20-6 Cubs take on the 19-8 Washington Nationals in Wrigley
-The Yankees are on pace to finish the season at 58-104. My guess is either Brian Cashman or one of the genius Steinbrenner brothers will be the next Athletic Director at the University of Tennessee.
-David Ortiz looks as if he is on the verge of a Mariano Rivera/Derek Jeter farewell tour. Big Papi is raking at .311 with 6 HRs, 11 doubles and 22 RBIs.
-The White Sox (19-9), Mariners (16-11) and Phillies (16-13) continue to be MLB’s pleasant surprises. The Astros (10-18) and Yankees (9-16) are both to this point huge disappointments.
FINAL FRIDAY THOUGHT: I thought Tony was a bit harsh toward Sports Illustrated on today’s show. Who better than Caitlyn Jenner to grace the cover of the magazine’s initial Granny-Tranny Swimsuit Edition?
