Connect with us

Published

on

There are two types of anger in any given walk of life. The first is instant outrage, like when you get a look at the first College Football Playoff rankings and realize the committee applied one line of logic to Ohio State and another to Michigan and seemed entirely unfazed by that seeming paradox.

The second type is the long simmering furor that builds over time, becoming all the more irrational and indignant the longer it’s left untended — like your partner failing to hang the toilet paper roll the right way (loose end in front) or the committee leaving the top eight teams unchanged from week to week in spite of the aforementioned paradoxical justifications even when we’ve calmly explained its mistake and given it ample time to adjust particularly when, say, Ohio State struggled against Rutgers or when Washington notched another solid win and — sorry, we blacked out for a moment there due to sheer outrage.

Anyway, the second College Football Playoff rankings are upon us, and rather than rehash similar frustrations from a week earlier amidst a relatively unchanged top 25, let’s dig deeper, truly connect with our super ego, and unleash our hostilities upon the committee anew.

Let’s compare resumes for a moment.

Team A: 9-0, No. 2 strength of record, No. 3 average win probability, No. 3 overall offense in SP+ with wins over Nos. 4, 17 and 27 in SP+ by a total of 20 points.

Team B: 9-0, No. 1 strength of record, No. 11 average win probability, No. 3 overall defense in SP+ with wins over Nos. 5, 10 and 28 in SP+ by a total of 25 points.

Pretty similar resumes, right?

You probably know Team A is Washington, fresh off a double-digit win over USC that may have raised a red flag or two about the Huskies’ defense.

Team B, of course, is Ohio State, fresh off a double-digit win over Rutgers that may have raised a red flag or two about the Buckeyes’ offense.

Do you lean Ohio State between the two? We can see that. But would you say there’s a four-spot difference between the two?

Washington’s win over the Trojans actually helped the Huskies leapfrog Florida State in ESPN’s Strength of Record metric, but it didn’t sway the committee (the same committee that, inexplicably, thought USC was the No. 20 team in the country just a week ago).

Now here’s a fun what-if: Ohio State loses to Michigan in the regular-season finale in a close game, then sits back and watches as Washington loses to Oregon by 10 in the Pac-12 title game.

Who’s getting into the playoff? Two Pac-12 teams or two Big Ten teams?

I think we know the answer to that. (And not just because all of them will be in the Big Ten soon enough.)


In any other years, we’d be applauding the committee for sticking to its guns and keeping big, bad Alabama below seven other teams, in spite of the fact that Alabama is, well, Alabama. Typically the committee’s chief responsibility is to reverse engineer Alabama’s narrative, then rank accordingly. This year, it has afforded grace to each undefeated team, rewarded Oregon for playing Washington tough and beating Utah, and credited Texas for its head-to-head win over the Crimson Tide way back in Week 2.

So, kudos, right?

This time, we actually think maybe Alabama is being overlooked a bit. (Hey, you, stop throwing things at us! We’ll explain!)

Yes, head-to-head should matter, and the fact is Texas beat Alabama. But that’s only part of the story.

That game came at a very precarious time for the Crimson Tide as they were still trying to figure out their QB situation. Well, if you watched Jalen Milroe in last week’s 42-28 win over LSU, I think we can officially say, problem solved.

Or how about this comparison?

Team A: 5 wins vs. Quad 1 (i.e. top 35) teams in FPI, with its lone loss coming to a top-10 team

Team B: 5 wins vs. Quad 1 (i.e. top 35) teams in FPI, with its lone loss coming to a top-10 team.

Clearly a good comparison … except Team A is Alabama, and Team B is Oregon and Texas combined.

Indeed, it’s almost been accepted as fact that Oregon is the best one-loss team in the country, despite the fact the Ducks’ only impressive win came against Utah, a team playing a safety at tailback and a former walk-on at QB. The next-best item on their resume is a loss.

Now look at Alabama: 14-point wins vs. No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 19 LSU.

Moreover, just consider the trend line. This, of course, will be the fun of the 12-team playoff, when the hottest teams will have a true advantage in the postseason, but it’s worth appreciating now, too.

If the playoff started tomorrow, and your favorite team was in, who’s the team you’d least want to play in the semifinal?

We’ll wait, but the answer is Alabama.


It’s pretty clear everyone believes Louisville has been lucky to face a weak schedule, showed its true colors in a horrible loss to Pitt, and is without question the worst of the one-loss teams.

Well, the Cardinals did lose to Pitt, and that’s a genuine blemish considering how bad the Panthers have been. Never mind that Louisville actually out-gained Pitt by nearly 150 yards or that its best offensive weapon, running back Jawhar Jordan, got hurt early on and had just two carries or that three turnovers were the real difference in the game. It was still a bad loss.

But how about the wins?

That easy schedule actually hasn’t been such a cakewalk. Louisville has five wins over Power 5 opponents with a winning record. Ohio State is the only other team with as many. Louisville has four wins over Power 5 foes 6-3 or better. Only Oklahoma State Cowboys has as many. Those four wins over 6-3 (or better) P5 foes came by an average of 17 points.

And Louisville ranks 18th in offensive efficiency and 11th in defensive efficiency so far this year. The only teams to rank higher in both? Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State.

Put some respect on the Cardinals’ name.


4. The Group of 5

Blame Air Force for this one. Last week, the committee afforded the Falcons the No. 25 spot and they promptly coughed up six turnovers in a brutal loss to Army . So, this week, the lone school from outside the Power 5 is Tulane at No. 23.

Fresno State at 8-1 and winners of 17 of its past 18? Unranked.

Liberty at 9-0 with one of the nation’s most underrated QB performances of the season? Unranked.

Toledo at 8-1 with its lone loss coming on the road to Illinois in Week 1 by two points? Unranked.

James Madison? Not even allowed to be ranked!

And yet, here’s Iowa, whose game film is used to quell prison riots, checks in at No. 22.


The Scarlet Knights have two quality losses against top-three teams. If they were in the SEC, they’d be ranked 12th right now.

Continue Reading

Sports

NHL coaching carousel: Tiers of candidates for the five open jobs

Published

on

By

NHL coaching carousel: Tiers of candidates for the five open jobs

This NHL season might have been the greatest example of, “Well, you can’t fire the players.”

Going back to Sept. 2023, there were 13 coaching changes made in the NHL. Stretch it back to Jan. 2023, and 19 of the league’s 32 teams have changed coaches.

After Travis Green signed on with the Ottawa Senators this week, that left five current coaching vacancies in the NHL: The New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. The Leafs joined the list on Thursday when they fired Sheldon Keefe.

One wild card this cycle is Joel Quenneville, who resigned in 2021 as Florida Panthers coach. His resignation came after an independent investigation into how the Chicago Blackhawks handled a sexual assault allegation in 2010 against video coach Brad Aldrich that implicated Quenneville and other then-Blackhawks leaders for their inaction in the case. One NHL source tells me they wouldn’t be surprised to see him return next season if a team petitioned the NHL to allow it.

To say there are other options would be an understatement. Here’s a look at the other head-coaching options inside and outside the NHL, from the new stars to the trusty veterans to the out-of-the-box choices.

Continue Reading

Sports

Leafs fire coach Keefe after first-round exit

Published

on

By

Leafs fire coach Keefe after first-round exit

The Toronto Maple Leafs relieved Sheldon Keefe of head-coaching duties on Thursday.

According to a statement from the club, a search for Keefe’s replacement will begin immediately.

“Today’s decision was difficult,” said Leafs’ general manager Brad Treliving. “Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man; however, we determined a new voice is needed to help the team push through to reach our ultimate goal. We thank Sheldon for his hard work and dedication to the organization over the last nine years, and wish him and his family all the very best.”

No determination has been made about the rest of Toronto’s coaching staff, which includes assistants Manny Malhotra, Dean Chynoweth and Guy Boucher.

Keefe has two years remaining on a contract extension Treliving signed him to in August, which doesn’t officially kick in until the 2024-25 season.

Treliving is scheduled to meet with the media alongside president Brendan Shanahan and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley on Friday.

Keefe was promoted to Toronto’s head-coaching role in November 2019 to replace the fired Mike Babcock. Keefe had previously been coach of the Leafs American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies since 2015 and guided them to a Calder Cup championship in 2018.

Through 4½ NHL seasons, Keefe led the Leafs to a 212-97-40 record — with consecutive seasons of 50 or more wins — and playoff appearances in each full campaign. Toronto never found postseason success under Keefe though, bowing out of the first round in three of the past four seasons, including in this year’s first-round loss to Boston in Game 7 overtime.

That defeat in particular appeared to seal Keefe’s fate. The Leafs were down 3-1 in the series and battled back to force a decisive final contest, but Toronto’s perennial underachievement forced management into making a change.

This is the first major adjustment for Treliving since he joined Toronto’s staff last May. Shanahan had parted ways with former GM Kyle Dubas — who originally hired Keefe to replace Babcock after also bringing Keefe to the organization when he was GM of the Marlies’ prior to that — and introduced Treliving in the role shortly after. Treliving opted to extend Keefe before last season began, touting Keefe’s “clear vision and direction for where the team needs to go.”

Now the hunt for Keefe’s successor will get underway in what could be a busy offseason for the Leafs. Toronto has key skaters including Auston Matthews and William Nylander signed to long-term contracts. They want to capitalize on that core with success right now, particularly in the playoffs. The other pieces of the Leafs’ designated Core Four — Mitch Marner and John Tavares — will be entering the final year of their current deals this season. Both would be eligible to sign extensions in Toronto on July 1.

Continue Reading

Sports

Fight night flicks: Bruins, Panthers square off multiple times in Game 2

Published

on

By

Fight night flicks: Bruins, Panthers square off multiple times in Game 2

As evidenced by Game 2 of their Eastern Conference second-round series, there’s no love lost between the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins.

With Florida’s dominant 6-1 win on Wednesday, the series is even at one game apiece. The Panthers scored six straight goals after the Bruins took a 1-0 lead, the most unanswered goals scored in a playoff game in franchise history.

A whopping 136 penalty minutes were handed out in the third period. It was the first playoff game in which both teams accumulated over 70 penalty minutes since 2015.

The Bruins had 87 penalty minutes, their most in a playoff game since 1988 — 79 came in the third period. Meanwhile, 67 of the Panthers’ 71 penalty minutes came in the third period.

Both teams combined for 17 penalties in the final frame, highlighted by a multiplayer brawl that included a fight between the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk and Bruins’ David Pastrnak.

While the numbers certainly jump off the score sheet, these photos tell the tale of the intense third period.


Continue Reading

Trending