Welcome to the fourth edition for the junior season of The Hangover, where I recap the previous weekend in college football. This week, The Hangover comes to you from Athens, Georgia, where I watched the Bulldogs squeak by Notre Dame 23-17 in what turned out to be a great game. It was a fun weekend with lots of insanity struck around the country. Let’s dive in to Week Four!
On Saturday in Athens, I was lucky enough to find myself in the same place as Verne Lundquist. We chatted for a few minutes about other football related topics, and then I mentioned Michigan losing to Wisconsin 35-14. Verne just shook his head.
“Why don’t you think it’s working?” I asked, voicing the same question many dressed in maize and blue over the weekend surely wanted to know. Verne took off his glasses and cleaned them a bit with a cloth before looking back up at me.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”
When you search “Jim Harbaugh” now, two of the first articles that come up have headlines like “Michigan is a mess” and “Will Jim Harbaugh ever win big at Michigan?” Finding Coach Khaki’s buyout ($15 million) is easy because multiple stories are including it near the lede since Saturday’s debacle in Madison. It’s crazy to see this and not remember what the reaction was like when Harbaugh was hired by Michigan in 2014. Articles popped up praising the Wolverines’ athletic department for making a bold, smart hire that would turn the Big Ten into “a powerhouse league again” (that comes from The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel back when he worked at Fox Sports).
And why wouldn’t everyone agree with the hire? Harbaugh had engineered a miraculous turnaround at Stanford before heading to San Francisco and making a Super Bowl and three consecutive NFC Championship Games. He was a savant, a genius, and, most importantly, a Michigan Man. He fit the bill of what you need to be in order to have success in Ann Arbor. Now, four weeks into season five, the question has to be asked: is it time for Michigan to move on?
Here are some Michigan stats during Jim Harbaugh’s tenure:
~0-4 against Ohio State
~1-9 vs. top-10 opponents
~0-7 as an underdog
~1-6 on the road against ranked opponents
~Five losses by at least 21 points, including three of their last five games
Harbaugh has yet to lead Michigan to a division title in the Big Ten, and the Wolverines really haven’t sniffed the playoff other than in 2016 (I guess you could count 2018, but those last two games were pretty awful), when Ohio State converted a fourth down and then scored in overtime to hand their rivals a second loss.
Coming into the year, word spread that Michigan would “revamp” the offense. Josh Gattis had come in! Things will change, Michigan fans lamented. That was a lie. The offense looks more lost than ever. Shea Patterson is proving to be just an average quarterback, not the special athlete some expected coming out of high school. Gattis’ play-calling (the first year he’s actually called the plays) just isn’t working. The defense is constantly getting gashed, dating back to the end of last year (remember when Feleipe Franks lit up the Wolverines?). When I texted a Michigan fan about the game, she put the Jim Harbaugh Era into a few sharp, harsh words: “A very expensive, failed experiment.”
Will Jim Harbaugh get fired? No. Michigan’s athletic department likes him and, let’s be honest, Coach Khaki is not letting somebody fire him. He’ll bolt for the NFL before that happens. Should Harbaugh be fired? I think so. I genuinely do. Michigan hired this man to win Big Ten Championships and compete for national titles. Last season was the first time the Wolverines finished higher than third in the East Division since Harbaugh was hired. I don’t have an answer for why Jim Harbaugh isn’t working at Michigan, but I know this–it should be. It isn’t and now Michigan’s power brokers have to ask themselves a tough question: do they want a coach who will go 10-3 every year but never really be in a hunt for a title, or do they want more? The answer to that question will determine whether Harbaugh is back roaming the sidelines in Ann Arbor in 2020.
More Week Four Thoughts
-As stated earlier, I was in Athens for Georgia-Notre Dame over the weekend and, despite the continued narrative about the Irish being unable to win “the big one,” I came away pretty impressed with Brian Kelly’s squad. It’s clear Notre Dame has some deficiencies (notably at running back and offensive line), but I thought this team played pretty well. The Fighting Irish front seven really manhandled Georgia’s offensive line in the first half, and Notre Dame has some special skill players. Seeing Brian Kelly’s team in-person makes me think that this is a squad that can win out and finish 11-1. That’s probably not good enough to make the CFP, but it’s still a really, really strong season.
-Auburn is a very tough team to evaluate right now. In my opinion, the Tigers are a good team that has a fantastic unit (defensive line) that makes them appear to be a great team. The Auburn offense isn’t anything special, but they don’t totally beat themselves and score just enough points to win. Do I think Auburn is anything more than a nine-win team? No. I still see three losses coming somewhere down the track. Gus Malzahn may have bought himself another year with this 4-0 start, but don’t go proclaiming the Tigers as a legit SEC West threat yet.
-Our national nightmare is over a little earlier than expected, and that’s totally fine. Pittsburgh beat UCF 35-34 on Saturday behind the “Pitt Special” (more on that below), and now the Knights’ attempt to roll through the regular season undefeated yet again has been foiled. As I lamented last season, I wish I could pull for UCF. It’s a great story, and they’re obviously a very talented team, but something about Danny White’s various comments over the years and the overall vibe around this school rubs me the wrong way. So yeah, I’m a little glad we won’t have to talk about UCF in the national picture anymore. I’m excited to talk about the AAC race instead, because that conference looks pretty even across the board.
-UCLA and Washington State was everything. Of all the Pac-12 After Dark games, this was the Pac-12 After Darkiest. I mean, a 67-63 victory for the previously winless, Chip Kelly-led Bruins against Mike Leach and quarterback Anthony Gordon, who threw for nine touchdowns in defeat? It doesn’t get better. When you get back from working a long Saturday at 2 am, the reaction is to go to sleep. I wanted to, but this game wouldn’t let me, and I’m not mad about it in the slightest.
Gray’s Top Ten
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Georgia
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Ohio State
- Wisconsin
- Texas
- Florida
- Auburn
The top six remains the same. I like that order, so until some of them play or one of them loses, things probably won’t change there. Wisconsin moves up to number seven after the dismantling of Michigan. The Badgers didn’t allow a point for the first ten quarters of the season, but is incredible. Texas stays at eight after a good win over a tricky Oklahoma State bunch, and Florida remains at nine after a ho-hum 31-point win over Tennessee (yes, beating the Vols that badly is now considered normal). Finally, Auburn moves into my top ten. I still think Auburn would lose to every team above them on a neutral field, but it’s impossible to ignore a team with a resume that includes wins over Oregon and Texas A&M away from home.
Coach of the Week
Pat Narduzzi! You got us bad, man. Last week, Coach Narduzzi won Idiot of the Week for his inexplicable decision to kick a field goal from the one down a touchdown against Penn State. This week, not only did Narduzzi go for the touchdown on fourth and two from the three against UCF, but he did so with a trick play called the “Pitt Special.” Genius!
I don’t think Pittsburgh is a particularly special team. They won’t win the division this year in the ACC either, but they do have an impressive knack of beating teams they have no business beating (Miami in 2017, Clemson in 2016). Congrats, Coach Narduzzi. You lulled us all to sleep last week just to shock the world this week. Best example of “playing the long game” I’ve seen in some time.
Idiot of the Week
I’m not overly familiar with how the Pac-12 schedules football games and what the TV contracts suggest, but things need to be corrected. To Commissioner Larry Scott, I have one message:
STOP SCHEDULING YOUR BEST, RANKED TEAMS TO PLAY ROAD GAMES ON A FRIDAY!
When you start a season, it’s not hard to have a bit of an idea which teams will compete for your conference title. This year, one of those teams was Utah, a trendy CFP dark horse pick. Unfortunately, those hopes are dashed because Utah lost at USC 30-23 on a Friday night. Why is this game happening on a Friday? The ranked teams who’ve played this time slot over the years always lose! For example…
-In 2018, undefeated Washington State lost to 1-2 USC on the road 39-36 in Week Four
-In 2017, #20 Stanford needed a late touchdown to beat 1-6 Oregon State 15-14 on the road in Week Nine.
-Also in 2017, Washington State upset #5 USC 30-27 in Week Five. Two weeks later, those same Cougars, up to number eight in the polls, lost on the road to 3-3 California 37-3.
Please, Pac-12, if you want to make the playoff, stop scheduling these games. You’re just hurting yourself.
150 Corner
Auburn’s game against Texas A&M took me back to some of these classic we’ve seen between these two since the Aggies joined the SEC. The home team has only won once in that span, but we’ve gotten a few dandies (and multiple examples of the lower-ranked team in the game ruining the other’s season). Here are some of the best:
Random Rankings
Yes, we love all things here at RR HQ, but we love very little more than food. Luckily, in our various travels around the SEC over the years, we’ve had the honor of eating at multiple superb restaurants around the South. Now, we haven’t been everywhere, but we’ve hit a lot of the best spots in the SEC. If there’s a place we need to go, let us know in the comments. For now, here’s our Random Ranking of SEC restaurants. Next time you’re in these cities, go eat at these places and thank The Hangover later.
- Good Bull BBQ, College Station, Texas
- The Little Dooey, Starkville, Mississippi
- Eddie’s Calzones, Athens, Georgia
- Booches Billiard Hall, Columbia, Missouri
- Last Resort Grill, Athens, Georgia
SEC Power Rankings
The gap between the top half and the bottom half of the league continues to widen. Is Chad Morris on the hot seat at Arkansas? It’s as bad as ever in Fayetteville. Here’s how The Hangover sees things stacking up in the conference where it just means more.
- Alabama (LW: 1)
- Georgia (2)
- LSU (3)
- Auburn (4)
- Florida (6)
- Missouri (7)
- Texas A&M (5)
- Mississippi State (10)
- Kentucky (8)
- South Carolina (9)
- Ole Miss (11)
- Vanderbilt (12)
- Tennessee (13)
- Arkansas (14)
So Who’s Ready for Next Week?
Here’s what’s on deck for Week Five:
#12 Penn State at Maryland, 7 CT Friday on FS1
Arizona State at #15 California, 9:30 CT Friday on ESPN
Texas Tech at #6 Oklahoma, 11 am CT
#1 Clemson at North Carolina, 2:30 CT on ABC
Ole Miss at #2 Alabama, 2:30 CT on CBS
#18 Virginia at #10 Notre Dame, 2:30 CT on NBC
#21 USC at #17 Washington, 2:30 CT on FOX
Mississippi State at #7 Auburn, 6 CT on ESPN
#24 Kansas State at Oklahoma State, 6 CT on ESPN+
#5 Ohio State at Nebraska, 6:30 CT on ABC
Washington State at #19 Utah, 9 CT on FS1
That’s it for The Hangover! We’ll be in Tuscaloosa this week for Alabama and Ole Miss. Until next weekend, college football fans.