CFP Championship; Coaching Carousel; Stanford Staffing; Portal Updates
The college football season concludes tonight with the CFP National Championship game between Indiana and Miami. This is not a matchup anyone expected for the title game. When the season started back in late August, all the pundits and experts had tabbed Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Clemson as the four top contenders for the national title. Only one of them (Ohio State) even made it into the playoff. It's become increasingly clear in the era of NIL and the transfer port
Gary Cavalli
4 days ago
Wide Open NFL Playoffs; College FB's Ups & Downs
The great thing about the NFL playoffs, which began over the weekend, is that there is no clear-cut favorite. No Indiana. The perennial favorites--the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens --didn't even qualify this year. The defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles , were just eliminated by the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers. It's the most wide open field I can remember in all of my years following the NFL, as evidenced by the down-to-the-wire nature of most o
Gary Cavalli
Jan 12
The Death of Truth and Decency
Tonight marks the first semi-final game of the College Football Playoff. Suddenly it doesn't seem so important. Yesterday morning, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was behind the wheel of a Honda SUV on a residential Minneapolis street. Her car momentarily blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) trucks. After two agents got out of the truck, one walked up to the SUV and yanked on the driver’s door handle, ordering her to get out, yelling, “Get out of the car. Get the
Gary Cavalli
Jan 8
CFP Semi-final Preview; Quick Fixes; Help Wanted
And then there were four. Not the four most of us expected, to be sure. In the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, three teams that have won four of the last five national championships and seven of the 11 playoffs that have been held- -Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama --all were eliminated. Two upsets, including one of the best games in recent memory, and two routs set the stage for this week's semi-final matchups pitting No. 5 Oregon against No. 1 Indiana in the Peach
Gary Cavalli
Jan 5
CFP Quarter-finals; Mike White; Random Thoughts on Coach Whit, Ebuka, Warriors, 49ers
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. So far the non-playoff bowls we recommended have all been thrillers: Hawaii 35, Cal 31 in the Hawaii Bowl; BYU 25, Georgia Tech 21 in the Pop Tarts Bowl; Virginia 13, Missouri 7 in the Gator Bowl; and North Texas 49, San Diego State 47 in the New Mexico Bowl. Bowl games still have a place in the post-season landscape, particularly if the stars come out to play. They're good for TV viewing and great for the players... more meaningful than
Gary Cavalli
Dec 29, 2025
Cal Wins Big; HeisMendoza; Toughest Job; Paul Wiggin; Bowl Viewing Guide
Cal football will be in good hands with former Golden Bear defensive lineman Tosh Lupoi as its new head coach. Lupoi is quite possibly the best recruiter in college football. He's also earned his stripes as a strong defensive coordinator at Alabama, Washington and Oregon , after earlier serving as an assistant at Cal. His appointment is rightfully being viewed by Bear alums with more enthusiasm than Stanford 's recent hire of Tavita Pritchard is being acknowledged by Card
Gary Cavalli
Dec 15, 2025
Playoff Selection Misery; Tavita's Debut; New Euphemism; White House War Crimes
The less said about yesterday's College Football Playoff Selections the better, but suffice to say they blew it. Notre Dame, winners of 10 straight games, and losers of two games to quality teams by a total of four points, got left out. Alabama , losers of three games, including an embarrassing early loss to Florida State and a humiliation by Georgia in the SEC Championship game, got in. Miami , which couldn't even qualify for the championship game in the weak ACC, got in
Gary Cavalli
Dec 8, 2025
Kiffin's Sordid Drama; Stanford's UnLucky Choice; White House Bully Bloy
Lane Kiffin and LSU were made for each other. The stench from Baton Rouge over the last few weeks has been overwhelming, given the firing of head coach Brian Kelly, the messy involvement of Governor Jeff Landry , the forced resignation of AD Scott Woodward, the ludicrous claim Kelly hadn't been "officially terminated" and subsequent attempt to change his firing to "for cause" to justify not paying his $53 million buyout. Not to mention the hiring of a new AD who was onc
Gary Cavalli
Dec 1, 2025
Stanford's Next Head Coach: Who Should It Be?
It's decision time for Andrew Luck . The former Stanford star, Heisman trophy runner-up, and NFL Pro Bowl quarterback, is now the face of Stanford football. So much so that the school is giving Luck bobbleheads to fans at the Cardinal's season finale with Notre Dame this Saturday. And Saturday's sideline interview during Big Game, when Luck reacted to a fumble return for a Stanford TD, may be the best you'll ever see on television. "Ball! Go, Jay, Go! Go, Jay, Go!" Luck yelle
Gary Cavalli
Nov 24, 2025
SEC Rules; Former Stanford (and Cal) Stars Shine; Laney Tragedy
As a lifelong Pac-8/10/12 guy, who always felt West Coast teams were undervalued in the national media, it pains me to say this, but 12 weeks into the college football season, it's become apparent that the SEC will dominate this year's playoff field. Deservedly so. Next season, as we've reported on several occasions, the Big Ten wants a guarantee of four spots in an expanded 16, 24 or 28-team playoff for itself and the SEC. However, the SEC prefers a 16-team field where five
Gary Cavalli
Nov 17, 2025
