Food for Thought: Unbeatens; Cignetti; Belichick; Beck; Rose Bowl Reunion; 49ers; Myers; Horford; Shohei...

Unbeaten Teams: Who'd have believed that after week 8 of the college football season there would only be six unbeaten teams, and that the unbeatens would include Navy, Georgia Tech and BYU? The combination of player movement through the transfer portal, NIL compensation, and an expanded CFP field has allowed new programs to enter the playoff conversation.

Hoosier Turnaround: Two years ago last weekend, Indiana lost to Rutgers, 31-14, en route to a 3-9 season. At the time, Curt Cignetti was the head coach at James Madison, making $677,311.

Last Thursday, after Cignetti had directed the longtime doormats to a 17-2 record over the past year and a half, the College Football Playoffs last season and a No. 3 national ranking this year, Indiana awarded Cignetti with an eight-year contract for $11.6 million per year. After Miami lost to Louisville (see below), the Hoosiers climbed to No. 2 in this week's poll.

Tar Heel Misery: Cignetti will be 72 when the contract ends in 2033. Somehow, I expect him to do  better than a certain 73-year old ex-Super Bowl champion is doing this season.

Bill Belichick's hapless North Carolina squad lost to Cal 21-18 Friday night by fumbling the winning touchdown away just short of the goal line. In four games this year against Power 4 Conference opponents, the Tar Heels have been outscored 141-51.

Beck Regresses: As you know, I've never been a fan of Carson Beck, the former Georgia quarterback now at Miami. He throws too many interceptions. 

Beck had been playing well this season, but returned to his old familiar ways on Friday night in a 24-21 loss to Louisville. Beck threw four interceptions, constantly forcing the ball down the field into heavy traffic, costing the No. 2 ranked Hurricanes the game.

Rose Bowl Reunion: Thanks to Matt Doyle--Stanford's head of football operations, the glue that has held the program together for over 20 years--the university honored the 55th anniversary of its iconic 1971 Rose Bowl team, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett, at Saturday's game against Florida State. 

Plunkett's running mate, Randy Vataha, who later would join him with the New England Patriots, served as honorary team captain.

The late, great Bob Murphy and I worked very closely with that group as sports information director (SID) and assistant SID. 

Matt was kind enough to invite me down on the field to participate in the "smile and wave" portion of the program with the '71 team, but since I didn't play, I felt only the players should be down on the field. 

But it was great to see some of the guys--Plunkett, Bill Meyers, Pete Seymour, Wade Killefer, Dave Tipton, and Jack Schultz, plus Chuck Evans and Brad Williams (from a few years later)--and reminisce about the greatest victory in Stanford history.

And then the Cardinal pulled off a huge upset win over Florida State to make the evening even more special. 

49ers injuries: Why is it that every 49er player who gets a long-term, lucrative contract seems to get injured right after signing the deal? Consider: 

George Kittle signed four year $76 million deal in April that made him the highest paid tight end in the league. He injured his hamstring early in the first game of the year and missed the next five games.

Quarterback Brock Purdy signed a five-year $265 million contract in May and promptly missed five of the first seven games.

Fred Warner signed a three-year $63 million deal in May that made him the league's highest paid linebacker. Injured ankle in game 6 and out for the season.

Last year, after an extended holdout, Brandon Aiyuk signed a four-year $120 million deal that made him one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL. He then tore his ACL and MCL in week 7 of the 2024 season and has yet to return to action.

Christian McCaffrey signed a two year $38 million extension in 2024 and promptly missed all but four games because of injuries.

Off topic, but yesterday McCaffrey was unbelievable in the Niners' 20-10 win over Atlanta.

Myers Moves: Former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers has left his job as an ESPN analyst to become president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns and operates several sports properties, including the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.

Myers is a capable administrator who never quite got comfortable as a TV guy.

And he'd probably take any job offer to get away from Stephen A. Smith.

Hail Horford: Speaking of the Warriors, they made a brilliant acquisition in signing former Boston Celtics center and five-time NBA All-Star Al Horford. 

I've always been an admirer of Horford's. He's one of the smartest players in the league, a solid scorer, rebounder, passer and defender. He'll give Steve Kerr 25 quality minutes a game, score about 10 points, grab six or seven rebounds and make two or three great passes.

Shohei's Show: If there was any remaining doubt about who is the most talented baseball player of all time, the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani removed them with his performance in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.

Three towering home runs, six shutout innings, 10 strikeouts. Never been done before and probably never will again.

The Vanishing .300 Hitter: From the time baseball began, a .300 batting average was the traditionally accepted measure of excellence. Anyone averaging below .250 was considered a lousy hitter.

This year, only seven players in all of Major League Baseball hit .300 or better. In the National League, Trae Turner won the batting title at .304, and he was the only player in the league to hit .300. Aaron Judge was considerably better in the American, averaging .331, 20 points higher than the next player.

Twenty years ago, in 2005, there were 33 .300 hitters. By last year, the number had dwindled to seven, same as this season. For the last six years, the overall MLB average has been below .250. It was .245 this season.

So why the dip? Among the myriad of reasons:

In recent years, teams have really emphasized the long ball. Now it seems every player swings with an uppercut, going for the fences. We have new statistics like launch angle and exit velocity. The nightly highlights show home runs and little else.

Players who hit home runs are considered more valuable than high average hitters with little or no power. The guys that are getting the big contracts are hitting a lot of home runs, even if they hit .230.

Strikeouts have gone through the roof. It seems like every batter either walks, strikes out, or hits a home run. Kyle Swarber, the Phillies' slugger, led the National League with 56 home runs, but hit .240 and struck out 197 times. 

Pitching has gotten much better in recent years. It's fairly common now to see pitchers throwing at speeds over 100 mph, which was rare even 10 years ago.

Dumbass of the Week: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a complete fool who never should've been allowed anywhere near the White House or cabinet, wants media who cover the Pentagon to pledge not to obtain or use any unauthorized material, even if the information is unclassified.

Every major new outlet, including Hegseth's former employers at Fox News, refused to agree to the absurd new "Pentagon Press Rules."

According to his boss, the draft-dodging president, Hegseth found the press "disruptive." Well, if you mistakenly include the editor of the Atlantic on an email detailing war plans and bombing instructions, as Hegseth did last year, it might prove to be disruptive.

This idiot--known primarily for his infidelity, alcoholism and business failures--is an embarrassment to the administration and an embarrassment to our country.