FIVE FROM SI: WHY COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS AWESOME - WEEK 10

By Simon Carroll

Week 10 is in the books. Where THE HELL have the last two and a half months gone? A haze of greasy chicken wings, delicious IPA’s and glorious football is all that occupies my frazzled brain. But fear not people! College Football is still producing amazing moments and last weekend was no different. So without further ado, let’s get stuck in:

THREE RECEPTIONS, ONE PLAY

First off, let’s head off to Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Not particularly renowned in college football lore, but home to The Central Michigan Chippewas, who take their name from the Indian Tribe whose reservation forms part of the city district. CMU play in the Mid-American Conference and have produced current NFL players Jahleel Addae, Eric Fisher and all round barmpot Antonio Brown.

Well on Saturday, against Northern Illinois, there was one play that would make AB’s behaviour look logical. Midway through the second quarter QB Quinton Dormady threw a ball across the middle to WR Kalil Pimpleton (two great names). Pimpleton let the ball through his hands and it spun into the air off his body. TWO Huskies defenders leapt to intercept it and the ball squeaked out once more, whereupon Pimpleton dived in to complete the ultra-rare three-way catch:

As per multiple possession rules, the offense gets the ball and Pimpleton’s quick thinking moved the chains. Truly one of the more remarkable plays of the year. Inject it into my veins.

HALLOWEEN JAPES

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For the record, I think Halloween sucks. There – I said it. Please direct all your angry tweets to @Willo290592. But I do appreciate that for some people it’s an opportunity to act the buffoon or scare the bejesus out of your colleagues. This I can condone, so long as it’s not me on the end of your mature wit. Anyway. Hats off to Mason Fine, the North Texas Quarterback who was featured on our QB Lookout List this preseason. He rocked up to a press conference in full T-Rex costume:

Decent effort. But that’s not a patch on a dude called Karlo Zovko. Zovko is Assistant Director of Player Personnel at Pitt University. The Panther’s front office man decided to go above and beyond the call of duty and dress as a statue, jumping out at some of the Pittsburgh players as they walked past:

This would only have been more funny if that dude had actually punched his own ADPP. Still – top bants.

CHEEKY CHIP

PAC 12

It’s been a tough year for Chip Kelly at UCLA. After inheriting a rebuild last year, many hoped for a big step up in fortunes in 2019. Despite some marquee wins the record still reads 4-5 for the Bruins, although their conference record gives them an outside shot at the PAC-12. Anyway, I digress…

Prior to their 42-32 win over Arizona State this week, one reporter asked him if he’d discussed with his team that they ‘controlled their own destiny’ in terms of the rest of the season. Kelly, who has always been a better smart arse than a head coach, had this reply:

If you want to get petty, Kelly’s use of the word “grammatically” is actually incorrect. He’s referring to the definition of the word destiny and not how it was used within a sentence. But who am I to question a man who made Marcus Mariota look like a world beater? We’ll let him have his moment.

DERRICK BROWN: 320LB CORNERBACK

SEC

If you aren’t aware of Derrick Brown yet, then you’ve been living under a rock for the last 18 months. The Auburn Tigers defensive tackle is a behemoth of a man, and one of the best players in college football. This season, he’s had 36 tackles, 7 for a loss, and 4 sacks in The Tigers nine games so far. He’s a stud and a guaranteed first round selection in next year’s NFL Draft. He’s also a key reason why Auburn have a 7-2 record and an outside chance of winning the SEC West ahead of LSU and Alabama.

On Saturday, Auburn attempted to make a substitution as Ole Miss drove down the field. The Rebels tried to get a bit cute, snapping the ball just as Brown entered the field. Foolish mistake – turns out that Brown is a pretty damn good cornerback as well as a defensive tackle:

The reaction from Ole Miss offensive co-ordinator Rich Rodriguez in the booth is priceless. How does a man that size move that fast?! Reports that Brown is starting ahead of Bo Nix at QB against Georgia in two weeks time are unconfirmed…

SEVERANCE PACKAGE

ACC

This week’s Five From Si terminates in Tallahassee. Florida State head coach Willie Taggart was fired on Sunday after their 27-10 loss to in-state rivals Miami. That left The Seminoles with a 4-5 record on the year and fifth in the ACC Atlantic Division – woefully short of FSU expectations. Across two seasons, Taggart was 9-12 as head coach and won just six conference games.

Now Florida State aren’t short of a bob or two – they’re one of the wealthiest football programs in college football. But even they must have had to take some deep breaths when they realised just how much they would have to pay Willie Taggart to get rid of him:

$18.25m?!?!?! For being bad at your job?! I’m in the wrong line of work. For the record, Taggart doesn’t even set the record for the biggest severance pay for a college football head coach – Notre Dame had to fork out $19m to Charlie Weis after they fired him for poor performance in 2009. Weis then went to Kansas and rinsed them out in a similar way. I’m looking forward to seeing which program Taggart fleeces next.

Feature Image Credit: ESPN

 

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Simon Carroll

CFB/NFL DRAFT EDITOR

previously the founder of nfl draft uk, simon has been covering college football and the nfl draft since 2009. based in manchester, simon is also co-creator & weekly guest of the collapsing pocket podcast.

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