2016 Running Football Thread

[BanzaiCat]

The NFL is a meth whore that makes that one in Breaking Bad look like Mother Theresa. They'll NEVER back down from the ridiculous plethora of stupid commercials; they frigging have everything sponsored.

I'm really surprised they haven't started selling advertising space on player's uniforms yet. I'm sure they've considered it and were probably told that is going way, way too far, even for them.

One of the reasons I stopped watching is the commercial interruptions and mind-numbing sheer assault on my senses of constantly the same f*cking thing over and over and over and over again. If it weren't for that a football game might actually only take an hour and a half instead of nearly four hours. But there's no whore profit in that!

[DoctorQuest]

Someone needs to open up and get in touch with their true feelings.

[mirth]

Best avatar ever, DQ!

[DoctorQuest]

I know, right?

Thanks, Mirth.

[airboy]

Worst football weekend ever.  Auburn got beat.  UNC lost to pure evil that had Satan on their helmets.  I feel like Brant.

[Bison]

State was off this weekend so no disappointment or joy to be had in the land.

[bayonetbrant]

Worst football weekend ever.  Auburn got beat.  UNC lost to pure evil that had Satan on their helmets.  I feel like Brant.

Not entirely - my guys actually won! :)

Of course, we're going to have to beat UNC just to get bowl eligible, so not likely

[Martok]

This was an interesting read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/sports/football/nfl-tv-ratings-shorter-games-fewer-commercials.html

I'm all for shorter games and fewer ads. A decent on field product would be nice too.

Replacing Goodell with someone who actually gives a damn about more than just the league's precious image wouldn't hurt either.  (And as long as I'm dreaming, I'd like my own pet dragon.)  He comes off as so two-dimensionally villainous that at any moment I expect him to grow a vaudevillian mustache and begin twirling it. 

[airboy]

Worst football weekend ever.  Auburn got beat.  UNC lost to pure evil that had Satan on their helmets.  I feel like Brant.

Not entirely - my guys actually won! :)

Of course, we're going to have to beat UNC just to get bowl eligible, so not likely

Not speaking about you for Saturday, but for 2016.

[bayonetbrant]

Not speaking about you for Saturday, but for 2016.

fair 'nuff...  but y'all have made way more strides in a shorter time than Doeren has with his team.
Part of it is the side of the conference you're on.  I doubt you'd be rolling to 1-loss records with FSU, Clemson, and Louisville on your side of the conference, but you probably wouldn't be losing to BC either.

[Bison]

Great day in Big 12 football.  The Cats put the beat down on Baylor.  And freaking Kansas won their first conference game of the year by beating Texas.  BAHAHAHA!  This loss has to seal Charlie Strong's fate in Texas.  It'll be a miracle if he is still coaching the longhorns next season.  That's what Texas gets for screwing up the conference expanding this season.  Prigs.

[OJsDad]

Rumor is that Strong is gone and that Texas is going to make an all out play for Herman. 

[Bison]

Nothing Texas does would surprise me. 

[MetalDog]

Rumor is that Strong is gone and that Texas is going to make an all out play for Herman.

I heard the same thing, too.

[OJsDad]

From ESPN.  The 'Coaching Carousel' could be very interesting at the end of the season. 

Texas' administration is receiving "extreme pressure" from prominent boosters to dismiss Charlie Strong and hire Houston coach Tom Herman, sources told ESPN.

Earlier this week, Strong's job was considered safe if the Longhorns (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) won out against Kansas and TCU. However, that all changed when Houston upset No. 5 Louisville on Thursday, sources said.

That was because in October the lure of Herman, always considered Texas' No. 1 target, had dulled with losses to Navy and SMU and near losses to Tulsa and UCF. The SMU loss was extremely troubling to Texas' boosters because it was to a perceived "lesser school" in the state, sources said.

That all changed with Herman improving to 22-3 at Houston by dominating Louisville. After that win, the bidding war for Herman is expected to start "at a minimum of $5.5 million," an industry source said.

Compounding the case against Strong: Saturday's 24-21 overtime loss in Lawrence, Kansas, to the Jayhawks, who had won only two of their last 31 games. It was Kansas' first Big 12 victory since November 2014 and denied Texas a bowl-qualifying win.

Strong, in his third season with the Longhorns, has been on the hot seat all season. He dropped to 16-20 since arriving at Texas, and not even the $10 million buyout he would be due could be enough to keep him from getting fired.

"We just had our opportunities there," Strong said after Saturday's loss. "Not much needed to be said."

Asked what it means for his future, Strong replied: "No idea."

Herman is considered among the leading candidates at Texas and LSU, if Jimbo Fisher remains at Florida State, as well as Oregon, if the Ducks fire Mark Helfrich, sources said. Herman also would be a top target of Florida State, if Fisher left for LSU, a source said.

Another concern of Texas' top boosters is the possibility Texas A&M decides to part ways with Kevin Sumlin for the opportunity to grab Herman, sources said.

"Herman was dead in the water (with Texas) when he lost to SMU (Oct. 22)," a source said. "And now he's hotter than ever."

Herman was Ohio State's offensive coordinator before being named Houston's coach. He's won 22 of 25 games, including all five contests as an underdog against Oklahoma and Louisville this season and Louisville, Navy and Florida State in 2015.

Texas president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin have been consistent and very outspoken about their support of Strong. In October, sources told ESPN that Strong would not be fired in-season and be allowed to complete the season.

Perrin declined to speak with reporters after the game, looking away when he approached them. Strong's wife, Victoria, was crying outside the Longhorns' locker room.