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Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Even with all of the we-have-no-idea-ness that college football season has delivered in 2020, there is one almost small sense of normalcy getting underway. Yes, friends, it’s Bowlapalooza season. And in the spirit of the wackiness that was this season, we’ve gone wacky with our format for this annual #CnCShow tradition. (In other words, this is not the typical Bowlapalooza you’ve been looking for.) Carla, Crappy, and AJ sit down and discuss … every. single. meaningless. bowl game. Yes, really. All of them. Even the one that already happened before we were able to record this show. As is tradition, we each selected a game or two to focus our attention … and then we just go crazy. (Disclaimer: Check your local listings for game status, times, and even teams involved, because all of those changes have occurred at least once already and bowl season is barely underway.) Camellia Bowl: Marshall vs. Buffalo (2:30 ET Dec. 25, ESPN): AJ calls this the “What Happened?” Bowl. The rest of us are just tickled that the football gods delivered us this beautiful present on Christmas Day. Cure Bowl: Liberty vs. No. 12 Coastal Carolina (7:30 ET Dec. 26, ESPN): The regular-season game that became a bowl game. This one’s another AJ pick, because there are just so many #GroupOfFive bowls to revel in this year. Also, things are moving so quickly this bowl season that this game literally changed times while we were recording. Go Chickens. Cheez-It Bowl: No. 21 Oklahoma State vs. No. 18 Miami (5:30 ET Dec. 29, ESPN): Carla takes this one because it doesn’t matter whether this game is played in Arizona or Florida … it’s the most on-brand bowl game of the season. Grab your favorite salty snack and settle in for some stupid fun football, defense optional. Arizona Bowl: Ball State vs. No. 22 San Jose State (2 ET Dec. 31, CBS Sports Network): Crappy’s selection gets the traditional Sun Bowl time slot, and a really entertaining matchup between two teams with surprising success this season. SJSU looked exceptionally good in the Mountain West title game and Ball State knocked off Buffalo in the MAC. This seriously could be one of the best games of all of bowl season. We give honorable mention nods to: New Mexico Bowl: Hawaii vs. Houston (3:30 ET Dec. 24, ESPN): Fun fact - this game isn’t played in New Mexico! Valero Alamo Bowl: No. 20 Texas vs. Colorado (9 ET Dec. 29, ESPN): Because if Texas loses this game, the meltdown could be epic. Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin (Noon ET Dec. 30, ESPN): Has anyone actually watched Wake play a down of football this season? TransPerfect Music City Bowl: No. 15 Iowa vs. Missouri (4 ET Dec. 30, ESPN): A whole lot of black and gold in Nashville if this game actually happens. AutoZone Liberty Bowl: West Virginia vs. Army (4 ET Dec. 31, ESPN): Army had to (undeservedly) wait for its bowl game, but it gets this lovely gift in replacing Tennessee to play West Virginia in Memphis. #2020 So, while there may not be as many bowl games as usual, there are some delightful pairings that should make for a nice holiday football season. Settle in at home and prepare to feast on the tastiness that is Bowlapalooza. We’ll be back next week with a preview of the New Year’s Six bowls and College Football Playoff games. Cheers, yinz. Happy holidays.
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
Thursday Dec 17, 2020
It's Week 16 of the college football season ... and also Championship Week, which is one of the more bizarre sentences we've uttered in this 2020 bizarre season. AJ joins Carla and Crappy live as we continue our annual tradition of discussing all 10 conference title games in a single show. After a review of the chaos from last weekend — including shoe throwing, errant long snapping, fired head coaches, and a discussion on why Iowa State's high ranking makes us bristle (yep, we can't believe we said that either) — we get right into it. C-USA: UAB at Marshall (7 ET Friday, CBS Sports Network): Marshall's a good football team, nevermind the Rice mishap. UAB may struggle against the Herd's defense. MAC: Ball State vs. Buffalo (7:30 ET Friday, ESPN): Give us all of the Jaret Patterson, please. 1000 yards rushing and 18 TDs in just five games? Good luck, Cardinals. Pac-12: Oregon vs. No. 13 USC (8 ET Friday, FOX): A game that had to be moved with a late fill-in team is pretty much all you need to know about this one. Big Ten: No. 14 Northwestern vs. No. 4 Ohio State (Big Nude Saturday, FOX): The Buckeyes may need style points ... but Northwestern's defense may have other plans. (Spoiler alert: They're pretty darn good.) Big 12: No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Iowa State (Noon ET Saturday, ABC): The Cyclones hung around with Oklahoma in October, then used a well-timed turnover to win. The Sooners' defense is improved now, though. Sun Belt: No. 19 Louisiana at No. 12 Coastal Carolina (3:30 ET Saturday, ESPN): These teams already met once too ... and it was a heck of a game. But, we're not going against our bandwagoning: Go Chickens! ACC: No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (4 ET Saturday, ABC): Last meeting, the Irish held Travis Etienne to just 28 yards rushing ... and needed 2OTs to win. This time ... Trevor Lawrence is back. Mountain West: Boise State vs. No. 24 San Jose State (4:15 ET Saturday, FOX): This isn't the Boise that we're used to. SJSU is putting together a stellar run behind the arm of Nick Starkel. SEC: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 7 Florida (8 ET Saturday, CBS): Umm ... next? AAC: No. 23 Tulsa at No. 9 Cincinnati (8 ET Saturday, ABC): Fifth time's a charm for this game? Cincy looks to make a statement and ... maybe impress the playoff committee? As if that's not enough football, we give honorable mention to the other weird stuff happening on Championship Week ... like the fact that there are other conference games being played. Ole Miss at LSU (3:30 ET Saturday, SEC Network) should be stupid fun. Saturday was also supposed to be the start of bowl season, but the first 2020 bowl game — the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl — has been canceled, and one team already has secured a replacement bowl bid. Because 2020. So ... that's the weekend. Lots of games that matter. Lots of games that, well, don't. We advise that you enjoy them all ... and then come back next week for our annual silliness that is Bowlapalooza. Cheers, yinz.
Thursday Dec 10, 2020
Thursday Dec 10, 2020
It’s Week 15 of the mess that is the 2020 college football season, and Carla and Crappy are resorting to cheap gimmicks, because the COVID-ravaged schedule wasn’t kind to them — or anyone else. Fortunately, they have not only the gimmick, but they have Carla’s 40th birthday to help provide some semblance of order. Carla didn’t get to see much football last weekend, but she saw enough to confirm, once again, that the Stanford Postulate is thing. Crappy did see a bunch of football last weekend, and he was still stoked about the Coastal-BYU game, to the point that he is hoping that mid-season pickup games — as AJ suggested last week — become a regular feature of college football. Especially since Ohio Sta … ah, they’ll get to that in a minute. AJ takes us on his regular ride through the Group of Five and Pac 12 schedule, and then Carla and Crappy embark on a journey through every single game involving a Top 25 team this weekend — and Crappy’s favorite game of the year, which isn’t being played. The list, all on Saturday, all Eastern time: Utah @ 21 Colorado, Big Nude 1 Alabama @ Arkansas, noon, ESPN 9 Georgia @ Missouri, noon, SEC Network 11 Oklahoma @ West Virginia, noon, ABC Illinois @ 14 Northwestern, noon, ESPN2 13 Coastal Carolina @ Troy, 3 p.m., ESPN+ 17 North Carolina @ 10 Miami, 3:30 p.m., ABC Purdue @ 12 Indiana, 3:30 p.m., BTN* Wisconsin @ 16 Iowa, 3:30 p.m., FS1 20 Texas @ Kansas, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU LSU @ 6 Florida, 7 p.m., ESPN 22 Oklahoma State @ Baylor, 7 p.m., ESPNU 15 USC @ UCLA, 7:30 p.m., ABC San Diego State @ BYU, 10 p.m., ESPN2 *Game has since been canceled That’s a full schedule for a weekend that would normally feature just one FBS game: Army-Navy (3 p.m. Saturday, Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y., CBS). Carla and Crappy have their strong rooting interests in this game, but the Black Knights appear to be the pick this year. To wrap up, Carla is completely stoked about Penn State retaining the coveted Land Grant Trophy. And Crappy — who insisted on a moment of silence for the Ohio State-Michigan game — is A) sad about the loss of the rivalry game (even though longtime #CnCShow listener Aidan insists the game should count as an OSU win) , B) confident that Ohio State will end up in the B1G title game (spoiler alert: They did), C) ready to devote some of his college football energy to the MLS Cup final and D) certain that Carla is starting off what should be a killer decade. Happy birthday week, Carla — and thanks to yinz guys for watching and listening.
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
Thursday Dec 03, 2020
(Note: As has been the case several times this season, the 'rona has thrown us a curveball late in the week. So yeah, we're kinda fried.) It's Week 14 of the college football season and while we've turned our calendars to the final month of this ridiculous year, we're still not sure we have any better idea of the landscape this week than when this all started ... other than two things: Take the under, and go chickens. (Hold tight. That will make sense in a moment.) Crappy's worried about his season on the brink and questions the ACC's moves to nearly ensure a Notre Dame-Clemson title game (and possibly even two CFP berths). Meanwhile, Carla's excited about her Nittany Lions finally picking up a win as well as the historic moment of a woman kicking in a Power 5 game. (Sorry everything else is awry, Vandy.) And AJ's excited because the coronavirus may give him an unexpected G5 playoff of sorts. So, after AJ gives us the lowdown on another stellar slate of #GroupOfFiveAfterDark games, we get into this week's highlights. You'll notice a common theme emerging. No. 5 Texas A&M at Auburn (Noon ET, ESPN): The Aggies offense has looked ... meh? Auburn hasn't had much of a run game as of late, and relying on Bo Nix is a big ask. Our conclusion? Take the under. No. 12 Indiana at No. 16 Wisconsin (3:30 ET, ABC): Yep. Still talking about Indiana. But that might change (unfortunately), due to Michael Penix's injury. Meanwhile, Graham Mertz threw three picks his last time out; Indiana's mojo is forcing interceptions. Hmm. Yep. Take the under. Liberty at No. 18 Coastal Carolina (2 ET, ESPNU): It's the game of the century. AJ's Super Bowl. The battle royale. Or, something. These two teams are super evenly matched. Can Coastal (or anyone for that matter) stop Malik Willis? Both teams have spectacular defenses. Our take: Go Chickens. Also? Take the under. UNLESS: BYU takes this game in place of Liberty, which is having COVID issues on campus -- in which case ... say it with us ... we have no idea. Honorable mentions this week go to No. 15 Oklahoma State at TCU (Noon ET, ESPN2) because it's the Big 12, Stanford at No. 22 Washington (4 ET, Fox) because it's the first legitimate 2020 test of the #CnCShow Stanford Postulate, and Buffalo at Ohio (3:30 ET, CBS Sports Network) because Crappy is hoping that somehow his Bobcats can keep up with Jaret Patterson. (Umm ... yeah. Good luck with that.) So, grab a blanket and a cup of ... whatever your beverage of choice is ... and settle in for some good ol' fashioned college football this weekend. And remember: Take the under. Go Chickens. Cheers, yinz guys.
Thursday Nov 26, 2020
Thursday Nov 26, 2020
It's Week 13 of the college football season and Thanksgiving weekend ... which traditionally means it's rivalry week. But 2020 has been far from normal (#WeHaveNoIdea), and so many of the usual matchups aren't on the schedule. However, what we lack in tradition, we make up for in an abundance of solid games spread out nicely over the long weekend. We begin with a breakdown of the first College Football Playoff rankings, released just moments before this episode was recorded. Who got snubbed? What team could make a move into the Top 4? And who do we need to talk to about Cincinnati and BYU? Next, we hear from AJ, who again has a stellar buffet of #GroupOfFiveAfterDark and #Pac12AfterDark games to highlight. And then, we dig into our unconventional Thanksgiving weekend lineup ... which feels pretty appropriate for 2020. No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 19 North Carolina (3:30 ET Friday, ABC): The Irish enter after a bye week ... and they may just need it, facing the high-powered Tar Heels offense. (Yes, that's a thing we just said.) Maryland at No. 12 Indiana (Noon ET Saturday, ESPN2): It turns out that the Hoosiers are a legit good team, even if Carla's still really tired of talking about them. (Crappy's discomfort last weekend confirms this.) If Maryland can play, is Taulia ready for this defense? No. 22 Auburn at No. 1 Alabama (3:30 ET Saturday, CBS): Weird things can happen in rivalry games. We say that every year. But no team has come close to stopping the Tide's offense in 2020, and Auburn's not built for a shootout. Honorable mentions this week go to No. 13 Iowa State at No. 17 Texas (Noon ET Friday, ABC) because somehow the Longhorns are favored, Mississippi State at Ole Miss (4 ET Saturday, SEC Network) because we've waited a long time for Leach vs. Kiffin, and No. 11 Oklahoma at West Virginia (7:30 ET Saturday, ABC) because strange things happen in Morgantown on Thanksgiving weekend. Meanwhile, Crappy makes a bold prediction for Penn State at Michigan (Noon ET Saturday, ABC). So grab those socially acceptable bowls of leftover mashed potatoes, toss in a bit of warmed-up turkey, and settle in for a good, long weekend of college football. Happy Thanksgiving, yinz guys.
Thursday Nov 19, 2020
Thursday Nov 19, 2020
It's Week 12 of the college football season, and we still have so many questions. With the pandemic raging on and dramatically impacting last weekend's slate of games, we open our show this week by addressing two of the tougher questions (at least in our minds) at the moment. Carla does a deeper dive into why Journey Brown retired from football and the broader implications of this pandemic on the long-term health of college athletes. Crappy, meanwhile, wonders if the instability of this season will work in the favor of coaches of struggling teams. (We're looking squarely at you, Jim Harbaugh.) As we come to agree ... it doesn't make it suck any less, but it is what it is. While we struggle along, AJ is living his best life in the land of the Pac-12 and #GroupOfFiveAfterDark, and he's very happy to tell us all about the games you should be watching (and did he sneak in a prediction about the Ohio State-Indiana game at the end?). And then we get into our slate of games, which we hope actually happen. No. 9 Indiana at No. 3 Ohio State (Big Nude Saturday, FOX): Indiana is a thorn in Ohio State's side, even in down years. What happens when Indiana is, dare we say, good? Pass the Pepto to Crappy, please. No. 10 Wisconsin at No. 19 Northwestern (3:30 ET, ABC): The Wildcats have had a spectacular opening to their season, but the youngsters at Wisconsin appear to be the real deal. Badgers — still pesky. No. 14 Oklahoma State at No. 18 Oklahoma (7:30 ET, ABC): After two really important Big Ten games, flip over to Bedlam for some good, ol' fashioned Big 12 meaningless silliness. It's the perfect ending to the day, we promise. We give honorable mentions this weekend to Kansas State at No. 17 Iowa State (4 ET, FOX), No. 7 Cincinnati at UCF (3:30 ET, ESPN), and Appalachian State at No. 15 Coastal Carolina (Noon ET, ESPN2). Oh, and welcome to the 2020 season, Utah! Yes, really. (We still have no idea.) Enjoy whatever football happens this weekend, yinz. Cheers.
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
It's Week 11 of the college football season and, well, everything is just ... weird. And that's not even taking into account everything that's happened since we recorded this show on Tuesday night. Half of the weekend's SEC slate has now been postponed due to Covid-related issues. Teams from Florida State to LSU are losing players due to extended injuries, transfers, and opt-outs, with Carla being most devastated by the retirement announcement from Penn State RB Journey Brown. (We'll have more on that next week.) And, of course, the one that hurts us the most this week is the cancelation of Ohio State at Maryland. So, yeah. Sigh. Maybe we should stop recording on Tuesdays? Who knows. Anyway ... After looking back at last weekend's games, particularly the lackluster Cocktail Party and the upset in South Bend, we hear from AJ, who offers us a bit of brighter news regarding the #GroupOfFiveAfterDark. And then, well, we get on with ... whatever it is that's left this week. Penn State at Nebraska (Little Nude Saturday, FS1): One of these storied programs will get its first win of the season. And that's why we're talking about it. Because who predicted that? No. 3 Ohio State at Maryland (canceled): Crappy was having heartburn over his Buckeyes defense facing Taulia, who has settled in nicely at Maryland. Oh well. No. 23 Northwestern at Purdue (7:30 p.m. ET, BTN): Raise your hand if you had this game as being a battle for tops in the B1G West? Because that's exactly what it is. We give an honorable mention to No. 9 Miami at Virginia Tech (Noon ET, ESPN2), because why are the Hokies favored at home over a Top Ten opponent one week after losing to Liberty? Also worth noting — No. 2 Notre Dame should be wary of its trip to Boston College (3:30 ET, ABC), because if Clemsoning is transitive ... Try to make the most of it this weekend, friends. We'll put on our Coastal Carolina hats and root the chickens to 8-0. Because, once again, Coastal is the ray of hope we all need in the midst of this chaotic season. Cheers, yinz.
Wednesday Nov 04, 2020
Wednesday Nov 04, 2020
It's Week 10 of the college football season, and both Carla and Crappy are irrationally happy about one thing. (No, it's not the fact that the Steelers are 7-0. Carla is the only one happy about that.) Ladies and gents, #MACtion is back. Or, uh, #BACKtion. Before we get into a deep-dive on all of the Wednesday night (yes, really) MACtion, we take a brief look back at last weekend. While Crappy was pleased to see his Buckeyes run the football last weekend (much to Carla's dismay), Carla questions whether the Big Ten or the Big 12 has the bigger mess on its hands. (Yep. #WeHaveNoIdea.) AJ, meanwhile, is absolutely giddy about the return of #Pac12AfterDark this weekend and includes some of those games in his regular #GroupOfFiveAfterDark report. Then, we're all in on the MAC. All six games, lightning round style: Eastern Michigan at Kent State (6 ET Wed, ESPN+), Western Michigan at Akron (6 ET Wed, ESPN3), Buffalo at Northern Illinois (7 ET Wed, ESPN2), Ohio at Central Michigan (7 ET Wed, ESPN), Ball State at Miami (7 ET Wed, CBSSN), and Bowling Green at Toledo (8 ET Wed, ESPNU). Oh, and there are some legit other games being played this weekend, too: No. 23 Michigan at No. 13 Indiana (Little Nude Saturday, FS1): Huh. That Michigan offense is doing familiar things, like not scoring points. Indiana has a way of forcing opponents into turnovers. We're on opposite sides in this one. No. 8 Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia (3:30 ET Sat, CBS): The Cocktail Party has lost some luster over the past couple of weeks. The Dawgs have defensive injury concerns; the Gators have discipline issues. While we can agree that we're both getting real tired of Dan Mullen, we're on opposite sides here, too. No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame (7:30 ET Sat, NBC): No Trevor Lawrence for Clemson, so DJ ... you know, that freshman quarterback with the last name that's hard to pronounce? ... will again take the offensive reigns against a pretty solid Irish defense. Lots of variables in this one. Is an upset in the cards? So, enjoy all of the football this week, yinz guys. Because let's be real, we all deserve some frivolous mid-week #MACtion this week. Cheers.
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
It's Week 9 of the college football season, but Carla and Crappy are taking the opportunity to play a round of Overreaction Monday. At least that's what we're going to call it. Because one of us ... and we'll let you guess which one ... doesn't like college football very much right now. (Hint: It's Carla.) After discussing highlights from last weekend including Rice's quadruple-doink, Graham Mertz's stellar debut for Wisconsin, #WorldSeriesAfterDark, and an actual QB sighting at Michigan(?), AJ joins us for a lively conversation about this week's stellar #GroupOfFiveAfterDark games. (Sorry, Carla. It's just not your show.) And then we get into this week's treats, including two appetizers and a mammoth main course. No. 20 Coastal Carolina at Georgia State (Noon ET, ESPNU): We both still believe that Coastal is the team that we all need in 2020. Georgia State is a formidable foe, but go chickens. No. 17 Indiana at Rutgers (3:30 ET, BTN): Crappy decides to be mean and make Carla talk about Indiana some more. (We kid. Kinda.) Both of these teams had surprising wins last week, in part due to mistakes and turnovers by their opponents. Will the true B1G East Cinderella please stand up? No. 3 Ohio State at No. 18 Penn State (7:30 ET, ABC): Carla has a lengthy list of things that the Lions need to fix prior to kickoff. Crappy's concerned about the Buckeyes' run game (or lack thereof). The atmosphere won't be the same Saturday night in Beaver Stadium, but it is Halloween, so take that for whatever that's worth. (BURP.) Grab a beverage and some extra chocolate and enjoy your Halloween watching some college football, friends. Cheers.
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
It's Week 8 of the college football season, but Week 1 for Carla and Crappy. Yes, maybe against our better judgment, the Big Ten is back. And if you've followed this here little show for any length of time, you know that we're both die-hard B1G fans. Our 2020 football season is now complete. We're so excited about the return of the B1G that we don't spend a bunch of time looking back at last weekend, other than brief mentions of Georgia's challenges at QB, Carolina's apparent football curse and an eerily-familiar conversation about SEC defense on a certain national pre-game show. (We're looking at you, Herbie.) All. Six. Big. Ten. Games. Let's go. Illinois at No. 14 Wisconsin (8 ET Friday, BTN): Jonathan Taylor is off to the NFL, and Jack Coan's out indefinitely. Bad news for the Badgers? Illinois has high hopes for this season and a whole bunch of offensive experience. Nebraska at No. 5 Ohio State (Big Nude Saturday, FOX): The Huskers ended 2019 losing five of their last six. Ohio State looks as strong as ever on offense. No surprise here: Crappy has thoughts. Rutgers at Michigan State (Noon ET, BTN): The epitome of "we have no idea." New coaches, new schemes, new quarterbacks. What will either of these teams look like in 2020? No. 8 Penn State at Indiana (3:30 ET, FS1): Indiana returns 17 starters and loves to be the thorn in the B1G's side. Penn State is without Micah Parsons (opted out) and Journey Brown (undisclosed). No surprise here: Carla has thoughts. Iowa at Purdue (3:30 ET, BTN): Purdue has extremely talented receivers, but questions at QB. Iowa also has a new QB, who Crappy is declaring as his second-favorite in the conference. Maryland at Northwestern (7:30 ET, BTN): A kid brother by the name of Tagovailoa may be starting at QB for the Terps. That's the only interesting thing we could scrounge up about this one. No. 18 Michigan at No. 21 Minnesota (7:30 ET, ABC): The Gophers should be just fine offensively, but have questions on defense. Meanwhile, even Michigan media-types have concerns about both the Wolverines' secondary and passing game. Row the boat? Row the boat. Honorable mention this week goes to No. 17 Iowa State at No. 6 Oklahoma State (3:30 ET, FOX), which may be a preview of the Big 12 title game. If someone could watch that for Carla, we'd appreciate it. So, if you need either of us this weekend, you know where we'll be. Welcome back, Big Ten. Enjoy the football, yinz guys.