Holiday Grab Bag
Reviewing all the excitement from December including CFB & CBB; tragedies; the Heisman; NFL insanity and the Greatest World Cup ever!
Just when you thought there weren’t any last minute Christmas presents to be had, College Football comes through with TWENTY-FOUR bowl games in a week to close out 2022.
And then a national championship for an encore.
Despite 17 Bowls already taking place, there certainly felt like a lull fell over the CFB world.
But there was plenty of other news—sad, sickening, thrilling and every emotion in between— to catch up on. In this holiday grab bag of a newsletter, we try to touch on the highlights.
Beginning in Qatar.
Cry for Me, Argentina
If anyone tries to ever tell you that soccer is boring, don’t hesitate or think about it for a moment—just spit in their eye.
If you did not wake up early on a Sunday to watch the World Cup final between Argentina and France live, then you missed an instant classic in what as the greatest World Cup final in history.
Lionel Messi scored on a penalty in the 23rd minute and then help conduct the most picturesque play you will ever see on the pitch. In the 36th minute, Argentina got the equivalent of a basketball fast break and with seven total touches by six players (Messi the only one with two), they found the back of the net.
Why being up 2-0 in soccer creates the best comeback chaos I will never understand but Kylian Mbappe drew a penalty kick in the 80th minute and then scissor kicked a perfect shot out of the air in the 81st. In a two minute span, the two goal deficit was erased.
In the second session of extra time, Messi scored off a rebound and Mbappe got his hat trick on a penalty kick after a hand ball. The game went to penalties where Argentina would win with a clutch save, a bad French miss and four unstoppable missiles past the French keeper.
However, penalty kicks are a tough way to lose. Wish this could have been like playoff hockey, where teams just keep skating until one scores. Therefore, while this was the greatest game it did not feature the greatest ending.
The only thing that would have made this better was if Messi had scored on his shot in the 90th + 7th minute of stoppage time. Or if France’s Randal Kolo Muani’s shot in the 120th + 3rd minute of stoppage time was not stunningly kicked saved. Either of those would have been an amazing ending.
Argentina’s Other Greatest Game
Of course Argentina is no stranger to blowing two goal leads as they did so in the quarterfinals. In what is always an all-time uniform matchup between Argentina (white & baby blue) vs the Netherlands (orange), Messi nailed a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to go up 2-0.
Then Wout Weghorst was subbed in at the 78th minute and immediately scored on a fierce header. Then, somewhat immaculately, scored a perfect set piece in the 11th minute of stoppage time. Tuen Koopmeiners slipped the free kick under Argentina’s wall when everyone thought the Dutch would go airborn.
There were 48 fouls, 14 yellow cards and a red as Argentina won in another shootout.
It’s Called Soccer!
Team USA saw their first World Cup appearance since 2014, and offered some hope that they could grow to potentially be a threat when they host the tournament in 2026.
The United States tied Wales and England and beat Iran in a politically charged match. And it nearly turned into a disaster when the ball went under the USA’s keeper’s leg in the 9th minute of stoppage time, but it was quickly (and thankfully) cleared out.
The US women will look to win their third straight World Cup this summer in Australia/New Zealand.
Heisman
Caleb Williams was the most recent Heisman Trophy winner; only four non-QBs have won the award since 2000. One of those was vacated, which interestingly enough was Reggie Bush—the lone former Trojan who Williams did not mention by name in his acceptance speech.
Williams did have to do some PR crisis management after his loss and a few ill-advised social media posts. I would argue that if Max Duggan and TCU would have won the Big 12 title, then Duggan would have won it simply because that performance was spectacular.
Mike Leach
Unfortunately, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach passed away due to a sudden heart attack. He is best know for being the Father of the Air Raid offense, which he made well know at Texas Tech.
He took mid-tier Power 5 programs and turned them into national champion contenders. I have a great friend who loves CFB and he still claims that the Michael Crabtree game (vs No. 1 Texas) is the best CFB he’s ever watched. The Red Raiders would lose to Oklahoma and be left out of both the Big 12 title and BCS due to tiebreakers.
At Washington State, Gardner Minshew nearly lead the Cougars into the CFP but lost a snowy Apple Cup to dash that dream.
I don’t have a Micke Leach story, expect that in 2019 after our wedding the entire party move to a bar where we stayed until ~2 a.m. watching Washington State blow a 32-point lead to UCLA in a 67-63 defeat. Their QB threw 60-plus times and nine TDs, but the Cougars also turned it over six times, once on downs and conceded a punt return TD.
For whatever reason you loved Coach Leach—and you couldn’t not love him—his influence extends far beyond the football field.
My favorite is that he literally kept his word about suing Texas Tech ‘until his death’ for what he claimed was wrongful termination in the fallout of the treatment of Adam James (Craig James’ son) after his concussion.
To have that kind of conviction and commitment is something to be envied.
NFL History
Minnesota has made a name for themselves this season by already winning 11 one possession games, which includes the largest comeback in NFL history (down 33-0 at half against Matt Ryan and the Colts); a game-winning 61-yard field goal; and the game of the year against Buffalo.
Interesting how Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers continue to hang around, but the Playoffs should be nothing less than thrilling.
The Coldest Bowl Game Ever
Baylor’s coldest football game ever was their de facto Big 12 championship in 2013 against Texas at 24 degrees.
They recently lost to Air Force 30-15 in Ft. Worth in the Arm Forces Bowl where the temperature was 10 degrees. The Bears clearly did not want to be there and wanted no part of the Falcons, but don’t let the media gaslight you about how long it’s been since Baylor played a poor game. They lost 31-3 to Kansas State just weeks before; this wasn’t surprising.
Furthermore, Air Force is a good team. They’ve won 10 or more games in three of the past four seasons including three bowl victories against Power Five teams: Washington State, Louisville and now Baylor.
Basketball in South Dakota
Speaking of cold, Baylor basketball drove all the way to South Dakota for a neutral site game with Gonzaga. The 2021 national title rematch lived up to the hype and then some as the Bears found a way to score the game’s last eight points in the final 90 seconds to win.
But Baylor needs to rapidly improve if they are going to want to have a shot at their third straight Big 12 title and second Final Four in three seasons. There are too many areas—defense, lazy shot selection and interior post play— that they are struggling with at the moment.
The CFP Playoff
This New Year’s Eve is TCU/Michigan (Fiesta) and Ohio State/Georgia (Peach) in the CFP semifinals. The question is will we get good games this time around instead of blowouts. As an optimist, I say we do and I think we will get a rematch of The Game for the national title.
More Impressive Christmas Eve Feat?
Before we say goodbye for 2022, we will leave you with this table discussion topic:
What is more impressive: Santa delivering all toys on Christmas Eve or the Grinch stealing all decorations?
Happy New Year!