OK, so we played in the worst bowl game ever, and lost. At least we didn't lose by 49 points. And nobody is talking about how we've lost 6 straight CFP/NY6 games, all of them blow-outs. Or how our coach is 1-8 against Top 10 teams.

Seriously, I think those guys are feeling worse than we are today.

Well, yeah. People actually care about and notice those programs.

510 Bear said:

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Well, yeah. People actually care about and notice those programs.

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Michigan yeah. ND yeah. Purdue, not so much.

If Harbaugh doesn't win against Ohio State next year I'm seriously thinking he's going to be out of a job. Might be a good time to hire him as an OC if the stars align.

No thanks, Jim is a nut job.

I felt worse after the 2004 Holiday Bowl than I do today, by far. Crashing back to earth after riding high is really, really hard.

Purdue has to be feeling humiliated. Michigan and Notre Dame are going through "AAAUGH! WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO GET OVER THE HUMP!" We can't even see the hump (this year) so we can't relate.

Harbaugh will get another shot at the NFL if he wants it. Not a fan, hated him as a Furd...but he turned around a very crappy Niners team and won, got to a super bowl in short order. The issue with Michigan is he has to recruit.

I didn't feel that bad after the Cheez-It Bowl, more disappointed and bound by reality. But hey, Cal got to a bowl.

He'd never come to Cal as an OC after heading Furd and the Niners. It would be a horrible come-down.

That post-game non-shandhake with Mullen was Classic Hairball.

I've been musing about how the Cal D would do against these 4 "playoff" teams (clearly there are only 2 playoff teams). Would the Cal D have done better than Notre Dame and Oklahoma?

It is exciting just to be able to honestly ask that question after only 2 years since the hole-in-the-Dyke defense.

Another Bear said:

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Harbaugh will get another shot at the NFL if he wants it. Not a fan, hated him as a Furd...but he turned around a very crappy Niners team and won, got to a super bowl in short order. The issue with Michigan is he has to recruit.

I didn't feel that bad after the Cheez-It Bowl, more disappointed and bound by reality. But hey, Cal got to a bowl.

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You nailed it in both paragraphs....

Man some people. Better to be irrelevant than be relevant and lose?? I can't imagine people from Cal apply such an attitude to their own lives.

Good article.

https://deadspin.com/clemson-reminded-us-that-notre-dame-is-a-fraud-1831382120

Bear19 said:

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Good article.

https://deadspin.com/clemson-reminded-us-that-notre-dame-is-a-fraud-1831382120

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I dunno. I feel like situations like this just emphasize that there are two lanes for schools -- those that care about big money sports and those that care about everything else. No matter how much you try to be good at both, it doesn't seem to be possible.

To be fair, ND did have a harder schedule.

ND should just join the ACC full time if they want a shot again at a NC.

Purdue I agree. The other 2 are no consolation though. Cal getting blown out in a NY6 bowl would be our most successful season in nearly 30 years.

. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

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Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

Uthaithani said:

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Man some people. Better to be irrelevant than be relevant and lose?? I can't imagine people from Cal apply such an attitude to their own lives.

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thankfully, most of us can distinguish cal football from real life. If you can't, and are a cal fan, it's not a panacea. Cal has managed both options quite adeptly. We find many ways to lose, relevant or not. Right now we are irrelevant and we lose...when it counts. It's not a knock on cal it just is. What matters is if you back your team given all of that...right now very few teams beyond Bama and Clemson are relevant. That was the depressing part of watching these games yesterday. The separation between relevance and "notsomuch" is widening and almost insurmountable.

Purdue was a fraud. Sure they beat Ohio State but they scraped by the rest of the year and finished 6-7. Not sure they had much of a chance against Auburn.

cal83dls79 said:

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Uthaithani said:

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Man some people. Better to be irrelevant than be relevant and lose?? I can't imagine people from Cal apply such an attitude to their own lives.

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thankfully, most of us can distinguish cal football from real life. If you can't, and are a cal fan, it's not a panacea. Cal has managed both options quite adeptly. We find many ways to lose, relevant or not. Right now we are irrelevant and we lose...when it counts. It's not a knock on cal it just is. What matters is if you back your team given all of that...right now very few teams beyond Bama and Clemson are relevant. That was the depressing part of watching these games yesterday. The separation between relevance and "notsomuch" is widening and almost insurmountable.

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Yeah. Going off on a tangent here...but there's no point in any talk of expanding the CFP beyond 4 teams. Anything beyond 2 teams is a waste of time as long as Saban is at Alabama.

UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

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Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

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Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

JSC 76 said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

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Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

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Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

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From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston power brokers haven't been shy about their expectations for the program. At a holiday party two years ago -- shortly after Applewhite was hired -- university president Renu Khator said "winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2 ... We'll fire coaches at 8-4,"

UrsusTexicanus said:

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JSC 76 said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

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Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

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Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

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From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston power brokers haven't been shy about their expectations for the program. At a holiday party two years ago -- shortly after Applewhite was hired -- university president Renu Khator said "winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2 ... We'll fire coaches at 8-4,"

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Seems reasonable given their typical schedule of G5 teams and the fact they reside smack in the middle of the 4th largest city in the entire U.S., in a state that is insane about football, and with no P5 programs within hundreds of miles to compete with for local fandom.

Calcoholic said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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JSC 76 said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

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Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

---

Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

---

From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston power brokers haven't been shy about their expectations for the program. At a holiday party two years ago -- shortly after Applewhite was hired -- university president Renu Khator said "winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2 ... We'll fire coaches at 8-4,"

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Seems reasonable given their typical schedule of G5 teams and the fact they reside smack in the middle of the 4th largest city in the entire U.S., in a state that is insane about football, and with no P5 programs within hundreds of miles to compete with for local fandom.

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I would not consider that reasonable. In fact, I would call that delusional and detrimental to their program. Houston has finished with 10 wins or higher 8 times since 1970. In almost 50 years, they met their goal 8 times (16% of the time). They are not going to get a name brand coach, and they whomever they do get is going to need to do rebuild according to their system.

golden sloth said:

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Calcoholic said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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JSC 76 said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

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Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

---

Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

---

From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston power brokers haven't been shy about their expectations for the program. At a holiday party two years ago -- shortly after Applewhite was hired -- university president Renu Khator said "winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2 ... We'll fire coaches at 8-4,"

---

Seems reasonable given their typical schedule of G5 teams and the fact they reside smack in the middle of the 4th largest city in the entire U.S., in a state that is insane about football, and with no P5 programs within hundreds of miles to compete with for local fandom.

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I would not consider that reasonable. In fact, I would call that delusional and detrimental to their program. Houston has finished with 10 wins or higher 8 times since 1970. In almost 50 years, they met their goal 8 times (16% of the time). They are not going to get a name brand coach, and they whomever they do get is going to need to do rebuild according to their system.

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This is Texas, a state where legislators get into fights about putting in clauses to force schools to play other schools in legislation. Their commitment to football far exceeds anything we're used to (and also probably explains why we're so disconnected from the rest of the scene).

Calcoholic said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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JSC 76 said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

---

Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

---

Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

---

From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston power brokers haven't been shy about their expectations for the program. At a holiday party two years ago -- shortly after Applewhite was hired -- university president Renu Khator said "winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2 ... We'll fire coaches at 8-4,"

---

Seems reasonable given their typical schedule of G5 teams and the fact they reside smack in the middle of the 4th largest city in the entire U.S., in a state that is insane about football, and with no P5 programs within hundreds of miles to compete with for local fandom.

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College Station is less than 100 miles from Houston.

You see far more UT and Texas A&M gear around Houston, (at least in the suburbs), than UH gear.

Speaking of football appetite in TX...

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2019/01/02/crowds-uils-6a-state-title-games-dwarfed-many-college-bowl-games

UrsusTexicanus said:

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JSC 76 said:

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UrsusTexicanus said:

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joe amos yaks said:

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. . . Or whoever Army beat 70-14.

---

Houston. I know several UH grads who are still wailing about that game. Their only consolation is their coach just got fired.

---

Firing a coach after a bowl game? Whoa. For those of for whom making a bowl game = success, that's some cognitive dissonance.

---

From the Houston Chronicle:

Houston power brokers haven't been shy about their expectations for the program. At a holiday party two years ago -- shortly after Applewhite was hired -- university president Renu Khator said "winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2 ... We'll fire coaches at 8-4,"

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I'm sure people on this board might find it a little crazy that the President of the Board of Regents for the school also happens to be the school's largest donor - by far. But here, it makes total sense. Tillman Fertitta is committed to winning. And, they just plucked Dana Holgerson away from WVU, so they do seem serious.l

packawana said:

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Speaking of football appetite in TX...

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2019/01/02/crowds-uils-6a-state-title-games-dwarfed-many-college-bowl-games

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I played in tx for strake Jesuit, came back up to play for dls. No surprise here. Jesuit went 10-2. Signed kids to Pac 12.

Get some presence down there!!! Good god.