College Game Day Open Thread
Broadcasting from the Masters. Next week: The Westminster Dog Show.
Starts on ESPN2, not ESPN, because of ESPN's Masters coverage which they are obviously pimping.
This feels like nothing more than an excuse for an indulgence by the muckety-muck's at ESPN, since it has zero point zero to do with College Football. But this week, College Football barely has anything to do with College Football since half the games seem to be cancelled. So, whatever, knock yourselves out.
#2020.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:04 AM ^
The Masters and college football on the same day. My head may explode.
It’s ok M-Dog, just enjoy the day my man!
November 14th, 2020 at 9:09 AM ^
I'm a Sunday late-rounds Masters guy, but I'll check in on it. The college football is not exactly compelling.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:15 AM ^
LOLz at the people who say soccer isn’t a sport but will watch four days of Jim Nance speaking in hushed tones while grown men just wack a ball.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:31 AM ^
For the record, I believe soccer is a sport. But, I enjoy watching golf much more.
Why do my preferences upset you?
November 14th, 2020 at 9:58 AM ^
Agree - at least with golf something meaningful happens every few minutes, even if not dramatic.
A better sport comparison is soccer to hockey. Both have similar aspects of frequent change of possession, infrequent scoring, game design, and mostly continuous play. Yet hockey is more interesting to watch (IMO) since the speed of play is greater, more physicality (including fights), and the number of scoring chances are almost an order of magnitude greater. I feel soccer could be made similarly entertaining if the pitch were smaller and there weren't as many people on it - more concentrated action.
I like soccer as a game and will watch with interest during the Olympics and World Cup - but I just can't find enough interest to watch at any other level.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:17 AM ^
Wouldn’t making the field smaller have the opposite effect - in hockey, bigger ice generally means more offense since there’s more space to exploit, right? Wouldn’t soccer be the same - the smaller the field the less space there is the more constricted the game would be.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:38 AM ^
Not in my experience - watching college teams play on normal rinks versus Olympic sized there is an obvious difference. Also, the size of the rink matter less in hockey since the player speed is greater (and they can coast with little to no effort). A soccer player cannot easily, nor quickly, go from end to end - especially not on a normal pitch.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:39 AM ^
Not sure I’ve met anyone who thinks soccer is not a sport. There are plenty that don’t like it though. I think the appeal of golf is that a lot of people who watch it also play it connect to the skill pro players have.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
And I can drink while I golf. Not do much while playing soccer.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:47 AM ^
You can believe that soccer is a sport while finding it boring as hell to watch.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:55 AM ^
Perfect summation right there
November 14th, 2020 at 10:14 AM ^
I like both. Is that okay?
November 14th, 2020 at 10:20 AM ^
I have never heard anyone claim soccer isn’t a sport.
However, marathon running is also a sport and roughly as interesting to watch.
In order to fully offend everyone on this post, golf is clearly not a sport.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:07 AM ^
Wait, thats a +1 for your first two sentences, not your last. I'm not offended. You didn't trigger me.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:19 AM ^
Golf is an incredibly challenging game that requires a helluva a lot of skill, but it’s not a sport imo. If golf is a sport, than so are pool (billiards), darts and cornhole.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
I’ve heard this challenge. I might agree and I love golf. One could say a sport has elements of defense where you impede others from beating you. A game/match/event is a competition of skill against oneself and compared to others.
Sports: football, hockey, soccer, fencing
Games/match/event: golf, track races, most Olympic sports
Gray area: auto racing
And not being a sport is not derogatory, to me. It takes nothing away from the athletic achievements, requirements of the human body, and skill required to excel.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:14 PM ^
They are all sports. They are all competitions that require skills. But they're not all athletic activities.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:16 PM ^
I like to think in terms of “Sport” or “Skill”.
Sports: Football, Basketball, Soccer, Hockey
Skill: Golf, Bowling, Archery, DH, Place Kicker
November 14th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
Soccer is not a sport
November 14th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
Yes, virtually the entire world is wrong. Soccer isn’t a sport and one can’t make like a $billion a year playing it. In fact, I just donated to Ronaldo and Messi’s go fund me page to help buy their kids a Bugatti
November 14th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^
No one says soccer isn’t a sport.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:12 AM ^
Somebody has told you that Soccer is not a sport??? You'd have to have an IQ of 30 to think that. It may not be the most exciting sport, but is 1000% a sport.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:15 AM ^
Somebody has told you that Soccer is not a sport??? You'd have to have an IQ of 30 to think that. It may not be the most exciting sport, but is 1000% a sport.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:07 PM ^
Here is a fun fact, on College Game Day Desmond just “picked” Wiscy for tonight. Glad he has even seen the light.
November 14th, 2020 at 9:56 AM ^
Golf on ESPN just doesn't feel natural
November 14th, 2020 at 10:24 AM ^
First and second rounds use to be on USA Network til ten-ish years ago. That was always weird shoe-horned in between Law and Order reruns.
November 14th, 2020 at 10:09 AM ^
Enjoy the day, my friends. It may be our last.
November 14th, 2020 at 10:53 AM ^
I guess you would know if Russia is about to start WWIII. Your finger must be getting tired on top of the nuclear button.
November 14th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
Anyone know the status on Hayes and Mayfield?
November 14th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
It is very 2020 that college football is being discussed at a Major (and the Masters in particular has a pretty, um, interesting history as a club and golf tournament) because virtually any interesting game has been cancelled or delayed due to a novel virus that, 9 months into it hitting this country, we're still seeing over 1k people die from it daily.
November 14th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
It is very 2020 that college football is being discussed at a Major (and the Masters in particular has a pretty, um, interesting history as a club and golf tournament) because virtually any interesting game has been cancelled or delayed due to a novel virus that, 9 months into it hitting this country, we're still seeing over 1k people die from it daily.
November 14th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
I have this weekend off and I'll probably watch Michigan tonight but honestly football isn't scratching my itch at the moment
November 14th, 2020 at 10:33 AM ^
It would be nice if when they say "it will be won in the trenches", they could mention 4 top starters in the trenches out for Michigan ...
November 14th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
I would like to see how they react if someone were to play through as they try to do whatever passes for analysis on ESPN...
November 14th, 2020 at 11:05 AM ^
I want to be excited for both the masters and Michigan today but I just don’t care.
It’s weird, but sports mean nothing to me this year. And it’s not because “I refocused my priorities” or some other tired saying. Nope, it’s just I don’t care much about anything lately.
It is hard to look forward to anything anymore when Ive had so many vacations cancelled, while I’ve had to put in 2x hours every day at work basically for 8 months straight. Combine that with working and doing everything in your life from a small apartment you share with someone and it’s a pretty volatile mix.
With that being said, there is hope for next year in sports and society. Hopefully this vaccine proves able to get life moving again.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
I feel ya, my dude.
November 14th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
Oof....all pickers took Wisconsin, including Desmond. Has he ever NOT picked Michigan? Maybe this is what we need.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:04 PM ^
Desmond said he doesn’t trust the defensive backfield and then he said something about coaching but was cutoff by Herbstreit. Anybody catch what Desmond said?
November 14th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
Can you honestly argue that they're wrong? The way the so-called season has unfolded has trashed any basis for confidence in our team doing...well, anything. Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if we found our mojo, for this one game only, and blew the doors off a rusty Wisconsin, and then lost every single game on the rest of the schedule.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
It’s offense to me that they’re doing this Masters shit on Game Day. Fuck golf!
November 14th, 2020 at 12:08 PM ^
This is my gameday so far: For some reason I thought the game was on at noon and I turned on the TV to find MSU and Indiana getting started.
I don't know why our losing record team going against the COVID Badgers is considered a prime-time event. Now I have to completely replan my day.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
They locked in the game as a night game a while ago. If they had a do-over they would surely want to pick something else.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:08 PM ^
Gymnastics is inarguably a sport.
Neymar performs a tumbling routine every time he's on the pitch.
Ipso facto, soccer is a sport.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:38 PM ^
Anybody else have the Rhodesian Ridgeback, Portmanteau best in show at Westminster Dog Show?
I didn't think so,
November 14th, 2020 at 12:45 PM ^
Just trying to enjoy the day. I’ll watch Michigan tonight but my expectations are non-existent. I’ll probably get negged for this, but with COVID exploding out of control and a few states basically locking down again, I think there’s a very real chance the season gets shut down after today and that this will be the last Michigan football game we’ll watch until September 4, 2021. I think Harbaugh deserves to be let go, but realistically I know he won’t and that COVID is probably going to bail him out. 2021 appears to be do or die for Jim.
God speed everyone. It really sucks right now, but at least this time we know the vaccine is just around the corner and that there is light on the horizon. Just hang on through the winter.
November 14th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
Tom Allen shows the same fire and enthusiasm that Jim Harbaugh used to have.
November 14th, 2020 at 1:06 PM ^
LOMBARDI sucks ass. Like literally sucks ass without a mask.
Of course he torches Michigan.
November 14th, 2020 at 1:56 PM ^
At the half, MSU down 24-0 to Indiana with 82 total yards.
I think some of those premature recruiting celebrations last week, maybe be in extended hangover protocol for some time.
Keep up the recruiting contact for when they awake next to their empty bottle of aspirin 
November 14th, 2020 at 2:16 PM ^
PSU also down to Nebraska 27-6 at the half.
Franklin & Harbaugh looking to Finebaum for counselling 
Indiana vs OSU next week for the conference lead.
November 14th, 2020 at 3:20 PM ^
No one north of the Mason-Dixie line has EVER asked Pete Finebaum for counseling.