OTish - Alabama traveling to B1G country to play...Minnesota (?!?)...in 2032
Finally! What we've all been begging for! A national power/SEC team had the courage to come north and play a true OOC road game, I guess. Although this feels like the equivalent of OSU or Michigan scheduling South Carolina or Mississippi State.
The last time Alabama came north they visited (and beat) Penn State in 2011.
Minnesota returns the favor by traveling to Tuscaloosa in 2033.
Of course, who knows if this series will ever actually happen. In 10 years the landscape of college football could be completely different and this could just end with Alabama writing a check to Minnesota in order to put Tulane on the schedule instead. Or maybe this will be an in-conference matchup by that time.
Interesting fact: Minnesota is undefeated all-time against 'Bama.
October 12th, 2022 at 3:48 AM ^
It is a wonder to think what these programs will look like in 10 years. One thing I feel confident about: Fleck will not be coaching Minnesota in these games. Who knows what college football even looks like in 2032? One thing I hope is that Jim Harbaugh is still our coach at this time.
October 12th, 2022 at 6:25 AM ^
i think theres a better chance Fleck is coaching in this game than Saban.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:09 AM ^
Saban is already 70, so he's out-longtimed Bear Bryant who retired at 69 (the slacker). But it does feel like Saban has a few more years left in the tank. It does not feel like he has 10 more years left...
October 12th, 2022 at 8:25 AM ^
Bear had ridden his horse pretty hard by the time he retired. A man can only drink so much bourbon and smoke so many cigarettes. He died something like 9 months after he left Bama.
October 12th, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
Cigarettes and bourbon? That's what kept him alive.
October 12th, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^
It's worked for me so far. 🤷♂️
October 12th, 2022 at 11:07 AM ^
Saban in 2032
October 12th, 2022 at 11:58 AM ^
Saban north of the Mason Dixon line in September.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:00 PM ^
The key is I think the first home game is AT Alabama.
They'll find a way to sneak out of ACTUALLY heading north, while getting their home game.
Sound familiar Notre Dame?
October 12th, 2022 at 8:30 PM ^
Notre Dame played the last game in the rivalry in Ann Arbor. It was a glorious monsoon annihilating by the good guys 45-14. My buddies and I sure picked the right game to attend that season!
October 12th, 2022 at 5:52 AM ^
Scheduling Tanner Morgan in his RS SR year is a gamble. Bama showing no fear here.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:16 AM ^
It's also possible that Clifford grad transfers in to lead Minnesota to the victory. He'll likely have 2-3 years of eligibility at that point. Savvy veteran that he is
October 12th, 2022 at 9:06 PM ^
Bama already scheduled a home and home w OSU in 2027/2028 - which I applaud
October 12th, 2022 at 6:25 AM ^
80 year old Nick Saban won't be afraid of any Gophers, assuming he still know what year it is and that the current president is Kayne
October 12th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
Actually, Bama will hire Bill Murray as coach to take care of the Gophers.
October 12th, 2022 at 7:08 AM ^
Bama banking on global warming.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:02 AM ^
....Bill Murray getting rid of those pesky gophers.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:08 AM ^
Minny banking on Saban retiring.
October 12th, 2022 at 9:04 AM ^
No more hoping for meteors though...
https://www.science.org/content/article/nasa-test-mission-successfully-deflects-asteroid
All told, the early data confirm humanity’s newfound ability to defend our planet—at least from relatively small asteroids. Such space rocks are the top concern for planetary defense experts, given that they’re thousands of times more likely to strike Earth than massive dinosaur-killer asteroids.
October 12th, 2022 at 7:21 AM ^
That's a long way to row a boat.
October 12th, 2022 at 7:24 AM ^
Back in the day, Minnesota was considered a college football powerhouse. That day was quite a few years ago, but still ... a storied program overall. I was looking through the Wikipedia article on Minnesota football for 'notable players and coaches,' and there are a few recognizable names. For me, the player name that sticks out is "Bronko Nagurski," which has to rank up there as one of the best "old time football" names.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:10 AM ^
Yeah, that name sounds so much like myth! Also, it sounds like he should have played at Illinois...
October 12th, 2022 at 9:26 AM ^
Yes, but "back in the day" = pre WWII.
October 12th, 2022 at 10:51 AM ^
For the most part, yes ... but they did win a National Championship in 1960.
October 12th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
Bronko Nagurski didn't get no bye weeks and now he's dead.
October 12th, 2022 at 1:28 PM ^
Maybe he needed more cigarettes and bourbon?
October 12th, 2022 at 10:46 AM ^
Bronco was a dude’s dude. Check out his Wikipedia page. Guy had a neck and shoulders like Gordie Howe.
October 12th, 2022 at 7:51 AM ^
Rowing the boat against the crimson tide.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:03 AM ^
Winner, winner right here! 😎
October 12th, 2022 at 8:08 AM ^
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
October 12th, 2022 at 8:17 AM ^
How the slate might look this season if a Big 10-SEC challenge were played this year:
Alabama @ Michigan
Ohio St @ Georgia
Ole Miss @ Iowa
Michigan St @ Kentucky
Texas A&M @ Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Arkansas
Mississippi St @ Purdue
Penn St @ Tennessee
Auburn @ Maryland
Illinois @ LSU
Florida @ Nebraska
Rutgers @ Missouri
South Carolina @ Northwestern
Indiana @ Vanderbilt
October 12th, 2022 at 8:30 AM ^
One of the enduring myths is that the SEC is a powerhouse conference top-to-bottom. It's not. The other day ESPN had an article talking about how college football "flows through the SEC," and it pointed to Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee as examples. No mention of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State. Those articles also conveniently leave out mention of South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and (lately) Florida.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:59 AM ^
Stop reading ESPN. Problem solved.
October 12th, 2022 at 1:56 PM ^
Well, it was an ESPN+ article, and I don't pay for that, so all I read was the headline. :-)
October 12th, 2022 at 9:11 AM ^
SEC is the best conference but it is not the huge gap SEC fans seem to think. If MSU and the West ever get back on track we will be right there.
October 12th, 2022 at 1:06 PM ^
I feel like this year PSU has replaced MSU's spot, with UMD replacing PSU's spot last year, and MSU going back to where UMD was in 2021.
But yea, not sure if anyone in the west will replace Wisconsin - Illinois with Bret could, maybe Purdue could do it in a very different way, Minnesota seems to be trying to replicate it. One of those 3, or perhaps all, could become consistent contenders the way Wisconsin was. But in the divisionless future and with a likely power in USC joining, i definitely shouldn't be banking on any of this.
October 12th, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
I went by last year's records for the most part, but should have gerrymandered Texas A&M to play Iowa. A&M has far more 4- and 5-stars, but those are basically the same team at this point, with Iowa a slightly better defense and A&M a slightly better offense.
Over/Under for that game: 18.5
October 12th, 2022 at 9:21 AM ^
The other day ESPN had an article talking about how college football "flows through the SEC,"
ESPN paid $3 billion for the exclusive rights to SEC games. it is in their financial interest to pump up SEC as much as possible.
October 12th, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^
Jaws, I'm shocked - absolutely shocked - by your assumption.
Are you saying that eSECpn would promote a specific conference to promote, in a self serving manner, their over financial gain? Please, say it isn't so.
October 12th, 2022 at 11:09 AM ^
The SEC is incredibly top-heavy. Now yes, those top 1-2 teams are usually far and away the best teams in the country in any given year. But once you get to that second tier of teams and below, the differences between them and many other teams throughout the country are very small. And its not like the top of the SEC rotates every year or every other year. Its always the same teams. Alabama and Georgia, or occasionally LSU.
Teams in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten can hang with and beat teams in the middle of the pack in the SEC. Purdue beat Tennessee last year. Penn State beat Auburn (twice). Iowa nearly beat Kentucky.
The SEC has been riding on Alabama's coattails for over a decade, and now its starting to ride on Georgia's. Maybe Tennessee is for real this year, but we'll know for sure after Saturday. But the rest of those teams? They're all flawed. They can all be beaten. Many of those teams can be beaten by Big Ten teams. But because the tippy top of the SEC is usually winning or at least playing for a national title every year, the rest of the conference tries to claim credit for it vicariously.
October 12th, 2022 at 12:50 PM ^
I'm mixed on this. SEC has 2 programs that have been a cut above even OSU, Big Ten has 4 programs who in the CFP era weren't as good as those two but were consistently better than anyone in the SEC, except for LSU who had one great year. Beyond that tho, I think the SEC's middle goes a much longer way than the Big Ten's - MSU some years, Minnesota, Iowa, maybe Purdue, NW less than half the time. In the CFP era, IU, RU, MD, UofI, UN-L all were consistently bad. Meanwhile, in the SEC, only Vanderbilt is consistently as bad as that group of five.
As a Michigan fan, we compete with or are better than 12 SEC schools pretty consistently - so it's pretty odd to hear someone from like Ole Miss or SCAR or Tennessee going "S-E-C!" to us. But outside of the Big Ten's top 4, the mid tier programs in the Big Ten are maybe competitive with a large group of SEC schools, but the bottom of the Big Ten is much larger.
October 12th, 2022 at 11:18 AM ^
Here's the list again, with SP+-generated (rounded) betting lines:
Alabama -1 @ Michigan
OSU PK @ Georgia
Ole Miss -8 @ Iowa
Michigan St +13.5 @ Kentucky
Texas A&M +2 @ Wisconsin
Minnesota -6 @ Arkansas
Miss St -1 @ Purdue
Penn St +8 @ Tennessee
Auburn +8.5 @ Maryland
Illinois +5 @ LSU
Florida -6 @ Nebraska
Rutgers +8 @ Missouri
South Carolina -16 @ Northwestern
Indiana -1 @ Vanderbilt
October 12th, 2022 at 12:59 PM ^
so 5 games would be within a FG of each other, 3 other games less than a TD separation (with the SEC favored 2/3), 5 games where the SEC is more than a TD favorite and one where Maryland is favored by over a TD.
That feels right - looking game by game I think Illinois may match up better than the line suggests, but yea i think overall the top of the league may be fairly competitive but the bottom would not be.
October 12th, 2022 at 3:51 PM ^
Geez, honestly, looking at that lineup I think the only B1G team that should be a clear favorite is Indiana. Didn't think that would be the case.
October 12th, 2022 at 8:41 AM ^
How much climate change are we going to need to make sure of two feet of snow on the ground in Minneapolis in September 2032?
brb, going to go buy a couple F-350s.
October 12th, 2022 at 9:05 AM ^
I would not like to play against a Mike Leach-coached Mississippi State team and doubt Nick Saban wants to in a few weeks either.
In 2032 Saban will be 80 if he is still coaching. I wonder who is more likely to be at their respective school at that time: Saban or Fleck? Will Sean Clifford still be Penn State's QB?
October 12th, 2022 at 3:54 PM ^
No. Clifford will have just graduated -- 1 year ahead of Tanner Morgan.
October 12th, 2022 at 9:10 AM ^
It'll be fun to see Alabama live for once.
October 12th, 2022 at 2:09 PM ^
In true Bama style, they will drop the game the year before due to "scheduling issues"....ie, Nick needs to work on his bowel control at home. But the Tide will make it up by scheduling some Tibetian Seminary or a local high school team.