Rebel with a Cause
CFB gave us plenty of 'what not to do' type lessons in Week 11.
Taking a look at NIL lessons from Week 11 of the 2024 CFB season and how they can apply to sports, business and life.
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With November in full swing, CFB continues to illustrate why it is the best sport of all time.
No. 3 Georgia lost to someone other than Alabama for the first time in nearly four years; No. 4 Miami finally got burned after playing with fire; Colorado and Indiana are in the driver's seat; Army finally trailed for the first time this season; and BYU survived.
A Rebel Yell
On November 7, 2020, Georgia lost to No. 8 Florida 44-28. What followed was a streak of dominance that has seldom been seen in sports.
Over the next four years, the Bulldogs accumulated a 53-3 record—and two national titles— before falling to a team not named Alabama.
Ole Miss pulled off potentially their best win in program history with a 28-10 upset of Georgia this past weekend.
In the mix of all that happened in CFB, including at the Grove, several NIL life lessons were at play.
Don’t Play with Fire
Although undefeated, the Hurricanes have been playing from behind nearly all season. Living on the brink of danger, Cam Ward has always pulled through:
10-point comeback vs Virginia Tech
25-point comeback vs Cal
11-point comeback vs Duke
Go-ahead TD vs Louisville (tied in 4th)
Until they fell to Georgia Tech 28-23 last week—marking the ‘Canes second straight embarrassing loss to the Yellow Jackets.
If you play with fire—like the Hurricanes have with GT the past two years—you’re going to get burned.
Don’t Stray from your Core Competencies
Once you discover what gives you a competitive advantage, fully exploit it. Do not try to get fancy or implement new, confusing strategies that make it more difficult to win.
For the Black Knights of Army, that is running the ball. Throwing is just not in their vocabulary as they have only tossed the ball for 765 yards this season compared to gaining over 3,000 yards on the ground.
Army QB Bryson Daily has nearly double the yardage on the ground (1,062) than in the air (644).
Against North Texas, Army trailed for the first time ever this season and they had 293 passing yards vs a mere 15 rushing yards. This included a backbreaking 21-play, 94-yard and 13:54 minute touchdown drive in the second half.
Army also intercepted the Mean Green twice in the end zone in the fourth to prevent the game from getting interesting. Now they have a bye to prepare for a red hot Notre Dame Irish team that will make or break their Playoff hopes.
The point is, find what you do best and then do it. Over and over and over again.
Don’t Count Your Chickens
Oklahoma led by seven with under two minutes to play in Columbia and proceeded to give up the game-tying TD in under a minute.
It only got worse from there as the Sooners subsequently fumbled with 22 seconds left, which was returned by the Tigers for the game-winning TD.
The cliche, ‘never count your chickens before they hatch’ is 100 percent true. You always have to finish the job.
That includes qualifying for the CFB Playoff. Something that near everybody was unconcerned about Georgia doing when they lost to Alabama earlier this season. Penciling in the Bulldogs and saying the loss did not matter was something that I warned folks to be careful of.
Don’t count chickens.
Don’t Create Poor Optics
Speaking of Georgia, there continues to be a lot of off the field concerns and distractions for the program that was poised to be the powerhouse of CFB.
After their disastrous loss to Ole Miss, Bulldog backup safety Jake Pope seemed to celebrate with Rebel fans in the post game chaos. Coach Kirby Smart called him an “idiot” at the next day’s press conference.
For Georgia, this latest incident gives the sense that their program is in disarray and unable to be managed. During their dominant run, multiple players and staffers have been disciplined, arrested or unfortunately killed.
Every week Georgia has been in crisis management mode. So it’s good to remember that your reputation is how other’s perceive your words and actions.
That’s why optics matter.
Don’t Litter
Please stop throwing things on the field. To echo Kirk Herbstreit, what in the world are we doing?
We are taking cues from Texas? Seriously?
CFB is the greatest sport on Earth because it has the best atmospheres. Don’t let one bad burnt orange apple ruin the experiences for everyone else.
Don’t Burn Bridges
The Utah AD criticized the officials and the entire Big 12 conference for ‘stealing’ their victory vs BYU.
Complaining about the referees—even for an AD— is one thing but to call out your brand new conference for conspiracy is a different thing altogether.
When things get emotional, it can be difficult to keep a level head. But it is imperative to try and not to burn bridges.
You never know when you will work or need a favor from that person, company or conference again in the future.
Basketball Bonus: How do you respond?
Baylor—with a slew of new faces in transfers and freshmen— got run out of the gym in on CBB’s opening night against non-conference rival Gonzaga.
So how do you respond when you lose by an embarrassing near 40-points?
Beat legendary coach John Calipari and No. 16 Arkansas 72-67 on a neutral court by dominating nearly start to finish.
The Bears seemed unfazed from their loss and just continued to go to work.
And that’s exactly what you need to do after your toughest adversities!