The Blue Bronco Grind
Workhorses, narrow escapes, QB changeups and plenty of Playoff implications
Taking a look at NIL lessons from Week 9 of the 2024 CFB season and how they can apply to sports, business and life.
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I have been busy traveling in San Antonio recently helping with a family wedding and other priorities. Truly appreciate everyone bearing with me as I work to publish the latest newsletter.
As we enter CFB’s week 10, has anyone really taken a moment to appreciate the CFB landscape right now? Look at where we stand midway through:
By my count, nearly 50 teams still have theoretical paths to the Playoff
The ACC & Big Ten could have three teams finish undefeated without ever playing each other
The Heisman frontrunner lives in Boise, Idaho
Washington State is doing their best to keep the Pac-12 relevant
SMU is taking $0 in media rights revenue for the next nine years in order to play in the ACC… and are in first place
The normal SEC brands are at risk of missing out on the postseason entirely, and…
Army is undefeated; and may play Navy in consecutive weeks with Playoff implications
A Playoff could include: Texas A&M; Boise State; Indiana; SMU; Army; BYU/Iowa State; and Notre Dame. We will see if the CFB Gods continue to smile down on these teams rather than the big brands.
A quick three lessons:
Grind it Out
Boise State is the Group of 5 frontrunner at this point with Ashton Jeanty as the Heisman favorite. Yet, he did not have a lights out performance in Las Vegas.
When Boise State needed him most, down one with 12 minutes to play, Jeanty was able to just barley punch it in on fourth and goal.
However, the Broncos—who won again last night with ease over San Diego State— are much more than just Jeanty. They have a full fledged offensive attack, are disciplined defensively and are creative.
The harsh truth though is if you don’t win, people lose interest (see UNLV) and stop caring. Unfortunately, underdogs only get so many mulligans.
You have to grind—especially when you are not at your best—to find ways to win, advance and succeed.
Texas A&M’s SWOT
In College Station, things were not looking good for the Aggies who trailed LSU 17-7 at half. Wildly, they inserted freshman QB Marcel Reed who only completed two passes, but raced for 62 yards and three TDs in the 38-23 win.
In business, SWOT is used to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Reed and Texas A&M were able to do exactly that in the second half vs LSU. Reed kept to his strengths as a runner and LSU’s biggest weakness is defending the running quarterback.
Coack Mike Elko knew the SWOT, made the switch and it paid off big time.
That puts A&M in sole possession of first in the SEC; gives them an inside track to the Playoff, and potentially sets up an indescribable Thanksgiving revival of the Lone Star Showdown with Texas.
With the Playoff on the line, they’ll need to know the SWOT for that game as well.
Know your SWOT… it pays dividends.
Find a Way to Win
SMU traveled to Durham and built a 21-7 lead over the Blue Devils, yet turned the ball over six times to allow Duke an opportunity to win in the end.
With 58 seconds left, Duke returned an egregious SMU fumble to the Pony’s 14-yard line. All they needed was a chip shot FG to win the game.
Jahfari Harvey leaped over the line and blocked the kick as time expired to force overtime. SMU then scored first in OT and then stopped Duke’s two-point conversion to escape with a perfect ACC record. Will see if it can stay that way as they host Pitt.
Sometimes you just got to find a way to win and the next time out perform better to make it so hard on yourself.
Go Vote
The first edition of the Playoff rankings comes out next week. Many will not be happy, and many will complain. But only 13 people have a say.
Fortunately, you do have a say in the Presidential Election. Be sure to exercise your democratic right to vote.
Otherwise, you will have no right to complain.