Mailbag: What's the best college football weekend trip this year?

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:52 p.m. ET

Stewart Mandel

On Monday, I returned home to the Bay Area from a holiday weekend getaway to learn that … holy cow, the Warriors signed Kevin Durant! I woke up Tuesday to return to work following vacation and realized … holy cow, SEC Media Days is next week!

That snuck up in a hurry. Got a question for the mailbag? Hit me up at stewart.mandel@gmail.com.

Hey Stewart: With Nick Chubb's return still up in the air and Sony Michel now in doubt for Week 1 after breaking his arm, does Georgia have any shot against North Carolina on Sept. 3 if the Dawgs don't start Jacob Eason? We already know what Grayson Lambert is and what he isn't, and he certainly isn't going to beat anyone vertically down the field. Starting to feel quite nervous about the 'Dawgs chances...

-- Nick Stepp, East Lansing

First of all, can we talk about the injury curse that has been inexplicably wiping out Georgia running backs for the past several years? First Keith Marshall (2013), then Todd Gurley (’14) and then Chubb (’15) tore their ACLs, with Marshall suffering additional injuries later in his career. Now the team’s reigning offensive MVP goes and gets in an ATV accident two months before the season opener. Which would you rather not be at this point, a Georgia tailback or a drummer for Spinal Tap?

Kirby Smart (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

But I’m not sure why running back depth would affect coach Kirby Smart’s quarterback choice. Whether it’s Eason, Lambert or Brice Ramsey, the Dawgs are not likely to throw the ball 50 times. That’s not their offense. Furthermore, while Eason has a cannon arm he’s still a true freshman who would be making his first college start. The more Georgia asks him to do, the higher the chance he will make a costly mistake or two. While it’s entirely possible he’ll be the Week 1 starter, it’s unrealistic to think Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney would just have him go out and let it rip right from the first play.

All of this may be moot. Georgia has been largely mum about Chubb’s recovery, but Smart has said nothing to indicate he definitely won’t be ready, and Michel’s reported timeline of six to eight weeks means it’s more likely than not he’ll make it back in time. If not, Smart will likely hope for the best from backup runners like Brendan Douglas or possibly incoming freshman Elijah Holyfield and hope that his defense can pressure Heels QB Mitch Trubisky and contain stud RB Elijah Hood and explosive WR/KR Ryan Switzer.

It’s definitely an interesting matchup. North Carolina has more offensive firepower, but Georgia is far more talented defensively and essentially playing at home in Atlanta. Looking forward to it.

Hi Stewart. First off, do you realize that your colleague Bruce Feldman dissed you while you were away on vacation by saying it was "even better" to have Brady Quinn on the Audible? Secondly, why is it that you and many other sportswriters are higher on Washington than UCLA? Jake Browning often looked shaky even though Chris Petersen tried to protect him with a conservative playbook, whereas Josh Rosen looked like the phenom many expected.

-- Blake, Vancouver, WA

Chris Petersen, with quarterback Jake Browning (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

I did hear him say that, but I assumed he was referring to Brady’s hair, which is even better than mine, if you can believe that.

I made a mistake earlier this offseason when I answered somebody’s “why are you so high on Washington?” question. Apparently no one saw it, because I still get some variation of that same question nearly every week. At least this one gives me a reason to talk about another Pac-12 team.

There are many reasons to like UCLA, with Rosen tops on the list. He certainly had his growing pains last season, but that’s to be expected for a true freshman. I have little doubt he’ll shine this season. And the Bruins’ defense could be significantly better by getting back injured standouts Eddie Vanderdoes and Fabian Moreau. Running back Soso Jamabo and defensive end Takkarist McKinley are both poised for a breakout years.

Ultimately, though, I just have more faith in Petersen than I do Jim Mora. It’s not that the latter hasn’t done good things in Westwood. His 37 wins in four seasons are the most for that program since the late ‘80s. But even so, his teams can also be counted on to commit an inordinate number of penalties and lay an egg or two per season against teams they should beat. Pac-12 coaches I’ve spoken with believed UCLA to be the league’s most talented team the past two seasons, yet the Bruins did not win even a division title either year.

Petersen’s overachieving Boise State teams were basically the antithesis of Mora’s Bruins, and he now seemingly has enough “OKGs” to win in the Pac-12. Who knows, maybe their teams will meet in Santa Clara in December.

Stewart: Should Gator Nation be excited about Jim McElwain? He certainly showed us he can coach in his first year on the job with an unexpected run to Atlanta, yet there is little-to-no "buzz" around the program. His staff is showing nowhere near the recruiting prowess of national powers like Ohio State, Alabama and, in-state, FSU. Should Gator Nation come to terms with McElwain likely being a coach that will have some nice seasons but will not get us back to being a consistent Top 10 program?

-- Raul Rodriguez, Chicago, IL

Jim McElwain (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

It’s hard to judge McElwain off an unusual first season in which Florida far exceeded expectations and finally produced a competent offense over its first eight games, then regressed to the point of unwatchable over its last six. Losing promising QB Will Grier to a PED suspension halfway through the year gave cause for a mulligan, but three straight blowout losses to end the year took the shine off an otherwise triumphant 10-win season.

One thing we know: McElwain can coach quarterbacks. He did it with AJ McCarron at Alabama, he did it with Garrett Grayson at Colorado State and he did it for half a season with Grier. Granted, even he couldn’t salvage Treon Harris, but I fully expect to see good things from likely starter Luke Del Rio this season. The offense will rebound, and the defense should be solid. Florida might not win the East again — Tennessee is the overwhelming favorite — but nor will it return to Muschamp depths.

However, the recruiting struggles you brought up are surprising and concerning. Ostensibly Florida should be one of those programs that can name its recruits. In-state competition with Florida State and Miami is undoubtedly tough, but there are more than enough big names to go around. But his first full class ranked just sixth in the SEC, per 247Sports, and while it’s too early to put much weight in the 2017 standings, Florida’s commits currently rank ninth. That’s not a recipe for national championships, which Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer ensured will be the standard for all Florida coaches to follow them.

Give McElwain a chance. It’s only Year 2. I’m very curious to see how he fares both on the field and in living rooms over the next seven months.

Has anyone benefited more from the Baylor implosion than Texas, and are the four pickups the Horns got really better than what Texas was able to initially recruit? Not sure if it says more about how far Texas had fallen or how high Baylor rose, but I see a return to order in the Big 12 on the horizon.

-- Matt Dozier, The Woodlands, Texas

Baylor's McLane Stadium (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

I don’t think it was a coincidence that, at least on Twitter, the fan base most up in arms about the Baylor scandal as it unfolded was Texas’. I heard from them constantly. While I’d love to believe it was purely their desire to seek justice for sexual assault victims, let’s be real. There would be far less concern had the same circumstances sprung up at a random Mountain West school. They wanted to see the little school in Waco that dared usurp the ‘Horns in football go down.

Texas’ 2016 class was already stellar, having risen into the top 10 by Signing Day. Adding the four ex-Baylor signees — three of them four-stars — lifted the ‘Horns all the way up to No. 3 on Scout.com, by far the highest-ranked class since Charlie Strong’s arrival. Texas had pursued all of them the first time around, which says everything about why ‘Horns fans had come to loathe Baylor. We’d actually reached the once-unfathomable point where recruits would willingly choose Baylor over Texas.

Of course it’s not guaranteed that “order will be restored” in the Big 12. Strong still has some serious work to do. But there’s no question Texas is directly benefitting from the dysfunction in Waco.

The only school that could potentially benefit even more: Whoever lands hot-shot Baylor quarterback Jarrett Stidham if, as is being reported as a strong possibility, he soon transfers.

Stewart, there was quite the hubbub when Baylor scheduled Incarnate Word for the 2019 season. With an eye on playing a tougher schedule, do you see Incarnate Word dropping Baylor?

-- Chris McCabe, Los Angeles

Too soon?

Too soon.

Justin Fuente (Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

The adage, "Recruiting Rankings Matter" certainly rings true. According to this SB Nation article, the state of Virginia ranked eighth in percentage of blue-chip prospects nationally with 56 over the past five seasons. Virginia Tech’s Justin Fuente, only 39, has a tradition-rich program and a fertile recruiting area at his doorstep. What is your prognostication for his long-term success?

-- Jack Murphy, Taiwan

Now that I myself have exited my 30s, I’m wondering what age someone is no longer considered young? If Fuente goes 10-2 this season, will he be referred to this time next year as “only 40,” or does that part of the question automatically vanish, as if suddenly his best years are behind him? You know, like when NBA players turn 33.

I’m very bullish on Fuente, who orchestrated a remarkable turnaround at Memphis and now walks into an ideal situation at Virginia Tech. While it's unquestionably daunting replacing an icon like Frank Beamer, because the Hokies slipped into mediocrity over the past four years or so, there won’t be as much pressure on Fuente to win big right away. Plus, there’s more talent on hand in Blacksburg than the Hokies’ 7-6 record last year would indicate. Virginia Tech’s offense has struggled for what seems like a decade; Fuente, who put up big numbers with Paxton Lynch, could change that in a hurry.

I do find it a bit surprising that not only Tech, but archrival Virginia — which has its own respected first-year coach in Bronco Mendenhall — are not exactly cleaning it up with those in-state blue-chippers. Four of the state’s 15 four- or five-star prospects on Scout.com have committed; none in-state, and only four of the others have Virginia Tech listed among their current top five, with just two for Virginia.

Granted, Beamer won a whole lot of games with a whole bunch of under-the-radar recruits, so it’s not like Fuente needs to morph into Jimbo Fisher or Dabo Swinney to beat their teams. It’s just surprising to me, because oftentimes a new coach enjoys a big recruiting bump before he coaches his first game.

Iowa was the benefactor of a soft conference schedule in 2015. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

The summer discussions have once again turned toward strengths of non-conference schedules, but nary a mention of conference schedules. Are teams’ conference schedules considered equal simply because they are conference games? Should they be? Consider that if Iowa had lost even one game prior to the Big Ten championship last season, the Hawkeyes likely would have not “cakewalked” into the Rose Bowl.

-- Ric A, Queens, N.Y.

More attention gets placed on non-conference schedules because those are the games the schools control. The other eight or nine opponents are a luck of the draw. The question is, are poll voters and committee members paying enough attention to the disparity of those draws?

Generally speaking, we’ve long made distinctions between the various power conferences’ schedules. Most would agree that a typical SEC West team plays a tougher conference schedule than a Big West counterpart. But what many people have been slower to acknowledge is the inequity of schedules within the more bloated power conferences. Case in point, Clemson this season will play three conference games against likely preseason Top 25 teams (Florida State, North Carolina and Louisville). Fellow ACC member Virginia Tech will play one (UNC).

The selection committee of course insists that it doesn’t differentiate between conference and non-conference games but rather evaluates teams’ entire 12-game schedules. That may be true, but at the same time, it’s thus far put more emphasis on Top 25 wins than any other factor, which essentially does penalize teams from weaker divisions. Hence, why those early-season games are so important. If the Hokies were in fact to emerge as playoff contenders, they’re going to be grateful for that Week 2 duel with Tennessee.

My friends and I travel for a college football weekend and can't decide where to go. We live in Texas so pretty much anywhere else is on the table. We found a San Francisco weekend, Oct. 21-23, that has Oregon at Cal on Friday, Colorado at Stanford on Saturday and the Bucs at 49ers on Sunday. So far this is our best bet, but the concern is that all three might be blowouts, not to mention one isn’t even college. Any other ideas?

-- Russell B. Austin, TX

The year's best college football weekend? Try Week 1 in the state of Texas. (Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

The ultimate college football weekend is taking place in your own state on Labor Day weekend. Start out at Oklahoma-Houston at 11 a.m. on Saturday, then hit the road to Arlington in time for USC-Alabama at 7 p.m. (with bonus points if you stop off in College Station for part of UCLA-Texas A&M at 2:30) and finish with a Texas home game Sunday night against Notre Dame.

Beyond that, I’ll open it to the readers for suggestions.

Has Stewart Mandel taken up any new athletic pursuits since moving to the Silicon Valley? E.g #Running #Cycling

-- William Von Kaenel, Clovis, CA

No, but I get a lot of exercise running up two flights of stairs whenever the baby starts crying.

Stewart: I realize that you were on vacation, but SI had a Dr. Z Week last week. Do you have any Dr. Z stories from your days at SI? For my money, he is the standard to which all other football writers are compared.

-- Dave Piner, Haslett, MI

I only ever had one interaction with Dr. Z — but it was a doozy.

It was either the Monday or Tuesday after a football weekend during the 2005 season. Paul apparently called up the newsroom asking to talk to “one of your college football guys,” and got transferred to me. He’d watched the end of a Florida State-Boston College game that Saturday and had a question, which was, “Why the hell didn’t BC pass on fourth down?” Mind you, this was not the lament of a crushed fan or a scorned gamble. Purely in the name of football, he seemed genuinely and passionately incredulous that BC — down 28-17 but having driven 79 yards to the FSU 1 with two minutes left — ran a QB draw on fourth and goal.

This being our first interaction, I didn’t know what to say. He was so moved to place the call, it seemed like he really wanted me to give him a smart, football-savvy defense of Tom O’Brien’s decision. Which I did not have at the ready. The best I could muster was, well, BC’s starting quarterback got hurt, maybe they didn’t trust the backup. He seemed to accept that, but was still grumbling when he hung up. Needless to say, he took football very, very seriously.

By the way, I had to look up the game recap from that day to refresh my memory of the details. The BC backup quarterback in question? One Matthew Ryan.

When did Nick Saban start recruiting for the Golden State Warriors?

-- Erik Freymuth, Austin, TX

Saban is a heck of a closer, but he’s no Jerry West.

Got a question for the mailbag? Hit Stewart up at stewart.mandel@gmail.com.