Football is getting scarce. Only three games remain before we close the books on the 2025 season.
Here are the lessons learned from a snowy smorgasbord of NFL football and a championship game for the ages.
Hoosier Daddy
Thanks to Curt Cig-natty, Indiana University just authored the best story in college football history. They pummeled Alabama by 35 points in the Rose Bowl. They twice beat Oregon, including a 56-22 thrashing in the semifinals. They won a championship by beating Miami in its own stadium.
In a state known for producing epic cinematic underdogs (“Rudy,” “Hoosiers”), there will surely be a movie made about this football team. Kevin Costner should land the role of Cignetti, and this one will be called “Hoosier Daddy.” Subtitle: Google Me.
The Blue-Chip ratio
Telling stat: The Blue-Chip ratio is the percentage of four- and five-star players on a college football team’s roster. Since 2011, every champion in college football has been well above 50%. This season, Georgia (74%), Alabama (73%), Ohio State (73%) and LSU (71%) and Oregon (67%) rounded out the top five with overwhelming numbers.
Indiana landed at 8%, further illustrating the breadth of the accomplishment.
By the way, the Blue-Chip ratio at Arizona State was 6% while Arizona was at 3%.
Did Caleb Williams provide the best fourth-down pass in football history?
Caleb Williams gave America a transcendent moment in Sunday’s loss to the Rams. His backpedaling, desperation fourth-down touchdown pass turned into one of the greatest singular moments in franchise history. Chicagoans are still buzzing over the moment, so improbable yet so galvanizing. Bears fans will always remember where they were and how they reacted. So:
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Was it the best fourth-down pass in football history? Or was it the outrageous Hail Mary from Aaron Rodgers on fourth-and-20 from his own four-yard line at State Farm Stadium? Donovan McNabb converting a 4th-and-26 in a playoff win against the Packers? Josh McCown to Nate Poole on 4th-and-25 at State Farm Stadium, a game that bounced the Vikings from the postseason and effectively brought Larry Fitzgerald to Arizona?
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is in the mix for best fourth-down running play by a quarterback. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray owns the best two-point conversion, running for 21 seconds and a total of 84.9 yards before crossing the goal line against the Raiders in 2022.
The NFL has an officiating problem
The NFL has an officiating problem. During the Broncos win on Saturday, referees twice tossed flags for pass interference in overtime against the Bills after calling zero in the preceding 60 minutes of regulation. One of the calls was egregiously soft, which means the officials changed the standard once the game reached overtime.
On the previous drive, they ruled an interception in favor of the Broncos, despite photographic evidence that the Buffalo receiver had possession and contact with the ground before the ball was snatched away. One day later in Chicago, officials ruled the other way on nearly the exact same play.
When it comes to officiating, no consistency = no trust.
Nothing is more damaging to a fan base than a flummoxed head coach
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans chose to punt while trailing by two possessions (12 points) with just four minutes remaining in a playoff game. Brutal. Nothing can be more damaging to a fan base than a head coach so flummoxed that he raises a white flag on fourth down because he has no other ideas. For proof:
Kliff Kingsbury lost me in Week 18 of the 2020 season when he did the same thing in a high-stakes game against the Rams. Trailing 18-7, Kingsbury called for a running play on 3rd-and-18 that lost three yards and then punted the ball with 4:31 left in the game.
When the Cardinals finally got the ball back, there were 19 seconds left in the game. And it represented the first red flag from the Kingsbury era. There would be more.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
Follow @danbickley
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