Skull Session: Juwan Howard Had a Meltdown, College Football Playoff Expansion Helps Elite Teams, and Dawand Jones Finishes Blocks

Turns out, Dawand Jones is uh... hard to miss.

Dawand talking bout he only recognized me because of my jacket.dawg you are 68 360 https://t.co/50o9chFIfa
— Kyle McCord (@kylemccord16) February 18, 2022

The better question is who here would *not* recognize Dawand Jones if they saw him around campus.

Word of the Day: Toddle.

MICHIGAN MAN(BABY). In case y'all managed to go full Patrick Star and stick yourself under a rock on Sunday, you heard about Michigan coach Juwan Howard smacking a Wisconsin assistant presumably because the Badgers called a late timeout (which makes this just the second most embarrassing timeout-related event in Howard's life).

Basically, Howard was pissed that Wisconsin called a timeout to deal with the fact that he still had a starter in and was running a fullcourt press. But what it really boils down to is that he doesn't understand the rules of college basketball.

Coaches: The suspension, fine, recriminations will be coming. Heres what you need to know. He didnt know the college 10-second reset rule in the backcourt. (By the way, theres no reset if the defense calls the time out.) You need to know & study the rules. https://t.co/s1srRQPjTY
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 20, 2022

As I said earlier, Juwan (like some coaches) didnt like know the college 10-second reset rule. pic.twitter.com/sex2QbD0bK
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) February 20, 2022

Again, a member of the Fab Five not knowing the rules of the game – stunning.

But the best part is, Howard genuinely does not believe he is in the wrong and went as far as to insinuate that he admired his players getting in on the action.

Here's Juwan Howard's side to the story.

Added later that he felt he needed to protect himself, because Greg Gard touched him unnecessarily in the handshake line after he had gotten upset.#Badgers pic.twitter.com/hFWrEtBv1v
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) February 20, 2022

Howard said it was unfortunate that some of the players also threw punches. He admired them for backing each other up but didnt want it to go that way. Howards presser is over. He did not apologize for his actions. #Michigan
— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) February 20, 2022

6-foot-9 Juwan Howard is out here talking about unnecessary touching while he's the one who grabbed the other coach by his shirt like a cartoon schoolyard bully before striking an assistant in the face three seconds later. Absolutely mind-numbing.

Explaining that I, nearly 7-feet tall, and 50 years old, felt physically threatened and needed to defend myself from this man pic.twitter.com/YSDRPqPRd2
— Patrick Mayhorn (@patrick_mayhorn) February 20, 2022

But the truth is, everyone who's acting shocking and surprised simply haven't paid attention to how this dude handles losses. Because between screaming "I'll fucking kill you” at Mark Turgeon last year and earning a technical foul while down double-digits in the final minute against Ohio State as early as last week, the pattern has been there.

Regardless, we're all overlooking the true hero of the night, though.

Not talking enough about this woman, who shot her shot after the madness pic.twitter.com/VbPcwE1jWa
— Dustin Schutte (@SchutteCFB) February 20, 2022

Honestly, if Howard would have stopped in the tunnel and signed the lady's shirt after throwing a punch at a Wisconsin assistant, I would have had to begrudgingly accept it as an absolutely legendary move. Dude would have had to resign and ink a contract with the WWE within the hour.

BUT WHY? We've been talking about College Football Playoff expansion almost since the first College Football Playoff seven years ago, and everyone seems to pretty much agree that expansion would give more teams a chance to compete for a national title.

But when you really break it down, is that really what it would do? Or would it just ensure that the same title contenders make the playoff field every year?

It’s always been interesting to see the most prominent talking points when it comes to CFP expansion. The thing that’s always highlighted is that it would give more opportunities to the Penn States and Baylors of the world. You know, Power 5 programs that knocked off the traditional powerhouse on their way to winning the conference only to be left out of the four-team field. It would have allowed some really good teams that didn’t quite make the top four a chance to continue a special season.

But here is what is always painfully missing from those arguments: An expanded CFP gives the powerhouses you’re all so tired of seeing every year a second (or third) chance. It makes it nearly impossible for Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and other teams in that elite realm to miss the Playoff. You think it’s redundant now? Wait until a two- or three-loss Alabama still gets in.

...

Get this: Since the CFP’s inception in 2014, the teams that ranked between No. 5 and No. 12 in the final poll the most were Ohio State, Georgia and Penn State — each did it four times. Ohio State, in the world of an expanded Playoff, would have made the field every year (keep in mind, OSU has lost more than three games only twice since 2001).

To quote a famous piece of poetry: “They were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”

I concede that expanding the College Football Playoff is slightly different than running a theme park filled with resurrected giant lizards, but the quote still mostly works. We're out here worried about the logistics of expanding the playoff without really even considering that it could somehow lead to even less parity.

But honestly, I'm not really sure we should even be worried about parity at this point, mostly because I don't think that's super fixable anyway. Instead, College football should simply do everything it can to maximize fun. And an expanded playoff would absolutely do that, so I'm in.

WHY THE HELL NOT? Speaking of maximizing fun...

Some FBS bowl game should adopt a football version of the Elam Ending next year. Set a target score at 10 pts past the leading score after 3Q, and first to hit it wins.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) February 21, 2022

I acknowledge that this is absolutely insane, but isn't that what bowl games are about? I don't watch the Cheez-It Bowl to see a normal, forgettable football game. Give me some juice.

If I could make one recommendation, set the Elam Ending score to 16 points past the leading score to encourage two-point conversion attempts. If we're going to go with chaos, give me chaos.

FINISH HIM. I can think of few things more terrifying in life than Dawand Jones shoving me to the ground and following me there. Pour one out for this hapless linebacker.

Finish With Dominant Leverage#LinemanLunch pic.twitter.com/s8SNFU04r8
— Coach Matt Jones (@CoachMattJones) February 17, 2022

There are a lot of things completely unfair about Ohio State's offense, but I don't think we talk enough about the 6-foot-8, 360-pound fellow who moves like a blocking tight end.

SONG OF THE DAY. "I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar" by Fleet Foxes.