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In bipartisan vote, Congress overwhelmingly approves new federal education law
Louis Freedberg And John Fensterwald
Credit: Alison Yin for EdSource Today
Following a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives last week, the U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly voted, 85-12, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ending more than a decade of federal education policy under the current version of the law, the beleaguered No Child Left Behind Act.
The legislation now goes to President Barack Obama, who has indicated that he will sign it. For full text of the law, go here.
Approval of the bill, titled the Every Student Succeeds Act, follows years of inaction and gridlock by Congress on the issue. Passage of the bill in a Congress that is divided on almost every other issue came unexpectedly quickly, and with a high level of bipartisan support.
In the largest turn toward local control in three decades, states will regain the authority to set their own educational goals, measurements of school performance and methods for school improvement.
From a California perspective, the new law would be largely compatible with the direction of education reforms in the state giving greater powers to local school districts, reducing the emphasis on standardized test scores in holding schools and students accountable, and moving away from top-down reforms coming from Washington.
Passage of the law removes some of the uncertainty that has hovered over California's reform landscape — the unknown factor as to what kinds of reforms the federal government would come up with to replace NCLB, and how they would complement or conflict with the state's reforms.
But there are still many details in the 1061-page law that will have to be analyzed and sorted through.
The State Board of Education is in the process of designing a new school improvement and testing system, so it won't become clear for months whether aspects of the state plan will conflict with the new law. One major issue is how the state will address the new law's requirement that it identify and intervene in the bottom 5 percent of schools, as well as in schools where subgroups of students are "consistently underperforming." The state has been moving away from relying on a single index to measure school success or failure.
For EdSource reports on implications of the new legislation for California, go here and here.
After eight years of stalemate in Congress over how to reauthorize Elementary and Secondary Education Act , the passage of a new version reflects a rare bipartisan compromise, aided by skilled legislating by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, and Patty Murray, D-Washington.
It also was fueled by congressional dislike of the waivers from NCLB that Duncan gave to 42 states and six California districts, along with conservatives' anger over Duncan's promotion of the Common Core State Standards. He did this through incentive grants and state waivers from the penalties of NCLB, although some Republican critics characterized the tactics as coercion and a back-door federal mandate that had not been authorized by Congress.
The revision will ban future secretaries of education from mandating additional tests, prescribing forms of teacher evaluation and promoting versions of academic standards.
In remarks on the Senate floor urging his GOP colleagues to vote for the bill, Alexander said, "We are voting for the status quo or a change. You are voting either 'yes' to repeal the Common Core mandate or to keep it. You are either voting 'yes' to get rid of the waivers, through which the U.S. Department of Education has been operating as a national school board for 80,000 schools in 40 states. Or a vote 'no' is saying, 'I like the national school board.'"
Murray said that the legislation would "reduce reliance on high-stakes testing."
"It will invest in improving and expanding access to early learning programs," she said just before the Senate voted on the bill. "And it will help ensure that more children have access to a quality education regardless of where they live, how they learn, and how much money their parents make."
A cross-section of education organizations, including associations of state superintendents, schools boards and teachers unions endorsed the compromise.
In a statement, Eric Heins, president of the California Teachers Association, said the bill "marked the end to the one-size-fits-all approach to educating students and the misuse of standardized testing."
A coalition of civil rights groups gave a more tepid backing, worried that states, left more on their own, will retreat from a commitment to closing the achievement gap. Encouraged by the state's new funding law, which directs more resources to low-income students and English learners, and requires community engagement, civil rights groups in California expressed more optimism.
"California is a leader on many fronts, and we should show the nation how the Every Student Succeeds Act can support states in developing a holistic accountability system that provides the transparency, supports, and assurances necessary to close achievement and opportunity gaps in our state," said Ryan Smith, executive director of the Oakland-based nonprofit Education Trust-West.
California's two senators, Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, voted for the bill. "This bill gives states and local school districts more flexibility to use federal funds to provide resources and to teach their students in a way that best works for them," Feinstein said in a statement.
Boxer focused on the continuation of one of her priorities: dedicated funding for after-school programs for 1 million children. "The bill helps states support high-quality after-school programs, encourages parental engagement and ensures that after-school activities complement the academic curriculum," she said.
Louis Freedberg is a former executive director of EdSource and a veteran education journalist.
Follow @louisfr
John Fensterwald writes about education policy and its impact in California.
Follow @jfenster
Policy & FinanceFederal Education PolicyElementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)Featured
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We welcome your comments. All comments are moderated for civility, relevance and other considerations. Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy.
Jonathan Dean 7 years ago7 years ago
As a school superintendent, I hope we continue to have quantifiable accountability so not to slip back into an education system that leaves out student assessment and student achievement. There must be a measure in which teacher quality and effectiveness is measured.
Fred Weller 7 years ago7 years ago
Yeah!!! Finally out from underneath the Kennedy-Miller NCLB bill [law]. Now maybe we can get back to the reality of helping children become life-long learners.
Gary Ravani 7 years ago7 years ago
The only thing potentially more worrisome than gridlock is bipartisan cooperation. Recall that NCLB itself, perhaps the most reviled legislation passed in generations, was bipartisan. If, indeed, CA is now free to pursue its own agenda for reform, and we maintain the enlightened leadership and policy directions we have in place, there is hope on the horizon. The road forward will have its bumps, some significant no doubt, but at least the road is not a dead end.
Toni Herr 7 years ago7 years ago
I'd like to know how the new law addresses student test scores being used in teacher evaluations, if at all.
John Fensterwald 7 years ago7 years ago
As the updated article indicates, states exclusively will decide for themselves in the future. The new law would prohibit the secretary of education from setting requirements on teacher evaluations.
Mary 7 years ago7 years ago
This is just adults playing with power … . However, as long as nation-wide ambitions, transparency and accountability are safe, our kids should find havens where good schools strive and effective learning takes place. Aren't they at the core of it??
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What is more important in your heart—money or people?
Do you ever get investment FOMO?
It's time to ditch the instant gratification habit, man. It's spoiling all the dating fun! Take these sweet little tips on slowing way the heck down.
Reviews can make your shopping experience better by saving your time and money.
A man reflects on midnight lessons in financial prudence.
Let's take a look today at sustainability tips. Two sustainability tips seem relevant to me. These relate to the overall sustainable and ethical fashion culture, but in your home.
Ford Tourneo – The Perfect Family Car in Your Budget!
There are people who are challenged by buying a car and always have a fear that they are not making a good investment by spending a fortune on a car.
Great lessons I learned from my boyhood friend.
I am no longer experiencing the unraveling of a marriage between two partners, I am undoubtedly experiencing the unraveling of the marriage within myself.


This week, Chromecast also quietly gained support for private YouTube videos, as well as live streaming.
Google's popular Chromecast already streams videos, music, and photos to your TV, but that's not enough: The tech giant is reportedly eyeing a few additions to the dongle, including weather and custom wallpapers.
According to a savvy Reddit user, Google is prepping the addition of local weather on the Chromecast home screen and more photo-streaming options.
While browsing through the Chromecast's source code, Redditor asjmcguire found what appeared to be latent functions for local weather data and display icons. The PNG images are currently blank, though the user on Tuesday suggested that "presumably this means we could at some stage get the weather natively on the screen."
The current Chromecast home screen—an alternating library of scenic photos, the Chromecast logo, and a clock—could certainly use a little sprucing up with the daily weather, or even a seven-day forecast.
On Reddit, asjmcguire also pointed to mentions of photo descriptions and locations of photos, tipping the possibility that Google will allow users to display more pictures from online libraries, or perhaps set custom photo wallpapers.
Google declined to comment on the reports. "We're always experimenting with new features, but have nothing new to announce at this time," a spokeswoman told PCMag.
The portable streaming stick has been making headlines recently, first for releasing its Cast SDK, then for its expansion to 11 more countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K. More exposure means more supported applications, as well.
This week, Chromecast quietly gained support for private YouTube videos, as well as live streaming from a desktop Web browser.
As Android Police reported, almost every live stream is running on the Chromecast—a feature still unacknowledged on Google's support page. Try it yourself, Android Police said, via the Hummingbird Live Cam and QVC. Just open the live stream, click your browser's "cast" button, and choose your connected Chromecast to keep up with the latest products directly on your TV.
And for those British users who just picked up the £30 device, Google on Monday announced the addition of support for BT Sport, available via subscription. Users can now cast football, rugby, MotoGP, tennis, and UFC coverage from BT's mobile apps.
Editor's Note: This story was updated at 12:45 p.m. Eastern with comment from Google.


Many South Africans who are economically active and are formally employed are still struggling to make ends meet, living from month to month and payday to payday. These people have little or no savings or extra funds to help them with unexpected expenses and times of the year, like the Christmas season.
There is a lot of unemployment in this country, so it's even more difficult for folks who rely on social grants and those who're unable to find work, but there is a solution to making life easier and earning a primary or additional income by becoming a Papillon distributor.
Our products are easy to distribute and sell because they're of top quality, despite being remarkably affordable. Papillon distributors earn the major portion of the profit margin (the difference between cost and selling price), so this is a superb way to beat the end of year financial blues and afford your essentials, if not a few luxuries.
Everything costs more than it did at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. 2018's year-end is almost upon us. There are holiday festivities, Christmas meals and gifts, new clothes, school uniforms and stationery for the kids, payments of outstanding or the following year's school fees, visiting loved ones and relatives, a trip home for the holidays, and if possible, a few Christmas treats for oneself.
The price of fuel always plays a major role in the higher cost of living in South Africa, but even more so towards the end of this year. The cost of petrol is an indicating factor of the cost of living.
In 2000, the cost per litre of 93 grade leaded and unleaded petrol was R3,66 in Gauteng and R3,55 at the coast, where fuel is cheaper because it does not include long-distance transport costs. That identical litre of petrol costs R15,86 – almost five times more now, in September 2018.
Planning for your December expenses and extras, as well as next year, is as easy as pie, as a Papillon distributor, but you should put your plan into action right now. The earlier you start distributing our excellent yet affordable his and her perfumes, fragrant lotions, and lovely, natural skincare products, the more money you can make for December and the New Year.
Select your starter pack – a beautifully presented sample and product information kit in small, medium, or large size.
Now, you're ready to begin your own, new, and independent Papillon distribution business. Many of our new distributors begin by selling to family members, friends, and colleagues – a great way to get going. You decide when and where to work, and how much you wish to earn – the easy, affordable Papillon way.


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Tags: Akron, Appalachian State, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Bowling Green, Camp Randall Stadium, Charlotte, Cowboys, Dana Holgorsen, Delaware, Florida, Florida State, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Iowa, Iowa State, Jeremy Pruitt, Jim Harbaugh, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent State, Kirby Smart, Les Miles, Longhorns, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Mack Brown, Maryland, Memphis, Miami (OH), Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Navy, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, San Jose State, Sanford Stadium, Scott Satterfield, SJSU, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA, UMass, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington State, Willie Fritz, Willie Taggart
Glad I'm not him: Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee
Lucky guy: Willie Taggert, Florida State
Poor guy: Scott Satterfield, Louisville
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Mack Brown, North Carolina
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Willie Fritz, Tulane
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Desperately seeking … anything: Dana Holgorsen, Houston
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Miami, Ohio 76-5)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Georgia (defeated Notre Dame 23-17)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Charlotte (lost to Clemson 52-10)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: SMU (defeated TCU 41-38)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Kent State (defeated Bowling Green 62-20)
Can't Stand Prosperity: TCU
Can the season never end? Iowa State
Play this again: No. 3 Georgia 23, No. 7 Notre Dame 17
Play this again, too: No. 12 Texas 36, Oklahoma State 30
Never play this again: No. 6 Ohio State 76, Miami, Ohio 5
That will leave a mark: Iowa State 72, Louisiana-Monroe 20
What? Appalachian State 34, North Carolina 31
Huh? San Jose State 31, Arkansas 24
Double Huh? USC 30, No. 10 Utah 23
Are you kidding me?? SMU 41, No. 25 TCU 38
Oh – my – God: No. 13 Wisconsin 35, No. 11 Michigan 14
Possible best game of the week: No. 18 Virginia @ No. 10 Notre Dame
(Possible second choice): Nebraska @ No. 6 Ohio State
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Northern Illinois @ Vanderbilt
Best non-Power Five matchup: Navy @ Memphis
Upset alert: Maryland @ No. 13 Penn State
Must win: UCLA @ Arizona
Offensive explosion: Washington State @ No. 19 Utah
Defensive struggle: (inconclusive)
Great game no one is talking about: Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (also: Iowa State @ Baylor)
Intriguing coaching matchup: Les Miles of Kansas vs. Gary Patterson of TCU
Who's bringing the body bags? Towson @ No. 9 Florida
Why are they playing? Delaware @ Pitt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Akron @ UMass
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Middle Tennessee @ No. 18 Iowa
Week 4 has been arguably the best week for college football thus far in the 2019 season. Friday started off the weekend with a bang with an engaging matchup between USC and Utah. The following first time slot of Saturday (noon EDT) was great, at least on paper. Michigan faced Wisconsin in Camp Randall Stadium, and left the game exposed for having severe weaknesses on offense that must be addressed or Jim Harbaugh's future with his alma mater may be in doubt.
That said, two key games in the following time slot (Louisville at Florida State and Auburn at Texas A&M) lived up to their billing. Louisville is clearly headed in the right direction as a program, but much improvement remains. Perhaps it is unreasonable for Scott Satterfield to turn things around so quickly, given the mess that Bobby Petrino left in his wake. Meanwhile, the Aggies fought the good fight at home, but came up short against a gradually but steadily ascendant Auburn. Both were good game, regardless.
The evening time slot proved that the best was yet to come that day. Oklahoma State came calling at Texas, for one. The Longhorns had failed to beat the Cowboys the previous five seasons, so the urgency was clearly there to get that proverbial monkey off the Horns' collective back.
Then, a half-hour later, the "ticket to die for" lived up to its billing as Notre Dame put up a strong fight against Georgia in Sanford Stadium. The game was a close defensive struggle for three and a half quarters before the Bulldogs finally asserted themselves in accordance with their full potential. In other words, in the latter half of the fourth quarter, the cream finally rose to the top.
With so much great football having been played on Sept. 21 from noon through 11 PM Eastern, such will be a very tough act for Week 5 to follow. Case in point: no game for Week 5 offers a "ticket to die for", which is more the pity.
College Football Awards, Week 8 (2018) October 21, 2018
Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Bethune-Cookman, Cincinnati, Clemson, Dana Dimel, David Shaw, Dino Babers, Florida, Fresno State, Gamecocks, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Hawaii, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, James Franklin, Jeff Brohm, Jim Harbaugh, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Leach, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NC State, Nebraska, New Mexico State, North Texas, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pat Fitzgerald, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, Rutgers, San Jose State, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas State, Tom Allen, Tulsa, UAB, UNLV, Urban Meyer, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Volunteers, Wake Forest, Washington State, Wisconsin
Wish I were him: Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
Honorable mention: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
Lucky guy: James Franklin, Penn State
Poor guy: Tom Allen, Indiana
Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Desperately seeking … anything: Dana Dimel, UTEP
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Alabama (defeated Tenessee 58-21)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Northwestern (defeated Rutgers 18-15)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Illinois (lost to Wisconsin 49-20)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Vanderbilt (lost to Kentucky 14-7)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Clemson (defeated NC State 41-7)
Dang, they're bad: Tulsa
Can the season end? UTEP
Can the season never end? Michigan
Play this again: No. 6 Michigan 21, Michigan State 7
Play this again, too: No. 5 LSU 19, No. 22 Mississippi State 3
Never play this again: No. 1 Alabama 58, Tennessee 21
What? Nebraska 53, Minnesota 28
Huh? Temple 24, No. 20 Cincinnati 17 (OT)
Are you kidding me?? No. 25 Washington State 34, No. 12 Oregon 20
Oh – my – God: Purdue 49, No. 2 Ohio State 20
Ticket to die for: No. 11 Florida vs. No. 8 Georgia in Jacksonville
Best non-Power Five matchup: No. 21 South Florida @ Houston
Also: Hawaii @ Fresno State
Upset alert: No. 22 Mississippi State @ No. 17 Texas A&M
Must win: Purdue @ No. 24 Michigan State
Offensive explosion: No. 7 Texas @ Oklahoma State
Defensive struggle: Tennessee @ South Carolina
Great game no one is talking about: No. 16 NC State @ Syracuse
Also: Appalachian State @ Georgia Southern
Intriguing coaching matchup: Jeff Brohm of Purdue vs. Mark Dantonio of Michigan State
Also: Mike Leach of Washington State vs. David Shaw of Stanford
Who's bringing the body bags? North Texas @ Rice also: UAB @ UTEP*
Why are they playing? Bethune-Cookman @ Nebraska
Plenty of good seats remaining: New Mexico State @ Texas State
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? UNLV @ San Jose State
*How often do you get to say that?
The upsets were fewer than last week, but what lacked in quantity compensated in quality with a massive upset of Purdue defeating Ohio State in convincing fashion. A subsequent article shall further discuss its implications. One thing of note is that some key teams and others of potential interest were off this week. Two top-ten teams in Texas and Georgia shall resume plays this week, with key tests for both, respectively. Other teams were off this week as well, ready to resume play the next. The head-scratcher of Louisville, in apparent and inexplicable free-fall, could pick up an increasingly rare win against Wake Forest. Meanwhile, is there further potential in South Carolina, or have they plateaued already? In the upcoming Week 9, they take on ever-sleeping giant Tennessee, who is coming off an embarrassing blowout loss to hated rival Alabama. Could the Volunteers' ire at such a loss combined with the Gamecock's time to recharge their batteries amount to a strong, engaging matchup? We shall know in six days.
Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Army, Bill Snyder, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boston College, Cardinals, Cavaliers, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, Crimson Tide, David Shaw, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Fresno State, Gardner-Webb, Georgia, Hurricanes, Illinois, Illinois State, Jeff Brohm, Justin Fuente, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mike Gundy, Mississippi State, Navy, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Pac-12, Penn State, Pitt, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Sam Darnold, Scott Frost, SMU, Southern Cal, Stanford, Tennessee State, Texas, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tom Herman, Trojans, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia
Wish I were him: Tom Herman, Texas
Glad I'm not him: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Lucky guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Poor guy: Mario Cristobal, Oregon
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Scott Frost, Nebraska
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Penn State (defeated Illinois 63-24)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Oklahoma (defeated Army 28-21 in OT)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Tulane (lost to No. 9 Ohio State 49-6)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Army (lost to Oklahoma 28-21 in OT)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Texas Tech (defeated No. 15 Oklahoma State 17)
Can't Stand Prosperity: Virginia Tech
Did the season start? Nebraska
Can the season never end? Alabama
Play this again: No. 7 Stanford 38, No. 20 Oregon 31
Play this again, too: SMU 31, Navy 30
Never play this again: Appalachian State 72, Gardner-Webb 7
What? Purdue 30, No. 23 Boston College 13
Huh? Texas Tech 41, No. 15 Oklahoma State 17
Double Huh? Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19
Are you kidding me?? Kentucky 28, No. 14 Mississippi State 7
Oh – my – God: Old Dominion 49, No. 13 Virginia Tech 35
NEXT WEEK (Rankings are current AP, week 5)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Ohio State @ No. 9 Penn State
Also: No. 7 Stanford @ No. 8 Notre Dame
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: Pitt @ UCF
Best non-Power Five matchup: Toledo @ Fresno State
Upset alert: Texas Tech @ No. 12 West Virginia
Must win: Purdue @ Nebraska
Offensive explosion: Toledo @ Fresno State
Defensive struggle: Florida @ No. 23 Mississippi State
Great game no one is talking about: No.18 Texas @ Kansas State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Bill Snyder of Kansas State vs. Tom Herman of Texas
Who's bringing the body bags? Louisiana @ No. 1 Alabama
Why are they playing? Southern Miss @ No. 10 Auburn
Plenty of good seats remaining: UTEP @ UTSA
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Tennessee State @ Vanderbilt
Purdue has started the season as a major head-scratcher. Coming off a surprising winning season after the Hazell-era doldrums, including a bowl win, the Boilermaker faithful had high hopes for the team in 2018. Thus far, after an understandable, opening-season loss to then-ranked Northwestern, Purdue proceeded to lose squeakers at home to beatable teams, including [shudder], Eastern Michigan – a directional school. Chalk it up to an undisciplined defense and a lack of a running game. Regardless, the Boilers have their first win of the year, and, all things considered, it's a rather big one, handily defeating No. 23 Boston College 30-13. To be sure, Purdue did step it up on defense, and if they can maintain this newfound intensity on that side of the ball, there's hope for the season yet. All that said, sometimes it takes a few weeks for a good team to find its footing and thus to play up to its potential.
The team now becoming an even bigger head-scratcher is Louisville. Sure, they lost badly to Alabama, but the Crimson Tide is such a juggernaut this year that most winning-season teams will look pathetic against them. What really raised concerns was having to struggle, at home, to beat Western Kentucky – another directional school! Let us thus give the Cardinals an ex-post-facto "Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't". But now they got embarrassed, on the road to a beatable team in Virginia. At 27-3, are the Cavaliers that much better than the Cards? Is their offense that poor that they failed to punch it into the endzone, with only a sad field goal to open the 3rd quarter? A comparison of recent seasonal performances of both teams would say no, but today's score would suggest so. Here is one possible diagnosis of Louisville's under-performance. In the last few years (basically since Lamar Jackson was QB), Petrino has been fixated on "skills" players while acting as if he can get any lumbering lummox to block on the line. So, while he might have NFL-caliber talent on the wings, he has no way of executing plays. Has the time come to where Petrino would be better off as an offensive coordinator instead of a head coach? Further observation and analysis of the team's performance shall tell us yes or no.
What about USC? Before losing badly on the road to Texas last week, they were ranked and poised to compete for the Pac-12 title again. But on Friday night, they had to play hard at home to beat unranked Washington State. One possible explanation: Sam Darnold's talent at QB papered over the mediocrity of talent on the coaching staff. While I'm not a Trojans fan personally, I nevertheless recognize that when a traditional power like USC does well, it's good for college football (same goes for other traditional powers like Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, or even Miami (Fla.)). Conversely, a mediocre Southern Cal team is thus not great for college football. Let us hope that they can eventually rise back to national title contention to help keep the west coast markets engaged in the game. After all, it's never good for a sport to become regional (looking your way, Major League Baseball).
Speaking of Texas, are they "back"? And why were they ever, well, not back? This article by Pete Thamel explains the nature of why a national brand and a massively-valued program ever needed turning around in the first place (hint: turning around an aircraft carrier takes much, much longer than turning around, say, a personal sailboat). Forget, for a moment, that the program sure did not help anybody, least of all themselves, by laying an egg on the road to Maryland, and then under-performing at home the next week against Tulsa. The Longhorns' big win over USC last week might not indicate that the team is "back" as strongly as one would think due to USC's apparent mediocrity at the moment. But then again, Texas did follow up with another big win, this time over No. 16 TCU, 31-16. So the current conclusion is, if they're not "back" yet, they're certainly headed in the right direction. Onward and upward.
College Football Awards, Week 14 (2017) December 7, 2017
Tags: Aggies, Alabama, Appalachian State, Army, Auburn, Boise State, Bryan Harsin, Chad Lunsford, Clay Helton, Clemson, David Shaw, Florida State, Fresno State, Gary Patterson, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Gus Malzahn, Jimbo Fisher, Kirby Smart, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Miami Hurricanes, Navy, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Scott Satterfield, SEC, Seminoles, Stanford, TCU, Texas A&M, Tigers, USC, Wisconsin
Lucky guy: Clay Helton, USC
Poor guy: David Shaw, Stanford
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State
Desperately seeking … anything: Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Louisiana-Monroe 42-10)
Thought you'd put up a fight, you did: Stanford (lost to No. 10 USC 31-28)
Thought you'd put up a fight, you didn't: Miami (lost to No. 1 Clemson 38-3)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Oklahoma (defeated TCU 41-17)
Dang, they're bad: Louisiana-Lafayette
Can the season end? Georgia Southern
Play this again: No. 8 Ohio State 27, No. 4 Wisconsin 21
Play this again, too: No. 10 USC 31, No. 12 Stanford 28
Never play this again: Appalachian State 63, Louisiana 14
What? Boise State 17, No. 25 Fresno State 14
Are you kidding me?? No. 8 Ohio State 27, No. 4 Wisconsin 21
Oh – my – God: No. 6 Georgia 27, No. 2 Auburn 7
Ticket to die for: none. The only game next week is the annual Army-Navy game. Enjoy, and God Bless America!
Not bad for Florida State salvaging bowl eligibility, even if it meant resorting to resuming a postponed body bag game in order to do so. More importantly, though, it boggles the mind why Jimbo Fisher up and left the FSU gig for the Texas A&M job. One would think that would be a come-down in occupations. The Seminoles have multiple national titles to their name, while the Aggies have but one, and that was way back in 1939. Good luck living up to Aggie nation's insane expectations, Coach Fisher.
Meanwhile, there has been much controversy surrounding the fourth team selected into the Playoffs. Many contend that Ohio State should have gotten in instead of Alabama. It would certainly be better for business if we had a traditional power representing the Midwest instead of all four teams being from the Sunbelt. But consider this: scouts who have watched all top teams play live say that they were disappointed in how Ohio State struggled to put away Wisconsin, a team with far few NFL-caliber bodies than the top three SEC teams, Bama included.
In hindsight, it ought not to be a surprise how the SEC championship resulted. Auburn was banged up after playing two massive games in a row against top-ranked teams. The Tigers simply had nothing left in the tank come this past weekend.
Yes, the Miami Hurricane's performance was disappointing against Clemson, but their high ranking earlier this season was a reflection on the fact that they were playing ahead of their stage of development. Come next year, they should be more formidable, and thus a more legit contender for the playoffs.
One of my favorite conference championship game traditions is the two Big Ten team bands getting together on the field pre-game to play the national anthem together. It's not only a wonderful sight to behold, but musically it's spot-on, too, as we can always count those bands to deliver a rousing rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner!
Now that the bowl games are lined up, an article on them shall be forthcoming. Until then, let us enjoy the Army-Navy game!
On Morgan Burke and Purdue February 19, 2016
Tags: ad, Appalachian State, Arena, athletics, B1G, Big Ten, Brian Kelly, Danny Hope, Darrell Hazell, David Boudia, director, Drew Brees, EKU, Golden Flashes, James Franklin, Jim Harbaugh, Joe Tiller, Kent State, Mackey, Mark Dantonio, Morgan Burke, NCAA, Purdue, Ross-Ade, trustees, Urban Meyer
Morgan J. Burke has been the Athletics Director at Purdue University for more than 20 years. On Thursday, Feb. 11, he announced that he would retire from this position, effective June of next year. During his lengthy tenure, he has garnered a reputation amongst his peers as one of the most competent AD's in major college athletics, especially in terms of finances. With so many AD's spending money as if their budgets were bottomless pits, Burke has been very fiscally sound, and has enjoyed the deserved reputation as a prudent business manager as a result.
When he took over as the top athletics administrator in 1993, Purdue had the absolute worst athletics program in the Big Ten. Hammer and Rails has an article that puts this in perspective, including that fact that the football program only had five (yes, five) bowl appearances total in its history, and was in year eight of a 12-year bowl game drought. The schools' baseball, ahem, "stadium" would have been considered poor by high school standards. The swimming and diving teams' home pool was in some hidden location underground at Lambert Fieldhouse. Ross-Ade Stadium was practically falling apart. In short, the department itself was operating on a shoestring budget with awful facilities and teams badly-performing as a result.
In the span of Burke's tenure, Ross-Ade received much-needed renovations, including leading the way in building an aircraft carrier-sized press box on the side of one's football stadium. The football team has enjoyed 12 bowl appearances between 1997 and 2012, including an elusive and prestigious Rose Bowl berth. Mackey Arena has also enjoyed major upgrades, along with being home to a men's team that has delivered four men's basketball Big Ten titles and a women's national championship. For what it's worth, women's golf brought home the national title in 2010. A nice, more comprehensive list of all that Burke has done well can be found here.
Moreover, (again, for what it's worth), women's soccer, softball, baseball, and tennis all have new facilities. The new swimming and diving pool, opened up ca. 2000, is considered one of the finest college natatoria in the whole country. While not exactly on most people's radar screens, Purdue has become a diving powerhouse (e.g., David Boudia, 2012 Olympic gold medalist).
And yet, to speak with the Purdue University faithful these days, the firm impression is that the athletics department is in an absolute shambles. Sure, it's all well and good that the softball, baseball and soccer teams have wonderful facilities, and a fine reflection on the university that the swim teams have a jewel of a pool to call their own. But there are problems afoot with the two highest-profile programs, those being football and men's basketball.
The latter has been performing very inconsistently as of late, what with promising recruiting classes that fail to live up to their potential. But even worse and more urgent is the absolute disgrace of the football team. Coach Joe Tiller's teams' performances started waning during his last few years, especially since the 2005 season. When former assistant coach to Tiller in Danny Hope took over (he had been the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 2003 through 2007), things kept declining further (5-7 in 2009, 4-8 in 2010). Coach Hope enjoyed only two bowl appearances after going 7-6 in 2011 and 6-6 in 2012. Ironically, he was fired despite a bowl berth in 2012.
Herein lies a symptom of a systemic problem. Purdue has been NOTORIOUS for not paying its coaches even average market value. Coach Tiller was one of the lowest-paid football coaches in the conference for one, and that did not change when the torch was passed to Coach Hope. In college football, it's all about the coach and the kind of playing talent that coach is able to recruit. Just see what Brian Kelly has achieved at Notre Dame, in this era's Sunbelt-dominated era of college football, or how Jim Harbaugh has been turning things around at Michigan to illustrate this crucial point.
Basically, Burke tried to make things work with Coach Hope while giving him a shoestring budget. Coach Hope in turn did what he could with such a dearth of resources, but his performance on the field reflected the fact that he was not getting the type of support he needed to compete effectively in major college football. Firing him became tantamount to killing the messenger.
But there are other dimensions to this problem. Before and during the Coach Hope era, Purdue's reputation for under-paying its athletic personnel was well-founded and deserved. Even competent, ambitious people who worked on the administrative side of the department would leave for better pay at other schools, even to the intra-conference competition. That especially went for assistant coaches who were worth a thing in the sport; after a few years of building a reputation at Purdue, they would soon leave for greener pastures. As Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd often reminds us, "[C]oaches do not care about your fight song: PAY them!"
Burke seemed to have gotten that memo when searching for a new football coach in the wake of Coach Hope's departure. He announced that he was raising additional funds to try to attract a better coaching talent. Eventually, the searched settled on Darrell Hazell, then the head coach at Kent State who had a good year with the Golden Flashes (as an aside, snapping up a MAC coach who has had only one or two good years there into a Power Five Conference team is always a risky roll of the dice). Case in point: while Coach Hope's base salary was $925,000 a year, Coach Hazell's base salary was $1,750,000. Better, but still not enough to attract talent on par with, say, James Franklin of Penn State or Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, let alone Urban Meyer or Jim Harbaugh.
Moreover, when the bigger players in the B1G are searching for their new coach, they never seem to have to announce some fundraising effort to be able to offer a big-name, proven winner of a coach a competitive salary. Yet Purdue had to announce such an effort just to be able to pay its coach $1.75 million, which is still sub-average among the Power Five.
Before drilling even deeper to the root problem, let us keep things in perspective for now. Burke has been proven that he is among the best AD's in the country in terms of two things. One is operations. Having attended the Big Ten wrestling championships, hosted in Mackey Arena on March 3, 2012, I can personally attest that they were carried out flawlessly.
The other is financials. The Big Ten is home to some gigantic athletics departments that include both Michigan and Ohio State, both of whom have a figurative license to print money. Purdue, meanwhile is at a systemic disadvantage in that its athletic department receives ZERO money from the university. Despite that handicap, Burke has led a very financially sound department, with each fiscal year ending in the black.
But Burke's weakness has been talent acquisition, which, frankly, is 90 percent of his job in the public's eye. He lucked out with Coach Tiller, who in hindsight had a limited shelf life of effectiveness without Drew Brees. He tried going cheap with Coach Hope after Tiller, and that ended up crippling the program. Although he doubled the head football coach's salary at Purdue, he has wasted it on Darrell Hazell. Granted, Hazell is a fine man who has raised outstanding kids and has done everything beyond reproach. Moreover, he has done wonderful, marvelous things in reaching out to football alums.
Yet despite being a fine gentleman off the field, Coach Hazell's on-the-field record has been only 6-30 in three seasons. This dismal performance has led to a damaging effect on Purdue's athletic and thus academic reputation to average people. It has in turn led to major frustrations on the part of the Purdue alumni and related faithful. Since Burke hired Hazell, a good bulk of this frustration has understandably been laid at the feet of the AD.
Thus, the initial reaction to the announcement of Burke's eventual retirement: why wait so long when a changing of the guard appears to be in order? Sixteen months seems like a long time to wait to take the program into a new direction. More to the point, is the change desperately in order? Answer: yes and no. A two-decade tenure for an athletics director is long enough. After that lengthy span of time, new blood is needed, with new leadership to take the department in new directions. Given the current, disgraceful abyss of the football program and the inconsistent performance of men's basketball, that new direction is obviously, desperately needed.
But will a changing of the guard at AD really help beget that? After extensive deliberation and searching of perspectives, I am led to conclude that a new AD alone might not help bring about the change Purdue desperately needs. Perhaps Burke's ineptitude at hiring a proven, big-name coach was a symptom of his being hamstrung by the Board of Trustees.
Most universities "get it." That is, they understand that college athletics, and football in particular, are front porches to their universities. Meaning, the trustees of most major universities understand that football is the primary marketing tool, and they thus see the football team as a way of leveraging and building the schools' entire reputation in the eyes of the general public. Purdue, in contrast, sees athletics as a secondary mission, and has historically chosen to put academics first. While this is noble, it is also short-sighted, given the context of today's society, where we accept the use of a school's football team as the primary promotion tool as normal and indeed, expected.
When podunk Appalachian State was vying for three consecutive national titles as the FCS level in football last decade, it was a huge shot in the arm for that school. During a home game in the playoffs in 2007, the university's president was on the sidelines wearing an ASU football jersey, joyously telling the sideline reporter for ESPN that applications for potential students to attend that university had skyrocketed. Enough said.
Thus we are led to the core problem at hand: why do the members of Purdue's Board of Trustees fail to grasp this? As long as they fail to understand this basic, modern tenet of university promotion, it might not matter how capable Burke's replacement at AD will be.
2015-2016 Bowl Games Preview December 15, 2015
Tags: Appalachian State, Art Briles, Baylor, Boca Raton, Camelia, Central Michigan, Clemson, Connecticut, Cure, Florida State, Foster Farms, Georgia State, Hawaii, Iowa, Jim Harbaugh, Kevin Sumlin, Larry Fedora, Mark Dantonio, Marshall, Miami Beach, Military, Minnesota, Mississippi, Navy, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Orange, Oregon, Outback, Pasadena, Pittsburgh, Quick Lane, Rose, San Diego State, San Jose State, Sooners, St. Petersburg, Sugar, TCU, Temple, Tennessee, Tigers, Toledo, UCLA, UConn, Western Kentucky
What used to be the "most wonderful week of the year" has become the most wonderful two weeks of the year. The bowl game lineup has reach an all-time high of 40. Diminishing returns, anyone?
But that aside, here are some upcoming highlights and low-lights (note that all times are EASTERN time):
Tickets to Die For:
No. 4 Oklahoma (11-1) vs. No. 1 Clemson (13-0) in the Capital One Orange Bowl, Dec. 31, 4:00 PM
The Tigers are the No. 1 team, while the Sooners are the hottest of the four teams in the playoffs. More intriguingly, this will be a rematch from the Russell Athletic Bowl of last year.
No. 3 Michigan State (12-1) vs. No. 2 Alabama (12-1) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Dec. 31, 8 PM
The Crimson Tide has the postseason experience, but the Spartans have passed every major test over the past three years. Moreover, the two teams are practically a mirror-image of each other.
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup:
Auburn (6-6) vs. Memphis (9-3) in the Birmingham Bowl, Dec. 30, 12:00 PM
Auburn needs this win to validate their lousy season. Memphis needs this win to validate the best season arguably in the history of the program. Thus, this also doubles as a Must-Win.
No. 18 Houston (12-1) vs. No. 9 Florida State (10-2) in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, 12 PM
The Cougars are going to their first decent bowl game in decades, while the Seminoles might via the Peach Bowl as a come-down after recent BCS/playoff berths. Thus, this also doubles as an Upset Alert.
Best non-Power Five matchups:
San Diego State (10-3) vs. Cincinnati (7-5) in the Hawai'i Bowl, Dec. 24, 8:00 PM
Rocky Long has continued the deceptive strong program built by Brady Hoke in San Diego, while Tommy Tuberville's Bearcats are never to be underestimated.
Western Kentucky (11-2) vs. South Florida (8-4) in the Miami Beach Bowl, Dec. 21, 2:30 PM
The Hilltoppers have proven to be strong all year, while the Bulls have performed very strongly as of late. The record comparison may look lop-sided, but let not that fool us, for it shall be a close game.
Intriguing Coaching Match-ups:
Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M vs. Bobby Petrino of Louisville in the Music City Bowl.
One leads one of the most progressive offenses in the SEC. The other is one of the best offensive minds in the game. The irony? Do not expect an offensive explosion.
Mark Dantonio of Michigan State vs. Nick Saban of Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
As mentioned previously, the two teams are practically mirror-images of the other.
Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. Brian Kelly of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, Fri., Jan. 1, 1:00 PM
Two of THE best coaches in the game, going head-to-head? Yes, please!
Larry Fedora of No. 10 North Carolina vs. Art Briles of No. 17 Baylor in the Russell Athletic Bowl, Dec. 29, 5:30 PM
Potentially THE most underrated bowl game of the postseason, provided that both teams show up.
Rumble in the Phone Booth:
No. 6 Stanford (11-2) vs. No. 5 Iowa (12-1) in the Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, 5:00 PM
Both teams have great running games, meaning that this should be a dream for fans of old-fashioned, smash-mouth football. The question becomes, will we be "looking LIVE in Pasadena, Calif., folks"?
Rematches, Anyone?
No. 13 Northwestern (10-2) vs. No. 23 Tennessee (8-4) in the Outback Bowl, Jan. 1, 12:00 PM
Recall the 1997 Citrus Bowl?
No. 16 Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. No. 12 Mississippi (9-3) in the Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1, 8:30 PM
Recall the 2004 Cotton Bowl? This time, the results could be reversed.
Upset Alerts:
The Cougars are going to their first decent bowl game in decades, while the Seminoles might view the Peach Bowl as a come-down after recent BCS/playoff berths.
Offensive Explosion:
No. 15 Oregon (9-3) vs. No. 11 TCU (10-2) in the Valero Alamo Bowl, Jan. 2, 6:45 pm
Ah, Alamo Bowl, you never fail to entertain!
Defensive Struggle:
No. 14 Michigan (9-3) vs. No. 19 Florida (10-3) in the Citrus Bowl, Jan. 1, 1:00 PM
The Citrus Bowl came back! That aside, the Gators have excelled at making games low-scoring, win or lose. Regardless, Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines will be prepared, and should end up victorious in the end. Also, the matchup of first-year coaches Harbaugh and Jim McElwain is intriguing unto itself.
Great Games No One Is Talking About:
Ohio (8-4) vs. Appalachian State (10-2) in the Raycom Media Camelia Bowl, 5:30 PM
They play this in Montgomery, Ala., in case you were wondering. The Mountaineers are making their FBS bowl debut against a decent Bobcats team.
No. 24 Temple (10-3) vs. Toledo (9-2) in the Marmot Boca Raton Bowl, 7:00 PM
The Owls have proven to be a good team, while the Rockets did beat Arkansas. It's not a wash, but it should be a close game.
Not Sure What to Make of This One:
UCLA (8-4) vs. Nebraska (5-7) in the Foster Farms Bowl, 9:15 PM
The Cornhuskers are the second team listed here with a 5-7 record. That said, they are better than their record suggests, and, more importantly as far as the bowl committee is concerned, their fans will TRAVEL.
Think there is enough dark blue and gold?
Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. No. 21 Navy (10-2) in the Military Bowl, Dec. 28, 2:30 PM
Why Are They Playing?
Connecticut (6-6) vs. Marshall (9-3) in the St. Petersburg Bowl, Sat., Dec. 26, 11:00 AM
UConn is bowl eligible? That alone is an insult to Marshall, which is actually a decent team.
Plenty of Good Seats Remaining:
San Jose State (5-7) vs. Georgia State (6-6) in the Cure Bowl, Sat., Dec. 19, 7:00 PM
As if Orlando, Fla., did not have enough bowl games, they came up with this one. The Spartans are one of three teams with a 5-7 record but are still going bowling. Meanwhile, the Panthers are only 6-6, meaning that this is a classic example of a garbage bowl game.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Central Michigan (7-5) vs. Minnesota (5-7) in the Quick Lane Bowl, Mon., Dec. 28, 5:00 PM
This is the latest iteration of what used to be the Little Caesars Bowl (still at Ford Field in Detroit). The Golden Gophers are the third team that is 5-7 and yet still bowl eligible. I can hear Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd mocking this bowl matchup right now.
College Football Week 9 Awards October 27, 2014
Tags: Appalachian State, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Benny Goodman, Brady Hoke, Bret Bielema, BYU, Cincinnati, Death Valley, Dylan Thompson, East Carolina, Florida State, Frank Beamer, Gamecocks, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hugh Freeze, Jim Mora, Jordan-Hare Stadium, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky, Les Miles, Let That Be A Lesson To You, Louisville, LSU, Mark Dantonio, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Gundy, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Navy, Nevada, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, pride commeth, Rebels, Rich Rodriguez, rival, rivalry, rule no. 1, San Diego State, South Carolina, Southern California, Spartans, Sparty, Steve Spurrier, TCU, Texas Tech, Tigers, Trojans, Tulane, UAB, UCLA, UConn, USC, Utah, Utes, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wolverines
Wish I were him: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Glad I'm not him: Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss
Lucky guy: Les Miles, LSU
Poor guy: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Bret Bielema, Arkansas
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
Desperately seeking … anything: Brady Hoke, Michigan
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Wisconsin (defeated Maryland 52-7)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: East Carolina (defeated UConn 31-21)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: UAB (lost to Arkansas 45-17)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Kentucky (lost to Mississippi State 45-31)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Georgia Tech (defeated Pittsburgh 56-28)
Dang, they're good: TCU
Dang, they're bad: Kent State
You know, they're not so bad: Arkansas
Can't Stand Prosperity: Minnesota
Did the season start? BYU
Can the season end? Michigan
Play this again: No. 5 Auburn 42, South Carolina, 35
Play this again, too: No. 24 LSU 10, No. 3 Ole Miss 7
Never play this again: No. 10 TCU 82, Texas Tech 27
What? Illinois 27, Minnesota 24
Huh? Miami 30, Virginia Tech 6
Are you kidding me? North Carolina 28, Virginia 27
Oh – my – God: No. 24 LSU 10, No. 3 Ole Miss 7
(rankings are current AP (post-week 9, pre-week 10)
Ticket to die for: No. 4 Auburn @ No. 7 Ole Miss
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: No. 6 Notre Dame vs. Navy
Best non-Power Five matchup: San Diego State @ Nevada
Upset alert: No. 2 Florida State @ Louisville
Must win: Tennessee @ South Carolina
Offensive explosion: No.10 TCU @ No. 20 West Virginia
Defensive struggle: Florida vs. No. 9 Georgia in Jacksonville
Great game no one is talking about: Kentucky @ Missouri
Intriguing coaching matchup: Rich Rodriguez of Arizona vs. Jim Mora of UCLA
Who's bringing the body bags? Kansas @ No. 12 Baylor
Why are they playing? Old Dominion @ Vanderbilt
Plenty of good seats remaining: Georgia State @ Appalachian State
They shoot horses, don't they? Cincinnati @ Tulane
Week 9 Random Thoughts:
There is a reason they call Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. It is the place where dreams go to die – other teams' dreams that is. Ole Miss was having the most phenomenal season of the program in about 52 years, and seemed to be on a collision course for vying for the national title. After a neat playing at LSU, that is now seriously in doubt. The really interesting aspect of it all? The score: the Tigers triumphed over the Rebels 10-7. Such an old-fashioned score was, ironically, a great nod to the classic rivalry and the memorable games during the Eagle Day and Billy Cannon eras thereof.
One cannot recall a more valiant effort given on the part of South Carolina the previous evening. Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier knew going in that he was out-gunned and undermanned going into Jordan-Hare Stadium to face a fearsome Auburn Tigers squad. But the Gamecocks gave it their all, took incredible risks on 4th down throughout the evening – mirabile dictu, they converted more often than not – and almost succeeded in the end. Almost. What ultimately turned out to be South Carolina's undoing was their quarterback, Dylan Thompson, who had a habit of throwing fade route passes towards the sideline and almost always failing to connect with his receivers, overthrowing them constantly. Granted, over-the-middle passes are always more risky than those thrown towards the sidelines, but Thompson succeeded more often in the middle of the field, and it is a shame that he did not go on that same instinct late in the game. Had he done so, the Gamecocks might have pulled off one of the grandest upsets of the year.
Few fans outside of the Pacific Time Zone might have witnessed this, but the No. 19 Utah Utes defeated the No. 20 USC Trojans, 24-21. How fitting a score for two teams ranked literally right next to one-another, with the correct, higher-ranked team, winning? Every now and then, the pollsters literally do get it right!
Pride commeth before the fall. Since a Michigan player made a "little brother" comment about their in-state, intra-conference rival Michigan State at a press conference several years ago, Sparty has gone 6-1 in said rivalry. In an established rivalry between two programs, Rule No. 1 is that you show said rival respect. With the Spartans having humiliated the Wolverines yet again, 35-11, we have just witnessed the potential penalty made manifest for violating said rule. Let that be a lesson to all of us.
Tags: Alabama, Appalachian State, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Art Briles, B1G, Baylor, Big Ten, Bobby Petrino, Boilermakers, Boilers, Boise State, Brian Kelly, Bruins, Buffaloes, BYU, Cal, Central Florida, college, Colorado, Darrell Hazell, Doc Holliday, FIghting Irish, Florida, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida State, football, Furman, Georgia State, Golden Bears, Golden Gophers, Indiana, James Franklin, Jerry Kill, Jimbo Fisher, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Miami, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NCAA, Nevada, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Seminoles, SMU, South Carolina, TCU, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Troy, UAB, UCLA, Urban Meyer, USC, Utah, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia Tech, Washington State, West Virginia, Will Muschamp
Wish I were him: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State
Glad I'm not him: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Lucky guy: Jerry Kill, Minnesota
Poor guy: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Desperately seeking a wake-up clue: Bobby Petrino, Louisville
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Doc Holliday, Marshall
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Art Briles, Baylor
Desperately seeking … anything: Will Muschamp, Florida
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: No. 8 Michigan State (defeated Indiana 56-17)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Louisville (defeated North Carolina State 30-18)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Colorado (lost to No. 22 USC 56-28)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Kansas (lost to Texas Tech 34-21)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: No. 7 Alabama (defeated No. 21 Texas A&M 59-0)
Dang, they're bad: SMU
You know, they're not so bad: Minnesota
Can't Stand Prosperity: Baylor
Can the season end? Georgia State
Can the season never end? Florida State
Play this again: No. 2 Florida State 31, No. 5 Notre Dame, 27
Play this again, too: No. 20 Utah 29, Oregon State 23
Never play this again: South Carolina 41, Furman 10
What? Nevada 42, BYU 35
Huh? No. 14 Kansas State 31, No. 11 Oklahoma 30
Are you kidding me? No. 7 Alabama 59, No. 21 Texas A&M 0 (the shear blowout)
Oh – my – God: West Virginia 41, No. 4 Baylor 27
Ticket to die for: No. 3 Ole Miss @ No. 24 LSU
Best non-Power Five vs. Power Five matchup: (none, notwithstanding the "Why Are They Playing" entry)
Best non-Power Five matchup: Temple @ Central Florida
Upset alert: Texas @ No. 11 Kansas State
Must win: No. 22 West Virginia @ Oklahoma State
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Arizona @ Washington State
Defensive struggle: Miami @ Virginia Tech
Great game no one is talking about: BYU @ Boise State
Intriguing coaching matchup: Urban Meyer of Ohio State vs. James Franklin of Penn State
Who's bringing the body bags? No. 1 Mississippi State @ Kentucky (also: UConn @ No. 18 East Carolina)
Why are they playing? UAB @ Arkansas
They shoot horses, don't they? Florida Atlantic @ No. 23 Marshall
While Michigan State is a solid choice for the "Thought you'd kick butt, you did" weekly award, the truth is, a number of teams ended up kicking butt, that in hindsight made sense that they would. Start with South Carolina (see: last week's "Why are they playing?" nod), who beat relatively hapless Furman 41-10. In hindsight, a resurgent Ohio State team against a Rutgers team still learning to navigate the terrain of the Big Ten was also a clear would-be drubbing (result: 56-17). Even more obvious was the Colorado @ USC match-up. The Buffaloes still cannot get things together, while Steve Sarkesian is slowly building the Trojans back to national prominence. The 56-28 result, therefore, came as not surprise.
While Alabama could not be a more obvious choice for the weekly "Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did" award (59-0 over Texas A&M, their biggest lopsided shutout in 35 years), other games would have been decent choices as well. Start with Marshall's butt-kicking of Florida International, 45-13. Even more of a surprise, though, was TCU's drubbing of Oklahoma State, 42-9. On paper, these were closely-matched teams (No. 12 vs. No. 15, respectively). Turns out that in reality, they were not that close in terms of competitive prowess after all. Further down the food chain, Appalachian State – a newcomer to the FCS – beat up on Troy unexpectedly, 53-14. Sounds like the latter is a "Can the season end?" candidate. Stay tuned.
Last night's Notre Dame @ Florida State slugfest is already an instant classic. Clearly one of the biggest, best games of the season thus far, it wins the "Play this again" award hands down. That said, despite some lop-sided victories in football this past weekend, plenty other games merit a second look nevertheless. Start with the late Thursday night game on the West Coast, Utah @ Oregon State. The Utes went into Reser Stadium, took the Beavers into overtime, and walked out victorious. Speaking of the West Coast, take a look at the final score between UCLA @ Cal (spoiler alert: 36-34). Consider that you have the Bruins vs. Golden Bears, and two different shades of blue and gold going head-to-head, in the same conference, no less. With such similarities, such a score result is only fitting. In the Big Ten, one was able to enjoy an interesting matchup between Minnesota and Purdue. On one hand, the Golden Gophers have quietly risen to the top of their division in the conference, while Purdue has quietly improved from their doldrums. Indeed, the Boilers almost won on the road.
Notre Dame remains an enigma. After so many close calls against inferior teams, surely they would not have played No. 2 Florida State as closely as they did on the road. Not when having to result to strokes of luck to win against Stanford. Not when allowing Purdue to play them as closely as they did in Indianapolis. Yet on Saturday night, they played in Tallahassee like they deserved to be the 5th-ranked team in the nation. Further monitoring of the team will be in order to make sense of this inconsistent behavior. Fortunately, the schedule is such that it will allow for further clarity to be reached as it plays out. The Fighting Irish journey to Tempe, Ariz., to play Arizona State in three weeks, followed by Northwestern and then Louisville at home. Then, they cap off the season in Los Angeles against USC. One takes any one of those teams lightly at his own peril (translation: if the Irish fail to bring their A-game to any one of these matchups, they're doomed).
As an aside, part of Ole Miss now being taken seriously in the national rankings (No. 3, currently), is that their defense is given plenty of respect with an up-and-coming brand: the "land shark" defense. One must admit, that has a nice ring to it!
College Football Week 10 Awards November 3, 2013
Tags: Air Force, Al Golden, Alabama, Appalachian State, Auburn, Baylor, Bo Pelini, Boilermakers, Boston College, Braxton Miller, Buckeyes, Buffalo, Butch Jones, BYU, Central Florida, Chattanooga, college, Colorado State, Darrell Hazell, Florida, Florida State, football, Georgia, Georgia State, Gus Malzahn, Houston, Idaho, Indiana, Jimbo Fisher, Kevin Wilson, Kyle Flood, Louisville, LSU, Marshall, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, NCAA, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nick Saban, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Ohio U, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Oregon State, Purdue, Rod Carey, Rutgers, Southern Miss, Stanford, Temple, Tennessee, Texas Tech, UCF, UConn, Urban Meyer, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin
Glad I'm not him: Mike Riley, Oregon State
Lucky guy: Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Poor guy: Kevin Wilson, Indiana
Desperately seeking a clue: Kyle Flood, Rutgers
Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Rod Carey, Northern Illinois
Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Butch Jones, Tennessee
Desperately seeking … anything: Darrell Hazell, Purdue
Thought you'd kick butt, you did: Ohio State (defeated Purdue 56-0)
Thought you'd kick butt, you didn't: Rutgers (defeated Temple 23-20)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you did: Purdue (lost to Ohio State 56-0)
Thought you'd get your butt kicked, you didn't: Boston College (defeated Virginia Tech 34-27)
Thought you wouldn't kick butt, you did: Marshall (defeated Southern Miss 61-13)
Dang, they're bad: Purdue
Good Bounce-Back: Missouri
Did the season start? Mississippi State
Can the season end? Memphis
Play this again: West Virginia 30, TCU 27, OT
Play this again, too: Georgia 23, Florida 20
Never play this again: No. 4 Ohio State 56, Purdue 0
What? USC 31, Oregon State 14
Huh? Boston College 34, Virginia Tech 27
Are you kidding me? No. 22 Michigan State 29, No. 21 Michigan 6
Oh – my – God: No. 18 Oklahoma State 52, No. 15 Texas Tech 34
Ticket to die for: (tie) No. 2 Oregon @ No. 6 Stanford (Thurs.), and No. 12 LSU @ No. 1 Alabama
Best non-Big Six vs. Big Six matchup: BYU @ No. 22 Wisconsin
Best non-Big Six matchup: Ohio U @ Buffalo
Upset alert: Tennessee @ No. 10 Auburn
Must win: Houston @ No. 21 Central Florida
Offensive explosion: No. 15 Oklahoma @ No. 8 Baylor (Thurs.)
Defensive struggle: Vanderbilt @ Florida
Great game no one is talking about: No. 24 Arizona State @ Utah
Intriguing coaching matchup: Butch Jones of Tennessee vs. Gus Malzahn of Auburn
Who's bringing the body bags? No. 16 Louisville @ UConn
Why are they playing? Appalachian State @ Georgia
Plenty of good seats remaining: Air Force @ New Mexico
They shoot horses, don't they? Old Dominion @ Idaho
I have come to the conclusion that these "body bag" games, such as the Purdue-Ohio State debacle I personally witnessed yesterday, are really glorified scrimmages. Case in point: the Buckeyes were already up 42-0 on the Boilermakers at halftime, and no sooner did the third quarter begin that they took out starting QB Braxton Miller and put in the back-up (#13). A prudent move, for who in the their right mind would subject the beating heart of their offense to further risk of injury when the game is already comfortably in hand? One would think at one point that Urban Meyer would send an emissary in the form of a ball boy (or somebody) to Darrell Hazell, asking him to run an "X-dig" pass play or a run play off tackle so his defense could better hone their craft in reacting to such maneuvers from the offense.
At least it was a conference game. Most of these "body bag" games have been essentially dial-up "W's". Check out half of the home games for the SEC teams, if you don't believe me. The next time Nick Saban grouses about the fans leaving the game early, maybe he ought to schedule better home games than Colorado State, Georgia State, and Chattanooga.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is such a Steal! Price Reduced $80k! Fabulous modern/contemporary remodeled condo, with breathtaking southern mountain views. Nestled in the cove of Indian Wells Country Club. Peaceful and tranquil, with lushly landscaped grounds. Private tennis court,and sparkling pools for condo residents only.Spacious private front patio, plus a south facing back patio. Boasting over 2800 sq.ft., open floor plan with high ceilings, glass front doors, and sliders throughout. Dramatic fireplace, and wet bar. Custom light fixtures, doors, and hardware. Stunning kitchen with quartz counter tops, full tiled back splash, floating shelves, modern cabinets and appliances.Three large bedroom suites each with en-suite bathrooms, neutral upgraded carpets, and walk in closets. Master bathroom has been totally remodeled. Offered furnished. This one is Pretty Perfect!


My first involvement with glass was in the 1980's while I ran a small antiques shop in North London that specialised in lighting.
I bought two pieces of coloured glass that I instantly fell in love with and kept them on display in the shop to find more information. A regular dealer visitor told me that they were Monart and that he had more if I was interested. He specialised in metalware and had just been putting the odd pieces of glass he accumulated into boxes. A few days later he arrived with a huge boxful of glass from circa 1900-modern, it included some labelled Monart and signed Vasart as well as Lalique, Webb and much more.
I started to piece together the history of Monart and went on buying expeditions to Scotland where I rarely paid more than ten pounds for a piece, often as little as one pound! As the story unfolded I began a collectors club and eventually this lead me to publish the book Ysart Glass. At some point I discovered my first two pieces of Monart turned out to be James Powell Cloudy glass! But by then it was too late.
The 90's recession was bad timing and my publishing and book distribution business ended up with huge debts... After working to pay these off, it all got too much and I withdrew and left the UK.
My internet involvement began in the late 1990's as a moderator on Compuserve glass board where from the others in the team my knowledge expanded to other types of glass. I started getting emails from Ysart collectors and to address their enquiries put the club newsletters on-line as what was to become Ysartglass.com. The site just kept growing as more collectors turned up with more questions and an eagerness to share their own glass. The work on Ysartglass is nearly complete and following a conference I organised in Perth during 2005 - I set up a new site Scotland's Glass.com to showcase all Scottish Glass talent past and present. This is still being established and the emphasis will be to make this a community site for collectors, glassmakers and historians.
Also in the 1980's I commenced an IT career which with high rewards financed much of the glass and publishing interests - I eventually specialised in large scale document archiving and management for global corporations.
The Glass-Study was born out of a business plan for a new approach to ePublishing, the venture needed a hard-headed businessman to help manage the concept and after a few false starts, I realised that it was not going to happen easily. I felt the ideas will be invaluable to the world of collecting and should not be put aside but that I was not willing to try and manage such a business on my own. I have completely reviewed the ideas and instead of starting with the publishing model decided to try and make it self financing by building the historical reference library. Aware of initiatives by Google and others to digitise libraries - this one had to reflect it specialist nature and allow the annotation of the early texts to highlight gross errors.
This first stage will continue until all of my trade journals and directories are digitised, along with a number of early books and detailed indexes of all copyright books. At that point I will start to present the original catalogues in my possession - these will be organised in a similar way to the catalogues on Scotland's Glass so that searches will be by shape and other aspects, as well as maker and catalogue date etc.
While any member can directly add content and hold discussions in the forums, this will eventually be complimented by tools allowing 'Private' collaborative working on-line.
It is already possible for others to contribute and edit material directly. The permission to do so will be granted on a one-to-one discussion basis.
My ambition is to make the Glass-study free to all and that can only be achieved by creating a charitable funding organisation. That will allow it to expand beyond a one man library. I am open to discussion and advice on how that can be achieved. I have no fixed ideas and invite anyone to make and discuss proposals in the Suggestion Forum.


SlideshowCast is an iOS app that lets you make photo slideshows on iPhone / iPad / iPod touch for casting on bigger TV screen wirelessly.
SlideshowCast iPhone iPad app enables you to organize your digital photos from Camera Roll and Photo Library and turn them into video slideshow momentarily with instant preview. With the help of Chromecast, you are able to stream your slideshow video to wide TV screen via Wi-Fi. While playing the slideshow video on TV, your iPhone / iPad / iPod touch works as a remote control to play, pause, and move forwards and backwards.
Apart from casting slideshow on TV through Chromecast, SlideshowCast also lets you save your slideshow video to iPhone / iPad / iPod touch Camera Roll. Besides, it provides a variety of options to customize your slideshow video, like background music, title, watermark, photo editor, transitions, duration, Pan & Zoom, and more.
When your slideshow has been encoded, it will be saved as a slideshow project which can be edited like adding/deleting photos, rearranging photo order, customizing, etc. and recreated for best visual experience on TV afterwards.
SlideshowCast is available on the iTunes App Store. It works with iPhone, iPad and iPod devices running iOS 7.0 or above.
SlideshowCast App lets you turn photos into slideshow video momentarily with instant preview. You can add photos from iPhone / iPad / iPod touch Camera Roll and Photo Library. There are options to organize photos, crop photos and edit photos as well.
SlideshowCast iPhone iPad App generates photo slideshow video in no time. You are also allowed to add background music, apply transitions, adjust duration, enable Pan & Zoom, insert title and watermark and more. Music trimming is also supported.
In order to cast slideshow video to TV, the Chromecast device is required. You need to plugin Chromecast to TV and make sure both your iPhone / iPad / iPod touch and Chromecast are connected to the same WiFi network. Then you can feel free to watch your slideshow on big TV screen.
There is also a free version of SlideshowCast App. The only difference between the free version and the full version is that the former will attach a watermark logo on the TV screen.
In 5 minutes or less I had exactly what I was looking for. Very easy to use and for a novice it's got everything, music integration, transitions. It did everything i wanted.


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Did You Get the Say Anything Reference in the Promo for Kevin from Work?
By Joshua David Stein
Updated Aug 12, 2015 @ 3:00 pm
Credit: Facebook/ Kevin From Work; 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection
Kevin from Work, a new comedy on ABC Family, premieres tonight. If you have eyes, you've probably seen the advertisement for the show in which the titular Kevin (Noah Reid) is holding a shredder that's destroying a sheet of paper with a heart on it. To anyone who has seen Say Anything..., Cameron Crowe's classic film, the reference is clearly John Cusack holding up a boombox on which is playing "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel:
But here's the thing. According to the network itself, the target demographic of ABC Family "is young adults born from 1977 to 1996; they are called Millennials. Our viewer's median age is 28, putting our network right in the sweet spot for advertisers." That's great for advertisers but for throwback references to late '80s films, that's problematic. A 28-year-old was born in 1987, which means he or she would have had to see Say Anything at the tender age of 2.
Studies have shown permanent memories rarely form before the age of 3. So, it seems unlikely that the vast swathe of ABC Family's target demographic would get the reference on which the advertisement is premised. It's still kind of funny but with that valence lifted, kind of flat too. What about you? Did your mind go straight to Cusack? Let's find out.
RELATED: The Notebook Is Being Turned Into a Television Show


Ghazipur is a sleepy city of Poorvanchal, situated on the banks of holy river Ganges. Once upon a time, Ghazipur was famous for cultivation of gulab, champa, chameli, jasmine, kevda and many other fragmenting flowers. A few decades ago, perfumes, oils of these flowers and kevda water were traded on a large scale in the district.
Ghazipur has lost its fragrance and flowers but here still live people, who smell more than roses. One among them is Mr Obaidur Rahman Siddiqui. He is a Historian who has written the History of Ghazipur beginning from the ancient time till Mughal time.
He has traced many historical places in Ghazipur with a story, which were lost in the dust of time. Frankly speaking the city has limited tourist attractions.I hope the research work of Mr Obaidur Rahman Siddiqui will keep Ghazipur a place on tourists map of Uttar Pradesh.
I love traveling and meeting different people.These travelling has broadened my vision and wisdom.The reason: It opens many unkwon secrets. That makes my journey perfect.
Next day of his function Obaidur Rahman arranged a boating trip in Ganges.I spend my beautiful time at Ghats and an adventurous memorable boating trip, hearing mesmerizing bubbling musical noise created by stearing helm of boat in water of river Ganges.
Ghazipur District played an important role during freedom movement of the country. After independence of the country, Ghazipur District could not develop as it was in the past.
Any writing on Ghazipur is incomplete without mention of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the great Social reformer and founder of Aligarh Muslim University. The Aligarh Movement was not an instant phenomenon. It took its shape in many many years and was started even before Sir Syed moved to his final home Aligarh.
Among the first step towards establishing M.A.O. College and Aligarh Movement was establishment of Scientific Society at Ghazipur in 1864. In 1860, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was transferred from Moradabad to Ghazipur. The stay of Sir Syed in Ghazipur is a milestone in his life. Sir Syed had also established a school at Ghazipur which was named as Victoria School (established 1864) at Ghazipur. Later its name was changed to Shri Shivnath Singh Girls Government College.
This Blog is dedicated to that boating trip which I enjoyed from Steamer Ghat to Opium Factory, with my camera in holy river of Ganges.
The boatman freed anchor, pushed boat into main river stream.I was in company of Tariq, Anees and Rashid: Stepped in boat and fixed myself in a comfortable position in the boat.
Boatman was stearing boat on up stream and the return was down stream.Our boat passed through ghats constructed along the river: Manadev ghat, Dadri ghat, Collector ghat, Cheetnath ghat, Posta ghat, Streamer ghat, Rameshwar ghat, Pakka ghat, Sikandarpur ghat, Kankadiya ghat, Gola ghat, Masood ghat, Nakta ghat, Khirki ghat.
The boat was flowing ahead, but I was lost in memories of my child hood. Remembering the days when as a kid, when I used to come on an adventurous birds hunting,with my Big Father.Those were the thrilling and exciting moments to see shooing some migratory birds direct from boats in winter.
Now as a grown mature man, I realized that, birds hunting were nothing more than a violent form of recreation of the feudal system. Bird's migration is one of nature's wonders.
Tragically, every year millions of birds are slaughtered during their journeys: The delicate balance of ecosystems ensures their survival.Need not to say that Birds were the primary inspiration for development of space technology.
Boat was leisurely sailing.The ghats were open to me as a theatre of real life dramas. Sitting in boat, I was observing the activities on the ghats, through my camera lens and clicking them.
Pilgrims taking ablution in the waters of the Ganga, dhobis washing clothes, water buffaloes roaming around.young local boys were jumping high from ghat stairs. Women were busy in domestic gossips.
Now it was time to return back before Sun set. The Sun looked as a big plate of crimson red, ready to sink in Ganges water .The rays of the setting sun were no longer hot. The crimson red was prominently visible in western sky.A peacefull silence was around us, only noise of river waves striking bottom of boat. Fisher men, in mid stream, were also pulling fish nets to return back.
As I stepped out of the boat, I found my self tired but the mesmerizing beauty of this Ganga boat ride was refreshing me. My camera was fully loaded with some marvelous moments. Those memories are treasure for the rest of my life.
Written, photographed and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram.


In a melting pot global business society where the chances of conflict, misinterpretation and faux pas can be quite high, interacting professionally with foreign business partners is a skill that is crucial to all business executives and must be honed. As businesses expand internationally, we need to ensure that cultural differences continue to be valued and respected and that we are socially-prepared for what we may experience as a 'culture-shock'. Further,theability to communicate effectively, negotiate and influence people from various cultures is vital to the long-term competitive success of global corporations.
This program equips participants with the knowledge on cross-cultural (up to three specific countries will be focused on during any one workshop) etiquette in a business context so that values and cultures are respected and business partnerships may be effectively formed and embedded to last a lifetime. Through interactive lectures, role plays, discussions and presentations, participants will be able to apply these unique skills almost immediately.


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Trucks delivering six miles per gallon won't work in the long haul
By Jason MathersFollow
Jason is EDF's Supply Chain Director at our Corporate Partnerships program.
Published May 7, 2014 in Climate
Here's something to think about next time you are stuck in traffic next to an 18-wheeler: The average tractor-trailer can travel only six miles per gallon of diesel.
These heavy trucks travel a lot too; averaging more than 120,000 miles a year or 20 roundtrip drives between Boston and San Francisco. Freight trucks are on the road for one primary purpose: to get goods to all of us. In fact 70% of U.S. freight tonnage is moved by tractor-trailer trucks. Over the coming years, demand for freight services is expected to grow even more. And this is driving up fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
A call for strong fuel efficiency standards
But it is possible and affordable for tractor-trailer trucks to get nearly 11mpg by 2025. The Obama Administration can set new fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for heavy trucks that cut fuel consumption by 40% compared to 2010 levels. These standards would also apply for heavy-duty work trucks, such as box delivery trucks, bucket trucks, beverage delivery trucks and refuse trucks.
Strong, new fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for our nation's heavy trucks are achievable, cost-effective and critical to cutting greenhouse emissions and fuel consumption – all while we continue to depend on trucks to deliver the goods we need and want. The slideshow below highlights some of the technology available to meet bold standards as well as the significant cost, oil and emissions savings from such standards.
Cutting Truck Fuel Consumption 40% by 2025 from Environmental Defense Fund
Bold fuel efficiency standards are good for our economy, environment and energy security. One fact that just jumps out at me is this: These standards will cut our oil consumption by 1.4 million barrels a day. That sounds like a big number and it is. It's a bit higher than the amount of oil we import daily from Saudi Arabia.
They will also be good for trucking fleets too. These trucks will cost $30,000 less to fuel a year.
Strong fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for heavy trucks are an important part of the President's Climate Action Plan, and EDF will continue to work towards strong standards through our unique combination of industry engagement, regulatory design expertise and technical know-how.
At EDF, we focus where we can get results on climate change »