When is the last time you've seen a NCAA Football team have four straight shutouts?

[cubzwin]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

So rumors of Tenn's demise (and mine) were apparently premature.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Not to be the contrarian but I’d remind everyone that this is NOT the game of the early 60s. Sure it’s a great accomplishment, but the passing rules were different, kicking wasn’t a specialty and in the SEC it was all white guys.

Two shutouts in the modern game might well be the equivalent of four 60 years ago.

(Let me put it this way: the 2011 defense was light years ahead of the 1961 defense. That’s not to in any way put them down but my goodness....)

 

[UAllday]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Not to be the contrarian but I’d remind everyone that this is NOT the game of the early 60s. Sure it’s a great accomplishment, but the passing rules were different, kicking wasn’t a specialty and in the SEC it was all white guys.

Two shutouts in the modern game might well be the equivalent of four 60 years ago.

(Let me put it this way: the 2011 defense was light years ahead of the 1961 defense. That’s not to in any way put them down but my goodness....)

In my eyes, holding a team to 14 points is a modern day shut out, because of all the things you stated

 

[BayouBama75]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Back in the old days it seems like it was easier to do. With on scholly limits, the balance of power was not as equal as now. Also my HS team back in 1969 had 8 shutouts in 11 games in winning the State Championship.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Back in the old days it seems like it was easier to do. With on scholly limits, the balance of power was not as equal as now. Also my HS team back in 1969 had 8 shutouts in 11 games in winning the State Championship.

It was easier primarily because the whole thing was running with a rare pass. That’s not to undersell it - it still means you never made a mistake that let a guy loose. But no, the 60s defenses were not from some other planet that made them better than any defenses that followed.

In 1961, we also won THREE games where we scored 10 or fewer points. We won another where we scored 17.

 

[ecraj]

I really think it's possible to shutout The Citadel, but no matter how bad the aubs seem to be I think they will score a few.
Auburn will probably get 2 on a safety.

 

[Tenntiderman]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Not to be the contrarian but I’d remind everyone that this is NOT the game of the early 60s. Sure it’s a great accomplishment, but the passing rules were different, kicking wasn’t a specialty and in the SEC it was all white guys.

Two shutouts in the modern game might well be the equivalent of four 60 years ago.

(Let me put it this way: the 2011 defense was light years ahead of the 1961 defense. That’s not to in any way put them down but my goodness....)

Wow. Just...wow. " All white guys" I apologize for participating in this thread. Forgive my obvious ignorance.

 

[ecraj]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Not to be the contrarian but I’d remind everyone that this is NOT the game of the early 60s. Sure it’s a great accomplishment, but the passing rules were different, kicking wasn’t a specialty and in the SEC it was all white guys.

Two shutouts in the modern game might well be the equivalent of four 60 years ago.

(Let me put it this way: the 2011 defense was light years ahead of the 1961 defense. That’s not to in any way put them down but my goodness....)

I agree with you because it's true and no one can deny the facts.

 

[B1GTide]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

In my eyes, holding a team to 14 points is a modern day shut out, because of all the things you stated

I agree, though I would probably say 10 points or fewer. It allows for a single big play TD and a long range FG. IMO, if a team gives up 2 TDs in a game, even today, then the defense has not had a "shut-out" kind of day (unless the opponent has a Tua type QB at the helm).

To the OP - I think that we need to evaluate defenses differently today than we have in the past. Heck, the 2011 defense only had 3 shut-outs spread over the entire season, and offenses are far better today than they were then, just 7 years ago. I would love to see Alabama's defense hold every opponent to 10 points or less, but I consider shut-outs to be flukes today.

 

[B1GTide]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Wow. Just...wow. " All white guys" I apologize for participating in this thread. Forgive my obvious ignorance.

Not sure where this hostility came from. Your posts were well received and opened the door to the discussion of some teams in the 60's that met the OP's criteria. No one criticized your posts, and there is nothing inaccurate or insulting in Selma's post.

 

[colbysullivan]

Georgia Southern scored 21 against our 2011 defense which is still regarded as one of the best defenses of all time. Let’s pump the brakes a bit.

 

[Chechem]

I remember 1966, and remember the 4-game shutout streak. Those were great times. We deserved the Natty that year!

Happy tidings UPI,
I must say I wonder why,
You and your friends at AP,
Voted Bama number 3.

The world famous Crimson Tide,
Undefeated and untied,
The only one you must agree,
Why the hell the number 3?

Notre Dame, Michigan State,
Number one and two you rate,
Us Bama fans we cannot see,
Why the hell the number 3?

These days are even better! ROLL TIDE.

 

[saturdaysarebet]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Not to be the contrarian but I’d remind everyone that this is NOT the game of the early 60s. Sure it’s a great accomplishment, but the passing rules were different, kicking wasn’t a specialty and in the SEC it was all white guys.

Two shutouts in the modern game might well be the equivalent of four 60 years ago.

(Let me put it this way: the 2011 defense was light years ahead of the 1961 defense. That’s not to in any way put them down but my goodness....)

So does that give more credence to Penn State should have been national champions in 1969 with Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell and Charlie Pittman in their backfield over Texas which was the last all-white national championship team?

And, does that discredit Alabama's '66 team which was all-white when Notre Dame had Alan Page and Michigan State Bubba Smith and George Webster, etc.?

 

[B1GTide]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

So does that give more credence to Penn State should have been national champions in 1969 with Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell and Charlie Pittman in their backfield over Texas which was the last all-white national championship team?

And, does that discredit Alabama's '66 team which was all-white when Notre Dame had Alan Page and Michigan State Bubba Smith and George Webster, etc.?

I think that his point was that the sport did not allow for a huge number of great athletes to participate. Once that participation was allowed, the play improved across the board. This meant that offenses and defenses improved - the game began to change. I did not take his comment to be a criticism of those schools which had not yet integrated.

 

[twofbyc]

I'll be pretty surprised if Bama holds Citadel scoreless. Not because Alabama doesn't have the skill players, but because that offense is really tricky to defend against - largely because so few run it anymore.

I've been watching football long enough to have reached a few conclusions:
- I'm not counting on a shutout until the clock hits 0:00
- I'm not expecting an easy game against any opponent - especially if they run a quirky offense few do and do it well
- I'm not counting on a player winning the Heisman until I see them lift it up
- I'm not counting on wins / playoff positioning until it happens

We're watching a bunch of young men play a game who are the same age as those who commonly make really, really stupid, short-sighted decisions.

IOW, I'm counting no chickens over here. Let's just let the games play out.

Not sure we’ve had two linebackers with the skill set of M&M before, though - they live for these kinds of games.
As long as the starting rotation is in on D, I honestly don’t think they’ll score.
Didn’t watch the game, but they only put up 7 on North Carolina - not NC State, North Carolina. That’s not a potent running game.
NC has the 118th rushing defense in the country.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I'm gonna say this once for some of you haven't been here near so long and have decided to take umbrage over something ridiculous.

And I will only say it once.


The QUALITY of football player is SUBSTANTIALLY better now than in 1961. And spare me the phony, "You're one of these young dudes saying those guys weren't any good," which only someone who just buzzed in from another world could actually believe about me, particularly since I'm a white dude myself.


It is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT to shut teams out nowadays. MUCH more than in 1961. Or 1966. Or for that matter 1979.

1) Kicking - notwithstanding some of what we've seen at UA - has become a specialty.

Teams simply did not routinely make 50-yard field goals in 1961. If a kicker's percentage was above 60% in 1966 that was FABULOUS.
You didn't see very many attempts from beyond 40 yards back then simply because it was high risk.

2) The fact of it is that those shutouts were run up against inferior competition compared to today.

I'm by no means saying, "Oh it was so easy" because if it was then it would have been even more common. But the fact is that football back then was a mostly regional game featuring virtually all white teams in the South (and other places as well).

And don't even bring in those red herrings about Penn State and 1969 or Michigan State and 1966. Anyone doing this is being so pretentious that quite frankly you don't even deserve a response - either because you're trolling or you're just NOT getting it.

3) Fumbles back in the day COULD NOT BE ADVANCED.

This is another issue. A defense can play a flawless game only to see the other team's defense return a fumble for a TD. Part of the reason teams went away from the wishbone was because it was a high risk/high reward offense with MANY fumbles. Once those fumbles were no longer spot recovery, the potential disaster was too much. Yes, I know there were OTHER reasons for mostly abandoning it, but that's a major one right there.

4) The passing game didn't evolve until the late 1970s.

Some of the types of blocks offensive lineman are able to do NOW were illegal back then. The AFL was primarily responsible for the NFL realizing they'd better do something about their boring game (along with Super Bowl VIII putting everyone to sleep). And please spare me the "you're saying Joe Namath wasn't any good" nonsense, too.


Consider the 2011 Alabama defense, the finest college defense I ever saw play.

Auburn scored 14 points us against in the 2011 Iron Bowl.

Our defense held them to NINE first downs and 140 total yards and forced two turnovers yet Auburn scored 14 points.

How? AJ fumbled the ball in his own end zone that was recovered for a TD and McCaleb returned a kickoff for a touchdown.


The DEFENSE did not surrender a single point that day and barely gave up any yards.



So again - NOBODY is saying it wasn't a good accomplishment, but it has to be viewed in context. Cy Young may have won 511 games, and he may have the trophy named after him.......but he wasn't even close to the greatest pitcher of all-time. Indeed, a case can be made for Warren Spahn or Greg Maddux or even Roger Clemens as FAR better than Cy Young.

Coach Bryant won six national championships and Coach Saban has also won six. But Saban's is the FAR greater accomplishment, not because Saban is modern or anything but because it is substantially harder to win them now. It's no longer a pre-bowl vote (which gave Bryant three of his six titles). And Saban - unlike Bryant save for 1978 - has had to go onto the field in essentially a winner-take-all game against the OTHER team presumed to be the best.

Just like the all-white game - it was NOT Bryant's fault those were the rules, but it is also the contextual reality.

(And don't even try the "you're saying Coach Bryant was no good" nonsense in light of the fact I have a picture of the man on my wall that has been there for over 30 years now).

 

[OakMtn4Bama]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Check this out. 6 shutouts and 5 in a row to end the regular season.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/alabama/1961-schedule.html

Seemed normal back then.

 

[GrayTide]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

I'll be pretty surprised if Bama holds Citadel scoreless. Not because Alabama doesn't have the skill players, but because that offense is really tricky to defend against - largely because so few run it anymore.

I've been watching football long enough to have reached a few conclusions:
- I'm not counting on a shutout until the clock hits 0:00
- I'm not expecting an easy game against any opponent - especially if they run a quirky offense few do and do it well
- I'm not counting on a player winning the Heisman until I see them lift it up
- I'm not counting on wins / playoff positioning until it happens

We're watching a bunch of young men play a game who are the same age as those who commonly make really, really stupid, short-sighted decisions.

IOW, I'm counting no chickens over here. Let's just let the games play out.

Every poster on Tidefans should read this post by Brad and refer to it often during the season and, remember it before criticizing fellow posters who also are not counting the chickens before they hatch.

 

[RT27]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

Shutouts are awesome, but as said in posts above, hard to do in today's game. Just win baby and dominate, I do not mind giving up some points late with second and third string, that is forgivable. Just never let the game be in doubt, that to me is a shutout. When you score 14 fast and never look back, that is a shutout to me. When after the first quarter the other team knows they are beaten, that is what I love. Goose egg on scoreboard is nice, but beating them by halftime is priceless. When I say beating them, I mean when the opponent knows it is over when they go into the half. That is a shutout to me. This year has been 10 games of pure shutout's, they know they are done early.

 

[Probius]

Re: When is the last time you seen a College Football team have four straight shutout

As many have already stated, a shutout requires a significant amount of luck. It also requires all three phases of the game to work together so that you don't give up NOTs. This actually makes a shutout all the more significant to me. It's kind of like a hole in one. You have to be good to get the ball close to the pin, and then you need some luck to get it that last few feet.