The Strangest Game

#. November 12, 2022

#-1. Starkville, Mississippi, USA

#-2. Davis Wade Stadium

People called "the teacher of us all" have always existed, in every era and every field.

College football has them too.

Nick Saban, you ask?

Come on—

Alabama's head coach may be a brilliant man who built a great dynasty, but he's closer to a 'Culture Builder' who constructs systems and structures — not the type anyone would call a teacher.

The man I mean is Mike Leach.

And he's standing right in front of me.

Modern college football, starved for quality quarterbacks, is dominated by rushing attacks built around running backs and dual-threat quarterbacks.

The popularity of the shotgun formation and RPO (Run-Pass Option) can be viewed in the same light, and even Urban Meyer's Spread offense succeeded largely because of the low quality of quarterbacks.

But at the NFL level, the Spread was useless against pro-caliber defenders — and the man who evolved it even further was Mike Leach.

Air Spread.

Cliff Kingsbury, the Arizona head coach, brought this system to the NFL and proved it works. Considering the gap between college and the pros, that's a genuinely staggering accomplishment.

That's why I came to respect him.

Click.

Mike Leach gave me a warm smile, thumped my chest, and turned away — and I turned as well, heading back toward my teammates.

"YES!"

Two years ago, COVID-19 protocols had made any contact impossible, and last year there was no game against Mississippi State at all, so the opportunity simply never came.

That was exactly why I'd been so happy when this year's schedule came out and I saw the MSU game on it.

"Wish granted?"

"Yup! God! I'm on cloud nine!"

"Sometimes I really can't figure you out."

"Look who's talking. How am I supposed to understand a grown man who watches The Powerpuff Girls every single day?"

"Dude! That's a classic!"

I shoved the shoulder of Tresmen Marshall as he spouted his nonsense.

He's the team's backup ILB.

He was recruited as a 4-Star linebacker a year ahead of me, and expectations were high — but a lack of self-discipline and diligence pushed the pros out of reach.

Last year it was a knee injury; he'd also gained 25 pounds from his enrollment weight, and his body simply couldn't hold up anymore.

He belatedly regretted it and started taking care of himself, but after the injury, his athleticism had visibly fallen off a cliff.

Personally, I find it genuinely sad.

This era's Georgia was the finest environment a defensive player could ask for to develop — and laziness cost him his shot at the pros anyway.

And standing at the exact opposite pole from him is right over there.

Javon Bullard.

A sophomore who, along with RaKiya, likes me so much that he follows me around. Since his position is DB and he's on the short side, walking with the two of them makes me feel like a mob boss with his entourage.

Well.

He is factually an entourage.

"YO! J-Bull!"

J-Bull is a nickname I made up from his name.

He loves it.

One day I had J-BULL embroidered on a cap, a hoodie, and a crewneck sweatshirt and gave them to him as gifts — and he hasn't gone a single day without wearing at least one of them since.

How could I not be fond of the guy?

Anyway.

Javon was recruited as a 3-Star — in a sense, an overlooked prospect. He was under 180cm and so slight that people assumed he'd never survive at the college level.

Then fall camp opened, and he showed up massively bulked up — and by the end of it, he'd won a backup job.

Considering how dominant our defense was last year, a 3-Star freshman taking a backup spot was an enormous deal.

This year his skills have grown even further, and he's being rated an All-SEC caliber safety. In the last game against Florida, he racked up a whopping 8 tackles, rewriting his career high.

The weight of our front 7 has thinned out, so more balls are reaching the backfield than last year — and yet we're giving up so few points because of Javon's growth.

"Let's go, Bro! Let's grind 'em into the dirt today too."

"We're gonna roll all day. You ready?"

"There hasn't been a single day I wasn't."

"Cool."

I genuinely love this team.

The traditions and values of the campus. The vision for the future. And layered on top of it all, the culture our head coach built with a brilliant program has made my entire college life one incredible experience.

Countless people have showered me with almost absurd amounts of love, and the way I repay it is simple: stay out of trouble, give back to those around me, and be a proper member of that culture myself.

By that measure, I'm doing my job well.

"LET'S ROLL!!!!"

Today, too, I'm ready to roll — properly.

(Sean McDonough) — ESPN caster

"This is a very interesting development right now. It looks like Georgia is going to run the Air Spread. Moi. In the pocket."

(Todd Blackledge) — ESPN analyst

"He's got it."

(Sean McDonough)

"Moi throws an absolutely gorgeous ball — Jordan Addison is there, and he CAUGHT IT!! Emmanuel Forbes goes down!! TOUCHDOWN—!!"

At the 52-yard touchdown from Dwayne Moi Stone to Jordan Addison, Mike Leach furrowed his brow and scratched his stubble.

Out on the field, Dwayne Moi Stone was running toward Jordan Addison with both arms stretched wide to either side — and even at a glance, that was unmistakably an imitation of an airplane.

Air Spread got its name from the fighter-jet formations of the Air Force that inspired it.

An unambiguous declaration: this is my Air Spread.

Finally, Mike Leach let out a hollow laugh.

Why on earth is he still doing this to us?

Mississippi State was clearly a weaker team than Georgia — but this year, they'd pulled together and were putting up a respectable record.

Their defense in particular boasted Emmanuel Forbes, one of the top cornerback prospects of next year's draft, along with Cameron Young, considered an NFL-caliber talent.

On the strength of that stout defense and the Air Spread, they'd earned six wins — but today, neither facet was working.

The defense in particular was painful to watch.

Most teams — including Alabama, whom they'd faced two weeks ago — almost never attacked the side of the field where Emmanuel Forbes lined up.

But today, Dwayne Moi Stone ran the plays called in from the bench or switched in by his own audibles without a shred of hesitation, regardless of Mississippi's defense.

Emmanuel Forbes, if anything, was losing his mind — caught in a torturous bind between Ladd McConkey, who excels ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at lateral movement like slants, and Jordan Addison, whose strength runs in exactly the opposite, vertical direction.

Even now, Forbes had been beaten off the first step and paid for it, and that ultimately led to the score just now.

But at the end of the day, all of it happened because Dwayne Moi Stone possesses the ability to deliver a pass with perfect accuracy to a spot 40 yards from the launch point.

That quarterback cooks every single day.

(Todd Blackledge)

"In all my years watching college football, I have never seen a quarterback this overwhelmingly dominant. He can pass. He can run. And he understands everything happening on the field. Take a look at Georgia's scoring offense this year — it's on pace to be the best in NCAA history. Kirby Smart and Todd Monken deserve plenty of credit, but without this quarterback, none of it would have come together. Because in the end, it's the quarterback who turns a coach's imagination into reality."

(Sean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠McDonough)

"That's now three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. It feels like Dwayne Moi Stone is everywhere on this field at once. 45-9, Georgia's lead. It's a brutal day for Mississippi State."

Just as ESPN's Sean McDonough said, Mike Leach was having a brutal day.

He thought back on the countless coaches who had learned football under him and gone on to the college and professional ranks — and found himself wondering what they would have said, if any of them had been sitting in this seat instead.

— quoting the above article —

#. Two hours later

#-1. Tampa, Florida, USA

#-2. Raymond James Stadium

Early in the game, he'd let himself think maybe — but now, with a comfortable loss all but sealed, Seattle's general manager John Schneider was satisfied.

The season had crossed into its latter half, and the leading contenders in the TFM race were beginning to take shape. With the future to plan for, he'd joined the road trip specifically to talk trades.

Seattle held the draft capital acquired from Denver in the Russell Wilson deal, and judging by the way things were trending, they looked likely to land at least one more pick inside the top 10.

They could certainly use it — but Seattle's plan was to convert it into two picks: a first-rounder and a second-rounder next year.

Tampa Bay's general manager, Jason Licht, had responded with "We'll consider it" — and since Schneider hadn't expected an immediate answer anyway, he'd already gotten what he came for.

The trade talk was one thing; what pleased him more was being able to soothe the players' morale, which had sagged under the weight of loss after loss.

Naturally, the players all knew Seattle was gunning for the TFM, and hearing "Things will be different starting next year" from their GM seemed to put them at ease.

He was also able to hammer home a "That is not going to happen" to the players who worried Pete Carroll might be fired — which felt good too.

And on top of it all, one more loss in the books.

Perfect.

John Schneider was trying very hard not to smile.

He had to look as gloomy about the defeat as possible, if only to avoid broadcasting their tanking intentions.

He'd noticed the broadcast cameras trained on him for a while now — the last thing he needed was to do anything that would stir up public opinion against them.

Now all that remained was to sit back and leisurely watch how the other contending teams — Pittsburgh and Chicago among them — fared tomorrow.

When an atrocious pass was picked off by Tampa and the defense conceded about 20 yards of advance, Seattle's GM clenched the fist he'd hidden in his pants pocket.

Truly, it was a perfect night for John Schneider.

Once again in NFL Week 10, games between teams competing in the TFM were drawing enormous attention.

And today, another such game was played.

But the way it unfolded was deeply, deeply strange.

#. November 13, 2022

#-1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

#-2. Acrisure Stadium

As the scoreboard showed, it was Pittsburgh who struck first today.

With Mitchell Trubisky injuring his wrist in practice, Kenny Pickett got the start — and his fluid offensive execution stunned everyone, producing a touchdown just four minutes and twenty-six seconds in.

Kenny Pickett, a quarterback drafted this year — in the first round, at pick 20, no less — was in a position where he absolutely had to prove himself.

Worse, the whole point of the tanking was obviously to draft Georgia's quarterback, the man who would take his job — which meant he carried the duty of leading the team to wins and dragging it away from the bottom of the league.

Afterward, the Steelers' OC Matt Canada called some poor plays, but even so, Kenny Pickett ground out yardage and manufactured a second-quarter field goal.

At 10-0, alarms went off in the Steelers' front office — and just as they convinced themselves they had to change the situation somehow, the Saints, of all teams, began stacking up points.

Taysom Hill, derided all season as one of the NFL's worst trio of quarterbacks, put up 10 points with his own two legs.

His 52-yard rushing touchdown belonged on his highlight reel, and late in the second quarter he ground out a 26-yard run to set up a buzzer-beating field goal.

And so the game was tied.

Then came the second half.

(Adam Amin) — Fox Sports caster

"This is a very strange game. Both teams swapped quarterbacks the moment the second half began, and there hasn't been a single point since. We can guess why, but it's difficult to say out loud."

Pittsburgh and New Orleans, as if by prior arrangement, had both benched their in-form quarterbacks in favor of replacements — and Andy Dalton and Mason Rudolph, thrust into action without warning, accomplished almost nothing.

The frustration was so suffocating that the offensive players' irritation was plainly visible through the broadcast cameras.

And so regulation ended.

Under normal circumstances, the crowd should have booed.

But instead—

Some of Pittsburgh's fans raised both hands high and lifted their voices — cheering, urging, begging for a loss.

And to those watching, it read as sheer madness.

This was, without question, not normal.

And yet at the same time, one could understand the hearts of the fans acting this way — because if you watched and listened to the news that poured out after every Georgia game, week after week, it began to feel like you'd sell your soul and still be short.

A college quarterback was playing with the entire NFL — a league estimated to hold the largest market size on the planet, America and beyond — like it was his personal toy.

(Mark Schlereth) — Fox Sports analyst

"This is crazy."

Amid a spectacle unfamiliar even to veteran broadcasters, the people holding the reins at Fox Sports felt bewilderment and delight in equal measure as they watched the viewership numbers keep climbing.

By the time the game slid into a second overtime, it had become the highest-rated broadcast of every game played in Week 10.

The overtime period dragged on in scoreless agony, and when the outcome was finally decided, while the men on the field raised cries of joy, their front office bowed their heads in gloom.

The winners of a game that was nothing but a mud pit.

They were the Pittsburgh Steelers.