Diary of an American sports fan

Sports is greater than Christ

2009-12-19T09:09:00.001-08:00

Sports is greater than Christ

Shocking statement, yes?

Now, before anybody starts to think that I am a fool, let me establish first that I am a Christian, which might make my title even more controversial. But I didn’t state that as how I felt, I stated that in how American Sports feels.

Sometimes I believe that we as a nation (US) feel that every holiday is for marketing and seeing how much money we can squeeze out of the American consumer. Now I understand the nature and necessity of business to some degree, but when does it become a spiritual problem that we as a nation have apparently ignored?

When I was younger, I remember in the past on major holidays that many businesses and stores were closed, and on some stations there were lots of reruns of old shows. Even some radio stations played special programs instead of their regular format. Why was this? Because those people were home with their families.

HOME!

Not working!

A day or rest, and in the case of Christmas, some respect for what the holiday, or HOLY day is about. It is about Christ. Now I understand the childhood aspects of Christmas, with Santa Claus and stuff like that, hey, I was young too not too long ago. I get that. But today’s society, especially the business aspect, has apparently completely forgotten who Jesus was…

And apparently does not care.

Need proof? Thinks about this:

Last night I was watching NBA on ESPN, and they were bragging about how they were going to “give” us FIVE NBA games over the course of the day, either on ABC or ESPN. Now to be honest, to a person that does not put Christ first, that sounds exciting… I mean, a whole day of NBA Basketball sounds soo cool.

But spiritually speaking, this is a terrible idea and a direct rejection of the day we are supposed to devote to the birth of Christ. And again, to the common person, who in many cases does not have Christ first anyway, this does not seem to be a problem. I mean, what can it hurt to have some great matchups on tv? There is no harm in giving great programming to people over the holidays, right?

I used to agree, but I beg to differ.

Let’s use one team as an example. The Cleveland Cavaliers.

Last night (Dec. 18th) they played the Milwaukee Bucks. Now they go on a four game road trip. Consider where they are going. Monday the 20th AT Dallas. Tuesday the 21st AT Phoenix. Wednesday the 23rd AT Sacramento. Friday the 25th AT Los Angeles Lakers.

Now, I am not going to argue the first three, but the fourth one I do have a problem with. Folks, that is Christmas Day!

CHRISTMAS DAY!

And again I believe a lot of folks are sitting there saying, “so what, they are professionals, and a big time matchup like that is good for television” But in that reasoning, you have personally rejected the true value of Christmas. ESPN isn’t GIVING us anything that important…in fact they are taking money because of the ratings they expect to get.

Come on folks, think about this just for a second on a human level and on a family level, if not on a spiritual level. Those guys on the Cavs will be on the road, away from their family and friends the entire week. It is likely that no Cavalier will come back to their home until after Christmas…how can we possibly see anything good in that?

I don’t care how much money they make, no amount of money ought to make a person or business think that they can prosper over the name of Christ…which of course is the foundation of Christmas. I know that sounds a little fanatical, but I think the NBA and ESPN have overstepped their boundaries by having other men lose their holiday for the sake or money. Understand folks, it isn’t for YOU. They can say all they want about how they are giving YOU some great matchups, but at the cost of ignoring Christ?

Those guys will be away from home for Christmas, some of those guys have children, some have wives, some have moms or dads or friends they want to be close to, especially on a day like Christmas. Heck, I bet there are even a few Christians in the NBA. Would any of YOU want to be away from the people you loved most?

And right away I know some smart aleck is gonna say, “yeah, for the money they get I would”…and in that very thought you have betrayed your soul…remember that.

Look, I am all for the NBA and I love sports, and I know it is a business, but when the business thinks it is greater than Christ…because that IS what sports believes, then we have ignored the true meaning of sports and how small it is when compared to life itself, and even greater, to God and Christ. It is funny, but in a sad way, how sports only realizes how small it is after a terrible tragedy in American lives or life. After 911, or just recently after Bengals player Chris Henry died, only then did people talk about how small sports is compared to life.

But you never hear ESPN or FOX or NBC or any station talk about how small it is compared to God. It’s like they have completely refused God, except when holidays like Christmas comes around. Oh sure, they might slip in a discreet message like, “and remember the reason for the season” but that is kinda cowardly when you think about it. It is almost like television is afraid to say CHRIST, although they say Christmas 55 times a minute.

To me, IF you are going to have sports on Christmas, at least make it so the teams are close enough to play and get back home. Sure people would grumble if the Lakers played the Clippers on Christmas, or the Warriors, but if that means the players can get back home and enjoy Christmas like the rest of us, fine. If that means Orlando playing Miami, fine. But to have these guys so far away seems to show that the NBA does not care about their employees….and remember, that is EXACTLY what they are. No different if Wal-Mart told their customers, “for your convenience, we will be open all day Christmas Day”.

Oh that sounds nice to YOU…but did you think about who has to work on Christmas Day? Do you even care? If not, you just betrayed your own soul, and showed that Christmas has no meaning to you at all.

So there will be sports on television on Christmas, not because it is good for us the sports fans, and not because it is Christmas. It is because there is money to be made, and sports is, in many people’s minds, greater than Christ…even on Christmas. I guarantee you in all 5 games on ESPN, the word “Christmas” will be said over 100 times…

But Christ won’t be mentioned once.

New Orleans Bowl 2009

2009-12-19T07:48:00.001-08:00

R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee State

So we have a showdown with the Sun Belt Conference and the Conference USA. Interesting.

This is actually pretty interesting because the record of these two teams is 16-6, for an average of an 8-3 mark…not bad for a bowl that is lowly ranked. But let’s look at the tales of the tape of these teams and see what is real, and what is not.

Southern Miss comes out of the CUSA with a 7-5 record, while Middle Tennessee State has an impressive 9-3 mark. But let’s explore those numbers and see what’s what.

Southern Miss is still trying to get back into the national spotlight after running out their head coach a few years ago, because they weren’t winning like they wanted to… somebody remind me how many National Championships Southern Miss has won…none? I thought so. Southern Miss alumni reminds me a lot of Nebraska and Notre Dame alumni where they feel like if they can’t get their way right now, they want heads to roll. Nebraska has paid for their impatience with years in the cellar, Notre Dame is there now and Southern Miss has been forgotten like old newspaper.

Southern Miss has two decent wins from the start, with wins over Central Florida and Virginia. But Virginia has been in the dumps and UCF has not been a national threat. And beating the basement teams of Conference USA hardly qualifies as a powerhouse. It might be safe to say that perhaps all of their 7 wins, minus UCF was based on a weak schedule.

Everything looked fine when they went 3-0, but all those games were at home, the next three games, vs. then #20 Kansas, UAB and Louisville, quickly evened the record. Beating Memphis and Tulane got them to the 5 win mark, which is about how many wins those teams had combined this year. A loss at then #18 Houston and then a win over average Marshall gave them a 6-4 record. Beating a 5-win Tulsa team and losing to ECU gives them the record they have now. So what have we learned?

Southern Miss is an average team in an average conference. Outside of beating Marshall, all their losses come on the road, and their wins against less than average teams. Simply put, they beat the lesser foes, and struggle against the good ones…especially on the road. So is Middle Tennessee a good team, an average or less than average?

Sadly, many right off the bat put the Sun Belt Conference as the weakest in the division. While the WAC and Mountain West sport the “BCS Buster” phrases, the Sun Belt is far from such grand claims. But let’s look at MTSU and see what we have.

Only two teams in the Sun Belt had winning seasons, so you can assume that MTSU was able to sop up with the bottom feeders, especially with Western Kentucky winning no games, and North Texas winning two all year. But it’s the first 6 games of the season that is interesting. Middle Tennessee loses the first game to Clemson, which is not bad at all, after all, Clemson played in the ACC Championship game vs. Georgia Tech. This is not a bad loss.

Afterwards they beat Memphis…a Conference USA team, before beating ACC team Maryland. Folks, for a Sun Belt team, this is very good, and shows a strong team in this conference. A win over hapless North Texas gave way to two losses back to back, against Sun Belt Conference Champs Troy, and SEC foe Mississippi State. Think about that folks, this team played to ACC teams, one SEC team and a Conference USA team. Not bad at all.

The rest of the schedule isn’t too important, because outside of LA-Monroe, all the other teams had a losing record. Even LA-Mon was 6-6. But you have to give credit to this team for bulking up their schedule.

How will this translate against a tougher CUSA foe in Southern Miss? I think this game means more to MTSU by a long shot than to Southern Miss, and we may have missed the boat on this team. Nobody seemed to care that they were 9-3, because nobody from the Sun Belt has threatened the BCS. But this team has beaten some quality names like Maryland and Memphis. They CAN beat you. Southern Miss has wins over Central Florida and Virginia, so they can beat names too.

I think at first glance you will favor Southern Miss, simply because most Sun Belt teams don’t get much respect, but I would not be surprised if there was an upset here. My head says Southern Miss will win by a touchdown, maybe even 10 points… but I gotta wonder, can Middle Tennessee State steal one…they have played tough enough talent to do so. We shall see…..

St. Petersburg Bowl 2009

2009-12-19T07:46:00.001-08:00

St. Petersburg Bowl

UCF vs. Rutgers

This might be a nice game to watch, if you have been following the Big East and Conference USA, a pretty nice matchup of two good schools and two good coaches.

I really like what UCF has done since they have come into the big leagues. Granted they are not one of the BCS conferences, but when you have a school in Florida, you have an excellent chance to get strong recruits. But I also like the way Rutgers has turned things around, I found myself really enjoying this team when I had a chance to see them. So I am split on who I want to win, but I have to defer to my stats as who SHOULD win.

Now I am sure few will argue which is the stronger conference, the Big East is better than Conference USA. This is NOT to say that CUSA is a half a step off the 4A high school conferences, because we have seen some good teams this year out of this non bcs conference.

But we still have to credit Rutgers for surviving in a tough league, right? Let’s see:

Central Florida comes into this game with an 8-4 record, which seems pretty strong. But such a record should have them as one of the top 25 in the nation, right? Their four losses were to Southern Miss, East Carolina, Miami and Texas… consider for a sec that three of those 4 losses were away….hmmm.

Consider also that all four of these teams are winning teams. So you have to ask, did Central Florida beat any quality teams? Marshall ends up with a 6-6 record, but Houston was a big win for Central Florida. It was a home game though, which makes one raise their eyebrows on the true strength of UCF. To be great, you have to win big games on the road. Three of their four losses were on the road, granted to some good teams, but beating Houston at home was in their favor. Still this is a quality team, I cannot take too much away from that.

Rutgers comes in with an identical 8-4 record, with a few raised eyebrows too. Three of their losses were AT home…ugh. And playing FIU, Howard AND Texas Southern is highly questionable. Come on guys, you are a BCS conference, man up!

Beating Maryland isn’t saying too much, but beating UCONN and West Virginia does mean something, especially since West Virginia was ranked when Rutgers beat them. Still, these two teams ended up 7-5, barely above average.

So you wonder, who is better? Both teams lost several games to high quality teams, but Rutgers seems to freeze up when they play at home in a big game. They are 4-1 away from home, although that lone loss on the road was to Syracuse…how close is that to Rutgers…

But Central Florida will be playing in their home state, which evens out the game a bit. But if you ask me who had the tougher schedule, I might say Rutgers, by the slightest of margins. Central Florida fed a lot on the bottom of CUSA, and has very few quality wins. Rutgers has tasted some hot success, and the trip will do them good. I think Rutgers wins this one, but very close…

Very close.

New Mexico Bowl 2009

2009-12-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

New Mexico Bowl 2009

Fresno State vs. Wyoming

So now we can get ready for bowl season, where teams are rewarded for a season of tough battles, cuts and scrapes and can enjoy one last game of the year. One of the first bowls, if not the first, is the New Mexico Bowl, held in….Florida!

(just joking…it’s in New Orleans…..)

(………..)

Anyway, we have Fresno State vs. Wyoming in an interesting matchup but something that has a strong west coast flavor, which many in the east might not really be into, but for sake of college football, they will watch it.

Fresno State comes in 8-4, out of the WAC, and is one of those teams you have to pull for because they aren’t afraid to play anybody. This team will travel to the opposite side of the nation to play a team if that is what needs to be done, but it is that same resolve that might have exhausted this team.

Consider that they were 1-3 after the first four games, and things looked bleak. But those losses came after their win over UC Davis, and then the Bulldogs lost at Wisconsin in overtime, lost to Boise State, and lost by 8 to Cincinnati….folks, that is not bad at all. To say that two of your losses came to currently undefeated teams is incredible.

Their final loss came to Nevada, but in between those were a lot of lesser foe wins. Could one argue that Fresno State lost to the good teams, and beat the bad ones? That would make them kinda par for the course. But this is a good team.

Wyoming, to me is a little different. A 6-6 team, they seemed to have benefited from a poor schedule. Sure they lost 6 game, to Texas and all they superior teams in the Mountain West…and a loss to Colorado.

Their wins have not been too impressive, every team they have beaten has a losing record. But they qualify for the bowl, so here they are. That is not to put Wyoming down, because to be sure, they are battle tested, but sometimes when you are beaten too much by the big boys, you don’t have the strength to fight the average ones. Fresno State is not one of those “big boys”, but they are big enough.

So I see Fresno State capping off a good season with a win over Wyoming, likely by 10 points. We shall see!

College playoffs?

2009-12-11T09:20:00.001-08:00

College Football Playoffs?

We all have our ideas of what the BCS should do… or should NOT do, and I suppose mine is no different. As I blog this, there are five undefeated teams in the national spotlight, stirring up controversy on whether there ought to be a college playoff system.

I am not really FOR the playoffs, but not really against it. Let me explain why.

To me, I think the arguments for playoffs are for those who think that the little guy ought to be held in the same esteem as the big guy. Ok, I see a reason for that, but I go back to something an old school wrestler named Ric Flair once said…

“In order to BE the man, you have to BEAT the man”

If you want to be considered up there with the big boys, then play a schedule like them. This is my biggest argument against teams like Boise State, because they had numerous opportunities to make a more challenging schedule, but opted not to do so because they seemed to want sympathy from those sitting on the fence.

I mean, their schedule was weak as water, after you take out Oregon. And granted, that was a great win…in your house… against a first time head coach… in his first game with the Ducks…nice.

But it still is a very quality win. So why did you schedule Miami of Ohio and UC Davis…what’s that about?

To me, before you start whining about playoffs, make sure that we are talking about legit teams. Now, I know TCU is not in the Championship game, and I actually do feel that they deserve strong consideration, and I am not too happy about them playing Boise State in a repeat bowl…that game proves nothing.

Before we start whining about playoffs, we have to define those parameters. First off, how many should be in it. Right off the bat, I don’t believe in a 16 team system, too many teams that have no business fighting for a National title. When you only play 12 or so games, you don’t need 16 teams claiming rights to the throne.

How about 8 teams? I wonder about that too. Go back in your NCAA history books of college football and see how many teams ranked #8 or 7 had a legit shot at a NCAA title…not very many.

To me, the arguments about who should play in the National Championship usually fall on 2-4 teams. Of course, you may argue with me that maybe Boise State, or maybe Florida has a case, but with Florida losing, I would doubt that, and Boise State just has not played a tough enough schedule to prove that they are an elite team. They are just a great team in a soft conference.

So I think IF you have a playoff, it should be the FOUR best teams in the nation. Think about it, Pittsburgh, LSU, Georgia Tech, USC, Ohio State and teams of that ilk have no real claim to the throne.

Second, if you really want to figure on who is the best, force EVERY conference to determine a true champion. Either by playing every team in their conference or having a conference championship. This eliminates the probability of two undefeated teams out of one conference that may not even play each other….BIG 10 for example.

It is conceivable that the Big 10 could have two undefeated teams in their conference, since they don’t play every opponent, and don’t have a conference championship. I think that needs to be fixed, if that means adding one more team to make it an even 12, fine, either that or find some way to have one true champion.

The Pac-10 does not have a championship game, but they do play everybody, so in essence you still get a true champion. We know the ACC, Big 12 and SEC does have a true championship game, and the Big East has a small conference to in theory they can have a true champion, since they would play everybody in their conference.

But the big question comes with non BCS conferences…mainly the Mountain West and WAC. Remember folks, years ago they used to be one super conference, with 16 teams, before they split up…would have been better if they did not. Had they not, then you would have the Boise States, TCUs, Utahs, and other teams would face each other and we would have a TRUE champion, which also would make a much stronger case for the BCS.

But even then, there are so many stipulations that nobody has thought of. The results of this year dictate what people want to see, what if next year is different? What if next year there is only 2 undefeated teams, why then would there need to be a playoff if we have the two best teams in the nation?

If Alabama and Texas were the only undefeated teams in the nation, we would not be having this conversation about playoffs would we? So the temperature of playoffs is based only on what we last saw. What if each of the BCS teams produces an undefeated team, along with the Mountain West and WAC…what if the Mid American Conference puts out an undefeated team…they did last year with Ball State.

So in theory, you could have 9 undefeated teams, what do you do then? What if Notre Dame (ugh) goes undefeated? What if Conference USA produces an undefeated team. Where does this end?

Now these are extremes, but you see my point.

Do I think there needs to be a better way to decide the national champs, maybe, but the smaller teams can help their case by taking out their cupcakes and putting in real meat. TCU to their credit did this, so I can see their argument, but not quite for Boise State.

So, with Congress getting involved (although I don’t see why), things may change sooner than later…but unfortunately, it all comes down to money…ironic since we are talking about sports and college students…that never changes…

Greed, that is…playoffs…maybe.

Brian Kelly new head coach at Notre Dame

2009-12-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Kelly to Coach Irish: Money talks

How much hypocrisy is there in the world, and in college football?

So today Notre Dame will announce this afternoon that Brian Kelly, the FORMER head coach of Cincinnati, will be the new head coach of Notre Dame.

Now let’s start spewing moronic statements…starting with Lou Holtz.

In an interview on ESPN today, he was asked how they might do next year, with the 2010 schedule halfway done. I saw that list and saw teams like Stanford, USC, Navy, Utah and a few others. Lou Holtz said, “I think they can go undefeated if they have a great defense”

Again with the stupid remarks! This is the same idiot that said the last two years that Notre Dame would go undefeated and win the National Championship…both times he was woefully wrong!

How in the name that is good can ESPN let this idiot keep spewing forth such wicked lies! I can understand being a fan or supporter of a team, but ESPN pays him to be HONEST…not lying and wicked! This man consistently fails to give a honest and sincere opinion about the team he used to coach, but has no problem complaining about everything else…what a moron!

They also asked this “expert” of how soon it can take to turn this team around… he said it can be done in ONE YEAR.

Liar

Let’s understand, Notre Dame loses their coach, a key quarterback and receiver, has likely lost recruits due to this fiasco, with a new coach on the way that has burned his bridges along the way, to coach a new team whose former coach burned bridges himself. You really think that will turn around in ONE YEAR?

It really is a discredit to ESPN to allow somebody like Lou Holtz sit there and make lies about this team. If you can’t be realistic then you don’t need to be running your mouth. I bet Mark May and Reese Davis are vomiting over the crap Holtz is spewing.

But the damage is done, and yet in the name of vanity more damage was done than necessary. Just today I was viewing the reactions of some of those Cincinnati players, and many of them were not very positive in how Brian Kelly bailed out on them just before the biggest came the university ever had.

What I don’t understand is how the media is so blind to the clear disruption Notre Dame caused by talking to a head coach before his BCS bowl game. Why enter like a thief in the night to steal a coach from his team, when you could have waited a few weeks longer? Notre Dame has declined a bowl game, which to me was foolish, because you now forsake the extra 2-3 weeks of practice, which every team can use. Don’t tell me that there would not have been a decent list of coaches willing to take that job after January, I am not buying that, even for a screwed up university like Notre Dame.

The entire practice just seemed…unholy…from a so called religious school. I forgot, isn’t Notre Dame a Catholic university…and under such so called ideals should there also be some moral and spiritual way of going about hiring a coach? Is it righteous to sneak in a college and plop money in front of another university’s coach to lure him out? Would they not have been more righteous to simply wait until Cincinnati finished their bowl game before they made the hire official?

But it goes both ways too, Brian Kelly now looks like a sneaky rat too. Now, I don’t blame a man for wanting to coach in bigger places, and no one will argue that Cincinnati is smaller than Notre Dame as far as football history, but the way he went about it was just as sleazy as Notre Dame’s offer.

In his wake he leaves a team now torn, forced to play without their head coach. But you know, this is hypocritical because the media always likes to talk about “distractions”. When Spikes from Florida was gouging the eyes of a player and got a half of a game for suspension, that was a “distraction” to the team. When Blount from Oregon punched a guy early this season, and was suspended for a full year (to be changed later), that was a “distraction” to the team. But when a head coach bails out on his team to take the money, nobody is talking about how huge a distraction that can be.

I don’t blame Cincinnati for being upset, and it seems that the NCAA is cool with coaches not finishing their job and making that example to these kids. We get all on athletes when they want to try to go to the NFL too early or when it comes to correcting their students, but when grown men make such choices, nobody says anything. It’s becoming hypocritical for coaches to bail out on their players for “greener grass”, leaving the team, the university and fans in confusion.

Is this a good hire…how is this any different from the last 3 coaches? Lou Holtz can say all he wants about how good Notre Dame will be, the current history shows that it won’t be any different. If Notre Dame dumbs down the schedule, and put a few high school teams on the schedule, and if they make all the game at home, then I can see Notre Dame making a BCS run in the next couple of years. But with the shot they took in recruiting, the impatience of the rich alumni and the perverted tactics of this religious school…I am not holding my breath.

So Brian Kelly is the new head coach of Notre Dame…good luck Kelly, you’re gonna need a heck of a lot of that where you are going…because you won’t get much else.

Why TCU and Boise State again?

2009-12-09T11:01:00.001-08:00

Why TCU and Boise State again?

You know, I don’t really get this bowl, why would the Fiesta Bowl take TCU and Boise State when they played last year. To me this does not make a lot of sense, but after some thought I did think about why they would do that.

Since the Fiesta Bowl is in Arizona, it makes sense to get the closest teams to ensure good ticket sales. TCU is of course in Texas, and Boise State is in Idaho, not too far from Arizona, so it makes sense to make this matchup.

A second idea is that these two teams are undefeated, and that alone ought to make for a good game, no doubt if you put these two undefeated teams together, it will draw a lot of attention. But outside of that, the rest of the logic makes no sense at all.

Folks, the BCS needed to make some attempt to show that they were willing to let the non BCS teams have some shot at an argument, but they completely dropped the ball on this one. Why would you put these two teams, who already played each other LAST YEAR, in the same bowl?

I personally felt that TCU got the shaft, because they deserve a better team than Boise State. Not spitting on BSU, because an undefeated team is a good one, but TCU has more of an argument than Boise State. I felt that TCU should play Florida, or maybe Cincinnati. For the Fiesta Bowl to put two non BCS teams together just did not make sense at all.

But again, it does make sense because of locale. Of the top 8 teams, these were the two closest to each other to get to Arizona. Many people seem to forget that after the National Championship is determined, the rest of the bowls have certain protocol and business goals they must meet…which of course means making money.

There are a lot of people split on how this should have been done, some think a playoff would have solved this but I am not really sure about this. I think there ought to be a Mountain West vs. WAC championship game anyway, and the winner ought to get strong consideration for a BCS Championship if they are undefeated. Does TCU deserve consideration… I think so. Does Boise State…I am not too sure. There is no question that of the undefeated left in the nation, that including Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati and Boist State, that BSU was the least of them….don’t tell me that warrants a playoffs.

And while we are on this, I saw some person talking about having a 16 team playoff…that is insane. Folks, when was the LAST TIME you saw a #16 ranked team that had a legit shot for a National Championship? That is foolish. I am not a big fan for playoffs, because nobody is considering the guidelines of such. Even now, we see that the playoff format isn’t satisfactory, since the NCAA is considering broadening the 65 teams in Basketball to 96...proving that a playoff format still does not solve the problem.

To me, IF you had to have a playoff, I think it should be of 4 teams… very rarely in the history of the NCAA was there in issue of some team ranked #8, #10 or #12 that had a legit shot at the National Title…so don’t start making that in issue.

So TCU and Boise State is in the top 6, to me if you want to determine the National Champs, round the corners of the conferences. ACC, Big 12, SEC all have conference championships, so do other conferences like Conference USA. Pac 10 does not have one, but they play everybody in the conference. Why not force all the other conferences to guarantee that they either have a conference championship, or if too small, to play every team in their own conference. This is not a problem for the Big East, but the Big 10 needs to conform.

And for non BCS conferences, we are really only talking about the Mountain West and the WAC…why not make them play a MWC/WAC championship for a shot for a National Championship, if both teams are undefeated? I mean, they were all in the same conference ANYWAY up until a few years ago when they broke apart.

So does this make sense for TCU to be playing Boise State…to me it does not answer the question about who the best teams are, and I think it is an injustice for two non BCS teams to have to play each other. I would have loved to see TCU vs. Florida or Cincinnati, and Boise State vs. the other. That would have pitted two non BCS teams against two BCS teams, to either prove of disprove the argument of playoffs.

I think the BCS dropped the ball here, but in reality, with business in mind, I think it was the best bowl they could give, considering location. Could Florida come across country to play in Arizona…I think so. Could Cincinnati…not really sure. But Idaho and Texas are closer, which explains why TCU and Boise State got the nod. This is something they need to fix before congress steps in…and it seems they have already done so.

As for me, I MIGHT watch the game, but I saw that last year, not really impressed to watch it unless I am just curious.

No bowl for Notre Dame?

2009-12-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Notre Dame: No Bowl?

So Notre Dame wins only 6 games, fires their coach and now they have decided that they don’t want to go to a bowl. Is this a good thing?

Absolutely not.

I blogged a few days ago about the foolish pride of Notre Dame, and to me this further proves it. If you are too prideful to take a bowl game, and bring the revenue it adds to your school, that is foolish.

Notre Dame acts like the spoiled brat that can’t get what he wants, so he looks at the world as sour grapes. But who really is the blame for that? It is the rich alumni that pump money and control in the school…which ironically is supposed to be a Catholic school, but I am starting to doubt that now.

To me, if Notre Dame refuses a bowl, that is a terrible shame and a disgrace to the players of the team. Some of those players have stuck with this university for four years, it is only fair to at least send them out with one more win, a bowl win. I don’t care who you play, at least PLAY one more game and end your season on a high note.

Second, you also have guys hoping to make the NFL draft, you owe it to those players to give them a game to get some exposure. Every college likes to brag about how many NFL players they put in the draft, well, cowboy up and do that Notre Dame!

Third, the REGULAR fans of Notre Dame deserve to see their team in a bowl, not as a bunch of quitters and whiney babies. While it might be true that I am not a ND fan, I do realize that there are many, many fans that want to pull for this team, and going to a bowl will at least do that.

Sometimes I think people in these colleges and universities are so full of themselves that there becomes a “holier than thou” attitude, which ironically only shows their ignorance. For some reason the Irish believe that they have some birthright to the BCS and National Championships every year, but have allowed money and pride knock them off the true path of Notre Dame. Until they really take time to look at themselves, I don’t see them competing for a National Title for YEARS. They can always soften up their schedule, throw in some high schools and get a record good enough to go to a BCS bowl…but then again, that was what they tried to do this year, and it backfired.

About 50 teams will not go to a bowl this year, and every one of them would GLADLY trade places with Notre Dame and go to a bowl. Bowl games are a celebration of success and a reward for players, fans and the schools for having a successful year. If Notre Dame can’t understand that, and at least take a bowl for the fans and players, then they truly are as misguided and spoiled as we think.

2010 BCS Bowls

2009-12-02T16:41:00.001-08:00

2010 BCS Bowls projections

I know I wrote on this earlier, but that was based on what was happening then… and oddly, after a week or so, not too much has changed, but that will DEFINIATELY change this weekend. So let’s talk on this for a bit.

Now, for those that don’t quite understand all about the BCS, I am right there with ya, but we can at least talk on some theories. I am not saying I know it all, but I am a big fan of college football, so we are in the same boat.

Now, to begin, let’s remember that there are FIVE bowls in the BCS. One is the National Championship, which takes the top two teams in the nation by BCS scores, and leaves the other four to at large teams, with some exceptions. We will get to that in a moment.

What is important to also know is the ORDER of the bowls for 2010, because the order determines who picks first. The first order is always the National Championship, but after that it differs. This year, 2010, the order is Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl.

Notice something missing? Rose Bowl? That’s because the Rose Bowl isn’t interested in the BCS to mix their “tradition” with the others, they want to keep their Pac-10 and Big 10 rival cemented. So they are not “in the mix”, although they really are.

So, if we were to look at who was going to the BCS, and the other major bowls, lets first determine, at this very moment, who the top 12 teams are…because that is important:

In order, they are: Florida, Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State and Georgia Tech. Following them are LSU, USC, Iowa, Ohio State and Pittsburgh. And for good measure, we throw in the next three, being Oregon, Miami and Houston.

From this list we can put together our theory about who will be going where. Now, even though we are using theory, we still have to make a slight assumption, one I will get to in a sec.

So let’s start first with the National Championship…who is going to the BCS Championship?

The natural assumption is to take the #1 and #2 teams, in this case being Florida and Alabama…but right off the bat this isn’t accurate. The problem is that both teams are from the SEC, and we all know that they must play each other in the SEC Championship… one team will lose, and fall out.

For the sake of argument let us assume that Florida wins, just the assumption that #1 beats #2. IF we go with that, then we can project Florida in the National Championship against the #3 team, Texas. Now, I know Texas still has to play in their Big 12 Championship just as Florida and Alabama must play in their conference championship but we are just going with the idea that those two SEC teams must eliminate one from the conversation. So the BCS Championship in theory would be Florida and Texas.

Now, after that, things get a little hairy.

Once the National Championship has been determined, a lot of clauses kick in, one being the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl gets to select their teams, and because they stick with their tradition, they will take the Pac-10 and Big 10 champions. But this can be misleading.

On the BCS rankings, they have Iowa as the best Big 10 team…but it is Ohio State that will be going to the Rose Bowl, which in theory knocks out the #10 team for the #11 team. This already creates some chaos because the idea in the BCS bowls was to get the top 10 teams in, and this has already been disrupted.

So Ohio State is in, bumping out Iowa. What about the Pac-10? Oregon finishes as the best team in the Pac-10, but USC is ranked at #9, while Oregon is ranked #13... Oh my.

So the Rose Bowl has, in theory, already screwed up the system, because two of the top 10 teams in the nation are snubbed initially for a BCS bowl. So let’s recap a bit:

BCS Championship #1 Florida vs. #3 Texas

Rose Bowl #11 Ohio State vs. #13 Oregon.

Hmm, sounds odd already.

Now, after those two bowls, we can get into the order of selections. Remember, this year the order is Orange, Fiesta and Sugar. So the Orange Bowl gets to select who they want in their bowl in Florida.

Now, just as the Rose Bowl must take the champions of the Pac-10 and Big-10, there are other contracts that must be upheld. The Orange Bowl has a contract with the ACC, meaning they MUST take the ACC Champion unless they are in the National Championship. Since neither Florida or Texas is an ACC team, that means they must take whoever wins the ACC Championship…which at this moment would be either Georgia Tech or Clemson.

Now this is interesting because even though Georgia Tech is ranked #7, Clemson is not on that top 15 list. It would be very embarrassing if a team NOT in the top 15 goes to a BCS bowl. For sake of argument, let us assume that the higher ranked team would win, in this case, Georgia Tech (just like we did the SEC Championship with Florida and Alabama). If this was the case, then Georgia Tech would go to the Orange Bowl because that is the contract with the ACC. It would then leave the Orange Bowl to have the first selection of the remaining teams.

To me, that gives them one of four realistic choices: Alabama, TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State. Once we get into any bowl outside of the National Championship, I think it comes do contracts and ticket sales. With that being the case, we also know that you stand a better chance most times in selling tickets if the teams are closer to the bowl. For that reason, I don’t think Boise State would go to the Orange Bowl…just too far to travel. The same could also be said for TCU to some degree. Would the Orange Bowl take Cincinnati…absolutely. How about Alabama? Absolutely! Either would be a great pick, but the charm of being undefeated might mean more dollars than a nearby SEC school. So I think the Orange Bowl might take a Georgia Tech/ Cincinnati matchup. That means you have a #5 vs. a #7...which isn’t that bad.

That leaves two bowls left, and the Fiesta Bowl has next shot.

With the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, and with the next two picks, there are a few things this bowl has to keep in mind. One, they have a contractual obligation to the Big 12 conference, and they have to look at location, just like the Orange Bowl. But one of the clauses kicks in here, in that IF a Big 12 team is in the National Championship, then the Fiesta Bowl is free to select any other team. And since Texas, a Big 12 team, is in the championship (as per our theory) that leaves the Fiesta Bowl to take two teams.

So in theory, they could take the two highest ranked teams left, which would be TCU, a one loss Alabama, or Boise State. Now immediately you might think that pitting TCU and Boise State would be simplicity, but I beg to differ. Granted this would be a good game, but we saw that game last year. To sell tickets, the bowl may need to give the fans a unique game, not one just held a year ago. Heck, some people got tired of the USC/Ohio State games, so it makes some sense.

I think TCU has the inside track for the Fiesta Bowl, and it would be against either Boise State or Alabama. For sake of not getting a repeat, I think that the Fiesta Bowl would entertain the TCU/Alabama game because it puts a non BCS against a top ranked BCS school…but the temptation to have two undefeated teams could sway them to go with TCU/Boise State. Personally, I think they will drop Boise State for Alabama.

So let’s recap again:

BCS National Championship #1 Florida vs. #3 Texas…
(theory being if Alabama loses and Texas wins, Texas will be #2)

Orange Bowl ACC Champion Georgia Tech (7) vs. #5 Cincinnati (Big East Champs)
(theory being if GA Tech beats Clemson and Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh)

Rose Bowl #11 Ohio State (Big 10 Champs) vs. #13 Oregon (Pac 10 Champs)

Fiesta Bowl #4 TCU (Mountain West Champs) vs. Alabama (SEC Runner up)

That brings us to the final BCS Bowl, the Sugar Bowl. They get the last two picks, but they have a clause too. They must, by contract, take the SEC Champion, but since Florida is the SEC Champs and in the BCS Championships, they are free to take two teams, just like the Fiesta Bowl.

If things go like we discussed, then the highest ranked team still available would be Boise State. For sake of having an undefeated team, the Sugar Bowl will take them… but there may be a question to how well Boise State travels. I mean, New Orleans isn’t a hop, skip and jump away. But still, it is a logical choice of the remaining teams.

So who will the Boise State Broncos play?

There are still several choices based on the remaining teams on that top 15 ranking, but right off the bat, we can eliminate Houston. Just not strong enough to make a good matchup with Boise State. This leaves LSU, USC, Iowa, Pittsburgh and Miami.

The logical choice is by far LSU, but this brings in another clause…one that prevents LSU from playing in New Orleans. By rule, no conference can put in more than two teams out of their own conference in the BCS Bowls. Remember that LSU is a SEC school…so are Florida and Alabama. This means that in theory, LSU would not, COULD NOT, play in the Sugar Bowl.

That leaves USC, which is probably too far to travel. Then you may have to look at Iowa, Pittsburgh and Miami. If we can assume that Cincinnati is undefeated, then it also means they beat Pittsburgh, which knocks them out of the picture. So this leaves Boise State to play either Iowa or Miami…which would sell more tickets?

Iowa is ranked #10, and Miami currently #14, so that might be the choice, but who travels better? Better traveling means more ticket sales. I think the Big 10 does well in traveling, after all, if they can get to Pasadena, they can surely get to New Orleans. I think Iowa plays Boise State in the Sugar Bowl.

So there you have it, the 10 teams selected in the BCS bowls. Of the top 10 teams, LSU and USC will miss out, and will play in lesser bowls. We shall see. Remember, all this is theory at the moment, just to give you an idea of how this might work out. The truth comes this weekend when many of these teams play their conference championships and final regular season games…

Who Judges Tiger Woods?

2009-12-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

Who Judges Tiger Woods?

You know, sometimes we show ourselves to be some of the most wicked people on the planet when we gossip about other people. I say “we” because I am human too, and last I checked, I was not perfect.

But we seem to live in a time where idiots look for the flaws in a human, just to make a dollar or to destroy credibility. This was seen perfectly in the Tiger Woods incident just a few days ago.

When I first heard of the story, my immediate concern was, “is he ok?” To me that was far, far more important than anything else. I don’t watch golf nearly as much as I do football or basketball, but everybody knows of Tiger. So when I heard on ESPN that he was in serious condition, my heart sank a bit.

I turned to CNN where they had helicopters flying around his house and talking about what they knew, and I was worried. So I did something maybe a lot of self righteous people don’t do… I took a moment to pray for him.

Sounds corny? Be careful what you believe, there will likely be a time you need somebody to pray for you…

So after I prayed for a minute or so, I thought more about it. They said Tiger was in “serious condition”. Not “Critical”. There is a HUGE difference, and once I thought about it, I took comfort that he should be ok. Hours later I heard that he had been treated and was released. And I want you to notice something…

When I heard that he had been released, I stop watching anything more about it. I heard what I wanted to hear, and I was satisfied. He was alive, and that to me was good enough.

But for many, it wasn’t enough. There then came all kinds of rumors and gossip about why he was even out that early in the morning (or late at night as one might say), and I remember my mom mentioning it to me. I told her, “I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff, once I learned he was ok, I stopped following the story”.

But the world of entertainment and gossip respects no man or woman, only the glory of a dollar bill, and the pride of “being the first to break the story”. So today I am watching two of my fav shows, “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption”, both on ESPN, and it was the lead story.

It bothered me because we as a nation are looking for gossip, vain imaginations and faults from everybody in the world. It is funny because some of those guys on those ESPN shows keep saying that we are a forgiving country…

Here is news for you…no we are not. We SHOULD be a forgiving nation, but many people like to rehash your past sins…meaning we do not forgive.

Quick example…today the were talking about Ron Artest, and while they were talking about him, they showed the clips from the big fight in Indiana several years ago… known to many as the “Malice in the Palace”. If we are such a forgiving nation, why do we keep showing that?

So I wondered, who has the right to judge Tiger Woods? Ironically, many people feel that they deserve to know what happened? Why? So you can hang him? This is absolutely foolish how we are so nosy in everybody elses affairs just to find a sin. Tiger admitted in his own words that he has some issues to take care of… to me, that is more than fine. In fact, I say again, once I found out he was ok, that was all I needed to know.

But it really shows the mentality and morality of our nation when we are digging in other people’s affairs as if we have a personal right to do it. We all live in glass houses and last I checked, nobody walking the earth right now is perfect. But in the same way, that was how many saw Tiger Woods…as almost a perfect individual in every way.

Well…who’s stupid fault is that? It’s not Tiger’s fault, it’s those people who hold him in such high regard. But I counter also by saying this, those who truly loved Tiger Woods are probably smart enough to know that nobody is perfect, and love him just as much as they did before. It is the idiots who prostitute gossip and sleazy stories who create a venue to put Tiger on trial for his sins, as if they never did anything wrong.

I remember how I felt when Magic Johnson contracted the HIV virus, and the rumors and gossip that came with that. To me, none of that other crap mattered, I wanted Magic to get better, and even then I prayed for him. This does NOT make me a saint by no means, but to me, that was important, far more than a man’s sin. I am sure Magic had thousands of fans that felt the same way.

A REAL fan loves the man, not the image…some would do well to remember that.

So Tiger isn’t perfect…if you didn’t know that before, that makes you an idiot, because nobody is perfect. But knowing that, I am not going to go on some witch hunt to find out the “juicy” details of his problems. To me, he is ok, and I am glad for that.

Get well soon Tiger Woods.

The Fate of Notre Dame, part 2

2009-12-02T14:01:00.001-08:00

The Fate of Notre Dame, pt2

I think I blogged on this before, and the answer is still up in the air.

Ok, so Charlie Weis was fired from Notre Dame, and now they are looking at a new head coach…to me if you want to ever see the foolishness of man’s wisdom, which comes to naught, here it is…Notre Dame.

Sometimes we are so smart we outsmart ourselves, to the humiliation of the rest of the nation. I think we all knew this was going to happen, but the foolishness in all this is how this “school of higher learning” and “religious” school has gone about this.

Let’s recap the last 20 years of Notre Dame football, starting with the last time the won the National Championship… 1988.

The coach of that team was (ugh) Lou Holtz. Only a couple of years after he got the Notre Dame job, he led the Irish to a National Championship, but it would appear that the rich alumni wasn’t too happy with that. Even haven gone to a bowl on New Years Day 9 straight times, there was some problems with the team. He “resigned” in 1996, but get this… he was only about FIVE games away from tying or breaking the great Knute Rockne as the most victories by a Notre Dame head coach. It was rumored at that time that a lot of these alumni didn’t want such a “holy” record broken by Lou Holtz, so there was pressure for Lou to resign. Lou Holtz had 100 victories, with 95 of those being during the regular season.

Yet this wasn’t good enough for Notre Dame, and there was heavy criticism to get rid of him…understand the foolishness of this folks…Lou Holts won them a National Championship, and outside of 1986, they had a winning season every year…it was quite obvious that he would have broken Knute Rockne’s record, no doubt about it, but the Notre Dame alumni didn’t want him to do it, so they ran him out. Sure, Lou said he resigned…but he also jumped right back into coaching shortly afterwards, at South Carolina…it implies he was never finished coaching, just forced out.

So then Notre Dame gets Bob Davie in 1997, trying to find a way to get back into the National Championship. The Irish struggled as it was ranked as high as #15 during Davie’s tenure, but failed to get the National Championship the blind Irish wanted. Strange though, because the 2001 squad received praise from the American Football Coaches Association for a 100% graduation rate…

Folks…isn’t THAT what is should be about? Graduating your players?

But no, that wasn’t good enough for Notre Dame, and with a few other problems in the university, they got rid of Bob Davie, after a 35-25 record. It was then they tried to hire George O’Leary from Georgia Tech, but some inconsistent facts in his resume forced Notre Dame to think twice, being humiliated by the scandal of getting a coach that wasn’t really on the level. In their embarrassment, they turned to hire Tyrone Willingham in 2002, and was immediately rewarded with a 10-2 season, one they had not seen in years. But problems stemmed from rich alumni for several reasons, some racist, some foolish pride. With Willingham not winning the way they wanted, and with the demand to have a National Championship, there was pressure to get rid of Willingham, especially since he was not their first choice anyway. Notre Dame would soon fire Willingham, and fearing a backlash of African American recruits not going to the school, was quick to get former Notre Dame player Tim Brown (and Heisman Trophy winner) to work in recruitment.

In 2005 Notre Dame hired Charlie Weis, a Notre Dame graduate and Offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. In an effort to spark offense and get the NFL flavor for recruiting, the rich alumn of Notre Dame felt that this would get them to the “promised land”. Like Willingham, Weis started out great, so great that in his first year the rich alumni gave him a 10 year extension…something they never offered Willingham after similar performances. They were even ranked as high as #2 in 2006, but it was shortly afterwards when Notre Dame would suffer numerous defeats. With soft schedules and weak performances, it seemed apparent that the mystique of Notre Dame had left, and exactly 5 years after firing Tyrone Willingham, Notre Dame fired Charlie Weis.

Yet in the midst of these times, we have seen the foolishness of Notre Dame extremists, with former coach Lou Holtz now working for ESPN who, with a lying mouth and heart, sits there and proclaims that Notre Dame will win the National Championship and go undefeated…he said this TWO YEARS straight…and was gravely wrong both times.

This is the same university, in some sad attempt to create glory for itself and their greatness, erected a statue of Lou Holtz during a Michigan/Notre Dame football game, perhaps hoping to appease the football gods to help them…remember folks, Notre Dame is a RELIGIOUS school…where are the standards…oh I forgot, it’s in the money.

So here we stand, just over 20 years since Notre Dame won their last National Championship. Notre Dame has had over 30 head coaches. Notre Dame, in their own selfish pride, has pushed off Lou Holtz for fear of him catching Knute Rockne, fired Bob Davie who seemed to emphasize education, forced out Tyrone Willingham amidst pressure from rich Caucasian alumni who obviously were about 50 years behind the rest of the known world as far as racial relationships and equality, and today are STILL looking for somebody to coach this radioactive university.

So what is the fate of this school? Times have changed since the late 80’s, and with ESPN, Fox, and other sports channels, the regular list of college football teams like Notre Dame, Michigan, UCLA, Nebraska and Oklahoma no longer apply. Back then, in the late 80s, you might be able to watch as many as 5 football games per Saturday, if you were lucky. This year, when Saturday comes around, and with even basic cable, I can watch as many as 15 games a day…and we are not including the Thursday or Wednesday or even Friday games that are on ESPN from time to time. Exposure is far, far greater now than it has ever been.

To Notre Dame, this means you are not the marquee team anymore. With more visibility teams like TCU, Miami, Florida, Boise State, Virginia Tech and many others get just as much time as Notre Dame does, even if NBC does carry them virtually every week. With scholarships down to 85 and such exposure, these old school teams no longer are the great teams they used to be. This is not to say that they cannot be any longer, it just means it is much harder to get those recruits than they used to.

Remember, it has been 20 years, and that was early in Lou Holtz’s tenure, so with it being over 20 years, the times have truly changed. But sadly, the rich alumni of Notre Dame are too dead set to those “good ole days”. I can dig that, because we always value the good times once time has passed. Notre Dame didn’t realize when they forced Lou Holtz out that they would relive those glory days 20 years later…if they had, they might not have gotten rid of Lou Holtz. But that’s man’s wisdom for ya, we always think we know what we are doing…only to make a fool of ourselves.

But to me, it is worse than that for Notre Dame. To me, the idea of being a Catholic school is almost a joke, because money speaks far greater than God to them. When rich alumni can make the call on who they want for such a job as a football coach, how can you truly say you are religious? Seems to me that money is the god of Notre Dame, or at least those with a lot of it.

Perhaps…just perhaps, this is their problem. If the school would operate more like a religious school, concentrating on human values and faith in God, maybe they would get in a better position to win a National Championship. I mean, after all, they won a ton of them right? They won 11 National Championships, and two in the last 32 years…it can happen. But who am I to say such things, I am no rich Notre Dame alumni, I don’t make decisions of a religious school with my money…

I let the foolish do that, the fruit of such efforts, and the fate of Notre Dame, seems to be clearly established in what they have sown….

2010 Orange Bowl

2009-11-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

2010 Orange Bowl

A quick blog about this year’s Orange Bowl, because it might have some interesting bits about it.

This year, or season if you will, the Orange Bowl has the top spot of the BCS bowls, meaning they get to select first the teams they want to play in their bowl AFTER the BCS Championship is made. I want to take a moment to say how tasteless the ROSE BOWL is acting, where they continue to get what they want without working with the other 3 bowls. Jerks.

Anyway, to give you an idea of who could be playing in that Orange Bowl, consider first that the selection process begins AFTER the BCS is determined. Now we know at this moment Florida and Alabama both are 1 and 2, but we know that will change because they must play each other. (let’s not also forget they both had QUESTIONABLE calls to keep them undefeated…)

But for sake of argument, lets assume Alabama loses to Florida in the SEC Championship. If so then it is safe to assume Texas plays Florida in the BCS Championship, right. So how does that affect the Orange Bowl?

Once that game is set, the Orange Bowl gets to pick the two teams it would like in their bowl game. But because of the Rose Bowl, they can’t touch the best Pac-10 and Big 10, because they are obligated to the Rose bowl. This would take out Oregon and Ohio State…at this moment.

So now the Orange Bowl has its pick of everybody else, including Cincinnati, TCU, Boise State and Alabama. But here is a tricky part…they are contractually obligated to the ACC Champion…which at this moment could be Georgia Tech.

Now that is not a bad choice, since GA Tech is in the mix for the top 10, but the Orange Bowl would be losing some power by taking a #7 team when it can have a #4 vs. #5. So the Orange bowl has to find an opponent for Georgia Tech.

They would likely have some good options with TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State, or even Alabama. None of those schools are obligated anywhere else, so the Orange Bowl would love to have any of those. But I don’t see them picking Boise State, they are just too far out there to guarantee heavy ticket sales… and yes folks, it is about the money for these bowls. I wonder if TCU might be a stretch as well. To me, I think the Orange Bowl might try to snatch undefeated Cincinnati to make this a very good game. By doing that, they might actually do the Sugar and Fiesta bowls a favor, allowing the Fiesta to take EITHER Boise or TCU (not both, since they played last year).

So right now, it looks like the Orange Bowl could be Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati… if all holds out.

2010 Fiesta Bowl

2009-11-21T08:15:00.001-08:00

2010 Fiesta Bowl

It is still very early to determine who will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl, but IF things hold its form, this is what we may be looking at:

If you are new to how this works, it is very complicated, but let’s try to make it as simple as possible.

The teams selected in the BCS Bowls are based off the BCS rankings, which were ONLY designed to determine the #1 and #2 teams…that is all. Don’t get fooled in thinking it was designed for anything else. Now, there are 5 BCS Bowls, starting with the National Championship game, then the other four bowls, Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar.

Once the National Championship is determined, then the other major bowls get to pick who they want, depending on contractual obligations and ranking of selections. That gets a little complicated but I will touch on that in a sec.

This year, BCS will take place at the same local as the Rose Bowl, but it is NOT the Rose Bowl. IF the season ended today, Florida and Alabama would play in the National Championship…but that is a huge error.

We all know they MUST play each other in the SEC Championship, so there is no way they will both meet in the BCS Championships, right? One must lose, and the other moves on. For sake of argument, let’s say Florida wins. If they do, then the BCS Title game will likely be Florida vs. Texas.

So where does all the other teams fall, like Alabama, TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State, and others? Well, they fall based on the bowls they are contractually obligated to. For example, the Rose Bowl will take the best Pac-10 and Big 10 teams, which in this case would be Oregon (Pac 10) and Ohio State (Big 10). That is how it looks right now.

The other three have a rotating ranking system, and actually take turns each year on who picks first, second and third. This year the order is Orange, Fiesta and Sugar. That means the Orange Bowl gets to pick from the remaining teams, then Fiesta and finally Sugar.

Now since this is about the Fiesta bowl, we know they pick AFTER the Orange bowl…but there are some complications. The Fiesta bowl is normally obligated to take the Big 12 Champion…UNLESS that same team is in the National Championship. If that happens, then they are free to take anyone else. Since Texas is (in this example) in the BCS Title game, they can pick any other two teams (minding you that they can’t pick Oregon or Ohio State because of the Rose Bowl.

It is quite likely that the Orange Bowl will take Georgia Tech because they must take the ACC champs, and it might be quite desirable that they will also take Cincinnati, because they are undefeated and nearer to the site of the Orange Bowl (Florida) than TCU or Boise State. If such is the case, who then would the Fiesta Bowl take?

I believe the Fiesta would have a choice of three teams…TCU, Boise State and Alabama. Two are undefeated (TCU and BSU), but you have a quality team in Alabama, and you know they travel well. I could see the Fiesta Bowl taking Alabama, because I am not so sure they want to take a repeat of TCU/Boise State…after all they played last year.

So I think either TCU or Boise State would be out, but can you ignore a bowl with two undefeated teams? This puts the Fiesta Bowl in a tough spot. A TCU/Alabama game would be nice, but so would a Boise State/Alabama game. I think if all things being equal, I think TCU and Alabama would be their choice. Alabama played the tougher schedule and is indeed better with one loss than Boise State with none, and TCU has the tough schedule to prove they are better than Boise State.

So that’s who I see in the Fiesta at this moment, TCU and Alabama.

2010 Sugar Bowl

2009-11-21T08:11:00.001-08:00

2010 Sugar Bowl

It is still very early to determine who will be playing in the Sugar Bowl, but IF things hold its form, this is what we may be looking at:

If you are new to how this works, it is very complicated, but let’s try to make it as simple as possible.

The teams selected in the BCS Bowls are based off the BCS rankings, which were ONLY designed to determine the #1 and #2 teams…that is all. Don’t get fooled in thinking it was designed for anything else. Now, there are 5 BCS Bowls, starting with the National Championship game, then the other four bowls, Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar.

Once the National Championship is determined, then the other major bowls get to pick who they want, depending on contractual obligations and ranking of selections. That gets a little complicated but I will touch on that in a sec.

This year, BCS will take place at the same local as the Rose Bowl, but it is NOT the Rose Bowl. IF the season ended today, Florida and Alabama would play in the National Championship…but that is a huge error.

We all know they MUST play each other in the SEC Championship, so there is no way they will both meet in the BCS Championships, right? One must lose, and the other moves on. For sake of argument, let’s say Florida wins. If they do, then the BCS Title game will likely be Florida vs. Texas.

So where does all the other teams fall, like Alabama, TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State, and others? Well, they fall based on the bowls they are contractually obligated to. For example, the Rose Bowl will take the best Pac-10 and Big 10 teams, which in this case would be Oregon (Pac 10) and Ohio State (Big 10). That is how it looks right now.

The other three have a rotating ranking system, and actually take turns each year on who picks first, second and third. This year the order is Orange, Fiesta and Sugar. That means the Orange Bowl gets to pick from the remaining teams, then Fiesta and finally Sugar.

So this year the Sugar Bowl is the last of the BCS bowl games to select who they wish to play in their bowl. This in theory says they should pick the #9 and #10 teams on the BCS standings, right? Wrong. That’s not how it works.

If we take a guess at who may be going where, we can assume at least at the moment that Florida plays Texas in the BCS Championship. That takes care of the SEC and Big 12 Conferences.

We assume that the Rose Bowl will take Oregon and Ohio State, taking care of the Pac-10 and Big 10 Conferences.

We believe the Orange Bowl, since it has the first selections of the remaining three bowls, will take Georgia Tech because they are contracted to take the ACC Champs, and will likely take Cincinnati for a great matchup.

That would take care of the ACC and Big East. So technically, all the major conferences are satisfied. But the BCS must also give a spot to the best non-BSC school, in this case, TCU.

Because the Fiesta Bowl picks next, they are normally obligated to take a Big 12 school, but with Texas in the BCS Title game, they are no longer bound to that. We think the Fiesta Bowl will take TCU and likely Alabama, and pass up on Boise State because BSU and TCU played in a bowl last year.

If this is the case, then the last of the major bowls would be the Sugar Bowl. They are normally contracted to have the SEC Champions, but with Florida in the BCS, they are no longer bound to that. They could select anyone they want…which brings in Boise State.

Ideally the Sugar Bowl would love to have Alabama, because it is closer for them, and it brings the SEC familiarity to the bowl game. But if Fiesta takes Alabama, then the Sugar Bowl has to consider who it wants…and most likely it would be Boise State. The question is if the fans can travel from Idaho to Louisiana…it is a bit further than Arizona.

The Sugar Bowl could take Boise State and one other team…how about LSU? That would be a great game, to have Boise State and LSU, or maybe Boise State plays Pittsburgh? But the assumption here is that Boise State is the lock, as I believe they should be, but is it more tempting to have LSU play Pittsburgh? Can Boise State draw in the east? That would be pretty interesting.

But if I had to put money on it, I would think the Sugar Bowl would take Boise State and SEC friend LSU.

Does EPSN Push Boise State/

2009-11-21T07:23:00.001-08:00

Is ESPN Pushing for Boise State?

You know, I am as much a fan of the underdog as anybody else, my college is from the Southern Conference, and we have been underdogs for quite some time. And I understand in college football how so many like to pull for teams like TCU and Boise State because the could “crash” the BCS…but I gotta tell ya, some of this is getting down right stupid.

Why does ESPN and the guys there seem to feel that it is so righteous for Boise State to be in a National Championship? Again, I am not against BSU, but so often we try to force a situation without taking a hard look at the things around it.

Let’s get this straight right now folks, and we can debate this until eternity… Boise State is NOT the best team in college football…undefeated or not. They are also NOT the second best either. They are very good but NOT the best. It seems like it is getting to the point where Boise State is asking everybody to pity them, so they can either force a playoffs or be considered for the National Championship. But there are a lot of glaring problems with that.

First off, their schedule.

I said months ago and I say again, if you want to BE a champion, play a schedule like one. BSU can’t help the WAC schedule, but they CAN help games like UC Davis and Miami Ohio….BSU knew they needed to play a tougher schedule than that, and they choose not to. That’s their fault. Consider folks, TCU right now has a strong upper hand over Boise State for the Non-BCS team in the big bowls. And rightly so.

IF Boise State had scheduled maybe Colorado or some Big 12 team instead of UC Davis, and maybe Minnesota or Illinois instead of Miami OH, this would seem a stronger schedule. It is that strength of schedule that is hurting them. And don’t tell me that a perfect record is a worth a title shot alone…does ANYBODY remember Ball State from last year? Weren’t they like 12-0...what happened to them?

I thought so.

Second, the media keeps talking about “BCS Busters”. Technically that term isn’t accurate. The NCAA came up with 5 bowls, one being the National Championship, the other 4 available to the best of the BCS conferences, and a guaranteed slot for one of the other conferences that performs well. This means that there is a slot for a team like TCU and/or Boise State…meaning you are not BUSTING in anything. You have permission to enter IF you qualify. This year, at this very moment, TCU qualifies…and so does Boise State.

So IF these teams have qualified, they are not “Busting” in anything. Last night ESPN had the WAC Commissioner during the Boise State/Utah State game to try to get him to plead his case for Boise State. Personally I saw no need for him to do that, in my opinion, Boise State is CLEARLY in, if they are the #6 team in the nation. They WILL get a BCS bowl, but why was the guys for ESPN trying to create a controversy that they MIGHT not get in. This is foolishness and ignorance created by ESPN to stir the pot.

The WAC Commissioner made a point that Boise State ought to be considered because they demonstrated that the fans can travel, as in the case to the Fiesta Bowl… now folks, that was in Arizona, right? Check your maps and see how far Boise State is from Arizona….

That isn’t really saying so much, is it?

The selling point here seemed to be that Boise State can travel anywhere…I disagree. Remember folks, these bowls want teams that travel VERY well, or teams closer to the bowl. For that reason, I just can’t see Boise State in any circumstances going to the Orange Bowl…if I was a member of the Orange Bowl committee, I am just not convinced that they can travel in large numbers from Boise to Florida. Besides, I also think they deserve a better game than against Georgia Tech, you’d like to pit BSU against another undefeated team, right?

As it stands right now, before the games start, we can fairly assume that the Florida/Alabama winner will play Texas in the National Championship. Let’s just assume it will be Florida for the sake of argument. That means the National Championship is set, leaving the other 4 bowls.

We know the Rose Bowl will punk out and get their traditional teams, in this case the Pac 10 vs. Big 10. At this moment it looks like Oregon/Ohio State. So to this point, you have your SEC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac 10 satisfied.

The Orange Bowl has a contractual commitment to the ACC, so Georgia Tech goes there. That makes 5 slots filled. This leaves the last 5 slots to Cincinnati as the Big East Champs, (at this point in time), TCU, Boise State, Alabama and one other team.

If it goes as I think it can, I think the Sugar Bowl will take Alabama, because it is closer to home. The Fiesta Bowl COULD take TCU and Boise State…but this could be a problem because they played last year… a repeat might not sell as well. So it might be hip for the Fiesta Bowl to take Cincinnati and TCU, and hope that Cincinnati can travel to the desert.

This could make a Sugar Bowl matchup with Alabama and Boise State, which would be interesting, leaving one slot open for the Orange Bowl. This brings in two other teams, LSU and Pittsburgh. Either could work, but if Pittsburgh loses to Cincinnati, then LSU could be the obvious choice, also being a little closer to Florida. After all the fans of LSU are familiar with Florida having played the Gators anyway….Pittsburgh could say the same about playing South Florida.

So in all this, not once has Boise State been excluded from the BCS Bowls. They are in at this moment, and squarely in. I think the Fiesta Bowl might not take them to play TCU because it is a show we have seen before, so Boise State COULD be snubbed from there to the Sugar Bowl…but I gotta tell ya, that sounds like a good bowl to me, an Alabama/Boise State game.

So all this yapping about ESPN trying to champion a cause…come on you guys, get off that. You don’t need to make a case for BSU, they are in the BCS. Stop creating the news, and just report it!

Is Boise State worth the ranking?

2009-11-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

Where does Boise State rank now?

Ok, so there was that game last night where Boise State played Louisiana Tech… and won 45-35.

Are you impressed with Boise State?

Well, to me, I can’t say as much. Now don’t get me wrong, Boise State is a good team, no doubt about it. And they have won every game on their schedule, which includes a home game vs. Oregon. But where do they rank?

To me, Boise State should be ranked at LEAST below all undefeated teams in the nation, and I think there are at least 3 teams with one loss that should be ranked ahead of Boise State. Everybody likes to pull for the underdog, and with valid reasons, but the purpose of the top 25 is to put the best teams in line for a BCS Championship. Is Boise State one of those top two…not at all.

The strength of their schedule is severely lacking too. To struggle against a 3-6 team and win by 10 is laughable. That was last night’s game.

You spanked a 1-6 San Jose State team…big deal.

Scrubbed a 2-6 Hawaii team…ok, what else ya working on?

Tulsa was a nice team last year, but they are 4-4 now, and you beat them only by one touchdown.

Why did you play UC Davis?

Bowling Green is currently 4-5 and you beat them too.

But you did have a good win over Fresno State. They are 5-3 but have not been ranked anytime this year.

Miami OH is 1-9.…what’s up with that?

And of course, you started the season off beating Oregon.

Folks, I just cannot give the nod for a top 3 or top 5 team in Boise State if this is the level of competition they face. Only two teams at this moment have a winning record, and many of the others are bottom feeders. This does NOT make for a top 5 team, regardless of the record.

It’s funny because I hear media guys and gals talk about only the fact that they are undefeated…folks that does NOT determine your strength. Two of the last 4 games Boise State have are bottom feeders, but one could easily argue that Nevada and Idaho are benefiting from similar games. This does not make for a strong Boise State team, and last night showed that even against a losing team, they barely got the job done.

Is Boise State a top 10 team…of course they are. You cannot take away the fact that they are undefeated, AND that they beat Oregon. But folks, if Oregon wins out, and Boise State wins out, there is no argument that Oregon should be the better team.

The logic behind the idea that BSU beat Oregon is flawed because it’s not just the head on competition. If you use that same premise then Michigan ought to be ranked ahead of Notre Dame. Never mind that Michigan is 5-4, all that matters is that they beat Notre Dame, so they ought to be ranked higher, even if ND goes 10-2 and Michigan goes 5-7.

See how silly that sounds?

Oregon lost one game, but they have made up for it several times over by beating ranked foes. Boise State has not done so, in fact struggled against less than average teams. This does not make them a top 5 team, but I will not argue them being in the top 10. Now, if a lot of upsets happen today, they will , BY DEFAULT, slide up the rankings. But that does not mean they are better… remember Ole Miss…and Virginia Tech.

Certainly a BCS bowl is in the sights, but a national championship? Not really, not until they start playing higher caliber teams.

NEW BCS top 8, November 4th 2009

2009-11-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

My NEW BCS Top 8

I know the real BCS scores are out, and right now if you are an undefeated team, you are on that top 10 list easily, but there are also a few one-loss teams that are making a statement to try to get to that BCS Championship.

As I speak there are still technically MANY teams that can fight for that Championship game. To be truthful, at this moment if you have one loss, you are still in the mix IF you are in a BCS conference.

For example, from the ACC there is still Georgia Tech with one loss. You have Pittsburgh with one loss from the Big East, and Penn State from the Big 10. LSU still has one loss in the SEC, while Oregon remains with only one loss from the first game of their season. And although they are not a BCS Conference, I give Utah a nod too because the Mountain West Conference is as tough as most of the BCS conferences this year.

But because Oregon defeated USC in a major game, I would, at least for the moment, make them the best one loss team in the nation, and include them in my list of the top 8...this is temporary, because I have not run other teams through my NEW BCS formula. I only did the 7 undefeated teams and Oregon. So for the moment, I have my top 8 teams, based on my formula.

#8 Oregon (291 points): This is premature, because I have not run the other one loss teams through my formula, but I will give them the TEMPORARY benefit of the doubt for this spot because they knocked off USC, which was a major win. But because they have played a lot of the bottom feeders of the Pac-10, this could be with mixed reviews.

#7 Boise State (300 points): You see here how a BCS team with one loss is almost as good as a team from a weak conference like Boise State? To their credit, they have won every game, including beating Oregon, but when your WAC schedule turns weak as water, there isn’t much respect that one can give over the other teams. Beating one great team is awesome, but to be a BCS Champ, you gotta beat more than one a year.

#6 Cincinnati (303 points): Only 3 points make the difference between Cincinnati and Boise State, and the strength of schedule favors Cincinnati. Granted, both teams are seen as underdogs, but if the Bearcats can get that big game with Pittsburgh without them losing another game, it would clearly validate them over Boise State…still gotta win to get there though.

#5 TCU (311 points): TCU to me is coming out of a better and stronger conference at the moment than Cincinnati. Having Utah, BYU and Air Force makes a pretty tough conference, not to take anything away from the Big East. But the formula also shows that this TCU team has a very good defense, and they do have 2 quality wins over top 25 teams, as opposed to one by Boise State or Cincinnati.

#4 Florida (326 points): The difference between Florida and the two teams above them is only 5 points…this is razor thin. But you can easily guess one of those teams above Florida, and if both go undefeated, they would meet in the SEC Championship… as I said on other blogs, this is a problem that will solve itself.

#3 Alabama (331 points): Alabama is by my stats the best defensive team on the list, and this is what helped them lock in this spot. But some wonder how good this team is, and we will learn everything this weekend when LSU plays Alabama. If they get by LSU, we expect a date with Florida in the SEC Championships. Few will argue that the winner goes to the BCS Championship.

#2 Texas (332 points): Slimmest of margins make Texas almost a shoe in for the BCS Championship. The Big 12 isn’t as dangerous as it was last year, and Texas has no equal. The next few games could be a walk in the park, but the Longhorns have to be careful not to slip up on games they are favored to win. Texas gets a bonus game in the Big 12 Championship, which if they win should remove any doubt as to them being either the best, or second best, in the nation.

#1 Iowa (342 points): Many wonder if Iowa could squeeze in the BCS if they go undefeated, and my formula has them as the best team in the nation…BUT there is an exception here. Iowa is the only team in this list with 9 games and 9 wins. That extra game gives them many more points above anyone with 8 wins. As you can see, they have 11 points more than Texas, who is number 2. But a couple of weeks ago when I started doing this, Iowa had about a 40 point lead, having played one more game than anybody else. What this may be showing is that as the season goes on, we learn the true strength of Iowa in that even after 9 wins, their hold on the number 1 spot is very small…and apparently shrinking.

So if the season ended now, one might assume that I am saying that Iowa and Texas plays in the National Championship…not really. Remember, Iowa has played more games at this point than anybody else, and is benefiting from that advantage. All things being equal, it seems to boil back down to Texas vs. the likely winner of the Alabama/Florida SEC championship …but that is only if Alabama gets by LSU.

And what if Iowa beats Ohio State?

What if Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh?

So many questions…but all will be told in time….

Was Brett Farve Justified?

2009-11-02T12:40:00.001-08:00

Justified win for Brett Farve?

So the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers AT Green Bay by 12...

Interesting.

I realize this is just the 8th game of a 16 game regular season, but the circus that has been around Brett Farve has been legendary by media standards. This has been happening for about 3 years, when Brett Farve was a Packer, and was thinking about retiring.

There are a lot of people that are on different sides of the fence on this, and there were indeed some boos when Brett took to the field, but there were also a lot of cheers too. But it just seems to me that the media took the more exciting venue, that of the boos and the controversy that surrounded this great quarterback.

Some people say that Brett Farve is THE best quarterback ever…I don’t believe that, I certainly think he is on the list of maybe top 10, maybe top 15 of all time. If he wins another Superbowl…which at this moment is still quite possible, he would be on my top 10 list easily…maybe top 5.

But it is all the drama that surrounds Farve that made this a story that every sports show wanted to follow. Now, for the record…we here in the Carolina Panthers area didn’t get to see that game, because we were FORCED to watch a dismal Panthers team play the Cardinals (although the Panthers did win that game).

So, was the win justified for Farve? I assure you, there were a lot of “haters” of Brett out there. I am not the #1 fan of Brett Farve, but I seriously appreciate what he has done for football. Personally I think he was done wrong by those fans, media and the team he helped build.

I remember that this was the guy that brought a Superbowl to Green Bay, and took them to a second…and on his last year with the Packers he had them on the verge of another Superbowl. But he felt it was time to quit and retire, while at the same time the management of the Packers had spent 12 million on a Honda Civic….

That being Aaron Rodgers….and let me point out, he is a decent quarterback. But the problem here is that the management gave this guy all this money and felt that they needed to play him….even unproven they felt he should lead the team instead of Brett Farve.

So the problems kinda started there. Farve wanted to play, but the Packers management felt he should be a starter anymore…remember folks just the year before this happened, Brett Farve had the Packers in the NFC Championship…it wasn’t like the Packers was 7-9.

So now the problems start, because the Packers want Brett to play second string…which in all honestly is a load of crap because they made the mistake of overpaying a second string quarterback. Brett was not willing to do that, so now there is beef between Farve and Packers management, which resulted in him wanting to be traded.

To me, the fault lies with the Packer management…not the fans, because they are caught in the middle. Management did poorly in trying to recoup what they spent on Rodgers. So the result is that they had to get rid of Farve…this is where it gets wicked.

They KNEW he wanted to go to another NFC North team, but refused any deals with them, and instead found a team in the New York Jets that they could send him to. A team with no real future, and one that was not on the Packers schedule. And get this, the deal with the Jets included that they (the Jets) could not trade him to any team that would play the Packers in Green Bay. This deal, if you read between the lines, shows that the management of the Packers were dead set on kicking Brett Farve out, THEN locking the door behind him so that he never, ever sets foot in Lambeau Field ever again.

Don’t tell me THAT isn’t wicked and evil.

So Brett Farve is forced out of the team he took to 2 Superbowls, and a hair shy of a third. As soon as he goes to the Jets, he helps the team through the first half of the season but they faltered in the end. And somewhere in the management of Green Bay, they are laughing at him.

At the end of the season Brett calls it quits but now a new story comes up… there is a chance he could play for Minnesota…which scares Green Bay to the roots of their boots. If Brett Farve goes to Minnesota, that means he would be able to do the one thing Green Bay management tried to prevent him from doing…

Coming home.

I say again, this is not the fans fault, so my blame is not directed at the fans…at this time. This is ALL the fault of Green Bay management, who kicked out a legend who only kept winning for the team, in exchange for an over-priced quarterback.

So now the rumors are flying around about Brett Farve possibly playing for the Vikings, and the media is rehashing it over and over like Thanksgiving Turkey two weeks after Thanksgiving. By their repeated and annoying reporting, people are stating to blame Brett Farve for not making up his mind…

Uh folks, get a life! The man deserves the right to decide how to live his life…leave him alone!.

So the circus spins around over the summer and finally Brett Farve makes it official that he is now a Viking…to the dismay of the Packer Fans, who now begin to hate him. But this is misplaced…Brett Farve was KICKED out of Green Bay by poor management, he would have loved to stay there a few more years. Him going to Minnesota was the best career move he could make, and he did it. His loyalty to Green Bay was severed when the management tried to conspire to prevent him from setting foot in Green Bay as a player ever again…but the funny thing was that they wanted to talk to him about a contract deal AFTER he retired, so they could retain the rights to all Brett Farve jerseys…

Wicked monsters.

But now I place blame on some of the fans of Green Bay. If you are a Packer fan and booed Brett Farve, shame on you. How many Superbowls did Aaron Rodgers win for you? How many NFC Championships did he win? How dare you turn coat on a man who gave you everything he could…and was stabbed by the team he helped build?

I can understand if you booed him as the game was going on, because you have to root for your Packers…I understand that. But put your differences aside for 10 minutes and give that man what he is due…respect. Cheer his legacy at the beginning of the game, and even at the end, but you can boo him during the game.

So we go through all the rumors and talks about Brett Farve playing with the Vikings which of course are the hated foes of the Packers…along with the Bears let’s not forget.

So I can understand how some Packer fans feel, having their legend go to another team, I understand that. But this is where the fanatics show their butts…a real fan would root for the Packers through and through…A REAL FAN would remember what Brett Farve did for their team and city and give him that respect.

And so the media takes turns taking shots at Farve, saying that he throws too many interceptions and the can’t win, and that if Farve ONLY hands the ball off Adrian Peterson, they will be fine. But as the season starts, we see that the Vikings indeed needed a passing game. It’s odd because during the pre season there were many criticisms about some players saying they didn’t need Brett Farve, and was better off with their original quarterback…how’s that working out?

Now lets not fool ourselves to say that Brett is a saint…after all, he isn’t playing in New Orleans….

(HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…oh that never gets old…..)

Ahem…

Anyway I didn’t want to say all that to make it look like Brett Farve was totally innocent in all that has transpired the last few months or the last 3 years, but to me, a man who plays in the NFL ought to have a right to call his shots if he is still good enough to call them. But too many people feel like they have a right to tell Farve when HE should retire, and that isn’t their responsibility. So many people got sick of hearing about the Farve saga, but blame the media for that. Those people camped out on his doorstep looking for anything to throw out there, and places like ESPN and FOX ran with it.

So now the game is over, and Farve has beaten his old team. Justified?

After all the hell he went through just to play football…yes, it was justified. And yet he could have said some things and thrown some daggers…which would have been pulled off his back, but he did not.

Brett Farve is a professional, and he handled all this as best he could. I think he handled it better than the media and some of the fanatics of Packer fans. I give the highest respect to the Packer fans that remembered who Farve was, and what he meant to them. It is ok to boo him during the game because you have to cheer for your Packers, but for just a few minutes before and after the game, give the man his due…he earned it.

And that was justified Sunday evening.

Halloween, Horror and College Football

2009-10-30T21:20:00.001-07:00

The HORROR of College Football

Halloween is upon us, and with it comes the fear that over 100 teams fear to embrace…that there are guarantees in life…one is the demise of a season.

And all teams choose to play a game…much like Jigsaw imposes on his victims…knowing that few, if any are designed to succeed.

And so most fail.

Halloween brings the horror already realized, and the horrors of those realized on All Saints Day, and yet it also delays the feared ending of some, where their seasons come to a quick and correct ending…with no sequel in sight.

This season was nothing but a ruse to many teams, knowing that there are many teams designed to fail…to be fodder, for the greater cause. But let us take a moment to look at this horror movie and sort out the victims….for we know there will be many.

If there is a real Camp Crystal Lake, it will indeed resemble the ACC. As many contenders as sequels, and a body count to match. The ACC continues to slay one another as mindlessly as the next batch of campers find their way to the lake, only to discover too late that their fate was already charted. The ACC had a chance to produce a “Jason” with Virginia Tech, but failed miserably…but word has it that Georgia Tech stands hidden in the forest, with a certain hockey mask.

Can we believe that THIS is the Jason the ACC needs to put fear in the BCS? We have seen this before, and lately the ACC has not put terror in any other conference. And victims this year seemed to have claimed Florida State, Clemson and Wake Forest, while Duke, NC State and Maryland lie at the bottom of the murky swamp.

Shall we fear Jason Yellow Jacket…or shall we look for another?

Haddonfield, seems to be a town hiding a terrible secret…much like that of the Big 10. On that fateful day, when Michael Myers began his terror, few knew, nor read the signs of what would happen, save only Dr. Loomis. Is this any different this year, with Iowa standing at the door of the BCS Championship? The mission for Myers was simple, to find and eradicate his family…which led to a long chase to find his sister… and dispose of her.

How similar can this be of Iowa and the last several games against Penn State, where there has been a grand and epic struggle, only to end in sad endings? But again, Iowa has hunted their quarry and defeated Penn State, but Ohio State may be the only thing keeping them from a BCS Championship. But Ohio State is flawed, much like the aged Dr. Loomis, who did all he could to thwart the actions of Myers. Can Ohio State prevent Iowa from their goal, or will Iowa take for granted the other “lesser” teams, and lose a chance at a most valued prize. Only Illinois has fallen under, as many other teams in the Big 10 can make a challenge. There are more sequels to come.

Beware if there is a moon out on Halloween night, for you never know who will change to a beastly werewolf…such is my warning to the Big 12. Was it not last year where at least 7 quarterbacks proved that they were NFL ready? Was there not six teams that were ranked in the top 25 through much of the year? But this year, not much noise has been made of the conference outside of Texas…and they look exposed.

Has the conference found silver bullets to destroy the Texas Werewolf? You DO know that silver can destroy a werewolf…just as one loss could be a deadly force against Texas’ bid to the BCS. But we have been fooled several times by their changes…who informed us that Colorado would be any better than last year…we were fools to buy that.

And who said that Nebraska was the fear of the town…nay, I saw no claws, fangs or body hair resembling a werewolf on these Huskers…I only saw mere men fall by the wayside. We have however, seen a great man fall in Oklahoma, and with it also went the dreams of the season. It would seem that only Oklahoma State remain to challenge Texas, and by doing such we shall see by the light of the full moon who is REALLY a werewolf… and who is not.

The house of Count Dracula may seem large, but only eight rooms are being used, and one may well be Count Dracula himself. From the grave the Big East was counted as nothing, as a slain evil, never to return. In fact, the beginning of the season there were no Big East teams ranked. Yet from the grave has risen one who bears the marks of Vlad Dracul…and yet there seems to be another.

Cincinnati at this moment is undefeated, and should they run the table, may say they should be in the BCS… but has there been enough “blood” sacrificed to validate this? Who has this team beaten that qualifies this as THE Count…rather than some other vampire who serves another?

Some say Pittsburgh holds the strings, and controls the scene from afar in the conference, and it is only a matter of time before the two meet…to settle once and for all who is the REAL Dracula. Yet consider this…is there a Val Helsing in the mists…. A West Virginia…or maybe a South Florida? Alas, it may well not be West Virginia, as news travels that they were recently slain by South Florida. It would then seem that either Cincinnati OR Pittsburgh is then the true Dracula…but are either strong enough to force themselves into the BCS?

A classic John Carpenter movie, “The Fog”, was about a curse that was laid upon a hapless town on the 100th anniversary of the founding of their town….some might say there is such a “fog” or even “curse” upon the SEC in the recent rumors of less than professional officiating.

More than once has such wickedness cost a team a win, one that Georgia can clearly testify to. In the movie, the curse came because the town lied to a ship of lepers that wanted to make a home near their town, in exchange for much gold. The townsfolk swore on the deal…took the gold…but destroyed the lepers…thus the curse 100 years later.

Victims of greed we all can be of times, but at the expense of other teams in the SEC? Some say a curse will fall upon the SEC, as some say that the poor officiating was used in conspiracy to promote Florida and Alabama, to ensure a SEC remain in the BCS hunt. Others say there is a curse on the SEC for their apparent lack of hiring African American coaches…only ONE in their history…and yet they benefit so greatly from African American players….

What is in the fog of the SEC…most see Florida, maybe Alabama. I have heard some say it was Ole Miss, but I see no truth in that. There were rumors that Tennessee had risen from the depths of the sunken ship and reclaimed what was rightly theirs…we ALMOST saw that at the hands of Alabama, but the Crimson Tide bare escaped with their lives. It leads me to believe they won’t live much longer at that rate. But one could say the same for Florida as well….

There may well be an Elm Street in every state, but the Pac-10 stares at fear tangible in that they now must pray for access to the BCS Championship. With several teams out of BCS Conferences that are perfect, the PAC-10 has no hope of jumping over the likes of a perfect Florida, or Alabama or Texas. And with the East Coast Bias, most people never see these Pac-10 teams unless they play earlier in the day. Out of sight, out of mind…unless you are Freddy Krueger.

In the famed series of movies, the creature of the night would appear in a victim’s nightmare and claim them for his own…the Pac-10 would have to perform similar feats to put fear in the BCS, and force the nation to pay attention to them.

For on Halloween there will be a Nightmare on Elm Street when USC plays against Oregon, and everything is on the line. Both teams have one loss, and neither can afford another. Yet a game of this importance would certainly propel the winner into a greater chance of a BCS shot, right? It is critical that a Duck or Trojan becomes the nightmare of the BCS, and may have to make horrid work of their opponent to put fear in the voters of the polls. Trust me, you don’t want to sleep when this game comes on… especially those on the east coast.

We have discovered that Sleepy Hollow is more than a legend, it is a real place… the name has changed to the Mountain West Conference, and there have been rumors of not one…not two…but possibly THREE Headless horsemen roaming about.

I once heard there may have even been a fourth from the Air Force, but I am being told that this is not so true. It has been more confirmed that those Headless Horsemen come from TCU, Utah and BYU…U know what I mean by that…

These teams seek that which they have lost…respect. For their competitive conference, few give them a chance to actually be in the BCS, even if one goes undefeated. At this moment it remains to be only TCU, as both BYU and Utah have lost their heads earlier in the year. But because it was early, there is a chance…however slight, to get it back.

Will anyone take notice of the Mountain West Horseman as he rides through the night, looking for another victim? How many more will they have to defeat before the BCS acknowledges them as a real threat to the BCS?

And what is this I hear of this Hunchback that clamors about being better than anybody else? Who told this creature that they were the equal of the other teams simply because they have a nice record? Their best win so far this year was at home to Boston College, having lost games to USC and Michigan. Do not try to scare me with such stories from Notre Dame….win games against TOUGH opponents before you try to scare us.

And I have seen the parts being built for this Frankenstein they call Boise State. A powerful creature, with indeed a history of doing damage…but many say the parts are made of cheap material. A weak schedule with only ONE good win makes this a creature with great potential, but very flawed. We can see Boise State as much a contender to the BCS now as we can consider Frankenstein as equal to a human. Until Boise State schedules more quality opponents, we will continue to shun Boise State as the village shunned Frankenstein…which lead to his demise at the end.

I warn you, Halloween will bring many sad tidings for many. For some, the realization that there is no post season, for some, the realization that there is no conference championship, and for others, no BCS Bowl game. Hearts will be broken, spirits will be split…dreams will be shattered in the faces of tens of thousands.

There will be…losers….

(what did you think I was gonna say…it’s all in fun!)

Happy Halloween all, may your favorite team win!

NEW BCS TOP 15, Oct 29th

2009-10-29T13:19:00.001-07:00

The NEW BCS, OCT 29th version

The top 15

Again, if you have not read my blogs before, jump back a few and see how I came up with these numbers. It is NOT etched in stone but give some sense of validity rather than just having a bunch of dudes picking teams.

My NEW BCS is based on rewarding points for factors of the game, the most important being WINNING. I give 20 points for every game a team wins. But I award bonus points for other factors, such as winning at home, winning conference games, winning by certain amounts and so forth. I also award…or penalize a team if the teams on their schedule are above .500, even or below. I penalize teams that play a non Division I foe, whether they win OR lose.

Again, you’ll have to jump back to find the posts on what I am talking about, if you want I can go over it again in my next blog to explain some things. But until then, let’s count down my top 15:

#15 Utah 187 points: Folks, I gotta tell ya, the schedule Utah has played thus far is VERY poor, it is hard to put them in the ranks of the top 10 when more of their teams have losing records than anybody else. This is a heavy penalty that shows a weak strength of schedule. But there is still time to rise in the ranks, since the Mountain West is indeed a good conference this year.

#14 Virginia Tech 233 points: Two losses virtually destroys any chance to the BCS, and we all thought VA Tech was all that too. Consider this folks, this team has two losses, and still is better than Utah…if the Hokies had won one of those two games, they could easily have been in the top 10.

#13 Oklahoma State 234 points: That embarrassing loss to Houston must still be like mud in their face, but the difference between Oklahoma State and a top 10 is actually about 30 points. It’s just harder to compete at this moment with teams with 7 wins under their belt, so this could even out eventually.

#12 Oregon 235 points: This is odd because for a team with 1 loss, I have them outside the top 10. Why? Their strength of schedule takes some punch out of what they have done, although they have defeated two top 15 ranked teams. If you are looking at 6 win teams, this is one of the best, but compared to the undefeated teams, they fall behind a bit. Still plenty of time to get in the mix though.

#11 USC 261 points: Interesting, since they play this weekend against one another. Of my elite teams, I actually had USC ranked at the bottom at this period of time. This was out of my elite 8 teams, but after adding a few more teams on, I had to slide USC down even further. The margin of difference is slim, in fact they missed my top 10 by only 4 points, meaning this is by no means the end of the judgment.

#10 Cincinnati 265 points: This one is funny because I had them ranked much higher when I did the elite teams. But what may be showing is that even with a perfect record, Cincinnati still has to prove some things. Beating South Florida was their only mark, and it was a bottom 25 team. They need to run the tables to get real consideration and votes of confidence to play in that BCS Championship.

#9 TCU 271 points. Between ranks 6-11 only about 16 points separate these teams, meaning these are very close rankings. TCU has an advantage of 7 wins, but very slightly higher quality of wins and a good defense gives them some points as well. IF TCU runs the tables…are they for real?

#8 Penn State 273 points: The loss to Iowa hurts big time to Penn State, but they are only a handful of points off some better teams. Penn State can still make a game of this, if they can run the tables, but they would have to hope that Iowa loses a couple of times. Is it possible….who knows, but Penn State with a few more wins will be making a strong case for a one loss team.

#7 Pittsburgh 274 points: We see that this team is only one point better than Penn State, but that loss to NC State may have ruined a magical season. Like Cincinnati, this team suffers from a weaker schedule that could sooner catch up to them. Both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are rooting for one another, so that when they play, it will mean much more than just two Big East teams playing one another…it could lead to a BCS Championship.

#6 Boise State 277 points: Even at 7-0 this team could be in trouble for slipping further down in the rankings. Even if Boise State continues to win, the quality of their wins against a weaker schedule could count against them…it clearly is the case with Utah, it could be the same for Boise State. So again, is wins the ONLY thing that counts? Nope, not if you want to be a champion.

#5 Florida 284 points: In light of the SEC officials and stuff going on, and with Florida playing with injured players, and the close games, this is still the team to beat. I have this team here because they are clearly one of the best teams, but now some wonder about the true strength of the SEC, if officials are playing to the “better teams”. Keep in mind that a couple of the teams ahead of Florida have an extra game under their belt, so it should all even out in the wash.

#4 Georgia Tech 287 points: This one is a BIG surprise to me folks, and considering how the ACC beats each other up, I don’t see this standing long, but to this point I think Georgia Tech is one of the best teams in the nation. If you cannot stop their triple option, you will lose. I thought for sure that this was a simplistic strategy that was years out of date, but Georgia Tech is proving that if teams don’t study for it, they will get beat by it. Georgia Tech in the BCS Championship? I think it is still too early, but don’t completely rule that out.

#2 Iowa 310 points: Now understand, Iowa is here because YES they have a perfect record, but also because they have one more game ahead of most other teams. That one game pulls a lot of points. They are only about 12 points ahead of Georgia Tech and Texas, so as those teams even out their schedule, it will tell us the true story. Iowa still has Ohio State on the schedule, which many circle as THE key game for the entire Big 10...if Iowa wins that…it will create some REAL controversy for the BCS Championships.

#1 Alabama 326 points: Everything I said about Iowa…goes for Alabama. They have an extra game ahead of the other teams, and they came within a shade of losing to Tennessee. Is this team REALLY as good as they say. I wasn’t too convinced last year, and they have the advantage of several good home game wins, and a schedule that at the moment is pretty tough, but when things shake out, as they usually do, I am not too sure this team will stay where it is. But for now, they are here.

So, those are my NEW BCS top 15, with Virginia Tech playing UNC tonight, we shall see if that changes any. A win for Virginia Tech could vault them close to the top 10...who knows?

Top 10 NFL teams OCT 29th

2009-10-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

Top 10 NFL teams, Oct 29th

Ok, so I am a little late, sue me.

Anyway, as we get into the 8th week (7th for many) we see that the list of undefeated teams has dropped by one. So three teams remain undefeated, and they are obviously on the top 10 list.

But there is only 1 team with one loss, so obviously they are on the list too. However, there are 9 teams with 2 losses, so I had to decide who would not make it on my list. I am not putting any team with 3 losses on this week, maybe next week, but not this week.

Before I start with the top 10, let me share with you two teams that didn’t make it and why:

Green Bay Packers 4-2: Yeah, we know about the huge game this weekend when Brett Farve comes back home, but I am not convinced that this is a top 10 team. If they beat the Vikings, then they are in because their record would be 5-2, but there have been some questionable games thus far. Their only quality games thus far was against the Bears, which is now falling down to average, and vs. the Bengals and Vikings…both they lost.

Philadelphia Eagles 4-2: To be honest, I thought they would beat up the Redskins more than they did. The defense of the Eagles looks great, the offense needs a little help, and with an injury to Westbrook, this team looks weaker. I could put them on if I had one more spot, but I just need them to beat a quality team before I can do that.

And so, the top 10:

#10 Atlanta Falcons 4-2 Losing at Dallas hurt the team, whom I had as #6 last week, but I can’t discount this young team’s potential. Their schedule has been pretty hard, and to only lose 2 games is very good, yet coming up they have games against the Saints, Giants and Eagles, with a few softer ones sprinkled in. It may be hard for them to stay here and not get bumped out.

#9 Arizona Cardinals 4-2: I gotta tell you, I am not too impressed with NFC West teams, but for Arizona to travel across the country, and beat the Giants says a heck of a lot for the Cardinals. This to me could be a signature win for the team, and I have them as perhaps the 4th best NFC team in the NFL….maybe 3rd best.

#8 New York Giants 5-2: The Giants drop 3 spots for losing at home to the Cardinals, and now some start to wonder how good this team really is. Their previous 5 wins were against lesser opponents, and now having lost to the Saints and Cardinals changes how we may have to see the Giants… are they the real thing?

#7 Cincinnati Bengals 5-2: These cats are still in the mix, and after beating the Bears they have proven that this may well be a team to keep an eye out for. With the Ravens and Steelers coming up back to back, this may well define whether this team will be in the playoffs or just making cheap noise…we will know soon enough.

#6 Pittsburgh Steelers 5-2: Seems the defending champs are clawing their way back into the mix. Just last week I had them #10, and the week before that not ranked, but that win over the Vikings certainly put them back in. It proves that losing a couple of games early means nothing if you can rebound. The Steelers are certainly looking to get some “get back” from the Bengals, which comes up soon enough.

#5 New England Patriots 5-2: I am just not ready to bail out on the experience that this team has, and at 5-2, they are clearly in the hunt. I had them at #7 last week, and #9 the week before that. Winning their last two games will do that, but then again, beating the Titans and Buccs really doesn’t mean much….did anybody watch that Pats/Buccs game in London? I didn’t

#4 Minnesota Vikings 6-1: Since this is the only team with one loss, I can’t drop them too much further than this. I had them #3 last week, but the week before I had them #4, so this is about average. Losing to the defending Superbowl Champs in their home is a tough assignment, but this week when the travel to Green Bay, it will tell us much more. If Minnesota wins that game, they will have a lockdown on the division, and all but guaranteed to the playoffs. The way they are playing, I see them as the 2nd best NFC team in the league.

#3 Indianapolis Colts 6-0: For the Colts to be here, I am implying that they are the weakest undefeated team so far. Beating the Jags didn’t prove much, but the Miami game was pretty interesting. Handling the Cardinals in their house is nice, but beating Seattle, Tennessee and St. Louis does not prove much. With maybe 4 games left of some caliber, the Colts could easily rack up 10-12 wins, maybe more. I just need to see them against a tough opponent…say New England in about 3 weeks….

#2 New Orleans Saints 6-0: YES, my hometown, my place of birth, finally we are in there like swimwear! There is still a lot of work to be done, because 6-0 does not put you in the Superbowl…ask Tennessee about that 13-0 record that vanished. But I gotta tell ya, this record has been with merit. Factor out the Lions (please) and you see that this is indeed a tough schedule, beating the Eagles, Jets, Giants and Dolphins. To me, right now, this is the best NFC team in the league and seems to run with the belief that they will GLADLY give you 30 points…as long as they score 40.

#1 Denver Broncos 6-0: I thought a moment of whether the Broncos should be #1 or #2, but either way, if it ends like that, both would meet in the Superbowl. The Broncos beat Cincinnati in their house, dumped the Cowboys, beat the Patriots and stopped the Chargers…that is a good list of opponents. And I think this team is on a mission, yet I can’t help shake the feeling that the newness of it won’t last. With games against the Ravens, Steelers, Chargers, Giants, Colts and Eagles, there is NO way they are going undefeated…just not gonna happen, but four of those teams are AFC foes they need to gauge themselves against, so we will know the truth from those games.

So there ya have it, my top 10 as we slide into Halloween weekend. Have fun!

NCAA Bans Dez Bryant

2009-10-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

NCAA bans Dez Bryant

Let’s call this what it is…a stupid move by the NCAA.

This to me is a hypocrisy of what the NCAA is supposed to stand for. They like to force all these corny public service announcements about how important academics is to these schools, and how every fan ought to act like some docile puppy while watching their favorite teams, but this foolish move seems to imply that the powers that be in the NCAA are nothing but idiots.

Say what you want about what Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State did, but there was nothing wrong with going to visit Deion Sanders…there is no rule against that. But if you are telling me that lying is punishable by losing an entire year, that is crap.

This is a terrible way to punish a student, and lets not forget that this is still a KID, for a full season. This punishment offers no venues for forgiveness at all. And to me, the fact that the NCAA wanted to speak to him again was a slap in the face of what some people call a “forgiving country”.

They kicked him out for the rest of the year a couple of weeks ago, and then wanted to talk to him again…for WHAT? The obvious reason was that maybe there was some way for them to work with Dez Bryant to see if they can still bring him back to play. But whatever came out of that meeting seemed to only reinforce the NCAA that lying is punishable by banishment from football.

I’m surprised the idiots didn’t arrest him…isn’t there a law for lying? (he said, but not laughing)

To me this is a terrible injustice because the NCAA is punishing this kid for lying, and he loses his entire season…how many of you remember the punch the player at Oregon threw at the beginning of the year? Guess what, he is allowed to come back because there is some grace involved.

Now I know that the ruling bodies in those two cases are different, because the NCAA did not kick that player from Oregon out (Blount), the ruling was passed by the university, and as such they could also turn it back, to which at this point they have done. But if they could do that, why couldn’t the NCAA?

Tell me which is more offensive…lying (which we ALL do, EVERYDAY!) or punching another player on national television.

I am not the biggest Oklahoma State fan, but I certainly am not a fan of the idiots of the NCAA who apparently like to destroy a kid’s chances to play for trivial reason.

Grow up NCAA!

The SEC Conspiracy?

2009-10-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

The SEC Conspiracy?

So now we have a little problem here with the SEC football and their officials….

What else is really new?

As many of you know, there has been some VERY questionable calls made by SEC officials, and I remember watching one of my favorite shows, “PTI” on ESPN, and one of the guys there made a very interesting remark. He said that he felt that sometimes the officials make a call that seems to favor the WINNING team, to almost imply that sometimes the SEC officials will favor teams like LSU, Florida and Alabama over the other teams.

In fact, Tennessee Head Coach Lane Kiffin has almost implied as much, which earlier in the year people thought he was nuts.

But when Georgia was called for a celebration penalty that did not exist, that caused a problem. And then the Florida game seemed to make larger waves.

So now we have a problem, is it possible that the SEC officials are biased to the better teams, to ensure that the SEC will get their best teams to the top for a BCS Championship?

That seems foolish because after all, even if they did, Florida DID win the National Championship, right? All the scheming in the world would not have helped if they got there and lost. So there can’t be credibility to this.

But I say to you, it may not be THE factor, but it certainly has been one. Consider right now, people like to say that the SEC is the best conference…have we really seen that? Granted Alabama and Florida are undefeated, but how close did Alabama come to losing to Tennessee? VERY close. Sure they beat Ole Miss, but I honestly felt that they were seriously overrated anyway. I will give them VA Tech, that was a good game.

Florida has not put teams away like in the past, and barely escaped LSU. I know there has been some injuries on the team but sometimes the best teams are the healthiest. Both Florida and Alabama have major games this weekend…both COULD lose those games.

But the question is more about the SEC and the refs, but I think takes root in the SEC. The refs don’t make these decisions unless there is a stronger body of influence on them…that being the conference they come from. So if the refs are called into question… then the SEC as a conference must be called into question.

This is not against every fan or student, by no means am I questioning THEM, I am questioning the governing body of the SEC. Conspiracy, maybe, who am I to say, but I can give you one strong argument… African American coaches.

Everybody do your homework on this now….how many black head coaches has the SEC had in their history of college football?

Come on, you know the answer to this…

20? Nope, too high.

10? Nah, still too high.

5? Close but still to high.

2? Almost…but still too high.

The answer is one.

Folks, we are living in 2009, and the SEC has only had ONE black head coach in their history…if that does not spell a problem in “the land of the free” then something is SERIOUSLY wrong.

Sylvester Crooms is the only black head coach the SEC ever had, and I submit to you, that was conspired several years ago just to get that “goose egg” off their back. Back in about 2001 there was an interview on ABC sports about the lack of black head coaches in the NCAA, and they had the SEC Commissioner in the studio for that interview.

They asked this man about it, and his answer was almost implying “that’s just the way it is in the south”.

Jackass.

I live in the south, and although I know that is how some feel, we cannot continue to have stupid comments like that fall out of somebody’s mouth like that.

In fact, the interview with the SEC Commissioner seemed to almost backfire against him, because his ignorance seemed to be shown on national television. I remember then telling somebody that what the SEC will probably do is conspire to find the team with the worst record in the SEC, get rid of whoever that coach was, and hire a black head coach, just to say they are conforming with society…

A society that believes that quality does not come in color.

Well, to be honest, I thought that would have been Vanderbilt, since they were usually the worst team in the SEC, but Mississippi State wasn’t that far behind. So about a year or two after that interview, the SEC then had their very first black head coach…

Put on the worst team in the SEC…and expected to do miracles…yeah right.

We all know how the story goes, Crooms could not get the team to a National Championship or too many winning seasons, so they ditched him and went back to the “good ole boy” network. It might be 100 years before the SEC decides to get another black head coach, because it’s just not what stupid people do. Stupid people hire based on color of skin, not quality of character or equality.

So yeah, I DO believe there is some conspiracy going on, the past has proven it, and I love college football as much as anybody here, but sometimes the things they do are beyond foolishness. I don’t get it, the SEC has won National Championships with black quarterbacks (Tee Martin of Tennessee and Chris Leak of Florida for starters), so why is there such a racial divide for a black head coach? Heck, even the ACC, which is also in the south, has had more black head coaches in football than the SEC…in fact, got one NOW in Miami.

Oh well, far be it from me to figure this stuff out. Sometimes it just pisses me off when a sport we are supposed to have fun watching and cheering for can get tainted by morons who still live like we’re in 1959 instead of 2009.

New BCS TOP 10 Oct 23rd

2009-10-23T15:20:00.001-07:00

NEW BCS Standings, Oct 23rd

Ok, if you are not hip to my blog, you might want to jump back a few posts and read what I mean by the “new” BCS. Simply put, I wanted to create a formula to decide who the best teams might be at this stage of the season, based on 24 factors.

I have used that formula to figure out who may well be the top 10 teams of the season thus far, but it is not a perfect formula. It takes into account the current facts, but as each week goes by, it can change quite dramatically. I broke the major factors into groups, and use these following to determine my formulaL

Factor #1 Wins: Most important, and I give 20 points for every win a team has.

Factors 2&3: Road and home wins: I place a bit more emphasis on winning at home, and protecting your house, than on the road. I give 7 extra points for every home win, and 5 extra points for every road win.

Factors 4-6: FBS factor: I give 7 points for every team you beat that is in your conference, and 3 points for every team out of your conference. IF you play a team that is not a FBS school, you LOSE two points. This rewards those who play tougher schedules, and penalizes the cupcakes.

Factors 7-10 Ranked foes: You get extra points for knocking off a top 25 team at the time they were ranked. If you beat a #4 team in week 3, and they fall off by week 6, you still get credit for beating them when they were ranked. I give 10 points to any team that knocks off a top 5 team, 7 points for beating a 6-10 team, 5 points for beating a team ranked between 11-15 and 3 points for beating any team from 16 to 25.

Factors 11-13: Strength factor: I reward extra points if you beat a team that has a winning record, or even a .500 record. I give 7 points for every team on your schedule that has a winning record as the season goes on. Any team with an even record nets you 3 points, but any team that falls under .500, you LOSE 2 points.

Factors 14-16: Beatdown factor: The more points you pile on, the more you get. But you must beat your team by at least 16 to qualify. If a team wins by over 16 points, I give them one extra point. If they win by over 24 points, I give them 3 points. If they crush their opponent by over 36, they get 5 extra points.

Factors 17-19: Passing factor: A team is considered great if they are a top 20 passing team OR rushing…or both. I give 5 points to the team that is in the top 5 in passing yards and touchdowns, for a total of 10 points possible. I give 3 points if they are in the top 10 in either category, and 1 point if they are in the top 20 in either.

Factors 20-22: Rushing factor: Same as Passing, I give 5 points if a team is in the top 5 in rushing yards or rushing touchdowns, and 3 points if in the top 10, and a single point if in the top 20.

Factors 23-24: Defense factor: They say offense wins games but defense wins championships. I am not so sure about that, but I do give 5 additional points if the team holds each opponent to under 8 points, and 2 points if they hold each team under 16. It’s my way of rewarding good defensive play.

Now, having gone through all that, here are my top 1 teams according to my NEW BCS formula:

#12 LSU: 189 points. With no real valuable wins, and nowhere in the top 20 in passing or rushing, this team edges out at the bottom of my list.

#11 Miami: 195 points. Similar to LSU, as far as rushing and passing, but some very quality wins keeps them in the loop.

#10 AND #9 TIE USC and Oregon: 205 points. Two one loss teams out of the Pac 10 look pretty good, but we know that they have to play one another soon… this problem will fix itself.

#8 TCU: 222 points: TCU scores in every category, but they need a couple of quality wins to jump over anybody…they are on track to see those very games ahead.

#7 Boise State: 225 points: Very narrow margin with Boise State, and with no real quality wins left, I see them slipping further down. It won’t take much for TCU to overtake them if both continue to win.

#6 Cincinnati: 234 points: This seems to prove that an undefeated team out of even a “weaker” BCS conference is indeed better than Boise State or TCU, and Cincinnati has a couple of big games yet to come.

#5 Georgia Tech: 237 points: With 7 games played, they do have an advantage over those who have so far played 6, so this score may not be totally honest and even. But considering they have one loss, this will be a serious question if they win out.

#4 Texas: 238 points: Some question how Texas has played lately, and a few even say that Texas will lose to Missouri. But to me this is one of the best teams in the nation, and if they sweep the Big 12, they are a shoe in for the National Title.

#3 Florida: 247 points: Much that is said about Texas can be said about Florida and their many close games. But like Texas, if they win out, they are likely in the BCS Championship.

#2 Iowa: 291 points: I have Iowa here only because they have 7 wins, and no one else underneath them has such. The extra game, to this point, has been the reason why they are here at #2. What my formula seems to imply is that winning, and more of it, is indeed most important. But as the other teams play their schedule, things will even out.

#1 Alabama: 297 points: Just as with Iowa, Alabama has 7 wins as well, which on paper look more impressive than 6 wins. If you consider that they are 40 points ahead of Florida and Texas, this could easily be about even. Alabama has the edge only because they get the benefits of the points for a 7th win. As more games are played, we will see the truth come out.

So that’s what I got so far folks, I don’t claim to say this is the gospel, just something fun to do to make conversation. As it stands right now, I have Alabama and Iowa as the two best teams, but ONLY because they have 7 wins. After all, a 7-0 record is better than a 6-0 record, right?

Right? (he said, expecting a debate….)

Florida State 30, UNC 27

2009-10-23T10:01:00.001-07:00

Florida State 30 UNC 27

Speedblog

I’ll admit, this was a tough game for me to watch, in fact, I spent more time flipping channels between Southern vs. Prarie View, the UFL game on VS, and even the preseason basketball game of the Lakers vs. the Nuggets.

I was concerned because I had a lot of mixed feelings for this game.

I am a UNC fan through and through, but we all know that the football edge of UNC isn’t why most people support the Tarheels. And I also like Florida State, not because of the Seminoles, but because I believe Bobby Bowden is one of those guys that should be respected for what he has done for the program.

What ticks me off is when some idiot starts to use age discrimination against the man who built the program from the ground up. And sadly, a lot of the guys on ESPN are on the fence about Bobby Bowden.

What this shows is that we as a people are ignorant to history, and we can see something 2 days ago, but still refuse to acknowledge it. Wasn’t it just a few years ago when the media was using age against Joe Paterno? How did that turn out so far?

And people like to talk about the “what have you done for me lately”. Well, wasn’t Florida State 9-4 LAST YEAR? It’s like these idiots developed amnesia about this coaching legend! So now Florida State comes in Chapel Hill 2-4, and Bowden’s coaching life on the line.

I blogged about this and felt that FSU should win because 5 out of the 6 games they have had thus far were against winning teams, and most have been ranked throughout the season. Folks, that is one hell of a schedule so far. But it gets easier, and it is possible that FSU can win at least 6, maybe as much as 7 games. I also felt that a lot of their losses come in their home state, that the road games might be the best thing for these Seminoles.

On the flip side, as much as I love UNC, their 4-2 record seemed bogus to me, although last year it was pretty good. They had only played one ranked team so far this year, and lost to them. I just felt that Florida State was good enough to beat UNC, and I figured it would be by 6 points. Turns out they won by 3.

So FSU is now 3-4, with a home game vs. NC State. Normally I think they can win, but again, there is some uncanny problem about FSU playing in their home state. They NEED this win, but so far they have one 1 game in the last SIX at home…not a good stat.

But if they can get by the Wolfpack, the road games vs. Clemson and Wake Forest could get them on the right track. It is possible for them to be 6-4 after that, or maybe 5-5. They will need to beat Maryland at home to likely qualify for a bowl, because that last game is on the road vs. Florida.

For the Tarheels, life gets harder. They go TO Virginia Tech, which could end up being a 4-4 result. They are home vs. Duke and Miami, and most think they will split that, before going on the road to play Boston College and NC State. It is quite possible that the hated rivals of UNC/NC State could decide whether UNC qualifies for a bowl.

In truth, I am pulling for both teams, but they still have to perform on the field…my best to them both.

Naysayers of Cincinnati

2009-10-23T09:57:00.001-07:00

Any Naysayers of Cincinnati?

Speedblog

Let’s talk a little about Cincinnati…and I don’t mean the BENGALS!

I am pleased to this point about Cincinnati, because I think the media did the Big East an injustice by omitting the ENTIRE conference from the top 25 poll. To me, that is foolish to think that no team in the Big East could be considered to be one of the top 25 teams in the nation.

This seems to show how stupid voters are, when they omit a team that last year, won 11 games. Now I know other teams like Ball State won 12 and stuff like that there, but any team from a BCS conference that had 11 wins last year ought to at least been put on the top 25 at the beginning. If you are foolish enough to put Notre Dame up there for 7 weak wins last year, you ought to have put Cincinnati up there at the beginning of the year.

But they didn’t so the Big East got no love. And all Cincinnati did was fight their way up the rankings up to #5 on the BCS and AP Polls. Personally, I think Cincinnati is right where they need to be, as my New BCS Formula had, at this moment, Alabama, Iowa, Florida, Texas, Cincinnati, Boise State and TCU, in that order… but if you read my blogs on this, you know that Alabama and Iowa’s scores are based on the fact that they had 7 games, and everybody else had 6.

So Cincinnati is in the mix right now…do they have a shot? What is hurting them at the moment is that their schedule isn’t top notch. Their only quality win against a top 25 opponent was against South Florida. And their next two games are against the bottom feeders of the Big East, so they might slip a bit for that.

But with games vs. West Virginia and Pittsburgh, they need those teams to stay in the top 25, so they’ll have to actually be pulling for them until they face them on the field. As it stands now, Cincinnati needs to play tougher foes to stay a step ahead of Boise state. Remember, one of their 3 losses last year came from Connecticut, so they have to be careful.

I have to think that deep down, the entire Big East conference is pulling for Cincinnati just as the ACC was pulling for Virginia Tech, both conferences need to make a mark in the BCS to validate their strength. Most people felt that these two conferences underachieved last year, which is debatable. But right now, Cincinnati commands respect because we know Alabama and Florida must meet if they continue their paths (SEC Championship) and Texas has to run the tables to the Big 12 Championship. Teams like Cincinnati, UCS and Iowa don’t have conference championships, so it is one less game to worry about. Can the Bearcats get there if they go undefeated? Can they???

Florida State vs UNC

2009-10-22T13:14:00.001-07:00

Florida State vs. UNC

This is one of those games that few outside the ACC are paying attention to, but those in North Carolina and Florida are looking at very seriously.

Two teams that were thought to be in the mix for the ACC crown, but to this point have been very disappointing. UNC was 8-5 last year, and Florida State was 9-4, so you assume that these two teams would have much to say about playing in that ACC Championship.

Not exactly.

Both teams are at the bottom of their division; neither team has a conference win yet, collectively 0-5 and yet their records are reversed. While UNC is at least 4-2, Florida State is the inverse, at 2-4.

Florida State needs this win for every reason known to man. A coach being forced to quit, the team struggling to win games, and the need to restore some pride to the Seminole nation. But get this, of the last 8 losses, extending to last year, SIX of them come from their own home. Imagine that, not winning in your own house!

Last year they lost home games to Wake Forest by 9, Boston College by 10 and to Florida by 30. That’s three of their 4 losses last year. This year they lose at home to Miami by 4, South Florida by 10, and Georgia Tech by 5. Outside of the Florida loss last year, Florida State has not lost by much, by usually one possession.

So this could just as well be a team that is winning more than they are losing, but why do I think that maybe familiarity is the Seminole’s problem? Sometimes you spend too much time playing in front of Florida fans that you forget that you are a target to everybody else. Maybe Florida State is too comfortable at home, and NEEDS to get out of the state and play. Hey, it worked against BYU didn’t it?

And correct me if I am wrong…aren’t they playing AT UNC tonight?

On the other end, UNC has a decent record, but it still isn’t proving a thing. Last year their 8-5 record seemed nice, with wins over Connecticut, Notre Dame and Rutgers. But they were not consistent in their conference, losing games to Maryland, NC State and even Duke…back to back to back!

This year that 4-2 record looks cute, but beating Citadel, ECU and Georgia Southern is hardly impressive at all. They do have a decent win over Connecticut, but the Huskies have been a mid-card team in the Big East (prayers to their lost player).

The schedule gets much tougher for UNC, and they have only beaten Florida State once in their history. With upcoming games vs. Virginia Tech, Miami, Boston College and rival NC State, UNC really, REALLY needs this win to hope for a bowl. If they lose this game to Florida State, they could struggle to get those 6 wins needed to go to a bowl.

This is going to be a hard game to call, because I personally think Florida State is much better than they have shown. Mind you, FSU has played 5 teams that have been, or currently ranked…that is a tough schedule. UNC played only one…and lost. I think Florida State plays better outside of the state, because they don’t have the distractions of the expectations of playing in a historically great program. Perhaps they need this game to get out and, oddly enough, relax.

But UNC has some quality wins with them from last year. At home they did beat Connecticut, Notre Dame, Boston College and Georgia Tech. Something has to give.

I am a UNC fan at heart, but I still think FSU has what it takes to win, and with their backs against the wall, I think they will perform. This may not be the team that crushed BYU, but it won’t be the team that barely beat Jacksonville State…which by the way was another Florida game.

Perhaps FSU ought to consider playing all their games outside the state of Florida… if they win tonight, expect some radical changes in their schedules (smile). I think Florida State wins by 6 points.

New BCS: Iowa and Cincinnati

2009-10-22T09:18:00.001-07:00

New BCS Formula: Iowa and Cincinnati

Now, if you are confused about what I am writing, bounce back to the previous post about the Florida rankings and my new BCS Formula. It will explain a few things for you.

This is simply my attempt to find a different way to determine who the best teams in the FCS are, rather than simply letting media-heads with biased opinions guess on who are the top 25.

To do this, I thought about some of the most basic factors in determining the best teams. I combined them, gave values for each and award such points to every team who accomplishes the factor. I came up with 24 different factors, but they actually can be broken down into 9 different groups.

To demonstrate, I will run two undefeated teams through this formula, using Iowa and Cincinnati:

To start off, I give the most points simply for winning…it is of course the most important factor of getting to the BCS, right?

Factor #1 Winning: I give 20 points for every win a team has. Because Iowa is 7-0, they get 140 points. Because Cincinnati is 6-0, they get 120 points.

Factors 2&3: Where you win is important, and you get points for that. I believe home wins are more important because you must “protect this house” as a commercial once said. I give 7 points for each home win, and 5 points for each road win. Iowa has 4 home wins, which gives them 28 points, while Cincinnati has 2 home wins, for 14 points. For the road games, Iowa has 3 road wins for 15 points, Cincinnati has 4 road wins, for 20 points.

If you are keeping score, that gives Iowa 183 points to Cincinnati’s 154.

Factors 3-5: The type of opponent you beat is important, and can even cost you a few points. I give credit to beating conference opponents, non conference opponents and I also penalize for playing a non-division I team. To me, a great team has to dominate their own conference first, then any wins outside the conference is extra. Beating a team not in the Division I means nothing to a great team.

So under these factors, Iowa gets 21 points for conference wins, 20 points for non-conference wins, but loses 2 points for playing Northern Iowa. That gives them 39 points.

Cincinnati gets 14 points for conference wins, 20 points for non-conference wins, but loses 2 points for playing SE Missouri State. That gives them a total of 32 points.

Score so far, Iowa 222 points, Cincinnati 186.

Factors 7-10: It is also important to beat teams that are ranked, and I used the AP poll as a constant to determine the points awarded. You get more points if you knock off a top 25 team. I give 10 points to any team beating a top 5 squad, 7 points for beating a team 6-10, I give 5 points for beating a team ranked 11-15, and 3 points for any team under that, but still ranked.

This rewards teams that prove that they are indeed one of the best teams in the land, rather than beating cupcakes every Saturday. To date, Iowa has only beaten one team that was ranked, which was #5 Penn State. That gives them 10 points.

Cincinnati has only defeated formerly ranked South Florida, which was #21. For that they get only 3 points.

Total so far, Iowa 232, Cincinnati 189.

Factors 11-13: Strength of opponent: I award points if you beat a team that is currently over .500 or even. I penalize if you beat a team that is under .500. This awards beating teams with winning records, and although a team can’t control the fate of their opponents, it still has to factor in.

Amazingly, 6 of Iowa’s 7 opponents have a winning record, and I give 7 points for each win, for a big 49 points. They lose only 2 points after that because they have one opponent with a losing record at this time, so their total here is 47 points.

Cincinnati has beaten 3 teams with a current winning record, which gives them 21 points. They also have a victory against a team that is even, which gives them 3 more points, but loses 4 points because they beat two teams with losing records. This gives them a sub total of 20 points.

So far, Iowa 279, Cincinnati 209.

Factors 14-16: Style points: I don’t care what anybody says, the way you beat your opponent does say a lot about how good you are. This is not to influence running up the score, but clearly it determines your strength. I give 5 points for every win over 36 points, 3 points for every win over 24 points and 1 point for every win over 16 points. So if a team wins by 30, I slot them in the highest slot possible, which would be the 24+ factor, giving them 3 points. I would not put them in multiple slots, I put them in the highest one they qualify for.

Knowing this, Iowa only gets 3 points because of their win over Iowa State. No other games qualify them since nearly all their games have been close. Cincinnati has one game where they won by over 36 points (+5), one other game where they won by over 24 points (+3) and two games where they won by over 16 (1 pt for each win). That gives Cincinnati a total of 10 points in this set of factors.

Score, Iowa 282, Cincinnati 219

Factors 17-19 Passing credits: I award points if a team is in the top 5, 10 or 20 in passing by either yards or touchdowns. Because teams may use multiple quarterbacks, I use any that are on the top 20. I give 5 points if a team is in the top 5 in yards OR touchdowns. I give 3 points if they are in the top 10, and 1 point if they are on the top 20.

In this case, which does change weekly, Iowa is NOT on the top 20 in either case, but Cincinnati is on the top 5 in touchdowns and top 20 in yards. The Bearcats get 6 points for this, while Iowa gets none.

Iowa still at 282, Cincinnati now has 225.

Factors 20-22 Rushing credits: Just like passing, the points are the same if a team is in the top 5, 10 or 20 for rushing in either yards or touchdowns. But in this case, NEITHER team gets any points since they do not rank in the top 20 in either touchdowns or yards. So the score remains the same.

Factors 23 & 24: Points given up: I award 5 points for every game where the defense allowed UNDER 8 points, and 2 points for every game the defense allowed under 16 points. This acknowledges defensive play, and could rack up some nice numbers.

Under these factors, Iowa had 2 games where they allowed under 16 points, and one game where they allowed under 8 points. They get 2 points for each of those two games, and 5 points for allowing under 8 in a game, for a total of 9 points. Cincinnati is exactly the same, having two games where they allowed under 16, and one game where the defense allowed under 8 points, so they get 9 points as well.

So the grand total, as of this week, Iowa 291, Cincinnati 234.

So where does this put them in the top 5? If we used the same formula for Florida, Boise State, Alabama and Texas, which I did in the previous blog, this is what we have:

1. Alabama 297 points

2. Iowa 291 points

3. Florida 247 points

4. Texas 238 points

5. Cincinnati 234 points

6. Boise State 225 points.

I remind you that Alabama and Iowa have the advantage of playing 7 games, not six, so that explains why they are so far ahead of the others at this point in time. Remember, I award 20 points off the top just for winning, so the 50 point difference between them and the others is partly based on that.

But you can also see where Boise State is, at number 6, based on the current circumstances. I ran TCU under the same formula and they came out with 222 points, just a hair short of Boise State…but remember, this is just for this week, it changes weekly.

So at this moment, Iowa and Alabama are the best teams in the nation, but only because they have one more game under their belts. Considering that you can get a good 40-60 points per win, Texas, Florida and Cincinnati are not that far behind at all.

We will see how it goes.

The NEW BCS: Florida scores

2009-10-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

The NEW BCS: Florida score

In an attempt to make a case about who the REAL best teams in college football are, I came up with a formula that awards points to teams based on 24 different categories. In a foolish attempt to try this out, I decided to see how the top teams would fare in my formula, and where they might land after the first week of the BCS scores have come out.

We start first with the number one team, Florida, and will give points based on the following, and add (or subtract) at the end.

Factor #1 Wins: You get 20 points for every win you have, because this is one of the most significant factors in college football…you must WIN your games. Nobody cares for a team with 2 or 3 losses, we want to see undefeated teams in the BCS Championship (in theory). Florida is 6-0, so that is 6 X 20, or 120 points thus far.

Factor #2 Home wins: I award 7 points for every home win because it seems to be more important to defend your house than to play on the road. These points are added to the current total. Since Florida has 4 home wins, that makes 7 X 4, or 28 points more.

Factor #3 Road wins: I give 5 points for every road game, making it important, but not as important to home wins. Florida gets 2 X 5, or 10 more points added to their score.

That makes a total so far of 158 points.

Factor #4 Conference wins: It is critical for any team to win their conference games, and Florida has won 4 conference games thus far. I award 7 points per conference win, so 7 X 4= 28 more points.

Factor #5 Non Conference wins: I don’t award as many points for this because a non conference win may be against anybody, so I give only 3 points per win. Florida gets 2 X 3 or 6 more points for this factor.

Factor #6 Non FCS win: Here, you actually LOSE points for playing a team that does not factor into a serious championship. You lose 2 points for every “cupcake” you schedule. Florida actually loses 2 points for playing Charleston Southern.

So far the total is 192, but minus those 2 points, they have 190 points.

Factor #7 Wins over top 5 teams: After wins with 20 points each, this is the second most important factor, awarding 10 points for every team you beat that was in the top five at that time. Because Florida did beat LSU when they were #4, they get an additional 10 points.

Factor #8 Win over a team 6-10: Normally I award 7 points, but Florida gets no points at this point in time, having beaten no team ranked 6-10 yet.

Factor #9 Win over a team 11-15: Normally I award 5 points, but Florida does not yet qualify.

Factor #10 Win over a team 16-25. Normally I award 3 points, but Florida does not yet qualify.

So far Florida has 200 points.

Factor #11 Win over a team +.500: I give 7 points for every team that is CURRENTLY over .500. At this moment there are 2 teams over .500 that Florida has defeated, so they get 7 X 2, or 14 points

Factor #12 Wins over a .500 team. 3 points for beating average teams, and Florida has beaten 3 such teams. This means 3 X 3 or 9 more points.

Factor #13 Wins over a -.500 team. You actually lose 2 points for every sub par team you beat. Because this only includes Charleston Southern, they lose only 2 points.

So that brings Florida to 223, minus 2 points, for a total of 221 points.

Factor #14 Wins by +16: I award points for domination, and if a team can win by more than two possessions, they get one point for every win. Each win counts once in the factor, so if a team won by 40 points, they are put in a higher factor. At this point, Florida has beaten no team by 16 plus for the 1 point bonus. They have won by larger margins, so they will be slotted for more points.

Factor #15 Wins by +24 points: I award 3 points for every win over 24 points. The win over Kentucky qualifies, since it is over 24 points. So Florida gets +3 for that win.

Factor #16 Wins by +36 points: I award 5 points for every win of more than 36 points. Florida has 2 games where they won by such a margin, so they get 5 X 2,or 10 more points.

This brings them to a total so far of 234 points.

Factor #17 Top 5 passing: If a team is in the top 5 in EITHER yards or touchdowns, they get 5 more points, for as much as 10 additional points. At this point, Florida does not qualify for any points.

Factor #18 top 10 passing: If a team is in the top 10 in EITHER yards or touchdowns, they get 3 points for each, for as much as 6 additional points. At this point, Florida does not qualify for any points.

Factor #19 Top 20 passing team: If a team is in the top 20 in EITHER yards or touchdowns, they get one point for each, for as much as 2 additional points. At this point, Florida does not qualify for any points.

Factor #20 Top 5 rushing team: If a team is in the top 5 in EITHER yards or touchdowns, they get 5 points for each, for as much as 10 additional points. At this point, Florida does not qualify for any points.

Factor #21 Top 10 rushing team: Same as top 10 passing. Florida qualifies for 3 points.

Factor #22 Top 20 rushing team: Same as top 20 passing. Florida qualifies for no points.

So far, the score remains at 234 points, plus the 3 points from factor #21 for a total of 237 points.

Factor #23 Defense gives up under 16 a game: I award 2 points for every game where the defense gives up UNDER 16 points. Each game qualifies either under factor #23 or factor #24. Florida has one game where the defense gave up 13 points, so they get an additional 2 points for that game.

Factor #24 Defense gives up under 8 a game: I award 5 points for every game where the defense gives up UNDER 8 points. Each game qualifies either under factor #23 or factor #24. Florida has four games that qualify, having their defense allow under 8 per game, so they get 4 X 5, or 20 points.

The overall total would give Florida 247 points.

If I ran the same formula for Texas, I would get 238 points.

Alabama would have 297 points, but remember, they have 7 games, whereas Florida and Texas have 6.

So where would a team like Boise State fit right now?

They would have 225 points.

So if I used my formula, my top four would be Alabama, Florida, Texas and Boise State…but that is only based on this week, and the fact that Alabama has played one more game than the others. One game can get you as much as 70+ points in a win, so it’s not that Alabama is so far ahead of everybody else. And with other undefeated teams like Cincinnati and Iowa, and good 1-loss teams like USC, this isn’t etched in stone.

But what it does, at least for me, is use many points which make up a great team, not just opinions based on what we like or dislike. I realize it may be a little complicated, but next time I will share more teams and how they might fit in my new BCS formula. And because it changes weekly, this is not going to stay the same by any means.

Tune in and we’ll look at a few other teams and see where they REALLY fit in.

Top 10 NFL teams, week 7

2009-10-21T10:45:00.001-07:00

NFL Top 10 teams, week 7

So after 6 games for most of the NFL teams, much has been learned. We have now 4 undefeated teams, two with one loss, and nine with 2 losses. My math tells me that makes 15 teams, meaning I have to trim the fat with 5 teams in order to make my top 10 list.

That meant I had to drop 5 teams with 2 losses, and right off the bat I got rid of the NFC West teams, Arizona and San Francisco. To me, this is a very weak division, and any team with 2 losses out of there is not worth of a top 10 ranking. Yeah, I know the Cardinals got to the Superbowl last year, but a lot of that was built off this weak division.

So without further delay, let’s crank up the NFL top 10 teams, starting with one that missed the cut:

Dallas Cowboys: At 3-2, they are certainly in the mix, but nobody is predicting them to right the ship and have the successful season they thought they would have. It would seem that Emmitt Smith was correct in saying that this team may not win more than 7 games. It seems that “America’s Team” is on pace for that, although mathematically they are on pace for 9 wins….not sure if they can get that though.

#10 Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2): The defending Superbowl champs was not on my list last week, and barely makes it this week because they do have a winning record, and I felt they were better than 5 other 2-loss teams. You still have to give this team a chance, and with four wins they still have a little work to do. Beating the Browns does not make for so much of an argument, but they are one of 3 teams at this moment with a 4-2 record.

#9 Chicago Bears (3-2): Last week this team was #8 on my list, and I didn’t drop them far because they lost to the Atlanta Falcons, which is a pretty decent team. I am not fully convinced that this team can make the playoffs, but we will learn much when they play the Vikings. Between the Bears, Vikings and Packers, this could get interesting as a few losses may be traded around.

#8 Cincinnati Bengals (4-2):Well, back down a bit to reality, with a loss to Houston. Yeah, they fell hard from the second best team in the NFL to the 8th, but that still gets them in the playoffs in my book. The Bengals rode that high of winning for awhile, and I think they are not through yet. But losing to a team they should have beaten, if they are who we think they are, can make a cross check on whether this team is indeed an elite team, or a good team.

#7 New England Patriots (4-2): Are we seeing the beginning signs of a team that is about to go in a southern direction? Is the world coming to an end with the Pats losing two games already? Well, the dismemberment they put on Tennessee in the snow shows that this team is not done yet, and is still strongly in the hunt for the AFC Champs. The Patriots are still a heavy favorite, but after losing many key members, the armor is starting to crack…perhaps one reason they went back to get Junior Seau, who is quite ancient in football terms. Still, this is still an elite AFC squad, whether they have 2 losses or none. It just so happens they have two now… and I am sure it won’t be the last loss this year either.

#6 Atlanta Falcons (4-1): There is much to be said for this team, and with only one loss, to the aforementioned Patriots, this is indeed a quality team. And consider they just beat the Bears, so they are surely a good squad. But the Bears was the first quality opponent they have beaten, so they are as good as their record. But when they meet the Saints…and they will, we will learn how good this 4-1 record is. In fact, they have to play twice, so this will be two very tough games between two teams that seem poised to make a strong run in the NFC.

#5 New York Giants (5-1): To me, this is, right now, the best one loss team in the NFL…but that’s not saying much since there are only 2 teams with one loss. The Giants lost to the Saints bad, which was in fact the first REAL team they played this year. I do think that the Giants are more experienced than the Falcons, but the big loss they suffered made them quite touchable. With division games against the Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins, it is now a question if this team really is as good as we think. Time will tell.

#4 Indianapolis Colts (5-0): For me to put them here says that right now, I think the Colts are the weakest undefeated team in the NFL. I gotta tell you, beating the Jags, Dolphins, Cardinals, Seahawks and Titans cannot make you the best team. Of all those teams, only the Cardinals has a legit shot of even making the top 10. Who, if anybody, can challenge the Colts? Or maybe the other question is, how good are the Colts since they have not played anybody yet? Didn’t we think the same of the Giants until they met with a real team? For me to have them here means I think the Colts could be in the AFC Championship game, but I am not totally sold on it just yet….need to see them win against quality opponents.

#3 Minnesota Vikings (6-0): Well, well, where are all those Brett Farve nay-sayers now? I know it is still early, but I am sure right now the Packers are wondering why they let Farve walk away. Now last week’s game was too close, showing me that the Viking defense can be suspect, and I am not sure if they can continue to win games like that. But with a very experienced quarterback, and a great running back, they are as good as any team in the NFL. Yet right now I think they are the third best team, meaning I could not put them in the Superbowl, because I think there is a better NFC team out there…

#2 New Orleans Saints (5-0): I had the Saints as the third best team in the NFL, but the best NFC team, that has not changed. Beating the Giants the way they did clearly proves that this is a very good team, and seems to be on a mission to bring the Superbowl Trophy to New Orleans…the place of my birth. Of all the teams, I think the Saints have, so far, the toughest schedule, and has sliced through it all. They have yet to play the Falcons, so we will see them face each other twice, and they also play the Patriots this year. Can they continue to go undefeated? Who can say, with such a high maintenance offense? If they stay healthy, I see them winning at least 12 games, maybe more.

#1 Denver Broncos (6-0): With the win over the Chargers, this puts the Broncos miles ahead of everybody else in their division…but who are we kidding? Between the Raiders, Chiefs and now the confusing Chargers, the Broncos may have already locked in their bid to the playoffs. But this team has overachieved like few could believe. Beating the Patriots and Cowboys are indeed quality wins, and the Chargers were average as well. It seems to show that sometimes when an organization flips as much as they have, it is hard to prepare for them. This is a new animal that the rest of the NFL has to solve, and until they do, the Broncos will keep winning…I mean come on, you see them losing to the Chiefs or Raiders? They are almost assured of 3 more wins. But with games ahead vs. the Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Colts, Eagles and a second game vs. the Chargers, this could get interesting.

So there you have it, my 10 best teams in the NFL. That would imply that I think the Broncos will play the Saints in the Superbowl…not necessarily. Let us not forget that the Titans had a perfect record for 13 weeks, and then the bottom fell out. Four undefeated teams remain, and I see none of them going perfect… the 1972 Dolphins might as well crack that champagne now. But there is much parity in the NFL, so any team has a shot…well, other than those that are winless now.

Until next week…

Is being undefeated enough for BCS?

2009-10-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Is being Undefeated enough?

You know, I was watching one of my favorite shows, “Around the Horn”, and there was a discussion with the panel about whether Boise State should be in the BCS Championship if they go undefeated. This on the heels of them barely beating Tulsa a couple of nights ago.

The discussion split the panel, in where two of the guys felt that it should not guarantee them into the BCS, and the other two felt that it should because if a team goes undefeated, they ought to be considered for a National Championship.

Pardon me, but I think the latter half of that is garbage.

The two columnists who think that can’t possibly be using logic. But it brings in the idea that simply winning all your games is enough to validate being one of the best teams in the nation.

Remind me how many games Ball State won last year…didn’t they go 12-0? They won every game in front of them, but let’s be brutally honest, do YOU really think they were a top 3, or top 5, or even top 10 team? Absolutely not.

Columnists Jackie Macmullen and Woody Paige (spelling may need checking), seem to agree that if Boise State goes undefeated, then they ought to have a shot at the BCS Championship. I could not disagree more.

This places a false sense of credibility ONLY on wins. For many people, the idea that wins is the ONLY factor is a major mistake, one that only the foolish would look at. The BCS National Championship is set aside for the BEST two teams in the nation… not the best looking records.

Woody and Jackie need to really study up on that.

You can have a pretty record and still not be in the top 10. Again, I bring to you Ball State, who beat everybody in their way last year, but because they came out of the Mid American Conference, few gave them real credit. In fact the realization of the truth actually had a very damaging effect on this team.

They found out that just because you have a perfect record does NOT guarantee you any conversation with the best in college football. In fact, once they realized the truth, it destroyed their faith in making a BCS, because they ended up not only losing in the conference championship game, not only in their post season bowl, not only their first game this year to a North Texas that was 1-11 this year…

They are currently 0-6.

It is a sad story about how crushing reality is when a team sees that perfection by records does not equate to greatness. To be sure, their record is indeed great, I give them all the credit in the world for finishing perfect in the regular season, but the rest of the nation will not do as much.

Such is the same for Boise State.

What has been proven is that being undefeated is not the only proof of greatness when it comes to a National Championship. Jackie and Woody seem to be totally ignorant on the fact that Boise State does not play a CHAMPIONSHIP level of competition. Because they don’t there is no way you can consider them for a BCS Championship simply based on the record.

Let me give you an example, and see if you agree:

Since Notre Dame is an Independent team, with no affiliations with any conference, they could set up their schedule thusly, with the team and last year’s record:

Army (3-9)
New Mexico State (2-9)
Idaho (2-10)
North Texas (1-11)
Mississippi State (4-8)
Washington State (2-11)
San Diego State (2-11)
Toledo (3-9)
Tulane (2-10)
Syracuse (3-9)
Iowa State (2-10)
Duke (4-8)

Now, what if Notre Dame beats all these teams and goes 12-0?

Would that make them one of the two best teams in the nation? After all, 5 of those wins would be from BCS Conferences, right? They would have beaten a team from every BCS conference except the Big 10.

I challenge you to believe that if a team played that type of schedule, and won every game, that they could possibly be considered a valid BCS contender. This is an argument that takes no account into the strength of schedule. Just winning your games is not enough to say that a perfect team deserves a BCS Title shot. There has to be credible wins to prove that you are indeed one of the best, not just because your record is nice and shiny, but that you BEAT quality opponents.

It’s like boxing, where lots of times you see guys with nice records like 15-0, with 14 knockouts, and you wonder why you never heard of them before. It’s because lots of times boxers like to build up a pretty record to get attention, but when it is time to prove it in the ring, often times they show that the record was based on soft competition.

Boise State does play a decent schedule, but don’t tell me that their perfect record is better than TCU, who has to play multiple ranked teams in a tougher conference than Boise State. Don’t tell me that the Broncos perfect record is better than Cincinnati, who comes out of a BCS conference, and beating multiple ranked teams.

It’s not enough to just win folks, you have to schedule the tough opponents so that your wins are credible. I believe that IF 8 out of the top 10 teams lose another game, and if Boise State continues to win, then they should get strong consideration for a BCS, but even then it’s not a lock. Do I believe they would be better than a Florida with one loss, or Alabama, or Texas (if they all lose during the season)?

Not at all.

Boise State is still in the mix, let’s not forget that, but as it stands now, their perfect record does not have a lot of strong competition, other than Oregon. That is a great win for the school, no doubt…but one good win does not make you great. And although they did beat Oklahoma…how long ago was that?

If you wanted to show that you were a true power, why didn’t they try to schedule Oklahoma during the regular season…I am sure the Sooners would have loved to have some “get back”. Or how about TCU, since they lost to them last year? There clearly have been opportunities for Boise State to step up and schedule tougher foes, but they have not. Until they do, they cannot be considered an “A” list team until they start beating them more regularly. Not once a year…but a few times a year.

So Boise State might go undefeated, and people will try to pull for the underdog…but remember why they are considered an underdog…it’s because they have not yet proven to be a BIG dog.

Cincinnati in the BCS?

2009-10-16T08:57:00.001-07:00

Cincinnati in the BCS?

I didn’t get a chance to blog before the Cincinnati/South Florida game, I wanted to but some things came up. But last night the Bearcats doubled up South Florida 34-17, although it may have cost them their NFL prospect quarterback. (well wishes Pike, get well soon).

But now with them winning, we have an interesting question. ESPN talked about this last night, and the question now is; can Cincinnati qualify and get a BCS Title game?

Actually I think the question is wrong, because that is not the real issue. I mean, right now there are still over 20 teams that have a shot at the title, maybe more. The question is just too vague, because anything can happen from week to week. Although not too likely, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Florida, Alabama, Texas, Boise State, USC, Penn State and Iowa can lose two games.

I didn’t say likely, I said possibly.

I mean, with 6-7 games left for most of these teams, even DUKE has a shot…ugh.

So the question of whether Cincinnati can qualify is a foolish one, because the answer is ABSOLUTELY.

We have to refine that question to something more logical. How about this; what are the chances of Cincinnati becoming one of the two best teams in the nation by the end of the year?

See, if they are one of the two best, then we know they should be considered for a National Championship. So let’s explore this on a few issues: first, the Big East Conference, second, Cincinnati’s schedule, and third, whether they could be considered better than other undefeated teams, or one loss teams.

First, we have to address the Big East. The last couple of years they have been in the dumps, considered by many as a worthless conference (but don’t say that in basketball). I personally felt the Mountain West, with Utah, BYU and TCU was a better football conference than the Big East.

But this is a quality conference, yet the voters showed no respect to any team in the Big East at the beginning of the year. Not one team was in the top 25 at the beginning of the year. I wondered about this because Cincinnati won 11 games last year. How can you deny a team with 11 wins on the top 25, when you got teams like Notre Dame that clearly underachieved, but still made the top 25?

Go figure.

The second argument is Cincinnati themselves. Yes they went 11-3 last year, but those three losses were to Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Connecticut. The first two I can understand, but the jury is still out on UCONN.

But sweeping the other foes has to count for something. Right now Cincinnati is ranked #8 and is 6-0. If any upsets happen over the weekend, they can easily slide into the top 5. To this date they have only beaten one ranked foe, but they beat Fresno State, who Boise State also beat, and they also beat a Pac-10 foe in Oregon State. These are quality wins, if you put them side by side with a team like Boise State.

And with games against West Virginia and Pittsburgh, this could be some valid games to add on. It is quite possible for the Bearcats to run the table…if healthy.

But the main argument here is whether this team is better than any other undefeated team, or any 1 loss teams out there. Do I believe the Bearcats are better than Florida? No. Do I believe they are better than Texas? No. Do I believe they are better than Alabama…not really.

That alone means they are not, at this point, worthy of a BCS Championship shot, even if they go undefeated. Now, I think that they MIGHT be better than Boise State, and in fact if both go undefeated, the Bearcats will get the greater nod than the Broncos.

So what about 1 loss teams? Is Cincinnati better than Virginia Tech…well, they lost to them last year, didn’t they? Do I think they are better than USC…nope. Do I think they are better than Ohio State…no. Do I think they are better than Miami…hmm, interesting.

But this still keeps them out of the top 5 because right now, they are just not THAT team, no more than Boise State, and right now Boise State rests on the win over Oregon, which if I am correct was ranked #20 when they played. Cincinnati beat South Florida last night, who was ranked #21...so by the slimmest of margins, right now, Boise State is better.

So right now, we can’t say that Cincinnati is good enough to contend for the BCS, they would have to slide into it by fault of other teams. If they are the only undefeated team in the nation by the end of the season, it would immediately eliminate Boise State. If everybody in the top 10 lost one more except Cincinnati, it would eliminate USC, Ohio State, Boise State, Virginia Tech, Miami and LSU.

That would leave 4 teams to fight for it…Florida, Alabama, Texas and Cincinnati. So ask yourself this, if Florida, Alabama and Texas each had one loss, and Cincinnati had none, would you consider Cincinnati for a BCS title?

Would a perfect Bearcats team REALLY be better than the Gators, Crimson Tide or Longhorns?

NFL Top 10, after 5 (2009)

2009-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

NFL Top 10, after 5

Had to do some changes here because of some great NFL games over the weekend.

I will jump right into this, since I took sometime to look at these teams. To make the top 10, I had to look at the 5 undefeated teams, the 4 teams with one loss, and also I had to look at 9 teams with 2 losses. Anywhere from 5-0 to 2-2 could have made my top 10 list. But after much debate and a few cups of coffee…and a DELICIOUS honey bun, here are my top 10 teams…

But wait! Before I begin, let me share with you one team that didn’t make the cut:

Philadelphia Eagles: Technically speaking, as a 3-1 team they should have been on the top 10, but I can’t put them there yet. They are just outside, looking in. Yes, the record is nice, but beating the Panthers, Chiefs and Buccaneers does not show a power in the NFC. Losing to the Saints is nothing to be ashamed of, but one wonders if this team is really healthy.

Now, let’s countdown the top 10:

#10 Baltimore Ravens: Oh what could have been if they had beaten the Patriots awhile back. At 3-2, I still think this is a very strong team, with a key win over the Chargers. Their losses come to the Patriots and the Bengals, both of which they were in. A few calls here or there and these same Ravens could be 4-1, maybe even 5-0, but there is much more games to play for these guys.

#9 New England Patriots: Is the king dead? Two losses in one year with Tom Brady? I still have this team in the top ten because they beat both the Ravens and the Falcons, two good squads. Losing to the Broncos may be the changing of the guard, but nobody has really man-handled the Pats yet. Still many more games to go, and experience is on their side.

#8 Chicago Bears: I rank this 3-1 team pretty low because their wins over the Steelers may SOUND good, but Pittsburgh seems to be struggling. Also, beating the Seahawks and Lions does not make front line news. Losing to the so-and-so Packers isn’t that great either. Beat the Vikings and then we are talking….

#7 Atlanta Falcons: I put the Falcons ahead of the Bears, even though both are 3-1 for a couple of reasons. Their loss to the Patriots is more credible than the Bear’s loss. And the Falcons beat the 49ers, a decent team, and the Dolphins, who are not so bad as some think. They have yet to play the Saints, and must see them twice. We will know much more about the Falcons then.

#6 Indianapolis Colts: Yeah, I know they are 5-0 and everybody is talking about how great Manning is, and I agree…but have you seen their opponents? The Colts beat the Jaguars, the Dolphins, the Cardinals, Seahawks and Titans…how many of these teams have a winning record? At this point, NONE. We have not seen the Colts truly tested, and until we do, I can’t put them any higher unless other circumstances change. A good team, yes, and by my list the THIRD best team in the AFC.

#5 New York Giants: Yes, another 5-0 team ranked lower than many thought. Last week I had them #1, but when you look at the body of work, and with Manning slightly injured, this could be a problem. Their wins are over the very troubled Redskins, the confusing Cowboys, the hapless Buccaneers, the lowly Chiefs and the “what the heck” Raiders…hardly a strong case for to be the best team in the NFL.

#4 Minnesota Vikings: Last week I had them #6, but the last three weeks they have beaten teams that are at least .500. This includes the Cardinals, Packers and 49ers. Minnesota is playing a tougher competition (though not by too much) than the Giants and the Colts. We know this will play itself out, but right now, I think Brett Farve and AP are worth the top 4 ranking.

#3 New Orleans Saints. I dropped the Saints one spot from last week simply because they are 4-0, not 5-0 like other teams. But I also dropped them one spot becaue their wins over the Lions and Bills don’t seem like so much, and the Eagles are not on my top 10 list. So their only big win was over the Jets, but they didn’t make my list this week either. Still I have them, as of now, as the best NFC team…Superbowl bound?

#2 Cincinnati Bengals: This 3-1 team is playing better than most 4-0 or 5-0 teams, and the wins prove it. I vault them up from #9 to number 2 because their body of work is impressive. They beat the Packers, who are at .500, they beat the defending Superbowl champs in the Steelers, they beat their rival the Browns (ok, not the hardest thing to do) and they beat the Ravens, who I have as #10 on my list. Their only loss comes to the….

#1 Denver Broncos: At 5-0, who would have thought that? I had the Broncos at #3 last week, even then believing they were the best AFC team, now they may well be the best team period. They beat the Bengals and the Patriots, two very quality wins. And let’s face it folks, with the Raiders and the Chiefs in the division, they seemed to be assured of at least 4 more wins. But the Chargers could make it interesting. Still, right now, who can deny the Broncos?

So that’s my list right now, always subject to change as the weeks go on. Now let’s have some fun this weekend with more football!!!!

Does Southern Cal have a shot at the BCS?

2009-10-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

Can USC get to the BCS Title?

Quick Answer: Sure, they are within shot.

But it becomes slightly more complicated, and it begins with this weekend’s game vs. Notre Dame.

Southern Cal has this thing about losing one game and then getting all fired up for the rest of the year…that has already happened with the loss to Washington. Now with Southern Cal bounced out of the realm of the undefeated, they must claw their way back into the BCS Championship picture, and to be sure, there is time.

But there are several teams that stand in their way. They need only get to either #2, or of course, #1, to grab a part of that BCS shot. Here is the Rogue’s Gallery of foes that USC must overcome in order to get to the BCS Championship:

#25 Notre Dame: I guess whining has its purpose, since Charlie Weiss cried about why the Fighting Irish was not in the top 25...now they are. For USC to make a run, it begins with a road game vs. Notre Dame, and there are some who think it is possible for the Trojans to lose. They are weakest on the road, and this is not the dominant team some thought it was…after all they lost to Washington on the road. Simply put, a second loss destroys any chances to the BCS title game, so this weekend means everything.

Oregon State: Remember these guys…they beat USC last year. But now the Beavers come to visit, and USC needs redemption from that most embarrassing loss. USC tends to play well at home, but OSU has a winning record. The Pac 10 might be very tough to deal with, including their own members. USC can’t have a hangover from this weekend, win or lose to Notre Dame, because the competition rises after that.

#13 Oregon: A road game vs. a top 15 team will be a real test for USC to get back in the mix. If by this time they still have one loss, the wins over ND and OSU will have then inside the top 5. A win here will lock it down as an easy top 5 team, maybe even top 4.

Arizona State: Again, USC is touchable when they get on the road, as if they play down to the level of their competition. ASU is at this moment 3-2, so this is not a cupcake game. It will be interesting to see how this team will keep the intensity after playing three straight major games to them.

Stanford: Technically on the standings they are better than Southern Cal, but that is a technicality. Still, this is a game the Trojans cannot ignore, especially when you are talking about in state rivalries. In fact, by this time USC will be home the rest of the season, with their remaining games being either a home game, or against a team from California.

#5 Boise State: No, the Trojans don’t play them but they still factor into USC’s goal of getting to that title game. If USC continues to win, the strength of schedule will easily overtake Boise State. If Boise State loses even one game, their dreams will be dashed. But if USC can win the remaining games in a tougher conference, they will surely jump over Boise State.

#4 Virginia Tech: This will be another obstacle that USC cannot control. Some say that Virginia Tech might be able to run the tables and lock a BCS Title game. Both teams have one loss, and few will argue that the ACC is just as competitive as the Pac-10. If things stay the way they are, USC will have to go to style points to get some support. Beating their Pac-10 foes by 20 or more will impress the voters to think that if it came down to Virginia Tech and USC, then the Trojans might be slightly better. And with VA Tech’s schedule getting slightly easier, this may be the MO for USC.

#3 Texas: There are probably a ton of Southern Cal fans rooting for Oklahoma this weekend, because a loss to Texas will give USC some hope. If Texas runs the table, an undefeated Longhorns team will have an absolute shot in the Title game…no doubt about it. The Big 12 isn’t as powerful as it was last year, but no one will argue that an undefeated Texas squad is better than a 1 loss USC team. For any hope, USC has to hope that Texas loses at least one game…preferably this weekend.

EITHER #2 Alabama or #1 Florida: This problem will solve itself because these two teams must play each other sometime if they remain undefeated. Although they are not on the regular season schedule, they can meet in the SEC Championship game. USC needs either of these teams to lose to have a shot. They stand a great chance of jumping over the loser of that game than most other circumstances.

So, does USC have a shot…sure they do. It begins now, in winning a road game vs. a top 25 team, but continues in facing several strong opponents in their conference, but it also requires some favor in higher ranking teams losing. If USC does their part, we know they will jump over Boise State…maybe, MAYBE, even Virginia Tech. But to jump into the top 2, they need Texas to lose a game…with Texas playing Oklahoma, and USC playing Notre Dame…lots of things can happen. We shall see.

Is Boise State worth a top 5 ranking?

2009-10-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Where should Boise State REALLY be ranked?

Is this REALLY the 5th best team in the nation?

And that’s what the top 25 is supposed to do, indicate the top teams, IN ORDER. That means whoever is the #1 team (in this case Florida at the moment) means they are the BEST team in the nation. There is debate about whether Texas or Alabama are the second best, and it dips a bit from there.

Last night on ESPN Boise State beat Tulsa 28-21. So the debate begins, is this really a top 5 team?

To me, to be a great team you have to have a schedule that indicates that you beat some quality teams. And lately many average non-BCS schools have been scheduling cupcakes out of the BCS conferences so they can say they “beat” teams out of the BCS conferences.

Folks, just because you beat Vanderbilt out of the SEC does not mean you get much more credibility for beating a BCS conference team. Just because you beat Duke from the ACC does not give you credibility for beating a BCS conference team. Now, you beat Virginia tech or LSU, THEN we are talking.

The heavy criticism on Boise State is that they shy away from doing what Fresno State commonly does…schedule anybody, anywhere at anytime. Last year the only real games on Boise State’s schedule was Oregon and Southern Miss, and to their credit they won both. But a perfect record out of the weak WAC does not make them a top 5 contender.

The same applies this year. Boise State, to their great credit, did beat Oregon…on their smurf turf, so that indeed is a quality win. Ok, fine…what have you done lately? The game last night was against a Tulsa team that is one of the best of the Conference USA, but Tulsa is still an average team. And does it look like they are pretty touchable this year? Lots of close games, even against average and below average opponents.

If you ask me if Boise State is better than USC, that answer is NO. If you asked me if they were better than Ohio State, I say NO. And the same if paired against Penn State, LSU, Iowa and Virginia Tech. Boise State does not play big time games week in and week out, but only schedule one big game a year. I mean, let’s be honest, they didn’t HAVE to schedule UC Davis or Miami Ohio, did they? The WAC conference schedule is weak enough, you didn’t bolster the schedule by putting them on.

Granted, the win over Oregon looks great now, but look at what happened after that game: Boise State goes on to play a sub par schedule, although still winning. Oregon goes on and knocks off top 20 Utah, and top 6 California…back to back.

To me, Oregon is the better team, at this point than Boise State. Why? Because the level of competition is far greater on Oregon’s side than Boise State. Yeah, I know Boise State beat Oregon, at home, but Oregon beat two ranked teams…at home.

I just can’t see Boise State as a top 5 team, they have not beaten enough teams to earn such a high mark. Top 10, maybe. There is no more quality games on their schedule, so the only way they are going to get respect is if more teams lose to give the Broncos some level of security. There are many one-loss teams that are better than Boise State, there might be a couple of 2 loss teams that can match up with Boise State.

But you can’t blame Boise State players…blame the AD. If you REALLY want to start an argument about Boise State and the BCS, schedule tougher teams. Drop UC Davis and pop in Missouri. Change Miami Oh for Wisconsin. Exchange Tulsa for Arkansas. These may not be the cream of the crop for their conferences, but they are no easy wins either. You do that, and sweep, then nobody can argue that Boise State deserves strong consideration for a BCS if they go perfect.

Or at least force more conversations for a playoff… which I am not in favor of.

How good is Alabama football?

2009-10-15T08:31:00.001-07:00

How good is Alabama?

Let’s take a hard look at the Alabama Crimson Tide, and see the greatness of the team…or how they might be a little over rated.

This is not made in cruel jest to the fans of Alabama, but let’s face it, to be a GREAT team, there has to be some strong indicators of it, and the signs of a great team are not just in wins, but WHO you beat, WHERE you beat them, and how much.

Last night, during the Boise State/Tulsa game, Lou Holtz (of whom I am NOT a fan of) said that style points didn’t matter when you are trying to prove to the nation how good you are…

That is spaghetti hogwash!

The power of a team is strongly based on who you beat and by how much. So I use that formula to examine whether Alabama is worthy of the #3 ranking that much of the pollsters feel they belong.

We start from last year, because it is how they vaulted so high at the beginning of this year.

Last year Alabama finished 12-2, one of the better teams of the nation. I mean, surely if you come out of the SEC with such a record, and only lose two games that year, it means you are poised for a real shot at the National Championship, right?

Alabama went 12-0 at one point, until it came to playing Florida in the SEC Championship, and lost that by 11. They went to a bowl and lost to Utah by 14. The Crimson Tide lost to two “better than average” teams. So am I implying that all they beat were “average” teams last year? Let’s examine:

Factor out the cupcakes like Western Kentucky and Arkansas State and we’ll start with the 10 teams they played. They beat Clemson first, and remember this was a team ranked as one of the top 10, maybe top 5 in the nation…how did that work out? Finished a dismal 7-6.

Then there was Tulane…finished 2-10. But by then the nation thought that Alabama was immediately a top 5 team because they dismantled Clemson, who clearly was not who anybody thought they were.

So now we get into the SEC schedule. Home game wins over Kentucky, Mississippi, Mississippi State and Auburn. The latter two teams didn’t even qualify for a bowl, Kentucky goes 7-6 and Mississippi turns out to be a decent team, so credit to Alabama for winning that game. The Kentucky and MSU games turn out to be closer than the other home games.

The road games included Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and LSU. Arkansas and Tennessee don’t win enough to qualify for a bowl, but Georgia has a 10 win season, and LSU has a good 8 win season. The Georgia win on the road may well have been Alabama’s best win of the year.

If you melt down the games and pick out the defining games, it would have to be the road wins over Georgia and LSU. This indeed validates Alabama as a good team…but a top 10 team? I think so. Top 5? I am not too certain.

Now fast forward to this year, 2009.

Currently 6-0, let’s go ahead and factor out Florida International and North Texas. These are cupcake games that do not factor in the greatness of a team should they win, but cripple a season when they lose. Simply put, Alabama was supposed to win those anyway.

But what of Virginia Tech? Now THAT is a credible win. Virginia Tech has only lost one game so far this year…to this very same Alabama squad. Some might question the strength of the ACC, but to me, this is a very valid win for Alabama.

So now we look at their other wins, home at Arkansas, and on the road at Kentucky and then ranked #20 Mississippi. This Arkansas team might be pretty decent, after knocking off ranked Auburn, but is this an over rated team? Still many more games to go, and Arkansas has historically been a mid-card team.

Kentucky has lost 3 straight, after barely beating Louisville in the second game…looks like a basement team for the SEC. Mississippi was once a top 5 team but we all found out that this was mirror magic. As Dennis Green once said of the Chicago Bears, “they are who we THOUGHT they were!”

So right now, Alabama has a good win over Virginia Tech, and the jury is still out on Arkansas. That is the length of their greatness…does THAT warrant a top 3 ranking?

I gotta tell ya, I am not fully convinced about a top 3 ranking, especially since many teams got political slides based on other teams losing. You tell me how Mississippi can jump up to #4 because better teams lost big time games. Many teams got that advantage this year, only to prove that they weren’t worth the high ranking. Is Alabama the same way? Remember folks, this was a team that went 12-0 over an average schedule, or slightly better than average, before losing to Florida and Utah, back to back.

Top 10? Definitely! Top 5? No probs with that. Top 3? Not too sure. Not yet.

ACC Football Soap Opera

2009-10-10T08:54:00.001-07:00

ACC Football Soap Opera

The fates of four teams will be seriously forged today as there are two big matchups in the ACC… and I ain’t talking about Duke vs. NC State!

Boston College, a team snubbed my many, plays Virginia Tech, a strong team in the top 10 trying to solidify itself for a major bowl bid. Georgia Tech, barely clinging on the top 25 list, travels to play Florida State, who has inherited a whirlwind of criticism from jokers who know nothing about football.

Three of these teams are currently 4-1, and one of these teams ran out BYU out of their own house. Collectively these teams last year were 37-17, which averages out to about a strong 9-4 record. This year their records combined are 14-6. Yet after you get through those numbers, you see there is some SERIOUS stories that these teams must address.

The cover over this is that the ACC has been criticized for being weak, second only to the Big East. Some idiots believe a team like Boise State can join the ACC and mop them all up…

Yeah, you TRY that and see how fast your fame goes out the window….

But the truth is that the ACC has not been in the top 10 at the end of the year, and it is imperative that somebody from the conference takes that step. Last year we thought Clemson would be that team until they went belly up. This year the thought was that Virginia Tech would be that team, until they lost to Alabama. Then comes Miami, with the promise of bringing the “U” back, but lost to Virginia Tech. And then Florida State whips up on BYU, only to have a crushing defeat afterwards and to fall 2-3.

Each of these four teams playing today has much to prove, at the expense of another team.

Boston College is 4-1, but losing big to Clemson hurt them. Beating Northeastern and Kent State means nothing, so their only credible wins are against Wake Forest and Florida State. But they sit at the top of the division and thus needs this win on the road at Virginia Tech to get on the top 25 poll and make some noise for a possible BCS game.

But Virginia Tech is still stinging from the early season loss to Alabama. Still, with wins over Nebraska and Miami, they are clearly a strong team, perhaps THE team, to beat. It is quite possible that the ACC is hinging their reputation on this team to run the tables and take a stab at the National Title…it would bring great honor to the conference.

Meanwhile Georgia Tech sits on the top 25 but some are wondering how long this triple option thing is gonna work. Are teams getting hip to it? Sure they are 4-1 but those wins come against Jacksonville State, which was simplicity in the making. They beat Clemson but I saw that game and they very nearly lost that because the triple option gave out of gas. And beating UNC is beating a mid-card team. And Mississippi State…well, they are like the Duke of the SEC. In short, these are not that impressive. Is Georgia Tech a good team, sure, but how long before the rest of the conference understands the option and begins to counter? Some think that time is now.

And one of those teams that has to think in the now is Florida State, who has come across very heavy criticism from the trustees. To me this is foolish for some jerk who thinks Bobby Bowden ought to step down…some gratitude for ya. A few years ago the media on ESPN and everywhere else was trying to kick Joe Paterno out of Penn State…idiots. Let the man coach as long as he wants…he BUILT that team. Same as Bowden. But it is imperative that they start winning, the problem is they don’t seem to play so well in their home state. Three of their 4 losses last year was in the state of Florida. Two of their 3 losses this year was in the state of Florida…and they got a home game today. If there is any chance of salvaging a decent season, it has to be now. Mind you, they lost 4 games last year, which most teams will take in a heartbeat. If they can get past Georgia Tech, I can still see FSU winning at least 8 games, and if they get on a good roll, that final game vs. Florida will be a classic.

These four ACC teams have much to prove, and they can’t wait for another loss to begin the road upward…it begins now, and a loss will be devastating to any of these teams. A loss to Boston College closes them out of the top 25 for the next few weeks, a loss to Virginia Tech cuts the ACC down as a real contender. A loss to Georgia Tech might spell the mysteries defined of the triple option, and a loss for Florida State could speed up the growing poison of forcing a great legend from his team.

We shall learn more today as these games are played out…

Wisconsin vs Ohio State

2009-10-10T08:53:00.001-07:00

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

Hmm, let’s jump into this with two questions: who will win, and why is Wisconsin, with a perfect record, not ranked?

Let’s start there first.

The Badgers were 7-6 last year, in a most disappointing season which had a 4 game losing streak in the middle of that year. Much was expected of this team, and little returned. But why no love for the Badgers?

Ok, they beat Northern Illinois 28-20, ok I get it, a little too close but a win is a win, right?

They beat Fresno State in overtime 34-31 at home… not bad, I mean, Fresno is a quality team, but still, an overtime win is kinda close.

Beating Wofford 44-14? Now that’s just wrong!

But beating Michigan State at home 38-30 is better…still close for comfort.

And beating Minnesota on the road 31-28 is still close, but again, a win is a win.

These are some wins that many would wonder about, and considering that Minnesota is their best win so far, I can see why the jury is still out on the Badgers. But five wins is still a heck of a lot, I think they deserved to get on the top 25 because those are decent wins…except that Wofford one.

(oh, and just to throw this in, Wisconsin lost 4 games on the road…)

So now we have Ohio State, ranked in the top 10, with that embarrassing loss to USC, one I really thought they could win. They were scared at the beginning of the season to Navy, but since those first two games, have taken charge. Shutting out Toledo and Illinois, the defense of the Buckeyes are proving that they are taking no prisoners. And a 33-14 win over Indiana on the road helps their conference record…

(on a side note, why don’t the Big 10 add one more team and create a conference championship…)

Do I think Ohio State can lose… sure. This Wisconsin team is clearly better than last year, but I don’t see them going undefeated…that mantle rested with Penn State and they dropped it. Ohio State has far more to gain with a win, even though a possible 6-0 Wisconsin team will vault them in the standings. And remember, Ohio State beat them last year only by 3 points…but it was a road game for the Buckeyes. OSU by 8.

Alabama vs Mississippi

2009-10-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Alabama vs. Mississippi

Now that we have seen that Ole Miss isn’t that top 5 team some thought they were, now it is time for them to show that they are at least a top 25 team.

And on the other end, this is Alabama’s golden chance to make a serious statement in the SEC and in the nation.

I’ll be honest, I am not totally sold on Alabama, even though they were 12-2 last year. The Crimson Tide beat a Clemson team that had nothing in them last year, and the only legit wins for the Tide was beating Ole Miss by 4 at home, and LSU on the road by 6. I gotta be honest, I am not too impressed by the record last year, and it showed when they played Florida and lost…then played Utah…and lost.

But beating Virginia Tech is impressive, considering what the Hokies have done so far this year, so I cannot argue on that. And beating Arkansas and Kentucky do count for conference wins, but are they a true top 5 team…I am not too sure about that. While the SEC was one of the two best conferences last year, there were a heck of a lot of teams that submerged rather than rose to the surface. Alabama could have possibly taken advantage of being at the right place, at the right time.

But the same can be said for Mississippi. Sure they were 9-4 last year, but they did lose to Vandy, South Carolina and Alabama…oh they also lost to Wake Forest too. Much of their fanfare was based on the fact that they did beat Florida, and also beat a good Texas Tech team last year…but all hopes of an undefeated season ended early when South Carolina punched them in the guts this year, kicking them off the top 10 polls. Now hanging on at #20, they need this win to prove that last year was no fluke.

If Miss can beat Florida, on the road, then why can’t they beat Alabama…at home? This could very possibly be a game that Ole Miss can win, and the victory at home will have the entire state of Mississippi rejoicing. But can they do it?

I have no qualms believing ole Miss is a top 25 team, considering who they beat last year and who they have beaten this year, I see them about right where they should be, about #20 if not a spot or two lower. But a win here validates any moves up, and considering how tough the SEC is this year, that says a heck of a lot.

But do I believe Alabama is a top 5 team? Do I believe they can beat USC, or Penn State, or teams like that? Well, they did beat Virginia Tech, so there is great credibility, but I think they have what it takes to beat Mississippi. Remember, they won by 4 points last year at home, how will the Tide do on the road? Mississippi has lost a few at home, so it’s not like a clear cut home field advantage, but I will nod ever so slightly to the Rebels for some advantage.

But I still pick Alabama to win, by 5 points…yeah I said FIVE!

Colorado vs Texas

2009-10-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

Colorado vs. #2 Texas

Now is the time to put up or shut up…for the Buffaloes.

I have blogged a few times this year and last year about how I personally felt that the Colorado Buffaloes have seriously underachieved mainly because the team seems to have been built around one person…the coach’s son, who just happens to be the starting quarterback.

Say what you want about Cody Hawkins’ numbers, the fact remains that this team has done very poorly ever since his dad, Dan Hawkins, got the job. I am all for a father looking out for his son, but when it comes at an expense to an entire university, screw that.

I used to be a big fan of Colorado during the Kordell Stewart days, but the changes the university has gone through leave little impression with me. Sometimes a school makes a “righteous” move in coach changes, but the act was less than righteous. So here is Dan Hawkins, a successful coach from Boise State who comes in with the family oriented style of play. But the wins has been as dysfunctional as “The Simpsons”…

(or “Family Guy” if you watch that too)

So here comes Colorado, to visit Texas today, they bring in their 1-3 record, with their only win at home vs. Wyoming. Losses to Toledo, Colorado State and West Virginia have the Buffaloes on the ropes, looking at perhaps another dismal season…which could seriously threaten the head coach’s job…and maybe his son’s position.

Now, I don’t want Colorado fans to think that I am “hating” on Cody Hawkins, that is not true, he is a decent QB, but is that because Dan Hawkins focused all his resources to MAKE him look decent? I mean, he averages about 3-4 wins a YEAR, that does not cut it in a BCS conference.

With 8 games remaining on the schedule for Colorado, they need 5 more wins quick, fast and in a hurry. After Texas they get #16 Kansas at home, #24 Missouri at home (although no longer ranked because of that loss to Nebraska), and they also have Oklahoma State on the road and Nebraska at home…those two teams are ranked too.

Nobody is expecting Colorado to win, but let’s look at Texas anyway…

Texas is #2 in the land, and will have an eye on that Florida/LSU matchup as well as that Alabama/Mississippi game, but they need to focus on crushing Colorado. Their previous games have been expected wins, but nothing stands out to show that this team is for real…I mean, for REALLY real. I have no qualms of them being #2 because they are that good, it’s just that we have not seen them in a big time game yet. They did beat Texas Tech 34-24, so there is some flair there, but they can’t overlook Colorado. I think Texas needs to send a message that they deserve to be either #2, or possibly #1 if they can beat Colorado by more than 21 points. If they do that, the voters might have to reconsider who they think is the best in the land.

Texas as a huge factor going for it…their starting quarterback is not injured as bad as Florida and Oklahoma. Sometimes the best team is the healthiest, and this is a game Texas needs to win big, but stay healthy.

So there is no question, I have Texas winning this by 17 points, but they need a big beat down to impress voters to possibly push them to #1.

Duke vs NC State college football

2009-10-10T07:33:00.001-07:00

Duke vs. NC State

How DARE you make me watch Duke play football!

Oh well, football is football….might as well take a look at this one.

Being in the middle of ACC country, this game will be on I think ESPNU, because it certainly isn’t a top level game. But even in games like this, there is a lot at stake. Without a whole lot of fanfare, let’s take a quick look at this game and see who had the advantage:

Both teams sit next to last in the standings of their division, but that could be misleading since conference games are really just getting started. NC State actually has a winning record at 3-2 after having a very rough 6-7 season last year. This year they start off paying tribute to baseball by losing to South Carolina 7-3 in a low scoring evening.

Cheap home wins over Murray State and Gardner-Webb bumped them to 2-1 and made it look like they are a rocket in scoring, having outscored their opponents 110-21. And to beat Pittsburgh the next week, at home, was a strong indicator of how good this team could be, but winning 38-31 might have shown some weakness….is there any defense?

But the first road game of the Wolfpack proved to be fatal, losing to Wake Forest in a road game that actually was more like an hour drive or so. Outside of Raleigh, the Wolfpack seem to be powerless…so far. And today they stay home as the Blue Devils come to visit.

For Duke, their 2-3 record has been mentioned by a few people to be pretty good, that this team is a quality team….

Ok…wait a minute…Duke…Football…GOOD? Hulk not understand.

This was a team that lost to Richmond at the beginning of the year 24-16...this is a GOOD team? They did manage to rebound by beating Army 35-19, then got drilled by #22 Kansas 44-16 in a game more people would have watched if it was basketball than football.

And then there’s that “Gridiron Classic” that they shoved down our throats, when they played NC Central…come on folks, there was nothing classic in that game! But Duke wins, beating a historic black college football team 49-14.

But they did come close to beating #6 Virginia Tech, 34-26, so maybe there is hope. But I can’t buy into a 4-8 team from last year being “good” this year. You have to prove it with wins, not promises.

Duke had two valid wins last year, at home vs. Navy and on the road vs. Vanderbilt. Now neither of those two were top 15 caliber, but it is far better than beating some Division IAA school.

So who has the advantage? It is incredibly important for NC State to win their home games, because they have Boston College, Florida State and Virginia Tech on the road…could easily be 3 losses, especially since 4 of their 7 losses last year was on the road. Beating Duke would propel them in their standings for a minute.

Duke needs this win like I need a cold glass of Coca-Cola and a bag of hot chips while I watch today’s football games (yeah I know Pepsi is more of a southern drink, but screw that, I like Coca-Cola!)

But all the talk about winning means nothing if you can’t do it. Is Duke as good as they say? My only evidence to it is that they beat Army and NC Central…hardly a recommendation for a good team. But because State isn’t scaring anybody, this could possibly be a decent game. I might watch, depending on the other 4pm games, but I expect the home town to win…even though Durham and Raleigh are like 3 feet from one another.

NC State wins by 12.

Florida Gators vs LSU Tigers

2009-10-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Florida vs. LSU

This is a huge matchup where win or lose, Texas is sitting back and smiling. To Texas, they probably feel that if they can just let the SEC beat each other up, they will assure themselves of at the very least, a #2 spot on the polls. If LSU beats Florida, the Texas (assuming they win today as well) becomes the clear #1 team in the land. If not, they still hold on to #2.

Last year this contest might not have been so academic, but this year is different. With LSU now #4 in the polls, and with Florida, currently #1 but with some quarterback issues, AND playing at LSU, this can be a game that could knock Florida from the ranks of the undefeated.

Who has the advantage?

Florida comes in the defending National Champs, and to date is undefeated. The last time they lost was to Mississippi, and haven’t lost since. In fact their closest game was the National Championship game to Oklahoma, where they won by 7 points.

This year they had 3 home games, including the win over Tennessee, and their last game was a big time win over Kentucky on the road, but it may have cost them dearly, with starting quarterback Tim Tebow getting a concussion. Fortunately they had a bye week and had some time to get ready, but was it enough time? Some question whether Tebow should play, some say to lean to caution, but some insinuate that they will get him to play because it is a big time game.

The question they all have is whether their star player can play.

On the other side, LSU has risen in the ranks mainly because there had been so many upsets this year already. Remember, LSU was 8-5 last year, and one of those loses was on the road at Florida by 30. They also lost big to Georgia at home, then to Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas…that’s 5 conference loses, and three of those were AT home.

To date, LSU beat Washington on the road 31-23, then beat Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Layfayette. They beat Mississippi State on the road by only 4, and then there’s that controversial (as utterly STUPID) call by the refs during the Georgia game that could very well have cost them that game. But LSU wins and runs out of the state like they stole something.

(mind you, I AM an LSU fan)

It seems that LSU is barely getting by these games, because outside of Georgia, none of these teams currently have a winning record, and we know how that Georgia game went down. Yes a win is a win, but the QUALITY of the win determines if LSU is truly a top 5 power, or a top 25 power. Now you can argue that Florida’s only foe thus far with a winning record was Troy, but I counter immediately by saying that this IS the defending NATIONAL CHAMPS. We know this is a great team.

I think the question comes down to 1) can Florida beat LSU with any quarterback, and 2) can a team that lost 5 games in LSU, all conference games, beat the defending National Champs. Beating Auburn and Mississippi State says nothing, since they won about 4 or 5 games last year, and beating South Carolina was a close game as well.

Folks, I think whether Tebow plays or not, the Florida Gators may be good enough to beat LSU, remember, this is a team that didn’t exactly protect their house last year, losing 3 home games and some of those other home games were a little too close for comfort.

But the X factor is emotion, how will LSU feel to have a chance to knock off the number one team in the land? It is quite possible that this could be part one of a two parter, since they could easily meet again in the SEC Championship. I am an LSU fan, and I have my LSU hat, but I think that with or without Tim Tebow, Florida has the advantage, and can win by 7 points….but if Tebow is healthy, this could be a 14 point win.

Nebraska 27, Missouri 12

2009-10-09T09:06:00.001-07:00

Nebraska 27 Missouri 12

Looks like we learned a lot about these two teams, perhaps not through literal fire, but through a LOT of rain.

I questioned the validity of Nebraska’s wins, but a 3-1 record is in fact hard to ignore to at least consider on the top 25. Still, the Cornhuskers beating half of the Sun Belt Conference does not exactly show a true power of a BCS conference.

Yet I also wondered why a 4-0 team in Missouri was barely on the top 25, it just seemed to me that their schedule at the time was more impressive than Nebraska, and they won all their games. I had figured that the Tigers, at home, should win by a field goal.

And then the rains came.

I am pretty sure I saw somebody just off screen of the game building an ark…looked like it anyway.

The game, in retrospect, can be asked, “Did Nebraska win, or did Missouri lose?” I can certainly understand the difficulties of playing in a downpour, that kinda game would have been difficult for ANY person or team to manage. But Missouri missed numerous chances to put points on the board, and as many chances to score a touchdown rather than a field goal.

Another thing we seem to be learning is that when a team relies heavily on one quarterback over several years, there is usually a big drop off when they have to put in a new starter. Remember that Chase Daniels was a very good quarterback last year, and now in the NFL, but because he was that good, there was very little room for a back up to take snaps. People think this does not play into the quality of the team, but I submit to you, it has a major impact. One that clearly showed last night.

The first quarter I think was an adjustment to the inclement weather, one that you have to allow for any team playing in that kinda weather. With a wet football, the key to the game seemed to be in keeping a firm grasp of it. Something Missouri failed to do not once, not twice but three times. Whereas Nebraska wasn’t making any real headway, Missouri kept fumbling the ball, taking them out of good drives.

The second quarter was no different, as the Tigers continued to give the ball away, but the Cornhuskers could not capitalize off of it. Give credit where it is due, the Tigers defense held on as best they could. But to give credit to one side assumes you must give it to the other, right? Although I do in fact give such credit, I think for a team to have FIVE turnovers in inclement weather seems to fall more on the team not handling the ball as well. Mind you, Nebraska also had a couple of turnovers too.

Missouri scored with a whisper of a moment left in the half, although it had to be reviewed. It just seemed that if the Tigers got that touchdown, then they were “right back on track”. After all, Nebraska could not get anything going, so in a torrential downpour, one touchdown could easily win the game, right?

Right?

So the third quarter comes along and Nebraska gives up the ball, for the third time. But the Tigers fail to convert a field goal, and all of a sudden things are looking a little harder for them. Was it me, or did it seem like their quarterback was having a miserable day in the rain? Passes blocked, almost intercepted here or there. Odd, because at the top of the broadcast they talked about how he had not thrown one interception this year…which is a great stat, but one you know won’t last.

Nebraska just could not get any real drives going, but at the same time Missouri was botching their opportunities. Late in the third they managed to get a field goal, and with the score being 12-0, surely this was simply a matter of eating up the clock, right?

Right?

I mean, you’re up 12-0 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, in the rain, why NOT just run the ball?

Yet by the end of the third quarter, Nebraska manages to score, cutting the lead in half. You’d assume a 12-0 score in the rain is like a beat down, but a touchdown changes everything.

And so the 4th quarter comes, and we are still asking, WHY are we throwing the ball? EAT the clock! But Missouri is still going with the game plan, and throwing the ball…

Interception, which leads to a Nebraska touchdown.

Well that’s ok, Missouri is known for scoring, so surely they can get it back. So the Tigers continue with the plan, keep throwing and…

Interception, which leads to a Nebraska touchdown.

Now Missouri is in serious trouble. Now we see that this team struggled the entire game with the passing, and now it has come to a head. They simply are not effective in the rain, with a new starter this year. This isn’t Chase Daniels, and they are not the team of last year. It showed as they were ineffective in moving the ball, giving up the ball on downs twice, one of which lead to yet another Nebraska touchdown, because they were smart enough to run the ball and eat clock.

Final score, Nebraska 27, Missouri 12.

So what stands out in this game? If you saw the special teams, you noticed that Nebraska had a hard time dealing with the punts, but the Tigers never took advantage of it. I also wondered why a team would do so much passing in the rain, especially when you were controlling the game? I know it’s hindsight, but it certainly didn’t seem logical.

The stats for this game are pretty similar; Missouri had the ball about 30 seconds longer than Nebraska…odd, isn’t it? And although there were officially 5 turnovers in the game, Missouri’s two interceptions really cost them. Yeah, Nebraska lost the ball twice, but Missouri never took advantage of it.

I mean, everything else was pretty similar. Total yards, Nebraska 263, Missouri 225. Rushing Yards 105 to 91, Nebraska favoring. Passing yards, 158 to 134, Nebraska favoring. You look at the stats and figure that my 3 point prediction should have been on the money, but if you watched the game, you see that Missouri did not play a very good game offensively. It was almost as if their quarterback just felt absolutely miserable in the rain. But blame goes all the way around too, not just the QB.

So at 4-1, Missouri falls off the top 25, while Nebraska moves forward, with probably the best win they have had in 2 years. Is this the Nebraska team of old, or are both teams slightly overated…time will tell.

The WINLESS teams of college football, 2009

2009-10-08T16:05:00.001-07:00

Have mercy on the WINLESS in college football!

There are lots of lists we all like to be on, lists that announce that you are a member of an elite club. Entertainment likes to have their “best dressed” list, and every facet of Americana likes to have their “best list”.

But some lists you DON’T want to be on…such as the list of winless teams in the college football ranks. Now I know we are only 5 weeks into the season, many teams having played either 4 or 5 games, but the list at this point has an exclusive list of 8 members…and to be sure, NONE want to remain on this list.

But you have to ask yourself, how many, if any, of these teams can actually get off that big fat zero sitting in the wins column? Well, maybe some have a chance, let’s see:

We start in the Conference USA, where Rice is currently 0-5. This is actually incredible because last year they were 10-3, and they have taken a serious dump in the talent pool. New key players will make it very hard for this team to accomplish as much as they would have liked, and now they are on the fringe of not even qualifying for a bowl. Granted they did play Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt, whoever set that schedule up was either going straight for the money or didn’t care about sacrificing young men to a life of constant losing. And with Houston, Tulsa, ECU and Navy yet to come, there is NO way they can win enough to qualify for a bowl. They can’t lose more than 2 more games. Their experience will not let them go 0-12, but I see maybe 3 wins this year.

Now let’s travel to the Mountain West, where New Mexico is also 0-5. Ugh. Key losses to Texas A&M, Air Force and Texas Tech hurt them bad, but at this moment the Mountain West Conference has a LOT of teams on the winning end. Their best chance to win a few games is now, with Wyoming, UNLV and San Diego State coming up, but two of those games are on the road. After that trio, then it REALLY gets tough with Utah, BYU, Colorado State and TCU…who set THAT schedule up…ugh. With a team that won only 1 road game (vs. New Mexico State), I don’t see more than 2 wins this year.

And now, we travel to the Mid-American Conference, which entertains us with not one, not two, but THREE winless teams. Let’s check this out one at a time, shall we?

Miami (OH) is 0-5 where only a quarter of the teams in the conference has a winning record. Mind you, the Redhawks have fallen to the likes of Kentucky, Boise State and Cincinnati, so be kind to them. But they have Northwestern coming up, so we can almost say they will be 0-6 very soon. What does not help is that this team only won 2 games last year, and thankfully Bowling Green is on the schedule. But in a conference where even 0-5 isn’t in the sewers, and where the best and least team is still in the mix, I won’t totally say they will go winless, but their track record gives them a terrible shot.

Ball State was an amazing 12-2 last year…had a PERFECT SEASON! What the heck happened? Now they are 0-5, losing games to North Texas, New Hampshire (what?), Army, Auburn and Toledo. Personally I think their losses stem from something deeper than we know. Remember folks, this team had the perfect 12-0 season, but realized that no matter how good they played, there was no real award for them. They were locked into a so-so bowl, and were treated like the proverbial red-headed stepchild. I believe they lost heart, which shown last year when the lost to Buffalo in the Mid-American Championship, then lost their postseason bowl to Tulsa…then lost this year to 1-11 North Texas…and it keeps going. The Cardinals have lost heart…and may lose the entire season. I will, out of hope, give them 3 games, because they just got to wake up and play ball like the undefeated team they once were.

Eastern Michigan is 0-4, but of the other undefeated teams, may have had the tougher road. Losing to Army, Michigan, Northwestern and Temple can be tough, although that Temple game is so-so. But again, in a conference where you have two other teams that are 0 and something, you always have a chance. They DO get Ball State at home, but this was a team that won 3 games last year. Still in this conference, all three of these 0 teams can get at least one win.

And that brings us to the Sun Belt Conference, who also has 4 winless teams. A conference so delicious Nebraska just had to have not one, not two, but three of these teams on their schedule. Why don’t we just go ahead and make Nebraska one of the Sun Belt, they obviously love it there. Anyway, let’s look at these three winless teams:

Western Kentucky loses some hard games to Tennessee, South Florida and Navy, with a little Central Arkansas mixed in there. But like the Mid-American Conference, I think if you have 3 winless teams, you ALWAYS have a chance to get off that losing skid. But what if you won only 2 games last year, which these Hilltoppers did? And worse, those two wins were not from anybody in the conference, so you may not see a win this year! But again, when you’re not the only team with zero wins, there is always hope… you have two other brethren in the cellar with you, so it’s not lonely. But can they win even ONE game….I don’t know…

Florida Atlantic managed to win 7 games last year, and are way behind the eight ball now…and might have eight losses before anything changes. Their best hope now is to beat North Texas, who was 1-11 last year, but we add on that this is currently a conference that has three winless teams. If any of those teams is going to get off the snide, it will be the Owls. In fact, I can see this team winning as many as 4 games by the end of the season. Fret not Owls, there is hope.

And finally we have Florida International, also 0-4. This school missed the post season by a sliver, but in the Sun Belt, it might as well been by a light year. They won 5 games last year, and this year faced Alabama, Rutgers and Toledo, but did lose a conference game to a team that won 4 games last year. It just seems that the Sun Belt is a dog fight from top to bottom, so nobody is out of the game. Winning 5 or 6 games is still possible, but with so many games already passed, I think the Golden Panthers have a better chance of beating the Golden Girls than winning 5 games. But 4...maybe. Three? Quite possible. Two? Count on it.

So those are our eight members of the elite club of the winless. Let’s hope that none of these teams remain here at the end of the year, we all want to see these guys succeed, even if it just means getting a win in the column for once in the season.

#21 Nebraska vs #24 Missouri

2009-10-07T17:19:00.001-07:00

Nebraska vs. Missouri

This initially sounds like a pretty good game between two good Big 12 teams, but when you look at the rankings, it is odd that Nebraska is ranked #21, while Missouri is barely on the top 25 at #24. What’s up with that?

And for that matter, how important is this game?

Well I’ll be watching, you can bet your remote on that!

So, who has the advantage? If you have read some of my blogs, you know I like to start back a year, and then add on what has transpired so far this year, so let’s step into the Way-Back Machine (patent pending) and look at these two teams a year ago:

Nebraska is one of those teams who in the past were too smart for their own good, and had to reap the benefits of what they sown. Remember a few years ago they felt that their coach, who gave them NINE wins that year, was not good enough, so they got rid of him, expecting another coach to step in. But as it turned out, that coach didn’t want the job, and it made Nebraska look like idiots for getting rid of a very good coach for…nobody.

There’s that Nebraska education for ya.

But they eventually DID get a coach, but things just haven’t been the same. But maybe things are back on the upswing. The Cornhuskers finished 9-4 last year, and might be knocking on the door as the next squad of Big 12 power teams. They started the season last year 3-0, scoring tons of points in wins over Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State.

The problem came when the played a real team in Virginia Tech, and lost 35-30. It continued when they lost to Missouri at home 52-17. That old strategy of stringing up a bunch of home games doesn’t always work.

The losing carried over when Nebraska went on the road and lost to Texas Tech 35-7 before winning their first road game at Iowa State. They would beat Baylor at home before losing to Oklahoma on the road to get the record to 5-4, but would win their last 4 games over Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado and Clemson, all pretty convincingly at that.

Missouri had one of those magical years, where everybody was talking about the powerful Big 12, and Missouri was one of them. A 10-4 record, this team jumped to a 5-0 start, knocking off Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Nevada, Buffalo and Nebraska. But the big game vs. Oklahoma State was their stumbling block, as they got their first loss of they year.

They took the second loss to Texas before rebounding against Colorado, Baylor and Kansas State. The Tigers would win one more game, at home vs. Iowa State, before losing two games to Kansas and Oklahoma, before pulling off a close win vs. Northwestern in a bowl game.

Fast forward to this year, 2009.

Nebraska, at 3-1 comes in ranked #21, but has only beaten Florida Atlantic (49-3), Arkansas State (38-9) and Louisiana-Lafayette (55-0)…what?

THIS is why they are #21???

They lost to Virginia Tech 16-15, but why is this team ranked with these wins? This is much how it went last year, scheduling multiple cupcakes at home to bolster a record. Geez, Notre Dame is whining about why their 4-1 record does not put them on the top 25, their schedule is at least a LITTLE better than this.

Why don’t you go ahead and schedule all the OTHER teams in the Sun Belt? Combined, the 3 teams Nebraska beat are currently 3-9. Hardly a top 25 team.

Yet if they beat Missouri, then a 4-1 record would be hard to deny to the top 25.

Missouri is currently 4-0, and have wins over Illinois, Bowling Green, Nevada and Furman. I’ll be honest, this is a better list than Nebraska’s. I don’t quite get why they are ranked lower than Nebraska, but this is one of those arguments that will be settled on the field in a short time from now.

Both teams are coming with new quarterbacks, at least from last year, but Mizz comes in as the 10th ranked passing team in the nation…they like to air it out. Where is Nebraska? Around number 33, which makes a difference of about 60 yards passing per game. But therein is a difference….Missouri has 4 more touchdowns by passing than Nebraska.

But the rushing game is different, Nebraska has 10 rushing touchdowns, but Missouri has only 4. This is a team known for rushing, but times apparently have changed. Is this change good for Nebraska? Well, they lost to Missouri last year in their house, now they are playing on the road. Two of the 4 games they lost last year were on the road, against quality opponents. If you consider Missouri a quality foe, and at 4-0 why don’t you, then this could be a loss to Nebraska.

But if Missouri has lost their luster after Chase Daniel left, then this could be every bit as close as it may seem. But I gotta favor the home team this time, by 3 points. Tigers over the Cornhuskers.

Should a 4-1 Notre Dame team be ranked?

2009-10-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

Should Notre Dame be ranked now?

I was watching some of my favorite sports shows on ESPN when I listened to a story about how Charlie Weis, the head coach for Notre Dame, apparently feels that the Fighting Irish ought to be ranked.

Agree or disagree?

Should Weis keep his mouth shut or does he have a point?

Let’s review.

At this moment, if the AP poll had a top 35 list, Notre Dame would NOT be on it, with only 9 votes. If the USA Today poll had a top 30, Notre Dame would NOT be on that either, getting only 57 votes. But the great and mighty Notre Dame is 4-1, isn’t that worth a top 25 ranking?

I personally felt at the beginning of the season that Notre Dame is a lot of hype, and is a sad expression of how college football tries to force people to believe that a team is good only by name only. Granted I am not a fan of Notre Dame, and lost a heck of a lot of respect when they ran Tyrone Willingham out, and how they apparently give Charlie Weis far more credit for doing at BEST the same thing Willingham did.

Bit we do have a credible argument here. Why is a 4-1 team not even close to being recognized as a top 25 team. I mean, didn’t these same voters place Notre Dame in the top 25 at the beginning of the season, based off a paltry 7-6 record?

You guys remember last year, right? Where Lou Holtz on ESPN sat there with a bold-faced lie and said that Notre Dame would win the National Championship… mainly because the school made him an idol during the Michigan/Notre Dame game…

(hmm…idol…religious school….something not right there…)

You remember how the mighty Fighting Irish beat San Diego State, then Michigan to cement themselves in the BCS National Championship, right?

Right?

Oh wait, I forgot…they lost to Michigan State the next week. But they did beat Purdue and Stanford…oh that’s right, then they lost to UNC. And beating a hapless Washington team last year didn’t really mean anything, then they lost to Pittsburgh and Boston College back to back.

So much for that BCS Championship.

Notre Dame split the last 4 games, beating Navy, losing to Syracuse and Southern Cal before beating Hawaii. And yet, based on that performance, the voters felt that this was a top 25 team in the nation coming into 2009.

So let’s review what has happened so far.

Notre Dame beats Nevada at home 35-0, and everybody is blowing sunshine about how great Nevada is…remind me again how many bowls Nevada has won, or the last time they were RANKED?

We all saw how Michigan beat Notre Dame 38-34, so the Fighting Irish has a problem on the road. They get a home game vs. the Spartans and beat them 33-30... Reminds me of the movie, “The 300”…lots of threes….

And then Notre Dame goes on the road to beat Purdue 24-21 before winning last week against Washington at home, 37-30 in overtime.

And Charlie Weis is upset that this 4-1 team isn’t ranked.

Last year my argument against ND was that for all the talk about how good they were supposed to be, their schedule was suspect. Navy was perhaps the best team they beat last year, with all the others being cupcakes. Is it any different this year?

Consider the teams they played and beat so far, Nevada, currently 1-3. Michigan State, currently 2-3. Purdue, currently 1-4. Washington, currently 2-3. Collectively the teams Notre Dame has beaten are 6-13.…and yet this same team is BARELY beating them.

Charlie Weis whines about how they could have beaten Michigan and now be 5-0, but with the other close games, they could just as easily have been 1-4.

So now Notre Dame has Southern Cal coming to visit, and to be honest, this COULD be a game they might get, if ever they need one. A win here validates a top 25 ranking and could give them an inside track to a BCS bowl, possibly a national championship game.

But IF they lose, look at the rest of the schedule: A tough game vs. a 4-1 Boston College, although it is at home. A road game vs. 1-4 Washington State. A tough game vs. a 3-2 Navy squad. Two games vs. Big East contenders Pittsburgh at 4-1 and UCONN at 3-1. Then the season finale vs. a currently 4-1 Stanford.

We can’t be sure which 4-1 team is legit at this point, but at this moment Notre Dame has to face 6 out of 7 teams with a winning record. Last I checked, the Irish had a problem playing up to the challenge.

If Notre Dame sweeps all of this, then nobody will be laughing at the Irish. But how many close games can you win before a few fall against you? Do I think Notre Dame should be on the top 25? Based on the performance they have given, it is hard to believe they are one of the top 25 teams in the nation, but on grace I might give them #25.

If they win this game vs. Southern Cal, then they are squarely in, no doubt about it. But if they lose…looks like they might be in for a bumpy ride the next 6 or 7 games. With this in mind, perhaps it is better for Charlie Weis to be quiet and make his point on the field, rather than trying to get political about votes. Politics is how Notre Dame got rid of Tyrone Willingham, and that didn’t work out too well for them, did it?

Top 10 NFL teams, after 4 weeks

2009-10-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

NFL Top 10 after week 4!

I think I missed a week, so I better jump right in this one….

There were a lot of questions asked and answered after the Monday Night Game, in which Brett Farve showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league… and why Green Bay management screwed up big time.

But that’s another blog, we have to decide who are the top 10 teams in the NFL as of this week, after many teams have played 4 games, some having played only 3 games.

When I looked over my list, I saw that there are currently 5 teams that are 4-0, and then there are 6 teams that are 3-1. That technically should make up my top 10, but we shall see. I also noticed that there are 2 teams that are 2-1, and 7 teams that are 2-2... Could they possibly make the top ten?

First off I had to eliminate a few teams from my list, which include the following:

Philadelphia Eagles: As long as McNabb is injured this is not the team to beat, even at 2-1 their wins were over the hapless Panthers and the Chiefs. We have to wait and see what happens as the season goes on.

Pittsburgh Steelers: At 2-2 I know they had a good win over the Chargers, but two losses to the Bears and Bengals hurts bad. And here too, they have injury issues. Seems to imply more and more that the best teams are the healthy teams.

San Francisco 49ers: yeah, a 3-1 team is not on my list, but only because I had to drop one of them. In effect I am saying that the 49ers, at this point, are the weakest 3-1 team in the NFL. Yeah, I know they beat the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams, but where are these teams now? Not any real quality wins yet. But they won enough to get Michael Crabtree to sign…but will they get better with him?

So, let’s get into those top 10, shall we?

#10 New York Jets: At 3-1 there is a lot of fanfare for the Jets, especially after beating the Patriots. This clearly is a team to watch out for, but they have more division games to play, and beating the Texans and the Titans at this point really isn’t saying a lot. But any team that can beat the Pats gets my vote.

#9 Cincinnati Bengals: I almost forgot to put these guys on the list, I forgot that they were winning. A loss to the Broncos seemed to put them in a bad light, but winning three straight games over the Packers, Steelers and Browns isn’t so bad. Some may argue that at this point, neither is a really solid quality win, but anytime you beat the defending Superbowl champs and the Packers, that is saying something.

#8 Baltimore Ravens: Another 3-1 team that has shown that they can score, even with a loss to the Patriots. I think if the refs had not been so careful to make sure Tom Brady’s dress was on right, this game could have gone the other way. The Ravens were always a threat with their defense, and now with some offense, they look awesome. But beating the Chiefs and Browns isn’t saying too much, and the Chargers may not be the team we thought they were. Still, these guys are in the hunt.

#7 Chicago Bears: Who woulda thought that they would be 3-1 after the way they started the season? But beating the Steelers is a nice feather in the cap for Da Bears. The problem here is that their other wins were over the Seahawks and Lions…ugh. And losing to the Packers hurts them in their own division. But like the Ravens, this team has a great defense…but like the Eagles and Steelers, they also have very key injuries.

#6 Minnesota Vikings: Some are gonna fry me for this, because this means I have a 3-1 team ranked ABOVE a 4-0 team. This also means I think the Vikings are the weakest 4-0 team in the NFL. I submit to you that this is a good team, and for what it is worth, I am personally rooting for Farve, but beating the Browns and Lions isn’t saying too much. Beating the 49ers is great, but it took the last play to do it, and the Packers game could have been high emotion for Brett Farve. I know, they are all still wins, but I just think that there are 5 other teams that are better than the Vikings at this period in time. Another win could change my mind, but it still depends on what the other 5 are doing.

#5 Indianapolis Colts: This 4-0 team had me comparing with the Vikings, and what it came down to was quarterbacks. I could have easily put the Colts and Vikings tied, but I thought about who, in the course of a game, would I most likely want on my team. Peyton Manning or Brett Farve? This was very hard, and I love both, but I had to edge with youth. Both have great experience, but I think I want Peyton Manning just a sliver more than I want Farve…neither is a bad choice, I just thought the Colts were a bit better…but again, not by much at all.

#4 New England Patriots: Yep, I put this team above some 4-0 teams because this is one of the best teams in the NFL the last 10 years. We all know how they lost to the Jets, but the Patriots have defeated the Bills, Falcons and Ravens, ALL are pretty good. Few other teams can say that right now. Considering their strength of schedule, I believe at this point the New England Patriots are one of the 4 best teams in the NFL. Better than the Colts, well, that would be a good matchup, but I do think better than anybody else on the list…and mind you, they play the Jets again this year.

#3 Denver Broncos: This is odd, having them here at this time of the year. But they are 4-0, with wins over the Bengals, Browns, Raiders and Cowboys. But I think this might be short lived. Beating the Bengals at the beginning of the year is great, since we see that at this moment the Bengals are actually good. But the Browns, Raiders and Cowboys…well, they can’t all be steaks. But consider their division, and already at 4-0, they could run a bunch of games by the end of the year…maybe 12 wins?

#2 New Orleans Saints: Oh yeah, my HOMETOWN! Finally I can break out my Saints hat and wear it with pride. At 4-0 the Saints have knocked off the Lions, Eagles, Bills and Jets. Now, outside the Lions, that is a pretty good trio. This team is like a Ferrari with a turbo boost, and a defense that can hold it’s own. I know it’s still early, and with division foes like the Falcons still yet to play, and a Carolina team many expect to find a way to rebound, it’s not locked up for the Saints yet…but it is looking good.

#1 New York Giants: One guy on ESPN said this about the Giants, that he felt they were better because they already have 2 division wins under their belt. Well, so does the Vikings. But come on, the Lions don’t count….no jokes about the Redskins yet. Still, the Giants have everything in place to prove that they are one of the best teams in the NFL, and with the Redskins faltering, the Eagles banged up and the Cowboys confused, this could be a run for them. They do have some key injuries, including Eli Manning, but if they can put a healthy team on the field, they may well be in the Superbowl at the end of the year.

So that is my top 10 for now, this can change easily from week to week, and as teams get healthy…or lose players. We shall see.

Is excessive celebration based on race?

2009-10-07T09:23:00.001-07:00

Is Celebration Penalties based on race?

I wrote a blog last year about the celebration penalties in college football, and how they really take a huge part of the pageantry of college football out based on the judgment of an official. Last week during the LSU/Georgia game, we see this rear it’s ugly head:

As many of you know, the big battle between LSU and Georgia was a major game to decide the superior teams of the SEC. But in a crucial part of the game, Georgia scores a touchdown and in the midst of the exuberance, one of the officials threw a flag for “excessive celebration”.

The penalty gave LSU an extra 15 yards and helped immensely in them making the final drive to score…and win the game.

A couple of days later, the SEC reviews the penalty and finds out that there was no penalty at all…oops. Sorry about losing that game Georgia, but we made a boo-boo.

Yesterday while I am watching “Around the Horn” on ESPN, they raised the question about whether this was a big deal or not. And folks, pay close attention to what I am about to say…

The question of excessive celebration was asked to three members of the media, two was Caucasian, one was African American. The African American journalist said that it DID make a difference because it cost a team a game and the entire idea of excessive celebration was a punishment to students who work hard and want to enjoy as much of their hard work as the fans do in watching it.

The two Caucasian journalists said that it did NOT make a difference, because Georgia was know (LAST YEAR!) to be excessive, and that these players need to learn how to be more calm and professional when they are on the field of play.

This was split right down race lines.

The issue of “excessive celebrations” has been in issue for years, which is ironic because some of the most memorable clips of NCAA football are those where there is celebration…how many of you remember the Desmond Howard pose…

Yeah, thought so.

But in the years I have been watching college football, I have noticed a kinda disturbing trend when it comes to these penalties…it does seem to be race related. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to pick apart the LSU win, folks, I have a LSU hat here in my house that I wear because I was born in New Orleans…I am a Saints fan for life and anything out of Louisiana. So I LIKE LSU, but the game of college football has seemed to have gotten more about “taming” rather than playing.

Is celebration penalties based on race or discrimination? I think so, but before I get into that, let’s be clear about what I mean about “excessive celebration”.

The word “excessive” by my dictionary, means, “greater than what is normal or necessary”. So in some form we can say that an excessive celebration penalty is based on a player that celebrates above what is normal or necessary. But now let’s also define “celebration”:

“To do something to show that a day or event is important; to honor with festivities; to make merry on such an occasion”

That’s from my Oxford American Dictionary, I didn’t make that up.

So in some essence, we can say that an excessive celebration is when an athlete is too merry, or giving too much honor for a certain event….but folks what this ALSO says is that they ARE in fact allowed to do so.

The penalty isn’t for ANY celebration, it’s for EXCESSIVE. But this is where the problem lies…who determines what is excessive? Who determines that what a player does is greater than normal or necessary? What is the norm of celebrations, and who decides that?

What is normal to you might not be normal to me, what you do to celebrate or show honor or make merry might not be what I do. It might be more, it might be less. It is purely based on personal judgment. This is the same that can be said for referees in college football. They are not necessarily making the RIGHT call, they are making a personal call…there is a major difference.

Yet having said that, we can come so some conclusion to what could be excessive. If I run in the end zone and did a back flip, THAT can be considered excessive. If I ran in the end zone and then tried to do a Thriller video, then THAT can be considered excessive.

(R.I.P MJ)

Any knowledgeable fan in college football can have a decent idea of what is celebratory, and what is too much. But often times the officials are there to punish these players for scoring for their team.

What really irks me off is when a guy runs into the end zone, scores a touchdown, and even before his teammates get to him, the ref is all in his face trying to get him off the field. I personally think that is unfair because remember folks, the penalty is for EXCESSIVE celebration… not simply celebration. Players are allowed to show joy and enthusiasm on the field, especially when they do something good. For a ref to get all in his grill is an attempt to prevent him from even celebrating… that is NOT their job.

So there has to be some even ground where a player can do something to show his joy and honor for what has been done. I mean, how can a referee sit there, at a Georgia home game, with THOUSANDS of Georgia fans rooting for their team, and a guy managed to get in the end zone during a crucial time of a major game, and get flagged for what?

Nothing.

And the fact that there is no review of such a judgment call, it has cost Georgia the game, and likely a shot at the BCS Championship. Don’t tell me that LSU would have scored anyway, we don’t know that, but what we DO know is that they were given an extra 15 yards to work with.

To me, the refs threw that flag in a prejudiced motion, pre-judging the actions of the players, and were to damned quick to flag something that never happened. This is based purely on the beliefs of those refs which were Caucasian.

It comes back to race.

Even now in 2009, we as Americans try to live together and our cultures have mixed with one another. Music, entertainment, sports, religion, all these things we can enjoy and participate with in unison. But in our personal lives, there are still things we separate as what we deem is “right” and what is not right.

And one of the most controversial subjects in sports is the celebration penalties, because it is based squarely on race. For the most part, we see African American receivers and backs scoring touchdowns, and for the most part, the refs are Caucasian.

So what we have happening is older Caucasian “judges” making a judgment on whether an African American is celebrating too much. And because the cultures of an older white guy and a younger black guy are light years apart, it seems easier for the ref to create the illusion that the younger guy is being too riotous.

But that’s ONLY an opinion, one the NCAA sadly sides with. Look where it got Georgia…an unfair loss that the SEC can only hide behind a cheap apology like a coward.

Oh by the way, this from a conference that in their history has only had ONE African American head coach, and I personally believe they only did that to get the…excuse the saying, monkey off their back.

Get with the 21st century SEC!

And let us also add that Georgia last year had not one, but two separate celebration penalties called for a touchdown and had all the players run on the field. Ok, I get that, and the penalty was partly justified, but was there any attempt to punish the team this year for what happened last year?

Woody Paige on “Around The Horn” tried to validate it because it was something Georgia did last year…what the hell is that about? That is a stupid argument based on what happened LAST YEAR. Why is Woody Paige implying that Georgia somehow deserved a penalty for what happened a year ago? That had nothing to do with last week’s game, and it makes it even more wicked that somebody felt that Georgia deserved more punishment, even after they got two penalties stacked on one another from that game.

It is absolutely amazing what people say about the excessive celebration penalties, because to me there often times is no validation. Again, there are many reasons to throw the penalty, like if a guy takes off his helmet, or if he dances in the end zone. Ok, I get that, but where do you draw the line on what is acceptable and what is not?

You notice that no player ever got flagged for kneeling down to pray after a score… hey, that is celebration. I guarantee you if an ref that does not believe in God threw a flag, THEN everybody would start talking about what is excessive.

I said before in another blog that even guys who call the games show their true colors. One of the guys I don’t like listening to is Mike Patrick of ESPN. I noticed that when such celebration penalties come out during a game he is calling, he makes it a point to say that the player is “stupid”. He likes to say, “it’s just plain stupid”. I have never once heard him defend the possibility that the refs might have prejudged the athlete.

Mark Jones is the opposite. I love listening to him on the games on ESPN because he is very quick to point out that this is a GAME, and these are KIDS and they have every right to enjoy the fruits of their works. He has criticized the officials at times when they make a excessive celebration penalty that is overboard. I am not saying that he argues every call, but he had a good idea of what is excessive and what is not.

Mike Patrick, does not.

And folks, this isn’t just along race lines either. It’s not like every African American commentator criticizes these penalties, while every Caucasian supports it. There are many exceptions, but more times than not, it seems that there is a clear generation and racial gap between older non-athletic Caucasians and younger African American college football players.

And it kills me when I hear them talk about how more athletes ought to act like Barry Sanders. I mean, when he scored, all he did was give the ball to the official and go back to his sideline. He is professional and does what he is expected to do.

But when you take one person and try to make everybody be like him, you are falsely applying a prejudice to every person, when you know no two people are alike. Barry Sanders is one of the best running backs of all time, to be sure….but Emmitt Smith IS the greatest of all time, and we have seen him do some celebrations when he scored.

How many of you remember the 49ers/Cowboys game when Terrell Owens mocked the Cowboys by putting the ball on the center star…what did Emmitt Smith do when HE scored….

The game of football is filled with a lot of aggression, and it takes superior talent going through hard core training to be the best. Those students have to manage an academic profile while playing at the highest level. They go through practices that no ref or media member could endure. The do it for the love for the sport, and for the glory and honor of their team and university.

So when they get on that field, with anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 in that stadium, and millions watching on tv, they are dead set to give it their all… against a team dead set to stop them in their tracks. But IF that person is able to get in that end zone, especially in the 4th quarter of a home game, with the fans going nuts in a score that could give them a win, it is absolutely natural to celebrate, because that is part of college football.

But when some idiot ref tosses a flag based on what he THINKS he knows, it destroys all the celebration for the player, team, and fans, and cheats the tv audience out of a valid game. There is no two ways about this folks, the refs destroyed Georgia’s game, and the SEC won’t do anything about it…cowards.

All this on the foundation that many of these calls are indeed racially based. I say again, there are times where a guy can go overboard, and when he does, then you flag him. But to make a snap decision from an older Caucasian ref to decide if an African American is “hamming it up” is too judgmental, and usually results in a bad call. But sadly the NCAA says that these opinions by the refs are not reviewed for change…cowards.

It reminds me of the Hawaii team, and how their culture has been virtually eliminated from college sports because the NCAA does not like the way they celebrate. The Hawaiian culture is a very celebratory culture, and you see that in how they play. I absolutely LOVED watching them play, because you get to see the true nature of sports and all the pageantry that goes with it. But because it is a culture that the Caucasian refs and the NCAA does not understand, they feel that it is not good “sportsmanship”.

Last year I made a blog about a Duke game where one of their players dove in the end zone and was flagged for excessive celebration. I saw that game and I agreed that yes, it was excessive. But I also saw how not one, but two of the Duke coaches lit into that guy as if he stole their mother’s Christmas gift. To me, that was foolish for the coaches because come on, when was the LAST time Duke fans had a chance to celebrate? Yeah the kid made a mistake, but don’t crucify him for that, you need every edge you can get to inspire your team. Perhaps that’s why Duke football is where is it now…on the bottom.

And I remember joking with my brother about it last year and I said, “I bet you, if Duke is on tv, I guarantee you that one of the highlights they will show in the commercial will be that guy diving in the end zone”. And sure enough, it was.

The irony of how the NCAA tries to condemn celebrations, but corporate America such as CBS, ESPN, FOX and all the other media will use that very penalty to sell the college football product.

To me, all those commercials the NCAA show about “Sportmanship” is garbage. There is a level of honor that is supposed to be shown by players and fans, but the way the NCAA tries to sell it is that celebrations are not allowed. Ironic because it is the pageantry and celebrations of college football that make it a BILLION dollar business, and why businesses can’t stop creating new bowls to jump in….Yankee Bowl? What’s up with that?

All this plays on these decisions that out-of touch refs make when a young student makes a touchdown. I say again, there are times where a flag needs to be thrown, I get that, but there are also times when these guys make foolish snap judgments based on what they don’t like. How much longer before they outlaw the chest thump? How much longer before they outlaw the “hi-five”? I mean, that’s a coordinated move, isn’t it? It takes two to do it, right?

Sadly I think it may be years, or even decades, before there is any real change in the excessive celebration penalty. If you ever get the chance, watch these games and look at the factors that seem to imply that this could be a race issue. Most times the refs making these calls are indeed Caucasian. I said MOST, not all. Most times these calls are on African American athletes. I said MOST, not all, there are exceptions.

If you ever watch some of the historical black college games (which are great too), notice how they make such calls. Yes, they DO make excessive celebration calls, but when they make them, there is no question about it. You KNOW that the player was out of line when he did it. But in other college games, sometimes you have to wonder.

So sadly, Georgia loses a game because the refs made a stupid call, one likely racially based, certainly one based on pre-judgement…or prejudice. And it does not surprise me that the SEC, which are at the back of equal opportunity, would hid behind their desks and say “sorry for that bad call, but we can’t do anything about it”…

Sounds like some other bad apologies our country has made in the past…

Pittsburgh Panthers vs Louisville Cardinals

2009-10-02T16:03:00.001-07:00

Pittsburgh vs. Louisville

Tonight, in about an hour and a half (as I begin this blog), there will be a Big East matchup between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Louisville Cardinals. And you know, if you actually DID put a panther in a cage against a cardinal…well, talk about bite-sized snacks….

And this matchup could possibly go this route…or can it? Let’s look at these two teams and see who has the advantage.

Pittsburgh comes in this game after a 9-4 record last year, living big time off a strong running game, but missing key components of that team from last year. The Panthers suffered a humiliating loss to Bowling Green at the beginning of the season, losing 27-17. They then went on a 5 game winning streak, beating teams like Buffalo, Iowa, South Florida and Navy before losing big to Rugters.

Pittsburgh won their next two games over Notre Dame and Louisville before losing on the road to Cincinnati, then finished the season beating West Virginia and Connecticut before losing 3-0 in a bowl game to Oregon State…

(ONLY 3 points in the game…what’s up with that?)

The Panthers come in after losing a road game to NC State, but is still 3-1, which isn’t so bad. Beating Buffalo and Navy again shows that this team is still in the mix for the Big East, but losing on the road is how they lost 2 regular season games, and the bowl game. You gotta win on the road if you wanna be a champion.

But what has happened to Louisville? Was it not just a few years ago when they were the darlings of the Division I? Did they lose ALL their swagger the same year when Michael Bush broke his leg early that season a couple of years ago? They haven’t been the same since.

Last year the Cardinals finished only 5-7, which was a mystery when this was one of the highest scoring teams in the nation a couple of years ago. You’d have called me a liar the way they started last year, losing to Kentucky 27-2. But they rallied by beating Tennessee Tech 51-10, then beating Kansas State before losing to Connecticut. Four home games in a row and splitting them 2-2.

Things looked pretty good when they won the next two games, beating Memphis 35-28 and then Middle Tennessee 42-23...but one had to wonder…why was so many points being given up? And a heck of a lot of those games were in very close confines… the first 6 games were either in Kentucky or Tennessee… hmmmm….

The Cardinals were 4-2 before beating South Florida at home, bringing the record to 5-2...and still playing only in the tight confines of two states. So is it any reason to wonder why they lost AT Syracuse and AT Pittsburgh? Louisville limps back home with a 5-4 record only to play…and lose, to Cincinnati, then another home loss to West Virginia before a mammoth beat down AT Rutgers.

This year, so far, Louisville is 1-2, beating Indiana State but losing AT Kentucky 31-27 and AT Utah 30-14. Like Pittsburgh, you can’t be a champion until you can win on the road. And with 4 more road games, they better get it together quick.

South Florida was the Cardinal’s only credible win last year, and that was a home game, it is critical that they have this game tonight…it is past critical. A loss here makes Louisville 1-3 and will be wiped off the face of any BCS bowl contention. But IF there is a chance, it can happen here, against Pittsburgh.

Now I know Pittsburgh beat Louisville last year 41-7, but the Panthers have to establish a new running game. Pittsburgh didn’t play so hot on the road last year, and Louisville can make it a game while in that Papa John’s Stadium…..

Mmmmm…pizza…..

Anyway, I think the advantage goes to Pittsburgh, but this is one of those games where the home team has a very slight advantage. I am very tempted to say Louisville CAN win this game…because Pittsburgh isn’t that threatening, but I am going with Pittsburgh by 3 points. My gut says that Louisville needs this win like a pizza needs extra cheese, sausage, mushrooms and a liter of some ice cold soda….

And friend with me to enjoy the game tonight!

Why Chicago lost the Olympics: Theory 531

2009-10-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Why Chicago lost the Olympics: Theory #531

Today I checked the tv at about 11am to see who the IOC would select for the 2016 Olympics, with the remaining cities being Tokyo, Rio, Madrid and Chicago. I had been watching the sports shows on how our President, and others went to Copenhagen to try to influence the IOC to select Chicago.

From many that talked about it, there was a serious shot.

I remember talking to my mom about it, and I really wasn’t that sure that Chicago could get the Olympics. Sure, it would be great…but to me just didn’t seem that possible.

So when the voting started about 11:15, the first round was complete, and Chicago was immediately dropped from the list.

Ouch!

And I feel sorry for all those people in Chicago who were out in the streets, expecting the IOC to select them. My heart does go out to those that for some reason or another, actually believed that the Olympics were coming to Chicago.

But when you consider that they only got 18 votes out of 94 or 95...something was glaringly wrong with the selection. I read one report that said that Tokyo was already out even before the voting began, which obviously was incorrect.

I mean, this was not even close…Chicago got dropped like the proverbial red-headed step child. A humiliating loss to one of our American cities…so why was this loss so bad?

Of course there are numerous reasons, but one report made some sense. The IOC questioned the level of security that the United States has, with travel being so much more difficult in the US after 911. It’s become quite a pain in the butt to travel, with all this Homeland Security going on, and the IOC perhaps wondered if this would become a detriment to the rest of the world.

Remember folks, for Chicago to have been booted out with so few votes, there had to have been some very strong opinions against it. I think that it was fair for Rio to have the Olympics, because it had never been in a South American country before, so I am cool with that.

But here is another thing that rings against Chicago…the last time the Olympics were in the US was where…Atlanta. Wasn’t there a little thing about a Centennial Bombing that happened? Again….security. And it didn’t help that the person they accused of it was completely innocent…talk about innocent until proven guilty…

And we also have to consider the sportsmanship of Chicago fans. Now I say this as a guy that was a Bears fan when Walter Payton led the Bears to the Superbowl, and I am a huge Michael Jordan fan, but true sportsmanship should NEVER exceed human compassion…

I give you the Bartman incident.

This to me is an ugly blow that reminds us that fans can, at times, be stupid. I love watching “Pardon the Interruption”, or “PTI” to be short, on ESPN, and I love both guys that work there, but when Michael Wilbon talks about his hatred of the Bartman, it shows the ugly side of Chicago that really needs to be dropped.

I mean, come on, get a life!

It is a shame that many people of that city persecuted and crucified a fan who was only doing what 99% of all fans would do if the ball was coming their way. And let’s be honest, the Cubs did not lose on THAT play. Yet this man, YEARS after the incident, is still not forgiven by his own town…

How then do you expect to host a world event if you can’t even embrace your own?

I mean, we all had a good laugh the day it happened, or even the week after that, but after awhile if you still hold such bitterness, you no longer embody any sense of sportsmanship. If the IOC took that into account, the hopefully they saw the need for a city to make amends for rejecting their own.

And I know there may well be many other reasons, but I say again, for Chicago to ONLY get 18 votes, there were some very strong opposition against the city. Maybe over time we may learn of them. It would have been cool to see the Olympics in Chicago, but I am content that the IOC picked the right city. Rio, as I hear, is beautiful, and South America deserves an Olympics. Madrid would have been excellent, and Tokyo equally fine. But if I had to pick in order who I would have selected, I think Rio would have been first, then Tokyo, Madrid and last, Chicago.

That does not mean I hate Chicago, it just means I think those other cities would have served the Olympics in 2016 better. Maybe by 2020 Chicago can take better steps to make itself more attractive to the IOC. We shall see.

Was Terrell Owens right?

2009-10-02T09:18:00.001-07:00

Was Terrell Owens right?

A few days ago there was a story about a recent interview held by Bills receiver Terrell Owens, and in the clip the questions asked to him seemed to be more…loaded, than neutral.

Terrell Owens dismissed the question, refusing to answer, as the person edged him on, trying to get him to answer, to which “TO” did not.

Owens refused to answer because he felt that no matter how he answered it, the media would take it and run with the most controversial side they could.

This makes for an interesting debate, in whether Terrell Owens was right in what he said and did, and then the question of the credibility of said Owens, and the supposed sincerity of the media.

This is interesting because had it been almost any other player in the NFL (outside of the diva receivers), this would have been a one-sided issue. But because we are dealing with one of the most out-spoken players in the league, there are twists to this story. It leads us to ask, was TO right in how he addressed this issue…but then immediately begs a second question… how credible was his actions?

When I was in college, I took journalism classes and Radio and Television was my major. I worked as a Sports Director for our campus radio station and was the Sports Editor for our campus newspaper. And being a very avid football fan, I watched a lot of sports…especially football.

But in college I learned by our professors that the media should always operate on the side of neutrality, but with respect to the person. Now we know that isn’t true for many journalists because the sad fact is that sensationalism sells more than normalcy. As the old saying goes, “nobody cares if there is a story of a dog biting a man, but everybody will be interested in a story of a man biting a dog”.

In this information age, where so many are looking for that edge, many people who call themselves journalists are not really looking for a story, they are often looking on CREATING a story, which undermines the very existence of the media. When that happens, you get a lot of people who feel that it is their job to “ask the right questions” to get the answer they want, which unfortunately traps a person to say something they maybe should not have said.

These are called “loaded questions”. If I asked you, “have you stopped smoking weed yet, answer yes or no” how would you answer. Either way, you are incriminated, even if you never did any illegal drugs in your life.

A few weeks ago a reporter asked a male tennis player where the best women tennis players would rank if they were put in with the men. To his credit, the male tennis player did not want to answer that, but was edged on by the reporter. He tried to dismiss the question because he felt it was not a really fair question, but they continued to ask for his opinion. When he responded that the best female tennis players might rank somewhere in the top 700 of the men tennis players, it made news and made the guy look like a chauvinist pig.

This was unfair to the athlete because the reporter dug an unfair question out of him, even when he did not want to answer. And this is common now, because it seems that many forms of media believe that the controversial stories are the ones that sell… and sadly they are right because we as a public seem to crave controversy, rather than good old fashioned reporting.

So the questions asked of Terrell Owens were indeed loaded. How many of you remember the incident a year ago when a reporter asked Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun if he was willing to take a cut in his salary? It was a loaded question, and unfair to ask him in front of the public. But it served the purpose, creating controversy and five cheap minutes of fame for the idiot that asked it.

The same can be said for the reporter that asked TO those questions. There is no honor in asking one-sided questions in the sake of creating a story. So to be sure, the line of questions was clearly wrong, and for that reason, I believe Terrell Owens was absolutely right in what he did.

BUT there is the other side of this…how credible is Terrell Owens?

This is a man that has been the proverbial “cancer” everywhere he has gone. Once with the San Francisco 49ers, he has whined and cried like a baby. When he went to the Philadelphia Eagles he was a self-centered joke. Nothing different when he went to Dallas Cowboys. And now with the Buffalo Bills, it is only a matter of time before he does what he ALWAYS does.

Terrell Owens has created himself to be one of the most selfish players in the history of the NFL, and maybe is the originator of the diva receiver. Sure there were other receivers before him, but Michael Irving wasn’t as much a diva as TO. It just seemed that this guy ushered in the era of “me me me”. Keshawn Johnson, Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, even this nut Michael Crabtree who hasn’t even played one down yet, all these guys have that “me first” mentality.

Lots of people think that what Terrell Owens does is fine, because he is “speaking his mind” and does have the right of free speech. So if he criticizes Jeff Garcia, Donavan McNabb, Tony Romo or whomever, it’s cool because he has that right, and he is just speaking his mind, right?

Uh… not exactly folks.

Let me remind you that there are CONDITIONS to free speech. You will notice that the Miranda rights, the Constitution and even the Bible all agree that you can say what you want, BUT you can and will be held accountable for what you say. The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those that love it will eat thereof. The Miranda rights say that what you say can and well be held against you in a court of law.

Folks, you can SAY what you want…but you better be ready to handle the consequences of what you say. When Terrell Owens opens his mouth, he needs to be ready for any backlash that his mouth creates.

I tend to call him, “Mouth Almighty, Tongue Everlasting”, based on a old hip hop song…( I betcha can’t remember which song).

So yeah, Terrell Owens has a right to say what he wants, but he also must assume the responsibility of what he says…that is NOT an option. When you call out your quarterback, as he ALWAYS does, don’t be surprised when the locker room splits and you’re on the outside looking in. Don’t be surprised when fans start to boo you, even when you are with the home team on the home field.

And the idea of “speaking from the heart” is way overrated. The problem with that is that most times when a person “speaks from the heart” there is no wisdom. When you talk from how you feel, it often does not account for sincerity, wisdom or discretion. As one person said, the values of speaking come first from wisdom, then intelligence, and in a far distant third, emotion.

But all this is negated when fame is the result of your speaking. Terrell Owens is clearly one of the most outspoken athletes in the NFL, probably in sports. Not because he speaks wisdom or intelligence, but because he shoots off his mouth. This is his mode of operations…he ALWAYS does that. Why? Because he knows that as long as he is doing that, the media will always be looking at him.

This is what he does for a living, outside of being a very good receiver. But this is also what the media expects from him. You come to see the dancing bear, then the dancing bear must dance. You don’t pay to see the dancing bear in slumber, you come to see him dance.

So DANCE Yogi!

This creates the confusion of what Terrell Owens did, because although his answers were righteous, his actions before, and even after that incident, lead many to question it. Just recently TO criticized Rodney Harrison and make a comment about Harrison taking steroids… low blow there TO.

At that moment, he had a chance to turn his comments and way of communicating with the media to a more sincere approach, but opted to go for the shock value, which is why so many stick a microphone up his nose. Just as he was making a positive move in how to answer reporters, he jumps back 10 steps with something stupid like that.

So, was Terrell credible in how he refused to answer those reporters when they asked him those loaded questions… yeah, I mean even the worst of us can have a ray of sunshine hit us, and mind you, there may have been some humility involved here since TO also didn’t catch a ball in that game, the first time since he was with the 49ers.

It’s quite interesting, of the all time receivers of the NFL, Terrell Owens has the second most touchdowns, trailing one other person…Jerry Rice. Such a contrast in personality, yet the media values Terrell Owens far more because of the comments he makes. It’s almost as if being insincere is a greater value than being respectful.

So Terrell Owens will keep doing it, because the media keeps eating it up, and then slinging it in our faces over ESPN, Fox, NBC and every media outlet, force-feeding us of Mouth Almighty, Tongue Everlasting. It’s sad too, because TO came from UTC, a Southern Conference school, like me. I should be cheering for the guy…and I used to…

But that was then, when NFL athletes respected each other and didn’t throw others under the bus like a certain receiver in Buffalo. Just a matter of time before he does it again.

Colorado 24 West Virginia 35

2009-10-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Colorado 24 West Virginia 35

Perhaps the better title should have been, “Hawkins Family 24, West Virginia 35”.

I know that might sound a little annoying to fans of Colorado, but I just can’t shake the feeling that this Colorado team was built for only one person…the coach’s son.

I blogged earlier today predicting West Virginia to win by about 7 points, but in actuality the could have, and SHOULD have, won by more than 11 as the final showed. The Buffaloes scored near the end of the game, and with West Virginia having a load of turnovers in the first half, the final score could have been something like 48-30.

It’s funny because I remember last year when Pat White was the starting QB, and it looked like West Virginia was trying some new wrinkles with the team. It cost them the first couple of games last year, trying to do what they were not really built to do…throw. But once they figured out what they needed to do, they had a very successful season.

This year it seemed that they were quite set on making the passing attack a part of the team, which has not been a major part of West Virginia the last several years. And it seemed to show, and even did so last week. Numerous turnovers by the quarterback easily tells us that when you have a star quarterback that leaves the program, it is hard to have somebody step in and fill his shoes, especially if he never had the number of snaps needed to build confidence.

This is what we saw in the first half with West Virginia, but that slice of Blame Pie goes to several other members of that offense, even one to the defense. But Colorado was not able to truly take advantage of it, missing two field goals in a row.

It seemed a little later that the Mountaineers realized that they had a running back…Noel Devine, that was actually pretty good. I am glad they remembered that, because he IS good.. Odd, that the guys on ESPN said that he would not make a good NFL running back…who are they to judge? This guy is awesome.

While both teams missed opportunities to score, the second half seemed to be redefined in how this game was going to play. When West Virginia began to run first, throw later, they took control. Noel Devine got over 200 yards rushing, which put them out in front. If you take away several sacks that were almost calculated in miles, the scoring might have even been better.

I just didn’t see anything with Colorado, and I say that knowing that this team is built around Cody Hawkins, the coach’s son. I blogged about this before, and I know it is noble for a father to keep his son first, but when does it get to a point where the team suffers when the quarterback is the coach’s son?

This loss puts Colorado to 1-3, and on pace to not going to another bowl. Consider this folks, their next game is on the road vs. Texas…this can turn out to be a 1-4 team very quickly. They are home against Kansas and on the road again vs. Kansas State. Missouri and Texas A&M come visiting, then two road games vs. Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

Colorado beat Iowa State and Kansas State last year, if you assume they can repeat that, then give them 2 more wins…but both of these games are on the road. To me, this team could be 4-7 before their final game vs. Nebraska…on the road.

Looks like another year of underachieving for the Buffaloes.

There’s a saying that goes, “can’t see the forest before the trees” which implies that sometimes the obvious is right in front of you, but we refuse to see it. Is it possible that the program is not geared to help Colorado win, but rather help a coach’s son win?

Don’t laugh, high school football around this country is filled with stories where influence puts a coach’s son, or some rich family’s son in a position he may not be qualified for. Does this mean Cody Hawkins is not a good quarterback? Of course not, but would we consider how much consideration he gets if he was not the coach’s son?

It just seems that this Colorado team sold out on favortism, sacrificing on talented athletes who may have opted away from Colorado because it was fixed for one player, rather than a team…I mean, let’s face it, the record speaks for itself. Dan Hawkins told the supports of Colorado that he expected to win 10 games…he just didn’t mean over 2 or 3 years.

And what have we learned of West Virginia? Is this a team that can “run the tables”? I remember seeing how good Devine was last year, and I believe they have a rock solid back, but they also have a very good offensive line to create the blocking necessary. This is a dangerous team, and if they can get their quarterback to stop running backwards, they can indeed be a team to beat.

The Mountaineers’ schedule looks very favorable, with games at Syracuse, home vs. Marshall and Connecticut. Easily looking at a 6-1 record, and a top 25 ranking. But how will they fare on the road against a tough South Florida team?

Consider that West Virginia lost 4 games last year, to ECU, Colorado, Auburn and Cincinnati. All four they play this year, and have avenged two of those losses. Auburn handed West Virginia their lone defeat, and they play Cincinnati later this year. The bug here is that West Virginia seems to hate playing on the road…after all, their only loss was AT Auburn, and half their losses last year were on the road.

Do I think West Virginia can run the tables…that will be hard. Outside of Louisville, the remaining 4 of the last 5 games feature teams that won at LEAST 8 games… this is not a picnic for West Virginia. It’s just too much of a stretch to expect West Virginia to win all these games, especially with the kinda defense they played tonight, loose and missing tackles. But I will say this, if this team begins to focus more on the running game, it just might make the difference in one or two more games.

Eight wins is not out of the picture for West Virginia, but I think maybe 9 could be more realistic…IF they cut down on all those turnovers. But mark my words, if they continue to turn the ball over, they might be lucky to win 7 games.

Overall, an entertaining game. I am sure Kordell Stewart is turning over in his bed wondering what happened to the glory days of Colorado. The Dan Hawkins era has apparently been a bust, and maybe he should have stayed at Boise State…

But would Boise State have allowed Cody Hawkins to take the helm as quarterback…hmmmm…..a thought for another blog….

Colorado vs West Virginia

2009-10-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Colorado vs. West Virginia

Welcome October, and all the horrors it will bring to teams that are struggling to maintain an identity of success.

Such is the cloak that both Colorado and West Virginia wears, and tonight one shall have it snatched off their back in a national spotlight. Now although there are two games tonight, the other being Southern Miss vs. UAB, more eyes are in this Big 12/ Big East showdown than the Conference USA game.

Speaking of Big 12 and Big East…what’s up with the Yankee Bowl?

Err.. Another time for another blog…

So tonight we have two teams that, in the past, were once considered some of the best in the NCAA…and now, not so much. But tonight could be the first step for one of these teams to take an important step forward, especially in a year where many top 25 teams have been knocked off…there could be room on this bus for one of the teams.

Let’s examine both teams, looking last year, and what they have done so far this year.

Colorado comes in this game 1-2, and if the Big 12 had to rank all their teams from best to worst, this team might well at the basement. Long gone are the glory days when Colorado ran the Big 12 alongside Nebraska, and there may well be people wondering how a head coach can put his son as the quarterback, and not be effective at all.

Last year Colorado went 5-7 under Coach Hawkins after starting out 3-0, which included a win over West Virginia. Two of those three games were at home, the exception being the first game of the year vs. Colorado State. With a decent start, some thought maybe Colorado might be re-emerging in the powerful conference.

But a loss on the road to Florida State, followed by a Texas and Kansas quickly brought the team back down to earth. Winning three straight, losing 3 straight. The Buffaloes would rebound with a one point win over Kansas State, but would get shut out by Missouri, and losing to Texas A&M dropped Colorado to 4-5. They would win one more game over Iowa State before losing the final two games to Oklahoma State and Nebraska.

With West Virginia being their only credible win, few see much more hope this year, and mind you, West Virginia was coming off the year before when they had Slaton, their excellent back, so one could argue that they were in transition. But there are big questions about how this team may not be maximizing the talent when the coach’s son has been the starter, and last year threw 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Running the ball does not compute to Colorado, which is odd since they had some great backs in the day. Losing to Colorado State and Toledo is very embarrassing, and the lone win over Wyoming does not please the fans. Colorado NEEDS this win in a desperate way.

West Virginia seems fixed to only score about 30 points a game, whether they win or lose. Their 2-1 record looks decent, but they have much to prove. Last year’s 9-4 record is indeed respectable if you look at the numbers, but some criticize the Big East as being kinda soft.

There were big hopes for West Virginia, thought to possibly contend for a BCS bowl, and possibly the National Championship last year…that ended pretty quickly on the second game, losing to ECU 24-3. The road to redemption was blocked when they traveled to Colorado and lost there 17-14. At 1-2, the hopes for any National Championship was lost.

And perhaps with that pressure of their backs, the Mountaineers were able to focus, stringing up 5 straight wins over Marshall, Rutgers, Syracuse, Auburn and Connecticut. They would lose by a field goal to Cincinnati at home before beating Louisville on the road. But they would suffer their 3rd road game loss of the year, losing to Pittsburgh, before cleaning up the season by defeating South Florida and UNC.

Outside of the ECU loss, every other loss had been very close, close enough that maybe they could have won. This easily could have been a team that should have been 12-1 or 11-2. Was it possible that they were too overconfident when they played ECU on the road? Sometimes being cocky can be a detriment.

This year beating Liberty and ECU at home does not mean nearly as much as the greater picture. The Mountaineers need to establish dominance in the small realm of the Big East, even before conference play begins. A BCS bowl is still on the line for West Virginia if the can be the best Big East team. Losing to Auburn hurt their credibility, which seems to fall in line with how they play on the road. Three of their 4 losses last year were on the road, so they tend to like home cooking, and losing to Cincinnati at home is nothing to be ashamed of.

What West Virginia has going for it is a strong running game, with Noel Devine (how cool a name is that) in the backfield. He may well be one of the best backs in the nation, and we might get to see his powers tonight.

Having said that, West Virginia ranks about 54th in rushing in the nation, while Colorado ranks 115th out of 120. I say again, when a coach puts his son as the starting quarterback of a team that is not winning, something does not seem quite fair to the rest of the team.

If Colorado can’t defend the run, they are in trouble, and with the fear of a 1-3 record, this is a game they cannot afford to lose before stepping into the Big 12 conference games. I see West Virginia winning this at home, but maybe by 7 points. But if Colorado loses this game, their chances of going to a bowl may be almost as extinct as the Buffaloes they are…or were…or soon not to be, or something like that.

ACC Football: Coastal Division

2009-09-25T16:18:00.001-07:00

ACC Football: Coastal Division Warzone

Of the two divisions of the ACC, the most interesting seems to be the Coastal Division. We talked before about how the ACC had lost a lot of respect last year because none of the 12 teams finished in the top 10. It even sparked some to say that maybe the ACC does not deserve a BCS bid, and should rather give it to Boise State…

Huh? Boise State beat how many quality teams last year?

But this year things look a little different. With early surprises and a handful of teams in the top 25, the ACC looks as competitive as it did last year, but with even more punch.

If you missed the blog I wrote on the Atlantic Division of the ACC, and their rank, check that out. We wanted to take a look at this football conference and see their current rank and file, as of three weeks into the 2009 season. The actual rankings look this way:

General: Miami Hurricanes

Captain: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Lieutenant: North Carolina Tarheels

Sergeant: Virginia Tech Hokies

Corporal: Duke Blue Devils

Buck Private: Virginia Cavaliers

Remember that these are only based after 3 weeks, since 4 of the 6 teams have yet to play a conference or division game. Of course Miami leads the division because not only have they won 2 games, they won two CONFERENCE games. Georgia Tech is second because they won and lost a conference game, one against Miami. The remaining four teams are listed with the Tarheels third because they are 3-0, and Virginia Tech is 2-1 overall. Duke is 1-2 and at dead last is Virginia, at 0-3.

But is this the TRUE rank and file? Let’s take a closer look and see:

Miami: Good times are a plenty in Miami, not only as the state (and the eastern coast) survived hurricane season with no threats in the least, the sports-type Hurricanes are enjoying a very good start. A team that was 7-6 last year has surprised everybody with a 2-0 start, including wins over a ranked Florida State and a ranked Georgia Tech. There is no question that as of this moment, they are doing very well. A HUGE game against Virginia Tech will determine if this will be a solid top 10 squad, or one just passing by. Some question if this is a really for real top ten team, and this weekend will prove many things. Mind you, last year Miami beat VA Tech by 2 points… it could be just as close.

Georgia Tech: This 9-4 team bothers me, in that the style of play that worked last year could quickly be as outdated at bell-bottomed pants and fly-collars. This option style almost cost them the game against Clemson, and surely cost them against Miami. If people figure out this style, it may well be easy to counter, forcing the Yellow Jackets to do what they could not do…pass. We’re just not too confident that the option will work in the BCS conference.

North Carolina: The only 3-0 team in the ACC and one more win from making a solid impact on the top 25. Beating Citadel means nothing, beating Big East foe Connecticut on the road is worthy, and beating ECU is even a little better. Lots of people see the Tarheels as a mid-card team, and not much is going to change it this year, but if UNC can beat Georgia Tech, then they could possibly be the third best team in the division…maybe

Virginia Tech: Hmmm, this team is ranked and plays top ten foe Miami this weekend. Losing to Alabama is their only blemish, but much is expected from this team that was 10-4 last year. An embarrassing loss to ECU, back to back road losses to Boston College and Florida State, and a road loss to Miami means they don’t like leaving home, but a home game vs. Miami might fix all that ails them. IF Virginia Tech beats Miami, it is not out of the realms of possibility for them to run the table…you were warned…

Duke: Ugh…do we have to? Oh well. Four wins last year had some people thinking they can win 8 this year…not sure on who does the math at Duke. However, a good win over Navy at home and a narrow win at Vanderbilt is worth something. If they don’t beat NC Central by at least 30 points, then shame on them…it may well be the best win of the year for them. Live it up now Blue Devils, the post season comes not for thee.

Virginia: This is an embarrassing spot for a once proud football team. Currently the ONLY winless team in the ACC, there may still be hope for Virginia. I mean, they did win one game more than Duke. Mind you, they did beat ECU, UNC and Georgia Tech, so there is still some talent there, but they better manifest it soon, or they will be mopping the halls long after chowtime is done. Such is the fate for Buck Privates.

So having looked at these teams, we think the true order, the true rank and file of the Coastal Division goes like this:

General: Virginia Tech Hokies

Captain: Miami Hurricanes

Lieutenant: North Carolina Tarheels

Sergeant: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Corporal: Virginia Cavaliers

Buck Private: Duke Blue Devils

With several key games this weekend in the ACC, it will be interesting to see top ranked foes Miami and Virginia Tech will fare. With a week off, Virginia needs to find someway to play this game they call football. UNC will see if they can figure out the code to cracking the played out style called Triple Option and Duke plays a so called Gridiron Classic, with nothing classic about it.

We shall see who really runs the ACC…time will tell…..

ACC Football: Atlantic Division Warzone

2009-09-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

ACC Football: Atlantic Warzone

(just trying to have a little fun here folks)

Last year the ACC was heavily criticized as being a weak conference, some felt that teams like Boise State were better than any team in either the ACC or Big East…I strongly disagree. While the ACC has had better years, every year has been a war from start to finish…

And before I continue, I don’t wanna hear no self-righteous yap about being sensitive to war terms…I am greatly proud of all our troops, but almost every term used in the sport of football comes from the aggressive terms used in the military…so don’t take it so personal…it’s just a game!

Anyway…..

With the ACC being as competitive as it was last year, we see that all 12 teams dive into the season with hopes of making it to that ACC Championship game, and also that next step to a BCS bowl. But who stands the best chances of getting there? Let’s look at the Atlantic Division of the ACC and see the rank and file of these ACC members:

In alphabetical order, you have Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. But three games into the college football season, the order is a little different.

According to the standings, Clemson actually sits on top because as of this moment, they are the ONLY team in the Atlantic Division with a division win, that being over Boston College, although it is matched with a loss from Georgia Tech. You technically have a three way tie for second because NC State, Wake Forest and Maryland are all 0-0. At the bottom you have a tie because both Boston College and Florida State have a conference loss. So one could put the actual rank and file as such:

General: Clemson Tigers

Captain: North Carolina State Wolfpack

Lieutenant: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Sergeant: Maryland Terrapins

Corporal: Boston College Eagles

Buck Private: Florida State Seminoles

But appearances can be deceiving, can’t they?

Each team will all face one another to truly determine who is the leader, and who will be mopping the floors at the end of the day. Let’s take a closer look at each team and see where they might TRULY end up:

Clemson: A win over Boston College makes them the (temporary) undisputed leader with a division win, which means more than a conference win. Putting Boston College in their place gives the Tigers a leg up on everybody else, but as we noted, this is only temporary. This 7-6 team last year wasn’t much on leading, as they were a highly ranked team at the beginning of last year, only to lose rank in record fashion. They beat 2 of the 5 division foes last year, and it seems that they might be a little better this year. Could Florida State be the only thing standing in their way for Atlantic Division domination?

NC State: The reason why they are listed above Wake Forest and Maryland is because alphabetically they come before Wake Forest, and Maryland is currently 1-2. With cheap wins against less than stellar foes, the jury is still out on this team that went 6-7 last year. Wake Forest was the only divisional foe they beat least year, and it was a home game, winning only by 4. With away games at Wake Forest, Boston College and Florida State, we can’t see the Wolfpack commanding too many troops here.

Wake Forest: This 8-5 team has only lost one game so far this year, but there are still many questions about the lack of scoring that they had last year. Yes they got the ball in the end zone, but averaging about 21 a game makes it too close for comfort. Beating Florida State AND Clemson was great, losing in a shutout to Maryland, then losing to NC State and Boston College makes them average. They need this win over Boston College to validate some authority, else it will be a long season.

Maryland: How many stripes are really on the arm of this team. Lose to Middle Tennessee, beat California. Get shut out by Virginia, then shuts out Wake Forest. If we don’t know what this team is about, it is best to keep them right in the middle of the pack, but at 1-2 they are already behind the ball, and it does not look like they will show us anything to change our mind. Average at best, possibly lower.

Boston College: The loss to Clemson was an odd one, with the weather playing such a significant factor, but a loss is still a loss. Few wonder how legit the team really is, after all, there is no quality wins at the moment. A lot of work to be done for a team that was 9-5 last year. Only Clemson bested them last year out of the division, but BC had 7 games that were within a possession of winning…or losing. It might appear that the glory days of the Eagles might be slipping… and the rank possibly justified.

Florida State: Odd how the tail is actually the head, how a Buck Private is actually the leader of a division. Florida State lost to Miami, but crushed a top 25 foe in BYU on the road to solidify (for now) a top 25 ranking. With 3 division games on the road, this might be a sign. A respectable 9-4 last year, it is still underachieving for the former Commander-In-Chief of the ACC. Those days of absolute rule are long gone, but remember that two of their losses last year came from this very division…and we are still scratching our heads about that Jacksonville State game…

So having looked at the facts, we might change up the rank and file of the ACC to read this way, as it may well look at the end of the year:

General: Florida State Seminoles

Captain: Clemson Tigers

Lieutenant: North Carolina State Wolfpack

Sergeant: Boston College Eagles

Corporal: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Buck Private: Maryland

We shall learn much more after this weekend, with Boston College hosting Wake Forest… time will tell all….

Iowa vs Penn State 2009

2009-09-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Iowa vs. Penn State

I have nothing against Iowa, I am sure they are a pretty good team, but I have a place in my heart for Joe Paterno.

I say that because years ago I wrote to Penn State for a media guide and I received one from them, to which I was most grateful. I also wrote a letter to Joe Paterno a few years ago and he actually answered it. It takes a nice man to take the time to answer a fan’s mail…not EMAIL, but land mail.

So you better believe I pull for Penn State when I can. But I also know that this game against Iowa is critical, because one loss can possibly knock you out for a shot at the BCS Championship. I have nothing negative to say about Iowa, so there are no hard feelings for them, but having said all that, let’s look at this matchup:

Iowa is one of those mid card teams that can have a banner year at any time. Last year they went 9-4, which in itself is great, but there are head scratchers to the teams they lost to. Losing by one point to Pittsburgh on the road is something you can live with, because Pittsburgh is a pretty good team.

Losing to Northwestern at home 22-17 is kinda iffy, I mean, Northwestern is not a long-time power in the Big 10. Losing to Michigan State 16-13 seems to set the table that this Hawkeye team plays to the competition. Losing to Illinois on the road seemed to clinch that thought.

Some might say the only credible win was against Penn State, winning 24-23 at home…sets the stage for this weekend. And losing an excellent rusher and some receivers makes this Iowa team touchable to the team the barely beat last year.

Penn State last year enjoyed huge success with an 11-2 record. As mentioned before, they lost to Iowa on the road, and lost to Southern Cal 38-24 in their final game of the year. Not bad, when you sprinkle good wins over Oregon State, Ohio State and Michigan State. We know that key elements in the offense are still there, and Penn State seems quite equal on the passing and the rushing…it will be hard to figure them out.

But maybe the biggest problem for the Nittany Lions is the hype the media puts around them. Being ranked in the top 5 now, is it possible for Penn State go to perfect? It would mean besting Iowa, a constant thorn in their side, and beating Ohio State, but it certainly is possible.

Both teams come in 3-0, with Iowa having wins over Northern Iowa by one point (errr?), Iowa State big, and Arizona by 10. Close games at home, great game away. Penn State has 3 of a 4 game home stand, beating Akron, Syracuse and Temple. To be sure, none of these teams will be crashing the gates of the BCS, but Penn State allowed only 6.5 points a game…that spells very tough defense, while averaging 30 points a game.

If there was a top 30, Iowa would not be on one poll, and barely clinging to the other. This tells me that even at 3-0, voters are not that impressed with the Hawkeyes, even though they beat Penn State last year. But with the Nittany Lions home, can the Hawkeyes repeat the performance of last year?

My heart tells me to go with Penn State, but logic says the same thing. I will admit though, I don’t think Penn State has been properly tested yet. I mean, Akron, Syracuse and Temple were 13-23 last year combined. This year they are currently 2-6...ugh.

We’ll learn much more about Penn State and their chances to play in the BCS Championship after this win, one they simply must have. To them, a loss here ruins the season…at the hands of a familiar foe.

But I see Penn State winning this handily, by 10 points, although that may still be too close for comfort. But we shall see…….

South Florida vs Florida State 2009

2009-09-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

South Florida vs. Florida State

Florida State is currently ranked #18 in the polls, after a thrashing they put on BYU (which surprised me as well as many others). It is possible that the ACC made a statement that they are as competitive as the other conferences by beating a top 25 team handily in their own house?

Now they have to do it again, under much more local confines. The ACC’s Florida State will host South Florida in a big time game for both sides. This is a game that Florida State simply cannot lose, if they are to retain credibility for their top 25 ranking. With teams slipping and sliding every week, the opportunistic team can easily find themselves in the top 10 in a few weeks…case in point, Mississippi.

But to stay there, they must win and not lose to an unranked opponent…case in point, Mississippi.

But the Big East has a point to prove too, and they need South Florida to make that for them. About 27 undefeated teams remain in the FBS, three of them come from this very conference. South Florida has shown signs of brilliance the last few years, only to buckle under the pressure once they were ranked high in the standings.

There is a LOT of credibility on the line here, for the ACC and the Big East…who wins this matchup in the Sunshine State? Let’s look at it:

South Florida is currently 3-0, and not ranked at the moment. Sure, the Bulls have scored about 134 points in three games, which averages to over 40 a game, but who have they beaten? Wofford? Western Kentucky? Charleston Southern?

Again, only 27 teams remain undefeated, and you’re not on the top 25? Very soft schedule folks.

Mind you, this team started out 5-0 last year and was the apple of many eyes, beating teams like Kansas and NC State. But it preceded a 1-4 record once they hit the Big East schedule before beating UCONN, losing to West Virginia and winning the bowl game against Memphis.

I think with a returning good quarterback and an excellent defensive power, this is still a good team, they can win decent games so these are not your mother’s cupcakes, but the last couple of years just seem to show that they are mid-card teams, destined to hover around greatness, but never obtaining it.

But if there is a chance for an upset, it can happen against Florida State.

The Seminoles were 9-4 last year, losing to Wake Forest by 9, Georgia Tech by 3, Boston College by 10 and to Florida by…well that doesn’t matter. Granted they destroyed my beloved Catamounts 69-0, but what did it gain them?

Losing to rival Miami hurt them, but not as bad as the near loss to Jacksonville State. That embarrassing win must have prompted Florida State to re focus, which is what they did against BYU, in a big time win that vaulted them back in the top 25 spotlight.

The Seminoles try to make a living with the passing, which has also burnt them more than once. Last year quarterback Ponder threw for 14 touchdowns…great….but also threw for 13 interceptions…ugh.

The question here is going to be which mindset is Florida State on: the swagger that produced players like Charlie Ward and Deon Sanders, or the team that was so high on itself that it almost lost to Jacksonville State… as they say, half of football is mental.

With Grothe for the Bulls being injured, there may be a feast of blitzes for Florida State, and I think that kinda pressure could get to South Florida. But sometimes playing home makes a team kinda…cocky. I don’t think South Florida can beat Florida State, but I also don’t think they are as intimidated. This could be interesting…

If I had to pick, I might think Florida State will win, but not as big a margin as the BYU game. I give it to the Seminoles by 8 points.

Missouri vs Nevada, 2009

2009-09-25T16:09:00.001-07:00

Missouri vs. Nevada 2009

Speedblog

The Big 12 puzzles me, how can a conference that had so many power players be ranked so low this year? Texas Tech wasn’t ranked at the beginning of the year, Oklahoma State isn’t getting a lot of love, Oklahoma lost early and Missouri wasn’t ranked at the beginning of the year.

What’s up with that?

The Big 12 has 4 teams that are, to this point, undefeated, and Missouri is one of those teams. Tonight they play Nevada on a road game that will definitely place them in the top 25 in both polls should they win.

At the moment they are not ranked in one poll, and #21 in another. This is a game they need to win to justify their power…and the Big 12 as well.

You remember Missouri doncha? Went 10-4 last year, losing only to teams with a top 25 number in front of them? A high powered offense that hung 69 points on Nevada last year…oh wait, that’s who they play tonight.

That makes this game a little more interesting.

Nevada comes out of the Western Athletic Conference, and finished last year with a 7-6 record. Their big claim to fame last year was losing to Boise State by 7 points, but is known as a high scoring team…much like Missouri was last year.

The Wolf Pack, not to be confused with NC State, did win 7 games, but one might highly question the strength of those wins. Their six losses came to superior teams, such as Texas Tech, Missouri, Boise State and Maryland, who combined for 187 points…or about 40+ a game…defense could be a problem.

But Nevada also scores well too, the problem is that they have to with a porous defense. Outside of the Grambling win 49-13, most of their other games have been kinda close. Very few wins from Nevada were of quality, possibly showing an average team at best, despite what people tried to say on ESPN about them being a good football team only when Notre Dame played them.

But Missouri has to deal with new weapons on offense, gone are the glory days of Chase Daniel, who was an excellent quarterback. Still there is some offense left on this team, having scored 37 against Illinois. Beating Furman doesn’t really count, and one wonders about that close game against Bowling Green…hmmm.

There is no question that Missouri is favored, as they should be. With no conference games under their belts, it is critical for the Tigers to jump out to a 4-0 start, which will definitely get them ranked on both polls. As long as Nevada does not have a top 25 ranking on them, then Missouri should be fine, but beware Tigers, this Nevada team loves that end zone, although their defense seems to be quite charitable.

I can’t see an upset here, even though Nevada is home and Missouri has a new quarterback, but I’ll give it to Missouri by 13 points.

Is Michigan worth the top 25 ranking?

2009-09-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

Is Michigan worth the ranking?

Speedblog

Ok, so we’re like two or three games into the college football season, and a team that won only three games last year is now in the top 25...care to comment on that?

Such is the case for Michigan. But is it valid?

Michigan is one of those storied programs that was and is one of the greatest football programs in the history of college football. Heck, I like them because a few years ago I wrote to the Athletic Director and he sent me a free media guide…you better believe that I have been a Michigan fan for awhile.

But lately there has been some down time with this team, and personally I am not a fan of their new coach, Rich Rodriguez. To me he seems a bit snobby and tight-necked, and lately his way of football has not been very successful. It’s funny because yesterday on ESPN classic I saw the 15th anniversary of the great Colorado vs. Michigan game, with Kordell Stewart, Ty Law, and a host of great NFL players. You guys remember that last second catch in the end zone, right?

So today I’m looking at Michigan currently ranked #23 on one poll, #22 on another, and I start to think, do they deserve it? Let’s look into that.

It has to start from last year, when Michigan finished a sad-sacked 3-9. Beating only Miami Ohio by 10 points (who would finish 2-10), beating Wisconsin by 2 points (who would finish 7-6) and beating Minnesota by 23 (who also finished 7-6).

They lost to EVERYBODY else.

So at the beginning of the season, you wonder if this team can manage 5 wins, maybe even six to qualify for a bowl. There is a lot of pressure for the great Michigan Wolverines to play in post season you know.

So Michigan pads up the schedule, having not one, not two but FOUR straight home games, beating Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan. Western Michigan is currently 1-2 and Eastern Michigan is currently 0-3. Granted Notre Dame was ranked, but a lot of football purists felt that the ranking was not as credible as it now appeared.

But in any case, Michigan is 3-0 and looking perfect as they prepare to face Indiana this weekend…another home game. The same team that was 3-9 last year, and is currently 3-0 this year too…

Wow, there must have been some magic, in that old soft schedule they made, for when they placed ….

Wait a minute….that’s something else….

Anyway, Indiana is now 3-0, but no quality wins, as they prepare to play conference foe Michigan, who is also 3-0. That’s not saying too much since almost half the Big 10 is undefeated. But again, does this make Michigan a top 25 team?

I am just not too sold on the idea that you can pad your schedule with a ton of home games and jump out to a quick start and get ranked. I just find it hard to believe that Michigan of last year (3-9) can be one of the top 25 teams in the nation at this point.

Yet the counter here is that they DID beat a top 25 opponent in Notre Dame, even though some hardly felt that Notre Dame was 25 caliber…still it counts. And with so many upsets this year already, somebody HAS to move up. I mean, if Michigan is undefeated, with a top 25 win, then surely it has to count for something.

Consider that there are about 27 undefeated teams in the FBS right now, if Michigan is one of them, and they are, don’t they deserve at least to be somewhere in that mix? I can’t argue that, and again, with a top 25 win, I think their standing is indeed credible.

Now prove that you ARE top 25 by winning more games. They didn’t play Indiana last year, and of the three games they won last year, only Wisconsin is on this year’s schedule. A bunch of home games plays in their favor, but you still have to be good to win games…

Time will tell…

NFL Top 10, week 2

2009-09-25T16:05:00.001-07:00

ANFL Top 10, after Week 2

There are a lot of questions about this year’s NFL teams, which makes it very interesting. Key injuries, surprise wins, surprise losses make this very interesting, and it’s only after week 2. So how in the world can we possibly make a top 10 after only two games?

Easy! We just force one!

To be honest, this isn’t fair to make a top 10 this early, but just for the sake of argument, I wanted to see if I could create a top 10 of the NFL teams this year. The easy thing to do is to simply assume that every 2-0 squad is immediately credible, but that may not be so much the case. But it’s our starting point as we begin to name the top 10 NFL teams, as of the end of week 2:

Before we begin, we need to first make a list of all the 2-0 teams:

Giants, Vikings, Falcons, Saints, 49ers, Jets, Colts, Ravens and Broncos. That’s the list of 9 teams that are currently undefeated…so it might be assumed that all 9 should be in the top 10, right?

Maybe.

But this also means we must include some 1-1 teams, and right now they number 14, meaning we have to decide the ten best teams out of over 20, as of only the second week of the season.

Ugh.

Well, after doing my math, I came up with my top 10, but before I do, let me start with the team that just missed out on the cut, and why:

MISSED CUT: Minnesota Vikings 2-0

See, technically the Vikings should have made it, since there were in fact 9 undefeated teams, but I looked at all the other teams that were 2-0 and 1-1 and to be honest, I can’t place the Vikings as a top 10 team, not yet. Beating the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions proves nothing, even though the Vikings do score 28 points to the good. But until they beat tougher foes, I can’t put them on the top 10, not yet.

#10 Buffalo Bills (1-1)

This team SHOULD have been 2-0, with that wacky loss to New England, and their win over Tampa Bay has them 12 points more than they give up, not bad for a 1-1 team. We saw that the Bills may just be as good as advertised, but how long before Mouth Almighty, Tongue Everlasting (TO) starts to undermine the team? As long as they are winning he will be quite…but another loss or two, watch out for fireworks.

#9 Chicago Bears (1-1)

To me this might be the best 1-1 team in the NFL, having lost to the Packers but beating the Superbowl Champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The question here is all about the quarterback, who plays kinda like a werewolf. You just never know what you’re going to get out of Cutler, and with the defense wounded, this could cause some problems as the season goes on. One would have to think that the Bears will lean heavily on an already limping defense, but they are good enough to get the job done.

#8 Denver Broncos (2-0)

I very nearly wanted to place the Broncos even lower, because their two wins are based off beating the Bengals and Browns…and how much noise did THEY make last year? But I was more impressed with their wins than over 2-0 Minnesota, even though the Broncos scored 26 points more than their opponents, while the Vikings scored 28 points more. But between those two, I gave the nod to the Broncos because well, ANYBODY can beat the Lions…

#7 Indianapolis Colts (2-0)

There is a lot of transition going on with the Colts, and one wonders if they can hold serve in their own division. With wins over the Jaguars and the Dolphins, they Colts look ok, but of all the 2-0 teams in the NFL at this moment, the Colts have the slimmest margin of points over their opponents, with a +6. That’s hard to figure out when you have Peyton Manning, and something they better fix soon or they won’t remain undefeated for long.

#6 San Francisco 49ers (2-0)

I realize this might be a bit premature, but hey, it’s only the second week. I put the 49ers here because they won two division games already, one over the Cardinals, who just came off a Superbowl loss. But many have questioned the strength of the NFC West, and I am one of them. They do manage to score 17 points more than their opponents in total, which kinda splits it to like 8 points a game. I don’t think they’ll get any better IF they sign Michael Crabtree (greedy rascal), but I also don’t see this perfect record going too much longer either. Still, two wins over division foes isn’t bad.

#5 New Orleans Saints (2-0)

Talk about 5 hour energy! My home town is racking up the points, having the highest point differential in the NFL after 2 weeks. The Saints have scored 44 points more than their opponents, which averages to like 22 points MORE per game than the opponent. This is a high maintenance machine, but I placed it at number 5 because well, you did beat the Lions…ho hum….and you also beat a wounded Philadelphia team. That does not mean the Saints are a joke, you can’t score tons of points unless you are good, but we will see when they play tougher competition.

#4 Baltimore Ravens (2-0)

People are still talking about that Ray Lewis hit at the end of the game…wow, what a STOP! And beating the Chargers in their house means the Ravens mean business. Add to this some offensive attacks and you may have a pretty tough team in Baltimore. I placed them here because of the impressive win over the Chargers, but not any higher because one of their wins was against the Chiefs, who wasn’t exactly burning up the charts last year. The Ravens average about 10 points more than their opponents per game, which is pretty impressive since the Ravens aren’t known for their offense.

#3 New York Jets (2-0)

Wow, who woulda thought… well, somebody did. And right after Brett Farve left them too. At 2-0 the Jets are one of the top 5 scoring teams in the NFL. They have 24 points total more than their opponents, which averages to about 12 points per game more than teams they play. With wins over the Texans and the Patriots, all eyes look to the AFC East and this team to make noise. They look for real, but one wonders…beating the Texans isn’t saying too much, and is this a down year for the Pats? If so, are the Jets as good as the record… or just Jesting…..

#2 Atlanta Falcons (2-0)

There is no more mystery about Matt Ryan, and the Falcons have beaten the Dolphins and the Panthers…two teams that were decent last year. There is a lot of promise for the team, and with offensive weapons it is likely to see this team hovering near the playoffs by the end of the season. But is Carolina just that bad this year, and what of the Saints? Can Atlanta best the Buccs twice? Lots of questions, to be answered as the year goes on.

#1 New York Giants (2-0)

So if things go the way I said, then the Jets and Giants meet in the Superbowl, right? Well, that’s way too early. But the Giants are good, and it is always a good sign when you knock down two of your division rivals. Beating the Redskins and the Cowboys are always good signs, but they play hard games. Their +8 point differential over 2 games means they are winning on an average of only 4 points…one possession. They have yet to play the Eagles, and if they are healthy, it could be a fight. Missing a very key receiver could be a problem, one they have to adjust to quickly, but it seems they are doing ok.

So that’s my list of the top 10 teams of the first two weeks, you notice I didn’t add in the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn’t put them in because with a loss to the bears, and a win over the Titans, it wasn’t really saying too much. The Steelers are struggling with offense, and with a key injury on defense, that could be a problem too.

I also didn’t put the Patriots on the list because by many accounts, they OUGHT to be 0-2. They didn’t win that Buffalo game, the Bills GAVE that to them. Yeah, I know a win is a win, but it was not very impressive.

Things will start shaking out as we go on, so surely these rankings are subject to change….tune in as we keep checking on that…

Mountain West Conference Football

2009-09-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

What’s up with the Mountain West Conference?

You know, just a few days ago I was singing the praises of the Mountain West Conference, and I even went so far as to say that they are better than the Big East and ACC because they had (at that time) three ranked teams.

My, how much changes in one week.

With teams like Utah, BYU and TCU, and sprinkle in some Air Force, I really thought this conference was better than the WAC and Boise State. When you have three teams out of your conference on the top 25, and you are not a power conference, that is awesome!

But what happened? I would have bet my last peanut butter and jelly sandwich that BYU was going to rout Florida State, and I CERTAINLY didn’t see a 54-28 smashing in BYU’s own living room.

And Utah losing at home to Oregon helps Boise State feel bigger than the Mountain West, since they beat Oregon at the beginning of the year.

With all the Mountain West teams 3 games in except TCU, only two teams remain that are undefeated: the afore-mentioned TCU and Colorado State, who at the moment is 3-0.

This is odd because this is a very tough conference, and if Colorado State is currently 3-0, with Utah just falling out the top 25, and TCU undefeated, with BYU still on the rankings, this to me is still a very tough conference…ok let’s not bring up that New Mexico is 0-3.

So the question might be, is this conference for real, or are they all pretenders to the BCS Buster Crown? Again, many will swear by Boise State, but I still think the WAC is not as competitive as the Mountain West.

Yes Boise State beat Oregon…at home, but outside of that, few see their schedule as competitive to the end. Look at the schedule of the Mountain West Conference and key games:

Air Force: Played at Minnesota, will play at Navy, home to TCU, away to Utah and Colorado State, and BYU.

BYU: Played away at Oklahoma, home to Florida State and Colorado State and TCU, Air Force and Utah.

Colorado State: Played away at Colorado, away to BYU, home to Utah, away to TCU and home to Air Force

New Mexico: Played away at Texas A&M, home to Air Force, away to Texas Tech and Utah, home to BYU and away to TCU

San Diego State: Away at UCLA and Air Force, home to BYU, away to Colorado State, home to TCU and way to Utah.

TCU: Away at Virginia and Clemson, Air Force and BYU, home to Utah.

UNLV: Home to Oregon State, BYU, Utah, away to TCU and Air Force.

Utah: Away at Oregon, home to Louisville, away to Colorado State, home to Air Force, away to TCU and BYU.

Folks, that is a competitive schedule.

It’s a shame that the old WAC super conference can’t get back together, when they had 16 teams. This would have ended a lot of talk about BCS Busters and stuff like that when you had teams like Boise State, Utah, BYU and TCU all fighting for one crown before stating a case for a BCS Championship. But as it stands, this Mountain West Conference is indeed a tough conference.

Sure, one loss hurts Utah and BYU a ton, in fact it kicked Utah out of one poll. So it might appear that the pride of the conference rests on TCU, or maybe Colorado State, since they need an undefeated team to make a serious charge at the BCS. I am not as confident in the Rams as I am in Horned Frogs, but both are still undefeated at the moment, after Saturday we will know much more about this conference.

I still think that IF a team goes undefeated in the MWC, they deserve serious consideration at a BCS Title IF there are no undefeated teams out of the BCS conferences. I mean, if people talk about Boise State getting that shot, why not TCU or Colorado State, if they go undefeated?

But there is still much to see, many more games to play, time will tell all.

The Fate of Southern Cal

2009-09-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Fate of Southern Cal

Well, looks like USC has lost to another team they should have beaten.

But does this change anything about their chances?

Well….let’s talk about that. USC started out crushing San Jose State 56-3, then barely beat Ohio State 18-15, then loses to Washington 16-13. Seems like a downward spiral for the Trojans.

That’s what happens when you go with a freshman quarterback, and have injuries on the team. Granted the loss to Washington was not based on a freshman quarterback, since he was not playing, but what can’t be missed is that this is not the USC team of old, and apparently away games don’t hold too well for them.

And with games vs. California on the horizon, and a Notre Dame team that now thinks they might be able to take shots at the wounded lion, this could be a problem for USC’s hopes to get to the BCS. So, is it over for a UCS team to make it to the National Championships?

Hard to say.

For us to buy into USC still in the hunt, we first have to remember where they are. They are currently ranked #12 in one poll, and #10 in another. This means they need some help from other teams to fall out, so they can climb back in. As it stands right now, the biggest game left on USC’s schedule is against California, which is coming fast.

So your question would then be, IF USC can hold off Cal, and finish the season, who then are the most likely teams to fall out the top 10, and thus allow USC to slip back in the top 10 and further up the ladder.

There are at this moment FOUR SEC teams ahead of USC, and you just know that won’t last. They have to play each other, and between Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and LSU, there will be “L”s handed out. And the fact that they have a conference championship means they will settle it out once and for all, leaving USC able to slip a few spots up the ladder.

You have to wonder if Miami is for real, being now ranked #9 in one poll. I just can’t buy into that now, especially with two very tough games ahead of them before sinking into the ACC schedule. As much as I would like to think Miami can hang in there, I can’t see it.

The same would hold true for Virginia Tech, as the ACC has brutally beaten each other last year, and I don’t see how that would change this year. I can’t see anybody from the ACC going undefeated, so even one loss will drop them to the point where USC could jump them.

Remember, this is based on USC running the tables, and their chances of getting back at a BCS Championship.

From the Big 12 you have a wounded Oklahoma and #2 Texas. We KNOW they have to play, and it looks like the favorites will be Texas. If so, then Oklahoma, with two losses, is out of any BCS Title game…but if Texas LOSES, what then?

Is Penn State beatable? As good as I think they are, I still don’t think they can run the tables in the Big 10. One loss, maybe two, but I just can’t see them going undefeated. But one loss might not kill their shots at the BCS if other things happen.

And what of Boise State? Their win over Fresno State shows that they are touchable, but with the weak conference they are in, it would be hard to see them losing. Yet when the BCS rankings come out, I wonder if Boise State will be penalized for such a soft schedule. I said in another blog about Boise State, scheduling UC Davis and Miami Ohio isn’t the way to go if you REALLY want to compete for a National Championship, it might cost them when the first BCS polls come out later this season.

So, having said all this, does USC have a legit shot? Yeah, because the season is still young. I mean, if USC can lose…so can anybody else, right. I mean, Florida barely won their game, BYU lost, Utah lost, so we seem to have a pretty competitive season so far…anything is possible.

So Southern Cal is still in the mix….for now.

Mississippi vs South Carolina: One minute left

2009-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Mississippi vs. South Carolina: One minute left

Ok, so I am blogging this on the idea that South Carolina wins this game 16-10, and a game that exposes a few things about both teams….

Wait, it’s official, the #4 team, Mississippi, loses to South Carolina 16-10.

So what have we learned? Several things.

First, we see that neither team has a really potent offense, but both have some pretty good defenses. For awhile we wondered if anybody was going to score a touchdown.

For South Carolina, the win is HUGE, but there are some very glaring problems with the offensive. The score should have been more like 28-10 instead of 16-10 because of their inability to get in the end zone. Folks, when you are first and goal, you simply MUST punch that in and cash in.

South Carolina failed to do that many times, either because they can’t run the ball or because Mississippi is good on defense. I think it’s a little of both, because last year South Carolina showed that they don’t run the ball all that well.

We also saw how Mississippi plays, and it seems that the hype about their quarterback seems to be just that…hype. Not that he did a terrible job, because every college quarterback is going to have off days, but the great ones have to be able to take the team on his shoulder and move forward…something the Rebels just were not able to do.

What we also saw was that South Carolina does not have the offense to finish an opponent, while Mississippi refused to give up, credit given to their defense. At one point the score was 16-3 and I remember saying to somebody that if South Carolina could get one more touchdown, they would ice the game…this was in the third quarter.

But was it me, or did it seem like South Carolina seemed to put it on “cruise control” after they scored 16 points? This is very unlike a Steve Spurrier coached team, who was well known for running up the scores while at Florida. It just seemed that this Gamecock team had just enough to win the game…no more than that.

Yet this also speaks of Mississippi, which some questioned the ranking at #4. To be sure, they benefited from other teams losing, allowing them to slide up the rankings, but in the end, they proved that they were not the 4th best team in the nation…not playing like that.

So Mississippi will drop in the polls, losing to an unranked team, one I feel they will see a few more times before the year is out. Let’s not forget that they did lose to South Carolina last year, and although they won a host of games late last year, the jury is still out on their greatness. As one guy on ESPN said, the last game Miss played against Texas Tech seemed to be one that was given to them. Some say that Texas Tech gave up on the game because they felt they should have gone to a bigger bowl…maybe there was some truth to it.

In any case, Mississippi is now off the ranks of the unbeaten, making room for other teams to take their place….could this be the beginning of a weekend of upsets? Or was it that South Carolina beating Mississippi was never an upset to begin with…

Time will tell. But for now, the final score rests at 16-10, South Carolina Gamecocks.

Mississippi vs South Carolina 2009

2009-09-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Mississippi vs. South Carolina 2009

Looks like we got us a SEC matchup tonight….

Tonight on ESPN there will be a pretty interesting matchup between two SEC foes, as South Carolina will host the Mississippi Rebels. This is a game to watch, because for a lot of folks like myself, we are waiting to see if this Miss team is really the real deal.

I think the jury is still out on it.

Now Mississippi is ranked #5 on one poll, and #4 on the other, so we’re talking about a top 5 team in the nation. I can’t argue that. Mississippi has two wins already, while South Carolina is 2-1. By numbers alone, one might assume that South Carolina is doomed to lose…I mean, even under Steve Spurrier the Gamecocks have not really kicked open the door to the SEC Championship, have they?

But let’s look a little further, and see if we can find out what may happen tonight, shall we?

South Carolina, as mentioned, is 2-1, but came off a 7-6 record last year. Since they are playing home, let’s look at their home games from 2008. The Gamecocks beat NC State 34-0 to start the season, lost to Georgia 14-7 and barely beat Wofford 23-13...

Only ten points? What’s up with that Spurrier?

South Carolina beats UAB 26-13, loses to LSU 24-17, beats Tennessee 27-6 and stops Arkansas 34-21. So the home record for South Carolina is 5-2...not bad. When you consider that they lost to Georgia and LSU, that’s nothing to get too upset about. It might appear that South Carolina has a strong home field advantage.

Add to this that they beat Mississippi away last year 34-21, and one could guess that a little home cooking might make things better. This year they started out with Wolfpack, sweaking by 7-3, then lost at Georgia 41-37 before beating Florida Atlantic 38-16. I think the Gamecocks are a tad better this year than last year. Consider last year about this time they had about 58 points, this year they have scored over 80. If they can improve their defense just a little, it might make the difference in winning 7 games, or winning 9. To be sure, they have a chance tonight.

But Mississippi is a top 5 ranked team, with a quarterback that has been mentioned as a Heisman hopeful. With a 9-4 record last year, their losses were to Wake Forest on the road, Vanderbilt at home, South Carolina at home and Alabama away…hmmm.

The strength of Mississippi rests on the fact that they beat Florida, LSU and Texas Tech last year…not a bad trio to hang your hat on. So the Rebels get a nice big ranking early this year, and with upsets already abound, it was easy for them to move up the BCS ladder.

Question…are they REALLY a top 5 team?

That’s hard to answer right now, because even at 2-0 they have no conference games yet…until tonight. Beating Memphis isn’t saying a lot, crushing the Tigers 45-14, and beating Southeastern Louisiana 52-6 does not really make a real mark either. Granted, two wins is two wins, but who have you beat so far?

But you can’t ignore a quarterback that has thrown only 50 times this year, and has 5 touchdowns. With a high powered offense, this could be a team that will give South Carolina fits. We know the Rebels love to score, whether home or away, so the South Carolina fans better be ready for scoring galore.

Can Mississippi win on the road against Steve Spurrier? Can the Gamecocks beat a top 5 team, which would give an incredible boost to the university and the team? I think Mississippi can beat South Carolina in their house, after all they beat Florida AND LSU last year in their houses…why would this be any different?

It’s different because South Carolina beat them last year.

But folks, I am going to drink a little bit of that Rebel Gatorade, and think that this team can…and will pull out a victory. This will be their first real test of the year, and I do wonder if they are mentally ready for that. Whipping up on lesser foes can make you dull, but I think this South Carolina team is average at best, and may put up a good fight, but it won’t be enough.

I see Mississippi winning by about 7 points, maybe as much as 10.

Boise State vs Fresno State 3rd quarter

2009-09-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

Boise State vs. Fresno State: before the end

Speedblog

Ok, a quick blog to get something off my chest about this game.

Currently Boise State is in a dogfight with Fresno State, with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, leading 34-24, but by the time I finish blogging this, the score could be much closer.

Before this final comes out, I want to spotlight a key play that could have turned this game into Fresno State’s favor…the kickoff.

In the third quarter, if you were watching the game, Fresno State kicks the ball off to Boise State, and the player catches it in the end zone…and proceeds to come out..

And runs 102 yards into the end zone! Touchdown….maybe not.

There was a block in the back by Boise State, but there was also a facemask against Fresno State. With both penalties offsetting, you had a re-kick. Now, this is where I think Fresno State dropped the ball:

If you just kicked the ball to a guy who ran 102 yards, guess what…he is DOG tired! With Fresno State having to re kick, the guys calling the game on ESPN suggested not to kick to this guy again…I strongly disagree.

You kick DIRECTLY to him, because he is extremely tired. This creates a better chance for maybe a turnover for Fresno State. But as I was watching this with my brother, they decided to kick away to him, to the other guy. I quickly said to him, “that’s a terrible idea, because that guy is fresh”.

And Boise State proceeds with that guy to get a HUGE gain on the kick return, setting up another score. And now with the score 34-27, that plays big time on how the results will come out.

It just didn’t make sense to me why you would kick AWAY from a dead tired player into the hands of a fresh one. Would it not have made sense to challenge that same guy who ran across the entire field to do it again. With him being that tired, your chances of a turnover is greater than with a guy that didn’t run full speed, across the length of the field.

But that’s something they may have to live with.

Mark my words, if Fresno State loses by less than one possession, they will regret that unwise decision. With under 2 minutes left in the third quarter, I still think it may be a matter of time before Fresno State sputters with the offense. Well, with a whole quarter to go, we will see.

End of third quarter, Boise State up 34-27...and that unwise decision on that kickoff makes the difference. The full result of that has yet to be determined….

Can Tennessee Volunteers make a bowl this year?

2009-09-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

Can Tennessee Volunteers make a bowl?

Well, did they LAST year?

The answer might require a little more thought, I mean, teams can get better from one year to the next…and they can also go backwards too….

So the question for the Volunteer fans is this: can Tennessee qualify for a bowl?

To get a good answer, we have to look at a few elements, including how they fared last year, who they play this year, and how they have done so far.

For any college football program in Division I, the number one objective is to first win the minimum number of games to qualify for a bowl. So the question first is, can Tennessee win six games?

To answer that, we have to first jump back a year. This is a team that won 5 games last year in the very tough SEC conference. The season started out with a loss to UCLA in California before a win over UAB to even the record to 1-1. A “respectable” loss to Florida at Rocky Top dropped them to 1-2, but with the hopes that maybe this team could compete in the SEC.

But losing to Auburn away sunk them further, and it didn’t help that Tennessee barely escaped Northern Illinois at home, 13-9. This once mighty team had a 2-3 record, and not very impressive.

Another road loss to Georgia and a home win over hapless Miss State ran the record to 3-4 before losing two conference games back-to-back, dropping games to Alabama and South Carolina, and not even scoring more than 10 points in either game.

Ugh.

A loss to Wyoming put Tennessee at 3-6, and no chance for post season. But oddly enough, THAT is when they put together a few wins, beating Vanderbilt away and Kentucky at home.

So…how does that change this year?

Beating Western Kentucky 63-10 proves nothing and almost smells like a first time coach trying to impose his will on the weak. Anybody can be a bully for a weekend….

So then the chance comes to put up or shut up against UCLA, a team that beat Tennessee on the West Coast last year…and as it turns out, nothing changed but the date on the calendar. The Volunteers lost by 3 last year to UCLA…lost by 4 this year in their own home.

So now this weekend they have to go to see about a Gator…and to eat some crow. There is no doubt that nobody is picking Tennessee to win, it would be a moral victory if they lose by less than 3 touchdowns, but with Lane Kiffin popping his chops, this might be more about taming a shrew than just a game.

So we can go ahead and put Tennessee at 1-2, right?

The Volunteers then have three straight home games against Ohio, who was 4-8 last year, then Auburn, who was 5-7 but beat Tennessee last year, and Georgia, who was 10-3, and spanked Tennessee last year.

I am willing to believe Tennessee can split the SEC home games, and win over Ohio, so I can see them coming out of this with a 3-3 record.

They then travel TO Alabama, then home for two more games (South Carolina and Memphis). I can’t see them beating Alabama, and I have doubts about South Carolina too, but it’s not impossible. So the Volunteers can come out of this either 5-4, or 4-5.

But playing Mississippi could be a problem, if they are as good as people think they are…personally I am not fully convinced, but I do think they are better than Tennessee. So with two games left in the season, Tennessee would, by my guesses, be struggling to qualify for a bowl, at either 5-5 or 4-6. If the latter, then the last two games are of HUGE importance.

As it turns out, it is a repeat of last year, playing Vanderbilt and Kentucky, the only difference is the location. Vandy at home, Kentucky away. Tennessee handily beat both teams last year…they might NEED to do so this year to get to a bowl.

So if the question is whether Tennessee can make it to a bowl, my answer is yes they can…but the margin for error is razor thin. If I give Tennessee the last two games, they would either finish 7-5 or 6-6...that is cutting it close.

Still, either way it is a step in the right direction since last year they were 5-7. But losing 4 out of 5 road games ain’t cool, perhaps that’s why they figured out how to give them only FOUR this year. With eight scheduled home games, you BETTER qualify for a bowl game, I can’t imagine how much money will be spent filling up Neyland Stadium.

We’ll get a true measure AFTER the Florida game, I think the Auburn game will tell us much more…heaven forbid if they lose BIG to Florida and then lose to Ohio…oh the agony.

We shall see…..

Georgia Tech vs Miami: Aftermath

2009-09-18T13:13:00.001-07:00

Georgia Tech vs. Miami: Aftermath

Georgia Tech 17, Miami 33 Final

This was a pretty nice game to watch, one where there seemed to be more pressure on Miami to win than on Georgia Tech. I watched this game with the idea that maybe the winner here could be the favorite to win the ACC. While that is still possible, I am still not quite sure on that.

But what I am sure of is that the option that Georgia Tech runs may be quickly outdated. Remember that the coach came from Navy, and the option was common there. When he used it last year, it had marginal success, but is it possible that now the competition has adjusted to them?

To me, if you are going to run a triple option, then the quarterback has to have some legit threat to pass. We know from last year that this was not the case at all, as Josh Nesbitt had only two passing touchdowns, and five interceptions. We even saw this last week vs. Clemson, when the glaring problem of the triple option came evident. This does not seem to work against more quality teams and actually hurts when you’re down by more than 8 points.

But last night the game certainly looked like they were going to do a repeat of getting over 400 yards rushing against Miami. This was a revenge game for Miami, and also a very key game for several reasons. One, being embarrassed by Georgia Tech last year, two, in the midst of four very tough games, and three, the real possibility of their head coach’s job on the line.

Beating Florida State was crucial, but it was only the first of four big time games for the Hurricanes. They needed to win this game to make a solid statement for the ACC crown.

It was most important for Miami to stop the run… it’s what Georgia Tech lived by, and if they could stop that, it would force them to do what they are not good at…throwing the ball.

The first drive seemed to start out just like last year, with the Yellow Jackets moving the ball at will, but the Hurricanes managed to stop them from getting into the end zone, settling for a field goal. To Miami, this was a moral victory, even though they were down 3-0.

But the offence of Miami seemed to come alive with this new quarterback, Jacory Harris. I gotta tell ya, he looked like he knew the system every which way but loose. The Hurricanes moved the ball down the field and scored with a 40 yard pass, taking the lead at 7-3 by the end of the first quarter.

The plan for Miami seemed to be simple, if you contain Nesbitt and Dwyer, you contain the option. It seemed that the Hurricanes were willing to gamble that Georgia Tech could not throw the ball, because that was not their strength. However, the passing attack of Miami seemed to have the Yellow Jackets winded as they took a halftime lead of 17-3.

At this point, I believed Georgia Tech was half beaten, because to come back, they would either have to hope that Miami got lazy with the option, or would have to throw the ball. But Miami seemed dead set to stop the option at all costs, even if it meant being burnt on a few passing plays. Although there was some glimpses of the option working, it took some rare long passes for Georgia Tech to get back in. Still, near the end of the 3rd, quarter, the score was 31-14.

Then there was that odd safety penalty thing….

I am not quite sure what Coach Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech was so upset about here, and why it was directed at his kicker. GA Tech snaps the ball, it goes sailing over the kicker’s head into the end zone. The kid has only a couple of options; get rid of the ball or try to make something out of it. He decides to purposely kick it out the end zone, which is an automatic safety, rather than giving Miami superior field position or a touchdown should something crazy happens. Yet he is flagged for intentionally kicking the ball out, which still results in a safety.

Ok, fine. But why then was coach Johnson all hot at the kicker? Didn’t he do only what he had to do? It was quite likely it was going to be a safety anyway, if he had tried to be a hero and save the ball and try to kick it, it could have easily ended up inside the 10 or 5 yard line, almost guaranteeing Miami a touchdown or field goal. I just didn’t see what the kicker did wrong except save GA Tech some points.

So we go into the 4th quarter, and I see something else…early in the 4th, Miami inside the GA Tech 10 yard line, and Coach Randy Shannon opts to go for a field goal…

WHY?

With the score being 33-10 early in the 4th, I would not think it would be running up the score to try for one more touchdown. Yet I think Shannon, to his credit, was concerned about that, and even with his team inside the 10, he takes a penalty to back up and try for a field goal…and misses.

The problem here that Miami might need to fix is when you are beating a team, make sure you have the BEAT before you show mercy. The problem with this is that once you take your foot off the pedal, sometimes it is hard to find it again. And by missing that field goal, you offer the ball back to Georgia Tech with better field position, and you give them the slightest gleam of hope.

This is something Georgia Tech learned last week against Clemson, and it almost cost them the game. But now with a little light, the Yellow Jackets do the rare thing and get the passing game going, and nets a touchdown. Now the score is 33-17 with 10 minutes left…and Georgia Tech has some hope.

The onside kick does not work, but they would not have tried it unless they thought there was a chance they could come back. But the defense holds and Miami gets the ball back, but misses a second field goal…this gives Georgia Tech every thought that they just might make a game of it.

But Georgia Tech was contained by the Hurricanes, as Nesbitt could not get anything going, passing or running, and it choked any hope of them coming back. End the end, Miami wins…but we see that they have two problems. One, the kicking game, and two, the lack of a “killer instinct”.

This might come back to haunt them, especially with games vs. Virginia Tech and Oklahoma back to back. Is the “U” back…I am not completely convinced, but I like what I see.

As for Georgia Tech, I think they have been exposed and I think average teams will be able to set up a counter for that option, forcing Nesbitt to lean on his weakness, that of throwing. A bad team can’t stop Georgia Tech, but a decent team can seriously challenge them. Some people might think this option stuff is awesome, but without a good quarterback who can throw the ball, it makes them too one dimensional. At this rate, I can’t see 9 wins for them…maybe 7.

But we shall see as the season goes on…

Michael Crabtree being Crabby!

2009-09-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

Michael Crabtree being Crabby!

“Oh greed, from which pit of hell cometh thou?”

I don’t get this folks, SOMEBODY tell me what I am missing here!

The last few years I was fortunate enough to watch some Texas Tech games on television and loved how these guys played. We were almost guaranteed many points every game, and it was most exciting. This high scoring team had a great quarterback, and also a great receiver, showcased last year when Texas Tech beat Texas in a thriller.

(R.I.P MJ)

One of the stars was Michael Crabtree, a sure-fire first round pick in the NFL draft. I realized that whoever picked this guy would certainly be in a good position to build a good offense, even with a decent quarterback.

So the NFL Draft comes around, and Michael Crabtree is picked #10 by the San Francisco 49ers…ok, not exactly the best team in the NFL at the moment, but to be sure there is great promise with what they have there. Seems like a no brainer; Crabtree signs, he gets on the team, works out and bingo, the 49ers have a new weapon that could just make the difference in them getting to the playoffs.

Problem.

That rare disease called Divamentia has descended on Michael Crabtree, where he thinks that he should be paid even more than the offer.

Let’s see…the 49ers are offering him about $20,000,000 over a 5 year period, with about $16,000,000 guaranteed. He’d be making about $4 million a year. He wants MORE money, comparable to the higher picks.

Comparable to what?

Darrius Heyward-Bey was picked #7 in the draft, the only other receiver ahead of Crabtree. He signed a 5 year deal guaranteeing him at least $23 million, but can make over $38 million.

Eugene Monroe was picked #8, and will get about $35 million, with about $19 million guaranteed. So what in the world is Crabbytree looking for?

If you looked at the 2009 draft, and what the players all signed for (except Crabtree) you can see a progressive change from the first pick on down. Generally speaking, the higher you are drafted, the more money you can be signed for, over a 4-6 year deal. Most players signed for 5 years, a few signed for 4 or 6.

The progression of salaries and guaranteed contracts goes lower as the picks go lower. For example, Matthew Stafford was the #1 pick, and signed with the Lions for 6 years, $72 million with almost $42 million guaranteed. The second pick was Jason Smith, who signed for the St. Louis Rams for 5 years, almost $62 million with $33 million guaranteed.

From there it decreases in salary as the pick get lower. One exception is Andre Smith, who signed with the Bengals for only 4 years, $26 million ,but $21 million of that guaranteed. From there the contract gets progressively lower.

If you look at the lower picks under Crabtree, you see that the #12 pick was Knowshon Moreno was picked by Denver for 5 years, $23 million, with $13 million of that guaranteed. Fellow receiver Jeremy Maclin was selected #19, and his contract was for 5 years, almost $15 million, with just over $9 million guaranteed.

You get the idea? The higher you are picked, the more money you can get, the lower you are picked, the less money you will sign for. If we were to use some kinda math at what Michael Crabtree should get since he was picked #10, it might be something along maybe $21 or $22 million, with about $16 million guaranteed…there abouts.

But that’s not enough. Crabtree wants similar money to what Darrius Heyward-Bey makes, which is about $15 million MORE than the contract that Crabtree has on the table, and about another 8 or 9 million guaranteed.

He wants #7 money when he was NOT the #7 pick….what makes this dude think he deserves that kind of money?

And the problem is that he looks at Brandon Marshall with the Broncos throw a temper tantrum and get what he wants, he sees Terrell Owens as “Mouth Almighty” and gets what he wants, and thinks that every receiver has to be the center of the universe. So Crabtree has already missed every bit of training camp, and the season has already started…he is now of no use to the 49ers.

And there is the thought of reentering the draft next year for a higher pick… a foolish gamble if you ask me.

Guys like this make me wish that he gets picked MUCH later in the first round, preferably the second round, so he can dream about those big dollars he left on the table. I realize this is a business, but the business wanted to award him $16 million guaranteed! That would have made him the 10th highest paid rookie of the draft…isn’t that the way it is supposed to work?

With the length of contract and the overall salary, it gets a little sketchy, but maybe his argument was that there was such a dropoff from the #9 pick, B.J. Raji, picked by the Packers for 5 years, $28 million with $18 guaranteed to his $20 million, $16 million guaranteed. The difference of $8 million dollars might have been what upset him…and his agent.

If the 49ers make a deal with him, (and I hope they don’t), they might offer a few million more, maybe give him a $24 or $25 million dollar deal, maybe $17 million guaranteed, but how can they go any higher? He does not deserve it, he has not shown anything on the field, and he is suffering from Divamentia…somebody help the poor guy!

A sad story to be sure…where $20 million dollars just doesn’t buy what it used to…maybe he ought to take a part time job at Wal-Mart…I am sure they got one in San Francisco….

Will Florida CRUSH Tennessee?

2009-09-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Should Florida CRUSH Tennessee?

This is a hard question for me, because I have some biases about this game. First off, I live in ACC country, so to talk about SEC matchups is kinda odd to begin with. But there is no question that the SEC is better, it has been proven several times in the last few years.

But this Tennessee vs. Florida game is pretty big because there is a promise of a major beat down. But my problem is that Lane Kiffin, the head coach of Tennessee, is a former Oakland Raider coach…and I am a HEAVY Raider fan.

And I felt sorry for how Monty Burns….er….Al Davis, ran him out of the NFL. At that time he looked like the guy that was stepped on by the mean ole grumpy businessman, and had a lot of sympathy votes. So when Tennessee called him up, it just seemed like the great fit.

And I was a very big fan of Tennessee, I have always admired their very strong fan base and they have been a great team up until recently. But I personally felt that the alumni of Tennessee was too hasty in getting rid of their former head coach because they wanted to be in the National Title hunt every single year. It lends to the phrase, “what have you done for me lately”…of which Janet Jackson made famous years ago.

I lost respect for Tennessee for getting rid of a good coach, and hiring one with virtually NO experience…this just didn’t really add up unless they were hoping that Lane Kiffin’s NFL aura could recruit more talent to Tennessee.

So I have mixed feelings for the Volunteers. I have admired the school for a long time, but lately I kinda feel like they listened to rich alumni rather than being patient. But it didn’t help one bit when Kiffin stepped into the college spotlight by opening his big mouth about what Tennessee was going to do.

What is his pedigree in winning…mind you, not his dad’s but Lane himself? How can a guy that had a bad record with the Raiders can come across the country and pop his chops as if he won the Superbowl? Come on now, being confident is one thing…being arrogant is quite another.

So now Lane Kiffin has written a check that is bigger than the stadium he coaches in…not very wise. Sometimes when coaches get God-like egos, it is nice to see it popped. When Steve Spurrier was the head coach at Florida, he used to run up the score a lot. When he got the head coach’s job for the Washington Redskins, he thought he could do the same thing during preseason, but learned a HUGE lesson about doing that. His coaching career didn’t last so long in the NFL…

So now Lane Kiffin has called the thunder, of the best team in the country, and playing in the “Swamp”, with a team that was 5-7 last year, already lost their first game of the season, and playing Florida, who beat them handily last year in their own house. Does this smell like a legendary beat down to you?

It ought to.

And I gotta tell you, I am not the biggest Florida fan, since I like Florida State more, but I have no problem cheering for Florida this year. Tim Tebow has been like the ray of sunshine to the sport, and all I ever hear is good things about him. I have to give major props to the coach, because Urban Meyer is trying to prepare his quarterback for the NFL, rather than just running the same system. This is a man that is trying to help his player, who helped them win a National Championship. I see nothing but honor in that.

I remember years ago when Emmitt Smith was playing for Florida, when Steve Spurrier took over. It was said that the “ole ball coach” told Smith that if he was going to play on the Gator team, he had to play it HIS way…so Emmitt Smith decided to go pro a little earlier…and the rest as they say…is history for Emmitt Smith, but for Steve Spurrier as well, both having legendary careers.

For a long time I didn’t like Florida, not really hate them (come on folks, it’s just a game) but up until recently I have set a place in my heart for Florida. I like the way they play and they seem to be as professional as students can be.

So, if you asked me who I am pulling for, I would say Florida…BIG. I think beating Tennessee by 35 points would be an understatement. If they were playing at Tennessee, the score would be less, but at home, you don’t have to show any mercy to anybody. Lane Kiffin will go 1-2 and start to eat those words he spit out when he took to that podium. I see this game possibly ending up maybe 45-10, maybe even higher…

And somewhere in California, Al Davis is laughing and saying… “excellent”, as only Monty Burns could say.

Good luck on qualifying for a bowl this year Tennessee.