The 2008 Regular Season Ends / The BCS Debate Takes Over
College Football never follows the preseason script or predictions, but who could ever have imagined some of the story lines from 2008. First, let’s salute Joe Paterno and Penn State. Had it not been for a shocking upset against Iowa, the Nittany Lions would be right in the thick of the National Champion debate; however, sad to say, the level of competition given the current health of the Big 10 might have kept them back as if the Rose Bowl and facing USC isn’t thunder enough.
In the SEC, the Crimson Tide of Alabama under the brilliant leadership of NFL quitter, Nick Sabin, is the one big team left undefeated, but what about those other teams that don’t qualify like Ball State, for instance. Here’s to Ball State. We pardon them for their most famous graduate, David Letterman, who is a good Indiana boy, given his support of motorsports, but he’s no Johnny Carson on the big stage. Also, Ball State was one of the few universities who hired anyone with a Republican or conservative background to present their commencement address, selecting the brilliant, Diane Auer Jones, who was Assistant Secretary of Education for Post Secondary on the verge of her courageous resignation over an idiotic policy and even more boneheaded philosophy promoted by the Deputy Secretary of Education who surely should be one of the minor villains in the current economic mess given her forgiving millions of dollars of loans to an institution with whom she might have had questionable connections. Her policy that overruled the common sense approach of Ms. Jones could have gutted Liberal Arts education as we know it. Anyway, this is about Ball State who knows how to pick winners, both for their football team and commencement speaker. One wonders how a team like Ball State would fare against the powerhouse teams from the SEC, Big 12, ACC, and Big 10.
Kudos to Florida State Rhodes Scholar Safety, Myron Rhodes, who must be one of the most uplifting interviews in all of sports. He will continue with his studies at Oxford for three years then pursue his chances in the NFL planning to then attend Medical School afterwards. This young man has a remarkable sense of purpose and humanity, remember the name, Myron Rhodes. If his future is not in the NFL, he will make his mark in more wondrous ways in the bigger world.
What about the Charlie Hayes situation at Notre Dame? What about Notre Dame’s fall from the elite over the last two decades? Not since Lou Holtz coached the fighting Irish, were they truly a national powerhouse. Hayes did okay with Ty Willingham’s recruits, but in his fourth year, he has lost all support. Playing to a 9-15 record overall, he team has one victory against teams with a winning record in the last two years. The years are slipping by and the Notre Dame mystique is becoming part of old football lore. Sure, they still have a national contact with NBC, but as with just about all programming on the peacock network since Jeffrey Zucker has taken control, the public’s attitude toward their programming is, “Nobody cares. With saturation coverage from ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS, and regional sports networks, dozens of teams fight for nationwide recognition. While Weis has been arrogant and seems out of touch with the realities of winning a blue ribbon program at the most storied team in college football, surely the school’s front office is ultimately at fault for the Fighting Irish falling into perennial mediocrity as all has not been well in South Bend for years. This is the era of USC while other teams like Florida are perennial winners. This writer never liked the Mackerel Snappers, but the sport is better for having them as the shinning stars they once were. Why the University would hire a failing coach to a multiyear, multimillion extension, but apparently when they are ready to drop the ax, a wealthy group of alumni boosters will help seal the deal. Still, Hayes will be back for at least one more year, but having lost the respect of everyone on board, it could be ugly as hell in South Bend. Even their last star to reach the NFL, is he or isn’t he the Cleveland starting QB but is washed up for this season Brady Quinn seems smitten with the current Notre Dame curse.
The ACC is a conference of parity where four teams finished at 5-3 with Boston College winning the tie-breakers against Florida State and Virginia Tech edged out Georgia Tech on the same criteria. Meanwhile all the other teams except two finished at break even, 4-4. Of the remaining teams, Duke cleaned up the bottom at 1-7. The surprise is that they won even one conference game beating Virginia who at 3-5 just missed out being part of the 4-4 pack. Still, Virginia’s three wins were killers, upsetting Maryland, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech ruining those three schools’ shot at greater honors.
The real big story has to be the Big 12’s Southern Division where three teams finished at 7-1 in the conference and 11-1 overall while Oklahoma State in 4th place at 5-3, 9-3 overall, proved to be quite a strong contender in their own right. Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech have all played brilliant games this year with Oklahoma winning based on its BCS installment.
Gee, things are hot in Alabama. For finally losing to ‘Bama after all these years, Tommy Tuberville is history! The coaching revolving door is cranking up the rpm’s right now. What a subject for debate: who has the tougher job (or is worth the high salaries) NFL or Division I coaches? Success in one sport doesn’t equal success in the other as a long parade of successes on either side would prove. How many coaches have won both an NCAA National Championship and Super Bowl besides Jimmy Johnson?
We will continue to remark that the coaching establishment often looks too much like a good old boys fraternity and now the eye is on the college campus. There are several successful rookie coaches and Black coaches who are among the NFL’s elite. No one would even consider race in debating the thin ice on which Romeo Cranell and Marvin Lewis now stand. Cranell surely shows some potential as many of his problems seem to come from higher up and Marvin Lewis deserves a better fate than Cincinnati for sure. He certainly looks to have the ability to accomplish great things and isn’t one of those fellows who makes a great coordinator but is ineffective on a higher level – as (oops) once again, Norv Turner.
We’ll have more to say about the college football post season scene in future columns. Something doesn’t feel quite right, but how would a playoff system work? Didn’t the old bowl format have a certain charm? We’ll have more to say later. Let’s look at this week’s version of early round playoffs, tradition laden conflicts, and what else this weekend’s action has in store!
Navy (-10 ½) versus Army @ Philadelphia
CBS has stripped its broadcast of this wonderful tradition of the pageantry and reverence it deserves. While most of us will fervently cheer for one team or the other, everyone on the field in this event is a hero as their athletic skill is but one of the talents for which they deserve honor as candidates to serve among the elite in our armed services. It is surely a heart-stirring moment to see the midshipmen and cadets march into the arena and all the other events that help to salute the special roll these institutions mean to us.
For decades, Philadelphia has been the primary venue for this historic event though Baltimore has been fortunate to play host twice since the Ravens’ new stadium was erected in downtown Baltimore. Would it not be advantageous to the service academies to rotate around the region from New York to Maryland for greater exposure? Sure there would be some turf wars. FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins can brag being the home field for the Nation’s capital, but it’s also a slightly closer ride to Annapolis than Baltimore. The Meadowlands in New Jersey would make a fine field close to the Army’s HQ at West Point. Thankfully, the biggest argument against Philadelphia, Veterans Stadium is no more. Lincoln Financial Field is surely an acceptable stadium.
We’re picking Navy as are the odds makers, but this is a game that regardless of the result, everyone’s a winner!
Boston College #17 versus Virginia Tech #25 at Tampa, ACC Championship, no odds posted
The teams fighting for the ACC title are two teams pilfered from the Big East just a few years ago. Everyone figured Miami would be the prize of the Big East raid creating a super rivalry with Florida State. Alas, both Florida powerhouses in the ACC have fallen on hard times, but these two newcomers are doing just fine. Still, somehow a team from Boston in the ACC just seems out of balance. Wasn’t Maryland that odd-ball team way up north?
Pittsburgh #23 at Connecticut (-3)
Well, here’s part of what’s left of the Big East and these two teams are no disgrace. Pitt has been flying right below the radar in recent years and are our favorite to take the Big East prize.
Alabama #1 versus Florida #4 at Atlanta, Georgia Dome, SEC Championship
Does it get any better than this? Alabama has been the mark of consistency beating all opponents each week en route to its undefeated mark. Florida, meanwhile, has played explosive football running up the score and destroying point spreads through most of the season only losing to LSU at home which seemed to make the Gators hungrier. Doesn’t it seem weird the #1 team in the country is down 9 ½ points by the Vegas crowd? We’re pulling for ‘Bama, baby!!! May the Crimson Tide wash those hungry Gators our to sea!
USC #5 (-33) at UCLA
This used to be quite the competitive rivalry until Pete Carroll made the USC Trojans into the most consistent program in the new century leading many to argue that with just one loss, they should be in the national championship picture. The PAC 10 just hasn’t shown itself to be that strong of a conference overall to rate that respect this year. We’re interested in this game to see if USC makes the point spread. We’re going to say they won’t. In fact, we’ll hope they go down hard to Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl, one of the few traditional bowls that will look like it’s still upholding its tradition.
South Florida at West Virginia (-7)
Here’s another Big East contest where West Virginia can show its continued growth despite losing coach Rodriguez to Michigan.
Missouri versus Oklahoma #2 (-17) at Kansas City, Arowhead Stadium, Big 12
Poor Missouri and the rest of the Big 12 North, all the action this year has been in the South as Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State have stirred up a Divisional race of historic proportions. This game should be but a tune up for future fun for Oklahoma making the promise so many had for Missouri at the beginning of the season seem like such a distant memory.
College Football never follows the preseason script or predictions, but who could ever have imagined some of the story lines from 2008. First, let’s salute Joe Paterno and Penn State. Had it not been for a shocking upset against Iowa, the Nittany Lions would be right in the thick of the National Champion debate; however, sad to say, the level of competition given the current health of the Big 10 might have kept them back as if the Rose Bowl and facing USC isn’t thunder enough.
In the SEC, the Crimson Tide of Alabama under the brilliant leadership of NFL quitter, Nick Sabin, is the one big team left undefeated, but what about those other teams that don’t qualify like Ball State, for instance. Here’s to Ball State. We pardon them for their most famous graduate, David Letterman, who is a good Indiana boy, given his support of motorsports, but he’s no Johnny Carson on the big stage. Also, Ball State was one of the few universities who hired anyone with a Republican or conservative background to present their commencement address, selecting the brilliant, Diane Auer Jones, who was Assistant Secretary of Education for Post Secondary on the verge of her courageous resignation over an idiotic policy and even more boneheaded philosophy promoted by the Deputy Secretary of Education who surely should be one of the minor villains in the current economic mess given her forgiving millions of dollars of loans to an institution with whom she might have had questionable connections. Her policy that overruled the common sense approach of Ms. Jones could have gutted Liberal Arts education as we know it. Anyway, this is about Ball State who knows how to pick winners, both for their football team and commencement speaker. One wonders how a team like Ball State would fare against the powerhouse teams from the SEC, Big 12, ACC, and Big 10.
Kudos to Florida State Rhodes Scholar Safety, Myron Rhodes, who must be one of the most uplifting interviews in all of sports. He will continue with his studies at Oxford for three years then pursue his chances in the NFL planning to then attend Medical School afterwards. This young man has a remarkable sense of purpose and humanity, remember the name, Myron Rhodes. If his future is not in the NFL, he will make his mark in more wondrous ways in the bigger world.
What about the Charlie Hayes situation at Notre Dame? What about Notre Dame’s fall from the elite over the last two decades? Not since Lou Holtz coached the fighting Irish, were they truly a national powerhouse. Hayes did okay with Ty Willingham’s recruits, but in his fourth year, he has lost all support. Playing to a 9-15 record overall, he team has one victory against teams with a winning record in the last two years. The years are slipping by and the Notre Dame mystique is becoming part of old football lore. Sure, they still have a national contact with NBC, but as with just about all programming on the peacock network since Jeffrey Zucker has taken control, the public’s attitude toward their programming is, “Nobody cares. With saturation coverage from ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS, and regional sports networks, dozens of teams fight for nationwide recognition. While Weis has been arrogant and seems out of touch with the realities of winning a blue ribbon program at the most storied team in college football, surely the school’s front office is ultimately at fault for the Fighting Irish falling into perennial mediocrity as all has not been well in South Bend for years. This is the era of USC while other teams like Florida are perennial winners. This writer never liked the Mackerel Snappers, but the sport is better for having them as the shinning stars they once were. Why the University would hire a failing coach to a multiyear, multimillion extension, but apparently when they are ready to drop the ax, a wealthy group of alumni boosters will help seal the deal. Still, Hayes will be back for at least one more year, but having lost the respect of everyone on board, it could be ugly as hell in South Bend. Even their last star to reach the NFL, is he or isn’t he the Cleveland starting QB but is washed up for this season Brady Quinn seems smitten with the current Notre Dame curse.
The ACC is a conference of parity where four teams finished at 5-3 with Boston College winning the tie-breakers against Florida State and Virginia Tech edged out Georgia Tech on the same criteria. Meanwhile all the other teams except two finished at break even, 4-4. Of the remaining teams, Duke cleaned up the bottom at 1-7. The surprise is that they won even one conference game beating Virginia who at 3-5 just missed out being part of the 4-4 pack. Still, Virginia’s three wins were killers, upsetting Maryland, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech ruining those three schools’ shot at greater honors.
The real big story has to be the Big 12’s Southern Division where three teams finished at 7-1 in the conference and 11-1 overall while Oklahoma State in 4th place at 5-3, 9-3 overall, proved to be quite a strong contender in their own right. Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech have all played brilliant games this year with Oklahoma winning based on its BCS installment.
Gee, things are hot in Alabama. For finally losing to ‘Bama after all these years, Tommy Tuberville is history! The coaching revolving door is cranking up the rpm’s right now. What a subject for debate: who has the tougher job (or is worth the high salaries) NFL or Division I coaches? Success in one sport doesn’t equal success in the other as a long parade of successes on either side would prove. How many coaches have won both an NCAA National Championship and Super Bowl besides Jimmy Johnson?
We will continue to remark that the coaching establishment often looks too much like a good old boys fraternity and now the eye is on the college campus. There are several successful rookie coaches and Black coaches who are among the NFL’s elite. No one would even consider race in debating the thin ice on which Romeo Cranell and Marvin Lewis now stand. Cranell surely shows some potential as many of his problems seem to come from higher up and Marvin Lewis deserves a better fate than Cincinnati for sure. He certainly looks to have the ability to accomplish great things and isn’t one of those fellows who makes a great coordinator but is ineffective on a higher level – as (oops) once again, Norv Turner.
We’ll have more to say about the college football post season scene in future columns. Something doesn’t feel quite right, but how would a playoff system work? Didn’t the old bowl format have a certain charm? We’ll have more to say later. Let’s look at this week’s version of early round playoffs, tradition laden conflicts, and what else this weekend’s action has in store!
Navy (-10 ½) versus Army @ Philadelphia
CBS has stripped its broadcast of this wonderful tradition of the pageantry and reverence it deserves. While most of us will fervently cheer for one team or the other, everyone on the field in this event is a hero as their athletic skill is but one of the talents for which they deserve honor as candidates to serve among the elite in our armed services. It is surely a heart-stirring moment to see the midshipmen and cadets march into the arena and all the other events that help to salute the special roll these institutions mean to us.
For decades, Philadelphia has been the primary venue for this historic event though Baltimore has been fortunate to play host twice since the Ravens’ new stadium was erected in downtown Baltimore. Would it not be advantageous to the service academies to rotate around the region from New York to Maryland for greater exposure? Sure there would be some turf wars. FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins can brag being the home field for the Nation’s capital, but it’s also a slightly closer ride to Annapolis than Baltimore. The Meadowlands in New Jersey would make a fine field close to the Army’s HQ at West Point. Thankfully, the biggest argument against Philadelphia, Veterans Stadium is no more. Lincoln Financial Field is surely an acceptable stadium.
We’re picking Navy as are the odds makers, but this is a game that regardless of the result, everyone’s a winner!
Boston College #17 versus Virginia Tech #25 at Tampa, ACC Championship, no odds posted
The teams fighting for the ACC title are two teams pilfered from the Big East just a few years ago. Everyone figured Miami would be the prize of the Big East raid creating a super rivalry with Florida State. Alas, both Florida powerhouses in the ACC have fallen on hard times, but these two newcomers are doing just fine. Still, somehow a team from Boston in the ACC just seems out of balance. Wasn’t Maryland that odd-ball team way up north?
Pittsburgh #23 at Connecticut (-3)
Well, here’s part of what’s left of the Big East and these two teams are no disgrace. Pitt has been flying right below the radar in recent years and are our favorite to take the Big East prize.
Alabama #1 versus Florida #4 at Atlanta, Georgia Dome, SEC Championship
Does it get any better than this? Alabama has been the mark of consistency beating all opponents each week en route to its undefeated mark. Florida, meanwhile, has played explosive football running up the score and destroying point spreads through most of the season only losing to LSU at home which seemed to make the Gators hungrier. Doesn’t it seem weird the #1 team in the country is down 9 ½ points by the Vegas crowd? We’re pulling for ‘Bama, baby!!! May the Crimson Tide wash those hungry Gators our to sea!
USC #5 (-33) at UCLA
This used to be quite the competitive rivalry until Pete Carroll made the USC Trojans into the most consistent program in the new century leading many to argue that with just one loss, they should be in the national championship picture. The PAC 10 just hasn’t shown itself to be that strong of a conference overall to rate that respect this year. We’re interested in this game to see if USC makes the point spread. We’re going to say they won’t. In fact, we’ll hope they go down hard to Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl, one of the few traditional bowls that will look like it’s still upholding its tradition.
South Florida at West Virginia (-7)
Here’s another Big East contest where West Virginia can show its continued growth despite losing coach Rodriguez to Michigan.
Missouri versus Oklahoma #2 (-17) at Kansas City, Arowhead Stadium, Big 12
Poor Missouri and the rest of the Big 12 North, all the action this year has been in the South as Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State have stirred up a Divisional race of historic proportions. This game should be but a tune up for future fun for Oklahoma making the promise so many had for Missouri at the beginning of the season seem like such a distant memory.
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