CFB Bowl Season News, Picks, and T&A

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

Rumors again prove false - Muschamp staying

from Texas Longhorns Football: Orangebloods.com - Texas Football Headlines by Chip Brown
Despite repeated denials, Will Muschamp's name continues to surface in rumors that he might be a candidate for the vacant head coaching job at Auburn. This weekend, there was even some talk that Muschamp was near the top of Auburn's list and had met with the reps from the school. We checked with some sources, and it once again appears to be good news for the Longhorns.

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

Shiancoe Wants to Know 'How'd it Look?'

from The Sporting Blog

You’ve probably already heard (and seen) more than you’d ever like to about Viking Visanthe Shiancoe and his man-area. Shiancoe was clearly comfortable being nude around his teammates and the owner, but how would he feel once he realized that a nation of football fans had seen him naked on FOX yesterday? Embarrassed? Violated? Outraged? Nope, his reaction did not fall into any of those categories. Instead, he simply wanted to know if the ladies liked what they saw. This is from Star-Tribune columnist C.J. (via Deadspin), who you should know is a female:

And the website sportsbybrooks.com has a big black vertical bar covering the interesting area. A big one, I stressed. That brought on more laughter from Shiancoe. Then I told him I had also seen a youtube.com clip that included no such editing.
That's when Shiancoe cheekily inquired: "How'd it look?"

I won’t speak for C.J., but to me, it looked like the image of a man who will forever be know as that dude whose penis was on FOX instead of anything he ever did/does on the football field. (Also: Nice of C.J. to give credit to Sports by Brooks, a site that stole our original screen grab of the incident, but then cut out our TSB logo. Blog wars have been waged over far less.)

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

The College Hockey Brawl to End All College Hockey Brawls

from The Sporting Blog
Thanks to our old friend Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy for uncovering what has to be the Hockey Fight of the Year, a no-holds-barred brawl between the men's club hockey teams at the University of Illinois and Eastern Michigan University: <embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="never" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wjc_-CqaU1g&hl=en&fs=1" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344">Popout
Once it was all said and done, the toll was impressive: 20 penalties, nine game misconducts, a goalie fight and blood on the ice. And through it all, as near as we can tell, nobody's ex-girlfriend got insulted.
In case you're wondering, The Fighting Illini defeated the Eagles, 10-1.

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

How dare Oklahoma continue to compete for an entire game?

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

First, I should say that, unless you're Chattanooga or The Citadel, I think "running up the score" is a lame excuse for failing to play 60 minutes. It's weak. No one in a game between reasonably competitive teams should ever be expected to throttle down to spare the other sideline's feelings. I can't stand allegations of "whining," but I'll make one: "Running up the score" is whining. It's for fragile losers. I bring it up now because it gets thrown around too often, and it's come up a couple places in response to Oklahoma's overwhelming beatdown of Missouri Saturday night: The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel wonders if it might have cost the Sooners some votes, Kirk Bohls calls Bob Stoops out for "poor sportsmanship," Burnt Orange Nation is predictably upset and John Feinstein (with whom I always disagree) called Stoops "a coach who likes to run up the score" this morning for the NPR crowd.
All of which is bogus. I appreciate the killer instinct, for one thing. And not only do I not care if one team runs up the score in a championship game -- it's the championship game; the opponent is supposed to be competent enough to defend itself -- I don't even think the charge against Oklahoma and Florida this year is all that fair. They're certainly scoring a lot, and winning by wide, wide margins, but those margins aren't coming by inflating the score in the fourth quarter. The vast majority of beatings are already long over by then -- take a look at the games OU and UF have put away by the third quarter this year (games with at least a three-score lead entering the fourth), and how consistently they throttled down:

I charge each team with "running up the score" once: Oklahoma against Missouri, and Florida against Georgia. The Sooners and Gators continued to throw late in both cases, but then again, these were two of the biggest games of the season for any team, against worthy, ranked opponents who began the year in everybody's top 10 and which should never be so pitiful as to cry about the big, bad meanies who continue to score on them.
Otherwise, Oklahoma consistently let its foot off the gas in the fourth, time and again, even against teams like TCU, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, which ought to be able to at least make the Sooners break a sweat; for the season, OU has outscored opponents in the fourth quarter by all of eight points, and that's after outpacing Missouri by fourteen. I don't charge Florida with running up the score against Arkansas, LSU or South Carolina, because of the specific circumstances: Against Arkansas, UF scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to go up 34-7, then effectively went into hibernation mode by running the rest of the game; this still produced two long touchdown runs, but there was clearly no effort to score by throwing the ball. Ditto South Carolina, where the Gators scored a touchdown seconds into the fourth and later ran several times in a row for another with the backup quarterback in the game. I don't even count Brandon Spikes' interception return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter against LSU, but the 10 points that followed came as a result of running the ball. In none of those cases was there an effort to throw and play scoreboard pinball. The other team -- in two of the cases, ranked teams with highly-paid coaches of their own -- just couldn't stop even the watered-down version of the offense. That's their problem.
I'm fine with taking a knee, but the point of the game is to score points. We only have a handful of games by which to compare teams by that standard. I expect those comparisons to be based on complete, 60-minute performances. If you're so good that people get angry at you for not going out of your way to quit trying halfway through, your day has been a staggering success.

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

Gene Menez: Texas' McCoy barely beats out OU's Bradford on my final ballot

from SI.com - NCAA Football
In this season's final Heisman Watch, SI.com's Gene Menez explains why Colt McCoy deserves America's most-coveted trophy over Sam Bradford.

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

McWhorter earns national assistant of year

from Bevo Beat
Offensive line coach Mac McWhorter was selected as the top assistant in the country by the American Football Coaches of America.
McWhorter is in his seventh year with the Longhorns. He coached a line that helped allow the Longhorns to score 43.9 points per game and gain 476.4 yards per contest.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” McWhorter said. “It’s a great tribute to our program and to Coach (Mack) Brown. No assistant coach is any better than the coaches that surround him, and I feel like I’m surrounded by the best staff in the country. Also, no coach is any better than the players he coaches, and we’re very fortunate to have real quality offensive linemen, and our team in general is full of great players and great people.”
Each team nominates an assistant coach for the honor. A committee within the AFCA then selects a winner.

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

Colt McCoy shall return, and Texas will contend again

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

After briefly flirting with the draft, Colt McCoy is returning to Texas in 2009, no surprise since Colt was conceived, genetically engineered and reared in an oil-drenched bunker underneath a nondescript dude ranch outside Calf Creek to fulfill his destiny as the quintessential scrappy Longhorn quarterback. It's what he was born -- and spent his infancy lassoing mutant jackrabbits -- to do.
He can also dramatically increase his draft status by hanging around another year, and possibly avoid leaving in the same class as Matt Stafford and Tim Tebow. Texas fans are more interested in what this means for 2009: Namely, a virtually automatic top-five ranking in August, and a legitimate hope of the mythical championship shot that so narrowly eluded the 'Horns this year. If Colt can out-duel Sam Bradford again, at least Graham Harrell and (probably) Michael Crabtree won't be around to rip his heart out.

RJ Esq · Dec 8, 2008

Texas Football: Regular Season Wrap Part 1

from Burnt Orange Nation by PB @ BON
A few final thoughts after one more disappointing weekend. More team-, player-, and performance-specific thoughts on the '08 season tomorrow.
Bullets? Bullets.

Time to move on. I absolutely believe that the second best team from the South went to Kansas City, but there's no easy way to settle a three-way tiebreak when each team has a victory over one of the others. Whether or not the chosen tiebreak is the best one heading forward, there's no "clean" way to solve that kind of riddle. I'm pretty sure we've said everything we can possibly say about it, and now we move on. I'd love to see Texas aggressively prepare for and play against Ohio State; a lackluster effort would dampen an otherwise incredible season.
Keep the blame in-house. The tiebreakers suck. The BCS sucks. No playoffs suck. The corrupt coaching clans suck. All true. For my money, though, accountability has to start at home, and I do think it's fair for Texas fans to say the team isn't in Miami because of one botched play. And no, asshole, not the Gideon play. The Longhorns lost on 1st and 10 in the first quarter, when Texas meekly ran a sore-ankled Chris Ogbonnaya from the I-formation five yards deep in its own end zone.

The blame in Lubbock falls on Mack Brown and Greg Davis, who tip-toed through that first half like barefooted divas afraid because a single beer bottle had been broken somewhere on the Jones Field turf. The I-formation play (which we'd hardly seen all year); the pass into the flat to Greg Smith (wtf?); the first half shelving of the four-wide ambrosia which fueled the RRS win: Add it all up and any attempt to drop that loss on any player is a below-the-belt post-bell slug. Tech got everything they needed in the first half because our offensive approach was tepid.

The buck stops with the coaching staff. On the bright side, our DC and HC-In-Waiting gets that:

"I look at wins and losses and we didn't get it done in that particular game. It's easy to look back and say what you could've and what you should've done, and the most critical person of me, is myself. There are obviously things you'd like to have done a little differently. But, these kids have played hard and they've played with great effort and passion. I told them from the beginning that the effort is on them and the execution is on me. As long as they play hard, everything else is on my shoulders. If we don't execute well, then it's my fault."

Schedule like 'We're Texas'. I applaud Texas' commitment not to schedule any 1-AA teams. But the point is practically lost by scheduling two Sun Belt teams (in addition to Rice). Though I'll be the first to tell you that part of scheduling just comes down luck, a team like Texas should at the least maximize that which it can control. My preference: Two BCS Conference teams, Rice (good for Houston presence for Texas alums and recruits alike), and one other non-BCS Conference foe. That's neither outrageously demanding nor a self-inflicted wound to the kneecap.
Quadrennial step forward? Four years ago, a maddening 12-0 loss to Oklahoma was a big reason for Mack Brown's first big step forward (the VY elevation). Nearly four years later, the 2008 season has seemed to me a big step forward for Mack Brown, similarly catalyzed by a eye-opening loss (A&M '07). Though it's horribly painful that our '08 Cinderella story ended roadside in a broken down pumpkin, watching that stupid pony-wagon gallop past us, the parallels are both interesting and -- starting our look ahead -- exciting for 2009.

Colt McCoy announced today he'll return for a run at -- you guessed it -- the Rose Bowl. The only shame in Penn State not getting a bid to Miami this year is the lost opportunity for Colt McCoy to tell Texas fans that "We'll be back." With McCoy back all the pieces are in place for the Longhorns to make the title run we started talking about early this summer. Replacing the dominant production Texas enjoyed from Roy Miller and Brian Orakpo looms as the only potential dark cloud on a roster loaded with talent and experience. I rather like the guy in charge of the defense, though.
Sunken treasure. No coach lost more points in my style book this year than Texas Tech head pirate Mike Leach. My ability to look past the incessant whining about officiating and alleged Longhorns bias was heretofore offset by his quirky charisma and penchant for humiliating Aggies. But Leach's schtick this year devolved like a scene straight from Lord of the Flies.

So much for the conch shell being kind of cute...

The 2008 season has in my mind brought to unflattering light the ugly sides of Mike Leach's personality. From his voting in the coach's poll to the widely-reported rumors that he threw himself at Auburn's door (rebuked, according to sources), the Mike Leach song and dance has started to look to me like a junior high musical two acts too long. I'm out.

The battle for the Ann Landers Cup. I've always cautioned fans from getting carried away overplaying the "class" card. Opposing fans storm the field? "Classless!" Opposing player jaws after a good play? "No class!" And on and on. Overwhelmingly, the card is played after the opposition does something that -- if we're being fair -- is a routine part of the game/competition. Fans are going to go berserk when they win. Players will mercilessly taunt their victims (Rudy Carpenter, anyone?). Big hits and exciting touchdown strikes will be celebrated with obnoxious animation. In my mind, they're not so much acts of classlessness as they are the routines of victory in a game as emotional and big-play oriented as football.

With that said, I don't consider the environment an anarchistic free-for-all. Kellen Heard is a classless thug. And I think Doc Saturday is on the wrong side of the Kansas City run-up-the-score chatter:

First, I should say that, unless you're Chattanooga or The Citadel, I think "running up the score" is a lame excuse for failing to play 60 minutes. It's weak. No one in a game between reasonably competitive teams should ever be expected to throttle down to spare the other sideline's feelings. I can't stand allegations of "whining," but I'll make one: "Running up the score" is whining. It's for fragile losers.
To the extent Matt's making a similar point to what I disdain about overplaying the class card (too often just whining from sore losers), I absolutely agree. I even agree with Matt's reasoning and, applied generally, don't fault teams for dropping the hammer on their peers. The feelings of the opposition shouldn't much matter in how a team performs.

Still, I diverge from Matt in thinking that the principle extends far enough to cover what we saw in Kansas City from Bob Stoops. Taken in the abstract, Matt's reasoning is sound, but in context this past Saturday night, it doesn't speak to what was animating Bob Stoops. The cover that the heat of battle ostensibly provides simply doesn't exist when you lead by five touchdowns with four minutes to go. He wasn't just competing to the final gun; he was being an asshole, consciously choosing to be a dick. This has nothing to do with Missouri's -- or even Texas' -- feelings. I'd just suggest that "All is fair in love and war" doesn't mean what you do can't result in your being revealed to be an A-grade asshole.

It's a fine line, to be sure. But Big Game Bloodhound Bobby made very clear which side he's on. Here's to five-straight BCS defeats.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Gundy kicks Cowboys WR Broadway off team

from SI.com - NCAA Football
Read full story for latest details.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]Fiu's Cavalcade of Whimsy ... Dec. 9[/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]
[/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]
a.k.a. Frank Costanza's Festivus Airing of the Grievances [/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2]

By Pete Fiutak
What's your beef? ... Fire off your thoughts
Past Whimsies [/SIZE][/FONT] 2006 Season | 2007 Season
- Preseason Cavalcade | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
- Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10
- Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14
If this column sucks, it’s not my fault … I wasn't properly motivated. If only I had someone to scream "let's go" over and over and over ....

And by the way, THAT … WAS … PAINT … In case you haven’t heard, Tim Tebow is William Wallace, Albert Schweitzer, and Frank T.J. Mackey all wrapped in one big, messy package.

Media, coaches, and everyone surrounding college football, I’m begging you to quit with the insufferable fawning and deification of Tebow like Dick Vitale and the college hoops-types like to do with Tyler Hansbrough, a marginally talented, grindy player who’ll make a nice living sitting on someone’s NBA bench. Tebow is a better football player than Hansbrough is a college basketball player, but running around and screaming “let’s go” all the time and getting in players’ faces doesn’t make him special. It makes him annoying.

Florida is loaded with high character leaders who don’t spew out clichés and high school we-got-spirit-how-bout-you caliber schlock. Tebow is a great player. A once-in-a-generation player who epitomizes everything that college football should be about? No, that’s probably Florida State’s Myron Rolle. The greatest leader in college football history? Vince Young, Tommie Frazier, Nile Kinnick, Sammy Baugh, Red Grange, Jim Brown, Jim Thorpe, and a slew of others might have something to say in that debate. Let Tebow be a special player. Let him be in the discussion of the greatest college quarterbacks ever. Don’t force anything more than that.

Tebow Hansbrough motivational leadership, take one … “Let’s go! Quit reading this column and get back to work. Those TPS reports aren’t going to write themselves! Let’s go! C’mon! God bless.”

“Honey, Frank the Tank is not coming back, okay? That part of me is over. It's water under the bridge.” … How many times was it said last week that Alabama had an “old school” offensive line? The idea was to point out how it’s a tough, hard-nosed offensive front that likes to pound away for the running game. Of course, if it really was a true old-school Alabama line, there’d be no Antoine Caldwell or Andre Smith because they’re, um, uh, big. Yeah, that’s it. A true old-school line would be about 250 pounds per man.

But he knows how to get to Miami … Does Frank Beamer get credit for figuring out that Tyrod Taylor was the best quarterback, and the best offensive player, on the Virginia Tech roster, or does he get dogged for wanting to redshirt him to start the season?

Tebow Hansbrough motivational leadership, take two … “You got the missus a toaster for her birthday? To your wife and everyone in Gator Nation, um, you know what, I’m sorry. I’m extremely sorry. We were hoping to get her a better present, and an undefeated season. That was our goal, something Florida’s never done here.”

Like the guy has time to watch a whole playoff … How does an African-American Democrat from Hawaii by way of Chicago become the guy the red staters would want to have a beer with? Easy. Go to the most politically safe, folksy, Joe the Plumber debate there could possibly be. Who likes chocolate chip cookies? Who’s for more flags and more honoring of the troops? Who wants a playoff in college football?

The guy's the smartest one in the room, any room, for a reason. You don't talk your way into being the President of the United States without knowing exactly what you're saying at all times, and why. This is a designed side rant that he knows will unite the country. Obama couldn’t go NASCAR; too obvious and too obscure for anyone who lives in a city. He couldn’t take on the steroids issue in baseball and the NFL; too polarizing and too vague. How about the idea of early entry when it comes to the NBA? Whatever. By championing a college football playoff on 60 Minutes, he was crafting out his image every bit as much as he did with the whole First Dog storyline. It’s brilliant, and it still has fans buzzing weeks after the interview, but don’t think that anything is going to come of it.

My bailout plan to save us all from incessant whining about how much the system sucks … Continuing to stay on point, I’m going to continue to stump for my playoff dream until it happens. The six BCS conference winners, the top ranked non-BCS school, and the top remaining team that doesn’t fall under the first two categories as a catch-all in cases like this season. Starting December 29th, No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 seeded Virginia Tech; No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 seeded Cincinnati; No. 3 seed Texas vs. No. 6 seed Penn State; No. 4 seed USC vs. No. 5 seed Utah. December

Tebow Hansbrough motivational leadership, take three … “C’mon, let’s go! Those shoes don’t go with your belt. And you’re wearing your hat backwards?! Let’s step it up! C’mon. Let’s go! God bless.”

Caffey: Then why the two orders?
Jessup: Men can do things on their own.
Caffey: But your men never did. Your men obey orders. So Santiago wasn't in danger, right? … Urban Meyer went on the Mike Tirico show and gushed over the way Tebow led the way to a late scoring drive in the first half against Florida State. Meyer said that coming up with a five-play, 76-yard touchdown march in just 1:03 in monsoon conditions was one of the most impressive things he has ever seen (much, much more on this drive in an article later this week). Okay, then if you have unflinching confidence in your Heisman-caliber quarterback and your high-powered offense, then why wuss out at the end of the first half against Alabama?

Up 17-10 with over a minute to play in the half and with all the timeouts left, Meyer chose to let the clock run to go into the locker room with the lead rather than call a timeout before the Bama punt. Florida ended up getting the ball on its own 31 with 14 seconds left when it could’ve been able to go for late points had there been time left on the clock. And remember, this was in dome and not the quagmire of Tallahassee. So either a) Meyer never really thought his team could lose to Florida State and he was showing respect for Bama, b) was full of beans when he praised Tebow’s drive against FSU and was worried that his infallible quarterback was going to throw a pick, or c) he screwed up.

And about the Auburn job … just walk away … just walk away … It’s generally acknowledged that Bill Snyder did the greatest job in the history of college coaching by turning around Kansas State. I’d argue that Barry Alvarez did a better job, and accomplished far, far more by creating a woeful Wisconsin program from scratch, but I digress. Turner Gill’s job with Buffalo has to be in the team photo. UB won 12 games in eight years since moving up to the FBS/D-I ranks, but under Gill’s reign the Bulls have won 13 games and a MAC title in the last two years. Not enough love is being given to the win over an unbeaten Ball State.

Tebow Hansbrough motivational leadership, take four … “C’mon. Let’s go! No mayo on that chicken sandwich. We can do better than that. The effort has to be better. Let’s go! Get a salad and Diet Coke. And I said the non-fat latte … THE NON-FAT LATTE … C’mon! God bless.”

“Anyway, the good Lord would never disrupt ...the best game of my life. I'm infallible, young fella! Come on! One more hole!” … Reason I’m a horrible, horrible person part one. I have a big problem with the entire concept of combining prayer with a sporting event unless it’s asking for everyone to stay healthy. 1) It assumes the Supreme Being is picking sides. 2) It assumes that if you do well, God is for you, but if you screw up, then all bets are off. And 3), if you succeed, God is making you better, as opposed to everyone else who spent hours upon hours of hitting the weights, practicing, and studying in order to prepare for the game.

With that in mind, I always root for players to make plays and to not screw up. I hate to see kickers miss and for quarterbacks to meltdown like Tulsa’s David Johnson did in the Conference USA title game loss to Tulsa with five interceptions and with the offense turning it over seven times. Even so, with the Golden Hurricane down 27-24 and still able to overcome the disastrous day, there was a sideline shot of Johnson in deep prayer/meditation that was played up/exploited by ESPN before the final ill-fated drive. Johnson’s receiver fell, hurt himself, and East Carolina came up with its fifth pick to seal the game.
“This is pretty sweet. Free clothing. Look at this stuff. Chicks in New York paying top dollar for this garbage.” … Reason I’m a horrible, horrible person part two. No wonder Army got shut out by Navy; it was wearing awful, awful camouflage uniforms. If the entire idea of camouflage is to conceal and be hidden, then how were the quarterbacks supposed to complete a pass or make a pitch?

Tebow Hansbrough motivational leadership, take five … “That camouflage blurb was awful! Let's go! The lines have to be better than that ... it was a good concept that went nowhere. Let's go! C’mon! God bless.”

The C.O.W. airing of the grievances followed by the feats of strength
Prove it time. Fair not, the bowl season often answers several questions raised during the season. Which conferences are for real? Which teams can validate their seasons with a big win, and which seasons all of a sudden go from impressive to disappointing because of a glorified exhibition game. Here are the ten biggest questions, storylines, and/or thoughts heading into the bowl season.

10. Can the “little guy” play?
All eyes will be on Utah in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. After what happened in last year’s Sugar Bowl debacle, with Hawaii getting blasted by Georgia, Utah has to at least make this competitive. It’s not quite fair, but a blowout loss would hurt the non-BCS league’s cause going forward; they non-BCSers have to keep winning. There are six other matchups between BCS and non-BCS teams. Out of the six, Buffalo will need a miracle to beat Connecticut in the International Bowl, Nevada needs to beat Maryland in the Humanitarian, BYU has to beat Arizona in the Las Vegas, East Carolina has to beat Kentucky in the Liberty, Memphis will have a tough time with South Florida in the St. Petersburg, and Navy has to find a way to win the rematch against a struggling Wake Forest.

8. Does the Georgia Tech offense really work?
The nation’s third leading rushing attack, the option, tore up North Carolina for 326 yards, ran through Miami for 472 yards and four touchdowns, and shocked Georgia for 409 yards and five scores. Those teams had to deal with the Yellow Jackets at the end of a long season and only had a little while to prepare. LSU will have a month before the Chick-fil-A Bowl. If Tech runs wild again, then Paul Johnson’s attack might start to become more fashionable.

9. Is the Pac 10 really that bad?
It was an awful year for just about everyone in the Pac 10 other than USC. Hurt mostly by the nightmare up in Washington and Washington State, the league got even less respect than usual on a national scale. Just as USC how the BCS standings shook out. Penn State will give the Trojans a defensive battle in the Rose Bowl, while Arizona vs. BYU in the Las Vegas, Oregon vs. Oklahoma State in the Holiday, and Oregon State vs. Pitt in the Sun will all be challenges. California has to win the home game over Miami in the Emerald.

8. Notre Dame going forward
Merry Christmas to the Hawaii Bowl. Had Hawaii not been bowl eligible, this might have been the least attended bowl of the bunch. Not only does the game get its hometown Warriors, instead of a team like Western Michigan, it gets Notre Dame and all the national attention that comes with it. Hawaii always looks to make a statement in games like this, while the Irish have to set the tone for the BCS or Bust 2009 campaign. This is the first game since Charlie Weis got his stay of execution, and his team needs to show up to prove it was a good move.

7. The economy and the empty seat
Few things are more demoralizing than watching a game that no one’s at. If the fans of the teams aren’t going to show up, then why should I care about the bowl when I could be spending my time doing something remotely more productive? That’s your “too many bowls” argument. It’s not that having a bazillion bowls is really that big a deal, outside of giving non-college football fans something to smugly rip on in order to appear to have an opinion, it’s that the ones that do exist don’t really mean much except to the gambler, the superfan, or the incredibly bored. Watching a game with a sold out crowd makes the event seem more worthwhile. However, with the economy in the tank and leisure travel diminishing, fewer and fewer fans are going to drop the few thousand dollars for all that’s entailed in going to a bowl game. That’s why there were more home game bowls this year (Rice in the Texas Bowl, Louisiana Tech in the Independence, and Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A are just a few), and that includes the national championship with the Miami location a dream for Florida. If ticket sales are a disaster across the board, there could quickly be a shift in the bowl structure as even more pressure will be on the TV dollars rolling in. ESPN is going to want the top matchups and they’re going to want to make sure there are butts in the seats.
6. Is the SEC really that bad?
Call it a cycle, call it a rebuilding year, call it an aberration. Call it flat-out bad football. Florida is great and so is Alabama. That’s about it. The rest of the league took it on the chin all season long, and now it’s time to make amends. SEC fans love to boast about the big wins in bowl games, and there will be plenty of chances to show that things weren’t that bad after all. Just because Florida might win the national title, that doesn’t mean the league was strong. Alabama has to beat Utah handily in the Sugar, but Vanderbilt will have its hands full with a Boston College team that deserved better than the Music City. LSU gets to deal with Georgia Tech’s offense in the Chick-fil-A, while South Carolina has to get past the Clemson loss by beating Iowa in the Outback. Georgia needs to get healthy and beat Michigan State in the Capital One or Big Ten fans will live off this win for the next nine months. Kentucky can’t lose to East Carolina in the Liberty, while Ole Miss might be overmatched against Texas Tech in the Cotton. Set the bar at 5-2 for the SEC.

Tebow Hansbrough motivational leadership, take six … “Let’s go! Call your mom. C’mon! She ate relatively healthy and stopped smoking for seven of the nine months while you were growing inside! Let’s go! Get her some flowers. C’mon! God bless.”

5. If you’re going to have a minor bowl game …
… it had better be high-scoring. Leave the defense to the Rose Bowl. The GMAC Bowl needs to be fun, fun, fun for you to care, and you should with Tulsa battling with Ball State’s attack. The Armed Forces Bowl will be worth the watch on New Year’s Eve Day as Air Force gets a rematch with Houston after a 31-28 Falcon win earlier in the season. Air Force ran for 380 yards and four touchdowns, while Houston threw for 362 yards and four scores. You don’t know it yet, but you’re going to be talking about the Florida Atlantic – Central Michigan Motor City Bowl shootout, while Rice and Western Michigan are going to combine for 700 passing yards in the Texas Bowl.

4. Texas Tech’s offense vs. Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl
The forgotten element in the 45-35 debate, remember, Texas Tech tied for the Big 12 title, too. This has been a phenomenal breakthrough season for the program, but a loss to Ole Miss could be devastating. The team has to show that it wasn’t all a mirage, but it’ll have deal with the best defensive line it’s faced all year.

3. Is this when the ACC makes a statement?
This was the best league in the country when it came to non-conference wins, and it wasn’t even close. There wasn’t the killer statement win, but there were a whole bunch of Wake Forest over Ole Miss-type of mid-level victories that added up. Still, there’s still a segment of the college football world that would like to see the ACC lose its automatic BCS bid. After all, Virginia Tech? The Hokies have to break the recent ACC BCS game slump, while there must be some big wins to generate a buzz, and a reputation, going into next year.

Wake Forest can’t lose to Navy in the EagleBank, Florida State needs to use its great run defense to stop Wisconsin in the Champs Sports, Miami will have a tough time against Cal in its home bowl, the Emerald, North Carolina has to win its home game over West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care, NC State has to slow down Rutgers in the PapaJohn’s, Maryland can’t lose to Nevada and its running game in the Humanitarian, Boston College’s defense has to stuff Vandy in the Music City, Clemson has to prove it’s for real against Nebraska in the Gator, and Georgia Tech faces a nasty test against Kansas in the Insight. That’s 10 bowl games, and the ACC has to win at least six of them.

2. Ohio State, and in general, the Big Ten
The Big Ten has been better in the bowls than it’s been given credit for, but it could really, really use a big bowl season to overcome the horrendous national reputation. Culprit No. 1 is Ohio State, who doesn’t get any sort of a break despite losing its last two bowl games against the best teams in America. It doesn’t have to beat Texas in the Fiesta, but it has to be close.

The Big Ten desperately needs to do something right in the Rose Bowl, and Penn State has a better shot than you think against USC. Wisconsin can make up for an awful regular season with a win over Florida State in the Champs Sports, but don’t expect anything out of Northwestern against Missouri. Minnesota has to overcome a disastrous final few games against Kansas in the Insight, Iowa has to prove it deserved the New Year’s Day bowl over Northwestern by beating South Carolina in the Outback, and Michigan State needs to pound away on Georgia in the Capital One. Ask for 5-2, expect 3-4.

1. Did Texas deserve to play for the national title?
It’s a fight I lose every March. It’s my belief that the only team with a legitimate beef for being left out of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is the winner of the NIT, while I also believe that if a team wins its first round game in the big tourney, it justified the selection. For Texas to have any legitimate beef for the rest of eternity about getting screwed out of the Big 12 title shot, it needs to wipe the Glendale turf with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Lose, and there’s no complaint. If you can’t beat Ohio State, then why should anyone think you could beat Florida?

Random Acts of Nutty … Provocative musings and tidbits to make every woman want you and every man want to be you (or vice versa) a.k.a. things I didn’t feel like writing bigger blurbs for.

- Fun stat for the week: Oklahoma and Missouri combined to convert 23-of-34 third down chances. That’s really, really good.

- Sarkisian vs. Kiffin, Kiffin vs. Sarkisian. If these two fail at their new gigs, USC might not ever get another assistant coach hired for a big gig. Nick Holt gave up on Idaho, Ed Orgeron was canned at Ole Miss (after recruiting his tail off), and Norm Chow didn’t work out for the Tennessee Titans.

- Texas players always stick around. The place has a hold on its players. Roy Williams, Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Quentin Jammer, and the list goes on and on of players who could’ve left early for the big payday, but didn’t. Even so, it wouldn’t be stunning if Colt McCoy reversed field and chose to turn pro after all, especially if by some miracle Matthew Stafford and Sam Bradford stick around.

- Tulsa didn’t fill its home stadium for the Conference USA title game. Ford Field was mostly empty for the MAC Championship. Whole sections were there for the taking at the ACC title game. And you wonder why the Fiesta Bowl was interested in Ohio State?

- Awards voters, quit being so wishy-washy. You wanted Oklahoma vs. Florida in the national title, and you got what you wanted. Now vote accordingly when it comes to the post-season awards. Tebow isn’t even among the finalists for the Davey O’Brien award for the nation’s best quarterback. Meanwhile, Colt McCoy was the AP Big 12 Player of the Year, but Sam Bradford was the First Team All-Big 12 quarterback.

- If Detroit gets the first pick in the draft, as expected, it then becomes a question of how much Stafford can get up front. If you’ve invested in a wide receiver with the upside of Calvin Johnson, you have to give him someone who can deliver the ball.

“I hearby designate Tim Tebow, Florida as my First Choice to receive the Heisman Memorial Trophy awarded to the most outstanding college football player in the United States for 2008. To the best of my knowledge he conforms to the rules governing this vote.”

My Second Choice Is: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
My Third Choice Is: Colt McCoy, Texas

I agonized over this between all three players. I voted for Tebow because I believe he, at the moment, is the signature player of the 2008 season as a combination of the most outstanding and the most valuable player. Take McCoy off Texas and the Horns are probably 9-3 and they still wouldn’t have made it to the national title. I know I’ll get blasted for this, but take Bradford off Oklahoma and the Sooners are 12-1, Big 12 champions, and on the way to the national championship. With that said, I want the right to change my vote after the BCS Championship. If Bradford is great and OU wins, he’d be my pick.

“You know I'm born to lose, and gambling's for fools/But that's the way I like it baby, I don't wanna live forever” … The three lines this week that appear to be a tad off.

2-1 for a fifth week in a row?! Get those traders back in here! Turn those machines back on! TURN THOSE MACHINES BACK ON! … I rally to close out the regular season 20-24-1 overall, which isn’t bad considering where I was six weeks ago.

I press on by taking the three bowl games I’m sure of … 1) BYU +3 over Arizona, 2) Notre Dame +1.5 over Hawaii, 3) Louisiana Tech -2 over Northern Illinois

Last Week: 1) East Carolina +13.5 over Tulsa (WIN), 2) Oklahoma -17 over Missouri (WIN), 3) Cincinnati -7.5 over Hawaii (LOSS)

Sorry this column sucked, but it wasn’t my fault … Tommy Tuberville’s mom said Auburn said it was awful and that I didn’t resign to the fact that it sucked.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Fun with The Coaches Poll Outliers

Monday, December 08, 2008

It's the last poll of the year, so the USA Today kindly gives us this beautiful interactive chart featuring all of the coaches who vote. Let's have some fun looking at some of the more ridiculous and random outliers.

My Team is Better than Everybody Else Thinks It Is
Hey Mike Leach, the Red Raiders are #2 in the country? Ahead of Florida, Texas, and Alabama? Awesome. Butch Davis thinks North Carolina should be ranked, the rest of the world does not. Bo Pelini knows Nebraska should be ranked, other coaches do not.

Grr We Beat You, You Aren't As Good as People Say
I'm not saying I'd vote for Ball St. in the top 25 either, but Buffalo's Coach Turner Gill doesn't think they're that good as he was one of the 12 coaches who left the Cardinals off his ballot.

That Team Beat Us Because They Are Super-Dooper Awesome
Ole Miss had some good games and emerged as probably the 3rd or 4th best team in the SEC this year, but Urban you seriously voted them in at #12?

Hey You Used to Coach With Me, I'll Rank You Higher
Hal Mumme used to employ Mike Leach as his offensive coordinator from 1989-1998, so I guess he's got a little loyalty there when he ranks TT at #3. Gene Chizik was one of 4 who voted Texas #1, it just so happens he was the Co-Defensive Coordinator of Texas in 05 and 06.

My Daddy Should Be Ranked
Fired Tommy Bowden still has a vote and he voted daddy #21. Daddy on the other hand left the Seminoles off his ballot.

No We're the 2nd Best Team in Texas Not You
Gary Patterson voted two loss TCU at #10 and 1 loss Texas Tech at #11. Guess he just thinks his ass whoopin by the Sooners was better than Leach's ass whoopin by the Sooners.

Pat Hill is Random and Doesn't Like Mormons
Pat Hill is going for the most random ballot. Kansas at #16, he knows they lost 5 times right? Plus, Rutgers is ranked huh? You finished 7-5, they finished 7-5 and you beat them by 17. I'm confused. And the icing on the cake is apparently Hill's dislike for Mormons as he was the only coach to not include BYU in the poll.

Rick Neuheisel is the Riddler
Texas at #1? Uh I guess. Oklahoma at #4? Perhaps. Cincinnati is #19 and Pitt is unranked? I guess he's just a west coast guy. Oregon St. is #17? Perhaps he didn't want to drop them much.

Gary Pinkel Hates All Mid-Majors Equally
Utah is #15. Boise St. is #16. TCU is #17. Mizzou is #18. BYU is #19. Is there a school in there that doesn't fit?

Tyrone Willingham Needs a Job
Hey hey Gary, I voted Mizzou #11. How about you get me an assistants job?

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

New Mexico hires Illinois OC Mike Locksley

from Fanblogs.com by Kevin Donahue
ESPN is reporting that New Mexico will introduce Illinois OC Mike Locksley as the new head coach of the Lobos at a press conference this afternoon.
This will be the first head coaching position for Locksley, who came to Illinois from Florida with Ron Zook, where he coached running backs and served as recruiting coordinator. Sources told ESPN that Locksley was previously a candidate for the Clemson head coaching position.
Locksley is considered a very strong recruiter, especially in the DC area. Despite having recruiter-in-chief Ron Zook on the staff, his departure will definitely be felt by the Illini, who still need all the recruiting help they can get to regularly break into the upper echelon of the Big 10. New Mexico gets a good offensive coach who should be able to bring in better talent, as players tend to gravitate to "Coach Locks".
Locksley becomes one of just four black head coach at DI-A schools.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

In case you missed it: The FOX BCS Selection Show was amazing.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Vegas Knows Best: How The Media Can Make You A Better Football Team

from Black Shoe Diaries by Kevin HD
The hits just keep on commin': Penn State opened as a ten point dog against USC Sunday night. No respect, I tell ya.

While the BCS match-ups were officially announced this weekend, we've known the Rose Bowl pairing for a while now. Vegas has had a lot of time to figure this one out.

The interesting thing, then, was trying to guess how the experts would handle a very high profile game between two very high profile schools. Unlike the past two years, Pete Carroll is actually being matched up with a Big Ten champion...although you wouldn't know it based on some of the stories we've been linking here at BSD:

"Penn State sucks.*"

<small>[*not an actual quote, but you get the idea]</small>

This puts Vegas in an interesting position. Frankly, you have no reason to believe that USC is substantially better than Penn State. Yes, they've been dominating on defense, but they haven't exactly been facing offensive juggernauts on a weekly basis. Besides, Penn State has been quietly playing some decent defense of their own, and have one of the most productive offenses in the nation (points/game and yards/game are better than any other Big Ten team, top 15 nationally in both categories). Then, to add, you've got the often misguided but interesting transitive property in which we use Oregon State as the middle man.

Several of the gambling blogs I check in on from time to time made guesses last night at all of the bowl game odds. The Money Line Journal and You Guessed It, Frank Stallone came up with -6 and -7, respectively, for the Rose Bowl.

These aren't totally taken out of thin air, of course. Besides being familiar with their trade based on an entire season of looking at lines, there are also third part tools available. Vegas Insiders runs a power ranking specifically designed to predict spreads, and they have the two teams separated by just 3 points (with a home field adjustment, USC would be a 6 point favorite based on their model, click here for a look at why this is probably appropriate). Sagarin does a similar exercise with his PREDICTOR formula; he has Penn State and USC separated by 5.2 points (8.2 with a home field adjustment).

The other BCS bowls:

<center> <table border="2"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Matchup</td> <td>Sagarin</td> <td>V.I.</td> <td>Actual</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Utah vs. Alabama</td> <td>Bama -5</td> <td>Bama -5.5</td> <td>Bama -10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ohio State vs. Texas</td> <td>UT -7</td> <td>UT -6.5</td> <td>UT -10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Boston College vs. Cincinatti</td> <td>BC -3</td> <td>UC -2</td> <td>UC -1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Florida vs. Oklahoma</td> <td>UF -2.5</td> <td>UF -1</td> <td>UF -3</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Penn State vs. USC</td> <td>USC -5</td> <td>USC -3</td> <td>USC -10</td> </tr> <tr> </tr> </tbody> </table> </center>
So not all of the real lines were precisely predicted by these models, but I think you can explain many of the differences away. Alabama is going to be playing in a Sugar Bowl that will probably be 90% Tide fans, that is probably good for at least three points. Besides, non-BCS schools have always been difficult to project in these formulas because their schedule is set-up so different. Texas is considered an elite team hosed by the BCS, and so there is obviously some public perception built into that Fiesta Bowl line that might otherwise not exist. The Orange Bowl and MNC are very close to the predicted value.
So why is it that the public seems to be so off on Penn State? They aren't in the Mountain West, have just one loss and have been blowing out most of the teams on their schedule.

Sports Investments might have found an answer:

So why does a ‘true' line of 6.5 turn into 10? Reasons below:
-USC dominates the rose bowl every year.
[...]
-USC has the greatest defense in the history of college football.

More cliches are listed there, in jest of course, click though for a good review of the premise most LA Times articles will be based on for the next couple of weeks.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Headlinin': The spawn of Zook spreads across the Earth

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

• Locksley of the desert. So you know Ron Zook's reputation as an obsessive, gung ho recruiter? A substantial part of that just left for New Mexico, where longtime Zook assistant Mike Locksley was hired as head coach Monday. Locksley followed Zook to Illinois from Florida, and according to Rivals' database, he was the main recruiter for Arrelious Benn, the Illini's biggest "get" of Zook's tenure, along with four other four-star or better prospects over the last two years and another D.C. kid, Vontae Davis, who came in as a three-star and will leave this year or next as an all-Big Ten mainstay and one of the top prospects in the draft. Lockley's also credited with closing the deal with Juice Williams.
I doubt you can get those kind of kids in New Mexico. But whatever kind of kids you can get, Locksley seems like a good bet to get them. After that, it's anybody's guess.
• Breaking down Sarkisian. The L.A. Daily News' Scott Wolf caught up with a pro scout who's seen a lot of USC after the Trojans' win over UCLA, and his assessment of the system Steve Sarkisian is taking to Washington isn't very flattering. On one hand, it's kind of ramshackle: "They do a good enough job with good players. They get the guys to line up in the right spots. This is not a well-oiled machine. It's not clean.'' On the other, it can be a little slow on the uptake: ''They're not a great offense. ... They tried to make UCLA adjust early and once they did that, they never adjusted to UCLA's adjustments." Here is your check, Coach Sarkisian.
In the meantime, Sarkisian promised during his introduction in Seattle to find a way to keep Jake Locker running, though word is he tried to lure über-recruit Matt Barkley, a longstanding Trojan commit recruited mainly by Sarkisian, to defect to the Huskies before Barkley enrolls at USC in January. In the same vein, Sark reportedly made a brief overture to UCLA defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, an ex-colleague at SC, about accompanying him northward.

He also promised Monday that his Huskies would be "a physical team on and off the field." Off the field? Is he going to try to bring Jerramy Stevens and Jeremiah Pharms back into the fold?
• Senseless tragedy in Mississippi. An awful, bizarre story from my original neck of the woods, where solid running back recruit Billey Joe Johnson, who had serious interest from every school in a three-state radius, apparently shot himself Monday during a routine traffic stop:
"The deputy was sitting in his patrol vehicle ... when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim laying on the ground by the driver’s side door of the vehicle that Johnson was driving. A shotgun was lying on the victim," according to a statement from the George County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities would not immediately say whether they believed the shooting was a suicide or an accident.
An investigation has been ordered, obviously, but I can't imagine any report making sense of a promising 17-year-old's demise on the side of a road.
Quickly ... Jan Kemp, an English professor who drew some national notoriety when she was fired at Georgia for refusing to inflate athletes' grades in the mid-1980s, died of Alzheimer's Disease at age 59. ... Turner Gill interviewed for the Auburn job on Monday, as did Patrick Nix, with Ball State's Brady Hoke on deck. And is Jimbo Fisher saying there's a chance? ... Skip Holtz remains the favorite, but New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone confirmed a visit with Syracuse about the Orange's coaching vacancy. ... Phil Fulmer's vague, temporary new job: assistant to the UT president. ... Ex-blue chip Vidal Hazelton has obtained his release from USC and is considering a half-dozen schools, including Texas Tech. Penn State is not among them, oddly, as Hazelton's dad reportedly wanted him to be a Lion out of prep school. ... Oklahoma State receiver Jeremy Broadway, owner of the longest reception in school history in the Cowboys' win over Iowa State, was kicked off the team for the ever-popular violation of team rules. ... Uh, duh. ... And who, exactly, called Oklahoma's wins over Missouri a 'fluke,' Sam?

counselor · Dec 9, 2008

Yanks26Sox7 said:
...and they're gonna put an (early '08) tOSU-type of ass whoopin on PSU...

I don't think something that large is possible to duplicate

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Yeah, No Way Anyone Could Have Predicted These Results

from Black Shoe Diaries by Kevin HD

Nice, right? (Brought to you by ESPN, of course.)

There are two things I like about it:

That Big Ten Country seems to have tired of Ohio State as well. If you take this exact same situation but switch the conferences each team is aligned with, I have a feeling those the Big XII and SEC states would be a lot more interested in voting along party lines than sharing their real feelings.
That the state of Ohio doesn't care about anyone but themselves. Instead of being upset their conference isn't being represented in the BCS National Championship Game, they simply admit that they don't really care. Good for them, I guess.

And while it's easy to pile on here, I will defend the Buckeye to help create the appearance of balanced blogging:
A much better option than one that is a backhand jab at the Big Ten would be to suggest which team should have gone instead. So, rather than "Ohio State getting in", you could have said something like "Boise State not getting in" since they are the only real alternative option here. This is strikingly similar to last year's complaint about Illinois getting into the Rose Bowl. With the two per conference rule, the next best option was Boston College; a team that didn't have any legitimate reason to be picked ahead of the Zookers and would have probably met an equally embarrassing fate against USC.
An even better gripe might be "that Virginia Tech received an automatic bid" since they have, you know, twice as many losses as the Buckeyes.
But however you have to spin it is fine. And since ESPN is going to become a glorified MTV any day now it's all going to be irrelevant anyway.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Yes, fans, it's time once again to play 'Am I a Bowl Team?'

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

• I was widely predicted to win my conference/division after winning a bowl game in 2007, but finished in a tie for third place instead. I lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the other third place finisher the week before Thanksgiving to effectively finish fourth. • I led my conference in passing offense, topping 300 yards three different times, but ended the season ranked next-to-last in pass efficiency with 10 interceptions in seven conference games.
• I lost five of my first six games, including an 0-2 start in the league, and averaged eight points in the five losses, while giving up thirty.
• I lost a game by one point on the final play but also won a game by one point on the final play, after coming back from a 21-0 deficit.
• The collective record of all of my opponents was 55-69, or 44.4 percent, 99th nationally but the second-toughest in the conference. I was 0-4 against winning teams and beat only one team with a .500 record. I did not defeat any bowl teams.
• For the season, I was outscored by about four points per game but only outgained by about 11 yards, on average.
So ... am I a bowl team?

If you said "YES," you're right! Florida Atlantic defeated Sun Belt rival Florida International in overtime, 57-50, to finish with its fifth win in its last six games and earn its second consecutive postseason berth. The Owls will play MAC also-ran Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 26. (If the sponsors are still solvent, that is).
Have a great Christmas in Motown, guys, and don't forget to leave your resumé with the Lions -- I hear they're looking to make some changes.

RJ Esq · Dec 9, 2008

Miss COED: Tamara Witmer

<abbr class="published" title="2008-12-09T13:15:31+0000"><script type="text/javascript">document.write(time_since(1228846531, "December 9, 2008 - 1:15 pm,"));</script>5 hours, 21 minutes ago</abbr> By COED Staff

This 24-year-old home-grown Ohio native hottie got her first big break in 2005 when she was made Playboys Playmate of the Month for August. She has appeared in Maxim and Stuff magazines and stripped down for Lingerie Bowl 2005. Tamara also landed a spot as a model on Deal or No Deal and appeared on VH1’s Rock of Love with Bret Michaels.

Check out Tamara Witmer’s Miss COED gallery after the jump!

See 7 Additional Tamara Witmer Photos at COED’s Facebook Group!