NCAA Football FanHouse http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com NCAA Football FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif NCAA Football FanHouse http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Jerry Glanville Resigns at Portland Statehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/17/jerry-glanville-fired-at-portland-state/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/17/jerry-glanville-fired-at-portland-state/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/17/jerry-glanville-fired-at-portland-state/#commentsFiled under: ,

Jerry GlanvilleAttention Elvis Presley: you will no longer have tickets waiting for you at Portland State's Will Call window. Your boy, Jerry Glanville, has been relieved of his duties as Portland State's head coach, according to KPTV.

Glanville, the larger-than-life former coach of the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons, is wrapping up his third season as the Vikings' head coach. Under his leadership Portland State has gone 9-24, with a 2-9 record this season. Oregon Live reports that attendance, always a concern for any FCS program, has hit its second-lowest point in 22 seasons.

Glanville's career has led him from the sidelines of Western Kentucky University all the way to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but his first love was always coaching. Portland State may have seemed a strange stop for him, but Glanville is a long-time friend of legendary PSU coach Darrel "Mouse" Davis, progenitor of the Run & Shoot offense. Glanville pioneered the use of the Run & Shoot in the NFL.
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Glanville may not have found much success on the field at Portland State, but he characteristically found his way into the hearts of the community, as Oregon Live's John Canzano relates:
He's got a wonderful personality. Glanville is a master storyteller, charismatic dinner guest and his wife, Brenda, is so big-hearted that she was recently given $5,000 worth of gift cards to Elephants Delicatessen and used them to buy sandwiches and hand them out to homeless people downtown. I love all that about him.

Yes, but can he win games, you're thinking.

And you're right to ask that.

That's the bottom-line criteria by which we judge football coaches. By that standard, Glanville's tenure has been a disaster.
There's no word on what Glanville's next move will be. He's 68 years old, so retirement is certainly an option. A part of me hopes he'll get back in to broadcasting, however. He was always as colorful a color commentator as could be imagined.

Jerry Glanville Resigns at Portland State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jerry GlanvilleMark HastyTue, 17 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST Female Refs No Longer a Novelty http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/02/female-refs-no-longer-a-novelty/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/02/female-refs-no-longer-a-novelty/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/02/female-refs-no-longer-a-novelty/#commentsFiled under:

Yvonde LewisIn the old days, Yvonde Lewis used to tuck her hair up into her cap, shoving it in as far as it would go. She just wanted to blend in.

Then she would stand on the sidelines, working high school football games in Houston as a head linesman, and listen to the young football players,

"Is that he or a she?"

"I don't know, ask ..."

"I'm not going to ask, you ask."

But Lewis hasn't bothered with her "disguise", as she called it, in a long time.

"I didn't want people to know I was a woman, I didn't want that attention," Lewis said. "I don't do that anymore."

Lewis worked as an official in her first FCS college football game on Sept. 19, working the sidelines at the Texas College-Texas Southern game. She is the first woman in the history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) to officiate. She will not be the only one.

Sebrina Brunson will take her turn early next month. Brunson is already established as a regular part of officiating crews in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Lewis and Brunson are among the five women working as FBS and FCS officials in the country. Three of them work in MEAC, another in Conference USA.

Brunson has had moments than Lewis can relate to, shared experiences with coaches and athletes who have never seen a woman wearing the stripes before.

"Sometimes the kids call you 'sir' and then they change to 'ma'am,' " Brunson said. "But they don't challenge you. Your presentation means a lot."

Lewis played basketball and volleyball at Prairie View A &M in Texas and returned to Houston, her hometown.

She was working part time as a radio show host, talking about real estate and while she would sit in the studio preparing for her show, the sports talk show would be on the air. Lewis was intrigued by the conversation.

She went to the show's host and asked him whether she might be able to bring a couple of her girlfriends and talk sports during the show.

"I think at first, his reaction was, 'What do y'all know about sports?' " Lewis said.

But Lewis talked her way on to the air and her show became a local hit.

Lewis hosted her show for three years, but said she was looking for something new when she went to watch her nephew play a pee-wee football game one Saturday afternoon and wasn't impressed.

"The officials were terrible and I feel like I know football in and out and I thought I could do it," Lewis said. "I called up the Web site and called the league."

She moved from youth football, to JV games and varsity games. Lewis said it took her three years to convince local high school sports officials to let her work a varsity game. She also began attending officiating camps. Her passion was born and her skin thickened.

"It gets better and better," Lewis said. "When I first started, it was tough. It's rougher than radio and radio had me crying some days. Do I really want people to criticize me, put my character on the line and have to prove who I am all the time? For a while, it was a really hard battle to blow all the negativity out.

"I'm not in it to break any records," Lewis said. "I love it."

Brunson feels the same way.

"The more I grasped the mechanics and the rules, the more I liked it," Brunson said.

Brunson, who works as an adult probation officer in Georgia, also started officiating at her son's youth games, moving up to high school games in Florida. She eventually began working semi-pro games.

"Those were hard," Brunson said. "They were not very accepting or very respectful."

Brunson attended the MEAC camp in 2001. She remembers when she got the call to do her first college game.

"I had to put them on hold and do a little happy dance," Brunson said. "It was thrilling."

Harold Mitchell, the director of officiating for the SWAC, said his standards for the women are the same as for the men who work in his conference.

And he hopes the way they are treated the same by coaches and players.

"I'd be naïve to think that being a female officials is going to be the same as being a male official," Mitchell said. "They have to work just as hard, probably harder than the men. But I'm not worried about that because Yvonde and Sebrina work harder than anybody to be better and I'm betting on that."

He said Lewis earned strong reviews for her first game.

"I wouldn't say I'm surprised, but I'm very pleased," Mitchell said.

Both women want to take their careers to the NFL.

Lewis said she knows it's going to be "1000 percent hard."

"But I'm up for it," Lewis said.
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Female Refs No Longer a Novelty originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Michelle SmithFri, 02 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST Perrilloux Steals Spotlight, and Nearly Game Against Florida Statehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/12/perrilloux-steals-spotlight-and-nearly-game-against-florida-sta/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/12/perrilloux-steals-spotlight-and-nearly-game-against-florida-sta/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/12/perrilloux-steals-spotlight-and-nearly-game-against-florida-sta/#commentsFiled under: ,

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The spirited discussion between recruiting analysts five years ago focused on prep quarterbacks Ryan Perrilloux and Mark Sanchez. Which player would be selected as the recruiting site's No. 1 player in the country? Perrrilloux or Sanchez?

Scout.com selected Sanchez, who has certainly fulfilled expectations, starring at USC and landing fifth overall in April's NFL draft to the New York Jets. The rookie will start the season opener at Houston Sunday.

Perrilloux, meanwhile, has led a crisscross collegiate career through Louisiana and Alabama, surviving suspensions and a dismissal. The senior started for Jacksonville State University against Florida State Saturday. The Florida Panhandle might be a long way from Broadway, but the bright lights always seem to find Perrilloux.

That was the case here at soggy Doak Campbell Stadium, where the talented Perrilloux nearly led the Gamecocks to a stunning upset over the Seminoles. Trailing 9-7, FSU scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 35 seconds to escape with a 19-9 win.

Sitting in a folding chair, with wet blades of green grass stuck to his face, arms and body, a composed Perrilloux didn't make excuses, second-guess or wonder what-if. Bottom line, the Gamecocks, one of 11 schools in the Football Championship Subdivision to face two schools from the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2009, gave the Seminoles all they could handle -- and then some.

"This reminded me a lot of the (2007) SEC championship game against Tennessee, how close it was the whole game, how great the defense played on both sides of the ball," Perrilloux told FanHouse.

"It was a fast, physical football game all night. But it wasn't anything we weren't used to. Our team prepares for games like this. We came close to beating a good football team. Our defense played amazing. I thought we did some good things on offense. We just lost the ballgame. They stayed in it, and they kept competing."

The same could be said for Perrilloux.

Some recruiting experts called him the most dangerous offensive weapon in the nation as a prep senior at East John High School in Reserve, La., noting his strong arm, quick release and pinpoint accuracy. He was named Offensive Player of the Year by USA Today, a Parade All-American and Gatorade Player of the Year.

FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher knows all about Perrilloux the player and Perrilloux the person. At times over the years, both have been an enigma.

Fisher recruited Perrilloux to LSU and when he was the Tigers' offensive coordinator. Fisher coached him for one season, in 2006, before Fisher left for FSU. Perrilloux was jettisoned by head coach Les Miles a year later. Fisher considers Perrilloux a good kid who made mistakes and hopefully has learned from them. Perrilloux even spent a Thanksgiving with the Fisher family in Louisiana.

"He's a tough old boy, he's competitive, very athletic ... makes a lot of plays," Fisher said. "And, I don't mean this in a bad way, he knows he's a good player. And so he has confidence in himself to do the things he's got to do."

Off the field, however, has been a different matter.

There were at least three suspensions during his time at LSU, including the final one that cost him his place on the team and caused him to transfer to Jacksonville State. Following a successful 2008 season at Jacksonville State, Perrilloux was suspended for the Gamecocks' opener against Georgia Tech last week for an undisclosed team rule violation.

"Yeah, I really was [surprised it didn't work out at LSU]. I hate it for him," Fisher said earlier in the week.

"But, you've got to understand -- being there, and [as] the local kid, and there's a lot of pressure on him to do well and everything you do is under a microscope and sometimes you just make a bad decision here or there and it doesn't go well. But he is a good kid. His family's a good family and it's good he's got a second chance."

Perrilloux nearly made it count against the Seminoles, who looked they were still suffering from an emotional hangover from last Monday's 38-34 defeat to rival Miami. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, had fallen 37-17 at Georgia Tech without Perrilloux but played well to end the game. A torrential rainstorm also kept at least a third of the announced crowd of 71,420 away as FSU and Jacksonville State slugged it out on a wet field.

The Gamecocks nearly withstood the flurry.

Ty Jones' 1-yard touchdown run on second down with 35 seconds left put FSU ahead and Kevin McNeil returned a Perrilloux fumble 33 yards for a score 21 seconds later to seal the win.

"First thing they (Seminoles) will have to recognize is we're pretty good," Gamecocks head coach Jack Crowe said. "They weren't playing the Sisters of the Poor; it's better than its brand, I will tell you that. There are some guys out there that can play for anybody. Don't go woe's (me). I think Florida State's going to have a really good football team."

Crowe also gushed over the effort of the 6-foot-3, 233-pound Perrilloux, who completed 12 of 27 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown - 28 yards to Jamal Young in the first quarter to give the Gamecocks an early 6-0 lead. Perrilloux also rushed for 39 yards on 18 carries and survived seven sacks. Nationally-recognized recruiting analyst Tom Lemming has often compared Perrilloux to Donavan McNabb.

"Ryan is a really, really good quarterback," Crowe said. "He's a leader and I think a lot of our ability to sustain the ball ... I think a lot of that was just the ability to make timely plays. I am very proud of Ryan."

The Gamecocks took advantage of three FSU turnovers to keep control of the contest until the final minute. They also nearly came up with two interceptions to thwart the Seminoles in their final drive.

"Knowing that we can play with those guys and just come up short like we did, it hurts," said senior cornerback Cornell Clark.

"Everyone gave it their all. No regrets. Plus, we have a great quarterback and we know he's going to put points on the board. He's one of the greatest athletes I have ever been around. He's a great athlete. With him coming back that's why we really thought we had a chance to win this game."

Perrilloux thought so, too.

The Gamecocks, who open the season with four consecutive road games, now must turn their attention to Alabama A&M -- a far cry from the 2007 SEC Championship game, where Perrilloux made his second career start and led the Tigers to a 21-14 win over Tennessee. Perrilloux completed 20 of 30 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown and helped propel LSU to the BCS national title game against Ohio State.

"We just came up short tonight," said Perrilloux, who threw for passed for 2,318 yards and 19 touchdowns and led the Gamecocks to an eight-win season last year.

"I really can't explain the game. I wasn't watching it, I was playing it. There's nobody to blame on our ballclub. We played hard. Now we just have to go back and correct our mistakes, which we will."

One hopes Perrilloux has been correcting his mistakes on a personal level, too. One can't talk to Perrilloux long without realizing how much he loves the game.

"We are just trying to take advantage of our opportunities and win some football games," he said. "Jacksonville State has been nothing but good for me. It has helped me grow into the man that I want to be in life."

Perrilloux Steals Spotlight, and Nearly Game Against Florida State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Ryan PerrillouxRyanPerrillouxJim HenrySat, 12 Sep 2009 23:50:00 EST Northern Iowa Takes Iowa to the Limithttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/05/northern-iowa-takes-iowa-to-the-limit/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/05/northern-iowa-takes-iowa-to-the-limit/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/05/northern-iowa-takes-iowa-to-the-limit/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Northern Iowa is not your run-of-the-mill Football Championship Subdivision (or, if you prefer, Division I-AA) program. The Panthers are a regular in the playoffs, advancing to the semifinals in 2008 before losing a gut-wrencher to eventual national champion Richmond.

As inexcusable as it may be for major college programs to continue scheduling FCS cupcakes, No. 21 Iowa had to know they weren't in for an easy afternoon at Kinnick Stadium Saturday. If UNI's reputation didn't do it for them, that 10-point third-quarter hole sure seemed to work.

The Hawkeyes rallied, and two blocked field goals in the closing seconds gave them a 17-16 season-opening win over the Panthers.

After falling behind 13-3 in the third, quarterback Ricky Stanzi was able to lead a pair of touchdown drives to give his team the lead. The Hawkeyes had another scoring march halted on a fourth-down stop near the UNI 30.

The Panthers were then able to stage a rally of their own. A field goal with 4:30 to play in the fourth quarter cut the lead to 17-16, then UNI got the ball back. Quarterback Pat Grace, who was solid all afternoon, deftly led Northern Iowa well into normal field goal range. Kicker Billy Hallgren, who had hit from 34 and 39 yards during the second half, came on for a 40-yard attempt with seven seconds to go.

His low kick was blocked, but it never crossed the line of scrimmage. An Iowa player who was going to pick it up chose not to, probably because players across football have been told for years not to touch the ball on a blocked kick like that. However, Northern Iowa recovered and never advanced it beyond the line of scrimmage.

That meant UNI would get another opportunity, but Hallgren's kick, again from around 40 yards, was blocked by the Iowa rush up the middle.

It should be very interesting to see what happens to Iowa in the polls next week. Almost losing to Northern Iowa is certainly not a good thing, but it's not the end of their football program. Head coach Kirk Ferentz has a lot of work to do with his team, but at least he found out about those things while they were winning a game.

Northern Iowa Takes Iowa to the Limit originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>ricky stanziBruce CiskieSat, 05 Sep 2009 15:55:00 EST Indiana Beats Eastern Kentucky, But Doesn't Look Good Doing Ithttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/04/indiana-beats-eastern-kentucky-but-doesnt-look-good-doing-it/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/04/indiana-beats-eastern-kentucky-but-doesnt-look-good-doing-it/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/04/indiana-beats-eastern-kentucky-but-doesnt-look-good-doing-it/#commentsFiled under: ,

Demetrius McCraySometimes a win is a win and you're just glad to have one. If you're Indiana, you can't afford to be too picky. The Hoosiers beat Eastern Kentucky, a Division 1-AA Football Championship Subdivision school, Thursday night, 19-13.

As the score might suggest, the EKU Colonels were in this one right to the very end. Twice in the fourth quarter the Colonels had the ball in IU territory with a chance to take the lead. Twice the defense came up with big plays. That's the only thing that saved Bill Lynch's bacon. His revamped pistol offense played pretty well in the first half but looked positively Oregonian in the second.

That's still a good sign, though, right? I mean, the defense did come up with the two big stops when they needed to, and wasn't EKU a playoff team last season?

Yeah, they were, but is this what IU fans were hoping to see in the season opener? That their team can hang with a pretty good FCS squad? Hey, I know the Big Ten is down, but it isn't that far down.

Still, for the IU faithful, the night wasn't a total disaster. The Hoosiers won, the win counts towards bowl eligibility, and it was only the season opener. Not only that but, despite Bill Lynch's avowed emphasis on downhill running, junior quarterback Ben Chappell showed moments of brilliance. He hit Demarlo Belcher on an absolutely beautiful deep touchdown pass of the sort Paleozoic football fans used to call a "bomb." In addition to the touchdown, Chappell threw for 362 yards. He would have gone over 400 but for a pick he threw on another deep pass just before halftime.

Too, the Hoosiers' run defense did hold the Colonels under 100 yards total rushing. Last year's team would have had trouble matching that performance.

Still, this was a six-point win over an FCS school. It beats losing to one, I guess, but this is not the start IU wanted. We'll know more after we see Western Michigan this weekend, but right now it sure looks like the Hoosiers will have their hands full with the Broncos next Saturday.

Indiana Beats Eastern Kentucky, But Doesn't Look Good Doing It originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>bill lynchBillLynchDemarlo BelcherMark HastyFri, 04 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST Ryan Perrilloux's Stripes Remain Unchangedhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/21/ryan-perrillouxs-stripes-remain-unchanged/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/21/ryan-perrillouxs-stripes-remain-unchanged/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/21/ryan-perrillouxs-stripes-remain-unchanged/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Apparently that old cliche about a tiger never changing his stripes remains true, even if the Tiger is now a Gamecock.

Ryan Perrilloux remains a tantalizing football talent. Unfortunately, that talent remains attached to a 10-cent brain. After finding multiple ways to blow multiple chances at Louisiana State, Perrilloux finally had to leave the Tigers. He landed at 1-AA Jacksonville State and made it through the season without incident -- much to everyone's shock.

Now comes the news that Perrilloux will miss the season opener at Georgia Tech after being suspended for the always clear, "violation of team rules." Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe did not elaborate, but it does restore the status quo to the Perrilloux narrative.

Ryan Perrilloux's Stripes Remain Unchanged originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jacksonville StateChas RichFri, 21 Aug 2009 14:25:00 EST The FanHouse Walk: Giving Football the Old College Handshakehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/17/giving-football-the-old-college-handshake/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/17/giving-football-the-old-college-handshake/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/17/giving-football-the-old-college-handshake/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Every week during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Good Cop Bad Cop -- The American Football Coaches Association is trying to inject some sportsmanship into an opening week pregame near you. The AFCA has put forth a non-binding proposal that teams shake hands en masse before each Week 1 game, roughly four minutes before spending the next four hours in violent, competitive, collision-heavy contact.

Kudos, I guess. It's well-meaning and doesn't necessarily do any harm, but this seems more for show than sincerity given the necessarily violent nature of the game. As AFCA honcho Grant Teaff says, "It is symbolic, but it is, we think, a very important initiative." Meanwhile, the NCAA rules committee has cooked up its own, much more dangerous plan to counter unsportsmanlike play.

Remember this play (1:19 in)?

If a proposal eventually gets its way through the committee, such on-field taunts might be considered a live penalty, effectively erasing a touchdown that was otherwise unaided by any other penalty. As it is, such actions warrant an easy unsportsmanlike conduct, docking the offending team after the conclusion of the play. That is the way it should be.

On-field taunts are unfortunate but there are already procedures in place to punish such actions. The rules committee is clearly trying to take things a step further and pre-empt any further incidents. Says Southeastern Conference coordinator of football officials Rogers Redding, "I think the sense is it would stop it in a heartbeat."

No doy.

Regardless, if a touchdown is accomplished without the aid of a hold or any other assisting penalties, it needs to stand. Period. Slippery slopes and such. See Redding again, telling USA Today: "The line gets crossed when there's taunting and inciting."

The endless on-field banter is in itself its own form of taunting and inciting that often leads to more visible taunts like the one above. Either everything gets thrown in that boat or almost nothing does. The rules in place work, occasional crossing of the lines is going to happen and there's more than a few repercussions from the dead ball penalty to the player getting chewed out or benched by his coach, team conduct penalties during the week that we don't see, and so on.

Taking away the most exciting and difficult to execute plays in football is asinine, backwards and counterproductive in erasing only a handful of the most egregious transgressions while also taking away the element of the game most fans and competitors are there for. Stop the madness.

We've Got Plenty -- Heather Dinich and the ESPN college football blog crew have been busy today listing their top villains in college football. No. 3 on her list and certainly near the top of mine: Congress. I love Dinich because she speaks her mind efficiently and brutally. Quoth the ACC writer:

It doesn't belong in college football. It wasted taxpayers' money -- twice. And it doesn't understand the BCS. But give Utah's biggest fan a national stage, and Sen. Orrin Hatch suddenly has his own column on SI.com.

Heh.

The NCAA rules committee is inching up my list after the above plus their horrendous cave-in to broadcast networks with rule 3-2-5-e from a few years back. The NCAA is like the reverse Midas, where everything it touches turns something on the opposite end of the spectrum from gold.

History -- Florida is the second team of this decade to attempt to corner three championships in a brief span.

Everyone's obviously pointing to the 2005 USC team that gave out just 19 seconds from history. Regardless Florida deserves high marks for getting this far, it ain't easy and the pressure builds with each game. Their schedule is relatively light but math, science and the season-wrecking Gods of college football will do their darndest to align against the Gators this year.

Now wouldn't be ironic if USC was the team to put the brakes on the Gators' own charge at history? Ask me again in a few weeks but that's actually my view of how this season will play out as we cruise through the middle of August.

Stereotypin' -- Vegas Insider checks in with the returning offensive and defensive starters for each FBS college football team. Make note that seven SEC teams have eight or more returning defensive starters. Contrast that with the Pac-10 and its five teams with eight or more returning offensive starters.

Stereotypes are stereotypes but sometimes there's a bit of truth behind them.

In The Age of Political Correctness -- Nicholls State retired an offensive 'white-bearded, gray-uniformed mascot' in 2004 that conjured up Civil War images. In its place a new mascot has finally arrived, and folks are rightly not taking to it.

I'll let the people do the talking:

"Menacing."

'"'It looked like a Nazi soldier -- a very angry Nazi soldier"

" The new image seems evil, faceless and inhuman."

"It comes down to one word: propaganda."

See where this is going? I'm trying to understand what they were trying to do, but the logo came out wrong. The propaganda thing is dead-on, it looks like the 'Colonel' jumped out of a Stalin-era propaganda poster (although some of that same imagery revived itself with those creepy two-tone Obama posters in the recent election) and into a Louisiana university. If we're going to be snarky, it actually strongly reminded me of the M. Bison character from the 'Street Fighter' video games.

Folks have set up some Facebook pages in protest, but so far the University is sticking with its logo. It's so strange as to maybe work in a few years once people figure out to not take it seriously and it becomes a running joke among the student body. Maybe.

Beer Isn't The Only Thing Brewing In Madison -- Wisconsin recently suspended two players indefinitely for violating team rules. This stuff happens all the time but things are about to get real ugly as both players' fathers are now involved claiming the program mishandled the situation as they attempt to clear their sons' names.

Transfers have to be imminent when stuff like this from Aubrey Pleasant's father hits the papers:

"I hate to say this, but you just can't treat people any old way. I think that is what he is used to doing. Maybe this is how they do things at Iowa.

"And I hate to say that... but I hope the guy comes to his senses. Lawyers have been contacted, and we just want the kids' names cleared."

After a smooth start, it's been downhill for Badgers' coach Bret Bielema. This only adds to the trouble after athletic director and legendary Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez didn't exactly give him the ringingest of endorsements recently.

Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- Former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer has signed on to be a studio analyst for CBS College Sports. He'll do great there, and I'm shocked ESPN didn't swoop in and grab him as a potential centerpiece to their growing SEC coverage. The man is still obviously itching to coach, but I'd have taken the risk of having him for only a year as an informed and surprisingly gregarious broadcast voice.

-- Speaking of unsportsmanlike, Washington is unabashedly coaching its linemen to cut block this season under first-year coach Steve Sarkisian. Judging by the quotes the players don't much have the stomach for it but are following orders

-- Phil Steele projects Cal a big winner over Maryland this year and looks at the sneaky good Illinois/Missouri rivalry game as well.

-- A UCLA football commit and brother of USC defensive end Malik Jackson wore a UCLA shirt and matching socks to a recent USC football practice. He'll pay for that, on the field of course.

-- Football Outsiders looks at college football's best defensive lines from 2008. Not much mention of USC's defensive line, which was part of one of the better defenses of this era last year. Either the numbers need some work or those linebackers and secondary did a surprising amount of the heavy lifting in last year. On defense, success is usually heavily linked to the trenches, so the work the linebackers did behind USC's front four last season was, according to these rankings, all the more impressive.

-- Interesting stance the NCAA is taking on new media as it relates to injury reports and coaches' general efforts to obscure team health matters.

The FanHouse Walk: Giving Football the Old College Handshake originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Barry AlvarezBret BielemaHeather DinichNCARogers ReddingBrian GrummellMon, 17 Aug 2009 15:24:00 EST Mack Brown Does BCS Backdownhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/10/mack-brown-does-bcs-backdown/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/10/mack-brown-does-bcs-backdown/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/10/mack-brown-does-bcs-backdown/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Every week during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Remember Cal 2004 -- Texas coach Mack Brown, who, aside from last year's Big 12 tiebreaker dustup, has benefited greatly from the BCS, has apparently decided to get off his high horse when it comes to matters of BCS. Brown hilariously brought in experts during the offseason to explain the BCS to him and his coaches, ignoring that he fully understood matters enough in 2004 to politic for Texas' inclusion over a Cal team that had a better season and overall performance to that point than his Longhorns.

In addition, Brown has lost his coaches' poll vote - AMEN! - not due to conduct but simple procedure where coaches are randomly chosen to participate. Maybe he should have lost it on conduct. Brown was the person you saw on your television last January proclaiming his team that had just escaped Ohio State (last seen at the loser side of ugly beatdowns against USC, LSU and Florida) the best in the country!

Let your team do its talking on the field and good riddance.

Contract Year -- USC junior tailback Joe McKnight is back like Ron Burgundy, dominating through USC's first two practices. Is this a mirage or can he stay healthy and escape the heavy gravitational pull that is USC's befuddling tailback-by-committee approach?

Well, if there's anything USC haters see most when they look at the program, its dollars. Joe McKnight's even put the dollar symbols on his eye black so do the math here, a true junior offensive player on a high profile team + child to take care of = fierce urgency of now. Now he just needs to shed the co-anchors and claim the lion's share of carries.

ByTheWay new quarterback, shoe warsterbeck, don't sleep on USC this year.

Whatever You Say, No. 2 -- Life's not always bad in the shadows. Head coaches get all the glory but coordinators are taking on an increasingly important role in pro and college football. Most grow impatient and look towards head coaching gigs, but the occasional lifer is out there who helps define the position. Such is the case of longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who is strongly hinting this will be his last season in Tallahassee.

I don't know of any coordinators in the College Football Hall of Fame, but a great argument can be made for his inclusion as sort of the Norm Chow of legendary longtime defensive coordinators.

Its Supposed to be Fun -- Silly stuff, but yet another crumb in the long evidence trail that Pete Carroll likes to keep things loose and fun. Below is video from a recent USC team meeting that turned into 'an impromptu sing off'. The winner, by decision, linebacker Marquis Simmons with his take on the always stirring 'Lean on Me'.



Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- Others have attempted similar analysis but its always cool to look at again - Saurian Sagacity examines the statistical characteristics of BCS champions. My quibble? They should have broadened it to national champions to include the 2003 USC team that was atop both major polls at the end of the year and likely would have beaten either LSU or Oklahoma. I'm curious how that would have affected data.

-- You can call him the Lawnmower Man. Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards will miss a few weeks of practice after doing what had to be some gruesome damage to his right foot thanks to a mowing accident.

-- A company now makes collegiate-scented fragrances for programs such as LSU, Penn State and North Carolina. They're not doing their job, however, if UCLA's doesn't smell like envy and Maryland's doesn't smell like old bay.

-- The Black Coaches Association takes umbrage with the lack of black coaches in Sporting News' recent '50 greatest coaches' list. As they make clear, its more a matter of missing opportunity than anything that only Grambling legend Eddie Robinson made the list.

-- Rivals looks at some of college football's top trios and oddly places Oklahoma State's trio of Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant ahead of Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray and Jermaine Gresham.

-- Ohio State may be without linebacker Tyler Moeller for the 2009 season after a head injury that was due to either a fall or perhaps a sucker punch.

-- Phil Steele thinks new Boston College coach Frank Spaziani got 'Baylored'. Heh.

-- Heisman Pundit releases his preseason top 10 teams list.

-- Dr. Saturday talks the Pac-10 perception dance. Cosigned.

-- Speaking of perception, ESPN's Brian Bennett addresses the state of the Big East. I think their demise is much overstated. The Mountain West is peaking right now during an average period of Big East play. The Big East is deeper, has more historically relevant programs, makes more money and is more influential. Bagging on them is trendy but not the most fulfilling thing one can do.

Mack Brown Does BCS Backdown originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brian GrummellMon, 10 Aug 2009 13:54:00 EST Spring Game Brought to You By...http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/23/spring-game-brought-to-you-by/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/23/spring-game-brought-to-you-by/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/23/spring-game-brought-to-you-by/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Given that some schools are packing their stadiums for spring football practice/pep rallies, is it any wonder that the latest trend is towards getting a corporate sponsor for the glorified scrimmages. It should also be no surprise that the football-mad SEC programs have taken the lead in this practice.

Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State all had corporate sponsors in the very title of the spring game. With every athletic department is concerned about finding money from every and any possible source and more corporate sponsored spring games are on the way. Wisconsin and Cal also had corporate sponsors for their spring games.
According to a college marketing firm, the sponsorship deals can go from anywhere from "$30,000 for the more modest programs to six-figure sums for high-profile schools."

In conjunction with the spring games, some schools are also raising money by holding "garage sales" of old gear.
Red Raiders used equipment and apparel will be on sale along with overstock and sale items from the school store, says Alan Berger of the Double T Zone, which holds the Texas Tech merchandising contract.

Tech will set up about a 3,000-square-foot lobby in the football stadium near private suites and club seats today through Sunday. This year's sale will be richly stocked because the school recently signed an exclusive contract with Under Armour, so old gear will be on the market.

Warm-up apparel, hats, shorts and T-shirts will be among available items.

"It's a great way to combine a clearance sale and to recycle athletic department gear that otherwise would be going in the trash or winding up in a storage unit someplace," says Berger. "We hope to go over $100,000 in sales."
Programs like UNLV and Cornell have also had these sort of events. It's that or go to a local T.J. Maxx for older, cheap gear.

Even in the 1-AA level, programs are going that way with selling old gear and merchandise. The Richmond Spiders won the FCS Championship, and hope to generate extra money by selling the game-worn helmets for $500 a pop. Senior players can buy their own helmets for $25.

Spring Game Brought to You By... originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Chas RichThu, 23 Apr 2009 23:07:00 EST Larry Coker Applies for Non-Existent Jobhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/08/larry-coker-wants-to-coach-a-team-that-does-not-exist/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/08/larry-coker-wants-to-coach-a-team-that-does-not-exist/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/08/larry-coker-wants-to-coach-a-team-that-does-not-exist/#commentsFiled under: ,

Since being fired from Miami, Larry Coker has worked for ESPN as a regional college football analyst. Each year, he's put his name out there for any and every coaching job, yet no one has bit on the coach, who's won a BCS championship and was a national coach of the year.

These are desperate times, so Larry Coker has applied to be the coach of a program that does not actually exist, putting in an application to be the first head coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Now he waits.

UTSA only approved the decision to create a football program in December 2008. They want to hire a coach by March so they can start recruiting and practicing in 2010. The next step would be playing an independent schedule in 2011, before becoming a football member of the Southland Conference in the FCS division in 2012. The football team would play its game at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The school plans to build a whole new athletic complex with a pricetag of around $84 million. The school hopes to raise $15 million in donations towards the complex which would include practice fields for the football team.

I'm just not sure that will be the direction UTSA will want to go. Whoever is hired will have to be a strong personality to do nearly as much gladhanding and fundraising as recruiting and coaching. Then there is building a program from scratch. Coker is 60 years old, and it will be fair to wonder if he really has the drive and desire to do that much work.

Larry Coker Applies for Non-Existent Job originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Chas RichSun, 08 Feb 2009 14:52:00 EST Getting Worse, Sooner Rather Than Laterhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/09/getting-worse-sooner-rather-than-later/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/09/getting-worse-sooner-rather-than-later/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/09/getting-worse-sooner-rather-than-later/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Traffic in South Florida delayed both schools team buses from arriving at the site of the BCS national title game on time as scheduled, a trivial tidbit to the season's final game you'd be excused for not knowing.

Oklahoma's record-setting offensive unit did eventually make it, but if you watched Florida's 24-14 win over the Sooners, you'd be excused for not knowing that either.

Because what took the field was trivial compared to the biblical 702-point offense that burned through the Big 12 and burned out scoreboards.

After a season in which they spent more time scoring in the 60s than Tiger Woods in his best week, Oklahoma's high-octane offense played like it had a pound of sugar in its gas tank, a herky-jerky rendering of a once prolific offense.

It was less like they were playing football and more like every member of the team had been simultaneously asked to recite the alphabet backwards. It was like watching Usain Bolt run the 100-meters only after twirling around enough to make himself dizzy.

And in the end it rendered 360 yards. Two interceptions. Fourteen measly points.

One awfully familiar feeling.

Another year, another bowl loss for Oklahoma. And it only seems to be getting worse.
When all is said about the Sooners' 2008 season, there will be plenty to remember with pride: The Big 12 championship, the NCAA-record point total, the reckoning they laid at the feet of Texas Tech, the biggest Bedlam beating in Stillwater since 1983, the dual 1,000-yard rushers, Sam Bradford's Heisman trophy and highlight after highlight after highlight.

For some schools, even with the loss in the BCS title game, it's the kind of season that can get buildings constructed on campus and named for every member of the coaching staff.

At Oklahoma, it's reason to kick your own dog.

All season, Oklahoma's offensive prowess had been more a law of nature than statistical trend. They scored 60 against five straight teams. Four of those teams went on to play in bowls. All of those four won at least nine games.

So watching Bradford and the offense look quizzically at Florida was a little like putting water in the freezer only to watch it boil.

It was the biggest stage, they no-showed it like an Evite from Pacman Jones.

Stop us when you've heard this one before.

For Oklahoma, it was their fifth straight BCS bowl loss. Back-to-back BCS title game losses in 2004 and '05. A shocking Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State in 2006. An embarrassment at the hands of West Virginia in 2007. And then this. Somewhere, even Ohio State is snickering.

And the man they once called "Big Game Bob" now has a nickname that seems as antiquated as the firmly midwestern Michigan's "Champions of the West" sobriquet.

But in the rubble of Oklahoma's season, he at least had a firm grasp on one thing.

"You lose a game," Stoops said, looking like he'd just been run over by the Sooner Schooner, "through the whole process of the game."

And the process was ugly.

There were debatable coaching calls, like the decision to run, and get stood up, on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter, a decision that will likely remain as a mark on Stoops' resume, or the even stranger option to let kicker Jimmy Stevens try a 49-yard field goal when his longest of the season was 42 yards.

There was the Heisman winner Bradford trying to jam a pass into Manny Johnson between four defenders on the goal line at the end of the first half, a ball that would be tipped by all of them and intercepted by Major Wright, yet another red zone failure for a team so automatic inside the 20 this season. And the defense, which played marvelously through three quarters, just couldn't stop Tim Tebow in the final 15 minutes anymore than they could stop an avalanche with a snow shovel.

There were highlights. The Gators never came up with an answer for tight end Jermaine Gresham, who caught both touchdowns. Chris Brown ran for 110 yards. And that maligned defense stood up for itself in a big way, limiting Florida to its lowest scoring output of the season.

But those highlights seemed to pass even faster than Florida's Percy Harvin could outrun the Sooner defense.

And the problem for Oklahoma is that they may have missed their championship window in the near future as an exodus of NFLers bolt out of Norman, particularly on its record-setting offense unit. Bradford has reportedly all but made up his mind to go to the NFL and most of his city-block of an offensive will join him. Only right tackle Trent Williams will remain behind. Gresham, a junior, is expected to leave early while top targets Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias are both seniors.

The good news is that Oklahoma is more dynasty than program. The Sooners will never have to stand in line at college football's soup kitchens.

But, like gameday itself, when exactly Oklahoma will successfully arrive on a national stage again, is a bit of a mystery.

Yes, Oklahoma finally got off the bus Thursday. But make no mistake, these Sooners are still stuck.

Getting Worse, Sooner Rather Than Later originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>bcsbcs championshipbcs championship gamebcs national championshipbcs title gameBcsChampionshipBcsChampionshipGameBcsNationalChampionshipBcsTitleGamebig 12Big12bob stoopsBobStoopsoklahomaoklahoma footballoklahoma soonersOklahomaFootballOklahomaSoonersRay HollomanFri, 09 Jan 2009 08:21:00 EST Follow the Dotted Lines: Florida and Oklahoma Have Already Lost to Real National Champshttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/08/follow-the-dotted-lines-florida-and-oklahoma-have-already-lost/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/08/follow-the-dotted-lines-florida-and-oklahoma-have-already-lost/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/08/follow-the-dotted-lines-florida-and-oklahoma-have-already-lost/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

It's a good thing the transitive property doesn't work in football. You might remember that property from a math class somewhere in your past. What the transitive property states is, if a > b and b > c, then a > c. It's a good thing that doesn't work in football, because if it did, tonight's BCS Championship Game wouldn't matter. Both Florida and Oklahoma have already been transitively defeated by the champions of Division I-AA the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, and the NAIA. I kid you not. Fasten your seat belts, Chuckles; this is going to get strange.

We'll start with the FCS champions, the Richmond Spiders. The Spiders beat Montana, who beat Cal Poly, who beat San Diego State, who beat Wyoming, who beat Tennessee, who beat Vanderbilt, who beat Ole Miss, who beat Texas Tech, who beat Texas, who beat Oklahoma. And, of course, Ole Miss beat Florida outright. So we've established that as long as we can get to Cal Poly from a given team, they've transitively defeated both the Sooners and the Gators. Do you still doubt that all the other national champs who won the playoffs we can't have beat them? See you after the jump.

The Division II title was won by Minnesota-Duluth, who beat North Alabama, who beat Valdosta State, who beat Newberry, who beat Wingate, who beat UNC-Pembroke, who beat Jacksonville, who beat Dayton, who beat San Diego, who beat UC-Davis, who beat Portland State, who beat Eastern Washington, who beat Weber State, who beat Cal Poly, and thus the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs have also transitively defeated both participants in tonight's game.

Gotta be harder for Division III, right? Not really. Mount Union beat Wisconsin-Whitewater, who beat Mary Hardin-Baylor, who beat Sul Ross State, who beat Southwestern Assemblies of God, who beat Austin College, who beat Birmingham Southern, who beat Campbell, who beat Carthage, who beat Illinois Wesleyan, who beat Elmhurst, who beat Wheaton, who beat Franklin, who beat Butler, who beat Morehead State, who beat Dayton, and if you follow the Division II line above, then Mount Union has also transitively defeated both Florida and Oklahoma.

Thus, the Gators and Sooners have transitively lost to every other NCAA football champion. But surely they couldn't lose to the NAIA champ, right?

Wrong. Look at the Division III line again. Southwestern Assemblies of God is an NAIA school. If we can get to them from the NAIA champion Sioux Falls Cougars, we're home free. That's not hard at all. The Cougars beat Langston University, who beat Southwestern Assemblies of God, and from there, it's already established. So I don't see what's so great about tonight's game. How can any team be a true national champion if they've already been transitively defeated by the champions of every other NCAA division plus the NAIA?

(Thanks to Chris Bellomy, a proud alumnus of Austin College, who did much of the legwork for this post by using My Team Is Better Than Your Team.)

Follow the Dotted Lines: Florida and Oklahoma Have Already Lost to Real National Champs originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>BCS is a jokeBcsIsAJokejust for laughsJustForLaughstransitive propertyTransitivePropertyMark HastyThu, 08 Jan 2009 15:46:00 EST Counterpoint: Split National Titles Are For People Not Willing to Rationalize a Playoffhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/06/counterpoint-split-national-titles-are-for-people-not-willing-t/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/06/counterpoint-split-national-titles-are-for-people-not-willing-t/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/06/counterpoint-split-national-titles-are-for-people-not-willing-t/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My colleague Mark Hasty penned a piece yesterday calling for a split national title in college football. It's a fun idea; it seeks to give credit to all the teams we believe deserve it (last week it was Alabama and Texas, this week it's just Utah).

Now, MH does have a point -- there is considerable distress in the world of NCAA football when it comes to picking who should be the best/last/triumphant team standing come January 6. This is typically a huge issue every year.

And, in fact, it's an issue for the very reason that Mark pointed out -- we (media, fans, coaches, everyone) always tend to be stone cold wrong about a few particular conferences and/or teams. Hawaii was a perfect example last year; many people actually thought they were good enough to beat Georgia. Whoops. Same thing with, apparently, Alabama -- although I'm still not willing to concede that they aren't an upper tier team, Utah just got the reverse treatment.

But here's the thing: as long as the current setup for college football stands, this will always be an issue. There are several problems. First of all, preseason polls are a total and utter disaster. The need to rank teams as soon as a season ends begs and pleads for us to cave in and actually foster misconceptions about particular programs. See: the Big Ten, every freaking year.

Misconstruing the talent level of a particular program leads to the second issue; it's nearly impossible for a team like Utah -- with their conference, schedule and the inherent bias -- to actually rise high enough in the BCS standings to get a shot at winning a national title.



But splitting the baby in half won't solve any of that. In the words of Gob Bluth, "COME ON." We're America; we want a sense of finality to our sporting events ... not some ridiculous, Bushanian styled Florida election result. (Yes, I'm aware of the irony.) Because, folks, we've been there. We've seen that. The split national title has come and gone and it was ugly, boring and without merit. It's the reason why we created the BCS, only this particular system is too flawed to really move past any of the issues.

Besides, awarding multiple shares of the national title would do nothing more than feed the already growing monster that is the BCS. "Congratulations, Utah! You've won the AP National Championship*! And for you, Oklahoma, the Harris Poll Title*!" Instead, let the BCS keep playing out as poorly has it has over the past few years. Because every year it's supposed to get better and somehow it keeps getting worse (Utah, Texas and USC all have claims this season) but eventually, someone, somewhere is going to finally cave and we'll get us that playoff. Either that or Barack Obama is just going to throw down an ultimatum if the next election looks close. He'll have my vote.

*may only be worth a percentage of a normal title

Counterpoint: Split National Titles Are For People Not Willing to Rationalize a Playoff originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Will BrinsonTue, 06 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST Utah Fans Are Shamelessly Spamming AP Voters in the Slim Hopes They Can Win a Titlehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/06/utah-fans-are-shamelessly-spamming-ap-voters-in-the-slim-hopes-t/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/06/utah-fans-are-shamelessly-spamming-ap-voters-in-the-slim-hopes-t/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/06/utah-fans-are-shamelessly-spamming-ap-voters-in-the-slim-hopes-t/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Utah Utes just finished (another) undefeated season. They are, naturally, proud of this fact. Not quite as proud, though, as they are angry about a BCS scenario that will not enable them to win a national title.

This is because, of course, Oklahoma and Florida are really the only eligible title contenders. (Just don't tell Mack Brown I said that.) But that fact certainly isn't stopping the Thelma, Marvin and Provos of the world from saying their peace -- just ask News and Observer reporter and AP voter J.P. Giglio, who lets us know that people in Utah can use e-mail.
Utah fans have been mass e-mailing AP voters, urging us to put the Utes, the nation's only unbeaten team, No. 1 in the final Top 25.

I've received no less than 100 e-mails from the Ute faithful, not to mention a Facebook wall post from a Ute alum.
Frankly, I can't say I blame the Utah fans; go ahead and put me down for a mea culpa on the whole "Alabama is going to slaughter that little Mountain West team". And it's that same stigma (again, I'm sorry) that has caused puh-lenty of voters to simply ignore teams from smaller conferences.

The big problem is that there isn't -- and this is no real surprise -- ever a consistent level of bowl performance from the Boise States and the Hawaiis and the Utahs of the world. Which pretty much means that the only solution that will ever work correctly is a freaking playoff. Not sure how many times it has to be said.

Utah Fans Are Shamelessly Spamming AP Voters in the Slim Hopes They Can Win a Title originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Will BrinsonTue, 06 Jan 2009 18:10:00 EST Bowl Selection Special: Alabama, Utah and the Sugar Bowl First Lookhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-alabama-utah-and-the-sugar-bowl-first-l/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-alabama-utah-and-the-sugar-bowl-first-l/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-alabama-utah-and-the-sugar-bowl-first-l/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

You see, the bowl selection "work" done here to "pick" Alabama and Utah and place them against one another in a BCS bowl game, well, it seems a little poorly done.

Color me skeptical, but it just doesn't seem like there's anyway that the Utes can hang with an Alabama team that didn't lose a single game in the SEC until the championship. And while I actually think that's a characteristic that should allow the Crimson Tide to have a shot at a national championship (is their loss to Florida really that much worse than the Gators managing to lose to Ole Miss, regardless that it was the third week of the season?), that's not how the system works.

How the system does work is that, well, if you want to really muddle through it, go here and read it. Just know that the BCS doesn't strive to create matchups of the most intriguing nature. Otherwise, you would be seeing Utah-Ohio State and Alabama-Texas. Clearly, the latter two are three and four in the country in terms of quality and they should be playing each other.

But my opinion doesn't really matter; Alabama and Utah are squaring off and I'm not entirely sure it will end up being close. In fairness to Utah, they beat everyone they were supposed to beat, including a tough TCU team late in the season, and a big upset (at the time) over Michigan in the opening weekend, and a huge win against Oregon State in early October.

They rolled over most of the teams they played, although a three-point (13-point effort no less) win over New Mexico is kind of indicative of them being a team that, um, wouldn't beat Alabama -- especially an Alabama team that is going to be focused on bringing speed on defense and a power running game. Also, Julio Jones is amazing.

Bowl Selection Special: Alabama, Utah and the Sugar Bowl First Look originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>nick sabanNickSabanWill BrinsonSun, 07 Dec 2008 23:42:00 EST Bowl Selection Special: Texas, Ohio State and the Fiesta Bowl First Lookhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-texas-ohio-state-and-the-fiesta-bowl-fi/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-texas-ohio-state-and-the-fiesta-bowl-fi/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-texas-ohio-state-and-the-fiesta-bowl-fi/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

The bowl selection of Texas and Ohio State to the Fiesta Bowl is alternately disappointing (for Mack Brown's crew) and fairly thrilling (for Jim Tressel's Buckeyes). See, Texas beat everyone they were supposed to, with the exception of Texas Tech, who the Longhorns happened to lose to near the end of the season. Ohio State, on the other hand, got de-pantsed by Southern Cal in the third week of the season and later lost to Penn State in a close game.

In other words, the Buckeyes have, for all intents and purposes, done the same thing this year as they have in the past -- win against an easy schedule and luck out by not having any tough games to close the year, much less a Big 10 championship game to play in.

They finished second in a freaking weak conference, pummeling third-place finisher Michigan State 45-7, and for that they get rewarded with a BCS appearance. So, yeah, they should be thrilled.

Except they're playing a pretty cheesed-off Longhorn team that hasn't really started to complain how the BCS system is effectively screwing the best regular-season team of the year out of a shot at winning a national championship.

And even worse for the Buckeyes, Texas has a good reason to get up for this game -- a really, really strong showing by the Longhorns will give them plenty of reason to clamber about not getting a shot at a) the Big 12 championship or b) the BCS championship. And since I have zero faith in a Big 10 team coming out and dominating a Big 12 team that's fired up, I'll take the Longhorns by double digits in this one.

Bowl Selection Special: Texas, Ohio State and the Fiesta Bowl First Look originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>colt mccoyColtMccoyjim tresselJimTresselmack brownMackBrownWill BrinsonSun, 07 Dec 2008 23:00:00 EST Bowl Selection Special: Oklahoma and Florida, BCS Championship First Lookhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-oklahoma-and-florida-bcs-championship-f/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-oklahoma-and-florida-bcs-championship-f/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-oklahoma-and-florida-bcs-championship-f/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Want more BCS analysis? Click below for each BCS Bowl:

Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Utah
Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Ohio State
Rose: USC vs. Penn State

There was something distinctively anti-climatic about the BCS Selection Show in a year like this -- because Oklahoma throttled Missouri in the Big 12 championship game, and because Florida was able to hold off Alabama in the SEC championship, we more or less knew coming into the bowl selection day who would be playing in the BCS championship.

And ... you got it -- Oklahoma and Florida were named as the pair of teams that will compete for the BCS championship and nearly unalienable right to almost absolutely proclaim themselves the best team in the nation. But, all skepticism aside, it's worth noting that this will be a pretty spectacular game to watch, provided you enjoy seeing lots of offense.

Now, some people will question whether or not Oklahoma can actually stop Florida at all, and it's going to be tough; ever since the Gators lost to Ole Miss four weeks into the season, they've been on a total and utterly destructive tear of anyone in their path, with their closest game before the 31-20 win over Alabama being a 42-14 romp over Vanderbilt.

On the other hand, maybe Oklahoma doesn't need to stop Florida -- Bob Stoops' boys have just gone through a stretch, including a Big 12 championship whipping of Missouri, as they scored 60-plus points in five straight games (and barely missed a sixth when they lobbed 58 points on Kansas State before the streak started), thanks to Sam Bradford's strong play at quarterback.

But, defense does matter, and Florida has more of it. Oh yeah -- they also have Tim Tebow, who is just outside "mortal" in terms of everything he does. If I've got to take someone, and I suppose I do, I'll take the Gators, and while I wouldn't make them two-touchdown favorites or anything silly like that, I do think they'll end up winning big.

Bowl Selection Special: Oklahoma and Florida, BCS Championship First Look originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Bob StoopsBobStoopsTim TebowTimTebowUrban MeyerUrbanMeyerWill BrinsonSun, 07 Dec 2008 22:30:00 EST Bowl Selection Special: Virginia Tech and Cincinnati Land in the Orange Bowlhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-virginia-tech-and-cincinnati-land-in-the/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-virginia-tech-and-cincinnati-land-in-the/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-virginia-tech-and-cincinnati-land-in-the/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

The Orange Bowl already has one team locked up -- again, the anti-climatic downside of the BCS Selection Show -- because Virginia Tech beat Boston College for the ACC championship and guaranteed themselves a spot in the Orange Bowl.

The thing that stinks for fans of this game is that the Orange Bowl gets the last pick of all the BCS games, meaning that they get the "leftovers." That's not to take a shot at Cincy, who did win the Big East ... which, um, is somehow worse than the ACC.

On the bright side, the two worst major conferences do get to play each other, so we'll know by the beginning of 2009 which conference really was the most mediocre this past season.

Cincinnati did lose two games -- albeit one to Oklahoma -- and theoretically took care of business.

However, the Bearcats will likely be in trouble come New Year's Day, when whatever analysts FOX assigns to this game will suffocate their ability to perform by reminding them that they have to go head-to-head with "BEAMER BALL!" for four quarters. And when people yell that at you for 60-plus minutes of football, even from the booth, it's a total nightmare.

And in addition, Cincy has played some tougher defenses this year (Not sure if I'm going to count Oklahoma though), including a nasty South Florida defense that they hung 24 points on. Brian Kelly is blatantly going to be a hero in Ohio now, and this BCS berth is the big reason why (in fact, he's turned down other jobs because, as he said tonight, he thinks Cincy is "no longer a stepping stone" and "a great job.")

A Hokies-Bearcats matchup could be entertaining, and the Hokies are likely to be favored, simply based on the conference (even though people will ignore the three-loss factor) and the relative inexperience of the Bearcats ... but I'll tell you this much -- as someone who's watched the ACC all season long, don't be surprised at Frank Beamer and crew's ability to mess this one up.

Bowl Selection Special: Virginia Tech and Cincinnati Land in the Orange Bowl originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>bcs selection specialBcsSelectionSpecialbowl selection showBowlSelectionShowbrian kellyBrianKellyfrank beamerFrankBeamerWill BrinsonSun, 07 Dec 2008 22:00:00 EST Rose Bowl First Look: USC vs. Penn Statehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/rose-bowl-first-look-usc-vs-penn-state/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/rose-bowl-first-look-usc-vs-penn-state/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/rose-bowl-first-look-usc-vs-penn-state/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

So it is written, so it shall be done. Pac-10 meets the Big 10's eleventh member as USC challenges Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Tradition wins out for two teams felled by a single defeat, making this one of the better Rose Bowl games in recent memory.

There were no head-to-head battles between the programs this year, but their common opponents give an unclear picture of where this one will go. Penn State thrashed Oregon State on Sept. 6, 45-14. USC followed that on Sept. 13 with a nationally-televised thrashing of Ohio State, 35-3. Then, the predictable on Sept. 25, with Oregon State working USC on a Thursday night game, 27-21. Penn State then snuck by Ohio State at home 13-6 in late October. There's not much meat in the common opponent comparisons, oddly.

The real story here is of a ridiculously talented team with the nation's best defense and a stubborn offense going up against another excellent defensive team that played fantastic offensive football early in the year before slowing down a bit. Television will play up the contrast in styles between USC's bubbly Pete Carroll and Penn State's curmudgeonly Joe Paterno. Think Jeff Spicoli meets Danny DeVito's snarling impersonation of Penguin in Batman Returns.

Color us amused.

As a preview of sorts, we probably owe you a prediction here. Personally, as respectable as these teams are, I doubt there will be little drama in this game. Yes, Penn State absolutely thrashed Oregon State while Oregon State all but whipped USC. Yes, this is just another good year for USC while it's a special one for Penn State. Yes, I'm a USC alum.

However, USC with a month off is nearly unbeatable. They're nearly unbeatable even when they only have a week to prepare for opponents. The Oregon State and Texas-type games will happen on occasion but USC always keeps it close and has had an overall talent edge against everyone they've faced since sometime in 2002. More importantly, their record under Pete Carroll against some very good Big 10 opponents is ridiculous.

In 2002, they crushed one of the better teams in Iowa history, 38-17. The next year they crushed perhaps the best Michigan team since the Wolverines' 1997 title team, 28-14, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the score suggested, as Michigan was held scoreless until nearly the fourth quarter. In 2006, another solid Michigan team was whipped 32-18, once USC decided to move into the 21st century in the second half and throw the football. And then last year USC breezed past Illinois 49-17.

Is Penn State really that different? Doubtful. As far as talent and results, Penn State reminds me most of those two Michigan teams perhaps with a little more creative offense and more options in the running game.

At this point USC is bored of the entire Big 10/Rose Bowl thing, but they were last year as well and came ready to play. USC won't be caught napping and although Penn State is a fantastic team -- particularly the team that destroyed opponents through September and October -- USC should come out ahead. They'll dig the venue and the national attention and do what USC does when they have time to prepare for an opponent -- crush them. There is no Vince Young to worry about on Penn State's team, which has been the lone BCS exception in the Carroll era.

Rose Bowl First Look: USC vs. Penn State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>BatmanRose BowlRoseBowlBrian GrummellSun, 07 Dec 2008 20:59:00 EST Bowl Selection Special: BCS Selection Show Ends Up Panning Out in Pretty Anti-Climaticallyhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-bcs-selection-show-ends-up-panning-out-i/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-bcs-selection-show-ends-up-panning-out-i/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/12/07/bowl-selection-special-bcs-selection-show-ends-up-panning-out-i/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The thing that stinks about the BCS Selection Show is that, while it's always fun to see mysterious computer rankings unveiled to the public on national television, it's not like March Madness' seeding process, because we more or less already know who's going to end up where. To wit: most of what FOX had to offer in the way of entertainment involved fast-paced graphics, a little screaming, and ultimately the exact matchups we all thought we would see.

BCS National Championship -- Oklahoma Sooners vs. Florida Gators

The Sooners and Gators were named as the pair of teams that will compete for the BCS championship and nearly unalienable right to almost absolutely proclaim themselves the best team in the nation. But, all skepticism aside, it's worth noting that this will be a pretty spectacular game to watch, provided you enjoy seeing lots of offense.

Allstate Sugar Bowl -- Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Utah Utes

Talk about disappointing -- Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide went undefeated all season long until they finally lost a game to the Florida Gators ... in the pre-postseason SEC championship game. And, as a result of all their hard work, the Tide get to play Utah, who, as a non-BCS conference team, is back in the BCS mix again. This time they're without Urban Meyer, and pardon me for being a jerkstore, but an upset Alabama team (with only one loss and somehow unable to play for the championship) is going to throttle-job them.

Fiesta Bowl -- Texas Longhorns vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

Well, for the first time in three years, the Buckeyes don't have to go to the BCS championship game just to get blown out by an SEC team. But the bad news? They get to face an extremely angry Texas team that feels they're getting screwed out of a shot for a title. And say what you want about Ohio State and the Big Ten, but the reality is that, well, Texas is going to want to gather what Jimmy Johnson called a "small sympathy vote" for the Longhorns.

Orange Bowl -- Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Cincinnati Bearcats

The thing that stinks for fans of this game is that the Orange Bowl gets the last pick of all the BCS games, meaning that they get the "leftovers." That's not to take a shot at Cincy, who did win the Big East ... which, um, is somehow worse than the ACC. So, what I'm trying to say is that someone doesn't have to fail.

Rose Bowl -- USC Trojans vs. Penn State Nittany Lions

The earliest bowl that we found out about, there was literally no sort of climactic energy to this decision -- both Joe Paterno's Penn State team and Pete Carroll's USC squad won their respective conferences without having to worry about any sort of championship game finishing off their shot at a BCS bid.

Bowl Selection Special: BCS Selection Show Ends Up Panning Out in Pretty Anti-Climatically originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>bcs championshipbcs selection showBcsChampionshipBcsSelectionShowfiesta bowlFiestaBowlorange bowlOrangeBowlrose bowlRoseBowlsugar bowlSugarBowlWill BrinsonSun, 07 Dec 2008 20:30:00 EST