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/UConn Wins for Jasper Howard, at Lasthttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/23/uconn-wins-for-jasper-howard-at-last/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/23/uconn-wins-for-jasper-howard-at-last/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/23/uconn-wins-for-jasper-howard-at-last/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

FanHouse Big East writer Brett McMurphy looks back at the week that was in the Big East Rewind.

Two weeks ago, UConn coach Randy Edsall and senior running back Andre Dixon both said how much the Huskies' really needed a bye week after a third consecutive last-minute loss at Cincinnati.

If no other team needed a bye like UConn, no other team in the country needed a victory like UConn. And that's exactly what the Huskies' got. UConn went into South Bend, Ind., and defeated Notre Dame 33-30 in double overtime Saturday.

It was the first victory since the murder of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard. After the game, Edsall pointed skyward in honor of Howard, while the Huskies' players held aloft Howard's No. 6 jersey.

Did anyone else notice UConn's final score just happen to be 33 (3+3=6)?

UConn's victory highlighted last week's Big East action as the Big East's bests -- Cincinnati-Pittsburgh or Pittsburgh-Cincinnati, if you prefer -- were idle last week.

In the only other two games involving league teams, South Florida thumped Louisville to secure a bowl berth for a fifth consecutive season and Syracuse upset Rutgers to avoid a winless Big East debut season for Doug Marrone.

Some things we may have figured out in the past week

1. Don't believe the preseason magazines, at least concerning offensive lines

Rutgers offensive line was hailed as (pick one): the best offensive line in the history of the Big East or one of the nation's best offensive lines. Athlon's ranked Rutgers' o-line as the nation's eighth best, while literally every preseason magazine and dot-com preseason preview touted Rutgers as the league's best. Yet, the Scarlet Knights allowed nine sacks in Saturday's loss at Syracuse and have the league's second-worst offense.

2. South Florida's B.J. Daniels should concentrate strictly on football

On Saturday against Louisville, Daniels had 445 yards of total offense, becoming the first player in Big East history and only 28th player in FBS history with 100 yards rushing and 300 yards passing in a game. The redshirt freshman is easily one of the league's most talented football players. But Daniels also has a love for basketball. That was the main reason he signed with USF because of an opportunity to play both sports. He played sparingly last season for USF's basketball team and has said he will play again after the conclusion of USF's football season. Unless the basketball team suffers a rash of injuries, Daniels likely won't get much playing time again this season and playing both sports will only curb his development on the football field.

3. Cincinnati fans are having some restless nights

UConn's victory all but sealed the fate of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis. So in the matter of days (minutes?), Bearcats faithful will find out exactly how serious a candidate Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is for the Fighting Irish. The Bearcats, though, aren't going down without a fight. The school has decided to borrow $9.7 million to start construction on athletic practice fields, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Building the new practice fields are a requirement in Kelly's new five-year contract.
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Re-Tweeting Week 12

Ranking the league from top to bottom and summarizing each team, in 140 characters or less.

1. Cincinnati: On Friday, Brian Kelly matches wits with Illinois' Ron Zook. This really doesn't seem fair, does it?
2. Pitt: Does Dave Wannstedt wake up at every night wondering how in the world his Panthers ever lost to N.C. State?
3. West Virginia: Not quite the same, but Mountaineers can damage Pitt's season Friday much like Panthers did to WVU in 2007
4. UConn: Win against Notre Dame -- we're not going to call it an upset -- improves Huskies' bowl hopes
5. Rutgers: Sacked nine times by Syracuse Saturday, QB Tom Savage was on his back more than (insert your own bad joke here)
6. South Florida: Bulls stop the bleeding against Louisville and become bowl eligible for a fifth consecutive season
7. Syracuse: The Orange's upset of Rutgers gives Syracuse's seniors four consecutive seasons with one Big East victory
8. Louisville: Does Steve Kragthorpe end his Cardinals career Friday against Rutgers with a win or loss?

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UConn Wins for Jasper Howard, at Last originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>jasper howardBrett McMurphyMon, 23 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST Storybook Season Unfolding in Cincinnatihttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/20/storybook-season-unfolding-in-cincinnati/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/20/storybook-season-unfolding-in-cincinnati/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/20/storybook-season-unfolding-in-cincinnati/#commentsFiled under:


CINCINNATI -- Go ahead. Combine Florida, Alabama, Texas and TCU, the only four teams ahead of Cincinnati in the BCS standings. Now throw in the rest of the programs throughout college football, and it still won't matter.

You won't find a collection of teams -- let alone one individually -- with more riveting stories than those surrounding Cincinnati. Come to think of it, the 2009 Bearcats have the best set of storylines of all-time for a season. Despite a wretched existence during their 123 years of playing football at a place more noted for the guy who designed the Golden Gate Bridge and Oscar Robertson, the Bearcats are in the national championship discussion with a 10-0 record out of nowhere.

That's the best of those stories.

"My grandpa and my aunt and my uncle had season tickets to different Cincinnati games when I was growing up here in town, and they always had an extra ticket, so I was able to tag along," said Tony Pike, now the Bearcats' starting quarterback. "At that time, it was more of a basketball school, so we came to a lot of basketball games. But I remember coming to football games, and they were almost giving away tickets. They never packed the stadium, and you always could sit anywhere you wanted."

No more, not with 35,000-seat Nippert Stadium stuffed, loud and colorful these days whenever the Bearcats take its 107-year-old field.

Zach CollarosYep, that's the best story, but only if you're not talking about Pike and the rest of Cincinnati 's quarterbacks. Pike is a likely All-America candidate, and he was deep into the Heisman Trophy talk until he missed time recently with an arm injury. Just so you know, Pike was fifth on the depth chart last year. And his replacement, Zach Collaros (pictured), managed a crazy passing efficiency rating of 195.53 by throwing for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns in four games this season. And Chazz Anderson, the Bearcats' third-string quarterback, is 2-0 overall as a starter.

Maybe that isn't the best story, because the quarterbacks story isn't even Pike's favorite story. "It's the Mardy Gilyard story," said Pike, referring to Gilyard, the wide receiver who ranks as a primary reason for an explosive offense that scores moments after the ball moves from the center to the quarterback's hands.

Anyway, Gilyard spent several months among Cincinnati 's homeless -- literally. He lost his scholarship after he skipped classes as a freshman, and he became academically ineligible to play. So, while working four jobs to get back into school, he often slept with an empty stomach around parts of campus in his 2000 Pontiac Grand Am. Oh, and this week, Gilyard was named one of the 15 finalists for the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year Award.

Said Pike, "That just lets you know the love that Mardy has for the game, and as a quarterback, you love to see that. You know he's a guy that you can count on all the time, just by what he has gone through. He is an inspiration."

So is the kid. The one with the brain tumor.

That's the best story. It involves 12-year-old Mitch Stone, a sixth-grader from Cincinnati, who was adopted by the Bearcats this summer. When he isn't weak from chemotherapy, he is sending Bible verses to the Cincinnati players, and they write those verses on their arms during games while wearing a wristband in his honor. For his birthday this fall, they bought Mitch an electric guitar and a cellphone that they call the Bearcat Hotline to give all parties direct access to each other.

Actually, the best story is the practice field: the Bearcats don't have one. More shockingly, they are the only Division 1-A school not named Marshall without one, but they still lead the Big East along the way to more impressive things.

No, the best story is Cincinnati's ability to rank 15th nationally in points allowed despite losing 10 starters from last year's defense. Seven of those starters landed on NFL rosters, and get this: six of the players who have helped the Bearcats recover from those defensive losses were recruited as offensive players.

I'm sorry, but the best story is Brain Kelly, 47, who is a local rock star despite finishing just his third season as Cincinnati head coach. You can attribute his popularity to his Irish Catholic charisma and his ability to perform a football miracle. Of his 36 predecessors, 20 finished their Bearcat careers with losing records. His first Cincinnati team went 10-3, and then came last year's 11-3 record after a trip to the Orange Bowl. As a result, Kelly is rumored to be headed to bigger and bolder football pastures, including the historically green, blue and gold one around Notre Dame.

That said, none of those stories is the best.

Well, not according to Kelly.

After Kelly leaned closer on Thursday night to his FanHouse guest at the Montgomery Inn, Cincinnati's noted rib restaurant that features his weekly radio show, he mentioned that ancient Nippert Stadium has only one luxury box.

"Earlier this year, when we had our second consecutive sellout, which was the first time in the history of the school that had ever happened, we had everybody in that one luxury box, and my brother was up there," Kelly said. "He went to the bathroom, and when he got in there, he ran into this older gentleman who turned to my brother, and he didn't know who he was, and the guy goes, 'Boy. I liked it when we weren't winning. I didn't have to wait so long in line to go to the bathroom.' "

Kelly laughed. I laughed. Then Kelly laughed some more, before saying, "That was funny to me, because we have taken so much time to build this program, and somebody's upset because they can't go to the bathroom in a timely fashion."

This guy gets it, by the way. According to the Cincinnati sports information department, Kelly has spent the last two years traveling to at least 180 speaking engagements throughout southwestern Ohio. Any gathering of 40 or more folks is eligible for a Kelly appearance. His mission is twofold: to sell what once was a nothing brand of Bearcats football, and to continue his recruiting emphasis on the rich talent throughout the state of Ohio in general and this region in particular.

If you didn't know any better, you'd say Kelly is telling Notre Dame and everybody else that he plans to become Cincinnati 's Knute Rockne.

"This is a high-limits poker table. This is where you're at a BCS level now, and I knew they (those associated with Cincinnati football) didn't know what it looked like," said Kelly, who began the Bearcats' transformation by developing what he calls "the complete player." The process continues, and it starts with an emphasis by this former Division II head coach for 13 seasons on everything but football -- the intellectual, the social, the spiritual and the physical.

Kelly and PikeSaid Pike, "He wants to know more about your life and to meet your family than about football, and that goes a long ways. It's also other things. It's the little things like treating women with respect. Not to lie or to cheat or to steal. Things that will help you away from football and long after your career is over."

Added Kelly, "There's such a passion for football here (in Cincinnati), whether it be high school football on Friday nights, the colleges on Saturday or the Bengals. We've won 16 consecutive regular-season games, so I think we're building that consistency around the University of Cincinnati. And then, I think, when you set that standard of expectation, it helps perpetuate the longevity, because they only know one way to come to work every day, and that is to keep this thing going."

This isn't to say everything is just dandy for the Bearcats. In order to keep from spending Christmas and beyond in a Cincinnati jail, backup quarterback Collaros must complete an alcohol education class. He was accused of trying to use a fake ID earlier this year to get into a bar near campus. He has until December 7 to complete the class or face 180 days behind the slammer.

The judge was peeved, because he gave Collaros this same option earlier in the year, but Collaros didn't take advantage of the judge's break back then.

That's another story.

Not as good as the other ones, though.

Storybook Season Unfolding in Cincinnati originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>brian kellymardy gilyardtony pikeTerence MooreFri, 20 Nov 2009 15:35:00 EST Daily Domer: Rubber-Necking the Irishhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/daily-domer-rubber-necking-the-irish/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/daily-domer-rubber-necking-the-irish/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/daily-domer-rubber-necking-the-irish/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Charlie WeisFanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind., during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his dispatches on the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The numbers are fluid, but if you search stories on the web for the past two weeks you will find that no head coach, with the exception of Florida's Urban Meyer, is written about more than Charlie Weis. And if you were to eliminate the stories that pertain to Meyer possibly leaving the Brigadoon that is Gainesville for the "Deadliest Catch" climes of South Bend, then Weis may be number one.

Nick Saban. Mack Brown. Brian Kelly. The Patterson/Petersen duo, Gary and Chris. None of them have had even half the stories being written about them that Weis does even though all five of them have guided their teams to undefeated seasons thus far. Weis' team, as you know, is but 6-4.

Of course, Weis is a hot topic because he is on a very hot seat. But so is Mark Mangino. Dan Hawkins. Al Groh. Steve Kragthorpe. None but Mangino even merit a mention on "SportsCenter" and the Kansas coach is only drawing attention because his players, mired in a five-game losing streak, have suddenly realized that he is allegedly abusive.


Hey, I have to be here (notice the name of this column). But you don't. Nor does ESPN radio, which led off its 4 p.m. broadcast on Wednesday with a debate on whether "Notre Dame is the best coaching job in the country" (I imagine if you asked Weis his opinion this week, you'd be met with a sarcastic scowl).

Granted, when the nation's most loved and hated program is in disarray, everyone slows down to gawk at the carnage. If it were just about an overweight coach with one foot in the grave, Mangino would be getting equal time on ESPN. But he isn't.

Notre Dame has been an average football program, in terms of its won-loss record, this entire decade (70-49 since 2000). In fact, the 2000s' mark the first decade that the Irish have failed to finish in the top five of at least one final A.P. poll. And maybe if the Irish throw together a couple more decades in a row like the present one, the program will indeed have only a vestigial link to college football supremacy.

But in 2009, people still care. Some care because they love Notre Dame and not an insignificant number of people care because they despise the school. "It's like the Yankees," says senior defensive end John Ryan.

Except that the Yankees are World Series champions.

Will the Irish ever win another national championship?

Who knows? What I do know is that people have been posing that question as far back as when Knute Rockne perished in a plane crash in 1931.

Vintage Parris
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Senior wide receiver Robby Parris met the media on Tuesday night wearing a pair of shoulder pads underneath his standard-issue green ND polo shirt. Just because. That's Robby Parris.

Calling Aldridge

Running back James Aldridge, also a senior, is listed as a starter at fullback this week. Aldridge has not started a game this season. His last carry came five games ago versus USC, on a fourth-and-1 call in the third quarter that went for no gain.

Odd Line

Notre Dame is a six-point favorite on Saturday versus a Connecticut team that has lost all five of its games by four points or less. Also, the Huskies are coming off a bye week. Additionally, all five schools that beat the Huskies are either ranked or received votes in this week's AP poll: Cincinnati is No. 5, Pittsburgh is No. 8, Rutgers is No. 25, North Carolina received the most votes (144) of any unranked team, and West Virginia received eight votes. Either Vegas truly believes that the Irish will come out fired up for the seniors' final home game, or they're counting on you to believe that.

Golden Rules

A lot of people know that Stanford went for two against USC last week leading 48-21 midway through the fourth quarter, and most people also know that the Trojans stopped the play. If you have not seen the play (I was unable to find it on YouTube), it is worth noting that Toby Gerhart (called "pure muscle" by his girlfriend, a Stanford swimmer) took a handoff and was met head-on at the goal line by USC's Taylor Mays, who knocked him backward.

Gerhart is a Heisman candidate and a deserving one. But it bears noting that perhaps the only offensive player who knocked heads at full speed with the 6-3, 230-pound Mays and got the better of it was Golden Tate.
Just another piece of the legend.

Gerhart and Tate, by the way, have as good a balance as any two players you'll see in college football. The sideline "tackles" Tate as often as a defensive back actually does.

Daily Domer: Rubber-Necking the Irish originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Charlie WeisCharlieWeisJohn WaltersThu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST Starting 11: Archie Manning, Sire MVPhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/17/starting-11-archie-manning-sire-mvp/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/17/starting-11-archie-manning-sire-mvp/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/17/starting-11-archie-manning-sire-mvp/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Archie ManningMidway through the Ole Miss-Tennessee game on Saturday, a highlight package of Archie Manning's playing days at Ole Miss came on the jumbotron. Ole Miss fans, up to that point cheering their biggest win of the season, went quiet. The man behind me muttered softy to himself, "Them were the days."

As Archie ran around on the field making play after play, it occurred to me, not for the first time, how amazing it is that he sired not one, but two, Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. By the time the cameras found his youngest son, Eli, in a suite, I was still attempting to contemplate how amazing the fact was. By Sunday, after Peyton Manning led his Colts to 21 points in the final 12 minutes of a victory over the Patriots, there could be no doubt: Archie Manning's sperm is one of the greatest national treasures in our country.

Right up there with Abraham Lincoln, the flag outside Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to jot down "The Star Spangled Banner" and Dorothy's ruby red slippers. That's why I'm making a humble suggestion to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Archie's sperm should be an exhibit. (Lets see you do that, exhibit on late 19th century wheat threshers.) Otherwise, the museum is worth nothing.

On to the Starting 11.

1. Is TCU's Gary Patterson the next Urban Meyer?

Granted, the comparison doesn't fit squarely since Patterson has been at TCU for eight years and Meyer was only at Bowling Green for two years and then Utah for two years before he arrived at Florida. But if you look at their last four seasons as a head coach, Patterson is presently 40-9 while Meyer went 39-8.

My point, someone is stealing Patterson away at the end of the season, the only question is who?

And here's where it gets interesting, I played coaching dominoes on the phone driving back from Oxford. I had each of the people I talked with assume that Charlie Weis is gone. Then I assumed that either Brian Kelly or Urban Meyer would take over at Notre Dame.

Kelly leaving Cincinnati really doesn't cause the entire coaching universe to scramble since it isn't an amazingly desirable job, but what would Florida do if Meyer left?

I formulated a couple of working hypotheses, A.) Given the Ron Zook failure, there is no way Florida takes someone who isn't already a head coach and B.) What head coaches are the most attractive out there regardless of conference affiliation?

Isn't the answer Gary Patterson? And if Meyer left, wouldn't there be a really good shot that Jeremy Foley would head back to the Mountain West conference and poach another rising coaching star?

I think so.

Anyway, coaching dominoes is great fun. I highly recommend it when you're on long drives by yourself.


2. Do you also feel cheated as a college football fan that teams like Stanford, Cincinnati -- even though I dogged them above -- Boise State and Georgia Tech don't get to throw their hats in the ring and compete for a championship at the end of the season.

First, how hot is Stanford on offense?

Jim Harbaugh going for two against Pete Carroll when he already had 48 points was one of the best things I've seen this season.

Can you imagine how sweet that was for Stanford fans? To kick the dirt in USC's face for a change.

So I miss seeing Stanford in a playoff, assuming they find a way to win the Pac-10, but I really miss Georgia Tech.

Can you imagine a team trying to gameplan against Tech in an eight or 16-team tournament. When you don't even know you are going to play them until less than a week before? How do you get ready for them without any previous preparation?

Also, how many points would it take to win, say, if Cincinnati and Georgia Tech played? Seriously, is there a more exciting game out there? Maybe Boise State against Stanford.

I'm drooling now.
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3. Would Cincinnati's defense hold up against Florida, Texas or Alabama?

They gave up 202 yards rushing to West Virginia. Granted that was on 46 carries, but still, the defense has shown some ominous cracks that don't befit a national title contender. At least not when you compare their defense with Texas, Alabama, Florida, or TCU.

Put it this way, does anyone think that Cincinnati would be less than a double-digit underdog on any neutral site game against Texas, Alabama or Florida?

Would Cincinnati even be favored in a neutral game against LSU or Ole Miss? (The oddsmakers love Ole Miss. Perhaps they've been bribed with excess BenJarvus Green-Ellis jerseys).

I don't think so.

And if we don't think that, and the market wouldn't think that in Las Vegas, isn't it ridiculous when we don't even allow the market to dictate the best match-up between the two best teams? Instead we rely on polls and a computer.

In other words, we're not even using the best market to determine the match-up, we're allowing a flawed and limited perception of teams to govern our selection.

4. Did anyone else see the kid celebrating Mississippi State's apparent kick return touchdown that came back?


I'm not sure why this clip is so addictive to me, but I watched it four times on DVR replay, and then voluntarily leapt up from my seat when my editor found it again on Youtube.

There's something about the curious arm pumping with the pom pom, the slightly askew cap, the chubby cheeks, and the head movement that all lends itself to greatness.

Of course, now I feel like there's a 90 percent chance that kid is going to grow up and start a blog called claytravissucks.com.


5. Michigan is still awful in year two.

Assuming he survives, which is a big assumption, is Rich Rodriguez going to fire defensive coordinator Greg Robinson? You'll recall that last offseason Robinson replaced Scott Shafer, who was hired by Syracuse. Last year Shafer's Michigan defense finished ranked 67th in the country.

Now Robinson has, wait for it, the 89th-ranked defense in the country.

Last year, Shafer's Michigan defense allowed 347 points, the most in school history. This year the Michigan defense has given up 309 points through 11 games. With Ohio State coming to town and Michigan's defensive woes against Big Ten schools, don't be surprised to see that record fall for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile in the ultimate irony, Shafer's Syracuse defense has been better than Michigan's.

Leaving us with this question, can we just acknowledge that nothing is going right at Michigan?

6. Kellen Moore rewarded my faith in his Heisman campaign.

Kellen WinslowMoore passed for five touchdowns and 299 yards. Through 10 games he leads the nation in passing efficiency, has the second lowest interception percentage of the nation's top 100 most efficient quarterbacks, and now has 32 touchdowns against just three interceptions.

When are people going to take notice of this performance in a year when the other top candidates keep dropping like flies.

You know what doesn't help?

The fact that Boise State's Heisman campaign is not ready for primetime. I e-mailed the powers-that-be at Boise State and asked him to send along whatever facts and figures they'd put together to buttress Moore's Heisman case and make sure I had those facts lined up in my endorsement.

Boise State didn't respond to me.

Seriously, what are they doing out there?

7. Let's talk some more about Archie's sperm.

How many men have successfully become fathers in America between the years 1969 and 1988 -- the age range of current starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Conservatively, 40 million. (Currently 4.3 million children are born every year).

How many quarterbacks have started a game in the NFL during this generation?

Maybe 500?

How many quarterbacks born during this generation have won a Super Bowl?

11!

And Archie Manning has fathered two of them!

Seriously, just think about the odds on this.

I'm going to do a full column on this at some point, but it's unfathomable that the same man has sired two of the greatest quarterbacks in football history.

We're talking about the toughest position in all of sports.

I want to actually run the odds on this happening. Put it this way, each of these kids, including me, had a .00000003 chance of winning a Super Bowl.

And Archie pulled it off twice.

What football fan out there woudln't want their smiling son or daughter posing alongside Archie's sperm?

8. If Boise State doesn't get a BCS bid and either Iowa, Penn State or Wisconsin does, which seems likely, aside from dooming the Big Ten schools to another lackluster season by requiring them all to play up in their bowl games, what does this signify?

That the BCS doesn't even play fair when they aren't excluding half of the teams from competing for a championship.

I've linked this before, but read the BCS selection procedures again just to demonstrate how lawyered up this thing is.

I've read easier legislative histories.

Honest question, after reviewing this, what percentage of college football fans could accurately apply the rules and get all five game match-ups set in an adequate manner according to the rules if you gave them the final BCS standings and an hour to complete the assignment.

Maybe 10 percent.

This would be a great test.

9. How many Georgia fans cringed when Todd Blackledge said it was up to Willie Martinez's defense to win the game for Georgia?

But, credit to Martinez, his team won, stopping a driving Auburn team to win the game.

In the process, every SEC fan should breathe a sigh of relief. Because as long as Martinez is at Georgia, their defense is going to be average at best.

I'm rooting for Martinez to survive the season, but I'm convinced that the epic beating that Georgia Tech is going to lay on Georgia in the final game of the season is going to seal his fate.

That is, assuming Georgia can beat Kentucky this weekend.

10. Unless it's an NFL contract, all bets are off when it comes to coaching openings.

One of the things that drives me the craziest is when a coach signs an extension and people trumpet that as clear evidence that he's not going anywhere else. Granted I'm playing coaching dominoes in my spare time, but the only contracts worth anything in football are NFL contracts.

Everything else, college head coaching, analyst contracts, assistant coaches, you name it and those contracts can be broken at will. Now there might be a buyout, but I'm sick of people trotting out the contract argument as if it's the gold standard of unbeatable arguments. If you're playing coaching dominoes and anyone mentions a recently signed contract extension, cite my expert legal opinion and tell them to find a new rationale.



11. And, last of all, I need to vent some more about Hotty Toddy Man at Ole Miss. He's giving me nightmares.

There has to be a Youtube of this clip somewhere, but I couldn't find it.

Can someone help me out?

I want to share this travesty of football excess with the rest of the country.

I will not rest until Hotty Toddy Man is put out to pasture and whoever approved that video being filmed publicly apologizes to all of us.

All of the e-mails that I've gotten since writing about Hotty Toddy Man have agreed with my position. That's Ole Miss fans, Tennessee fans, and other fans who have been unfortunate enough to see him. That leaves me wondering this, who is the part of the fan base that is in favor of him?

The video puts me in mind of one of my wife's best descriptions of a Southern man who was overly friendly. "He's either really religious or gay, I get confused sometimes about that down here."

Starting 11: Archie Manning, Sire MVP originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Clay TravisTue, 17 Nov 2009 06:00:00 EST Big East Rewind: Ready for the Big Finishhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/big-east-rewind-after-further-review/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/big-east-rewind-after-further-review/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/big-east-rewind-after-further-review/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Pittsburgh fanAfter further review: Cincinnati and Pittsburgh remain on a collision course to determine the Big East championship and BCS bowl berth.

The Bearcats and Panthers experienced some anxious moments down the stretch, but both survived to move a step closer to delivering the Big East its first matchup of Top-10 ranked teams since 2006.

Cincinnati held off West Virginia, 24-21, and Pittsburgh outlasted Notre Dame 27-22 over the weekend. Did we mention both UC and Pitt were playing at home and benefited from two game-changing replay reversals?

And who says the SEC has the monopoly on all the controversial replay calls?

The No. 5 ranked Bearcats (10-0, 6-0 Big East) and No. 8 Panthers (9-1, 5-0) get a chance to catch their breath this weekend. West Virginia also is off this weekend, giving the Mountaineers time to reflect on their first two-game Big East losing streak since 2004 and watch Rich Rod against Ohio State.

Some things we may have figured out in the past week:

1. Chris Fowler isn't half as embarrassed as Jim Leavitt should be

During Rutgers' 31-0 seal-clubbing of South Florida on Thursday night, ESPN's Chris Fowler remarked he was embarrassed that he had voted for USF on his AP Top 25 ballot last week. (Hey Chris, I feel your pain: I had USF at No. 25 and I should really know better). When the Bulls joined the Big East in 2005, they were expected to compete for a league title: yet they've never finished higher than third (Syracuse is the only other league team without a top two finish). USF is 2-3 in league play and regressing. The Bulls' three Big East losses this year are by a combined 75 points and they're 4-8 in their last 12 Big East games. For a second consecutive year, the Bulls could be headed for a sixth-place finish. Perhaps, Fowler and I should have listened to SI.com's Stewart Mandel, when he wrote about USF's struggles last year: "I fell for the myth that Jim Leavitt's built-from-scratch program had established itself as a nationally relevant program."

2. Is the gig up for Cincinnati?

Another team has discovered Cincinnati's kryptonite that might eventually cost the Bearcats an undefeated season. West Virginia became the third team this season to crack the 200-yard rushing mark against the Bearcats and, not so coincidentally, the third team to hang within a touchdown of Cincinnati. The Bearcats allowed more than 200 yards rushing in close wins against Fresno State (28-20), UConn (47-45) and West Virginia (24-21). In their other seven victories, they allowed an average of 91 yards rushing and had an average winning margin of 28.9 points.

3. The 'R' on the helmet stands for red-hot

Whatever Greg Schiano is doing with his Rutgers teams in the second half of the past four seasons, he should bottle it and sell it -- or try doing the same thing in the first half of the season. Once again, the Scarlet Knights are heating up in the second half of the year. Since 2006, Rutgers' combined record - not including games against FCS opponents -- in the first six games of the year is 10-9. In the same span in the second half of the year, the Scarlet Knights are 19-5. Last year, Rutgers ended the year on a 7-0 run and after Thursday's dismantling of USF, the Scarlet Knights have won their last three games.

Re-Tweeting Week 11

Ranking the league from top to bottom and summarizing each team, in 140 characters or less.

1. Cincinnati: Bad news is the close wins don't impress pollsters. Good news is the 'Cats are now experts at recovering onside kicks
2. Pitt: Nation's only team with a RB (Dion Lewis) and QB (Bill Stull) ranked among the nation's top six in rushing and pass efficiency
3. Rutgers: QB Tom Savage gets all the credit, but the Big East's top-rated defense has been the key to Rutgers' recent resurgence
4. West Virginia: Unless the Mountaineers defeat both Pitt and Rutgers, WVU will finish with its most Big East losses since 2001 team went 1-6
5. UConn: Huskies hoping to extend the Big East's winning streak against Notre Dame to four games
6. South Florida: In five seasons in Big East play, the Bulls are 16-17 and have never finished better than 4-3
7. Louisville: The Cards like 'em close. UL's three wins against FBS teams this season are by a combined 11 points
8. Syracuse: Just like Greg Robinson, Doug Marrone appears headed toward a 0-7 Big East record in his debut season

Follow Brett McMurphy on Twitter at twitter.com/BrettmcmurphY

Big East Rewind: Ready for the Big Finish originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brett McMurphyMon, 16 Nov 2009 17:19:00 EST Memo to BCS Bashers: Stop Whininghttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/memo-to-bcs-bashers-stop-whining/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/memo-to-bcs-bashers-stop-whining/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/memo-to-bcs-bashers-stop-whining/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Jordan Shipley, Jeffrey Demps, Julio Jones
It's that silly time of year again. There are so many significant teams among the big boys of college football, but there are just two slots on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., for that title game of the Bowl Championship Series. So the voice of the older Jim Mora is screaming in my subconscious.

Playoffs, playoffs?

We don't need playoffs in this situation.

We need everybody to take a deep breath, count slowly to 10 and stop their knee-jerk talk of a playoff system. The decade-old way of deciding a national champion through the BCS rankings is mostly just fine.

Take this week, for instance. Where's the problem? There isn't one, because the combination of the human polls and the cold computers has it right. The defensive monsters from Florida and Alabama clearly are No. 1 and No. 2, followed by a Texas bunch with a defense that also clobbers people.

That trio is from power conferences, and with apologies to the prolific whiners from the Mountain West and Western Athletic conferences, teams from power conferences deserve a nudge over the rest.

Anyway, Florida and Alabama will meet in the SEC championship game, which means one of them will drop in the rankings behind Texas .

That is, if Texas wins the Big 12 championship game. If Texas doesn't, then one of those other undefeated teams (Texas Christian, Cincinnati and Boise State) will slide into the title picture. Or it could open the way for a one-loss team such as Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh or even the loser of the SEC championship game.


Whatever happens, the system is there. The system is working. The system is controversial, but the system provides less drama than what would occur with a playoff system, which will never happen anyway.

There are just too many questions involved with a playoff system, but its supporters either ignore those questions or shrug them away.

For instance: How many teams will be in this playoff system? The answer is, nobody knows. Many want a "plus one" thing, where two of the four BCS games (Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta) would host semifinal games, and then the winners would play in another BCS game. Others want 16 teams in a playoff. Some want 32.

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach wants 64.

As for those other questions, pull up a chair and rest a while. If you can provide more than a surface answer to three or more of the following, then you should immediately leave Planet Earth to design the next solar system.

Where would these playoff games take place, and would they be at the same locations every year, and who would decide the locations?

What entity would choose the playoff teams, and how will such a system be less subjective than what we have now?

With colleges everywhere crying broke, where would they find the extra cash they would need for travel, lodging, food, equipment, utilities -- along with all of those other expenses that nobody wants to discuss that would surface?

Where are those colleges going to find the extra cash to pay for those bonuses that their already heavily compensated coaches would surely command for reaching and winning playoff games?

Oh, and with all that extra cash going to football programs for these playoffs, and with all that revenue created through television rights and jacked-up ticket prices, how would schools satisfy their Title IX obligations since women sports surely would seek a mighty part of the pie?

What would this do to the bowl system, especially since (1) the overwhelming number of the 34 bowls won't have a shot at hosting a playoff game and (2) advertisers (as in TV) won't be as interested in those other bowls?

How many fans could afford to travel with their team across the country at the spur of the moment, which would be the case more often than not?

How many fans could keep traveling if their team keeps winning?

How many folks would the NCAA need to hire to investigate all of the cheating scandals that would surface involving those pressured to do shady things to reach the playoffs to keep from getting whacked?

What kind of toll would all of these extra practices and meetings (see, it's not just one little, old playoff game that its supporters keep suggesting) take on your average student-athlete physically, mentally and academically?

Why not just leave the BCS alone?

Why not, indeed? After all, this eternal grumbling over who really is No. 1 has been so detrimental to college football at its highest level that, entering this season, attendance rose every season for the previous 14 years.

Consider, too, that along the facade of the club level at Folsom Stadium, where the Colorado Buffaloes play their home games, you'll find these words: 1990 National Champions. That's funny, because around Georgia Tech, spanning from Bobby Dodd Stadium to a billboard that is visible for those traveling through Atlanta down I-75, you see claims that the Yellow Jackets won it all that season. And they did. Georgia Tech was named the United Press International champion, and Colorado was declared the nation's best by the Associated Press.

Since nobody can prove otherwise, you have two different fan bases in college football who can claim for eternity that their team was the king of 1990.

There also is that endless griping around Auburn over its undefeated 2004 team that won the SEC but didn't make the BCS championship game. Never mind that Auburn disqualified itself from serious consideration by playing the likes of Louisiana-Monroe, The Citadel and Louisiana Tech.

Auburn fans still think their Tigers would have won it all that season over Oklahoma or USC. They still think they were robbed.

The same goes for Penn State fans who remember 1969, when a giddy Richard Nixon attended Texas' victory over Arkansas during the regular season and crowned the Longhorns national champions in their locker room. Texas later won its bowl game to finish undefeated, but so did Penn State. It's just that Penn State wasn't anointed by the president.

The point is, a playoff system would have exposed those Auburn, Penn State and other such teams as frauds, but now we'll never know.

Which is a good thing. Which is why everybody has another reason to keep breathing deeply regarding the BCS.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.

Memo to BCS Bashers: Stop Whining originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Terence MooreMon, 16 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST Cincinnati Rallies to Keep Brian Kellyhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/cincinnati-rallies-to-keep-brian-kelly/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/cincinnati-rallies-to-keep-brian-kelly/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/cincinnati-rallies-to-keep-brian-kelly/#commentsFiled under: ,


MONTGOMERY, Ohio -- From the original Montgomery Inn, it is the home of the world's greatest ribs - I plan on enjoying some of those ribs after the show tonight, but we are not here to talk about the great cuisine at the original Montgomery Inn. We are here to talk about the undefeated, fifth-rated UC Bearcats with head coach Brian Kelly. Nine and oh after last week's unbelievable ...

Dan Hoard's opening statement from inside the Montgomery Inn lounge Thursday night is greeted with thunderous applause from the UC fans, many who made their reservations three weeks ago to guarantee a table to sit and watch a football coach do a radio show.

The fire marshal would probably prefer only 150 folks in the lounge, but what's the harm in squeezing in another 50 or so on this night? Every table, seat, bar stool and nook and cranny, for that matter, is occupied as the Bearcats' faithful, nearly all decked out in red or black UC gear, hangs on Kelly's every word -- almost as intently as they grip those Montgomery Inn world's greatest ribs.

Kelly recaps last week's win against UConn and previews the next night's game with West Virginia, a game Cincinnati wins 24-21 to become the first team in school history to start 10-0. During commercial breaks, Kelly graciously signs autographs and carries on small talk with fans.

The show nears the midway point and there's still the question -- the humongous elephant in the room that stretches as high as Touchdown Jesus -- that nobody wants to ask, but every single person wants, no make that has, to know the answer.

"Let's go to Ken who's on his cell," Hoard said. "Ken you're on 700 WLW."

"Hey coach," says Ken, "I came in a little late so I'm not sure if this question was asked or not. Can you talk a little bit about Notre Dame?"

The sudden silence is deafening.

"No, I really," Kelly starts off. "To be quite honest with you, uh, that is something that for some reason everybody likes to talk about. I like to talk about Cincinnati football. So, if you want to talk about Cincinnati football, I'd be happy to entertain that."

Ken isn't satisfied. "So no one from Notre Dame has approached you then?" he asks.

"Like I said, I want to talk about Cincinnati football," Kelly said. "So, if it has something to do with Cincinnati football, I'd be happy to talk about it."

The lounge is filled with nervous applause.

The next call is from Patrick in Columbus. "Also we want to say something from Columbus," Patrick says. "We hope you stay at Cincinnati."

"Thank you. I hope they renew my contract after this year," Kelly said jokingly. "Again we're building something here that's pretty special. My wife and I, Paqui, really love it here."

Much louder confident applause from the crowd this time. But the question still remains: what will Kelly do if Notre Dame or another college football corporation, that can buy and sell Cincinnati, comes calling with a blank check?

"Why doesn't everyone question if Bob Stoops will stay at his job? Why is Cincinnati not a destination job? "
-- Brian KellyAll indications are that the 47-year old Kelly genuinely loves Cincinnati. He isn't, however, quite as fond of the never-ending speculation that he's leaving for every bigger profile, higher paying program on the planet.

"Why doesn't everyone question if Bob Stoops will stay at his job?" Kelly told FanHouse shortly after Thursday's radio show ended. "Why is Cincinnati not a destination job? How can you say this is not a destination job? You don't know how good a job Cincinnati is. You can build something that no one has built here."

Cincinnati senior wide receiver Mardy Gilyard has seen the building. He remembers the pain he felt when he heard Kelly was being targeted by the big boys the past couple of years.

"He showed me his character when he was offered all those big jobs, Tennessee and Michigan at the time," Gilyard said. "I asked him personally, 'Coach, you know, are you leaving? What's going on?'

"He looked at me in my face and said 'are you kidding me?' He's like 'Mardy, I'm staying. You don't have to worry about anything. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere.' "

But, then again, Gilyard had heard the same nonsense from former UC coach Mark Dantonio, who bolted for Michigan State less than 48 hours after UC's 2006 regular season finale. Dantonio didn't even stick around to coach the bowl game that year.

"I didn't take [what Kelly said] seriously to be honest because the same thing was told to us by coach Dantonio," Gilyard said. "He told all of us, he wasn't going anywhere and then he turned around and left. Coach Kelly said that [and] we were like, 'we've been there, done that.' And he came in front of the team: 'I'm telling you guys, I'm not going anywhere.'

"At the time, I was like this man's for real. It shows he bleeds red and black. We thanked him for staying. We needed that structure in our life. We needed that stability as a team.

"Because we put so much into our former coach and when he left, the whole team was bummed and heartbroken. We also understand it's a business and at the end of the day, coach has to look out for his family. But I think his family got a whole lot bigger with his contract extension with the 100 of us [players]."


Kelly's new five-year contract took effect on Jan. 1, but it wasn't signed until June 18. He will earn $1.337 million this year, not including incentives. That's not exactly chump change, yet Kelly's salary ranks only fourth among the Big East's eight coaches and he's closing in on a second consecutive league title.

Kelly already has reached incentives this season worth $134,000 and will earn an additional $150,000 if the Bearcats win the Big East again and earn another BCS bowl bid. Yet, all of the creative incentives, including $25,000 for a Top 25 finish and $10,000 for each victory against a Top 25 ranked opponent, pale in comparison to the most important item in his contract.

8. PRACTICE FIELDS

The University agrees to use its best efforts to build or acquire two (2) practice fields on campus as soon as possible and an indoor facility, which shall be understood to include a bubble over Nippert Stadium or some other on campus facility, as soon as possible. The University further agrees that should the Program participate in a BCS bowl game before the indoor practice facility becomes available, the University shall obtain indoor practice space at an offsite location to be selected by Director of Athletics in consultation with Coach.

The Cincinnati Enquirer recently reported that UC has "had a difficult time raising the $13.5 million to $15 million needed for the practice fields." And then there's the additional challenge of raising $50 million to $100 million necessary for a planned renovation to 35,000 seat Nippert Stadium, the nation's third-smallest BCS stadium.

"There's an appetite for premium seating," Kelly said. "We've done a survey amongst our fans and it's come back to show club seating, luxury boxes, things of that nature are very, very important to moving our program forward because we lack a consistent revenue stream at 35,000 [seats].

"It will be addressed and you'll see some changes to Nippert Stadium, but it won't change much where you will add [20,000] to 30,000 seats. A small edition of seating, but a lot of those would be premium seating."

If they build it, will he stay? Perhaps. But if they don't, Kelly can opt out of his contract and avoid paying the buyout, which is $1 million if he leaves before Jan. 15, 2010. Kelly's buyout decreases by $250,000 each year.
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Will Schroder, a 23-year old Cincinnati native, sits at the bar listening to Kelly's radio show. He's confident Kelly won't leave.

"Kelly won't want that pressure of Notre Dame," Schroder said. "There's not as much pressure here and it's easier to get to a BCS bowl in the Big East. But he is a hot commodity."

Bob and Judy Wilson are splitting some dessert. They listened intently to Kelly's response about Notre Dame. Judy, 65, is a Cincinnati graduate, while her 72-year old husband Bob is a Michigan graduate that long ago was converted to a Bearcats fan. They hope Kelly stays, but still worry.

"You can be a big fish here, but I just don't know how much they can pay," Bob Wilson said. "They can build practice fields and everything. Whether that's enough, who knows?"

Financially, Cincinnati can't compete with Notre Dame. Heck, they can't even keep up with the rest of the BCS. The Bearcats have the second-lowest athletic department budget in the Big East and rank No. 63 out of 66 BCS schools. With the current economic climate, this isn't exactly the easiest time to raise several million dollars.

But Kelly, along with Nick Lachey (the former Mr. Jessica Simpson), do what they can. During UC's games, they show videos of Kelly and Lachey asking fans to support the program and donate toward the facility upgrades.

At the Montgomery Inn, they're also pitching in. The restaurant is raising money by selling red towels -- two for $5 -- that say "Cincy Committed to Kelly." Selling red towels? Some talking heads make it sound like Cincinnati should just start waving a white towel.

Last week, Mel Kiper Jr. reported Kelly was a done deal at Notre Dame once Charlie Weis was fired -- and that was before the Irish lost to Pittsburgh. Then Saturday, the way Lee Corso touted Kelly, an Irish Catholic by the way, for the Notre Dame job, you would think Corso's eligible for a referral bonus.

Cincinnati athletic director Mike Thomas hears all the noise. He's also realistic enough to know that Kelly's 32-6 record at UC will continue to draw plenty of attention from other schools with more money and resources.

"People have already showed interest in the past, I think that's a reflection of the success that we've had," Thomas said. "It's certainly better than the alternative. I'd rather have someone want my coach because we're winning than the alternative. It's the nature of the business. It falls under the job description."

Cincinnati sophomore quarterback Zach Collaros knows first-hand the job Kelly has done. Collaros went from being a backup to setting the Big East single-game total offense record in only his third career start in Kelly's offense.

"Why wouldn't people want him as a coach?" Collaros said. "Especially after the job he's done here."

Kelly's hour-long radio show ends and the restaurant quickly empties. Kelly, though, remains to accomodate the numerous autograph and photo requests.

" We're doing something here that's never been done before. It's not how Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes or Bobby Bowden did it. "
-- Brian KellyA reporter asks Kelly again about Cincinnati.

"We're doing something here that's never been done before," Kelly said. "It's not how Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes or Bobby Bowden did it before you. You don't hear that."

Kelly sits down at a table with friends and family, including his brother Paul, who, listeners to the Brian Kelly radio show learned, got engaged to his fiance Karen earlier in the day. Kelly glances at one of the televisions and notices the Thursday night TV game between Rutgers and South Florida has reached halftime.

Kelly then walks up to one of the televisions over the bar to watch an interview he did earlier that day with ESPN's Rece Davis. Once the interview concludes, the remaining fans applaud Kelly once last time and he heads out of the restaurant.

Like everyone inside the restaurant, manager Rick Knapp is a big Kelly fan. He's asked if the original Montgomery Inn will host the Brian Kelly radio show next season.

"We very much hope so," Knapp said. "But I don't think the show will be able to commute from South Bend."

Cincinnati Rallies to Keep Brian Kelly originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>brian kellyBrett McMurphyMon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST Cincinnati Is First to 10 Winshttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/cincinnati-is-the-first-team-to-10-0/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/cincinnati-is-the-first-team-to-10-0/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/cincinnati-is-the-first-team-to-10-0/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Tony PikeCINCINNATI -- The talk all week in Cincinnati -- no make that for the past few weeks -- was when would Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike return? And, if so, would he start?

Friday against West Virginia, Pike finally saw his first action in 29 days and even threw two touchdowns, but he was merely a footnote. The real story for the Bearcats was running back Isaiah Pead, who rushed for a career-high 175 yards as the fifth-ranked Bearcats did just enough to get past the Mountaineers 24-21.

With the victory, Cincinnati became the nation's first team to get to 10-0 this season, but it was anything but a perfect 10. Playing on Friday the 13th, there were a lot of strange occurrences for the Bearcats, including trailing in a game for the first time in 24 quarters and losing a fumble for the first time this season.

The Bearcats also dropped a sure touchdown pass and missed a chip shot field goal.

"All we need to know is that we came out with a win and at the end of the day that's all that matters," Cincinnati senior linebacker Andre Revels said.

After scoring on its first possession, Cincinnati's Adrien Robinson lost a fumble on UC's next possession. It was the first lost fumble this season -- ending a streak of 597 consecutive offensive plays this year without a fumble.

"We definitely shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times in the first half," said Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros, who threw his second interception of the season. "We would come back to the sideline and say they aren't stopping us. ... We were really clicking and just shot ourselves in the foot."

"If we do what we're supposed to do, we will have beaten five Top 25 teams. If (we're not ranked higher), I think the BCS will have to reexamine the way this is set up.''
- Cincinnati coach
Brian Kelly Midway through the second quarter, West Virginia fullback Ryan Clarke rumbled 37 yards for a touchdown, giving WVU a 14-7 lead with 8:05 remaining before halftime. It marked the first time since the first quarter at Oregon State on Sept. 19 the Bearcats had trailed.

However, they didn't trail for long -- two minutes and 31 seconds to be exact.

The Bearcats answered with a tying score on Pead's 2-yard touchdown run at 5:26 before the half. The officials initially ruled Pead fumbled when he was stretching the football across the goal line, but after an instant replay review, the officials changed the call to a touchdown.

Needless to say the reversal was a relief for Pead.

"I went from zero to hero," Pead said.

In the second half, the Bearcats turned to their defense and the running of Pead to defeat the Mountaineers for the first time in eight games at Nippert Stadium.

With UC leading 21-14, Pead raced for 43 yards to set up a Jake Rogers' field goal with 2:08 remaining that sealed the victory.

"(Starting running back) Jake (Jacob Ramsey) went down (with a sprained foot)," Pead said. "Next man in as the slogan goes.

"I haven't seen (a career-high 18 carries) since my last game in high school. With Jake and I splitting time, they said I would get a majority of the series. I wasn't expecting to get the ball that many times. That's pretty nice (10 yards a carry)."

Pike, who injured his left forearm on Oct. 15 at South Florida and had surgery on it a couple weeks ago, made his first appearance with 10:08 remaining in the opening quarter after Collaros had driven the Bearcats to the 10.

Pike and Collaros both said they had no idea Pike would go into the game in that situation.

"When we got to the red zone, (Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly) said, 'Pike'," Pike said. "I thought he was going to talk to me about a play, but he wanted me to go in. Going into the game, he said he wanted me to get in. I didn't know if it would be a series or a special play."

Pike's first pass was a 10-yard touchdown to Armon Bines. Pike didn't return to the game until UC's opening possession of the third quarter. Again, after Collaros drove the Bearcats down to WVU's 6, Pike entered the contest.

After two incompletions, Pike hit DJ Woods for a 6-yard touchdown on third-and-goal, giving the Bearcats a 21-14 lead.

"We felt like we wanted to minimize his risk," Kelly said. "We knew we would get a lot more bracket coverage. Tony can fit it in. He can see it a little bit better than Zach. It just worked out really well.

"It really was what we worked on all week. We scripted it out all week and he delivered for us."

Pike said he was excited to get back in a game. He is expected to see much more substantial playing time in two weeks against Illinois.

"You couldn't ask for anything better," Pike said. "The great ovation the crowd gave me and you couldn't write a better script. It just tells you the confidence Coach Kelly has in us. With Zach rolling and leading the team, there is no pressure. To get back out there to help the team means a lot.

"It has definitely been fun watching how Zach plays. He has been pretty amazing. The other part is it is your senior year and you want to play. It is good to stand around our guys and help them on the field."

The Bearcats have a week off before closing the season at home against Illinois on Nov. 27 and at Pittsburgh on Dec. 5 in a game that will determine the Big East championship.

Kelly said he's not worried where the Bearcats are slotted in the national polls, but admitted he does keep an eye on where Cincinnati is ranked compared to non-BCS schools TCU and Boise State.

"I really don't care about those other (undefeated) teams," he said. "Look, we know about Florida, we know about Alabama, we know about Texas. If I'm ever sitting down and reading the paper or trying to get some information, I want to know about TCU and Boise."

Earlier this week, Kelly was asked what his thoughts were if an unbeaten TCU or Boise State finished ranked above an unbeaten Cincinnati.

"If we do what we're supposed to do, we will have beaten five Top 25 teams," Kelly said. "If (we're not ranked higher), I think the BCS will have to reexamine the way this is set up. As part of a BCS conference, you'll then have to put more of the strength of schedule as part of the criteria.

"Clearly, Boise State has played one football team all year that has that type of recognition and TCU has some good wins, but they don't play in the Big East and play the caliber of opponents we play. That's just my take on it."
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Cincinnati Is First to 10 Wins originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>brian kellytony pikezach collarosBrett McMurphySat, 14 Nov 2009 01:03:00 EST Cincinnati Will Scale Mountaineershttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/13/cincinnati-will-scale-mountaineers/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/13/cincinnati-will-scale-mountaineers/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/13/cincinnati-will-scale-mountaineers/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Zach CollarosCINCINNATI -- Since the Big East Conference was reconfigured in 2005, West Virginia has been the league's bell cow. The Mountaineers have won or shared two of the four league titles.

Entering this season, West Virginia's 22-6 record in Big East play was a whopping five games better than the next best league team. Nobody had done it better -- or even came close.

But times, they are a changin'.

It started last season with Cincinnati winning its first league title and the Bearcats are on pace for a second consecutive title this season.

Friday, West Virginia visits Cincinnati and the national television audience can watch how these programs are heading in different directions.

In their last five games, the Mountaineers' once-vaunted running game is averaging 160 yards rushing. By comparison, Cincinnati is averaging 179 yards rushing in the same span.

And there isn't a hotter quarterback in the country than Cincinnati's Zach Collaros. Also, Tony Pike should play against a West Virginia pass defense that is the league's third-worst.

Yet there are subtle concerns for the Bearcats. Last week, Cincinnati's defense was shredded for 45 points by UConn. Now, the Bearcats face a team that has dominated them; West Virginia owns a 14-2-1 advantage against the Bearcats and has never lost in Cincinnati. Yet the Mountaineers are still nine-point underdogs?

It seems the folks in Vegas are begging you to take WVU and the points. No thanks, I'll take the much better Bearcats, who romp over the Mountaineers and cover.

With Thursday night's Rutgers rout of South Florida, I've now hit nine of my last 13 against the spread, including last week's perfect 3-0 record, as I threaten to -- gasp -- climb above .500.

On to the remaining games:

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh: Cincinnati fans will be rooting for Notre Dame. It's not that they want a fellow Big East member to lose, it's just they're scared to death of the Brian Kelly to Notre Dame rumors. And another loss by Charlie Weis certainly won't quiet the speculation. Sorry Cincinnati fans -- and sorry, Charlie -- the Panthers remain on a roll offensively and defensively and cover the 6 1/2 points.

Syracuse at Louisville: The Basement Bowl. The Big East's version of the Repus Bowl (that's Super Bowl backwards). Call it whatever you wish, but it's Syracuse and Louisville: a tremendous matchup in basketball, but a loser-is-in-last-place matchup in football. This week, Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe admitted that UL fans don't like him, but asked the fans to still come out and support the players. If Kragthorpe can stop a two-game slide against the depleted Orange, they might like him a little bit more. Nah, you're right, they probably won't, but UL wins and covers the 7 1/2.

About Last Night: Another easy Thursday night winner. On my Twitter page Thursday I posted: "Tonight, Rutgers' home field & Tim Brown too much for USF, playing w/out WR Carlton Mitchell."

Last Week: 3-0 (straight up); 3-0 (against the spread)

Season: 44-9 (83 percent) (straight up); 20-22-1 (47.6 percent) (against the spread)

Cincinnati Will Scale Mountaineers originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brett McMurphyFri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST Panthers Roaring in Old-School Offensehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/panthers-roaring-in-old-school-offense/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/panthers-roaring-in-old-school-offense/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/panthers-roaring-in-old-school-offense/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Dave WannstedtFanHouse Big East writer Brett McMurphy empties his reporter's pad every week with the latest news from the league in the Big East Notebook.

While the majority of college football programs are utilizing the spread offense, Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt proudly admits his club's offensive philosophy has gone the way of the dinosaur.

So far, so good for Tyrannosaurus Dave and his Panthers. Forget extinction, the Panthers are thriving in their prehistoric offense.

The Panthers are 8-1, lead the Big East in rushing (187 yards per game) and second in the Big East and 16th nationally in scoring offense (34.56 points per game).

"I think there are a lot of different ways to win," Wannstedt said. "Right now everybody's in the spread offense. We're probably one of the dinosaurs left that are lining up with a fullback and a tailback and trying to pound people and play-action pass.

"But that's what I believe in. And the Super Bowls and national championships I've been associated with, that's what we did. You have to go with what you know and what you believe."

Believe this: much maligned quarterback Bill Stull is having a tremendous senior season (he ranks fifth nationally in passing efficiency with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions) and Dion Lewis is the nation's top true freshman running back.

Lewis leads the Big East and is seventh nationally, averaging 126.6 yards rushing per game. His 12 rushing touchdowns also are a Big East best.

Steve Kragthorpe: The Anti-Sally Field

"You don't like me, you really don't like me." Those weren't Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe's exact words earlier this week, but he basically admitted as much on Monday morning during the Big East's conference call and later that day during his weekly Louisville press conference.

"I know there are people that don't like me and they don't like the way I do things," Kragthorpe said. "That's fine. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. If they don't want to come and support me, that's fine. But they need to come support these players."

The Cardinals (3-6, 0-4 Big East) play host to Syracuse (3-6, 0-4) in a battle of the Big East basement Saturday. The loser likely locks up last place, while the winner can still get bowl eligible by winning out.

The Cardinals have lost nine consecutive Big East games with a pair of eight-point losses the only defeats by less than 10 points. The Cardinals' nine-game Big East losing streak matches the number of losses in four years under former coach Bobby Petrino (41-9). That and apathy toward Kragthorpe likely will attract more empty seats than fans at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

In Louisville's last home game on Halloween against Arkansas State, the Cardinals drew a stadium record low 21,497.
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Syracuse Struggling to the Finish

There has been only two types of news coming out of Syracuse's program the past two weeks: bad and worse.

On Monday, it was more of the same as the school announced that senior nose tackle Arthur Jones and junior offensive tackle Jonathan Meldrum suffered season-ending knee injuries Saturday against Pittsburgh.

In the 37-13 loss at Pittsburgh, the Orange only traveled 55 scholarship players, due to injuries, suspensions, illness, defections, plague, locusts ... you get the idea. Despite the tough times for first-year coach Doug Marrone, he said there's no other place he'd rather be than coaching his alma mater.

Just last season, Marrone was offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints and if he stayed, he would be in the midst of an undefeated season and possible Super Bowl run. Instead, he's 3-6 and winless in Big East play.

"I'm so thrilled for them [the Saints]," Marrone said. "But if I was [still] at the Saints, I would have wished I was here [at Syracuse]."

Big East Title Game Look Ahead

Cincinnati doesn't visit Pittsburgh for another 23 days - in case anyone is counting - but if you can't wait to start breaking down the defacto Big East title game, here's one way: the ever-popular score comparison.

Both the Bearcats and Panthers have defeated the same five Big East opponents - UConn, Louisville, Rutgers, South Florida and Syracuse.

Cincinnati's average score was 39.4-18.8, while Pittsburgh's was 32.2-14.4. The Bearcats have a slightly better margin of victory: 20.6 compared to Pitt's 17.8

Around he League

Concerned that South Florida freshman QB B.J. Daniels might get banged up running the football, he worked with the school's softball coach, Ken Eriksen, on getting tips on how to slide. "I didn't want this to get out but [offensive coordinator Mike] Canales has actually talked to [Eriksen] and he's trying to help me out with my sliding," said Daniels, who hasn't played baseball since his sophomore year of high school. ... Rutgers recently announced it would play Army next season at the new Meadowlands Stadium. The Scarlet Knights will earn a hefty $2.5-$2.7 million payday. ... With Notre Dame all but locked into the Gator Bowl and taking one of the Big East's bowl games, UConn (4-5) likely must win its final three games to receive a bowl bid. A 6-6 record likely wouldn't earn the Huskies a Big East bowl this season. A shame, considering everything the Huskies have gone through this season.

Panthers Roaring in Old-School Offense originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brett McMurphyThu, 12 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST Pike Not Ready, Collaros Will Start Fridayhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/cincy-calls-pikes-number-if-hes-healthy/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/cincy-calls-pikes-number-if-hes-healthy/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/cincy-calls-pikes-number-if-hes-healthy/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Zach Collaros, Tony PikeA day after saying that Cincinnati senior Tony Pike would be his starting quarterback when "100 percent" healthy, Bearcats coach Brian Kelly told Cincinnati radio station WEBN-FM that back-up Zach Collaros would start Friday against West Virginia.

Collaros started for Pike the past three games, and has completed 80 percent of his passes. Saturday against UConn, Collaros set a Big East and school record with 555 yards of total offense, including 480 yards passing.

Despite Collaros' impressive showing the past 3 1/2 games, Kelly said Pike would regain his starting position when healthy. Kelly's announcement means that Pike still hasn't fully recovered from his left arm injury.

Kelly said after the Bearcats' 47-45 victory, that he wasn't sure if Collaros had won the starting job from Pike, who reinjured his left arm -- which he initially broke last season -- on Oct. 15 at South Florida. Pike underwent surgery on the arm a couple weeks ago and was cleared to play Saturday, but didn't play against the Huskies.

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"I went back and thought about clearly the pluses and minuses -- a lot of pluses with both guys," Kelly said. "After careful consideration, Tony's our guy [when he is healthy]. We've got to make sure he's at the level he needs to be [physically]."

In the first 5 1/2 games before the injury, Pike threw for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns. Collaros replaced an injured Pike in the second half at USF, leading the Bearcats to the 34-17 victory.

Collaros is 3-0 as a starter, completing 80.5 percent (66-of-82) for 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns.

"I don't think I should start," Collaros told FanHouse after blistering UConn for a Big East 555 yards of total offense. "Tony's my guy. We've played really well as of late, but there's no reason to think we couldn't have done the same thing with Tony.

"Tony's our guy. Tony's the starter. He's a great quarterback and he's our leader. Whenever he's ready to go he should start."

Pike is the stronger passer and has a stronger arm, but Collaros' accuracy and running ability makes him a better all-around threat.

"I had to spend the weekend thinking about it," Kelly said. "Generally, I'm pretty good about making decisions. It's a difficult one."

Last week, Pike had a specially made splint for his left forearm, allowing him to practice. Kelly said Pike wouldn't play until he had completely healed -- whenever that might be.

"If Tony's fully healthy, he's our starter," Kelly said. "The issue is [that] this becomes day to day. There's X-rays and so much that's out of my hands medically. And the risk factor -- what's the risk factor in putting him out there?"

West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said Monday his club would prepare for both quarterbacks, but wouldn't comment on which one he prefers to face.

"I'm not going there," Stewart said.

"Brian Kelly has the tough decision. All we have to do is try and stop them," Stewart joked.

Stewart said he's been impressed with Collaros and said he's similar to West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown and former WVU quarterback Pat White.

"These guys that have their running ability, they have the innate ability to pull the down," Stewart said. "These guys just tuck it and go. That's what makes Zach, Jarrett, Pat [so difficult to defend], they're athletes playing quarterback."

Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe, who said he rather would have faced Pike instead of Collaros after losing to Collaros and UC 41-10 on Oct. 24, said Kelly has a tough decision.

"I guess that's the question of the week in the Big East," Kragthorpe said Monday.



Pike Not Ready, Collaros Will Start Friday originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Zach Colzach collarosZachColZachCollarosBrett McMurphyTue, 10 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST Starting 11: Counting to Five in Alabamahttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/starting-11-counting-to-five-in-alabama/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/starting-11-counting-to-five-in-alabama/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/10/starting-11-counting-to-five-in-alabama/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Alabama fan As the fourth quarter of CBS's coverage of Alabama-LSU went to commercial break, the cameras caught something extraordinary, an Alabama fan giving the cliched and overused four finger slogan. Okay, nothing extraordinary about that, but, this is when a bit of the Southern Gothic came into your living room, the man only had four fingers, he was missing a pinkie! So he gave the four finger sign utilizing his thumb.

My jaw literally dropped. Judging by everyone's reaction on Twitter, I wasn't the only one. The most shocking thing, of course, is that the fan gave up the pinkie to Nick Saban, wielding a machete, as part of the pregame speech. Good to see they got the bleeding stopped.

But, of course, this moment of four-finger jubilation wasn't the only thing that caught my attention. We've got Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, Cincinnati, and a groom who made it rain at this wedding reception and caused a 40-person brawl. Plus, we learn that 5 yards in Alabama math actually means 5.5 yards.

Dive in and enjoy.

1. What the heck is up with the Pac-10 results?

I'm not quibbling with the talent of Pac-10 teams. In fact, and I'll take grief for this, I actually like Pac-10 fans the most in college football, behind only the SEC. Partly that's because the West Coast is my second favorite region, so I like being out there, but it's also because the games are entertaining, the fans are pretty fun, have the second-best senses of humor in football, and there are plenty of lovely women around

Yet, does any conference in America have more shocking results? Particularly in light of the scores of the shocking games?

I'm not astounded that Stanford beat Oregon. Coming off a bye week with a good coach and a home game, the ingredients for an upset were all there, but still, Stanford hangs 51 on Oregon?

Stanford had only scored 40 once this season, against San Jose State back in September. Meanwhile, Oregon has only given up 58 points total in their last five games.

So what happens when the two teams meet? Stanford scores 51 en route to the upset.

Of course it does. That's Pac-10 football.

Again, the upset doesn't surprise me, but in most conferences in America the upset score would have been something like 20-17.

In the Pac-10, all bets are off.

2. NBC's coverage of Notre Dame football is atrocious.

My favorite part of Saturday's loss to Navy -- and there were several parts -- was when NBC labeled Jimmy Clausen "the toughest player in America."

Really? You don't think that might be a slight exaggeration? Perhaps connected to NBC's television contract with Notre Dame? Bigger question, can a quarterback ever be the toughest player on a team? I don't think so.

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But every time I watch an NBC broadcast of Notre Dame football, I'm reminded why Tom Hammond and Pat Haden are the worst announcing team in college football. It's not just the Notre Dame homerism, they're genuinely awful at explaining the game, discussing strategy, all of it. At some point, I should just do an article chronicling their ineptitude.

Anyway, I've never heard a team praised so much while only putting up seven points against a service academy. Listening to the Notre Dame-Navy game was like attending a kindergarten graduation ceremony with the woman whose son got held back for a year. And she's heaping praise on her son for the accomplishment: "I can't believe my baby did it!"

Really? Did you think he was going to be in kindergarten for the rest of his life? At some point they have to promote you. (Aside: Is kindergarten not one of the trickiest words to spell? Doesn't it seem like the first three letters should be K-I-D? I misspell this word every time I type it. I'm always ticked that I have to look it up, and then I always think, why am I using the word kindergarten again? Kind of like when I didn't write the word misspell for three years because I was terrified of the irony of misspelling the word misspell).

As for Charlie Weis, I think his era was summed up by this stat, white fullback Vince Murray carried the ball 14 times for 158 yards against his team. That's an average of over 11 yards a carry.

Think about that.

A fullback, who started the year in a battle for the second string spot at a position whose primary job is to bang into things. Who, in two previous seasons had only seen action against titans Duke and Ball State. Whose online biography has no stats but lauds him for playing with "great toughness."

He rushed for 158 yards.

All the talent that Weis has brought to Notre Dame and they can't stop Navy's white fullback, who by the way played a hell of a game, on the dive play? Putting those stats into context, that average per carry was almost twice what the next worst team has allowed him -- Rice gave up 6.5 yards a carry.

If I was a student at Notre Dame, I might make my own anti-Weis shirt. "Notre Dame: White Fullbacks Own Us."

3. Officiating errors when made via replay review are unforgivable.

I've already volunteered myself for the position of instant replay reviewer. I think I'm every bit as qualified as the people the SEC employs now. But what I really want to happen, is someone to pay the price when they blow a call on instant replay review. Because that, my friends, is inexcusable.

The Patrick Peterson interception happened really fast in the LSU-Alabama game. The fact that two officials who were standing in the position to make the call both blew it is, while sad, somewhat excusable. That's why we have video replay, right? But when a guy sitting in a booth in front of the television blows the call too, there's no point to having replay at all.

Zero.

So here's a suggestion: If a blown call happens in a game and instant replay review doesn't change it, then the booth official is suspended for life and has to spend an entire afternoon in the stocks on the campus where he made the error.

I want to be the lawyer who drafts this contract.

4. Speaking of unforgivable, how about CBS trotting out the film of all eight of Jarrett Lee's interceptions returned for touchdowns?

Why is that unforgivable?

Because Lee wasn't even the starting quarterback. That means CBS had that clip on file just in case Jordan Jefferson, LSU's starter, was injured.

Think about that for a minute.

They'd already decided to throw Jarrett Lee under the bus on the off chance that he played against Alabama.

Having said that, how unbelievable is it that Lee had eight interceptions returned for touchdowns. Especially when you look at his picks all together. It's not like he's throwing passes that get tipped away at the line of scrimmage and returned for touchdowns. All of his passes are traveling down the field. And almost all of them are 40 or more yard returns.

It really is one of the most amazing statistical abnormalities out there.

Now, does that mean that Jarrett Lee should be subjected to this every time he plays a game?

I don't think so.

Even more importantly, should LSU fans be subjected to this?

Definitely not.

5. Someone explain to me how LSU was penalized 5.5 yards for running into the kicker in the fourth quarter.

Dan Wetzel at Yahoo Sports tweeted it in real time, and now here's the actual evidence.

After the error on spotting, Alabama then converted this fourth-down play. Which was, you guessed it, shortly followed by the interception that wasn't. Then Bama kicked a field goal to go up nine points.

I'd include this photo when Les Miles inevitably tees off on the officials.

Personally, I'm hoping Miles brings in an overhead projector and puts this picture on the screen behind him. I would pay a thousand dollars of the fine myself to see Miles do this. Especially if he pulled out an old school marker and noted the ball placement.

Seriously though, isn't it incomprehensible that this could happen?

6. Jonathan Crompton is Lazarus.

Since I called for his benching, Jonathan Crompton has turned into Jesus Montana. This is why Memphis should contact me about their new opening at head coach, I know football. (If you need further evidence of this fact, I am dominating my family's former French exchange student in our weekly picks challenge in the mailbag.)

Saturday, Crompton passed for 331 yards with five touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. That's all in less than 33 minutes of football -- Kiffin pulled him after the first drive of the second half. Crompton would have gone for over 500 yards and eight or nine touchdowns if he'd played the whole game.

And while he threw the ball with precision, the most impressive part of Saturday, I thought, was Crompton's quarterback sneak for a touchdown at the end of the first half. With a running clock and one timeout left, Crompton came to the line, faked like he was going to spike the football, and then got under center and dove into the end zone for the score.

It was an incredibly smart play.

Why?

If he'd actually grounded the ball, there would have only been around six seconds left in the half. It would be second and goal and UT would have one timeout left. Time for one definite play, maybe two if you were very lucky with the clock. Instead Crompton took his shot at getting into the end zone with a running clock. If he's stopped, no big deal, call the timeout and you still get another play where run or pass is the option. The point is, the quarterback sneak there doesn't take much longer than spiking the football and it gives you a chance to score.

It was a really, really smart play.

Crompton now has 21 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions, and in the past five games he's got 14 touchdowns and only two picks. Time for a bold pronouncement that can never be justified, proven or disproven: If Crompton was coming back next season the Vols would win the SEC East.

7. What are the rules for wearing a coaches' polo if you aren't actually in the town where the game is played?

I'll tell you: You can't go coaches' polo unless you're at the game.

Period.

For the unaware, the coaches' polo has taken the SEC fashion world by storm. You know the shirts the coaches wear on the sideline? That's the coaches' polo, these things are insanely popular down South. I've never seen that many other fans wear them out, but in the SEC they're gold bullion. Basically, if you're over 35 and graduated from college, the coaches polo is your fashion security blanket, the male equivalent of women's heels at an SEC game. You can't go wrong with the CP.

Except when you can.

You look like an idiot when you wear your coach's polo out to the bar and you didn't actually go to the game. The CP is strictly gameday wear in the town of the game. Otherwise, keep them in the closet.



8. Why is no one taking shots at Cincinnati for giving up 45 points to UConn?

I'll tell you, because for much of the media, Cincinnati is like a hot chick on a beach in Venezuela, you know she exists but she's so remote you don't pay any attention to her actual physical characteristics. A large part of me is convinced that the only Bearcat game anyone has actually seen was the game against South Florida.

For instance, I couldn't watch the Cincinnati game in Nashville.

Why?

Because we got the Nebraska-Oklahoma game on regional coverage. That's despite being about 280 miles from Cincinnati. I have no idea who made this programming decision, and I'm not even sure what the rationale could possibly be. I guarantee you that more people in my city were interested in watching Cincinnati. It's a closer school, that game has more relevance for SEC fans, and ... yep, we got Oklahoma-Nebraska.

Which means we missed 711 yards of offense from Cincinnati and a 555-yard offensive performance from Zach Collaros, the Bearcats former backup quarterback.

Want another wacky stat? Prior to giving up 45 to the Huskies the most points the Bearcats had allowed all season was 20 to Fresno State.

But, you guessed it, no one really paid attention.

9. Michigan lost at home to Purdue 38-36.

My wife's family was in this weekend so we watched this game on the Big Ten Network. How disappointing is this loss if you're Michigan? The worst part is that the nation isn't even paying attention to you anymore because you've become an afterthought. At least when Notre Dame lost to Navy, a much better team than Purdue, people reacted.

Michigan losing to Purdue?

No one even reacts anymore.

George Bernard Shaw once said that the worst sin towards a fellow man is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. Presumably he had just flipped through a Michigan football game for a Home Shopping Network special at the time.

That's how far off the radar Michigan has fallen.

In his second season at Ohio State, Jim Tressel won a national championship. In his second season at Michigan, Rich Rodriguez is not going to a bowl game. Again.

My wife, a Michigan alum, came downstairs after getting our son down for his nap, looked at the television, saw the Boilermakers celebrating, and said, "Purdue! We're still Michigan."

Isn't it time for all Michigan fans to have this collective reaction and kick Rich Rod to the curb? I understand that installing the spread offense takes time, but what about the defense? You've given up 30 to every Big Ten team except Michigan State, a game you lost anyway.

Nothing is working. And Rich Rod ain't the right fit.

10. Tampa groom makes it rain at his own wedding and causes a 40-person brawl.

Pacman JonesHis 74-year-old grandmother gets beaten down in the process.

What city?

Tampa, of course.

I think I speak for everyone when I say that this wedding is destined for great things.

Pacman Jones, at least, was touched by the gesture.

11. The SEC needs a Mark Cuban type to tee off on officiating until something changes.

That person needs to be independent from the league office yet have a stake in the outcome. And he needs to be willing to keep writing checks when he's fined by the league. Remember how everyone called Cuban a whiner and then he was ultimately vindicated in many of his criticisms about the officiating? Someone else is going to be right in the long run if they hold the SEC's feet to the fire on this thing.

I'm not sure who that person is since athletic directors and coaches are beholden to the commissioner and there are no owners in the SEC, but someone has to make an issue of this.

It's to the point where, before he opened his mouth and gave the result on the interception review, I actually thought, "They're not going to change the call."

In other words, I think I'm a pretty reasonable fan and the errors are mounting to such a degree that they're interfering with my enjoyment of the on-field product.

That has to change.

Now.

Starting 11: Counting to Five in Alabama originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Clay TravisTue, 10 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST Big East Rewind: Favorites Fading?http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/big-east-rewind-favorites-fading/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/big-east-rewind-favorites-fading/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/big-east-rewind-favorites-fading/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and West Virginia won as expected last week, but it wasn't quite as easy as the experts predicted.

All three clubs were heavy favorites between 17 and 21 points, yet only Pittsburgh won easily. PItt was the only one of the trio that didn't almost lose. The Panthers disposed of depleted Syracuse 37-10, but Cincinnati and West Virginia had a lot more difficulty.

The Bearcats outlasted a resilient UConn club 47-45, while the Mountaineers held off Louisville 17-9.

Last week's results shows that the league remains divided into three tiers: the best (Cincinnati, Pittsburgh), the worst (Louisville, Syracuse) and everyone else (South Florida, West Virginia, UConn and Rutgers).

While the top and the bottom of the league is pretty well set, it should be interesting to see how the middle four teams shake out in the next few weeks. It will start Thursday when USF visits Rutgers.

Unfortunately, we have to wait another four weeks for the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh contest.

Some things we may have actually figured out in the past week

1. What do you know, the Big East ain't so bad after all

After starting the season with no teams ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Big East has half of its league in the BCS Top 25 rankings. That's even one more than the mighty SEC. Cincinnati is No. 5, but needs some help to get a shot at the BCS title game, while Pittsburgh is No. 12, South Florida No. 24 and West Virginia No. 25.

2. Syracuse will be the Big East's most improved team - in 2010

They have to be, right? There will be nowhere to go but up for the Orange. The latest debacle was Saturday's 37-10 loss at Pittsburgh. In the Orange's four Big East losses, they have not come closer than two touchdowns. Last week, they had three players suspended and a fourth - star WR Mike Williams - quit the team. Saturday, they lost starting SS Max Suter and TE Cody Catalina to season-ending injuries and they only took 55 scholarship players to Pitt.

3. Where did the O go for the "Muntaineers"?

In West Virginia's last two games, the Mountaineers have been held to 19 points in a loss at South Florida and 17 points in a win against Louisville. The significance is it marked the third time in 22 games under Coach Bill Stewart the Mountaineers had scored 20 or fewer points in consecutive games. By comparison, WVU only had back-to-back games with 20 points or less three times in the last 76 games of former Coach Rich Rodriguez's tenure at West Virginia.
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4. Are there chinks showing in Cincinnati's armor?

In Cincinnati's 9-0 start, the Bearcats' offense - whether Tony Pike or Zach Collaros played quarterback - has been absolutely dynamite. However, it does appear the blueprint for at least keeping it close against UC is out there. Fresno State, in a 28-20 loss to UC, rushed for 290 yards. UConn rushed for 201 in Saturday's two-point loss. Those are the only two games this season the Bearcats have allowed more than 200 yards rushing - and not coincidentally the only two games they have not won by double figures.

Re-Tweeting Week 10

Ranking the league from top to bottom and summarizing each team, in 140 characters or less.

1. Cincinnati: The Zach Pack is growing. UConn the latest to believe that Cincinnati is better off with Collaros at QB
2. Pittsburgh: Since ending West Virginia's 2007 national title hopes, the Panthers have won 18 of their past 23 contests
3. South Florida: The not-ready-for-prime-time Bulls visit Rutgers hoping to end an 0-5 streak in ESPN Thursday night games
4. West Virginia: The Mountaineers have been outgained in their past three games, but still managed to win two of them
5. Rutgers: Freshman Tom Savage makes his first start vs. USF, looking to extend Scarlet Knights' three-game winning streak vs. the Bulls
6. UConn: The Huskies' perseverance is amazing, but they have lost their last three games by a total of 10 points
7. Louisville: Coming close counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and my Big East rankings. UL moves up one spot after hanging at WVU
8. Syracuse: The Orange and Cardinals will settle this once and for all Saturday: who is the league's worst team?

Follow Brett McMurphy on Twitter at twitter.com/BrettmcmurphY

Big East Rewind: Favorites Fading? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brett McMurphyMon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST Blanket Coverage: Gerhart at Epicenterhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/blanket-coverage-gehart-at-epicenter/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/blanket-coverage-gehart-at-epicenter/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/blanket-coverage-gehart-at-epicenter/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


He will likely not win the Heisman Trophy (though it would not be blasphemous).

He may not even be tendered an invite to the ceremony in mid-December (though he should).

But no one player will have a greater impact on the remainder of the college football season than Stanford senior tailback Toby Gerhart.

The workhorse, who is averaging 135.2 yards per game (second nationally), will lead the Cardinal into games at USC and, two weeks later, versus Notre Dame. In a region of the country that is quite familiar with the concept of seismic shifts and aftershocks, Gerhart's potential as a disruptive force is likely sending tremors out to University Park and South Bend.

Gerhart really is a workhorse. Not only does he lead the nation in rushing attempts (233) by more than 10 percent over the next most prolific rusher (Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt, who has carried 209 times), he also starts in the outfield for the Cardinal baseball team. Stanford should award his family a second scholarship with no expiration date.

This Saturday, the Cardinal return to the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first time since their monumental upset of USC in 2007 (they were 41-point underdogs, you'll recall). Stanford, which finds itself ranked for the first time since 2001, has an opportunity to knock off a top 10 team for the second time in two weeks. If it can just get past its head coach's over-the-top comments.

"Who would not like to watch this team play?" third-year coach Jim Harbaugh said after the Cardinal rocked Oregon's world, 51-42. "Is there a better show around?"
Toby Gerhart
And of freshman quarterback Andrew Luck, Harbaugh groused, "I don't know how you can play better. How can you play better as a quarterback? What can you say he should have done better? Who could have done better?"

When did Gob Bluth become the head coach at The Farm?

Back to Gerhart. Stanford will need more than Luck -- and luck -- to defeat the Trojans who, by the way, are 28-0 in November under Pete Carroll. They'll need their finest workhorse, Gerhart. If Stanford somehow pulls off this minor upset, imagine the reverberations in towns such as Boise and ... Boise. A three-loss USC team is, even with its reputation, not going to a BCS bowl this season.

Ten teams play in the BCS bowls. Assume that Florida, Alabama and Texas have three spots locked up. Barring an upset -- a big if, yes -- assume also that conference champions Georgia Tech (ACC), Cincinnati (Big East), Ohio State (Big Ten) and a Pac-10 school with at least two losses (Oregon? Arizona? The Cardinal?) receive BCS bowl bids. That's seven bids. TCU is fo' sure if it beats beat Utah on Saturday.

That's eight bids.

Who's left? A gaggle of two-loss BCS conference schools such as Iowa, Penn State, Pitt and Miami. Are they all really going to cut an unbeaten Boise State in line? Some, like LSU and one of the Big Ten teams won't, as conferences can't have more than two representatives in the BCS bowls.The rest? I hope not. One of them, maybe (Iowans, especially, travel well to the Valley of the Sun in January). But two? Only if that second school is USC ... which it will not be if Gerhart can help inflict a third defeat on Troy.

Next up, after a date with Cal, is Charlie Weis and the Irish. Gerhart, who rushed for 223 yards versus Oregon, is already salivating at the prospect of facing an Irish defense that just allowed 11.3 yards per carry to the legendary Vince Murray (a backup fullback for Navy). Maybe Weis' job is already lost by that point. But if for some reason it hangs in the balance -- and before you assume you know the future, recall that just a few weeks ago the same people who said Charlie was out when it was 34-14 when the fourth quarter began versus USC are the ones who said Charlie deserved another season after 15 more minutes of play -- Gerhart is the last player Weis wants to wager his future against: a fast, punishing back who will chew up both yardage and clock.

The stage is all yours, Toby Gerhart. No one will have a greater mark on the college football landscape this month.
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Isaac Newton and Open-Field Tackling

The potential play of the year waits for us next Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Gerhart breaks into the USC secondary untouched, which sets up a full-speed appointment with one Taylor Mays. Physics professors, take note, this is an excellent opportunity to teach Newton's third law of motion.

The Collaros Conundrum

Zach Collaros has only been the starting quarterback at Cincinnati for 3.5 games, and only because then-Heisman sleeper candidate Tony Pike reinjured his left (non-throwing) arm. Still, in the sophomore's three full games, he has completed 66 of 82 passes (80.5 percent) for 1,028 yards with eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

Granted, it's a limited audition, but Collaros' efficiency rating after 14 quarters is 210.24. The nation's leader in that stat, Kellen Moore of similarly undefeated Boise State, has a 169.35 rating. That's a Secretariat margin.

Cincy, extraordinarily, had not lost one fumble in the six games Pike started. Under Collaros, they still have yet to lose one. That is to say, the Bearcats have committed no turnovers in Collaros' three starts.

Coach Brian Kelly's "problem?" Pike is healthy as West Virginia comes to visit Nippert Stadium on Friday night. Originally, Kelly said the job was Pike's as soon as he was cleared to play. Now he says, "I think I have to reconsider my decision."

From an outsider's perspective, it's a no-brainer. You go with the guy who gives you the best chance to win. What more does Collaros, who went 30-0 his final two years of high school, need to do to demonstrate that he is that guy?

That's when Bill Belichick was heard to say, "Well, almost."

After No. 1 Florida dispatched of Vanderbilt in desultory fashion, 27-3, Gator coach Urban Meyer was asked if the team's 19th straight victory was "ho-hum". "Have you ever gone 19-0?" Meyer replied. "It's not ho-hum, I can assure you that."

Yet another reason to love Chip Kelly

Here's what Oregon's first-year head coach said after the No. 7 Ducks lost at unranked Stanford: "If you say we got caught looking behind or looking ahead, it takes away from Stanford."

Speaking of Coach of the Year Candidates

Georgia Tech was 0-for-4 on fourth-down attempts against Wake Forest when quarterback Josh Nesbitt persuaded coach Paul Johnson to go for it on fourth-and-one-foot with the Yellow Jackets trailing the Demon Deacons 27-24 in overtime. Nesbitt converted the play and scored the game-winner one play after that.

"I play to win," Johnson said. "If we can't make an inch there, we don't deserve to win the game."
Concussion Section

Jahvid Best's scary fall was just the latest in what seems to be an epidemic of concussions suffered this autumn. Whether the rise in head injuries is actual or anecdotal, or whether Tim Tebow's concussion just brought more attention to the issue, it feels as if each week concussions are part of the roundup.

Best had actually sustained a slight concussion the previous week at Arizona State and missed two days of practice last week. It would seem prudent for Cal to shut him down for at least the rest of the regular season if not longer.

The Golden Bears' terrific tailback has, sadly, plenty of company. Wisconsin tailback John Clay rushed for a game-high 134 yards in the first half at Indiana before leaving the game with a concussion. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince, who earlier this season broke his jaw on a helmet-to-helmet hit at Tennessee, had to leave the Bruins' 24-23 win against Washington after sustaining another blow to the head. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen was, in Charlie Weis' words, "knocked silly" in a goal-line tackle by Navy's Kevin Edwards, but Clausen returned the next series without missing a play.

Don't expect the concussion section to decrease in number any time soon. As long as players keep getting bigger and faster, collisions will continue to pack more force.


Stats Incredible

-- Following Cal's 31-14 home loss to Oregon State, the Golden Bears are 0-7 at Memorial Stadium versus the Beavers and USC of late, but 32-0 against everyone else in their last 39 games.

-- Baylor and Missouri combined for 49 rushing attempts and just 40 net rushing yards in the Bears' surprising 40-32 win at Faurot Field. Both quarterbacks, though, surpassed 400 yards in passing yardage. Bear QB Nick Florence threw for a school-record 427 yards while his counterpart, Blaine Gabbert, chucked for a game-high 468.

-- With Kansas State's 17-10 defeat of Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown, Wildcat coach Bill Snyder is now 5-0 in Bill Snyder Stadium.

-- Houston freshman Matt Hogan, who kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to culminate the Cougars' outrageous 46-45 victory against Tulsa, had a previous career-long of 34 yards. That's a 50 percent improvement on his former best.

-- Fresno State quarterback Ryan Colburn was 14-of-14 passing in the Bulldogs' 31-21 win at Idaho.

-- Notre Dame never punted in Saturday's 23-21 loss to Navy. The last time the Irish went an entire game without punting? Their 46-44 triple overtime loss to Navy in 2007.

And finally...Happy belated birthday to Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who turned 80 on Sunday, dadgummit.

Blanket Coverage: Gerhart at Epicenter originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>andrew luckjim harbaughjosh nesbittpaul johnsontoby gerhartJohn WaltersMon, 09 Nov 2009 12:06:00 EST Zach Collaros Is Right Choice for Cincyhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/collaros-is-the-right-choice-right-now-for-cincy/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/collaros-is-the-right-choice-right-now-for-cincy/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/collaros-is-the-right-choice-right-now-for-cincy/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Zach CollarosCINCINNATI -- Cincinnati senior Tony Pike is rated as the third-best NFL quarterback prospect by NFLDraftScout.com. He likely will make a fine NFL quarterback one day.

Yet, the No. 4-ranked Bearcats are better off without him.

Last season, Pike led the Bearcats to their first Big East title. This year, he led Cincinnati to a 5-0 start before he re-injured his left (non-throwing) arm - the arm he broke last season.

Pike, who had missed the past 2½ games, was cleared to play Saturday against UConn, but he never left the bench. He should stay there the rest of the season.

That's because sophomore Zach Collaros is smokin' hot.

In Saturday's 47-45 victory against UConn, Collaros threw for 480 yards, completing 29-of-37 with one touchdown. He also rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns. His 555 yards of total offense - in only his third collegiate start - broke Cincinnati's 41-year old school record and also was the most in Big East history.

In Collaros' three starts, he has completed a ridiculous 80.5 percent (66-of-82) for 1,028 yards and eight touchdowns.

"I don't think I should start," a humble Collaros told FanHouse. "Tony's my guy. We've played really well as of late, but there's no reason to think we couldn't have done the same thing with Tony.

"Tony's our guy. Tony's the starter. He's a great quarterback and he's our leader. Whenever he's ready to go he should start."

That's admirable of Collaros to say, but he's nuts.

Pike supposedly was ready to play Saturday. Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said Pike had been cleared to play, but Collaros got the start. He never gave Kelly the opportunity to take him out of the game.

The Bearcats (9-0, 5-0 Big East) rung up 711 yards of total offense, the second-most in Big East history. Collaros' 480 yards passing were the fourth most in Big East history.
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Last week, Kelly said when Pike was healthy he would return as Cincinnati's starter. He said before Saturday's game he had intended to get Pike in the game against UConn. But faster than you can say Wally Pipp, Kelly is now having second thoughts. And he should.

Kelly said Pike will not automatically start Friday against West Virginia, but instead Kelly will evaluate both quarterbacks this week in practice to determine the starter.

"He's made it hard," Kelly said of Collaros.

"I've changed my mind, based on the way he's played the last three games. I think I have to reconsider my decision [to automatically start Pike]."

UConn (4-5, 1-4) came into the game allowing only 323 total yards a game. By halftime, Collaros had already thrown for 333 yards.

A couple of weeks ago, Cincinnati wide receiver Mardy Gilyard remarked that Collaros added "spice" to the Bearcats' offense. Saturday's display was extra spicy.

"Zach went for, who knows, five million yards or something like that, whatever it was," Gilyard said. "Zach had an excellent day. We have a quarterback that can throw or run. We have so many weapons. It makes it hard for a defense to defend."

Collaros said Saturday's game was "an amazing feeling."

"It's an amazing feeling to be out there when our offense is clicking like that," Collaros said. "It's really a lot of fun. We have a very good offensive scheme.

"You've got to take something away. If you take away the run, it's just pitch and catch out there. One on one matchups, we execute that pretty well."

Two weeks ago after Collaros carved up Louisville for 305 yards of offense, completing 15 for 17, Cardinals coach Steve Kragthorpe said he actually would have preferred to have faced Pike.

"To be honest with you, I was hoping Tony would play today because I knew they would be one-dimensional and I knew they would throw it," said Kragthorpe after UL's 41-10 loss on Oct. 24. "I really felt that if Tony played, even if he hadn't been hurt, it would've been a lot better matchup for us. They're a little more one-dimensional with Tony in there."

The initial reaction to Kragthorpe's quote was "huh?" However, it turns out Kragthorpe knew exactly what he was talking about.

UConn coach Randy Edsall was asked if Cincinnati is better with Collaros instead of Pike.

"I really couldn't make that determination because Tony didn't play," Edsall said. "I just know Zach made a lot of good plays. His athleticism is something that helps their offense out quite a bit.



"I think Brian is going to have a very difficult decision to make as to who he's going to play at quarterback when Tony comes back. That's his worry, not mine."

With Pike in there, defenses have to worry about his big-time arm, but don't have to worry about Pike running. Pike can make any throw on the field and that's why he's coveted by the NFL folks.

But with Collaros in there, defenses have to worry about Collaros' running, elusiveness, and, yes, his pinpoint accuracy. They have to worry about his running and passing ability. Collaros is averaging 6.5 yards per carry, while Pike has maybe three runs longer than six yards all season.

Collaros or Pike? Pike or Collaros? Even die-hard Pike fans aren't sure what to think anymore.

One such fan was visiting the Nippert Stadium press box at halftime. The fan was wearing Pike's black No. 15 jersey under a flamboyant red jacket with stars on both sleeves. I asked him if Pike should regain his starting position.

Peering through his sun glasses, Cincinnati's best known funkster Bootsy Collins said he's not sure and admitted Kelly has "a dilemma."

"It's like they say," Collins said. "If it ain't broke, don't break it."

I couldn't have said it better.

Zach Collaros Is Right Choice for Cincy originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>brian kellytony pikezach collarosBrett McMurphySun, 08 Nov 2009 01:33:00 EST Collaros to Start, Pike Cleared to Playhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/07/collaros-to-start-pike-cleared-to-play/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/07/collaros-to-start-pike-cleared-to-play/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/07/collaros-to-start-pike-cleared-to-play/#commentsFiled under:

Zach CollarosCINCINNATI -- Cincinnati senior quarterback Tony Pike has been cleared to play against UConn Saturday niight, but sophomore quarterback Zach Collaros (right) will make his third consecutive start, Coach Brian Kelly said.

"Tony has been cleared to play, but we don't want to put him in a risky situation," Kelly said. "We'll really have to see how it plays out to decide when to put him in the game."

Collaros replaced Pike in the second half at South Florida on Oct. 15 and led the Bearcats to a 34-17 win against the Bulls.

In Collaros' two starts against Louisville and Syracuse, he has completed 82.2 percent (37-of-45) for 548 yards and seven touchdowns.

Pike had surgery on his left (non-throwing) arm two weeks ago to replace the plate that was in his arm. Pike initially broke his arm last season.

Collaros to Start, Pike Cleared to Play originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>tony pikeTonyPikezach collarosBrett McMurphySat, 07 Nov 2009 11:32:00 EST Big East Commish: Old Bowl System Preferable to Playoffhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/big-east-commish-doesnt-expect-bcs-to-last-past-2013/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/big-east-commish-doesnt-expect-bcs-to-last-past-2013/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/big-east-commish-doesnt-expect-bcs-to-last-past-2013/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

John MarrinattoTAMPA, Fla. -- The demand for a college football playoff could break up the BCS after the 2013 season, but instead of adding a playoff, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) would likely just revert back to the old bowl system, Big East commissioner John Marinatto told FanHouse.

"It [the BCS] is such an entity where there's so many diverse things that come together that make it work," Marinatto said. "I don't know if all that will continue to go on the way it is. If they're pressured to create a playoff, they would simply go back to what the system used to be like and have it as an at-large, free-for-all where people can go [to whichever bowl] they want.

"I don't think the pressure would cause people to create a playoff. I think it would cause them to go back to where we used to be [before the BCS]."

Marinatto also told FanHouse that the Big East has "no intention" of adding a ninth-football member. However, if the Big East was approached by another school that would "add value," the conference would be receptive to adding another member even it grew the basketball league to 17 teams. Marinatto stressed it would not "raid" another league to add a ninth-football member.

Also in Marinatto's interview with FanHouse, he said the BCS wants the coaches to make their ballots public after next season. He said he's optimistic they will and the coaches' poll will remain a part of the BCS formula. Marinatto also said it's possible a one-loss team could get selected over undefeated Cincinnati for a spot in the BCS title game and why the Big East's Yankee Bowl will be a success -- no matter how cold the weather might be in New York in late December/early January.

When will you add a ninth football member?
There is no intention of adding a ninth member at this point. There hasn't even been a discussion.

Do you want a ninth football member?
I understand the reasons why people feel like we could or should have a ninth member and it's primarily for scheduling. Again, we've had this discussion in the room the last five years since we expanded to 16 [schools]. It always comes down to: we'll take a ninth member if that member brings value to the membership.

Even if that means increasing the basketball membership to 17 schools?
Even if that means going to 17. We're structured in such a way that we've provided for that in our bylaws. If a ninth member of value became available tomorrow, we'd expand and go to 17.
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Would you pursue a ninth football member?
Will we raid someone to do it? No. It's not our intention to raid someone to accomplish what we want to accomplish. If under the right set of circumstances ... where someone might be disenfranchised and look for a new home. And if that school brought value, then we would be amenable. The world could change. The costs of travel could become such that an Eastern school that's now in a non-Eastern quote-unquote conference might want to look [and think] 'it makes more sense to be in the Big East.' There could be a shifting around. In that scenario, we would go to 17.

But we're not going to go out there and try and raid someone. That's not our intention.

Do you believe the BCS will continue to exist after the 2013 season?
The contract with ESPN is through [the end of the 2013 season]. There's so much resistance, or seemingly vocal resistance [to the BCS]. It's such an entity where there's so many diverse things that come together that make it work. I don't know if all that will continue to go on the way it is.

If they're pressured to create a playoff, they would simply go back to what the system used to be like and have it as an at-large, free-for-all where people can go to [to whichever bowl] they want. I don't think the pressure would cause people to create a playoff. I think it would cause them to go back to where we used to be.

We like the current system for a lot of reasons. It brings (the) regular season value because of the number of bowls that are available that provide so many students with the experience of being to a bowl game and that's a valuable thing.

The theory is if a playoff is created, the most you could do would be an eight-team playoff and those eight teams are going to be the ones that get to experience a post-season bowl. Whereas today you have probably 68 schools that get that experience, half of them walking away feeling good and winning. From a student-athlete's standpoint, we think the current structure allows for a better overall experience for more student-athletes. And that's really what, in the world of football, it's about: going to a bowl and experiencing that post-season experience.

In the Bowl Subdivision, people really cherish the post-season experiences. Whether it's the Rose Bowl or one of the lower level bowls, to get to a bowl is considered a positive experience. People around our table don't want to lose that.

Is there any scenario in which a one-loss team could be selected over a 12-0 Cincinnati team to play in the BCS title game?
I don't know until it unfolds. There are inherent flaws in the BCS system, it's not perfect. Injustice is possible. It's an attempt simply to get the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country identified to play each other. Over the years there have been injustices and we know it's not a perfect system. To answer your question, it could happen. It would be hard to see how it could happen, but again, the system is not perfect.

Should the coaches' ballots remain public and if they are not public, would the coaches' poll no longer be a part of the BCS formula?
Yes, transparency is important in a lot of things, but particularly in this at this point. We've talked about this around the room. We think chances are better that it [the coaches' poll] becomes transparent [than dropping the coaches poll from the BCS formula]. I think they understand at some level that it's important. Transparency is important for credibility. Hopefully that will happen; we'll see.

There clearly is a desire on the part of the commissioners around the country to have it transparent. We all feel that's important for a number of reasons, including credibility. I understand the logic of not publishing [the ballots] because of the pressure within certain conferences to help their own schools and a lot of other reasons, friendships and what not. But the reasons for making it transparent are more compelling than the reasons for keeping it secret.

The final [ballot] is the most important one. I would prefer that [all ballots through the season were public] but I don't know if that's a deal-breaker. The most important one is the final one.

Temple was kicked out of the Big East after the 2001-02 school year ...
My understanding, the group [Big East] created standards that they wanted everyone to adhere to and Temple wasn't able to meet the standards. [Marinatto was not with the Big East when the decision was made]

Could the same thing happen to another Big East school for not being competitive enough?
We have standards. In 2000, we created a strategic plan. Within our strategic plan were three elements.

One of the elements is referred to as the program standards for all of our team sports, a minimum number of scholarships you must commit; you also have to meet a certain percentage of the commitment for coaches and a facilities requirement.

When we expanded in 2003, we re-wrote the constitution and bylaws and created the contracts with the five new schools [Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, South Florida]; an exhibit to the agreement was the strategic plan. We told everyone these are the standards we created, you have to adhere to these if you want to join and make the commitment that you're going to commit to the standards, so it's built into the contracts. It's an overall commitment to excellence. They are not competitive standards.

How close was the league to restructuring the men's basketball tournament and eliminating byes for the top eight seeds?
The way it happened, at our summer meetings, several of our coaches raised the concept of changing the format of the tournament. What I said to them was we've really not talked about this. When we expanded the tournament to 16 [teams], the current structure was the only one they could accept and go to 16 because it protected the best teams.

At the meeting this year, there was a reversal of opinion [because] on the women's side, three of the top four seeds lost, and on the men's side, two of the top four lost [their opening game]. I said to them this is all new.

I had [men's basketball associate commissioner] Danny Gavitt do an analysis. Does it require more class days, etc. Basically it was a neutral effect on all of those things. We could have changed the format. Several of the coaches in the room who were advocating for it, upon reflection, weren't as excited about doing it any longer. I've said we've only done it [this way] for one year, let's just table the idea for a year and if we feel that way next year we can revisit it. For the time being let's keep it the way it is.

I decided to keep it the way it was for another year at which point and time, we'll reevaluate to whether we want to make a change.

Are you in favor of all 16 teams playing in the Big East Tournament or would you rather it be limited to only the top 12 teams?
A year ago, I would have said no [to all 16]. But it seemed to work from a crowd standpoint. We had such good crowds last year. Now ESPN is televising the first day [the first-round wasn't televised last year]. We've got ESPN2 for the first session, ESPNU for the second session. We were afraid we would devalue our tournament by going to 16 and diluting it. That didn't happen last year, so let's see again what happens this year.

The BCS is considering hiring a full-time BCS coordinator. Is former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese the obvious choice?
We've been talking about [having a coordinator] for a while. People [BCS league commissioners] who are sitting in the chair as the [BCS] coordinator often times feel conflicted wearing two hats because they have a built-in conflict of interest.

We've been talking about how we could potentially eliminate that perception because that person acts as the coordinator and also acts as the spokesperson. Within their own conference when you're the [BCS] coordinator, your own people [from your conference], you're not representing because you're representing the whole group.

We haven't resolved the fact we want to hire an executive director. We're talking about the idea. We haven't identified names. We haven't determined titles. We're not sure what the best scenario is to follow primarily to avoid that perceived conflict of interest.

You took over for Tranghese on July 1 as Big East commissioner. How have your first 100 days gone so far?
In so many ways I feel like we've accomplished so much. We got the Champs Bowl deal done. We got the Yankee [Bowl] deal done. We extended the [Madison Square] Garden contract [to host the Big East Tournament through 2016]. We hired a woman [associate commissioner Danielle Donehew] to take over for [associate commissioner] Donna DeMarco.

On the women's basketball side, we created the SWA [senior woman administrator] initiative for sportsmanship and ethical conduct. There are so many things we've gotten done in a short time, but there are so many things we need to start to deal with. The biggest of the logistical things is simply trying to relocate our office [Brown University bought the building the league's office is located in]. It sounds like a simple thing, but it's so all-consuming. Our intention is to stay in Providence.

The Big East added a bowl game to be played in Yankee Stadium starting next season. How can a bowl game played potentially in sub-freezing weather be a success?
We have three objectives [for our bowl games]: opponent, destination and geography.

Geography we address by being in New York because it's the center of where we are. Destination? New York City, Christmas, holidays. Opponent? Big 12. We have our three criteria met. If [Yankee Stadium] had a cover on the stadium it would be perfect, but it didn't. We had talked about doing this eight years ago. We had announced if the [New York] Jets built a new stadium with a roof we would create the Big Apple Bowl and we would host it. That would be perfect for us. The idea of being able to play this game in New York City on New Year's Day is what where shooting for.

When you go to Times Square and see the ball come down, it was just so appealing. I think that people would want to experience that. When you've watch it on TV since you were a kid, when Guy Lombardo would welcome in the New Year, then Dick Clark and so you grew up watching it. If your team is in New York City playing in Yankee Stadium on New Year's Day, wouldn't you want to go see New York lit up for the holidays and the ball coming down in Times Square?

I think we offset the weather with all those other things. And then as Randy Levine, president of the Yankees, keeps telling me: We're the New York Yankees, don't worry about the weather. The proposed dates are Dec. 29, 30, 31 or Jan. 1, but we're shooting for Jan. 1. That's ideal, you get there for the 31st to watch the ball and next day have the game. A day start would be ideal. The Yankees are in conversations with different networks to televise it, but haven't finalized what they want to do with it.

Big East Commish: Old Bowl System Preferable to Playoff originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>John MarinattoBrett McMurphyWed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST Blanket Coverage: For Pete's Sakehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/blanket-coverage-for-petes-sake/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/blanket-coverage-for-petes-sake/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/03/blanket-coverage-for-petes-sake/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Pete CarrollHalloween in Eugene began with Oregon coach Chip Kelly disguised as the Duck mascot and ended with USC masquerading as Cal. Pete Carroll's Trojans are not exactly immune from defeat in the Beaver State (0-4 since 2006) but they never lose to a fellow highly ranked Pac-10 foe and they most certainly never get waxed.

That's Jeff Tedford's domain.

Hands continue to wring in the Southland -- the Orange County Register declared that "USC's complete dominance of the league, a dominance unmatched in conference history, is over" -- but I believe that Pete Carroll, much like Michael Myers, will haunt the Pac-10 for many Halloweens to come.

Also, I'd like to suggest a more salient reason for Troy's desultory play of late, one that has nothing to do with the freshman QB, the eight defensive starters lost, or the two new coordinators: jet lag (and that's not a Mark Sanchez reference).

This Saturday, the Trojans will fly to Phoenix to face Arizona State in neighboring Tempe, which will mark their sixth flight of the season. No school among the top dozen in the BCS rankings (USC is No. 12) will play six of its first nine games away from home. And only Boise State, primarily because the Broncos visited Hawaii on October 24, has accrued more frequent-flier mileage.

The Trojans are lax because of LAX. They've covered more miles than Les Miles. They've made two across-three-time-zones treks already (Ohio State and Notre Dame), which equals the total of the other 11 top-12 schools combined (Cincinnati at Oregon State and Boise State at Ohio State).

Below is a table ranking the top 12 in terms of mileage covered, with their actual BCS rankings in parentheses. Distances were rounded off to the nearest hundred miles:

1) Boise State (7)......................................13,400 miles

2) USC (12).............................................11,700

3) Cincinnati (5).........................................9,200

4) TCU (6)................................................8,200

5) LSU (5)................................................5,600

6) Texas (2)..............................................4,900

7) Florida (1).............................................3,800

8 (Tie) Iowa..............................................2,800

Georgia Tech....................................2,800

10) Oregon...............................................2,700

11) Alabama............................................1,800

12) Penn State.........................................1,300

Granted, it's not as if the Trojans were traveling by sleeper car back to South Bend. On the other hand, I'm beginning to wonder if safety Taylor Mays begins pep talks with, "This is your captain speaking."

Maybe Carroll's greatest nemesis may not be the swiftly surging Ducks. Maybe it's his athletic director.

THE ZACH ATTACK
He has only been the starter for 2½ games, but Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros has been outstanding in leading the No. 5 Bearcats to victories against South Florida, Louisville and Syracuse. Since taking over for injured starter Tony Pike, Collaros has completed 75 percent of his passes (47-of-63) for 749 yards and nine touchdown passes versus just one interception. That's the same TD-to-INT ratio that Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame, second in the nation in passing efficiency, has.

Asked when Pike, who himself is currently seventh in the nation in passing efficiency, would play again on Monday, Bearcat coach Brian Kelly offered, "It's hard to say."

STEIN SHINES
Louisville, led by 5-8 walk-on quarterback Will Stein, beat Arkansas State, 21-13. Stein had last seen game action at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium as a local high school senior when he led Trinity to a defeat of St. Xavier in front of 37, 550 fans. Saturday's attendance at the same venue was 21,497.


TRUE BROMANCE
I cannot decide whether Riley Cooper is the Jordan Shipley of the SEC or whether Shipley is the Cooper of the Big 12. Cooper is the Gator wideout with the Head & Shoulders mane who is not only Tim Tebow's primary target, he's also his roommate.

Shipley is the childhood best friend and roommate of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. He is also the Longhorn quarterback's favorite target. All four are straight out of "Friday Night Lights" (it's Jason Street and Tim Riggins come to life). Should Florida and Texas meet in Pasadena for the BCS championship, it'll be a question of whether Brent Musberger utters the term "bromance" during the broadcast or if he'll just refer to them as "pardners."

HMMMMMMM
Ohio State beat New Mexico State 45-0. The spread in Vegas was 44. If only everyone worked as diligently as oddsmakers.

TEMPLE IN NEED OF WORSHIPPERS?
Congrats to Temple for beating Navy. In earning their sixth straight victory, the Owls also became bowl-eligible for the first time since 1979. And so it would seem that their next home game would be an ideally opportune time for the fans in Philadelphia, and not just the Cos, to show their pride.

There's just one small problem. Temple's next home game, versus Miami of Ohio at Lincoln Financial Field, is Thursday night. That also happens to be the scheduled date for Game 7 of the World Series between the Phillies and the New York Yankees ... if necessary.

Blanket Coverage: For Pete's Sake originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>John WaltersTue, 03 Nov 2009 12:33:00 EST Rewind: Big East Primed for Big Finishhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/big-east-rewind-two-be-determined/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/big-east-rewind-two-be-determined/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/02/big-east-rewind-two-be-determined/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

And then there were two.

Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are now the lone undefeated teams in Big East play after last weekend's action.

The No. 4 ranked Bearcats and No. 14 Panthers continue on a collision course for the de facto Big East championship game on Dec. 5 in Pittsburgh. By the way, whatever Nick Carparelli, the Big East's senior associate commissioner for football, is making, he deserves a raise.

Carparelli is in charge of the league's schedule and his philosophy is having the league's top games played later in the year. That's easier said than done, but the Big East could have a pair of Top 10 teams playing for the league title if the Bearcats and Panthers don't stumble.

Stumble is exactly what West Virginia did -- again -- at South Florida. Playing in Tampa, Fla., on a Friday night for the second time in three years, the Mountaineers' league title hopes took a big hit with the 30-19 loss to the Bulls, who had lost their previous two games to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh by a combined margin of 75-31.

At just past the halfway mark in league play, five of the league's eight teams already have two league losses.

Some things we may have actually figured out in the past week

1. They are so ready for basketball to start in Louisville and Syracuse.

Last week's home football games at Louisville and Syracuse drew ridiculously small crowds. Louisville's game against Arkansas State drew a Papa John's Cardinal Stadium crowd of 21,497, the smallest in the stadium's 11-year history. The low attendance was probably a combination of UL fans being fed up with Steve Kragthorpe and the caliber of opponent. However, a top-flight opponent didn't help Syracuse. Only 33,082 showed at the Carrier Dome to see the Orange battle No. 5 Cincinnati. Even with free tickets provided to SU students and $10 tickets available in the upper level, it was smaller than any home crowd during Greg Robinson's past four seasons. Apparently the honeymoon is already over for first-year SU coach Doug Marrone, whose job didn't get any easier when WR Mike Williams quit on Monday.

2. Tim Brown never felt better - or worse - about a victory.

Tim Brown, Rutgers wide receiver, grew up in Miami two houses from UConn's Jasper Howard. Saturday was UConn's first home game since Howard was murdered. Brown had considered flying to Miami for the funeral last Monday, but ended up watching it on the internet. Before the game, he walked onto the field, knelt on one knee, said a short prayer and raised six fingers to the heavens -- for Howard, who wore No. 6. More than three hours later, Brown was racing into the end zone with the winning 81-yard TD catch with 22 seconds remaining. After crossing the goal line, Brown held up six fingers. "I played for him," said Brown, who cried after the game. "I dedicate this win to him and my teammates, for helping me keep my head up and keep me strong."

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3. South Florida has gotten into West Virginia's head.

USF's victory last week against West Virginia was only the third in five all-time meetings between the schools. But has a 3-2 advantage ever appeared so dominating? West Virginia has been favored in all five meetings, but has only won one comfortably. Since winning the first meeting, 28-13 in 2005, West Virginia has been lucky it hasn't lost four in a row to the Bulls. In 2006 USF won at WVU 24-19 as a 21-point underdog; in 2007 USF won 21-13 as a 7-point underdog when WVU was ranked No. 5 and last year USF nearly won again (and probably should have if not for some critical turnovers) in Morgantown in Pat White's final home game, losing 13-7. In last week's 30-19 victory by USF, the Bulls put the clamps on RB Noel Devine the same way they've shut down RB Steve Slaton and White in past seasons.

Re-Tweeting Week 9

Ranking the league from top to bottom and summarizing each team, in 140 characters or less.

1. Cincinnati: Bearcats are nation's only team that has not lost a fumble this season. Did I just jinx a no-hitter?
2. Pitt: After Syracuse this week, Pitt hits a tough closing stretch vs. Notre Dame, West Virginia & Cincinnati, who are combined 20-4
3. USF: Bulls among eight teams with two victories this year against ranked opponents. They'll get a shot for a third vs. Miami on Nov. 28
4. West Virginia: Only Syracuse has allowed more yards passing than Mountaineers. Any chance Noel Devine can also play cornerback?
5. Rutgers: Scarlet Knights rank fourth nationally having forced 25 turnovers in eight games
6. UConn: Déjà vu again. Huskies suffer 28-24 loss for second consecutive week when defense gives up a late big play in crushing loss to RU
7. Syracuse: Will the Orange be looking past Pittsburgh this week to their Nov. 14 Battle of the Basement at Louisville?
8. Louisville: Cards' 21-13 win vs. Arkansas State was UL's first in 13 games under Steve Kragthorpe when scoring less than 24 points

Follow Brett McMurphy on Twitter at twitter.com/BrettmcmurphY

Rewind: Big East Primed for Big Finish originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brett McMurphyMon, 02 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST Starting 11: From BCS Title to Toilet Bowl http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/26/starting-11-from-bcs-title-to-toilet-bowl/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/26/starting-11-from-bcs-title-to-toilet-bowl/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/26/starting-11-from-bcs-title-to-toilet-bowl/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Man carrying toiletI'm convinced there's an epidemic currently afoot in America that receives no attention: Cell phones dropped in the toilet.

I have five different friends who have confessed to this via sheepish e-mails (presumably not from the toilet-ed phones). They're trying to reprogram a new phone. This problem is of epic importance, particularly with the importance of smart phones, which can cost upwards of $500. Do you know how much money we've lost by having to replace a BlackBerry or an iPhone because of fumbles during urination? If this happened to Warren Buffet, and he hadn't backed up his information, we'd need a new stimulus package. What if Obama's BlackBerry vanished down the toilet?

I'm convinced that every day in America we throw away the equivalent of the GNP of Moldova in dropped cell phones in toilets. The issue struck me on Saturday as I tailgated and went inside a disgusting port-o-potty. Because a drop here is even worse. How much would it ruin your day if instead of the home bathroom your cell phone went into a port-o-potty? Because, be honest, you might be willing to reclaim a phone dropped at home? But a port-o-potty? It's with the effluvium for all eternity.

What's more, what about if you go to a port-o-potty, drop your phone, and can't find your friends anymore? . We all live with the idea that we're within easy mobile contact. Suddenly, you're the fan with no clothes. Not to mention no idea who is winning games on Saturday. Anyway, with this august question as prelude, let's dive right in to the ClayNation Starting 11.

1. If you're a Cincinnati fan with dreams of a national championship, you need to start rooting for West Virginia and Pittsburgh really, really hard.

Why?

Because an 8-1 West Virginia could come to Cincinnati Nov. 13. Even better, a 10-1 Pittsburgh could loom Dec. 5, the day the SEC and Big 12, other combatants for the BCS title spot, will be playing their conference championship games. I'm starting to believe that an undefeated Cincinnati will end up in the national championship game if there is only one other undefeated team. Why? Because they get two premier games against teams that will, by then, be ranked in the top 15 if they keep winning. In fact, a 10-1 Pittsburgh would likely be a top-10 team.

I can even sketch out the argument for why an undefeated Cincinnati would have dibs over every other team that doesn't emerge unscathed from the BIg 12 or the SEC. They'll have run the table in the Big East and played two major college opponents in the out-of-conference -- Oregon State on the road and Illinois at home. Aside from the Big East being reasonably strong this season, I think this schedule, featuring two would-be powers from other conferences, eliminates the weak schedule argument. Especially since no one foresaw the Illini collapse when this schedule was made. Plus, and just wait for this argument to get trotted out there, Cincinnati beat Oregon State by 10 on the road, while USC won by six at home.

In the ridiculous cake baking contest that is the BCS, that's a pretty compelling argument for why the Bearcats should be in over USC.
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2. Iowa, Iowa, my kingdom for Iowa's good fortune.

How many teams come back from a third-and-18 conversion on a hook-and-ladder? How many teams can boast wins of two, two, three and one point in their eight games? The team they beat by a lone point, Northern Iowa, has a 10-point loss to North Dakota State and a touchdown loss to Southern Illinois on its resume. Arkansas State, a team Iowa beat by three, is 1-4 against BCS teams.

And on Saturday, Iowa needed a defensive holding call to erase an interception, and a fourth down touchdown pass on the final play of the game to come away with the win. So, to say you don't believe that Iowa is a top echelon team, has some validity, but credit where credit is due, Iowa is 8-0 for the first time ever.

How does Iowa get to the BCS title game? Losses by Texas, USC and probably Cincinnati (Interesting voter aversion test: Which embattled conference do you effectively vote against, Big East or Big Ten?) and maybe even then a little prayer that livestock per capita becomes an only slightly-less-nonsensical BCS component. And they still have to beat Ohio State in Columbus Nov. 14.

At least they've got luck on their side. Not to mention, an underdiscussed benefit, finishing their season on November 21 and getting to sit around and see what the rest of the contenders can do with all the pressure on them for the final two weeks of the season.

3. Tim Tebow threw two interceptions, played a mediocre game, and bailed on the post-game press conference.

That's unfortunate.

There has never been a college athlete who has received more glowing press coverage than Tim Tebow. I genuinely believe that's true. Even after having a poor game -- by his standard -- Florida still won by double digits. For a senior to dodge out on the post-game was beneath his stature.

Put it this way, Tennessee's Daniel Lincoln went on the road and missed three field goals against the No. 1 team in the country. Any one of those kicks would have won the game for his team. Did he dodge the post game press conference?

Nope.

4. Watch out for Oklahoma State in the Big 12 South.

After their 34-7 win over Baylor, the Cowboys are now 6-1 this season and undefeated in the Big 12. Only you haven't heard a damn thing about them in the past month that didn't involve Dez Bryant being suspended. Look, they lost to Houston back in September, we get it.

There's no great crime in that, Houston is a fine team with a superb offense. Certainly other one-loss teams have lost to inferior opponents, USC ring a bell? Meanwhile in their five consecutive wins, Zac Robinson has been smoking.

Yet, given all the preseason hype, the loss to Houston completely killed all interest in the Cowboys.

Until, guess what, Texas comes to town this weekend. Beat the Longhorns and Oklahoma State is about to set the BCS all aflutter. Would a one-loss Texas that doesn't win their division still have a shot at advancing to the BCS title game without playing in their conference championship game?

Maybe.

Would they have a better argument for playing for the title than a one-loss Oklahoma State team that beat them?

Nope.

5. You think the phone in the toilet business has no applicability to college football players, right? You're wrong.

It's a plague I tell you. Even football players are not immune.

"The Tigers' starting running back Joseph Doss was suspended for the first half because he was late to a pre-game meeting. Doss said he normally uses his cell phone as an alarm clock but couldn't after he dropped the phone in the toilet."

6. Ball State had a 300-yard rusher and a 200-yard rusher in their win over Eastern Michigan.

This was the first time in NCAA history that a team had a 300- and 200-yard rusher in the same game.

Ball State had, wait for it, one yard passing.

Can you imagine being the Eastern Michigan defensive coordinator watching game film on this one? Do you think he changes his resume to reflect the one yard passing? Like beneath his position--Defensive Coordinator--does he list, "Allowed only 1 yard passing to Ball State in 2009."

What about calling a pass defense, do you think he did it the entire game? Wouldn't it be great to hear the headset calls from this game?

7. Is the Landry Jones mustache the college football equivalent of Spencer Pratt's cowboy hat, so compelling you can't look away?

Landry JonesI think so.

Every time I think I should hate it, I can't help but admire the bravado.

Also, if I'd had to shave the beard after the Alabama game, I was going to leave a stache with a handlebar that came down the side. It would have looked scary, potentially felonious, but it would have also been pretty awesome.

8. The perception that the SEC is rooting for Alabama and Florida is firmly locked in the fan consciousness.

We can argue about whether a systematic conspiracy is remotely possible ... Actually, we can't. It isn't. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist as a fervent point of belief among certain pockets of SEC fans. We sports fans are great conspiracy theorists when it comes to our teams.

But Commissioner Slive is not firing magic bullets from the SEC gatling as he stands on a grassy knoll. There are several reasons for this. No. 1, Slive has a Montgomery Burns-like strength about him, I'm not sure he could pull the trigger if he tried. No. 2 , well, it's just not happening.

But here's what might be happening, the officials, like many of us, have bought into the idea that Alabama and Florida are vastly superior teams to the rest of the conference. Once you buy into that argument you're more likely to notice opposing teams playing in the margin of the rules than you are the dominant teams.

And I'd argue that's what we're seeing take place in games that feature those teams, not an intentional bias in favor of them when it comes to the calls, if there is, in fact, any bias at all, but just a preconditioned perception of superiority that allows those situations to occur.

9. What the funnel is up with Chris Todd and Auburn? A thesis for you.

Early in the season I thought Gene Chizik was a miracle worker given his ability to make Todd a star, but now Todd looks incapable of leading his team to victory against anyone.

Okay, maybe Furman.

But I think Todd offers an interesting illustration of what happens in the SEC. The defenses catch up to and eclipse the offenses every year about this time in the season.

New thesis: the defensive SEC coaching staffs have become so good at what they do, that much like the NFL, merely being good at one or two things doesn't allow you to succeed on a consistent basis. You have to evolve during the season, and most offenses aren't that good at evolving. So Auburn's offense has been quashed. Same with Arkansas and Alabama and Florida. Same with virtually every team in the conference.

Don't believe me?

There are only two offenses in the top 30 in the SEC: Florida and Auburn. The latter is rapidly plummeting and will be outside the top 30 soon if things hold true.





10. I'm not sure I would have gotten out alive if the ref had called Alabama's Terrence Cody for excessive celebration after his blocked kick.

I had on orange pants. The refs would have been safe. Me? Not so much.

Look, I know he ripped his helmet off, and I know there has been a dispute about whether the penalty should have been called and what the impact would have been. The end result would have been negligible. But what if they'd called the penalty and misapplied the rule so that Tennessee re-kicked for the win?

Would you really be surprised if that happened?

Which leads me to this...

Meanwhile there are five defenses inside the top 22. Five! Florida is first, Bama is fourth, Tennessee is tenth, Ole Miss is 20th and LSU is 22nd.

Remember the old thesis that defenses were better than offenses when the season starts? The idea was that offenses would work into their rhythm and get better as the season progressed while defenses wouldn't? I think we might have flipped the cliche in the SEC, the defenses are quicker to react and shut down things that work offensively than they ever have been before.

Keep this in mind as the season progresses, because those dominant defenses perform well in bowl games. Offenses? Often, they don't.

11. Last, but not least, I give and I give and I give.

Wet phone survival tips.

Starting 11: From BCS Title to Toilet Bowl originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Clay TravisMon, 26 Oct 2009 21:00:00 EST