.

Sam Bradford- Am I Taking Crazy Pills?

2010-04-16T13:50:00.004-04:00

It seems destined that Sam Bradford is going to be the top pick in next weeks NFL draft. This is how David Carr happens, or Tim Couch, or Alex Smith. These are quarterbacks taken #1 because the team with the pick felt like their hands were tied.

People realize that Bradford only played college football for 2 years, right?

People understand that he never won a Bowl game? That he only beat Texas his FRESHMAN year? That his worst game in the last two years was the only one that truly mattered (title game against Florida). That he played in a conference where nobody played defense? Here are the pertinent numbers for 2008 (the one year where he did anything).

Sam Bradford: 68% passing, 4720 yards, 50 TD, 8 INT
Chase Daniel: 73% passing, 4335 yards, 39 TD, 18 INT
Graham Harrell: 71% passing, 5111 yards, 45 TD, 9 INT
Todd Reesing: 66% passing, 3888 yards, 32 TD, 13 INT
Joe Ganz: 68% passing, 3568 yards, 25 TD, 11 INT
Zac Robinson: 65% passing, 3064 yards, 25 TD, 10 INT (562 yards rushing, 8 TD)
Colt McCoy: 77% passing, 3859 yards, 34 TD, 8 INT (561 yards rushing, 11 TD)

All these quarterbacks were in the SAME CONFERENCE!

Then Bradford played a very good Florida D, had his worst game of the year, and lost. The only other team to play any defense that year was Texas, and Bradford lost to them as well. Don't say I didn't warn you, St. Louis.

The Case Against Tebow

2009-10-22T21:15:00.003-04:00

1: We're back? Not sure. Just had something to say, and a blog.

2: Tim Tebow should not be anywhere near the top of the Heisman list. The argument in his favor is that he's the quarterback for the #1 team in the country. Now, let's compare his stats to another, less mentioned quarterback.

Total Yards:

Quarterback A: 1410
Quarterback B: 1352

Total TD's:

Quarterback A: 13
Quarterback B: 9

Total Turnovers:

Quarterback A: 6
Quarterback B: 6

Sacks:

Quarterback A: 12
Quarterback B: 8

Wins Against Ranked:

Quarterback A: 1
Quarterback B: 3

Margin over Ark:

Quarterback A: 3
Quarterback B: 28

Losses:

Quarterback A: 0
Quarterback B: 0

Team Ranking:

Quarterback A: 1
Quarterback B: 1

That's right, Quarterback A is Tebow, but Quarterback B is the immortal Greg McElroy.

Now, no sane person would ever argue that McElroy should be anywhere NEAR the Heisman race. And yet his numbers stack up pretty favorably with Tebow. Now, spare me the argument that he's played one more game, or that Tebow was hurt. The point remains that Tebow's numbers are pedestrian at best. If I wanted to embarrass him I'd just compare him to Tony Pike.

Don't make me tell you that Terrelle Pryor has more passing yards, total yards, touchdowns, and yards/carry than Tebow.

Now compare Tebow's projected season another successful season by a top QB:

Pass Yards:

Tebow Projected: 2064
Quarterback B: 3286

Completion %:

Tebow Projected: 65.5
Quarterback B: 66.9

Pass TD's:

Tebow Projected: 16
Quarterback B: 32

Rush Yards:

Tebow Projected: 720
Quarterback B: 895

Rush TD's:

Tebow Projected: 10
Quarterback B: 23

Interceptions:

Tebow Projected: 4
Quarterback B: 6

Sacks:

Tebow Projected: 24
Quarterback B: 13

That's right, Quarterback B is Tebow in 2007. So he's on pace for half the season as his first Heisman but he could still win another? He's getting WORSE. Alternatively, he's the same but pretty average when not surrounded by tons of talent and a line that doesn't let him get touched. Or, he's making poor decisions and taking too many sacks. Either way, he does not deserve to be in the Heisman chase right now. That could change, but it won't matter, because he'll be on the short list as long as he's being held to a different standard.

But if McElroy keeps up in the stats, and he just might, voters should think long and hard before anointing their king.

More quick hitters

2009-05-15T13:49:00.002-04:00

Well, we're not being terribly reliable here in 323 land. I blame two things:

1: The law. As in either the study, or practice of it.

2: The offseason. Kind of hard to get excited to write articles about spring practices that we can't attend, or spring games that we generally can't watch.

Anyways, here are some quick college football thoughts to tide you over.

- Apparently Mitch Mustain was not familiar with how it works in Trojan land. He was anointed the starter at Arkansas after being named the national high school player of the year. Then he got pissy because Houston Nutt thought it was better for his team to run the offense through Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, a pair of first-round picks, than a freshman quarterback. So he transferred to USC for fame and glory. He rode the pine last year and now he's THIRD on the depth chart behind two other high school superstars (Aaron Corp and Matt Barkley). Nothing is handed to you at USC, you have to win it over some kid who was at least as highly recruited as you coming out of high school. I'd say at least the women are hotter, but I'm not sure if the 3d stringer gets a lot of that action. Maybe Mitch was better off being a big fish in a small pond.

- Looks like Greg Paulus is doing what I told him to do and returning to Syracuse. This makes the most sense for him. He only has one year of eligibility so he needs to start immediately, and the Orange are so bad that he may actually get that chance. If he plays well enough maybe he can get drafted as a project quarterback. I mean, that's his best-case scenario and going home to upstate NY gives him a better chance of pulling it off than he'd have battling some encumbant, or a top recruit at a more functional program. It certainly makes more sense than trying to win the job running whatever Rich Rod is dreaming up in Michigan. I think it's an interesting story, and I like the fact that the kid seems to have no regrets about his decision. So good luck to him. If he plays well there he'll cement his status as local legend and give that program a glimmer of hope.

- Mark Schlabach has a top 25 that's worth looking at. It's not actually worth commenting about because it's still way too early. Furthermore, since we haven't been able to watch practices and talk to people like Mark has, we don't have anything to add beyond pure conjecture. We like to save that sort of thing until the season is a little closer.

- Finally, a really sad note. It looks like one of the 323's absolutely favorite players is battling cancer. Herzlich is a warrior on the field and makes the big man smile from his season tickets seats at BC when he lights someone up. As much as we were looking forward to watching him on the field this year, we're even more looking forward to him just being healthy again. Great kid, great leader. Our thoughts are certainly with him, and we know that he'll fight it until he wins.

Really, Michigan?

2009-04-16T12:27:00.002-04:00

So it looks like Greg Paulus wants to play quarterback.

Good for him. I always wondered why he chose to play PG at Duke anyways. I understand the kid was passionate about basketball, but his absolute best case scenario was to be one of those irritating white Duke PG's like Wojo. Maybe he wins a title and then gets to be an assistant college basketball coach.

That sounds pretty decent to me, I just like the alternative better.

He plays QB at Notre Dame, gets drafted into the NFL and makes millions of dollars.

I'm just saying. If you're a successful Notre Dame QB, someone is going to draft you. And I know he lacks ideal size, but 6ft 210lb (presuming he'd bulk up playing football) quarterbacks can get drafted and play in the NFL.

6ft 180lb white PG's don't exactly stand the same chance in the NBA.

So I always thought the Duke decision was odd, but it's his life, not mine. But now he wants to play football, and he should. I mean, live your dream kid, maybe, just maybe, it's not too late (it's almost certainly too late). First, I think he should have 4 years of eligibility left. I mean, why not? Does the NCAA think there's going to be a widespread problem of dual-sport athletes excelling so much that they get scholarships in both sports. What, exactly, is the downside? Some kid manages to get a masters, or start work on a PhD while playing high level sports? Hell, good for him (or her).

All that said, he has one year of eligibility. And apparently Michigan is willing to let him use it as their signal-caller. This makes absolutely no sense. Someone described it as "desperate" which might be a little strong, but only a little. Maybe there's a low-risk, high-reward thing going on. But unless you think Paulus can lead you to a title in one year (seems unlikely) aren't you better off having someone else win the battle so they get a full year running the system under their belts. And maybe that's how Rich Rod will play it. But in that case, it seems pretty unfair to Paulus. He'd be much better off going to a school who isn't shooting for a title, but would be stoked to get a winning season. I'm sure there are some nice options out there.

Syracuse seems natural, because any success there would be a big deal. But I understand if Paulus thinks the surrounding talent won't be able to help him. I mean, that's a dysfunctional system. I would have said Duke, but Cutcliffe is too sensible to open that can of worms. Iowa or Iowa St. might take a flyer on a kid like that. I bet Indiana would be happy to. Those lesser Florida schools are always looking to get some exposure, and have produced some good NFL talent (FIU, UCF, etc). Cincy played like a dozen QB's last year. Vandy is always happy to win some games, has some decent talent, and had serious QB issues, give them a call.

Or maybe that's exactly where Michigan is right now. There a team with serious issues, but some talent, who would be happy to get themselves a winning season.

More on BC?

2009-03-05T15:12:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd moved past this BC debacle. I was pretty sure it was all out of my system. Then I read this article on ESPN, and it all comes back.

No one is saying the Coach Spaz isn't a good guy. Hell, no one is saying that he's not a great d-coordinator. The issue is that now he's a head coach, for absolutely no good reason. It's downright disturbing to read DeFilippo talking about how close he and Spaz are. It almost seems like he fired Jagz because they weren't good buddies. I mean, that's what all the bitching and moaning about "loyalty" was really all about. It was a giant "you hurt me, man" from someone who is supposed to have BOSTON COLLEGE'S best interests in mind. Not his own.

So now the AD has his best buddy coaching the team. Spaz hasn't changed in the two years since he lost out to Jagz, but BC's priorities apparently have. Now they'd rather have a lesser coach, who is more "loyal" and also friendlier with the AD than necessarily win football games.

It's also a sort of insult to the current crop of BC students. The article talks about BC's blue-collar roots, but it's changed a lot in the last couple of decades. I'm not sure Spaz necessarily represents the realities of the university. Tons of rich kids from the Boston and New York suburbs populate the campus. And those Irish and Italian blue collar families are another generation removed from the tennaments. They're more likely to be your podiatrist than your butcher.

Spaz is a throwback in another sense as well. He's a throwback to when mediocrity in college football was the accepted practice at BC. I'm sure this generation of students, and fans, will be thrilled to know that they can be part of that rich tradition.

Josh Freeman, Money for Nothing

2009-03-03T21:42:00.002-05:00

Someone is going to select Josh Freeman fairly early in the NFL draft. I've heard late first round. And I just don't know why.

He has measurables. Which is wonderful. But has anyone been watching him play in college?

He certainly had some great games. But he had some embarrassing clunkers. I mean like his second to last game in college. 7-18 for 114 yards while getting blown out by the not so fearsome Nebraska defense. Or the fact that he threw for fewer yards and a lower percentage this year. Who the hell tracks downward in their junior year?!

Completing fewer than 60% of your passes in the defense-allergic Big 12?!

The man finished TENTH in quarterback rating in the Big 12. Austen Arnaud (ISU) and Cody Hawkins (CU) were the only ones to finish worse. Talk about illustrious company. He had the fourth fewest touchdown passes. And the second worst completion percentage.

Once again, this is in the completely defenseless Big 12. And the quarterbacks he's being compared to faced similar defenses all season.

So what we know is that he's big and strong and can throw the football well. He's like an erratic Jamarcus Russell. Also, name a successful NFL quarterback who was a "project" coming out of school. Like a totally unproven guy who simply had physical tools and turned into an elite pro? It's not like he's some gutsy winner. And, he's a junior. Underclassmen quarterbacks traditionally struggle to begin with. I will be shocked if Freeman turns into a good pro.

All that said, I'd be more than happy if someone picking before the Pats wants to blow a first round selection on him.

The trouble with the spread

2009-02-23T15:09:00.005-05:00

Interesting article on SI.com today by Don Banks discussing how the proliferation of the spread offense in college has made evaluating college prospects for the NFL draft extremely difficult. In the article Banks quoted NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock who deftly observed:

"It's the running backs, with their first step being lateral, crossing the quarterback's face instead of running downhill....It's the tight end that's never in line as a blocker. It's the wide receiver who doesn't run a route tree. It's every position. It's the left tackle, like (Baylor's) Jason Smith, who's in a two-point stance 98 percent of the time."

I think Banks and Mayock have hit the nail right on the head. The NFL draft was always a crap shoot, even when the scouts had a chance to watch college players playing in NFL style offenses during college games. With the advent and subsequent explosion of spread offenses in college football, scouts no longer have the opportunity to watch a particular player operate under circumstances they will encounter in an NFL offense. This will lead to the evaluation process becoming even more erratic, which will almost certainly result in more and more first round draft busts, which will ultimately lead to NFL teams having more and more dead money tied up in wasted talent.

This is not good for the game. Think about all the teams that have been set back years (and in some cases decades) by a couple of bad draft picks. The harder it becomes to evaluate players, the more this will happen, and the more franchises will be harmed. Moreover, the teams picking at the top of the draft, who are more susceptible to that type of franchise crippling draft miss, are forced to have more money tied up in potential young busts because of rookie salary demands. This will hamstring those teams in the free agent market, and prevent them from ever righting the ship.

This growing trend is not going to stop, and offers yet another reason that the NFL needs to adopt a MLB slotting process for rookie salaries.

Sanity Returns

2009-02-20T19:12:00.002-05:00

So it looks like the Red Raiders came to their senses and signed Mike Leach to an extension.

Apparently the Texas Tech Chancellor, Hance sat down and worked out a deal with Leach IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!

Literally, that's how long the negotiations took. I've negotiated longer to purchase a burrito.

It turns out that they agreed that Leach would simply have to provide information in writing if he was planning on interviewing with another school. I'm pretty sure that's what Leach offered earlier, and the AD rejected because he simply can't get over himself.

Anyways, Leach got a fair deal, Tech got themselves a good coach, and the AD made himself look like a buffoon. Now all Tech has to do is hope that their ridiculous negotiating practices and hardballing of their soon-to-be all time winningest coach didn't sour the relationship.

Tech fans can breathe easy again, although they may want to consider getting another AD.

Don't Do it Texas Tech!

2009-02-17T20:21:00.003-05:00

It looks like another team is dangerously close to losing a great coach because the AD can't get passed his own ego.

Texas Tech is playing hardball with Mike Leach for no apparent reason. Leach interviewed for a single position this year (UW) despite being one of the hottest names in the game. He is certainly not the kind of guy who has been constantly trying to get another job.

Also, Tech, you're probably the third biggest football school in your own state (Texas and A&M are bigger, and TCU is no slouch for that matter). So get over yourself. You're fortunate to have a great, exciting coach who wins ballgames and puts asses in seats. Leach is certainly being fairly compensated, so that isn't the issue. Furthermore, Leach seems to genuinely enjoy coaching there, and building up that program.

Also, Leach has two more years on his current contract. These discussions are about a possible extension. But the rhetoric from the AD's office is getting pretty tough. Leach has been mellow (there's a shocker) but the school is refusing counter-offers, and setting firm deadlines and threatening to rescind offers. It's that sort of hardballing that bites you in the ass. Maybe Leach eventually accepts, but the way Tech is handling this has GOT to put a bad taste in his mouth. I know I'd be pretty pissed if I'd been a loyal employee and got a new contract offer with all sorts of hardball lines and negotiating. What has he done to deserve this?

Here's the most ridiculous part. Tech wants a clause that says he can be fired if he doesn't get permission to interview elsewhere. Now, the AD is claiming that he'd grant permission, and just wants to stay informed.

Now, the firing penalty is silly (look at BC and Jags, they lost a great coach for no reason). But, the desire to not have your coach back-door you makes sense.

So what does Leach do? He offers to put in that clause, but make it so he only has to INFORM the AD, not seek his permission to interview. Now, if the AD is all concerned about staying in the loop, then this clause squarely meets that concern. However, Tech is refusing to accept the term. Meaning they want the power to deny permission. It's that simple. So, basically the AD is lying when he says he'd grant permission, because if that were true there is no way they need that clause when Leach is offering to inform them.

Anyways, the board of Regents is meeting Friday, and will make some sort of announcement. Unless they are brain-dead they will announce that they will accept Leach's perfectly reasonable counter-offer. Or, they may say that they will revisit the contract extension next year. They have him under contract for two more years, so they may as well get the benefit of his winning ways.

Knowing the kinds of egos involved, they'll probably fire him. Just another team more than willing to cut off their nose to spite their face.

5 Draft Thoughts

2009-02-13T11:51:00.002-05:00

5 throwaway draft thoughts while wondering why every draftnik is in love with Matt Stafford…….

1) I don’t get the Stafford love. Sure he played three years in the SEC and has an absolute howitzer for an arm, but even playing with superior offensive talent he is only a career 57% passer and turned the ball over nearly 40 times in 39 games played. For all his physical tools Stafford is too erratic to be considered a Peyton Manning type prospect, and no team in the top 5 should even think about pinning their future on him.

2) If the NFL has taught us anything, it's that teams are far better off drafting QB’s late and letting them sit and develop. In fact, of the 10 most efficient NFL passers in 2008 6 were drafted after the first round (including 3 undrafted players and 1 seventh rounder). So who in this draft could turn out to be such a late round steal? How about Mike Teel from Rutgers. Yes he turns the ball over a little too much, but Teel is a winner who has NFL size and a good enough arm for the NFL. Most importantly, though, Teel is coachable as evidenced by the fact that he improved in each of his three years as a starter for Rutgers. Teel's completion percentage went up each year, and despite a constant increase in his attempts his interceptions stayed constant. Teel isn't read for the NFL right now, but he has shown ability to be a playmaker and should make some smart NFL team very happy down the road.

3) There seems to be a consensus that Beanie Wells is the #1 back in this draft. I simply don’t get why this is the case when Knowshon Moreno is clearly the better prospect. Beanie has far more mileage on him (nearly 100 more collegiate carries than Knowshon), plays a more punishing, and therefore career shortening, style, contributes virtually nothing to the passing game (15 career receptions as compared to 53 by Moreno), and comes from a program with a spotty recent history of sending running backs to the NFL. Am I missing something?

4) This is just a hunch, but I have a feeling Andre Smith might show up to the combine VERY overweight. If so, look for Eugene Monroe, Michael Oher, and Jason Smith to all pass him on draft boards. And while we’re on the subject, though this is a great year for offensive tackles for my money the best offensive lineman coming out of this draft is Oklahoma guard Duke Robinson. He’s probably not nimble enough to be consistent pulling in the NFL, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more powerful drive blocker from the guard position that wasn’t named Larry Allen.

5) Although he’s started to slip on draft boards, watch out for Georgia Tech DE Michael Johnson. He won’t ever be a great run player, but in the NFL playing the 4-3 end is all about rushing the passer and I think Johnson could be the best of a shallow bunch of sack artists in this draft. All the players projected to be taken ahead of Johnson can best be best described as either “tweeners” (Orakpo, Brown) or flat out undersized (Maybin, English). Johnson, on the other hand, is a rangy 6’7’’ and 260 lbs., certainly big enough to hold the weak side edge in a 4-3. alignment). But Johnson's best attribute are his long arms which allow him to maintain sepration from offensive tackles and make him almost impossible to pass block. Johnson looks like a double digit sack guy in the mold of Simeon Rice to me.

Coach for Life?

2009-02-12T13:58:00.002-05:00

It appears that Iowa has signed Kirk Ferentz to a new 7-year extension. Not that his contract was up any time soon. In fact, they already had him booked through 2012.

I just don't understand these deals. It seems completely unnecessary to have him on the books through 2015, especially when his teams have been inconsistent. The man is 70-53 at Iowa. That's an ok record. Not great by any means. Now he goes 9-4 and gets an additional 7 years? When he's already one of the highest paid coaches around?

From 2002-2004 he was red hot, winning at least 10 games a year. That's when he signed his last extension, with his huge pay. I'd say at that point he'd earned it. Iowa looked like a real up and comer, and Ferentz was rumored for every opening, both pro and college.

Then he went 7-5, 6-7, 6-6 over the next three years. Not exactly earning that huge salary. A lot of the bloom was off that rose. So this year he goes 9-4 and gets another extension? I'm sorry, at his salary, 9-4 needs to be what's expected from you. That is NOT a great season for someone that well compensated. That is an okay season. It's acceptable, but you would hope that it's not the norm. Or at least that there are as many 10-win plus seasons as nine win seasons.

I know you don't want to let him escape, but I think it's okay to say that he has a more than fair contract that runs for a number of years. And furthermore, this past season is exactly what Iowa should be receiving for its' commitment. Give him another year, if it's good, then start talking extension so the new players know their coach is signed through their 4 years of eligibility.

If I'm Ferentz I just have some of my NFL friends float my name for a head coaching job every year. Then Iowa will freak out and sign another extension. If he keeps this up he'll just end up with one of those coach for life deals. And he doesn't even have to be particularly good!

Finally, if he didn't get the KC job from his buddy Pioli (which was both a good fit and a great geographical fit), after Ferentz had put together a pretty good season, I think Iowa can rest assured that NFL teams aren't knocking down Ferentz's door to get to him any more.

Quick Hitch

2009-02-06T11:06:00.001-05:00

Apropos of nothing, here are ten thoughts for a Friday afternoon…….

1) Is Lane Kiffin nuts? Less than two months on the job and he’s already throwing barbs at Urban Meyer. Lane you seem like a nice enough guy, go ask Mark Richt if it’s a good idea to piss off Meyer.
2) That said, it would be nice to get the Florida-Tennessee rivalry going again. Steve Spurrier announcing that you can’t spell “Citrus” without U-T is still one of the all-time trash talking moments.
3) So disgraced Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin just signed up for the same job at Middle Tennessee State. Yup, after watching the Tigers in 2008 that sounds about right.
4) The only difference between what Jim Harbaugh is doing at Stanford and what Ed Orgeron did at Ole Miss. is expectations. Stanford’s are reasonable, Mississippi’s weren’t.
5) What’s up with Ohio State? Over the past few years the only thing they’ve produced more of than NFL players is fodder for the police blotter. Is “the” Ohio State University becoming the “U” of the North? And if they are, does that make Tressel Dennis Erickson?
6) So Kirk Ferentz interviewed for the KC Chiefs head coaching position and Iowa didn’t even fire him. You listening BC?
7) I’m sorry Alabama, but I have GOT to believe Nick Saban’s persuasion skills could be put to better use than convincing 18 year olds to spend the next four years of their lives in Tuscaloosa. Has the State Department looked into this?
8) Former BC offensive coordinator Steve Logan just landed with the Tampa Bay Bucs and old friend Jeff Jagodzinski. This lends the question, has a football coach EVER been hired on merit and not simply because his drinking buddy wanted him around again?
9) I think within three years Tommy Tubberville will be the head coach at one his old haunts (Texas A&M and Miami) or Clemson (aka Auburn lite).
10) I definitely want to echo Frazier’s well wishes to Hal Mumme in his upcoming fight with prostate cancer. “Quiet legend” is a great way to describe Mumme, long known as a “mad scientist” of sorts for his teams’ high octane passing attacks. However, Hal Mumme the man was as understated and unpretentious as his schemes were potent. Mumme refrained from drawing attention to himself and taking credit for his players success, as many so-called offensive geniuses tended to do (Mr. Spurrier I am looking in your direction). Mumme has been described as inconsistent (probably), unorthodox (almost certainly), and innovative (without a doubt), but I’d like to add one more: underrated…..hey the guy won at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State, and Kentucky, and was even able to get All-America caliber play from Tim Couch! Good luck Coach Mumme, from all of us here at the323.

Quick Hitters

2009-02-05T20:16:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to comment on a couple of interesting items in the world of college ball:

- Ask Alex Boone what it feels like to be Tased. Actually, don't. This drunken tirade over the weekend probably won't help his draft chances. Not exactly sure why the 6'8 312lb lineman thought he was going to hide UNDER a patio.

- Larry Coker has fallen a LONG way. I mean, I know he was terrible at the U, but now he is planning his return to college ball at UT-San Antonio? The "program" is looking to begin playing in 2011! At least it won't be too depressing to play in a completely empty Alamo Dome.

- Was bummed to hear that Hal Mumme has prostate cancer. It sounds like he'll be getting treatment and we look forward to seeing Hal back at work soon. He's sort of a quiet legend of college football, and we wish him a speedy recovery. I also hope his experience is a firm reminder to older men to get a prostate exam! It may be uncomfortable, but it could save your life.

- Looks like Pat Devlin is attempting the Joe Flacco route to the NFL. I gotta say, I always thought that should be a knock against Flacco. It sort of reeked of quitting to me. Also, Devlin was clearly going to get his shot as a Senior. I think it says something about a guy who is willing to forego a year of starting at Penn State in order to start two years at Delaware! I want players who want to test themselves at the highest level. But that's just me.

Recruiting Side Note

2009-02-05T20:01:00.002-05:00

Ok, so we don't talk a lot of recruiting here at the 323. Mostly because our high school football knowledge is pretty limited to Easter Massachusetts, which ain't exactly a hotbed. Additionally, we don't feel comfortable evaluating players we haven't actually had a chance to watch. The whole recruiting game is incredibly hype driven.

That said, I wanted to address Manti Te'o's signing with Notre Dame. I just thought this was a fascinating story. It's certainly that young man's life, and I am sure there's a lot I don't know, but I just found it startling for the following reasons:

1: USC. In terms of playing football, especially the linebacker position, that's a hard one to turn down. The Trojans are churning out another pair of first-round linebackers. They have had a fantastic recent run at the position, and Te'o had a slot waiting for him. It's basically Linebacker U West out there these days. Must have been hard to turn down. I can't remember the last legit Notre Dame defensive player (Zibs doesn't count, he sucked). It's been a long time since ND made such headlines with a defensive recruit. Especially seeing as USC just had one of the best defenses in recent memory, while the Domers defense has been abysmal for years.

2: Weather. The kids from Hawaii, I assure you that the weather in LA will be more agreeable than the weather in South Bend. I'm a total convert. It's basically perfect out here.

3: Community. There is a very large Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population in LA. Te'o has stated that his is close with his community, and wants to be a role model for other Hawaiian athletes. It seems that LA would be perfect for this.

4: Faith. Te'o said that his faith is huge in his life. In fact, he claims that he plans on doing his mission work after his first season. (That will be an interesting situation in itself.) I know that Notre Dame is certainly a place of faith, but it's a Catholic school. Te'o is a Mormon. There is a HUGE Mormon population in LA. It actually has one of the largest Mormon Temples of anywhere (I ride past it on the bus). Also, apologies. I know it's the LDS church, but it's commonly referred to as "Mormon" and I'm trying to not confuse anyone. Anyways, I don't know the Mormon population in Indiana, but I'm willing to bet it's not as big or active as it is here.

5: Education. I know that Te'o said he's excited to get a great education at ND. Which he certainly will. But USC isn't exactly a slouch when it comes to academics. Not sure that there's a clear winner there. (Not that the Trojans can hold a candle to UCLA, but that's some bias coming out).

Anyways, I thought it was an interesting choice. Maybe ND was more flexible with the mission work. Maybe Te'o wanted a challenge of breaking a barrier at ND and actually being a good LB there. Maybe he didn't want to be overshadowed by all the other great USC defensive talent. I have no way of knowing. But seriously, who the hell wants to be a Domer? Those guys suck.

BC: Ever to Excel (But not too much)

2009-02-04T21:40:00.003-05:00

First, it appears that the big man is unaware that I rep the 323 in my resume. So if Mr. or Ms. interviewer is reading this, just remember, I'm the other guy on the blog, and am not responsible for however my colleague chooses to label his posts.

That said, he's completely right.

BC firing Jags was about the stupidest, most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I don't really need to go over all the points because that's been covered, I just thought I'd add my two cents.

1 cent: I just discovered that the BC motto is "Ever to Excel". This move is distinctly against that lofty goal. I'm pretty sure the goal is to win football games, and to produce fine young men. It seems that Jags was doing a good job on both measures. You play for championships. You play for that one shot at glory. Teams dream of perfection. They dream of trips to the Orange Bowl, or a miraculous run to the national title. Jags was the kind of coach who gave his team a reason to dream. I think I speak for virtually every sports fan that I would prefer one magical season, one chance at glory, followed by a hunt for a new coach, over fifteen years of mediocre seasons under the same guy.

I care about the results, not the man pacing the sidelines. If Jags gets them that Orange Bowl and moves on, I'm happy for him. He gave me an incredible season, and then he pursued the opportunity of his dreams. I'm pretty sure that's a win-win. In fact, it may be a win-win-win because some new team is getting a great coach.

I don't really care if having to search for a new coach every couple of years is a nuisance for the AD. I'm pretty sure that's his job. I'm a fan. I want my team to WIN FOOTBALL GAMES! I'd prefer that they didn't cheat or promote thuggery to achieve that end.

I'm sorry, but if you're an AD who believes loyalty is more important that winning, then you're in the wrong profession. Go play with basset hounds or something.

2: It's downright fraudulent for DeFilippo to get all offended and cry and moan about "loyalty". Where, exactly was that loyalty when he bolted 'Nova to take the same job at BC? He can take pride in lasting a whole 4 seasons in Philly before bolting. Hell, Gene wasn't even loyal to THE BIG EAST! I mean, talk about loyalty. He got out of there like a rat from a sinking ship. And I've got a strange feeling that Gene wouldn't have been loyal to Jags if the team had consecutive 3-9 seasons.

One gets the feeling that Gene has not made BC a great place to be a football coach. I mean, O'Brien made the bizarrely lateral move to NC State. I'm going to guess it's because BC has proven that it doesn't have the inclination to make themselves an elite program. I guess being the best college football team in New England is their lofty goal, and yet, I feel like UConn is hot on our heels.

Gene, we're not children. You're a businessman. Grown ups try and do what's best for themselves and their families. It would be nice if no one ever broke their promise, or broke a contract. But contracts get broken, and the rest of the world just deals with it. So get off your high horse, and go find a winning coach. You showed you know how to get them, but you also showed you know how to lose them. Great work.

You can't spell "bitch" without B-C.........

2009-02-04T15:09:00.002-05:00

As every faithful 323 reader out in internet land knows, I am an unabashed Boston College football fan and season ticket holder…..or at least I was. The recent events surrounding Coach Jagodzinski’s removal (or should I say dismissal) has opened my eyes to futility and pointlessness of rooting for BC football, such that I will not now, or ever, renew my season tickets. When I found out that Jags had been fired for interviewing with the New York Jets I was first furious…..then puzzled……before settling on just plain embarrassed. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of my thoughts on one of the all time bitch moves in Division 1 college football:

Furious – Jeff Jagodzinski was a fantastic coach for BC, leading the team to 2 straight 10 win seasons, and 2 straight appearances in the ACC title game. It is at least arguable that Coach Jags oversaw the best two year stretch in BC football history when a man named Flutie was not at under center. In fact, Jags’ performed so well as a head coach that he garnered consideration for one of the thirty-two most prestigious positions in that profession. However, instead of thanking Jags for his two great years and crossing his fingers that the Jets take a pass, thus sending Jags back to Chestnut Hill for at least another season, Gene Defelippo fires this man for accepting an interview, citing some sort of vague breach of loyalty as his reason (which, of course, was a ridiculous claim insofar as I doubt Defelippo would have worried at all about loyalty in firing Jags if he'd gone 4-9 the past two seasons). Of course we all know the Jets ended up choosing Rex Ryan, their number 1 choice all along, yet BC was still left with no Jags.

So why was I so angry? Because none of this needed to happen. Jags was a great coach, a great hire by Defelippo. There was no reason to fire him and take a MAJOR step backwards in coaching talent. I shelled out $800 for 3 season tickets this past season, and was planning on doing it again. But the man in charge of taking that money decided that he didn’t want a coach who was so good at his job that professional teams came calling. He didn’t want a coach that would do so well, and give his teams’ fans so much enjoyment, that he’d be considered for one of the 32 top positions in the world. In essence, Mr. Defelippo announced to BC fans everywhere that he wanted a coach that would do well….just not so well that any other team would be interested in him. GMAC Bowl? Yes. Orange Bowl? Woah there! 9-4 seasons are nice….just not every year.

Confused – Is BC delusional? Seriously? Do they really think they can ever get a top notch coach who considers the program a “final destination?” BC was, is, and always will be a stepping stone job. Frank Leahy did it, Tom Coughlin did it, and now Jeff Jagodzinski was doing it. You know what else those three had in common? They presided over the best teams in school history. BC is not Alabama. They aren’t Oklahoma. The school prides itself on academics and tradition. Nothing wrong with that at all. But that is what the school is. They are not going to bend the academic rules to get a five star recruit in. They don’t have a T. Boone Pickens chairing the gridiron club to provide an endless recruiting budget. The school is what it is, and there is nothing wrong with that. Heck, Miami of Ohio has made its living on being a stepping stone program for college football coaches. Coaches come and go through that school, and while it might be frustrating for the fans, the teams are always great when one of those coaches is in charge. Woody Hayes, Bo Shembechler, Bill Mallory, Sid Gillman, Ara Parseghian…the list goes on. Miami of Ohio, and BC until now, always succeeded because when their great coach left they brought in someone new to fill the void. Here’s the real question: Would you rather have three years each of great coaches like Frank Leahy, Tom Coughlin, and Jeff Jagodzinski, or twenty years of mediocrity?

[Oh, and by the way, Mr. Defelippo, the self proclaimed eradicator of the stepping stone job, did just that when he fled Villanova to take the same post at BC. I get it, 'Nova (who actually won a major college championship at one point in time) is a stepping stone type program but BC isn't.]

Embarrassed – Defelippo’s firing of Jags was unprecedented and cemented BC’s status as the ugly step child of the Boston sports scene. In Boston, the Sox, Pats, Celts, and B’s rule. And they rule because they have tradition and they win. In other words, those teams command respect and attention. BC was starting to get there. Two straight ACC title games will do that (anything with the phrase “title game” in it will do that). Boston College was finally starting to command respect. But Defelippo’s firing of Jags not only wreaks of sour grapes, but it showed just how insecure Boston College is. In essence, Defelippo was so insecure about his coach leaving him that he fired the guy before he got the chance. It was almost like Costanza’s pre-emptive breakup in Seinfeld….and there ain’t anyone more insecure than George Costanza.

Worse, it was like BC was dating the hot chick and was so afraid she’d leave them for someone better, that they broke up with her and started dating someone not quite as hot (Spaziani) but who they certainly didn't have to worry about leaving. Not only is that obviously a step down in the present, but once you do that to one hot chick none of them will ever want to date you again?

Like I said, it was the ultimate bitch move.

Notes on the Super Bowl?

2009-02-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

Wait, the 323 returns and now it has comments about pro football?! No. It doesn't.

Well, not really.

The reason I bring up the Super Bowl is actually to discuss instant replay. I will NEVER understand the NFL's ridiculous system. I guess I'll just run down some of the issues:

1: The challenge concept, as a whole, is ridiculous. It seems insane that coaches have to challenge these things when the only information they get to go on is possibly a replay on the jumbotron, or an assistant in the booth who is subject to the whims of the director for ESPN or whoever, who is dialing up the replays. It's easy to make fun of them when they challenge an obviously correct call, but I'm not sure I could do any better if I had to rely on the evidence available to them.

2: Limiting the number of challenges to two. This is always a favorite. There's nothing like having a coach already use his two challenges, and then being stuck living with some horrendously botched call. Even better when they used one of the earlier challenges to successfully overturn an obviously absurd call.

3: Only allowing an extra challenge if you get both of the first two correct. Shouldn't you get an additional challenge for each one you get right? Why are you being punished by losing a challenge if the officials are the ones who screwed up, necessitating the challenge in the first place? I will never understand this. The officials only have to be right 50% of the time but coaches are required to be right every time. Seems a tad unreasonable. Especially considering the conditions under which they are being forced to issue the challenge.

4: Only allowing the booth to review within the last two minutes. No reason on earth why you shouldn't let the coaches challenge in that situation. It's beffudling.

5: Forcing the official on the field to scurry over and tuck his head under a friggin booth. It's ridiculous. It takes absolutely forever. One of the big NFL issues is that replay takes too much time, and yet they utilize the least efficient system imaginable.

6: The entire argument that replay takes too much time. I mean, it's like they're trying to pretend that college football doesn't exist. Millions of people watch a replay system work pretty efficiently in college football, and not delay the game in a really noticeable way. The upstairs official usually does his job in a quick, efficient, and non-controversial manner. Not sure what the problem is exactly. Just because the networks use replay as an excuse to run more ads doesn't mean you have to let them. Force them to stick with the game, and let it run faster. I mean, if the MAC or the Mountain West can figure out how to use replay in a reasonable, fair, and efficient manner I'm not sure why the NFL couldn't do the same. Furthermore, it's not like college football is a whole lot different. It's the same sport, it's a multi-billion dollar enterprise. If anything it should be much more difficult in college because there are so many different conferences, etc.

So, why bring this up? Basically, the last play of the Super Bowl. Look, I'm not sure it was a pass. I'm not sure it was a fumble. I AM sure that if it were a college game the officials upstairs would have taken a look at it, and decided the issue openly and explained the reasoning. It was an absolutely absurd way to end the game. I mean, is it really going to kill you to at least take a look at that thing so that Cardinals fans don't believe that the league had it out for them? In fact, the Super Bowl was incredibly poorly officiated by almost any measure. All it did was remind me how much better the college game is. Not only do I prefer the game on the field, but the way the game is run, especially the replay system, is infinitely better in the college ranks.

Dammit, now I just have to wait until September.

Returning from Obscurity

2009-01-27T18:21:00.002-05:00

Wow, I was trolling through Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback (always a good read in a not-college-football kind of way) when I noticed a comment about Rhett Bomar and the Senior Bowl. I guess I had forgotten that Rhett had finished his college eligibility and so was heading to the draft. It turns out that he might even be the top senior quarterback out there. (Not exactly saying a lot, but still). Let's give a quick recap:

Rhett started 11 games at quarterback as a freshman for Oklahoma. He had a pretty successful year, and ended up being the MVP of the Holiday Bowl in a win (wait, a bowl win for Oklahoma?!) over Oregon. People were pretty excited about his prospects, and predicted that he'd be leading a potent Oklahoma attack for three more years.

Then Rhett got caught accepting money for doing absolutely no work for a local car dealer. He was kicked off the team, and lost a year of eligibility.

He astoundingly transferred to Sam Houston St. so he didn't have to sit out another year. It was kind of assumed that he would simply transfer to another big program, wait awhile, and become a huge star. Instead he toiled in utter obscurity, apparently having excellent statistical seasons. Still, his team went 4-6 last year.

Basically, it's a story about a kid making exceptionally stupid decisions, and the NCAA punishing him grossly for those decisions. Taking money for not working is bad (although probably not uncommon in NCAA football circles). However, people do a lot worse things and get suspended for a game or two. Rhett never hurt anyone, threatened anyone, broke a law, got in a fight, abused a woman, or endangered others by drinking and driving.

Of course the NCAA came down hard on him (because Oklahoma dropped him partially out of fear of sanctions) and basically wanted to force him to lose 2 years of eligibility to allow him to play at the highest level.

Then Rhett compounded the problem by choosing to play in a college football wasteland.

Now, the NCAA has ridiculous eligibility rules. It is incredibly unfair that kids have to sit out a year to transfer, even when all parties agree it's the best decision for everybody, but the university immediately gets to fill the scholarship with someone else. Furthermore, schools are free to poach coaches left and right, and the coach owes absolutely nothing to kids who travel across the country to play for them.

It's absurd to hold 18 year old kids to higher standards than college presidents, and adult coaches. It's ridiculous that schools can exploit these kids for incredible financial gain, but accepting some money for a BS job basically screws you over for two years. Look, Rhett broke the rules and had to accept the consequences. I just think maybe we should re-examine some of those rules. Furthermore, Rhett did himself no favors by making a bad situation worse, not initially owning up to his responsibility, and choosing to transfer to a no name school.

All that said, I hope he has a good combine. I hope he learns from those decisions and still has an opportunity to prove his ability in the NFL. I'm kind of excited for the redemption of Rhett Bomar. It's got kind of Disney feel to it. Maybe we should buy the movie rights. Or maybe I've just been in LA too long.

More on Michigan

2009-01-23T20:28:00.002-05:00

I'm not entirely sure the point that my esteemed colleague is trying to make here. I mean, I understand that he believes that Michigan should only be hiring "the best". That said, I'm pretty sure that Robinson has a sterling resume. Let's look at your points:

1 (Overrated as NFL coach): He has coached four defenses in the top ten in the NFL (the big man has counted 3 years, I came up with 4, but whatever) and won a pair of Super Bowls. And as much as the big man may say those were offensive teams, it probably didn't hurt that they sported top ten defenses, including the 1998 squad that gave up 25 points in their 3 playoff games, and forced 13 turnovers. Not quite sure I have to argue that he was RESPONSIBLE for a pair of Super Bowls to still make the point that he was the coordinator of a very good, championship winning defense.

2 (limited ties to the college game): He was also the coordinator at Texas, which is not exactly a joke of a job. If he doesn't leave for the 'Cuse he's the guy running the defense in the national title season instead of Chizik. I'm just saying, if he was a good fit at Texas (and I'd argue that he was) is he suddenly a bad fit at Michigan?

If we're going to hold a guy sucking as a head coach against him after being the DC at Texas, I'm pretty sure Chizik would fail that test as well.

The guy he coached under with the Jets? Pete Carroll, you've probably heard of him.

I know the big man says he doesn't have deep roots for recruiting, but I'm pretty sure I'd be open to playing for a guy rocking a pair of Super Bowl rings. Especially if that guy has tons of NFL ties. Don't overlook this. Guys like Al Groh are terrible coaches, but use NFL ties to recruit very good players. Or guys like Carroll, or guys like Butch Davis or Charlie Weiss or Saban. Elite players are interested in coaches they think can help them get to the next level.

If you can find me another college coordinator who has a pair of Super Bowl rings, and coached 4 top ten NFL defenses, then I'm all ears.

3: (firing English was a mistake): Now, I agree 100% that firing Ron English was a colossal mistake. But, he's gone now. I guess I'd argue that Robinson might not be the sexiest name around, but he's never lost a bowl game, he's got a pair of rings, he put together an eventual national championship defense and he has strong NFL ties. But you're right, he is not, in fact, Ron English.

4 (ten best coaches): Not quite sure what to say here. He has probably as good as resume as just about any college defensive coordinator not named Monte Kiffin. I mean, he has a lot more accomplishments than a guy like Heacock, or even Venables. Also, the only team that seems to be able to draw NFL guys back to college is USC, hiring someone like Bates. (And once again, Kiffin, who is coaching for his friggin son). As far as I can recall, Tennessee is the only other team sporting a Super Bowl winning DC as their current DC. Point is, there isn't a flood of NFL guys bolting to the college game, no matter how much money is on the table. Name another college team that has gone out there and done that.

I think you can have issues with how Rick Rod has run things. I think you can argue that Robinson is not the best fit in the world. But I think it's a little short-sighted to say that this is a "bad" hiring in any way. I think Michigan has hired an experienced, knowledgable, successful and well-connected DC.

The Michigan Mess Cont'd

2009-01-23T11:22:00.002-05:00

I actually have a theory on why things have gone so sour so quickly for Michigan, but I won't bore all you readers with that right now......that's coming in a big, collaborative piece later. But I have to take issue with my faithful compatriot's take on the Greg Robinson hiring.

In my view, Greg Robinson's hiring at Michigan is at best a step backwards but at worst its an unsightly omen of the impending doom that will continue to be wrought on that program until Rich Rod is gone. Again, I strongly believe that Rich Rod's schtick will never, and I mean NEVER, work at Michigan, but that argument is for another time. For right now, here is why Greg Robinson is a bad hire for the Wolverines:

1) Frazier is right that Robinson is somewhat illustrative of the Peter principle. Nobody can doubt that he was a better DC than HC. That said, his stint at Cuse was so disastrous that this isn't anything near a compliment. In fact, I am here to make the argument that Robinson simply isn't that good of a defensive coordinator. Lets take a look at his DC resume:

1994 - NY Jets
1995-2000 - Denver Broncos
2001-2003 - KC Chiefs
2004 - Texas

Undeniably he's got some championships in there, but lets look a little deeper. In 1994 he was DC for a 6-10 Jets team. That year they gave up 320 points and finished in the middle of the pack in total defense. In his years with the Broncos, the highest a Greg Robinson coordinated defense ever finished was 6th in 1997. Twice they finished in the bottom half of the league (17th in 1995 and 23rd in 2000), but mostly they were middle of the pack. Yes he won 2 super bowls with the Broncos (1997-1998), but it is undeniable that those teams won because of OFFENSE not defense. In 1997 the Broncos finished 1st in the NFL in total offense, in 1998 they finished 2nd. In fact, if you look at the Broncos' records for the years Robinson was there, the records directly reflect how good the offense was, not the defense:

1995: 8-8, Offense 9th, Defense 17th
1996: 13-3, Offense 4th, Defense 7th
1997: 12-4, Offense 1st, Defense 6th (Super Bowl)
1998: 14-2, Offense 2nd, Defense 8th (Super Bowl)
1999: 6-10, Offense 18th, Defense 11th
2000: 11-5, Offense 2nd, Defense 23rd

There is no denying Robinson had some solid DC years in there, but to even suggest that he was the reason for the Broncos' success is laughable.

2) Robinson has very limited ties to the college game, and no ties to the Midwest. Sure Robinson spent some years as an assistant at UCLA, and he was the DC for a single season at Texas, but for now and forever Robinson will be known in the college game for his debacle at Syracuse. His ugly tenure in upstate NY is not going to help him one bit on the recruiting trail, especially since he is completely unfamiliar with the territory. Sure he might have some good contacts in CA or TX from his time there, but outside of what he did at Cuse Robinson is a completely unknown quantity in the Midwest. Is he the guy to go into kids' houses in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and convince them to come play for his defense? I think not.

3) Michigan has already had, and fired the guy that should be coaching their defense. Ron English was brought to Michigan to perform a miracle. He did, transforming a subpar Wolverine defense into a monster in his first season. In his second season they took a HUGE step back, during a forgettable season in Ann Arbor that ultimately led to Lloyd Carr's dismissal. Still, English deserved a better fate based on his track record, and what he had already done at Michigan. He was scapegoated, and Michigan is now left scrambling to hire retreads like Greg Robinson. As for English, I think he proved me right (and Michigan wrong) by transforming what was a TERRIBLE Louisville defense into a solid unit in his first and only season at that school. In fact, English's tenure was impressive enough to earn him the head coaching gig at Eastern Michigan. English was the guy Michigan wanted, and they fired him unfairly. Greg Robinson is not a step up.

4) You're Michigan and Greg Robinson is a retread! I say this all the time....Schools like Michigan should not ever, EVER have to "settle" for a 2nd or 3rd tier coach. You are Michigan! The all time winningest football program. You need a defensive coordinator, fine. Here's what you do: You make a list of the 10 best defensive coordinators on the planet. You start at the top and work your way down offering each of them a ton of money to come and fix your defense. If Michigan were to make that list, Greg Robinson would be nowhere near the top ten, and would fall somewhere between Rod Marinelli and Monte Kiffin's 8 year old grandson. I just don't get it. The easiest way to fix a problem is to throw money at it. Michigan has the money, it makes no sense to settle for a Greg Robinson of the world.

The Michigan Mess

2009-01-22T22:13:00.003-05:00

One of the things that may have driven us back to the blog was the disaster in Ann Arbor this year. It's stories like these that we would have a ball with. The whole Rich Rod thing was going to be a fascinating experiment in trying to mess with the ingrained style of a whole conference.

Turns out, Michigan played smashmouth, slow, grinding football forever because that's the style that allowed them to win football games. Maybe it wasn't so much a failure of imagination than playing to your strengths. Next year will be even more interesting as Rich Rod has had a full year to start getting his own recruits, and figuring out how to win with what he has.

If the Bear could you his'n and beat yours'n and take yours'n and beat his'n, then Rod proved he could take yours'n and lose to just about ANYBODY (including, miraculously, Toledo).

Anyone who complains that he didn't have his "personnel" is just making excuses. You play the hand you're dealt. Great coaches scheme to their strengths, and minimize their weaknesses. It was always going to be a down year, but a truly great coach would have found a way to make it work. Now you have to wonder if Rich Rod will ever figure it out up north.

All that said, he's taken a step in the right direction. By hiring Greg Robinson, Michigan is taking a step in the right direction. Robinson is a great example of the Peter Principle. He was a total and unmitigated disaster as a head coach. However, he's been a very good defensive coordinator for a very long time. Also, he never seemed to lose the respect of his players, who fought hard for him, even pulling the stunner against the Domers when it was clear his job was lost.

After surrendering almost 30 points a game last year Michigan needed to mix things up defensively. That effort was abominable, and Robinson should turn things around in short order. There's no guarantee that the Rich Rod experiment will work, but it looks like the Wolverines may actually be able to stop someone next year. That'll be a step in the right direction.

Don't Call It A Comeback!

2009-01-22T21:57:00.002-05:00

Did you miss us?

I can only imagine your lives haven't been the same since The 323 went into hibernation last year. Well, the long nights of crying yourself to sleep are officially over. The 323 is back.

Why the return? Well, a couple reasons.

1: We missed writing about this stuff. The 323 is just plain fun.

2: We have been having the same conversations we would have had on the blog via e-mail. It's not like the big man and I stopped talking college football.

3: Turns out we can manage doing it despite school/work. Although it will probably be slightly more sporadic. Still, it's a pretty good outlet.

4: Projects. We have a couple of exciting ideas lined up, and we decided that this is the right forum for getting them out into the world.

5: Because you begged.

6: Because I found a bunch of old comments on our posts that I had failed to mediate telling us we were morons for saying the Big 12 South was far superior to the North. I miss being right about these things.

Anyways, welcome back to faithful readers who had given up hope. And a big welcome to anyone checking in. Hopefully we won't suck.

Texas A & M you've got to be kidding me!

2008-03-07T14:00:00.003-05:00

Can't help but feel a little disgusted and betrayed by this story, especially after we named Reveille one of the top 10 mascots ever.

Aggies, don't get cute. Reveille is, was, and always should be a Collie. Reveille is one of the greatest traditions in the history of college sports. Please don't ruin it.

The Next Big Thing............

2008-03-06T22:36:00.004-05:00

Darren McFadden, Matt Ryan, Glen Dorsey....that's the past. Who's the future? Who's the next big thing? You got questions, I got answers.

Dan LeFevour QB Central Michigan

Already a 323 favorite, this kid is about to explode onto the national scene. Playing in a conference where quarterbacks rule (the MAC), LeFevour has been by far the best player at the position for the past two seasons (including his true freshman year). Though not blessed with the same arsenal of next level skills as former, and more well known, MAC passers Ben Roethlisberger or Byron Leftwich, LeFevour is every bit as dynamic as those two and will certainly hear his name called by someone on draft day 2010. LeFevour certainly has the mind boggling numbers. In his Freshman and Sophomore seasons, LeFevour has over 6,600 passing yards, over 1,600 rushing yards, and 79 total TD(!!!). This includes his monstrous Sophomore campaign where he came 1 rushing TD shy of joining Tim Tebow as the only 20 passing TD/20 rushing TD players in NCAA history. Oh, and if you think he can't compete with the big boys, think again. In their bowl game against Purdue, LeFevour torched the Boilermakers to the tune of 292 passing yards and 4 TD (with 0 INT by the way), to go along with his 114 rushing yards and 2 more TD. With Georgia, Purdue, and Indiana all on the schedule in 2008, LeFevour will have many chances to make a name for himself. Here's betting he'll do just that and more, perhaps pushing Tebow to become the first ever 30/30 man!

Josh Adams RB Wake Forest

A year younger than LeFevour, Adams is another kid who is ready for huge things. That said, unlike LeFevour Adams doesn't necessarily have the monstrous numbers to place him anywhere near the national radar…..so I think you're just going to have to trust me on this one. Adams' Freshman numbers were solid enough, 953 rushing yards, 4.4 average, 11 TD, but they don't necessarily do this kid's tremendous talent justice. At 6'0 and 180 lbs. Adams isn't a true between the tackles runner. But before you decry his lack of toughness, consider that inside running is not really what Wake Forest does. Jim Grobe's innovative spread attack is predicated almost entirely on attacking the edges of the defense, off tackle. A slippery back with uncanny vision like Adams was practically built to play that style of football. After a rocky start to the 2007 season, Adams really picked up his game for the second half. In Wake's final eight games, Adams ripped off a total of 730 yards and 9 TD. Expect more of the same from this home run hitter, only this time over the course of an entire season. 1,500 yards and 15 TD is not out of the question as Wake looks to find its new offensive focal point with the departure of all everything WR Kenneth Moore. They won't have to look very hard.

Tom Brandstater QB Fresno State

Playing in the WAC it is understandable that Mr. Brandstater flew totally under the radar last year. With Fresno a bit down, it was easy for him to be overshadowed by bigger WAC stars like Colt Brennan and Ian Johnson. Well, expect a reversal of fortunes for the senior in 2008. At 6'5'' and 220 lbs., and possessing a strong arm, Brandstater is the best Fresno QB since David Carr. More importantly, though, is the fact that also like Carr Brandstater has shown marked improvement in his years under Pat Hill. While his numbers weren't exactly gaudy in 2007, his 2,600 passing yards and 15:5 TD ratio were dramatically better than his 1,500 yards and 13:14 ratio in 2006. If we look even deeper, we will see that Brandstater actually improved as the season went along, doing his best work at the end of the year. In his last five games Brandstater put up 1,143 yards and 8 TD versus only 1 INT. He also had his two best performances of the year in that span against BCS teams Kansas State and Georgia Tech, proving that Brandsater can play with the big boys. With Fresno losing one of its top offensive weapons in TB Clifton Smith, expect the Bulldogs to lean on the talented Brandstater and the passing game which also returns its top three receivers. While Brandstater isn't going to go number 1 overall like Carr, in a weak year for senior quarterbacks Brandstater could rise to the top with a strong senior campaign. With Fresno opening the year with three BCS opponents (@ UCLA, @ Kansas State, Wisconsin), expect Brandstater to come out firing and make a name for himself immediately.

Aaron Kelly WR Clemson

Like I wasn't about to give a shout out to my boy Cullen Harper's main man! It's not entirely clear to me why Kelly is still flying way under the radar. At 6'5'' and only 180 lbs., Kelly looks more like a high school basketball player than a division one wideout (to call him lanky would be an understatement), but he sure does play the part well. In fact, Kelly was the number one reason Cullen Harper turned in the season that he did, hauling in 88 balls for 1,081 yards and 11 scores. What is even more impressive, are the numbers that Kelly put up against some of the stiffer defenses the Tigers faced. Against VTech, and their stable of future NFL defensive backs, Kelly ran roughshod to the tune of 11 grabs for 174 yards and a score. Kelly similarly torched BCS powers Florida State (5 for 98, 1 TD), Wake Forest (10 for 93, 2 TD), and South Carolina (9 for 134). With nearly the entire offense returning in 2008, and teams gearing up to stop the two headed running back monster (all American candidates James Davis and CJ Spiller), look for Harper to Kelly to become a national refrain.

Jermaine Gresham TE Oklahoma

OK now we're busting out the big guns. Lost in the modern age where speed and 40 times are all scouts look for, are player like Gresham. Big, strong, nasty, throwback football players like Gresham. Gresham is a TE, but you'd never guess it if you compare him to some of the other so-called "elite" at the position. Gresham, only a rising junior, stands a chiseled, 6'5'' 265 lbs. Stamding next to his more heralded counterparts like Wisconsin's Travis Beckum (6'4'', 220 lbs.) and Missourri's Chase Coffman (6'4'', 240 lbs.), a passerby would think Gresham was a offensive tackle. Well, truth be told, he actually blocks like one, something Coffman and particularly Beckum seem practically allergic to. But don't think Gresham is a one trick pony. While he may not blaze the 40 like Beckum and Coffman, the man knows how to catch the football as evidenced by his 38 catches for 518 receiving yards will attest to. Gresham is particularly effective in the red zone, where he uses his size and strength to impose his will. Of Gresham's 38 catches in 2007, a whopping 11 went for scores. For those scoring at home that is only two less than Coffman and Beckum had COMBINED! Despite Sam Bradford's return in 2008, the loss of Jr. wideout Malcolm Kelly will leave the Sooners offense a lot of yards to make up. Expect Coach Bob Stoops to lean heavily on Gresham as a blocker and receiver to make up those numbers. With Juaquin Iglesias stretching the field, Gresham should easily be able to surpass 50 catches in 2008……that is when he isn't putting some poor defensive end on his back.

The Boston College Linebacking Corpse

The talk all offseason will be how BC will cope with the loss of star QB Matt Ryan. While not to minimize the loss of Ryan, the transition to whatever QB Coach Jags chooses will be made a lot easier by the potentially devastating defense the Eagles will be able to put on the field in 2008. By my count, the Eagles have a grand total of five potential all conference linebackers on defense, and that doesn't even take into account leading sacker Alex Albright (DE), and potential NFL draft picks BJ Raji (DT) and Ron Brace (DT). In fact, with those three occupying blockers, the Eagle's stable of thoroughbred linebackers may be free to roam the sidelines. OK, so who, exactly, am I talking about? Well, most people think it begins and ends with Brian Toal. Not true. While Toal is an exciting talent, and will be a hugely stabilizing force in the middle if healthy, he is not the end all of the defense. Coach Jags has assembled a wonderful mix of speedy athletes and muscular thumpers in his linebacking corpse. First the athletes. Anyone who reads the323 knows that I have absolutely love the OLB tandem of Mark Herzlich and Kevin Akins, both rising Juniors. Herzlich is not the fastest guy on the field, but he is a 6'4'', 230 lbs. hybrid backer who always seems to make big plays. Akins, on the other hand, usually is one of the fastest guys on the field. You may remember seeing him return kicks for the Eagles (that's right, a LB returning kicks), or you may remember watching him dominate the Miami Hurricanes offensive line to the tune of 3 sacks in the fourth quarter of their '07 matchup. Neither Herzlich or Akins are really an every down linebacker right now, but that is OK because……the Eagles have two classic "thumpers" to trot out there on obvious running downs. Aside from Toal, Mike McLaughlin (6' 250) and Robert Francois (6'2'' 240) are two of the baddest guys you'll find. Both are adept at taking on blocks and plugging holes, and they are two of the hardest hitters on the team. With the kind of talent and size the Eagles have up front, teams are going to have little to no success running the ball in 2008. The true test will be Nov. 1 when Clemson comes to town. By then the Eagles may be putting up historically good numbers against the run. My guess is they keep it going.

The Colorado Buffaloes

OK, so my South Carolina pick from last year didn't turn out so great. BUT, I deserve another shot seeing as the Gamecocks rose all the way to the top 10 (making me look like a genius) before injuries decimated their season (making me look like a fool). Inasmuch, I give you the 2008 Colorado Buffaloes as the "Next Big Team." Why do you ask? Well, they've got everything you look for in a sleeper team: (1) a manageable schedule, (2) a great coach, and (3) returning talent. Lets take them one at a time.

(1) The Schedule – Look, the Big 12 is never easy. But Colorado is in the Big 12 North, and the 2008 schedule shakes out very nicely for them. The trip to Missourri will be a bear, but the only other conference road games are at Kansas (due for a letdown after a magical 2007), and at Texas A & M and Nebraska (both rebuilding under new coaches). True the cross country trip to play Florida State in Jacksonville will be difficult, but this ain't exactly your father's FSU. Missing Oklahoma is huge for the Buffs, as is getting Texas in Boulder on homecoming weekend. If Colorado slips past FSU in the third game, they should enter the Texas game at 4-0 and have Folsom Field simply rocking.

(2) The Coach – I know Dan Hawkins had a rough first year in Boulder, but you simply cannot ignore what he did in 2007. Colorado won six games, including wins over #3 Oklahoma, Nebraska, and at Texas Tech. Moreover, of their 7 losses, 6 were against teams that were ranked for much of the season (Arizona State, Florida State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri). The Buffs improved greatly under Hawkins, and their record could have been even better if for just a bit of luck in the scheduling department.

(3) Returning Talent – It is everywhere in Boulder. QB Cody Hawkins (yep, the coach's son) had an up and down year, but showed marked improvement at the end of the year. His 17 interceptions need work, but his 3000+ yards and 22 TD look very nice. He is young, but is smart (I said he was a coach's son) and should be one the best returning signal callers in the Big 12. Hawkins also has the good fortune of having his top two receivers, Scotty McKnight and Josh Smith, back. Both players were dynamic as true Freshman and should fare much better with extra seasoning. The Buffs did lose leading rusher Hugh Charles, but I don't think you are going to hear to many cries of sorrow. Enter Darrell Scott, #1 running back recruit in the nation. There is a reason he wanted to come to Boulder. Namely, great offensive lines, and playing time right away. Now am I saying this kid is going to be Adrian Peterson? No, but he is damn good and is a mortal lock for 1,000 yards and 10 TD as a true freshman. On defense, losing all world linebacker Jordan Dizon hurts, but the Buffs return more than enough talent to compete. Safety Daniel Dykes joins linebackers Jeff Smart, and Brad Jones, to form a solid nucleus, with leading sacker George Hypolite teaming with Brandon Nicholas to form one of the best interior pass rushing tandems in the nation.

The bottom line is this Buffaloes team is loaded for 2009 and beyond. With a manageable schedule in 2008, Christmas may come early in Colorado.

Combine Note

2008-02-26T18:09:00.002-05:00

There are all sorts of things we could talk about regarding the combine. I am simply going to name the one that blew me away the most:

Darren McFadden outran DeSean Jackson.

That is absolutely startling. Jackson put up a nice 40 time, but he probably needed to burn. McFadden put up a ridiculous time.

We'll get to more analysis later. But we learned that McFadden is a startling physical specimen, and has the numbers to back it up.

Jackson, on the other hand, may be a huge gamble on the next level. I mean, he's smaller than I am, and while very fast, probably a little slower than most had expected.

Foresight is always 20-20? (Part III)

2008-02-22T15:40:00.000-05:00

11. Buffalo Bills

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Malcolm Kelly

Again, it’s not hard to see why the Bills would be interested in Kelly. Trent Edwards was a nice surprise in 2007, and he’s a big downfield pocket passer who needs reliable targets on both sides to be effective. The Bills believe 2007 was an anomaly for deep threat Lee Evans, so Kelly, at 6’4’’ and nearly 230 lbs., would seem to be the perfect compliment. Or does he? I have been a staunch Malcolm Kelly supporter, but even I think he’s being a bit overrated heading into the draft. Kelly has all the physical tools you look for, but he also has the knack for disappearing for long stretches during important games. Anyone who watched Oklahoma football this past season saw that the offense ran smoothest when Bradford was able to distribute the ball to all his weapons (Kelly, Iglesias, and Gresham). Despite his size and speed (honestly, Kelly should have been a man among boys in the Big 12) Kelly inexplicably was unable to take over games. Look, do I think Malcolm Kelly could turn into a big time NFL receiver? I sure do. But, he has not come close t showing the consistency or work ethic to warrant the number 11 overall selection….of course that will all change if he blazes a sub 4.5 forty time.

The pick will actually be…….Aqib Talib

This is just a gut feeling. Really, after Mike Jenkins all the other defensive backs are lumped together. Some teams will prefer McKelvin, others Talib, and still others Cromartie. My gut tells me that the CB desperate Bills will fall in love with one of those guys, and that guy will be Talib. Frankly, it’s the right choice. McKelvin and Cromartie may someday be good players, but they are still very raw and have a lot of development ahead of them. Talib, on the other hand, is a polished corner who already plays an NFL style game. More importantly, though, and the thing that the Bills will lust for, is that Talib has the uncanny ability to get his hands on the football and make big plays when he does. Defensive backs who bat down passes are a dime a dozen. The true value lies in the guys who are ballhawks. NFL quarterbacks don’t make many mistakes, so you need to have guys in your defensive backfield who can capitalize when they do. Unlike any other corner in the draft, Talib has the ability to channel his inner Ty Law and come up with the big play, as evidenced by his numerous interceptions and touchdowns at Kansas. I’m telling you, some team is going to sit down and watch film on this kid and just fall in love. Buffalo will be happy if its them.

12. Denver Broncos

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Ryan Clady

Ryan Clady will be LONG gone by the time the Broncos draft, but really you could put any tackle’s name in. The Broncos’ offensive line has gotten old in a hurry, and to keep up their tradition of dominant running games they are going to need to reload. That said, unless the nimble footed Clady falls all the way to 12 (unlikely), I don’t see any lineman being available that fits into what the Broncos try to do on offense. As we all know, the Broncos’ zone blocking scheme prefers lighter, quicker lineman, especially on the interior. Their entire running game is predicated on their lineman having the athletic ability to get to the 2nd level and get a “hat on a hat” with the opposing linebackers. While Clady is athletic enough to fit that bill, Sam Baker, Chris Williams, and Jeff Otah (the tackles likely to be available in this spot) are simply too upright and plodding to execute that scheme. It’s an interesting dilemma because if Denver were to draft based solely on need, they could reach for Virginia guard Brandon Albert who’d be a perfect fit for them. However, it’s doubtful that they’d use a high first round pick on a guard, especially when they’ve had so much success drafting lineman in the late rounds.

The pick will actually be…….Jonathan Stewart

Hmmmmm, a phrase about how many ways there are to skin a cat comes to mind. Yes the Broncos’ offensive line is getting old and may not be as dominant as they used to be. And yes that may have an adverse affect on the running game. And yes the Broncos need to do something in this draft to upgrade the running game to meet the lofty standards they’ve consistently set for themselves. But NO, reaching for an offensive lineman is not the only way to do it. Drafting the electrifying Jonathan Stewart would do just fine. Think about it. Since Clinton Portis left the Broncos have always had A+ offensive lines, blocking for B- backs, which was enough to make their running game a B+. If you no longer have that A+ line, you’d better have an A+ back. Enter Jonathan Stewart. The Travis Henry experiment has been, shall we say interesting, but even notwithstanding his paternity issues Henry is getting old. And nothing against Selvin Young who did a nice job last year, but he is simply not going to strike fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators the way Stewart will. Stewart is the classic Bronco one-cut back. In the Broncos scheme it is imperative that the running back do two things simultaneously. First, he must attack the hole where the play is called. Second, he must sense, not see but sense, the cutback lane. Stewart is a perfect one-cut back, because he has the “vision” to feel cutback lanes, but at 230 pounds he has the strength to square his shoulder pads and power through the hole should a lane not present itself. Stewart actually reminds me quite a bit of Terrell Davis, only with breakaway speed. This may not be a glaring need pick for the Broncos, but Jonathan Stewart would be a consistent 1600 yard back for Denver.

13. Carolina Panthers

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Jeff Otah

The Panthers do have some holes on the offensive line, but drafting a stud tackle before getting the necessary skill players would be putting the cart before the horse so to speak. This assessment rings especially true when one considers the fact that the Panthers already have a capable left tackle in Jordan Gross, and they drafted a future starting center last year in Ryan Kalil. Otah is a very solid offensive line prospect, but he is still extremely raw and there are questions about whether he has the feet to play left tackle in the pros. More of a mauler than a technician, Otah is actually very similar to Gross. To think that the Panthers are going to draft another tackle who may or may not be able to play on the left side (Gross has always been a stud RT and only an adequate LT) doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. If Jake Long or Ryan Clady, or some other sure fire stud left tackle were available then the Panthers would be smart to jump. But they have enough holes that they shouldn’t reach for a tackle project this early in round 1.

The pick will actually be…….Brian Brohm

I think I’ve been a bit unfair to Brian Brohm recently. While I am not enamored with his physical tools, I do think he has a chance to be a very solid NFL quarterback if he is drafted into the right system. There is a lot to like about Brohm. He is accurate, intelligent, throws well on the move, and has a great football pedigree. But there is also a lot to dislike. He is injury prone, he played in a QB friendly college system, and he has an alarming lack of pure arm strength. In reality I believe Brohm projects as a rich man’s Chad Pennington, who, lest we forget, was a pro bowl caliber QB for several years. All that said, I simply do not think the Panthers can afford to pass on him in this spot. Jake Delhomme has been playing on borrowed time for almost 2 years now and is no longer an adequate NFL passer. He got lucky one year and led his team to the Super Bowl, and for some reason that lightning-in-a-bottle run convinced the Panthers to overlook all his obvious shortcomings for the next 4 seasons. Moreover, the David Carr experiment has been a complete disaster, and while Matt Moore may have shown the ability to be a backup I seriously doubt the Panthers want to hitch their franchise to him for the next decade. No, Brian Brohm is a nice, safe pick. He may never be Joe Montana, but he probably won’t be Heath Shuler either. Sure Carolina could pass on Brohm and roll the dice with Andre Woodson or Chad Henne in round 2, but this is a franchise that has to realize they’ve always come up a bit short in the QB department. Drafting a second tier prospect and crossing your fingers isn’t the way to reverse that trend.

14. Chicago Bears

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Rashard Mendenhall

If everyone doesn’t think it will be Mendenhall then they definitely think it will be some other skill position player on offense, right? RIGHT? Well, not exactly. The Bears are a team in absolute disarray. Their once vaunted defense has been decimated by injuries and defections, and you can count the number of NFL caliber offensive players on one hand. Cedric Benson has been an absolute bust, with Muhammad and possibly Berrian gone the receiving corpse lacks any type of threat, the offensive line is in shambles, and the quarterback situation is still manned by the Grossman/Orton two headed monster. In short, the Bears are in big trouble no matter which way they go because they can only plug one hole with this pick. It seems clear that the fan base would be placated most by a franchise QB, but while this class has depth, the only two 1st round caliber signal callers are probably going to be off the board by the 14th pick. That leaves the RB position to draw the ire of the fans. With Cedric Benson giving the Bears absolutely nothing in three seasons, conventional wisdom says its time to cut bait. Rashard Mendenhall is a local kid (having played at Illinois), who would instantly upgrade the running game with his toughness and game breaking ability. Still, for a team that has had an offense as bad as the Bears have, for as long as the Bears have, it seems unlikely that they will give up on a former top 5 pick just like that. I think we can all agree that Mendenhall is, right now, a better back than Benson, but to spend another first round pick on a RB when the team needs a talent upgrade at so many other positions would be a very tough pill for the Bears front office to swallow.

The pick will actually be…….Jeff Otah

I can almost hear the boos raining down already. Actually, this is the pick the Bears should make. It is clear to everyone that the Bears are currently going in the wrong direction. Their decline from the Super Bowl should continue for at least another couple years, meaning they have plenty of time (not to mention some more high draft picks) to retool and rebuild. The best way to start that process, though, is to solidify the lines of scrimmage. Now, the Bears are actually OK along the defensive line with Tommie Harris, Mark Anderson and Co. However, they need some serious help along the offensive front. Otah, the massive tackle from Pitt, may be just what the doctor ordered. Otah is incredibly raw, but a gifted football player. He is big, tough, mean, and derives great pleasure from knocking heads with defensive players. That said, he needs a lot of work as a pass protector so he’ll probably have to start his career as a right tackle. Previously I compared him to Jordan Gross which I don’t think is so far off. However, Otah is more physically imposing than Gross and has the potential to develop into a top flight left tackle (something Gross never did). Of course, that is only potential right now. At this point in the draft Otah offers the Bears the best value because, although it may take a year or two, he has the ability to develop into an all-pro left tackle.

15. Detroit Lions

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Leodis McKelvin
The pick will actually be…….Leodis McKelvin

Another pretty easy call. The Lions simply have to (HAVE TO!) take the best available defensive back in this spot. In an era where the passing game is having such a renaissance that slot receivers (a.k.a. third receivers) are getting multimillion dollar contracts, teams must stock their defensive backfield with a number of guys who can cover. It’s just not enough to have two anymore. Of course that doesn’t really matter for the Lions since they don’t have anyone who can cover. McKelvin, as I’ve stated, is somewhat of a project. However, his physical tools are undeniable. I think the Lions would rather have the more polished Aqib Talib in this spot, but it seems unlikely he will fall this far. Still, McKelvin is not a bad consolation prize. The Lions need to understand that they are still a few years away from competing, so they will have time to let McKelvin develop (he won’t be an immediate impact player). Plus, Lions’ coach Rod Marinelli is from the Tampa 2 school of defense, which prefers corners who are tough and physical. McKelvin fits both descriptions and should immediately upgrade the talent level in the Lions’ defensive backfield. The only other guy I could see the Lions jumping at in this spot is Miami’s Kenny Phillips. He probably can’t play corner in the NFL, but he is the classic impact Miami safety who would be more an immediate player than McKelvin, but doesn’t have the same long term potential.

Foresight is always 20-20? (Part II)

2008-02-21T16:45:00.001-05:00

6. New York Jets

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Vernon Gholston

With Eric Mangini attempting to build NE Patriots Redux in New York, the sentiment is out there, and fairly so, that the Jets will snatch up this versatile Ohio State product to plug into the Belichickian trademark 3-4 defense they are building. While it is true that Gholston, a true LB-DE hybrid in the mold of former Patriot Willie McGinest, possesses the rare combination of skill and size to pose matchup problems in pass protection, the one thing the Jets defense actually has is some decent 3-4 edge rushers in Bryan Thomas and Shaun Ellis. If the Jets are serious about switching to the 3-4 they need to find the correct personnel to play the position they don’t already have filled. Truth be told, despite Gholston’s eye-popping athleticism, what the Jets really need is a true thumping inside linebacker to team with David Harris, or an actual space eating nose tackle (which would free up DeWayne Robertson to move outside). With no Pat Willis or Vince Wilfork type prospects in this draft, the Jets are SOL.

The pick will actually be…….Darren McFadden

So the Jets can’t snag a top notch prospect to plug into their front seven. With the “Swiss Army” running back as the consolation prize, something tells me the Jets faithful won’t be too distraught. Actually, despite the appearance as a class value pick, drafting McFadden could be viewed as a need pick as well. While the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets, may have more publicized needs (LB, WR, NT), there is simply no reason running back shouldn’t be near the top of that list. The Thomas Jones experiment failed miserably (to put it nicely), and while Leon Washington has proven to be a very nice player, he simply is not a featured back. Enter McFadden. By drafting this superstar in the making, in one fell swoop the Jets will transform their offense, simultaneously adding big play ability and a guy to take pressure off of the young Kellen Clemens. With Curtis Martin already retired, and Lavareneous Coles nearing the end of his career, the Jets desperately need an offensive superstar to lead them into the next phase in their franchise. Something tells me D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold may not get the job done.

7. New England Patriots

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Mike Jenkins

On paper it makes sense. The Pats are all but assured to lose Asante Samuel to free agency, why not replace him with this stud South Florida product? Well, the simple reason is that’s just not how the Patriots operate. Draftniks and pundits alike have been predicting that the Patriots would draft a first round cornerback since the days of Ty Law, yet the closest they’ve come was Brandon Merriweather last year (who I still project as a starting free safety, NOT a corner). In fact, if you look at Belichick and Pioli’s drafting history, they absolutely love drafting corners in the middle to late rounds. Since 2001 the Pats have drafted a total of 7 cornerbacks in rounds 3-7, and NONE in round 1. Though some of these picks were better (Ellis Hobbs – 3rd round, Asante Samuel – 4th round, Randall Gay - undrafted) than others (Christian Morton – 7th round, Brock Williams – 3rd round), the Pats have had enough success that it seems unlikely that they’ll break away from their strategy now.

The pick will actually be…….Vernon Gholston

Speaking of drafting trends, one position that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli LOVE to address in round 1 is the defensive line. If you play defense with your hand on the ground, you’ve got a great chance to end up as a first round pick of the New England Patriots. Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, all three are pro-bowl caliber players, and all three were first round draft picks of Belichick and Pioli. If Gholston falls to seven you may be able to add his name to the list as well. Though not a “true” defensive lineman like Seymour, Warren, or Wilfork, Gholston isn’t a “true” linebacker either (of which Belichick and Pioli avoid like the plague in round one). As I’ve said many times, Gholston reminds me a lot of a young Willie McGinest. He has an explosive first step as a pass rusher, but also has the bulk to stand up against the run. McGinest struggled for years in New England as a full time OLB, and then a full time DE. It wasn’t until Belichick decided to use him in the “elephant” position in the 3-4 that McGinest consistently played at a high level. Gholston would be able to step right into the Patriots defense as a situational player, and learn the nuances of the position from the likes of Adalius Thomas and Mike Vrabel. Moreover, when the Pats decide to go to the 4-3 (which they often do in passing situations), they could put the following 6 players on the field to get after the passer (4 DL, 2 OLB): Seymour, Warren, Gholston, Jarvis Green, Mike Vrabel, and Adalius Thomas. Now that is scary.

8. Baltimore Ravens

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Brian Brohm

On paper Brohm makes sense as he would give the Ravens their best quarterback prospect since ….well, ever. That said, there are two reasons I don’t see them grabbing the popular Louisville product. First, I think the Ravens’ front office still believes in the Steve McNair/Kyle Boller/Troy Smith trio. Now, if you’ll just stop laughing for a moment I’ll explain why I don’t think their faith is entirely misplaced. McNair is a has-been, no doubt about that. And Boller is a never-was, also no doubt there. BUT, and it’s a big but, neither McNair nor Boller are completely useless. Boller has performed capably in the backup role, and McNair is still a savvy veteran, and a classy guy capable of tutoring his eventual replacement. Which brings us to Smith. While he didn’t exactly light the world on fire as a rookie, the Ohio State product did show some flashes in the final games of the season. I’ve long touted the former Heisman winner as a future pro-bowler in the mold of Jeff Garcia, and I simply cannot believe the Ravens would give up on him so quickly. As a collegian Smith showed the mobility, leadership, and, most importantly, the accuracy to succeed in the NFL. The Ravens aren’t going anywhere in 2008, why not give him another year to learn under McNair? The second reason the Ravens won’t draft Brohm is that they have to be getting a little gun shy with QB’s. Their development of quarterbacks has been, let’s say spotty at best. We all know that Kyle Boller was an unmitigated disaster, but he’s not the only woeful quarterback tale the Ravens can tell. Before Boller there was Chris Redman (also of Louisville) who was going to be their QB of the future. Then it was the big free agent signee Elvis Grbac. Then, in 2005, the Ravens drafted little known Derek Anderson in the 6th round, subsequently gave him away, then watched him become a pro-bowler at 25. Basically, it seems that every decision this regime has made on a QB has been wrong. At some point, they’ve got to stop wasting their time.

The pick will actually be…….Mike Jenkins

A defensive pick for the Ravens? Sounds crazy I know, but bear with me. For as long as we can all remember, the Ravens have been about great defense and futile offense. While this may still be true to some degree as far as statistics go, the talent level is actually evening out between the two sides of the ball. In short, while the offense has been getting younger these past 5 years (though not necessarily any better), the defense has been getting OLD! If you look at the 2007 Ravens and choose their top players to build around for the future, the list would probably include at least 5 offensive players (Willis McGahee, Jason Brown, Ben Grubbs, Mark Clayton, and Yamon Figures) and possibly as few as 3 defensive ones (Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed). While the overall talent level of the time needs to rise dramatically, one could actually argue that the offense is slightly ahead of the defense in terms of rebuilding. Ray Lewis isn’t going to be around forever, and Chris McCalister has already lost more than a step. Adding Mike Jenkins would go a long way towards solidifying the secondary for years to come, as he is a tough, physical corner that is always looking to intimidate. Jenkins’ game is actually very similar to that of McAlister when he was in his prime. Learning under him for a year or two would do wonders for the South Florida product.

9. Cincinnati Bengals

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Sedrick Ellis
The pick will actually be…….Sedrick Ellis

This is one is actually so easy that even the masses can get it right. Ellis’ huge performance at the Senior Bowl notwithstanding, I simply don’t see him surpassing Glen Dorsey as the top defensive tackle available in this draft. Ellis is a bit more stout than Dorsey, but probably doesn’t have the same game changing pass rush ability as the LSU star. Moreover, at just under 6’2’’ Ellis doesn’t really have the size to be a top 5 pick, something Cincinnati is grateful for picking at nine. The Bengal defense has been a sore spot for years, and despite numerous picks spent on the unit, it hasn’t gotten a whole lot better. With Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph in tow, the talent is there in the secondary and Ellis’ presence on the line should free up the ends and linebackers to get more pressure on the passer. While Ellis may not ever be a game changing DT in the mold of John Randle or Bryant Young, he should be a stout, consistent performer for many years. This is both a need pick and a safe pick for a Bengals team that desperately needs some beef in the middle of its defense.

10. New Orleans Saints

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Leodis McKelvin

People expect the Saints to go defense with this pick, and for good reason. The defense has been very porous, especially in the back 7 against the pass. McKelvin would help, too. He is an incredible physical specimen, but also a bit of a project coming out of Troy. For everyone who thinks McKelvin could come in and have an impact right away like DeMarcus Ware, I refer you to Osi Umenyiora, who developed into an outstanding player only after several years developing. The bottom line is that this team was in the NFC title game 2 seasons ago, and they aren’t that far from returning. But to get there they need NFL ready prospects now, and McKelvin simply may not be that player. If Mike Jenkins fell to this spot, or the Saints fell in love with Aqib Talib, it might be a different story. But for a team as close as the Saints, I simply can’t see them using this pick on any sort of “project” player.

The pick will actually be…….Keith Rivers

Like the Ravens and their QB search, doesn’t it always seem like the Saints are looking for a linebacker? I thought it was just me, but then I took a look at their draft history. Since 2002 the Saints have chosen 5 linebackers in the first day of the draft: Sedrick Hodge, James Allen, Cie Grant, Courtney Watson, and Alfred Fincher. Notice anything? Yup, they all stink. Also like the Ravens, this Saints administration simply cannot seem to get it right. However, for all their troubles the Saints have not invested a first round pick in a linebacker. Enter Keith Rivers. Rivers is a physical specimen, born for the NFL game. He is big and fast, and you simply cannot overlook that he came from the NFL factory that is USC. Rivers is the type of immediate impact player the Saints need to get back to the playoffs, and unlike McKelvin he will help in the both the run and pass defense. While not much of a pass rusher, Rivers is actually very underrated in coverage making him a true 3 down linebacker, and an impact player immediately.

Foresight is always 20-20? (Part I)

2008-02-21T10:02:00.005-05:00

With the draft right around the corner here is our first stab at a mock. As we know the draft can be an unpredictable affair. Nobody ever gets it all right in a mock. Still, we here at the 323 are intent on raising the bar. Therefore, not only are we going to tell you who each team WILL pick, but we'll tell you why they AREN'T going to pick the player most people think they will.

Of course that makes things much longer so we'll have to do this 5 picks at a time all the way through the top 15.

1. Miami Dolphins

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Glen Dorsey

The reason this pick won't be Glen Dorsey is quite simple. He's a defensive tackle! In the history of football there have been exactly two DT's drafted first overall (Russell Maryland and Dan Wilkinson), and neither's arrival exactly lit the NFL on fire. Now Dorsey might be the second coming of Warren Sapp as a 3-technique pass rusher, but Dorsey has major concerns about his durability, and strength holding up against the run inside. Not to mention, last time I checked the 3-4 defense, which we know new Dolphins boss Bill Parcells favors, there was no 3-technique tackle.

The pick will actually be…….Matt Ryan

In past years you may have been able to do better than Matt Ryan, but you could do a whole lot worse. In a world of bust potential first round passers, Ryan is the anomaly: a polished passer who has top notch intangibles to equal his physical ability. Think about it. Every college passer that gets invited to the combine can throw the football. What separates an NFL QB is the ability to know where to throw that football under all circumstances. Like a great golfer, an NFL QB has to be able to repeat his motion no matter what the circumstances. When the Dolphins watch Matty Ice throw a 10 yard out or a deep post on the turf of the RCA Dome during the combine, they can rest assured knowing they'll get that same performance in the 4th quarter of a close game. Ryan Leaf…..well, he sure did look great at the combine didn't he?

2. St. Louis Rams

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Chris Long

Let's be clear on one thing, Chris Long is worthy of the number 2 overall pick. The reason he won't be drafted here, however, is because he is just way too similar to Adam Carriker, the Rams' first round pick from a year ago. Long and Carriker are similar in size and stature, and they both play a game eerily similar to former Ram standout Grant Wistrom. And while very team in the NFL would love to have a pair of Grant Wistrom's anchoring their defensive front seven, I simply do not believe a team with as many holes as the Rams can afford to invest two consecutive early first round picks in defensive ends that, while solid two way players, will never be dynamic 15 sack performers.

The pick will actually be…….Jake Long

Really, the reason the Rams can get away with not picking Chris Long, is because Jake Long is available (you know what they say, two Long's don't make a right…..thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week). The city of St. Louis knows how important a dominant left tackle can be after watching Orlando Pace dominate for the past decade or so. With Pace not far from the Rams' fans' collective memories, the front office realizes that they can get away with picking Long ahead of some of the other, sexier names and still not disenfranchise the ticketholders. Moreover, the Rams shelled out huge money extending Marc Bulger's contract, then watched him go out in 2007 and nearly get killed on every drop back When you are paying your QB that type of money, you'd better have someone watching his back.

3. Atlanta Falcons

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Matt Ryan

Well it's easy to say the pick won't be Ryan because he'll be long gone by the time the Falcons are on the clock. That said, if he is available the Falcons will bite quicker than [insert Mike Vick joke here……thank you, thank you, try the veal.] Truth be told, though, the Falcons are a lot further away than people may think. The talent drain from Atlanta over the past few years has been tremendous. In addition to Vick the Falcons have lost defensive stalwarts Rod Coleman and Pat Kearney, as well as pro bowl TE Alge Crumpler. Bottom line, things are going to get a lot worse in Atlanta before they get better. The Falcons have plenty of time to draft their franchise QB in Rd. 2 or 3 and let them develop. This team is old (see Brooking, Keith and Dunn, Warrick), and they are going to be terrible for a while. Taking a chance on a non-first round QB is not the worst idea for this franchise.

The pick will actually be…….Glen Dorsey

After everything that has happened to the Falcons, Glen Dorsey would be just what the doctor ordered. As I said, the talent drain in Atlanta has been tremendous, especially on the defensive side of the football, and it is only going to get worse. Keith Brooking is getting old, and he won't be around much longer. Jamaal Anderson, last year's first round pick, has talent but played uninspired football in 2007. Dorsey is the type of dynamic playmaker who will not only be a perennial pro bowler and leader for the Falcons defense, but will command double teams and make more room for Anderson to work. Perhaps more important than anything Dorsey will do on the field, though, is the fact that he will be a good citizen off of it. Arthur Blank is a nice man who is trying to do right by his fan base. He's been burned twice recently by Vick and Bobby Petrino. Dorsey is the type of high class individual this team desperately needs to build around for the future.

4. Oakland Raiders

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Darren McFadden

I'm still not quite clear on this one, so let me see if I've got this straight. Several years ago the Raiders draft promising rookie Justin Fargas out of USC in the 2nd round. Injuries keep him from ever putting together a consistent season, much to the chagrin and frustration of Raider Nation which always believes he is capable of far more. In 2007, finally healthy and all but forgotten behind free agents Dominic Rhodes and Lamont Jordan, Fargas breaks out and seizes the starting RB gig with a 1,000 yard season. Then, immediately following the season the team gives him a contract extension, only to pay big money to his replacement that they take 4th overall? Yeah, it don't make sense to me either. As much as Al Davis loves making a splash in the media, there is simply no way he can defend taking McFadden, and shelling out the money necessary to do so…..especially after paying Jamarcus Russell big money as the top pick last year. McFadden may be the top talent in the draft, and an absolute stud in the making, but face it Raider Nation, it just ain't gonna happen.

The pick will actually be…….Chris Long

Remember when I said that Al Davis loves to make a splash in the media……well what could possibly be a bigger splash than selecting the son of one of the all-time great Raiders? Not only is Long a steal a four, but watching him suit up in the Black and Silver will conjure up memories of Papa Howie and the Raider glory days. The Raider offense is a work in progress, no doubt, but they actually have some skill position pieces in place (Russell, Fargas, Zach Miller) and there is a ton of unrequited talent on that O-Line (don't forget former #2 overall pick Robert Gallery who played MUCH better in the 2nd half of last season). The defense, however, is another story. Already one of the toughest, youngest, and most underrated units in the league, the Raider defense would be downright scary with the addition of Long. The Raider defense could grow into something truly special, which would take a lot of pressure of Jamarcus Russell and let him grow at his own pace. By 2010 this would be one of the best team in the league.

5. Kansas City Chiefs

Everyone thinks the pick will be……..Jake Long

No need to mince words here, if Jake Long were available I think the Chiefs would take about 10 seconds to make this pick. But the chances of him dropping to five are very unlikely, especially with all four teams drafting ahead of them in need of a left tackle. Of course, since those teams are drafting 1-4 they obviously have other needs, but its pure wishful thinking to believe not one of them would snap up the best left tackle prospect on the board. What has happened to KC is really amazing, and serves as a valuable lesson for the rest of the league. Two seasons ago everyone knew that Willie Roaf and Wil Shields wouldn't be around forever, but for some reason the Chiefs buried their heads in the sand rather than planning for the future. I guess you could say that their management lost sight of the forest through the trees, but I just say they were downright stupid.

The pick will actually be…….Ryan Clady

Is Clady the 5th best player in the draft? No freakin way. But then again neither was Levi Brown last year. And therein lies the most recent trend in NFL drafts. Teams reaching, and I mean reaching, in the first round to grab potential left tackles. Consider the following list of tackles all drafted in the first round, and all drafted higher than they graded out at: Levi Brown (5), Joe Staley (28), Jamaal Brown (13), Alex Barron (19), George Foster (20), Kwame Harris (26). And that is just in the last 5 years. Well add Clady to the list. Only a Junior, Clady actually has a ton of potential. He has great size and has outstanding feet (some, not me, say better than Long). Still, it will be a huge reach at #5 for the Chiefs, but one they might just be willing to make a la the Cardinals last year.

Recruiting Wars

2008-02-08T18:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry we disappeared there for awhile. I'd like to say that we've been working on some pretty big things (actually, we have, but it's still a work in progress). Mostly, we've just been reeling from end of the season, and then the football game that shall not be named.

But it's important to take a moment and comment on the recruiting wars that are wrapping up. Everyone is projecting winners and losers, and giving out rankings and all that. But it's essentially useless. As hard as it is to project college performance to the pros, projecting high school to college is even more difficult.

Add to that the fact that most of these kids aren't even finished growing, and that position coaches and off-field workouts will have more of an influence over their success than their most recent 40 times, and the whole thing is generally insane. Here's what you need to know:

LSU, USC, Florida, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas and Oklahoma all recruited enough talent to be nationally relevant for years to come. Just as they do every year. Elite programs are elite because they reload. The top tier schools aren't going anywhere.

Florida State and Miami recruited great players, as always. This is nothing new, what matters is how well they develop, or fail to.

It doesn't matter if Clemson, or someone else had an amazing recruiting class. What matters is how they play. When Al Groh first came to Virginia, they had classes ranked in the top ten for a number of years. Those teams underachieved. Of all the super-recruits that we had, only Chris Long and Heath Miller were really worth it. Others may be in the NFL, but they didn't leave lasting impacts on the college level.

So let's wait to get excited about Clemson, or whoever. It simply doesn't matter. I recall something about a great coach being able to take yours'n and beat his'n and his'n and beat yours'n.

The #1 draft pick three years from now won't be any of the names being tossed around by everybody right now. It'll be the kid that works the hardest, and makes his team better.

The whole recruiting thing is insane to begin with, and the attention paid is getting more ridiculous by the year. I can't wait to simply recycle this column for signing day next year.

The White Flag

2008-01-24T09:08:00.001-05:00

So, my best efforts notwithstanding, the NFL network has thwarted my plans for Senior Bowl week. Though they claim to be televising the practices for the North and South squads, in reality the network is merely using the practice field as its own “on site” set. Instead of actually showing the players practicing, viewers are treated to an hour and a half of network talking heads, in season game clips, and glimpses of the ongoing practice in the background. Now don’t get me wrong, I love listening to Mike Mayock (who is the new Mel Kiper!), and the fact that he is a Boston College grad has nothing to do with that (well maybe a little). But the fact remains unless you are physically in Mobile, you simply cannot see enough to grade out the players. I guess we’ll have to wait until the combine in Indianapolis!

But fear not, new features are coming ASAP…..just don’t expect me to apologize to the NFL Network.

Senior Bowl Recap - weigh in

2008-01-22T09:24:00.000-05:00

Well the season is over, and forgettable as it was it did, at least, give us something to talk about every day. Now without actual games going on we are forced to turn our attention to other things, such as recruiting wars, season wrap ups, and, perhaps most importantly, the success, or lack there of, of our favorite collegiate players in the NFL. Yes the NFL draft and all the accompanying hype is upon us, and as any good draftnick knows the first and sometimes most critical step for NFL prospects is the Senior Bowl being held this weekend in Mobile Alabama. Thanks to the NFL network I will be watching Senior Bowl practice all week and giving my thoughts on the prospects as I see fit. However, I’d be remiss not to comment on the official weigh in that happened over the weekend. There were few surprises, but a couple of things worth noting:

1) Hawaii QB Colt Brennan measured a shade over 6’2’’ and a rail thin 185 lbs. In other words he looks more like a high school backup than an NFL QB. More importantly, this is just another dent in his armor. Combine his lack of size with his below average arm strength, poor performances against top competition, and stigma of being a “system QB” and you may get yourself a player who can be had on day 2 of the draft!

2) UTP offensive lineman Oniel Cousins, a raw but intriguing prospect, helped himself by measuring a legit 6’4’’ and 301 lbs. The consensus was that Cousins had the raw skill to play left tackle in the NFL, but may not have had the size. While he won’t be confused with John Odgen anytime soon, Cousins has the frame to play tackle, meaning a higher draft grade and more money for him.

3) The two most impressive players at the weigh in: Clemson offensive tackle Barry Richardson (6’6’’ 331) and Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable ( 6’5’’ 241). There is no doubt both players look the part, but getting them to play up to their physical tools was something neither’s college coach was able to do. Still, it remains true that the one thing you can’t coach is size.

4) Several 323 favorites helped themselves immensely at the weigh in. LSU linebacker, and speed freak, Ali Highsmith came in at just under 6 feet even and an impressive 229 lbs., more than adequate size for weak side NFL linebacker. UCLA rush end Bruce Davis weighed in at 241 lbs., a bit light for a defensive end, but measured well over 6’2’’ meaning he has room to add weight should his team want him to play with his hand down. Finally, little mentioned Tennessee tight end Brad Cottam looked more like an offensive tackle than a TE at nearly 6’8’’ and 271 lbs. With more and more NFL teams preferring to use tight ends in lieu of fullbacks (thank you spread offense) Cottam could move himself into the middle rounds with a big week of blocking.

5) But it wasn’t all pretty: USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis is a phenomenal player, but he is short…..very short, measuring under 6’1’’. Dorien Bryant, the super productive Purdue wideout, was one of the smallest non-kickers at about 5’9’’ and a half and a skinny 169 lbs. And standout Boston College ballhawking defensive back DeJuan Tribble came in at an impressively solid 190 lbs. but a very short 5’8’’ and a half.

The All-323 Team: Defense

2008-01-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

Ok, we're running a 4-3 defense this season, to take advantage of our considerable talent on the line. Once again, these are the rules: (1) you gotta play hard and get the job down, and (2) you can't be on anyone's all America team.

Defensive Line - Trevor Laws, Notre Dame

Walter - As easy as it is to pile on the Notre Dame team this year, it's that hard to criticize Laws. Undersized at only 6'1'' and 295 pounds, Laws proved to be virtually unblockable all year. Laws registered a ridiculous 112 tackles for a DT, and even chipped in 4 sacks. In a year when its easy to forget the Irish, it would be wrong to overlook this one.

Jeffrey Fitzgerald, Virginia

Frazier - Well, he played in a Long shadow this season (pardon the pun) but has proven himself to be an excellent player in his own right. Fitzgerald racked up six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss this season. At 6'3 and 280 lbs, this sophomore is no pushover against the run either. He is a star in the making, so this may be his last appearance on our All-323 team, he'll be too high profile next year.

Nick Reed, Oregon

Walter - Hard to imagine how Mr. Reed slipped through the cracks. Playing for one of the top teams in America, Reed absolutely dominated Pac-10 offensive lineman to the tune of 12 sacks and 22.5 tackles for a loss. A bit undersized at only 255 pounds, Reed is deceptively strong and stout against the run. A major NFL sleeper who you’ll hear more from in 2008.

Bruce Davis, UCLA

Frazier - We're going out of our way to give love to individuals who had great seasons, despite the rest of their team falling apart. Bruce Davis was pretty hyped going into this season, then the Bruins fell off a cliff. However, Davis notched a dozen sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. Those are gaudy numbers, so while the Bruins were simply collapsing, Davis continued to collapse the pocket.

Linebackers - J Leman, Illinois

Frazier - Frankly, J may have gotten too much press for this squad. I, for one, thought he was getting press due to his name, and his hair, heading into the USC game. Then I really watched him play. Wow. He was simply all over the field against an incredibly fast Trojan attack. It may not have been his finest hour, but he proved himself to be a gamer. 132 tackles? 10.5 tackles for loss? Yeah, J was everywhere, on seemingly every play.

Mark Herzlich, Boston College

Walter - Herzlich is a major sleeper and, admittedly, a 323 hometown pick. As a season ticket holder I couldn't help but fall in love with the quiet play of this linebacker. At 6'4'' and 240 lbs. Herzlich won't wow you with athleticism, but he will wow you with his smarts and physical play. Strong side linebacker is not a glory filled position. It entails taking on blocks and occupying blockers, and few do it better than Herzlich. Only a sophomore, Herzlich should be an all 323 staple for years to come.

Sean Lee, Penn State

Frazier - Speaking of overshadowed players... First it was Puz, then Connor, but Lee has been holding his own with those two for years now. 124 tackles, 9.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks, 7 passes broken up, and was twice the Big Ten defensive player of the week (only matched by Laurinaitis and Connor). Yeah, Linebacker U is alive and well, and Lee may prove to be better than both his more ballyhooed counterparts with a monster '08.

Defensive Backs - William Moore, Mizzou

Walter - Heard of Chase Daniel but not Moore? You aren't alone.....and that's a shame. Moore's numbers tell it all: 115 tackles, 13 passes defended, and 8 interceptions. Those numbers are not only well rounded, but they are downright awesome. One of the best run/pass defenders in America, Moore keyed the Tigers' late season defensive turnaround. If he can keep it going in 2008, Mizzou may be gearing up for a title run....national title.

Jonathan Zenon, LSU

Frazier - First, he scores the winning touchdown against Tennessee in the SEC title game, on a ball he broke on perfectly. Then he played perfect defense in the National Title game. He may be the only overlooked player on the LSU defense, but his play was impeccable and like every great player Zenon was at his best when his team needed him most.

Jaime Silva, Boston College

Walter - Another hometown favorite, but another incredibly deserving player. Silva quietly put up a monster season in Chestnut Hill. His 8 picks are impressive, but then again so are his 125 tackles. Bottom line, Silva was the best Eagle defender all year, and BC was one of the best defenses in America. That counts for something.

Dwight Lowery, San Jose State

Frazier - Dwight may be the epitome of the 323 squad. Seriously, who IS this kid? Well, he had 4 picks, 7 passes defensed, and made huge plays for the Spartans all season. The highlight of his year had to be returning a punt 84 yards for a touchdown against Hawaii, then following it up with a 24 yard interception return for another score. He almost single-handedly brought Hawaii's dream season to a halt.

Defensive Coordinator - Will Muschamp, Auburn

Walter - I love Will Muschamp. Anyone who reads the 323 knows of my unabashed affinity for the Tigers fiery leader. But don't tell me it isn't deserved. Auburn has had great defenses under Muschamp every year, and 2007 was no exception. Witness the Tigers holding Florida to 17 points in an upset win, and holding Arkansas to only 7 points and 67 rush yards. All year Muschamp came up with diversive gameplans to stop any type of offense the SEC the threw at him.

Head Coach - Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State

Frazier - This was a tough one. We love what Mark Mangino did, but he got tons of love. We love what coach Jagz did, but we've given BC enough love so far. So we decided to go with a guy that did a lot, with a little. In the toughest conference in the country, Croom got his decidedly un-sexy team to play tough, and even win a bowl game. This team overcame a 45-0 loss to open the season with LSU, then turned around and beat Auburn, in a hostile environment, just two weeks later. They took the show on the road again to stun #14 Kentucky on the Blue Grass. Against arch-rival Ole Miss, they overcame a 14-0 deficit with only eight minutes on the clock to make a bowl game for the first time in years. In his fourth season, Croom finally got his team to come together, ending the season by slowing down Kevin Smith, and earning a 10-3 bowl win. Croom is the SEC's first African-American coach, and it's certainly been a long, difficult road. Sylvester deserves a ton of credit for a great job this season, and for overcoming so many obstacles, and disappointments, to get to this place.

Quick Hitch...

2008-01-16T15:17:00.000-05:00

We'll get to the defense later today. Right now I just wanted to share this link with everyone. It's a great "profile" of Pete Carroll. He's one of our favorite coaches, who has turned his unique vision into one of the great teams in the country.

He's made his share of mistakes, but he really has put together a tremendous program.

It turns out that he's also a hell of a guy.

The All-323 Team: Offense

2008-01-14T16:32:00.000-05:00

It's one of our favorite columns of the year. Yes, it's time for the All-323 squad! We'll be doing a more traditional All-American later. The All-323 squad is reserved for some of our favorite players who haven't gotten as much national love. It's not the best players, or just a list of our favorites. There are just two rules: (1) you gotta play hard and get the job down, and (2) you can't be on anyone's all America team.

We're starting with the offense, and in honor of football's hottest trend, we're running a "spread" attack with a single back, three wideouts, and a tight end:

Quarterback - Todd Reesing, Kansas

Frazier - Probably the easiest pick of the year. Reesing had an ENORMOUS year, taking over the starting job, and leading Kansas to an unprecedented #7 ranking. He played huge all year, tossing 33 td's with only 7 picks, making huge plays with his feet, and getting his team to battle back in tight games. He is generously listed as 5'10, but one things for sure, it's ALL heart.

Running Back - Jacob Hester, LSU

Walter - Wanna know the real irony of LSU this year? On arguably the most talented offense in America, the least talented player, Hester, made easily the 5 biggest plays during their championship run. Whether its blasting through a defensive end for 4 yards on third and 3, or picking up a blitzing linebacker on 1st and 10, Hester simply does everything, and anything, to help his team win. Oh yeah, and he rushed for over 1000 yards too!

Wide Receiver - James Hardy, Indiana

Frazier - Beast. At 6'7 and 220 lbs, with excellent speed and hands, James Hardy is more or less uncoverable. His 79 catches for 1,125 yards and 16 touchdowns are impressive, but watching him dominate Justin King, a top cover corner, for 14 grabs, 142 yards and a pair of scores was something to behold. He was a huge part of college football's best story.

Wide Receiver - Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt

Walter - Quick who's the SEC's all time leading pass catcher? Before you start rattling off former Florida Gators I'll save you the time and just tell you it's Bennett. After three monster seasons at Vandy, Bennett looks to take his show to the NFL, and he'll do it without nary an all America team to his name. I guess he didn't deserve it though. Over 230 catches for over 2700 yards against the top DB's from the nation's toughest conference? Earl is a keeper!

Wide Receiver - Dorien Bryant, Purdue

Frazier - One of the nation's most underrated for years. Bryant had his third straight season with more than 80 grabs for over 900 yards. For his career he nabbed almost 300 balls for over 3,500 yards, and you've never heard of him, but he's been making huge plays, without incredible physical tools, for years.

Tight End - Gary Barnidge, Louisville

Walter - We all know it was a lost season for Louisville, but it wasn't a lost season for the big TE. Barnidge, whose played in the shadow of Mario Urrutia and Harry Douglas for two years now, emerged as Brian Brohm's favorite crunch time target grabbing 53 balls for 655 yards and a team leading 7 TD. And who can blame Brohm for targeting Barnidge. He stands 6 feet 6 inches and rarely drops a ball.

Offensive Line - Rutgers

Frazier - For the offensive line, we're rewarding a unit instead of focusing on individual players. Line play is all about teamwork, and we think it's important to give this Rutgers unit the credit it deserves. This unit plowed the road for over 2,500 yards on the ground (more than regarded units such as Ohio St. or USC, hell, they had more passing yards too). Oh yeah, and they surrendered 7 sacks all season. You know who Ray Rice is, but did you know who Pedro Sosa (one sack in two years), Jeremy Zuttah (no sacks since 2005), Anthony Davis, Mike Fladell, Mike Gilmartin, Ryan Blasczyk are? Yeah, their the road-graders who make it all possible.

Offensive Coordinator - Chip Kelly, Oregon

Walter - I love to say it, but we here at the323 knew all about Chip Kelly before he arrived Eugene. Yup, here in the Northeast we had the pleasure of watching Chip run the UNH (that's New Hampshire) offense that set several Division 1AA single season records. And while Ricky Santos (QB) and David Ball (WR) were nice players it was clear Chip was ready for bigger and better things. Well, all Kelly did was replace a semi legend at Oregon (Gary Crowton) and turn a middling QB prospect into a Heisman frontrunner (Dennis Dixon).

Slaton

2008-01-13T18:21:00.000-05:00

According to this article from the good folks at ESPN, Steve Slaton has decided to turn pro. Now, this decision may seem odd from a guy who gained 700 fewer yards and saw his per carry average plummet from 7.0 to 5.0. He definitely seemed a step slow all season, and was totally overshadowed by Pat White this year.

So why turn pro? Three reasons:

1) New coach. Who knows how the new staff will treat him. Who knows if the schemes will allow him to continue to be so proficient. Frankly, it's always a risk when a top prospect faces a coaching change going into his senior season. That's just a huge variable, and a lot of kids, understandably, don't want to risk it.

2) This year's running back crop. McFadden is a top 5 guy. Otherwise, the field is pretty fluid. Jonathan Stewart and Rashard Mendenhall are definitely the next two right now, but that's still pretty speculative. It's not an elite crop, and Slaton is certainly more decorated than those other two. He also possess good size, has proven to be a capable receiver, and is a good 40-time away from rocketing up draft boards. Does he have that kind of run in him? I don't know, but if Slaton feels he can burn a 40, and he's right, he'll make himself a very rich man.

3) Noel Devine. It's really that simple. Slaton has to be worried that Devine will steal carries from him next year, and he'll drop from a borderline first-round guy to a second day guy pretty quickly. If his stats continue to drop, more questions will come up. Noel Devine is an absolutely electric player, and Slaton is seriously in danger of being overshadowed by two guys in his own backfield. It's reminiscent of Antonio Pittman getting out of Columbus before Beanie Wells stole his thunder.

Is this the right decision for Slaton? We'll only know after he does some running. However, it certainly is understandable. His draft stock took a serious hit this year, and you never want to come out early after such a down season. Still, Slaton may be concerned that a bad showing next year would cripple his ability to get picked on the first day, or at all. If Devine steals carries, if the new coaches don't get the most out of that offense, or if Slaton didn't have a "down" year, but was in fact, exposed as a mediocre player, then leaving now is definitely the right move.

Quick Look to 2008

2008-01-08T16:58:00.001-05:00

Sorry folks I just can't wait. I could dive into a lengthy examination of Ohio State's stinker last night, but it would basically be a cut and paste job from last year's title game. Instead, I can't resist looking ahead to 2008.

Early Top 10 for 2008

1) Georgia – Everyone back, and a full season of Knowshon make the Dawgs the team to beat….I told you so!
2) Oklahoma – If Auston English and Curtis Lofton come back the Sooners will be loaded, if Malcolm Kelly comes back they’ll be unstoppable.
3) USC – The talent is there to be #1 overall, but it’d be wrong to assume Mustain or Sanchez will just step into Booty’s shoes and be as good.
4) Florida – The most talented offense in the country will get even better with the addition of USC transfer and former star recruit Emmanuel Moody…..now about that defense.
5) Missouri – Chase Daniel might be the Heisman favorite, especially with pal Jeremy Maclin back, but this team will be really good if their defense plays as well as it did against Arkansas.
6) LSU – Offense should be national title caliber, even with losing Flynn and Hester, but defense will need to reload with new talent and a new coordinator.
7) Auburn – Gone is steady Brandon Cox, but enter future superstar Kody Burns and perhaps the best returning defense in the nation.
8) Ohio State – After two straight blowouts in the national title game, it’ll be interesting to see how many future NFLers stick around Columbus. Laurinaitis, Jenkins and Gholston are as good as gone, if guys like Boone, Robiskie and Freeman follow drop the Buckeyes out of the top 10.
9) West Virginia – Move them up a notch if Steve Slaton moves on to the NFL since it’ll mean more carries for their MVP Pat White, and more touches for superstar in waiting Noel Devine.
10) Texas Tech – Not the best choice, but with Harrell, Crabtree and the rest of the offense returning, if the Raiders don’t break through in 2008 they may never.

Keep an eye on……

Michigan – if Rodriguez can get Pryor and keep McGuffie, we may be looking at Slaton/White redux
South Carolina – when Spurrier’s team was healthy they were one of the best in the nation, they’ll have all offseason to heal

Deep sleepers……..

Michigan State – if Devin Thomas comes back, I dare you to find a better trio than he, Ringer, and Hoyer
Central Michigan – if you haven’t seen the Dan Lefavour led Chippewas, you are missing out on the newest mid major darling
Boston College – Ryan and Callender will be hard to replace, but the defense will be nasty and Jags works wonders with QB’s

Don’t buy the hype………
Illinois – it’s Ron Zook for goodness sake, a 7-5 backslide is inevitable
Wisconsin – same old team, same old story
Clemson – see Wisconsin

Just another year or two away……..
Colorado – Dan Hawkins will make them a power again in the mediocre Big 12 North
Pittsburgh – talent is there, they just need to dump Wanny
UCLA – Rick Neuheisel is the perfect man for the job; think Pete Carroll at USC perfect

National Title Game Preview

2008-01-07T17:21:00.000-05:00

Look, I’ll be honest. I am trying to get excited about the national title game, I really am. But, frankly, I just don’t think it’s going to happen for me. Nothing against OSU or LSU, but….well actually, everything against them. Both teams are entirely uninspiring, and while there are plenty of NFL worthy players on each roster, these are simply not the two best teams in college football. After what we saw from USC (who demolished the same Illinois team that went into Columbus and whooped the Buckeyes) and Georgia in their bowl games, how can there be any doubt one, if not both, of those teams is playing better than LSU and OSU right now. Not only that, but after a sterling performance against Arkansas and Virginia Tech respectively, one could almost, ALMOST, argue that Missouri and Kansas are playing at a higher level as well.

Nonetheless, after weeks of thinking about this game I believe I am ready to make my pick. Now, before I do, I just want to tell all those Buckeye fans out there that I tried as hard as I could to convince myself to take OSU. As early as 2 hours ago I was planning on taking OSU and the money line to win tonight……but that was before common sense kicked in. First, the factors that almost led me to make a foolish bet:

(1) LSU’s defense is overrated. – I think we can say we know this for sure after Darren McFadden and Arkansas were absolutely shut down by a mediocre at best Missouri Tiger defense. Yes that same Razorback squad that shredded LSU, could barely muster a touchdown against Mizzou. The same could be said for Kentucky, who ran up and down the field against LSU, but were held in check by Florida State. LSU may have some big names, but this is NOT the suffocating unit we all thought we were getting when the season opened.

(2) Coaching – In my view there is a clear, CLEAR, edge to Ohio State……at first glance. Jim Tressel has proved himself to be a master recruiter. Whether he is as brilliant a game manager remains to be seen. In Ohio State’s last two losses (Illinois and Florida), Tressel had absolutely no answer to his opposition’s spread offense attack. Both Ron Zook and Urban Meyer found weaknesses in the vaunted OSU defense and were able to exploit them while Jim Dandy sat around doing nothing. No adjustments, no alterations to the gameplan, only blowouts. It’s one thing to put together a great gameplan before the game, it’s quite another to do it at halftime. Now I am not saying that Les Miles is the second coming of Bear Bryant, he’s not, but I don’t trust Tressel just yet.

(3) Revenge – Yup, can you believe it? I almost talked myself into the Buckeyes based on last year’s debacle against Florida. All week we’ve heard how OSU has approached this year differently, and how they are all chomping at the bit to prove that last year was a fluke. That may well be true, but will it really matter? Are we to really believe that the reason OSU got BLOWN OUT last year was because they weren’t focused during the week? Are we really to believe that an extra week of focused practice would have made that team any faster or more physical? Heck no. It’s all about the players. Last year Florida had the better players, this year LSU does. It’s the national title game for goodness sake. Both teams will come out motivated, the better players will win.

All that said I am still going with LSU for the simple reason that they have the better players. It’s as simple as that. What, you don’t believe me? Well then, let’s have a look, position by position:

Quarterback
LSU: Matt Flynn and Ryan Perriloux
OSU: Todd Boeckman
Edge: LSU
Skinny: If this were just Flynn vs. Boeckman it’d be a draw. Both are seasoned veterans with limited skills, but great football minds. The presence of the dangerous Perriloux, however, tilts the scale in LSU’s favor. Neither Flynn nor Boeckman has the ability to take over a drive, much less a game, by themselves. While Perriloux may not be ready to win a game himself, he does have the explosion and big play ability to carry his team for short stretches.

Running Backs
LSU: Keiland Williams, Trindon Holliday, Jacob Hester
OSU: Beanie Wells and Maurice Wells
Edge: LSU
Skinny: Quick, which team had more rushing yards in 2007? Must be OSU with Beanie Wells right? Nope, actually LSU outrushed OSU by over 400 yards. While Beanie is clearly the best running back in the game, LSU actually has the overall edge at the position thanks to tremendous depth and versatility. Hester, LSU’s leading rusher, is a workhorse who will pound away on a defense just enough to open up some creases for the slippery Williams, and the explosive Holliday. The Wells boys are good, but three is better than two.

Wide Recievers/Tight Ends
LSU: Brandon Lafell, Demetrius Byrd, Early Doucet, Richard Dickson
OSU: Brian Robiskie, Brian Harline, Ray Small, Jake Ballard
Edge: Push
Skinny: The OSU numbers look a lot better, I concede that. However, consider the following. OSU’s top three wideouts (Robiskie, Hartline, Small) put up a combined 1757 yards and 17 TD in a combined 34 games. The top three LSU wideouts (Lafell, Byrd, Doucet) put up a combined 1708 yards and 14 TD in only 29 combined games. Getting Doucet back really makes this a dangerous group for the Tigers. A healthy Doucet would be the best pass catcher on most fields and he will be tonight. The LSU corpse is more dynamic and capable of far more than the relatively slow OSU quartet.

Offensive Line
LSU: Bret Helms, Will Arnold, Herman Johnson, Ciron Black, Carnall Stewart
OSU: Alex Boone, Steve Rehring, Jim Cordle, Ben Person, Kirk Barton
Edge: OSU
Skinny: There may not be a better offensive line the country than OSU’s. Barton and Boone are stalwarts at tackle, and they lead the way in both the running and passing game. That said, the LSU unit is nothing to scoff at. When healthy, Will Arnold is one of the top drive blocking guards in the nation, and both Herman Johnson and Bret Helms are all America caliber. Both units are strengths for their teams, OSU’s is just a bit stronger.

Defensive Line
LSU: Glen Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Tremaine Johnson, Charles Alexander
OSU: Vernon Gholston, Dough Worthington, Todd Denlinger, Rob Rose
Edge: LSU
Skinny: Closer than you think. We all know how good Dorsey is, but in my opinion Gholston is actually the best lineman in this game. No matter who you choose, both players are superb athletes who have the ability to completely dominate a game. Given the relative excellence of these two players, it is actually the rest of the LSU line that gives them the edge. Tyson Jackson is a bit underrated playing in Dorsey’s shadow, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better pair of defensive ends than he and Charles Alexander. The OSU offensive line versus the LSU defensive line should be appointment viewing.

Linebackers
LSU: Ali Highsmith, Daryl Beckwith, Danny McCray
OSU: Marcus Freeman, James Laurinaitis, Larry Grant
Edge: Push
Skinny: There is no doubt that these are two of the top linebacking units in the land. Laurinaitis is a sure first round NFL pick, and some day so too will Freeman. For LSU, their trio is amongst the fastest ever assembled, particularly Highsmith and McCray. Both units are excellent, and what is most compelling is that they are completely different. I expect Highsmith and Laurinatis to match each other tackle for tackle, and the difference will be the LSU’s linebackers’ ability to match up in the passing game, something OSU’s may not be able to do.

Secondary
LSU: Chevis Jackson, Jonathan Zenon, Craig Steltz, Curtis Taylor
OSU: Donald Washington, Malcolm Jenkins, Anderson Russell, Kurt Coleman
Edge: Push
Skinny: Two more outstanding units, with OSU probably having the better talent, but LSU having the better experience. Jackson and Jenkins are both top cover corners who should play big no matter what. For LSU, the real revelation in 2007 has been Steltz, a tackling and intercepting machine from game 1. LSU’s secondary might actually be a bit overrated talent wise because they are made to look better than they are thanks to their superb pass rush and linebacker speed. If OSU can give Boeckman time, the Buckeyes may be able to exploit this matchup.

So there you have it. On a straight player by player analysis LSU has the talent. Will they put it together tonight? Will the coaching hold up? Will someone I haven’t mentioned come up huge and make a monster play? Well, that’s why they play the game. For now, give me the team with the better talent. LSU wins it relatively easily, 27-17.

Final Pick

2008-01-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

Ohio St. +3.5 vs. LSU

The short reason: it's the year of the upset.

The slightly longer reason: LSU is nothing if not overrated. The Tigers have a pair of losses to 8-5 teams, one of whom got DEMOLISHED against Mizzou. The other struggled to put away a FSU team that was playing with it's 8th string. Their defense gave up a ton of yardage late in the year. They haven't exactly been winning big. Here's how it's gone since October:

1: Last second win vs. Florida
2: Loss to Kentucky
3: Last second win vs. Auburn
4: Last minute win vs. Alabama
5: Blow out of La. Tech
6: Close game to the 4th quarter vs. Ole Miss
7: Loss to Arkansas
8: 4th quarter come from behind win vs. Tennessee

One blowout, two losses, two games close to the 4th and three wins that came down to the final seconds. That record, against good, bad, and terrible competition, would seem to indicate a close game tonight.

The real reason: Because LSU doesn't have the balls to play the type of game that would result in them blowing out the Buckeyes.

Defensively, LSU is good but incredibly overrated. Luckily for them, Ohio St. is uninspiring offensively. Beanie Wells is a good player, but he'll have to be a great one to get much done against a team keying on him. Only McFadden was able to run into the teeth of this defense and make them pay. No one else is McFadden. Boeckman's job will be to avoid mistakes, and take the plays given to him. He'll have his chances, and the utterly overrated Steltz will gamble, giving the Buckeyes a shot to beat him for big plays. Turnovers will doom the Buckeyes, but I bet they play a plodding, gross game that results in a couple of successful drives, and not much else.

Offensively, LSU pounds the ball with Hester, and let's Matt Flynn toss it around semi-accurately. Frankly, it's a Big Ten offense with incredible speed on the outside. However, I'll be that Miles will play his typical game, and that Ohio St. will be able to keep things close. They are a fast Big Ten team, and have a ton of defensive pride. Flynn is not a great passer. Frankly, I envision a 7-3 LSU lead when Ryan Perrilloux is given a drive. I'll bet that he leads LSU down for a score, and the 14-3 lead proves insurmountable.

However, if LSU really wants to win, they need to play like an SEC team. The Buckeyes suck against the SEC. They got mauled by Florida, and never beat the conference, as in, ever. Why? Because speed kills. Because those SEC athletes kill. LSU is an SEC team that in many ways plays like a Big Ten team. Miles should have gone to Michigan, he would have fit right in!

LSU will win big if Keiland Williams, Trindon Holliday and Perrilloux play a major role in the offense. Reverses, spread formations, and speed on the perimeter will kill Ohio St. However, running a slow fullback or quarterback into the pile will not get the job done. Laurinaitis will eat Matt Flynn for lunch. But he won't be able to catch Holliday.

The bet is LSU will throw deep and use Doucet and company, but Malcolm Jenkins can run, and Flynn just isn't a great passer. If they hit those plays, they could win big, but I'm betting they won't. I'm betting they play close to the vest, have a conservative offense, and try to grind. I'm also betting that when they switch things up offensively, they'll build a lead that they won't relinquish. The prediction, a 24-21 grinder for LSU.

But if they play the way they SHOULD, it'll be more likely 42-24.

So a snoozer, or a blowout, those seem to be our options. I can't wait for this season to end.

Orange Notes

2008-01-04T01:14:00.000-05:00

- I love Todd Reesing. He's one of the gutsiest guys you'll ever see. I mean, a 5' 9 quarterback lowering his shoulder and taking on an all-american linebacker? Wow. He's all heart.
-Mark Mangino understands football. He schemed brilliantly, and put his players in position to with the game. He got first downs out of formations, and rolled the dice just enough to keep his band of underdogs fighting tough, without seeming desperate.
-Frank Beamer has come this far by doing three things. Playing conservative, smash-mouth football, playing great defense, and making special teams plays. Well, the special teams played about even, and the defense was very sturdy, but he insisted on throwing the ball all over the field. Ore had over 100 yards on the ground, and their only scoring drive aside from a late hurry-up effort came from running Ore up the gut and punishing the Kansas defense. Beamer out-smarted himself in this one.
-Mark Mangino understands how to turn mediocre talent into a GREAT team. Here's the recipe: Win the turnover battle (something they did all season), don't make mistakes (least penalized team in the country) play good special teams (definitely on display tonight) and put your players in a position to win (good schemes both offensively and defensively, good adjustments). Finally, find a quarterback your team will respond to, who isn't afraid to make plays, and will take care of the ball.
-Mangino showed why he was the coach of the year, and Kansas proved that they belonged in the BCS after all. Their only loss this year was to the #6 team in the nation who just proved how good they are, and they finished the year by beating the #3 team. Wow.
-Rock
-Chalk
-Jayhawk
-KU!

Bowl PIckoff - 1/3

2008-01-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

Orange Bowl

Frazier: VTech -3 over Kansas

Last night certainly weakened my resolve on this pick. It's not like I expect Tech's offense to explode or anything, it a very pedestrian unit. However, it's impossible to deny the fact that Kansas lost to the only team they played with a pulse. That being said, Mizzou certainly proved that they are a pretty legit team, so it's impossible to say Kansas is a bunch of bums based on that result. Still, one of these teams has played a tough schedule, and has some good wins on the resume. That team ain't the Jayhawks. I love Reesing, but the Hokie pressure gets to him in a 27-17 Tech victory.

Walter: VTech -3 over Kansas

I like Kansas, I really do. I'd like to pick them, but I won't. Frankly I haven't seen enough out of the Jayhawks to believe they can go toe to toe with a big, physical, bullying Hokie team. I don't know what Todd Reesing will do when faced with the kind of pass rush VTech will bring. I don't know how the no-name Kansas defense will react if Tech comes out and tries to run the ball right down their throat. I don't know whether Coach Mangino will make the necessary adjustments and take the necessary risks to stay in this game. One thing I do know is that one way or another you can count on this game being a blowout. I don't think Kansas has it in them. Tech big, 31-10.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 10-15
Walter: 18-10

Frazier's Bonus Picks:

Edwards +7 over Clinton

It's hard to get first time voters out under any circumstances, and the Democratic caucuses are tricky beasts. Howard Dean learned that the hard way, so I gotta go with the proven strategy in an upset.

Mike Huckabee even over Mitt Romney

Huckabee has some things going against him, namely first time caucusers. However, unlike the Democrats side, there is no vote-poaching in a second vote, so there won't be a chance for moderates to go Romney if their candidate (Giuliani or McCain) isn't viable. Also, Huckabee is relying on conservative Christians who have proven an acumen for political organizing. I see them getting it done, especially with Romney's negatives going up due to his attack ads.

More on the Sooners

2008-01-03T09:15:00.000-05:00

I was most surprised by two things last night:

1: Bob Stoops panicky coaching decisions. Really? A two-point conversion that early in the third quarter? You scored nine points in less than nine minutes, and you think you need to go for two? Like you may only have a shot for a field goal to tie? This move perplexed me at the time. Then WVU scored again, and kicked the PAT to go up 12, meaning that the Sooners needed a pair of touchdowns, instead of being down a touchdown, conversion and field goal. Also, a momentum-loser.

That was followed by an even worse decision, the onside kick. You scored nine points in nine minutes. You're forcing three and outs. The crowd is surging, and everything is going right. So you roll the dice and allow your opponent to work with a short field? Did you really think WVU was going to march 80 yards? I have NEVER seen a 7-point favorite kick onsides out of anything other than desperation in the waning moments. That was a surreal call. Would Georgia have done that? Or USC? Or Ohio St? It hit all the wrong notes, seemed desperate, handed momentum back, gave a reeling opponent a short field, and resulted in a touchdown against you. Terrible call. Just terrible.

2: The Oklahoma offensive line. These guys are one of the highest rated units in the country. However, WVU was able to get pressure consistently. Bradford was constantly rolling away from a rush, effectively cutting the field in half. WVU was able to stuff some short yardage plays while giving away an average of 45 lbs on the line. They got sacks, they got pressure, they stifled the run game when it mattered and made the Sooners one-dimensional.

And Oklahoma was holding on about a third of the plays. I saw three or four EGREGIOUS holds that weren't called. Officials rarely blow holding calls, but they let this vaunted unit get away with murder and it still didn't matter. You could probably add another three sacks to the West Virginia total. Apparently this bunch can only block against fat, slow midwest boys, because the Mountaineers ran circles around them. It was a disgraceful performance. Loadholt and company are officially on notice, they may be the most overrated group in the country.

Bob Stoops

2008-01-03T00:12:00.000-05:00

Wow. That was an incredible Fiesta Bowl. However, watching it seemed a little deja-vu-ish.

I'm pretty sure I've seen Oklahoma blow a BCS game before. Let's recap.

2003: Get blown out by K-State to end the regular season. Miraculously make the title game, get beat handily by LSU. Also, deprived us of seeing LSU-USC, the real title game (which the Trojans would have won going away).

2004: Get smoked in the title game by the biggest margin in any BCS game, 55-19 to USC.

2005: Finish 8-4, nice win against Oregon, but not an elite bowl.

2006: Lose to Boise St, a WAC team, and surrender 43 points. One of the biggest upsets of all-time.

2007: Get waxed, 48-28 against a WVU team that hadn't beaten a really good team this year, and had lost to Pitt to end the year, and lost their coach. Now, WVU played inspired, but that's still an ugly loss.

Stoops' teams just don't finish the season well. It's time to call him out on it. His teams need to show up for bowl games, AND finish strong.

You can say that it's tough to get up for a bowl game when you don't have a lot to play for, but tell that to, say, USC. Carroll's teams ALWAYS show up for the bowl game, and play hard as hell.
2002: Paste #3 Iowa 38-17.

2003: Dominated #4 Michigan, 28-14 for a share of the national title.

2004: The aforementioned 55-19 drubbing of Oklahoma.

2005: 41-38 loss in one the best all-time games to Texas. Some dumb mistakes, but that game was an absolute war against an incredibly talented opponent.

2006: Blitzed #8 Michigan 32-18.

2007: Crushed #13 Illinois, 49-17.

The most important games to note are the 2002, 2006, 2007 games. Those one were strictly for pride, and USC could have overlooked them, or not cared, or been "insulted" by the matchup, but they showed up and kicked ass in all of them.

Think the USC standard is too high? How about Georgia?

2002: Beat Florida St. 26-13 in the Sugar Bowl

2003: Beat Purdue 34-27 in the Capitol One Bowl

2004: Beat Wisconsin 24-21 in the Outback Bowl

2005: Lose 38-35 to WVU in the Sugar Bowl. Not a good loss, as Georgia was the better team, but at least they showed up and fought hard.

2006: Beat Virginia Tech 31-24, not a marquee game, but a nice win.

2007: Paste Hawaii, 41-10.

Now, this isn't to compare the Georgia-Oklahoma seasons, but how they performed down the stretch. Richt's teams have all played hard, and even in the game they shouldn't has lost, they battled to the end. Maybe their opponents weren't always as good as the ones OU faced, but they never rolled over, or made excuses, or failed to show up. That's the difference I'm getting at.

Bob Stoops has earned his reputation as one of the nation's best coaches, but his teams have a propensity for either getting blown out, or not showing up an awful lot. That's a sign of poor coaching, and that needs to be said.

Bowl PIckoff - 1/2

2008-01-02T19:36:00.001-05:00

Fiesta Bowl

Frazier: Oklahoma -7 over WVU

Is that really the line? That's an enticing number even WITH Coach Rod. Without him, and with the added turmoil in Morgantown, I just have to lay the points. With as good as Mizzou looked against Arkansas, one has to believe that Oklahoma is a lot better than I had thought. I had them pegged as entirely overrated all season, but the Big 12 has generally looked good in their bowl games, and Oklahoma is clearly the cream of that crop. Unless Pat White plays superman, it won't be close. Call it Sooners, 41-28.

Walter: Oklahoma -7 over WVU

Maybe, just maybe one of these days we'll get a BCS bowl matchup that doesn't suck.....then again maybe we won't. Two blowouts down, three to come. Tonight, it should be all Oklahoma all the time. Simply put, WVU is too small, too weak, too distracted, and too timid to stand up to an Oklahoma team that can bully opponents when they want to. The only thing that can save the Mountaineers is a lack of motivation on the part of the Sooners. Don't count on it as the Sooners can stake a claim to the top 5 in 2008 with a dominant performance. Call it 38-20.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 10-14
Walter: 18-9

Bowl Pickoff 1/1

2008-01-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

Late picks, but trust me that I'm picking em as I would have.

Cotton Bowl

Arkansas +3 over Mizzou

I should know better, but I love McFadden too much, and don't trust the Big 12 one bit. Hogs, 34-28.

Outback Bowl

Tennessee -1.5 over Wisconsin

Vols have overachieved, and the Badgers suck. I like the SEC in this one, 28-24.

Capital One Bowl

Michigan +10.5 over Florida

I just have a feeling that the "real" Michigan finally shows up. Also, for all everybody sweats Florida, they have struggled against quality opponents. The line is too much, but Florida hangs on, 31-27.

Gator Bowl

Virginia +6 over Texas Tech

Gotta take my Hoos. Doesn't really matter that I hate the match-up. TT is tough in bowl games, but Virginia gets it done, 31-28.

Sugar Bowl

Hawaii +7.5 over Georgia

Fuck it, I'm picking the upset. It's indoors, and the Hawaii receivers run wild, 44-42.

Rose Bowl

USC -13.5 over Illinois

USC shows up in bowl games, and they always play like the best team in the country down the stretch. Illinois is a lousy team from a lousy conference, that made it here thanks to an upset over another lousy team. It's all Trojans, 38-17.

Bowl PIckoff - 1/1

2008-01-01T12:34:00.000-05:00

Cotton Bowl

Missouri -3 over Arkansas

McFadden and Jones are great, but I don't see any way that the Razorbacks can slow down Chase Daniel and Co. much less stop them. Lots of points in this one, but Mizzou takes it in the end 31-24.

Outback Bowl

Tennessee -1.5 over Wisconsin

Ugh, I hate one of these teams (TN) and dislike the other (Wisco). When an overrated team from the Big 10 faces and overrated team from the SEC there are no winners. But on the scoreboard expect Tennessee to win big. Don't forget, the Big 10 sucks. TN 34-21.

Capital One Bowl

Florida -10.5 over Michigan

Let's see, Michigan couldn't stop Appalachian State's spread offense but they are somehow going to stop Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Company. Please, after this one the Michigan faithful won't be able to wait to get rid of Lloyd Carr and his slow, plodding teams. Florida big, 44-27.

Gator Bowl

Virginia +6 over Texas Tech

Texas Tech has a great offense, Virginia has a great defense. Nice matchup. Virginia has a weak offense, Texas Tech has a weak defense. Not a nice matchup. Either way you look at it, Chris Long has to be worth a couple points himself. The Hoos keep it close. Texas Tech 28-24.

Sugar Bowl

Hawaii +7.5 over Georgia

Do I think Hawaii will keep it close? No. Do I think there is any way Knowshon Moreno doesn't run for at least 150 yards and 2 scores? No. Do I think the Hawaii O-Line has any chance of handling the Georgia front 7? No. Do I feel a sense of obligation to pick Hawaii after all we went through advocating them for the national title game? YES. Georgia 44, Hawaii 40.

Rose Bowl

USC -13.5 over Illinois

This spread could be 20 and I'd take USC. The fact that the Big 10 got two teams in the BCS is absurd, and while Illinois did some nice things this year, they simply are not on the same level as the national elite. USC will blow Illinois out on talent alone. This one could be something like 35-7 at halftime, and should end somewhere along the lines of 55-20 USC.

Bowl Pickoff Record: 14-7

More Picks

2007-12-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

Walter:

Cal -4.5 over Air Force

The Falcons have had a nice season but I simply cannot believe that
they can hang with a team that was actually ranked #2 in the nation at
one point. Cal has the huge talent edge and I have to believe it is
substantial enough to overcome what will no doubt be an utter lack of
interest. Cal big 34-20.

Auburn +2.5 over Clemson

Not a banner year for either school but I just like the way Auburn
plays better. Clemson has been known to have lapses of caring in
meaningful games under Tommy Bowden there is no reason to think
they'll show up for this meaningless game. Aubun wins ugly 17-15.

Fresno St +6 over Georgia Tech

Yes the wheels have officially come off the GTech bandwagon. Well
actually that happened a while ago but its safe to say that the wheels
are still off. Fresno proved they can beat nonelite BCS teams when
they thrashed KState. This one has a similar feel. Fresno wins 31-24.

Florida St +9 over Kentucky

Why? I don't know why. Just a feeling I guess. Unlike a lot of teams
Florida St usually plays with a lot of pride in their bowl game. Add
that to the talent gap along the line of scrimmage and FSU should keep
it close despite the suspensions. Kentucky wins it late 32-30.

Indiana +4.5 over Oklahoma St

Lost in this season has been the amazing story at Indiana. After the
tragic death of their coach the Hoosiers managed to get to a bowl
game, something that means a lot to all of them. Maybe I'm just hoping
but I think they finish what Coach Hep started. Indiana wins 21-20.

South Florida -6 over Oregon

Its not every day you get to bet against a Leaf boy. Its almost never
that you can do while only laying 6 points. The Bulls huge. Like 45-17
huge.

Frazier:

My grandmother turned one hundred today, so this is gonna be quick.

Air Force +4.5 over Cal

Gut feeling. I just think that the service academy stays focused, while the Bears audition for the NFL. Bears win in a squeaker, 34-32.

Auburn +2.5 over Clemson

Neither Tiger team really stepped up, but Auburn's defense was excellent all year, and they have some nice wins. Tubberville or T. Bowden? Gimme the Auburn Tigers, 20-13.

Fresno St. +6 over G Tech

Pat Hill's bunch love to knock off BCS foes, especially ones who would rather be taking it easy, instead of fighting for every yard. The win outright, 28-24.

Kentucky -9 vs. Florida St.

Yikes. I have a bad feeling about this one. FSU always plays with a ton of pride, and I don't know if that will change. However, they are so ridiculously depleted, especially in the defensive backfield, that I have to go with Woodson and Co. Not like the 'Noles can do anything on offense. 34-17.

Indiana +4.5 over Ok St.

The fighting Hoeppner's have more to play for than anybody right now. They win this one for their fallen coach, 31-28.

Oregon +6 over S. Florida

No defense for this pick. I just have a feeling that Belotti is smarter than we're giving him credit for. His staggering bunch pull together, 28-24.

Bowl Pickoff 12/30

2007-12-30T14:44:00.000-05:00

Frazier: bama -3.5 vs. colorado

saban really needs to redeem himself here, especially because he has competition for being the most vile coach around (petrino is making a serious run). frankly, this season was a catastrophe for the tide. tell me mike shula would have had a worse record, i dare you. anyways, bama has more to play for, and a smart coach with something to prove. tide, 28-23.

Walter: Alabama -3.5 over Colorado

Roll Tide!

Happy New Year from the323.

Bowl PIckoff - 12/29

2007-12-29T17:55:00.000-05:00

Liberty Bowl

Frazier: Miss. St. +3 over UCF

good luck kevin smith. the fighting croom's held mcfadden to one of his worst outings of the year, and every yard smith gains will be a tough one. i'll take the battle tested sec team, that is THRILLED to be playing in any bowl game, to take care of business here. let's call it 27-13.

Walter: Miss. St. +3 over UCF

Miss. St. was competitive in the SEC this year and their defense is very impressive. Plus this will be the first bowl game for every player on the team so they will be amped the entire game. Miss. St. was not, repeat not, terrible this year. It will be ugly, but Sylvester Croom gets the win outright. Call it 17-14.

Alamo Bowl

Frazier: Penn St. -5 over Texas A & M

coach fran is finally gone, but a&m hired the utterly uninspiring mike sherman to take over. i have a feeling that the players will be as flat as the search process was. on the flip-side, psu will be gunning for the aggies following comments that paterno should be coffin-shopping. also, morigami thrives in completely meaningless bowl games, so he'll be at his best. nittany lions, 30-17.

Walter: Texas A & M +5 over Penn. State

I like Joe Pa. I hate Morigami. I hate Coach Fran or Coach Sherman or whoever is in charge in college station. I like Stephen McGee. Frazier makes a great point about Morigami in a meaningless bowl game, but I'd rather hitch my ride to McGee. Call it 21-20 A & M.

Meineke Bowl

Frazier: Wake -1.5 over UConn

uconn will be facing the more-talented mirror image of themselves. however, while wake had some bad breaks (and boneheaded decisions, see the virginia debacle for examples) uconn had someone looking out for them this year. still, i can't back a team that got gift wins against the likes of louisville and temple this season, and got blasted by most of the good teams they faced. wake should roll, 31-20.

Walter: Wake -1.5 over UConn

I love Frazier's point hat Wake is a more talented version of UConn. It is dead on. But the key really is the talent on the Wake side. UConn has some nice players, but Jim Grobe had done a great job getting some elite talent to Winston Salem. Folks, this one won't be close. Wake takes it in a walk 30-13.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 2-9
Walter: 7-4

Bowl Pickoff - 12/28

2007-12-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

Champs Sports Bowl

Frazier: BC -5 over Michigan St.

This will be an interesting one. If the eagles show up, they should win handily. Sparty isn't exactly terrifying this year, and Matt Ryan is playing well above any of the stiffs the big ten has been throwing out there. However, the Eagles went from a BCS game to the champs bowl in the blink of an eye, so there could be motivation issues. Still, I think Ryan goes nuts auditioning for the scouts, and BC cruises, 38-24.

Walter: Michigan St. +5 over BC

Well Frazier you head the nail right on the head....then you went and ignored it. BC will win this game, but they haven't exactly been the model of consistency this year. Add that to the HUGE letdown of going from #2 in the nation to the Champs Sports Bowl in a matter of weeks and you have a the making of a flat performance. The suspensions will hurt the Spartans, but they have the big play guys in Devin Thomas and Javon Ringer to keep this close. BC squeaks it out 31-28.

Emerald Bowl

Frazier: Maryland +5 over Oregon St.

I will probably live to regret this pick. The Beavers have been cruising, and the Pac-10 was certainly better than the ACC this year, but i just have a feeling about this one. When I don't know enough about the teams, I look at the coaches, and I hate picking against the Fridge with a month to prepare. Terps fall just short, 24-23.

Walter: Maryland +5 over Oregon St.

This line is real weird to me. Oregon State has the better record, but they haven't exactly been lighting teams up while the Terps have played a lot better with Turner at QB than they did with Steffy. On the Oregon State side, Lyle Moaevo might have a decent record, but they've been winning in spite of him, not because of him. Maryland can be sneaky good at times (witness the romp of BC and NC St.) and sneaky bad at others (losing to UNC). I say they bring their A-game and take it outright 31-14.

Texas Bowl

Frazier: TCU -6.5 over Houston

TCU was supposed to be the BCS-buster this season, but they completely imploded. That being said, I have to take the Frogs over a newly rudderless houston team. I think TCU has a chip on their shoulder, and they go turnover happy, winning 34-20.

Walter: Houston +6.5 over TCU

Talk about a lack of motivation, it won't be a new thing for TCU. Ever since they lost to Texas in the second week of the season the Frogs have been going through the motions. This is a talented team but the effort simply isn't there. Am I worried about Houston because Art Briles left the team right before the bowl? Well, both Southern Mississippi and UCLA were the proverbial "rudderless ships" before their games and they both covered. Let's make it 3 for 3. TCU in a close one 28-25.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 1-7
Walter: 6-2

Bowl Pickoff - 12/27

2007-12-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

Holiday Bowl

Frazier: ASU +2.5 over Texas

In the game of superfrauds, I am going with the new kids on the block, instead of the proven-frauds. Frankly, it's most likely a mistake. But ASU actually played some good defense this year, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McCoy will be behind center for the Longhorns. He throws a half-dozen picks, and ASU wins, somehow, 28-24.

Walter: Texas -2.5 over ASU

Well Frazier you are right. Colt McCoy is a very Jekyll and Hyde quarterback. However, I think you forget that a single QB does not a backfield make. Texas has a guy named Jamaal Charles who has rushed for about 750 yards in his last 4 games. Yup, you read that right. McCoy can go ahead and match ASU's equally inconsistent Rudy Carpenter pick for pick. ASU doesn't have anyone to answer Charles on offense or defense. The Longhorns roll thanks to a 200 yard, 3 TD starmaking performance from the soon to be 2008 Heisman sleeper Charles. Call it 35-21.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 1-6
Walter: 5-2

Quick Hitch...

2007-12-27T12:38:00.000-05:00

Wow, I suck at bowl-picking. I sucked last year, and I am sucking again this year. My main problem is failing to assess "motivation" in these games. Underdogs often find themselves playing for a lot more than teams who feel "slighted" by their bowl. I know this phenomena all too well, it is hard to forget Virginia being banished to Boise and simply deciding to mail it in against a feisty Fresno St. team. Those sorts of games are insults to the dedicated fans, friends and alums of those schools. We're seeing plenty of it this year.

In my defense, the big man said that he "agreed with all" of my picks, and changed his to "mix things up". Which is to say, that we both suck at this, I just suck even harder.

Now that I have returned from "the land that cable forgot" I'll be able to catch the rest of the games. Although, I don't feel like I've missed a whole lot.

I still managed to show up more than Nevada did in their pathetic effort.

Bowl PIckoff - 12/26

2007-12-26T17:50:00.000-05:00

Motor City Bowl

Frazier: Purdue -8.5 over Central Michigan

I may like the Chippewa's, but I can't get behind a team that fell behind 38-0 to their bowl opponent in a matchup earlier this season. I mean, things change in college football, but it's not like Purdue has any huge injuries, or like Central Michigan has been blowing people out (squeakers against Akron, and Western Michigan, and a loss to Eastern Michigan in 3 of last 4 games). Also, it's the last time to get on-board with my pathetic "sleeper" pick, which apparently was in a coma. Boilermakers take it, 41-24.

Walter: Central Michigan +8.5 over Purdue

I almost went with Purdue here, and I may regret it. However, this game should be an absolute shootout (think 90 points total or so) and there are tons of questions for both teams. Such as.....Can anyone stop Dan Lefavour? Will Purdue care? Can anyone stop Dan Lefavour? Will Purdue be able to shorten the game with the run? Can anyone stop Dan Lefavour? Well since I am going with Central Michigan I will answer No, No, No, No, and No. Seriously, Dan Lefevour is my hero. Central Michigan wins a shocker 50-48, setting them up as the chic non BCS team for 2008.....remember you heard it here first.

Bowl Pickoff Records
Frazier: 1-5
Walter: 4-2

Quick Hitch

2007-12-26T11:58:00.000-05:00

Quick comments on the first set of Bowl Games……..

Still not quite sure why Utah QB (1) Brian Johnson is flying so far under the radar. The 6’2’’ Junior runs that spread offense to perfection, and should be even better in 2008 when he 2 full years from his devastating knee injury. Look for Johnson to be “Dennis Dixon Lite” next year……You wanna know why (2) Florida Atlantic suddenly looks like a team to be taken seriously? Well there are two. First is the superb coaching and recruiting job done by the legendary Howard Schnellenberger. Second is that Florida Atlantic University happens to be located in, yup you guessed it, FLORIDA. Of the 80 or so players listed on FAU’s roster, exactly 12 of them are from outside of the state, and that number includes three backup QB’s and the punter. With the success of FAU and South Florida proving that there is more than enough talent in that state to go around, one has to wonder why every Florida school, no matter how small, doesn’t have a football team……I told you about Southern Mississippi tailback (3) Damion Fletcher. 29 carries for 155 yards added to 7 catches for 50 yards against a very solid Cincinnati defense it damn impressive. This sophomore (!!) has a bright future ahead of him as an collegian and as an every down NFL back…...From the “opposite ends of the spectrum but same side of the score” file we give you (4) Nevada and (5) UCLA. Never have I seen a team look as disinterested in a bowl game as Nevada did in getting shutout by New Mexico. Conversely, playing with their 23^rd string, and walk on, QB, UCLA gave an outstanding effort only to come up just short against BYU. Goes to show you that not all losses are created equal…….The unit that should be most ashamed of themselves thus far through bowl season (well, aside from the entire Nevada team): the (5) Boise State defense. 476 total yards to East Carolina? Come on, you beat Oklahoma for goodness’ sake. Big time teams tanking meaningless bowl games is a bowl month tradition. Is it possible that Boise State, as a mid major, had entered the rarified air of it being acceptable for them to tank a bowl game it’s not a major one? If that’s how we all look at them now, that may be a bigger accomplishment than reaching the BCS and beating Oklahoma combined!

Bowl Pickoff - 12/23

2007-12-23T12:37:00.000-05:00

Hawaii Bowl

Frazier: Boise St. -10.5 over East Carolina

This game is a joke. Boise is bowl-tested, battle-scarred, and not about to go out on a whimper. They've lost two games in two seasons, and they aren't about to make it three. From a talent, coaching, and experience standpoint, this is a walk. I like the Broncos, 44-27.

Walter: Boise St. -10.5 over East Carolina

Boise goes from playing Oklahoma one year to East Carolina the next. Ain't college football grand. This one shouldn't be close. Expect Boise to dominate on the ground with Ian Johnson, and control both lines of scrimmage. Something tells me Chris Peterson won't need to dig as deep into his bag of tricks to win this year's bowl game. Boise in a walk 38-21.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 1-4
Walter: 4-1

Bowl PIckoff - 12/22

2007-12-22T11:08:00.000-05:00

Las Vegas Bowl

Frazier: BYU -5.5 over UCLA

UCLA won in the early matchup of these two, but since then BYU has blown up (in the good way) by winning nine straight since. UCLA, on the other hand, has blown up (in the bad way) by losing four of five. The Bruins got obliterated in their bowl last year by a weak FSU, and this year they don't have a coach. Ugly all around. Give me BYU 31-24.

Walter: BYU -5.5 over UCLA

Quietly Bronco Mendenhall has done a fantastic job of restoring the Cougars to their past glory. And while Karl Dorrell maybe deserved at least one more year in LA, the bottom line is that he was NOT able to restore anything to a Bruin program that still doesn't live up to its potential. Dorrell was nothing special so losing him won't hurt too much. What will hurt the Bruins will be Max Hall, Harvey Unga, and the rest of the Cougars trying to make it 11 straight wins. BYU big, 42-21.

Papajohns.com Bowl

Frazier: Cincinnati -11 over Southern Mississippi

I cannot give a team any support when they fire a coaching legend at the school for no reason. Jeff Bower turned that team around, consistently won at a no-name school, and got fired because his team isn't Auburn. Southern Miss is annually in the running for the best college football team in the state of Mississippi, and two of the others are in the friggin SEC. It was a gutless, thoughtless firing of a man who once again put together a winning team and made a bowl. I wish Bower the best, but i can't imagine that team has its' head on straight right now. Cincy wins, 30-13.

Walter: Southern Mississippi +11 over Cincinnati

Frazier makes an excellent point about Bower. He really got the short end of the stick. Still, 11 is too much to lay when Damion Fletcher, one of the best backs you've never heard of, is lining up in the opposing backfield. Cincinnati is good, but are they that good? After making their name by beating creampuffs in the first six games (6-0), the Bearcats have dropped 3 of 6, including losses to unranked Pitt and Louisville teams. Southern Miss keeps it close, but loses in the end 28-21.

The New Mexico Bowl

Frazier: Nevada +2.5 over New Mexico

Well, I liked this Nevada team, and their gutsy QB, Colin Kaepernik, BEFORE the Lobos lost their leading rusher for this one. It's Wolfpack time, 24-17.

Walter: New Mexico -2.5 over Nevada
Admittedly, I have no idea what to do with this game. I mean is anyone in the entire fucking world excited to watch this shit? Fuck it, I'm going with the home team. New Mexico wins it on a last second field goal, covering by half a point. Fuck the score.

Bowl Pickoff Records

Frazier: 1-1
Walter: 2-0

Bowl Pickoff - 12/21

2007-12-21T14:23:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note before getting to the picks. What is the deal with the disturbing trend of college football players being suspended for bowl games. Not one day after hearing that Florida State may have to forfeit thanks to 20+ suspensions, but both Ohio State and Tennessee announced that they are suspending starters for their bowl games thanks to various rule violations. As disturbing and upsetting as this news is to college football fans, the worst may be yet to come........we're only ONE day into bowl season. There is a lot of time left.

The New Orleans Bowl

Frazier: Florida Atlantic -2.5 over Memphis

When you know nothing about the teams, go with the coaching legend. I'll take FAU, and the fighting Schnellenberger's in this one, 38-34.

Bowl Pickoff Record: 0-1

Walter: Florida Atlantic -2.5 over Memphis

I admit that I, too, know almost nothing about these teams. However, I do recognize that one team's recruiting base in South Florida, while the other's is somewhere in Tennessee. That's the equivalent of pitting a Las Vegas based team against anyone else in a farting competition. I'll take my chances with the Miami based team. Nuff said. Gimme FAU 27-21.

Bowl Pickoff Record: 1-0

It's the most wonderful time of the year......

2007-12-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas? Eh, not for everyone. Happy Hannukah? For even fewer. Kwanzaa? Don’t even get me started…..Oh, Happy New Year? Hmmmmm, we’re recovering from our third snow storm this week in the Northeast, what exactly is so happy about it? Sigh……..

Yup, there’s only one thing we can all actually agree on……..Happy Bowl Season!

Traditions are an important part of the holiday season, and we here at the323 have but one holiday tradition. That’s right, the Bowl pick off. Check in daily to track Frazier and Walter matching wits to decide who reigns supreme as the world’s ultimate college football expert…..it’ more of an unofficial position.

On to the picks:

The Poinsettia Bowl

Frazier: Utah -7.5 Over NavyUtah has an absolutely stellar bowl record, winning six in a row under three different coaches. Speaking of coaches, navy lost theirs, which may be difficult to overcome. The midshipmen will battle, and have plenty of local support, but don't mess with team December. Utes, 31-20.

Walter: Navy +7.5 over Utah

Losing Paul Johnson hurts, but to be honest his the best thing Johnson did was install the offense. Heck, Navy only runs 5 plays, I think I could call the game. That loss would hurt a lot more if they hadn’t already named Johnson’s replacement, and if that replacement wasn’t an internal choice. Screw it, I ain’t going against the first Somoan head coach in the history of football. Navy’s magical season ends just that way. Navy 30-28.

Dear Santa....

2007-12-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year! Now, we're all about to get our wishes fulfilled as Bowl Season kicks off after a couple of tough Saturdays, but what else are we going to ask for this holiday season? Well, here's out wish list, in no particular order:

1: An entertaining National Title game. Frankly, we may have to go over the Jolly Man's head for this season, and appeal to the big guy upstairs directly. We've been writing the blog for two years, inspired, in part, by the thrilling Texas-USC tilt, but we're staring a second consecutive dud straight in the face. We'd love to be able to end the year with a bang, instead of a whimper.

2: More players like Darren McFadden and Dennis Dixon, and more coaches like Urban Meyer and Rich Rodriguez. College football is better than the NFL because the schemes are so unique and exciting, and the elite players can do such incredible things on the field. We love innovative coaches, and electric performances. Here's hoping we get another season full of them.

3: An underdog who can seal the deal. Here's a list of National Champs since 1992: Alabama, Florida St, Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Miami, Ohio St, LSU, USC and Texas. Pretty much chock-full of bluebloods, eh? This year, the year of the upset, pits Ohio St. against LSU. This sport desperately needs a Mizzou, or a Kansas, or an Oregon, or somebody to step up and take home the title for all the little guys.

4: Common sense for the NCAA presidents. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that NCAA football needs some sort of playoffs. Year after year of unfulfilling conclusions (USC v. Texas notwithstanding) has to eventually lead to the inevitable. The school presidents love the bowl games because they provide a reward of sorts (not to mention a whole truckload of cash) to the schools at the end of the year, but common sense tells us we CAN have a playoff WITH the bowls still in place. An 8 team playoff won't make the bowls the equivalent of the NIT. It's football fellas! People will watch the games even if they are officially labeled as meaningless.

5: More coaches who care about their school. I always say that if given the choice of being a college coach or an NFL coach I'd choose the former every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The reason is simple....in college, if you're great they name the stadium after you. Well these days that's about as likely as Mark Mangino going on Atkins. With coaches moving around more than ever it will be a long time before we see another JoePa build an empire out of nothing. Rich Rodriguez is just the latest in a long list of coaches who leave what they've started to pursue greener pastures. Heck, if it weren't for Greg Schiano you could eliminate the word "more" from this wish.

It's So

2007-12-17T15:58:00.001-05:00

My esteemed colleague makes an excellent point regarding Mr. Rodriguez. "Fit" really does matter for coaches. Bill Belichick was not a "fit" with Cleveland, but it's not like he's a completely different person suddenly. I certainly understand that Coach Rod may not "fit" at Michigan. In fact, it may turn out to be a disaster. However, I think some things warrant mentioning.

West Virginia ain't exactly South Carolina. Coach Rod is familiar with Big 10 recruiting, and the kind of players, and the kind of football played there. West Virginia is more of a midwestern state than a southern one in many respects. He understands what he is getting into there, this isn't like Bill Callahan trying to find Lincoln, Nebraska on a map. He's a smart enough guy to know what he's doing.

Coach Rod has shown flexibility. Urban Meyer inherited a team that wasn't in his mold and won a title with them. Coach Rod can do the same if he's smart. This is a many who started his career flinging it all over the field, and then turned into a running guru. He has coached players who have passed for over 500 yards in a game, and ones who have rushed for over 300. At Tulane they passed for over 300 and ran for over 200 regularly. Of course, the Big Man points out that the "spread" itself may be a problem at Michigan, but he's shown a willingness to change his formula for the talent. So we shall see.

Maybe this is what the Big 10 needs. Ohio St. shocked the world by beating Miami, but the Big 10 has generally looked a step slow for the last decade. This is a conference playing checkers while everyone else is playing chess. I think the Michigan braintrust saw their team lose to App. St. and Oregon, and Ohio St. get killed by Florida, and lose to Illinois, and realized that this "spread" thing, and this "speed" thing have been KILLING the top of the Big 10 recently. They are thinking that the "spread" plus Michigan's ability to draw great recruits, may turn them into a powerhouse once again. Right now, the Big 10 simply can't hang with the speed game, and Big Blue is trying to use that fact to their advantage.

All that being said, this is a monumental risk. If Coach Rod can get his team running his offense with the kind of players Michigan can draw (read: almost anybody they really want) then they could be a juggernaut. Or, they could turn into a fun, gimmicky team that lacks the resolve to win when it matters.

Say it ain't so Bo

2007-12-17T15:50:00.001-05:00

Fair points Frazier. Perhaps in my hast to debunk the “mediocre” label I went a bit overboard. By no means am I claiming that Nehlen is one of the college football coaching elite. However, he was a very good coach who brought a WVU program to its highest point, despite starting with much less than Rodriguez had. If you measure success by wins alone, Rodriguez’s tenure in Morgantown was unmatched. But if you consider longevity and influence on the program it is clear that Don Nehlan was the architect of WVU football.

Now, onto how Michigan screwed up. Here is my problem with the Rodriguez hire. The University of Michigan is the winningest program in the history of college football. They have been a consistent top 10 team for the better part of Lloyd Carr’s tenure, and were this close to playing for the national title last season. I understand that 2007 was nothing short of a debacle. I understand that Coach Carr’s time had expired. But NO, I don’t understand why Michigan felt they needed to pull a complete 180 and perhaps irreparably alter their program’s identity. Folks, this isn’t a moribund and mostly irrelevant University of Florida program hiring Steve Spurrier and his fun n’ gun offense here. This is the University of Michigan, the Maize and Blue, the self anointed Victors, abandoning everything that made the program great.

And believe me, this is nothing against Rich Rodriguez. I think he is a dynamic offensive mind, and there are few fans out there that admire his offensive creativity as much as I do. But one lesson we’ve learned time and again in college football is that the fit is as important as the X’s and O’s. Bill Callahan knows how to draw up some plays. Heck, he was a the head coach of a super bowl team. However he was the wrong fit at Nebraska. Asking the Cornhuskers not to hand the ball off is like asking a bird not to fly, a fish not to swim, a tiger not to turn back into a Chinese man at midnight (thank you very much Tracy Jordan). Callahan was an unmitigated disaster in Lincoln. It’s not because he forgot how to coach. It is because he was the wrong fit. I’m not so sure the same thing won’t happen in Ann Arbor.

Ask yourself, why is Michigan, or any iconic program for that matter, so great? Well you have to have a fertile recruiting base. Check. The Midwest is chock full of football talent. You have to have success sending guys to the NFL because, after all, college has basically become the NFL’s minor league. Check. Michigan has been a virtual factory for NFL drop back QB’s (Brady, Harbaugh, Grbac, Griese), physical wideouts (Howard, Edwards, Streets, Toomer), bruising tight ends (Tuman, Shea, Riemersma, Masaquio), and the their signature mauling offensive lineman (Runyan, Backus, Hutchinson Baas, Long). And finally, you have to have tradition. Check. No comment needed here. Add all those things together and you get a very rich team identity. One that has been successful for a century.

But you also get an identity that is wholly different from what a Rich Rodriguez team is. Think about it. Rodriguez has thrived at three jobs in his career: offensive coordinator at Tulane, offensive coordinator at Clemson, and head coach at West Virginia. His three quarterbacks at those jobs: Shaun King, Woody Dantzler, and Pat White. See a problem? Not exactly the classic Michigan quarterback eh? In fact, it gets worse. All three came from Southern high schools, where 6 foot 5 inch statues play tight end instead of QB. The high school game in the Midwest is very different from its counterpart in Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama (the home states of the three aforementioned QB’s). Michigan has a fertile recruiting base, but I don’t know if it can support the type of offense Rodriguez is known to run. Now am I saying that Rodriguez can’t go out and get the guys he wants? Of course he can. But I am saying that his hire may have already forsaken one of the greatest strengths of the Michigan program. Namely, its historic dominance of the Midwest recruiting wars.

Moreover, with Rodriguez at the helm, Michigan will no longer be the NFL factory is has long been. Rodriguez eschews the drop back passer for the runner, even though the NFL prefers the former. Rodriguez rarely uses his wideouts, limiting their ability to showcase their talents for scouts. Rodriguez recruits lighter lineman, proficient at pulling and getting up on linebackers which is nice in college, but limits a their pro potential. Think about it. Who are the signature Michigan offensive players of the past 20 years? I would say Tom Brady, Charles Woodson, Anthony Thomas, Mike Hart, Jon Runyan, Braylon Edwards and Steve Hutchinson. Aside from Woodson, NONE of them would get on the field for Rodriguez.

Perhaps Michigan made the right move because they need a change. We’ve commented that the Big 10 needs to be brought into the 21st century. And perhaps Rodriguez is the man to do it. Will his offense mystify the Big 10 with its speed (see Florida v. OSU last year)? Only time will tell, but I think we all also have to prepare for the possibility that Rodriguez will fit in at Michigan about as well as Callahan did in Lincoln.

Response

2007-12-17T14:20:00.001-05:00

Ok, I need to add a little depth to my earlier comments regarding coach Nehlen. That came out of a morning of going on WVU message boards and hearing him praised like some sort of god, while Rodriguez was vilified. That being said, calling him "mediocre" was unfair.

I will stand by the statement that WVU was a mediocre program.

The two best bowl WINS in WVU history came in the last two years under Rodriguez. Nehlen won 4 bowl games in twenty-one years, the Peach, Bluebonnet, Hall of Fame and Music City bowls. Not exactly a murders row there.

Cupcakes? That 1988 team had wins over Cincy, Rutgers, East Carolina, Bowling Green and Cal-State Fullerton. Scheduling cupcakes is a long-time college tradition. Don't blame it on the new guys.

Coach Rod has his team going to their 6th straight bowl. And don't say it's because there are SO many of them, since the bowls he has gone to are: Gator, Gator, Sugar, Gator, Fiesta. Yes, the first year it was the Continental Tires bowl, but tell me that's a far cry from the Bluebonnet?

In the ten years Nehlen coached in the Big East, he had three seasons with fewer than 5 losses, and only one season with fewer than 4. The only time they finished the season ranked was 1993. College football from 1990 on is pretty similar in terms of scheduling, and number of games.

Yes, Nehlen re-built the program (after Cignetti screwed up what Bobby Bowden started). So he deserves some credit, but it's not a great program. They have the same great pedigree as a team like Virginia, my alma mater.

There, George Welsh had a .608 (134-86) winning percentage, to Nehlen's .614 (149-93). He has 12 bowl games to Nehlen's 13, and 4 wins (even) 2 Peach, an All-American and an Independence. Both were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame immediately upon retiring. Virginia reached #1 in the polls (something WVU didn't do under Nehlen). Welsh finished ranked 6 times to Nehlen's 7.

Virginia is a mediocre program, and from 1990-2000 had greater success than WVU. Don Nehlen and George Welsh are practically interchangeable.

So if you don't want to call them overrated, that's fine. They both took lousy teams and turned them into pretty decent teams. Then Nehlen struggled over his past ten years, while George Welsh started to slip, and the team had those 8-5 Hawaii Bowl kind of years.

Frazier Has Lost His Mind

2007-12-17T13:19:00.001-05:00

Wow, I was debating whether or not to chime in immediately on the Rich Rodriguez hiring and then THIS happened: “He (Rodriguez) built that program (WVU). Nehlen was a mediocre coach, and that was a mediocre school” (emphasis added).

First, let’s address this simply preposterous statement uttered by my cohort Frazier. Perhaps it’s the strain of the holiday season finally getting to him. Perhaps it’s because we live in a “what have you done for me lately” society. Heck, perhaps it’s simply that Frazier doesn’t know anything about college football history outside of the ACC and Big 12 country (for the record, I never would have even thought that the last choice there was even a possibility before the Nehlen comment). Whatever your reason is Frazier, you are FLAT OUT wrong. Rich Rodriguez is a great coach who has done some good things at WVU, but that program is and always will be Don Nehlen’s.

Actually, your comment can and must be broken down into two equally ridiculous statements. One, that Rodriguez built the WVU program, and two that Nehlen was a mediocre coach. Let’s start with point number 2. Don Nehlen coached at WVU for 21 seasons. When he retired from coaching in 2001 he was the 17th winnengest coach in college football history despite coaching his entire career at Bowling Green and West Virginia (not exactly football powerhouses). Nehlen was almost immediately elected to the college football hall of fame in 2005. During his career, Nehlen led the Mountaineers to 13 bowl games (back when there weren’t 300 of them), 9 eight win seasons (again, during the glory days of the Big East and before it was acceptable to schedule East Carolina and SW Missouri State every year), and 15 winning seasons. Nehlen’s resume also includes a trip to the 1988 national title game against Notre Dame, and a defacto title game against Florida in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. Though Nehlen lost both games it should be noted that if not for an injury on the third play of the game to star QB Major Harris, the 1988 matchup with Notre Dame likely would not have ended in a 34-21 loss.

It should also be noted that even though Nehlen was 0-2 in Title games, that is still 2 more appearances that Mr. Rodriguez…..Which brings us to the first part of Frazier’s ridiculousness. It is simply undeniable that Don Nehlen built the WVU program. When Nehlen took over the Mountaineers program from Frank Cignetti it was floundering. Cignetti’s career record at WVU was 17-27, yet Nehlen was able to lead WVU to a 41-19 record in his first 5 seasons at the helm, including three bowl wins and three top 25 finishes. Conversely, when Rodriguez took over from Nehlen, his former teacher, WVU was coming off of a stretch for 4 winning seasons in 5 years. I concede that Rodriguez’s win totals are impressive, but they are inflated due to the weakening of the Big East and the cupcakes that are permitted on the schedule (not to mention the expansion of the schedule).

The bottom line is that while Rodriguez’s numbers are gaudy, he has NOT, repeat NOT, built on what Coach Nehlen accomplished. The 1988 Major Harris led WVU squad is still the gold standard for the school. Rodriguez has not brought the program to another level. In fact, his teams can be viewed as underachievers (loss at home to Pitt, ahem ahem, losses to South Florida every year, ahem ahem, fumbling away games to Louisville, ahem ahem).

Frazier you are too smart of a college football fan to get sucked into a couple of cupcake padded Rich Rodriguez 11 win seasons. He is a good coach, but Don Nehlen is WVU football. He is now, and probably always will be, the greatest coach in the history of the program. To say otherwise is an insult.

Oh boy, I need a break……check back later today for my post on why Michigan blew it in their coaching search.

Quick Hitch...

2007-12-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

WOW! Michigan got themselves an amazing hire. Rodriguez is one of the best coaches in the country, and will make the Big 10 an interesting league for a change. I'm thrilled.

Now, WVU fans are reasonably distraught. However, let's settle down here. Rodriguez didn't lie to anyone. You HAVE to say you're committed to your job, there's no option there. I believe he was. I also believe that Michigan is one of the top two or three jobs in the country (prestige-wise). I think Coach Rod realized that if his team couldn't break through this year, it was never happening, and he just couldn't turn down a once in a lifetime opportunity. Also, WVU is a nice place and all, but it's a second tier school in a second tier conference.

Also, I have heard some WVU fans claim he blew the Pitt game on purpose, supposedly to get fired so as to get out of his huge buyout. Um, that's insane. His team choked. Maybe he should have handed to Slaton more, but Steve did average 1 yard/carry. Also, it's not like he hurt Pat White's hand, or forced his kicker to miss a pair of gimmes.

Also, how exactly was he going to get fired for that? For bringing his team to a second BCS game in three years, or within a hair of the title? He could lose the Fiesta 100-0 and still not have any chance of being fired.

He built that program. Nehlen was a mediocre coach, and that was a mediocre school. Coach Rod is one of the best in the nation, and made that team an annual national-title contender. He also recruited his ass off at a tough place to get commitments. WVU fans have every right to be hurt, but to bad-mouth the guy is inexcusable. There was too much of that after the Pitt game, and all this belly-aching now is just plain sad. You got dumped by your girl for the big man on campus, and now you're calling her a slut, and saying she was bad in bed or some shit.

Let's quote his players, "Coach Rod was a man about it." Give credit where credit is due. He did great things for that school, and should be remembered that way. Sometimes relationships just don't work out.

Quick Hitch...

2007-12-13T09:01:00.000-05:00

Had to comment on Arkansas stealing Bobby Petrino. Of course, this is an absolutely brilliant move. Petrino is one of the best offensive minds in all of football, and has been an incredibly successful college coach. He's also the sort of big-name that Arkansas is convinced it deserves. Anyone of lesser stature would have made the firing of Nutt seem ridiculous. Now, we all took shots at Houston, but he won 3 SEC West titles from a second tier SEC school, which is nothing to sneeze at.

His sin was bringing on a egotistical high school coach in order to recruit an egotistical high school quarterback who had read one too many of his own press clippings. Basically, the people in Arkansas have nothing better to do than be obsessed about their football team to a frightening degree.

Anyways, Petrino is a brilliant hire. He may have a tough go of it if Jones and McFadden leave, but he'll get the ship righted soon. However, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out a great article by Pat Forde about Petrino. Pat is one of our favorites, and he knows Bobby P better than most since he lives and writes in Louisville. Pat can't question Petrino's record, but he'll make you wonder if he's the kind of guy you want coaching your kid. See for yourself.

Quick Hitch

2007-12-09T22:25:00.000-05:00

The coaching carousel goes round and round and round and round...........

Quick, knee jerk reactions to some of the coaching vacancies.

1) Arkansas
Who's out?: Houston Nutt
Who they should hire: Butch Davis
Skinny: The Razorbacks fancy themselves a major program, even though they are probably in the middle of the pack at best in the SEC. Davis is a MONSTER name, and probably the only coach who can instantly elevate the entire program. Plus it don't hurt that he's an Arkansas alum and former standout defensive end for the Razorbacks.

2) UCLA
Who's out?: Karl Dorrell
Who they should hire: Rick Neuheisal
Skinny: Whether Karl Dorrell got a fair shot or not is a discussion for another time. The bottom line is that there simply is no excuse for a Los Angeles school not challenging for a national title every year (just ask USC). Neuheisel, a UCLA alum, is a proven winner and has the offensive mind required to compete in the Pac-10. Neuheisel's firing from Washington was disgraceful and he deserves another shot.

3) Washington State
Who's out?: Bill Doba
Who they should hire: Ryan Leaf
Skinny: Just kidding (although Leaf is currently a collegiate golf coach). But seriously, this is an easy one. Mike Price has already shown he can win at Wazzou. He's available and would love to come back. Like Neuheisel he's paid his price, and deserves another shot.

4) Michigan
Who's out?: Lloyd Carr
Who they should hire: Bob Stoops
Skinny: I simply don't understand Michigan's obsession with Les Miles. Miles is a nice coach, but he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire since taking over Nick Saban's talent laden roster at LSU. This is MICHIGAN!!!! The Wolverines are the winningest program in the history of college football, have a fertile in state talent base, and has a leg up on everyone in their weak conference outside of Ohio State every year. Basically, Michigan is one of the best coaching jobs on the planet and it would be a waste on a tier 3 coach like Miles. If I am the Michigan AD, I make a list of the 10 best college football coaches on the planet. Then I start down the list making calls. Stoops, who would probably rank around #5 or so, is a former Big-10 player (at Iowa) and would fit in perfectly. There is no doubt he would do at Michigan exactly what he did at Oklahoma......return a mighty program to glory.

Quick, knee jerk reactions to some of the coaching hires.

1) Nebraska
Who's out?: Bill Callahan
Who's in?: Bo Pelini
Skinny: BAD hire. Callahan needed to go, but Pelini is an uninspiring choice. Pelini was a nice d-coordinator for the Huskers, but he has underachieved big time since taking over once of the 3 most talented defense rosters in the nation at LSU. More importantly, though, Nebraska really needed to make a splash looking towards the future.....not the past. Just like with Miami's Randy Shannon hire, Pelini was part of the steady decline at Nebraska. The Huskers needed to go in a different direction. I would have placed a call to a guy like Paul Johnson, the one man who could have brought the power running game back to Lincoln.

2) Georgia Tech
Who's out?: Chan Gailey
Who's in?: Paul Johnson
Skinny: On paper a great hire, but I wonder how Johnson is going to tweak his triple option to compete in the ACC. Georgia Tech is not Nebraska. They don't have 300 pound farm boys around every corner. Johnson's schtick would have worked well in Lincoln. I don't know how well it will work at GT.

3) Ole Miss.
Who's out?: Ed Orgeron
Who's in?: Houston Nutt
Skinny: Great hire. Nutt did a superb job at Arkansas, even if the school administrators didn't realize it. Nutt is used to recruiting in the SEC, and has shown a tremendous ability to lure some superstar talent (see McFadden, Darren and Mustain, Mitch). Ole Miss. has themselves a keeper.

4) Texas A & M
Who's out?: Dennis Franchione
Who's in?: Mike Sherman
Skinny: What??? Mike Sherman??? Really? Something tells me the rest of the Big 12 isn't shaking with this hire. Sherman is a decent, repeat decent, NFL coach. Hardly the big name we expected from an Aggie program that has as big an inferiority complex as any in the country. A & M is admittedly a miserable coaching job. The expectations are too high, and it's murder trying to compete with the Longhorns and Sooners for recruits. But the Aggie boosters have DEEP pockets. They definitely could have gotten someone with a whole lot more cache. Why not call Butch Davis? Or if you wanted someone with more experience in Texas why not TCU's perrennially underrated Gary Patterson? Or if you were hell bent on an NFL name, why not give former Aggie Gary Kubiak a shot (his Texans are going nowhere fast)?

Heisman Final

2007-12-07T10:31:00.000-05:00

We here at the 323 went into the bunker following the BCS-matchups. It was simply too much for these college football loving fools to take. Anyways, I am re-emerging to get my heisman thoughts on record.

In retrospect, our whole Hawaii argument doesn't seem so crazy, does it?

They would beat OSU, you heard it hear first.

Ballot:

1) Darren McFadden

I am not giving up on my boy. He has better numbers than last year, and finished the season doing something that Tebow could not: he took down LSU in Baton Rouge, by himself. It was a monstrous performance, and it seems to have been forgotten. Let's put it this way, there is one player who by himself is better than the team likely to win the national championship. His name is Darren McFadden, his position is swiss-army running back, and he should win the Heisman Trophy.

2) Tim Tebow

June Jones actually has a point. For everyone to look at Brennan's incredible numbers and call him a "system quarterback" but look at Tebow's numbers and not do the same, that's insane. Tebow plays in a system that allows him to put up those numbers. Last year Colt put up 5,900 total yards and 63 total touchdowns (Tebow has 4,000 t0tal yards, and 51 touchdowns), and didn't even sniff the trophy because of his "system" I just don't see how Tebow is significantly different. I thought Brennan had a brilliant year last year, and Tebow has this year, but let's compare apples to apples here.

3) Dennis Dixon

He's the Heisman winner by a landslide if he isn't hurt, and seeing the #1 team in the country implode with out him is all you need to know.

4) Colt Brennan

The numbers aren't as gaudy, but his team is, ahem, undefeated, and he has been absolutely fabulous every game. Injuries robbed him of having a similar stats from last year, but he's also a great leader. The comeback against Washington proved that.

5) Chase Daniel

By a hair over Pat White. Two dynamic quarterbacks who dragged their teams to a whiff of the national title.

Our buddy at BCS Know How also weighs in:

1 Tim Tebow: Tim Tebow enters the Heisman finalist group with the
possibility of becoming the very first underclassman to win a Heisman
trophy. In compiling unmatched statistics both through the air and on
the ground, Tebow proved his worth in the defending national
champion's offense. In combining to score 51 TDs, 29 passing and 22
rushing, Tebow made his way into the record books as the first
quarterback in the FBS history to rush and pass for 20 and became the
single season record holder in the SEC for rushing touchdowns. The
only downsides to his candidacy, other than his age, include Florida's
three losses and the fact that his best performance of the season came
against a less than formidable South Carolina defense.

2. Darren McFadden: In and out of the Heisman race all year, Darren
McFadden is headed back to New York City. This time there is no Troy
Smith to compete with, as no one quarterback preformed quite like
Smith was able to do last year, but McFadden has his share of
competition. Much like Colt Brennan, McFadden proved his Heisman worth
over the course of just a few games. His 323 yard performance against
South Carolina pushed McFadden back into the Heisman spotlight, and
his 206 yard, three touchdown performance against National Title
contender LSU were definitely his Heisman defining moments. McFadden
is quite possibly the best overall player in the country, but may be
hindered by performances that kept him out of the conversation for
much of the season.

3. Colt Brennan: Brennan, who started the season on the list of
Heisman hopefuls, but failed to be a constant presence with his
comparatively less than spectacular season, used the exposure of his
BCS bowl-bound Hawaii Warriors and the last two regular season games
of his college career to lock up an invite to NYC. In match ups that
secured a BCS bowl bid for Hawaii, Brennan combined to throw 10 TD
passes to only 2 INTs. The two games most likely locked up his
finalist bid and a trip to NYC, plus an undefeated season never hurt
any Heisman hopeful.

4. Chase Daniel: Chase Daniel, the leader of the surprising Missouri
Tigers is an equally surprising Heisman finalist. Among the four
finalists, Daniel is the only one to not appear in any preseason
Heisman hype or hoopla. Daniel had to prove his way to NYC this year,
and did most of that demonstration against bitter rivals Kansas. In
the border war, which this year pitted #2 Kansas against Daniel's #4
Missouri, Daniel shined on the brightest of stages. In completing 40
out of 49 passes and throwing for three touchdowns, Daniel proved his
Heisman worth. There were definitely voters who mailed in their
ballots right after that Heisman-moment worthy performance, but his
very next outing was not nearly as good. Daniel may be hindered by his
weak performance in the Big 12 Championship Game, but to get to NYC is
as good as a win for the Tiger's quarterback.

Check out all his great insight at: http://www.bcsknowhow.com/

Voting Fraud

2007-12-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

Ugh. I am completely sick to my stomach. How the hell does LSU get a friggin third chance?

LSU has the most overrated offense, defense, and coach in the entire country.

They get the benefit of the doubt "good loss" because they lost both games in overtime. Although each team is unranked, and over their last three games LSU slipped past a mediocre Tennessee team, lost to Arkansas, and escaped a TERRIBLE Ole Miss team after giving up 500 yards of offense. What, in those games, would make them seem like the best team in the country.

They were definitely the best team in the country in September, but they've been riding that play all season (and their win over V. Tech when they had the game of their lives and the Hokies didn't show up vaulted them into the title game).

Of course they don't get the same reaction to "bad wins" as to "bad losses" while everyone has forgiven OT wins, saying its' close enough, no one has punished LSU for doing the following since October began.

1) Beating Florida in the last second by converting 5 4th downs. Tell me there wasn't more than a little luck involved.
2) Losing to Kentucky. Last time I checked, OT losses still counted as losses.
3) Escaping against Auburn on a last-second pass called because the coach is a moron. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
4) Scoring in the final minute to beat a shit Alabama team.
5) Crushing pathetic La. Tech
6) Escaping a terrible Ole Miss team after surrendering nearly 500 yards to them.
7) Losing to unranked Arkansas AT HOME.
8) Beating a Vols team that has flirted with disaster for a month.

Not exactly an impressive resume. On the flip side, since the last Georgia loss, LSU has lost twice to UNRANKED teams. So it would have been better if Georgia had lost to some unranked team, but made the SEC title game? That would have made them more legit?

And don't give me "LSU beat the Vols who beat Georgia" the Vols caught Georgia in a bad game over two months ago, before Moreno got going, this is an entirely different team.

Virginia Tech has won 5 straight, and avenged one of two losses. Yeah, they got killed in Baton Rouge in September, but damn, that was also a fundamentally different team.

Also, how can Tech have won 5 straight, and finished the season by beating #16 and #11, and be ranked ahead of LSU, fall behind them when LSU has lost to an unranked team and beat #14.

If voters wanted to say LSU was still better than Tech, fine, but that should have been reflected in their votes LAST week. Instead, everyone wanted to play match-maker, this proving the BCS is a fraud, by taking the #7 team, and have them leap the #6 team when they beat #14 and #6 beat #11. That doesn't make any sense. Most inconsistent voting of all time. You say Virginia Tech is better, they play and beat a better opponent more convincingly, and you elevate the other team? Absurd.

Only the BCS could have #7 leap 5 places by beating the #14 team in mundane fashion, including leaping over a pair of teams that were idle.

Look at the polls all season, I defy you to find an instance where ANY team leaped 5 places, particularly over two teams that didn't even play, AND a team that had a more impressive win.

Nope. Instead of voting as they normally would, everyone turned into a matchmaker. Somehow, everyone "knows" that LSU is the best team in the country, and the games be damned.

Poor USC, playing as well as anyone right now, having won 5 straight. They had the nerve to lose to #1 in one of the toughest environments in the country. (Yes, Oregon is now unranked, but would be playing for the title with a healthy Dixon, no question). If they had also lost to an unranked opponent, like, a week ago, would they now be #1. I would be anything that if USC had beat this same UCLA team in the "Pac-1o Championship" they would now be playing for the title.

Sorry, this was long. You really don't want me to get started on Ohio St....

Quick Hitch

2007-12-02T22:34:00.000-05:00

Knee jerk reactions to the 2007 Bowl Matchups..........

Ohio State vs. LSU is one of the most uninspiring title games in recent memory. The matchup features two teams that lost a total of three times when ranked number one, with two of those losses coming against unranked teams at home. Just an absolute joke of a title game.

Moreover, has it ever been clearer that the only thing, and I mean the ONLY thing, the BCS cares about is money. You think if Boston College or Rutgers had a resume similar to OSU or LSU they would have even been considered? No way, and the reason is because their fans don't travel. OSU and LSU may or may not be the best of a weak group, but we're all fooling ourselves if we don't think the reason they made it is because the BCS can count on each school bringing 50,000 fans.

The fact that the Big 10, yes THAT Big 10, has two teams in the BCS is downright absurd. Boston College gets exiled to the Champs Bowl in Orlando while Illinois gets to go to Pasadena???? Not to mention Michigan's absurd invite to the Gator Bowl. Again, I guess it's better to draw fans than to actually be a good football team.

Five games that are appointment viewing........
1) Hawaii v. Georgia (Sugar Bowl) - The Dawgs make their case to open 2008 as #1, and we finally found out if our faith in the Warriors was warranted.
2) Missourri v. Arkansas (Cotton Bowl) - Arkansas can't stop the pass, Mizzou can't stop the run. Chase Daniel and Darren McFadden could put up 10 TD themselves.
3) Georgia Tech v. Fresno St (Humanitarian Bowl) - John Tenuta's blitz happy Tech defense versus the red hot Tom Brandstater led Bulldog passing offense should be a fun matchup.
4) Purdue v. Central Michigan (Motor City Bowl) - I can't wait to see what Dan Lefevour and the best kept secret in the nation do against some serious Big 10 competition. Seriously, Central Michigan could be the BCS crashing darlings in 2008.
5) Tulsa v. Bowling Green (GMAC Bowl) - We all know how good Tulsa QB Paul Smith is (more on him when we do our draft analysis), but this game could be Bowling Green's Tyler Sheehan's official coming out party.

Five games that aren't........
1) LSU v. Ohio State (BCS National Title Game) - BCS apologists claim that the system makes the entire regular season a playoff. How then can two teams that lost AT HOME to unranked opponents be vying for the national title. Makes me sick!
2) Illinoi v. USC (Rose Bowl) - Illinois beats a wildly overrated Ohio State team and earns a spot in Pasadena. This team lost at home to Iowa for goodness sake. The Illini might be talented but this is USC. USC rolls by at least 30 points.
3) Michigan v. Florida (Capital One Bowl) - The biggest mismatch of the bowl season. The Wolverines made App. State's Armanti Edwards look like Fran Tarkenton, how the hell are they going to deal with Tim Tebow. Florida might score 60!
4) Arizona State v. Texas (Holiday Bowl) - Might as well call it the Fraud Bowl. Seriously, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
5) Penn State v. Texas A & M (Alamo Bowl) - Aggie fans are already thrilled that Coach Franchione is gone. They'll share some of their joy with the Nittany Lions faithful who'll cheer the end of the Anthony Morigami era in Happy Valley.

Hawaii Week: Thanks Everybody

2007-11-30T17:05:00.000-05:00

Well, we wanted to say "thanks" to everyone who took the time to comment or e-mail this week, especially the good folks from Hawaii. Here are some of our favorites:

From the Islands:

As a Hawaii resident and UH fan, I gotta say that emotions in the state are running high! People love the Warriors and this season has generated a whole lot of excitement about UH football.

I think your arguments comparing UH, OSU and WVU are excellent, especially in regards to the SoS discussion. There are a lot of teams with good rankings that have gotten them based on previous seasons accomplishments.

I'd love to see UH in the National Championship game but I don't think that it's possible. There is an inherent unfairness to the BCS, creating a caste system within college football. I think that a similar comment could be made about the Heismann. Colt's statistically-best season last year didn't seem to generate much enthusiasm from New York and even though we talk about him being a contender this year, I don't think it was realistic last year and it's probably less so this year. That doesn't diminish from his and his teams accomplishments, I really thought that he had made the wrong personal decision last year in deciding to play another year but he clearly proved me wrong. I think there'd be a lot of unhappy "big name" football coaches, teams, AD's and fans who would be very vocal about their displeasure if a "little name" school like UH got to the Title Game or if Colt won the Heismann. That's a bit sad but it's probably the way it is.

Of course it's all moot if they don't beat Washington this Saturday. I'm lucky enough to have tickets, it's going to be crazy being at the biggest game in all of UH history! If they win, the Sugar Bowl maybe?

Go Warriors!

-Andrew

Andrew,

It's, at best, a two-tier system. In some ways it's always been like this, but the BCS has really codified it. If Hawaii couldn't break through in the year of upsets, and Colt couldn't break through with his ridiculous stats last year, that's got to take a lot of hope from a lot of programs.

From Big 12 Country:

Sorry guys, Hawaii couldn’t beat Mizzou this year. Hawaii does deserve to be in the top 12, but not in the championship game.

I agree with you on your analysis about Ohio State and WV, but not on your analysis of Hawaii against Mizzou…check out their respective schedules. Just because Hawaii hasn’t lost a game this year doesn’t make them worthy of a higher rating than they currently have. The only real game worthy of note is their victory over Boise St. Also, if the current top 10 BCS teams had Hawaii’s schedule, they also would be undefeated. In that scenario, would Hawaii still be one of the top 2 as per your argument? Also, other top 10 teams wouldn’t have needed OT to beat La Tech or San Jose St like Hawaii did….they would have blown these teams out.

Clint

Dallas, TX

Clint,

Fair point about Missouri. We are only saying that Hawaii would give Missouri a game, not that they are more deserving. Certainly Mizzou has the necessary credentials to be the #1 team in the country right now. We didn't mean to take anything away from them, we just think that it would be a close game. If the Tigers win against Oklahoma, they are an obvious #1.

Our argument is basically that WVU and Ohio St. haven't done enough to overcome a loss to be worthy of playing for the title. I'd contend that there are plenty of teams that could play either of those schedules and be undefeated too!

Basically: Perfect Record + lousy schedule > One loss + mediocre schedule.

However, Missouri has: One loss + Good wins + good schedule. That is certainly more impressive.

From our friend the Baron:

Gentlemen,

Apparently you've been getting a lot of shit for making the case for Hawaii, just wanted to send my support. It's good to see someone has the balls the write about what's really happening in the BCS. Even I would rather see Hawaii play for a national title than Ohio State, because underdogs living and dying with every game is really the heart of college football, not powerhouse schools who rely on their prestige to back into a national title. People who blame Hawaii for the faults of the BCS system are the same people who would be trying to keep Hickory High out of the playoffs because they didn't play enough quality opponents (I know I just mixed my sports metaphors, but you can never go wrong with a good Hoosiers reference). Keep fighting the good fight.

- The Baron

Baron:

Thanks as always for writing. You've been at the forefront of the pro-Hawaii cause. As a life-long Buckeyes fan, this can't be easy for you. It's nice to see that there's at least one reasonable Ohio St. fan out there.

Finally, thanks to:
50 Years of College Football: A Modern History of America's Most
Colorful Sport
by Bob Boyles & Paul Guido

Our favorite reference guide for this debate and every other inane conversation we get into. If we make an error, it's because we can't read, not because those guys got it wrong.

The Case for Hawaii: Gettin Nitty Gritty with the Schedules

2007-11-28T17:38:00.000-05:00

Ever since we hear at the323 lit the powderkeg that is Hawaii football, we've been very nearly inundated with emails and comments comparing the schedules of Ohio State, West Virginia, and Hawaii (and in many cases attempting to prove that there simply is no comparison at all). While we appreciate each and every person who takes the time to comment on our site, many, if not all, of these emails simply missed the point. WE KNOW HAWAII'S SCHEDULE IS TERRIBLE! IT'S THE LOWEST RANKED STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE IN THE NATION, WE GET IT! The 323 is not advocating the position that Hawaii's schedule is better than either Ohio State or West Virginia's. But then again WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THIS POSITION because Hawaii is undefeated while OSU and WVU both have a loss. If Hawaii also had one loss or either OSU or WVU were undefeated, then yes there would be no debate. But that's not the argument.

We ARE arguing:

undefeated team + very weak schedule > one loss team + weak schedule

We ARE NOT arguing:

undefeated team + very weak schedule > undefeated team + weak schedule

NOR are we arguing:

one loss team + very weak schedule > one loss team + weak schedule

Remember folks, Hawaii hasn't lost yet. If and when they do this all becomes moot. But for right now, the323 is going to set out and prove that both Ohio State and West Virginia's respective schedules were an absolute joke. They may be stronger than Hawaii's, but take a look for yourself and tell me that either of these teams deserves a title shot over Hawaii after not being able to navigate these cupcakes unscathed.

Ohio State Schedule

Game #1: 38-6 win over Youngstown State

Level Of Difficulty (1 being easy, 5 being extremely difficult): 1

Comments: Youngstown State is 7-4 in Division 1AA making them a solid, yet unspectacular 1AA group. Or in other words, cannon fodder for any Division 1A team that isn't Michigan.

Game #2: 20-2 win over Akron

Level of Difficulty: 1

Comments: Well Akron is a Division 1A team....barely. Currently 4-8, the Zips are near the bottom of the MAC in what has been a down year for the conference. Don't forget that the Buckeyes struggled in this one only leading 3-2 at halftime!

Game #3: 33-14 win @ Washington

Level of Difficulty: 2

Comments: Finally into the big boy part of the schedule, Ohio State's win of UDub probably looked a lot better at the time then it does not. Washington was 2-0 at the time, but the OSU loss was the first of 5 straight for the Huskies dropping them down into LAST place in the Pac-10.

Game #4: 58-7 win over Northwestern

Level of Difficulty: 1.5

Comments: Looking back, at 6-6 in the Big 10 Northwestern was actually a decent opponent for the Buckeyes. That said, they did manage to lose to Duke AT HOME this season, so the Buckeyes don't get much credit for dismantling them in Columbus.

Game #5: 30-7 win @ Minnesota

Level of Difficulty: 0.5

Comments: I know they say that any Big 10 road game is a tough game, but come on. Minnesota finished the year 1-11 with their only win coming against Miamie Ohio of the MAC. Not only that but the Gophers lost to Florida Atlantic, Bowling Green and 1AA North Dakota State this year, with the final two coming at home.

Game #6: 23-7 win @ Purdue

Level of Difficulty: 2.5

Comments: Another win that looked a lot better at the time. When OSU bulldozed the Boilermakers they were 5-0 thanks to an early schedule of Toledo, Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan, Buffalo and Northern Illinois. Since the close loss to Ohio State, Purdue has proved just how mediocre they are losing to each and every Big 10 team with half a pulse (Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Indiana).

Game #7: 48-3 win over Kent State

Level of Difficulty: 0

Comments: Kent State is currently 3-9, last in the MAC, and managed to lose to Temple, Buffalo, and N Illinois all in the same season. Pathetic isn't a strong enough word for the Zips.

Game #8: 24-17 win over Michigan State

Level of Difficulty: 2

Comments: Had the game been in East Lansing the Buckeyes might have whiffed a 3 with this one. Michigan State played them tough, and it was a solid win, but you can't ignore the Spartans' 7-5 record which included losses to Northwesten and Iowa. To say they are anything more than a middle of the road Big 10 team this year would be disingenuous.

Game #9: 37-17 win @ Penn State

Level of Difficulty: 3.5

Comments: By far the best win of the year. Closer to a 4 than a 3, but we've got to acknowledge just how overrated the Lions were this year. Erratic QB play and an inconsistent running game made this an easy win for the Buckeyes. Hard to take anything away from OSU for this one.

Game #10: 38-17 win over Wisconsin

Level of Difficulty: 3

Comments: It's the Big 10 so no surprise that OSU feasted on another overrated team. Don't forget this was a close game until the fourth quarter. Wisconsin built it's reputation for 2007 with a big 2006 season. This year Wisconsin was nothing special, nearly losing to UNLV in the second week, and then struggling with teams like The Citadel and Iowa at home.

Game #11: 21-28 LOSS to Illinois

Level of Difficulty: 3

Comments: Illinois is talented, but very young. They were unranked and went into Ohio State's house and beat them pretty good. This game was not in doubt at all in the second half.

Game #12: 14-3 win @ Michigan

Level of Difficulty: 3.5

Comments: Usually this would have been a 4 since such an intense rivalry makes the game tougher. But then again, Michigan did lose at home to 1AA Appalachian State. That makes it half a point easier. Michigan was pathetic all year, and when OSU played them their two best offensive player (Henne and Hart) were both banged up. 3.5 is generous.

West Virginia's Schedule:

Game #1: 62-24 win over Western Michigan

Level of Difficulty: 1

Comments: W Michigan finds itself 5-7 overall and near the bottom of the MAC (what's the deal with all these MAC teams). Bottom line, if you lose to both Eastern and Central Michigan (as WMU did) it ain't an impressive win.

Game #2: 48-23 win @ Marshall

Level of Difficulty: 0

Comments: This ain't your daddy's Thundering Herd. Gone are the Randy Mosses, Chad Penningtons, and Byron Leftwiches. Marshall went 3-9 this year, which was somewhat miraculous after a horrendous 0-7 start. Gross.

Game #3: 31-14 win @ Maryland

Level of Difficulty: 2.5

Comments: Actually a win that looks better now....slightly. Maryland did beat up on Boston College pretty good, but we'd be remiss to ignore the fact that they managed only 6 wins playing conference games in a soft ACC and needed W's over Villanova and Florida International to get there.

Game #4: 48-7 win over East Carolina

Level of Difficulty: 1

Comments: 7-5 record is solid. Fact that they play in Conference USA and got SMOKED by Marshall is anything but solid. Seems like the Mountaineers play the Pirates every year, and every year its a cakewalk.

Game #5: 13-21 LOSS @ South Florida

Level of Difficulty: 3.5

Comments: Can almost excuse this one since it was the biggest football game in the history of South Florida and the Bulls have had WVU's number for a while now. BUT, South Florida's gone in the tank since then and if South fucking Florida has your number, well that ain't the stuff champions are made of.

Game #6: 55-14 win @ Syracuse

Level of Difficulty: 0.5

Comments: Woulda been a 0 but for the Orange's win at Louisville. Cuse is 2-10 and is hands down the worst team in the Big East....just as they have been for the last few years.

Game #7: 38-13 win over Mississippi State

Level of Difficulty: 3

Comments: Actually a nice win. Mississippi State hung tough to finish 7-5 in the SEC, even beating a secretly lousy Alabama team along the way. That said, the 7 wins are VERY inflated thanks to the likes of Tulane, Gardner Webb and UAB. That this is one of WVU's three best wins should tell you something.

Game #8: 31-3 win @ Rutgers

Level of Difficulty: 3.5

Comments: Another team living off a reputation built in 2006. This wasn't the same Rutgers team in 2007, currently standing fifth overall in the Big Least. The Knights did beat South Florida though....whose claim to fame is beating WVU......so not exactly sure what to do. Still, probably the second best win of the year because it was on the road.

Game #9: 38-31 win over Louisville

Level of Difficulty: 2.5

Comments: Rivalry game so that counts for something, but to be honest Louisville was awful this year. They are 2-4 in the Big Least, and 5-6 overall. Bottom line, WVU played a close game against a team that was incapable of stopping anyone on defense all year. Whoopdy Doo.

Game #10: 28-23 win @ Cincinatti

Level of Difficulty: 3.5

Comments: Definitely the best win all year, but even a 4 might be generous. After all, it's fucking Cincinati. The same Cinci team that lost to Louisville and Pittsburgh (ouch). Still, the only ranked team WVU beat all yea. Congrats boys!

Game #11: 66-21 win over UConn

Level of Difficulty: 1.5

Comments: Anyone who watched this game knows UConn had no business being anywhere near the top 25. UConn needed divine intervention to beat Louisville and Temple (!!) and hasn't beaten a team with a pulse all year. This team is currently second in the Big Least which pretty much tells you all you need to know about WVU's conference.

Game #12: Pittsburgh

Level of Difficulty: 1

Comments: First off let's remember that the Panthers are coached by Dave Wannstedt. Second of all, they are currently 4-7 overall with a loss to Navy on their resume. Third of all, they're coached by Dave Wannstedt. WVU could beat them 100-0 and I wouldn't bat an eye. This team sucks and it's in Morgantown with a national title game spot on the line. The phrase "dead man walking" comes to mind.

Well, there you have it folks. It actually is THAT BAD for both OSU and WVU. Now let the emails commence on how Hawaii's schedule is even worse, and that it's the weakest rated schedule in the nation. Once again, I emplore you readers to understand that we are NOT arguing that Hawaii's schedule is strong in any sense of the word. We are simply arguing that:

Undefeated Record (which Hawaii owns) + Very Weak Schedule (which Hawaii owns)

is greater than

One Loss Record (which OSU and WVU own) + Weak Schedule (which, as you've just see, both OSU and WVU own)

More on Hawaii

2007-11-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

Fair points. First, I'd like to correct myself. Hawaii and Ohio State both have exactly ONE win over a BCS top 25 team. Yes Ohio State also had Illinois on the schedule. The same Illinois team that whooped them up and down their own field.

Now on to the other points. First of all, it is imperative that people understand that Hawaii is not "our" team here at the323. We are not from Hawaii nor are we Hawaii fans. Actually we live in Boston, so there is no bias here whatsoever.

Second, I never meant to imply that the Big 10 was worse than the WAC. That is simply absurd. BUT what everyone seems to forget is that Hawaii has one less loss than Ohio State. Yes the Big 10 schedule was better than the WAC, but in order to put Ohio State ahead of Hawaii you would have to make the argument that the Big 10 was sufficiently better to overcome a loss. I just don't see it. The Big 10 was down this year.....very down. Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, all traditional powers, all down this year. Are those teams better than Boise State, Nevada, and Fresno State? Yes. Are they far and away better, so much so to make up for Ohio State losing to Illinois at home? I contend no, and there is definitely an argument to be made there.

We mention the SoS of WVU and Ohio St. to point out that it is not necessarily strong enough to make up for a..... LOSS! They lost a game. Don't forget this. Hawaii did not.

We're saying: Perfect Record + Lousy SoS > One loss + mediocre SoS.

If not now, when? If Hawaii can't play for the title this year, when so many crazy things have happened, and if BCS opponents refuse to schedule Hawaii. Then we are basically saying that it is impossible for Hawaii to win a title. It simply can't be done. Well, that is not fair, and is the final nail in the coffin for the BCS, a system obviously designed to reward the powerful over the weak.

Third, no means are we trying to hide the fact that Hawaii's schedule was the worst in college football. It was awful, we know this. And I think we've made it clear that in ANY other year they would be nowhere near the national title game. But this season there are no dominant teams that ALSO have a great schedule. Every team from the BCS conferences has at least one loss, and those that have only the single blemish (Kansas, WVU, and Ohio St notable) have a significantly weaker schedule that you'd expect from a BCS conference team. Bottom line, it's a perfect storm for Hawaii this year. Any other year and I'd agree that the team with the weakest schedule in the nation should be nowhere near the title game, but 2007 has been unlike any other year ever. Why not give Hawaii a shot when nobody else has been able to do what they're one win away from doing.....win every game they are supposed to!

Finally, we're picking on Ohio St. because this is a team that was obliterated in the title game last year, doesn't have an impressive win, LOST a game, and will very likely play for the title.

We also pick on WVU because they will likely play for the title as well, and are equally undeserving. The Big East is worse than the Big Ten, and South Florida is certainly no better than Illinois.

Notice we haven't talked trash about Missouri at all, that isn't an accident.

More on the Case for Hawaii

2007-11-27T23:09:00.001-05:00

A quick note:

1) People want to harp on Hawaii's schedule, but they have a hard time scheduling people to play them. They are good enough to beat you, but not well respected enough to be worth beating. No one wants a piece of them. There's nothing they can do about their conference, and if major teams don't want to play them (Michigan, I'm looking your direction) it's hard to get on their case.

2) Ohio St. BEAT one ranked team. We don't really care how many ranked teams you play if you lose to them.

3) Washington beating Boise St. was an UPSET. It happens. Oregon beating USC wasn't a "bad" win just because USC lost to Stanford. Neither is the Boise St. win somehow meaningless because they had one bad game. Jeeze, they had a single loss in almost two full seasons AND a BCS win, maybe we should give them a little respect.

4) The Big Ten AND the Big East are weak conferences. Don't let the names on the front of the jersey's fool you.

The Case for Hawaii Cont'd

2007-11-27T20:07:00.001-05:00

SBH argues that "you gotta earn respect in college football".........

Well SBH I would contend that your statement applies to only half the teams in college football, namely those not in a BCS conference. To state that Hawaii needs to EARN respect is definitely a fair point. However, I would point out that neither OSU nor WVU have earned anything this year, rather they've had respect thrust upon them by virtue of their name recognition.

First let's take Ohio State - Honestly, how can you argue that Ohio State has EARNED anything less than a Rose Bowl berth. Yes, they won the Big 10 which carries an automatic BCS berth, but Ohio State's season consisted of games against a miserable Big 10 and a nonconference schedule including Youngstown State (1AA), Akron (2nd to last place in the MAC), Washington (last place in the Pac-10), and Kent State (last place in the MAC ). As of right now exactly ONE team on Ohio State's schedule is in the BCS top 25 (Wisconsin). Guess what, same goes for Hawaii (Boise State). People are killing Hawaii, and rightly so, for their weak schedule, yet a team like Ohio State does not get the same treatment.

Now let's look at West Virginia - Same thing with Ohio State. It is simply impossible to argue that the Mountaineers have EARNED anything. They waltzed through a terrible Big East and played as soft a non conference schedule as you'll ever see (Western Michigan, Marshall, East Carolina, Mississippi State).

Don't give me the argument that teams have to EARN the right to be in the title game. Hawaii has to earn it, teams like Ohio State and West Virginia don't.........and THAT is a major problem.

The Case for Hawaii

2007-11-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

"Sometimes you lose sight of the forest through the trees"

- ancient Chinese Proverb

Why is it that human beings have such a prediliction for the difficult? What is our aversion to the simple answer? Is it cynicism? The unavoidable thoughts that something so easy cannot possibly be correct or, dare I say, rewarding. It is competition? The possibly endless yet definitely fruitless quest for a more perfect solution. Or is it simply stupidity? That undefinable quality which incorporates a little bit of everything that makes humans simultaneously so great and so maddening.

We here at the323 are certainly not the ones to answer these weighty questions, but we'd definitely like to suggest the BCS as the poster child for this syndrome. After all, how else can one explain a species that can compose symphonies, master space travel, and invent TIVO, yet not conjure a system capable of providing a true champion for its collegiate football teams? The BCS has taken something so simple, so pure, so human, and turned it into a math problem. The goal is not longer to pit the two best teams against each other. It's to prove that we don't even need to play the games. We've become so smart as humans that we already know what is going to happen.

Well we here at the323 contend that clairvoyance and football don't mix. That the phrase "any given sunday" still means something. That Flutie to Phelan, the Statute of Liberty, and Armanti Edwards are not merely outliers on an otherwise predictable linear curve. That while USC, Ohio State, LSU and Oklahoma may be some of the sturdiest trees in college football, they are but merely part of a greater forest, one which we must not lose sight of.

But all hope is not lost. Like the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars, college football puritans have a single hope (and an ironic one at that): The University of Hawaii Warriors. The same Warriors who eschew traditional notions of running the ball and playing defense, in favor of a wide open passing attack that would bring a grin to the face of Don Coryell himself. Yes, the undefeated Warriors are the only ones who can save us from ourselves. Not OSU, nor WVU, nor the litany of other teams praying that the magical BCS formula tabs them as one of the two best teams in America. Only Hawaii, who has earned the right to play for #1 by simply not losing. The sad thing is, though, they'll almost certainly never get the chance to redeem us all. Not unless we do something about it! So without further ado, the323 presents The Case for Hawaii, our first installment in a week long campaign to get Hawaii into the national title game.

I. Hawaii Could Actually Win the Title Game

Who thought Appalachian State could win at Michigan? How about Boise State over Oklahoma? What about Duke over anyone???? If nothing else, the past 12 months have proved that football, unlike any other sport, is prone to unpredictability. The so called "best" team doesn't always win, especially in college. The NCAA should be embracing this phenomenon just as it does on the basketball court, rather than shunning it as it does on the gridiron. There isn't a person who watched the game that doesn't recall Boise State's statute of liberty play with remarkable detail. How many people could say the same for Ohio State's game winning touchdown against Miami in 2002? Or any play from last year's title game? Maybe those games were great, maybe they weren't, but they weren't moments. Moments come from a team that has both the will to lay everything on the line to win, and the ability to execute. Boise State had it. Appalachian State had it. Hawaii has it.

In an otherwise forgettable college football year, Hawaii has the chance to do something that nobody, ever, will forget.

After all, if Hawaii played West Virginia or Ohio State tomorrow what would the spread be? I'd be willing to wager that it wouldn't be as high as some of the other title game tilts we've seen (Miami-Nebraska in 2001 comes to mind). In fact, didn't we have a double digit underdog win the national title just last season? The bottom line is that Hawaii represents somewhat of an unknown quantity, and while a point spread may not favor them, anyone who thinks they wouldn't give their opponent one heck of a game is fooling themselves.

Could Hawaii beat Ohio St? Yes. Could they beat WVU or Missouri? Yes. So why aren't they in the conversation?

II. Hawaii is the ONLY Undefeated Team

Last time I checked, winning games was still the only thing that mattered. No Hawaii doesn't have any five star recruits on their roster, and no they don't have a whole offense of first round NFL draft picks, but the Warriors have something no other team in the nation has: a zero in the loss column. Who cares what teams they've played. In 2007 Hawaii has been the only team in America that has won every game that they were supposed to win. LSU, OSU, Oklahoma, and West Virginia all lost games to opponents they were favored to beat. Not Hawaii. They've simply played their game and taken care of business with every opponent brought before them. Does Ohio State really get credit for losing at home to an unranked team simply because they play in the Big 10? Why is it OK for BCS teams to lose games they are supposed to win, but not OK for Hawaii to win every game they play?

III. But What About the Schedule!

What's that you say Ohio State and West Virginia? Hawaii's schedule is a joke? Must be fun throwing stones from those glass houses. Truth be told by the end of the year Hawaii will have exactly as many victories over a top 25 team as either OSU or WVU, and Boise State might be a tougher matchup than either Wisconsin or Cincinnati. Let's take a quick look at how Hawaii's top 3 wins stack up against those of Ohio State and West Virginia:

Hawaii's three best wins - Fresno State (7-4), @ Nevada (5-6) and Boise State (10-2)

Ohio State's three best wins - @ Penn State (8-4), Wisconsin (9-3), and @ Michigan (8-4)

West Virginia's three best wins - @ Rutgers (7-4), Louisville (5-6), and @ Cincinatti (9-3)

Now are we here to argue that Hawaii's three wins are better? No. But they are pretty darn close, and there is definitely NOT enough of a disparity to justify putting either of those one loss teams ahead of undefeated Hawaii.

IV. If Not Now, When?

It's not every year that the BCS is presented with a situation like this. Truth be told, the stars are aligned. America is ready for Hawaii. Every team in American has been given one, sometimes two (LSU!) chances to prove they want to play for the national title. No team has shown that they want it. Every team in the country has serious deficiencies, whether it be a bad loss, a weak conference, etc. If an undefeated team like Hawaii can't get into the big show this year, the NCAA might as well anoint every team outside of the BCS conferences Division 1AA schools. If the BCS isn't willing to be flexible and open minded in a year where not a single other team deserves to be there (outside of Mizzou if they beat OK), the WAC, MWC, MAC, and every other conference that doesn't have its own TV contract might as well start trying to get dropped to 1AA now....at least then they'll be allowed to play for a championship.

V. The BCS Needs Hawaii

The BCS is holding on by a thread. An OSU-WVU title game will almost certainly be the straw that breaks the camel's back. If the unthinkable should happen, there will be many fans across the country who simply won't watch college football's championship game. And who can blame them. An OSU-WVU game would underscore just how arbitrary and idiotic the BCS has become. Imagine if that game is played two days after Hawaii lays a 45-21 hurting on some other BCS conference school in a lesser bowl game (watch out LSU). Wouldn't some of the pollsters feel obligated to give Hawaii some love, even if it meant spitting in the face of the system we've all sold our souls to? The BCS is entering territory as an unmitigated disaster that few have entered before. Unless the Hawaii miracle comes to fruition, we could very well look back on the BCS the same way we think about Crystal Pepsi, the Hubbel Telescope, and Britney Spears wearing a two piece in her comeback attempt.

Quick Hitch...

2007-11-25T11:01:00.000-05:00

Ok, lots more madness. I just wanted to make the following observations:

- Virginia Tech is officially "lurking" right now. They are WVU and Mizzou losses away from potentially being in the drivers' seat.

- Kansas is going to get shelled for last nights' game, and it's unfair. Look, they were obviously frazzled in the big environment. That being said, I've watched a lot of their games, and they made mistakes (ugly interceptions, missed field goals, costly penalties) that they haven't made ALL year.

- Mizzou deserves credit for being a really underrated team, but if Kansas had shown up in the first half, they really could have won that game. I think the Jayhawks deserve credit, and I'm going to be pissed when this really talented team is relegated to some third-rate bowl because they didn't win. It's just unfair. Right now, they would beat Texas. Book it.

- I still love the guts of Todd Reesing. He certainly was not himself last night. He made some costly errors, and was throwing high (a sure sign of nerves) all night. Also, Mizzou did a great job of cutting down his throwing lanes, which he relies on due to his height. Still, Reesing battled tough, and refused to let his team quit. They were a defensive stop or recovered onside kick away from stealing this one, and it was because Reesing would not be denied. When the going got tough, so did Todd. He'll be hanging his head this morning, and he certainly made a lot of mistakes, but the guy has a huge heart, and he could start for me any time.

The BCS Crystal Ball

2007-11-20T13:44:00.000-05:00

So who's going to play for the title? Who deserves it? Will the game end up sucking?

Well, friggin read the post!

The Team: LSU
The Path: Win out (Arkansas, SEC title game).
Chances to get there: Gotta like it. Only thing standing between them and the Super Dome is themselves.
Why they should play for the title: Let's see, the best team from the best conference? The fact that they play defense, run the ball, pass the ball, and have good coaching and special teams. The only high-ranked team to live up to expectations. We thought they'd be one of the best and most talented in the country. They delivered. -Frazier
Why they shouldn't: Best team from the best conference? Woah there, back that truck up. The SEC has been good, but is it really the slam dunk best conference? Outside of LSU, only the Georgia Bulldogs have less than three losses on the year (and the Tigers have yet to play Mark Richt's squad). The Big 12, on the other hand, boasts 4 teams with under three losses and could potentially end the year with 2 one loss teams. Although Kansas and Missourri play each other this weekend, if Mizzou wins a classic who's to say a rematch shouldn't be in the cards? -Walter
The Verdict: 9 JoePa's (measured in legitimacy and named for the man who could go undefeated and yet not sniff a title) deserving, and so close they can smell it.

The Team: Kansas
The Path: Just win, baby (Missouri, Big 12 title game).
Chances to get there: Tough games, but they control their destiny.
Why they should play for the title: This one's easy. Kansas is the only, repeat ONLY, BCS team to do what what sounds so simple. Namely, win the games you're supposed to win!. LSU lost to an inferior Kentucky team. Ohio State to Illinois. Oklahoma twice to Colorado and Texas Tech. The list goes on. Kansas may not have a signature win, but perhaps more importantly, they are the only team that can claim not to have a signature loss. -Walter
Why they shouldn't: The Big 12 is weak. Winning means they are better than an unknown Mizzou team, and better than either a crummy Texas team, or the Sooners who have only shown they are better than said Mizzou. In any other conference they'd have multiple losses. -Frazier
The Verdict: 9 JoePa's, if you're undefeated in a BCS conference, you deserve it.

The Team: Missouri
The Path: Just win (Kansas, Big 12 Title game).
Chances to get there: No one will hand it to them, but they can take it.
Why they should play for the title: Only loss was to Oklahoma in Norman, not a bad loss, has a good non-conference win (Illinois) and can avenge that loss. Dynamic offense, and beating Kansas is another feather in the cap. -Frazier
Why they shouldn't: The Tigers' "big" win was against Illinois before they became the wrecking ball that stormed Columbus last week. Since then the Tigers have feasted on the incredibly weak Big 12 North, and its still unclear just how impressive a win over Kansas would be. Oh yeah, and that Oklahoma loss is looking worse and worse by the day. -Walter
The Verdict: 8 JoePa's, control their fate, but the conference sucks.

The Team: Ohio St.
The Path: Kansas-Mizzou winner loses in the title game AND, LSU or WVU lose.
Chances to get there: Pretty good. They need some chips to fall, but it's certainly possible.
Why they should play for the title: The Buckeyes are consistent if nothing else. They have a great defense, a steady, conservative offense, and are well coached. They deserve.......ahhhhhh I can't do it. Fuck Ohio State. Fuck Jim Tressell. Thank God Illinois beat them and (hopefully kept them out of the title game). The Big 10 is a joke, surpassed only by OSU's nonconference schedule. If they somehow make the title game I am boycotting it. No joke. -Walter
Why they shouldn't: Because they got blown out in the title game last year, because they lost to Illinois, because the Big 10 sucks, because their non-conference wins (Washington? Please.) are pathetic. -Frazier
The Verdict: 5 JoePa's, ugh, not terribly worthy, not exactly assured.

The Team: West Virginia
The Path: Win out (UConn, Pitt) and Kansas-Mizzou winner loses, OR LSU loses.
Chances to get there: Pretty good. Big 12 title game will be rarified air for either team.
Why they should play for the title: They played one bad game months ago. They have a brilliant coach, a dynamic offense, and a vastly underrated defense. Their only getting better, and the Big East has a lot more depth than anyone gives them credit for. -Frazier
Why they shouldn't: They've beaten who exactly? Their signature win is over Cincinatti (wait is this basketball season), and they got pasted by a South Florida team that is reeling right now. General rule, if you have to beat UConn to win your conference and it's not in basketball, you're conference isn't very good. -Walter
The Verdict: 6 JoePa's, they definitely have a chance, but are they worthy?

The Team: Georgia
The Path: Beat Ga. Tech, have Tenn. lose to Kentucky, beat LSU in SEC title game, Kansas-Mizzou both lose, WVU lose, Arizona St. lose.
Chances to get there: Ok, a long shot for sure. But, if Kentucky wins, they can control part, the Big 12 is reasonable, WVU could def. choke, and ASU may lose Thursday.
Why they should play for the title: You know who the Bulldogs are? They are Colorado from 2001. Remember that Buffalo team that had a couple early losses, then DOMINATED down the stretch tot he point everybody knew they were the 2nd best team in the country but the early losses kept them out of the title game? Remember that? Remember who played for the title that year? It was Nebraska who was demolished by Miami. We all now Colorado would have fared better, but nobody had the guts to put them in the game. -Walter
Why they shouldn't: Remember when they got housed by Tennessee? A loss to a lousy South Carolina team? More proof that the SEC is totally overrated. -Frazier
The Verdict: 4 JoePa's, deserving? Maybe, but near impossible.

The Team: Arizona St.
The Path: Win (USC, Arizona) Have LSU, Kansas-Mizzou, and WVU all lose.
Chances to get there: Once again, it's going to take a miracle.
Why they should play for the title: One-loss to a very good Oregon team in a very underrated (as always) Pac-10? They have the best loss of anybody, and play in the second best conference in America. Frankly, they should be ranked much higher. -Frazier
Why they shouldn't: Talk about overrated, how bout the Pac-10. Arizona State will be hanging their case on wins over (potentially) a USC team that lost to Stanford at home, and a California team that couldn't beat Mission Viejo high school right now. -Walter
The Verdict: 4.5 JoePa's, schedule-wise, worthy as anyone, but still a longshot.

The Team: Oklahoma
The Path: Win (Ok. State, Big 12 title) have LSU lose (not to Georgia), ASU, WVU, and possibly V. Tech lose.
Chances to get there: At least they control a little, but they need a ton of breaks.
Why they should play for the title: Well to be fair they did lose their starting QB in the loss to Texas Tech. And also to be fair, if Oklahoma has a chance to play for the title it means they'd be facing the Buckeyes who they would absolutely destroy. -Walter
Why they shouldn't: Because they suck. Because they JUST lost to Texas Tech. Because their conference is overrated, and all they'll prove is they are better than Mizzou, basically. -Frazier
The Verdict: 3 JoePa's, it's getting dicey.

The Team: Hawai'i
The Path: Let's see... Win out (Boise St. and Washington) have LSU, V. Tech, Kansas-Mizzou lose to a 3-loss Oklahoma (having Texas lose as well), ASU, USC, Georgia, all lose, get some computer love and pray.
Chances to get there: A zillion to one? Two zillion?
Why they should play for the title: You play the schedule you have. Great offense. They are trying non-conference with Washington and UNLV. They deserve a shot. -Frazier
Why they shouldn't: You play the schedule you've got, but you can't schedule all cream puffs and then cry when nobody respects them. Also, we've seen this act before. Hawaii dominates their weak schedule and then comes to the mainland to play a BCS conference school and gets whacked. I ain't buying it and they shouldn't be selling it. -Walter
The Verdict: 1 JoePa. People do love undefeated teams.

The Team: Virginia Tech
The Path: Win (UVA, BC) have LSU (not to Georgia), WVU, Kansas-Mizzou, ASU all lose.
Chances to get there: 2 of those happening is certainly possible, maybe 3, but 4 is a lot. AND, they have to beat my beloved Hoos.
Why they should play for the title: Their only losses were to teams ranked #2 at the time. So what if one of them was at home. Ohio State lost to an unranked team on their turf and they still have a shot. -Walter
Why they shouldn't be there: Because they got absolutely pasted by LSU, and they are totally overrated, as is their mediocre conference. -Frazier.
The Verdict: 2 JoePa's. I mean, it COULD happen, right?

The Team: USC
The Path: Win (ASU, UCLA) have LSU (not to Georgia), WVU, Kansas-Mizzou, Oklahoma (to Ok. State, obviously) V. Tech and possibly Georgia (to Ga. Tech) all lose.
Chances to get there: That was hard to even figure out. Chances are worse.
Why they should play for the title: Winning the second best conference in the country, with a proven coach, an incredibly skilled team, a great defense, and playing hot down the stretch. They would probably beat Ohio St. in that title game. -Frazier
Why they shouldn't be there: Because I'm pretty sure the universe would explode if a team that lost at home to Stanford wound up winning the BCS title game. -Walter
The Verdict: 1 JoePa. Big name, but nothing else.

The Team: Texas
The Path: Win (A&M, Big 12 title) have Oklahoma lose to Ok. State (to get there) have LSU, WVU, ASU, V. Tech, Georgia (to Ga. Tech) and probably USC all lose.
Chances to get there: Um, none.
Why they should play for the title: Because if it gets down to Texas, that means nobody else wanted it. Plus the Buckeyes and the Longhorns played some pretty good games the past two years. It would be interesting TV right.....right? -Walter
Why they shouldn't be there: Because they are terrible, as is their conference, and they haven't beat anyone with a pulse all season. The Big 12 game would be the only half-decent win, but against a team that may be awful. -Frazier.
The Verdict: Half a Pa.

Teams that stand less than no chance: BC, Florida, Oregon, Virginia. All probably mathematically possible, but so far-fetched we can't even imagine it.

Disclaimer: We think the math on these are correct, but it got pretty complicated.

Note: Yes, the BCS title game, the culminating moment of the entire college football season, will probably end up being terrible. BUT take solace! Years from now we can all look back on the 2007 season fondly because it is, and will always be, the year Notre Dame sucked worse than they've ever sucked before. Some things......are just worth the wait!

Student Body Right... Student Body Wrong...

2007-11-20T10:39:00.000-05:00

I was right about............

(1) Beanie Wells I knew that Tressel wouldn't make the same mistake twice, and he didn't. Instead of letting Boeckman toss jump balls, and throw into double coverage, he just put the rock in the big man's gut and let him get to work. Wells is surprisingly quick for such a big man, so quick in fact that it almost comes as a surprise when he trucks a safety, or simply brushes off a db. That being said, he's a little fragile for such a bruiser...... (2) LSU's defense This unit was exposed yet again on Saturday. The immortal Brent Schaeffer run and passed around these overhyped wannabes. Excellent O-line play (including Mike Oher, the subject of the fabulous book "The Blind Side") and a mobile quarterback prevented the Tigers from doing much defensively. The linebackers and secondary are entirely average when the big men up front don't dominate. Just something to keep in mind....(3) Oklahoma being a bunch of bums. I know I picked them last week, but that had more to do with me being wrong about Texas Tech's resiliency than anything else. I've been burying the Sooners all season, and my faith was rewarded. I am just thrilled that we won't have to watch them stink out the joint in the title game, although I would have happily won huge sums of money betting against them.....

I was wrong about..............

(1) Indiana and I couldn't be happier. At the beginning of the year I figured the loss of their coach, and the pressure of taking the next step would be too much to ask. Needless to say the Hoosiers have played tough, disciplined football, and have lived their late leaders admonition "Don't quit". I was absolutely rooting for them this weekend, and happily celebrated the huge win. Way to go guys! Somewhere, coach Hep is very very proud....(2) Boston College. This ain't Tom O'Briens bunch, that's for sure! I predicted from the very beginning that this team would win early, and then blow their season down the stretch. With a last-second win at Virginia Tech my theory took a hit, but then consecutive losses to unranked teams made my prediction look deadly accurate. However, Matt Ryan would not be denied and pulled his team through. Another loss and I would have nailed this one, but credit to Jags and Ryan for changing the tone in Chestnut Hill......... (3) West Virginia's explosiveness Yikes. This team is sniffing around the national title, and they couldn't put away Cincy when both Slaton AND White played extremely well? That is cause for concern in Morgantown. When WVU turns the ball over, they just aren't very good. Even with Slaton running well, this team isn't breaking as many explosive plays as in the past, and they aren't the best at sustaining drives.

Student body right........student body wrong

2007-11-19T16:31:00.000-05:00

I was right about..............

(1) Texas Tech taking advantage of a suddenly shaky Sooner secondary. Going into the season, offensive line and the secondary were supposed to be Oklahoma's mainstays on each side of the football. The offensive line has held up its part dominating from day 1, but after a fast start to say that the Sooner secondary has fallen apart would be an understatement. Graham Harrell and Texas Tech repeatedly took advantage of sloppy play by Oklahoma defensive backs (missing jams at the line, taking poor angles to the ball, and most of all POOR TACKLING) en route to a monster offensive showing. We also learned that Oklahoma's loss at Colorado was not a fluke. The Sooners are a BAD road team (see also their struggles with Iowa State in Ames). Texas Tech, on the other hand, is a beast at home. Perhaps this outcomes shouldn't have been such a shocker after all......The embarrasment that has become the (2) Michigan Wolverines. But let's be clear on one thing, it wasn't the defense's fault. Quite the contrary. I've been one to rip Ron English these past two seasons, but his unit put forth a heroic effort against the Buckeyes. With the Wolverine offense consistently going three and out (more on this in a moment), the UM defense bent (200+ rushing yards to Beanie Wells) but didn't break (only 14 points allowed). The defense kept them in the game. Now as for the offense, I wonder if anyone has ever gone from fringe first round pick to out of the draft, because that's what Chad Henne looked like on Saturday. I haven't seen such poor quarterbacking in a big game since Peyton Manning was throwing 4 picks to the Pats a few years back. Henne came back for his senior year for that game and then he went out and stunk it up. Henne should be embarrassed by his performance.......The (3) Indiana Hoosiers....that's right. As my friend Brian can attest to, we were all set to pick Purdue -2.5 to win at Bloomington Saturday (for recreational purposes only of course) until I heard the ESPN gameday story about how Terry Hoeppner's widow was going to be giving the pregame speech. Frankly, there was no way Indiana was losing that game, and not only did Purdue not cover they lost outright.

I was wrong about.......

(1) The Georgia offense. Perhaps I was a bit premature in annointing the Bulldogs unstoppable. Sure, Moreno and Stafford are young horses to build a football team around, but as we learned on Saturday, even against a bad defense they are still too young and inexperienced to be immune from an off day. There is simply no way those two shouldn't have combined for close to 400 yards against a porous Wildcat defense (in reality they netted close to 200), but alas they didn't. The good news for Georgia is that team still won, despite off days from two of their biggest stars. That is a mark of a good team, and bodes well for big things in 2008......The (2) Cincinatti Bearacats defense. I didn't give the Cincy boys any chance of stopping Pat White and company, and while they didn't they did slow them down enough to have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. Pat White is a tremendous player, but Cincinati deserves a lot of credit for harrassing him into a couple of mistakes. While the game wasn't really ever in doubt, it wasn't the smackdown I thought it would be (especially after the Oregon loss made style points imperative for the Mountaineers). Again, its a sign of a good team when you can win without your best stuff, but before we go killing the Mountaineer offense, lets give credit to the Cinci D........Doubting the (3) BC Eagles! Way to go boys. I thought you might have that one in you but I was too afraid of the jinx to predict it. You've made this weekend's game against Miami all but inconsequential as far as the national scene is concerned, but you've made it a hell of a lot more fun for the Chestnut Hill faithful who will be there to cheer you on. On a side note, it has gotten to be almost ridiculous what Matt Ryan is doing at the end of these games. Playing with wideouts who would struggle to make a CFL roster let alone an NFL one he consistently raises his play when the stakes are the highest. I can't wait to see what he can do with some legitimate weapons on the outisde.....sadly for us BC fans that will have to wait until he's gone from college.

10 Things I Saw

2007-11-19T10:35:00.000-05:00

The best throw of the day, and perhaps the prettiest of the whole year, belonged to Cincinatti's (1) Ben Mauk, who threw a beautiful scoring strike into the right corner of the endzone on a dead sprintout. Anyone who watched that game, or saw highlights, knows exactly what play I am talking about......For all the hype and hooplah, the (2) Michigan-Ohio State game was just terribly played. For anyone who wondered just how bad the Big 10 actually was this year, that game should serve ample notice. Stat of the game, the two starting QB's (Henne and Boeckman) combined to complete just 18 of 47 passes for a paltry 118 yards. Seriously, I'd rather see Hawaii in the BCS title game than Ohio State......Speaking of potential title game QB's, (3) Pat White, we all know you can run the ball, but try holding on to it one time!......Last year you may recall me gushing about Florida hybrid WR/TE Cornelius Ingram and his superb combination of size and cacthing ability. Well, I think I've found another deep sleeper in Illinois WR (4) Jeff Cumberland. Although the 6'5'' 244 lbs. sophomore hasn't put up a lot of numbers this year, he was simply amazing Saturday against Northwestern catching 4 balls for 131 yards and a TD. Most impressive, though, was how fluid and athletic the big man looked in making several tough catches. This Illinois team is going to be something special next year......As good as Cumberland was, though, the best pass catcher I saw all weekend was Mizzou freshman (5) Jeremy Maclin. They say he can run the 40 in 4.2 seconds. After watching him against KState, 9 catches for 143 yards and 2 TD to go along with several unreal kick returns, I believe it.......You don't have to be a football genius to see that (6) Matt Ryan is special. His numbers may not be as great as you want them to be, and his INT totals are up, but it is undeniable that when the game is on the line he has the rare ability to elevate his game to an atmospheric level.......Is the (7) Big 10 finally ready to step into the 21st century? Don't laugh, bear with me here. It started 10 years ago when Joe Tiller brought his spread offense to the Big 10 and put up some historic offensive numbers with Drew Brees. It was continued with guys like the late Randy Walker, Ron Zook and, gulp, even Joe Paterno installing spread offenses. And now it appears that the balance of power in the conference is about to shift, for the first time in....well ever, to some teams that eschew the 3 yards and a cloud of dust mentality that has basically become a conference mantra. We all see what is happening in Illinois, a team that will no doubt be favored to win the Big 10 in 2008, but in terms of returning talent the second best team might be the Michigan State Spartans, another team committed to the putting up points in the passing game. With traditional powers like Michigan and Iowa in disarray, and Ohio State still stinging from their blowout loss to Florida (which will be magnified if the Buckeyes make it to the BCS title game this year and get blown out again), I think it is clear that for the first time ever the winds are blowing in a different direction in the Midwest......Does it get any better than (8) Chase Daniel vs. (9) Todd Reesing this Saturday? Those guys are great players, great kids, and great stories, and, assuming the Arrowhead Stadium scoreboard can keep up, should meet and play an epic game on Saturday.......The best story of the day, by far, had to be what happened at South Bend Indiana, where the (10) Indiana Hoosiers, buoyed by an inspirational speech from the widow of their late coach Terry Hoeppner, managed to pull one out against their hated rivals Purdue. What happened to Coach Hep and the Indiana football program was a tragedy, but the way that team and community has pulled together has been nothing short of inspirational. Mrs. Hoeppner, whose connection to the team has only strengthened since her husband's death, put it best when she opined that through each other both she and the Indiana football team maintain their connection to Coach Hoeppner. Sometimes football can really be a beautiful thing.

Week 12 Picks - Frazier

2007-11-16T18:11:00.000-05:00

Clemson -7 vs. Boston College for $10

Awesome, two masters of origami matching up in a must-win game. Meaning, no matter how badly they both want to choke, one of them must win! I don't like either of these teams, but BC has really folded. I am going to stick to my preseason thinking, and predict that the Eagles collapse reaches epic proportions. I think they are a little beat-up right now, and Clemson has a nice, balanced offense. If the Tigers score early, it could cause BC to simply fold. Let's call it Clemson 31-21.

West Virginia -6.5 over @ Cincinnati for $20

WVU has been a little Jekyll and Hyde this year. I blame Steve Slaton. Pat White has officially put this team on his back, and Slaton just isn't the player he was last year. I don't know if he's lost a step, or he's battling injuries, or he tried to bulk up and lost explosion. But something has been wrong all year. That being said, I don't trust Cincinnati much at all. Beating UConn was nice and all, but they've had some inexplicably bad games themselves. I feel like Rodriguez has a few tricks up his sleeves. Let's call it Mountaineers, 34-21.

Oklahoma -9.5 over Texas Tech for $20

Leach and company have yet to really take down one of the beasts. They can make a game interesting, but they can't get over the edge. Also, that vaunted aerial attack has a history of disappearing against teams that can play disciplined defense. Now, the Sooners have been missing plenty of tackles, but I think Stoops has them focused for this one. The Big Man is right, Oklahoma could end this one in a hurry. I think they do, 45-17.

Ohio State -4 over @ Michigan for $20

Ohio State's offense is significantly better than Michigan's defense. Which is kind of saying something. But if the Wolverines struggled with the Badger's offense, they are not going to enjoy the Beanie Wells show. Jim Tressel has too many wins to ignore the fact that he put the ball in the air way too often against Illinois. Nope, Wells will tote the rock and Michigan doesn't have anyone who can stop him. I think Ohio St's defense and the Michigan offense play to a stalemate, but that the Buckeyes beat up a weak Wolverine unit. It's Bucky, 31-20.

@ Georgia -8 over Kentucky for $30

Kentucky was a nice story, but that's all they are now. Since when did beating Vanderbilt allow you to sneak back into the rankings? Georgia can play some defense, and Woodson has returned to earth. Moreno is running like a man possessed, and Kentucky has held two teams below 20 points all season, Florida Atlantic and Eastern Kentucky. Two of the worst teams imaginable. Um, Georgia is going to score a lot. A real lot. If Woodson plays out of his mind, they cover, if he's mortal, they get blown out by possibly the hottest team in the country. I've got a feeling he ain't a deity. Bulldogs big, 43-28.

Last week: 3-2

Season record: 27-26-2

Winnings to date: Minus forty. Yeah, that Michigan game killed me.

Picks - Walter

2007-11-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

BC +7 over @ Clemson

Ugh how can I reconcile my two favorite things in College Football? The BC Eagles versus Cullen Harper (that's right I haven't forgotten). Most people may not realize, but this game should decide the ACC first team QB (as if that really mattered). Anyways, I think both teams play well, with the QB's being the difference makers. Matt Ryan is the better pro prospect, but Harper has the better talent around him in this game. There will be lots of points scored in this one, enough to keep the score closer than it should be. Clemson hasn't won the ACC in a long time. They take a major step in front of the home crowd, but BC makes them earn it. Give me BC with the cover (.....still hoping for the win), 35-32 for $10.

West Virginia -6.5 over @ Cincinati

This is actually a HUGE game with major national title implications. Bear with me on this one........West Virginia is currently 6th in the BCS rankings, which means they need to jump 4 teams to get into the title game. BUT, and it's a HUGE, ASTRONOMIC but, look at the teams ahead of them. #2 Oregon has already lost, they are out. The next three teams, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missourri, all play each other! At the very least, 2 of those 3 teams will lose. They have to. So with Oregon out of the picture, and two of those three teams guaranteed to be out of the picture, West Virginia's 6th ranking is, in actuality, a #3 ranking. I am not sure people realize that the Mountaineers are an Okie State or Texas Tech upset away from being in prime position to go to the show....and that's assuming LSU handles Arkansas and whoever they get in the SEC title game. You can be sure Rich Rodriguez knows that. And you can be sure he knows at this time of year style points matter. WVU big, 38-24 for $20.

@ Texas Tech +9.5 over Oklahoma

I may regret this one. In fact, you'll know within 5 minutes if the Raiders have any chance of staying with the Sooners. Not sure why I am going with Tech, just a hunch. But the Raiders are a much better team at home, and I am not certain the Oklahoma secondary, or any secondary for that matter, has an answer for Mike Crabtree. Tech should just huck it up to him 20 times and see what happens. Back to title implications, if Oklahoma holds serve against Tech and Okie State, they will pretty much set up a Big 12 title game against Mizzou or Kansas for a shot at the national title game. And you know what, they will have earned it too, Colorado loss be damned. Still, it won't come to that. Oklahoma may still win the Big 12 with 2 losses, but their national title hopes die on the field at Lubbock. Tech in a shocker 34-31 for $10.

Ohio State -4 over @ Michigan

So explain this to me. Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Jake Long haven't been able to beat Ohio State in three years. They spent all summer thinking about the Buckeyes. The obsessed about them so much that they dropped two straight to open the year. Then they beat up on the creampuffs that are the Big 10. Then they get blown out by Wisconsin because they were clearly looking ahead to OSU. How does this add up to Michigan being in this game? Hart and Henne weren't good enough to beat the Buckeyes the past three years, they ain't good enough now. I understand that Michigan has basically put all their eggs in this single basket, but that's no way to play a football game. Lloyd Carr coaches tight. Henne sucks as usual. And Mike Hart gives every iota of effort in his body to come up just short. Sound familiar? Yeah so does the result. OSU with an easier than it looks 27-20 win for $10.

@ Georgia -8 over Kentucky

Woah. Ding ding ding. We have a winner. Eight points? Isn't this the same Kentucky team that has lost three of its last 6 games? And isn't this the Georgia team that has exploded recently, scoring 40 points in three straight blowout wins including victories over Florida and Auburn? Look, I don't know who Knowshon Moreno is either, or where he hid his spaceship, but as long as he lines up in the backfield for the Dawgs, good things happen. Unless they need him back on his home planet before kickoff on Saturday, Kentucky is in for a looooooong afternoon. After all, Georgia needs some style points (and some luck with a TN choke) to get to the SEC title game and a shot at the BCS title. Georgia absolutely HUGE, 45-17 for $50.

Quick Hitch...

2007-11-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

Wanted to comment quickly on the Oregon-Arizona tilt. I think I learned three things from this game.

1: Antoine Cason is as advertised. He was fantastic, returning a pick and a punt for scores. Great effort by a great player. I know some NFL teams don't love him, but he's a smart player, and he'll be a steal for whoever drafts him.

2: Dennis Dixon deserved to be the Heisman front-runner. Without him, the Ducks looked lost offensively. Oregon would have been better served if Dixon hadn't suited up, because the game-plan would have changed, and they would have played conservative and run Stewart until his legs fell off. The loss of their leader mid-game really shook up the team.

3: Brady Leaf in college looks like Ryan Leaf in the pros. I had a friend comment that he looked like his brother out there, but Oregon would have killed for that. Ryan was an excellent college quarterback, Brady is barely passable. He completely choked when his team desperately needed him to make plays to save their season.

Give lots of credit to Arizona, they pounced on a weakened opponent, and made the plays necessary to win. That being said, if Dixon doesn't get hurt, Oregon rolls 44-24 or something similar.

Power Rankings: Week 11

2007-11-15T10:52:00.001-05:00

Another one has fallen, and now only Kansas stands alone:

1. Kansas

Walter - What do you think you could have gotten better odds on before the year started, Kansas starting the season 10-0 or Notre Dame starting it 1-9 (with losses to Navy and Air Force)? Yeah it's been that type of season. Take a bow Kansas. Your schedule may not be much but you've managed to do what no other team has: win all the games you're supposed to win.

2. Oregon

Frazier - A well-deserved week off for the Ducks. However, they may be in trouble. Without a marquee game to close out the season, they may be left out if someone leaps. The Pac-10 will add a championship game soon enough, especially since the East Coast bias is alive and well. Seriously, they have more wins over teams currently ranked than LSU, but no one wants to admit this.

3. LSU

Walter - Perhaps the 2007 season will give pause to all of those SEC apologists out there. LSU has no business, I repeat, no business being ranked ahead of either Oregon or Kansas right now. Yet, because of the reputation the SEC has built in previous years the Tigers find themselves in pole position.

4. Oklahoma

Frazier - Ugh. My disgust for this team is alive and well. They have "big" wins over Texas (who are terrible) and Mizzou (who hasn't, you know, beaten anybody). Now if Mizzou beats Kansas (a distinct possibility) and Oklahoma wins again, they may make the title game by proving they are better than Mizzou, which hardly sounds like a resounding resume. Oh, and they lost to a crappy Colorado team. Shades of 2004 all over again.

5. West Virginia

Walter - Well we all knew the Big Least would come down to a single game. Although I'm not sure many people thought it would be West Virginia-Cincinati. Either way, Pat White and Company are still holding out hope of sneaking into the BCS title game. Uh guys, I think it may be time to let go. You want to win the title, try not losing to South Florida every year.

6. Missouri

Frazier - While the win over Illinois looks better these days, it's hard to put too much stock in beating a horribly inconsistent team in the first week of the season. That being said, I do love Chase Daniel, and I think Mizzou is a great story this year, I just hope they turn out to have some substance.

7. Georgia

Walter - Well we officially have a new 323 binky at RB. A proclamation: I Walter, on this the 15th day of November, 2007, do hereby proclaim by affinity and undying loyalty to Knowshon Moreno, Freshman RB, University of Georgia. Go forth, and score touchdowns (and who says 3 years of law school is a waste of time).

8. Ohio State

Frazier - Hmmmmm. Maybe they were bums all along. That being said, watch HBO's brilliant "Michigan vs. Ohio St." documentary. As much as we've ragged on those teams, that is one of the great rivalries in all of sports. For fans of those teams, a win against their rivals will heal many of scars of this season. It's definitely one of the games any real college football fan has to attend at least once in his or her life. Someday, I will be there.

9. Arizona State

Walter - The football gods saved us from another Ohio State blowout in the title game, can we PLEASE, PLEASE have these frauds lose another game so we don't see them anywhere near a major bowl game. Or better yet, can't some idiotic NFL team take a look at Dennis Erickson's one loss record and bring him back. Are the 49ers looking for a new coach yet?

10(a). Navy

Frazier - Ok, newer rule. Anytime you follow a game where you break a 43 year old losing streak by winning the highest scoring regulation game in history (by putting up 74 and rushing for 570 yards) you get to keep your ranking.

10 (b): Air Force

Walter - Corrollary to newer rule. If you're a service academy and you absolute obliterate Notre Dame on their home field, you get a spot in the top ten.....gee, I hope God's not really a Notre Dame fan or the323 is going straight to hell. This, my friends, is what we call "piling on."

Dropped off:
Boston College - Consecutive losses to unranked teams? Nightmare.
Just missed:
Virginia Tech - You've beat who, exactly? Fuck the Hokies.
USC - No, seriously, who have you beat?

Heisman Watch - Friends Edition

2007-11-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

Well, we've opened up the voting a bit for this edition of the Heisman watch. Our buddy the Cincinnati Kid chipped in, along with a new 323 friend BCS Know How (check him out at http://www.bcsknowhow.com/.) Anyways, thanks to those guys for helping out.

1. Dennis Dixon

Walter - The best argument for Dixon is that he is simply the best player on the best offensive team in the nation. Dixon has been ruthlessly efficient this year, and has seen his Ducks rise all the way from unranked to the top 2. Most importantly, though, while he doesn't have the eye-popping stats, his team has only faltered once.....and by an inch at that.

2. Tim Tebow

The Cincinnati Kid - The Heisman is supposed to go to the most outstanding college football player, and my eyes tell me this guy fits the bill. On the objective side, he leads the nation in yards per attempt (my favorite QB stat), he's second in QB rating, and he is third in RUSHING TDs.

3. Todd Reesing

Frazier - Apparently the Big Man and myself like Reesing more than most. But what's not to love? His sparkling 26:4 TD:INT ratio? The fact he can make plays with his feet? His team's undefeated record? His heart? This guy can play, and I'm sorry he and his team didn't get the preseason pub some of these other guys have, but he's playing at a very high level and winning games.

4. Chase Daniel

Walter - Put it this way, if Daniel winds up beating two top 5 teams to close out the regular season (Kansas and Oklahoma) the Downtown Athletic Club might as well start engraving the trophy now. Mizzou is a perennial underachiever, but Daniel has a chance to lead them to their best season EVER. The winner of the Daniel-Reesing showdown in two weeks will not only vault his team into serious national title consideration, but also spring to the head of the Heisman class.

5. Darren McFadden

BCS Know How - McFadden, coming off an Arkansas record 323 yards rushing and three touchdowns, didn't perform nearly as well against Tennessee in a Razorback loss, but still ran for more than 100 yards. McFadden may be the best college football player this season, but coming from a four loss team to win the Heisman would be unprecedented, so don't expect anything more than a possible invite to NYC.

Frazier's ballot:
1. Dixon
2. Tebow
3. Reesing
4. McFadden
5. Pat White

Walter's ballot:

1. Dixon

2. Tebow

3. Reesing

4. Chase Daniel

5. Knowshon Moreno

Cincinnati Kid's ballot:

1. Tebow

2. Dixon

3. Sam Bradford

4. Chase Daniel

5. Mike Crabtree

BCS Know How's ballot (click here to read his explanation):

1. Dixon

2. Tebow

3. McFadden

4. Chase Daniel

5. Matt Ryan

Tuesday Question - Let's Get High

2007-11-13T19:03:00.000-05:00

If your team was a drug, what drug would they be?

Now, we're not condoning use of any of these substances. We're just curious which teams would align with which drugs. So find a nice, relaxed spot, turn on SpongeBob, get some Dorito's, and enjoy the ride.

Weed

Frazier - The Cal Bears. No drive, no ambition, just nothing going on in Berkeley, which is probably a good place to try to score some. Especially since the Bears have given up on scoring ON the field.

Walter - Notre Dame. Like marijuana the Irish aren't really one of the big boys of college football, but despite all thats wrong with them they still have legions of undyingly loyal followers.

I don't think they roll a blunt in the world fat
enough for an Irish fan to get over this season!

Coke

Frazier - Notre Dame. A huge rush at the beginning, a massive price tag, and then you crash. Sounds a lot like the Charlie Weiss tenure, doesn't it?

Walter - Oregon Ducks. Like cocaine the Ducks offense is plenty expensive (have you seen the salaries for Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly?), quick hitting (Jonathan Stewart anyone), and at times White Collar (Dennis Dixon runs that offense with the ruthless efficiency of a Wall Street businessman).

Although, this might do the trick!

Crack

Frazier - Texas A&M. It's like a cheap Notre Dame. Coach Fran is an unmitigated disaster, but those stoners seem addicted to his shit. Just scrape the money together and can his ass.

Walter - Hawaii. Basically crack is cheaper, more urban cocaine. While nobody is going to confuse Honolulu with Gotham City, the Rainbow Warriors, like the Ducks, rely on a high octane offense.....only with worse players.

You think Hawaiin crack is more tropical?

LSD

Frazier - Kansas. Wow, I must be tripping, because I thought I saw the Jayhawks undefeated in mid-November and ranked in the top 5.

Walter - Tennessee. LSD was huge in the 60's and 70's, kind of forgotten with the coke craze of the 80's, roared back in the late 90's, and then took a back seat to Oxycontin and other prescription drugs in the 2000's. Just like the Vols, to say LSD is inconsistent is an understatement.

I've heard dropping acid curbs your appetite.....
so we know Mark Mangino is clean.

Shrooms

Frazier - Oregon. The earthy-crunchy residents of the Pacific Northwest are enjoying THIS trip a lot. They're even having visions, especially of a trip to the BCS title game.

Walter - West Virginia. The Mountaineers have a coach who is "home grown," and with skill guys like White, Slaton and Devine running that spread offense predicated on misdirection, watching them you can't be sure if they've actually got 15 guys on offense, or if you're just tripping balls.

With all those moving parts on offense, I
wonder just how much these shrooms look
like a Rich Rodriguez option play.

Heroine

Frazier - USC. The lethargy these guys have shown is downright disturbing. Absolutely no pride in protecting their PAC-10 crown. Their lids are half-closed, and they don't seem to care about anything right now.

Walter - Alabama. Like heroine in the world of drugs, the Crimson Tide can rightfully stake a claim as the king of college football. Although expectations are always higher than the end result, both heroine and Alabama addicts will pay just about anything to enjoy the product.

I think Pete Caroll gets his fix from Ty Law's cousin.

OxyContin

Frazier - Arkansas. This team was supposed to relieve our pain of the same-old SEC contenders. And I seem to be addicted to them. But in the end, all I feel is a sense of loss. A sense these guys are all too familiar with.

Walter - South Florida. 15 years ago South Florida didn't have a football team and nobody had the slightest clue what O.C. stood for. 10 years ago South Florida got a football team and everybody knew O.C. stood for Orange County. In 2007, South Florida is on top of the football world and O.C. stands for the newest, most popular drug on the market. Coincidence?......Yeah probably.

Nope, it's not that stupid TV show anymore.....Californiaaaaaa.

Ecstasy

Frazier - UConn. Everything was going so great for the Huskies. They were making all the right moves, dancing up a storm, and looking smooth out there. Then the Bearcats shone the light of day on them, and suddenly the rave was over.

Walter - Boston College. Everyone in Chestnut Hill was so jacked up for that Florida State game. So pumped and jacked, and jacked and pumped. #2 in the nation, ready to smack down those punks from Tallahassee, and then.....well you know what happened then. And believe you me, the morning after was just AWFUL.

And you wonder how they party down in Storrs.....

Student Body Right... Student Body Wrong...

2007-11-13T18:35:00.000-05:00

I was right about............

(1) USC-California game!!! Last week I vowed to nail the final score in one of our picks some day. Well, that day has come! I'm not saying I'm a genius necessarily, but you could, if you wanted.... The (2) Vols? It's not that I'm completely sold on this bunch, but they are in the drivers seat in their division. Now, I expect them to get beat down by LSU in the SEC title game, but they have the inside track on getting there, which is more than many expected. The fighting Fulmer's deserve credit for holding the potent Hogs running attack in check, and preventing McFadden from obliterating them....(3) South Carolina folding under a tough schedule. Spurrier can coach more than a little bit, but even he needs a break from this relentless grind. The lack of consistent quarterback play is only making matters worse. The big man noted that the Gamecocks relied on being perfect on defense to stay close. Well, no one is perfect, and the Old Ball Coach is learning that the hard way....

I was wrong about..............

(1) Michigan being the team I thought they were at the beginning of the year. Ugh. They looked like they'd pulled together after a disastrous start, and were playing well. After surviving against Michigan St. I decided to overlook their faults yet again, and picked them to beat a fully mediocre Badgers squad. Well, I should have picked the homers in a battle of the mediocres. That'll teach me to trust anyone who looks "impressive" against the Big 10.....(2) Auburn. If we ever needed proof that I am not, in fact, a genius, this pick will suffice. This game should have been a gimme. One team had a better ranking, was playing well, has offense-defense balance, and a stud running back. The other has been all over the map, and the game was between the freakin' hedges. Ugh. I made way too big a deal about surrendering points to Troy. I'm a moron......... (3) Ohio State I should have stuck to my guns here. I thought they were frauds, I thought Boeckman was prone to turnovers. I consistently picked against them. I talked tremendous trash, and then I almost became a believer. I begrudgingly acknowledged their success, and gave them a shot to run the table. Nope, I was right all along. They're bums.

Student Body Right.......Student Body Wrong

2007-11-12T19:28:00.000-05:00

I was right about............

The (1) Georgia Bulldogs. Led by the suddenly dynamic Mark Richt, Georgia has really asserted itself on the national scene during what many though would be a rebuilding year. Of course, having a freshman running back who is averaging 150 yards per start doesn't hurt. Between the aforementioned Knowshon Moreno, my absolute new favorite player in America, and sophomore Matt Stafford, something really big is brewing in Athens. I identified them as a potential sleeper when the season started, but even I couldn't have foreseen this........(2) California totally mailing it in. It is borderline impossible to believe that 2 months ago the Cal Bears were number two in the nation. What is even more unbelievable is that a team with Justin Forsett and DeSean Jackson can struggle so much on offense. Seriously, is it possible that in this year of huge surprises California has been the greatest beneficiary? They've been a huge disappointment, but since a litany of other top 5 teams have fallen since them, they've been all but forgotten........(3) Notre Dame being the flat out worst team in the nation. The Irish are downright embarassing, and it was never more evident than this past Saturday when they were waxed by Air Force. I can still hardly believe that a service academy without a single five star recruit could dominate Notre Dame so badly. Wasn't Charlie Weis supposed to be bringing in these unreal recruiting classes? What happened.

I was wrong about..............

(1) Michigan being able to salvage their season. Yup, just like everyone else I fell into the trap of believing Michigan was decent because they ran through the rest of the "Big" 10. In reality, the Wolverines just took advantage of the rest of the crap that the conference has fielded this year. Heck, Wisconsin isn't even any good. They're just better than the Indiana's and Northwesterns of the world..........(2) Tennesee.....this week. Has there been a more schizophrenic team in America? One week they are dominating Georgia, the next they are getting pasted by Florida, and the next they are shutting down the best back in American in routing Arkansas. Since I can't really rip the Vols this week, I will take this opportunity to rip Phil Fulmer. Inconsistency is a hallmark of bad coaching. Phil, you suck.........The (3) Big East. The entire Big East. Every time I think I have that league figured out they throw another wrench at me. First the team I liked was Louisville. Then it was West Virginia. Then it was South Florida. Then it was Cincinati. Then it was West Virginia again. Then it was UConn. Now its West Virginia again. Screw this. The league sucks. I give up.

Quick Hitch...

2007-11-12T11:20:00.001-05:00

WANTED: Brian Brohm for Fraud.

This may be a little late, but I need to comment on Brohm's performance against WVU. Now, I know he led his team back to take the lead late, but his play during the last drive really made some things clear. Yes, they were pinned back, but 1:30 in college football is plenty of time. So what does he do? Checkdown, fine, as long as it gets a first. He then RUNS for 5 yards, pretty much the only thing he shouldn't do. Then he checks down again, but to a covered receiver who fails to get the first. Then he misfires on a couple of throws, then he heaves a "hail mary" except he can't even throw the ball 50 yards. From his 40 it falls well short of the goal-line. Maybe a 45 yard pass, yikes.

Chad Pennington Jr? That's the second time I've seen him attempt a hail mary and both times it hasn't even been close. Two more interceptions? In 4 of 5 losses he has at least one pick, and he has 2 in 3 of those games. He doesn't throw with enough zip on his passes, he's had accuracy issues, and he can't get the ball downfield like he needs to.

He just may not have an NFL arm. Add some questionable decision-making (as in the WVU game) and I think his stock is absolutely plummeting right now.

Week 11 Picks - Walter

2007-11-10T02:12:00.001-05:00

Tough week so here are some quick (very quick) picks...........

Michigan -3 over @ Wisconsin for $40

Too much Mike Hart, not enough PJ Hill (injured). Actually, losing Alan Langford will hurt the Badgers more as now they have one corner, Jack Ikegwonu, to match up with two Michigan WR, Arrrington and Manningham.

Arkansas -1.5 over @ Tennesee for $10

Too much McFadden (way too much) for Ainge and Cutcliffe to handle, since they apparently refuse to throw the ball downfield.

@ South Carolina +6.5 v. Florida for $20

In Spurrier we trust. In Spurrier we trust. I love the Ol Ball Coach and I ain't about to abandon him for a team that built its reputation by beating a mediocre Kentucky team and "hanging with" a flawed LSU squad.

@ Georgia over Auburn for $15

I don't get his line. Georgia has been just as good as Auburn on defense, and Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are better than anyone the Tigers can put on the field. Book it.

USC -4 @ California for $15

At one time we all looked forward to this game. Now we just wonder which team will look less worse. USC has the defense so I'm taking them.

Week 11 Picks - Frazier

2007-11-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

Michigan -3 AT Wisconsin for $40

Classic gambling mistake. I'm down, so I'm going to try and make it all back quickly. Still, I LOVE this line. These are two teams going in completely opposite directions. I like how Michigan is playing, and although Wisconsin hung tough for awhile, Ohio St. ran roughshod over them late. If Beanie Wells is going to kill you on the ground, Mike Hart will finish the job. It's Wolverine time, to the tune of, 32-24.

Tennessee +1.5 vs. Arkansas for $10.

Games that scare me. I don't trust either team. The Hogs have burned me repeatedly, but McFadden is coming off a monster game. The Vols have really disappointed, and yet are still in control of their destiny in the SEC. Anyways, I'm picking the Vols since it never works out when I back Arkansas. Let's call it the Fulmer bunch, 27-24.

Florida -6.5 AT South Carolina for $20

So the Gamecocks don't like tough-running players who line up in the shotgun formation? Yeah, Tim Tebow is going to enjoy this. The Gators weakness has been defensively, especially in the secondary, but South Carolina is having quarterback issues. As in they both suck. Spurrier can get in the heads of some coaches, but Meyer has a title to his name, and won't be intimidated. Chomp, chomp, chomp, 34-17.

Auburn over Georgia for $20

I like the Tigers ability to take away one aspect of any team's offense. In this case, I don't trust Moreno to have much of a game. Stafford will need to step up, and he makes a couple of dumb mistakes a game. Troy scored more on the Bulldogs than I'm comfortable with. Let's call it 20-17 the Tubbervilles.

USC -4 AT Cal for $10

This game has lost some of its' luster, eh? I don't know what to make of either club. Both their seasons are officially busts, so it's hard to see what to make of this. Cal has a better win, but an extra loss. USC doesn't have any particularly good wins at all. I expect the game to be sloppy, and a lot less interesting that you'd expect. Let's call it Trojan time, 24-17.

Last Week: 2-2-1

Season: 24-24-2

Winnings to Date: Minus twenty. The vig'll kill you!