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Five Thoughts: SEC still the best
by Peter Schrager
Peter Schrager is a frequent contributor for FOXSports.com. You can e-mail him at [email protected]
Updated: January 9, 2009, 12:01 PM EST 11 comments
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Well, that was fun. How about a season-ending Friday Five Thoughts? Let's do it.
1. For the third straight year, the SEC is king. The Pac-10 can make the argument, with their undefeated record in bowl games this season, that they put up a nice showing and at least need a piece of the conversation. But when it came down to it, it was Florida, playing SEC football, grinding out the BCS title. Vegas had the over/under at 69.5 before kickoff. The Sooners and the Gators combined for 38 points. Gator Nation will take it; no complaints there.
Perhaps the craziest part of Thursday night's battle was how many foolish plays and moments lacking discipline the Gators suffered through. All those false-start penalties by their All-SEC left tackle Phil Trautwein, the foolish celebration penalty after a big catch by Louis Murphy, the absurd unsportsmanlike conduct called on Torrey Davis after he foolishly took off his helmet, two Tim Tebow interceptions, a roughing-the-punter penalty, and that bizarre play in which Tebow thought he heard a whistle on 3rd and six from the 15 when no such whistle was blown.
And yet, they prevailed.
Perhaps that's the very mark of a championship team.
The defense held a team that scored 702 points (the most ever in NCAA history) and put up 60 points or more in five straight games (also a record) to a measly two scores.
Want to say Florida won ugly? Fine. Want to say they made a slew of mistakes? I won't argue.
But they used defense, a diverse running game and a masterfully prepared game plan to topple the best offense in college football.
In short, they did things the SEC way. Still, even in a relative down year, the best conference in the land.
2. Following the previous two BCS championship games, the big thing all the talking heads yearned for was a "plus one" system. Everyone wanted it, even some coaches. How could you not give Boise State a chance at Florida after they went undefeated and beat Oklahoma in the '07 Fiesta Bowl? How could we just let Georgia go idly into the night after their destruction of Hawaii in the '08 Sugar Bowl? A plus-one, though not a full playoff system, would solve all of college football's ills! The perfect compromise! Everyone wins!
Those same voices have been eerily quiet this year.
The "plus-one" concept and college football's need for it came up after USC's whitewashing of Penn State in the Rose Bowl. But before I could quickly board a plane to Los Angeles, tell a cab driver to take me to Pasadena, and argue, the rebuttal came in the form of, "Well, what about Texas?" The response was a laugh and shrugged shoulders.
No, the "plus one" isn't the answer.
That was at 7 p.m. ET on New Year's Day. A week later, you can now toss Utah's name into the conversation, too. If you thought the controversy that surrounds the BCS is awful now, imagine having to pick among USC, Texas, and Utah for who plays Florida in the "plus one" game. No doubt, you'd hear someone suggest a "plus one ... plus one." We'd be playing college football until March.
The truth is that we need a playoff. If not the full-scale 16-team version I proposed a month ago, then at the very least, an eight-team one. And I know that's not exactly the most groundbreaking thought. But I must reiterate it whenever possible.
Why? Because there's this lingering fear I have — and it crept up on me any time I watched a Rose Bowl commercial or preview during the three weeks leading up to the game, without seeing a single mention of the national title game. Put your conspiracy theorist hats on.
Will ESPN still be talking about the need for a playoff once they're the ones airing all these BCS bowl games? They shelled out quite a bit of dough to broadcast them. Are they really going to permit such conversation on air? Hey, just a thought.
Then again, I still sleep with the lights on and don't think man ever walked on the moon.
3. If we don't get a playoff, it's at least time to tighten up this bowl-season schedule. Though I searched high and low, I could not find a single explanation as to why Tuesday night's horrendous GMAC Bowl had to be played on Jan. 6. I actually couldn't find an explanation as to why they had to play it all.
Apologies to Jason Whitlock, but the MAC runner-up playing the Conference USA runner-up should not occur after the Rose Bowl. I had more than a few friends — big sports fans — who had no interest in the national title game because of college football fatigue.
Let's tighten this sucker up. Though some moan and groan incessantly about them, I'm fine with keeping the 34 bowl games. The more football, the better. But how about airing all of the games from Dec. 20 to Jan 2? None of this Jan. 8 junk.
Colt McCoy was impressive on and off the field. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
4. Some highlights from the 2008-09 Bowl Season: Mike Riley's Oregon State D making Pittsburgh's offense look like a middle-school squad; FAU going into Detroit and beating Central Michigan; Houston's D showing up for the first time all season when it mattered most; Hakeem Nicks going nuts against West Virginia; the Pac-10 shutting up the critics (and the pollsters); Jevan Snead outplaying Graham Harrell; Mike Teel finishing the complete 180 on his senior season; Todd Reesing having another outstanding bowl game; Frank Beamer's coaching; Nebraska's defensive line; Colt McCoy's arm; the girl on Colt McCoy's arm.
Some lowlights from the 2008-09 Bowl Season: Boston College's sputtering offense; an empty Dolphin Stadium for the Orange Bowl; an even emptier Ford Field for the Motor City Bowl; the Big Ten in every big game it played (again); Shaun King referring to Rutgers' head coach as "Greg Schiani"; South Carolina forgetting to wake up for their game at 11 a.m. on New Year's Day; Ball State having ever wanted a shot at the national title; Miami's horrendous excuse for a final drive.
5. Now that the bowls are over, it's time to talk about early entrants and the NFL Draft. Georgia stars Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are each headed to the NFL, while Colt McCoy appears to be staying at Texas. Still no word on Bradford, Tebow or Harvin. James Casey — a pass-catching machine for Chase Clement at Rice this year — is also leaving early, while premier receivers Hakeem Nicks and Darrius Heyward-Bey are gone, too. Illinois junior Vontae Davis will be a first-round pick, though I can't say the same for Auburn's Jerraud Powers. Shonn Green and Beanie Wells are leaving, as well.
A REAL early look at how I see the top five picks going come April's NFL Draft...
1. Detroit: Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia, Junior. Physically gifted with a rocket arm, will dominate the combine in Indy if he opts to work out. Mental toughness and big-game ability will be questioned.
2. St. Louis: Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss, Senior. The star of Michael Lewis' The Blind Side came back to school to improve his game and play for a winning team during his senior year. He did both.
3. Kansas City: Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas, Senior. Since trading Jarred Allen, the Chiefs have been in need of a pass-rushing specialist. Orakpo's the best on the board. With Sam Bradford coming out, they may consider scooping him up, too.
4. Seattle: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama, Junior. With Walter Jones banged up this year, Smith makes perfect sense as the next left tackle in Seattle.
5. Cleveland Browns: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest, Senior. Butkus Award winner and a beast at linebacker. Could be a star in Eric Mangini's 3-4 defensive scheme.
by Peter Schrager
Peter Schrager is a frequent contributor for FOXSports.com. You can e-mail him at [email protected]
Updated: January 9, 2009, 12:01 PM EST 11 comments
add this RSS blog email Print
Well, that was fun. How about a season-ending Friday Five Thoughts? Let's do it.
1. For the third straight year, the SEC is king. The Pac-10 can make the argument, with their undefeated record in bowl games this season, that they put up a nice showing and at least need a piece of the conversation. But when it came down to it, it was Florida, playing SEC football, grinding out the BCS title. Vegas had the over/under at 69.5 before kickoff. The Sooners and the Gators combined for 38 points. Gator Nation will take it; no complaints there.
Perhaps the craziest part of Thursday night's battle was how many foolish plays and moments lacking discipline the Gators suffered through. All those false-start penalties by their All-SEC left tackle Phil Trautwein, the foolish celebration penalty after a big catch by Louis Murphy, the absurd unsportsmanlike conduct called on Torrey Davis after he foolishly took off his helmet, two Tim Tebow interceptions, a roughing-the-punter penalty, and that bizarre play in which Tebow thought he heard a whistle on 3rd and six from the 15 when no such whistle was blown.
And yet, they prevailed.
Perhaps that's the very mark of a championship team.
The defense held a team that scored 702 points (the most ever in NCAA history) and put up 60 points or more in five straight games (also a record) to a measly two scores.
Want to say Florida won ugly? Fine. Want to say they made a slew of mistakes? I won't argue.
But they used defense, a diverse running game and a masterfully prepared game plan to topple the best offense in college football.
In short, they did things the SEC way. Still, even in a relative down year, the best conference in the land.
2. Following the previous two BCS championship games, the big thing all the talking heads yearned for was a "plus one" system. Everyone wanted it, even some coaches. How could you not give Boise State a chance at Florida after they went undefeated and beat Oklahoma in the '07 Fiesta Bowl? How could we just let Georgia go idly into the night after their destruction of Hawaii in the '08 Sugar Bowl? A plus-one, though not a full playoff system, would solve all of college football's ills! The perfect compromise! Everyone wins!
Those same voices have been eerily quiet this year.
The "plus-one" concept and college football's need for it came up after USC's whitewashing of Penn State in the Rose Bowl. But before I could quickly board a plane to Los Angeles, tell a cab driver to take me to Pasadena, and argue, the rebuttal came in the form of, "Well, what about Texas?" The response was a laugh and shrugged shoulders.
No, the "plus one" isn't the answer.
That was at 7 p.m. ET on New Year's Day. A week later, you can now toss Utah's name into the conversation, too. If you thought the controversy that surrounds the BCS is awful now, imagine having to pick among USC, Texas, and Utah for who plays Florida in the "plus one" game. No doubt, you'd hear someone suggest a "plus one ... plus one." We'd be playing college football until March.
The truth is that we need a playoff. If not the full-scale 16-team version I proposed a month ago, then at the very least, an eight-team one. And I know that's not exactly the most groundbreaking thought. But I must reiterate it whenever possible.
Why? Because there's this lingering fear I have — and it crept up on me any time I watched a Rose Bowl commercial or preview during the three weeks leading up to the game, without seeing a single mention of the national title game. Put your conspiracy theorist hats on.
Will ESPN still be talking about the need for a playoff once they're the ones airing all these BCS bowl games? They shelled out quite a bit of dough to broadcast them. Are they really going to permit such conversation on air? Hey, just a thought.
Then again, I still sleep with the lights on and don't think man ever walked on the moon.
3. If we don't get a playoff, it's at least time to tighten up this bowl-season schedule. Though I searched high and low, I could not find a single explanation as to why Tuesday night's horrendous GMAC Bowl had to be played on Jan. 6. I actually couldn't find an explanation as to why they had to play it all.
Apologies to Jason Whitlock, but the MAC runner-up playing the Conference USA runner-up should not occur after the Rose Bowl. I had more than a few friends — big sports fans — who had no interest in the national title game because of college football fatigue.
Let's tighten this sucker up. Though some moan and groan incessantly about them, I'm fine with keeping the 34 bowl games. The more football, the better. But how about airing all of the games from Dec. 20 to Jan 2? None of this Jan. 8 junk.
Colt McCoy was impressive on and off the field. (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
4. Some highlights from the 2008-09 Bowl Season: Mike Riley's Oregon State D making Pittsburgh's offense look like a middle-school squad; FAU going into Detroit and beating Central Michigan; Houston's D showing up for the first time all season when it mattered most; Hakeem Nicks going nuts against West Virginia; the Pac-10 shutting up the critics (and the pollsters); Jevan Snead outplaying Graham Harrell; Mike Teel finishing the complete 180 on his senior season; Todd Reesing having another outstanding bowl game; Frank Beamer's coaching; Nebraska's defensive line; Colt McCoy's arm; the girl on Colt McCoy's arm.
Some lowlights from the 2008-09 Bowl Season: Boston College's sputtering offense; an empty Dolphin Stadium for the Orange Bowl; an even emptier Ford Field for the Motor City Bowl; the Big Ten in every big game it played (again); Shaun King referring to Rutgers' head coach as "Greg Schiani"; South Carolina forgetting to wake up for their game at 11 a.m. on New Year's Day; Ball State having ever wanted a shot at the national title; Miami's horrendous excuse for a final drive.
5. Now that the bowls are over, it's time to talk about early entrants and the NFL Draft. Georgia stars Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are each headed to the NFL, while Colt McCoy appears to be staying at Texas. Still no word on Bradford, Tebow or Harvin. James Casey — a pass-catching machine for Chase Clement at Rice this year — is also leaving early, while premier receivers Hakeem Nicks and Darrius Heyward-Bey are gone, too. Illinois junior Vontae Davis will be a first-round pick, though I can't say the same for Auburn's Jerraud Powers. Shonn Green and Beanie Wells are leaving, as well.
A REAL early look at how I see the top five picks going come April's NFL Draft...
1. Detroit: Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia, Junior. Physically gifted with a rocket arm, will dominate the combine in Indy if he opts to work out. Mental toughness and big-game ability will be questioned.
2. St. Louis: Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss, Senior. The star of Michael Lewis' The Blind Side came back to school to improve his game and play for a winning team during his senior year. He did both.
3. Kansas City: Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas, Senior. Since trading Jarred Allen, the Chiefs have been in need of a pass-rushing specialist. Orakpo's the best on the board. With Sam Bradford coming out, they may consider scooping him up, too.
4. Seattle: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama, Junior. With Walter Jones banged up this year, Smith makes perfect sense as the next left tackle in Seattle.
5. Cleveland Browns: Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest, Senior. Butkus Award winner and a beast at linebacker. Could be a star in Eric Mangini's 3-4 defensive scheme.
[IMG]
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