The Perfect Storm of College Football
by greenspointexas on Nov 21, 2009 2:31 AM CST
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*(Before you write off this post (I care little if you do or do not agree with the following), I would just like to say that while most of my comments on this site are off the cuff, bonehead knee-jerk reactions, the following is are somewhat logical observations and thoughts about this season in college football. Between PB's great "Villans" post, and continuing somewhat on my post from a few weeks ago about one of the best weekends of the year for college football, I would like to discuss why I think that this year is one of the best years I have witnessed in NCAAF (yes I do know that my above sentences are wild run-ons). *
While the majority of the media has already written this season off as "boring" or "mediocre," I would like to think of it as a year in which traditional powers have struggled, programs/teams/coaches have been exposed, and where non-bcs conferences are making pushes for re-alignment and re-tooling of the BCS system. Is it good that the natl championship game participants have been all but set in stone for 4 months ago? I dunno. But it sure funny that the media has so little to talk about this year in college football that they must posit certain questions or scenarios just so they can fill tv time or blank space on website. IE - Will TCU jump Texas? Will USC jump Boise State? Will Charlie Weis be fired? Lane Kiffin is tweeting! Is Matt Barkley the best fish QB evar? blah blah blah
However, for the Longhorn fan, this year has been better than any in recent memory (minus 2005-2006 of course). Ill give you a quick refresher as to why, IMO:
OU is down, Bob Stoops is as exposed as Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and the OU fan base as a whole no longer has anything to look forward to.
A&M is fending off Baylor for bottom of the Big 12 south. Oh, and they havent even sold out their game vs us this year. They just released 3,000 or so tickets to the general public this week.
Texas Tech fans are accepting what they really are - a 6 to 9 win team with a Xbox offense and no D.
Texas is on its way to their 5th natl championship, Colt McCoy is a heisman contender, and UT is in the discussion for possible team of the decade if we run the table.
Also worth noting, this season has been kind to several "smaller" Texas programs:
TCU - #4 and going to the BCS
SMU - 1st bowl game since 1984.. or is it 83?
U of H - Ranked and looking good for next year
Baylor - can still make a bowl game this year if they beat Tech and the Aggies.
One of the things that I think makes this season unique and special is the demise of several overrated teams and big time programs. Say what you want, "A good USC is good for college football," or "A two loss Iowa should have a BCS nod over Boise State," etc. But at least to me, it has been great seeing Rich Rod, USC, and others going down in flames:
Virgina Tech - exposed, why do people even rank these guys?
ND - cant even win with a joke of a schedule... Navy.... Navy lol
Michigan - Rich Rod is really doing a bang up job up there
Kansas - Now I know a lot of yall are going to disagree with me on this one, but FINALLY they are getting shown to the nation what their program really is. How Mark Mangino won coach of the year a couple of years ago is baffling. They somehow weaseled their way into a BCS game a while back and beat the biggest overrated Va Tech team of the decade. Whoop-dee-doo. Look at em now. They only reason they even make it to a bowl each year is because they play in the Big 12 north, AKA the WAC. Once Nebraska, CU and Mizzou quit farting around KU will be little more than a 4-5 win team each year, feasting off more cupcakes than Mangino has hidden in fanny pack. They lost 5... uh, better make it 6 straight and their coach will get fired after this week. And they were #17 towards the beginning of the season? lol
FSU - fire Bowden already and get on with it
and on and on.
Is this just a year with no villans? Where powerhouse teams have struggled and others have risen as a result? A bunch of schools reloading? Good coaching jobs by smaller school coaches? Parity? Its up for debate. I just think that this a rare season that happens to be a perfect storm of college football. Something we havent seen in a while. However, with the Horns succeeding and other programs getting what they deserve, I couldnt be happier. As I stated at the beginning of this post, this might not have had as many star players or plays as say, last season. Yet the drama off the field, injuries, and upsets have more than made this season one for the ages. Relish the agony of other fans, celebrate the team and moments these Horns give you, if anything, take a lesson from this season that Karma really does work.
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More cupcakes than Mangino has in his fanny pack.
Nice. I guffawed.
And I agree with seeing several Texas schools doing well. Best part of the perfect storm for me is that Texas is dominating. 2nd best part – Texags best conversation of the season is whether or not they will support breast cancer awareness this week.
I agree on this season being better than ESPN thinks
One of their many “analysts” wrote a story talking about how terrible this season has been several weeks ago, and now Ivan Maisel is getting in on the action.
A lot of people might think this has been a great season of college football; there are six undefeated teams in late November. How often does that happen? The Heisman Trophy is up for grabs in late November. Been a while since that was the case as well. This is the problem with ESPN’s omnipresence in college football. Just because they love to latch on to one team and one player and shove them down our throats all season long and have found themselves unable to do so this year, does not mean the season has been one giant yawn.
If you’re truly a college football fan, you find something to love about every season, and you enjoy every minute because you know it’s all going to be over soon. It is no surprise to me that ESPN doesn’t get that.
I would like to dispute your outlook on Texas Tech....
Offense is in no way like that of X-Box Type….
Defense has been stellar this year, except for aggie….
This is a young team that is having growing pains.
" Answers -- Become Resources."
Without Questions; There are limited Resources...
I would like to dispute his statement as well
Texas Tech fans are accepting what they really are
No, they really aren’t.
hahahaha!!
Touche!
" Answers -- Become Resources."
Without Questions; There are limited Resources...
Concerning ESPN...
What was their narrative coming into the season? Their attitude may be linked to their narrative getting shitted on during the season which means the 250 stories they already wrote before the season began are irrevelant.
Your tongue can't repel flavor of that magnitude!!
by UT2001 on Nov 21, 2009 9:36 AM CST via mobile reply actions
Regarding this:
“non-bcs conferences are making pushes for re-alignment and re-tooling of the BCS system”
That’s not going to accomplish anything. For retooling the BCS, if last year didn’t cause it, nothing will.
Last year was the perfect storm for changing the BCS as you had major one-loss teams from each of the big 4 BCS conferences left out of the championship game (not to mention Utah).
Texas from the Big 12, Alabama from the SEC, Penn State from the Big 10, and USC from the PAC 10. All 4 of those teams just went along with the system. I thought they should all 4 have boycotted the BCS games they got into and made the BCS replace them with 2nd tier teams with no draw (they could all afford the breach of contract suit). It would have been the perfect season for an 8 team playoff. The fan bases were ticked, but after a month or two it waned.
If the BCS can piss off those 4 fan bases from those 4 conferences plus Utah in the same year and not make a single noteworthy change, then pissing off TCU, Cincinatti, and Boise State’s fan bases won’t make them bat an eye.
Bunch of thoughts here . . .
First off, Greensport, thanks for the words. Can’t argue with many of your points (except I hope you haven’t jinxed UT and TCU into losses.
1. If we as a sporting public take our marching orders, our thoughts and views, from ESPN, please sign me up for quilting class and take away my sports package and BON. ESPN’s analysts stand for — and against — every team and every conference. If you don’t like their view this week, stay tuned: Like the weather on the Plains, that view is guaranteed to change. Their analysts are no better (in many cases not as good) as Me and You and a Dog Named Boo — ESPN just gives them a larger audience.
2. Tech has been way better on defense than you realize. Defense kept them in close losses to Houston, Oklahoma State and Texas and was responsible for a dominant win in Lincoln. It’s offensive issues, especially the QB shuttle, have have Tech playing for the Sun Bowl instead of the Holiday or a BCS spot.
3. I hope ND keeps Mangino Jr. What — you want the Irish to hire somebody who might BEAT Navy and Pittsburgh and Michigan and get Notre Dame relevant again?
4. The Bowden Saga gives me a good laugh. Guy can’t feast on the ACC like he did on the Big East, can’t out-recruit Carolina and Georgia Tech (and even S. Florida) has more bad apples in his program than any school not on probation, hopes FSU gets a bid to the St. Petersburg Bowl — and they stilll won’t fire him? (Insert comedy routine here.)
5. No villains? Lou Holtz gets paid. Bob Stoops talks his QB into returning, then puts him in front of Texas’ firing-squad defense with no blocking, then throws his team under the bus. USC still has a shot at a BCS bowl (really; I can tell you how). Tennessee’s criminals. Tebow’s apologists. Penn State has a chance to play in a BCS bowl. No villains?
Let the games continue.
USC is out of the PAC-10 race now...
and they are #20 in the BCS. They’d have to jump to #14 to be eligible.
Not saying its impossible. But odds have to be less than 5% of that happening. 2-loss pitt would stay ahead of USC. OSU losing to OU would be 1 team… still 5 more teams left to jump. Oregon State loses to Oregon… Still 4 more teams left to jump. Utah beats BYU… but then UTAH might jump USC… STill 4 teams left to jump. Gtech beats Clemson. Still 3 more teams left to jump. LSU could lose to Arkansas. Still 2 more teams left to jump. You’d have to have all of the above PLUS two more big upsets take place.
Talk about a ‘PERFECT STORM’ needed. NOT GONNA HAPPEN!
by Orangechipper on Nov 23, 2009 11:34 AM CST up reply actions
Beautiful.
It kind of sucks that the Holiday will probably choose USC over the OrSU-Oregon loser, Stanford, or Cal. I’d love for USC to have to actually, y’know, TRAVEL for a freaking bowl game. And to have them travel out to Texas for the Sun Bowl…well, that’d be terrific.
by burntorangehorn on Nov 23, 2009 11:02 PM CST up reply actions
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