Week 13: Rivalry Week

This was unlucky week #13 for many teams and a reminder that shear determination and last year's beating always trumps national rankings and odds on in-state rivalry week. We saw six ranked teams lose to their non-ranked, in-state rivals and one ranked lose to an in-state ranked.

Unfortunately for TCU, none of the top ranked teams fell leaving us still with six undefeated teams (the most this late in the season since at least 1989). Even after the conference championship games this week we will be left with at least five undefeated teams going into bowl season. This is where the BCS system simply does not work; it can not settle a true champion when more than two teams appear to have NC capability. TCU has but one more shot at a possible NC game berth - if Texas loses to Nebraska.

But, hey - it does look like we'll see two, non-AQ conference teams in BCS bowls. Little by little the BCS is slowly being chipped away at and although we may not go to a true playoff system, surely we'll graduate to a better, much improved system.

The Holy War 2009

There were a lot of good rivalry games this past week but this one, BYU vs. Utah, will long be remembered. I found it odd that the game did not receive much attention - before or after. It was the only Top 25 match-up of the week and yet there was little advertisement during the week and only one Internet headline the following morning. Obviously, the MWC still has some PR improvements to work on.

Statistically, the game was pretty even except that Utah had twice the penalty yards. Between both teams I counted no less than six Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties...the mark of a true rivalry game where there is some serious 1-4 year old issues to settle.

BYU can thank their defense for this win. They held the Utah running game below their season average and forced five field goals when the Utes were driving for TD's. BYU's offense was much less than stellar: scoreless in the 4th, less than 150 yards passing, two end zone passes that were dropped / off target, aggressive in the first half but way too conservative down the stretch (four of last five possessions were 3-and-outs). It was that passive play calling that sent the game into OT. It was Hall's aggressive and risky pass that pulled out the win. Hall did in OT what the coaches wouldn't do down the stretch.

Credit QB Max Hall for pulling out the win in a high profile game...typically his Achilles heel. Hall had far from a banner day statistically but he made the right pass at the right time to the right man for the win. Unfortunately, Max will be remembered most for his comments after the game - comments he'll soon regret, comments that show immaturity and were simply unprofessional and uncalled for. Degrading comments towards an entire university, its students and its supporters over the year-old antics of a few is "classless", to use his own word. A reprimand from his coaches, and possibly the conference, along with an obligatory, carefully reviewed and edited apology will soon follow.

EndZone

I do not recall a year with so many uniform changes. We always see it from Oregon but this year I have also seen it from Florida, Texas, Missouri, BYU, Georgia, Notre Dame, LSU, Utah, TCU, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Florida State. I'm sure there were others, too. Is it a new craze or just teams reaching for something to excite the fans and light a fire under the team.

Week 12: The BCS is Reaching Out?

Per my last post...if the BCS system is so good then why did they hire a PR firm (run by a former White House staffer)? But all this (see below) just makes it even worse. A system going on the defensive looks dubious.

A Facebook page...are you kidding? What's even more odd is that the page already has 1,500+ fans. Who are these people? The page consists mostly of comments from the BCS itself about why the system works.

The BCS is also on Twitter...who is following them except those who may want to destroy them?

And as of yesterday the BCS came out with a new website explaining all the pitfalls of a playoff system in college football.

SI's Andy Staples said it best in this article. But he summed it all up with this:

If the BCS really is impervious to a challenge... -- and all this nervous posturing suggests it isn't -- then BCS honchos don't need to explain squat. Fans will continue to consume college football whether BCS leaders communicate with them or not. When BCS folks try to talk to the fans, they come off sounding like Lily Tomlin in the old Saturday Night Live phone company skit.

Again, we needed the BCS 11 years ago and, granted, it has been successful some years. No one is disputing their claim that the system pits #1 vs. #2 every year (duh...you decide #1 and #2). It's the way the system defines #1 and #2. And its the undefeated #3 and #4, and the ranked teams from non-AQ conferences, and just the blatant unjustness of it all - that is what all the outcry is about.

Week 12: True Fans

Things are wrapping up. The top contenders have scheduled a few powder puff teams to seal their BCS bowl bids, there are no real threats for the upcoming in-state rivalry weekend (but you never know), TCU will likely not play in the NC game, and SEC die-hards will claim the 'Bama-Gator game the real NC game. So this week, let's talk about the fans...

But...before we talk about the fans: What in the name of all that is fair and right and good wasthis call by the refs in the BYU - Air Force game? Isn't every team, every week, trying to deceive the other team in some form or fashion? In a season where refs have come under fire these guys had a lot of nerve inventing this penalty on the fly.

College Football Fans

I tend to think NCAAF fans are a bit more "fanatic" than those of other sports. That is good for the sport...usually. A sport without livid fans is a sport with no future. This weeks topic comes on the heels of my own whining about poor play calls and unbelievable mistakes after the UGA game (see below).

My wife, responding to my whining, asked if fans really believe that players and coaches are not trying, not giving their best, each and every game. Good question. For many fans, when expectations are high and then not met, the fans are let down, frustrated, and it can ruin the whole day...or week...and they may not even attend the next game. Do such fans believe that the team and coaches were not even trying to win? Is it all worth getting upset over...or even violent? Please...let not our angst result in violence (a "fan" punched ND's QB Jimmy Clausen as he left a restaurant Sunday morning).

Admit it...we've all felt that there were moments, even entire games, where it seemed the team's

heart just wasn't in it - that they had other things on their minds. Lets give the players a little break since they are young, in school, in front of thousands. But the coaches...who are getting paid, and paid well, to make the right decisions...are they really not trying to win? Sometimes it seems like it (as shown below). But more than likely these coaches had a reason for making these calls...a reason that fans can't and don't see or understand but, nonetheless, a reason that justifies their high salaries.

Case #1: (pick any team) Calling a run up the middle on 3rd and long when your run game is averaging <3>

Case #2: (pick your team) Leaving in the QB who has thrown three interceptions.

Case #3: (LSU) The head coach calling for a spike with 1 second left instead of the potential TD and game winning play.

What about the UGA fans last week? Georgia played a flawless first half, going into the locker room up 20 - 6. But the 'dawgs came back a different team - in a way bad way. Dropped passes,

fumble on the 1-yard line, four turnovers, defensive breakdowns. Nothing could go right the second half. Fans were leaving the stadium with two minutes left while UGA was driving for the potential tying score. It was like walking out of a really bad movie just when it might get interesting (although that was not the case this time). Did the fans really think the players and coaches didn't want to win? Could they really just not stand one (or two) more minutes?

Tough losses are, well, tough. But true fans of the game and of the team will stand by the team, be patient, and recognize that the players and coaches are far more invested in the game than any fan. Their lives and their futures depend on it, while even the biggest of fans returns to normal life the next day not worrying about the week ahead of seemingly endless second guesses from ESPN reporters (and bloggers).

So ask yourself: Am I a fan of the game and the team or simply a fair-weather fan waiting for something to set me off? The schools and the NCAA don't care which one you are...money from either is just as green. But the team, the players - they want the true fans. The fans that will support them through the tough times and be there to celebrate the good. They want the fans who understand that everyone has a bad day, and that sometimes, the other team really is just that good and that much better.

Change, improvement, new blood and next year are a lot closer than we all think...

EndZone

You know the BCS is feeling the heat when they hire an ex-White House staffer to help reinforce its image in an effort to ensure the public that the BCS system is the best way to determine the national champion. Leave it to a government guy to pull the wool over every one's eyes. If the BCS system is so good why is there so much public outcry and government interference?

Week 11: Ranking Questions

When was the last time USC had three losses (2001)? How did Stanford all of a sudden beat two top-10 teams in a row? Are we looking at a 4-way tie in the PAC-10? The Big East had zero teams listed in the pre-season Top 25 but now they have two in the top eight. And, six undefeated teams remain this late in the season.

Funny Rankings

Utah's two losses are to teams in the top 11 but they now sit below eight 2-loss teams and evensix 3-loss teams. USC, with three losses, is still at #9 in the BCS - three spots above 1-loss Pitt of another Big-6 conference. Who comes up with these things?

EndZone:

From an SI article about SEC officiating we read:

"...Fans of other conferences are convinced the SEC will do anything to keep teams undefeated so one SEC team will play in the BCS title game. That isn't true. The officials work hard and do their level-best to make the correct calls. Unfortunately for the SEC, every major disputed call this season has gone in favor of an undefeated team....LSU got the first one on Oct. 3, when Georgia receiverA.J. Greenwas called for a mystifying excessive celebration penalty...Two weeks later...with Florida down 20-13, referee Marc Curles flagged Arkansas defensive tackle Malcolm Sheppard for a personal foul when all Sheppard did was hit a Florida player who tried to block him during a play....The following week, Tennessee visited undefeated Alabama. Crimson Tide defensive tackleTerrence Cody blocked a Tennessee field-goal attempt to save a 12-10 win, but he ripped his helmet off in celebration with the ball still alive. The play should have drawn a 15-yard penalty....A few hours later, in the Florida-Mississippi State game, a replay official ruled Gators linebacker Dustin Doehad scored on a fourth-quarter interception return when ESPN's replays showed a Bulldog had knocked the ball loose before Doe crossed the goal line."

Week 10: Signs of Life

Finally...we see a little movement in the polls with this past weekends surprises. I was wondering if those top teams would actually remain and we would be in for five more weeks of nothing new.

Wow

BYU shuts out Wyoming 52-0 (the same Wyoming that almost beat then #14 Utah last week). Of course, no help to BYU was yet another FSU loss and an Oklahoma loss. The come-back kid for Iowa didn't make the bus this week. Cal falls again showing that they were over-rated in pre-season polls....along with now 5-4 Oklahoma and 6-3 Notre Dame. Oregon, surprisingly, lost to unranked Stanford (who takes on USC next week). And with the 'Bama-LSU showdown over the stage is now set for the SEC Championship: #1 Florida and #3 Alabama. And there are three teams getting 1st-place votes in the polls...usually we see just two.

BCS Talk

TCU is now two spots up on BSU and hoping for a loss or two of the teams above them. If they pull off a dominate win over Utah this week, then win out, and two of the three teams above them lose just once they could be in the NC game (Florida or 'Bama will lose at least one). Just think, a non-BCS team in the NC game...and BSU sitting at #6 has every right as well to play in a BCS bowl. This season could mark the beginning of the end of the BCS as we know it. Obviously, teams and conferences that were once considered doormats have come up to the level of the elite and that merits changes in the bowl system - big changes.

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Let's talk women's football...no, not the LFL...I mean women's soccer. In case you missed the BYU-Mew Mexico hoopla this weekend click here. If the SEC is suspending refs for making bad excessive celebration calls what is the NCAA women's soccer administrators doing to the refs who missed all this?

Week 9: Tricks and Treats

The questions have been looming for a few weeks: Are Florida, Alabama and Texas deserving of the top spots? Will USC be dominate down the stretch as usual? Are we really looking at Iowa, Cinci, TCU and Boise in BCS bowls? Halloween 2009 answered some of those questions. And although the lucky 7 undefeated remained lucky, we saw a few losses of ranked to non-ranked.

Will the real top team please stand?

Texas? Yes...they were dominant, at OK State, impressive numbers, they looked like a top team and IMHO emerged as the best. Florida? Probably dominant...but Georgia has made at least three other teams look pretty good this year. USC? Not. Finally there are some other contenders in the PAC-10. And, yes, Iowa and Cinci appear to be for real.

TCU and Boise

Many (myself included) are hoping for two non-BCS teams to make it in this year to further annoy those BCS guys. To you BCS guys who are questioning putting both TCU and Boise in the big games: "Choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over popularity...Travel the path of integrity without looking back, for there is never a wrong time to do the right thing." (~ author unknown)

Halloween Costumes

A few teams got into the spirit by "dressing up" for the rare Halloween game but only a few of those scared their opponents. It seemed to work for Utah and Tennessee, but not for Georgia.

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After USC lost to Oregon, I watched in amazement as Pete Carroll again* showed unsportsmanlike conduct. He briefly shake Chip Kelly's hand and then turn his head away and keep walking as Coach Kelly was trying to talk with him - Coach Kelly even had to rush along side him. *(For those who don't recall, Pitiful Pete did a similar gesture in 2006 - see #9 here).

And from a Facebook post of a fellow UGA fan: Hey Coach Richt... I LOVE YA, I REALLY do, but listen up and pay attention reeeeeal closelike... helmet color is NOT the problem. Disciplined execution of basic football strategy and tactics is the problem. Fix THAT and THEN concern yourself with fashion statements... When you're winning, it looks cool to pull that kind of stuff... this year it looks stupid.