Category: College Football (Page 215 of 296)

      BCS Bowl Forecast

      October 31, 2008 /

      RealClearSports.com lays out its first BCS bowl forecast of the year.

      Texas LonghornsBCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: January 8, Dolphin Stadium, Miami
      Matchup: Texas vs. Penn State (Odds: Texas 70%, Penn State 80%)
      Outlook: The No. 1-ranked Longhorns will have their toughest remaining game this week at Texas Tech. A victory should send Texas smooth sailing into Key Biscayne. Penn State has an even easier slate, but it still needs Alabama to lose one game.

      ROSE BOWL: January 1, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
      Matchup: USC vs. Ohio State (Odds: USC 90%, Ohio State 50%)
      Outlook: The Tournament of Roses red coats don’t want this rematch – it would be the third time these two teams meet in 12 months – but it will have to really think outside of the box to avoid it. If Penn State somehow doesn’t make it to the BCS title game, fine. If USC somehow doesn’t win the Pac-10 outright, fine. But would the Rose Bowl dare to invite an SEC team to finally matchup with the Trojans in a bowl game? That would be nice, but that would also risk ticking off the Big Ten. Just remember, these guys invited Illinois last year. The track record isn’t good.

      FIESTA BOWL: January 5, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
      Matchup: Alabama vs. Utah (Odds: Alabama 20%, Utah 60%)
      Outlook: Say what? You ask. Well, this is going on the assumption that Oklahoma would be the obvious second choice from the Big 12 and the Fiesta Bowl doesn’t want a third consecutive appearance by the Sooners. The quandary here is that although the Fiesta would get the first pick if it loses Texas to the BCS title game, it pretty much has no way of avoid taking a non-BCS automatic qualifier, be it Utah, TCU, Boise State or even Tulsa.

      SUGAR BOWL: January, 2, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans
      Matchup: Florida vs. Oklahoma (Odds: Florida 40%, Oklahoma 50%)
      Outlook: If the Fiesta does pass on Oklahoma, then the Sooners land here to play the SEC champion. If Oklahoma is gone, then the Sugar will be forced to take the Big East champion, leaving the second SEC team for the Orange Bowl. If the SEC champion somehow ends up in the BCS title game, then the Sugar will take the Big 12’s second team.

      Florida-Oklahoma would be awesome. And even though the Trojans blew them out earlier this season, I’d be interested in an OSU-USC rematch with Terrelle Pryor playing the entire game under center for the Buckeyes.

      College Football

      Media Link Dump: Wednesday

      October 29, 2008 /

      Here’s what sports columnists are saying around the country on a variety of topics:

      Bud Selig– Mike Celizic writes that Bud Selig is not cut out to be MLB’s commissioner. (NBC Sports)

      – Joe Henderson wonders aloud if this year’s World Series could get any worse. (St. Petersburg Times)

      – Hugh Falk lays out Part 1 of his blue print on how to fix the BCS. (RealClearSports.com)

      – Johnette Howard writes that Jerry Jones is running the Dallas Cowboys into the ground. (Newsday)

      – Bill Simmons hands out his predictions for the 2008-09 NBA Season. (ESPN.com)

      – Cedric Golden says that the San Antonio Spurs’ title window has already closed. (Austin American-Statesman)

      – Dave Kriger notes that a fixed site for future World Series would make more sense. (Rocky Mountain News)

      – Drew Sharp says the Lions should start second-year quarterback Drew Stanton on Sunday. (Detroit Free Press)

      – Peter King notes that we should expect the NFL Replay Rule to be tweaked. (Sports Illustrated)

      College Football, MLB, NBA, NFL

      Wetzel: Penn State benefiting from terrible system

      October 29, 2008 /

      Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports writes that No. 3 Penn State is benefiting from what he believes is a terrible BCS title game system.

      Daryll ClarkPenn State faces Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State. Only the home game against the Spartans presents any meaningful challenge. The lack of a Big Ten conference championship game means Paterno can cozy up before Thanksgiving and watch everyone kill one another off.

      This riveting system is what BCS apologists call a playoff, even if not everyone has to face playoff competition.

      There is no logic to the illogical way college football crowns its champions, though. So this is what you get – a nation of fans already howling that Penn State is running an end around on the system.
      The Nittany Lions’ best nonconference win is over Oregon State. This doubles as the best nonconference win for the entire Big Ten. The only other contenders are Michigan State over Notre Dame and Wisconsin over Fresno State. That’s it. For the entire league. The Big Ten failed to defeat a single currently ranked nonconference team.

      How difficult is it to win the modern Big Ten? Well, Minnesota still has a shot at the conference title by winding up 11-1. Last season, the Gophers were 1-11. Nice story, but any league where you can go from 1-11 to 11-1 in a single season is under serious suspicion. It just is.

      The BCS got lucky last year that there were so many close regular season games towards the end. They said, “See! We do have a playoff system!” But calling the final three regular season games a “playoff” is a freaking joke. And Wetzel is right – there are certain programs (namely in the Big Ten) that benefit from having a weaker schedule every year. And that’s not to take anything away from Penn State because they’ve had a great year and at this point, deserve to play for a national championship.

      But the system is still greatly flawed and while this seems like it will always fall on deaf ears I’ll write it anyway: GIVE FANS A REAL PLAYOFF SYSTEM.

      College Football

      Fifteen North Texas players suspended for failed drug tests

      October 29, 2008 /

      Fifteen out of 86 football players from North Texas University have been suspended for failing drug tests.

      The program, at the request of coach Todd Dodge, tested 86 of the Mean Green’s players, the newspaper reported, citing source material obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.
      The university did not identify the players who tested positive or what drugs they tested positive for, according to the report.

      “I don’t think we have a problem with drugs, but I will say that it’s every coach’s prerogative to test his team,” Dodge said, according to the report. “It’s a great tool to help players stay away from drugs and temptations. When I talked to my team about drug testing all of them, I told them that if there was one young man on our team who secretly needed help, if it saved one young man from getting in trouble or ending up dead, then it is worth it.”

      Considering the Mean Green (what a team name) is 0-8 this year, it’s hard to imagine that these drugs were of the performance-enhancing variety. And if they were, then the players suspended got ripped off because clearly the drugs haven’t helped.

      College Football

      Top 10 Coaches Tirades

      October 28, 2008 /

      In the wake of Mike Singletary’s post game rant after Sunday’s 49ers-Seahawks game, Real Clear Sports.com ranks the top 10 coaches tirades of all-time.

      1. Hal McRae – Put That In Your Pipe and Smoke It

      2. John Chaney Issues Death Threat

      3. Mike Gundy – I’m A Man! I’m 40!

      Do yourself a favor and go check out all 10 of the tirade videos because they’re phenomenal. They include Denny Green’s “The Bears are who we thought they were!” and Jim Mora’s “Playoffs?!” post game rants.

      College Basketball, College Football, MLB, NBA, Video

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