Category: College Football (Page 263 of 296)

Preseason college football rankings mean squat, unless your team owns the top spot. So instead of issuing my own rankings heading into the first weekend of action, I decided my College Football Preview for Bullz-Eye.com will break down the AP’s top-15 teams to see who has the best shot to compete for the title.

I also included a list of players who are NFL bound among those top 15 teams, as well as a must watch game.

For the uninitiated, ESPN Radio has a show called Mike & Mike in the Morning, which features ex-NFL’er Mike Golic and ESPN personality Mike Greenberg (a.k.a. “Greeny”) discussing all kinds of sports topics. In a recent issue of ESPN The Magazine, they debated the merits of a playoff in college football and Greeny had this to say.

“I know it’s an unpopluar view, but a playoff would make college football a January sport the way college basketball has become a March sport – and that’s not a good thing. Plus, having a playoff would diminish the one thing that makes college football unique: that every game is essentially a playoff game. I don’t know if the BCS is perfect, but creating a tournament makes the regular season as meaningless as the college basketball, NBA and NHL regular seasons have become.”

Two things: (1) He makes the same point twice and passes it off as two different points and (2) he’s being overly dramatic.

I’ve heard Kirk Herbstreit make the same argument and, simply stated, it’s just not that black and white. Sure, if the NCAA implements a 64-team football tournament, the regular season wouldn’t matter. But could the same be said for a four-team tournament? If the playoff is small and exclusive, there’s still going to be as much pressure to win during the regular season, only we’ll have acceptable closure (not to mention twice the excitement) at the end of each season.

Under the current system, if a team loses an early game, the players, coaches and fans know that it’s a long road back to contention with only a slim chance of getting a shot to play in the title game. In a four-team playoff, those chances are doubled, which would only serve to generate more interest in the regular season. Imagine the intensity surrounding those last few weeks of the regular season when eight or more teams are vying for those four playoff spots. Currently, a number of one-loss teams know they’re not playing in the title game and the best case is a spot in a BCS bowl. Big deal.

Those that argue against a college football playoff need to understand that there are varying degrees of a playoff. Sure, a big playoff – I’m talking eight or more teams – would probably reduce the meaning of the regular season. But a small playoff would take the sport to the next level.

The USC Trojans are the top ranked college football program according to the USA Today 25 coaches’ poll. Not much of a surprise there considering John David Booty is set to embark on his senior campaign and is highly regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.

LSU is ranked second, which isn’t a huge surprise considering the Tigers defense is going to be nasty again next year. Losing quarterback JaMarcus Russell and defensive leader LaRon Landry doesn’t help, however, so it wouldn’t be a total shock if LSU slips as the season wares on and they face stiffer opponents.

Out of the rest of the top five, (#3) Florida, (#4) Texas and (#5) Michigan, I think I’m most excited to see how the Long Horns will fare. Colt McCoy was something special last year as a freshman and if he can stay healthy, I believe he could potentially lead UT to a national title, whether it be this year or next. Of course, the defending champion Gators rarely get the respect they deserve and it’s evident once again with the way they’re ranked third in these preseason polls. The Wolverines are going to be tough too with Chad Henne, Jake Long and Michael Hart all returning to try and finish what they couldn’t last year when they lost to rival Ohio State in the regular season finale.

To see the entire USA Today ranking, click here.

College football officials are discussing implementing a playoff system that would create both a semi-finals round, as well as a championship title match, or a final four tournament if you will.

Sources in several conference offices, athletic directors and television networks told The Post that support is steadily growing for a “Plus-1,” format in which there will be a national championship game following the playing of two “semifinal games.”

The first title game could be played in 2011.

Whoa, 2011? Slow down there fellas – don’t you want to take a little more time to figure out if this would be best for the game? I mean, college football fans have only been clamoring for a playoff system since before dinosaurs walked the earth, now you’re saying we could have one in place no later than four years from now? I think my head is spinning with excitement.

It took these bastards forever just to implement a championship game, now they’re finally talking about improving the system and they’re only going to a “Plus-1” format? If it’s going to take until 2011 just to do a four-team playoff tournament, why don’t you take the four years and figure out how to implement a full-scale eight to sixteen team system? At this rate, college football will finally have a full playoff system no later than 2067.

The football program at the University of Oklahoma is in rough shape these days. Turns out that the Sooners will have to forfeit all eight of their 2005 wins because two students got paid from a car dealership job in Norman, yet didn’t actually put in any work.

The Sooners went 8-4 and beat Oregon in the Holiday Bowl to end the 2005 season. Records from that season involving quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn must be vacated, the NCAA said, and coach Bob Stoops’ career record will be amended to reflect the forfeitures, dropping it from 86-19 in eight seasons to 78-27.

Seriously, how bad does Stoops and the rest of the ’05 Sooner team want to throw an ass-beating party for Bomar and Quinn right about now? Not only did they get paid for doing nothing, they also botched an entire football season in the process. At least Tulsa and Baylor are happy – whoever said they could never beat OU looks pretty silly right about now.