Category: College Football (Page 265 of 296)

ESPN.com is reporting that the University of Miami has hired defensive coordinator Randy Shannon to replace the recently fired Larry Coker. Shannon has been the Hurricanes defensive coordinator since 2001.

Is this a good move for Miami? I don’t know. Can Shannon keep his players from shooting people and stomping on opponent’s heads during games? I know he can coach a hell of a defense. Under Shannon this past season, the Hurricanes ranked fifth in the nation in total defense and third overall against the run. But that’s not what will save a program that has been in turmoil for the better part of a decade.

Coker made a little ground in getting his player’s graduation rates up and trying to run a disciplined program. Coker won a ton of games too (59 to be exact), but also was the head coach of a team that was involved in one of the biggest melees in college football history. Coker was already a winner. Shannon needs to be much more than that for him to be deemed “successful” by the time he looks back on his career at Miami.

Good luck Randy Shannon, you’ll need to have much more than just a dominant defense to turn this sinking ship around.

The top three Heisman Trophy finalists have been announced with no big surprises.

Here is the top three:

Troy Smith, QB Ohio State
Brady Quinn, QB Notre Dame
Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas

I don’t think Quinn or McFadden touch Smith. With all due respect to McFadden, who was virtually the entire offense for the Razorbacks this season, no other player meant as much to his team than Troy Smith meant to the Buckeyes. He completely transformed his game this year from just a quarterback who can make plays with his feet, to a precision pocket passer who could also change a game with his legs. Smith became a quarterback this season.

Numbers alone (although Smith had those too) don’t tell the entire story. Along with all the great things Smith accomplished on the field for OSU, becoming a leader for his teammates was the most important. This was a kid who made a mistake a few years ago by accepting money from a booster. He was punished and learned from it. Smith has grown up over the years and he should be recognized for that as well as what he did on the field in ’06.

The BCS deserves to be ridiculed, hammered and called out for many of the decisions regarding college football over the years. But not this time. The system worked in rewarding the Florida Gators a trip to Glendale and a shot at a national title.

Ten one thousandth of a point separated Florida and Michigan for the right to play Ohio State January 8th. While one could certainly make a driving point for a UM-OSU rematch, the Gators were the obvious choice in my opinion. Michigan had its chance to beat the No. 1 team in the country. Michigan had its shot to win its conference. Michigan had its shot to earn its way to Glendale while Florida had its shot to trip up the past two weeks while the Wolverines didn’t even play. The Gators didn’t choke ala USC and once again, they deserve to be where they are now.

Maybe someday the national championship won’t have to come down to ten one thousandth of the point though.

Other BCS Match Ups:
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. USC
Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Oklahoma
Orange Bowl: Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame vs. LSU

I absolutely love the war that wages every year between fans of college and pro football. It’s a topic that always gets heated and always leads to beatings, paralysis and often death. Okay, so that’s a little overboard, but the debate is always a great one.

However, with another year of college football coming to an end without a playoff system, I don’t know how one couldn’t love the setup of the NFL more. I hear it all the time: “Pro football players just play for the money.” “College players play for the love of the game.” “The atmosphere for college football is better, because it’s all kids.”

Great points, but the NFL also has a way to determine what the best team in America is. College football has the best way to bring politics into an arena were politics should never be allowed. How lucky is the BCS this year that it only has to deal with two teams (Florida and Michigan) in a web of controversy? What if Rutgers stayed unbeaten? USC beats UCLA? Oklahoma doesn’t get jobbed over by the refs? And what about undefeated Boise State? It’s ironic: the players in the NFL are driven by money, but yet the same thing drives the head honchos in college football.

The system sucks and the NC-two-A needs a playoff system to officially compete with the NFL. Until then, college football will always be that movie with a great setup, but no ending.

It was wild, crazy and probably a little too close for comfort for head coach Urban Meyer. But with a 38-28 win over hard-charging Arkansas, the Florida Gators are the 2006 SEC Champions.

Give the Razorbacks credit, because they did pull out all the stops in trying to pull a “UCLA” over Florida on Saturday. But the Gators did what LSU was able to do a week ago in proving that Arkansas just isn’t there yet. Darren McFadden is a fine player, but every time the Razorbacks needed a big passing play, Florida was able to come up with a big interception. With no real passing threat, Arkansas was doomed and I think that’s what we saw the past two weeks.

With the win, Florida deserves to play Ohio State in the national championship, period. Michigan had its chance and lost. I understand that the Wolverines only loss was to the No. 1 team in the country, but how is it fair to Ohio State to have to play Michigan again? What if the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes? Michigan didn’t even win its conference, so you would have a split and then do fans really get to see who the best team in college football is? The Gators need to play for a title.

I will say this Florida fans, if the Gators do get their shot, Chris Leak better take care of the football better. Leak proved again Saturday night that he has lapses in concentration. As great of a job as Leak has done this season for Florida, Ohio State lives off of guys who can’t protect the ball. You don’t want to give the Buckeyes offense any extra chances to put points on the scoreboard.