Category: College Football (Page 281 of 296)

Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville has been the Tigers head coach for eight years now – and he’d like to officially announce that he’s had it with the NCAA “playoff” format.

In a recent ESPN.com article, Tuberville voiced his opinions about the current BCS format and more specifically, how it hurts SEC teams trying to get to a national title.

“I’ve about had it with this playoff deal,” Tuberville said after a lengthy, emotional argument for a playoff. “We all understand in our conference how tough it is. In our conference, that’s about the only chance we’d have to make it.”

“The problem we have is you have 120 universities that are I-A and probably 25 would say they have a legitimate chance each year,” he said. “And you have presidents that for some reason look at it more as for the money than having a national championship on the field. They keep coming up with lame excuses about academics. Football players miss fewer classes than anybody.”

“Presidents take the money and go spend it, but they don’t worry about the business of making it better,” Tuberville said. “They keep coming up with excuses, yet we’re playing [the national championship game] Jan. 8. It’s hypocritical.”

Amen.

I love college football, but I’ve been telling everybody within earshot for years that the NCAA will never hold the power that the NFL has without a playoff format. Teams like USC and Nebraska (albeit not lately for the Cornhuskers) have been beating tiny schools and boasting powerful rankings for years. While other programs like Auburn and LSU beat each other up and virtually have no chance at a National Championship. As Tuberville noted, 120 (119 to be accurate) schools participate in the college football season every year. But you can eliminate about 110 of them from having a realistic shot at being ranked #1 or #2 right off the bat.

The last quote I took from Tuberville up above is the one that should hold the most water. The NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL are each run like a business. You have your entertainment, you market it and you sell it to the public. You also take those profits and you work on making it better. The NC-Two-A gets it’s entertainment from players who are playing purely for the love of the game or for a chance to reach the next level. It’s a cheaper cost to run things and the big wigs of the NCAA have no interest in making it better for the general public or for the students/coaches. Sure, they still have to pay for coaches, fields, equipment, etc. But they also receive money from boosters and sponsors (how much does Nike shell out to but its swoosh on those hideous Oregon uniforms?) – so don’t tell me they need all of these bowl sponsors (and more specifically their money) just to support the programs.

Tuberville is right – it’s about the players. So, give these student athletes what should matter most:

1) A great education to prepare them for life after sports.

2) An opportunity to showcase what they can do in case they are good enough for the next level.

3) And three – give these athletes something bigger than the Fritos-Pampers Instate.com Bowl at the end of season – due to the fact they had to go through Auburn, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia just to get there, while their competition is ranked #1 and had to face Little School U, Blind Mary’s School of the Deaf and Central High School.

With the new AP and USA Today Top 25 polls posting over the weekend, it’s time to take a look at the top 10 in college football.

As far as the two official polls, Virginia Tech and TCU took the two biggest hits (and rightfully so) after being upset victims to Georgia Tech and BYU, respectively. The Hokies dropped all the way out of the top 15 in both polls and the Horned Frogs got booted from the top 25 altogether.

After four weeks in my poll, however, I think it’s time to shake up these Power Rankings a little bit in the top 10. After watching some dominating performances over the weekend, I’ve got a few teams on the move this week.

Here is how I see the Top 10:

1. Ohio State (5-0)
Critics and upset enthusiast can sit down and shut up after the Buckeye’s 38-17 rout over the Hawkeyes – in Iowa City mind you. You look at QB Troy Smith’s yardage stats and they aren’t eye popping. However, you scroll your eyes over to his touchdown total (12) and you understand what this guy means to this team. The backbone of this offense is RB Antonio Pittman though. Pittman doesn’t get as much national recognition as Smith and WR Ted Ginn Jr., but is the reason why the Buckeyes can close out opponents early in the second half. WR Anthony Gonzalez is another guy that doesn’t get enough credit – he has one more reception than Ginn, more receiving yardage and only one less touchdown.

2. USC (4-0)
I’m bumping up the Trojans for the way they went into Washington State and beat a team without their number one offensive weapon. WR Dwayne Jarrett didn’t dress due to injury and USC responded by getting the ball to Steve Smith 11 times for 186 yards and two scores. QB John David Booty has been on fire this season and had another stellar game Saturday night in going 23 of 32 for 269 yards and three touchdowns. The defense is barely letting opponents score and doesn’t have one weakness like other top rated programs do.

3. Michigan (5-0)
That’s right, the Wolverines jumped up two spots in my Power Rankings to No. 3. Here’s why – they finally have a potent passing offense and they completely fixed the leaky run defense that doomed U of M all last year. Of course, two things have to happen for Michigan to stay this high. One, it can’t do the standard Michigan thing and somehow lose to an inferior Big Ten opponent like Michigan State or Northwestern or something. The reason why I mention this is because, well, the Wolverines always lose one or two of those games every season. The second thing is that they have to keep RB Mike Hart healthy because if not – they have no chance against Ohio State at the end of the year.

4. Auburn (5-0)
I’ll probably catch some hell for this one, but I don’t care because I’ve masked what I really think about Auburn for a couple weeks. LSU should have beat these guys and they almost lost to South Carolina over the weekend. The way Auburn beats you is the way NFL teams like to win – run the ball and play good defense. Which is totally fine, but Tommy Tuberville doesn’t ask QB Brandon Cox to really do too much and I think sometime soon that is going to burry the Tigers. What happens when they face another team that can stop the run like when the Tigers played LSU? Can the defense hold the opponent to only three points again? I guess we’ll find out when the Gators come to town in two weeks.

5. Florida (5-0)
Yeah, I know – the Gators almost lost to Alabama at home over the weekend. That however, should have been more of an indication of how tough the Crimson Tide actually are instead of a chink in the armor for Florida in my opinion. Here’s what I really like about the Gators and it’s painstakingly simply to grasp: they just find a way to win. They did it late in the game against Tennessee a few weeks ago on the road and did it again Saturday against ‘Bama. Here’s another thing – Florida is the only team I have in my top 10 that has both the offense and defense ranked in the top 15 in the nation (both units sit at No. 13 at the moment).

6. Texas (4-1)
Man, can the Long Horns put up points. Fourth behind only Louisville, Clemson and Nebraska, Texas is averaging just over 40 points a game and has the fourth rated defense in the nation. After the loss to Ohio State, media outlets have been mum about these guys, but I’d still watch out for the kids from Austin. Big test this weekend against Oklahoma, however.

7. LSU (4-1)
Why, why, why can’t you find a running game Tigers? I would love to put you higher, but you are so one dimensional that I can’t! QB JaMarcus Russell has been fantastic for this program this season and if it weren’t for one blemish against Auburn, LSU would be the second rated team in the nation. The Tigers can erase the loss to Auburn, however, with a huge win over Florida this Saturday in Gainesville. If not, LSU might be doomed to sit on the back of the bus for the rest of the season.

8. West Virginia (4-0)
Lets see, the Mountaineers don’t even play last weekend and they get bounced all the way to No. 8? Ouch, but that’s the way it goes in college football – out of sight, out of mind. Although, as SEC fan John posted last week – you don’t play anybody tough, you get bounced behind LSU who has the number one rated defense in the nation.

9. Louisville (4-0)
Off week for the Cardinals this past weekend and they’ll have another off week this Saturday against Middle Tennessee State.

10. Oregon (4-0)
I warned you last week Georgia – if you don’t step up to the plate with a strong showing against Mississippi you get booted. Although, I still feel dirty putting the Ducks up here so high with their cheat-win over Oklahoma. Ahh well, I think this No. 10 spot is going to be a revolving door for teams all season anyway.