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      TCU’s Patterson talks about benefits of bowl system

      December 2, 2009 /

      Despite reports that he could be heading to South Bend to coach at Notre Dame, TCU head coach Gary Patterson signed a contract extension through 2016.

      He also talked about the current BCS bowl system (via ESPN.com):

      “Is it easier to win one game for a championship? Or to have to win four?” Patterson asked. “If you have a playoff, you practice and get on a plane and play. And if you lose, it’s over. If you go to a bowl game, you’re there seven days and the kids can enjoy a place and get rewarded.”

      “Ninety percent of the teams [in the BCS] don’t have an opportunity to win a national championship,” Patterson said. “It’s the same 10 teams. We’ve now gone to a BCS over 80 percent of the Big 12, 80 percent of the SEC, 80 percent of the Big Ten. We’ve achieved something that all those other teams talk about because they are part of a conference that can get there. We’ve now jumped over a hurdle by going to a BCS game.”

      Some media outlets are already spinning this by saying Patterson doesn’t want a playoff. But if you read his comments, he isn’t necessarily saying that he wouldn’t want college football to adopt a playoff system, he’s just listing some pros to a bowl structure.

      It’s nice to see TCU reward Patterson for his hard work over the last couple years and here’s hoping he doesn’t ditch them for an opportunity to coach at a bigger program. He recognizes that he has a decent shot of competing for a national title right where he is, and that has been proven this year.

      I would love to see what TCU could do against Florida, Alabama or Texas. Everyone thought that ‘Bama would run Utah over last year and the Utes pulled off one of the better bowl upsets of the decade. Remember, we’re not talking about a full playoff schedule – we’re talking about one game. The Horned Frogs could definitely hang.


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      College Football

      2009 College Football Odds: Championship Weekend

      December 2, 2009 /

      Thursday, December 3

      No. 16 Oregon State at No. 7 Oregon, 9:00PM ET
      There’s never been as much at stake in the annual Civil War game between Oregon State and Oregon, with the winner booking a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Beavers blew an opportunity to head to Pasadena last season when they were blown out by Oregon at home. The Beavers haven’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1964, while Oregon hasn’t made the trip to Pasadena since 1994.
      Odds: Oregon –9.5

      Saturday, December 5

      No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama, 4:00PM ET
      No game has as much at stake than this Saturday’s SEC title game in Atlanta. The winner will have the opportunity to play in the BCS title game, while the loser has to pray that Texas is beaten by Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game and that voters favor them over unbeaten TCU or Cincinnati. Can Tim Tebow lead the Gators to another victory over ‘Bama this season or will Mark Ingram and the Crimson Tide defense avenge last year’s loss to Florida?
      Odds: Florida -6

      No. 3 Texas vs. No. 22 Nebraska
      It’s pretty simple for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns: Either win and book a trip to the national title game or lose and watch their opportunity to become champions fly out the window. The Big 12 North hasn’t beaten the Big 12 South in the title game since 2003 when Kansas State beat Oklahoma. The last time these two teams met, Texas came away with a 28-25 victory in 2007. Can the Cornhuskers snap the South’s reign over the North?
      Odds: Texas –13.5

      No. 5 Cincinnati at No. 15 Pittsburgh, 12:00PM ET
      West Virginia’s win over the Panthers last Friday took a lot of the intrigue out of this matchup, but with the Big East championship on the line, both teams still have plenty to play for. A BCS berth is also on the line and speculation continues to grow that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is headed for South Bend. Can the Bearcats overcome this one final road challenge and head to a BCS bowl? Or will PITT ruin Cincinnati’s perfect season?
      Odds: Cincinnati -2

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      College Football

      Will Kelly ditch Cincinnati for Notre Dame before bowl games?

      December 2, 2009 /

      The Chicago Sun Times is speculating that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly could leave the Bearcats in the dust and coach Notre Dame in a bowl game if the two parties come to a contract agreement following the firing of Charlie Weis.

      Backstage speculation is brewing that Kelly might resurrect an old trick and forsake whatever venue the bowl-bound Bearcats earn and instead drop shillelagh to stay through the holidays and beyond in South Bend.

      That means Kelly could stage- manage his first game for the Fighting Irish later this month if they accept a minor bowl bid. The short list of interested committees reportedly includes those from the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit on Dec. 26, the EagleBank Bowl in Washington on Dec. 29, the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 30 and the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 6.

      ‘I think it could happen again,” said Tom Beck, the longtime Midwestern coach (Notre Dame, Illinois, Marv Levy’s Chicago Blitz) who gave Kelly his first significant college football job at Grand Valley (Mich.) State in 1987. ”There is no question Brian could be facing a real conflict. If Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh this weekend, they go to a BCS game. But Notre Dame, I’m sure, wants to hire and implement as quickly as possible.

      ”The Notre Dame job would be his new long-term challenge. Then there’s the fact he’d be moving to an 80,000-seat stadium from one that seats somewhere around 38,000. And the budgets at the two schools are in no way comparable.”

      This is all just speculation but as the article points out, Kelly has already left one program (Central Michigan) right before its bowl game in order to join a bigger, better job (Cincinnati), so what’s from stopping him from doing it again this year? (Especially now that the bigger, better job is Notre Dame.)

      If Kelly ditched Cincinnati for Notre Dame, he would spawn from the Bobby Petrino and Rich Rodriguez school of thinking in that loyalty means absolutely nothing in college football. He would once again look like the deserter he is, but mid-level schools are always aware that their head coach will be sought after by bigger programs.

      Putting that aside, I would be intrigued by what Kelly could do for the Irish over the next couple years. The guy has a proven track record of turning programs around (Grand Valley State, CMU, Cincinnati) in a short period of time and he understands how to build a winner on the college level. His offensive system is perfect for college football and he could re-introduce Notre Dame to the fundamentals of the game, which have been lacking over the past couple years.


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      College Football

      Decade Debate: 5 Biggest Quarterback Busts

      December 2, 2009 /

      When fans think of biggest quarterback busts, the first one that usually pops into their heads is Ryan Leaf. But when it’s all said and done, the biggest quarterback draft bust of all-time might have come from this decade. As part of our ongoing Decade Debate series, here is a top 5 ranking of the biggest quarterback draft busts of the past decade, as well as a separate list of two signal callers that might be well on their way to bustville.

      5. Byron Leftwich (Year Drafted: 2003)

      Things didn’t start off poorly for Leftwich. After the Jaguars took him with the seventh overall pick in 2003, Leftwich led them to a 9-7 record in his second year and helped Jacksonville earn a 12-4 record and a playoff berth in his third year before an ankle injury cost him the remaining five games of the season. But after returning from the injury in time to receive a 28-3 beat down from the Patriots in the postseason that year, things went downhill for Leftwich. He suffered another ankle injury in 2006 (one that cost him all but four games of the season) and then he was released in 2007 in favor of David Garrard. He was signed by the Falcons in September of that year, but was a minor disaster and couldn’t hold off Joey Harrington for the starting job. He did win a Super Bowl ring as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup with the Steelers in 2008, but he once again failed as a starter in 2009 after the Bucs signed him in the offseason. Even though he did have some success in the league, Leftwich never lived up to his top-10 billing. His big arm was a hit in college, but his slow release has often doomed him in the NFL and now it appears he’s destined for a life as a backup.

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      Barstool Debates, NFL

      Iverson signs with the 76ers

      December 2, 2009 /

      Per ESPN…

      “In light of the recent injury to Lou Williams, which will sideline him for close to eight weeks, we felt that Allen was the best available free agent guard to help us at this time,” Stefanski said in a release.

      This reconciliation was once thought foolish after their acrimonious split three years ago. Iverson’s last game with Philadelphia was Dec. 6, 2006 in Chicago. He refused to play the fourth quarter and was banished from the team two days later. He was eventually traded to Denver as part of the Andre Miller deal, and bounced to Detroit before landing in Memphis.

      With Williams out two months after surgery to fix his broken jaw, the Sixers were faced with the possibility of handing the keys over to rookie Jrue Holiday, who is only playing 13 minutes per game. Given their 5-13 starts, it’s clear that Philly is in desperation mode and felt that bringing Iverson back was the best choice.

      There is too much talent on the Sixers’ roster to miss the playoffs, but unless Iverson is a good fit, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.


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      NBA

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