Upon Further Review (Week 2)

I hate sportswriters and broadcasters.  Really.  This week in college football gives us the perfect example why.

Every one of these idiots wants to write off Boise State already because Virginia Tech lost to James Madison.  The argument is that this loss diminishes the importance of the Broncos win over the Hokies.  Anybody who actually watched both games knows this is absolutely garbage.

First of all... As I have discussed before, transitivity doesn't apply in college football. The fact that Team A beat Team B, and Team B beat Team C doesn't mean that Team A can beat Team C. 

Let me give you an example.  In 2007, circumstances and the stars aligned in just the right way for Appalachian State to beat Michigan 34-32 at home in the season opener.   Two weeks later, Appalachian State lost to Wofford College.  If Wofford College had been scheduled to play Michigan later in the season, which one of you would have bet everything you own on the Terriers beating the Wolverines?

To further illustrate my point, which one of you - after Appalachian State's win over Michigan - would have picked the Mountaineers to beat Florida, the defending national champion?  None?  Obviously.  But that same Michigan team that lost to Appalachian State went on to beat Florida 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl at season's end.

This is where things get tricky.  Just because one team beats another on a given Saturday doesn't necessarily mean that team is better than the other, it just means they were better than the other team on that day.  By the time you get to the end of a season, you can judge a team based on its complete body of work, but, on any given day, anything can happen.  That is what makes college football so much fun. Every Saturday, there are different issues to be considered. Fatigue, injuries, weather and other physical and psychological factors can play a significant role. Home field can be a huge advantage. But the big thing - and this is what really separates college football from the pros - is emotions. This is why you hear the classic cliches about the "look ahead" game or the "letdown game."

Secondly... In my view, Boise State has done everything they need to do to establish BCS credibility.  Before you start telling me how bad the WAC is, I'd like to point out the fact that the league contains Fresno State, Nevada and Idaho - teams that have had some measure of success in recent years.  Could Boise State hold up to the week in week out punishment of the SEC or the Big 12?  I don't know.  Nobody knows.  But they sure hold up now.

The Broncos record so far this decade is 119-19.  If you were surprised by their physical domination of Oregon last year, maybe you shouldn't be; Boise State beat the Ducks in Eugene in 2008.  If you were surprised that the Broncos knocked off previously unbeaten TCU in last year's Fiesta Bowl, maybe you shouldn't be; Boise State beat the 11-1 Frogs in the Fort Worth Bowl in 2003.  That same year, they beat BYU in Provo.  In 2006, they beat Oregon State, and ended that season with the now-famous Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.  They have compiled a 51-4 record since the start of the 2006 season, and finished unbeaten in 2006 and 2009.  What do they have to do? Win a Super Bowl?

Thirdly, the Virgina Tech squad that lost to James Madison bore little resemblance to the Hokies that played Monday night.  I watched that game, and they looked as tough and talented as any team I've seen play so far this year.  Saturday afternoon, they were demoralized by their hard-fought loss, playing with just four days rest in horrendous weather against a team that was sky high.  If they played fifty more times, that would probably be the only time James Madison won.

I don't mean to take anything away from James Madison.  Yes, they caught Virginia Tech at a time when the Hokies were extremely vulnerable, but the Dukes were good enough to take advantage of it.

But Boise State has been good enough to win most of the games they play each year, and twice been good enough to win all of them.  Let's not take anything away from them either.

Moments in College Football History

"If You're Smart, You'll Run"

In honor of Veteran's Day, I decided to revisit one of the most famous days, and one of the most famous players, in University of Illinois football history.

On October 17, 1924, the university held a ceremony to dedicate a brand new home for their football team. Illinois Memorial Stadium was named to honor citizens from that state who had died in World War I.

But it was October 18 that would prove to be a day to remember.

The Michigan Wolverines were in town for a huge clash between two teams who had finished the previous season unbeaten. 

Awaiting the opening kickoff for Illinois was a junior named Harold "Red" Grange.

He returned it 95 yards for a touchdown.

He had shown great promise the year before, rushing for 723 yards and 12 touchdowns in just eight games, while helping the Illini finish unbeaten and win a national championship.

But on this one autumn day in Champaign, he became the toast of the college football world.

The opening kickoff return had shocked Michigan. They'd given up only four touchdowns in the previous two seasons combined. But before the first quarter was over, Grange would also have touchdown runs of 67, 56 and 44 yards.

Illinois coach Bob Zuppke rested his star in the second quarter (in those days, if you came out of a game, you couldn't go back in until the following quarter), but Grange took the field in the second half to run for a touchdown and pass for another.

By the time the game ended, Grange had rushed for 212 yards, passed for 64 yards, amassed 126 yards on kick returns, and was responsible for all six Illini touchdowns in a 39-14 victory.

It was one of the greatest single-game performances in the history of college football, and prompted Chicago American sportswriter Warren Brown to call Grange "the Galloping Ghost."

He went on to have a productive senior season at Illinois, and played several years in the fledgling National Football League, mostly with the Chicago Bears.

In 2007, when ESPN named their Top 25 Greatest Players in College Football, #1 was Red Grange.

When asked how he had managed to be such an elusive ball carrier, his answer was simple, "If you have the football and eleven guys are after you, if you're smart, you'll run."

Upon Further Further Review (Week 10)

This week, the usual Monday feature is called Upon Further Further Review because, even with the help of video replay officials, college football referees can't seem to get it right...

ConCussed



If you have yet to see this fairly horrifying video of California's Jahvid Best going airborne for a touchdown against Oregon State, and landing on his head, it is not for the faint of heart.

Later, it was revealed that Best had missed two days of practice during the week because of a slight concussion suffered in the win at Arizona State.

While I am glad that it appears Best will be fine, what I want to know is where are all of the alleged experts who were ready to crucify Urban Meyer if Tim Tebow had emerged from the LSU game with anything more than a hangnail?

Why aren't they upset about this?

Irish Bad. Wolverines Worse

Way back in September, after Michigan's exciting win over Notre Dame, many of the alleged experts wanted us to believe that both of these traditional powers had returned to their rightful place of national prominence.

The day after the game, ESPN.com's Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg titled his entry "Michigan is back."

CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel drooled, "...for close to four hours Saturday, Notre Dame and Michigan mattered again. And you might want to get used to it. Because they're back."

I thought they were wrong at the time, and I said so.

I'm wondering how they feel now.

Saturday, Notre Dame lost at home to Navy to fall to 6-3, and has games remaining at #12 Pittsburgh, against Connecticut, and at Stanford. And that Stanford game is looking tougher and tougher.

Michigan just lost at home to Purdue to fall to 5-5, and they're in the midst of a three game losing streak. They finish at #20 Wisconsin, and at home against #11 Ohio State.

Both coaches may be on the hot seat. And, in the case of Charlie Weis, that's a big seat.

Temple Strikes Gold(en)

Despite the incredibly stupid piece of propaganda included here, Temple coach Al Golden has to be a unanimous choice for Coach of the Year, doesn't he?

In the three years before Golden arrived in Philly, the Owls were 3-31.

Now, at 7-2, they are bowl-eligible for the first time since 1990. They haven't actually been to a bowl since 1979, when they beat California in the Garden State Bowl to finish 10-2.

If they win out, they will be the champions of the East Division of the MAC, and earn a berth in the league championship game.

Their last three games: at Akron, Kent State, at Ohio.

The problem: they average 16,646 fans at their home games. Bowl games aren't terribly inclined to invite a team that's going to leave a bunch of seats empty.

Okay, I Was Possibly Not Correct

I would like to apologize to anyone who read some of the things I've written and, from that, gotten the impression that I thought Penn State was a good team. I had that impression, but I was possibly... not correct.

Penn State is 8-2, but they have beaten a grand total of three teams that have winning records. Two of those teams were Temple and Eastern Illinois.

Given two chances to prove they can compete with the pack leaders in the Big Ten, they choked horribly. And both of those occasions were at home.

First, they were manhandled by Iowa in a 21-10 loss that wasn't as close as the score might indicate. Then came Saturday's 24-7 bludgeoning by an Ohio State team that has looked remarkably average until now.

There's always a temptation to think that Joe Pa is going to field a quality team, but, while this year's Nittany Lions will finish with a decent won-loss record, it's mostly because they've played a weak schedule.