Script: /blog/orange.one
Owner:
Subdir: lisah
    Prospect

    What you won't see or hear in college football this week

    Thursday, October 15, 2009, 6:09 PM [General]

    Warning: This article may contain offensive and/or snarky words that may conjure up images unsuitable for sports fans.

    Time for another look at what we won't see or hear this week.

     

    Airplane pilot

    "Good afternoon, Cal Bears. We are now beginning our descent into Los Angeles. Please return your snack trays and seat backs to their upright positions and prepare for landing."

     

    Charlie Weis

    "Next year I personally promise I will end the streak."

     

    Notre Dame Stadium Announcer

    "Tackle made by..."

     

    Florida Gators Athletic Department

    "We will have no press conferences nor announcements regarding Tim Tebow today."

     

    Steve Spurrier

    "Now do you believe me when I said my vote for Jevan Snead was a mistake?"

     

    Lane Kiffin

    "For my next trick, I will use this bye week to tell Nick Saban how awesome his team is and we don't have a chance to beat them."

     

    Joe Paterno

    "We are happy to be in the meat of our schedule with Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana, and Michigan State slated to get an effing beatdown from us."

     

    Ohio State Buckeyes

    "Tress says we can tweet from the sidelines—he will be giving us a demo on how to use twitter after Lady Gaga's pep rally speech."

     

    Mack Brown

    "I hope Oklahoma is as big a pushover as Colorado was."

     

    Bob Stoops

    "We are right where we wanted to be at this point in the season."

     

    Florida State recruit

    "I committed to the Seminoles because of the school's leaders' camaraderie, strict academic standards, and solid tradition of football excellence."

     

    Jim Grobe

    "It's good to hear the Demon Deacons' name on every pundit's lips this year, isn't it?"

     

    Al Groh

    "I have always believed in the adage, 'It doesn't matter what people say as long as they're talking about you.'"

     

    Duke Blue Devils

    "We always knew we would someday be ahead of Florida State in football—can we act obnoxious now?"

     

    Pete Carroll

    "Winning would do wonders for my spirits."

     

    Rick Neuheisel

    "Rose Bowl or bust."

     

    Mike Stoops

    "We lucked out getting Washington and Stanford back-to-back."

     

    Oregon Ducks

    "We decided on magenta, OK?"

     

    Jim Leavitt

    "Somebody pinch me. Even I don't believe it."

     

    Brian Kelly

    "My dream job is Notre Dame."

     

    Greg Paulus

    "Piece of cake."

     

    Boise State Athletics Department

    "We still maintain that having Bowling Green, UC Davis, Utah State, New Mexico State, and Idaho on our schedule will not hurt our SOS."

     

    4.1 (12 Ratings)

    A Case for Tebow Not Being a Heisman Candidate

    Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 5:49 PM [General]

     

    I like Tim Tebow. He’s good for college football because he possesses good work habits, has good ethics and morals, is tough as nails and, unlike some of the other “stars” of college football, he isn’t in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

     

    College football needs more Boy Scouts like Tim Tebow.

     

    But I think we’ve had just about enough.

     

    Tim Tebow is a good thing that is start to getting on people’s nerves.

     

    It’s like watching fifty episodes of Barney- those goody-two shoes kids that surround that purple dinosaur tend to get tiresome after a while. There’s just so many over-the-top, sugary-sweet personalities you can take before the reality starts to sink in- this is not real. Normal kids don’t act like this. It’s a scripted fantasy for delusional parents.

     

    The media has latched on to Tim Tebow as some sort of Superman and his fans have promoted him as the second coming of Mother Teresa. He’s the end-all for us mere mortals. We are not worthy.

     

    When Tim got a concussion in the Kentucky game, we were inundated with four-times-an-hour videos of him barfing in a bag. Then there were the breaking news press conferences showing Meyer announcing, “Tim is doing much better.” Tebow’s coach spent the night with him in the hospital--even though his parents were also there—and that’s just a little over the top for me. A newborn infant receives less attention than this adult.

     

    Good God, America. Are we seriously in need of this much Tebowism? It’s getting to the point of oversaturation, and sooner or later, the masses will arise and yell, “I need a bad boy in college football.”

     

    Blame the media- they are the fire flamers.

     

    The proverbial line in the sand has to be drawn, however, when his name is now being whispered as the No. 1 Heisman candidate. Heismanpundit.com, a very accurate Heisman predictor, has Tebow as No. 1 on the watch list. Several ESPN college football analysts also have him No. 1 on their lists.

     

    The questions is, why?

     

    Tebow is currently ranked No. 91 among all college football quarterbacks. No. 91. Granted, the rankings are compiled by amount of yards thrown- the more prolific the passer is in terms of total yardage, the higher the ranking.

     

    Still, you would be hard-pressed to award any player on any list where he is in the bottom tier of quarterbacks.

     

    So what are his numbers?

     

    Tebow has completed 44 of 68 for 643 yards in four games. That comes out to a little over 160 yards game. He has completed 64.7% of his passes, and has a 1-6 INT-TD ratio. Heisman worthy? Sixty-eight attempts? Hardly.

     

    If you compare his stats to Jimmy Clausen, they look even smaller. Clausen has completed 67.6% of his passes- that’s higher than Tebow’s percentage. Clausen has a 2-12 ratio, which is identical to Tebow’s 1-6 ratio, and has gone 100 of 148 for 1544 yards- his average is 308.8 yards per game. He has also done it without playing two cupcakes.

     

    If a quarterback has better numbers than a Heisman candidate and has done it by throwing more than twice as many yards, why isn’t he on everyone’s lips? And why is the lesser quarterback being touted more?

     

    The Tebow love affair is all well and good, but let’s be honest here- Tebow has not won any games by his single-doing- the team has. Clausen, on the other hand, has done it on his own.

     

    Three (almost four) come-from-behind-drives-for-the-win have solidified him as the best quarterback in college football. So far. The problem for Clausen is his image- no one was impressed with his white Hummer limo entrance on his announcement day in front of the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend. The flashy rings on his fingers further fueled the arrogant moniker.

     

    Clausen has had to repair his image while Tim Tebow has had the inevitable task of trying to live up to his. While both are difficult to do, it’s easier to go into an award competition when the entire world is having a slobbering love affair with you rather than play for a team that is polarizing, to say the least.

     

    Life isn’t fair, but the Heisman is supposed to be, isn’t it?

     

    The real issue with Heisman is that it has become a Mr. Congeniality Contest. Or, a “Let’s make it fair award.”

     

    Colt McCoy has been touted as No. 2 on the Heisman watch list, and the reason for him being there is even more alarming- since Bradford and Tebow have already won it, let’s give it to the third Musketeer. A fellowship of Kumbaya will commence afterward.

     

    Since when do players get an award because they are part of a trio and all should get the Heisman? What about players like Jimmy Clausen? Or Cincinnati’s Tony Pike? Mizzou’s Blaine Gabbert? They are shining above the rest of the quarterbacks but have been relegated to a possible third invitee to New York. Or a total snub.

     

    Heisman’s famed statue is now nothing more than a popularity contest, and everyone knows it. While they pat themselves on the back for awarding another player that didn’t deserve the statue—and there have been plenty—the rest of America will simply tune out to this farce it has become.

     

    Are we all that afraid to say a player isn’t worthy to win the Heisman this year in fear of being sent straight to fiery depths of hell?

     

    Admit it, you don’t want to be the one who says it. Let someone else say it and then say, “Finally, someone has the onions to say what I’ve been thinking.”  (You’re welcome, by the way.)

     

    This isn’t an anti-Tebow thing- it’s just speaking the truth. I think he’s a magnificent representative of how young men should conduct themselves. He is the perfect role model for the student-athlete.

     

    He has not, however, played like the best college football player on the field, so far. Not even close.

     

    Give it to Timmy because he’s just so likeable. Give it to him because he performed circumcisions in third world countries during his spring break. Give it to him because he’s still pure and innocent. Give it to him because he apologizes when his performance lets down his minions.

     

    But don’t tell me you gave it to him based on his performance so far.

     

    Oh, and God Bless America and Tim Tebow. Amen.

     

    0 (0 Ratings)
    [ 454 views ] Leave a Comment

    Should Blount get to play?

    Friday, October 2, 2009, 3:50 PM [College Football]

    It started last night.

    Word started leaking out that Oregon Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount could possibly be reinstated from his indefinite suspension.

    Chip Kelly's presser on Friday was supposedly going to address his feelings on the matter—ESPN broke the news prior to noon PST.

    Nothing is definitive, according to Kelly. But we do know this—Blount may be reinstated, and if he is, the earliest date of his return would be November 7th, against Stanford.

    Interesting PR here.

    First, many sites had reported that Blount was suspended for the entire season—the Ducks, however, alluded to an indefinite suspension, meaning there was no definitive date of his possibly returning. Technically, the Ducks have not reneged on their official suspension of Blount if they do decide to reinstate him, and if, in fact, it was merely an indefinite suspension, and not a year-long suspension.

    But then, the Pac-10 has this to say about the suspension:

    "The University of Oregon may appeal to the Conference for a reduction in the original disciplinary actions taken against LeGarrette Blount," [Commish] Scott said.  "The power to reinstate rests with the Conference, and if and when the university decides to make such an appeal, the Conference will take the matter under advisement and make a decision." 

     

    The Pac-10's website also said, "Blount was suspended for the 2009 season as a result of unsportsmanlike actions following Oregon's September 3 football game at Boise State."

    Are you as confused as the rest of us?

    Secondly, the date of the possible reinstatement specifically avoids Blount possibly playing in the game against USC on Halloween. A very important game.

    For sure, if Bobby Bowden had been making the call, Blount's butt would be playing on Halloween.

    But Oregon is making somewhat of a statement by not having him play at Autzen in the Ducks' biggest game of the year. In other words, they are making small concessions and proactively appeasing the critics who would be yelling "sell out" if he were to play in that game.

    The Ducks have made a stand by saying, in essence, "we will probably reinstate him, but he's not playing in the USC game because we don't want you to think we are sacrificing our ethics to win a game."

    It's a good move, but still, you have to wonder what Joe Pa would have done here. Probable year-long suspension? Yep.

    In Blount's defense, he is a new father, and was probably banking on an NFL career next year. The school may have had second doubts about "ruining" Blount's draft status and thus affecting the potential income he would use towards supporting his child.

    Forgotten, perhaps, is the fact that Blount was suspended in the preseason for conduct detrimental to the team, was reinstated, then punched a Boise State player on national television, which resulted in another suspension.

    Isn't Blount the one who potentially ruined his career? Fatherhood aside, Blount is responsible for his actions, and caving in to a player's campus-wide apology may not help this young man. Then again, becoming a new father and carrying a chip on his shoulder won't help his prospects, either.

    While we won't know for sure if and when Blount returns, one thing remains clear—if the punching incident hadn't happened on national television, there is a likely chance Blount would have just received a one-game suspension.

    The fact that it was captured on television and broadcast nationally forced Oregon to punish Blount more than if a punch had been thrown and no one had seen it.

    Recently, a Michigan player punched a Notre Dame player, and he didn't receive an indefinite suspension from the school, even after Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was shown videotape of the incident.

    Michigan's Jonas Mouton received a one-game suspension from the Big Ten, not the school, for giving an Irish player an upper cut as he was getting up from the turf.

    No one screamed about him being suspended indefinitely and the school didn't even punish him—the conference did.

    So the question begs to be asked—did LaGarrette Blount get an excessive punishment?

    And is the Mouton incident the reason for Oregon possibly reinstating him?

    4.6 (13 Ratings)

    Page 1 of 7  •  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next