Growing up in the South, there are three seasons. There's football season, there's recruiting season, and then there is spring practice. It's never too early to start talking college football where I'm from and while thinking about what lies ahead for the 2006 season, What It Do came up with ten dirty questions that will affect what happens in the coming season.

1. Can Notre Dame build on last year's surprisingly successful season?

Charlie Weis worked a miracle last year of Norman Dale-"Hoosiers" proportions, taking a moribund Irish program and turning his troops into a legitimate BCS team in a matter of months. Brady Quinn is a Heisman Trophy frontrunner and Jeff Samardzija may be the best receiver in America, but can the Irish improve on defense enough to become a championship team? Also, are teams going to figure Weis out the second time around? Time will tell, but I believe Weis will continue to be very successful.

2. Can Lloyd Carr turn it around at Michigan?

There seems to be an increased amount of heat on Lloyd Carr at Michigan. It seems that the Wolverines have had a hard time getting started in recent years, losing games in September that effectively evict Michigan from national title contention. Michigan has looked slow on defense when they play teams with speed (Ohio State, Texas, any SEC team). The Wolverines can be successful this year, but they need a bounce back year from Chad Henne and a healthy campaign from Michael Hart. Mario Manningham is a stud at wideout, but he is going to need someone on the other side to step up and draw coverage.

3. Can Tennessee get it back?

Phillip Fulmer has been so successful for so long, but after the way the Volunteers bottomed out last year, one has to wonder if Tennessee can get it back this quickly. All the hopes and aspirations on Rocky Top rest on the right shoulder (and head) of Erik Ainge. Ainge, who two years ago looked like the second-coming of Carson Palmer, really regressed and lost his confidence. Lucky for him, the Vols re-hired David Cutcliffe, who tutored three Top 5 overall drafted QB's, (the Manning boys, Heath Shuler and a national championship QB in Tee Martin) as offensive coordinator. The Vols still have Top 10 talent, and a super sophomore RB in Arian Foster, but with some of the off-the-field trouble and a daunting schedule, they could have a much better team and still not achieve the lofty expectations of that fan base.

4. Who in the world will be Georgia's QB?

For five years, Mark Richt has had David Greene, D.J. Shockley, or some combination of the two as his QB. This year, he will have to go through the SEC with a new signal-caller. His choices are between longtime backup Joe Tereshinski, redshirt freshman Joe Cox, or super recruit Matthew Stafford. My best bet is that Richt will start with Joe T., but that Stafford will be the man by the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville. This could be a recipe for short-term disaster Between the Hedges, playing in the brutal SEC East with a true freshman. It may pay dividends in 2007, but the Bulldogs may pay a heavy price in 2006.

5. Can USC weather these storm clouds?

It was bad enough that Pete Carroll was losing his whole starting backfield, but it looks as though Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart may have left some baggage in the form of NCAA infractions that could negatively affect the program. Add to that the Mark Sanchez sexual assault allegations, the Dwayne Jarrett eligibility issues, an unproven QB in John David Booty, and a gaping hole at running back, and you have a program that, on the surface, looks like it has nowhere to go but down. If anybody can rally the troops, it is Pete Carroll, but the distractions and lack of defense to go with an inexperienced offense could make USC as vulnerable as they have been since the Paul Hackett years.

6. Can California be trusted with a murky QB situation?

Jeff Tedford may be the best coach in college football right now, but can he really win big at Cal with no idea of who his starting QB is? The Joe Ayoob experiment can be deemed as somewhat of a failure and backup Steve Levy did an admirable job of stepping in. However, Tedford, in is best-case scenario would turn the keys over to the heralded Nate Longshore. However, Longshore is coming off a major injury and recently lost his father unexpectedly, so who knows what you can count on from him early this year. That is a problem when you open up at Neyland Stadium with 105,000 fans in 90 degree heat. The good thing for the Golden Bears is that as long as Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forcett are running the rock, you have a good chance of being successful. If one of these guys can step up at quarterback and get the ball in DeSean Jackson's hands, this team could be a sleeper National Title contender.

7. Can Texas repeat with a QB who has NEVER taken a snap?

Mack Brown finally got over the hump in the Rose Bowl and won his elusive national championship behind the incomparable Vince Young's epic performance. However, Young is now throwing footballs in the Music City and Texas has a QB depth chart as green as one could be. Either redshirt Freshman Colt McCoy or true frosh Jevan Sneed will get the call for the Longhorns. Whoever it is has a nice supporting cast of Ramonce Taylor, Billy Pittman, Limas Sweed, Jamaal Charles, and Selvin Young. But, with probable #1 Ohio State coming to Austin is September, there isn't much time to get comfortable for whoever the QB is.

8. Who is Dirk Koetter going to start at QB at ASU?

Will Koetter choose senior Sam Keller, who has been pretty darn good in his Sun Devil career, or does he choose sophomore sensation Rudy Carpenter, who put up sensational numbers down the stretch last season when playing in place of the injured Keller? My gut says that Koetter will stay with Keller, but I'm not so sure it is the right choice. I understand that it is easier to turn to the younger guy, if the older guy falters, but Carpenter seems to have that IT intangible that is hard to quantify, but even harder to obtain. He doesn't look the part, heck, he looks like he should be on a surfboard, but the Rudy is no walk-on. He can flat out play.

9. Will Florida State ever get any better offensively under Jeff Bowden?

The once-explosive Seminoles have been running in quicksand for most of the decade offensively, leaving it up to the great Mickey Andrews defenses to bail them out of most games. With the massive personnel losses on the defensive side of the ball, it may be up to Jeff Bowden's offense to more than pull its weight this year. Drew Weatherford was a typical freshman last year, really good at times, but erratic and easily rattled. His improvement is vital to FSU's success. With 6'6" Greg Carr having the ability to make big plays down the field, it all lies on Weatherford's ability to get the ball to him. If he falters, FSU could have a 2005 Tennessee type of season.

10. Is there much substance to the Urban Meyer hype?

Count me as a bit underwhelmed at this stage of the game. Now, I am not saying that Meyer isn't a good football coach, I just don't know if his style of offense can be successful, long-term in the SEC. What I was impressed with was Greg Mattison's ability to put a high-quality defense on the field in the matter of an offseason. That is the reason the Gators went 9-3 last season. Florida's offense plodded through most of the season and it seemed that the speedy SEC defenses had little trouble limiting the Gators offensive output. What's more perplexing is Meyer's insistence to turn Chris Leak into some spread option QB, which he's not. A coach's job is to play to his player's strengths and Meyer simply isn't doing that.

Last Monday, Tennessee Titans star QB Steve McNair left his suburban Nashville home to trek up I-65 to work out in the Titans' voluntary offseason training program. When he arrived at Titans headquarters, he was greeted by Titans trainer Brad Brown. This would not be considered strange, as McNair and Brown have spent lots of time over the years together nursing the QB's myriad of injuries. However, on this unseasonably cool April day in America's Music City, the coldest breeze of all was blown in old #9's face. Brown, in the absense of GM Floyd Reese, head coach Jeff Fisher, and offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who ironically, were all in Los Angeles working out USC QB Matt Leinart that day, was apparently instructed by Titans owner K.S. (Bud) Adams to bar McNair from the practice facility. The team and McNair have been in negotiations along with the player's agent, Bus Cook, to renegotiate his contract, which has an obcene cap charge of nearly $24 million, due to the numerous restructurings that have been administered over the years.  So, when McNair walked in the door, Brown delivered the former NFL MVP the news that he was no longer allowed to participate in the team's offseason program until his contract situation was worked out or the player was granted his release. This move has sent shockwaves through NFL circles when a guy as productive, consistent , and handled himself with class (sans one DUI incident) as McNair gets treated like this by his front office. Its amazing how people criticize a guy like Terrell Owens for wanting a new contract, when the franchises can throw a team icon like McNair out like yesterday's trash. Something is not equal about this system. Steve McNair has gone out and simply won games for the Titans organization over the last decade. He took a team with Kevin Dyson and Issac Byrd as their starting receivers to within a yard of a Super Bowl title in 1999, and piggybacked a team that started off 1-4 in 2002 to the AFC Championship Game. McNair has never publically moaned about the lack of a supporting cast he was given, while contemporaries like Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper were surrounded by talented offensive personnel. Doesn't a guy like that deserve a phone call of a face-to-face meeting to discuss this issue and avoid a trainer having to give him the news? Steve McNair has always just done what he was supposed to do to make the Tennessee Titans a better football team.  I just wish that the Titans owner would show the same amount of pride and respect his soon-to-be former QB did on the field over the years, when dealing with this situation.

A lot of fans and observers of the National Football League had been critical of the lack of excitement in the Wild Card playoff games. Well, us football fans got our wish for excitement as we were treated to as compelling a weekend of Divisional Playoff games as there has been since the 12 team format was incepted. Here are some of the things we learned this weekend.

1. Steve Smith is the best player in the NFL and possibly the best big game receiver in this generation. His two playoff performances have been the stuff of legends and if he and Jake Delhomme can will Carolina to a win at Seattle, he will become the unquestioned best receiver in the league.
2. Peyton Manning still has happy feet when he gets hit. Look, let's not blame it all on him, but he gets a little sheepish when he gets hit....... doesn't he. Some guys bite their lip and almost make you think they enjoy getting hit (Simms, Elway, Brady, McNair), all the while, completing passes. Peyton seems to not be that type of guy, which makes blitz pickup all the more important.
3. Tom Brady is human. Was that Tom Brady I saw out there overshooting open receivers in Denver?? Yes, it was him and he proved that he is not infallible in a big spot. I would still take him over any QB in a big game, but Saturday night was not his best effort, and he will tell you that. The crucial interception thrown to Champ Bailey may have been the worst decision Brady has made as a pro. You just can't throw THAT pass in Bailey's direction. Throw the ball away and take the three points and the score is 10-9. I would have like to have seen how Jake Plummer would have responded to that situation.
4. Matt Hasselbeck has STONES. I have always been a little bit skeptical of Matt Hasselbeck because he can be skittish at times. He certainly started out the game that way. After a 43 yard first drive completion to Darrell Jackson, Hasselbeck made some poor throws throughout the first half and if Carlos Rogers holds on to a late throw out in the flat, Seattle could have been down 10-0. But, late in the first half, Hasselbeck stood in there and threw some great balls to get Seattle the lead going into the break. He has this Brett Favre-type thing going where he drives you crazy at times, but he's gutsy and his teammates seem to really enjoy playing with him. Winning that game with Shaun Alexander concussed has to be a huge confidence boost for the Seahawks.
5. Jake Delhomme is a winner, plain and simple. The Cajun kid from Louisiana just gets the job done. He may not be the flashiest QB in the league and he forces some throws from time-to-time. But when the game is on the line, he has this Tom Brady karma going on. It also doesn't hurt that he gets to throw the ball to Steve Smith.
6. Along the same lines, Dan Henning is a heck of an offensive coordinator. I know, the guy has seemingly been around since the Eisenhower administration and was a failure as a head coach, but he can sure implement a game plan. Henning is not a Mike Martz, Charlie Weis mad scientist. As a matter of fact, he's kind of dull in his approach. But he understands one thing, GET THE BALL TO YOUR PLAYMAKER............A BUNCH. He gets the ball to Steve Smith outside, down the field, in the slot, in the screen game, on reverses......heck, I'm waiting for Smith to take the snap this week. Some of these guys try to be too smart, not Henning. He just gets the ball to the guy that can win the game for you.
7. Seattle's defense is pretty solid. They are not a great unit, but they play well together and have two good corners when they are healthy (Andre Dyson and Marcus Trufant). Lofa Tatupu is an impact rookie who will only get better as time goes along. Plus, the advantage they get playing at home in noisy Qwest Field helps that unit out tremendously. The crowd noise allows Grant Wistrom, Bryce Fisher, Chuck Darby, and company the ability to get off the ball quicker than the guys blocking them. They will be a tough out at home.
8. Mike Vanderjagt...................Ugggghhhhhh. Dude, that looked like that zany Adam Vinatieri, David Akers, made for TV kicking competition that was staged last year in Hawaii. It almost looked like he was kicking toward a goal post in South Bend or in Columbus. I think you just may get deported back to Canada after that one. Not the fact that you missed, but you missed it B....A....D.
9. Note to Washington, you have to have some semblance of an offense to win in the playoffs. Mark Brunell, despite his solid season, looked really old Saturday and Clinton Portis was awful beat up. I think Joe Gibbs may have to take a small step back in 2006 and start Jason Campbell at QB. This could pay off in 2007, as the Redskin stars, Portis, Sean Taylor, and Santana Moss are all still fairly young. They just need a young QB to get them there.
10. The officiating is horrid. There were more blown calls this round than I ever remember seeing. The Troy Polamalu overturned interception takes the cake (I can't stand Joey Porter, but the conspiracy theorist did not have to reach far to suggest that someone at NFL headquarters got on those headsets at the replay box), but the Asante Samuel phantom "interference" call was absolutely bogus. Anyone who thinks that play was not a huge momentum swing obviously has never played much football. Another play that bothered me was the Thomas Jones overruled TD/facemask/touchback. The replay booth got the call right, but did anyone notice how out of position the side judge was on that play to make the initial ruling? That just can't happen in these huge games. The officials have to be at a playoff level too.

 

The Divisional playoff round featured it all; huge upsets, the champs being dethroned, bad calls, and untimely injuries that will be huge in the next round (Shaun Alexander, DeShaun Foster, and Julius Peppers). However, we now have a four team free-for-all where any of the team still alive can win it. Hopefully, the officiating will get better and we will have two more great games this weekend.

 

Vince Young put on a show for the ages on Wednesday night at the Rose Bowl for the second straight year. The local Hollywood producers, nor the two Heisman Trophy winners on the other sideline, could compete with what #10 did in the BCS National Title Game in Pasadena. Young's performance, not only ended the 35 year national title drought for the Texas Longhorns, but it has potentially altered the entire 2006 NFL Draft board. Just last weekend, we had what was billed the "Reggie Bush Bowl" between San Francisco and Houston. The Texans overtime loss at Candlestick Park ensured them the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft. Until late Wednesday night, that pick seemed to be a lock for Bush, the Heisman winning USC tailback. After Young's jaw dropping performance and Bush's less than stellar showing in a big spot, Houston could potentially have yet another problem, albeit a potentially good problem.......on deciding who to pick between Bush and Young.

At press time, Vince Young has not decided if he will forego his senior year in Austin to declare for the NFL Draft, but you could make the argument that his stock will never be higher. He has done everything a collegiate QB can do except win the Heisman Trophy (Vince, ask Peyton Manning if he really regrets not winning the Heisman....C Wood winning that trophy probably Andre Ware-proofed Peyton).With Young's style of play, he's always one play away from an injury, that would do nothing but hurt his stock in the NFL scouts eyes. Plus, he has the allure of three pretty interesting storylines that could transpire if he goes to any of the three teams atop the draft board. Young is a Houston guy, through and through. He was born and raised in H-Town and would probably be more loved than Scarface, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Bun-B, Pimp C, and Chamillionaire if the hometown Texans make him their No. 1 pick. Texans GM Charley Casserly has reiterated in recent days that Houston is committed to the development of former No. 1 overall pick David Carr, which makes picking Reggie Bush very likely, but the clamoring for the hometown boy has already started on Houston sports talk airwaves.

New Orleans has the second pick in the draft and is, by far, the least desirous place for Vince Young to land on the surface. However, New Orleans is just a short drive from his hometown, and has some weaponry on offense with Deuce McAllister, Joe Horn, and Donte Stallworth. Also, the Saints have expressed a desire to permanently be relocated in San Antonio (where they relocated and played most of 2005 after the Hurricane Katrina disaster), which is only about a 90 minute drive down I-35 from Young's current stomping grounds of Austin and still very close to Houston. And then, if Tom Benson does what most are thinking, and try to become the team that moves to Los Angeles, you can figure out how much potential money Vince Young could make in Hollywood with his talent level.

The final of the Top 3 teams on the draft board is the Tennessee Titans. This once proud franchise has fallen on salary cap-induced hard times and needs to find an eventual successor to all-time iron man Steve McNair. What makes this potential scenario so unique is that Steve McNair is like a father figure to Young. Young's father has been in and out of the penal system since he was a kid and McNair was a teammate of Young's uncle at Alcorn State. Young's uncle introduced the two when Young was in Junior High and the two have been extremely close since. Young works McNair's camp every year and McNair is a regular in Austin when he has free time and was seen at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday rooting his buddy on. Young calls McNair "Big Papa" for the father-like role Steve has played in his life and this would be a golden opportunity for Young to learn from one of the best (and one of his best friends) before he ascends on his quest for greatness. Having a former NFL MVP as a resource could be exactly what Young needs to refine his skills and become an All-Pro. Also, having a coach with a track record as good as Jeff Fisher is a luxury that he may not have in Houston or New Orleans.

Vince Young proved to America on Wednesday night that he is the "it" factor that NFL teams want from their star player. As Santana Moss once said after a Miami - Florida State game a few years ago "Big time players make big time plays in big games." To say Vince Young did that a couple of nights ago would be an understatement. Now, all Young has to do is decide if he wants to return to school or turn pro. If Young chooses the latter, he has some intriguing options ahead.

During this great USC run, many college football fans have been subjected to the Pac-10 does not get the respect it deserves talk permeating from the left coast. Calls of "East Coast Bias" and the "SEC and Big Ten get a free pass" have been brewing from the West Coast. The latest example of the belly-aching has come from the University of Oregon. Oregon, despite being 10-1, was left out of an at-large BCS bowl game in favor of two 9-2 teams, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Now, I do not necessarily agree with those two teams being in the BCS, particularly Notre Dame...who did they beat....agruably one of the worst Michigan team in ages and the absolute worst Tennessee team since the Reagan administration. Oregon certainly had a gripe on the surface. However, team Nike, much like their conference buddies from Berkeley the year prior, decided to go down to San Diego and lay an egg against a second level Big XII team in the Holiday Bowl. Once again, the BCS says to the Pac-10 runner-up "I told you so". This was not your older brother's Oklahoma team the Ducks lost to last night. This year's version of the Sooners has more holes than swiss cheese, no offensive line, and can't even celebrate right (see Adrian Peterson's forehead gash and Rhett Bomar's 15 yard penalty spike). Oregon was without QB Kellen Clemens, but they have been without him the whole second half of the season and it has not stopped them from running up a 10-1 tally against the rest of the Pac-10. You knew that Oregon was in trouble when they were got the game to 17-14 and got the ball back in San Diego with Brady Leaf calling the signals. Brady Leaf, brother of all-time Charger underachiever Ryan, played valiantly, moving the Ducks in field goal territory with some nice plays, but you just knew a Leaf could not possibly engineer a great comeback in, of all places, his big brother's own Little Shop of Horrors, Qualcomm Stadium. Well, karma set in and he underthrew a ball intended for Demetrius Williams that was intercepted by OU linebacker Clint Ingram. Game Over!! The Pac-10 plays a fun style to watch, but beyond USC, the other teams in that league seem to fold when the going gets tough. These factors are reasons why people do not take the other nine teams in that conference seriously and also why USC's 34 game winning streak gets the question "well, who did they have to beat to win the Pac-10?" Nobody is doubting USC being a great team, but a lot of people would like to see them play week-in week-out in the Big Ten or SEC and see if they could reel off that type of dominance. And  a message for the rest of the Pac-10, quit complaining about BCS snubs, get some better bowl tie-ins and kick some Big XII team's butt in San Diego. Respect is earned, not given. And the other nine teams have not earned much lately. Maybe if you show up in San Diego, you may get the nod for a BCS game in the future.