.........well here is your chance to make your case!

Tonight on the FoxSports.com Bloggers Show I am going to devote the full time to discussing College Football. The topic for the show will be:

"I believe my favorite college team has a shot at winning the BCS National Championship!"

I have six fantastic guests this week and they will get five-seven minutes to make the case why their favorite team will win the BCS National Championship. Slots for next week will be limited to one person per school so if you want to make a case, drop me a line at Gatordebate@aol.com as soon as possible.

The 14th installment of the FoxSports.com Bloggers Show will air on Wednesday, August 22 at 10:00pm EST. Guests will include:

Marty Walker (Ohio State)

Lisa4USC (USC)

Nostradomus (Nebraska)

Rev (Florida)

Josh Q. Public (BC)

KSP113 (Penn State)

The topic we will be discussing is:

"I believe my favorite college team has a shot at winning the BCS National Championship!"

Special thanks to the folks at FoxSports.com for promoting the show, the FoxSports Funhouse and BlogTalkRadio.com





The call in number is (646) 478-5128

To access the show, click on the BlogTalkRadio Button here:

Although the majority of the national news media did not give Florida much chance against Ohio State, those few voices that gave Florida some chance of winning touted the SEC's and in particular, Florida's "speed."  With Florida's demolition of Ohio State, the "speed discussion" will probably intensify.  A quick look at how the speed issue is being discussed in the media today:

• The Nashville City Paper: - "In the days preceding the game, Ohio State scoffed at the notion that Florida’s speed — superior either in theory or in fact — would prove decisive. And when Buckeye speedster Ted Ginn Jr. returned the game’s opening kickoff for a touchdown, Ohio State issued a “Take that!” response to the question of speed.
  The difference in speed wasn’t at the skill positions, however. It was at defensive end, where lightning-quick Gator defensive ends Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss terrorized Buckeye offensive linemen and produced game-changing plays."
• The Boston Globe - "That brings us back to the eternally popular topic of speed.  Much was made of the idea that Ohio State was no old-fashioned Big 10 team, that one reason the Buckeyes had come into this game at 13-0 was that they had the kind of speed that would impress even an SEC team.  They didn't.  Smith found out first-hand just how disruptive Florida's speed could be in the very first quarter when he was unable to run away from defensive end Derrick Harvey, who chased the Ohio State QB and caught him on an attempt to scramble to his left. Harvey goes 6-5 and a listed 262."
• The San Diego Union Tribune - "Another stat for you: OSU is 0-8 all-time versus the SEC in bowl games. As a conference, the Big 10 can't compete with the team speed and athleticism of SEC Football ."
  
• CBS News - "There is speed and then there is SEC speed."
  

This of course started me thinking a bit about Track and Field and speed and the SEC and how it all relates.  Here are some quick facts from the world of Track and Field:

• An SEC team has won the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in 23 of the past 24 years including 19 NCAA Championships by Arkansas!
  
• An SEC team has won the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship in 15 of the past 22 years including 15 NCAA Championships by LSU!
• AN SEC sprinter has won the 60 Meter Dash in 8 of the past 13 seasons.
• AN SEC sprinter has won the 100 Meter Dash in 10 of the past 25 seasons.
• In 2005, Arkansas, LSU and Florida went 1,2,3 in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship!

Now a lot of folks will discuss how speed played a role in the National Championship game and SEC fans will continue to tout the incredible speed that their teams possess but the big question that I have is Why is there so much more speed in the SEC then in the Big 10, or for that matter, just about any conference (although the Pac-10 gives the SEC a run for its money).  I don't pose this question to boast or to rub salt in the open wounds of Big 10 fans but I am legitimately interested in hearing others theories as to why the athletes in the SEC are just plain faster then comparable high level athletes in other conferences.  Is it genetics?  Is it something in the water?  Is it the heat?  Is it the training the kids get in High School?  Is it a question of emphasis and athletic philosophy?  is it a race issue (let's be careful on this one folks)?

I was listening to a local Orlando talk show this morning and the host, Dan Sileo said he knew the Gators would win because "there is no way a group of kids from Ohio could be faster then a group of kids from the state of Florida."  Why is that?  To question whether or not there is more speed in the SEC is pointless and not really in question.  The better question is why is there more speed in the SEC then the Big 10.  That's what I'd like to hear opinions on.

What a game for the Gators! No one gave Florida the respect they deserved going into tonights game and the Gators came out and displayed more fire, grit and determination then I have ever seen. Here are some quick thoughts on the game:

1. I predicted the outcome of the last three BCS Bowl games last week. I said LSU would beat Notre Dame and validate the SEC. I said USC would beat Michigan and prove they were not worthy of a rematch with Ohio State. I said Florida would beat Ohio State.
2. lisa4usc should be given a gig at ESPN or Fox Sports because her prediction was the most accurate score prediction I saw before the game. Wow.
3. The SEC, top to bottom (and especially at the top) is a far superior conference to the Big 10. Faster, tougher, better coached. Plain and simple, end of story.
4. Michigan was exposed by USC. Now I hope the Michigan fans finally stop whining and just shut up until next season. Do y'all still think you should have goten a rematch?
   
5. The Big 10 backers (you know who you are) that thought it meant something that Wisconsin beat Arkansas. Big deal. The SEC won more bowl games then the Big 10 and won the only game that mattered.
6. Notre Dame still stinks (just had to throw that in). And that Clausen kid won't make you much better. The second coming of Ron Powlus.
   
7. I hope Kirk Herbstreit goes and hides his head in the sand for the next eight months. He is getting what he deserves. He is a total homer who thought Michigan should have played for the National Championship and he thought Ohio State would wipe out Florida. Heck, if you check out his 2006 Herbies (His preseason predictions for ESPN), he listed Florida as the #1 team "Headin' on Down". How about that for an off prediction. Congrats Herbie...you suck!
   
8. Final Bowl Records: SEC, 6-3, Sugar Bowl Champs, BCS National Champs - Big 10, 2-5, lost the Rose Bowl, hammered in the BCS National Championship. Yeah, I know those two wins came against SEC teams (that would be your argument right Hoit :) but does that really matter right now. I will concede that Arkansas and Tennessee are not as good as Penn State and Wisconsin. But does it really matter?
   
9. Troy Smith is not as overrated as Brady Quinn but what a stat line: 4-14, 35 yards and an INT. Wow. The Heisman jinx continues
10. Ohio State has 83 total yards, 2 INT's and Troy Smith was sacked 5 times. Now you Big 10, Ohio State and Michigan fans understand what real speed is. SEC speed!
11. Chris Leak deserves all the credit in the world. Came to UF with lofty expectations. Had two Head Coaches and three Offensive Coordinators in four years. Had to run Meyer's offense that he wasn't a perfect fit for. Had Tebow waiting in the wings getting a lot of attention (quick side story...I was at Urban Meyer's football camp last summer with my son and Leak and Tebow both came out to the field to sign autographs. The Tebow line was 10 times longer then the Leak line. I know because if you look at my Avatar photo my son is wearing a Tim Tebow autographed T-shirt :) Through it all, he stood tall. He deserves the respect that he has earned. He will forever be revered by Gator Nation.

BOY IS IT GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR AND A FAN OF SEC FOOTBALL RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!

After the Wisconsin-Arkansas game I came online and I ate my crow.  Now, after watching USC's complete domination of the Michigan Wolverines, I think the Michigan fans need to eat their share of crow as well.  Stop whining about not getting your rematch against Ohio State.  Stop whining about Florida.  Stop whining about the SEC.  Stop whining about Urban Meyer.  The bottom line is Michigan got beat by a better, hungrier, more talented, better prepared and better coached football team.  Michigan came into the game with a chance to strengthen their argument that they should have been playing for a National Championship but they blew it.  Plain and simple.  For the third year in a row, Michigan faltered down the home stretch of the season and lost to Ohio State and lost their Bowl game.

Although they played a fantastic game, USC was a very beatable team.  Oregon State beat them and so did UCLA.  Michigan could not.  I wonder, if we use the same contrived rationalization process that Michigan/Big 10 fans have used, that we should conclude UCLA and Oregon State should finish the year ranked higher than Michigan since Michigan lost to USC and both of those teams defeated USC.  Of course, that would be laughable.  It just goes to show that on any given day, any top team can lose a game.  Results of one week, one bowl, one game should never be the deciding factor in evaluating an entire season.  That was the critical flaw in the rationalization used by Michigan fans after they lost to Ohio State.  They tried to justify a rematch based on one game (a loss no less).  That logic, as we see, never holds up.  Florida, based on strength of schedule and an entire season's body of work deserved to go to the BCS Championship game and there is no denying that now.

Michigan fans and Big 10 supporters need to stop whining about Florida.  You had your chance against Ohio State and you lost.  You had a chance to make your case today and you failed.  Stop whining about the SEC.  The SEC has a better Bowl record then the Big 10 and that's the bottom line.  Stop whining about Urban Meyer.  Sure he politicked for his team but so what.  Worry about your own coach and the fact that he can't beat Ohio State, he can't win a Bowl game and he has a losing record in the Rose Bowl.

Regarding the championship game, win or lose, the Gators deserve top be playing in that game whether or not Michigan fans, Big 10 supporters or Kirk Herbstreit think they should.

Unlike most of the Big 10 fans I've been listening to for the past six weeks who will whine when they feel wronged (Lloyd Carr), gloat when they win (Kirk Herbstreit) and make excuses when they lose (most of the folks that respond to my posts :), I have to come out and say what I never thought I'd have to say and certainly never wanted to say.

The Big 10 is a stronger conference right now then the SEC!

No whining and no excuses.  The SEC and Big 10 have comprable bowl records right now with the SEC at 3-3 and the Big 10 at 2-3 but the Big 10 is 2-0 against the SEC so right now, the Big 10 looks stronger.

Now this can change.  If:

1. Michigan loses to USC,
2. LSU beats Notre Dame
3. Florida beats Ohio State

then I think even the most ardent fans would concede the SEC is stronger then the Big 10 top to bottom and especially at the top.  If these games don't play out the way I hope they will, then I will concede the Big 10 is the stronger conference.

Now if Florida beats Ohio State, I can really care less what happens in the other Bowl games but I guess we'll have to wait and see..........

Looks like the Big 10 is off to a phenomenal start this Bowl Season.  As of 8:59 pm EST, the Big 10 is 0-3 in bowl games while the SEC (the best conference in all of football) is 2-1 and leading in the Georgia-Virginia Tech game.  Iowa choked against Texas, Purdue looked god awful against bottom feeder Maryland last night (I was at the game and saw the debacle with my own eyes) and Minnesota lost the biggest lead in Bowl Game history and lost to Texas Tech, a middle of the pack Big 12 team.

For all you folks that thought Michigan should be playing for the championship, the pathetic record of the Big 10 is exposing just how weak Michigan's schedule really was.  I repeat, THE BIG 10 is 0-3!  You can pencil in a loss for Notre Dame (Michigan's big non-conference win) which will further highlight that Michigan played nobody outside of Columbus.

 
Now contrast that with the SEC that is 2-1 right now and if Georgia holds on they will be 3-1.  Also, with Florida State winning their bowl game against UCLA (remember, the same team that beat USC), Florida's opponents are 3-0 in Bowl games so far.

 Just to recap:

1) Michigan's opponents: 0-2

2) Florida's opponents: 3-0

3) Big 10: 0-3

4) SEC: 2-1

Enough said.

GO GATORS!

Boy,oh boy! You go a few days without checking your blog and when you come back, you see the longest response ever by a single person to a blog you wrote weeks ago. At first you figure "all right", someone is reading the stuff you write so you check out the posts and you realize you've been called a "dolt" and that your arguments suck. GoIrish69 says a lot of words but doesn't really make ANY coherent arguments, nor does he respond to any of my arguments.

First, a quick recap of my arguments that he did not answer:

1) Brady Quinn has NEVER had a meaningful victory as a Collegiate Quarterback. ONE victory over a top 25 team in two years? Come on. Every other quarterback that deserves recognition has at least one signature win. Brady Quinn has none.

2) Notre Dame plays a soft schedule. They have had a strength of schedule in the 50's during the Weiss reign. They get functional bye weeks when they play the service academies and Quinn still can't lead his team to victory in big games.

3) The Maxwell Club is a sham. That was the point of my original post an it wasn't meant to be an indictment of the easily indictable Brady Quinn. That point went ignored.

Now on to Go Irish69's arguments:

1) " The Maxwell Is A Sham? Here's the sham...the dolt who started this blog! If ya'll want to write something meaningful then why don't you push for real change like: voting for a playoff system, not ranking any team in the pre-seaon until the end of September, not allowing any team who graduates only half of their team from playing in the post-season (this would eliminate HALF of the 64 teams...what a joke this is)."

My Response: I don't think I'm a dolt. No need to insult me. I know you Irish fans are thin skinned, self absorbed, arrogant, pompous, pseudo-fans who believe the sun rises and sets over "beautiful" South Bend but there's no reason to name call. Also, I agree that there should be a playoff system, initial rankings should be delayed and there should be some tie between graduation rates and postseason play but I don't know why not discussing those things is an argument against what I said about the Maxwell award? The mainstream media has discussed playoffs, bowls, rankings and graduation rates ad nauseum. I thought I would take a different angle and write about something that no one else was writing about. Isn't that the purpose of a blog?

2) " I don't doubt that many in Dixie honestly believe that the best player in the SEC has to be the best player in college football."

My Response: Not true. I think many SEC fans believe that Troy Smith was the best player in football. For better or worse, many SEC fans cannibalize their own and would never give unfair props to a player from another SEC school unfairly. Do I think McFadden was the second best player in College Football this year? Absolutely. McFadden lead that Arkansas team back from the dead and was put into a position running that old school single wing offense at the end of the year that other coaches are going to employ and other tailbacks want to emulate (did you catch Marshawn #### in Cal's Bowl game two nights ago?) Arkansas would be dead in the water without McFadden and he will be the Heisman front runner next year.

3) "The really stunning thing is that Quinn's numbers against Southern Cal were exceptional in comparison to what others had achieved against the Trojans: Quinn put up more total offense and threw more touchdown passes against the Southern Cal defense than anyone else this year."

My Response: He may have put up some numbers but the bottom line is that HE LOST! UCLA beat USC, Oregon State beat USC but Notre Dame could not. Brady Quinn could not. BRADY QUINN CAN NOT WIN A BIG GAME. And that is the only stat that really matters.

4) "You would be hard pressed to find media criticism of Troy Smith's performance against Illinois, though it was statistically worse than the performance against Michigan that hung around Quinn's neck like a millstone."

My Response: That's because Troy Smith BEAT Illinois. Troy Smith WINS big games. Brady Quinn LOST to Michigan (again). Brady Quinn LOSES big games.

5) "His numbers were written off as inflated, coming against a spate of cupcakes including -- gasp -- all three service academies! Nevermind the fact that one academy actually went 9-3, or that Quinn's lowest outputs in passes and yardage came against Army and Air Force, respectively. If you bothered to look at it, ND's strength of schedule (19th in the country) was of a magnitude tougher than Ohio State's (40th)."

My Response: Are you serious? Are you really telling me that Notre Dame plays a tougher schedule than what Ohio State played this year? Come on. Notre Dame feasts on cupcakes. Look at this schedule:

1) Army - Joke

2) Navy - Joke

3) Air Force - Joke

4) Georgia Tech - Inconsistent team at best

5) Penn State - Rebuilding team

6) Purdue - Weakest 8-4 team in the country. Check their schedule. They were the only Big 10 team that did not have to play Ohio State OR Michigan this year and they still sucked. PLUS, I went to the Pudue-Maryland Champs Sports Bowl last night and the Purdue team I saw was freaking awful. Slowest Wide Receivers EVER and a terrible run defense

7) Stanford - 1-10 record with losses to Navy and San Jose State. Absolutely pathetic and worse than any team in the Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big East or Big 12

8) UCLA - 6-5 record; under .500 in Pac-10 play. Would make for a better basketball game than football game. Sure they upset USC but did you catch their game against Florida State? They were exposed for being the weak #### team that they are.

9) North Carolina - See basketball comment above

6) " C'mon, be honest. You chuckled when you heard Notre Dame got beat by Michigan one cajillion billion to seven, didn't you? You laughed. You giggled and burped. You frolicked around the house like you were being tickled on the feet by a supermodel in her skivvies. You spit mustard and bratwurst all over your shirt when you saw Brady Quinn's face planted in the turf and throwing sloppy interceptions like Kerry Collins. I can tell you loved it. I still see the smirk cemented on your face."

My Response: You're right on this one!

7) " During his time under the microscope at ND, especially during a rough and tumble two years where he was repeatedly thrown to the lions, Quinn never faltered or pouted. Whether he was taking his lumps under Willingham or besting Peyton Manning's marks under Weis, Quinn always carried himself with aplomb. In the volumes of quotes the media extracted from Quinn, you won't find a single damning word. He was never in trouble off the field. He was a good student."

My Response: If we were giving citizenship awards or naming soneone an Eagle Scout than THIS WOULD MATTER. But we're not, so it doesn't. Brady Quinn has no heart as a football player even if he is a really nice guy.

8) "Notre Dame will beat LSU in the Sugar Bowl."

My Response: Are you REALLY serious? Notre Dame does not have even the most remotest of chances. They will lose another embarrassing lop-sided bowl game. Remember Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl a few year back?

9) " By the way, Frank, here are some additional thoughts for you to contemplate. How come you failed to mention that Quinn won the Unitas Award? I guess you'll need to cook up some horse manure about the group who voted Quinn the winner here as well. Also, how come you didn't mention that only three players (Wuerffel in '96, Williams in '98 and Dayne in '99) in the past eleven years have won the both the Maxwell and Heisman awards in the same season? I guess you can call: Peyton Mannning, Drew Brees, Ken Dorsey, Eli Manning, Jason White and Vince Young shams as well! Right!

My Response: The fact that the Heisman and Maxwell awards have only had the same winner in 3 of the past 11 years proves my point entirely. The Maxwell award is a sham and doesn't recognize anything other than who a group of people in Pennsylvania think is the best player in College Football. You never even answered my argument that the same Maxwell Club voted Paul Posluszny the best Defensive player in College Football which is an absolute joke.

As for the Unitas Award, I don't know how it's decided but they've made some bad calls in their history as well. Let's look at some previous winners and I'll tell you who SHOULD HAVE won the award that year:

1987: Don McPherson - Should have given it to Tom Tupa, Chris Chandler or Kerwin Bell.

1988: Rodney Peete - Should have given it to Troy Aikman.

1989: Tony Rice - Should have given it to Jeff George or Andre Ware.

1990: Scott Erickson - Should have given it to Brett Favre.

1991: Casey Weldon - Should have given it to Tommy Maddox.

1992: Gino Toretta - Should have given it to Drew Bledsoe.

1994: Jay Barker - Should have given it to Steve McNair.

1998: Cade McNown - Should have given it to Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, or Daunte Culpepper)

1999: Chris Redman - Should have given it to Chad Pennington or Tom Brady.

2000: Chris Weinke - Should have given it to Mike Vick or Drew Brees.

2003: Eli Manning - Should have given it to RIvers or Roethlisberger.

2004: Jason White - Should have given it to Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers.

2005: Matt Leinart - Should have given it to Vince Young.

2006: Brady Quinn - Should have given it to Troy Smith.

I guess the Unitas Award is about as accurate, relevant and meaningful as the Maxwell Award. Of course almost every Quarterback on this list had at least one thing Brady Quinn will never have...a big win or a Bowl Win!

He may look like the boy next door.  He may play Quarterback for Notre Dame.  He may be the guy that other guys want to be and girls want to be with.  But the bottom line is that Brady Quinn should NOT have won the Maxwell award as the "College Football Player of the year" and I believe the Maxwell Football club is a sham that should at best be disbanded and at worst, should not have the right to present any award at the CFA awards banquet.

Here's my argument:

1) It's all about stats and hype.  Brady Quinn benefits from playing Quarterback at Notre Dame.  Brady Quinn benefits from having Charlie Weiss as his coach (where in some alternate universe scenario, Weiss and Notre Dame supporters fancy him their version of Tom Brady.  Brady Quinn is NO Tom Brady!).  Brady Quinn has beaten ONE top 25 opponent in his last two years as a starter (a squeaker over Georgia Tech to start the year).  Outside of that victory he has feasted on the likes of Michigan State, Purdue, Army, Air Force, Navy, the Coast Guard Academy, the Merchant Marines, Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina, and a weakened Penn State team.  He has played no one.  He has beaten no one.  Lets look at his career "best performances" according to the Notre Dame athletic website:

Completions - 33 (Michigan State, 2005)
Attempts - 60 (Michigan State, 2005)
Yards - 487 (Michigan State, 2005)
Touchdowns - 6 (BYU, 2005)
Completion Percentage - 80.5 (at Purdue, 2005)

News flash: Michigan State, BYU and Purdue DON'T PLAY DEFENSE.  It's no wonder his career highs for completions, attempts and yards came against Michigan State, home of the "worst defensive coordinator ever!" (listen to this link if you haven't already.  It's the best 15 minutes you will have all day, I promise) 

Brady Quinn is all about inflated stats.  If that's the criteria for awarding the Player of the Year, then why didn't Colt Brennan from Hawaii get the nod.  His inflated stats are much more impressive than Quinn's. 

2) The Maxwell Club is a sham.  After the awards show, I wanted to find out more about the Maxwell club and I was stunned at what I found.  The Maxwell Club was founded in 1937 as a civic organization in eastern Pennsylvania.  It was used primarily to recognize local players and coaches until they decided to award the first College Football Player of the year in 1937.  This sounds nice and all but my question is who actually composes the voting body for the Maxwell club.  Is it players, coaches, university administrators, university presidents, conference commissioners, sportswriters.....who exactly votes on the Maxwell award?

Well, the answer is anyone willing to pay the $35 fee to join the Maxwell club gets to vote for the Maxwell award!

I guess Brady Quinn had more of his fans pony up the $35 than Troy Smith's fans.  I can not believe that the CFA and NCAA recognize the Maxwell award as a legitimate award when there are absolutely no standards to be a voter. 

If you think think the Maxwell award is rather dubious, check out the other college player award that they give out, the Bednarik Award for the College Football Defensive Player of the year.  This years award recipient was none other than Paul Posluszny, LB, Penn State.  This is actually the second year that PP has won the award.  Last year he may have been deserving (although AJ Hawk probably would have had something to say about that) but this year, there is no way he was the best defensive player in college football.  He wasn't even a first team all-american this year.  Check out SI.com's All-American team.  I can't imagine anyone believing Posluszny was the best Linebacker in the nation, let alone the best defensive player.  Here are a few Linebackers that should have been considered over PP:

LB: H.B. Blades
Sr., Pittsburgh
Ranked third nationally with 147 tackles; blocked two kicks.

LB: James Laurinaitis
Soph., Ohio State
Buckeyes' star defender had 100 tackles, eight takeaways.

LB: Patrick Willis
Sr., Ole Miss
Tackling machine, he had 137 of them, including 87 solo stops.

Does anyone else find it disturbing that an organization based out of Eastern Pennsylvania gets to vote on the Offensive and Defensive player's of the year?  Judging by their picks, it's obvious that they were 0 for 2 this year.

Just another example of where the Notre Dame machine, Brady Quinn and Charlie Weiss benefit from being who they are and not what they do.  This is a travesty.

SI.com is reporting this morning that Kyle Keown, a punter on the Vanderbilt Football team was charged with domestic assault and aggravated assault after beating up his girlfriend, Sara Treichel (a senior on the Vanderbilt Women's Swimming Team) and threatening to stab Richard Kovalchek, a backup QB at Vanderbilt and Keown's roommate. Keown is a Junior from Jessup, GA and is majoring in Human and Organizational Development (sounds like he could use a bit more "development" himself).

Now this is normally the type of story you'd expect to hear about squads at places like Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma or Nebraska.  This is normally not the type of thing you'd expect to hear about Vanderbilt.  Up until now, the most shameful thing about Vanderbilt was the fact that they granted a degree to Skip Bayless.

 In addition to this being a football incident at Vanderbilt of all places, what is it with college punters this year?  If you remember Mitch Kozad, the Northern Colorado punter that stabbed the starting punter a while back (an attack reminiscent of the Kerrigan-Harding feud).

What is it with these punters?  What is it with Vanderbilt?  Why is Skip Bayless on television?  Some how, I think all of these things are related and are signs of the Apocalypse being upon us.

Just finished watching USC and Notre Dame and all I can say is that I truly believe Notre Dame is the most overrated team in College Football. How they were ranked #5 in the BCS is absolutely beyond me. Notre Dame backers like to spew their "myths" concerning ND football but for the most part, the arguments always boil down to one master myth.

The Notre Dame Myth: "Notre Dame plays the toughest schedule in the country"

Fact: Notre Dame usually plays a tough schedule but in the past two years the schedule has been fairly soft. Last year they finished the season with the 52nd toughest schedule in the country and I don't suspect it will be much better this year. In the past two seasons, Notre Dame has played a few tough games...and they have lost them all. They have beaten ONLY one top-25 team in TWO YEARS (opening game against #16 Georgia Tech by a whopping 14-10 score). They lost to a dreadful 5-6 Michigan State team last year (at home no less) and the only teams worth a damn that they have played this year have been Michigan and USC. They were blown out in both games.

Let's see who else is on this "tough" Notre Dame schedule:

1) Service Academies (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard Academy, etc...) - Okay, so they really only play Army, Navy and Air Force. While I have nothing but respect for our men and women in the military, none of these three programs are what I would consider strong Football programs. Check out their records. They are barely 1-AA caliber.

2) Georgia Tech - Close win. Sloppy game. Don't think they'd beat the Yellow Jackets today.

3) Penn State - No Michael Robinson, no top-25 ranking, no chance.

4) Purdue - Weakest 8-4 team in the country. Check their schedule. They were the only Big 10 team that did not have to play Ohio State OR Michigan this year and they still sucked.

5) Stanford - 1-10 record with losses to Navy and San Jose State. Absolutely pathetic and worse than any team in the Big 10, ACC, SEC or Big 12

6) UCLA - 6-5 record; under .500 in Pac-10 play. Would make for a better basketball game than football game.

7) North Carolina - See basketball comment above

So if you're a Notre Dame fan, please tell me who you've beaten this year to justify a #5 ranking and even a sniff of consideration for a spot in the BCS Championship game?

Sure ND fans want to tout the great Brady Quinn (one win over a top 25 team in two seasons) or the great Charlie Weiss and what a phenomenal coach he is (at least Bob Davie could beat USC and Ty Willingham was 10-3 in his first season and had a strength of schedule that was rated #17 in the country that year). The bottom line is that it is a travesty for a has been and functionally irrelevent program like Notre Dame to command the same respect that it did in the 70's and 80's. It is an absolute joke that they are allowed to negotiate with the BCS as if they were a conference and I can't believe they still have their National TV deal with NBC.

Touchdown Jesus, the Golden Dome, America's team, Charlie Weiss, Brady Quinn, Rudy.....I'm sick of it all and I am sick of Notre Dame. How about we wait until they can actually field a team that would be competitive with upper echelon teams by 2006 standards instead of 1986 standards (is there a slower team in the Top 15 then Notre Dame?) before we annoint them as a serious national championship contender?

"What do you mean you're flagging us for Unnecessary Sucking?!"

"Remember Jeff, there's 11 guys on each side......."

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been busy with work and coaching my youth football team (we went 7-3 this season, were 6-0 in Division play and won our Bowl Game 20-0). Plus, I just haven't felt the passion to bust out a good rant in a while (which is normally what fuels my blogging :)

That is until now.

SI.com is reporting that Jeff Bowden is finally packing up his four play playbook and riding out of town with his golden parachute...a $537,000 payout by the Free Shoes University Booster Club.

Yes, you read that correctly. Jeff Bowden is receiving $537,000 to leave FSU and end his tenure as the worst Offensive Coordinator in the history of football. I wish someone would pay be $537,000 to leave my job but I guess when you are actually competent, folks actually pay you to stay.

This has to be the biggest embarrassment to hit the House that Burt built since he and Ned Beatty were rolling around the woods together in the movie Deliverance, or at least since last week's 30-0 pasting by perennial powerhouse (in Basketball at least), Wake Forest.

Bobby Bowden is a snake and he really doesn't care about FSU.

Let's face it, Bobby should never have hired Jeff. A few years of coaching Wide Receivers at Salem College (thanks to the nepotism of Salem Head Coach and big brother Terry Bowden) and a brief stint as their Offensive Coordinator should not qualify you to come and coach at one of the top programs in the nation. Does anyone find it odd that Jeff Bowden has never gotten a coaching position on his own merit? He has never worked for anyone who didn't have the last name Bowden?

Now you might say "Jeff is incompetent but why does that make Bobby a snake?" and that is simple. Bobby Bowden put the interest of his incompetent son ahead of the interest of Florida State University, it's players, coaches, fans, alums, and students. Not only should he have never hired little Jeffy but to promote him when Richt left for Georgia is unconscionable. Richt commanded one of the highest octane offenses in College Football but with Jeff Bowden at the helm, the offense has been reduced to the power output of a Schwinn ten speed. Whereas a class act like Joe Paterno was able to demote his son's responsibility when the team was suffering, Bowden refused to do the same for FSU, even resorting to calling out his critics. Look, you can keep your son on your staff if you want. Spurrier does it, Paterno does it and Lou Holz did it (although he had the character to demote his son from Offensive Coordinator at SC when he wasn't getting the job done) but did Bobby really need to keep him as the Offensive Coordinator?

Of course Bowden has taken away some of his son's responsibility as Offensive Coordinator putting Mark McHale in charge of the running game. Now doesn't that tell you something? An Offensive Coordinator who isn't in charge of the running game? Jeff Bowden has even been quoted saying "I don't want to deal with the running game...I'm not going to sit here wondering why we're not blocking this guy or that guy." ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Judging by how effective the FSU Offensive Line has played this year it's obvious that Jeff Bowden really isn't concerned with "who's blocking this guy or that guy."

 
Pride and performance obviously could not convince Bobby Bowden to get his son to step down but now we see just what it took. Money, and lots of it. SI.com is reporting that Jeff "retains his present $141,000 salary until his contract expires next August. He then will receive annual payments of $107,500 until August 2012." I guess with all that money he could ride off into the broadcast booth like big brother Terry and fleece some money out of a network looking to attach it's name to the fallen star of the Bowden franchise. Pretty soon the only Bowden left in coaching will be Tommy who won't have key wins against FSU to keep him from being fired (I will go to my grave believing that Bobby "took it easy on Tommy" in a few of those games to help his son keep his job).

Here's an open invitation to FSU fans everywhere. Hit I-10 east to 75 South and stop off in Gainesville if you'd like to see some real football. Of course if you enjoy watching an incompetent coach roam the sidelines, an even more incompetent coach in the booth calling the plays (just not the running ones), an offense that consists of about four plays, then stay in Tallahassee. If your idea of a fun Saturday is watching your beloved Seminoles get blown out by Wake Forest (who didn't even have Tim Duncan in the lineup) or win a nail biter against giant killer Duke, than stay where you are. But if you'd like to see real football coached by a real coach and played by real players than come down to Gainesville and watch the Florida Gators play ball the way the game was meant to be played. IT'S GREAT, TO BE, A FLORIDA GATOR, SAID IT'S GREAT, TO BE, A FLORIDA GATOR...........

"Hey guys, this is a football? What a cool shape! Of course I don't think you should throw it with two hands but......."