Wednesday was national letter of intent day. College kids all over the country faxing their letters of intent while college football goobers such as myself are excited. I'm a Colorado fan, and I'm excited about what coach Hawk did with this class, with the big prize being Darrell Scott, one of the top running backs in the country, as well as some stud linebackers.
So, who is #1? Various recruiting services ranked the top 25 class, and they were pretty much all over the map. For example, Colorado was rated #16 by rivals.com and not rated in the top 25 in scout.com. Here's what I did. I took the top 25 classes from rivals.com, scout.com, espn.com and cstv.com and then assigned point values from 1 to 25 with the 1 team getting 25 points and the number 2 team getting 24 points and so on. Based on this, here's a consenus top 25 (first place votes in parenthesis)
Alabama (3)
Notre Dame
Miami (1)
Georgia
Florida
Ohio State
USC
Oklahoma
Clemson
Florida State
LSU
Michigan
Texas
UCLA
Virginia Tech
Texas A&M
Illinois
Arizona State
Auburn
Minnesota
Washington
Colorado
Pitt
Arkansas
Nebraska & Oregon
The others receiving votes in order are NC State, Boston College, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss & Missouri.
These of course will be changing once Terelle Pryor makes a decision on where to go to school. I give him a lot of credit for not making a decision on the national signing day. If he doesn't know, there's no reason to sign the paper right now. It worked out fine for Noel Devine, and had a great freshman season at West Virginia. Good luck Terelle in your decision.
So, props to the tide led by that "no good" Nick Saban (as referred by Jim Mandich on a radio show last year). If these hold true, the ACC & SEC will sure have some tough teams, with each conference landing 3 schools in the top 10.
As college football fans, now that the bowl season is over, we as fans turn to recruiting. Do we get that coveted player that our team desperately needs? How strong is our class? Top 20? Top 10? And how do we rate these? Simple...we check out sites such as rivals.com.
How accurate are their player assessments? I say this among the news that Xavier Lee, a five star QB, who we all would agree was a bust, made the foolish decision to go pro. After starting all of six games, and relief in a handful of others, he went 155 for 402 for 2,323 yards, 15 TDs and 11 INTs. On rivals.com, he was rated #10 overall and the second QB, behind Rhett Bomar. Out of that top 10, here's how they fared...
1. Adrian Peterson RB Oklahoma...stud RB without question and offensive rookie of the year this past season for Minnesota. They didn't miss there.
2. Ted Ginn, Jr. Ohio State...electrifying playmaker, great college WR, but drafted far too high by the Dolphins.
3. Early Doucet WR LSU...led LSU with 57 receptions for 525 yds and 4 TDs, including a TD catch in the BCS title game.
4. Rhett Bomar QB - Oklahoma. Poor decision got him a one way ticket to Sam Houston State.
5. Keith Rivers LB USC 73 tackles no sacks in his senior season, a drop in production from 2006.
6. Willie Williams LB Miami-Plenty of legal troubles, ended up at Louisville where he was kicked off the team for possession of marijuana.
7. Brandon Miller DE Georgia Started 7 of the 11 games he appeared in.
8. Derrick Harvey DE Florida 18.5 sacks and 76 tackles in his college career. Declared for the NFL draft.
9. Jeff Schweiger Jr. DE USC transferred after 2006 season
10. Xavier Lee QB Florida State. Enough said, and beaten out by Drew Weatherford, #88 on Rivals list.
Even in the top 10, you see some big time home runs, and big time busts...it's not an exact science. There are plenty of great players who may not be a five star recruit, so if your school isn't in the top 10 (and I'm a Colorado fan, and they won't be), don't think your team is bad off. What this does do is give fans like us an idea of what kind of talent our team is bringing in.
One more thing, to Xavier Lee...transfer instead of going pro...you're simply a Maurice Clarett without the rap sheet.
It's been reported that nearly 25 Florida State Seminoles will be suspended for the bowl game and the first 3 games of the following season. President T.K. Wetherell blamed lack of oversight by atheltic department officials, a rogue tutor, and lack of attention to detail by a faculty member.
I wonder if Bobby Bowden, who is the face of FSU athletics, would have survived if his name wasn't a legend at that university. How do you not know, as head of the football program, that approximately two dozen of his players were cheating? If there is lack of athletic department oversight, is it simply due to the former AD? Utlimately, coach Bowden is responsible. Had this happened at any other university, would the football coach survive?
We're just a few days before the holidays, and here are some gifts I wish for those in the sports world this Christmas...
1. Pat Bowlen, Denver Broncos owner. The common sense to let Mike Shanahan, VP of football ops go and get someone who has a better eye for talent. Shanahan the VP of ops has let Shanahan the coach down big time.
2. Colorado Buffaloes. A verbal commitment from Darrell Scott, the top RB prospect in the country.
3. Atlanta Falcons. Anybody who wants to be there. I feel for Arthur Blank.
4. Jamal Tinsley. Common sense not to be out at 2 a.m. anymore. Dude, wake up and realize nothing good happens at 2 a.m.
5. Roger Clemens. The guts to put actions behind words and start dropping lawsuits if you're truly innocent. As John Smoltz said...if that were me and I'm innocent, I'd come out swinging (from the Jim Rome show about a week ago)
6. NY Mets. A front line starter. Without one, the Mets are doomed for another year like last year.
7. Oliver Perez. Some control. Stuff of a #1, control of a #4.
8. The NBA. Anybody but the Sprus winning the west...too dull for me to watch. Phoenix, Denver, Dallas...HELLO???
9. The NHL. Relevence, and common sense to beg ESPN to show your product again.
10. Florida Marlins Ownership. Realization that you'll never succeed in south Florida and get out of there. The fans couldn't care less. Besides, you can't watch baseball in Florida in the summer outside...it's unbearable.
11. Steve Moore. Justice in your lawsuit. No player has been wronged by a peer anymore than you have been.
12. NY Knicks...Isiah hitting the streets and taking that god awful owner James Dolan with him. Together they've ruined the Knicks and make them more of a soap opera than pro wrestling.
13. College football fans. Show enough outrage to demand a playoff system so this great sport gets a true national championship
14. To all of you that you get everything on your list to Santa.
With the departure of Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia to Michigan, it's very easy to compare how Rodriguez handled his departure compared to how the cowardly Petrino handled his change of scenery. Let's take a look...
Addressing his players.
Rodriguez was a man. He faced his team, looked them in the eye this past Sunday and informed them of his decision. Petrino left a letter in each player's locker letting them know he was leaving town.
Player reaction.
While it may be unfair to compare between college kids and pros, you don't hear words like coward or disloyal coming from West Virginia players. You don't hear anger in the tones of voices of the Mountaineers. Falcon players were irate, and when Warrick Dunn calls out the coach, you know something is wrong. One of the Mountaineers said that he was a man about it.
Being straight up
Rodriguez was grilled by the media regarding the reports. Instead of going Nick Saban and saying he won't be the head coach at Michigan, he simply refused to talk about it. Despite the constant prodding during that press conference, Rodriguez simply refused to comment. Petrino, reportedly told his owner in the recent days prior to going Bob Irsay on the Falcons said he was in it for the long haul. He looked his boss in the face, and lied.
I think Michigan made an excellent choice. They are bringing in a guy who will put in a type of offense you don't see in the Big 10, and you've seen Big 10 teams struggle with the spread offense. Simply look at last year's BCS title game and Michigan's first two games. Ohio State simply couldn't handle the spread, and Oregon simply beat on Michigan like a rented mule, not to mention the App State upset. Once Rodriguez gets his guys in there, they could very well have the speed to simply dominate the Big 10, and bring that conference into the 21st century.
What a fine mess this wild and wacky college football season has given us. Two teams, who frankly may not be the best teams in college football will meet in New Orleans for the holy grail of college football...the crystal trophy and the right to be called champion.
To all Missorui fans: You should be furious. I'm not a Missouri fan, but I'm mad for you guys. You beat Illinois and Kansas on neutral fields, and lost to a very good Oklahoma football team, and your reward...the cotton bowl? While the team you defeated to get to the Big 12 title game gets the pleasure of spending the new year on South Beach? Where's the justice there? I'd love to hear someone explain the logic of Kansas over Missouri in the Orange Bowl, when Kansas played only one ranked team, and were dominated. Kansas played a joke of a schedule, and avoided both Oklahoma and Texas in Big 12 play. Va Tech will expose the fraud that is Kansas football in the Orange Bowl.
I'm also highly disapponted in Mark Richt. I like Richt. I like what he stands for. On this issue, he's off base. He said, " They said we we're out because we didn't win the conference championship, which I thought was wrong because the rules don't say that." What Richt must fail to realize is that you cannot be the best team in the country if you're not the best team in your conference. Nebraska pulled this feat off in 2001 when my beloved Buffaloes put down the beating of a lifetime in Bounder 62-36, yet despite being embarrassed that day in Boulder, they were rewarded with a trip to Pasadena to get beat up by Miami. Keep in mind that Colorado won the Big 12 that year, yet Nebraska ended up with the shot at the national title. That year, both Oregon and Colorado were crying foul, and plenty of reason to do so.
Also, Tennessee has a reason to gripe. They beat Georgia this year, they won the SEC East, and they get left out of the BCS party, but a trip to Tampa on New Years Day to beat up on a so-so Wisconsin team isn't such a bad consolation prize. Why Georgia over Tennessee? Georgia better not overlook Hawaii...a few years back a little known school from West Virginia faced Georgia...and took care of business.
The great thing about the BCS is simple. It gives nerds like me something interesting to listen to during the day on sports talk radio and blog about. The bad thing is that we really don't know if the best team is #1, and until some playoff or plus one system is put in place, we won't know the answer, but the money is flowing in every so nicely...and while that is happening, changes aren't likely to come.
Do we have the best two teams? Based on how the system works, yes, based on what my eyes have seen...no. I don't think Ohio State is the best team in the country. I don't think they're better than USC, LSU, or Oklahoma just to name 3 schools. I'm not sure they're better than Missouri.
Interim AD and Nebraska legend Tom Osborne did what anyone who at least remotely follows college football knew what he would do, give the pink slip to Bill Callahan. I've read a lot about how he isolated himself from the fans of Nebraska while past coaches really embraced the community, but ultimately, it comes down to wins and losses. If he's 10-2 every year, who cares if he's isolated from the community or if he runs the west coast offense?
The reason why Nebraska wasn't successful this year has nothing to do with the change in offensive philosophy that he brought to Lincoln. That defense was atrocious. Yesterday's game against Colorado was the only time I watched Nebraska play this year, but Colorado on offense seemed to run similar plays on a frequent basis simply because the Buffalo coaching staff knew it would be successful. Looking at the numbers defensively, they could stop a high school team.
In listening to Osborne's press conference earlier today, he has very high expectations, similar to what he had when he roamed the sidelines, but is that really fair? College football is far more competitive than when he coached and Nebraska now has four new teams in their conference, and only Baylor is a scrub football program of the new four teams in their conference, and Kansas and Missouri have improved significantly since Osborne coached, evidenced by the Big 12 game of the year tonight.
Osborne's vision is a bit off base. From listening to him, I get the feeling he expects 9 and 10 win seasons every year. That's just not feasible in today's college football landscape. Look at the Gators this year, from national champs to a 8-3 record, and 3rd place in the SEC East. Should Nebraska be more competitive? Sure...will they? I'm not so sure.
Getting kids to go to Lincoln will be more of a challenge with so many more competitive places to go and more appealing places to go. Frankly, Lincoln doesn't sound that appealing when I could go play for Pete Carroll at USC, Urban Meyer at Florida, etc. As for tradition, I get the feeling that high school kids care less about tradition and more about getting on TV every week and finding the best avenue to get to the next level.
With tougher competition in the Big 12 North with Kansas and Missouri on the rise, Colorado coming back from the dregs of their 2-10 season last year, Nebraska faces more obstacles than they did when it was just the Big 8, and frankly, the only competition for most of his regime was Oklahoma, and Colorado in the late 80s and 90s.
Whomever takes the Nebraska job has some high expectations of him, and likely unrealistic ones...good luck...
Who would have thought that after going 2-10 last year and an offense that was offensive, that the University of Colorado would be bowl eligible the next season? It was a possibility in my mind, but a highly optimistic one. Coach Hawk has done Buffalo alumni proud after what he has accomplished this year.
The non-conference schedule went according to my plan in going 2-2, with a convincing win over Miami (OH), and a thrilling OT win over Colorado State, then here comes the big one...Oklahoma. One student writer practically showed CU zero respect with, among other comments, referring to Hugh Charles as Jamaal Charles, the Texas RB (and OU's opponent following Colorado) and maybe the team was looking ahead in blowing a 17 point lead in the biggest win this program has seen since defeating Texas in the Big 12 title game in 2001.
Here's where the roller coaster ride starts. The Buffs hammer Baylor, but then lay a huge egg in Manhattan. They had a solid performance against Kansas (and not for a Hugh Charles fumble and Kevin Eberhart missed FG, CU wins that one), and laid a huge egg against Missouri (who will win in KC against the Jayhawks) and against Iowa State. A great win in Lubbock against Texas Tech leads two teams heading in opposite directions to Boulder this morning (or afternoon since it started noon my time).
Nebraska's offense looked dominant in the second quarter doing what ever they wanted against a secondary missing their best player in Terrance Wheatley. Ganz did a good job running the offense, then unfortunately for Nebraska, halftime came. Before you know it, Colorado rolls of 34 straight and seizes control and ends up the big winner.
Coach Hawk has this team on the right track. It was unrealistic to expect Colorado to compete for a Big 12 North title this year, but as a Buffalo fan, I'm pleased with finishing 3rd in the Big 12 North. This is a team with youth all over the place offensively, namely at QB, LG, RT, and WR. All these positions have either true or redshirt freshmen starting, and they're only going to get better. Once Hawk gets the junk that Barnett left behind out (for the most part, he did leave some talent behind, like Dizon), and gets his guys in place, Colorado will be a perennial contender for the Big 12 North title every year, and back on the college football map where they belong.
As for Coach Hawk's rant about not being intramurals, I loved it! Boulder is a different kind of town, as any Colorado native can tell you. Hawk has to try to change the culture up there, and Big 12 football ain't intramurals brother...unless you live in Lincoln, where any intramural defense would be an improvement over the alleged blackshirts that were dressed in all white on the Folsom Field turf today.
I'm a sports fan living in southwest Florida, a transplant from the Denver area. I'm a die hard Mets, CU Buffaloes and Broncos fan. I follow all the big 4 sports and love to engage in good debate, so don't be afraid to drop a line.
