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Monday, January 7, 2008
Final thoughts before the BCS championship game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re a little less than an hour from kickoff for the BCS championship game between Ohio State and LSU. Here are five things I’m looking for as keys to this game.
LSU, by the way, just came out in their traditional white jerseys that they wear at home. This place is going to be LOUD.
Ohio State’s entire team just took the field and they are PUMPED UP!!
1. Is Glenn Dorsey REALLY 100 percent? I asked Dorsey, defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, and a bunch of LSU players the same question. Is the Big Guy really completely healthy? Because if he is, then Ohio State is really going to have a tough time running the ball tonight. If Ohio State can’t run the ball, then the play action pass doesn’t work. If Ohio State can run, the Buckeyes have a lot of options.
2. Keep an eye on Brian Robiskie: The word around the SEC is that LSU’s Chevis Jackson may be a pretty good lock down corner but you can hit him for a big play every now and then. Robiskie, the son of former LSU great Terry Robiskie, is the home run hitter on this Ohio State offense. Ohio State knows it can’t sustain many long drives against this LSU defense, but the Buckeyes believe they can hit some big plays.
3. Ohio State wants a low-scoring game: I picked LSU to win the game 24-23 and most of the writers around the country have both teams scoring in the 20s. I believe that if the game gets into the 20s, then LSU wins. Ohio State has the No. 1 defense in the nation (225.25 ypg). Ohio State can win 17-14, but they can’t win 24-20. LSU scored over 40 points seven times this season.
4. Is Antonio Henton really going to play?: The freshman quarterback from Fort Valley (Peach County) has been given a small package of plays that he can run. But the people I know who cover Ohio State are skeptical about whether or not coach Jim Tressel will actually put him in the game. Regardless of what he can do, would Tressel take such a risk in a game that he needs to be so low-scoring? The one thing Ohio State cannot do is give away some cheap points. We’ll see.
5. How long before we see Ryan Perrilloux?: LSU’s Matt Flynn is the senior quarterback and has been waiting a long, long time for this opportunity after backing up JaMarcus Russell. By Perrilloux is more mobile and started and won the SEC championship game against Tennessee. Perrilloux can make the big play but the can also make the big mistake. How much will coach Les Miles use him in a game where avoiding turnovers is going to be so crucial?
If you’ve got some questions or if you have some other keys to the game, let me know. But I’m ready for this thing to get started.
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Dogs are preseason No. 1
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TONY BARNHART’S EARLY TOP 25 FOR 2008
(Last season’s record in parentheses)
1. Georgia (Last season: 11-2) The Dogs return 17 starters and will add redshirt RB Caleb King (below) and incoming freshman A.J. Green, one of the top high school receivers in the country. The road schedule looks really tough. Make your plans for Jacksonville (vs. Florida) now.
2. USC (11-2) Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain will compete with Mark Sanchez to replace John David Booty at quarterback. Either one will do the job well, and the Trojans will just keep rolling.
3. Ohio State (11-1 entering championship game) Only two seniors were in the starting lineup for Monday night’s BCS championship game with LSU. The Buckeyes again will be the class of the Big Ten in 2008.
4. Florida (9-4) The Gators return two of the best offensive players in college football, Heisman Trophy winner QB Tim Tebow and WR Percy Harvin. Next season they will finally have a big-time running back in USC transfer Emmanuel Moody.
5. Missouri (12-2) If RB Tony Temple is granted another year of eligibility due to a medical hardship, he’ll join QB Chase Daniel and WR Jeremy Maclin to form the nation’s best offense.
6. West Virginia (11-2) Pat White (right) will return at quarterback, but we’re not so sure about RB Steve Slaton. But if he comes back the Mountaineers will be favored to win the Big East again under new coach Bill Stewart.
7. LSU (11-2 entering championship game) The Tigers lose the most successful senior class in school history, but a ton of great players return. Among them will be Ryan Perrilloux, who will finally get his turn to be the full-time QB.
8. Illinois (9-4) The Illini got hammered in the Rose Bowl, but they return QB Juice Williams and WR Arrelious Benn. Ron Zook will miss RB Rashard Mendenhall, who decided to turn pro.
9. Texas (10-3) Coach Mack Brown found out late in the season that he needed to start giving his team some tough love. With QB Colt McCoy returning, look for the Longhorns to play Missouri for the Big 12 title.
10. Clemson (9-4) If everybody returns, Clemson could win the ACC championship next season. QB Cullen Harper of Alpharetta will be a senior and could have running backs James Davis and C.J.Spiller again. The defense returns nine starters.
11. Kansas (12-1) Quarterback Todd Reesing (3,486 yards, 33 TDs) will return for his junior season, but the defense will be without CB Aqib Talib, who is turning pro.
12. Auburn (9-4) Tommy Tuberville’s change in offense will pay dividends in 2008 as QB Kodi Burns becomes a star. The Tigers will have to replace defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who left for Texas.
13. Oklahoma (11-3) It will not be a fun offseason in Norman after the Sooners got embarrassed (48-28) in the Fiesta Bowl. But there is reason for optimism. QB Sam Bradford (3,121 yards, 36 TDs) returns, as does RB DeMarco Murray (764 yards, 13 TDs). The Sooners will miss RB Allen Patrick (1,009 yards).
14. Arizona State (10-3) With QB Rudy Carpenter (3,202 yards passing) coming back, the Sun Devils will be the second-best team in the Pac-10.
15. Virginia Tech (11-3) Both quarterbacks, Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon, plus running back Branden Ore return for the ACC champions. The Hokies will miss linebackers Vince Hall and Xavier Adibi.
16. BYU (11-2) With sophomore QB Max Hall (3,848 yards, 26 TDs) returning next season, the Cougars will again be the class of the Mountain West.
17. Tennessee (10-4) The Volunteers have to find a new quarterback and replace most of their offensive staff, but there are a lot of good young players on this team, including sophomore DB Eric Berry.
18. Wisconsin (9-4) Sophomore RB P.J. Hill will be a Heisman Trophy candidate as the Badgers challenge Ohio State and Illinois in the Big Ten.
19. Wake Forest (9-4) The Deacons won nine games this season after winning the ACC championship in 2006. QB Riley Skinner (2,204 yards, 12 TDs) returns.
20. Texas Tech (9-4) QB Graham Harrell (5,705 yards, 48 TDs) returns for his senior season with a chance to break every major passing record at Texas Tech. Harrell will have the nation’s best young receiver, rising sophomore Michael Crabtree, again as his primary target.
21. Penn State (9-4) The Nittany Lions have to replace QB Anthony Morelli and RB Rodney Kinlaw, but Joe Paterno is ready to return for his 43rd season as head coach.
22. Michigan (9-4) Rich Rodriguez takes over a program that loses a bunch of good seniors, but his offense will be hard to handle for the rest of the Big Ten. By the end of the 2008 season, the Wolverines will be pretty competitive.
23. Boise State (10-3) With Hawaii coach June Jones gone to SMU, look for Boise State to return as the WAC’s best program. TB Ian Johnson returns for his senior season, but the Broncos have another great back in Jeremy Avery.
24. Connecticut (9-4) With sophomore RB Andre Dixon (828 yards rushing) and junior QB Tyler Lorenzen (2,367 yards, 13 TDs) both returning, the Huskies could challenge West Virginia in the Big East.
25. Oregon State (9-4) The Beavers return a pair of talented quarterbacks in Sean Canfield (1,661 yards) and Lyle Moevao (876), who will fight it out in the spring for the starting job. But Oregon State will miss RB Yvenson Bernard (1,214 rushing yards, 13 TDs).
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The devastation from Katrina remains
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New Orleans-Because I had, like you, seen the horrifying images on television day after day I thought I a pretty firm mental grasp on the devastation that Hurricane Katrina inflicted on this city in late August and early September of 2005.
I wasn’t even close.
Until you see it up close, the human mind cannot conceive of what really happened here about 27 months ago.
College football will celebrate the end of a season to remember tonight when No. 1 Ohio State takes on No. 2 LSU for the BCS championship. It will cap a stretch of 10 days where hundreds of thousands of fans poured into the city, first to see the Sugar Bowl and now for biggest game of the season.
They have seen a downtown New Orleans that has recovered nicely from Katrina. The French Quarter is just as lively as ever and our hosts here have put out the hospitality as only this wonderful city can. It has been an impressive show. Hosting these two BCS games, which will pump about $300 million into the local economy, is a big part of the ongoing recovery effort.
But drive less an 10 minutes from my very nice hotel and you will see pieces of this community that will move you to tears.
On Sunday I traveled with a group of journalists on a tour sponsored by the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper, whose heroic deeds in covering Katrina were more than worthy of the Pulitzer Prize they received.
The reality of what we were about to see hit home when we traveled to Lakeview, a middle class neighborhood that was badly flooded. Our tour guide was Living Edtior James O’Byrne who took us to an empty lot that was surrounded by houses in various degrees of damage and repair.
The empty lot was where O’Byrne’s house used to be.
Then we went across the street to see a house where the floodwater had risen to the ceiling. The floors were buckled. There were faded photo albums on the floor. It was clear the house would have to be torn down.
“This,” he said. “Is one of the better ones.”
With each stop the neighborhoods got poorer and the devastation grew worse. And when we reached the Lower Ninth Ward, where the poorest of the poor once lived, the enormity of it all hit home.
The small houses that were not completely swept off their foundations by the floodwaters have pretty much been gutted out. The image that will stick with all of us on the tour was the black “X” on each door. It was put there by the National Guard search team to signify what they had found in the house. The number on the bottom of the X represented how many bodies were in the home.
But there is hope. Actor Brad Pitt, who now lives in New Orleans, stepped up and bought 150 lots and is raising money to build low cost homes. Among the grayness and despair of the Lower Ninth Ward is an incredible village of structures covered by pink tarps, each one representing where a house will be built. One those homes are built, the hope is that the rest of the area will begin to regenerate.
When our tour was done, we didn’t have to drive long before we ran head on into streets blocked by Ohio State and LSU fans getting ready to party the night away. The contrast to what we just witnessed was very sobering.
The point is this. Tonight’s game should be a celebration and the folks who have come here should enjoy every minute of it. This city has survived and has recovered from an unthinkable horror and still works every day to get better.
But not everyone has recovered here in New Orleans and we shouldn’t forget that. There are people here whose lives are not even close to being normal over two years later. And the sad truth is they may never be normal again.
I’ll come back later today once I get to the Superdome with some final questions to ponder before kickoff.
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