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April 2008
Slive makes opening argument for a playoff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hollywood, Fla.—Mike Slive is, by his own admission, a “recovering attorney.” In a former life he knew what it was like to argue a case before a group of people who needed to be persuaded.
The SEC Commissioner will again be in that role this morning and for part of the afternoon as he outlines his version of a “Plus-One” model to determine the BCS national championship. What Slive will share with his fellow commissioners is a very detailed plan of what is essentially a four-team playoff that would go into effect for the 2010 regular season. And when I met with Slive yesterday, he politely declined to give any further details until after his presentation today. He has promised to talk after all this is over.
Based on what we’ve heard the past two days, Slive’s jury has already made its decision. For a number of reasons the timing for this kind of change in college football’s post-season is just isn’t right. ACC commissioner John Swofford probably won’t come right out and say it this afternoon, but this issue will be essentially dead for four more years.
The desire by the Rose Bowl, Big Ten and Pac-10 to stick with the status quo is a big obstacle to change, no doubt about it. But there are other issues in play. Despite the yearly angst that seems to come with the BCS and the lousy bowl matchups it produced last season, all of the leading indicators for college football are very, very good. The NCAA reports that last season more people went to college football games than ever before. And this is at a time when television is saturated with games.
The bottom line is the bottom line. College football has decided that it can live with the angst-ridden fans because, for now, all the numbers are good.
Still, the powers that be in college football understand that the post-season will eventually have to change. But history has shown us that the BCS usually doesn’t move until there is some kind of crisis that forces a move.
When Southern Cal was ranked No. 1 in the human polls and was left out of big game in 2003, the formula was changed. It now gives a two-thirds weight to the human polls.
When the five smaller Division I-A conferences threatened to take the BCS to court if they didn’t get better access to the system, the fifth game was created. Now the Boise States of the world get in by finishing in the top 12 of the final standings.
What will be the crisis that moves the BCS forward again? It will probably be a serious financial need on the part of the schools or declining television ratings for the bowls. That seems to get everybody’s attention, including the presidents.
Slive is a very smart man. He knows that he has a tough case to prove this morning with a group of people who are pretty happy with the status quo.
But here is what you need to know. Today Slive is not making his closing argument on the subject of a four-team playoff. It will actually be his opening argument that college football needs to keep an open mind about this subject and, with a little cooperation, the system can be improved.
The next four years will be spent building a consensus for this position, a consensus that does not currently exist.
Slive will tell you that some of the toughest cases are usually won on appeal. The movement for a four-team playoff doesn’t end today at the BCS meetings. It is actually just beginning.
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Would a playoff hurt the regular season?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hollywood, Fla.-One of the things conference commissioners get paid to do is drill beneath the surface of ideas to find out what the real short-term and long-term impact will be. Many times what looks like a good idea on the surface is filled with unintended consequences that don’t become apparent until much later.
Such an idea is a four-team playoff for college football, which will be discussed by the BCS commissioners here on Wednesday morning.
On the surface a four-team playoff looks like a no-brainer: Pick four teams instead of the current two. Let 1 play 4 and 2 play 3 in the semifinals. A week or so later you have a national championship game. Use the current bowl structure and the current calendar. Nobody gets hurt. Everybody makes money. The fans get something new.
So what’s the problem?
Based on private conversations I’ve had with some commissioners, here is the one big problem that concerns them. If you could guarantee that a four-team playoff would never grow into eight or 16 teams, then you could probably get a consensus among the commissioners to go for it. The Big Ten and Pac-10 wouldn’t like it, but you could probably get them on board.
But you can’t make that guarantee. The playoff would grow. Remember that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament began with eight teams. Now it’s 65.
And if the playoff grows, then it becomes the focal point of college football and the regular season, which is the best of any sport, runs the risk of being diminished.
One commissioner pointed out to me that college basketball has basically become a three-week sport. It’s all about the NCAA Tournament. They see interest in the regular season literally dying on the vine. He pointed out that there is really only one marquee regular season game that is national Must-See TV game: Duke-North Carolina.
Football, however, is full of “premium” regular-season games that draw huge audiences: Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Georgia-Florida, Texas-Oklahoma.
Basketball and football are just so different. When Gardner-Webb beats Kentucky in basketball in November, it is an interesting story. When Appalachian State beats Michigan in football in September, we know that it probably cost the Wolverines a chance for the national championship. In college football EVERY regular season game matters. The commissioners do not want to lose that drama because, frankly, it is worth a lot of money.
And there is not going to be a multi-level playoff in college football without cutting back on the regular season. The presidents won’t allow it. People say we can just do away with the 12th regular season game. Tell that to the athletics directors who need the money just to break even on their budgets.
Conference championship games certainly aren’t going away. The SEC championship game not only provides a $1 million to each of the league’s 12 schools, it is a great celebration at the end of the regular season.
Yes, there is a lot of money to be made in the post-season but no one wants to put the regular season at risk. A lot more schools are invested in the regular season than in the post-season.
Here is what the powers that be in college football won’t tell you. Listening to the wants and needs of the fans—many of whom want a playoff—is important. But at the end of the day fans are not the only constituency in college football who must be heard and who must be taken into consideration. Fans will complain about the lack of a playoff, which they have been doing for a long time. But they are still going to fill the stadiums and they are still going to watch. The 2007 season proved that.
That’s why there will be no change in the BCS format in the short-term.
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Big change coming to BCS, but just not now.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-Good morning from sunny South Florida where over the next few days the movers and shakers of college football will meet to discuss the short-term future of the BCS.
If you had a chance to read any of my stuff about the BCS on Sunday you know that the current BCS contract with FOX ends in two years. If the commissioners who run the BCS want to make any changes to the format, which begins with the 2010 regular season, the decision to make those changes has to be made by Sept. 1. That’s when the negotiations on the new contract will begin.
There is some pressure to change. UGA President Michael Adams wants to scrap the current system for an eight-team playoff. A lot of fans have never embraced the current system and never will. They want a playoff and they want it now. Three congressmen, including Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, have stated publicly that the BCS violates antitrust law.
But based on the research I have done and the numerous conversations I’ve had on this subject in the past two months I do not see any significant change coming out of these meetings, which are scheduled to end about lunchtime on Wednesday. This thing just has too many moving parts and there are too many different agendas at work.
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive will come to the meetings armed with a plan for a four-team playoff that would seed the teams 1-4. You’d have two semifinals and then a championship game. If there is going to be any change, I believe it’s the biggest one that can be made and actually put into place by 2010.
The commissioners are also going to talk about the current “double-hosting” model where one city hosts two games-its bowl plus the BCS championship game. Glendale, Ariz., and New Orleans both did a good job with it during the past two seasons. Miami and Pasadena will get their shot over the next two years. But I’m just not sure the idea is going to survive for another four-year cycle-not with Jerry Jones’s $1.1 billion stadium getting ready to come on line in Dallas. So that could change.
Everything is going to be on the table this week and I am told the discussions will be lively. There is the point of view that after 10 years of the two-team BCS championship fans are ready-and deserve-a new post-season product. There are equally passionate voices that believe that college football has never been more popular. The stadiums are full. TV ratings are good. Everybody’s making money. Why mess with a good thing?
Here is what I believe. I believe that the discussions that will take place over the next couple of days are to simply lay the groundwork for the REAL negotiations four years from now. By then the stadium in Dallas will be up and running full speed. The Citrus Bowl in Orlando will have completed its renovation. The Rose Bowl contract with ABC will also be up for renewal (it currently runs through the game of 2014). All of the moving parts that I mentioned before will finally be lined up.
The next four years will be used to build consensus for a big move, which is something that does not exist right now. Then the commissioners can put a four-team playoff on the table and open it up for bids to all of the TV networks and bowls who want to play. That’s the end game.
In short, I see big change coming to post-season football and the BCS. Just not now.
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Draft streaks on the line for Miami, Alabama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just some random ramblings on a “Free-Wheeling Friday.”
1. Draft streaks for Miami, Alabama, on the line: My job for Saturday’s NFL Draft is to keep an eye on the SEC and ACC players. Here are two streaks I’ll be watching:
Miami has had a player taken in the first round for 13 straight drafts. But unless there is a mild upset, that streak will be broken on Saturday. DE Calais Campbell probably would have been a first rounder if he had come out after his junior season. The debacle that was Miami’s 5-7 season in 2007, where the defense just collapsed, did not help him.
Alabama has not had a first-round draft pick since 2000 when running back Shaun Alexander and OT Chris Samuels both went early. Alabama has not won an SEC championship since the 1999 season. Coincidence? I think not. We talk a lot about coaches in this league and the coaches in the SEC are among the very best. But the team with the best players usually wins.
Based on Nick Saban’s early recruiting, it’s obvious that Alabama’s dry spell in the draft will end in the next couple of years.
2. The draft is important to recruiting: Our D. Orlando Ledbetter told you this morning about DT Kentwan Balmer of North Carolina, who could be one of the steals in the this draft. Balmer was on nobody’s radar until Butch Davis became head coach and John Blake became his position coach. Together they have coached this guy up into a potential first round pick. Recruits notice this kind of thing and if they don’t, the head coach will bring it up. “Every place that I’ve ever coached, we’ve always emphasized that we’re going to have a pro-style football program, one that’s going to showcase kids’ talents,” Davis told reporters on a conference call this week. “(We’re) going to give them the opportunity to play schemes that if they perform and play the way we expect them to play, the NFL is certainly going to recognize that.”
3. The NFL is still the top dog: We love college football. We think it’s the greatest game in the world. But you have to give the NFL its props. When it comes to interest, there is nothing quite like it. Consider this: Jan. 1 falls on a Thursday in 2009 and you’ll have the usual assortment of games. Jan. 2 is a Friday and two games (Cotton, Liberty) have locked in that date to join the Sugar. A lot of folks are going to take that day off from work so that schedule makes sense. But the BCS will not play again until Monday, Jan. 5 with the Fiesta Bowl because the NFL Playoffs begin on Saturday and Sunday. College football has learned that you just can’t go head to head with the NFL. You have to respect that.
4. What will happen to Florida State’s Parker? Florida State already has many as eight starters who are going to sit out the first three games on suspensions related to an academic cheating scandal. Now wide receiver Preston Parker has been arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon (a felony in Florida) plus a small amount of marijuana. Florida State has a clear policy: Any athlete charged with a felony cannot compete until the matter is resolved. You have a new athletics director in Randy Spetman who needs to make it clear that he’s in charge. You have a veteran coach in Bobby Bowden who is winding down his career and a coach in waiting in Jimbo Fisher who has to be thinking long term. How this case is handled will be very interesting.
5. A sweet deal for Notre Dame: I get asked all the time why Notre Dame is able to deal from such a position of strength in college football negotiations regardless of its success (or lack thereof) on the field. My stock response is always: “Because they ARE Notre Dame!!** Another example rose this week. Notre Dame has signed a six-year agreement to play Connecticut, but none of those games will be played in the state of Connecticut. Three will be played at Notre Dame and the other three will be played in larger stadiums in Boston, New York and New Jersey. Notre Dame has the leverage in these negotiations because a school like UConn knows that it will benefit tremendously from the national exposure that comes from playing the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is not going to play UConn in the Huskies’ smaller on campus stadium because it can play in the Meadowlands and fill the place up with its fans. FYI: Notre Dame tried to make basically the same deal with Rutgers and AD Bob Mulcahy said no. Rutgers wanted to play its home games at home.
Scheduling note: The final two spring games in the ACC and SEC are at Maryland and Arkansas on Saturday. Sunday I’m headed off to the BCS meetings in South Florida. We’ll see you then.
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Arizona State’s Carpenter could be better after surgery
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Every now and then I’ll update you on some interesting dates and events that pertain to college football. Mark your calendar for:
1. Rudy Carpenter’s return from surgery: Thought Georgia fans would like to know that the Arizona State quarterback had minor surgery on his right thumb (throwing hand) on Wednesday. Carpenter hurt the thumb in a game against California last October and just played through the pain for the rest of the season. Carpenter told reporters in Phoenix that he would start throwing again in June and be ready for preseason practice in August. He expects to be more accurate and have a little more velocity on the ball after the surgery. That’s just one more note to file away for Georgia, which goes to Arizona State on Sept. 20. Carpenter, who has started 31 games for Arizona State, has 7,998 yards in career passing with 65 touchdowns. He is in position to break many of the school’s passing records that are held by Andrew Walter.
2. Les Miles on SportSouth: LSU coach Les Miles sat down with SportSouth for the network’s “In My Own Words” series. The installment with Miles airs tonight at 10:30 and will be replayed on April 27 (5 p.m., 9:30 p.m.) and April 30 (9 p.m.). I’ve seen an advance copy and Miles talked candidly on a number of topics, including the reports on the eve of the SEC championship game that he was headed to Michigan. When you consider all the things that had to happen to get Miles and LSU in the BCS championship game, it’s a pretty compelling story.
3. Chick-fil-A Alma Mater Golf: This is the time of year when coaches hit the trail for booster meetings and golf with alumni. And next Tuesday a bunch of coaches, 14 in fact, will play in the Chick-fil-A Alma Mater event at Reynolds Plantation near Greensboro. The coaches, who include Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, Tommy Tuberville, and Paul Johnson will play with famous former athletes from their schools. Saban will play with Kenny Stabler, Spurrier with Sterling Sharpe, Tubervile with Pat Sullivan and Johnson with Jon Barry. Other coaches scheduled to participate include UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun and Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, who will be playing with Billy Packer. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and former Hokie basketball star Dell Curry (father of Davidson’s Stephen) are the defending champions. CBS will tape the event and show it on Christmas Day. The day will also generate $375,000 in scholarship donations to the participating schools. It’s a neat event. For more information visit www.Chick-fil-ABowlAlmaMater.com.
4. Jan. 2, 2009: For college football fans, that date just got a lot better. The Liberty Bowl announced this week that it will celebrate its 50th anniversary by playing on Jan. 2. It will be the first time that the Memphis Bowl, which features an SEC team, has ever been played in January. That sets up a pretty good Jan. 2 as the Cotton Bowl will move to that date and kick off at 2 p.m. The Liberty bowl will be at 5 p.m. while the Sugar Bowl will be at 8:20 p.m.
5. A final decision on Ben Mauk: Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe told reporters on a conference call this week that he submitted a letter to support Ben Mauk’s appeal for a sixth year of eligibility. Mauk, who now plays at Cincinnati, redshirted as a freshman at Wake Forest in 2003. He played two seasons and then as a redshirt junior in 2006 suffered a season-ending injury in the Deacons’ first game. After freshman QB Riley Skinner led Wake Forest to the ACC championship that season, Mauk transferred to Cincinnati and threw for 3,121 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2007. Mauk’s original request for another year was turned down. Grobe’s letter is part of the appeal.
“The presidents have told us that they like redshirting because it increases the chances that the young man will graduate,” Grobe said. “I think if you redshirt as a freshman, you should be given the opportunity to play for four seasons. If you have a major injury and miss an entire year, that year should be given back to you.” Mauk would appear to be deserving of that year but in all things, the NCAA worries about setting a precedent that others could potentially abuse.
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Tech’s Johnson: “We may surprise some folks.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m planning my ACC Spring Football Wrap-up for next week but yesterday I had a chance to be on a conference call with the league’s 12 coaches. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits from that call.
1. Georgia Tech is going to be fine: New coach Paul Johnson said folks shouldn’t read too much into last Saturday’s spring game, which was fairly sloppy on the offensive side of the ball.
“When you first come in to a new situation it’s a change of the culture almost,” Johnson said. “That doesn’t make it right or wrong. We’re just doing things differently than the previous staff. Our quarterbacks were (playing) live this spring. You’re not going to become real efficient right away when you’re putting in a new offense. There are going to be growing pains no matter what you do.”
Johnson was asked what would constitute success in his first year on The Flats. “We want to win the first game (against Jacksonville State). Then I want to win the second game (at Boston College),” he said. “If we do that, who knows? We may surprise some folks.”
2. The bulls-eye is off Bowden: It seems that Tommy Bowden has been perpetually on the hot seat since he got to Clemson nine years ago. But this season, Bowden said, the heat is going to be shared with his very talented team. With all of the stars returning on offense (QB Cullen Harper of Alpharetta, RB James Davis of Atlanta, WR Aaron Kelly of Marietta) and a defense that is really underrated, Clemson will be the preseason favorite to win its first ACC championship since 1991. “It’ll be a lot better because the bull’s-eye won’t be on me. That will be a different angle,” Bowden said. Now this is not to say that Bowden won’t hear about it if the Tigers stumble out of the gate against Alabama on Aug. 30 at the Georgia Dome. But the reality is that in the off-season he got a contract extension through 2014 that includes a $4 million buyout. Bowden is pretty secure.
3. The quarterback job at FSU is still open: Senior starter Drew Weatherford missed most of the spring with a slight knee injury, but that has opened the door for red-shirt sophomores Christian Ponder and D’Vontrey Richardson (of Leesburg). Both showed that they can make things happen with their ability to scramble and make big plays.
“These guys just need some at-bats to show what they can do,” head coach Bobby Bowden said. “We’re hoping they can close the gap (with Weatherford).”
The word that I get from Tallahassee is that the gap between these two guys and Weatherford has already been closed. If the Seminoles had to play this Saturday, OC Jimbo Fisher would use two quarterbacks.
4. North Carolina missed T.J. Yates: North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates of Marietta (Pope High School), missed the entire spring as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Coach Butch Davis wishes the sophomore, who completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,655 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, could have been on the field so that he would have had a chance to get better. “We would have loved to see how much he could have moved the needle during spring practice,” Davis said. He did note that Yates’ absence gave more snaps to red-shirt freshman Mike Paulus, one of the top quarterback prospects in the country in 2007, and junior Cameron Sexton. So the Tar Heels will have a proven backup if Yates struggles. Look for North Carolina (4-8 in 2007) to be the most improved team in the ACC in 2008.
5. Why the Falcons should draft Matt Ryan: I asked Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski to pretend he was in the Falcons’ war room on Saturday and make the case for drafting BC quarterback Matt Ryan. “He’s got all the intangibles that you would ever want with a quarterback,” Jagodzinski said of Ryan, who led the Eagles to the ACC championship game last season while throwing for 4,507 yards and 31 touchdowns. “And all he does is win. He’s proven it over and over again.”
Cheap shots on the BCS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now let me see if I have this straight.
Oil is at $117 a barrel.
The housing market is in crisis.
We’re at war in Iraq.
We have over 40 million people with no health insurance.
Food prices are going through the roof.
And members of Congress apparently STILL don’t have enough to do because three of them-one of them from Georgia-are asking for an investigation into the BCS.
They are saying that the BCS may be an illegal enterprise that violates antitrust law.
Let me help the gentlemen from Georgia (Lynn Westmoreland), Idaho (Mike Simpson), and Hawaii (Neil Abercrombie).
The BCS is a lot of things. It can be aggravating, unfair, illogical and almost impossible to explain. Is there a better way to determine Division I-A’s national champion? You bet there is.
But if you (or your staff) had done a little homework, you would know that it is NOT illegal.
I’m going to walk you through this very quickly. Feel free to take notes.
In 1984 the United States Supreme Court (surely you’ve heard of them) ruled that individual schools, not the NCAA, owned the television rights to college football games. The schools delegate their rights to their respective conferences, who have the authority to negotiate TV contracts.
The BCS contract is between the six major conferences and two networks (FOX, ABC). Each of those six conference champs gets an automatic bid to a BCS bowl. Without that guarantee, there would have been no deal. There are access points to the BCS for the other five conferences that have been negotiated. Everybody involved has signed off on the agreement.
If all the parties involved agree to the system and sign the contracts without duress, by definition it can’t be illegal.
And maybe this escaped your notice. There were congressional hearings on the BCS in 2005 and absolutely nothing happened. Why? Because five minutes into the hearings it was clear that they were a colossal waste of time. It was just a bunch of politicians getting some face time on ESPN.
But this is an election year and next to beating up the IRS, there is no quicker way to score cheap political points is to bash the BCS.
Mr. Westmoreland feels his beloved Georgia Bulldogs should have been in the big game. That’s a fair argument to have. But at the end of the day LSU went to the BCS championship game because it beat Tennessee to win the SEC title. If Georgia had beaten Tennessee in Knoxville instead of getting its butt kicked, the Bulldogs would have gotten their shot. And I believe Georgia WOULD have beaten LSU in the SEC championship game.
I go back to the argument I made last December. If Georgia had won the SEC championship game and another conference team had played for the BCS title in its place, then there WOULD have been a congressional investigation. It’s okay to be a fan. Fans don’t have to be logical. That’s why we love them. But members of Congress should be held to a higher standard.
When it comes to Mr. Abercrombie, I barely know where to start. He was complaining about a system that not only gave his school the single biggest athletic event in its history, but it also cut Hawaii a check for $4.4 million after the Warriors got embarrassed by Georgia 41-10. If not for the BCS, Hawaii would have stayed at home and played in the Hawaii Bowl for almost no money and no recognition.
Was Mr. Abercrombie suggesting that Hawaii should have played in the BCS championship game because the Warriors were 12-0 against one of the weakest schedules in the history of mankind?
Ditto for Mr. Simpson. If not for the BCS, Boise State’s magical Fiesta Bowl night against Oklahoma two seasons ago would never have happened. Ian Johnson may have proposed to this girlfriend on the field, but it would have on his own blue turf in the Humanitarian Bowl with nobody watching.
If these distinguished gentlemen believe there should be a college football playoff, that’s fine. Let’s have that argument. Dial up your local college president and make the suggestion because they call the shots. If there is ever a playoff in Division I-A football, it will be because the presidents want it to happen-not Congress.
Is the BCS a flawed system? Of course it is. But it’s a lot better than what we used to have and it’s probably not as good as what we’ll have in the future. That is a debate is going on right now within the conferences that make up the BCS.
But we don’t need the cheap theatrics from Congress. Save it for the campaign trail.
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UT has a QB; South Carolina has a question mark
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We had a bunch of spring games over the weekend. What did we learn? Mostly it was about quarterbacks.
1. Jonathan Crompton is going to be just fine: I was in Knoxville on Saturday and saw the new Tennessee quarterback have a pretty good day (13 for 20, 266 yards, 3 TD). Yes, some of those yards came against the No. 2 defense. What was important, though, is that Crompton looked comfortable running Dave Clawson’s new offense and played with a nice rhythm. He made one bad throw at the end of the day. “It’s different when you’re the backup quarterback and get in eight or 10 plays a game,” Clawson said of Crompton. “It’s easier to be comfortable. Now he has to translate that into 65 or 70 plays a game. That is the challenge.” Based on what I saw, Tennessee’s offense will be fine. RB Arian Foster got one carry in the game because there was no need to risk injury. But the word I got Saturday is that the big concern at Tennessee this fall will be depth at defensive tackle. The Vols can’t afford injuries at that position.
2. Stephen Garcia needs to get back in school: After South Carolina’s two quarterbacks combined for eight interceptions in Saturday’s spring game, it’s pretty clear that Garcia needs to get his act together and get back into school. The redshirt freshman is on suspension until Aug. 15 after he was arrested for underage drinking. It was Garcia’s third run-in with the law since he got to campus 16 months ago. He is scheduled to apply for readmission after he undergoes alcohol counseling. Even if Garcia gets back into school that is no guarantee that he’ll get on the field for coach Steve Spurrier anytime soon. But Spurrier doesn’t sound like a guy who is in love with either of the other two quarterbacks-Chris Smelley or Tommy Beecher. “At some point, one of the quarterbacks has to really show a strong commitment level to really want to be good,” Spurrier told reporters on Saturday. “I don’t think that any quarterback we have here knows what really playing well is all about.” Ouch. Methinks the Head Ball Coach is getting a little frustrated.
3. Virginia Tech will use two quarterbacks: It looks like Sean Glennon will still be the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech in 2008. But the Hokies are going to need sophomore Tyrod Taylor as well. That’s because Virginia Tech is hurting at running back. Branden Ore, who probably would have been a 1,000-yard rusher this season, has been kicked out of school. Kenny Lewis, who was the likely starter in Ore’s place, will be sidelined for at least four months because of shoulder surgery. Glennon had a better day than Taylor in the spring game and, barring injury, will take the first snap in the opener with East Carolina on Aug. 30 in Charlotte. But Taylor is too good of an athlete not to get on the field.
4. QB will be OK at UK. What the ‘Cats need are some WRs: Kentucky can’t replace quarterback Andre Woodson but it appears the drop-off in production this season won’t be dramatic. Both Curtis Pulley and Mike Hartline played well in Saturday’s spring game. Coach Rich Brooks told reporters on a conference call last week that both quarterbacks “are capable of winning in this league.” His biggest concern on offense is at wide receiver. The Wildcats are going to really miss receivers Keenan Burton and Steve Johnson, plus TE Jacob Tamme, who combined for 182 catches last season. “Right now that’s our biggest question mark going into next year,” Brooks said.
5. Mustain will start season at No. 2: Looks like Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain may have to wait a while to get on the field at Southern Cal. Coach Pete Carroll named Mark Sanchez the starter early last week and the redshirt junior backed up his coach by having a very solid spring game (16 of 24, 203 yards, three touchdowns). Some Arkansas friends were telling me that the job would be Mustain’s as soon as he walked on to the USC campus. But Sanchez, you should remember, was the Parade All-America player of the year in 2004. This guy was a big-time recruit, just like Mr. Mustain. “I didn’t come here to be a backup,” Mustain told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday. Well, a lot of guys go to Southern Cal not planning to be backups. Stay tuned.
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Saban not fond of new recruiting rule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The SEC coaches met with the media by conference call on Thursday to talk about spring practice and other issues related to next season. I’ll be doing a complete spring wrapup at the end of the month, but here are a few interesting tidbits that came out of the call.
1. Saban does not like new recruiting rule: Alabama coach Nick Saban is very much a hands-on recruiter. So he does not like the new rule that prohibits head coaches from visiting high schools during the May recruiting period. The change was put into place because it was becoming more difficult to enforce the rules that kept head coaches from having direct contact with the recruits. Head coaches could “bump” into the recruit during the visit but they could not carry on a conversation. “It’s ridiculous that we’re doing what we’re doing,” Saban said. “We put ourselves at a tremendous disadvantage.” Saban was asked this new rule was directed at him. Saban is known in coaching circles as a very aggressive recruiter. “I’d rather not answer that,” he said. “Everybody can draw their own conclusions.”
2. Tim Tebow can improve: Florida coach Urban Meyer said a good bit of the spring was spent trying to get Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, to stay in the pocket more and not run as soon as he feels defensive pressure. “He’s one of the best players of our era but he most improve his ability to play in the pocket,” Meyer said. Meyer also said he had to be talked into letting the ESPN cameras set up at last Saturday’s spring game. But he also conceded that it never hurts recruiting for the world to see 60,000 people at Florida’s spring game.
3. The HBC will still call some plays: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he will turn some of the play calling duties over to Steve Spurrier, Jr., but that he will still be the offensive coordinator. “I just think it (not calling all the plays) does free you up during the week,” Spurrier said. “I’m going to try to help the entire offense and the entire team.” Spurrier said he was spending too much of his time writing down plays while the rest of his offensive assistants watched. “I’m still going to have my input in the play calling,” he said.
4. Auburn will be running more plays. A lot more plays. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville rolled the dice last December before the Chick-fil-A Bowl when he hired Tony Franklin to install the spread offense. “About an hour before the game I was nervous wondering if it was going to work,” Tuberville said. Then Tuberville saw the results. In 12 regular season games Auburn averaged about 67 plays. Auburn ran 90 plays in beating Clemson 23-20 in overtime. “This is a league that is built on defensive players, a solid kicking game and some skilled players on offense,” Tuberville said. “The last few seasons we haven’t been able to recruit those skill players. This is an offense that gives those kinds of players opportunities. It will be a little easier to recruit to.”
5. Watch UK’s Trevard Lindley: Last season Kentucky had some of the league’s best players on offense. This season the Wildcats will have to lean on their defense until the offense grows up. Coach Rich Brooks said it is time for people in this league to notice cornerback Trevard Lindley of Hiram. “He is as good as anybody in the country,” Brooks said. “And he will be even better this year. He just has a knack for making plays.” Lindley, a 6-0, 175-pound junior, intercepted three passes, broke up 11, and caused two fumbles in 2007. He returned one of those fumbles 66 yards for a touchdown in an upset win over Arkansas.
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How Georgia State can be successful in football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State will announce later today that it is starting a football program. It’s just one man’s opinion, but here are five things I believe the Panthers are going to have to do if they want to be successful.
1. Follow the Georgia Southern plan: When coach Erk Russell was hired in 1981 to re-start the football program in Statesboro, he put together a very detailed plan for success. The plan included reaching out to all the high school coaches in the state to let them know that there was now another opportunity for their players. Russell and his staff went to every club, every organization that would let them come speak and spread the word about Georgia Southern football. Coach Russell was the best motivator of people I have ever met. He never wavered from his plan and sold the Georgia Southern program to the state before the Eagles had ever played a game.
2. Hire a coach who has recruited this state: This is crucial. Georgia State’s new head coach should not have to introduce himself when he gets to a high school in Georgia. The Panthers need someone who knows the high school coaches well enough to trust their judgment. You’re not going to beat Georgia or Georgia Tech on a player they want. So it’s crucial to identify the player who may be a couple of inches too short and half a step too slow to play at Division I-A but can be a very good player at the I-AA level. The high school coach can help you find those guys if they trust you.
There are a lot of people out there who fit this description but here are four off the top of my head:
Hugh Nall, offensive line coach, Auburn: Nall played on Georgia’s 1980 national championship team and was on coach Russell’s original staff at Georgia Southern.
George Godsey, quarterbacks coach, Central Florida: The former Georgia Tech quarterback remains very popular in the state.
Brad Lambert, defensive coordinator, Wake Forest: The Deacons had 19 players from Georgia on their ACC championship team in 2006. Lambert, a former assistant to Jim Donnan at Georgia, recruits heavily here.
Rodney Garner, assistant head coach/recruiting coordinator, Georgia: Garner would be perfect for this job but it would be very difficult to get him out of Athens. But you can still ask.
3. Make it your goal to eventually play in the Southern Conference: The Colonial Athletic Association is a fine league but college football is built around rivalries. All of Georgia State’s natural rivalries in I-AA football (Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Chattanooga, Furman) are in the Southern Conference. When Georgia State’s new president arrives (Dr. Carl Patton retires in June) later this year, he or she should start reaching out to the fellow presidents in the Southern Conference to determine what it is going to take to gain membership. Then do it. Whatever it takes. Whatever it costs.
4. Play anybody, anywhere: Once the program is up and running be willing to go on the road and play anybody. This is the philosophy Bobby Bowden used to build Florida State. Yes, you’ll take your lumps. But the players will learn what it is going to take to be successful. Schedule a game with Georgia Southern as soon as possible. Chances are Georgia Southern will only want to play at their place and not come to Atlanta. That’s okay. Play the game anyway.
5. Make the Georgia Dome your home: The critics will be all over you for playing in such a huge facility. But use it to your advantage in recruiting. How many Division I-AA players get to perform in an NFL Stadium? Block off the upper deck. Put out a bunch of signs. Turn what many will perceive to be a negative-the lack of an on-campus stadium-into a positive.
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Remembering Virginia Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In many ways it feels like yesterday.
In other ways it seems like a lifetime ago.
But it was a year ago today that the horrible word came from Virginia Tech that 32 sons and daughters and mothers and fathers had been murdered by one sick individual.
I’m thinking about Virginia Tech today and all of the parents whose hearts are breaking for the millionth time since getting the awful news.
I’m thinking about the incredible resilience of the students at Virginia Tech who were determined that one madman was not going to destroy what they loved about their university. When the television cameras showed up and indulged in the inevitable excesses of the 24-hour news cycle, we didn’t see young people wringing their hands and falling apart. What we saw was a steely resolve. I was very impressed by those kids.
And I’m thinking about the role that football played in the healing process. Head coach Frank Beamer and his staff gathered the Virginia Tech players together and when all were accounted for, he called off the rest of spring practice. He told his players to take as much time as they needed away. If they wanted counseling, he would get it for them.
Then he challenged them. The coming weeks and months would be difficult for everybody. But there was going to come a time when collectively, Virginia Tech would have to move forward. The Sept. 1 season opener against East Carolina would be such a time and Beamer wanted his men to be ready to do their part.
They were. I’ve spoken to a number of people who were in Blacksburg that day and they told me it was one of the most emotional experiences they could ever remember. That wound, of course, will never be completely healed. But that day told everybody at Virginia Tech that it was okay to keep on.
My main point is this. There are a lot of problems with college football. All of us, this writer included, sometimes take the game far too seriously.
But for all the excesses of college football, and there are many, there is so much more that is good. At its core, college football unites large numbers of people in a way that no other sport can. It brings families together on beautiful fall afternoons. It reunites long, lost friends and helps others to maintain friendships year after year.
My best two friends in the world are Carl Brantley and Tom McMillen. College brought us together 30 years ago but college football has kept us together because I know I will see them every year at the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville. You can’t put a price tag on something like that.
When Virginia Tech needed help a year ago, college football was there to play a small, but significant, role in helping that campus deal with its grief. It’s just another reason we love the game.
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College football is healthy. Why change?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m going give you a heads up here. The commissioners of the 11 Division I-A conferences will gather in South Florida at the end of the month for their annual discussion of the BCS. You’ll be reading a lot more about the BCS meetings and what they could mean as we get closer to the date.
But during the weekend I saw some items that pointed out once again that college football, for all of its angst in the postseason, has never been healthier or more popular. Consider:
**—A total of 37,146,661 fans watched the 119 Division I-A teams play football in 2007, which is an all-time record. And it comes at a time when more games are on television than ever. And yes, the SEC led all conferences in attendance with 6,687,342 fans.
**—Over 78,000 fans showed up for last Saturday’s Alabama spring game after the Crimson Tide went 7-6 last season.
**—ESPN took several hours of its live programming on Saturday and spent it at the Florida spring game. It gave the Game Day boys a chance to give fans an early preview of the 2008 season. The TV folks don’t put stuff on just to be nice. There is a demand for this kind of programming and information about college football in the off-season.
**—Finally, here is my favorite tidbit and it proves again why college football is the best game in the world. Saturday’s Nebraska spring game, the first under new coach Bo Pelini, is sold out. No surprise there. But the demand to get into this game is so high that, according to media reports, $10 tickets are being sold through brokers for $95.
Think about that. There are people willing to play $95 to see a college football SCRIMMAGE. Is there an equivalent to that in any other sport?
So here is the question to ponder this morning. If you were in charge of college football, would you do ANYTHING that might harm the regular season, which is the best of any organized sport?
Many schools with full football stadiums during the regular season are having a tough time keeping their athletics budgets in the black. They don’t want to see any change that would de-emphasize a single game.
Or do you believe that no matter how you might change the post-season (playoff, etc.) the regular season would be just fine because the game is so popular?
That will be one of many arguments against change when the BCS meets.
Is it a good argument?
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Florida, Meyer put Georgia on notice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Okay. The Masters is over and we’re heading down the stretch on spring football. So what did we learning over the weekend?
1. Florida puts Georgia on notice: Understand this about Florida coach Urban Meyer. He does everything for a reason. And I believe Meyer was putting Georgia on notice with last Saturday’s spring game. Chris Rainey, a red-shirt freshman from Lakeland, Fla., clocked a 4.24 in the 40 this spring and with the ESPN cameras rolling, put on a move for a touchdown that was shown on Sports Center again and again. You can bet that every defensive coordinator in the SEC, including Georgia’s Willie Martinez, will spend part of his summer figuring out what to do when OC Dan Mullen puts Rainey and Percy Harvin on the field at once. I think it was Meyer’s way of letting Georgia know that the Gators will have something to say about who wins the SEC East.
2. Alabama drew “only” 78,200: The 92,000-plus that Alabama drew to the 2007 spring game was impressive but it could be explained: New coach, new enthusiasm, perfect spring day, etc. Drawing more than 78,000 last Saturday was even more impressive to me. The Crimson Tide struggled down the stretch last season as teams figured out how to exploit their weaknesses. Nick Saban preached patience and process and that can be a very tough sell. Alabama has the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class coming in but the reality is that the Crimson Tide is still a couple of years away from competing for the championship. But things are clearly moving in the right direction in Tuscaloosa. That’s why 78,200 were there.
3. Jonathon Crompton will have elbow surgery, but he’s still the guy for UT: Tennessee officials said that the quarterback will have minor elbow surgery after spring practice, which will end with Saturday’s Orange and White game. But last Saturday Crompton, the junior from Waynesville, N.C., appeared to be doing just fine, completing 17 of 22 passes in a scrimmage. There is some talk that B.J. Coleman, the red-shirt freshman from Chattanooga, could push Crompton for the starting job. Don’t buy it. There is no way Phillip Fulmer is going to start an inexperienced quarterback on the road at UCLA on Sept. 1. Barring injury, Crompton will be the guy when the season starts.
4. Cullen Harper is the real deal: A lot of Clemson fans out there thought Harper, the rising senior from Alpharetta, was just keeping the quarterback seat warm for Willy Korn, the plumb of the 2007 recruiting class. But I’m here to tell you that the son of former Georgia Bulldog Jeff Harper is a big time ACC quarterback and proved it again in last Saturday’s spring game. Harper completed 13 of 18 passes and had a couple of touchdowns. Last season he was the ACC’s most efficient passer (27 TD to only six INT) while completing 65.1 percent of his attempts. This guy simply knows how to play the position. Young Mr. Korn will just have to wait his turn.
5. Looks like Ole Miss FINALLY has a quarterback: Ever since Javan Snead transferred from Texas, Ole Miss fans have been waiting to see if they finally had another quarterback they could embrace. It’s been a long dry spell since Eli Manning left for the NFL. It appears Ole Miss has its guy. Snead completed 20 of 26 passes during the spring game and he appears to have some pretty good weapons. Snead will get more help this summer when running back Enrique Davis arrives. You know Houston Nutt is going to run the ball first, which should make Snead even more effective.
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A trip down memory lane at Augusta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Augusta—It’s “Free-Wheeling Friday” again which means all of us are allowed to go off topic. You want to talk about politics, music, or who makes the best barbeque in the state? Go for it. You have the floor.
(Just so you’ll know, my barbeque vote goes for Holcomb’s in Greensboro, Ga. Best Brunswick stew on the planet).
Since I’m here on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National getting ready for today’s second round, I’m going ask for your indulgence. As it turns out, this is a special anniversary for me at the Masters Golf Tournament.
I grew up about an hour west of here in Union Point, population just over 1,500. In fact, Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt played at my old high school (Greene County).
Speaking of Nesbitt, I saw him play in person at field level when I was asked to come back to serve as an honorary captain for Greene County during a state playoff game. Josh is going to be a good college quarterback, especially in Paul Johnson’s system. He would have been an All-Conference or maybe All-America safety. He’s that good.
But back to golf. I’m dating myself here, but I can remember as a little boy, exactly when Masters week would arrive. Before I-20 had been finished, a long procession of cars would come through my town traveling from Atlanta to Augusta in the morning and back in the afternoon. I can remember my mom delaying her regular Saturday trip to the grocery store until the Masters traffic had cleared out. I always wondered what all the fuss was about.
In 1968, 40 years ago tomorrow, I found out. On a Saturday morning there was an unexpected knock on the door. Dr. Leo Wade was a neighbor and had an extra badge for the day. Did I want to go with him?
I always maintain that a boy or girl never forgets the first time they walk into a major league baseball stadium. The same is true for the first trip to Augusta National. Four decades later I can still remember the sights and the sounds of that day.
I remember that pimento cheese sandwich wrapped in green wax paper. As a Southern boy, I’d had many pimento cheese sandwiches before. Somehow, this one tasted better.
I remember Bruce Devlin snaking in a long putt for an eagle on No. 13.
I remember Gary Player getting a hard-earned birdie on 18 and the incredible roar that came with it. The crowd around 18 was unlike anything I had ever seen.
And speaking of roars, you’ll never forget hearing the explosion of sounds coming from all over the course and wondering what had caused it. You would look to the leader board and soon would come the answer.
And little did I know at the time that I was attending what would become a historic Masters. The next day Roberto DeVicenzo finished tied for first but signed an incorrect scorecard. That gave the championship to Bob Goalby.
My high school principal, Mr. Ellis Foster, was an avid golfer and had a deal with all of the students who loved the game. If we could score Masters tickets he would let us skip school and go. He knew what an educational experience it would be. My buddy, Eric Ashley, came through one year and so we went down to Mr. Foster’s office. He gave us his blessing and asked if he could come along.
I promise you, going to The Masters on a school day was better than “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Those are the kind of things I think about when I come back to Augusta National. Thanks for letting me share them with you.
We’ll get back to football on Monday after the latest round of spring games.
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The REAL question about Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Augusta—I think I’m detecting a pattern here.
I’ve taken a bunch of calls from radio shows this week and they all have asked basically the same two questions:
1) Is Georgia good enough to win the national championship?
2) Can Georgia handle the hype that will come with these great expectations?
When I hit the front door of Augusta National yesterday, two guys wearing Georgia hats stopped me and wanted to know exactly the same thing.
Here are the answers I gave to all of them.
1) Yes. But there will be about 10 teams good enough to win the national championship in 2008. If last season taught us anything, it’s that no matter how good a team is, there is certain amount of good fortune involved when it comes to winning a national championship.
LSU, you’ll recall, was supposedly finished when the Tigers lost to Arkansas on the day after Thanksgiving. But good fortune stepped in and gave LSU another chance. LSU probably had the best team in the country when the Tigers were healthy but if Missouri and West Virginia don’t lose on Dec. 1, Les Miles and the gang never get the chance to prove it.
Until we get some kind of playoff, just being good will not be enough to win the national championship in most years. You’ve got to be good AND a little lucky.
2) It’s up to the leaders on this football team. If Georgia has good leaders, and I think they do, the Bulldogs can handle the hype that will inevitably be coming their way. That’s not the issue.
Georgia has talent. Lots of it, in fact. And handling the hype is a much bigger deal to fans that it is to the players.
What they might not be able to handle is playing LSU and Florida in back to back weeks away from Athens. Even if you win in Baton Rouge, you’ll be physically beat up. If you count Florida as a road game, Georgia will play at Baton Rouge, Jacksonville, Lexington, Ky., and Auburn on consecutive weeks. It would take some research, but I’m guessing there aren’t many teams with four straight road games like that.
What they not be able to handle is going against six coaches who have won national championships. There are five in the SEC and one at Arizona State (Dennis Erickson).
What they might not be able to handle is a key injury at the wrong time. What happens to Georgia in 2005 if a healthy D.J. Shockley plays against Florida?
What Georgia fans need to be concerned about right now is not how this team handles the pressure from the outside. It’s what happens from the inside. Over the years I’ve found that national championship teams usually have one thing in common. There are a few guys who set the standard for the rest of the team. And if you don’t meet that standard, they will call you out.
The players on the 1996 national championship team at Florida pretty much toed the line because they didn’t want to answer to Donnie Young or Jeff Mitchell, who were two very tough offensive linemen.
At Tennessee in 1998 it was linebacker Al Wilson. Al was a great football player and a true gentleman. But you did not want to make him mad.
That is what Georgia has to have if it hopes to successfully navigate what is to come.
The talent is there. The schedule is what it is. The question people should be asking about Georgia is this:
Will the players on this team do all the right things and stay intact between now and August? If you ask coaches, this is the scariest time of the year. The next few months are when a national championship can be lost before a team even gets on the field.
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Could Florida’s Harvin actually get better?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just thinking out loud:
1. Could Percy Harvin actually get better? The Florida wide receiver had surgery on Monday to correct a chronic heel problem. Does that mean that in his first two seasons he’s been running with a sore heel? Does that mean he could actually get BETTER after he recovers from the surgery? That’s going to keep some defensive coordinators up at night. Somebody wrote on the blog the other day that Harvin was an overrated player who could do only one thing: run fast. You have got to be kidding me. That’s not what the defensive coordinators in this league think. He scares them to death.
2. Don’t read too much into Tennessee’s last scrimmage: The Vols have their spring game a week from Saturday. Last Saturday Tennessee had a scrimmage were the new offense, being installed by new OC Dave Clawson, was simply overwhelmed by the defense. Quarterback Jonathon Crompton, who is supposed to take over for Erik Ainge, had three interceptions. Coach Phillip Fulmer called it a “royal butt-kicking” by the Tennessee defense. This has excited some Tennessee fans who wonder if the defense, which was eighth in almost every major category last season, might actually get better. The word I’m getting out of Knoxville is that the secondary, led by Fairburn’s Eric Berry, will be very, very good. The linebackers are pretty good and so are the defensive ends. But the Vols do not have a dominating SEC-caliber player at defensive tackle unless some of those guys improve over the summer. For the second straight year that will be the glaring weakness in the Tennessee defense unless something changes between now and August.
3. Bad news for Cutcliffe? David Cutcliffe takes the job as head coach at Duke and gets all of these commitments from athletics director Joe Alleva that the school is going to finally get serious about football. Last Friday Alleva took the AD job at LSU. Will Duke’s new athletics director keep all the commitments Alleva made to Cutcliffe? I think the answer is yes because the school now has so much money ($2 million per year) invested in assistant coaches. But we’ll see. It can’t be a comfortable feeling for Cutcliffe.
4. What’s the deal with P.T. Willis? Former Florida State quarterback Peter Tom Willis, the analyst on the Seminoles’ radio broadcasts, was fired by ISP Radio Network, who holds the rights to those games. Willis told the Tallahassee Democrat that he was let go for being “too negative” in his comments, particularly about the Florida State offense, which he once said was “like a high school offense.” The first reaction is outrage that somebody would be fired for doing what he was supposedly hired to do: give analysis. But here is reality: When you sit in that seat, you also have to understand who you are and who signs your paycheck. ISP just acquired the rights to FSU football last season so everyone involved in the broadcasts was being scrutinized. And, according to folks I talked to down there, P.T. knew that coach Bobby Bowden wasn’t particularly pleased with some of Willis’ stronger remarks. This is a business. ISP made a business decision.
5. Good decision on Tez Doolittle: The Auburn nose guard was just granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. We should be seeing more of this. And here’s why. The NCAA has made it clear that it approves of the practice of red-shirting freshman football players because it gives them a better chance to graduate if they stay in school five years. Doolittle did that but as a fifth-year senior he suffered an Achilles injury that wiped out the entire 2007 season. Without a waiver from the NCAA, Doolittle would not have gotten a chance to play for a fourth season. “The bottom line is that kids should get the opportunity to play for four years,” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe told me this week. “We should make that commitment to them.” Cincinnati is waiting on word about a sixth year for quarterback Ben Mauk, who played for Grobe before he was injured in the first game and lost the entire 2006 season. Mauk deserves another year.
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Is Spurrier pulling a Mark Richt?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Steve Spurrier has been telling some of the “media boys” (sorry ladies, that’s what he likes to call them) who cover South Carolina that he may turn some of the play calling duties over to Steve Spurrier, Jr., this season.
The Head Ball Coach says he needs to spend more time looking at the big picture of his program instead of doing all of the offensive game planning. Spurrier is convinced that “Bubba,” as he is known in the family, is ready. After watching his team come unglued after a 6-1 start last season, Spurrier just says he is re-thinking the way he does some things.
Georgia coach Mark Richt made the same decision last season when he turned the play calling over to Mike Bobo. Richt was ready to let go of those duties in order to concentrate on the details that make a program successful. Given the way Georgia finished the season, you would have to say that Richt’s decision was a good one. It was part of the natural maturation process of a very good head coach.
But when it comes to Spurrier, I’ll believe it when I see it. As he approaches the age of 63, calling plays and out-thinking the opposing defensive coordinator still gets his competitive juices flowing. By calling the plays, Spurrier is STILL the quarterback. He can’t make the throws, but he can set up an offense, better than anyone I know, so that the quarterback knows WHERE he should throw the ball.
When Spurrier was at Duke, a reporter asked him who his starting quarterback would be and he said, in effect: “I don’t know. But he’ll average over 300 yards (passing) a game.” The point was, Spurrier knew that whoever took the snaps, he could “coach them up.”
Spurrier is one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met at any level of sport—or life, for that matter. Regardless of what happens at South Carolina, his legacy as one of the game’s great coaches is secure. He’s got plenty of money. The pursuit of fame and fortune is not why Steve Spurrier is still coaching instead of retiring to the new home he is building in Florida.
The thing that keeps the HBC in the coaching profession, with all of its frustrations, is the competition. Calling plays still gives him the opportunity to test his skill to move a football against another talented person trying to figure out a way to stop him. That’s why Spurrier always had so much admiration for Bill “Brother” Oliver, the long time DC at Alabama and Auburn. He knew that if he beat Brother, he had beaten the best.
To the great competitors that feeling, that “juice,” is why you get up in the morning and go to work when you’re already financially secure.
I’m just not sure that Steve Spurrier can give that up.
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Will Perrilloux decision come back to haunt LSU?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Monday morning and I’m really confused. I really need you to help me out here. I need you to help me understand.
Ryan Perrilloux was the backup quarterback on LSU’s national championship team of 2007. If not for Perrilloux, the Tigers probably don’t get a chance to play for the title. He took over for the injured Matt Flynn in the SEC championship game and played really well in a 21-14 victory. Perrilloux is a good player. I get that.
In February Perrilloux was suspended from the team for the third time in eight months for violating team rules. As a result, he did not take part in spring practice at a time when he was supposed to assume the role of starting quarterback and, you would think, a team leader.
Miles has said that Perrilloux will rejoin the team after he fulfills certain obligations that have not been specified-at least publicly. After three suspensions I question the wisdom of letting Perrilloux come back to the team without missing at least one game (he did have to sit out the Alabama game last November after his second suspension). But hey, it’s Miles’ team. He makes the rules. I get that.
But here is the part I don’t understand. Today the LSU football team will visit the White House where they will be honored as college football’s national champions. It’s quite an honor and a once in a lifetime trip for the men on that team.
Ryan Perrilloux will make the trip.
I ask because I really want to know. On what level does that make sense? On what level is that fair to the other 84 guys on scholarship who managed NOT to get suspended and managed NOT to violate team rules?
Is there going to come a time when the players on the LSU team who are busting their butts to do the right thing are going to get tired of stuff like this?
If I’m an LSU football player, tell me why I have to attend every class, every meeting, and every practice in the spring while this guy has managed to skip ALL of spring practice and get a trip to the White House to boot?
Is this the kind of decision that could come back and bite Miles and the LSU team down the road?
Or could it be that we adults are too obsessed with this kind stuff? Could it be that the players are okay with this as long as Perrilloux is there and ready to go on Aug. 30 when the Tigers open with Appalachian State?
I’m just asking.
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SEC bulks up its non-conference schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Okay. One more scheduling blog and we’ll get back to spring practice on Monday. It’s Friday and we should have a little fun with this.
The SEC gets a bad rap for weak non-conference scheduling and in past years that criticism has been well deserved. But I would stack these five non-conference games against any five that any other conference will play in 2008. Note that none of these games will be played on an SEC campus:
1. Clemson vs. Alabama, Aug. 30, Georgia Dome: With running backs James Davis (of Atlanta) and C.J. Spiller returning, plus quarterback Cullen Harper (of Alpharetta) and wide receiver Aaron Kelly (of Marietta), Clemson is the preseason favorite to win the ACC. After a late season collapse in 2007, Alabama hopes to be better in the second season under Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide will find out in a hurry what kind of team they have.
2. Georgia at Arizona State, Sept. 20: The Sun Devils were 10-3 and shared the Pac-10 title with Southern Cal in their first year under coach Dennis Erickson. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter returns with a very good group of receivers. Arizona State will view this game as a major test of their credibility in Erickson’s second season.
3. Arkansas at Texas, Sept. 13: The Longhorns hope to put some fire in their defense which, at times, wasn’t very good last season with the hiring of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Quarterback Colt McCoy, who is 20-6 as a starter, expects his junior year to be his best. After tune-ups against Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe, new Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino gets his first real test.
4. Tennessee at UCLA, Sept. 1: The Volunteers, who lost in the SEC championship game last December, have all kinds of questions about their defense, which wasn’t very good a year ago and has lost LB Jerod Mayo. The Bruins will be making their debut under new coach Rick Neuheisel. What better way to jump-start the UCLA program (and recruiting against Southern Cal) than to knock off a high-profile program from the SEC? Norm Chow, UCLA’s new offensive coordinator, will give Tennessee DC John Chavis a lot to think about.
5. Auburn at West Virginia, Oct. 23: This will be one of the wildest games of the season. West Virginia, now under new coach Bill Stewart, will continue to run one of the best spread offenses in the game under quarterback Pat White. Auburn has installed the no-huddle spread and will try to play even faster. West Virginia is the defending Big East champions and loves to play on Thursday nights in Morgantown. It will be interesting to see how Auburn performs in that kind of atmosphere.
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Breaking down schedules in the SEC West
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s break down the schedules in the SEC West. This was tougher than the East because so many of the schedules were similar. Let me know what you think.
SEC WEST
1. ALABAMA
Non-conference: Clemson (Georgia Dome), Tulane, Western Kentucky, Arkansas State.
SEC Home: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss. State, Auburn.
SEC Road: Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU.
SEC East: Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee
DNP: Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Comment: Bama has the toughest SEC road schedule in the division and plays Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee in the East. Add a non-conference game with Clemson (at the Georgia Dome), the ACC favorite, and you’ve got a pretty tough schedule.
2. LSU
Non-conference: Appalachian State, Troy, North Texas, Tulane
SEC Home: Miss. State, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss
SEC Road: Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas
SEC East: Georgia, Florida, South Carolina
DNP: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Comment: The Tigers also play a very tough SEC road schedule and play Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina from the East. Alabama gets the edge for playing a BCS non-conference game and for having to play LSU on the road, where coach Nick Saban will get a “warm” reception.
3. AUBURN
Non-conference: La. Monroe, Southern Miss, at West Virginia, Tennessee-Martin
SEC Home: LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia
SEC Road: Miss. State, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Alabama
SEC East: Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
DNP: Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina
Comment: The non-conference schedule includes a trip to West Virginia, where there is a new coaching staff, but the SEC home schedule of LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Georgia is the toughest in the division. The SEC road schedule is not as strong as LSU’s.
4. OLE MISS
Non-conference: Memphis, at Wake Forest, Samford, La. Monroe
SEC Home: Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Auburn, Miss. State
SEC Road: Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU
SEC East: Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
DNP: Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee
Comment: Wake Forest will not be an easy trip and the SEC road schedule will be very difficult. That gives the Rebels a slight edge over Arkansas.
5. ARKANSAS
Non-conference: Western Illinois, La. Monroe, at Texas, Tulsa
SEC Home: Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, LSU (Little Rock)
SEC Road: Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Miss. State
SEC East: Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina
DNP: Georgia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Comment: The Hogs go to Texas, which is the toughest non-conference road game in the division. But they don’t have to play Tennessee or Georgia from the East and the SEC road schedule is a little easier than that of Ole Miss.
6. MISS. STATE
Non-conference: at La. Tech, SE Louisiana, at Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee
SEC Home: Auburn, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas.
SEC Road: LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss
SEC East: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
DNP: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina
Comment: Another tough SEC road schedule with trips to LSU, Tennessee, and Alabama plus the rivalry game at Ole Miss. But the Bulldogs miss both Georgia and Florida in the SEC East. Mississippi State is the only team in the division playing two non-conference road games.
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Breaking down the SEC East schedule
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The SEC football schedule for 2008 is finally complete. For the next two days I’m going to break it down and rank each division 1-6 in terms of difficulty.
Here are a few points on how I rank schedules.
In the SEC I first look at the non-conference schedule and whether or not a team is playing at least one BCS opponent outside the league. A team gets more credit for playing a non-conference BCS team on the road.
Then I look at the SEC road schedule. Who you have to play on the road in this league is huge.
Then I look at the three teams a school is playing (or not playing) in the other division. That is usually the tiebreaker if two schools are close.
Here’s the SEC East. On Thursday we’ll do the SEC West. If you disagree with the rankings, please let me know why.
SEC EAST
1. GEORGIA
Non-conference: Georgia Southern, Central Michigan, at Arizona State, Georgia Tech.
SEC Home: Alabama, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida (Jacksonville).
SEC Road: South Carolina, LSU, Kentucky, Auburn.
SEC West: Alabama, Auburn, LSU.
DNP: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Miss. State.
Comment: Georgia is the only team in the SEC that faces all five coaches in the league who have won national championships. Georgia also faces what should be the three best teams in the SEC West, and plays at LSU (Oct. 25) and Florida in Jacksonville (Nov. 1) on consecutive weeks. Georgia also plays two BCS non-conference games, one on the road (at Arizona State, Sept. 20). This could be the toughest schedule in the country.
2. FLORIDA
Non-conference: Hawaii, Miami, The Citadel, at Florida State.
SEC Home: Ole Miss, LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina.
SEC Road: Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia (Jacksonville), Vanderbilt.
SEC West: Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas.
DNP: Alabama, Auburn, Miss. State.
Comment: Non-conference games with Miami and Florida State (at Tallahassee) are a big plus. The Gators also go on the road to Tennessee and Arkansas. Florida caught a break in the SEC West because it plays neither Alabama nor Auburn.
3. TENNESSEE
Non-conference: at UCLA, UAB, Northern Illinois, Wyoming.
SEC Home: Florida, Miss. State, Alabama, Kentucky.
SEC Road: Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt.
SEC West: Alabama, Auburn, Miss. State.
DNP: Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss.
Comment: Tennessee gets credit for going to UCLA, marking the second straight year the Vols have opened on the West Coast. Tennessee gets Florida and Alabama at home, but must go to Auburn, Georgia, and South Carolina. That road schedule gives Tennessee the edge over South Carolina.
4. SOUTH CAROLINA
Non-conference: N.C. State, Wofford, UAB, at Clemson.
SEC Home: Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas.
SEC Road: Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida.
SEC West: Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss.
DNP: Alabama, Auburn, Miss. State.
Comment: The Gamecocks play two non-conference games against BCS teams (N.C. State, Clemson) and have a pretty strong SEC home schedule (Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas). South Carolina plays Georgia at home on Sept. 13 but then does not play another SEC home game until LSU on Oct. 18.
5. KENTUCKY
Non-conference: at Louisville, Norfolk State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky.
SEC Home: South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Vanderbilt.
SEC Road: Alabama, Florida, Miss. State, Tennessee.
SEC West: Alabama, Arkansas, Miss. State
DNP: Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss.
Comment: In a virtual tie with South Carolina because of a very difficult SEC road schedule. The non-conference schedule is not as strong because Louisville is down.
6. VANDERBILT
Non-conference: at Miami (Ohio), Rice, Duke, at Wake Forest.
SEC Home: South Carolina, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee.
SEC Road: Ole Miss, Miss. State, Georgia, Kentucky.
SEC West: Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss. State.
DNP: Alabama, Arkansas, LSU.
Comment: Very strong home SEC schedule with road trips to Georgia, Kentucky, and Wake Forest.
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Athletes, guns do not mix
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Okay. I’m going to say this one last time. Apparently it hasn’t gotten through to enough people.
If you are a college athlete and you want to remain a college athlete, do not do the following things while you are on a college campus:
DO NOT OWN A GUN.
DO NOT PICK UP A GUN.
DO NOT ALLOW A GUN TO BE IN YOUR CAR, ROOM, ETC.
DO NOT FIRE A GUN.
Two Mississippi State football players, Quinton Wesley and Mike Brown, both from the Atlanta area, were arrested last Friday. According to various media reports Wesley was charged with shooting at a car outside of a dormitory. Brown was charged with possession of a gun on a school campus. Both charges are felonies. They have been dismissed from school, pending appeal.
The hands of football coach Sylvester Croom are tied. If you’re not in school, you’re not on the football team. He can’t help them.
Aside from this incident, these may be two great kids. Croom has worked very hard to since the got to Mississippi State to produce good citizens and well as good football players. There is no coach in college football with more personal integrity than Sylvester Croom. Maybe there are circumstances that will clear them on appeal and allow them to get back in school.
But here are the questions I would ask the two young men if I could:
Did you not hear about Virginia Tech?
Did you not hear about Northern Illinois?
You can argue the second amendment until you’re blue in the face, but the fact is there is going to be a zero tolerance for handguns on campus in the United States of America. Period. If you’re a student, you have to know that. If you’re a college football player, you have to be even smarter because if you get caught, there are going to be bad headlines.
There is no sense debating any of this, but feel free to do so if you’d like. But here is the reality. Law enforcement has its marching orders. And every time somebody gets caught with a gun on campus and tries to mount a defense, prosecutors are going to point to 32 dead bodies in Blacksburg, Va.
That’s where the debate ends.
You gotta know that.
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