College football 2011

[sunvalleylaw]

Any fans? I often prefer college ball to the pros. My team (WA Huskies) has a new division, and is currently on top. But those were against like Eastern Washington, and Hawaii. Some good aggressive play early, but sloppy later in some respects, having to hold on to win in both games.

I am hoping my alma mater can continue to rebuild after having some success last season or two after years of drought. So far, sophomore QB Price is doing a good job, which is good news after losing QB standout Jake Locker. This new Pac 12 thing could be interesting too. I am tired of the more modern "arrogant" Ducks, and hoping to see them humbled some. They have a loss under their belt already.

So, what'choo got?! Who is your team and how is it going? :AOK :D

[marnold]

My team is Michigan. I couldn't see the amazing fourth quarter since we cut the cord here so no cable, no ESPN. Impressive that all four of Robinson's touchdowns were from under center.

[R_of_G]

USF is 2-0, currently ranked #22 after wins at Notre Dame and last night versus Ball State.
We're currently one of two ranked teams in the Big East (along with W. Virginia).
I'm hoping for a run at the Big East title this year (and the automatic invite to a BCS bowl) before TCU comes in next year.
Go Bulls!

[sunvalleylaw]

@Marnold, Michigan is a favorite old opponent, going back to the '78 Rosebowl (listened on the radio as Dad drove us back from skiing) for me. I like to see Michigan do well and would love to see a bowl game with both our teams competing again.

@R_of_G, I have not followed USF or that conference, being as you know, a bit provincial in my football tastes. I look forward to following their progress and learning a little more.

[R_of_G]

@R_of_G, I have not followed USF or that conference, being as you know, a bit provincial in my football tastes. I look forward to following their progress and learning a little more.

Yeah you and your west coast bias. ;)

The Big East will always be a basketball conference first, but it's come a long way in a relatively short time in football. The conference is consistently producing strong competition as well as sending many solid players to NFL rosters. Darrelle Revis and Ray Rice are both Big East alumni and both among the top players at their position in the NFL.

USF's program has come a long way as well, and produces more and more NFL players every year.

Next year TCU joins the conference, not sure how they're East, but they're Big so that should up the competition level like only a team from Texas can.

[R_of_G]

With Saturday's win against UTEP the USF Bulls move to 4-0 and are currently ranked #16 in the AP poll.
Next week we begin conference play which will provide a much bigger challenge than the last few weeks of cupcake teams.
Go Bulls!

[marnold]

Sooooo, now that Texas A&M are officially a part of the SEC, where I'm sure they're convinced they will compete with the LSUs and the Alabamas of the world, will they have to change their fight song/war hymn because it's all about beating Texas? Maybe it could add a line about "Hey! Bear Bryant once coached for us too!"

In other news, Michigan is a mostly irrelevant 4-0 and will likely go 5-0 when they host Minnesota. After that, it's going to be, "Let's hope we get bowl-eligible." They have to get better in a hurry because I believe that it is next year that they play Alabama in Texas. Evidently that's the closest point between the two.

[R_of_G]

Sooooo, now that Texas A&M are officially a part of the SEC, where I'm sure they're convinced they will compete with the LSUs and the Alabamas of the world, will they have to change their fight song/war hymn because it's all about beating Texas?

There's the perfect example of the kinds of traditions these schools are destroying for monetary gain.

As to the competition level they'll achieve, they'll go from being an also-ran in the Big 12 to being an also-ran in the SEC.

I do have to thank LSU for taking out West Virginia making USF the highest ranked Big East team. It could be an interesting year if USF can successfully navigate the Big East schedule as our last game is against West Virginia which could amount to a conference championship game.

Of course USF has a history of losing one game and then going on a losing binge for four weeks but that was under Jim Leavitt and when it happened three straight years I considered it a problem with the coach being unable to motivate his players. I'll give Skip Holtz the benefit of the doubt for now.

[sunvalleylaw]

The Huskies won last week, and followed up yesterday with a solid effort defensively and offensively to beat the Utes (new Pac-12 opponent) decisively, without last minute heroics, and end up 4-1. Not bad!!

[Beerman]

LSU's defense is a BEAST! They play with you like an animal and tease the offense and then take the head off. I'm not a huge fan but I do like to watch good defense.

[R_of_G]

Well USF was clearly over-ranked at #16. The Bulls were humiliated (44-17) by unranked Pittsburgh on Thursday.

We beat Notre Dame.
Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh killed us.
Proof that the transitive property does not apply to football.

Last night's big games between top 10 teams were all rather one-sided and not as much fun to watch as I'd hoped.

[marnold]

I think Michigan is significantly over rated right now too. Minnesota is nothing to write home about but I didn't anticipate that they'd win 58-0.

[sunvalleylaw]

Don't look now, but the Huskies are having a pretty darned good season so far. Dismantled Colorado they did. Price looked great!

[sunvalleylaw]

Last night's game on nat'l TV? Don't wanna talk about it. :cool:

[R_of_G]

USF is in yet another tailspin following a first loss. It seems to not matter to this program if the coach is Jim Leavitt or Skip Holtz... when this team is ranked, as soon they lose their first game, go ahead and count on them losing the next three or four.

It's a real shame because this year was their best shot to win the Big East, a conference which will cease to exist as a BCS conference within the next two seasons.

[sunvalleylaw]

The UofW Huskies rallied against Arizona, and closed out a tough, somewhat crazy game (at least in the beginning with penalties, strange officiating, etc.) with a solid win to secure a 6th win at this point in the season. This is much better than I expected this year. Polk's over 100 rushing and over 100 receiving effort was a great effort as a junior. Coach Sark said he leaned on him more than he wanted to, but he really responded. As Sark said in the post game interview, the team responded to the challenges of the game withe mental toughness that is a change from a couple years ago where the challenges might have set up a loss. I hope the team continues to play, and closes out the season strongly, to head to a bowl!

[R_of_G]

The UofW Huskies rallied against Arizona, and closed out a tough, somewhat crazy game (at least in the beginning with penalties, strange officiating, etc.) with a solid win to secure a 6th win at this point in the season. This is much better than I expected this year. Polk's over 100 rushing and over 100 receiving effort was a great effort as a junior. Coach Sark said he leaned on him more than he wanted to, but he really responded. As Sark said in the post game interview, the team responded to the challenges of the game withe mental toughness that is a change from a couple years ago where the challenges might have set up a loss. I hope the team continues to play, and closes out the season strongly, to head to a bowl!

One more win and they're "bowl eligible." A couple more and they could go to one that is somewhat respectable. Good for them.

Speaking of PAC teams, I was quite disappointed with ABC's decision to go "regional coverage" with last night's games. I'd anticipated watching Stanford/USC (which turned out to be a great game) and was instead presented with Clemson/Georgia Tech which wasn't nearly as interesting to me.

[sunvalleylaw]

The news reports indicated that this 6th win makes them bowl eligible now, (http://blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports/2011/10/27/a-big-deal-for-huskies-to-wrap-up-sixth-win-soon/) which is a good thing at this point in the season with a few weeks to go. The "blackout" from the network coverage was also discussed in my favorite PNW sports page.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/10/30/1885750/between-blowout-and-blackout-uw.html

[R_of_G]

Reports are that the Big East is poised to extend invites to Boise State, Navy and Air Force for football, as well as SMU, Houston and Central Florida for all sports.

I suppose that with a team from Idaho in the Big East we can now accuse SVL of having an East Coast bias. :poke

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, well I am still not a "smurf turf" fan (or of that team). I can appreciate BSU's success, and celebrate a bit with them, but I am just not a fan. I think partly it is the visual similarities to a certain pro team in Colorado that holds me back. Also kind of cracks me up that a team from Boise, Idaho would be considered as part of the "Big East" conference. Seems like the east must have grown very "Big" indeed!

[sunvalleylaw]

Well the big game against the Ducks was last night. (Big game by original Pac 10 standards, especially in the last decade). I was able to follow it only from blog posts in the Tacoma paper, as I don't get the cable channel, and you can't even stream the local radio broadcast over here. Although it was frustrating to see the Huskies' defense get pushed around some, and to see some mistakes that hurt, it was not unexpected given the strength of the UofO program. The Huskies kept playing, and stayed in the game at least. The Huskies are coming back, but the Ducks are still just bigger, stronger and faster.

[Jipes]

Last sunday I was delighted by the win of the Saints (the team that I follow since my visit in New Orleans in 1999) and very impressed by the regularity and performance of the Packers, Aaron Rodgers seems to be up in the sky and totally "in control"

[Beerman]

Last sunday I was delighted by the win of the Saints (the team that I follow since my visit in New Orleans in 1999) and very impressed by the regularity and performance of the Packers, Aaron Rodgers seems to be up in the sky and totally "in control"
I know this is supposed to be about 'College' football but since you mentioned the Saints and I, living in (near) New Orleans, I have to ask.....what is it about N.O. that made you like it when you came here? This is an honest and open question from someone who likes living here but continuously wonders what it is that makes people visit us and end of living here, liking it or coming back regularly. Perhaps we should start another thread. :)
And, I agree about Rodgers. Seems every year or two someone else comes in a shatters records. They don't seem to last as long anymore.

[sunvalleylaw]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/11/19/1912373/huskies-likely-to-lean-on-polk.html

Joe Montana's kid, who Price beat for the job of starting QB this year, is going to play for the Huskies today due to Price getting injured last week. The game plan is to run Polk a lot. We'll see how the front line does and how it works. Might be fun to see Montana's kid play though!

[piebaldpython]

Okla; Okla St; Oregon all bite the dust.

[sunvalleylaw]

I am not a USC fan. In fact, if there is a program I have really disliked over the years, it is USC. Partly the whole "Tusk" think the band did or does. But I have to say, while I was not rooting for SC last night, I was not upset by their success over Oregon. Interesting game to watch.

More interesting than BSU/SanDiegoState game everyone else in the room was getting excited about. While I think it is fun that BSU has had some success, I feel there is a lack of perspective in this area regarding the team. But I suppose that is to be expected.


RE: the Huskies, and the start of redshirt freshman Nick Montana, didn't go so well. They brought Price back in toward the end to bring a spark, but an interception ended that. Disappointing game that they should have won. But the fact that they became "bowl eligible" a couple games ago, and some injuries, made it predictable to this long time Husky fan that they may have poor effort based loss. Well, I hope they close it out well against the Cougars. You never know what is going to happen in the Apple Cup.

[R_of_G]

I am not a USC fan. In fact, if there is a program I have really disliked over the years, it is USC. Partly the whole "Tusk" think the band did or does. But I have to say, while I was not rooting for SC last night, I was not upset by their success over Oregon.

I never particularly cared for USC much either until my sister went there. I tend to root for public schools over private schools. Now I root for USC out of family loyalty, but if they play any of the other "family schools" (Colorado, Texas and USF) I will root against the Trojans. Yesterday I would have rooted for USC regardless because I root for anything that makes the BCS look ridiculous.

As for my alma mater... USF lost 6-3 to Miami yesterday in the single most unwatchable football game I have ever seen.

To make matters worse, USF was dressed in those ridiculous "honor the troops" uniforms with the camouflage sleeves and helmets (which didn't even have a USF logo). Those uniforms also have "Honor" or "Courage" or "Duty" or some other military values word on the back instead of names.

I have nothing against the men and women in our military and I respect their service, but there's no place in college athletics for that kind of jingoism, particularly with a team representing a public school. Let Army, Navy and Air Force represent that. Let the public schools just be themselves. It's bad enough that the pro leagues wrap themselves in the flag and try to superimpose patriotism onto sports, but in the NCAA it's downright disgusting. I can love my country and sports at the same time without having them merged.

[R_of_G]

Another loss in a terrible season for USF, who now sits at the bottom of the Big East. Skip Holtz is not proving himself to be a coach that can bring consistency to this team.

I watched several other games this weekend.

Here's a question for you SVL, other than Stanford, does any team in the PAC12 play defense? I'm not saying those games weren't exciting at points, but watching that Cal/ASU game I was beginning to think it was first team to 100 points wins.

The LSU/Arkansas game was the highlight of the weekend. I was rooting for Arkansas, mostly to blow up the BCS, but have no ties to either team so I didn't care. That DB Mathiue for LSU is one hell of a playmaker. Wherever the ball is, he's never far from it.

[sunvalleylaw]

The Apple cup (UW WSU) was a good game and the offense and Price were great. but the D was nonexistent the first half. It would have been almost worth a loss to get rid of Holt's poor D. How many big 3rd down plays did they give up? I lost count. Fortunately they did better in the second half, pressuring the qb. but the soft D, giving up big chunks of RE in the middle, was very frustrating to watch early on. Holt seems on paper a good coach but he does not seem to be getting the job done. I am glad for the win, but there is work to do. now I guess the Huskies will get to play in the sun dried fruit bowl or whatever. :D

[sunvalleylaw]

R, re west coast D, my brothers who follow things more closely, talked about the newer west coast offensive
schemes that make it unlikely we will see a return to the glory days of Husky D with multiple shut outs as in the 90s Oregon and USC seemed to hold their civil war opponents to low scores from what I remember from highlights but the mid strength programs like UW and Asu etc have apparently not caught up with the new style offenses including wildcats etc.

[R_of_G]

R, re west coast D, my brothers who follow things more closely, talked about the newer west coast offensive
schemes that make it unlikely we will see a return to the glory days of Husky D with multiple shut outs as in the 90s Oregon and USC seemed to hold their civil war opponents to low scores from what I remember from highlights but the mid strength programs like UW and Asu etc have apparently not caught up with the new style offenses including wildcats etc.

No doubt, there are some very fast-moving offenses in the new PAC-12. Despite my normal defensive snobbery, I actually quite enjoyed that Cal/ASU game. There wasn't a lick of defense being played but the two QBs made for a compelling game. It was more like NBA basketball where the last team with the ball probably wins.

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, Boise State closed out their season with a big win over Arizona State. Better than nothing I guess.

The Huskies go to the Alamo Bowl on the 29th to meet Baylor. You guys watching any games? To me the big game was always the Rose Bowl. OR v. Wisconsin this year. Might be a decent game.

[R_of_G]

The Huskies go to the Alamo Bowl on the 29th to meet Baylor. You guys watching any games? To me the big game was always the Rose Bowl. OR v. Wisconsin this year. Might be a decent game.

I'm watching them all except the so-called "title game." I've already seen those two teams play each other this year. I'm fine with watching teams from conferences other than the one extra-special magical conference we're all supposed to just unquestioningly accept as better than the others. Why doesn't th BCS just take the SEC and make its own league?

[sunvalleylaw]

Fine with me. I frankly most enjoy the old school Rose Bowl game between the Big 10 and Pac 10. But i guess that is now Pac 12.5 and Big 36 or something. ;)

[R_of_G]

Fine with me. I frankly most enjoy the old school Rose Bowl game between the Big 10 and Pac 10. But i guess that is now Pac 12.5 and Big 36 or something. ;)

The Rose and the Cotton were the two I was pretty much guaranteed to find on in my house when I was a kid. I miss the old way where all of the major bowls were played on New Year's Day. We didn't need to spread it out over a week to make prime-time matchups out of #17 vs #9 to sell more ads. We didn't need a super-imposed "title game" between two teams from conferences a computer says are better than the others. There's no more a clear-cut champion now than there was then, we just pretend there is so Dr. Pepper can hand out a shiny crystal trophy and the schools can make even more money that they don't spend on academics.

I think my point is that it's because of games like the Rose Bowl that do carry so much tradition that I am saddened by the current state of college athletics. College athletics have such a rich tradition, in many instances woven in with the history of states or regions. We've decided to throw that by the wayside in order to ostensibly create a minor-league farm system for the NFL and NBA.

[sunvalleylaw]

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I am very disappointed that they are tearing down Husky Stadium to put up some overdone pile of crap with sportboxes and such. Instead, they should expand the student bleachers, fit more kids in there. When I went there, there were like 36,000 students. No problem getting the kids to come. Make some alumni gathering place where people can spend money, and keep the rest of the seats as alumni bleachers where normal people that graduated there can afford to sit, and hopefully bring their young kids to the game like my Dad used to.

My brothers who are in the area and closer to the situation place some blame at the feet of UofOregon and all the money they have been spending, saying that UW has to do the same or they won't get players. But to me, the blame lies on the powers that have allowed and even promoted that spending, creating as you say, a farm system, and money making machine. Same with all these night games. It is only for TV. Make most of the games day games again, and allow the free radio broadcast to be streamed.

But that doesn't make money I guess. Anyway, among all that ranting, I agree.

[R_of_G]

And in turn, I agree with your sentiments on building stadiums and the number of prime-time games.

It's funny, I never wanted to turn into one of those "well back in my day we didn't need ________ and we did just fine" kind of people. Now I realize, they were right.

[sunvalleylaw]

Ha! I have had similar thoughts sometimes lately!

[R_of_G]

So SVL, I know you're no fan of USC but I was pleased to see Matt Barkley decide to return for his senior year.

First and foremost, I appreciate when these guys stay the full four years and get their degrees. Whether or not they actually learned anything or faced any real academic challenges is another story, but at least they outwardly appear to be scholar-athletes when they stay for four years.

I'm also looking forward to seeing what the kid can do in a non-sanctioned USC season. USC had a great season this year though nobody talks about them because they're ineligible from bowl games. I also think he got snubbed by the Heisman voters. I still think Griffin deserved the award but Barkley should have been one of the finalists. Regardless of his school's probationary status, Barkley still had one hell of a season. Hopefully he can have another next year when it counts. Besides, it won't be until at least after next season when the Jets front office finally realize that Sanchez has already peaked so the more good QB prospects in that draft, the better.

[sunvalleylaw]

To be honest Jayson, I rooted for (well, did not actively root against) USC vs. OR this year. That they played well while taking their lumps, and that Barkley came back for his senior year, speaks well of the program.

[R_of_G]

Not really sure why I even tried to watch the Alamo Bowl last night. I guess I wanted one last look at Robert Griffin III before he gets stuck someplace like Miami.

With Baylor and Washington, I knew going in these were two high-octane offenses and two non-existent defenses but 67-56? That's ridiculous and both teams should be embarrassed. The two schools' basketball teams could play one another and not score as many points. If that's what people want to see in a football game that's just sad. Scoring is nice, but it should be a little more difficult to accomplish or else it's a meaningless contest of who gets the last possession.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, kind of a junk show. (EDIT: on the Defensive side anyway ;) ) And the only thing worse than winning a game like that is losing one. :thwap

[R_of_G]

I thought UW had them where they wanted when it was 35-21. Not that I thought that would be the final score by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought since neither squad was making any stops on defense they'd just continue to pile on points but the 2-score lead would give UW some cushion.

On the bright side for the Huskies, Price is one hell of a QB. I've not seen much of him this season but I've read a lot about him. It was good to see him play a full game to see what he can really do. I'm not sure there's anything he can't do. If UW can get their defensive guys to execute better, this team has a good chance to compete in the PAC in 2012.

[sunvalleylaw]

I agree. Defense was the bane of UW this year. But Price is certainly a bright spot to build upon.

[R_of_G]

Given how poorly most of the rest of the PAC plays defense as well, I would think a team with even a moderately tough defense could put a lot of those teams away, particularly with an offense like UW has. Part of the reason USC dominated the conference for so long was because they were willing to play a little bit of defense. They'll be tough to deal with next season with Barkley back, but UW should be able to be right up there if they tighten things up.

[sunvalleylaw]

I'm hoping so. It would be great to be competitive again. I don't need dominant as in the 90's, but competitive on both sides of the ball. I bet they can do it!

[luvmyshiner]

A junk show? Seriously? Steve, Steve, Steve. As a Baylor alumni who was actually in attendance I couldn't disagree with you more. The entire game was an adrenaline packed once-in-a-lifetime punch fest. Both teams fought like they should have at a bowl game. When Josh and I came back after the half we thought the game was over. And we ended up being wrong. And though I understand that it's easy for middle aged men with beer guts (like me) to sit back in their lazy boys and complain about everything, I can assure you that both quarterbacks were awesome. But everyone who was at the game (Baylor and Washington alumni alike) walked away from that stadium understanding why RG3 won the Heisman.

[sunvalleylaw]

LOL!! Good to hear from you Mark!!! You are right. I was being way too critical with that remark. I was referring to the defensive effort only. Being "raised" in the Don James coaching years, I grew to expect at least decent defense out of the Huskies, even if they sometimes arm tackled and didn't bring their man down. I don't love the trend toward porous D in football. But Price and the Husky offense is fun to watch!

[R_of_G]

Very entertaining Fiesta Bowl. Both of those QBs should make excellent pros.
After watching that game, I still fail to understand what makes Alabama different than either OSU or Stanford as far as getting a shot at LSU for the title.

[sunvalleylaw]

Didn't watch it but it looks like the Rose Bowl was a scoring fest, with OR leading the pace. Wisconsin had its biggest bowl day offensively too though. They keep calling Oregon the "futuristic" college team in the press, but I wish the future had some defense in it.

[R_of_G]

They keep calling Oregon the "futuristic" college team in the press, but I wish the future had some defense in it.

I was listening to Trent Dilfer and Tom Jackson do the NFL wrap-up this weekend and they were saying the trend towards offensive production over defense is taking hold in the NFL as well. The "defense wins championships" philosophy is put to the test when teams like New England and Green Bay (who had two underwhelming defenses this year) take the top seeds in their conferences. I'm interested to see how they stack up against teams like SF and Baltimore/Pittsburgh that do still focus on defense and game management.

You know on which side I fall. I'd much rather see a 9-7 game than a 49-47 game, if the low scoring game is a matter of two staunch defenses rather than two inept offenses. Scoring should be difficult, not something done on every other possession.

We're told fans prefer defense but I'm a fan and nobody asked me. I've yet to hear a crowd chant "O-ffense! O-ffense!" so you tell me, which is it people crave?

I chalk it up to the casual fan not understanding what happens on the defensive side of the ball. I continue to meet people who tell me Revis is overrated because he doesn't have a lot of INTs like other CBs do. Then I have to explain to them that a CBs primary duty is not to intercept the ball but to prevent the receiver from catching it. Find a CB that does that part better than Revis and I'll entertain more questions. It's the same with Bucs fans who think a DT (Gerald McCoy) is a bust because he didn't get 15 sacks his first season. He did manage to get a double team on nearly every single down but that's not tangible to the casual fan.

The NCAA and NFL are businesses and they care more about the casual fans than the hardcore fans because they know that while we may kvetch and moan about it, we're not going anywhere. The casual fan may find something more interesting with more scoring on another channel and if they change channels before they buy a hat and a jersey and a Direct-TV package than Roger Goodell is an unhappy man.

[sunvalleylaw]

I take it you would agree that the rules changes of late have contributed to teams with underwhelming defenses leading their conferences. Based on comments of yours that I remember, I believe you would agree with that. I am not in the camp that wants to see all games in single digits, but a decent balance would be nice. I think the NFL wants high scoring games like the NBA, and the colleges have followed suit. The rules have followed those desires. Of course getting more TV viewers is the prime reason.

Look at most sports and I can give an example of how it has been changed to fit TV better. Ski racing? Look at skiercross. Now you have skiers swapping paint NASCAR style. Auto racing? Can't find formula cars anymore. Again, NASCAR. Same thing with the NFL and NCAA. I suppose it is a matter of taste too. Like I said, I don't favor a game where it is all about the D, and the line. Smashmouth ground game football can be tedious too. But some sort of balance is in order. (IMHO). ;)

[R_of_G]

I favor strong defense but not necessarily low scoring. If a potent offense can out-perform a great defense that's fun to watch as well. I just prefer the officiating be as little a factor in the outcome as possible, not a tool of the league to promote more offense.

[sunvalleylaw]

With that I wholeheartedly agree, and do not like the changes that have been made lately that have helped make football a "run and gun" style of game. To me it is similar to what happened to the NBA.

[R_of_G]

They've officiated defense right out of the NBA. I can't imagine the Knicks or Pacers of the early/mid 1990s could get out of the first half of game today without having all of their starters in serious foul trouble. I'm not saying the NBA game needs to be as rough as some of those contests were, but it should be more like in any pickup game where if the contact doesn't truly affect the outcome of the play it should just be let go. Which brings us back to pass interference/illegal contact calls as the NFL continues to outlaw defense.

[sunvalleylaw]

I liked early/mid 90s NBA. My hometeam and first pro team I followed, the Seattle SuperSonics, with Payton and crew, dished up some good D, and some good O. It was a fun game to watch.

But sometime in there was where the officials got out of hand with allowing travelling, and then started taking away the D. We all know what the end result has been. I hope it does not go any further in the NFL/NCAA.

[R_of_G]

I hope it does not go any further in the NFL/NCAA.

Unfortunately, it will. The rules to "protect" QBs are getting more out of hand all the time. We've all seen and cited many examples of the hand barely brushing a QB's helmet being called a personal foul for roughing the passer, but now the rules about hitting QBs low are being enforced to an insane degree as well.

The Chiefs were victimized by a ludicrous roughing call against Tebow because the defender, who had been forced to the ground reached out to ankle-tackle Tebow. He didn't make a dive at Tebow's legs or "go low on the QB." He was down and made a play that would be perfectly legitimate against a RB or WR. When the league starts to prioritize "protecting the health" of players on a per position basis you know it's not their health but their earning potential being protected. Can't kill the goose that lays those golden eggs. Seems to me all 53 guys on the roster should be "protected" equally.

[marnold]

Ahem. Hail to the victors! That is all.

[R_of_G]

Ahem. Hail to the victors! That is all.

Wolverines win their bowl game. Lions go to the playoffs. Everything's coming up Marnold. I guess the smart money is on the Red Wings this year.

Did anybody watch the Orange Bowl last night? Seventy points? I watched the whole first half and some of the third quarter. At that point the combination of scoring and Jon Gruden commentary reached critical mass and I had to some find some basketball to watch to see a little bit of defense. It wasn't even as if they were trying to run up the score. Clemson just could not make a play on defense and repeatedly turned the ball over on offense. That's a good recipe to lose by 40.

[Beerman]

I gave up on the Orange Bowl by halftime. Everyone likes to see high scoring but this one was a bust. The stands were almost half empty when the game started as it was. There won't be any empty seats for the BCS Monday night. I managed to get 4 tickets for a friend out of town (all legal and face value). Not making a penny on ithem.....$1400 worth of tickets. I could have sold these and paid for the next year of my son's college. :) But, I do have to sleep at night.
Gonna be a good game but I think LSU has only improved since they last met Alabama. But, 4 weeks off can't be good for any team on a roll.

[sunvalleylaw]

Way to go Wolverines! I consider them good, historical opponents and enjoy hearing about their success, except when they play the Huskies. Didn't watch the Orange Bowl. Sounds like a blowout.

[R_of_G]

I gave up on the Orange Bowl by halftime. Everyone likes to see high scoring but this one was a bust. The stands were almost half empty when the game started as it was. There won't be any empty seats for the BCS Monday night. I managed to get 4 tickets for a friend out of town (all legal and face value). Not making a penny on ithem.....$1400 worth of tickets. I could have sold these and paid for the next year of my son's college. :) But, I do have to sleep at night.
Gonna be a good game but I think LSU has only improved since they last met Alabama. But, 4 weeks off can't be good for any team on a roll.

Though I wish it were a different opponent for LSU, at least both teams will likely rely on strong defense to win this one. I'm not expecting another 6-3 game, but I also don't expect the combined final score will exceed 45. There are plenty of pro prospects to watch in this game on both rosters.

[marnold]

Wolverines win their bowl game. Lions go to the playoffs. Everything's coming up Marnold.
And Michigan State won their bowl game and the Tigers made the playoffs too. The Pistons are still bad, though.

U of M now needs to get ready to play Alabama in Dallas next season. Then we'll really know if Michigan is "back" or not. The Sugar Bowl wasn't pretty, but I'll take an ugly win over an ugly loss any day.


I guess the smart money is on the Red Wings this year.

That's been the one constant. For the past 20 years the smart money has always been on the Wings. To add insult to injury (for the rest of the league), the Wings are projected to have almost $24 million in cap space for next season. The Wings have been the only team I've ever rooted for where it could legitimately be said that they don't rebuild, they reload.

[R_of_G]

For the past 20 years the smart money has always been on the Wings. To add insult to injury (for the rest of the league), the Wings are projected to have almost $24 million in cap space for next season. The Wings have been the only team I've ever rooted for where it could legitimately be said that they don't rebuild, they reload.

In that respect, they remind me of the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's never really a rebuilding or retooling process, just next man up steps right into the lineup. There's a down year here or there when the chemistry needs to solidify, but there's never a time when you can just say "ok the Red Wings are going to be bad for the next few years while they rebuild" because it never happens.

[marnold]

I'm glad I don't have ESPN so I didn't have to watch the joke that was the national championship. What a farce.

[R_of_G]

I'm glad I don't have ESPN so I didn't have to watch the joke that was the national championship. What a farce.

FWIW, I don't recognize Alabama as "National Champions" this morning. They're just one of several one-loss teams at the end of the season. Without making these teams play one another, any anointment of one over another is foolish.

Alabama may be "BCS Champions" but I cannot accept them as true national champions when they were handed the berth into that game over several other teams with the same record because they play in a specific conference that is perceived to be special.

[Beerman]

Wow, talk about being unprepared, out-coached and totally surprised! A shutout! Almost a blow-out!
I doubt Lee would have been able to do much and it wasn't all Jefferson's fault but come on, try something different. Up the middle and option over and over and over again. The Tide came to play and LSU must have spent their time reading their season accolades. The defense has to be totally exhausted.

Now they've beaten each other once this season. Will anyone ever be happy with the decision to name Alabama #1? But, how can you name LSU #1? Will the BCS ever put in a playoff system? Doubt it.

I'm sure Bobby Hebert is upset since his son is on the LSU team but hear how he questions Miles on his decision not to put in Lee....
http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2012/01/bobby_hebert_questions_lsu_coa.html

[R_of_G]

Wow, talk about being unprepared, out-coached and totally surprised! A shutout! Almost a blow-out!
I doubt Lee would have been able to do much and it wasn't all Jefferson's fault but come on, try something different. Up the middle and option over and over and over again. The Tide came to play and LSU must have spent their time reading their season accolades. The defense has to be totally exhausted.

It's odd how Miles has the reputation of being this wild experimental coach who will change things up at a moment's notice, sometimes even if the original gameplan was working just fine, yet last night he repeatedly attempted the same thing despite the evidence that Alabama was clearly prepared for Jefferson's skill-set. If Lee didn't fare any better he could always have gone back to Jefferson. It's not like yanking a starting pitcher that you can't put back in the game. The Tigers were out-executed but that game was lost because Saban out-coached Miles. I also think the preposterous month-long break didn't help but it's the coach's job to get his team through that.

I'm not ranking either of those teams #1 until I see some evidence they could beat Stanford or Oklahoma State.