Who are the nation’s greenest units?

The ESPN bloggers are getting into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit by breaking down the least experienced units in college football. Some highlights below, with links to the full reviews….

Graham Watson:

BYU offensive line: The Cougars will have to fill four of the five starting spots on the offensive line, but do have some depth there since several players received playing time due to injuries and some shuffling last year.

Boise State wide receivers: Boise State lost its three starting receivers, including Jeremy Childs, who left early for the NFL. Childs led the team in receiving yards and receptions last year and now quarterback Kellen Moore is going to have to break in some new playmakers.

Brian Bennett:

Louisville: The biggest bunch of newbies are at quarterback, where there are four candidates for the job but not one who’s seen any significant playing time at this level.

South Florida: Look no farther than the offensive line, where four of five starters need to be replaced.

Tim Griffin:

Oklahoma offensive line: The departure of starting center Jon Cooper, tackle Phil Loadholt and guards Duke Robinson and Brandon Walker means that Sam Bradford will have an inexperienced group protecting him next season. Trent Williams moves to left tackle and Bob Stoops likes his incoming talent, if not its early work habits.

Texas defensive line: The major question dogging the Longhorns’ national title hopes will be rebuilding a defensive front that loses All-American defensive end Brian Orakpo, defensive tackle Roy Miller, defensive tackleAaron Lewis and defensive end Henry Melton from last season.

Texas Tech offensive line: New quarterback Taylor Potts will be relying on a retooled offensive line protecting his blind side after left tackle Rylan Reed, left guard Louis Vasquez and center Stephen Hamby all departed from last year.

Chris Low:

Alabama: The Crimson Tide are replacing three-year starter John Parker Wilson at quarterback, but losing the threesome of Andre Smith, Marlon Davis and Antoine Caldwell on the offensive line leaves the biggest void. They were at the crux of just about everything Alabama did on offense last season.

Georgia: Much of the focus this spring will be on Joe Cox and the quarterback position, but the Bulldogs’ most glaring weakness is the lack of a dominant pass-rusher from the defensive end position. They’ve got to find somebody who can consistently get to the quarterback.

LSU: Jordan Jefferson started the final two games at quarterback last season as a true freshman and enters 2009 as the favorite to win the job. His main competition will come from another true freshman, Russell Shepard, who graduated early and is going through spring practice.

Heather Dinich:

GEORGIA TECH — Having lost three of four starters on the defensive line, it’s easily one of the greenest groups in the whole conference.

MIAMI – The Canes are still young everywhere, but remember quarterback Jacory Harris has only started two games and his backups have no collegiate experience.

NORTH CAROLINA — The Tar Heels lost their top three receivers and will be counting heavily on inexperienced players to replace Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate and Brooks Foster.

Ted Miller

Arizona State — QB: Combined starts of the five candidates to replace Rudy Carpenter at quarterback? Zero.

Oregon – DT: Both starting defensive tackles are gone and this unofficial depth chart shows 14 combine tackles for seven potential replacements.

Oregon State — DE: Sackmasters Victor Butler and Slade Norris and their 41.5 combined sacks over the past two seasons are gone. Sophomore Kevin Frahm and senior Ben Terry, who split two sacks between themselves in 2008, are in.

Adam Rittenberg

Ohio State’s offensive line — Don’t be shocked if Ohio State enters 2009 with three sophomores (Mike Brewster, Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts) and a transfer (Justin Boren) on its starting line.

Penn State’s defensive ends — Jerome Hayes should be back from another knee injury, but Penn State will be on the lookout for a proven pass rusher after losing Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans and Josh Gaines.

Purdue’s wide receivers — New coach Danny Hope made wide receiver a peak priority in his first recruiting class after losing Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy, who combined for 136 receptions and 1,596 yards last year.

Wisconsin’s defensive line — The Badgers lose three multiyear starters (Matt Shaughnessy, Mike Newkirk and Jason Chapman) and don’t return many proven players aside from ends O’Brien Schofield and Dan Moore.

And — of course — everyone’s favorite green unit:

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Jumping Ship: Who’s leaving early for the NFL?

The good folks at ESPN’s data center have the updates on which college football underclassmen are leaving school in search of huge bags of money a career in the NFL. Here’s the updated list, with a few notable talents highlighted.

Asher Allen CB 5-1 198 Georgia
Chris Baker DT 6-2 298 Hampton
Kenny Britt WR 6-4 215 Rutgers
Eben Britton OT 6-5½ 310 Arizona
Donald Brown RB 5-10 210 Connecticut
Everette Brown DE 6-4 252 Florida State
James Casey TE 6-4 245 Rice
Jeremy Childs WR 6-0 196 Boise State
Glen Coffee RB 6-1 198 Alabama
Austin Collie WR 6-2 206 BYU
Emanuel Cook S 5-10 203 South Carolina
Jared Cook TE 6-5 243 South Carolina
Michael Crabtree WR 6-3 214 Texas Tech
Andrew Davie TE 6-5 266 Arkansas
Nate Davis QB 6-1¾ 217 Ball State
Vontae Davis CB 5-11⅞ 203 Illinois
Josh Freeman QB 6-5½ 238 Kansas State
Shonn Green RB 5-10¾ 233 Iowa
Percy Harvin WR 5-10¾ 187 Florida
Darrius Heyward-Bey WR 6-1⅞ 203 Maryland
P.J. Hill RB 5-11 236 Wisconsin
Greg Isdaner OG 6-4 322 West Virginia
Ricky Jean-Francois DL 6-3 289 LSU
Paul Kruger DE 6-5 265 Utah
Jeremy Maclin WR 6-0 198 Missouri
Sen’Derrick Marks DT 6-0⅞ 289 Auburn
Aaron Maybin DE 6-3½ 250 Penn State
LeSean McCoy RB 5-11 205 Pittsburgh
Gerald McRath LB 6-3 220 Southern Miss
D.J. Moore CB 5-10 184 Vanderbilt
Knowshon Moreno RB 5-10¾ 207 Georgia
Captain Munnerlyn CB 5-9 185 South Carolina
Hakeem Nicks WR 6-1 215 North Carolina
Kevin Ogletree WR 6-2 189 Virginia
Jerraud Powers CB 5-9 191 Auburn
Mark Sanchez QB 6-2½ 225 USC
Andre Smith DT 6-4⅞ 341 Alabama
Sean Smith CB 6-2½ 212 Utah
Matthew Stafford QB 6-2½ 235 Georgia
Brandon Williams DE 6-5 246 Texas Tech
Chris “Beanie” Wells RB 6-1 235 Ohio State

Of course, it’s worth mentioning a few standout players who are not going pro this year:

Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma
Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida
C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson
Greg Hardy, DE, Mississippi

Equally notable, FSU S Myron Rolle will leave the Noles, but isn’t going to the NFL… yet. Rolle accepted a Rhodes Scholarship and will study medical anthropology at Oxford. Rolle was expected to be a top 50 or better pick, but will instead look to enter the 2010 NFL draft.

The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 26th and 27th in New York City.

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Bet your house on Florida, and other things to discuss;

Lots to discuss, wasting no time here…..

Let’s start off with the big event in sports.  Tomorrow night’s BCS National Championship Game, Florida vs. Oklahoma.

There’s only one way to put this.  Bet everything you have on Florida right now.  It’s going to be a massive blowout.  I have about thirty reasons why this will happen, but here’s just the best reasons;

1) The Big 12 has been exposed as EXTREMELY overrated this year

Say what you will about the Big Ten and the ACC and the Big East all sucking, but the Big 12 should be VERY embarrassed with their overexposure and underwhelming bowl performances.

At one point, there were multiple teams from the Big 12 ranked in the Top 10.  It was getting ridiculous, and the AP voters and TV announcers ate it up like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream.  “Every week is like a bowl game in the Big 12″ they would say.  Bullshit, I say.  They were all pretty average.  Here’s how their bowl games turned out;

Texas 24, Ohio State 21 – In a game that EVERYBODY said would be a 20-point blowout, it took a miracle drive, bad tackling, and some questionable officiating to put Texas in the end zone to win the game.  Somehow along the way, hitting a Longhorn QB in the shoulder pads became a 15-yard penalty.  In the end, the team that cried their eyes out claiming they were robbed out of the title game proved that they did not deserve any titles at all.  Texas went in thinking they would run up the score and pick up some first-place votes found themselves without a TD (and only 3 total points) for the entire first half.

Overrated?  Texas was ranked #1 in the nation at one point this year, Ohio State was given a 9% chance to win the game.  Yes, Texas was overrated.

Ole Miss 47, Texas Tech 34 – Ole Miss is an average SEC team, always finishing in the middle of the pack.  Texas Tech was another team looking to destroy their bowl opponent, this time to prove that they should have gotten in a BCS game.  Mission failed.  Badly.  After getting off to a fast start, the Red Raiders proved that they deserved absolutely nothing when they allowed Ole Miss to go on a 38-7 run and blow out their Big 12 foe.

Overrated?  Texas Tech was ranked #2 in the nation earlier this year.  Ole Miss lost to Vanderbilt and South Carolina…both at home.  Yes, Tech was overrated.

Missouri 30, Northwestern 23 (OT) – Despite the wishes of the Big 12’s most popular brother-sister team (otherwise known as Chase Daniel’s parents), Missouri looked like crap against the Big Ten’s 8th-best pass defense.  Northwestern should have won this game, but some late miscues handed the game to Mizzou.

Overrated?  Missouri was once ranked #3 in the NCAA.  Northwestern lost a game by 35 points this year.  Yes, Missouri was overrated.

Oregon 42, Oklahoma State 31 - Okie State started off fast, but couldn’t maintain themselves against a rushing attack from the Ducks.  Two Oregon players would break the 100-yard mark on their way to 307 yards team rushing.  Oregon also racked up a total of 565 yards aginst Okie State.

Overrated?  Oklahoma State was once ranked #7 in the nation.  Yes, Okie State was overrated.

Nebraska 26, Clemson 21 – In the Gator Bowl, Nebraska was trying to recapture some of their historic greatness, and their prospects were large, playing against a team that only won 7 games in the pathetic ACC….a team so bad, they fired their coach mid-season.  And they barely escaped with the win, when a Tigers TD was overturned by instant review.

Overrated?  Well, Nebraska was never rated.  But they barely beat a bad, bad team.

Kansas 42, Minnesota 21 – The lone bright spot for the conference so far, Kansas doubled up on Minnesota, who were bowling to the shock of everyone not in a Gopher uniform at the start of the season.  As the season wore on, Minnesota’s weak schedule was exposed by the Big Ten, and the regular season ended mercifully with a 55-0 Minny loss.

Overrated?  Kansas was actually ranked as high as #13 this year.  Minny lost a game 55-0.  Yes, Kansas was overrated.

The point of all this is simple – the Big 12 was NOT the meat-grinder that the media told us it was over and over and over again.  Oklahoma’s not ready for this game.

#2) Florida IS ready for this game

A bad performance by Tim Tebow once this year nearly cost Florida a shot, but they came back in a dominating way.  Since their loss in Week 4, they have been unstoppable.  Take a look at this;

• Week 5 – 31-point win against Arkansas
• Week 6 – 30-point win over then-#4 LSU
• Week 7 – 58-point win over bowl-bound Kentucky
• Week 8 – 39-point win over then-#6 Georgia
• Week 9 – 28-point win over bowl-bound Vanderbilt
• Week 10 – 50-point win over bowl-bound and then-#25 South Carolina
• Week 11 – 51-point win over The Citadel
• Week 12 – 30-point win over bowl-bound Florida State
• Week 13 – 11-point win over then-#1 and BCS-Bowl bound Alabama

Yeah, they’re ready.

3) The Heisman Curse

Sam Bradford won the Heisman this year.  Heisman winners usually suck in bowl games, especially National Championships (we know, we know).  Only twice in the past 30 years has the Heisman winner gone on to win a National Championship.  No, Tebow didn’t win it the year Florida took the title (Troy Smith won it).

4) Oklahoma pretty much sucks at BCS bowl games

For all the whining and crying you hear about Ohio State’s recent bowl losses, you just don’t hear those kind of attacks leveled at the Sooners.  And believe me, they’re much worse.  In their last 4 BCS bowls, they are 0-4 and have been blown out more than once.

• 2008 – Lost to West Virginia 48-28
• 2007 – Lost to Boise State 43-42
• 2005 – Lost to USC 55-19
• 2004 – Lost to LSU 21-14

If they make it 0-5, we’d better NEVER hear about our own shortcomings again.  Especially since they’ll have lost two national championships in that time frame.

Convinced?  Call Vegas ASAP.

——————————–

Last night, the Cavaliers overtook the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference when Boston lost.  The Cavs now have the best record in the NBA.

Tonight, the Cavaliers beat the living daylights out of Charlotte, 111-81.  Boston’s loss last night?  It was to that same Charlotte team.

The Celtics come to The Q Friday night.  It should be insaaaaaane!

——————–

Speaking of the Cavaliers game, there were many highlights to go over.  But the best was watching former Michigan Fab-Fiver Juwan Howard get tossed from the game while sitting on the bench.

By the way, did you know that the Fab Five never won a single title in college?  No national titles, no Big Ten titles, nothing.  Just thought I’d mention that.

———————

In the “what the hell” category, Boobie Gibson also got a technical foul tonight.  For having an untucked shirt.  No, I’m not kidding.

———————-

The Cleveland Browns hired their new coach tonight.  Eric Mangini, former Jets coach, and former ball boy for the Browns, will call the plays next year.

Makes sense to me.  Hell, there were CURRENT ball boys that could have done better with the Browns this season.

———————–

Last week, it was announced that Michigan’s only offensive threat, Sam McGuffie, has left Ann Arbor and will enroll at Rice next year.  McGuffie was rumored to have been struggling with depression and on medication.  Being closer to home will be better for the kid.

Also better for him will be not having to deal with decapitation at the hands of Ohio State special teams players.

——————–

Finally, in the most laughable news you’ll ever hear, Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriquez recently said he has “always taken the approach that you should look at each job as your last.”

Yeah, he actually said that.  With a straight face, no less.

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

3-time All-America Laurinaitis heads AP team

NEW YORK (AP) — James Laurinaitis idolized A.J. Hawk, Chris Spielman and the other great linebackers who played for Ohio State before him.

 

Now, in at least one area, he has surpassed them.

 

Laurinaitis became the second college football player to be a three-time AP All-American, joining Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and star receiver Michael Crabtree on the first team released Tuesday.

 

Ohio State has a history of great linebackers from Hawk to Spielman and Tom Cousineau to Randy Gradishar. Hawk and Spielman were both two-time AP All-Americans.

“When people throw my name in that group of players, I just laugh,” Laurinaitis said. “It’s extremely complimentary to be thought of in the same category.”

 

The only other player to make the AP first-team three times was Pittsburgh offensive lineman Bill Fralic (1982-84), according to STATS LLC.

 

Alabama put more players on the 2008 AP first team than any school, about 1,000 pounds of linemen. Offensive tackle Andre Smith, listed at 330 pounds, was a unanimous first-team choice, and was joined by center Antoine Caldwell. Crimson Tide nose guard Terrence Cody, listed at 365 pounds, anchored the top-ranked defense in the Southeastern Conference.

 

Bradford beat out Texas’ Colt McCoy and Florida’s Tim Tebow in All-America voting that broke the same way as the Heisman balloting. McCoy, the Heisman runner-up, was the second-team quarterback. Tebow made the third team, a year after winning the Heisman and being a first-team AP All-American.

 

Laurinaitis and Crabtree, the Texas Tech receiver, were among five players to repeat as first-teamers.

 

Oklahoma guard Duke Robinson, Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber and Missouri receiver/kick returner Jeremy Maclin, who made it as an all-purpose player, were the others.

 

Two Big Ten running backs completed the All-America backfield. Iowa’s Shonn Greene is second in the country in rushing (144 yards per game) and has scored 17 touchdowns. Michigan State’s Javon Ringer is third in rushing (132 ypg) and has scored 21 touchdowns.

 

Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant was the other receiver. A sophomore like Crabtree, Bryant scored 20 touchdowns.

 

Rounding out the offensive line were Mississippi tackle Michael Oher and LSU guard Herman Johnson.

 

Chase Coffman, who led all tight ends with 83 catches, gave Missouri’s high-scoring offense two All-Americans.

 

Utah’s Louie Sakoda was the kicker. He booted 21 field goals in 23 attempts and scored 115 points for the undefeated Utes.

 

The defense featured Laurinaitis’ teammate, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, and two players from Southern California’s top-ranked unit: linebacker Rey Maualuga and safety Taylor Mays.

 

Florida’s Brandon Spikes was the other linebacker.

 

Up front, Aaron Maybin of Penn State and Brian Orakpo of Texas were the defensive ends, and Cody and Mississippi’s Peria Jerry were the tackles.

 

Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith and Tennessee safety Eric Berry completed the secondary.

 

Laurinaitis was recruited by the Buckeyes out of Minnesota, and came to Columbus with relatively modest goals considering where he ended up.

 

He wanted to make the travel squad as a freshman, start as a sophomore, receive some type of all-Big Ten recognition as a junior and be an All-American and Butkus Award candidate as a senior.

 

By the time his sophomore season was complete, he had accomplished all his goals.

 

Laurinaitis said having Hawk and fellow star linebacker Bobby Carpenter, both seniors when he was a freshman, to learn from had an enormous affect his career.

 

“You learned a lot about work ethic,” Laurinaitis said in a telephone interview Tuesday. “We’d go through a two-day (practice) and I’m looking to go to sleep and those guys were in the weight room working out. If it worked for them, I had to do it.”

 

When Carpenter and Hawk moved on to the NFL, Laurinaitis moved into the starting lineup in 2006. The son of a professional wrestler — Joe Laurinaitis was known as “Animal” from the WWE’s Legion of Doom — James drew plenty of attention for his play and his family ties.

 

He led the Buckeyes with 115 tackles and five interceptions and won the Nagurski Award as national defensive player of the year.

 

In 2007, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Laurinaitis won the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker and this season he capped his stellar three-year run with the Lott Trophy for top defensive player.

 

“I’m not the freak athlete other guys are,” Laurinaitis said, “but I’m the guy coaches can depend on to be accountable and know my assignments.”

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Heisman 2008

I have followed the Heisman Trophy presentation since I was old enough to hold a football and have always felt that it was one of the greatest awards ever presented to an athlete other than a Gold Medal in the Olympics.  I like the fact that it is only voted on by past winners and certain media (not so sure about this one since Lee Corso gets a vote) and these are the people that really follow college football and look for more than just stats.  The award has always stood for what is generally considered the best College player and usually ends up being a pretty good person in the process ( minus a couple including OJ).  There have been a few missteps where I thought there was clearly a better choice (ala Keith Byers over Flutie) but you can’t argue too hard against the choice.

 

This year must have been a considerable challenge because I think that there were some very worthy candidates.  Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Chase Daniel, Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree and the rest.  It’s getting harder and harder to not choose a QB because they do so much more than they used to.  They run the ball, call plays in the no huddle, throw the ball very efficiently, reduce turnovers and lead their teams to wins.  Running backs and receivers almost have to have a phenomenal season and do more then just run and catch.  Defenders are pretty much out of it just because they can only get so much attention on the national stage and can be eliminated when teams play away from them.

 

I obviously don’t have a vote, but I was pretty high on Colt McCoy.  I felt that he did so much for his team in so many ways that he seemed to be the most valuable to his team that was ranked in the top five all year.  Throwing for over 77% is incredible for as many passes as he threw and limiting his turnovers to fewer than 10 is almost mind boggling.  Then you throw in that he ran for 550+ yards especially in key third down situations, he generated 75%+ of his teams offense.  Tebow was much the same but he also had a serious RB in Percy Harven who took some of the production off his shoulders.  Harrell and Daniel were also deserving and at least should have been invited to the presentation but I guess plane tickets are just too expensive these days.

 

Sam Bradford was a very good choice.  His numbers were staggering even with a solid Oklahoma running game (2 x 1000 yard rushers).  He seems to be well liked by his teammates and even as a sophomore he is consider the leader of the No. 1 team in the country.  Throwing for 48 TDs, rushing for 5, 4464 yards and a 68% completion percentage is a phenomenal year in any ones book.  He is a solid student and seems to be a well rounded young man.  He will be a great addition to the Heisman Club. 

 

So with pretty much all of these guys coming back and probably a few more thrown into the mix, next year’s Heisman Watch will probably start at the Bowl Games and will be just as intense and pressurized as this year’s.

 

Congratulations to Sam Bradford!

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Buckeye Honors

Quarterback Terrelle Pryor was named Sporting News magazine’s Freshman of the Year & All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis was named Defensive Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten Conference.

For details and more Sporting News winners, Click Here!

James Laurinaitis was also named the winner of the 2008 Lott Trophy as college football’s impact player of the year. For full story, click here!

39 Current and Former Ohio State Student athletes received degrees at The Ohio State University’s 2008 Autumn Commencement. Click here for more!

Fans can help vote for Coach Jim Tressel to win the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. Click here to learn how

Archie Griffin remains the only 2 time Heisman trophy winner  as Sam Bradford takes home that title. Click here for more.

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10 Top 10s For College Football: The Week Before the Bowls

Top 10 Teams

1) Utah-Still haven’t lost, does the Tide hand them one?

2) Boise- No BCS but personally I think their opponent, TCU, would beat Ohio State as well.

3) Texas-Third in the BCS, second in the Heisman voting, first in the Fiesta?

4) Oklahoma-Congrats Sam Bradford.

5) Penn State-Getting no respect.

6) USC-Based purely on their loss.

7) Texas Tech-Snubbed in the BCS and the Heisman race, will have something to prove on the second.

Florida-The only one loss team to lose at home.

9) Alabama-It may get ugly against the Utes.

10) Cincinnati-Underrated as they played the bulk of the season with their fourth string QB.

Top 10 Players of 2008

1) Tim Tebow-Got the most first place votes for the Heisman and gets mine as well.

2) Terrance Cody-The difference maker in Tuscaloosa.

3) Colt McCoy-There were times I thought he would never have another incomplete pass.

4) Rey Malalgua-Unbelievable talent.

5) Sam Bradford-The Heisman winner.

6) Janoris Jenkins-If you saw the Gators play this year you heard his name more than Tebow.

7) Shonn Greene- Single handily resurrected a program and saved a coaches job.

Ian Johnson-A lifetime achievement award.

9) Aaron Curry-One of the best in the country.

10) Knowshawn Moreno-Is there anything he doesn’t do well?

Top 10 Big Games of 2008

1) USC 35, Ohio State 3-Most people thought the title game was going to happen in September this year.

2) Alabama 41, Georgia 30-It was over by the end of the first quarter.

3) Texas 45, Oklahoma 35-Not sure what this really meant.

4) Oklahoma State 28, Missouri 23-Missouri was ranked No. 3 at the time.

5) TCU 32, BYU 7- It wasn’t as close as the score.

6) Penn State 13, Ohio State 6-How the Big Ten was won.

7) Texas Tech 39, Texas 33-Also one of the most exciting games of the year.

Oklahoma 65, Texas Tech 21- The style points put the Sooners in the title game.

9) Oregon 65, Oregon State 38-103 points later the Trojans were in the Rose Bowl.

10) Florida 31, Alabama 20-Last but not least.

10 Upsets That Shaped The 2008 Season

1) Alabama 34, Clemson 10-Clemson was a five point favorite, what a joke.

2) Oregon State 27, USC 21-The Trojans were 23 point favorites.

3) Alabama 41, Georgia 30- The Tide were getting seven in this one.

4) Mississippi 31, Florida 30-Ole Miss was 2-4 against teams with a winning record this year, this was one of the two; they were 25 point dogs in The Swamp as well.

5) Texas 45, Oklahoma 35-Sooners were favored by seven.

6) Texas Tech 39, Texas 33-Knocked the Horns from the title game.

7) Iowa 24, Penn State 23-One point separates the Lions from the title game; they were favored by eight.

Georgia Tech 45, Georgia 42-Made even the most die hard SEC fan think twice about the strength of the conference.

9) Buffalo 42, Ball State 21-We didn’t have to worry about Ball State and the BCS as the 15 point favorites went down hard.

10) East Carolina 27, Virginia Tech 22- How soon we forget.

Top 10 Things I Hope We Don’t See In 2009

1) Stoppage after every play-Every fumble, reception, Interception, etc is a tive minute stoppage, and people wonder why the game takes too long?

2) OJ Simpson-This guy’s act is so stale, let’s just leave him in his jail cell for a while.

3) The BCS- Wishful thinking.

4) Brent Musburger-Talk about stale acts.

5) Bad Rule Changes-The clock rules were a joke, see No. 1.

6) 6-6 teams going to bowl games-This is a huge part of the problem and why there is no playoff.

7) 1-AA teams on the schedule-These games shouldn’t count as one of the 12 games; we’re going to see a lot more of these as less teams from major conferences qualify for bowls.

Bad Officiating-Maybe it’s time to hold these guys accountable for changing outcomes through horrible calls.

9) Inconsistency-Watch five games at once, a penalty in one game is a no call in others, especially regarding celebrations and sideline infractions.

10) Media Spin-Take away these guys vote and poll while we’re at it too, they are clueless and obviously only support whomever their employer has an interest in.

Top 10 Things That Defined The 2008 Season

1) The Spread Offense-Will be the answer to a trivia question someday.

2) The Horse Collar- Making it illegal made it a mainstream word.

3) The Big 12- Had the game of the year almost every week.

4) Tim Tebow’s Speech-Was good to his word after the loss to Ole Miss.

5) BCS Controversy-Part of every season it seems.

6) Tommy Bowden-The fraud finally held accountable, no wonder they started winning once he was gone.

7) Weeknight Games-Not just one here and there, multiple games almost every night.

Impact Freshman-They are playing right away everywhere, leaving even faster.

9) Weather Postponed Games-Seems to be happening more and more.

10) ESPN-I don’t watch their pregame or postgame stuff but from what I’ve learned what they say seems to be more important than what happens on the field.

Top 10 Impact Freshmen of 2008

1) Julio Jones-All he was billed to be and then some.

2) Sean Spence-Hits like a Mack Truck.

3) AJ Green-Even made Matt Stafford look good from time to time.

4) Janoris Jenkins-May have been what was missing for the Gators.

5) Robert Griffin-Mr. Excitement.

6) Terrelle Pryor-Will he bring the Buckeyes a title?

7) Jacquizz Rodgers-Would anyone complain if I put him No. 1?

Kellen Moore-Didn’t look like a freshman.

9) DeAndre Brown-If he’s at a bigger school more people know who he is.

10) Marcus Forston-Going to be a force.

Top 10 Ways I Plan On Fighting College Football Withdrawal

1) Working on my book-I don’t think this will make me rich but that isn’t the point of it.

2) Expanding my site into a network of Sports Sites-Exciting stuff already in the works; NFL, MLB, CBB, NBA, NHL, etc., going to have it all.

3) Interviewing Writers-Going to need a lot of fresh content, can’t do it myself.

4) Working with my Tech Guy-I don’t know anything about this stuff but I’ve seen the mock ups for the new sites and get ready for some jaw dropping stuff.

5) Integrating more with my Blogging community-Things have happened so fast I’ve put off a lot of requests.

6) Take a vacation-I’ve been going full speed for months on end.

7) Get back in good shape-I’ve spent a lot of time sitting and eating the past few months, time to work it off.

Learn how to text message-Been on my list for years, not really that interested.

9) Clear off the TIVO-No idea how long that stuff will stay but I haven’t watched most of it.

10) Relax-Something I probably don’t do enough.

10 Things I Learned When I Converted My Newsletter To A Blog

1) Spammers are everywhere-I get a spam comment every six minutes on average; very thankful for spam blocking software.

2) College Football fans are everywhere-I read every email and comment, sometimes over 500 a week; thanks for all of them (at least  most of them).

3) Having a community is a great thing- I enjoy having hundreds of thousands of people to talk college football with.

4) There are some mean people out there-Some ignorant and spineless ones as well.

5) There are websites built on stolen content-And they don’t credit the author or the source either.

6) There are a lot of people who know a lot about college football-Pretty amazing how regional coverage really works.

7) Traffic is the most important thing-You can be a great writer or picker or whatever but if no one reads it what’s the point.

Most people prefer facts and analysis-While my 10 top 10’s is my most popular Bleacher Report series, it is far and away the least popular series as far as traffic at The College Football Place.

9) If you build it and provide quality, they will come-I went from a standing start to over 350,000 monthly visitors in five months, I thank everyone for being part of it all.

10) Short is sweet-I know my videos are too long, at least my paragraphs aren’t what they used to be; the Internet reader is a different breed.

10 Odd Things In College Football

1) Firing Tommy Tubberville-It’s been a week and I still don’t get it.

2) Hiring Gene Chizik-Not sure if he’s Head Coach material, his Iowa State team didn’t look to be going in the right direction.

3) Contract extensions for Head Coaches-It seems these guys get one right before a horrible season.

4) People who pick games without point spreads-There’s a reason there are so many college football games that have double digit point spreads, this isn’t the NFL where anyone can really beat anyone.

5) The vote of confidence-Is it really the kiss of death?

6) What is a reviewable play-The worst calls aren’t reviewable because no one could have dreamed up they would have happened.

7) No Coach accountability for players who get in trouble-Don’t they promise parents to take care of their kids?

A win against a 1-AA team counts as much as beating a ranked team-When did this happen? Teams were always penalized for these games.

9) Some conferences have championships and others don’t-Is this record padding?

10) There is less talk of a playoff than ever-Everyone seems to be afraid of upsetting someone.

Visit Mitch anytime at The College Football Place

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Archie’s Mark Is Safe….At Least For This Year

Oklahoma Red-Shirt Sophomore, QB Sam Bradford, has won the 2008 Heisman Trophy! This means that Tim Tebow was denied becoming the second player ever to win two of College Football’s most prestigious awards, thus keeping Archie Griffin’s phenominal accomplishment safe. Thank You Ohio Native Bob Stoops and Sam Bradford for keeping Archie’s legend alive! Boomer Sooner!

photo courtesy of ESPN

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College Postseason: The Miseducation Of Lisa Horne

Lisa Horne wrote an article expressing that the dominant conferences were weaker than the Big XII Conference. Then people wanted to know what she was basing this off of. Was it because they didn’t have enough BCS NC possible teams in the show? Was it in regards to the Heisman? Or is it because there wasn’t as much controversy in those conferences as there is in the Big XII Conference?

After watching her try to defend her defense of the Big XII Conference, I wanted to let the B/R Nation decide. But I did some quick research on this season’s bowl games and found something interesting.

ACC: 10 Postseason Representatives

• Wake Forest (Eagle Bank Bowl vs. Navy)
• North Carolina (Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. West Virginia)
• Florida State (Champs Sports Bowl vs. Wisconsin)
• Miami (Emerald Bowl vs. Cal)
• NC State (PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. Rutgers)
• Maryland (Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl vs. Nevada)
• Boston College (Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl vs. Vanderbilt)
• Georgia Tech (Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. LSU)
• Clemson (Konica Minolta Gator Bowl vs. Nebraska)
• Virginia Tech (Orange Bowl vs. Cincinnati)

SEC: 8 Postseason Representatives

• Vanderbilt (Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl vs. Boston College)
• LSU (Chick-Fil-A Bowl vs. Georgia Tech)
• South Carolina (Outback Bowl vs. Iowa)
• Georgia (Capital One Bowl vs. Michigan State)
• Ole Miss (AT&T Cotton Bowl vs. Texas Tech)
• Kentucky (AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. East Carolina)
• Alabama (Sugar Bowl vs. Utah)
• Florida (BCS National Championship vs. Oklahoma)

Big XII: 7 Postseason Representatives

• Missouri (Valero Alamo vs. Northwestern)
• Oklahoma State (Pacific Life Holiday Bowl vs. Oregon)
• Kansas (Insight Bowl vs. Minnesota)
• Nebraska (Konica Minolta Gator Bowl vs. Clemson)
• Texas Tech (AT&T Cotton Bowl vs. Ole Miss)
• Texas (Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State)
• Oklahoma (BCS National Championship vs. Florida)

Big Ten: 7 Postseason Representatives

• Wisconsin (Champs Sports Bowl vs. Florida State)
• Northwestern (Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Missouri)
• Minnesota (Insight Bowl vs. Kansas)
• Iowa (Outback Bowl vs. South Carolina)
• Michigan State (Capitol One Bowl vs. Georgia)
• Penn State (Rose Bowl vs. USC)
• Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl vs. Texas)

Big East: 6 Postseason Representatives

• South Florida (St. Petersburg Bowl vs. Memphis)
• West Virginia (Meineke Car Care Bowl vs. North Carolina)
• Rutgers (PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. N.C. State)
• Pitt (Brut Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State)
• UConn (International Bowl vs. Buffalo)
• Cincinnati (Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech)

Pac 10: 5 Postseason Representatives

• Arizona (Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl vs. BYU)
• Cal (Emerald Bowl vs. Miami (FL))
• Oregon (Pacific Life Holiday Bowl vs. Oklahoma State)
• Oregon State (Brut Sun Bowl vs. Pitt)
• USC (Rose Bowl vs. Penn State)

And this is just the main conferences. How do you think the smaller conferences did this seaason?

Mountain West: 5 Postseason Representatives

• Colorado State (New Mexico Bowl vs. Fresno State)
• BYU (Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl vs. Arizona)
• TCU (SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl vs. Boise State)
• Air Force (Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl vs. Houston) 
• Utah (Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama)

WAC: 5 Postseason Representatives 

• Fresno State (New Mexico Bowl vs. Colorado State) 
• Hawaii (Sheraton Hawaii Bowl vs. Notre Dame)
• Louisiana Tech (Independence Bowl vs. Northern Illinois)
• Nevada (Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl vs. Maryland)
• Boise State (SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl vs. TCU)

So when you do the simple mathematics of who is in the bowl games, the Big XII is not as dominating as Lisa wants them to be. She gave so much credit to Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford and Graham Harrell (who royally got the shaft in the Heisman) but none to Mack Brown, Mike Leach or Bob Stoops. It’s always good to be the quarterback, but you can’t be a great QB without a great coach to teach you the fundamental basics.

But it was a team effort that got a majority of these teams into their respective bowl games. But to just single out one player or position as the reason of their success is downright dumb. In regards to the SEC being dominant, I’m surprised no one threw former Tennessee Quarterback Peyton Manning’s name in the mix if you’re going to do name dropping.

Regardless, the Big XII is in as much trouble this bowl season as everyone else. And even though no one has flat out said that Oklahoma will slaughter Florida or vice versa, you have to know that someone wants to start the fireworks.

It’s good that you know stats and everything, Lisa, but the facts do not support your main argument. You called the SEC weak this season, but really didn’t give a reason to their weakness. You just went on about how great the quarterbacks of the Big XII look in their uniforms. But the numbers aren’t the only thing that people look at. They look at who has proven themselves to be a leader.

In all honesty, all four quarterbacks involved in the Heisman Chase have proven themselves to be leaders. But after tonight, only one will hold up the Heisman…and Tebow would much rather have a National Championship. And we all know about the Heisman Curse.

So here’s a better poll question: Who has been the stronger conference and who has been the weaker conference this year?

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Jenkins wins Thorpe Award

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Ohio State’s Malcolm Jenkins was named college football’s best defensive back Thursday when he won the Jim Thorpe Award.

Jenkins finished ahead of Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Taylor Mays (USC).

 

“This is something I’ve had my eye on for some time,” Jenkins said. “And it’s not just about stats. If it was, I wouldn’t be here. It’s about leadership, and setting an example, too. You can’t imagine what this means to me. I was a semifinalist last year, and I’ve wanted to win it ever since.”

 

In other awards Thursday:

 

• Tim Tebow won the Maxwell Award for the second year, edging Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell for the honor given to college football’s best all-round player.

 

• Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford beat out Harrell and McCoy for the Davey O’Brien Award, which is given to the top quarterback.

 

• McCoy was the Walter Camp Player of the Year, leading the All-America team.

 

• Michael Crabtree, a Texas Tech sophomore, won his second straight Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver.

 

• Running back Shonn Greene of Iowa won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back, finishing ahead of Knowshon Moreno of Georgia and Javon Ringer of Michigan State, who will meet in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day in Orlando.

 

• The Outland Trophy (best interior lineman) was won by Andre Smith of Alabama.

 

• Rey Maualuga of USC won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player over James Laurinaitis of Ohio State and Aaron Maybin of Penn State.

 

• Matt Fodge of Oklahoma State won the Ray Guy Award (best punter) and Graham Gano of Florida State the Lou Groza Award (best kicker).

 

• Nick Saban was selected the Coach of the Year after leading Alabama to the SEC championship game and a 12-1 record.

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