Slick Rick

Great series of articles in the Seattle Times about former UW and new UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel's 2000 team of Washington Huskies.

Let's just say they didn't play nice with others.

UCLA- he's all yours now. Colorado and Washington fans wish you the best of luck.

Oh, and UW fans... Is this what you want to go back to? I thought not- you can probably keep your money.

Who controls the past now controls the future...

With today's Rage Against The Machine lyric we start the four part exploration of the "National Championship" process, including a look at the money trail on the current system, a discussion about the relevancy for the whole thing, and a suggestion for those who really REALLY want some sort of closure.

Because, it's not enough to point fingers- I want us to really know the facts. First, we figure out how we get to where we are today.

It should also be noticed that as the game was in its formative stages, it was more prestigious than "professional" football. There were major concerns that almost had the game banned, and it was only "Papa Bear" Halas' ability to sign Illinois legend Red Grange to the Bears that gave the NFL any credibility. College football is big now, but it used to have no competition- no NFL, no NBA, no PBA.

And, college football existed before the NCAA (it was f0unded to address football's issues)- which is may also be why the NCAA has never had a 'champion' for football. It's also important to note that the NCAA basketball tournament has always existed (although, at one time it was less significant than the NIT, but that's another post), so there's always been sanctioned "championship".

In this context, the first thing to realize is that (once upon a time) everyone was OK with the media or others deciding this and letting folks know.

You know an obnoxious Notre Dame fan who's obsessed with all of their national championships? Or a Michigan fan with the same obsessions? Or even an Army fan who remembers when they were good (it's true)? Back then, it was up to sports writers (like the Heisman, the MVP for the season) to make that determination.

But they weren't the only ones- there were multiple "champions", designated by differing groups. For instance, Ohio State has five "official" championships and seven other ones. So the idea of a "true" champion is mostly a modern one- our ancestors were either OK with the complexity, enjoyed the debate, or simply had better things to do. My vote is the latter- there just wasn't 24 hour coverage online and on cable of sports (not that I'm complaining).

At one point, though, things got complex when the good folks in Pasadena decided to host a little game in 1902 in order to raise awareness for tourism and for their parade. That first game was Michigan and Stanford (I know, but it's true), and saw Michigan win 49-0. But the Rose Bowl wasn't always a Big T1e1n and Pac-10 event; one of the most famous moments in college football occurred in a game against Georgia Tech and Cal (I know, because my grandfather listened to it on the radio).

With the success of trips to California, other cities soon got into the act- Florida and Texas soon hosted bowl games of their own. To ensure a crowd, these games began to approach conferences in order to set up the best match ups and provide a vacation spot for fans from the east coast, the Midwest, and the plains states.

In all of this, though, the idea of "championship" never came into consideration. Even through the 80's, there were split "championships", as the Associated Press and Coaches Poll would select different teams. But any attempt to change the bowl alignments to facilitate a better process went out the window with the 1984 anti-trust decision that allowed for colleges (and conferences) to negotiate their own television deals (which is why Notre Dame has their own deal with NBC). Because conferences were creating their own contracts, they were working to create the television rights for their bowl agreements. All the NCAA could do was "recognize" these bowl games (meaning "allow student athletes to play, and member institutions to participate"). "Recognizing" is not "sanctioning".

This leads us a bit into the next post about the financial realities of the current system, but let's finish with a quick summary: NCAA never had a national champion for college football, Bowls have never about championships or playoffs (only money), NCAA can't do a playoff now due to legal precedent.

Next: Follow the money... The major barrier to making any changes. And why it's not as lucrative for your alma mater as you might imagine.

Shenanigans

We talked before about new Mich1gAAn coach Rich Rodriguez and his transition from WVa.

It's gotten more interesting: There are files missing (allegedly shredded), and the fingers point to Coach's last moments in Morgantown.

There are also concerns that this may impact the lawsuit WVU has already filed against him for breech of contract.

Huh. That's "interesting."

Please hear me correctly- this legitimately makes me sad. Yes, I'm not a huge fan of Mich1gAAn (the football program), but I have the utmost in respect for the University of Michigan- it's a prestigious, challenging, and excellent institution. And it frustrates me that (if these things or others are true), they may have compromised their character in order to win some games.

So, it's not all schadenfreude, but there's some.

UPDATE: Seems like cell phones may be an issue here as well. Coach Rod is claiming that he didn't contact any Michigan or WVa recruits prior to resigning his position. However, we know that this is not true.

UPDATE 2: Mitch Albom says this a lot better than me... As should be expected.

Ok, I'm ready to talk about it now...

Two years in a row, my favorite squadron has lost to an SEC team in the Mythical National Championship Game. Makes this look like a reality, doesn't it?

Last year, in the Game of Which We Do Not Speak, they got blown out. No doubt about it, they were outplayed from the get go by a team that was prepared to beat them. It didn't help that they had the Heisman Curse going their way, but Florida simply was the better team.

This year, though, was different. This year, Ohio State stood toe to toe with one of the two teams that played in New Orleans. Problem is, the other one beat them.

Statistically, Ohio State actually excelled in numerous categories, and outgained the great LSU defense on yards per attempt. Any and all "Slow Big 10" legacy from the year before went out the window early on as well.

Not bad against a team that was a pre-season #1, "undefeated in regulation", on their home field (like they ever go anywhere else), with senior leadership.

But, like I said, they could have played with LSU but they couldn't beat themselves as well.

When you look at the 5 personal fouls (75 yards), one blocked kick (returned for 20 yards), missed blocked punt, a fumble recovered for another 20 some yards, it's easy to see how the "hidden yardage" stacked up against the scarlet and gray.

But that was to be expected. This was, after all, a team with only 3 seniors starting, a team whose entire offensive scoring from last year is now in the NFL, and a team that was picked to finish 4th/5th in the Big T1e1n (behind Wisconsin, Penn State and Mich1gAAn). They were young, they were injured, and yet they ended up in New Orleans after the other teams didn't want to close the deal (Stanford? Pitt?).

Obviously, there were some flaws- tOSU's QB is a great game manager, but not someone who will put the game on his shoulders to win it; there's no speed threat at WR, so playing man coverage with lots of pressure is easy to do; etcetera... But again, they were a year early.

And next year's looking pretty freaking good... Only one junior going to the NFL, which means that there will be 9 defensive starters and 10 offensive starters returning. Not to mention one of the better recruiting classes in the country.

In other words, it's still a good time to be a Buckeye fan.

With a schedule that includes a trip to USC, and both Michigan and Penn State coming to Columbus, it's quite possible that Ohio State will be vying for their third trip to the BCS championship in as many years.

Which brings me to the most frustrating aspect of life post- January 7: People who say that Ohio State should never get another opportunity, given that they've fallen short in the last two.

For instance, here's a quote from the LA Times:

Who let Ohio State in?
Why couldn't we keep them out?
What can we do to stop them from coming back?
What would be truly incredible is if voters and computers finally realize that the Big Ten, whose teams have won two national titles in 38 years, is no longer a football conference. What would be absolutely fair is voters and computers treating the Big Ten the way they treat the Western Athletic Conference of Boise State and Hawaii. One loss, and they're done. One loss, and they have no shot of reaching the national championship game. A team from the SEC or Pacific 10 or Big 12 can have two losses and be here, because their competition is so much better.

Seriously? If that was the case, then Notre Dame shouldn't ever be allowed to play in January ever. And Oklahoma should take their three losses and a forfeit and stay in Norman during the bowl season.

Heck, if that logic carried over to the NFL, the Colts would never be allowed to play in January, either.

(Aside- if the NFL ran the BCS, perhaps we'd finally get to see the SEC and Pac-10 not play a home game; perhaps something like this.)

Look, I understand what you're saying, but don't hate the player- hate the game. And there's been plenty of that, as more and more people call for a playoff, (including the folks at ABC/Disney/ESPN- just as I predicted).

But, as I've said before- it's not going to happen. Not without some significant changes.

Which leads me to an announcement: Over the next few weeks, I'll be presenting a four part series on the current state of college football's bowl system. My hope is to cover the following areas:

• Those who don't know the past are doomed to repeat it- How did we get to where we are?
• Follow the money- Financial realities of the current system
• We've burned the couch- now what?- Is there even a value for a "champion"?
• Laying a golden egg- My recommendation for a playoff

A lot of stuff here you may have read before, but I hope to cover some new ground. And, since you're all a lot smarter than me, I hope you'll join the conversation in the comments section.

More of the same...

Quick bit on our review of hiring decisions at Division 1 (FBS) institutions, especially regarding African American head coaches.

For this year, the numbers (5/116) remain the same thus far- gained one at Houston, lost one at UCLA, and almost had one bought away at Washington.

Beating the (hiring) holiday rush, Purdue has named the successor to Joe Tiller, and it's Danny Hope from Eastern Kentucky. Also, Florida State has picked Bobby Bowden's replacement: Jimbo Fisher.

And, you guessed it- neither are minority hires.

All good things must come to an end...

And that includes our college challenge(s)- the Bowl Mania finished with a late surge!
And that means that Michael is our points champion! We won't point out that someone finished below a two year old- that would be mean.
And Aaron (didn't you play for Pelini?) won the picks portion!
Overall, Aaron squeaked by our regular season champion Terry for the picks crown...
while Michael's bowl showing did the same with the points.

Split championships? Regular season and bowl winners? Sounds familiar- anyone have an idea for a playoff?

Less than 8 months until August! See you then...

Well, crap.

Hats off to LSU- the best team on the field tonight. Great job, Bo "Buckeye and Husker" Pelini.

Fact is, you can't give up two picks, one fumble, a blocked FG, and 6 (!) personal foul penalties against a great team at their place and expect to win. I have more thoughts, but I also have jury duty tomorrow, so it may be a while until I get to them.

Not to be all "silver lining", but I did say earlier in the year-

In this guy's opinion, the best team in the country is Louisiana State. If they run the table, they'll get to play for the BCS title in New Orleans (a home game), and should be favored.

Did I mention that tOSU should return 20 starters? Maybe some of them can figure out how to play for more than one quarter in the championship game.

Repeat

Even though it didn't work out so well last year, the thoughts I had then ring true for tonight- here it is again (with slight changes):

I haven't said much about the game this evening... I don't really know what to say. A lot of smarter people than I have come up with overviews- "google" if you want that type of thing.

I've thought all year that #1 was optimistic, and I've always felt that my favorite squadron could go 1-11 if they beat you know who. So, I was committed to not thinking about the game tonight... a win would just be icing on an extremely tasty cake. Especially since this was a re-building year, and that we might have as many as 20 starters returning for next year... I'm just happy that the Buckeyes are here.

But here we are. I don't know if it's because of the above, because of the 51 day layoff, because it's a wweek after New Year's, or because of the lack of coverage (since the BCS moved to FOX, I haven't had it crammed down my throat like ESPN did last year); but in any case, I find myself not all that emotionally involved... perhaps that will change come gametime.

Ironically, I'm the guy who always picks against my team in our college picks league- this year, I went with them for one point. If they lose, I finish in second; if they win, I finish in 15th or something.

To be honest, the only thing that concerns me is the LSU coaching staff. Not because of the team "speed" or talent, but because it is Les Miles is crazier than all get out. I think that he'll do anything to win (witness going for it on fourth down 5 times against Florida), especially since he's a "Michigan Man" (or not). Plus, it's a home game for LSU... never a good sign.

But, as West Virginia proved in the University of Phoenix Stadium last week, anything can happen.

No matter what, it's been a great season. How this game ends up does not change that.

In Tressel We Trust.

Things to keep in mind...

While you're watching the National Championship Game on Monday, and listening to the cough hacks at Fox do the pre-game and play by play...

Aside: It should be illegal for a network to cover the "Championship Series" of a sport if they haven't covered that sport at a major, national level at any point during the regular season. When this happens, you end up with stupid comments and even dumber graphic placement.

Anywho- while you're watching and listening, please keep these things in mind (Major HT MotSaG):

• The SEC did not have a better non-conference schedule than the Big T1e1n, and didn't do statistically better in their games. Granted, even though they played the same number of 1-AA teams, the SEC didn't lose to one (who ended up winning their championship).
• Ohio State had a soft schedule, and someone else should get a shot. Well, Sagarin disagrees (fifth column); many of the programs who've been listed as replacements didn't do much better. Plus, there's no team that schedules out of conference like tOSU (home and aways with USC, Miami, VaTech, Cal, and Oklahoma starting next year, one per year).
  
• Neither LSU nor tOSU "backed into" the championship game- Nope, they were at the top of the polls longer than everyone else throughout the season.
• The "SEC Speed" myth will be in effect- LSU will fly by the Buckeyes. Hmmm... Not according to this data. Plus, as we've talked about before, this whole argument may be racist in nature.
  
• "Here we go again"- Yes, they didn't look good in the game that didn't happen; but this is now and the team is different.
• Ohio State is 0-8 against the SEC in bowl games. True, but they're also 2-0-1 against LSU historically.
  
• USC killed Illinois, who beat tOSU; so if the Buckeye's win, USC should be the national champion. I've got two thoughts on this. Thought 1: Stanford. Thought two... this may have to wait until next year.

I'm working on a longer post(s) about the BCS and the "National Championship", but wanted to get this information to you in enough time to let you have these talking points for your watch party.

Coaching Carousel, Update 12/13

West Virginia hires assistant Bill Stewart after their beat down of Jokelahoma. Also, word out of Hawaii is that June Jones has left for SMU.

Here's the list:

Hawaii
Southern Methodist- Hire: June Jones (no)
West Virginia- Hire: Bill Stewart (no)
UCLA- Hire: Rick Neuheisel (no)
Southern Illinois- Hire: Dale Lennon (no)
Mich1gAAn- Hire: Rich Rodriguez, (Hispanic heritage)
Nebraska- Hire: Bo Pelini (no)
Mississippi- Hire: Houston Nutt (no)
Texas A&M- Hire: Mike Sherman (no)
Colorado State- Hire: Steve Fairchild (no)
Duke- Hire: David Cutcliffe (no)
Georgia Tech- Hire: Paul Johnson (no)
Baylor- Hire: Art Briles (no)
Southern Mississippi- Hire: Larry Fedora(no)
Arkansas- Hire: Bobby Petrino (no)
Washington State- Hire: Paul Wulff (no)
Northern Illinois- Hire: Jerry Kill (no)
Houston: Hire: Kevin Sumlin (yes!)
Navy- Hire: Ken Niumatalolo, (Samoan heritage)