CC 0809 Update 3

Good news on New Year's Eve- we have a seventh African American head coach in Division 1 football!!

UCLA's DeWayne Walker has been selected to replace Hal Mumme at New Mexico State University.

Before we get to excited, though, a piece or two of perspective: 7/120 = >6%. Number of African American head coaches of the 65 BCS Conference schools? 1 (>2%)- Coach Shannon at Miami.

Here are the current numbers- looks like the searches are completed:

Toledo: Hire- Tim Boeckman (no)
Kansas State: Hire- Bill Snyder (no)
Tennessee: Hire- Lane Kitfin (no)
Washington: Hire- Steve Sarkisian (no)
Wyoming: Hire- Dave Christensen (no)
Clemson: Hire- Dabo Swinney (no)
New Mexico: Hire- Mike Locksley (YES!!)
Mississippi State- Hire: Dan Mullen (no)
Bowling Green: Hire- Dave Clawson (no)
Syracuse: Hire- Doug Marrone (no)
Auburn: Hire- Gene Chizik (no)
San Diego State: Hire- Brady Hoke (no)
Iowa State: Hire- Paul Rhoads (no)
Utah State: Hire- Gary Andersen (no)
Eastern Michigan: Hire- Ron English (YES!!)
Miami of Ohio: Hire- Mike Haywood (YES!!)
New Mexico State: Hire- DeWayne Walker (YES!!)
Army: Hire- Rich Ellerson (no)
Ball State: Hire- Stan Parrish (no)

19 openings, 4 African Americans hired (21%). Getting better, but still a long way to go. Slate magazine takes a pretty good look into this situation, and speculates that there are several factors:

• Ability and opportunity for young African American coaches to build relationships with boosters
• Boosters own racism (acknowledged or otherwise)
• Appropriate mentoring of potential candidates (Assistant coaches and O/D Coordinators) to prepare them for next step
• Athletic Directors/University Presidents willing to risk hiring not just a new coach, but one who is "different" (whatever that means)
  

Given where we are in history, you would hope that this would be something that would change a little faster than it has. Perhaps other solutions are warranted...

Playoff Wrap Up

Thoughts from watching the games last night and today...

• Hey, remember when the Big 12 used to play defense? Yeah, me too.
• I wonder how Chase Daniel's family is feeling during his bowl game- Are they there? Oh, that's right.
• Man, what I wouldn't give to have a constant update on the ESPN ticker about Brett Favre's current situation- You mean he's going to think about returning for a while before letting us know? Whatever will I do in the meantime...

And now, let the totally imaginary games that will never happen in real life because money and television are too much of a factor begin!

One glitch has emerged: The NFL is considering moving the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl (when our hypothetical National Championship Game was to take place). Personally, I don't think this will work out, especially when none of the players from the Super Bowl teams participate. So there's still a chance for our plan.

Here's where we left it:
First Round: January 2-3, 2009

• West Region: Fiesta Bowl (Arizona)- Boise State and U$C
  
• South Region: Sugar Bowl (Louisiana)- Virginia Tech and Florida
  
• Central Region: Cotton Bowl (Dallas)- Texas and Oklahoma
  
• North Region: Bailout Bowl (Detroit)- Cincinnati and Penn State
  

Second round: January 9-10, 2009

• Rose Bowl (Pasadena): West verses Central
  
• Orange Bowl (Miami): North verses South
  

National Championship Game : January 24, 2009

• Indianapolis

As I look at this, there may not be many surprises. Let's go game by game:

NORTH (Bailout Bowl)- Penn State and Cinci would be a great game against two regional teams that don't typically face each other. But it wouldn't get any more interesting than that- Penn State in a blowout.

WEST (Fiesta Bowl)- The darlings of the NCAA against the only true power on the West Coast. Guess who wins? U$C by two touchdowns.

SOUTH (Sugar Bowl)- Florida has to travel to hostile territory in N'Awlin's to face the Hokies. It will be more difficult for Coach Meyer to keep the Gators off of Bourbon Street than it will be to keep Va Tech out of the endzone. Florida wins big.

CENTRAL (Cotton Bowl)- This is where things get interesting. First, it's the rematch of the Red River Shootout, on the same field in Dallas. Second, it would address the "neutral field"/"neutral computer" debate that was all over the place prior to the Big 12 Conference championship. You don't often get a "do over", in life or in college football- but I can guarantee that the tickets and ratings for this game would be insane.

I still believe that Oklahoma wins a close one- they seemed to be playing better at the end of the season, and I think they will have figured out how to stop Texas from running (something that cost them the first match up), but the ramifications are interesting. Mostly because:

SEMIFINAL 1 (Rose Bowl)- U$C versues the "Red River Rematch" winner- and that's the interesting part. As good as the Trojan's defense is, I don't think that they could beat Oklahoma (even in a home game), but I've thought that before. But if Texas happens to beat OU in the first round, I see a U$C victory here (in part because Vince Young has no more elligibility) . I'm not the only person who sees these results as probable.

SEMIFINAL 2 (Orange Bowl)- Florida and Penn State meet in Miami. The Gators win, and Joe Pa can stay in state for his retirement, if he so choses.

FINALS (NC Game- Indianapolis)- Either Oklahoma or U$C versus Florida. Some guys who gamble on things (something I bet I would never do) say that the odds would favor a Trojan victory. In my opinion, OU beats Texas and then U$C, but loses to the Gators.

At least that's the result I've got in my picks league- and we all know how well that is going.

Tomorrow: CC update, with promising news.

Playoffs, continued

Before we get back to our discussion of Jim Mora's favorite topic, here are just a couple of observations:

• Remember me saying that bowls were and are about tourism and money and not sports? I told you so.
• The ESPN ticker statistics like "Oklahoma State has been to 3 consecutive bowl games, after not going to any from 1968 to 1998" or whatever are worthless. Now, there are opportunities for more than 50% of Division 1 teams go to bowls. Then, there were 5 bowls, and we liked it, dadgummit. Although, it does make it a lot funnier if you can't make a bowl and break a long bowl streak.
  
• Watched the Papajohns.com bowl today, and realized three things. First, this is one of those bowls that ESPN owns and televises; Second, it seemed like a good crowd, but it could also be that they moved everyone around for TV purposes; Third, PJ's does not deliver to my house, no mater how often I order online. Jerks.

Now, back to the topic at hand. In our last post, we wrote:

Look, anytime there's any sort of ranking there's going to be some controversy. Think of March Madness- even with 65 teams there are others who feel shunned unfairly. And there are often others who end up in a really easy bracket or a really difficult one. It's a part of the nature of the game- The Patriots only lost one game last year, but it was in the Super Bowl to an allegedly inferior opponent. In football and college basketball, it's not "best of..." series- it's one and done.And you have to draw a line somewhere- my line is that national champions should also be conference champions.

And so it is that in the NFL we have the 8-8 Chargers hosting the 12-4 Colts while the 11-5 Patriots sit at home. Yes, it seems unfair, but the No Fun League's rules also value conference championships, and it seems as if America has accepted those parameters pretty well. You're not going to have anyone from the Office of the President Elect talking about redoing the NFL playoffs, now are you?

Ahem. Where were we? When last we left our intrepid challengers, we had eight worthy adversaries: Florida, Oklahoma, U$C, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Texas, and Boise State.

Remembering one of our other directives, the playoffs have got to involve the current bowls as best as possible (money and tourism, remember?), while working to remove automatic home field advantage for teams in the south and west AND thinking regionally so fans can go and tailgate appropriately. This meant creating two extra bowls (sanctioned by the NCAA), one for the first round and one for the final game.

The location of this final game would rotate between Dallas (new Cowboys stadium- it's not like they're going to have any playoff games there), Indianapolis (Indy is home of the NCAA, which is why the Final Four is there so frequently), and St. Louis (see earlier Cowboy comments). These locations are central to every college fanbase, and as neutral as possible without leaving the country.

Last year's bracket looked like this
Playoff first round: January 1-4, 2008

• West Region: Fiesta Bowl (Arizona)- U$C and Hawaii
  
• South Region: Sugar Bowl (Louisiana)- LSU and Georgia
  
• Central Region: Cotton Bowl (Dallas)- Oklahoma and WVa
  
• North Region: Bratwurst Bowl (Minneapolis)- tOSU and BC

Playoff second round: January 15, 16, 2008

• Rose Bowl (Pasadena)- U$C and WVa
  
• Orange Bowl (Miami)- LSU and tOSU

National Championship Game : January 25, 2008

• Indianapolis- U$C and LSU

Given what we know, here's how 2008-09 would play out:
First Round: January 2-3, 2009

• West Region: Fiesta Bowl (Arizona)- Boise State and U$C
  
• South Region: Sugar Bowl (Louisiana)- Virginia Tech and Florida
  
• Central Region: Cotton Bowl (Dallas)- Texas and Oklahoma (Same conference- required to play each other)
  
• North Region: Bailout Bowl (Detroit)- Cincinnati and Penn State
  

Second round: January 9-10, 2009

• Rose Bowl (Pasadena): West verses Central
  
• Orange Bowl (Miami): North verses South
  

National Championship Game : January 24, 2009 (week between NFL Conference Championships and Super Bowl)

• Indianapolis

Thoughts? All of these would be games that I would want to watch (better than the current BcS).

Tomorrow, I'll talk through the individual matchups and see where we would end.

Playoffs?

A wise man once said- "Anyone can smell a rotten egg; it takes someone special to lay a golden one".

Folks a lot smarter than me have offered their solutions, but even those have flaws- The Old School Plus One would either leave two teams who won their bowl games arguing that they deserved a shot; Brian's plan takes away from conference championships and current bowl tie ins (unrealistic, given the money involved).

Consider this my golden egg. First, a review of the rules:

1. Colleges cannot play more than 11 regular season games (one less than current numbers)
2. First poll is not released until the end of September (after teams have played); Coaches and AP polls abolished for conflict of interest (or if continued, cannot be used in televised commentary)
   
3. 6 wins needed to be bowl eligible, games against non division 1 schools do not count towards total
4. The major 6 conferences will need to adjust their membership to include 12 teams
   
5. Each conference decides their champion by a championship game; how they determine who plays there is up to them
6. This CCG should be considered the first round of the playoffs; a team who loses is eliminated from the postseason tourney, but may still play in one of the many other bowls
   
7. The six conference champions will be matched up into a playoff; number one seeds determined by a ranking formula similar to current BCS (including schedule strength, margin of victory,etc.)
8. The last two spots will be filled by the highest ranked two teams remaining, as long as neither team played for their conference championship . This allows for teams who are in a stronger division within their conference (Big 12 South, SEC East) or are not within a power conference (Boise State, Tulane) to be involved, preventing any ridiculous legal action.
9. No more than two teams from any one conference in the final eight, and teams from the same conference must play in the first round; the final four will consist only of one team per conference
   

So today, we'll start with rules 4 and 5 (since the first three are not really relevant here): Conferences and Champions.

The Big 12, SEC, and ACC are already good, so we need to tweak the PAC 10, the Big T1e1n, and the Big lEast.

To me, the PAC 12 is easy: Add BYU and Utah, and you've got two really good divisions- North (UW/WSU/UofO/toOSU/BYU/Utah) and South (U$C/UCLA/Cal/Stanford/UofA/ASU).

This year, U$C and Utah would square off in Tempe for the championship, with U$C emerging as the PAC 12 champ.

The Big T1e2n gets a bit more complicated: Ntre Ame is the logical addition, but the divisions are more challenging. For the sake of rivalries and splitting up the traditional powers, let's go with this: Corn (tOSU/UM/MSU/Indiana/Purdue/Iowa) and Cheese (Penn State/Notre Dame/Minnesota/Wisconsin/Northwestern/Illinois).

This year, Soldier Field would see Penn State defeat Ohio State for the championship (and yes, it hurt to type that.)

The Big lEast is even more confusing, mostly because I don't care. They need to add four teams to get to 12, so let's raid the mid majors and independants: Army, Navy, East Carolina, and Buffalo, come on down. Here's the divisions- Rivers (WVa/Pitt/Syracuse/Buffalo/UC/UofL) Oceans (South Florida/Army/Navy/UConn/Rutgers/ECU).

At Giants Stadium, West Virginia beats East Carolina for the automatic bid.

Our 6 champions, then: Virginia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, U$C, Penn State, and West Virginia. So, who else gets in? Last year, it would have been Georgia and Hawaii; 2008 sees Texas and Boise State as at large candidates.

And this is where the controversy begins- Are Texas Tech (one loss, ranked higher), Alabama (ditto), Ohio State (personal favorite), etc. better than Boise State or one of the teams from the ACC/Big lEast? Sure, but they didn't win their conference championship game (rule 6), or had another conference at large team ranked higher (rule 9).

Look, anytime there's any sort of ranking there's going to be some controversy. Think of March Madness- even with 65 teams there are others who feel shunned unfairly. And there are often others who end up in a really easy bracket or a really difficult one. It's a part of the nature of the game- The Patriots only lost one game last year, but it was in the Super Bowl to an allegedly inferior opponent. In football and college basketball, it's not "best of..." series- it's one and done.

And you have to draw a line somewhere- my line is that national champions should also be conference champions. It keeps the regular season meaningful, and will reward (or at least not penalize) teams for playing difficult out of conference games- you can lose one, win your conference, and still be dancing at the end. Also, if you're in a difficult conference and "beat up on each other every week", your record won't matter if you win your CCG.

Now that we've got the teams, tomorrow we'll look at how this would all come together.

Bowl Crap

Well, we're in full swing here in bowl season. Since I'm getting my brains beat in as a part of both of the picks leagues I'm in, I've got nothing better to do than vent... uh... brighten your day. So here goes.

Pat White is the stuff. And I love Bill Stewart. But it will be interesting to see how Burning Couches University does now that he's moving on. Also from that game- The definition of "re-donk-you-lus" is this catch:

Explain to me how the ACC has ten of its twelve teams in bowls this year? Especially since they are one of the two worst conferences this year? Yeah, the whole "going to a bowl game" thing is really overrated.

It's good to see that I'm not the only one calling shenanigans on the Bowl Challenge that ESPN does. I'd be more than excited to have everyone except Indiana or MACh1gAAn play the ACC's bowl schedule and see where that leaves us.

Congratulations to Notre Ame on their huge bowl win (first in 9 tries). You beat a 7-7 school who lost their head coach and Heisman candidate QB, and couldn't win their own sub-par conference. Strike up the echoes, and get ready for a top 10 ranking at the beginning of the season. After you coast through your unbelievably easy schedule (Nevada? Washington State?), you'll be guaranteed a BCS bid due to what we call the "Papal Bull". That will allow for another long "haven't won a bowl game" streak to begin, and for the rest of us to enjoy your collapse.

We've talked about this before, but the BCS games are not all that great for schools- especially monetarily. For instance, Utah (undefeated Utah) may actually lose more than $400,000 for the honor and privilege of playing in the Sugar Bowl, and they're not the only ones.

Remember our discussion about the crappy match ups in the BCS? How about this for proof: Orange Bowl tickets are easy to get. Really easy. And they're not the only ones. It's really become ridiculous.

Tomorrow- Taking a look at what things would look like if we had playoffs according to me.

CC 0809 Update 2

Even in the hinterlands, I can still track this thing.

Two hirings, but only one that helps the overall numbers. Iowa State completed their trade with Auburn- I guess an SEC Defensive Coordinator is equal to a Big 12 head coach.

Louisville and Michigan Defensive Coordinator moves back to the state of Michigan, and becomes the 5th African American head coach in Division 1A. I'm sure he will be successful, given that he won't face Ohio State.

UPDATE: Mike Haywood in at Miami of Ohio, bringing our numbers up to where they were at the beginning of the year (6). Not sure how to feel about this; it's a great opportunity for a coach of African heritage, but he was the offensive coordinator at Ntre Ame and was replaced in his duties mid season.

Here's the updated list:

Toledo: Hire- Tim Boeckman (no)
Kansas State: Hire- Bill Snyder (no)
Tennessee: Hire- Lane Kitfin (no)
Washington: Hire- Steve Sarkisian (no)
Wyoming: Hire- Dave Christensen (no)
Clemson: Hire- Dabo Swinney (no)
New Mexico: Hire- Mike Locksley (YES!!)
Mississippi State- Hire: Dan Mullen (no)
Bowling Green: Hire- Dave Clawson (no)
Syracuse: Hire- Doug Marrone (no)
Auburn: Hire- Gene Chizik (no)
San Diego State: Hire- Brady Hoke (no)
Iowa State: Hire- Paul Rhoads (no)
Utah State: Hire- Gary Andersen (no)
Eastern Michigan: Hire- Ron English (YES!!)
Miami of Ohio: Hire- Mike Haywood (YES!!)
New Mexico State
Army
Ball State

6 African American head coaches out of 120 1A programs = 5%. In case you were wondering, 55% of student athletes in 1A are minorities.

Oh, and of those 6, three are at MAC schools (Gill, English, Haywood), for a 25% ratio. It will be interesting to see if Ball State increases these numbers at all.

More from Lord Charles

on the Dan Patrick show:

I'm seriously considering registering in Alabama just so I can vote for him for governor.

All things considered

This weekend, Oklahoma sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy. Congratulations to him and to the Sooners- it's been a great year.

The controversy about the awards ceremony (because there always is one) is why Texas Tech's amazing QB Graham Harrell wasn't even invited to the event. Here's my take:

If he shows up, people have to deal with the fact that he and Bradford are essentially the same person.

Now, I'm not talking about some sort of doppelganger or cloning situation, or even a "two places at the same time" issue (although, that would explain some things). Nope, I mean they are both Tim Couch or Colt Brennan... They have great numbers because of the system that they're in.

Let's look at the numbers:

The difference, in my opinion, is two things. First, Bradford has played in one more game (Big 12 Championship- let's not get into that), so his stats are bound to be better. Second, he has more weapons: Better athletes, a better defense to help control the game, etc. ESPN even seems to to think so, talking about his "managing the OU offense" in their headline regarding his win.

However, while football is not an individual sport (thanks be to God), the Heisman is not a team award. While each athlete will benefit from the work of those around them, it does seem appropriate to try to judge them independant of their supporting cast (as difficult as that may be).

Which is why I also don't believe that Tim Tebow should have won this year (and no, not for the obvious reason). Tim benefits enormously from having an offense that is willing to make big plays and has great playmakers (when they're healthy). Again, it's the system (look at Utah when Urban Meyer was there)- and the fact that he's really a linebacker with a decent arm. However, I do think that Tebow should have finished second, due to his willingness to take the game into his own hands- the famous Bradford leap? Happens three or four times a game at Florida. Plus, Tebow is a good guy; devoted Christian, and seems to have a sound understanding of the Old Testament.

But my vote (no, I don't really get one) goes to Colt McCoy. He did the most with the least (no all-star WR or RB), has good passing and rushing numbers, and works in a system that requires him to actually think (not 123 throw). He's been the leader on his team all year (even bringing them back against TTU, and he shouldn't be penalized because their D can't catch an INT or make a tackle). And, if we're talking "teams"- his beat Bradford's head to head on a neutral field.

Plus, a little Heisman jinx couldn't hurt his bowl appearance, right?

Well, that's disappointing

Syracuse and Auburn, the two programs where Turner Gill (and Vince Gill, if you're only talking about Auburn) was being considered for the head coaching position have made their decisions.

'Da 'Cuse has selected alum Doug Marrone, and Auburn have hired Gene Chizik.

Both decisions have been met with, um, some resistance: Syracuse opinion here, Thoughts on Auburn here (and below):

(He) has 18 years of experience in coaching, the last two of which he has spent at his first head coaching job. He is 5-19 over those two years, 2-14 in conference play, and has finished no better than fifth in a six-team division. He is coming off a 10-game losing streak to finish the 2008 season, during which his team was winless in-conference.

And you know that we're frustrated that our list now looks like this:

Toledo: Hire- Tim Boeckman (no)
Kansas State: Hire- Bill Snyder (no)
Tennessee: Hire- Lane Kitfin (no)
Washington: Hire- Steve Sarkisian (no)
Wyoming: Hire- Dave Christensen (no)
Clemson: Hire- Dabo Swinney (no)
New Mexico: Hire- Mike Locksley (YES!!)
Mississippi State- Hire: Dan Mullen (no)
Bowling Green: Hire- Dave Clawson (no)
Syracuse: Hire- Doug Marrone (no)
Auburn: Hire- Gene Chizik (no)
San Diego State: Hire- Brady Hoke (no)
Utah State: Hire- Gary Andersen (no)
New Mexico State
Miami of Ohio
Army
Iowa State
Ball State
Eastern Michigan

Some things just never change.

UPDATE: Well, I'm not the only one frustrated by this: Charles Barkley has weighed in-

"I think race was the No. 1 factor. You can say it's not about race, but you can't compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume."
"I'm just very disappointed. I just thought Turner Gill would be the perfect choice for two reasons: He's a terrific coach and we needed to make a splash. I thought we had to do something spectacular to bring attention to the program. Clearly, if we'd hired a black coach, it would have created a buzz."
"We talked about the whole race thing in Alabama. I told him it's there and it's going to be anywhere you go. I told him you can't not take the job because of racism. He was worried about being nothing more than a token interview. He was concerned about having a white wife. It's just very disappointing to me."
"My biggest problem with the black coaches is they're not getting jobs and they're getting [expletive] jobs when they are hired. They're not getting good jobs. They're not getting jobs where they can be successful. That's why I wanted Turner to get the Auburn job. He could win consistently at Auburn. You can't win consistently at New Mexico. You can't win consistently at Kansas State. He could have won at Auburn."

God, I love Charles Barkley.

Coaching Carousel 2008-09

And now, the promised examination of hiring practices in Division 1 (FBS) college football head coaching positions. Here's the list from last year.

As you remember, we're at 2.5% at the end of the season (3 African American head coaches out of 120 openings). And here's what's happened since:

Toledo: Hire- Tim Boeckman (no)
Kansas State: Hire- Bill Snyder (no)
Tennessee: Hire- Lane Kitfin (no)
Washington: Hire- Steve Sarkisian (no)
Wyoming: Hire- Dave Christensen (no)
Clemson: Hire- Dabo Swinney (no)
New Mexico: Hire- Mike Locksley (YES!!)
Mississippi State- Hire: Dan Mullen (no)
Bowling Green: Hire- Dave Clawson (no)
Syracuse: Hire- Doug Marrone (no)
Auburn
Eastern Michigan
Utah State
New Mexico State
San Diego State
Miami of Ohio
Army

It's also very promising that Buffalo's Turner Gill is being considered for the Syracuse and Auburn positions, but even with Locksley's hire that would leave the number at four (since Gill already has a head coaching position).

Some point to nepotism as being the main culprit behind these issues, and to a point I agree. A friend once said that the easiest way to get a head coaching position was to be an offensive or defensive coordinator, and the easiest way to get those jobs was to be an assistant, and the easiest way to be an assistant is to be a Graduate Assistant, and the best way to do that is to play D1 football.

But that's where the analogy breaks down, as a large portion of rosters are made up of minority students.

In my opinion, even nepotism smells of racism (intentional, subtle, or institutionalized), as people who have been given opportunity are want to give that same chance to others; if the system worked for them, then it must work. At some point, people must make the conscious decision to think outside of the good ole' boys network and hire new faces and new names. And given that coaching selection is all about money, it's hard to be the person who takes that risk.

Again, I read a lot about a future "up and coming" coaches (Strong from Florida; Phillips from Kentucky, etc.) , and am excited about what may happen. But we've been waiting for "may" for a while across the Higher Education landscape, and the numbers aren't great. A recent survey revealed that

“The leadership which is the power structure in college sport remains overwhelming white. In FBS institutions, this includes 92.5 percent of the presidents, 87.5 percent of the athletics directors, 92.6 percent of the faculty athletics reps, 83.3 percent of the faculty and 100 percent of the conference commissioners. Only 3.5 percent of the faculty are African-American and 3.4 are percent Latino.”

There's a long way to go.

Bowling for Dollars

Note of welcome to folks coming over from Buckeye Planet.
We're honored to have you here and to be listed with others in the community of the "Affiliates" list.

Couple of thoughts, now that the Bc$ is out and the bowls are full...

Item 1: 34 games. 68 schools. There are only 120 schools in Division 1 A (FBS), so somehow 57 percent of the teams are bowl elegible. Really not that much of an honor anymore, is it. So, Irish fans, keep that in mind.

Item 2: In case you forgot- the BCS is about MONEY and not "great matchups". The goal was to have the top two teams play, not to create amazing games across the board. This year's lineup should be proof positive, as evidenced by Vegas' odds:

• OU +3 vs Fla
• Alabama -10 vs Utah
  
• Texas - 10 vs tOSU
• U$C -10 vs Penn State
  
• Cincinnati -1 vs Va Tech
  

So other than the Championship Game and the "Really? We have to let these guys play because they won their conferences?" game, it's a bunch of double digit spreads.

And why is that? Money. The Fiesta Bowl selected Ohio State to give them their fourth visit to Tempe ("Columbus West") since 2003 purely because Buckeye Nation travels and spends well.

The Rose Bowl won't set aside their conference affiliations, and wants a home game for the Trojans. And the Sugar Bowl didn't exactly stretch itself in giving the Crimson Tide a virtual home game as well- close fan bases equals money spent on tickets and the like.

Can you imagine what might have been? With one minor tweak, changing one of the bowls to tOSU and Utah, you would have had three games with one loss teams, including matchups of at least four of the top five (Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, U$C, Alabama). Instead- double digit spreads, and possible blowouts across the board.

If it seems that bowls are being short sighted, remember that they (host committees or host citys) don't make money off of TV revenue. As such, they don't care if a blowout makes people turn the channel- they're invested in "butts in the seats and dollars out on the streets".

Item 3: MACh1gAAn has big plans for bowl season. They're going over to coach's house to watch (those who haven't quit, that is).

Item 4: OK, a bit of Big T1e1n homerism. Every year, ESPN does this stupid "Bowl Challenge", where they compare conference wins and losses in the post season. And, of course, they make huge assessments about programs and conferences based solely on the numbers, without also considering home field advantage and other issues.

Well, let me say this up front: This year, the Big T1e1n got hosed in all of their matchups. Even Vegas agrees:

• Florida State -4.5 vs Wisconsin
• Missouri -13 vs Northwestern
• Kansas -10 vs Minnesota
• Iowa - 3 vs South Carolina (I think that may change as we get closer to gametime)
• Georgia -7 vs Michigan State
• U$C - 10 vs Penn State
• Texas -10 vs tOSU

Seriously? We send seven teams to the Bowls, and they are ALL underdogs? Crap, even the ACC and Big lEast don't have that difficult of a run, and it's well documented that those conferences suck this year.

Item 5: We'll be looking at the "Because Chuck Said so" starting later this week, with the matchups that would result from my evil plan to... um... perfect idea to fix college's post season.

Item 6: It's Bowl Challenge Season! As always, we use ESPN and their "Confidence Points". Our group name is "Where's Michigan??, and the password is "Franklin", our regular season winner.

Here's the link- ESPN College Bowl Mania

Just Incredible

I love small market sports coverage...

By Way Of Explanation

Several folks have asked "Why the beef with Ntre Ame? What did they ever do to you?"

Well, actually, nothing. Nothing but three huge wins for my favorite squadron.

In fact, in college I was a ND fan (secondary team), and I've always liked Lou Holtz.

So, here's my issues:

1. They are considered an elite program, even though they haven't been relevant since the 80's.

Let's be honest, Irish fans (both of you)- you are not elite. You were, then the University decided that academics are more important than football. That's a great thing. Really- it's the reason I chose the college football program and my alma mater. It's also the reason why Urban Meyer went to Florida instead of South Bend. But please stop telling us you're on the same level as U$C, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State. Compare yourself to Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt. Heck, this year you can even compare yourself to MACh1gAAn. We'll even help you point and laugh.

2. Because they are considered an "elite" program, they have their own special clause in the BCS which means they get paid even if they aren't bowl eligible.

3. Because they are considered an "elite" program, they don't feel the need to be in a conference; choosing instead to play "traditional" rivals that more often than not give them an easy schedule.

4. Because they are considered an "elite" program, when they do have an offensive star , they are automatically in consideration for the highest awards in the country, even if their stats are against poor opponents.

5. They canned a coach because of his record and hired another one who was shortly fired for lying. They then selected their first African American head coach. After some success, he struggled to find players who fit his system, and was fired after three years, even though the University stated that "From Sunday through Friday our football program has exceeded all expectations, in every way. But on Saturday, we struggled. We've been up and down and sideways a little bit."

6. He was replaced by an alumni with a promising and yet shady resume. This coach had early success with the players that he recruited, and was praised for this success, while every downturn was blamed on the previous coach.

7. The new coach is labeled an Offensive Guru, although the results have not proven this to be anywhere near true.

8. Because they are considered an "elite" program, any recruit that they pursue is considered an elite recruit, even if all signs point otherwise.

So other than that, I've got no beef. But just so you know, this is something that has been thought through and isn't just an opportunistic "piling on".

And there's a lot of that going on-Slate (from 2007, reprinted today) Notre Dame's Charlie Weis: Still the Worst Football Coach in the Universe.

My personal favorite, seemingly from a disgruntled Irish fan: Chuck Weis.com. Great resource for stats of the debacle that the Dome oversees.

Irish fans, you can "wake up the echoes", but you'll need to do a couple of things:

• Admit the mistake of firing Willingham/hiring Weis. If that also means replacing Weis, then so be it.
  
• Be honest with your expectations and with your place in the current pantheon; you have every reason to be proud of your academic prowess and that you have true student athletes.
  
• Finally, enjoy the season and what occurs therein.
  

Same as every other college football fan. Nothing special.

Update: Ty Willingham? Still classy.

"It's not just my issue, it's a college football issue -- we have to give coaches a chance to do their job. Because now we have coaches ... especially some of the minority coaches ... they are losing their jobs after 2½years. That's not right."

"I have tried to take myself out of the situation as much as possible. Other people will not let that die. I can understand that from one perspective."

"For me, the experience was a steppingstone, hopefully not a steppingstone personally but a steppingstone for African-Americans. The sad thing is the way all of it happened. There was that somewhat ghosted image that we were not successful. That's not the truth. Of the three years there, two of those were bowl teams."

"One thing no one has ever disputed is that our program was run the right way. That should identify clearly that African-Americans have the ability to run one of the largest corporate football programs in this country in the manner that it should be done. So hopefully it was a steppingstone for all."

Dang skippy

It's nice to see truth in the media. Proves that we aren't nuts:

Charlie Weis' return makes it official: There's a double standard at Notre Dame

Selected quotes:

Willingham, the first African-American coach in school history, was also the first Irish football coach fired after three years, even though he had a better three-year record than two white coaches before him (Gerry Faust and Bob Davie). That was bad enough. But even worse was Notre Dame’s decision to keep Weis last winter despite the fact that his three-year record (22-15) was essentially the same as Willingham’s (21-15)

When they fired Willingham, the Irish said they were pleased with everything that happened from Sunday through Friday (ie: classroom, staying out of trouble), but the on-field results were not good enough.And yet they chose to retain Weis even though his on-field results were the same as Willingham’s.

Now, the Irish decide to keep Weis even though his four year record is worse than Willingham’s three year record. In fact, Willingham’s winning percentage (three years) is better than those of Faust (three), Davie (three) and Weis (four):

Willingham: 58.3
Weis: 57.1
Davie: 56.7
Faust: 54.4

My goodness, this looks bad, Irish Nation. Horrendously bad. So bad it makes me wonder about the tolerance level of the Irish brass. They must have been awfully uncomfortable being around Willingham, given that he was …Not an alum? Not a schmoozer?

Let’s delve into the stinkin’ depth of the Notre Dame hypocrisy.

* When Notre dame fired Willingham, the Irish Nation justified it by saying Willingham wasn’t competitive against USC.

In the past three years, Weis has lost to Pete Carroll by scores of 44-24, 38-0 and 38-3.

* When Notre dame fired Willingham, the Irish Nation justified it by saying the program didn’t win enough big games and too often played down to its competition.

In the past two years, Notre Dame has exactly one victory over a team with a winning record: Navy.

* When Notre dame fired Willingham, the Irish Nation justified it by saying the program was headed sideways, and to a certain extent it was: the Irish were 11-12 in Willingham’s last two years.

In the past two years under Weis, the Irish are 9-15. Their 3-9 mark last year was the worst one-year record in Notre Dame history, while 9-15 is the worst two-year record in Irish history.

Seriously, Irish fans (both of you)... that's a proud tradition you've got there.

Following up

Just a quick update on my post of gratitude:

I closed my eyes, and it slipped awaaaaaaaayyyy.....

Boston + Buckeye BCS hopes = Gallons of Liquid Awesome