With last night's result in the books and the crystal football heading back to Tuscaloosa, here is my reflection on the 2009 college football season in no particular order ... just as the thoughts come to mind.
The Mountain West absolutely has shown that it is worthy of being part of the BCS. I would not be surprised if some type of lawsuit filed by the conference surfaces against the BCS.
All but one bowl game are nothing more than exhibition games ... that is all.
Did you see the number of empty seats at most every bowl game?
Despite LSU's bowl loss to Penn State, I argue that the three best teams in the country at full strength may have been Alabama, Florida and LSU. Look at it this way ... if you took any other team and asked, "where would they finish in the SEC?" ... I think the answer would be no higher than 4th, behind these three teams.
Speaking of LSU, FINALLY this year, the whole college football world got to see the highly questionable tactics of Les Miles. He has always make bonehead decisions, but in the past they always found a way to turn out OK. The horseshoe finally fell out of his ass this year.
Once again, the Pac-10 conference gets WAY more attention than it deserves.
The ACC gets no attention in football, and quite frankly, doesn't really deserve any. Did ANYONE watch regional coverage games this year pitting the likes of Maryland and Virginia?
I wonder if Iowa could have run the table had Stanzi not gotten hurt.
The Big-10, which I have often grouped with the much overhyped Pac-10, proved to me that it ain't so bad.
Attention Georgia, Michigan, USC and Florida State fans, along with fans of other schools whose teams aren't performing up to expected standards ... RELAX. Things go in cycles and you will be back to a higher status soon. Look at programs like Nebraska and Penn State that had recent dips and appear to be back in the saddle.
Tim Tebow's college career reminds me very much of that of Doug Flutie. Outstanding. Everyone questioned Flutie's pro potential coming out of college as well. He never got a real chance in the NFL (though he excelled in Canada) because he wasn't a prototypical NFL quarterback, but few people know that he won 67% of the games he started in the NFL Dude could PLAY. I'll be interested to see what kind of opportunity Tebow, because he does not fit the NFL mold either.
Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram was not even the best player on his own team ... that was linebacker Rolando McClain. What a freak! Ingram just happened to be the feature running back on the best team. Put a number of running backs in his place, including teammate Trent Richardson, and they put up the same numbers as he did. No dis on Ingram, he's very good. But Heisman? Uh, no.
So who should have won the Heisman. There was obviously no clear cut favorite, but I would have voted for Colt McCoy with Suh 2nd.
Michigan looked like it was turning the corner earlier in the season and then couldn't even beat the bottom-dwellers in the Big-10. Thus Michigan is now the new bottom-dweller.
Gee, I hate to see Notre Dame struggle (wink). If Clausen and Tate are indeed going into the NFL draft, Brian Kelly has his work cut out for him next year. If it weren't for those two, ND might not have won 3 games this year.
More on ND. I really think that the Irish are not destined for a return to real elite-program status. Today's kids do not see them as the ticket to the show and don't see South Bend, Indiana as a desirable destination to spend 3 or 4 years. Plus, they do have higher academic standards which will eliminate them from contention for many top recruits. I may be wrong, but I just don't see it.
Lane Kiffin looks as if he will provide much entertainment over the years. But you must admit, Tennessee did improve this year as much as anyone.
I wonder if Paul Johnson's system has reached its ceiling, since Georgia Tech has been manhandled in both bowl games under him. When I say ceiling, I wonder if they will ever be able to seriously contend for a national title. But if you're a Tech, fan, winning a conference championship and getting to a BCS bowl game is a pretty good ceiling. And again, time will tell as he hasn't had a chance yet to run his system with his type of players. He has done it so far with Chan Gailey's recruits, which were recruited to play in an NFL-type of offense. Pretty impressive.
One more Heisman observation ... did anyone really have a better year and prove to be more valuable to his team than Tech QB Josh Nesbitt? Tech fans, imagine this year without him.
I would love to see Joe Paterno win 1,000 games. No one has done it better, longer, with more class. My favorite Paterno story ... I think it was a couple of seasons ago, a couple of his players got in trouble with the law and Paterno made the whole team get up on Sunday mornings after home games and pick up the trash in 108,000 seat Beaver Stadium. His explanation was that his seniors should have policed these younger players and prevented the incident from ever happening.
If Georgia would reinstall discipline in its program, on and off the field, I think it would get back to elite status quickly. I generally like Mark Richt as a person, but I think he has turned Georgia into a Florida State, which of course is where he cut his coaching teeth under Bobby Bowden.
Speaking of Bowden, I have very conflicting feelings about how he was pushed out. On one hand, the university owes all of the recognition it has gained and its football prosperity over the years to him. But, his program has always left the university with a lot of negative publicity. I'm sure it came down to the fact that the program simply hasn't been very successful lately. I was glad to see him win his final game. I felt he deserved that.
College football is all business, no doubt about it. The price of tickets for football games at major D1 schools is beyond outrageous, especially if you factor in the donation required to secure season tickets. But at many, many big-time schools, every seat is filled on Saturdays, even in these tough economic times. That's amazing to me, especially when EVERY game is on TV.
I agree with many analysts that the AD at USC used the O.J. Mayo allegations to throw the basketball program under the bus in order to save the football program from further scrutiny over the Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight investigations.
I really don't have much to see about the Mike Leach situation except he seems like the type of person that would create this type of situation for himself. Kind of an odd duck.
And Urban Meyer ... if he thinks that after this hiatus that he will be able to balance his life better and still continue to coach without stressing out and without putting in endless hours, he is sadly mistaken. It will only take a couple of losses for him to realize that. The Gator Nation will turn on him in a second if they perceive that losses are a result of a lack of commitment to the program on his part.
And finally ... even though I find it utterly ridiculous that determining the "winner" in college football is akin to how it is does in gymnastics, diving and figure skating - based on primarily opinion and perception - I will continue to watch it and follow it. It is pretty darn entertaining.
Peace.
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