FanNation - The Republic of Sport

For a sport which risks embarrassment with every turn of the calendar, West Virginia and Missouri's stunning losses caught college football with it's pants down in front of a national audience.  For the second straight season a  loss in the final week of the season drastically altered the national championship landscape.

The BCS may have concocted a makeshift national championship to placate the masses with a bland matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the LSU Tigers but that doesn't mean I have to accept it.  If the general public's vitriolic reaction is any barometer for the BCS' support, then the BCS Armageddon is upon us.  

Even after the final whistle blown on this season, could we see a fracture among voters over the of another major bowl game?  It's possible the the championship could conceivably get split like Siamese twins between 1, 2, or 3 teams.  

The BCS is such an asinine organization, they'd tell you the capital of Ohio is O, and believe it.  Even the BCS' staunchest proponents have to question how the Missouri Tigers, the #1 team in the nation 48 hours ago, was jumped by Kansas and Illinois-- two teams Missouri beat on in the opening and final weeks of the season.  The lack of a true playoff has also robbed fans of potentially prestigious matchups.   If this season hasn't convinced the NCAA that a playoff is necessary, nothing ever will.

 Here's my all-encompassing, comprehensive, encapsulating BCS prologue before a 616...615...600 hour break:

Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs. Hawaii

 As of yet, I won't be there--(keyword, yet) but the last time Georgia played in the Sugar Bowl, they were thwarted by an upstart West Virginia Mountaineer team.  This merry go-round, Island Love meets Southern hospitality and on New Years Day, this culture clash will reach epic proportions when we find out what happens when you blend ceremonial leis, aloha shirts, beads and creole with Bourbon Street.

In the faintest corners of Matthew Stafford's dreams he must dream about the quarterback he could become one day, the prolific offense he could be directing and the cult figure he dreams of being -- basically he envisions Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan.  Instead he's responsible for the nation's 84th best pass offense while Brennan is flinging the ball like peas.  Legend goes that at birth at birth the doctor first pulled out football...and then realized Colt Brennan had thrown it to him.

On a team comprised of Polynesians, Hawaiian residents and "kids from the penal system", June Jones has done the impossible in Honolulu.  The consumate leader, Brennan even took Samoan classes to call audibles to his offensive line in their language, grew dreadlocks just like his receivers Davone Bess, Jason Rivers and Ryan Grice Mullins. He's since shaved the dreadlocks and now has the Hawai'ian islands dyed into his hair.  Last season's 8-3 team may have been horrible defensively, however, their offense was more potent with a 1,000 yard running back and Colt Brennan's 5,900 63 touchdown spectacle.

He's done accomplished something off the mainland that Richt has been unable to do in the country's richest region for high school football by recruiting Entitled Georgia fans everywhere feel slighted after the two loss team was passed over for selection in the BCS title game, while the nation's lone undefeated team feels grateful for the chance to play Georgia on a national stage sans the actual national championship.  Huh? 

The of brunt the publics attention is on Brennan's side arm throwing motion but he may be the most agile, lithe and athletic Run & Shoot system quarterback since Steve Young.  His first Hawaiian start was a 63-17 drubbing at home versus Matt Leinart's USC, who Brennan backed up at powerhouse Mater Dei High in California.

Financially, the game will bestow the athletic department of Hawaii with the funds to finally address the mediocre facilities and that whole lack of soap in the soap dispenser issue.  Watching Hawaii's high octane offense weave through a porous Georgia secondary may persuade higher profile recruits in the future to leave the mainland and play under June Jones, a former NFL coach and offensive strategist at Hawaii.

Between the hashmarks, the Hawaii receivers must produce Stickum when they sweat because this receiving corps is as sure handed as any I've ever seen.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, hopefully Georgia's receivers will leave the baby oil at home after treating the football like wet mud the past two seasons. 
Juxtapose the career number's of Georgia's top three receivers this season against Hawaii's top 3 receivers, place them in a vacuum side by side and the disparity in production, experience and talent(?) is glaring.  

The Warriors 3 primary receivers Jason Rivers, a senior, as well as juniors Davone Bess and Ryan Grice Mullins have all individually outproduced the Bulldog's top 3 receivers-- combined!  Bess is such a great talent that he's considered a better pro talent than even Colt Brennan, and their 4th leading receiver C.J. Hawthorne recorded 57 receptions, 786 yards and 6 touchdowns.   

Hawaii's receivers have caught 751 passes for 10,110 yards and 106 touchdowns.  Including Colt Brennan, there hasn't been a more prolific quartet since Tony Gwynn gained three people. 

Georgia's receivers have mustered only a measly 184 catches, 2,797 yards and 22 touchdowns in their careers.  The most disappointing of which being Mohammed Massaquoi, who hasn't lived up to his hype as one of the heralded receivers out of high school in 2005.  If they're going to keep pace with Hawaii on New Years day in New Orleans, these numbers may have to literally double.

Georgia's defensive front which has been ineffective penetrating the backfield and pressuring opposing quarterbacks is going to have to hope the WAC is as finesse as the media makes it sound or it's going to be a long day for the scondary.

 To their advantage though Georgia can look at no further than how Washington's rushing attack pulvarized the Hawaii defense with Jake Locker and Louis Rankin bulldozing through tacklers and pound Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown to soften up their defense. 

However, my favorite player in this game is Hawaii's shifty receiver Ryan Grice Mullins who could escape heat in an oven.  When he catches the ball in open space, he can stop on a dime, juke then go from 0-60 in half a second.  After every catch he makes, at least one defender collapses from sheer confusion during his And 1 clinic.  Mullins, a former tailback caught 100 passes for 1,335 yards this season.

For the critics who think the Warriors would not go undefeated in a BCS conference, well who has?  They beat Purdue and then Arizona State in their BCS matchup.  However, the Warriors have displeyed a penchant for falling behind in the first half before coming back and pulling away in crunch time.  Conversely, Georgia had a penchant early in the season for playing great early before slowing down late.  If the Warriors are going to beat the Bulldogs, they may not even have to kick it into high gear, until the second half.

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However, how in one instant did June Jones devolve Tim Tebow vs. Colt Brennan into Paris Hilton vs. Nicole Ritchie?  Yes, there is more to a quarterback than statistics can imply but if that argument is applied to Colt Brennan's "system", then it should be applied to Tebow's.  Brennan will inevitably be punished because dual threat quarterbacks and the spread offense are more in vogue and the Run & Shoot (similar to the Fun and Gun Spurrier ran at Florida) is no longer considered revolutionary. 

Tebow accounted for 51 touchdowns this season while Brennan had 63 last season, when he was not invited to the Heisman presentation.  Ironically, the cross country media jabs will culminate at the Heisman ceremony where hopefully Brennan and Tebow will wait anxiously in the same green room, the same night Hatton and Mayweather will brawl on pay-per-view.  Hopefully, they can take a hint.

The Heisman trophy should go to Dennis Dixon, whose team went from being ranked #2 in the nation to getting outscored 81-47 after his injury. 

Tim Tebow, affectionately known to me as college football's Rick Ankiel because of his seemingly smooth transition from successful fullback to transcendent quarterback, and if you've seen his thick head, anabolic steroids accidently found in his locker before the bowl game wouldn't surprise me. The FBI raiding the Heisman ceremony during his acceptance speech, and revealing his role as a big time steroid distributor would be a worthy ending.  Would we place an asterik next to his name in the record books, but I digress...   Until, that happens Tebow is the de facto Heisman Trophy winner.

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Rose Bowl: Southern Cal vs. Illinois

In the wake of O.J.'s impending trial, the BCS presents Juice vs. The Juice's alma mater.  While the brunt of the pre-game coverage will be placed on the field participant, the sidelines will wage a succinct battle between eccentric head coaches Pete Carroll and Ron Zook.  Zook versus Carroll will pit college football's elite recruiters head to head in Pasadena.  If recruitng was a crime, these two would be registered sex offenders cause they seem to know just how to attract minors.

Not only are they impeccable strategists but their personalities have made them towering magnates on the recruiting trail and with the Army All-American Game taking place after bowl season ends, future recruits will be at stake.    

Which brings me to Game Show Idea of the Week...

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They have such a firm grip n the recruiting landscape, we might as well place Zook and Carroll on some sleazy FOX reality show, living in a cramped house in Miami(preferably during hurricane season) with 15 standout high school football players who each week are offered scholarships to play at either USC or Illinois?  The caveat being that Carroll and Zook would alternate weeks doling out scholarships as the recruits compete in completely irrelevant challenges.  Carroll could take a page out of the Colorado handbook and invite the USC Song Girls over to bring in that scandalous Real World Factor. 

Zook's ploy would be to promise them at least 3 Big 10 titles, in addition to a national title by showing Big 10 tapes of next years opponents Northwestern, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, Iowa and Iowa State.  "What better way to help your image to pro scouts than by running circles around college football's JV league?"

Each week as they gather recruits the tension would increase as the last man left uncommitted has to spend a season at Duke.

It's a win, win.  USC and Illinois would acquire more top flight recruits and Duke football could sneak away with a potential program changing athlete.  The ultimate prize: being named the NCAA's Ultimate Recruiter and winning a half dozen extra scholarships for their schools in 2008 and 2009.  Imagine that.  A network television show playing a role in future National Championships... Oh wait that's the BCS. What college sports fan wouldn't watch that?
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3 years after being prematurely terminated by the Florida Gators, Coach Zook's reputation is creeping towards icon status.   The 2007 champion Florida Gators should have sent Zook a fragment of their crystal trophy considering the roster was assembled mostly of players he recruited.

For the aforementioned Juice Williams, this game will serve as a springboard to 2008, when they will be the hot pick to contend for the Big 10 title.  This game will be won in the trenches as USC's worldbeating linebackers face Illinois quick, spread option ground attack and dominating offensive line.  The Trojans defense is stockpiled with first round NFL talent in heralded linebackers Rey Mualugua, Keith Rivers, Brian Cushing defensive end Lawrence Jackson and defensive tackle, Sedrick Ellis.

After completing an abysmal 39% of his passes last season, Juice's completion percentage rose 17%, has rushed for 200 more yards and won 7 more games.  Eddie McGee is a great backup, but upon further review, I may have misjudged Juice.  It usually takes about 3 to 4 years for dual threat quarterbacks to grasp the pasing offense.  It took Dennis Dixon 5 years in Eugene, Vince Young 4 years at Texas and Troy Smith 5 years in Columbus before they finally became more than just exciting improvisers outside the pocket.

As for John David Booty, I've never never viewed him as a Heisman contender but rather the unquestioned starting quarterback on the best team in the nation and just a notch above Matt Flynn.  While Juice is supremely athletic, Booty couldn't run out of a burning building.

The Trojans which used to have an aura about them seemed to have lost some of that charm after they ran into Vince Young. Last season, there was the failed two point conversion against Oregon State and the interception thrown by Booty which sealed the deal for UCLA.  Booty is a great quarterback, however, he just doesn't have that Leinart/Palmer aura about him or an x-factor on offense(i.e. Jarrett, Bush, Mike Williams, White,etc.)to take the load off his back.

With that said, the Trojans probably have the best defense since their 6 year BCS Bowl run began, however, their offense needs to gather some experience. As deep as their depth chart is, the majority of the high profile recruits they've stockpiled on offense are too inexperienced. With the arrival of Mitch Mustain, the Trojans now possess the top 2 quarterbacks from two seperate recruiting classes as well as a top 3 quarterback from the class of 2007 in Aaron Corp. 

After losing All-American receivers Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett to the NFL, Patrick Turner, the #1 wide receiver in the class of 2005, and Vidal Hazelton had to assume more responsiblities, however, the leading receiver is unheralded tighend Fred Davis.

 The Trojans have great depth but you can't play all 4 HS All-American qb's at once.  USC might have better pro prospects but the Illini have great system players.  

One minor sub-plot of the Rose Bowl clash will be the obligatory freshman comparisons. 

Defensively, the Trojans also have freshman linebacker/defensive end Everson Griffin and the Illini boast freshman defensive end/linebacker Martez Wilson.

But the real comparisons between Joe McKnight, considered the top high school running back from the class of 2007, and Arrellious Benn, the undisputed top true freshman receiver of Illinois.  

In an offense geared towards running the football, Rejus Benn recorded 49 receptions for 596 yards and 32 rushing attempts for a gain of 158 yards.  Joe McKnight hasn't put up a 100 yard game in USC's crowded backfield but he has overcomed his fumbling woes as his role in the offense has increased.  McKnight is finally hitting his stride as a runner coming off an 89 yard performance against UCLA and 71 yards receiving at Arizona State.

In a similar fashion to how Steve Spurrier brought the evolution of the forward pass to the SEC, Zook has brought the spread option to the Big 10 and in the future could factor into the Big 10's two horse race for years to come.

Orange Bowl: Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

It may be the Orange Bowl but the selection committee coughed up a lemon with this matchup and for the second consecutive year, captivating storylines in the Orange Bowl are harder to come by than positive character qualities from O.J. Simpson.  If a BCS Bowl is played and nobody watches does anyone win?

The only reason for Kansas' potential BCS inclusion over Missouri I can fabricate is that this overdue compensation for playing the fool in a controversial 2004 loss to the Longhorns which propelled Texas to the Rose Bowl, prompting Mangino to imply the Big 12 was implicit in a conspiracy theory involving Big 12 officials.

My favorite player in this game has to be 5 foot 10 quarterback Todd Reesing, the Jayhawks sophomore quarterback who was once named Texas 4A player of the year over Matt Stafford.  There's no truth to the rumor that Reesing was motivated to throw for more yards than Mark Mangino's belt size, and contrary to popular opinion, Reesing can see over the line of scrimmage and doesn't win limbo competitions walking on stilts. 

Much has been made of his short stature, however, the Jayhawks have schemed around his shortcomings by lining him up in the shotgun, 6 or 7 yards beind the line of scrimmage instead of the conventional 5 yards and utilize his athleticism.  He won't turn your boiled eggs into an omelet but Reesing does possess shades of Doug Flutie in his scrambling ability.  Reesing's only a sophomore so it's not hard to envision a Flutie-like career in his future.

For Virginia Tech, Tyrod Taylor and Glennon will continue their Tebow/Leak(ala Applewhite/Simms @ Texas) dual quarterback system.  It's not that dual threat true freshman Tyrod Taylor can't pass the ball it's that senior, Sean Glennon is more experience, therefore better equipped to lead the Hokies offense.  When Taylor comes in to spell Glennon, unlike Tebow last season, his runs aren't designed but rather the result of his scrambling ability. This game will be decided by how well Virginia Tech's defensive line can pressure Reesing.  Kansas is explosive on offense and if the Jayhawks can jump out to a big lead early, the offensively lethargic Hokies will panic.  

Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma

 Mountaineer'd- [moun-tn-eer-d] verb(used with object)   1.any college football program on the brink of it's penultimate success only to get shockingly upended just before reaching the top of the mountain by an inferior opponent.  

In 2006, the USC Trojans sent fans home crying after getting Mountaineer'd against the UCLA Bruins in their season finale.  A year later, after millions of Mountaineer talked themselves down from the roof Saturday night, after getting knocked off the mountain Morgantown is still in mourning.   

Always the best man and never the groom, West Virginia has a recidivist history of fumbling their good fortunes, just before the goal line-- literally and figuratively.  Proof lies in the Mountaineers' ignominious honor as the winningest college football program without a national title.  1988 had undefeated West Virginia fall to Lou Holtz coached Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl after the eerily similar arm injury of dual threat quarterback Major Harris and 1993 saw the Gators dismantle Don Nehlen's undefeated Mountaineers 41-7 in the Sugar Bowl. 

However, after a season of upsets depleted the contenders which would have handed the Mountaineers a date against an Ohio State team with an apparent inability to defend spread offenses, Saturday truly was the biggest disappointment in West Virginia football history and just another hammer to the nail in Mountaineer fans' hearts.  

It's an appropriate opponent for the 'Neers considering the Sooners recent string of repeatedly being Mountaineer'd has cost Bob Stoops two to three national championships this decade and if not for a rare loss to Texas Tech, they'd be facing the Buckeye's in the place of LSU.  Of the 4 BCS games, this one has the most potential to eclipse the century mark.

For West Virginia running back Steve Slaton, who is mired in the worst slump of his career, he must regain draft positioning and prove he is the same player to NFL scouts in possibly the final game of his college football career.  Slaton is an example of a guy who listened to the NFL's queries and changed his games to please scouts and it's had a negative effect.  He still has the 4.3 straightline speed, but he has not displayed the same shiftiness this year.  In my opinion, Slaton should return for his senior season, drop the weight he gained to appease NFL scouts, revert to the finesse back he was his sophomore and junior seasons and win a national championship.  

My favorite player in this game is the most underrated wide receiver in the nation, Darius Reynaud of West Virginia. College football's only workhorse receiver is basically a tailback in the slot.   In the redzone, if the ball is soaring towards the endzone, Reynaud comes down with it almost every time.  His 11 reception touchdowns makes him the only Mountaineer receiver with more than one TD catch and after the catch he could elude water swimming across the Atlantic.

Oklahoma's usually stout defense has been uncharacteristically soft this and after getting burned through the air, the Mountaineers will try to scorch the scoreboard by ground.

BCS National Championship: LSU vs. Ohio State

What's most dissappinting about this matchup is that the Pete Carroll won't get his hands on Les Miles for his pre-season bashing of the Pac-10's overall strength.  While the offensive stars are lacking, this championship matchup will showcase college football's pre-eminent defenses against lackluster offenses, however, the preamble centers around their respective coaching staffs. 

Looking back at a season which kicked off without a definitive Heisman frontrunner or a clear cut favorite, it was fitting that after the debris was cleared THE Ohio State and LSU emerged albeit with a few scathes on their blemished records.    Usually, the national championship pits magastar Heisman finalists from one or both teams, yet in this season, the Trophy has lost some of it's luster because of it's insignificance on a national scale.

Since the BCS' advent, every championship matchup has featured at least one Heisman finalist and the 5 previous national champions before that featured the Heisman winner.  Conversely, the tone of this game has been set by the Bronco Naguraski Trophy... annually given to the best defensive player in college football.  The 2008 Trophy was awarded LSU's Glenn Dorsey over James Laurinatis, last season's winner.(Whether either of them deserved it over Virginia's Chris Long is up for debate.)

While LSU has experienced immense coaching turnover in the past 4 years, the Buckeyes have had one constant in Jim Tressel.   Since jumping ship from Youngstown State where he compiled a record of record of 103-27-2 in the 90's and won 4 national championships (ironically, including one against Boise State), Tressell has created a dynasty in Columbus. Tressel has coached the Buckeyes to two previous national championship games, winning one, and has coached the Buckeyes to two 19 game winning streaks. 

While the majority of coaches are resistant to altering their gameplans to complement their revolving rosters through the years, Tressel has been as amorphous as a box of Play-Do.

The offense was decimated following the graduation of their diminutive Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Troy Smith, in addition to the early departure of receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez, a rebuilding label was stamped on the 2007 Buckeyes.

In response, Tressel dusted off the game tapes from his 2002 national championship troupe and applied the formula this season.   The 5 receiver sets the Buckeyes trotted out against Michigan in 2006 that defied the smashmouth brand of Big-10 football, is no more. 24 year old junior Todd Boeckman has assumed the role Craig Krenzel occupied in '02 as the conservative signal caller, sophomore phenom Chris Wells and occasionally freshman speedster Brandon Saine propel the running game in the backfield Maurice Clarett once roamed. (LSU should be counting their lucky stripes after their 22 yard strike against Auburn which mirrored the Ohio State "Luckeyes" legendary 4th down gamble against Purdue in 2002 which was the impetus to their magical title run. )

What nobody saw coming was the defense's ascension to the ranks of college football's upper crust. On defense Vernon Gholston has been a disruptive pass rusher from defensive end, and while linebacker James Laurinatis isn't quite double suplex power bombing his opponents like his dad, has been plugging up holes in the defense for the Ohio State defense and cornerback Malcolm Jenkins has been the secondary's fighter pilot-- shooting down or intercepting any foreign objects in his his no-fly-zone.

In the transition to Troy Smith, Ohio State morphed from a conservative, run-based offense to a wide-open spread attack that played to the strengths of QB Troy Smith and his deep, experienced receiving corps.

Unfortunately, this team led by it's impenetrable defense and ball control offense is not nearly as snazzy or aesthetically pleasing as their swashbuckling predecessor. The towering shadow of Troy Smith, Ted Ginn's ankle and the Florida Gator's defense, still looms over Ohio State....   --Sunday, October 21, 2007
 

The most frightening aspect of this Ohio State program is that their key contributors are all underclassmen.  Boeckman, Wells, Brian Robiskie, their #1 receiver and Brian Hartline are guaranteed to return.  Vernon Gholston, Malcolm Jenkins and James Laurinatis are not locks to enter the draft.

If LSU coach Les Miles backs out of his word and packs his bags for Michigan, Tressel vs. Miles could become an annual installment.   Nick Saban hasn't even been long enough to for his final recruiting class to become juniors when Les Miles was rumored as Lloyd Carr's replacement in Anne Arbor, a rumor, which he laid out to pasture before the SEC Championship Saturday. 

Ohio State will enter the game inspired to erase a years worth of negative criticism after laying an egg against the heavy underdog, Florida Gators in last season's national championship and regain the Big 10's diminishing stature.  Just last winter, Jimbo Fisher flew the coup to Florida State, and now on the precipice of the title game, defensive coordinator Bo Pelini is contemplating pulling a Mike Stoops and abandoning the team.

Favorite player in this game have to be 5'6 running back/return specialist Trindon Holliday. In a game which will probably remembered for it's physicality and meager offensive production, I'll be enthralled whenever this lightning quick runner touches the ball.  

Holliday is a feature back but in his limited action, he can turn the simplest runs into gamebreaking plays.  Holliday who moonlights as the  Tigers returner when he's not finishing second at the 2007 NCAA outdoor championships, has become one of the dangerous returners in the nation.  As a runner behind the offensive line, his smurfish height makes him nearly impossible to eye until he busts through the line of scrimmage, explemplified best by LSU's Hidden Holliday play call against South Carolina.