The College Football thread

“Oh, and by the way, Kansas lost its head coach because of the failure to turn things around. He was fired the day after Nebraska beat us 51-7.
Sooo...anybody have any suggestions for a good head coach who would be interested in the job?
Our athletics director, Al Bohl, (who came by way of Toledo and Fresno St), is looking at Hill from Fresno St. as well as others.
Any ideas? Big Al says the purse strings are wide open.”

“OK, folks, we have the Gators taking on the Gamecocks this weekend. Will Lou be able to motivate more than Spurrier will be able to dominate?
Is Washington State for real?
Does anyone want to win the Big Ten besides Illinois?
Why should Miami be ranked above Oklahoma or Texas? I think there is a conspiracy going on here, since the leading rusher in the country gets suspended before they play the 'Canes....hmmm....
Enquiring minds want to know.”

“Isn't it February yet?”

“We will be on the College Basketball thread soon, but be patient.”

“I think BAMA will finally win a game this weekend. Roll Tide!”

“And Auburn will get the win against Georgia just becuase the game is in Athens. UGA has only beaten AU once in Athens since 1982 (a very strange reversal of home field advantage)!

Wah Dam Eagle!

P.S. I'm pulling for you, dayhiker. I really am!”

“I hope you are right Tripod,,,d@mn that Jawja team,,, Go Vols!”

“Thanks Tripod. I feel like we're about where you guys were when Tubberville came in. No discipline and mediocre overall talent. Bama has had many highly regarded recruiting classes. Problem was they didn't make it in school. Thanks again Mike Dubose.”

“How 'bout those hogs. Matt Jones-Heisman 2003”

“There?s a reference to UGA under ?dog poop? in the dictionary, chili.


This appeared in our paper on Oct 4, Dunadan:

JUST DUMMY: This from Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star columnist, on Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.
"The thing I've always respected about Snyder is that surprisingly he coaches without ego. He's not interested in being known as the best passing coach in college football. He's not interested in being regarded as the best coach with some unique scheme. You understand what I'm saying? Steve Spurrier wants to win by throwing the football. Period. Spurrier would probably pass up a national championship if it meant adjusting his vaunted passing attack. Snyder just wants to win."
As Spurrier says, you can't believe everything you read. Of course, it's easy for Snyder to keep his ego on check when he is polishing all those conference championship trophies and his national championship ring.

Our writer:
"What, he has none.
Oh."


Rattle my cage, Max? There are some things in life for which I have very little tolerance. I knowd you was just joshin?, YOU BUM! I have read so many ridiculous sports articles from around the country saying what a jerk Spurrier is. And I?ve talked to people around the country who have never met Spurrier but are absolutely convinced that he?s the son of satan. Many journalists feel that they have to create controversy and ?crisis? to sell newspapers. Sports writers have been known to indulge in the worst of this muckraking. Very few coaches get criticized for ?running up the score?, but let Spurrier?s offense score a lot of points, and the lynch mob forms. Writing this crap is bad enough but when people believe these articles on faith, it rattles my cage. I have very low tolerance for ignorant stupidity. I don?t mind a good ribbing, but I am tired of these idiotic personal attacks on someone who the writers and readers know very little about. The sports writers decide that someone is a ?black hat?, and many sports fans mindlessly fall in line. Sheep. Very stupid sheep.

There really is no utility, Max. Steve doesn?t believe in the BCS and couldn?t care less about running up the score. He has a very simple philosophy: Florida runs its offense, try to stop it if you can. There are no ?hidden agendas? no villainous intent. He wants perfection from his offense and so they practice, practice, practice. I agree wholeheartedly, Max, that margin of victory is a pretty useless stat. The BCS has given it less importance this year. Strength of schedule should count more. But you know, I still go back to Nebraska in ?95. They really hadn?t played any tough teams. The Gators had trounced both Tennessee and Florida St. (who finished three and four in the final polls). The Gators had a much tougher schedule and I didn?t think Nebraska had a chance to win that game. BOY HOWDY! Was that a wake up call. That was one incredible Nebraska team and their strength of schedule didn?t mean squat. Playoff my friend, playoff. BTW, Max, don?t worry about rattling my cage. That high intensity blood pressure cleans out my arteries.

Yes Dunadan, a basketball thread. What?s that? The Gators are ranked ahead of Kansas in the preseason poll? Can you say #5 Gators and #7 Jayhawks in the ESPN and #6 Gators and #7 Jayhawks in the AP? I KNEW YOU COULD! Of course that?s before we play #17 Temple tonight. If we win, we get to play #2 Maryland. Lovely.

Sorry, football thread here.”

“I will restrain my urges to talk roundball with you, Arc. I will hold off for a while.
However, according to the BCS, (your nemesis), Kansas has played the toughest schedule in the country to date. We have been beat by the best.
I think Texas might still have a shot at the Rose, because Nebraska and Oklahoma might cancel each other out. I nope not, because I want to see another trophy come back to the Big 12 where it belongs!”

“Texas is also a part of the Big 12, as well as Nebraska and Oklahoma. I don't think that Oklahoma is going to be able to knock off the Huskers if that's how the Big 12 plays out.

The Huskers have a great team chemistry this year, better than I ever remember and are finally starting to pull it all together for their run to the Rose Bowl. Barring a catastrophe in Boulder on the 23rd, I'd say the Huskers will end their season, and future Heisman winner Eric Crouch's college career in Pasedena on the 3rd. GOOOOO BIIIIIGGGG REDDDDDDD!!!!!

Anyone else have opinions on the Heisman?”

“Last weeks Arkansas/Ole Miss game with the seven overtimes has been named an 'Instant Classic" by ESPN.

The game will re-air tonight on ESPN Classics.”

“I can't think of anybody who gets more press than Crouch, and that usually means Heisman.
That is a classic game, bac. I think it will be replayed many times, along with the Cal-Stanford "lateral" game.”

“Nebraska having great team chemistry is a scary thought, Mama. A good friend sent me the results from a computer simulation that was run to determine the best team over the last 100 years. The '95 Nebraska team that destroyed Florida came out as the best team of the century. I don't put much stock in computer rankings but I'm a believer in that conclusion!

The big twelve is better than it has been in a while. But national championships don't belong there. THEY BELONG TO THE SEC. We''ll probably have the most bowl teams this year AGAIN.

PLAYOFF...PLAYOFF...PLAYOFF...”

“Bacpac we need Georgia to beat Ole Miss next week. Need Auburn to lose 2 games. They play Georgia, Alabama and LSU. Then if we take care of business we when the west. Still a chance, slim as it may be.”

“Sing on arc, I am with you on that one. Playoffs would definately take the guess work out of crowning a national champ.”

“Arclite, concerning Florida running up scores I gotta' disagree with you to an extent, and will no doubt suffer your wraith, but what the heck :-).

To a large degree perceptions of Spurrier have been brought on by himself, and not just for winning on a regular basis. The manner in which he wins AND his comments about some of these wins has played a large part in the perception that he is an "evil genius" (one sports writer's decription). I doubt if anyone really thinks of him as the son of Satan, and if one were to meet him, he might very well be a really nice guy. But in certian situations his actions and words tend to lead one to the conclusion that he doesn't have much of a regard for the notion of being a "good sport". And we are not talking about some sportswriter's opinion here, but direct quotes from Spurrier himself that we can all evaluate on their own merit.

Take the Miss. State game this year for instance. Going into this game, Miss. State had the best pass defense in the nation. After racking up over 500 passing yards, Spurrier made comments to the effect that Miss. State sure didn't have the best pass defense now. On the surface, this is a statement of fact, which of course it is. But it is also an unnecessary pouring of salt into a wound for no reason other than to gloat. And why throw a 26 yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter when you are up by 45 points? I say leave the ball on the ground and run out the clock. Unless you goal is not only to win but to also humiliate.

In Spurrier's defense, these kinds of comments and actions are fewer and farer between than in years past. And the 60 yard+ bombs being thrown with a 40 point lead and four minutes to play have been reduced in recent years. But perceptions once EARNED are difficult to shake, particualrly when humiliating beatings continue to occur regularly. 71 points against Vandy? Come on, what's the point? Save it for the big boys.

If Spurrier where to ask my opinion, I would tell him to leave the snide comments in the locker room. Don't ridicule the team you just trashed on the field. I would also suggest he call off the dogs when the game is clearly won (a 35 point lead late in the fourth quarter ought to do it, don't you think?). And I might suggest that just because a team beat you by 7 points last year, it is no reason to beat that team by 50 points this year.

I hope you don't see this as personal attacks or ingorant stupidity, as you suggest above of people who think Spurrier ought to show a little more class when winning. He is a great coach and Florida has a great program, no doubt. But I believe you ought to help the other player up when you knock him down; not step on his chest as you walk away, particularly when your team is so much better than almost everyone else that comes to play.”

“No, the trophy belongs west of the Mississippi and East of the Rocky Mountains. We are ready for the playoffs, any time.
And....the bigger the league, the more bowl teams. Can't wait for the Big 12 to become the Big 36!”

“Must disagree, BobK. Purely on the fact that I get to hear direct quotes from Steve through our newspaper, from our radio, and from his two TV shows every week.

I have heard quotes and watched his facial expressions only to read those quotes taken out of context in different papers around the country. Most of Spurrier's jabs are towards sports writers and other pundits who pretend to know more than they do about the game. One year, The sports writers and pundits predicted a victory by Jawja over the Gators. We crushed Jawja that year. Spurrier made some comments about how Jawja wasn't as good as people thought. That week, I went to Atlanta to visit some friends. Their sports writer had an article about how Spurrier said that Jim Donan couldn't coach and how he had absolutely no respect for Jawja football. It was one of the most obnoxious pieces of untrue trash I ever read. His quotes were taken completely out of context. Instead of a jab at the sports writers, the article made it seem a personal insult against Donan and Jawja. My friend from NJ has quoted me similar articles from the NY papers. The sports writers constantly take Spurriers comments out of context. I know, because I usually see or listen to the original quotes. He doesn't insult other teams and coaches, he insults pundits and egomaniacal sports writers who really don't know much about coaching. Steve doesn't like sports writers so they vent their frustrations against him. He's not the first person that they've decided to tar and feather.

As far as running up the score, we disagree again. Maybe you should be a coach, BobK. Then you could run things according to your own morality. I find nothing morally superior to running the ball as opposed to passing it.

I'll take Spurrier's honesty over mush-mouthed false humility any day. That is a moral position I will gladly discuss.

Nebraska beat the last team they played 52-0. Florida beat Vandy 71-13. I don't hear any talk about Nebraska, BobK. Why not?”

“Arclite, I figured you would get a little bent out of shape. >grin<

No, I don't want to be a coach, just suggest to you there may be some validity for folks' feelings toward your coach, that's all. And I agree, there is no moral superiority to running or passing plays, but intentionally running up the score (with a running attack or passing attack) shows in my book a decided lack of sportsmanship and class. I guess we will just have to disagree on that point.

Concerning honesty over mush-mouth false humility, consider this scenerio. You just won a state AIA award for a building you designed. In fact it was such a fine design, no other awards were given, even though a number of designs were submitted. You know of the other submitted projects, and you really didn't like them at all and were convinced your design was much better. In fact, deep in your heart you think you are the finest designer since Louis Kahn.

Now you're at the awards banquet, and are giving your acceptance speech. Do you talk about how much better your building is then all the others? Do you proclaim your greatness to the crowd, comparing yourself to the greatest architects of our time? And you think the other projects suck, so do you tell the crowd how much they sucked? Hey, its what you believe, and you want to be honest, right?

Or do you show mush-mouth false humility, and thank everyone who helped you bring your design to fruition. Maybe you say how good all the submissions were, and that you are lucky to have your project selected as the best.

Do you see my point? I bet it is possible for Spurrier to show honesty without disrespecting others or (as you suggest) to so incite the media to a point where they knowingly do their best to discredit him as a human being.

Maybe it is too fine a point for a rabid fan to grasp. >shrug< Or it could just be me.

P.S. Don't really mean to leave out Nebraska, I just don't follow Nebraska football close enough to comment. Their victory margin does seem excessive. Did they achieve it using third string players while running the ball up the middle on every play? The point being did the coach try to run it up or did he try NOT to run it up?”

“Not bent, passionate.

That?s one of my points, BobK. People single out Spurrier when inferior teams get slaughtered all over the country every day.

Let me tell you a personal experience, BobK. In college I played handball and thought that I was pretty good. I had been the #1 ranked player in my class and played frequently. One day, I was playing an acquaintance. We were evenly matched. While we were playing, a guy rode up on his bike and stopped to watch us. When we finished our match, we expected this guy to ask us if we could all play three-way cutthroat. Instead, the guy asked if we could play us against him. My acquaintance and I looked at each other and decided that we would teach this egomaniac a lesson. We lost the first game 15-1. I think we managed two get two points the second game. Turns out that this guy was the #2 ranked player in the State.

Should he have taken it easy on us? I am glad he didn?t. I got an honest appraisal of exactly how good I really was. I have been playing competitive sports my whole life, BobK. I do not feel better about myself when someone takes pity on my abilities and competes at less than their capacity. I prefer the brutal honesty of knowing exactly what my skills are.

I suppose that movie stars enjoy the fawning praise of other people. The sycophantic appraisals of their looks and their ?artistic genius.? I wouldn?t wish to live in such a fantasy world. I prefer to know exactly how inferior my talents may be against someone against whom I am competing. I prefer the honesty of watching an inferior team get slaughtered by a superior, not the humiliation of watching the superior team take pity and stop trying to score. I prefer honesty in all things.

That?s the best that I can explain this particular philosophy, BobK. Some folks may not understand this view. I find it an honest way to look at life.”

“Perhaps Spurrier gets single out because he is the Poster Child of coaches who run up the score. A say that a bit TIC, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't run it up higher and more often than most if not all other coaches.

Annihalating a sports opponent is the honest thing to do, and anything else humiliates that less skilled opponent. Ooooookay. To me this says more about ruthlessness than honesty, but opinions do vary.

Are you sure you don't just like to watch UF kick a$$ and take names? ;-)”

“Last Nebraska score was 51-7, but I'm sure you're just baiting me, arc. Whether it matters or not, Nebraska did have its 3rd string in for much of the last quarter. I guarantee that everyone on their team played that day. The third stringers were the ones that allowed KU to score.
Sounds like Donnan is getting some interest from Kansas. He will not comment. Should we hire him?”

“As I said BobK, some folks may not understand that view. I don't understand your close mindedness either. Seems you have a mind-set that any way but your way is a bad way. It's a big beautiful world out there BobK, with lots of different and fascinating ideas.

When your third string is in there scoring touchdowns do you tell them to back off? Our starting quarterback left the game at the half. And Steve would love to give Rex Grossman a chance to break as many NCAA records as he can. Running the offense showcases young players who may play in the NFL some day. Do you tell them they can't have good stats, and improve their monetary value? Anyone who has ever played sports should know not to take losses personally. Florida has the #1 ranked offense, and when you've consistently got a high scoring offense, you're going to score points. Duh!

When I am competing, and my competitor does not use their best skills, I find that to be a worthless experience. I find it humiliating to watch it happen to others. I guess it's just a competitive thing. When I compete, I do it to the best of my ability. If not, why bother? If I need to improve, I want to know in what areas.

Guess I'm just a big fan of Ayn Rand. Good reading, BobK. She has some wonderful thoughts about honesty.”

“You watch too much pro wrasslin', Arc! LOL TIC, etc....”

“Yeah, Dunadan, but I'd much rather do it than watch it.”

“What would your pro name be? Thin Man? The Architect of Death? CAD-man?”

“I wonder if Michigan State will be playing 60 minutes this week or are they going to be playing 60 minutes and 2 seconds again this week?”

“Hey, Nigal, I seriously think Illinois might be the real deal in the Big 11 this year. I know Michigan beat them, but they are coming on. Tell me what you think.
Michigan State wins the rest of its games.”

“It's gona be a "kiss yer sister" shared championship either way. 8(”

“Well, ya gotta feel good about the Huskers gettin' the trophy.................again!

LOL, indigo and maize......”

“Dunadan, one of my favorite name-plays was in a western movie (Was it Unforgiven?) where Richard Harris was known as the Duke of Death. Gene Hackman played a real bad-a$$ and kept calling him the Duck of Death.

I could be Arch-Enemy. Or maybe Bad-Arches.

Nigal, the Big Ten really needs a playoff. Have you been writing letters to the college presidents or anything? The big 10 championship, on TV, would make a great milk-and-cookies evening.

The pac-10 needs a playoff too. But those left coast folks are probably too worried about bruising the fragile egos of the loosers to have a championship game.

Feeeelings, whoa, whoa, feeeelings...”

“"LOL, indigo and maize......"

Hohoheehee! That's funny stuff there Mr.CalkJockChickenHawk!

LOL!”

“Well, I'm off to Athens in a hour or so for the Georgia/Auburn game, the last home game for the year. What a strange season, so far... we lose to South Carolina, then win against Tennessee. Don't get me started about Florida, LOLOLOLOLOLOL!

Bizarre. Just bizarre.”

“I'd wish you luck, Tilt, but I'm just not that nice a guy.

GO AUBURN!”

“arclite - In all fairness, I hate to watch Baylor get passed around the Big-12 every year like some jailhouse punk, tossin' salds all over the plains. I have mixed feelings on a playoff system for the Big-10. Nebraska will have to beat Oklahoma twice this year and that's a spot I don't wnat to see my temas in. Would be fun to watch though.

dunadan - I'm not nearly as confident in Michigan State. They have a history of big letdowns after big wins and their secondary is absolutely destroyed. Their coach is also learning on the job. That he's done as well as he has is a tribute to Nick Saban's (Satan, to an MSU diehard) recruiting skills. If Indiana doens't beat them today, Purdue and/or Penn State will.”

“Holy Moly! Miami barely survives... ahead 12 to 5, BC has first and goal and Miami intercepts!

The Jesuits almost stopped Miami for the first time since Fluty.”

“Wow, a lot of ranked teams gettin' bumped off this week and the big boys cuttin' it close.”

“Well, Mich St played the punks today, huh? That El dude is a player for Indiana. Max, you can be my pigskin guru from now on.
Did I say maize and indigo? I meant greyish blue and banana!
Here is the formula,everybody.... Lose 51-7 to Nebraska one week. Fire your head coach. Then lose 59-0 to TX. We've been Baylorized!!!!
Bobby B took another dive. Well, there's more felons where those came from.”

“Congrats BobK. I'm looking forward to this weekends game. We don't have Saun Alexander to bail us out like we did last time we played at Jordan-Hare. I just hope our secondary doesn't make Cobb look like an All-American. If that happens, I'll bet Tubby won't pull a Spurrier(grin). Anyway, good luck week after next against LSWhoo.”

“If UT can get by the Gators, we might get a look at that Tiger team. Our chances on Dec 1 will be much better than they were in early September.”

“Whew!!! Auburn really got a gift from UGA's coach! Guess he'll be catching hell for quite a while for that call.

Looking forward to the game, dayhiker! It will be a close game -- it always is. Throw out the records -- each team always gives it something extra. I *think* Auburn will get the win just on home field advantage. AU only needs one more SEC win to tie up the SEC west title. I would just as soon clinch it this week!”

“What's happening with the Alabama scandal? How many Boy Scout troops did they have on the payroll?”

“I'd prefer for you to clinch against LSU. If Bama can't win the West, I'd prefer AU to have it. Got to keep it in state. Going into the season I thought Bama would be a contender. We'll get'em next year.

You're right, what was Richt thinking. I'd have thought he'd run a bootleg pass or something to protect against a sack, but be able to ditch the ball if necessary. Oh well, that's why he makes the big bucks.”

“Dunadan-Alabama has a hearing with the Infractions Comm. this weekend. The speculation is that we'll lose about 15 schollies over 3 years. Tough, but not insurmountable. How we could come off probation and then have Dubose lose control is beyond belief. What an idiot. We'll get over it, if the bubbas will be patient. Your average fan realizes that this is a rebuilding process. The non-alumni hangers-on are a different matter. Unfortunately these are the ones who call in to the call in shows and run their mouths.”

“Get ready to do the hiemlich (sp) on Mr. Bellasorry for the next two weeks.....
I predict 10 interceptions by Steve combined between the two games. Have fun Illini & Michigan.

Toledo..... moving up the ranks again.”

“Arclite, sorry. I missed your earlier post.

Your getting a bit condescending on the spurrier-running-up-the-score thing, so I'll keep it real brief just to clarify a couple of points.

No, my way is not the only way.

A third string player should play his best.

Yes, you tell your superstar that the school's program is more important than his NFL stock.

Ahhh, Ayn Rand. That explains much....”

“Thanks for the report, dayhiker. I am surprised that they won't get slapped harder. I'm a Wichita State fan, and at one time they were the most penalized school in NCAA history.
Ayn Rand is a bit of a hypocrite, isn't she? Have you read anything about her personal life?
Toledo and Fresno St should end up playing each other in a bowl game.”

“I haven't heard of Ayn Rand. Who is she?

I think our opponents are surprised as well. From most reports the other SEC coaches are still telling recruits that we're getting about 3 years without TV and a 3 year bowl ban. No one will really know the penalties until mid January, but the NCAA has already dropped 2 charges against us in a preliminary hearing.”