Boise and TCU not legit? LOL
posted by LW, Tuesday, January 05, 2010
I was one of the folks who was disappointed and cynical when they announced the TCU-Boise State matchup for the Fiesta Bowl.
What a copout, huh? The best way to quiet the clamor in support of these upstarts is to pair said upstarts instead of risking them pull off a gargantuan upset, a la Boise State over Oklahoma or Utah over Alabama.
The matchup certainly fit the conspiracy theories, but in watching last night's game you can see why the Fiesta Bowl folks legitimately wanted this matchup.
Packed stadium. Two high-level programs. A compelling, exciting game.
Some people would disagree with the "high-level programs" part, particularly given some of the bumbles and stumbles we witnessed. But I don't see how that notion can be disputed after watching last night's game.
You don't have to be a football whiz to spot the speed and talent all over the field, the superior schemes and the precise execution and all the stuff you'd see at other Top 10 programs that have more tradition and respect.
I don't think for a moment that TCU or Boise State would've gone through the SEC or Big Ten or Pac-10 undefeated. They play comparatively weak schedules, and that has to matter when it comes to ranking these teams relative to other teams.
But these two teams are every bit deserving of the seat at the BCS table they were granted this season. And that's abundantly clear, even when they don't have an opportunity to knock off a supposed giant in the BCS.
If Chris Petersen isn't the hottest up-and-comer in the coaching ranks right now, he isn't far down the list.
I'm blown away by his offensive philosophy, and the rhythm and discipline that's employed in the execution of it. They only scored one offensive touchdown against a great defense, but you can see why they've absolutely lit it up this season.
Loved how Petersen didn't even try to run the ball early. Knowing that success on the ground wold be difficult against the Frogs' front, he threw it all over the place to set up some running opportunities later.
How annoying is it when stubborn coaches employ the "we do what we do" philosophy and basically waste a quarter trying to dictate their will?
And how about that fake punt?
Facing a fourth-and-9 on their 33-yard line with a little less than 10 minutes to play, the Broncos executed a deft fake punt that helped them grab the lead.
“I think that’s what they expect out of us,” Boise Coach Chris Petersen said. “We’re here to deliver.”
Punter Kyle Brotzman hit the wide-open tight end Kyle Efaw for a 29-yard gain. Brotzman jokingly throws with the Boise quarterbacks every Thursday, and if he had misfired T.C.U. would have been on the doorstep of a landmark victory. Instead, Boise’s legend of trickery, and the program’s reputation, only bloomed.
Onions.
“It’s gutsy,” said T.C.U.’s Tanner Brock, who was on the Horned Frogs’ stunned punt defense. “That’s what Boise State is. They’re going to pull out the trick plays here, there and everywhere.”
Joe Posnanski of SI.com says Boise State should say screw the rankings and print up its own national champions T-shirts.
I don't know if Boise State's victory was impressive enough or showy enough to convince people that they could beat Alabama or Texas. But I never thought that football was a judge's sport. The Broncos won the game. That gave them a BCS bowl victory and an undefeated season, and their piece of the national championship, if they will just claim it. In a couple of days, Texas and Alabama will play a game that the BCS and people around America will call the National Championship Game. And it is that: Texas and Alabama are undefeated too, and those teams played great opponents, and the winner absolutely deserves to be national champions, too.
But I guess that's the point. College football is a big game. And America is a big country. It's a country big enough for Limbaugh and Moore, for Beyonce and Taylor Swift, for Clooney and Pitt, for three CSIs AND Cold Case, for Harry Potter and Twilight, for Julie and Julia. Nobody will ever be able to prove that the Texas-Alabama winner is better than Boise State or vice versa.
And it seems to me that we can embrace that. We should embrace that. Nobody can stop people from Boise State from selling "National champions" T-shirts. Nobody can stop people from buying those shirts. And nobody can say those shirts are wrong.
Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com has a different view of things, saying these the game "didn't lay an egg. It laid an omelet."
The reality is that the TCUs and Boise States still have to do more than the Bamas and Texases of the football world. They aren't novelty acts, but they also don't have the pedigree of the Tide and Longhorns. They don't get the benefit of the doubt.
Boise and TCU had a chance Monday night to dig their feet deeper into the BCS concrete mix. Instead, they delivered a forgettable game and by doing so, gave the anti-WAC and anti-Mountain West faction another reason to freeze them out of the BCS.
Too bad. It would have been nice to see the BCS sweat.
Stewart Mandel says he promises never to doubt Boise again.
And the future looks rather bright for the Broncos, who return all but one starter next season.
Really looking forward to that game against Virginia Tech in Washington, D.C.
Pardon Alabama for smirking at the notion that spending gobs of money on football is a misguided notion.
Hired three years ago for a then-unheard-of $4 million a year — peeving rivals and higher education watchdogs who complained of misplaced priorities — Nick Saban has coached the Crimson Tide football team to an undefeated record, No. 1 ranking and shot at the school's first national championship in 17 years. Alabama meets No. 2 Texas in Thursday's Bowl Championship Series title game in Pasadena, Calif. (8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Saban took over a storied program that had fallen on hard times, delivered a first-year record of 7-6 and since has led Alabama to 25 victories in 27 games. But it's not just the Crimson Tide's winning percentage that has soared.
The demand for tickets to Alabama's home games is so great that Bryant-Denny Stadium is adding about 9,000 seats, which will make it the sixth college facility with a capacity of more than 100,000. Donations to the athletic program are up. So is marketing revenue. And overall athletic profits have more than doubled at a time when barely a fifth of all major-college programs are generating enough overall revenue to turn a profit.
University President Robert Witt and others at Alabama also point to the football team's enhanced profile as an ingredient in a record rise in applications to the 178-year-old Tuscaloosa institution.
"Anytime you shell out that kind of money, you wonder at first. I'm familiar with all the debates about priorities," Gene Marsh, a law professor at the school since 1981, says of Saban's contract.
"But at least at this university, based on dollars spent and returned and the sort of buoyancy it has given the whole campus, it's impossible to argue with. I just don't think it's much of a debate."
Witt is unequivocal.
"The salary was well-deserved when the offer was extended," he says, "and Coach Saban's success has justified the investment."
And pardon Fox for this mother of all goofs:
North Carolina goes down in the Holy City. Wonder if Roy Williams regrets doing his buddy Bobby Cremins a favor?
Well, at least Roy got to spend some time at his beach house on Isle of Palms.
Larry Drew II had this to say after his team squandered an 11-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation:
"Yeah, we talked," he said of his team's meeting Thursday, which coach Roy Williams tried to downplay during Monday's ACC conference call as just a normal squad get-together. "We always talk. There's something with this team - we've got to stop talking at a point, and start playing."
And here are some Tar Heel tweets after the game.
Freshman John Henson (johnhenson31): Just made someone's college career relevant ... damn
Looks like Clemson has hired a new soccer coach to replace Trevor Adair.
According to this report, Tommy Bowden is in the mix to replace Mike Leach.
And Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail wonders if the 2009 season was one of opportunity lost for the Tigers' football team.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
I was one of the folks who was disappointed and cynical when they announced the TCU-Boise State matchup for the Fiesta Bowl.
What a copout, huh? The best way to quiet the clamor in support of these upstarts is to pair said upstarts instead of risking them pull off a gargantuan upset, a la Boise State over Oklahoma or Utah over Alabama.
The matchup certainly fit the conspiracy theories, but in watching last night's game you can see why the Fiesta Bowl folks legitimately wanted this matchup.
Packed stadium. Two high-level programs. A compelling, exciting game.
Some people would disagree with the "high-level programs" part, particularly given some of the bumbles and stumbles we witnessed. But I don't see how that notion can be disputed after watching last night's game.
You don't have to be a football whiz to spot the speed and talent all over the field, the superior schemes and the precise execution and all the stuff you'd see at other Top 10 programs that have more tradition and respect.
I don't think for a moment that TCU or Boise State would've gone through the SEC or Big Ten or Pac-10 undefeated. They play comparatively weak schedules, and that has to matter when it comes to ranking these teams relative to other teams.
But these two teams are every bit deserving of the seat at the BCS table they were granted this season. And that's abundantly clear, even when they don't have an opportunity to knock off a supposed giant in the BCS.
If Chris Petersen isn't the hottest up-and-comer in the coaching ranks right now, he isn't far down the list.
I'm blown away by his offensive philosophy, and the rhythm and discipline that's employed in the execution of it. They only scored one offensive touchdown against a great defense, but you can see why they've absolutely lit it up this season.
Loved how Petersen didn't even try to run the ball early. Knowing that success on the ground wold be difficult against the Frogs' front, he threw it all over the place to set up some running opportunities later.
How annoying is it when stubborn coaches employ the "we do what we do" philosophy and basically waste a quarter trying to dictate their will?
And how about that fake punt?
Facing a fourth-and-9 on their 33-yard line with a little less than 10 minutes to play, the Broncos executed a deft fake punt that helped them grab the lead.
“I think that’s what they expect out of us,” Boise Coach Chris Petersen said. “We’re here to deliver.”
Punter Kyle Brotzman hit the wide-open tight end Kyle Efaw for a 29-yard gain. Brotzman jokingly throws with the Boise quarterbacks every Thursday, and if he had misfired T.C.U. would have been on the doorstep of a landmark victory. Instead, Boise’s legend of trickery, and the program’s reputation, only bloomed.
Onions.
“It’s gutsy,” said T.C.U.’s Tanner Brock, who was on the Horned Frogs’ stunned punt defense. “That’s what Boise State is. They’re going to pull out the trick plays here, there and everywhere.”
Joe Posnanski of SI.com says Boise State should say screw the rankings and print up its own national champions T-shirts.
I don't know if Boise State's victory was impressive enough or showy enough to convince people that they could beat Alabama or Texas. But I never thought that football was a judge's sport. The Broncos won the game. That gave them a BCS bowl victory and an undefeated season, and their piece of the national championship, if they will just claim it. In a couple of days, Texas and Alabama will play a game that the BCS and people around America will call the National Championship Game. And it is that: Texas and Alabama are undefeated too, and those teams played great opponents, and the winner absolutely deserves to be national champions, too.
But I guess that's the point. College football is a big game. And America is a big country. It's a country big enough for Limbaugh and Moore, for Beyonce and Taylor Swift, for Clooney and Pitt, for three CSIs AND Cold Case, for Harry Potter and Twilight, for Julie and Julia. Nobody will ever be able to prove that the Texas-Alabama winner is better than Boise State or vice versa.
And it seems to me that we can embrace that. We should embrace that. Nobody can stop people from Boise State from selling "National champions" T-shirts. Nobody can stop people from buying those shirts. And nobody can say those shirts are wrong.
Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com has a different view of things, saying these the game "didn't lay an egg. It laid an omelet."
The reality is that the TCUs and Boise States still have to do more than the Bamas and Texases of the football world. They aren't novelty acts, but they also don't have the pedigree of the Tide and Longhorns. They don't get the benefit of the doubt.
Boise and TCU had a chance Monday night to dig their feet deeper into the BCS concrete mix. Instead, they delivered a forgettable game and by doing so, gave the anti-WAC and anti-Mountain West faction another reason to freeze them out of the BCS.
Too bad. It would have been nice to see the BCS sweat.
Stewart Mandel says he promises never to doubt Boise again.
And the future looks rather bright for the Broncos, who return all but one starter next season.
Really looking forward to that game against Virginia Tech in Washington, D.C.
Pardon Alabama for smirking at the notion that spending gobs of money on football is a misguided notion.
Hired three years ago for a then-unheard-of $4 million a year — peeving rivals and higher education watchdogs who complained of misplaced priorities — Nick Saban has coached the Crimson Tide football team to an undefeated record, No. 1 ranking and shot at the school's first national championship in 17 years. Alabama meets No. 2 Texas in Thursday's Bowl Championship Series title game in Pasadena, Calif. (8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Saban took over a storied program that had fallen on hard times, delivered a first-year record of 7-6 and since has led Alabama to 25 victories in 27 games. But it's not just the Crimson Tide's winning percentage that has soared.
The demand for tickets to Alabama's home games is so great that Bryant-Denny Stadium is adding about 9,000 seats, which will make it the sixth college facility with a capacity of more than 100,000. Donations to the athletic program are up. So is marketing revenue. And overall athletic profits have more than doubled at a time when barely a fifth of all major-college programs are generating enough overall revenue to turn a profit.
University President Robert Witt and others at Alabama also point to the football team's enhanced profile as an ingredient in a record rise in applications to the 178-year-old Tuscaloosa institution.
"Anytime you shell out that kind of money, you wonder at first. I'm familiar with all the debates about priorities," Gene Marsh, a law professor at the school since 1981, says of Saban's contract.
"But at least at this university, based on dollars spent and returned and the sort of buoyancy it has given the whole campus, it's impossible to argue with. I just don't think it's much of a debate."
Witt is unequivocal.
"The salary was well-deserved when the offer was extended," he says, "and Coach Saban's success has justified the investment."
And pardon Fox for this mother of all goofs:
North Carolina goes down in the Holy City. Wonder if Roy Williams regrets doing his buddy Bobby Cremins a favor?
Well, at least Roy got to spend some time at his beach house on Isle of Palms.
Larry Drew II had this to say after his team squandered an 11-point lead in the final four minutes of regulation:
"Yeah, we talked," he said of his team's meeting Thursday, which coach Roy Williams tried to downplay during Monday's ACC conference call as just a normal squad get-together. "We always talk. There's something with this team - we've got to stop talking at a point, and start playing."
And here are some Tar Heel tweets after the game.
Freshman John Henson (johnhenson31): Just made someone's college career relevant ... damn
Looks like Clemson has hired a new soccer coach to replace Trevor Adair.
According to this report, Tommy Bowden is in the mix to replace Mike Leach.
And Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail wonders if the 2009 season was one of opportunity lost for the Tigers' football team.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.