The end is near
posted by LW, Thursday, January 07, 2010
Gotta admit I'm getting a little misty-eyed at the thought of no more college football.
As much as the bowl system is piled on by me and, well, just about everyone else, only a fuddy-duddy would deny that these games haven't been pretty cool.
Some great matchups and great theater this year, from Idaho-Bowling Green to Boise-TCU (and, we can hope, Texas-Alabama).
Speaking of the game tonight, Pete Thamel of the New York Times says it won't be close.
When the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 championship games ended, setting up this Alabama-Texas matchup, it was clear that the Longhorns would be underdogs. Just as it was clear in mid-October that Texas would play the winner of the Alabama-Florida game.
You do not need to be an oracle to see how this championship game will play out. Alabama will win by at least two touchdowns to continue the SEC’s dominance on college football’s biggest stage.
Well, I dunno. The oddsmakers don't appear to be thinking a blowout is a slam-dunk, as evidenced by the narrow spread (Crimson Tide a four-point fave).
If Alabama does roll, it'll be viewed as just the latest confirmation of the SEC as supreme power.
While it's hard to argue with the sustained power at the top -- a Crimson Tide victory would give the SEC a staggering four straight BCS titles -- it's also hard to argue that the SEC's midsection has taken a pronounced step back the past two years.
The bowl results served up the latest evidence that the SEC is pretty darn ordinary outside of Alabama and Florida.
Tennessee was squashed by a team from the ACC. South Carolina was plastered by the fifth-best team from the Big East. LSU lost to a team from the Big Ten, and Auburn and Arkansas barely got out alive against teams from the Big Ten and Conference USA, respectively.
Is the SEC the best conference out there? You can certainly make the case, particularly if the Crimson Tide beats the Horns tonight. But it's not nearly the slam-dunk that SEC adherents would like it to be.
Pat Forde of ESPN.com says the SEC is on the verge of historic hegemony.
Going back to 1936, the onset of The Associated Press poll, leagues have won three straight three times: the Big Ten from 1940-42 (Minnesota twice and Ohio State); the SEC from 1978-80 (Alabama twice and Georgia); and the SEC's current streak from 2006-08.
If the league wins its fourth straight title, it's complete domination. This hasn't been a great season for the SEC as a whole; the bowls so far have played out much like the regular season, wherein the league looks great at the top and below-average everywhere else. But if you win the big prize at the end again, you get all the bragging rights.
Now, if the SEC four-peats with a third different school, it's completely out of control. The checks and balances of college football will be so far out of whack that it could actually be bad for the game.
And to think, the benefits of the SEC's $3 billion TV deal haven't even fully materialized yet.
And what's up with Bob Stoops attending an Alabama practice?
But clearly, nobody in the league knows Texas the way Stoops does. And nobody in the league tries harder to beat Texas.
I asked a Big 12 administrator Tuesday what the league thought of Stoops' presence in an enemy camp before the biggest game of the year.
"First I've heard of it," he said. "There's no rule to prevent it."
No rule, sure. But if I'm Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, I'm not very happy.
I know the Sooners are bitter rivals with Texas -- we remember the dueling airplane banners of '08 -- but they also share the same division of the same conference. And if ever there were a time to at least feign unity, it's now.
Some interesting numbers heading into tonight's grand finale.
This guy says Colt McCoy must me Young at heart if Texas wants to pull of the (mild) upset.
The Wizard of Odds solicits predictions from hacks everywhere.
Reason No. 1 to pick Texas tonight: The Heisman Curse. Stewart Mandel takes a look at this remarkable phenomenon.
Texas hasn't been able to run the ball this year, but Andy Staples says the Horns must stick with it if they hope to win.
Looks like the 572 shots of TCU's dance team and cheerleaders weren't enough to keep the Fiesta Bowl's TV ratings from dropping.
Duke looked good against Iowa State on Jon Scheyer Day in Chicago.
Sad news for J.K. Jay. We hadn't heard many good developments on Jay the last few months, and yesterday's announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Sorry to hear his college career is done before it had a chance to begin.
More on that in the Independent-Mail.
In The State, Paul Strelow blogs that Milton Jennings' struggles are about par for McDonald's All-Americans in the ACC this season.
Gene Sapakoff of the Post and Courier says there's still no NCAA oversight of painkiller administration.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Gotta admit I'm getting a little misty-eyed at the thought of no more college football.
As much as the bowl system is piled on by me and, well, just about everyone else, only a fuddy-duddy would deny that these games haven't been pretty cool.
Some great matchups and great theater this year, from Idaho-Bowling Green to Boise-TCU (and, we can hope, Texas-Alabama).
Speaking of the game tonight, Pete Thamel of the New York Times says it won't be close.
When the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 championship games ended, setting up this Alabama-Texas matchup, it was clear that the Longhorns would be underdogs. Just as it was clear in mid-October that Texas would play the winner of the Alabama-Florida game.
You do not need to be an oracle to see how this championship game will play out. Alabama will win by at least two touchdowns to continue the SEC’s dominance on college football’s biggest stage.
Well, I dunno. The oddsmakers don't appear to be thinking a blowout is a slam-dunk, as evidenced by the narrow spread (Crimson Tide a four-point fave).
If Alabama does roll, it'll be viewed as just the latest confirmation of the SEC as supreme power.
While it's hard to argue with the sustained power at the top -- a Crimson Tide victory would give the SEC a staggering four straight BCS titles -- it's also hard to argue that the SEC's midsection has taken a pronounced step back the past two years.
The bowl results served up the latest evidence that the SEC is pretty darn ordinary outside of Alabama and Florida.
Tennessee was squashed by a team from the ACC. South Carolina was plastered by the fifth-best team from the Big East. LSU lost to a team from the Big Ten, and Auburn and Arkansas barely got out alive against teams from the Big Ten and Conference USA, respectively.
Is the SEC the best conference out there? You can certainly make the case, particularly if the Crimson Tide beats the Horns tonight. But it's not nearly the slam-dunk that SEC adherents would like it to be.
Pat Forde of ESPN.com says the SEC is on the verge of historic hegemony.
Going back to 1936, the onset of The Associated Press poll, leagues have won three straight three times: the Big Ten from 1940-42 (Minnesota twice and Ohio State); the SEC from 1978-80 (Alabama twice and Georgia); and the SEC's current streak from 2006-08.
If the league wins its fourth straight title, it's complete domination. This hasn't been a great season for the SEC as a whole; the bowls so far have played out much like the regular season, wherein the league looks great at the top and below-average everywhere else. But if you win the big prize at the end again, you get all the bragging rights.
Now, if the SEC four-peats with a third different school, it's completely out of control. The checks and balances of college football will be so far out of whack that it could actually be bad for the game.
And to think, the benefits of the SEC's $3 billion TV deal haven't even fully materialized yet.
And what's up with Bob Stoops attending an Alabama practice?
But clearly, nobody in the league knows Texas the way Stoops does. And nobody in the league tries harder to beat Texas.
I asked a Big 12 administrator Tuesday what the league thought of Stoops' presence in an enemy camp before the biggest game of the year.
"First I've heard of it," he said. "There's no rule to prevent it."
No rule, sure. But if I'm Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, I'm not very happy.
I know the Sooners are bitter rivals with Texas -- we remember the dueling airplane banners of '08 -- but they also share the same division of the same conference. And if ever there were a time to at least feign unity, it's now.
Some interesting numbers heading into tonight's grand finale.
This guy says Colt McCoy must me Young at heart if Texas wants to pull of the (mild) upset.
The Wizard of Odds solicits predictions from hacks everywhere.
Reason No. 1 to pick Texas tonight: The Heisman Curse. Stewart Mandel takes a look at this remarkable phenomenon.
Texas hasn't been able to run the ball this year, but Andy Staples says the Horns must stick with it if they hope to win.
Looks like the 572 shots of TCU's dance team and cheerleaders weren't enough to keep the Fiesta Bowl's TV ratings from dropping.
Duke looked good against Iowa State on Jon Scheyer Day in Chicago.
Sad news for J.K. Jay. We hadn't heard many good developments on Jay the last few months, and yesterday's announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Sorry to hear his college career is done before it had a chance to begin.
More on that in the Independent-Mail.
In The State, Paul Strelow blogs that Milton Jennings' struggles are about par for McDonald's All-Americans in the ACC this season.
Gene Sapakoff of the Post and Courier says there's still no NCAA oversight of painkiller administration.
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 @.