College summer break brings on top 25 debate

College spring practices are completely over.  Now everyone is reviewing their notes and fast-forwarding to August.  The debate for the Preseason Top 25 will get college football fans through the next three months. 

It’s way too early for me to participate and give any predictions on the landscape of college football.   This isn’t just because of the questions about talent, filling voids left by the NFL Draft or starting quarterbacks.  It’s because of the uncertainty on NCAA investigations and discipline for NCAA violations.  Will USC win their appeal?   Will South Carolina’s starting quarterback, Stephen Garcia, play this fall?  Will Jim Tressel and his starting quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, get a longer suspension?  The answers to these questions will make an impact on the Top 25 and the BCS race.

I don’t want to paint a picture that all is gloom in college football.  It is not.  The spring displayed a lot of promise for several programs. 

1.     Alabama fans can breathe because the Crimson Tide do not have a problem filling the running back position left by Mark Ingram.

2.     Oklahoma has the foundation to their offense intact and they don’t have to worry about playing Nebraska to win a conference title. 

3.     LSU Tigers fans must be excited that they now have some depth at the quarterback position.

4.     Michigan State is returning the leaders of their offense.  Playing Ohio State early, hosting Wisconsin and playing Nebraska late are all pluses for them to contend for the Big Ten Title.

Those are a few bright spots that I observed, but just in case you have an itch to see what is going on, check out ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 Poll.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Spring is here and so is college football

While the NFL is still battling on labor issues with its players, college programs started spring practice.  These practices symbolize that football is in full spring on college campuses.  Most programs culminate the spring training session of 15 practices with a big intra-squad scrimmage.  They are usually dubbed by the schools colors.  For example, Florida has the “Orange and Blue” game every spring.  At The University of Michigan, it is simply, “Michigan Spring Game.”

At some universities the scrimmage is just an open practice that allows students, alumni and fans to see the team run plays.  At the larger programs, it has become just as big as the first home game with all of the fanfare, tailgating and display of school pride that you see in the fall.  Last year, the Florida Gators attracted close to 51,000 fans to their scrimmage.  Ohio State packed over 65,000 fans in the Horseshoe to see them last spring.

These scrimmages provide a good snapshot at the team’s development as they transition from last season.  How is the new coach directing the team?  Are players buying into the new coach’s message?  How does the offense or defense look after losing several players to graduation and/or the NFL draft?  Who will be the starting quarterback?  These are some of the questions that fans look to get answers for watching the spring game.

A lot has happened since the BCS Championship game.  Here are a couple of spring games that I think are noteworthy.

1.     Auburn – The Tigers lost the foundation and strength of their offense to the NFL Draft.  How they will replace the speed, rushing yards and size of Cam Newton will be interesting.

2.     Nebraska – This will be the Cornhuskers first scrimmage as a member of the Big Ten.  They were the Big 12 North Champions last year, but everyone is curious to see how they will fare in the oldest football conference.

3.     Ohio State – With Terrelle Pryor and Head Coach Jim Tressel out for the first five games of the season, fans will want to see how the backups fill in.

4.     Michigan – After three years of being embarrassed on the gridiron, the wolverines have a “Michigan Man” back at the helm of the program.  Head Coach, Brady Hoke, has one mission - restore greatness back to college’s most winningest program.  He has been clear about his expectations to win Big Ten titles and beat Ohio State.  All eyes will be on Michigan Stadium on April 16 to see the strides that he is making.

Get information on every school’s spring practice schedule.

Ciao!

 Heels & Helmets®

Nebraska Is In A Real Football Conference Now, No Whining Allowed

It’s official.  Effective July 1, 2011 The University of Nebraska – Lincoln will be in the Big 10 Conference.  I welcome the Cornhuskers to the oldest Division I-A Football Conference and I am ready to settle a debate.

It goes back to 1997.  Back then the NCAA Division I-A Football Champion was decided by the AP (Associated Press) and the ESPN/USA Today Polls or, as we called them, the writers and the coaches polls.  Until that year, I thought that the coaches got it right.  That year, they proved that they didn’t.

The University of Michigan had an unblemished record.  They replaced Nebraska as the #1 team after beating #3 Penn State the weekend that Nebraska almost lost to a Missouri team that was not ranked in the top 25.  (They saved the game in overtime with a lucky catch.)  The Wolverines headed into the bowl season undefeated and ranked #1 in both polls.  Head Coach Lloyd Carr was Coach of the Year and Charles Woodson, starting cornerback, won the Heisman.  (First defensive player to do so.)  The Wolverines only needed to win the Rose Bowl to become National Champions.  So, you would think.

The Wolverines went to Pasadena and beat #8 Washington State, 21 – 16 in the 84^th Rose Bowl.  Nebraska won the Orange Bowl in Miami by beating #3 Tennessee, 42 – 17.  After the bowl games, the writers kept Michigan at #1, but the coaches moved Nebraska to the number one spot on their poll.  This wasn’t about the action on the gridiron.  This was about the coaches recognizing the end of a career of their colleague and one of the best coaches, Nebraska Head Coach, Tom Osborne.  It was his retirement gift.

The coaches got it wrong.  They’ll say Nebraska beat the #3 team “convincingly.”  That is, as Bo Schembechler would say, hogwash!

Here are the top reasons why Michigan should have been the consensus 1997 Football Champions.

1.    Tougher schedule – 11 straight games without a bye week.

2.   Tougher opponents – Played 6 teams ranked in the top 25. (Nebraska played 3.)

3.   Beat the #3 team (Penn State) 38 – 4 during the regular season on the road and followed it up with victories against #23 Wisconsin and #4 Ohio State.

4.   They handled business on the field and left it there.  Nebraska players went whining to the media, “Don't give it to Michigan.  Our coach deserves this.”  (Champions don’t whine!)

5.   Nebraska should not have been #2 and undefeated.  The refs got the call wrong in the Missouri game.  The Tigers clearly caught the ball.

After the bowl games, everyone was debating who would have won if Michigan and Nebraska had played each other that season.  In my mind, there is no doubt that Michigan would have killed Nebraska.  The teams are different, but I am looking forward to the Cornhuskers joining the conference, visiting the Big House and experiencing a battle with the most winningest football program.

Nebraska, Welcome to a real football conference where a rival doesn’t mean beating up on someone for 25 years!  And NO WHINING ALLOWED!

Ciao!

Heels &  Helmets