Bowl Week Wishes

It’s the middle of bowl week, I am so thankful. What a fantastic week. And ‘tis the season for resolutions. Sooooo…here are some hopeful resolutions for next year’s NCAA Football season.

No more instant replay. I am sorry, but this thing is not working. So, it may be accurate to say “no more instant replay in its current form.” But that doesn’t have quite the ring to it. The system inhibits refs, making them take a second before blowing the whistle and in some cases actually being taught to not blow the whistle.

But here’s the bottom line, mistakes will be made and calls will be blown, with or without the use of cameras.

Stop the clock. Wow, how horrible and painful was this little gem? Coupled with the instant replay timeouts, the new rules of running clocks on change of possessions and kickoffs weren’t great. It frustrated us with play stoppages and confused everyone for about a month. There was nothing wrong with stopping the clock. Please change it back.

And…that’s it. I love NCAA Football. I’m I nitpicking? Probably. But it’s just out of love.

Enjoy the bowl games.

Happy Holidays!

Season's greetings from the Every Game Counts team to yours!

'Tis The Season With A Bowl Full Of Cheer: An Every Game Counts Exclusive

By Rich Rodriguez

Even if it wasn't Christmas-time, I would still be excited, because it's bowl season. Nothing during the football season - or the whole football year - has quite the same feeling as preparing for a bowl. It's not just a tribute to a successful season for your team, but it's an opportunity for your entire program to finish on a high.

There are lots of folks who like to debate whether there should be bowls or playoffs to determine our champions, but I don't get much into that arguing. At this time of year, it's great to be practicing and playing football, plus you get a trip to spend a few days in a vacation city and you get to play on national television against an outstanding opponent, which is a great showcase for any program. It's a reward for the players in every sense, and a chance for these teammates, some of them for the last time, to spend a week enjoying themselves with the guys who have been their allies in the trenches all season.

Of course, I loved last year's bowl trip, when we won the Sugar Bowl, but I also clearly remember the first bowl I went to, the 1981 Peach Bowl when I was a freshman at West Virginia. - I don't think I will ever forget it. The game was outstanding, because we beat Florida as a heavy underdog, but for this kid from Grant Town, W.Va., it was the first airplane ride I'd ever been on. Now that was neat!

It's a new experience for some of your younger players to travel and represent the team in that manner, and while they might not realize it now, those eight or nine extra bowl practices are a great opportunity for the young guys to improve and learn. Some coaches liken bowl practice to an extra set of spring drills, but it may be even more beneficial, when your team is in shape and the players are still familiar with all your concepts through daily repetition. And if you win the bowl game, seeing the faces of your seniors as they complete their careers on that high is something you never forget.

Something else I like about bowls, as a coach, is that it's a week to spend a little fun time with your family and let them enjoy being part of the football program. Sure, there are coaching duties and you are getting ready for an important game, but it's nice to have your kids around at meals and in the evenings. Since my two are getting older and busy with school and their other activities, it's nice to just have some family time with Mom and Dad. A bowl gives you a real chance to enjoy that.

At a place like West Virginia, the bowl trip is a great experience for so many of our fans, who travel everywhere we go. The weather is almost sure to be warmer than it is at home, and you can enjoy a little bit of fellowship with several thousand of your Mountaineer buddies. West Virginians love to go to bowls; they just flat-out love their football team. Merry Christmas and happy bowling!

Steamin' Deamons!

Wake Forest is going to play in the Orange Bowl.

Take a second and let that sink in.

Wake Forest is going to play in the Orange Bowl.

At the beginning of the season no one in the country, not Kirk Herbstriet, not Mark May, not Lou Holtz (probably because he didn’t coach there) picked Wake Forest to win the ACC and go to a BCS bowl.

Miami, Virginia Tech, Clemson. Those were the teams that were most often mentioned to go to the Orange Bowl and in some cases even challenge for a NCAA Football championship.

But Jim Grobe took Wake Forest, the forgotten football figure in the state of North Carolina, from worst to first in a major BCS conference.

Now listen, the ACC was as down this year as any season in recent memory. It was very bad. But don’t let that take anything away from what Wake Forest did. They can’t help the strength of the conference. All they did was line up, play, and beat just about everyone on their schedule. It wasn’t always pretty.

That ACC Championship game was painful. But there are no style points in football. Wait…you know what I mean.

Oh yeah, Wake was without its starting quarterback and running back. That just makes the job Grobe did that much more impressive.

And for his efforts Grobe got exactly what he deserved, the AP Coach of the Year. There were plenty of worthy coaches this year including Greg Schiano at Rutgers, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma and don’t forget about Jim Tressel at Ohio State. But these guys have nothing on what Grobe did.

Congratulations to Coach Grobe and the Deamon Deacons of Wake Forest.

Watching them isn’t always pretty, unless you like winning.

The Other Bowl Games

With bowl games right around the corner, let’s take a second to look at some of the more exciting bowl matchups not having to do with a national title of any kind.

January 1, The Rose Bowl. Michigan and USC. We all now about this one. It’s the granddaddy of them all, the most historic bowl that neither one of these teams actually wanted to play in. In the matter of a couple weeks, USC went from out, to in this game. And Michigan went from in, to out but maybe in, to in. Both teams losing out on a bid for the national championship shouldn’t damper what looks to be a classic.

January 3, The Sugar Bowl. LSU and Notre Dame. Everyone is counting Notre Dame out of this one, and maybe for good reason. LSU has perhaps the most talented team in the country. But I wouldn’t put the Irish on the mat just yet. Charlie Weiss knows how to get his team going and Brady Quinn and company should be ready to go.

January 1, The Capital One Bowl. Wisconsin and Arkansas. If we had a tournament setup, these two teams would have had a strong argument for top regional seeds. Arakansas was the surprise team of the nation and played in the strongest conference. Wisconsin had just as impressive a season and just happened to be in the same conference as Ohio State. The folks at the Capital One Bowl have a good one.

December 23, The Papajohns.com Bowl. East Carolina and South Florida. Yeah, that’s right, this one is going to be a good one. This two teams had a very good year and, for the most part, no one saw it. East Carolina may have had the best year in North Carolina in football if not for Wake Forest, and South Florida added to the Big East’s fantastic ride this season. South Florida is favored, but believe me, this is a game ECU can win.

Those are the other four games I will have circled once bowl season gets going. Counting the national championship, you have my top five.

What games are you looking forward to?

Grooming for Long Term Success: Exclusive to Every Game Counts

By Phil Bennett

Ultimately as a head football coach, you’re judged by wins and losses. In reality, we’re responsible for so much more. In addition to winning on the field, I think that we’re responsible for graduating our student-athletes and helping develop the young men we have been entrusted to guide. We groom our players for long-term success.

I am always talking to our players about making good choices, avoiding bad decisions and bad influences that confront them on a daily basis. They understand that their integrity and the integrity of our program come first. Whether they like it or not, they’re role models and representatives of SMU.

In the classroom we stress and preach success. I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish at SMU. Earlier this season, we won the AFCA’s 2006 Academic Achievement Award after we recorded a 100 percent graduation rate. That’s a testament to our tremendous academic support staff, our faculty, and our student-athletes that value educational success. This is something I hang my hat on as SMU’s head coach.

Building a complete program has been my focus here. That includes success both on and off the field. It’s been slower than I have hoped, but I know we’re doing things the right way around here. We’re building something special - brick-by-brick – and it will be something that will make everyone associated with SMU proud. These standards are what will help return SMU to greatness.

I also wanted to take the time and reach out to someone that has been very dear to our program. I’m sure that everyone knows by now of the passing of Lamar Hunt. Most people knew Lamar as the founder the American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. Lamar played football here at SMU and was longtime supporter of the school and a member of our Board of Trustees. He and his wife, Norma, have given SMU more than $7.4 million and $5.5 million toward the building of our football facilities - Ford Stadium and the Loyd All-Sports Center. His support was well beyond dollars. He and Norma were true fans, cheering us on at many, many home games. He was truly a great friend of Mustang athletics. He has left a lasting impression here, and my sympathy and prayers go out to his family. SMU and all of American sports have truly lost a great friend.

San Diego Here We Come!

Talk about down time! We need some action in the world of NCAA Football folks.

I guess we could deliberate over the All-American team, who’s on it. Who’s not. We could discuss year-end awards. Who got them, who should have.

But all that stuff is just filler, it’s just holding us over until that very first bowl game, the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, where TCU will take on Northern Illinois!

Is it the most exciting matchup ever conceived in the NCAA Football think tank? I don’t think any of us would argue that point of view. But it’s NCAA Football, and goodness knows that’s just about better than anything else we could watch.

The great thing about the Poinsettia bowl (besides being in San Diego, ahh, San Dee-ahhgo), and all the bowls really, is that it gives the players, coaches, fans, and everyone involved with the two schools, a chance to celebrate the season and for one day, a couple of hours, in one town, be the main show.

TCU and Northern Illinois will not be playing for the national championship this year. But when the kick off, I don’t think you’ll be able to tell the difference between the effort they’re giving, and that of Ohio State and Florida in early January.

And that is what is awesome about, NCAA Football, the bowl games, and this time of year. There’s nothing better than sitting on the couch, in front of the fire with a nice random bowl game on. I love it.

Just get here already.

NCAA Football Bowl Schedule

It's almost here folks, the NCAA Football bowl season; can you feel the excitement the bowl season always brings? To get you ready for the BCS and the other bowls, EGC has decided to give you a rundown of all 32 bowls this postseason, Enjoy! Also, feel free to let us know which bowl game(s) you're most looking forward to watching.

BCS Games
Date	Game	Location	TV	Time	Matchup
Jan. 8	BCS Title	Glendale, Ariz.	FOX	8 p.m.	Ohio State vs. Florida
Jan. 3	Sugar	New Orleans, La.	FOX	8 p.m.	LSU vs. Notre Dame
Jan. 2	Orange	Miami, Fla.	FOX	8 p.m.	Wake Forest vs. Louisville
Jan. 1	Fiesta	Glendale, Ariz.	FOX	8 p.m.	Oklahoma vs. Boise State
Jan. 1	Rose	Pasadena, Calif.	ABC	5 p.m.	Southern Cal vs. Michigan
Non-BCS Games
Date	Game	Location	TV	Time	Matchup
Jan. 7	GMAC	Mobile, Ala.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Southern Miss vs. Ohio
Jan. 6	International	Toronto	ESPN	Noon	W. Michigan vs. Cincinnati
Jan. 1	Capital One	Orlando, Fla.	ABC	1 p.m.	Arkansas vs. Wisconsin
Jan. 1	Gator	Jacksonville, Fla.	CBS	1 p.m.	Georgia Tech vs. W. Virginia
Jan. 1	Cotton	Dallas, Tex.	FOX	11:30 a.m.	Nebraska vs. Auburn
Jan. 1	Outback	Tampa, Fla.	ESPN	11 a.m.	Penn State vs. Tennessee
Dec. 31	MPC Computers	Boise, Idaho	ESPN	7:30 p.m.	Nevada vs. Miami (Fla.)
Dec. 30	Chick-fil-A	Atlanta, Ga.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Virginia Tech vs. Georgia
Dec. 30	Alamo	San Antonio, Tex.	ESPN	4:30 p.m.	Texas vs. Iowa
Dec. 30	Meineke Car Care	Charlotte, N.C.	ESPN2	1 p.m.	Boston College vs. Navy
Dec. 29	Champs Sports	Orlando, Fla.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Purdue vs. Maryland
Dec. 29	Insight	Phoenix, Ariz.	NFL Net.	7:30 p.m.	Minnesota vs. Texas Tech
Dec. 29	Liberty	Memphis, Tenn.	ESPN	4:30 p.m.	Houston vs. South Carolina
Dec. 29	Sun	El Paso, Tex.	CBS	2 p.m.	Missouri vs. Oregon State
Dec. 29	Music City	Nashville, Tenn.	ESPN	1 p.m.	Kentucky vs. Clemson
Dec. 28	Holiday	San Diego, Calif.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Texas A&M vs. California
Dec. 28	Texas	Houston, Tex.	NFL Net.	8 p.m.	Rutgers vs. Kansas State
Dec. 28	Independence	Shreveport, La.	ESPN	4:30 p.m.	Oklahoma State vs. Alabama
Dec. 27	Emerald	San Fran, Calif.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Florida State vs. UCLA
Dec. 26	Motor City	Detroit, Mich.	ESPN	7:30 p.m.	C. Michigan vs. Middle Tenn.
Dec. 24	Hawaii	Honolulu, Hawaii	ESPN	8 p.m.	Arizona State vs. Hawaii
Dec. 23	Armed Forces	Fort Worth, Tex.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Utah vs. Tulsa
Dec. 23	New Mexico	Alburquerque, NM	ESPN	4:30 p.m.	New Mexico vs. San Jose St.
Dec. 23	PapaJohns.com	Birmingham, Ala.	ESPN2	1 p.m.	East Carolina vs. South Florida
Dec. 22	New Orleans	New Orleans, La.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Troy vs. Rice
Dec. 21	Las Vegas	Las Vegas, Nev.	ESPN	8 p.m.	Oregon vs. BYU
Dec. 19	Poinsettia	San Diego, Calf.	ESPN2	8 p.m.	TCU vs. Northern Illinois

1988 "Puntrooskie"

Here is one of NCAA Football's most famous plays of all time. Ahh! The Trickery!

'Bama's Bruise

Why doesn’t anyone want to coach at Alabama? Well, for starters, they just fired a guy who won 10 games two seasons ago.

And that might say it all. There is too much pressure there for a lot of people, apparently most people. The Crimson Tide had their new guy all wrapped up and ready to go. But West Virginia ponied up and found the money to match Alabama’s offer.

So Rich Rodriquez went with his heart. His heart just happened to find a place willing to offer him as much money as ‘Bama, but let’s not split hairs. That situation probably worked out best for everyone. If Rodriguez loves Morgantown that much, then good for him and we should all be happy for them.

Somehow though, I don’t think the boys in ‘Bama were all warm and fuzzy thinking of how happy ole Rich was.

But now Alabama has to right the ship and right it fast. It is becoming sheik for coaches to remain in place this year. Greg Schiano turned down a return to Miami to stay at Rutgers. Rodriguez and West Virginia. Is this a new trend? Not likely, but it does make things interesting.

Bear Bryant’s shadow still hangs over that university and at this point it might always. And therein lies the other note dejectors see in ‘Bama. There’s no way a guy can go in there and not be compared to him. He’s a ghost, but one that is very much alive.

I think Alabama is one of the best jobs in all of college football and they should act as such. They should find the right guy and go get him. For their sake, I hope they didn’t already have him.

Todd Graham: Turning Things Around

An Every Game Counts Exclusive

By Todd Graham

Let me first say that it is an incredible time at Rice right now. When I first came here, a lot of my colleagues questioned what I was doing. They thought the job was a “coach killer”. Many questioned why I was taking this job. But having grown up in Texas and being a fan of the Southwest Conference, Rice was an easy fit.

What we have done here is simply remarkable. The turnaround has been amazing. Many folks want to know how we were able to create such a turnaround in this program. When I came in, I knew that we had to change the culture of Rice football. I brought in basically an entire new staff, from coaches to secretaries. We began to take a look at what we had…Rice is known for its excellent academics, and we graduate 90% of the football program. So we took what we knew first. We have smart kids. So we decided that would be the core of our efforts. We have designed the Offense and Defensive to be more schematic. Our kids have great character, meaning they work harder…which is good because our training regiment is second to none. To borrow a line from Rich Rodriguez we wanted to “have the hardest working, most disciplined, and most conditioned team in the country”.

When I first arrived we wrote one word on the wall and that was Championship. We felt the kids needed to be inspired. We also felt we needed to include the student body in the turnaround. We raised over seven million dollars. We got a new jumbo tron. We made field improvements. We got new uniforms. We gave out T-shirts, thunder sticks, game day towels. These kids have seen a visual change. These new renovations didn’t make our guys win, but it was a reason for the change.

I feel this is a story of perseverance. This year we started off 0-4. The team didn’t give in. This year the team faced a terrible tragedy. We lost one of our guys, Dale Lloyd. This was one of the most challenging things that has happened in my career, and yet this team did not let up. This team rallied. I would say the first sign of the turnaround was the Army game. We lost the next one, and then went on to win six straight. We have the best turnaround in the country.

We have sold 4,000 tickets to the bowl game. Going into the bowl game we will continue the routine as usual. We will use this as a second spring training for our younger guys. Our goals remain the same: get better everyday, be the best in the classroom, and continue enhancing fundamentals. Often coaches have asked me, “How do you all win those close games?” What I tell them is that we win the close games because these guys do what they are coached to do the first time.

The thing that I want our fans to know is that I am most proud that Rice stands for academic excellence, and excellence on the field. I am very proud of what we will accomplish. To change our culture is the "being back".

The Games are Over for Now

Busy busy week people! Here’s where we stand right now:

The regular season is over. It was awesome, but it’s over. Now we know the teams facing off for the national championship. We’re almost out of the debate stage. Hopefully, in a few more days, we can be rid completely of questions for everyone from Kirk Herbstreit to Tom Brady about who should be playing Ohio State.

At this point it doesn’t even matter does it? It’s Florida. Florida and Ohio State folks, let’s enjoy that. Sorry Wolverines, whether I was on your side or not is irrelevant now (actually, it was always irrelevant). Your going to the Rose Bowl, I don’t feel sorry for you.

Coaches, coaches. It’s about to get crazy. As of right now, the dominoes have yet to fall. However, I will not be surprised if by the time this sits online for less than a day the events have been set in motion. Word is Rich Rodriguez is close to becoming the new coach at Alabama. That is nothing more than a well circulated rumor at this point so no meltdowns please. But, if that happens, a chain of events will be set in motion that should keep us occupied until the bowl season kicks off.

Speaking of bowl season, has anyone else noticed there are two bowls immediately before the national championship that are well...not as big as the other bowls directly before the championship? Oh yeah, one of them is in Canada. I love Canada, nothing against Canada, but why are these bowls when they are. I can take small bowls, in the beginning. Before Christmas. Once we get to New Year’s, I don’t want to see those.

Oh well, it’s bonus NCAA Football. And that can’t be bad.

Oh yeah, there’s this little award being given out called the Heisman Trophy. No suspense here. Congratulations Troy Smith.

Calling All NCAA Football fans

Every Game Counts wants to hear from you real NCAA Football fans. Send us your best photos celebrating the game, fans, bands and more from this season. The owners of the twelve best pictures will receive a FREE Every Game Counts t-shirt.

Send your photos & name and contact information to egc@sportsmediachallenge.com.

Your pictures may just be showcased on the EGC blog!

Brotherhood

By GUEST BLOGGER LT David Hills, USN

Team slogans. It seems that every year, we as coaches believe it is our duty to come up with a new “motivational” slogan for the upcoming season. Often we use inspiring quotes from books, poems and movies. A quick internet search can help us find almost any slogan we want. Some of the more common slogans include phrases like: “Failing to prepare is like preparing to fail,” “There is no "I" in team,” and “Take the 't' off of can't and you can.” In 2001, I was part of the United States Naval Academy Football team that took an idea from William Shakespeare’s Henry V. Starting with the phrase “For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother,” we eventually ended up with “Brotherhood” as our one word slogan. Things like self-sacrifice, loyalty, passion, teamwork, and trust were all part of the “Brotherhood” idea. So was leading from the front, fighting to the end, and never letting a teammate down.

I was reminded of this slogan the other night as I was watching TV. While changing channels, I came across a replay of the 2000 Army-Navy game. Seeing myself on the field gave me a chuckle. There I was, number 4, Navy’s place kicker in a game I will never forget.

With about five minutes to go in the fourth quarter we lined up for a 27 yard field goal. This was a critical point in the game and we knew it. If the kick was good Army would have to score twice to win. If we missed Army would still have a good shot at a win. I made the kick and we eventually won 30-28.

After I made the kick, the first person to come over and congratulate me was Ronny Winchester. Ronny was our starting left guard. He was a fellow New Yorker who was big, tough, courageous, and a great lineman. He was also a great leader and a great person.

As I was reliving that special moment and remembering Ronny, it suddenly hit me that our brother isn’t with us anymore. Ronny Winchester was killed in Iraq. He was out front, leading Marines and serving his country.

Then the camera panned the sidelines and I saw J.P Blecksmith, a sophomore quarterback and special-teams player at the time. J.P. isn’t with us anymore either. Just like Ronny, J.P. was killed in Iraq. He was also serving his country by leading Marines from the front.

Thinking about Ronny and J.P. I began to realize that “Brotherhood” was far more than a slogan for my teammates and I. Over time it has become our way of life. Today we are still teammates. Serving as officers in the U.S. military, we strive each day not to let each other or our country down. Things like self-sacrifice, loyalty, passion, teamwork, and trust are still important to us. So is leading from the front, fighting to the end, and never letting a teammate down.

Currently, I am a Naval Officer stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. Having completed several deployments at sea, I now serve as the Anti-Terrorism Officer for Commander U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. I am responsible for the security of every U.S. Naval asset that operates in the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. I am also a volunteer assistant football coach at Jacksonville University.

When I am coaching at Jacksonville University and look into the eyes of today’s football players, I see many of the same things I saw in the eyes of my Navy football teammates in 2000. I believe that the things my “brothers” and I learned on the football field at Navy are the same things being learned on football fields throughout the country today. Football is a great game whose lessons often live on for a lifetime. As we bring the 2006 season to a close and start thinking about the 2007 season, I would suggest we consider our team’s slogan very carefully. A meaningful slogan can mean more than just sixty minutes of motivation. It can also teach our players some important lessons about life. For the 2000 Navy football team it was “Brotherhood.” What will it be for your team?

We Have a Title Game. I Have a Headache.

Well now we know. We know that politicking helps your team. We also know that when you don’t play for two weeks, the general public (and apparently the coaches and members of the Harris poll) forget about you.

It’s Florida and Ohio State for the national championship of NCAA Football. Should it be Michigan instead? At this point, I am honestly exhausted from arguing (mostly inside my own head) about which one-loss team should play the Buckeyes.

Basically, both deserve to be there. And how ridiculous is the notion that there’s a team out there that doesn’t deserve to be where they are? All these teams have worked hard enough this year to deserve to be there so can we just drop that whole thing please?

So yes, Florida deserves to be there. I just don’t think Michigan deserved to be knocked out. They haven’t played in a couple weeks so some people may have forgotten how dominant they were.

Then there’s the notion that a lot of people don’t want to see a rematch of Michigan/Ohio State. Well, there’s a good reason for the two best teams not to play.

And now Lloyd Carr is catching heat for not speaking up and campaigning for his team, while Urban Meyer is too for doing the exact opposite! How ludicrous is this whole situation?!

But we’ve said it here before, it is what it is. It obviously does no good to argue back and forth, complain about the best regular season in all of sports being followed up by the most ridiculous postseason, and scheme with everyone from your boss to your grandmother on how the system could be improved. We all know the answer to that.

Hopefully someday soon, we’ll able to actually see what is so obviously clear. But not today. So let’s be thankful for another great regular season, and look forward to some terrific bowl games.

Why USC Should Be #2 & Michigan Should Not

By: GUEST BLOGGER David from Pac-Ten Apostle

I bleed cardinal and gold and know that I wouldn’t miss a minute of sleep over seeing the Wolverines in the title game. Granted, I would much rather see the Trojans in Glendale (if they beat UCLA) against Ohio State, but if all the components of the BCS put Michigan at #2, so be it. With all this controversy over who really is the second best team in the country, the voters and computers have already decided. While you can have an issue with one poll and who the voters are, you can’t take issue with all of them. The Trojans are #2 in the AP poll, #2 in the USA Today poll, #2 in the Harris poll, #2 in the Master Coaches poll, #2 in the BCS computers and #2 in the BCS. That’s just about everyone who is relevant to NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision rankings agreeing with me and my fellow alumni that USC is the rightful #2.

Ok, I admit Michigan has two things they can lord over USC. Number one, the Wolverines have a “better” loss. Michigan just happened to lose to the #1 BCS team by three points, while USC decided to lose to the #24 BCS team by two points. Can’t deny that Michigan’s loss is “better,” but do you really want to say you deserve the #2 spot because you lost better than another team? I wouldn’t. Number two, you can point out the Notre Dame games and that the Wolverines’ win was more impressive. USC was pretty even with ND in terms of turnovers, total yards and time of possession, at the Coliseum. Michigan had a significant advantage over the Irish in all those categories, and did it in South Bend with a six point larger margin of victory.

But that UM-ND game was two months ago. NCAA Football, and the postseason in all sports, is always about what have you done for me lately. Lately, USC has beaten Notre Dame, Cal and Oregon. Meanwhile, up in the Wolverine State, Michigan has beaten Ball State, Indiana and LOST a game. Beating Wisconsin is Michigan’s only other quality win besides Notre Dame. But it’s not as impressive as a Top 10 win should be when you factor in that the Badgers didn’t play OSU and scheduled Bowling Green, Western Illinois, San Diego State and Buffalo.

So what can USC lord over the Wolverines? Let’s take a look at who USC scheduled aside from Notre Dame. When the NCAA added the twelfth game, the Pac-10 mandated that each team play each other. In other words, USC couldn’t add a MAC or 1-AA team to their schedule, they had to play a Pac-10 team. And for those of you that are unaware, not a single team in any of the six BCS conferences played all of their games against teams from BCS conferences...except...wait for it…the University of Southern California.

So while Michigan may want to argue the quality of the loss, it’s equally important to look at the quality of the wins. USC beat four Top 25 BCS teams to Michigan’s two.

Look at where USC’s out of conference opponents are in the BCS: #9, #10 and #20. Each of them still has a chance at making a BCS game. Three of Michigan’s OOC opponents (Vanderbilt, Central Michigan and Ball State) do not.

Have you seen enough yet Michigan fan?

Three of the BCS computers rank the Pac-10 as the best conference in the NCAA. Only one ranks the Big-10 as the best. Also, your team didn’t even win its own conference. How can you attempt to lay claim to a title shot when you don’t even automatically qualify for the Rose Bowl? (Pssst, the Trojans and Buckeyes did) Remember what happened to the other teams in the BCS title game that didn’t win their conference? Nebraska lost by 23 in ’02 and Oklahoma lost to LSU in ’04. If you don’t win your conference you don’t belong in the title game. Also, considering Michigan’s highly vaunted defense and USC’s loss of two Heisman winners on offense, it is interesting to note that the Trojans had a better point differential than the Wolverines this season.

But don’t cry for Michigan. At worst they have to play in the Rose Bowl, which is a pretty nice fallback. And if they had just beaten Ohio State, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. So enjoy Pasadena and if USC loses on Saturday, forget you ever read this.

Jerry Moore: "One opponent at a time" Exclusive to Every Game Counts

By: Jerry Moore

We don’t talk about playing for a national championship much around here. As a team, our goal remains the same each year: win the Southern Conference championship. If you do that, you’ve got a shot at the national championship.

Once we get in the postseason, we still don’t talk much about winning a national title. We just try to take it one week, one game, one opponent at a time. If you’re around our players and coaches this week, you’ll see that all of the focus is on Montana State, not what could happen a week from now or two weeks from now. In a playoff setup, if you look beyond the next task at hand, you could be done.

Another thing that our players, coaches and I enjoy about the playoffs is getting to play teams from different parts of the country. To me, playing a team from a different region and a well-respected league like the Big Sky makes it feel like it’s a really big game. Before we started watching film this week, the only way that we were familiar with Montana State was through the great reputations of their state, their program and their league. We have a lot of respect for Montana State and are anxious to go out and see how we match up.

The key to this week, as in any week, is preparation. Our coaches and players are preparing the same way for Montana State that we did for NC State back in August. Our goal is to stick to our routine. If you saw practice last night, it wasn’t much different than any other Tuesday practice from throughout the season. We do that purposefully. We don’t make practice any harder or easier as the season goes on.

We had a great practice last night, and that is a tribute to how well our coaches coach and our players focus. It’s very important to practice well every time we hit the field and our coaches and players have done a great job of making sure we are prepared and focused to do that.

Our players are excited about another game in front of the great fans here at Kidd Brewer Stadium. We’ve won 25-straight games home games, dating all the way back to the 2002 playoffs. We don’t have one player in our locker room that has been on the field for a loss at The Rock. On top of everything else involved with postseason football, that’s great motivation, especially for our seniors, who are so close to potentially going through their entire careers without losing a home game. That’s a special deal.

Our following here in the High Country has been great during my entire 18 years here at Appalachian, but over the course of the past two years, it has stepped up even more and become one of the best places in the country to watch and play a college football game.

A year ago, when we played Southern Illinois here in the quarterfinals, I walked off the field with their quarterback, Joel Sambursky, following the game. One thing that he said to me will always stick out in my mind. He said, “Coach, this is a (heck) of a place to play!” That is a compliment to our fans, our students, our band and everyone that works so hard to make Kidd Brewer Stadium such a terrific place for college football.

We had a great crowd last week — our largest ever for a postseason game, which is even more impressive due to the fact that our students were on Thanksgiving break. We are very fortunate to have the faithful fans and students that we have here at ASU. They are a big part of our success.

This Saturday, hopefully another big crowd will be on hand at The Rock. All that I can guarantee is that everyone that does turn out or watches across the nation on ESPN2 should be treated to a great college football game between two terrific programs and schools.