Official NCAA Football blog: Every Game Counts

Only a Notch Below the Real Thing

2007-05-31T14:30:00.000-05:00

As evidenced by the last post, which should still be below for your enjoyment, there isn't a whole lot going on in the world of NCAA Football right now. (Hawaii, I love you.)

And that's fine.

Really?

Yes, it's fine.

I am convinced that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Although I'm sure we've got some readers who would argue that and no, I don't need to know what those things would be.

But EA Sports' NCAA Football could very well be played year 'round and not get a huge argument from anyone...any males.

Now this, my friends, is something that is played year 'round.

And in no way is that depressing.

These luscious video game experiences (I've played from time to time) are seriously just a notch below actually watching a real game.

The best part is, we are on the verge of the latest in the series, NCAA Football 08. There are the usual updates and add-ins for this year, feel free to read about them all here. Oklahoma fans will be thrilled that the statue of liberty play has also been added.

Fear not Sooner fans, I'm sure this will work with the regularity of a blocked extra point (as it should) but I like the addition. That game was ridiculous and any time you can add that passion from the real thing to your home version, that's a great thing.

Let me know what you guys think of this beacon of sports spirit. When do you play? How long? What platform? How long have you played? Tell me a great game story if you've got one, we all love those. And if anybody out there has an advanced copy of this years gem, let me know. And if you have the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 to play it on I'll try that out as well.

Until July though, we'll have to keep honing our skills on the 07 version. And I'm totally cool with that, until July.

Hawaii Schedule Update

2007-05-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

Hawaii added Northern Colorado to its schedule. Why is this significant? Well, let me ask you this, what month are we in?

May.

How far off does the beginning of NCAA Football season seem?

Forever.

If I could pick one place to be right now where would it be?

Hawaii.

There you go. Go Warriors.

HOF Class of 2007

2007-05-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to all the honorees of the 2007 class of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Of the coaches, Penn State icon Joe Paterno was included with the induction of this year's class after postponing last year because of a broken leg.

I suppose he earned it. He's been decent.

Although, he did go .500 in his first year back in 1966. Good thing they kept him around.

(Look at the man in this picture and tell me that's not awesome!)

Seriously, hats off to the inductees.

The Crimson Tide is Ready.

2007-04-22T23:07:00.000-05:00

Ok. Alabama. We get it. You like football.

Hey, I like it too. 92,000 of you showed up for Nick Saban's first spring game.

92,000.

That's not liking football. That is living football.

You do realize the Alabama was playing...itself, right?

And by that I mean, it wasn't a real game. It wasn't really even practice.

It was a scrimmage.

I'm sorry Tide fans. You know I love you guys. I love the 'Bama tradition. I love that Saban is there, I love that 'Bama will be back (and not down the road, you will be back within the next three years max) I love that John Parker Wilson and his brother (baseball player Ross) both went to Hoover.

I love the fact that over 92,000 of you showed up for a scrimmage!

God bless you Alabama, and God bless college football!

92,000!!

Virginia Tech

2007-04-20T11:07:00.000-05:00

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Virginia Tech family.

Clock Rules Go Back In Time

2007-04-13T07:41:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness.

Last year was fun and all, but I couldn't be more thrilled the NCAA decided to revert back to the old clock rules, namely stopping the clock on possession changes and when a kickoff is caught rather than kicked.

Neither of these ruined the game, but too many fans (me included) saw this as a ridiculous way to speed up the game. Fans don't want to speed up the game.

The ball is also going to be kicked off from the 30-yard line, five yards back from last year, to encourage more lengthy returns. I like that too.

In Remembrance of Eddie Robinson

2007-04-04T16:40:00.000-05:00

Our condolences go out to Eddie Robinson's family and the Grambling University family.

Robinson was a great leader of young men and provided them with invaluable guidance both on and off the field.

His mark on the game will never be forgotten.

Rough Start for Huskers

2007-03-29T14:07:00.000-05:00

Tough times in Huskerland lately.

Nebraska starts the spring losing a couple of players.

None of it really had to do with on the field activities but man, you certainly could do without some of these things.

Tar Heels' Davis Undergoes Chemotherapy

2007-03-21T14:41:00.000-05:00

North Carolina head football coach Butch Davis is undergoing chemotherapy after a cancerous growth was found in his mouth during a routine visit to the dentist.

Davis was steadfast in saying he was really fine and felt this would in no way hinder the rebuilding project he has begun in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels started spring practice this week, and Davis was there. That certainly has to be encouraging for fans of the light blue.

We here at EGC wish Davis a full and speedy recovery.

Spurrier Tackles the Skies

2007-03-14T16:20:00.000-05:00

Steve Spurrier left on a jet plane. Well, sort of.

The Ole' Ball Coach rode shotgun in an F-16 a few weeks ago taking part in a similar experience that Clemson coach Tommy Bowden had a few years back.

Wouldn't you love to see Spurrier trying to keep that confident smirk on his face while the pilot does barrell rolls?

"Yep, yep. That was pretty good." I can hear him saying that now.

And what do you think Spurrier's call sign would be? Cocky? Shooter?

What would really be great would be to have Spurrier and Bowden in a dog fight. Maybe we can line that up next year.

Boise State's Story to Hit the Big Screen

2007-03-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

After finishing a storybook season with an unbelievable BCS bowl win, the Boise State Broncos will be the subject of an upcoming movie.

For now, it will be a documentary but the filmmakers hope to use that as a launching point for a potential movie.

I’m not sure how you could improve on what actually happened, and there wouldn’t be much need to, but I’m always in favor of adding another good sports movie to the rotation.

Dashing to the NFL Combine

2007-02-26T11:34:00.000-05:00

Anyone else notice the similarities between national signing day and the NFL combines?

Yes, they are pretty obvious, but for all the primping and preparing, and judging and scoring, isn’t the whole thing a crap shoot anyway?

I’d like to believe that but it’s probably not true. However, I refuse to believe that because an offensive lineman can run the 40-yard dash in under five seconds it makes him a better talent.

Do you want your offensive lineman to run fast? I want mine to hold his position, be able to pull every once in a while and keep those freaks on the defensive line in front of him.

Frankly, is he’s using the sub-five second speed, my team probably has bigger problems, namely finding a new quarterback.

But hey, what fun would any off season be without signing day, the NFL combine, the draft, and please let’s not forget the invaluable tool that is…the Wonderlic Test.

Just as important as the 40-yard dash is and just as scrutinized. This test weeded out a potentially horrendous situation for many teams by giving them an excuse to pass on a rumored poor scoring athlete on the Wonderlic

Tennessee Titans apparently didn’t do their homework last year and fell for Vince Young anyway. Oh well, better luck this year.

Spring practice also gets cranked up soon...at least that's something where we can tell what's what.

Bowl Games on Whenever You Want

2007-02-19T08:24:00.000-05:00

Florida Gator fans, and any Ohio State fans who like cruel and unusual punishment, click on over to NCAAFootball.com and pick up your copy of the national championship DVDs.

These are sure to be collector’s items. For those fans lucky enough to enjoy a national championship with their team, there is simply nothing better then watching that game over, and over again.

It is great to live in a day and time when reproductions of these games are so readily available. What did the fans of championships gone by do when the game was over? Talk about it? Please.

Sure, by not having DVDs at your fingertips the legend was probably enhanced a little, but we’re to the point now where most game film can be found somewhere, and will probably end up on DVD anyway if it’s not already.

Other DVDs are available as well. Any big winners want to enjoy that big bowl win? Go right ahead, but nothing quite tops the title.

So go ahead Gator Fans, enjoy it as many times as you want.

National Signing Day Was Last Week. Results TBD.

2007-02-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

You may have heard that national signing day was last week. That day has turned in to one of the most anticipated days in sports in recent years for the thought of a new class giving fans a fresh start and a chance to move one step closer to winning it all.

I wish I could give you my rankings for this year’s best classes, but that would be impossible since there are a kajillion (that’s with a “K”) high schoolers out there playing football right now and for me to be able to tell you that one is going to be a better college player then the other would be crazy.

However, there are those people out there. And thank goodness for them.

It seems increasingly hard to gauge what a kid is going to be able to do on the next level. High schools are separated and divided so differently and so much from state to state, how do they tell that a offensive lineman playing at a small high school in Minnesota is a three-star and a running back from Ohio playing at a huge high school is a four-star?

And what pushes you over the edge in the star ranking system?

How do you get that one extra star, separating you from the group of star-numbered teens below you?

Anyway, it is an exciting day, especially for the fans of the schools that seem to just keep getting more talent. USC and Florida were ranked at the top of most people’s list for top classes. Not surprising, who doesn’t want to play at either of those two schools right now.

The things people must remember is that some of these players may never see the field, some will red shirt, and yes, some will excel. Predicting what will happen and how good these classes are is fun and it gives us something to talk about. But a prediction is all it is. We’ll find out just how good these classes are a few years down the road, on the field.

Until then, at least it gives us something to look forward to.

Rivals.com Top 10 Recruits & Top 10 Recruiting Classes

2007-02-07T11:57:00.000-05:00

Where have the top ten recruits on Rivals.com committed? Who does Rivals.com say has the best recruiting class?

Top 10 Rivals.com Recruits:

1. Jimmy Clausen (QB) committed to Notre Dame.
2. Joe McKnight (RB) committed to USC.
3. Eric Berry (DB) committed to Tennessee.
4. Ryan Mallett (QB) committed to Michigan.
5. Carlos Dunlap (DE) committed to Florida.
6. Everson Griffen (DE) has committed to USC.
7. Marvin Austin (DT) committed to North Carolina.
8. Ronald Johnson (WR) committed to USC.
9. Torrey Davis (DT) committed to Florida.
10. Josh Oglesby (OL) committed to Wisconsin.

Top 10 Rivals.com Recruiting Classes:
**Updated!

1. Florida
2. Southern Cal
3. Tennessee
4. LSU
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Auburn
8. Notre Dame
9. Georgia
10. Alabama

Scout.com Top 10 Recruits & Top 10 Recruiting Classes

2007-02-07T11:34:00.000-05:00

Where have the top ten recruits on Scout.com committed? Who does Scout.com say has the best recruiting class?

Top 10 Scout.com Recruits:

1. Everson Griffen (DE) committed to USC.
2. Joe McKnight (RB) committed to USC.
3. Marvin Austin (DT) committed to North Carolina.
4. Jimmy Clausen (QB) committed to Notre Dame.
5. Ryan Mallett (QB) committed to Michigan.
6. Marc Tyler (RB) committed to USC.
7. Eric Berry (CB) committed to Tennessee.
8. Tray Allen (OG) committed to Texas.
9. Chris Galippo (MLB) committed to USC.
10. Terrance Toliver (WR) committed to LSU.

Top 10 Scout.com Recruiting Classes:
** Updated!

1. Florida
2. LSU
3. USC
4. Texas
5. Tennessee
6. Auburn
7. South Carolina
8. Oregon
9. Pittsburgh
10. Michigan

National Signing Day

2007-02-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Today is NCAA Football Signing Day. We'll find out where all the Highschool players will play next season. Many recruits has already given verbal agreements but there always a few who surprise the day of. We'll check back in to see where the top recruits commit.

Rookies Shine on Sunday

2007-02-05T11:07:00.000-05:00

At least two rookies played prominent roles in helping their teams advance to yesterday’s Super Bowl.

Devin Hester and Joseph Addai, who just a year ago were completing their collegiate careers, were pivotal parts of each team’s success in 2006.

Hester, the thrilling return man from Miami, produced such electrifying play that it catapulted him to the head of the list for many rookie-of-the-year honors. Such a spark hasn’t been seen in the return game since the Kansas City Chiefs’ Dante Hall had the pro football world on red alert every time he touched the ball.

Addai has been a pleasant pickup for the Colts who lost Edgerrin James in the off season. His one-two punch with backfield mate Dominic Rhodes gave Indianapolis the ground burst to keep the Bears at bay.

Here’s the thing, Addai was a late first round pick and Hester went in the second round. There are a lot of elements that go into the draft. Need. Draft position. And if you’re the Houston Texans, temporary insanity.

But my point is solid players, impact players, can be had for every team out there. A lot can be said for the talent that surrounds rookies. And Addai has the benefit of being on one of the best offenses in the NFL, so it’s not like opposing offenses are geared to stop him. But he contributes and was huge this season.

Hester, I’m pretty sure he would have returned a few for scores on any team in the league.

But it’s also fun for the fans in Miami and LSU. They got to enjoy watching their guys excel on the highest level. Another reason college football is so great. Even on Sundays.

2007-02-01T10:36:00.000-05:00

Chris Brown

A touchdown in a game is always a feat. 6 is unreal. Watch Chris Brown tear through the Nebraska defense in this 2001 highlight real.

Take a Look at 2007!

2007-01-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Isn’t it great how the schedule for next season is released just after the current one has ended? (We now know that USC will play Arizona State on Thanksgiving night. I was wondering what I was going to do that evening.)

It is like an immediate turning of the page. It makes you forget everything that just happened and forces you to look ahead, no matter how many months away the new season is.

Here’s how I do it:

Scan the schedule
Get the calendar out and schedule the fall weekends we’ll be out of town. (If you’re lucky enough to find a schedule for your team that can be directly downloaded in to Outlook that helps so much.)
Quickly reserve these weekends against any other conflicts: weddings, parties for engagements, parties for weddings, etc.
Take the next seven months to game plan how your team can make a run at the BCS next year.

I really do appreciate NCAA Football putting out these schedules so far in advance. As much of a torture device as it is, it does give us something to look forward to and talk about.

What matchups look good? Who has the strongest schedule? Who has the weakest?

How else would we all fill our time over the next half year?

So it gives us something to hang on to about NCAA Football. The great thing is, no matter how much we dissect every team’s schedule over the next few months, no one will be able to predict everything.

So have fun with it. But remember, we’ve got a long way to go. Save something for the middle of summer.

Best National Blog Nominee

2007-01-24T17:32:00.000-05:00

Every Game Counts has been nominated for the "Best National Blog" in the Blogger Championship Series on Rocky Top!!

Florida: the Naional Champions!

2007-01-23T08:42:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER Mark from Swamp Ball

Florida was not supposed to be there. There were clearly better teams than them in the country, and it was evidenced by the “great” game that Ohio State and Michigan played on November 18th that these were the two best teams in all of college football.

It’s been two weeks since the BCS National Championship game took place in Glendale, a game in which Florida defeated Ohio State 41-14 to not only showed they belong, but to show us who really was the best team in college football this season.

We as college football fans were spoon-fed the fact that the Buckeyes and Wolverines were “clearly” the two best teams in the nation, and that their match up in Columbus was the peak at which college football was going to be played in the 2006 season. What happened in the bowl season shook the college football world in that sense, as both of the above mentioned programs fell on their faces – maybe leaving some of us confused.

Could it be? Could Ohio State not be the best team in the nation?

On November 18th the Buckeyes beat the Michigan Wolverines 42-39 in an instant classic that no one should have missed. This was a battle between two great college football teams who should have been the benchmark for programs in the 2006 season.

On November 2nd, two weeks prior to the “big game,” Louisville beat West Virginia 44-34 in an exciting Big East conference battle. Unfortunately, though, this was just a showcase of pretty good offenses going against less than great defenses. This is what many college football fans were saying, at least. On January 8th, when the bowl season was completed, perhaps it became evident that the Ohio State – Michigan match up was of the same mold.

Even though the Buckeyes were 12-0 coming into Glendale, the defensive squad was coming off a game in which they gave up 39 points and close to 400 yards of total offense against their best regular season opponent. And on January 8th, against their best overall opponent, they gave up 370 yards and 41 points – running the combined total to 767 yards of offense and 80 points against their two best forms of competition on the season.

In scoring 41 points to beat the Buckeyes, the Gators offense looked as efficient as any offense could possibly be. Chris Leak continually picked apart the Ohio State zone defense (why they stayed in it nearly all game is a mystery), passing for 213 yards while never throwing more than a 20 yard pass. I don’t know if you can call that a great offensive performance. That could be called simply toying with the defense.

But the Buckeyes offense had a good showing, right? Wrong.

Heisman trophy quarterback Troy Smith compiled a total of 6 yards of offense in the 27 point loss, while the Buckeyes could only muster up a total of 82. Statistically this was second to only Western Carolina as the worst offensive performance by a Gators opponent all season. The Gators defensive front badgered the Ohio State offensive line, running backs and Smith all game long, as the secondary provided lock-down coverage. In no way was there going to be constant success against such an inspired and hungry Gators defense – a defense that had carried the team throughout the 2006 season.

Perhaps the presence of Ted Ginn Jr. could have changed some of what occurred for the Buckeyes defense. But if you ask Troy Smith and any other quarterback they will tell you that it is impossible to throw accurately from your back – a position Smith was in constantly in this game thanks to the Gators defensive front (Smith was sacked 5 times on the game). Plus, not having the deep threat Ginn provided just meant that Ohio State wouldn’t have to deal with the headaches caused from trying to pass the ball on safety Reggie Nelson.

The Buckeyes had a 51 day layoff before the game, while the Gators break lasted 37. There was talk that this 51 day break made Ohio State less focused and lethargic. While there could be some truth to that, this would be a non-issue had the Buckeyes won the game.

If the opposite outcome had occurred, we would have been under a constant barrage of talk focusing on how much of a genius big-game coach Jim Tressel is. It would have been because of his precise game-planning over the break that the Buckeyes pulled out a victory. Instead, the layoff is used as an excuse. 37 days is quite a while to for these athletes to stay focused as well – and the last time I checked coaching is part of football, too. Coaches should bring a winning game-plan and a motivated team, especially when so much is on the line.

It’s still hard to believe how easy that actually was for Florida. The Gators are the 2006 (BCS) National Champions, and it’s hard to make any argument to say any team would have knocked them off two weeks ago – even the supposed “actual” 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes team that didn’t show up to Glendale.

A closing note on the long layoff is that it may have been one week to long this season. While the +1 format just makes the major sponsors and college football wealthier, it is just too long of a wait in between the New Years Day bowl games and the National Championship game. In the future I feel that the NCAA and BCS should look into keeping these games closer together.

Other than the above complaint, there were not many negative things to say about the bowl game performance of the Florida Gators – capturing their school a football national title to go along with that basketball one earned last March. This is an unprecedented action that has the University of Florida on top of the college athletics world.

The Shark Jumps for the Diamond

2007-01-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

The list for early entrees for the NFL draft is clearing up, and the look of this year’s crop of draftees will be complete.

One name that will be noticeably absent from any NFL draft board is Jeff Samardzija.

Shocked? Me too.

There’s no disputing the fact the Samardzija gave Calvin Johnson a run for his money as the best wide receiver in all of NCAA Football. I didn’t want to see it at first either, because Johnson is a freak!

With apologies to Dwyane Jarrett, if Johnson is 1, then Samardzija is 1-A, and it could easily be swapped and I would have no problem with that.

So how does one of the best players in NCAA Football, a probable first-round draft pick in the NFL turn down football? One word. Love.

This kid must love the game. The game of baseball. He’s signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs to take his skills to the show.

As a football fan, I hate it. But that’s me being very selfish. This guy is following his heart and staying on the diamond and away from runaway freight trains in the NFL. I can’t say I blame him. It’s much more likely that he could have a shot at playing both by trying baseball first anyway.

A few years on the diamond and if it doesn’t work out, I’m sure he could still get a tryout somewhere in the NFL. But starting out in pro football can cut an athletic timeline in half.

So good for you Samardzija. It was a pleasure to watch you play and enjoy the good years ahead of you. No matter what field they’re on.

Off Week One

2007-01-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

The first off-season week of the year and it’s pretty much what you would expect.

Off. And boring.

Yes, teams are still waiting for some coaching hires. Most players have made the decision whether or not to return to the greatest atmosphere in sports and forgo the NFL for now.

The latest, Colt Brennan will return to Hawaii. Hmm, Hawaii. College. Football. Quarterback. Yeah, I wouldn’t leave either
Brian Brohm shocked me, but lucky for all of us he will return. Should be fun to watch him perfect his skills next season, watch out Heisman contenders.
The coaching carousel continues to turn and it has spit out Chuck Amato back in Tallahassee. The more things change, the more they…change. These are not your father’s Seminoles. And they’re not Amato’s either.

Funny thing is, at NC State, Amato’s strong suit appeared to be recruiting. He stacked his defense with half the 2006 NFL draft, but produced basically a .500 team. He’ll be linebackers coach and the executive head coach. I think the folks in Raleigh are happy, I’m sure the Tallahassee faithful are too but another season like this one and there will be more changes.

A Long Week for Buckeye Fans

2007-01-18T17:04:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER from The Buckeye Blog

It’s been a long week for Buckeye fans to say the least. Especially Buckeye fans such as myself who tend to be a little…shall we say…outspoken. At first it was shock and confusion. The day after game, Buckeyes could be found wandering the desert outside of Phoenix, searching for some centering point, trying to make sense of the travesty that had happened only mere hours before. The trip home didn’t help much either as the Phoenix airport was filled with National Championship t-shirts, shirts that I had hoped to fight over, to wear proudly into work on Wednesday. To make matters worse, hidden in the back of an airport magazine stand was a lonely rack of Ohio State sweatshirts, coats, etc. all selling at 50 percent off.

On Wednesday morning, Buckeye fans around the country returned to work only to find their offices newly decorated in Florida colors and a sudden abundance of Gator fans. People who knew nothing about college football were digging out orange sweaters that hadn’t seen the light of day since the 1970s. I’m sure to them it seemed funny and we all did our best to smile and laugh at the joke. Besides, it’s only a game…right?

Now, a week has passed, the fog is clearing and many of us have come to terms with the loss. Bottom line, Florida arrived prepared, determined and played a better game. Like Ohio State in ’03, when the Bucks beat Miami in the Fiesta Bowl to claim the National Championship, Florida had more than a month to hear the country question their very presence on the BCS Championship arena. Florida arrived hungry, with something to prove, and did exactly that.

And to take nothing away from Florida, the Ohio State team we watched in Glendale was not the Ohio State team we have watched all year. The Buckeyes lacked the fire and the confidence that we have seen this season. Let the pundits say what they will, the Ohio State team we watched last fall was not the team that gave up 27 pts to Florida this January.

To be honest, the entire BCS Championship game lacked the fire and passion that a National Championship game deserves. The extra week between bowl games and the BCS Championship killed the hype and excitement that makes a national championship game. I have been saying since November that for a Buckeye fan, anything after this year’s Ohio State/Michigan game would be an afterthought and the extra week only helped to assure this reality. After the college football marathon of New Year’s day and almost two months of hype (or lack of), by the time we finally got to the BCS Championship, nobody seemed to care. This year’s Rose Bowl got more attention then the BCS Championship game.

I have been fortunate enough to attend some of the biggest games in recent Ohio State history. These games include the ‘03 Fiesta Bowl against Miami, Texas in the Shoe in ‘05, this year’s Ohio State/Michigan game and although I didn’t get into this year’s BCS Championship, I was in Glendale and watched the game outside of the stadium.

What makes these big games so exciting is not just the game itself but the energy leading into the game. All of the games mentioned above had a such a buzz, such an excitement that by game time, you were ready to explode. All of those games except this one. In ‘03, the energy level in Phoenix was off the chart. Ohio State fans were everywhere and the entire city seemed to boil with excitement. And it wasn’t only the Ohio State fans. The entire city was looking forward to the big game in Tempe.

This year, however, the energy of those past games was missing. Once again Ohio State fans descended on Phoenix in force and did seem to outnumber Florida fans about 10-1 (before the game at least). This year, however, Phoenix did not have that same feeling and couldn’t even be compared to this year’s Ohio State/Michigan game.

Let’s face it, the new stadium in Glendale, while impressive, has the feel of a shopping mall. Its location on the far west side of Phoenix spread things out around the Phoenix area. Unlike in ‘03, where Tempe was the center of the Bowl festivities, Bowl events were spread miles apart. Glendale is a good 1/2 hour drive from Chase Field, site of the Ohio State pep rally. As for the town of Phoenix, they were back to work. Locals coming down off the buzz of the Fiesta Bowl were more concerned about traffic problems caused by the inconvenience of the BCS Championship than the game itself.

With the events of this week, it is also becoming obvious that many of Ohio State’s top players were looking past the BCS game to the upcoming NFL draft deadline. Only days after the game, a teary eyed Antonio Gonzalaz, who graduates this spring, announced that he would forgo his last year of eligibility to go pro. Then we heard of the emotional conflict Teddy Ginn was facing as he tried to decide if he would stay for another year only to see both him and Antonio Pittman announce their NFL intentions the day before deadline. While it is sad to see them go, Gonzo, Ginn, Pittman and Troy Smith have made for some great Ohio State moments and we wish them luck in the big show.

For Ohio State, I think our season ended back in November. The Game (Ohio State/Michigan), as it will forever be remembered, will go down as one of the biggest games not only in the history of the rivalry, but in the history of college football. January is a time for NFL playoffs and basketball, not leftover college football games.

Congratulations to Florida. They played a great game and deserved to win. Most of those Gators will be back again next year and they will be a force to be recognized. As for Ohio State, ‘07 will be a rebuilding year but there is a lot of talent waiting in the wings. Ohio State isn’t used to losing these days and this big loss may be good for the future of the program. It is a memory that returning Ohio State players will not want to repeat and may provide the motivation Coach Tressel needs to build a young team.

And don’t get too comfortable Florida. That young basketball team standing in your way come March will have learned a lot since you saw them in December. They will be hungry for a rematch.

Change a Part of the Off-Season

2007-01-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

We had another amazing season of NCAA Football. And now is the time to reflect, and the time for change.

The teams we watched last year will never be the same again. And for just about everyone except the Florida Gators, that’s a good thing.

Last year is over, and each team starts fresh. Unfortunately we say goodbye to some great players and coaches.

LSU’s JaMarcus Russell is taking the cannon on his shoulder to the next level going to “whoever picks first and whoever pays the most.”

Hey, makes sense to me.

USC’s Dwayne Jarrett is also exiting stage left. Jarrett was emotional at his press conference and visually confirmed head coach Pete Carroll’s insistence that “he knows he has to leave but he doesn’t want to leave.”

Carroll apparently doesn’t either. After being wooed by the Miami Dolphins, Carroll says he’s staying put at the college level, which is good. There are some coaches who just fit the mold of a college coach, and Pete Carroll is the mold in today’s NCAA Football.

Another coach that fits the mold of a college coach, and one of my favorites this year, is Bobby Petrino. But he’s decided to try and solve the Atlanta Falcons mystery which opened the door for Tulsa’s Steve Kragthorpe.

Kragthorpe is tabbed as an up-and-coming coach in the NCAA, time will tell but the folks at Papa John’s stadium certainly have gotten used to a lot of points, and wins.

With every death there come’s rebirth. It’s the circle of life.

Ok, NCAA Football is not that serious, but the off-season ‘tis the season for change. I’m sure it will be interesting, fans will get upset, other fans will be happy. And by the time August rolls around, all we’ll be focused on is that opening weekend of NCAA Football.

And I can’t wait.

Gators Show Up, Shut Down Buckeyes

2007-01-09T08:54:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Chris Leak and the 2006 national champion Florida Gators. Apparently they did deserve the right to be in the national title game. At least the BCS system got one team right.

Just kidding. We all know Ohio State is a very talented football team but for whatever reason, they were not ready for what the Gators took to Arizona.

Maybe it was the 51-day layoff. (51 days?)

Maybe it was the fact that after Ted Ginn “held” off the Gators on the opening kickoff return for a touchdown he was sidelined the rest of the game.

But I doubt the Buckeyes and Jim Tressel would want to rely on these excuses or any other. Ohio State was flat out stomped in the BCS title game and looked nothing like the team that dominated the Big Ten all year.

Interestingly enough, this game was against an SEC team. Ohio State has never beaten an SEC team in a bowl game in eight tries.

But this wasn’t just any SEC team. It was one that was told it didn’t deserve to be in the BCS title game; that it couldn’t withstand the brute, raw strength and power from the mighty Buckeyes.

Well maybe Urban Meyer and his team just got tired of hearing that and decided to do something about.

Or maybe, just maybe, the 2006 Florida Gators were the best team this season. I’m sure glad we finally got to see it.

Kevin Hynes Promotes FCA at AFCA

2007-01-08T17:49:00.000-05:00

By: Kevin "Chappy" Hynes, Chaplain, University of Georgia

I’m here for several reasons, the main being we have a chaplains’ conference in conjunction with the AFCA. Grant Teaff and the staff here have been such wonderful hosts to us. The Collegiate Chaplain program has really gained momentum in the last 5 years. Many coaches are seeing the importance of having a spiritual mentor (Chaplain) on the team. I’m out here to meet up with the other chaplains to discuss ministry and glean wisdom from them. I’m also here to promote the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) to coaches. Many people ask me what I do as the Chaplain at Georgia. In response I tell them that I love these players and coaches. First and foremost I’m a servant to all and here’s how I love them.

L- Listen
O- Offer Biblical teaching with a Christian world view
V- Value
E- Encourage

There are many dynamics to being a Chaplain but I attempt to obey the scriptures by just loving God and loving people. I also have a Head Coach (Mark Richt) who loves God and promotes the Chaplain program which allows me the freedom to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here at the convention I help FCA and others to share the vision with coaches and encourage them to incorporate a Chaplain into their programs.

To learn more about Chappy’s ministry at Georgia, please go to www.uga.edu/teamunited.

Impressions of AFCA from the perspective of Lobos Football Operations

2007-01-08T17:03:00.000-05:00

By: Gavin Bevis, Associate AD for Football Operations, University of New Mexico

There’s no better place for a football coach to be this week than San Antonio, Texas! The AFCA convention is great for networking. You see guys you used to work with years ago, some guys you haven’t seen in 10-15 years. You even run into some guys from playing High school ball- some you played with, some you coached with. You also get to see lots of vendors we do business with.

I’ve been coming for 20 years now. I keep coming back to see everyone and this is the one place where you see all the vendors in one place. If you want to buy a new blocking sled, you can talk to someone. If you want to see the interior design team who did our locker room, they’re here too. It’s great that all of the vendors are all in one place so we don’t have to travel around to see them. I even pushed 3 new customers to a certain vendor so I can use that in the future to negotiate a better deal for us.

I’ve been to these conventions for years. I’ve been to Orlando, Dallas, etc. I remember the very first one I went to when I was a high school coach. I had a job at the time but I was looking & wondering if I could go to Division 1. I coached high school for 11 years (football & wrestling). There were times I thought about joining the service or something else but I love football. (My Dad was a policeman, so I thought about doing that too.) The 1st time I came to an AFCA convention, I was looking for a job. Now I don’t need to look. Now people are coming to me & wearing me out!

AFCA: Joe Taylor Gets EGC shirt

2007-01-08T14:59:00.000-05:00

Joe Taylor was the featured speaker at the President's breakfast this morning. I talked to him afterwards and gave him an Every Game Counts tee-shirt which he was excited about. I told him that his fans were supporting him on the blog and he loved it! Keep it up EGC fans!

AFCA Convention

2007-01-07T08:44:00.000-05:00

The Every Game Counts team is headed to San Antonio, TX for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) convention. There will be 6,000 Highschool and College Coaches attending. Jim Tressel, Lloyd Carr, and Greg Schiano are among many who are featured as headline speakers for the conference. We'll be blogging during the conference and hope to have a few coaches blog for us so make sure to check back in!

Buckeyes Go for 8th National Championship Title

2007-01-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER from The Buckeye Blog

The Buckeyes nation heads west this weekend in anticipation of Monday night’s BCS feast. It is a rare opportunity that fans of the Scarlet and Gray get an opportunity to dine on Gators meat but from everything I hear, it tastes a lot like chicken.

The SEC has established itself in the perfect position coming into this year’s bowl season. All year long we have heard the talking heads tell us about “SEC speed” and how the SEC is, hands down, the best in the country. On the part of the SEC it is a genius bit of marketing and provides the perfect win/win scenario. If the SEC looks good in the bowls, we are bombarded with shouts of “Told you so.” If they lose, the excuse has been prepackaged as a simple, “It just goes to show you that no one can make it out of such a tough division and a playoff in one piece.”

However, this game is not about the SEC and the Big Ten. Those games are over. It is not about who should or shouldn’t take on Ohio State. The contenders have been chosen. It is about which team can bring their best to the field and when they do, will their best be enough to stand upon that podium and proclaim that they are, “The best damn team in the land.”

It is no secret that Florida is the underdog. Ohio State has run the tables starting and ending the season with a #1 ranking. There has been no question along the way as the Buckeyes had the rare opportunity to prove themselves against two #2 ranked teams. With a win on Monday, they will be the first team in the history of college football to beat three #2 ranked teams in one season.

As game day approaches, there is not a sportswriter out there who hasn’t given us the breakdown in position, speed, size, pass percentage verses secondary defense, you name it, we’ve heard it. What you haven’t heard about, something that all Buckeye fans understand, is the nature of today’s Ohio State football team.

There are those on the outside who wonder if Ohio State will play down to Florida, not bring their “A” game to the field. There are those who think that Heisman winning quarterback Troy Smith will struggle against a defense the likes of which he hasn’t seen yet this year. There are those who believe that the extended time off will be a detriment that the Buckeyes will not be able to overcome.

What they all fail to recognize is the impact of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. While those of us who sit in the stands not only look forward to another Buckeye national championship, we expect it. For our boys on the field, it will be a different story. On Monday, they will step onto that field not with brash, in-your-face, smashmouth football. There will be plenty of that in the parking lot outside the stadium. The Ohio State Buckeyes will enter the national championship arena with the quiet confidence and mental preparation that comes from a coach that knows how to win big games.

There are lots of teams out there with the skills, the speed, the size, all of the things that it takes to make a football team. However, all but one of those teams (with all respect to Boise State) has been able to bring their best to the table game after game, week after week. Only one team has been able to face two of the best teams in the country, in two of the biggest games of the year, meet the smaller teams, the ones that have killed many a sleeping giant, and walk away unscathed.

The Ohio State team that takes the field Monday night has already played in one of the biggest games in college football history. The Ohio State/Michigan rivalry is a game that those on the outside cannot fully comprehend. An entire season, everything every year, comes down to that one game for both teams. An 11-1 season at Ohio State is a losing season if they lose to Michigan. This year’s November classic was the biggest, most significant, in the history of that great rivalry. It is true, for many of us, the BCS Championship seems like something of an afterthought when held in the light of this year’s Ohio State/Michigan contest. For Coach Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes, however, this team will be ready. The films have been studied, the plays rehearsed, the battle plan secured. Most importantly, the Buckeyes will be mentally prepared for the crowing achievement of one of the greatest seasons in not only Ohio State history but in the history of college football.

So run the analysis, play out the simulations, debate the stats, Ohio State fans are bold and confident for a reason. Today’s Ohio State is about character, it is about pride, it is about tradition. And on Monday, it will be about our eighth national championship title.

Bowl Game Home Stretch

2007-01-04T08:39:00.000-05:00

What is up with the start time of these games!? Come on now, a late Saturday night game during the season is one thing but these games running days together are killing me. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, all games ending the following day.

I thought these games were “starting” in the seven o’clock hour, but none ended up kicking until after 8:00. (Yes, I have an east coast bias.)

Fortunately, these games were worth staying up for. Although the quality of game faded as the week got older. Boise State’s win could have been the most exciting game ever, Wake Forest’s challenge of Louisville was a good story (and surprising to many, a good game), and the LSU game…well, that wasn’t a good one unless you love the Bayou Bengals or hate the Fighting Irish. So, maybe it was fun for a lot of people.

After wrapping up the Sugar Bowl, we’re faced with only one last game (BCS that is, although keep in mind we also have the International Bowl and the GMAC Bowl) for all the marbles. Next week this time we will have a new national champion. I just wish we didn’t have to wait so long for them to play the thing.

Imagine this, if Florida wins, we will have yet another undefeated team who never got to play for the national title. My, my, my, that would certainly give the BCS haters some more ammunition, not that it would matter.

After warming up on these BCS games, I think we’re in for a doozy on Monday.

Fantastic Finish in the Fiesta

2007-01-03T08:27:00.000-05:00

Hook and ladder. Check.

Halfback pass. Check.

Statue of liberty?! Check.

For those of you lucky enough to have stayed up late Monday night, you know what I am talking about. And the rest of you have no doubt heard about the greatest college football game in recent memory. Boise State’s win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl may have been the best football game I’ve ever seen. Seriously.

If you can think of a better one you’ve seen please let me know.

I have tried but can’t come up with much that beats this one. This game had everything. It had the underdog story, little Boise State crashing the BCS big boy party, and kicking the door in. It had the big lead, the blown lead, the late game heroics, tons of late-game heroics.

I don’t think I need to recount everything that happened in this game, especially in the last quarter and overtime. But Boise State head coach Chris Petersen just has to be commended for some of those offensive play calls. I can’t decide which one was gutsier. I lean toward the fourth-and-goal half-back pass in overtime.

But they were not only the perfect calls, they were run perfectly. We may never again see plays of that caliber and difficulty run, basically, in succession. It was awesome to watch.

For Oklahoma, I know this one stings. But it took unbelievable fight to battle back and take the lead in that game. It is a tribute to Bob Stoops and his team. It really is a shame someone had to lose this game.

Bowl Week Wishes

2006-12-28T02:38:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-25T11:17:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-21T08:40:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-21T06:08:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

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!

2006-12-14T09:36:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-13T11:04:00.000-05:00

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"

2006-12-12T11:36:00.000-05:00


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

'Bama's Bruise

2006-12-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-07T08:55:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-05T08:40:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-12-04T08:49:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-02T12:22:00.000-05:00

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

2006-12-01T08:18:00.000-05:00

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.

The Coaching Carousel

2006-11-30T08:39:00.000-05:00

There’s no denying it, the coaching carousel is in full spin this week. And probably for many more weeks to come.

There are some very high profile jobs out there including spots at Alabama and Miami.

North Carolina put itself way ahead of the pack by taking the bull by the horns and securing one of the biggest names out there in former Miami head coach Butch Davis. He is saying all the right things and has the ability and know-how, by all accounts, to return the Tar Heels to the level Mack Brown reached in Chapel Hill.

Whether or not the Heels’ move force North Carolina State’s hand or not is irrelevant. The Wolfpack axed Chuck Amato after finishing this season with a seven game losing streak; including a third straight loss to bitter rival North Carolina and lame duck coach John Bunting. And now they too join the search for a new coach.

This whole coach search is such a crazy thing. I think the folks in Chapel Hill hit a home run by just being the only ones in the Butch Davis race at the time. Davis may have looked at Alabama had the situation been different. But credit North Carolina for securing him sooner rather than later, which may have meant not at all.

Alabama and Miami are two high profile, big time NCAA Football coaching jobs. But in this day and age, when a coach a year removed from a 10-win season and another a few years removed from a national championship can be fired, it’s tough to bring another experienced guy in there and say, “This is a great place with great tradition, but if you don’t give us 10 wins and a BCS bowl in the next few years you’re gone.”

That’s the challenge Miami, and in particular, Alabama face in finding the right man to restore those programs to national prominence. But they will. They will find their man, and that will be just another spin on the carousel of college coaching.

2006-11-28T09:10:00.000-05:00

Every Game Counts visits the Football Mecca

The Golden Dome of Notre Dame

Even Touchdown Jesus keeps an eye on Every Game Counts!

Every Game Counts enters Notre Dame Stadium

No Resolution Yet

2006-11-27T08:37:00.000-05:00

I have come to a resolution of sorts. In regards to NCAA Football, the BCS, crowning a national championship etc., there are many, many arguments. Many. And none of them are right. However, none of them are wrong.

Doesn’t make sense? No kidding, neither does anything else this time of year. Arguments can be made for a handful of teams to line up and face Ohio State for the national championship this year. How in the world can anything be right?

In my opinion, the team most deserving to play Ohio State is Michigan. They have but one loss, to Ohio State. And therein lies the problem. Because, Michigan already had their chance. They had the chance to beat Ohio State, let someone else take a shot. But if you look at “quality” of losses, Michigan has the best of the one-loss teams. They lost to the number one ranked team. So, how can you justify another one-loss team being more deserving when their loss is to a lesser opponent?

Florida played a tough SEC schedule, but they have not looked overly impressive. Not that looking overly impressive should discount them. But do you think a team that struggled to beat one of the worst Florida State teams in my lifetime is playing better than Michigan, or USC? And they still have to play Arkansas.

Speaking of USC, now they looked good, very good in handling the Irish from Notre Dame. And they have looked good for a while now. Including a season-opening beat down of Arkansas, granted a very different Arkansas team but still. But, which is more impressive, beating Notre Dame in your house, or in theirs? Michigan spanked Notre Dame in South Bend.

So in my head, anything USC and Florida has done, Michigan has done better. It makes as much sense as anything else I’ve heard.

2006-11-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

NCAA Football Amazing Catches

Check out these spectacular catches, and get ready for another great weekend of NCAA Football !!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T08:30:00.000-05:00

Enjoy the NCAA Football and Turkey! Happy Thanksgiving from Every Game Counts!

DUELING BLOGGERS: USC vs. Notre Dame

2006-11-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

With BCS implications on the line, these two storied programs meet for the 78th time in one of NCAA Football's most exciting rivalries. Last year's game came down to a controversial play in the 4th quarter, what will be the deciding factor this weekend as these two teams play to get one step closer to meeting Ohio State in Glendale for the BCS Championship game?

USC: The key to win the game

2006-11-22T12:40:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER from Conquest Chronicles

This weekend another chapter in one of the most storied rivalries in college football will be written. USC/Notre Dame has produced some great games over the years and as usual the stakes are high again this year. Both teams are in the hunt for a chance to play Ohio State in the BCS title game on January 8th in Glendale, AZ.

This rivalry is different because these two teams are not required to play each other because of conference requirements and because this game, scheduled for the sake of the rivalry, has become one of the most important rivalries in all of college football. There is always some sort of national implication at stake when these teams play. Whether it's a Heisman Trophy, a National Championship or a major bowl berth on the line, the road to the Promised Land must pass through either Los Angeles or South Bend.

This year is no different. USC, in what some would call a rebuilding year, is looking to return the title game for a 3rd straight year. Brady Quinn is in the hunt for Notre Dame's 8th Heisman Trophy and if he expects to beat out Ohio State's Troy Smith he needs to have a huge game. Head Coach Charlie Weis is looking to put last years disappointing loss behind him as he has been preparing for this game over the last several weeks.

Both teams each have one tough loss under their belt. USC's against unranked Oregon St. and Notre Dame's against #2 Michigan. USC's loss seemed to open their eyes and focus more on their game while Notre Dame almost gave up another one to Michigan St. but both teams seemed to have righted the ship.

Both of these teams have some big playmakers on offense so both defenses will need to be on their game in order to shut down each other's ability to break a big play. SC's defense is a little more seasoned with last years title run under their belt and their bend don't break style of play early in the season they have solidified their game and shut down some pretty potent offenses.

Look for both teams to mix it up with a balanced run and passing game but don't be surprised if both teams air it out. SC is coming off two decisive, while not pretty, wins as they are half way through the toughest part of their schedule, so SC will have the confidence it needs to take on a tough traditional rival. Notre Dame has had a somewhat easier time of it over the last 7 weeks so they will look to come out firing. The key to this game will be the play of offensive and defensive lines of both teams. Whoever dominates the other will determine the winner.

With 14 Heisman Trophies, 24 National Championships and countless star players between the programs, this rivalry matters because of what it represents. Two teams willing to put it on the line year in and year out regardless of the implications and because of the history and tradition that it has spawned over the years. It is a college football right of passage that will continue to have some exciting games in the years ahead not unlike those of the past.

Notre Dame: The importance of this game

2006-11-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER from Rakes of Mallow

The importance of the Notre Dame/Southern Cal game over the years cannot be understated, both to the individual teams and college football as a whole. After last season's classic, the odds might be even higher this time around. If the Trojans win, then dispatch UCLA, they'll be facing off with the Buckeyes for a shot at their third championship in four years.

For the Irish, who might not have a chance at the title game thanks to 47-21, this game is probably more important. They've been written off the national radar since the Michigan game as an overrated-yet-not-rated-that-high squad that should have lost to Michigan State, UCLA and Georgia Tech. The Heisman is now out of Brady Quinn's grasp no matter what happens on Saturday thanks to the coronation bestowed upon Troy Smith.

This game might be even more important for Charlie Weis, who's inspired a confidence in the program it hadn't seen since the Holtz years yet lacks that big win. He's undefeated on the road and was a few seconds away from toppling the Trojan dynasty last season, but his best scalps are probably Georgia Tech this season and Michigan last. He's been obsessing about the Trojans, looking at every single play they've executed this season and using last week's practice to secretly run Southern Cal plays under the guise of Army formations to the team.

As far as championships and bowl bids go, this game doesn't mean a whole lot. Win, it's most likely the Sugar Bowl. Lose, the same, yet there's so much more hanging in the balance for the legacy of Brady Quinn and Charlie Weis. This is their final regular season game together, in primetime against the arch-nemesis of the Notre Dame program and one of the most celebrated teams of the millennium.

Pundits are saying the Irish don't have a chance, that the Jarrett/Smith combination is too powerful to deal with and that the speed of the Trojan defense will be an unstoppable swarm, eating Quinn and D-Walk alive. While the talent check mark may be on USC's side of the ledger, there's something to be said for a great gameplan and even better execution, which gave Notre Dame the lead in the closing minutes last year. Will Quinn be able to execute the perfect plan, forever engraving his name into the annals of this rivalry and giving his coach that big win he still lacks?

Irish fans are certainly hoping the answer to that question is yes come Saturday night.

2006-11-21T14:11:00.000-05:00

USC vs. Notre Dame 2005

With the Michigan/Ohio State game behind us, the focus now falls on the rivalry between USC/Notre Dame. It was a classic last year and is certain to live up to its billing this year!

Thank You Sir! May I Have Another?

2006-11-20T08:39:00.000-05:00

Do you really want a rematch? Do you really want to watch the same game we all did two days ago a few weeks down the road? Ohio State/Michigan? Round two? Do you really want that?

Yes.

Before the game, I wasn’t that crazy about the possibility of a rematch to decide the national championship. I mean, who could take another week’s worth of the endless hype provided by everyone, not just ESPN.

Ohio State/Michigan was everywhere, it seemed like this game was for the national championship.

But with the most recent BCS standings this week, I am elated to see Wolverines still in second place, albeit by the slimmest of margins over Southern Cal. As we said last week, they should be in second place. The number two team, all things being equal, should lose to the number one team at their place.

Now we all just have to hope that pollsters, computers and whomever else decides the BCS standings thinks Michigan and Ohio State should play again this season, this time for all the marbles.

Michigan has no control over that now. And they’d be the first ones to tell you that it’s their own fault. If they wanted to be in the National Championship, they should have won all their games. Fine, but still, Michigan is better than USC, better than Florida or Arkansas and luckily we can all say without a doubt they are better than Notre Dame.

There’s no point in arguing this system any more, it’s what we have. Here’s hoping it gives us the right combination this year with Ohio State/Michigan Part 2.

Buckeyes/Wolverines Postgame Recap

2006-11-19T11:58:00.000-05:00

By: Guest Blogger Jim from The Buckeye Blog

Great waves of scarlet and gray descended on Columbus Saturday for what would prove to be one of the greatest games in Ohio State football history. And while the game lived up to all expectations and hype, the monstrosity of this event was much bigger than the three hours or so of play on the field.

When I arrived at Baltimore/Washington airport early Friday morning to begin my pilgrimage back to 411 Woody Hayes Drive, the site of so many great Ohio State football memories, it became obvious the moment I entered the airport that this was not going to be just another trip home. As I stood in the security line, I found myself surrounded by fellow Ohio State fans as an occasional shout of "OH" followed by an obligatory "IO" echoed through the Baltimore airport.

Upon landing in Columbus, I found that I had returned to a city that was fully awash in the upcoming game. Planes were flying overhead pulling banners, business were putting the final touches on Friday afternoon employee "tailgate" parties and at least one in every three people that you passed were decked out in Ohio State gear.

Then came the news. At first we all thought it was just another Ohio State/Michigan joke and we waited awkwardly for a punch line we'd all heard before. But the punch line never came. Bo Schemblecher was dead. The coach we all loved to hate, the nemesis who dashed more than a few dreams of his former mentor Woody Hayes and thousands of Ohio State fans, had passed away only hours before one of the greatest games in a rivalry that he, together with Coach Hayes, helped to create.

The surreal irony was beyond belief. At the game, the only moment to silence a stadium of 105,000 fans was during the pregame video tribute to the legendary Bo Schemblecher. We were watching the end of an era and the start of a new epoch in Ohio State/Michigan history.

It was estimated that by Sat. afternoon, while there were 105,000 fans at the game, another 200,000 were outside of the stadium enjoying the atmosphere and festivities. Whether served under the awning of a giant land yacht or a picnic blanket next to the trunk of a family sedan, by 12:00, tailgate picnics stretched for miles around the Ohio State campus.

I have been going to Ohio State games since I was a teenager and I have never seen anything like the gathering for Saturday's game.

Inside the stadium, the traditional cheer of O-H-I-O shook the ground as it circled the Shoe. The roar was so thunderous that it was not possible to talk to the person standing next to you. And stand is what the fans did. The entire stadium was on their feet the entire game, taking quick breaks during the time outs only to rise again in time for the next play.

On the field, Michigan's quick opening drive did anything to silence the crowd. If anything, it energized them even more and we were all relived when Ohio State responded with a confident scoring drive ending the first quarter tied at seven.

As the second quarter got underway, the Buckeyes seemed to have things under control. The defense was starting to contain Michigan running back Mike Hart, who at times appeared to float over the Ohio State defense. On the offense, Buckeye wide receivers Brian Robiskie and Ted Ginn were putting on a show with a couple of big breaks for big yards.

After a brief scare, the Buckeyes ended the half with a quick touchdown drive and headed to the locker room with a 28-14 lead. Even though fans in the stands were afraid to admit it, there was a sense of confidence in the air that Coach Tressel had things under control.

Michigan opened quick in the third quarter with a drive straight to the end zone just like they had done on the opening series of the game. The Michigan defense followed intercepting a deflected pass which they eventually converted for three points.

Even though Ohio State responded, a fumbled Ohio State snap to end the quarter followed by a quick Michigan touchdown in the opening of the fourth made everyone remember that in an Ohio State/Michigan game, it is never over until the final gun sounds.

The game appeared to be over when on a fourth and long, Michigan quarterback Chad Henne threw what looked to be an incomplete pass. A pass inteference, however, extended the drive and Michigan scored with less than a minute to play bringing the score to Ohio State 42 UM 39.

The noise in Ohio Stadium reached a peak as Michigan lined up for the on-side kick. For a moment, 105,000 fans held their breath as the squibbling kick lingered in the air and finally landed safely in Ohio State arms.

The green field of Ohio Stadium quickly turned into a mass of Scarlet and Gray as fans flooded down from the stands. And then suddenly, after a few moments of ecstatic celebration, the crowd gave way, faced the south end of the stands to join Coach Tressel and the team and joined the Ohio State Band in the singing the Alma Mater, a post victory tradition instituted by Tressel.

It was hard to find a dry eye at that moment.

For some time after the game, fans milled around on the field, collected pieces of sod for souvenirs, and tried to savor the waning moments what will be known as one of the greatest moments in Ohio State football history.

Those on the outside who look in at the great tradition that is the Ohio State/Michigan game have trouble understanding. For an Ohio State/Michigan fan, an entire season comes down to this game. And yes, while we are excited to see Ohio State go to the BCS Championship, after a game like Saturday's, it all seems like an afterthought. During the next weeks, we will see all kinds of arguments about the one-loss teams but a Michigan fan quoted in the Columbus Dispatch said it best when he said, "We did not see a #1 team beat a #2 team. We saw a #1 team beat a #1 team."

2006-11-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Charles Woodson Heisman Highlights

In honor of the showdown in Columbus this weekend. We dug up this highlight reel from Michigan's Charles Woodson's 1997 Heisman trophy campaign. Enjoy the game...it is sure to be a classic.

Ohio State/Michigan and the Wild World of the National Championship

2006-11-16T10:03:00.000-05:00

Let’s not kid ourselves. The entire country is anxious for this weekend’s matchup of Ohio State and Michigan. The top two teams in the nation. So let’s not pretend like we’re not going to talk about it. (By the way, it’s amazing to think that this is the first time they’ve faced each other ranked first and second in the nation.)

Yes, it will be an awesome game. But I think the issue lies with Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel’s stance that to play in the national championship game, you must win your conference.

Now Tressel is not saying this to make both teams feel good. He’s saying this because he believes that his Buckeyes are going to win the game. And he should.

But this notion comes up every year, and around this time of year it comes up every day.

What if the top two teams in the country are in the same conference? Which they just might be this year.

Why should Michigan, or Ohio State be penalized for losing late in the season to the first or second ranked team in the nation? If you go by the polls, and which team America’s coaches, sportswriters, and computers think is the best in the nation, then the number two team should lose to the number one team!

So why does that eliminate it from the talk of a national championship? It shouldn’t. But who, in the name of Brutus, can tell which one of these one-loss teams is actually better than the other? Who’s to say that if Michigan and Ohio State had to play an SEC schedule they wouldn’t slip up somewhere along the way?

I know, there are a lot of questions.

In basketball, two teams from the same conference can meet in the final game without either one of them winning their conference tournament. Why? Because they have a playoff system to determine the best team. Pretty wild.

DUELING BLOGGERS: Ohio State vs. Michigan

2006-11-15T11:59:00.000-05:00

It’s the game we’ve all been waiting for, one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports, #1 Ohio State vs. #2 Michigan, this Saturday at The Horseshoe. The winner of this game will play in the BCS Championship Game, the loser, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Ohio State: What Ohio State has that Michigan doesn't

2006-11-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

By GUEST BLOGGER Matt Barker from Buckeye Banter

On Saturday, Ohio State and Michigan will meet for the 103rd time on the gridiron in what is the most storied rivalry in all of sports. But the stakes have never been higher since that first meeting between the two schools in 1897.

After the game was moved to the final Saturday of the Big Ten season back in 1935, the heavyweight battle between the two has had a major impact on the conference standings 42 times. This includes 20 contests where both Ohio State and Michigan have decided the Big Ten champion between themselves.

The top two teams in the nation this year, the Buckeyes and the Wolverines, are very evenly matched.

Among the 119 members playing Division I-A football in the NCAA, Ohio State is eighth in scoring offense averaging 35.8 points per game.

The Buckeyes are slightly better in total offense, posting 401.3 yards per game, while the Wolverines churn out 372.1 yards per contest..

Michigan is ranked fifth in scoring defense, allowing 12.1 points per game, though Ohio State leads the nation giving up just 7.8 points per outing.

What Ohio State has, and Michigan doesn't, is an eventual Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback.

Troy Smith, in his two games against Michigan, is 40-of-60 passing for 541 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also added 182 yards on the ground and two more scores.

All told, Smith has accounted for 723 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in his two starts against Michigan, while the Buckeye offense has averaged 31 points in both Buckeye wins.

Smith has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, with wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Gonzalez, Roy Hall, Brian Robiskie, and Brian Hartline, to running backs Antonio Pittman, Chris and Maurice Wells.

While Michigan is the top defense in the nation against the run, the Wolverines are just 65th in pass defense allowing 201.6 yards per game.

After Saturday, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel will have a career record of 5-1 against Michigan.

With all of that said, I wonder at what point during the game that Smith will strike his Heisman pose?

Michigan: 2 Questions before the game

2006-11-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER Dave from Maize N Brew

The game Saturday comes down to two questions: 1) Can Ohio State stop Mike Hart? and 2) Can Michigan get to Troy Smith? Answer those questions correctly and Big Ten Championship glory is yours for the taking.

To answer the first question, the answer is no.

I can say without a doubt that Mike Hart is the best running back in the country within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. He routinely turns 2-3 yard losses into 5 yard gains. As a result, despite the fact he has only 3 or four plays over 25 yards, Hart is 6th in the nation in rushing, averaging 124 yards and a TD a game.

Ohio State on the other hand is 11th in rushing defense, allowing 90.2 yards rushing a game. When faced with decent running backs, OSU's D has given up yards in bunches. Texas was one dimensional and still gained 172 yards on the ground. Tony Hunt of Penn State, by no means a burner and running behind a line made out of duct tape racked up 135 rushing yards. In case people have forgotten, OSU gave up 171 yards to Garrett Wolfe of Northern Illinois. NIU plays in the MAC. While a decent team, should not rack up that kind of yardage against a "premier" defense. In all of these games OSU knew the run would be their opponent's primary weapon, yet were unable to stop it.

Michigan's offensive line is better than the three previously mentioned teams, and the stats back this up. Michigan has given up only 14 sacks and is 12th in rushing offense at 194 yards per game. These comparisons are important because Michigan has a very capable quarterback and a stable of excellent receivers for OSU to concentrate on too. Great Line. Great Back. Mike Hart and Michigan will run on OSU.

To answer the second, the answer is yes.

Troy Smith is an excellent Quarterback. Very hard to bring down. Very accurate with the ball. Strong delivery. He's also accustomed to lots and lots of time in the pocket or on the rollout. I personally think he'll make some plays during the game. However, so will the Michigan defensive line. Michigan is first in the nation with 40 sacks, 26 of those are from Michigan's front four.

The time Smith is used to having, especially over the last few weeks, will not be there. OSU's last four opponents rank 105, 108, 37 (Illinois), and 89th in total defense. Smith will also be forced to hold the ball a lot longer than he's used to. An oft cited stat is that Michigan ranks 65th in pass defense in terms of yardage. Yes, Michigan does give up 200 yards a game. A closer look reveals that Michigan has faced the most attempts in nation (402), yet is ranked 4th in completion percentage (51.24%) with one of the lowest yards allowed per attempt ratios in the country. The fact that Michigan can defend the pass means Smith's receivers will be covered a lot closer than he's used to, forcing him to hold the ball a little longer. This will allow Michigan's Defense to get to him.

Is Michigan going to shut him down? No. Don't be stupid. Smith's one of the best QB's in the country. He'll make a play or two. But he's going to have hands in his face and a lot of dirt on his jersey. As highly mobile QBs with good arms like Kellen Lewis of Indiana, Drew Tate of Iowa, Drew Stanton of Michigan State, and John Stocco of Wisconsin what they think of Michigan's ability to contain them.

Facts are this is a very even game. Based on what I've seen of both teams I think Michigan should win a close one.

Every Game Counts team goes to Knoxville for UT vs. LSU

2006-11-14T08:55:00.000-05:00

Tennessee takes the field, for what became a classic NCAA Football game!!

LSU & Tennessee fans unite for the common good that is NCAA Football and Every Game Counts.

You're never too young to be a NCAA Football and Every Game Counts fan!

Everyone loves Every Game Counts!!

Every Game Counts team sporting their lovely Every Game Counts t-shirts.

Tennessee & LSU fans during the Vol Walk.

Sweet Tennessee ride, this is true Volunteer pride. This fan loves NCAA Football!!

Topsey-Turvey Weekend

2006-11-13T08:45:00.000-05:00

Exciting weekend in NCAA Football! Here are the highlights of my weekend, let me know if I miss anything.

It all started on Thursday night (again) when Rutgers pulled off the huge win over previously undefeated Louisville. That set off a chain reaction that had everyone in the country fast-forwarding to next weekend trying to figure out which one-loss team will face Ohio State in the national championship.
Georgia came up with a HUGE win over bitter rival Auburn. Not sure if anyone saw that one coming. It wasn’t even close.
Many experts choice for the best one-loss team, defending national champion Texas, took a loss at the hands of Kansas State.
California, another sheik pick to get back in the hunt, was chopped down by up-and-coming Arizona in what could prove to be a program-making win.
Florida needed three blocked kicks and a delay of game penalty to hold off a familiar face in the swamp but the Gators were able to keep themselves in the game beating South Carolina.
Not in the national championship picture but one of the more jaw-dropping games was Wake Forest’s handling of Florida State, in Tallahassee. The most amazing thing about that game, besides the 30-point beat down, is that it was the first time Bobby Bowden has ever been shut out at home. That’s unreal.
Two teams held the course and kept hope alive for at least one matchup of number one and number two this year. Michigan and Ohio State did not get caught looking ahead and handled their business, convincingly. I am looking forward to this game more now than ever because in all of these arguments about what is the best one loss team, Michigan is always included.

I’m sure Lloyd Carr has his boys taking note that they’re already being counted out in the rivalry game.

But the BCS system is once again showing its fault this year because even if Rutgers could knock off West Virginia in a few weeks, the Scarlet Knights will not play for the national title. How messed up is that? Is Rutgers the best team in the nation? Not even close.

They have followed to rules that are set forth of everyone. And the current format will not allow them to gain entry. It’s great because there is always something to talk about but I think we could all have a great time discussing a playoff too.

Rutgers is the Real Deal

2006-11-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Rutgers-Louisville last night was really two games and four teams. And it featured an utterly thrilling finish. It was as good as college football gets.

an in-person, on campus, in the press box, on the field report by College Athletics Clips Editor Nick Infante

I WISH I COULDA BEEN IN THE RUTGERS LOCKER ROOM at halftime. The Scarlet Knights trudged into their sanctuary down 25-14. In that sorry first half, Rutgers looked nothing like an 8-0 team, and Louisville looked like a consensus national championship.

Last year Louisville beat Rutgers 56-5, and it seemed like the Cardinals would have their way again last night.

Enter coach Greg Schiano into that somber Rutgers locker room. There was no desperation, panic or lack of confidence. The savvy, wizened 40-year old calmed and coaxed his shell-shocked 20-year old charges, and – trite though it may sound – they charged (not trudged) out onto the field for a completely different second half.

But it was a completely different second half. Louisville never knew what hit them. Final score: Rutgers 28, Louisville 25; thanks to an immensely spectacular field goal to win it with 13 seconds left in the game. It was like a Hollywood script.

But let me start at the beginning. It all started when I had the, er, foresight to dump his Trek 600 mountain bike into the back of my Explorer.

I got to Rutgers five hours before kick-off, parked in a remote lot, and pedaled toward the stadium. I went past classroom buildings and dorm buildings. Rutgers is about as big (25,000) students and as sprawling as a state U can be, so I had a nice long ride on the glorious sunny day of 65 degrees.

If one did not know there was a big game going on that night, one would not have known it from the businesslike scurrying and sauntering of the students. No wild carousing, no loud music no coeds hanging out of fifth floor windows.

I rode around the entire perimeter of the stadium, and spoke with security people, tailgaters, state troopers, etc. The common theme: this 8-0 success was a long time coming, and they were positively delighted. It was like Red Sox fans a couple years ago at the World Series.

I dawdled for a while at the live remote trailer of the “Mike and the Mad Dog” WFAN radio program. Although it’s technically a “local” radio program, it’s hard to categorize a 50,000 watt super-signal in the massive greater New York area as local.

I wiggled through the throng, and happened to end up right in the “on-deck” area for the show. I spoke with Bob Mulcahy and Mike Tranghese (Big East Commissioner) before they were interviewed extensively by Mike and the Mad Dog (known in real life as Mike Francesa and Christopher Russo).

Mulcahy is among the more forthright ADs I’ve seen. He skillfully addressed the elimination of six teams at Rutgers a couple months ago by commenting that there are only two other BCS schools with 30 sports (Ohio State and Stanford), and that those schools’ budgets far exceed Rutgers: Ohio State at $90 million and Stanford over $50 million, while Rutgers’ budget is $37.

AND THEN THE GAME ITSELF? What can I say? If you missed it, you missed a truly terrific game.

I witnessed the game while ensconced in the rarified confines of the Rutgers press box, where we working press were very well taken care of.

After the game I clumsily made my way all the way to the other side of the field to attend the post-game press conference. It was clumsy because there were about 10,000 joyous student fans milling about on the FieldTurf field.

In walked Greg Schiano, and his face looked as poker-like as it would have been had he lost the game. As questions were asked, Schiano loosened up and smiled that winning smile.

I thought the coach’s best line was, “You can’t control the outcome, but you can control the process.”

THERE WAS MUCH TALK - in the press box, during the Mike and the Mad Dog show, among the fans – about how long Greg Schiano will be for Rutgers. Any number of desperate-to-get-better schools would/could easily double the “modest” compensation package that

One can tell plenty from a firm hand shake and a look in the eyes. After the press conference I shook Greg’s hand and he looked me straight in the eye. Based on talking to him for 30 seconds, I say Greg Schiano will stay at Rutgers. You heard it here first.

I will close with the headline of Harvey Araton’s game recap in today’s New York Times: “College Football Has New Hotbed in New Jersey.”

So true, Harvey, so true . . . . . .

This commentary was composed the morning after the game by a sleep-deprived Nick Infante. He is the founder and editor of College Athletics Clips, which is a paid subscription website that provides executive summaries of college athletics news and issues.

Now we want to hear from all of you! For those of your who were at the game: what was your experience at the game like? How did you celebrate? And to all NCAA Football fans what do you think of this win? Can Rutgers make it to the BCS? If you have any photos from the game, tailgating, etc, send them to our master blogger, David Walker.

Thursday Thoughts

2006-11-09T08:43:00.000-05:00

See what I did there? Thursday Thoughts? That’s the title of this installment. It’s catchy because Monday’s title was “Monday Musings.” See? I know somebody caught that.

Anyway…what’s going on this weekend? Well let’s start again with tonight.

Louisville, the Cards just can’t get enough of Thursday night football can they? Last week’s game was going to be one for the Big East record books, and it was a good one. I think tonight’s game will be closer and Greg Schiano’s Scarlet Knights of Rutgers will give Bobby Petrino’s crew the fight of their lives, through the first quarter. Petrino is too good to let his team lose focus.
This weekend isn’t exactly showdown Saturday, or separation Saturday, or whatever. There are only two matchups of Top-25 teams on Saturday and they come from two conferences, the SEC and the Pac-10. But there are story lines.
Alabama, well let’s just say the folks in Tuscaloosa have had just about enough from Mike Shula. I know maybe two people who are die hard Tide fans, but they both want Shula gone. And I have a feeling they speak for the rest of you guys. Losing at home to Mississippi State? Not good, that’s really not good.
In conjunction with that, speculation that the news of Butch Davis’ commitment at North Carolina is, well, speculation. Rumors and reports abound out of Chapel Hill that Davis and the Tar Heels have done something. At this point the only thing that is for sure is that nothing is for sure. ‘Bama fans would like for that to remain as such through this weekend and just made Crimson Tide fans out of a lot of light blue clad folks.
Again, Ohio State. Michigan. Keep your head up. Stay smart. Stay focused. This weekend is slow for a reason. Make it worth our while by keeping up your end of the bargain for next weekend.

DUELING BLOGGERS: Arkansas vs. Tennessee

2006-11-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

ESPN's College GameDay goes to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the first time for the Arkansas-Tennessee game. The #11 Razorbacks take on #16 Volunteers at 7 PM on ESPN 2. It should be an intense game!

Arkansas: Big Orange Has Hogs Seeing Red

2006-11-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER TipsterHog from RazorBloggers Network

Arkansas and Tennessee are no longer permanent opponents in the SEC. That short-lived series only lasted from 1992-2002. But for many Razorback fans, Tennessee is the closest thing now to that other Big Orange program, the one we love to hate down in Austin.

This year, the 11th ranked Razorbacks (8-1) are favored, ESPN College GameDay is headed to town for the first time and Fayetteville is buzzing with excitement.

Unfortunately, the Hogs are a woeful 2-8 against the Vols since entering the SEC. But both of those wins -- as well as one of the losses -- are games that are still vividly remembered by many in the Natural State even today.

Fresh into the Southeastern Conference in 1992, the Razorbacks visited Tennessee with an interim coach (current Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines) and a loss to Division I-AA Citadel just a month earlier. There would be only three wins that year, but one of them would be in Knoxville against the #4 Volunteers.

After that, it was a struggle. The Hogs would lose six straight to the Vols, including one of the most devastating losses in school history. With a record of 8-0 and visiting Knoxville in 1998, Razorbacks quarterback Clint Stoerner fumbled late in the fourth quarter and the #1 Volunteers would go on to win the game and to an undefeated national championship season.

Gosh...I remember the "Stoerner Stumble" like it was yesterday. Painful, just painful.

But redemption was sweet. And the Hogs and Stoerner got it in 1999 when he found receiver Anthony Lucas for a late touchdown and a 28-24 win over the #3 Vols.

We tore the goal posts down that sunny day and carried them 1 1/2 miles to the all-night party on Dickson Street. And the names Stoerner and Lucas would go on to live forever as legendary Razorbacks.

But after three more losses, including a 63-20 thumping in 2000 and a six overtime loss the last time these two programs met in 2002, Hog fans have been left hungering for another chance.

Now this year, with a nationally ranked team playing in front of a raucous home crowd, there may not be another opportunity like this one for quite some time.

And so it certainly won't be the burnt orange of Texas out on the field against the Hogs on Saturday night. But for many of the Razorback faithful, it'll pretty much be the next best thing.

Tennessee: Hogs Spell Trouble for the Vols this Week in Fayetteville

2006-11-08T09:19:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER Joel from Rocky Top Talk

The Volunteers better bring their A Game to Fayetteville this weekend, as the Hogs spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

T is for Tailback Tandem
Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, who are averaging 194.66 yards per game, constitute the most productive tailback duo in the nation. Arkansas out rushed Auburn by 219 yards and South Carolina by 216.

R is for Robinson
As in sophomore defensive end Antwain Robinson, who leads the SEC in tackles for loss per game (1.5) and is second in sacks per game (.81).

O is for Olajubutu
As in senior linebacker Sam Olajubutu, who's been named a semifinalist for both the Butkus Award and the Bednarik Award. He's also a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy and is on the watch lists for the Lombardi and Nagurski Awards.

U is for Undefeated in the SEC and Underappreciated
After giving up 50 points in a loss to Southern Cal to open the season, the Razorbacks have improved on a weekly basis. Yet for some reason, they are not getting much credit for being the sole undefeated team in the SEC. The S.E.C., for crying out loud. McFadden and Jones are getting all of the pub, but the defense is not too shabby either. Post-USC, they're only allowing 11.5 points per game.

B is for big plays
In one of the season's great statistic anomalies, the Hogs are last in the SEC and 109th in the country in time of possession despite being ranked fourth in the nation in rushing offense. How does that happen? Big plays.
Arkansas is tied for 3rd in the nation in number of scoring drives under two minutes in length (17), and they're tied for second in the nation in number of scoring drives of five plays or less (22). Don't get conservative if you're fortunate enough to get ahead.

L is for lanky
Six-foot, six-inch, 217-pound wide receiver Marcus Monk is having a banner year. In nine games, he's caught 33 passes for 642 yards and six TDs. He averages almost 20 yards per catch, and he's coming off a career game against the Gamecocks last week in which he caught eight balls for 291 yards. He's not Robert Meachem, but he's pretty good.

E is for ESPN GameDay
ESPN College GameDay is coming to Fayetteville for the first time in school history. Break for haiku:

Game Day, Fayetteville
Corso picks the Razorbacks
The crowd goes hog wild
No doubt, Tennessee is going to have trouble with Arkansas. Yes, the Vols are 7-2. Yes, they're five points from an undefeated season. And yes, their passing offense is tops in the SEC.
But the Big Orange run defense is . . . not so good this year. We gave up 281 yards to Air Force's (irony alert!) ground attack and 231 to LSU's. That's more (by a little) than each team's average. If the Hogs get better than their average on the ground this week, the Vols will need to score a lot of points to keep pace. The key to the game will be whether the Vols can do that with a good but green backup QB and a run offense struggling to establish itself.

Go Vols!

Time to be Productive; Alvin Pearman exclusive to Every Game Counts

2006-11-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

By: Alvin Pearman

Once again I feel the pressure, the pressure that I somewhat miss from college. The pressure that gets my blood pumping and attention alert. It is just enough to let me know that I’m really alive. I was just told that I need to have this blog sent in very shortly and just like so many papers over the course of my time at UVA I’ve got to get this done at the last minute.

What kind of student waits till the last minute to get his papers done? The kind that needs pressure to really thrive. In my young life I've found that one of my strongest qualities is the ability to perform under pressure. The same reason why I have aced last minute papers is the same reason why on fourth and 4, trailing by 5 with 3 seconds left on the clock, ball on the 10 yard line, I want the ball in my hands.

During my 3 and a half years at Virginia, this pressure I’m talking about was as apparent as the Rotunda. Outside of my dedication to the football program, I constantly had a test looming or a term paper that needed to be worked on or a lab that needed to be completed, or a book that needed to be read and so on. When asked what the biggest difference between playing college football and playing in the pros, my answer lies here. Over the last 11 years, I have always had school to occupy my time outside of meetings and practice. The pressure that I somewhat lived off of to get me from assignment to assignment in the classroom is no longer a part of my life. I’m faced with time off now that is my own free time to do whatever I want with no "responsibilities" outside of being a responsible professional athlete.

Not that I miss school, but I do admit that I miss the pressure that it gave me. I remember my first couple months in the League; I had no idea what to do with my free time during the season. I had just enough time to make me think that I needed to be doing something but didn’t have the energy to do it. So many of evenings were spent on my couch, which, just for the record, might be the most comfortable thing ever.

I ordered the premium cable package because it would have to be a perfect time consumer. I soon developed my opinion of TV. I grew up without cable. We had six channels and as a kid, there always seemed to be something on worth watching. This is where my theory on mega channel cable systems comes in. Since I had so many channels, I felt as though there always had to be something on that I REALLY wanted to watch. If I found something that looked interesting, I always wound up changing the channel because there had to be something else on that was better. As a kid, with six channels to choose from, my expectations were low, so anything half way decent was worth seeing. But now with 200 channels, my expectations for what it will give me are so high and the reality of the quality of shows today are so low that my mega channel T.V. experiment was unsuccessful to say the least.

I remember walking through the coaches office a couple of months ago. I didn’t have anything to do for a while so I stopped in one of my coaches office and asked if I could go over some game tape with him because I had some time to kill. He responded, "No Alvin, not time to kill. Time to be productive." A silly little coachism, but it actually had a big effect on the way I view my free time. Given my new ideology of leisure time, I have been able facilitate that same pressure on myself that I have surprisingly missed. On any given night you might catch me writing a new song on my guitar, cooking a delicious meal, or engrossed in a book (currently Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti) which are my current free-time occupiers. Low energy, purposeful stuff with just enough pressure to provide a good compliment to the pressures of professional football.

Okay, I’ve got to quickly end this thing because I have to get to bible study which starts in twenty minutes. My teammates often joke with me because I walk so fast. Little do they know that I always have somewhere to be.

Monday Musings

2006-11-06T08:46:00.000-05:00

I want to thank everyone who gave me such great suggestions on what to do and where to go while in South Bend, it was much appreciated. The bad news is I didn’t get to see every little thing I wanted to, but the good news is I saw enough to warrant a return visit. The folks in South Bend were more than hospitable and lived up to the advanced billing.

As for the rest of the weekend and the college football world:

Last week’s “Biggest Game in the History of the Big East” gave folks plenty of excitement on Thursday night as Louisville capitalized on turnovers and field position to hold off West Virginia in Lexington. I’ve been on the Papa John’s band wagon all season and last week was no exception. West Virginia is good, but at home the Cardinals proved to be too much.
And my how the tables have turned on the ACC. The Big East boys must be laughing all the way to the BCS rankings as they watch their once ravaged league make the ACC look less than smart for sacrificing basketball tradition in favor of pigskin. Everything ebbs and flows but the ACC is one of the worst conferences in football and the Big East has two teams that would crush any Atlantic Coast challenger.
PS…Rutgers plays in the Big East too. Unfortunately for them, their fate was decided before the season started when no one thought they would be worth a bada-bing. (Sorry, I know. New Jersey, the Sopranos. It’s been done.) But the Scarlet Knights are undefeated and ranked 13th in the BCS. Dropping from 12th because they didn’t win this weekend, oh wait, they didn’t play. Don’t get me started on the frustration of that rationale. John Saunders on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters contended this is a shining example of why the polls shouldn’t even come out until later in the season, and I agree with him.
Michigan, Ohio State, please don’t scare us like you did last weekend. I usually don’t cheer for the undefeated teams to win at the end of the season so #1 and #2 can play without controversy but when it’s Michigan/Ohio State and it’s in the regular season, I do. Take this past weekend as warning (and I believe you will) because two weeks from now will be special no matter what, but both of you being perfect will make it unreal.

Jim Harbaugh: NCAA Football produces excellence without scholarships. Exclusive to Every Game Counts

2006-11-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

By: Jim Harbaugh

For NCAA Football fans, game day is “D-day” but practice is where it all begins.

A football player has to trust in his training. They have to be mentally tough. Being mentally tough is as important as the physical toughness. A famous Marine General once said, “positions are seldom lost due to enemy action unless they’re first lost in the mind of the commander.” In a football game there’s always a time when both sides believe the issue is at doubt. The side that remains mentally tough, trusts in their training and leadership and refuses to believe they’ve lost- WILL WIN! The side that remains focused and committed to its mission will achieve victory. 95 men who remain focused on the mission can’t be beaten.

Practice is so important that my staff and I plan every single minute. individual team periods, 9 on 7 periods, you name it. We strive for energy and a mentality of effort from the moment we hit the practice field. We go full speed just like in a game. Players have to feel like they’re going to win Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday just like on Saturday.

We want them to believe they can do something remarkable. They sleep eight hours, eat right, go to class, practice hard, really hard. Sure they could be doing more fun things like going to the beach, being on MySpace, just chill’in. But football’s not a vacation. They’re doing something worthwhile with their lives. Because of their efforts we may go undefeated, have the best record in school history or both. They’re hungry for success. Hungry to be remarkable. Their parents will be proud of them, they go to a great school, play for a 1AA juggernaut, they probably bore their friends and neighbors with the things their sons are doing.

Our motto is “continuous effort”- in the weight room, practice, game time. Play hard every play, use good technique and success follows. The beauty of the system is that we’ve got ‘em. We’ve seen the players execute at a high level so they’ve come to expect it too.

We won a game 56-3 earlier in the season. Afterward linebacker Ronnie Pentz said he was disappointed that we didn’t get the shut out then went on to say, “we’ll get it next week.” The next day after practice I told them “practice is over. There’s no more time for practice.” I always tell the guys that with every practice you get better or you get worse, but you never stay the same.” So our red shirt sophomore, J.T. Rogan yells out and they all chime in… “did we get better Coach?” “Yeah” I said, “we got better.”

I believe in swagger. Guilty as charged! There’s genius in it. There’s magic in it! There’s power in it! You are what you do. I tell the guys we have a big X on our backs. We’re targets for every opponent we play and if they knock us off it’ll be like they won the Super Bowl.”

We can have excellence without scholarships. Here at the University of San Diego we believe we have attained excellence. It’s not just talk. We have it on tape. You see the hunger in our runs, hits, hustles and hard play. Our opponents have to look at those tapes and say, “oh no! What have we gotten ourselves in to?” What we put on tape this week our next opponent has to look at.

The swagger has got to be there. You can get hurt if you don’t believe it. Every game is a matter of competing and opposing wills. Every game provides a special opportunity to achieve greatness. Those opportunities don’t come around that often so you have to take advantage of them. I challenge the Toreros to make history. To make the kind of history that people want to read about in Sunday’s paper. The kind of history they’ll want to read about and remember 20 years from now. Then have fun and enjoy the moment, including this weekend’s game: San Diego at Jacksonville.

Jim Harbaugh begins his third year as the University of San Diego head football coach and quarterbacks coach. Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback who played 15 seasons in the league played in 177 league games with 140 starts since originally entering the NFL as a first round pick by the Chicago Bears in 1987. Harbaugh was a four-year letterman at the University of Michigan and finished his college career in the top five in passing attempts, completions, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdown passes.

The Journey to South Bend

2006-11-02T08:03:00.000-05:00

This weekend marks a monumental moment in all our lives. And by all our lives I mean the people sitting in this room right now. So, me.

Because this weekend, I journey to the Mecca, where football is tradition and touchdowns have their own holy figure.

This weekend, the Every Game Counts crew (again, me) makes its first road trip to the one place that oozes NCAA Football: South Bend, Indiana and the University of Notre Dame.

I am technically going for a football game. However I’m not sure just how long this sporting event will be considered a “game.” The Tar Heels limp in to South Bend with but one win under their belts and Irish looking to work out some kinks before the annual showdown with Southern Cal.

Yes, the game is why we planned the trip, but the experience, the place, the aura is the reason we’re going!

I have been practicing the line, “This is the most beautiful site, these eyes have ever seen,” with my best Irish-American accent in front of the mirror since September. And I can almost force a tear out of my right eye at the same time.

The promise of snow earlier this week got my heart and mind racing. A little winter majesty would complete the day, but I am fine with blue skies and sunshine. I think the rest of my party will be much more accommodating with the latter.

But I need help folks! If you’ve been to South Bend, and even better, if you make the trip every weekend let me know where to go, what to see, what to eat!

I am sure I can figure out my way around, and getting lost on the palatial campus would be fun for a while. I wouldn’t mind some landmarks to look out for though.

So if there are any golden domers out there, or visiting fans who can appreciate the place, speak up. And if you plan on being near Touchdown Jesus this weekend as well, keep a look out for me.

California: Flashback to UCLA vs. Cal 2002

2006-11-01T10:22:00.000-05:00

By: Guest Blogger Barry from TedfordIsGod.com

One of the most enjoyable football games I have ever experienced in real life ended with my left foot being crushed by a 300-pound lineman.

Let me explain.

My freshman year at Cal began in the fall of 2002, and at that time I hated UCLA more than I hated pretty much anything else in the universe. If you had given me the option of either A) saying something nice about the school/students/faculty/football program, B) shooting myself in the face or C) locking myself in a Dykstra Hall triple for the rest of eternity, I probably would have had to go with Secret Option D, which entailed an economy-sized box of Tylenol PM and a private hospital bed.

Seriously, I hated the 2002 Bruins more than I had ever hated another sports team in my life up to that point. So when the Bears defeated the Bruins that season in the most bizarre fashion possible, I couldn’t have been happier if the university had suddenly announced it was adding a class entitled “Eating 17 Bowls of Cap’n Crunch Per Day 101” to the graduation requirements.

On fourth down with two seconds left in the game and Cal leading 17-10, QB Kyle Boller threw a pass 40 yards directly backwards into his own end zone, where WR Jonathan Makonnen was waiting. Makonnen waited for the seconds to tick off the clock, then strolled out of bounds, giving up a meaningless safety to end the contest. Final score: Bears 17, Bruins 12, and it was time to rush the field!

But as I, along with several thousand other rabid Cal students, mobbed the players, a lineman was trying to get out of the way and inadvertently (I hope) stomped on my food. My screams of pain were misinterpreted as cries of celebration, and I was forced to limp off the field without assistance. But hey, no pain, no gain. One throbbing appendage was more than worth the ecstasy of defeating my least favorite team in the world.

Fast forward to Saturday. The only pain felt by Bears fans in Memorial Stadium will be nightmarish flashbacks to Maurice Drew’s fourth-quarter brilliance in last year’s Cal-UCLA debacle. Bruins fans, on the other hand, should brace themselves for a world of hurt. Picture the field as one giant voodoo doll; DeSean Jackson sprinting past exhausted cornerbacks for TDs, Marshawn Lynch breaking 24 ankles on an 11-man defensive front, Nate Longshore rifling passes downfield without a defender even sniffing his jersey — these are the pins that will be repeatedly jabbed into the doll.

There won’t be any rushing the field this year, my friends. Just an old-school methodical beat-down.

Go Bears!

NCAA Football Flips and Dives

2006-10-31T11:59:00.000-05:00


Check out these highlights from the 2005 NCAA Football season! Reggie Bush amazed millions with his acrobatic moves. Who will be the next human highlight reel?

Dissecting the BCS

2006-10-30T09:04:00.000-05:00

The BCS system is killing John Blum. The current way NCAA Football determines their rankings is making life hard for this tried and true War Eagle. Most of you don’t know John. But he’s been a loyal reader of this blog (and probably a few more on the web) and last week’s rankings put his math skills to the test.

Below are John’s words, I’m posting them here for you to see because, A. I am not smart enough to regurgitate or understand most of the math he did, and B. he does bring up some interesting if not disturbing issues.

Is he a little perturbed about the current way of settling things? Ahh, yes. And so much so that he took it upon himself to go Good Will Hunting on the calculations that determine the BCS rankings.

I took some editing liberties because, well, John got a little heated by this whole thing. But I can’t blame him for that.

The BCS is calculated wrong this week…it’s Louisville up a spot just barely past Texas…haven’t heard it anywhere else…my own investigative math… No big deal? Well…each team gets that ranking for one week and they become that ranking for one week. …it probably doesn’t matter at the ranking position where the error occurs but what it if happened higher up? The promos the public and thus human poll voters would be hearing for an entire week would be wrong…. They would say “ #4 team playing #18 team ” INSTEAD of “ #3 team playing #18 team.” Those numbers get in peoples heads! …and then when the human voters sit down on Sunday to place their new votes, many of them will assuredly be reviewing the previous weeks polls (including the math polls) while rectifying/justifying their new ballot…they will be rectifying/justifying with the WRONG overall BCS rankings and wrong math rankings unless they pulled an updated math poll (updated after Sunday nights game) from each individual math poll’s website.

I am not here to say John is right, nor am I here to say he is wrong. But I think John typifies the passion and love for NCAA Football. He went back and recalculated rankings and says he found an error that allowed a team to have a slightly higher ranking than they should.

John, I applaud you and your desire to keep everything on the up an up. Certainly if there is an error, it is not intentional and I know NCAA Football appreciates you double checking their math.

So just keep John in mind when reviewing this week's BCS standings. He'll let us know if there's a mix up. Wouldn’t it be so much easier, on John and football fans as a whole, if we just settled things on the field?

Stay Hungry. Stay Humble. The Keys to Volunteer Success: Exclusive to EGC

2006-10-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

By: Phillip Fulmer

The key this week and beyond is NOT TO CHANGE what we’ve been doing. NCAA Football is always a huge challenge and though planning is critical, the game makes no promises. The plan for this season focused on hard work, long practices, hot 2-a-days, and supreme focus on discipline has worked like I planned. I keep talking about being fired up, focused and prepared and this team and staff have done just that.

Of course I would love to have our one point loss against Florida back and I would really like to have survived the season without suffering the troublesome injuries we’ve had. Inky was a very big loss and although he continues to be a leader from the sidelines he would obviously made a major difference for us on the field.

But if you fans had an opportunity to be in our players or staff meetings you would hear a recurring theme: “stay hungry and stay humble”!

With one loss we’re still in the BCS mix and jumped up a few spots this past week. But I haven’t set any specific milestone or special formula to continue our upward projection. We just have to keep the same approach and same attitude. How do I know it’s working? Well, one obvious example for me is our backup tight end, Brad Cottam.

I keep asking everybody to step up because of all the injuries and subsequent adjustments we’ve had to make. Each week Brad is getting better and now pushing to take over the starting position.

Josh Briscoe didn’t have much playing time at wide receiver early in the season. With all of our injuries he has stepped up and performed very well.

After losing Justin Harrell I thought we would take a while just to get back to average. I really was worried with the incredibly tough SEC schedule we had ahead of us.

We worked them really hard during our open date even taking them out in pads on Monday and Tuesday which isn’t typical at all. But because of it all we moved past average to pretty good really fast.

Our fans need to think about this. Before this season our offensive line wasn’t supposed to be very good. BUT- they’ve given up only 5 sacks in 7 games. They’ve played great even through injuries.

I love what David has been able to do with Erik and the results show in Erik’s stats and the accolade’s he has earned. But our success to date also rests with some other very important people on this staff. Greg Atkins- what a job he’s done with our offensive line. Matt Luke is a young coordinator with great enthusiasm that’s infectious. Kurt Roper has been outstanding and done wonders with our backs. Trooper Taylor has turned a much maligned receiver corps last season into one of the best in the nation despite our injuries.

So I can go about multi-tasking and keeping an eye on all aspects of this great program because I’m leading a very strong, dedicated staff. Together we’re building a team all Vol fans can be proud of and opponents need to watch out for. That’s what UT fans can and should expect from this team and that’s what you can continue to expect.

And for this weekend… Steve Spurrier and I have a healthy respect for each other and our wives are even friends. It’s not easy to be a coach’s wife! They need to stick together. With all the commitment and talent on both sides this should be one heck of an NCAA Football game.

A House Divided

2006-10-26T08:15:00.000-05:00

A house divided, I know, you’re thinking House of Carters. (Those singing, dancing, smoking siblings can get after it!)

But this is about Atlanta radio station 790 The Zone and Home Depot . They are putting together a little promotion searching for a household in the Atlanta metro area that has split loyalties between the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.

The winners get their house painted half red and black, half yellow and blue. The winners also receive a $5,000 Hope Depot gift certificate…and their house repainted in the color of their choice. So that’s good.

Very interesting promotion, a true test of team loyalty. Anybody can paint their body, big deal. But when you commit to have your domicile, your abode painted, now you’ve got my respect.

And probably a good place to do it, in Atlanta. That place is where most young alums from Athens end up and it’s home to Tech.

I would love to see this house, both before and after. So if you’re one of the households in “The A-T-L” with fans on both side of the fence, let me know. More importantly let the good folks at 790 the Zone know so they can send over some people to paint your house red and black and yellow and blue.

Of course, they’ll probably have to wait until the Dawgs fans get back from Jacksonville and the World's Largest Outdoor Gathering of a Lot of People Who May Have Beverages. Because, let's be honest, that’s the rivalry that gets the Bulldog fans up in arms. Georgia/Florida or maybe Georgia/Auburn, depending on who’s having the better year.

But somebody please let us know if your house gets split in half with two different paint schemes.

And I would love to see this promotion throughout the country. If it goes well in Atlanta, why not have some UCLA/USC, Michigan/Ohio State, Texas/Oklahoma houses scattered across the country? Come on Home Depot, let’s make this work!

To enter, e-mail your story along with a photo of your house to contest@790thezone.com by Wednesday, Nov. 1. It’s got to be a paintable surface which means no brick or vinyl siding.

It’s just paint people, take one for the team. Or, two for the teams, I guess.

A Woman who Loves Football

2006-10-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER futbolgoddess FROM THE FOOTBALL MONOLOGUES
The Football Monologues focuses on both the newbie and die-hard female football fan. Though she focuses mostly on the NFL, there's plenty of football wisdom to go around!

1. What made you become a football fan?
I was kind of a football fan growing up because my dad and brother watched the Eagles but I would not watch it on my own and I don’t know how much of it I really understood. Then in college I spoke to my sports addict boyfriend (now husband) about it because I knew he loved it and so I started watching non-eagles games (cause that’s all I got on the tv) just so I could talk the game like a pro. haha (cheesy) Now that I have two fantasy teams I watch every game that is on tv.

2. Do you have any set steps for women looking to join their boyfriends/husbands/male acquaintances in the glorious haze that is watching football on the weekends or is it a case by case thing?
I think first step for a girl if they are trying to get into football because of their boyfriend is to be able to sit through an entire game of the team their boyfriend likes. You cannot care about other players and other teams until you find yourself so excited every Sunday that YOUR team is playing. Watching one game a week is a big step for women!

3. What's the biggest hurdle for women seeking to become football fans if they're no longer in college?
Learning the sport. This is the same for all sports. If you don’t understand the penalties, the scoring, the time clock then the game is boring! I watched hockey for two full seasons without knowing what the blue line was. It was just so much more fun and exciting when you know what’s actually going on which is why the sitting through one full game a week theory works.

4. Any memorable experiences being a knowledgeable female fan in a world of boys?
I can pick up guys at a bar in a second. Not because I’m so god damn beautiful (haha) but simply because I can talk the sport on their level. I grab guy’s attention very quickly because not many women know as much as I know and it’s a nice breath of fresh air from their girls, moms, or wives who just complain about the sport. When I say it’s a good pick up line I’m not kidding... guys dig it!

5. Though most of your focus is on women, there are of course men who don't follow football as much as their wives/girlfriends/female acquaintances. Any tips for women trying to get their man to appreciate their addiction to football?
Same as trying to get women into. Start small with one team and one game. Learn the sport before jumping into fantasy football or whatever because then it just gets frustrating that YOU STINK.

Top 3 Tailgating Tips

2006-10-24T08:12:00.000-05:00

By: Stephen Linn

We’re a few weeks into the college football season and now it’s time to prepare for the heart of the conference schedules and to make sure you’re tailgate party is running smoothly and entertaining your friends.

While there are scores of tips for tossing a great parking lot party, if you follow these three tips you’ll have a party that will be fun and have people wanting to come back next week, even if your team ends up on the wrong side of the score.

First, use a checklist. I know, you do this tailgating thing each week, you know what you’re doing. Are you sure? My bet is if I ask your buddies or wife I’ll find out about the time the drinks got warm because you forgot to pick up more ice. Or about the party where they had to eat their burgers off the asphalt because somebody forgot a plate.

The whole point of tailgating is to have fun with your friends and meet new ones. You can’t do that if you’re running around the parking lot asking strangers if they have any cups you can borrow.

If you need a head start, you can download several different checklists from www.theultimatetailgater.com, but you really have four checklists to put together: one each for your vehicle (to make sure you have what you need to get to the game and back safely), for pre-game (this is for your set-up itself), for cooking and serving tools (be sure to update it weekly with ingredients for you menu), and for wrapping up before you amble into the stadium (these are the things you may forget when rushing from your tailgate to make kick-off).

If you’re cooking with a charcoal grill you need to make sure you have on your checklist tools and containers to dispose of your ash. Not every stadium has ash containers in the parking lot, and even if it does there’s no guarantee one will be near you. Tossing your ashes in your neighbor’s space isn’t the right way to do this.

Second, keep your menu fresh. I’m not talking about making sure you have fresh ingredients – although you should – but, about changing things up. Nothing’s duller than eating the same thing week-after-week.

Of course, burgers are the top menu choice, but that doesn’t mean you have to have your basic cheeseburger every game. Spice them up and add some life to the party.

But, I’m a fan of expanding your tailgate menu. A great tailgate dish is Beer-Butt Chicken because you can prepare the bird the night before and it’s a great dish to feed a crowd.

Another crowd pleaser, of course, is ribs. Now, I know you need to cook these “low and slow” but if you cut them into smaller slabs that will cut down your cooking time and let you get them done before kick-off. You can also pre-cook them the night before and finish them up on the grill at the game.

The third tip is to create a theme to your tailgate party. This could be as simple as celebrating a friend’s birthday or celebrating a holiday (you can never go wrong with a Halloween tailgate), or as complicated as building a Vegas-style stage for your Elvis tailgate.
Regardless, decorate your tailgate space to the theme. If you have a generator, party lights are always a nice touch. Not only will you have fun, but you’ll be the envy of the parking lot. Contests and prizes are a nice touch, too.

Follow these tips and you’ll be ready to throw an ultimate tailgate party. And if yours turns out really great, enter it in The Search for America’s Ultimate Tailgater. Just go to www.theultimatetailgater.com.

Stephen Linn is the author of The Ultimate Tailgater’s Handbook and The Ultimate Tailgater’s Travel Guide.

Bunting, A Man of Principle but Not Enough Wins.

2006-10-23T07:25:00.000-05:00

Last week I wrote about how…not good, the North Carolina/Virginia game would be on ESPN’s nationally televised Thursday night football game. And well, I was way freakin’ right. Not that it was a big feat to see that one coming. The ESPN gang had to contain themselves a couple times to keep from laughing out loud. And sometimes they didn’t even bother trying.

There’s no reason to revisit the play on the field, it was bad enough the first time. But I think it deserves to be said that North Carolina coach John Bunting made more of a statement after starting linebacker Garrett White made a pre-game gesture than all the talk and political positioning out of Miami last week put together.

A young player made a mistake in making an inappropriate gesture to, I’m guessing here, a group of UVA undergrads in the stands. Now yes, it was wrong. And no matter how bad many other people would like to gesture inappropriately to UVA undergrads, players on the field shouldn’t get caught up and react that way.

But White never hit anyone, never swung his helmet at anyone, never stomped on anyone’s face. Guess what else he didn’t do, play in the game. On the spot, Bunting pulled him out of the lineup. Now that is zero tolerance.

I don’t want to compare the two incidents or the punishments for them. But on the day Bunting has been told he won’t return as head coach, he deserves credit for having the guts to be one of the most stand-up, take charge, and courageous men in college football.

He is what college football is all about. He came back to his alma mater, not a football school, and tried to “change the culture.” At times he did. He orchestrated some of the biggest and most exciting wins in the history of the program, but in the end it was headed down too fast to recover the season or his job. It is after all about winning.

Bunting may be the first coach to be fired this season, but he definitely won’t be the last. He will coach the remainder of year and continue to lead his players in the same fashion he has for six years. And at least for now, that will be enough.

Reparations, Football and Moving On... The Miami-FIU Debacle

2006-10-21T12:01:00.000-05:00

By: Kathleen Hessert

Last season Cleve Bryant the master of all detail and logistics for Longhorns football and indispensable right arm to Coach Mack Brown suggested that I speak out about college football- that I had a unique perspective. You see I’m the mother of a former D1A football player, I’ve worked closely with some of the best programs, coaches and players of the game since 1988 and I relish NCAA Football. I love all football. I have had the privilege of being in football staff meetings of two national championship teams, been in players meetings, in locker rooms pre and post games and confidant to many coaches.

Additionally, I’ve helped football professionals out of some really sticky and into some truly wonderful situations. So people who know me ask lots of questions these days about the recent Miami- FIU on field melee. Two weeks ago they asked me about the Tennessee Titans’ Albert Haynesworth. Most thought they were asking theoretical questions. So here comes the full disclosure. I have no relationship with Miami or Florida International. That’s not the case with Albert Haynesworth. I worked with Albert to help clarify and rectify what happened on the field against the Cowboys and what he’s doing to make up for a disastrous and in his words, “despicable mistake”. That mistake through emulation may have influenced a few dozen college players who now have to regroup, re-learn and move ahead with their lives. The lesson is accountability!

Football is truly a wonderful teacher of men and of others who study it closely enough. I saw it teach my son discipline and dedication to a goal. I know of nothing shy of football that would have so motivated him. He’s intellectually gifted but would have diminished that gift just for the chance to run out on the field, sack an opponent and lead his team to victory both at the high school then college level. He played for a short time for Navy and believe me when I say the sacrifice those players make and the accountability they’re held to is unmatchable.

What’s happening lately in football is not because of football but rather in my opinion, in spite of the clear boundaries set by this incredible game. Yes it’s aggressive and certainly brutal on body and mind. But it doesn’t make people inherently violent any more than auto racing makes people speed on the highway. What those respective athletes are required to do to win on the field or the track is solely necessary within the parameters of their athletic environments.

Recruiters of the job not football kind- Wall Street executives - have said they’d take a football player from Stanford, Notre Dame or any high quality university any day over a non-athlete for very specific reasons. On the football field they’ve learned and (in their experience) are able to apply invaluable life lessons like how to get knocked down, pick themselves up and immediately focus on what’s ahead not behind. Most people in life can’t do that to the same degree. Many of us ruminate over our failings to the point of paralysis or remain stuck dwelling on the immediate past squandering valuable learning moments.

Granted, some would say the football players involved in the latest brouhahas should dwell on their mistakes for a very long time and I can’t argue that.

In sports and especially in football, people must learn to be accountable without being encumbered by failure. I believe that includes being accountable under the scrutiny of camera lights and public scrutiny instead of the shadows. Now that’s a critical lesson we can all learn from. And it’s one that’s taught on most every football field, every day.

Kathleen Hessert is the founder and president of Sports Media Challenge a training and consulting firm specializing in Reputation Management. Her clients include NCAA Football, Peyton Manning, Kasey Kahne, the Universities of Notre Dame, Texas, Tennessee, Colorado, New Mexico, several NBA teams and ESPN to name a few. http://www.sportsmediachallenge.com/

What is the most valuable thing in the world to Tyrone Willingham?: Exclusive to EGC

2006-10-20T08:01:00.000-05:00

By: Tyrone Willingham
There are many topics that would be great discussions for football fans and the general public. But none would be of greater benefit than the question from an unknown author that I read some time ago.

The question was, “What is the most valuable thing in the world?” Obviously there are many answers that come to mind--God, love, family and security are a few answers that deserve the title if not at least high ranking. But, let me lay out the question as the author had when I read it some years ago.

WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING IN THE WORLD?
I am the most desirable thing in life. Without me, no one can be healthy, happy, or useful. Without me, the hidden wealth and vast resources of this earth would have no value.
Men and women who try to get along without me are characterless, selfish, undeveloped, useless, and unprofitable members of society. I am behind every fortune, every art and science, every achievement, every triumph of man.
Rich men and poor men alike often try to find substitutes for me, hoping thereby to secure a larger measure of happiness, peace, and satisfaction, but they are always bitterly disappointed. Instead of gain, every substitute for me brings them loss.
As the creator is greater than the creation, so I am greater than wealth, power, fame, learning, or any other acquired possession or quality of man because I am the source from which he acquired them.

This is a tremendous question that reaches beyond football but also is at the very core of all we do in the game. The author’s answer is, “I am work.” I doubt that most would have guessed that answer. I certainly didn’t, yet work has always been high on my list of priorities in life and ingredients needed for success. When you break down all the things in life, as well as football, that you would like to acquire, work has to be at the core.

As we seek to build the University of Washington’s football program our mission is to develop championship teams, championship students, championship persons and young men that desire to have fun the right way. It is my belief, along with the author, that work is a major part of the formula for success. As we move toward a more technical society, we must maintain our connection with work both from a physical and an intellectual nature.

I touch on this subject because I believe that in all of life it is important to have a strong work ethic in order to be a great football team or even a great country. Again, this is true as we have changed from an agricultural to a technical country.

Thank you and let the discussion begin.

"ACC Cellar Dwellers" Meet Under the Lights

2006-10-19T08:01:00.000-05:00

Folks, this one will not be pretty. Tonight’s matchup against ACC cellar dwellers North Carolina and Virginia on ESPN is going to be bad. Not bad as in good, bad as in bad. However, it’s going to be so bad…it will be good.

You know those movies that are so bad they are entertaining? Well that’s what this debacle is going to be. ESPN is skowering Charlottesville right now for filler. But Kirk Herbstreit and gang should have plenty to talk about examining two prominent state universities who can’t seem to get this whole football thing down.

North Carolina coach John Bunting couldn’t be on a hotter seat. There are numerous financial reasons for the school to keep Bunting on. The salaries of Bunting and his assistants would definitely hit the light blue wallet hard should they have to be bought out.

This season started out with high hopes, but unfortunately for Bunting, he is 16 games below .500 for his North Carolina career and as big basketball fans as they are, the Tar Heel natives are getting restless. A nationally televised beating may be the straw the breaks the ram’s back, if it isn’t already broken.

Virginia’s fall from grace seems almost overnight. Just a few years ago Al Groh had the Wahoos rocketing toward the upper echelon of the ACC. Groh has already been assured he’ll return next season, as of right now, and beating the Tar Heels is always good for morale.

The Heels have not won a game in Charlottesville since 1981. 1981. Eventually that has got to change, you would think. And that may be the only thing going for the Tar Heels. It could also be the only thing going for the Cavaliers.

By the way, it’s supposed to rain. Are you kidding me? This is going to be good TV, no matter how bad it is.

Georgia Tech: Three Keys to Defeat Clemson

2006-10-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER Jeff from Ramblin Racket

1. Win the turnover battle
There are games where sloppiness will kill you, and this is one of them. Outside of Clemson's more dominant rushing game (24 rushing TDs to GT's 10), Clemson and Georgia Tech are very similar teams. Tech has a 10-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio; Clemson's is 12-5. Defensively, the numbers are strikingly close. Clemson has allowed 2.22 yards per carry; Tech has allowed 2.42. Both teams have seven picks and have allowed four passing touchdowns. Both teams have allowed seven field goals scored. Both have allowed one TD on a kickoff return. Both teams have allowed less than four yards per punt return. Need I go on? The point is, with heavily comparable teams, turnovers can be deadly. Clemson has fumbled more times than Tech (19 vs. 8) and lost more (10 vs. 2), but has also forced (19 vs. 9) and recovered (12 vs. 5) more fumbles than the Ramblin' Wreck. Whichever team forces more turnovers has a GREAT chance at the win.

2. Shut down the run
As mentioned, Clemson's running game is dominant, and accounts for average 24 points per game. The Tigers scored SIX rushing TDs versus Temple, and SEVEN versus North Carolina. Not only does Tech need to shut down the run to prevent points, but also to force turnovers (see above). By forcing Clemson to pass, and by successfully pressuring Will Proctor, Wake Forest forced three picks in their almost-kinda-near-upset of the Tigers.

Luckily, Jon Tenuta Georgia Tech defensive coordinator) is one of the most successful blitz-happy guys in the country. Tech has allowed 100 yards rushing only twice on the season Notre Dame & Troy), but Clemson has rushed for under 200 yards only THREE TIMES this season.

3. Quiet the crowd early
Playing under the lights at Death Valley is a hostile environment; maybe the most hostile in the ACC behind Doak Campbell Stadium (if you've never been to an FSU game, in the middle of 80-some thousand people doing the Chop, let me tell you, it is INSANE). At Virginia Tech (the only away game to date), GT did about as well you can at shutting up a crowd. If the Ramblin' Wreck can do the same in this game, and get to a several touchdown lead early, this game will be much, much easier.

Mind you, one shouldn't expect Tech to shoot to a 21-point lead. Tech should make every effort to score first, and receive the kickoff if they win the coin toss. I believe this Yellow Jacket team has the character to come from behind typically, but maybe not in a place like Clemson, with crazy drunk rednecks yelling at you. If Tech keeps it close, we can probably bring it back at the end of the game (a la GT/Clemson 2004). If Clemson gets a lead of two TDs or more, this game is likely over.

Coaching NCAA Football is a Ministry: Joe Taylor blogs exclusively for EGC

2006-10-17T07:28:00.000-05:00

By: Joe Taylor

My family and I came to Hampton in 1992. I’ve completed 14 years. This is my 15th year and we have won 12 championships in those 14 years and over 80% of our players have graduated. I really feel that (and this is not profound) I’m just getting in line with a lot of other great coaches and that we are coming through. I always think that coaching is a ministry. Because to me whenever you are trying to improve the lives of others, to me it’s a ministry.

We have a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) that meets here every Friday night. We don’t force the players to come, but I would say about 90% attend. Derius Swinton is our FCA President and our starting free safety. He conducts the sessions.

We start off with a prayer and then each person has a testimonial period where guys just stand and thank the Lord for all kinds of things that they have going on in their lives. And after the testimonial period we actually have a gospel choir that’s made up of football players. It’s about 40 players that make up this particular choir. Now probably five of them can sing, but the other 35 do a great job humming. But the good thing is we all look forward to it.

After that period, we have a spiritual guy, our chaplain Rev. Jerome Barber, who is our spiritual coach. He has one of the largest churches here in Hampton, 6th Mt. Zion Baptist Temple. He is actually on staff but he comes to meetings and travels with us. This FCA meeting takes place for an hour or so on Fridays. Whether we’re at home or on the road this takes place.

Rev. Jerome Barber actually preaches a sermon, and I know that is the foundation for any success that I have had as a coach and of course for the program. I just want to put it out there to coaches that it’s ok to try it, and him use you. Because I always said that in some kind of way suffering awakens compassion.

When those guys go out there and they go through the rigmaroles such as the off-season, the early morning runs, the weight room, it really brings young men together when they sit and share and see that its all about Gods work, and not just his will. And I would just like to put it out there that this has been the cornerstone and the foundation for this program.

Right now we’re 7-0 this season, and we have won the last two championships in our conference, but over the years I just attribute our success to that. We let the Lord use us in the coaching and the administration here. I would just like to extend that to my coaching colleagues, that this is why we do what we do.

Computing a National Championship

2006-10-16T07:35:00.000-05:00

Ahh computers, they make everything so much easier don't they? Where are we going? Don't get a map, let's just type it in the computer. Let's order a pizza. No stupid, don't pick up the phone, let's send the pizza joint an email. Who's the best NCAA Football team in the nation? Don't have them play, let's calculate how good everyone is.

That's right, it's time to take our look at the much maligned BCS system for determining NCAA Football's national championship. Why wait until the end of the season?

There's no need for me to recount all the reasons a playoff system would be so much better. So let's just talk about the only one that really matters. Matchups on paper are one thing, but there's a reason you play the game.

Look, we all know the teams would rather face each other. The coaches would rather face each other. The fans would rather face each other. Let's just get it done. It's gotten to the point where at the end of each season, I find myself cheering for an undefeated team to be left out of the title game.

Why? Because it magnifies the cracks in the system. And even if both teams are undefeated, does that mean there isn't a better team out there. Maybe, maybe not. There's only one way to find outPLAY THE GAME.

I love college football. And I know you do too. But it is missing out on something that could be so special. So with the release of the first BCS ranking out yesterday, all of these feelings of incompleteness return to me.

Imagine a one-and-done Division I NCAA Football tournament. March Madness is unreal each year because of the excitement the field of 65 generates. I don't want to get too caught up saying a football tournament would work exactly the same way as basketball. But if the other divisions in football can do it, so can D-I.

Keep the bowl games (well, not all of them). Make the big ones similar to the final four. Rotate the championship game each year just as they do now. There have been numerous strategies to get this done. Let's just pick one and get things settled on the field.

At least let's talk about it. I'll shoot you an email.

To Replay or Not to Replay

2006-10-14T10:02:00.000-05:00

Instant replay has been a hot topic of conversation this season and the Pac-10 is still grappling. Jim Tunney was an NFL official for 31 years. He refereed 29 post-season games including three Super Bowls and worked some of the most famous games in history "The Ice Bowl", "The Kick", "The 100th Bears-Packers Game", "The Snowball Game", the "Final Fumble", "The Fog Bowl" and "The Catch".

By: Jim Tunney
Pardon the intrusion Mr. Shakespeare, but since the National Football League Instant Replay system is now 21 years of age, so I thought you wouldn't mind that liberty. Yes, 21! Instant Replay was implemented during the 1986 NFL season. The television audience enjoyed the luxury of seeing the play from three or four different angles for years before the League decided to use it. It's not perfect which serves as a reminder that the replay system used by the NCAA is in its infancy. Errors will happen as they did in the Oklahoma at Oregon game on September 16, 2006.

It is easy to forget that the NFL had its share of "glitches" in its infancy. We need to be patient, if we believe the replay system is here to stay. But back to that Oklahoma vs. Oregon game.

With little time left in the 4th quarter and Oregon trailing, the Ducks attempted an on-side kick. The ball was recovered by Oregon after touching an Oklahoma player. The question was: Did the kicked ball touch an Oregon player first? If it did, it's a short free kick and Oregon must kick again or Oklahoma could take the ball at the spot of first touching by the Oregon player, which, of course, Oklahoma would do.

It is difficult to fault the on-field crew of officials for "missing" the spot of first touching. An on-side kick is a "fire drill" with a dozen or more players scrambling to get the ball. While the on-field officials are always on the alert to see who touches the ball first, they are often blocked out.

I believe the glitch lies in the instant replay booth. A team of three or four coordinates every replay situation and needs to 1) take the necessary time to get it right and 2) be sure they see all available camera angles. It is my understanding the replay official did not get the angle necessary.

During the scramble for the ball an on-field official blew the whistle early (inadvertent) thinking an Oregon player recovered the kicked ball after it went 10 yards. However, the ball squirted out of the Oregon player's grasp and was recovered by an Oklahoma player. The officials gave the ball to Oregon. Was that call prejudicial? Did the officials intentionally favor Oregon?

Following the recovery, Oregon threw a pass that was deflected by an Oklahoma player at the line of scrimmage. Then an Oklahoma player was called for defensive pass interference. Oregon went on to score and won the game 34-33. Was the defensive pass interference prejudicial? Why didn't the on-field officials see the "touching" of the pass? Why didn't the replay officials see the touching and over rule the no-call on the field? Were those errors prejudicial? Did the Pac 10 crew show favoritism to the Oregon team?

I don't believe so. I worked at the NCAA level for several years, which included intersectional games. In those days we had a split crew: 2 or 3 from each conference. I have never been in any crew where ANY official showed favoritism to a team or his conference. Officials don't care who wins!

The perception that favoritism is present often overrides the impartiality of officials. These are honest men who want to do their best. Fairness - not winning - is their goal.

However, if the NCAA wants to eliminate the perception of partiality then I suggest they assign crews (of seven) as they do for post-season games. Assign a crew from another conference. In the aforementioned Oregon game, for example, assign a BIG 10 or SEC crew. Send a Pac-10crew to an intersectional in the mid west or east. That's expensive, and of concern for the NCAA.

Also the NCAA has to correct the replay equipment and its technology since they differ from conference to conference. If perfection is wanted, then the NCAA has to invest in a consistent system much like the NFL has done. The same equipment and better trained replay personnel help reduce the chance for error.

One coach said, "It's important to have non-partisan crews". Coach, all crews are non-partisan. Let me say it again, officials don't care who wins! The integrity of the game depends on the integrity of its officials.

Perhaps the "perception" of partiality is too rampant in today's "fish bowl" games. Assigning crews from out of the conferences who are playing may help.

Jim Tunney’s first book was Impartial Judgment. His latest books is It's the Will, Not the Skill describes the principles and philosophies of success that make up a winning T*E*A*M. He has co-authored and authored nine books which can be found on his website, www.jimtunney.com.

Charlie Weis supports special needs through Hannah & Friends: exclusive to EGC

2006-10-13T07:53:00.000-05:00

By: Charlie Weis

To say I was apprehensive at first about writing for a blog would be putting it mildly. However, given the freedom to discuss anything I desired it became clear to me what I should write. I believe that the head football coach at any college or professional program has the opportunity to bring awareness to areas that otherwise would not receive the recognition or attention it may require or demand. Obviously, some jobs will be more in the public spotlight, such as the Notre Dame head coach, and that the person that holds that job will have more opportunities and resources to heighten awareness for these issues. Given this opportunity, my wife, Maura, and I have chosen to use this platform to discuss people with special needs.

After becoming head coach of the Fighting Irish, I made a promise that as long as I’m at Notre Dame, I will try to bring about awareness to special needs. This subject hits near to my heart as my 11-year old daughter, Hannah, lives with global developmental delays. This means that Hannah develops physically, mentally and socially at a slower rate than others around her. Don’t misinterpret anything I’ll ever say or write as that I’m sad with the way things turned out because that couldn’t be further from the truth. My wife and I along with our son, Charlie Jr., stopped feeling sorry for ourselves a long time ago and we look at it now as a blessing and consider Hannah as our guiding angel.

Hannah has gotten us involved in charity work that we might not have done if it wasn’t for her. We started a foundation called Hannah & Friends that is dedicated to providing a better quality of life for children and adults with special needs. The foundation provides support for a program called Hannah’s Helping Hands, which funds quality of life grants for Indiana including the greater Michiana area and Rhode Island families that care for children and adults with special needs. The grants will provide low and moderate-income families with stipends that may be used for a wide variety of supports related to their family member.

I think that bringing awareness and making people more compassionate to people with special needs is probably the biggest mission my wife and I are on. Many times, people will look at special needs people and think negative thoughts, but they didn’t choose to be that way. It just happened that that was God’s will. Hannah & Friends fosters an ongoing campaign of awareness and compassion for all individuals with special needs. Individuals with special needs deserve the same respect as everyone else and it is our mission to educate others who do not understand this mindset.

There is nothing more important or valuable to me in my life than my family. That being said, there is nothing I’m more passionate about than creating awareness and compassion for individuals with special needs. I encourage everyone to either check out our website (www.hannahandfriends.org) to find out more about our foundation or find a charity or cause that you can become involved with. There’s truly no better feeling than helping those who might be a little less fortunate than you.

Best NCAA Football Movies

2006-10-12T07:01:00.000-05:00

With the recent news that funny man Jack Black will be producing and making a cameo in a college football related movie, and We Are Marshall thundering toward theatres soon, it made me think of some of my favorite college football movies.

Now, it would be a lot easier to make a list of all the best football movies, college, pro, or pee-wee. But that would be unfair to every other movie trying to compete with The Little Giants. I’ve yet to see a play grab victory from the jaws of defeat like the “Annexation of Puerto Rico.”

But we talk about NCAA Football here right!? Right, so I’m going to do my best to recount some of the best, well, better…ok, just my favorite movies having to do with college football in absolutely no order whatsoever because, they are all equal in my heart.

The Waterboy. This Adam Sandler comedy about a bumbling bayou boy who hits like a Mack truck, was set at fictional South Central Louisiana State and included a trip to the Bourbon Bowl. It’s always better when you can get actual schools in the movies, but I can certainly understand why NCAA Football shied away from this one. No harm done as it actually made sense that ESPN would cover the Bourbon Bowl. And Fonzie was in it.

Rudy. Obviously. I don’t want to hear one bad word from anyone about this masterpiece. Yes, Rudy was played by a hobbit, but let’s not forget he was a Goonie as well, so he gets a pass for that. Admit it, you cry when he gets that sack! You know you do! This also features a very young Vince Vaughn, and a very robust John Favreau. I actually know someone who was a Notre Dame student during the Rudy days and he is a real person. This is a must have for all Irish and NCAA Football fans.

Everybody’s All-American. I must admit, just caught this movie a few years ago but every time it comes on I have to watch it. Dennis Quad plays an absolute stud running back from LSU with a sweet nickname…The Grey Ghost (ghost…ghost…ghost). Basically this is the story of the Ghost and his sweetheart from college fame, through the pros and into retirement. Gets sappy at times but John Goodman is great and Quad delivers some all-time great lines in his character’s southern drawl.

The Program. Overly cliched? Maybe. Based on a certain tomahawk-toting team in the Sunshine State? Possibly. Entertaining as all get out? Heck Yes! It is worth it to watch Lattimer, possible the largest human every captured on film, smash car windows with his forehead after he his put on first team defense yelling, “SEAT AT THE TABLE!” Game shots were filmed at the University of South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium on an actual game day so bonus points for that.

Necessary Roughness. Come on, you can’t leave off this. Texas State? The Fighting Armadillos? “Straight Arrow” Gennaro? Scott Bakula as the over-hill-QB and Sinbad as a science-teaching lineman? Sinbad, seriously. Oh my goodness, if you can’t enjoy this movie and love college football you probably root for the Dean Alias in this one. It’s good stuff.

If I catch any of these while flipping channels the next two hours are done. These aren’t all the good movies about college football, they’re all pretty recent actually but let me know if I’ve left any off that are worth a look.

NCAA Football: 5 Quick Questions

2006-10-11T16:56:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER FROM Sunday Morning Quarterback

1. Who has the best uniform in NCAA football?
I've always said Penn State, but as far as uniforms go, that plain look is pretty ubiquitous, and my tastes change regularly. I liked the Florida State uniforms from about ten years ago, circa Warrick Dunn and Danny Kanell, that had the little faux Indian-style print at the end of the sleeves and around the neckline. I'm partial to gold helmets and pants, though (perhaps because I've always been a huge New Orleans Saints fan), which also explains why I like Washington's very sleek current look. I don't dislike Oregon's as much as most people, but they're nowhere near the top. Oregon State's, because I also hate the logo, are worse.

Good uniforms are usually plain uniforms and therefore pretty similar, though, so I pay a lot more attention to the logo. Simple letters or a script word won't do; as with mascots, I like logos that represent something quirky and regional and well-designed: Arkansas' running hog, South Carolina's squawking rooster (they should lose the giant 'C,' though), Colorado's buffalo, Washington's husky head (not used on the helmets for some reason). The best of this variety is definitely Texas' longhorn head.

2. Who's really the number 2 team in the country (assuming Ohio St. is number 1)?
Am I being set up here? Monday, I addressed the notion of Ohio State as the presumptive number one, and even though I have the Buckeyes ranked number one, I don't like the assumption. It's still a pretty open race and a lot of teams are in it, and Ohio State shouldn't be presumed.

For consistency's sake, I rank teams based on their "resume," that is, what they've done to date this season in terms of wins and losses, with no regard whatsoever to what they might do the rest of the season or where they were ranked in the preseason (or where they were ranked last week). I don't take into account personnel or "strengths" and "weaknesses," and this is why always emphatically remind readers that my rankings are not a power poll of which team I think is "better." I don't have a method to judge that on a consistent basis. The "resume" system may be idiosyncratic in its own way, because there is such mad inconsistency between the way so many teams play from week to week (look at Auburn and Arkansas, for example), but I think it's the most fair. That's why Virginia Tech and Georgia aren't on this week's ballot – they haven't beaten anyone. Neither has, say, Rutgers, but at least the Knights have had the decency to not get beat themselves. It's a very tricky, imprecise game, these rankings.

Anyway, I get the feeling Ohio State is number one because it sort of fell there among many presumably flawed teams at the beginning of the year, when there was no dominant frontrunner a la USC the last two years, then got its big win early and has held on by not screwing up. By its resume, I have OSU number one myself because its games against Texas, Iowa and Penn State – considering margin of victory as well – represent the best trio of wins any team has, and none of the weaker rabble in between has given the Buckeyes any trouble. By the same merits, because it's beaten Tennessee, Alabama and now LSU in slightly closer fashion, Florida jumped up this week to number two. And it's a pretty close number two. So by that standard, the "second-best" team would be Florida.

But if I was taking a more "holistic" view, as most voters seem to do, and looked at personnel and what I thought was going to happen over the remaining course of the season based on "strengths" and "weaknesses," my number one right now, even over Ohio State, would probably be Michigan. I very highly value stopping the run, because this is the most common trait among many national champions, and Michigan is the best statistically and personnel-wise in that regard. Ohio State, meanwhile, has had some trouble there – as I said Monday, it hasn't mattered because OSU hasn't played anyone with the patience or the defense to be able to feasibly play slow down, clock-grinding ball into the second half, but Michigan would love to get into that kind of game. The difference is also that the Wolverines are pretty clearly capable of going big play on you over the top, too, and rushing the passer, etc. on defense. Michigan is the most complete team, in my opinion – not that that should be construed as a prediction for the teams' game in November. There's a lot of time between now and then.

My concern with Florida, for the record, is its running game – banging Tim Tebow into the line as often as possible notwithstanding. It's hard to run the gauntlet UF still has to run – Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida State (albeit a very, very weakened and average Florida State), SEC Championship – if you can't control the clock and grind out first downs at the ends of games, etc. It's come through so far, mainly because of defense and special teams, but the Tebow Effect has probably reached its nadir. I am still waiting for Urban Meyer to Notre Dame Box it.

3. What's the game to watch this weekend?
This speaks more on the lameness of the weekend than anything else, but it must be Auburn and Florida. It's odd, because you take last weekend's big winner, against the weekend's big loser, and still I doubt most fans who have been following the game long enough to know not to be so reactionary about those kinds of singular games will have as much confidence in Florida as one might expect. This is sort of a trendsetting game: if Florida wins, I might move them to 1, and they really have an invincible, "just win, baby" air about them, similar to Ohio State a few seasons ago. It ain't pretty, but it gets the job done, etc., and they have the Tebow gimmick to keep excitement up.

On the other side, Auburn's goose is cooked if it loses two straight, especially at home. Its season is either a raging disappointment by mid-October or back on track, resurrected, entirely depending on what happens Saturday. Kenny Irons' foot is going to have a lot to do with this.

My initial reaction is to go with Florida's methodical "Ugly W," but I don't make picks until Friday morning. Auburn might blow them out. I don't know.

I'm also interested in Navy-Rutgers, two pretty good teams I haven't seen, but it's not going to be on TV. Boston College-Virginia Tech Thursday is a pretty big game for both teams. There will be some kind of soft-focus interest story on BC's kicker, a walk-on soccer player stepping in to play football for the first time in his life, but that's still an interesting aspect to that game given Virginia Tech's alleged special teams dominance.

4. What's your bold prediction for the weekend?
I keep picking Colorado to get its first win, but I don't know if it's wise to bet on this happening against Texas Tech. How about, Florida State will beat Duke? That seems a little bold right now. No?

OK: A fan will at least pass out or have to be removed from Scott Stadium by ambulance during the Maryland-Virginia game due to something that happens on the field. I'll leave that open to interpretation.

5. What will the top 5 look like after the weekend?
I don't think Michigan is in any danger at Penn State, or Ohio State at Michigan State (though with MSU one never has any clue), so Florida is the only variable.

If the Gators win:
1. Florida (depending on how it wins)
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Southern Cal
5. Tennessee

If the Gators lose, all hell breaks loose because of the impending Tennessee Problem:
1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. Southern Cal
4. Florida (depending on how it loses)
5. Tennessee

Instant Replay Still an Issue

2006-10-09T07:48:00.000-05:00

Apparently the argument is not going away. Instant replay, is it really doing what it was intended to do? Is it getting all the calls right?

Well first off, I’ll stop right there. All the calls will never be right all the time. Not until we start using robots as referees. (That might be kind of cool actually.) But there’s no reason for obvious calls to not be seen correctly.

All the tools are in place, it just doesn’t seem like they’re being used in the right way. My philosophy on having instant replay is that it prohibits the officials from just calling the game. They are thinking about whether or not to blow the whistle.

Football is a bam-bam game, it’s fast. Players don’t have time to think, and if they do, they’re beat. Players react; any good coach will tell you that. It’s no different for the refs. They are taught what to look for and react.

But now, they are told to not blow the whistle if the play is close at all, because they’ll review it upstairs. For this to work your depending on the cameras and the guys in the booth to have a better shot at it visually, than the ref on the field did, and for them to see it in time.

This can work, but a lot of times it doesn’t. Whether the guys don’t see it fast enough, or there’s not “inconclusive” video evidence, some calls are still missed.

It seems there is an obvious and easy way to get things working and accomplish what you are trying to do. Use what you have in place. Let the cameras roll. But let the officials call the game. If they miss a call, and everyone in the stadium, everyone at home, everyone watching the highlights can see something was missed, then the official in the booth should be able to see it too.

If they miss it, correct it and move on.

Best Uniforms: Part II

2006-10-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

Well, here they are. The top three best looking uniforms in all of NCAA Football. Remember, these are my picks. So if you disagree, let me know where I am wrong.

3. Southern California home uniform. This is tough. Most of the time when you pair crimson, or maroon or a dark reddish color like SC’s with something it turns out awful (South Carolina, Virginia Tech). But the Trojans wear it with style and it’s one of the best looking uniforms going. Again, all those wins and rings make the uniform look all that much better but still, this “retro-forward” look is sweet. (Did I just make up a new fashion term? Nice)

2. Michigan home uniform. Sorry, it just looks good. The bright yellow…sorry, maize and blue look perfect together. And whatever that is on the helmet gives the Wolverines style and uniqueness. It did at least, until Delaware caught on and put it on their helmets. This should be taken as a compliment. This uniform is simple, but will never look old.

1. Clemson home alternate, orange on orange. I know this one is a bit of a shocker. But if you’ve never been in Death Valley when the Tigers run down that hill into a sea of orange, dressed in orange from head to toe, you probably can’t understand. TV almost doesn’t do it justice. The Orange is so overwhelming almost to the point of nausea, but in a good way. These uniforms have always looked good and it just represents the fun of college football. It almost makes up for the Tigers awful uniforms any time they wear purple.

DUELING BLOGGERS: Florida vs. LSU

2006-10-04T11:14:00.000-05:00

A battle in the SEC! #5 Florida takes on #9 LSU this weekend at the swamp. Both teams have shown strong defense and offense so far this season. Last week JaMarcus Russell of LSU was named Offensive Player of the Week and Reggie Nelson of Florida was named Defensive Player of the week. The stats leading up to this game for both teams are enough to make your head spin. Regardless, it should be a fun game to watch!

Florida: Combination of Offense and Defense

2006-10-04T11:13:00.000-05:00

By: GUEST BLOGGER Ryan Ferguson who covers the Gators at ORANGE AND BLUE HUE and at the AOL FAN HOUSE

Florida faces a stiff challenge against LSU on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida is undefeated in the East (5-0, 3-0 SEC) while LSU has dropped a game in the western division to #2 ranked Auburn. The LSU Tigers bring the country's #1 defense (193 yards per game) as well as the SEC's highest-scoring offense (38 points per game.) The Gators are no slouch in the offensive output department either, though:

Florida is ranked 1st in the SEC for scoring yardage at 438.4 yards per game. On D, Florida's stop squad is considered by many to be among the best in the nation, ranked 4th in the nation in scoring defense (9.4 points per game) and rushing defense (50.2 yards per game.)

On Saturday, you'll see two sledgehammers pounding away at each other - on both offense and defense. What Florida brings to the table, besides its powerful 12th man in the form of the Swamp, is a well-rounded offensive and defensive package. Standout players on offense include both of Florida's quarterbacks (Chris Leak and Tim Tebow) and receivers Dallas Baker and Andre Caldwell. On defense, linebackers Brandon Siler and Earl Everett are among the best run stoppers in the country, and Free Safety Reggie "Eraser" Nelson is possibly the best defensive back in the nation.

Florida's Plan to Win must include pressure on LSU QB Jamarcus Russell in the form of an effective pass rush. Cornerbacks Ryan Smith and Reggie Nelson must play to the highest level of their ability to contain LSU's speedy receivers. Offensively, it's important for Florida to break their season-long trend of slow starts and come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. Kicker Chris Hetland must also step up after a poor 0-3 start and provide a reliable 3-point alternative in the or near the red zone.

If the "second half Gators" show up in the first half, LSU may need to warm up the bus early in the 4th quarter. Yes, Florida is that talented on that side of the football, but they don't always show it. On the other hand, a poor first half might send Meyer's boys back to the locker room with their first home loss since the Zooker era.
Go Gators: 16-13 over LSU on Florida Field.