Thoughts From The Valley
December 8, 2008
The Hangover
How I am feeling: A little bit sad. A little bit relieved. A little bit tired. It's been a long, long season, folks. And now it's over.
What I am drinking: Yogi Tea Ginger Tea. Your Editor has a lot to get done tomorrow. Gotta take it easy today.
What I am listening to: Death Cab For Cutie, Plans. It was the TCFA 2008 Album Of The Year for Your Editor. Started listening to it way back in August. Kept listening right on through the end of October. Only fitting then, that it's what i listen to now, as I bid the seasin adieu.
My thoughts on the season: You'll notice that I've named this section "My thoughts on the season" rather than the usual "My thoughts on the weekend."
Fairly self-explanatory, yes?
What follows, then, are the ten most important developments and storylines in college football 2008, in my not-so-humble opinion.
Starting from No. 10, working our way up to No. 1:
10. The BCS glass ceiling reveals itself: Both Utah and Boise State went undefeated, but only one of those teams will get what they deserve: A big-time bowl bid. It looks like Utah will head to the Sugar Bowl to take on 'Bama. Boise State, meanwhile, may catch a break and head to the ... Poinsetta Bowl. Not bad, but not exactly what they had in mind, I'm sure. The message here? Simple: The BCS will allow precisely one non-BCS school into the mix every year. No more than that. Ever.
9. The Big Ten coaching situation improves: Part of the Big Ten's fall from grace in recent years can be blamed on poor coaching (and boring coaches). But with the arrival of Tim Brewster at Minnesota and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, the return to form of Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and the incredible coaching job turned in by Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern, things have definitely improved. Along with Joe Paterno at Penn State, Jim Tressel at Ohio State and Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, these coaches are going to help keep a lot of talent up North. That's good news for Big Ten followers.
8. The arrival of Melanie Collins: Enough said. Though the rumor is that she is leaving the Big Ten Network to do some work for TNT. About the NBA. Ugh.
7. The SEC turns into the Big Ten: This is not me saying this. No, this is Unsouthern Southern Guy Brian M. Schleter saying this. In a moment of rare honesty, Brian admitted during drinks at Max's in Fells Point this Saturday that the SEC has essentially become the Big Ten—two very good teams and bunch of also-rans. And you know what? He's right. Let's see how long it takes ESPN to realize this. I am guessing about seven years.
6. Tim Tebow proves he's one of the greatest players of all time: Anybody who saw the fourth quarter of the Florida-Alabama game knows it to be true. The kid is a once-in-a-decade talent. As ESPN analyst Beano Cook said this week, people will one day talk about Tebow the same way they talk about Red Grange.
5. Pete Carroll reinforces his (unflattering) image as the guy who can't win the little ones: Carroll is the best recruiter in the country and, as his record shows, he's a pretty good Xs-and-Os guy, too. He wins the big games better than anybody. But there's one thing he can't do: Win the little games. The Trojans' season was toast the minute they lost to Oregon State. I wonder how they'll blow it next year. Maybe another meltdown against Stanford.
4. Lee Corso mentions Las Vegas a record 521 times: That's an unofficial count. But did anyone else notice how often Lee Corso mentioned "the experts in Las Vegas" this season during College GameDay? He has officially stopped trying to do any analysis himself. Instead, he calls up his buddies in Vegas. Whatever they say, he believes. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I'm just pointing it out.
3. Big Ten Network runs the Ro*Tel ad a record 5,210 times: That's an official count.
2. Joe Paterno lets it be known that he's not going anywhere: Good luck, Graham Spanier, trying to push JoePa out the door now. Two Big Ten titles in the last four years, a 40-10 record of the same span, and a chance to win four straight bowl games.
1. Notre Dame ceases to exist: Notre Dame has now been so bad for so long that ESPN has essentially stopped mentioning them. Same with much of the national media. This is stunning. And I'm not joking here. Really, I believe we may soon see the end of the notion of Notre Dame as a national college football entity. They are in danger—serious danger—of becoming a "regional" program.
Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust
Three: I left NcDevin's Tavern in East Baltimore on Saturday night, having just watched Florida beat 'Bama for the SEC championship, thinking to myself: "There's no way anybody beats Florida." Then, this morning, I read news of Oklahoma's 62-21 beatdown of Missouri in the Big 12 title game. I read that Oklahoma had become only the third team in the history of college football to score 700 points in a season. I read that the Sooners had scored a record 97 touchdows this year. I read that they have now scored at least 60 points in five straight games. And now I am thinking to myself: "There's no way anybody beats Oklahoma."
Two ...: USC and UCLA got into one of those midfield scrum/fights before the third quarter of their Completely Overrated Rivalry In Los Angeles. I would like to officially state that these midfield scrum/fights (you know, the ones where the teams gather at the 50-yard-line and act like 10-year-olds) are getting awfully old. I don't understand why coaches allow these things to happen. And I don't understand how these fights never seem to result in any kind of punishment. Just shut up and play football.
One ...: Look, I have all the respect in the world for the United States Military Acadmey. But I have to say, those new Army uniforms are terrible. Army does not wear trendy uniforms. Army wears black and gold. They wear plain gold helmets. That's just the way it is. Don't mess with tradition. Please.
Touchdown ...: Just two quick things before I say so-long for the year, folks. First, I want to thank all of y'all once more for taking the time to read TCFA each week. It really is a honor. Second, I wanted to take one last shot at Florida, which, as you know, I have adopted as my team to despise this season. And so here goes. My prediction for the BCS Championship: Oklahoma 41, Florida 35.