By
Pete Fiutak
Fire over your questions to me at
pete@collegefootballnews.com. I might not be able to answer them
all, but I promise they're all read. Any e-mails sent to this
address may be published or edited unless requested otherwise.
(Please put ASK CFN in the subject line, and PLEASE keep the
questions short ... it makes my life easier.)
How many bad years does a program have to endure to be
considered a “Former” power, and how many good years does a doormat have
to have to be considered a King of College football? I’m no Miami fan,
but I’m so sick of hearing them called a “former powerhouse”. Yeah
they’ve had a few bad years, but ’02 wasn’t that long ago, and they’re
historically a dominant team with no reason to think they can’t right
the ship soon enough. 5 years? Maybe if we get to 6… or 8… And look at
USC – no one questions their elite status, but does no one remember how
long they fell off the radar before Carroll came along?? I’m sick of the
smaller and smaller what-have-you-done-for-me-lately window. Coaches get
two years to win. Programs get 3 years to turn EVERYTHING around. It’s
sickening. A few years of sliding or rising does not define a program.
– GW
A: Open to your interpretation, my definition of a current powerhouse is
a program that’s capable of winning a national title, or a BCS slot,
right now, or at least able to be in the hunt with a little bit of
tweaking. Miami, with a little bit more offense, could be a front runner
for the national championship this year. Florida State would qualify as
a powerhouse, even after a few down years. Washington, to me, would
qualify as a former powerhouse. Nebraska and Alabama, again, to me,
would qualify as a powerhouse, while Pitt and Syracuse would be former
powers.
On my comment that
"we love college football more than (the fans) do” in the
Experts Roundtable piece.
I find it ridiculous that in your years of football reporting you've
become delusioned to the nature of the fans to the point that you think:
"we love college football more than they do". Countless fans would
kill for your job and the opportunities it provides. Perhaps this
coming season you should sit down the computer or the pen and go
tailgate and watch a game for real; spend some time with the folks who
love this game with all the passion they can muster, and yet never see a
paycheck for it. You might develop a different understanding of the
emails you receive as a result. - DS
What an arrogant, pretentious and incorrect statement. Am I
less of a fan because I'm a reporter that didn't choose to be a
sportswriter? That I deviated from that path because I didn't want to be
worn down by being unbiased? That I wanted to tailgate, root on my teams
and be a fan? You have just lost a reader with that preposterous
statement. You criticize fans for e-mailing you with ridiculous e-mail,
then you turn around and deliver, in an essence, a giant slap in their
face. Just because it wasn't in e-mail form doesn't make it better. What
a disgusting answer. - SOL
A:
I didn’t mean to come across as arrogant and I certainly apologize if it
offended you. That was obviously not my intention. The statement was
meant to say that for as much as the superfans care, the writers in that
piece have to be into college football far, far more than anyone else in
order to do the
best job they can. Are you into the 2007 Sun Belt race? How fired up are
you about the MAC? We have to be fans of all 119 teams and all the
leagues, while the fans, for the most part, are going to be experts on
their specific teams far more than the national writers are able to be.
The guys writing in that piece, by choice, had to sacrifice a lot and go
through a ton to be able to do this for a living. We know our jobs rule
considering we get to eat, sleep and think about this sport 24/7, all
year round. Of course the readers of CFN love college football as much
as we do, but again, we have to know and be interested in every team and
every issue (at least we do at CFN) in order to give the readers the
most informed opinions possible, and it’s truly a labor of love.
Finally, DS, I totally understand all the e-mails I receive … every one
of them. But when the jacked up uber-fan is ripping on something we
write beyond just disagreeing with us, it’s usually coming from a place
of blind loyalty that often lacks rationality, research or reasoning.
Using profanity-laced personal insults, assuming we’re biased just
because we’re not always positive, and being abusive (all of which we’re
used to) doesn’t make someone a better fan.
Just wondering what details about the college game (both tangible and
intangible) you think really separate it from professional football? I'm
mainly talking about in regards to feel and spirit. – Brad
A: Pro fans never want to believe me on this, but the main difference in
“feel,” if I can be so vague, is that the NFL is a billion dollar
corporation and college football, while a multi-million dollar business
often disguised as something else, has more ties to an ideal. If you’re
a fan of the Miami Dolphins, you’re just a customer buying a product,
just like you are if you’re a fan of Coca-Cola or Starbucks. While
you’re doing a little of the same if you buy an Ohio State hat or a USC
t-shirt, you’re also buying into the university, the academic
institution, and the community that surrounds it.
On the field, the pro game is far, far more analytical and specialized.
The difference in coaching staffs is night and day, mainly because the
college staffs are limited in what they can do. NFL coaches can work
with their players year round, work in mini-camps, get extra practice
time in for fundamentals, put new wrinkles in the playbook, etc., while
college coaches can’t even watch their players run, workout or practice
for periods during the year. No one wants to believe me on this, either,
but the best college team would get thumped 56-0 by the worst pro team.
Even the top pro prospects on college teams aren’t quite ready yet by
pro standards both mentally and physically. It’s a whole different
ballgame.
Why won't you admit that the Big East is a two-team crap-fest of
a conference. Everyone went on and on and on and embraced the
so-called inevitability of either Louisville or West Virginia playing in
the title game, but at the end of the season both of those teams
proved that 1) the Big Least is a 2 team conference and 2) that those
two teams couldn't even win all of their games in their great
big conference of garbage. So why the bias towards the Big Easy? Is
it simply because they have a bunch of alums in broadcasting or is
it some form of mind control? – TN
A: You echo the feelings of 75% of the college football world, but
you’re wrong. Knowing I’m going to get tagged by more Mountaineer fans
in desperate need affirmation, I’m still not 100% sold that West
Virginia, this year, is the elite of the elite real deal, only because
the defense just isn’t there. However, I still think this will end up
being one of the top ten ranked teams in America by the end of the year,
and will probably end up in the BCS, because of two all-timers in the
backfield. Louisville and Rutgers will also be in the national title
hunt, and South Florida has the type of defense that could upset Auburn
early on, Pitt is better, Cincinnati is better, Syracuse is better, and
Connecticut is better. Yeah, we’re not talking about the SEC here, and
it’s still the sixth best BCS league, but it’s a LOT better and is
hardly a “crap-fest.”
You’re such an ACC boy … the Big East is one of the best conferences
around, and you know it. You’re so biased, why don’t you just admit that
you hate West Virginia. ----ing ---hole. – FJ
A: Well, run it down and it’s not even close. As I mentioned before, the
Big East top teams could certainly be in the ACC title chase, but the
league isn’t nearly as deep. Take the projected best teams in each
league, number two in each, and go right down the line. West Virginia,
Louisville and Rutgers are all relatively even, and I really like the
South Florida defense, so say those four Big Easters would probably
split with Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Miami and Clemson. No. 5 Pitt
vs. No. 5 Florida State, FSU. No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 6 Maryland, No. 7
Syracuse vs. No. 7 BC, and No. 8 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Wake Forest are
all screamingly in the ACC’s favor. That’s not even counting Virginia
and NC State, who could both beat the bottom three Big East teams. North
Carolina and Duke could certainly compete with Syracuse and UConn.
I am a huge fan of Notre Dame football. Who do you believe are the
top 5 ND players of the past 25 years? My list would look like this. 1.
Tim Brown, 2. Rocket Ismail, 3. Chris Zorich, 4. Todd Lyght, 5. Allen
Pinkett. – DR
A: Pinkett is a bit of a stretch, even with the numbers. When ranking
college players, I always go by what they did in their college careers
and the impact they made, and not what they did in the pros, or their
pro potential at the time. Therefore, my debatable top five would be …
1. Ismail, 2. Brady Quinn, 3. Brown, 4. Zorich, 5. Lyght.
I have to call you out on one prediction...Hawaii to the BCS? No
way. With their weak schedule, that obviously means they have to go
unbeaten. Remember, this is HAWAII. I know I don't have to go down the
laundry list of mediocre/flat out bad teams that Hawaii has lost to on
the road over the years. Now combine their traditional road
woes/jetlag/etc. with the limelight and the pressure of being unbeaten
that can easily get to a mid major. Remember when TCU was unbeaten in
2003 and got featured in Sports Illustrated and talked about by
everyone...and then they promptly got their face stomped at Southern
Mississippi on a Thursday night? – Andy
A: This is a team that battled hard in road games against Alabama and
Boise State last year, and almost beat Oregon State. Now the offense
should be just as explosive and the schedule is easier. Hawaii would
lose at least four games in one of the BCS leagues, but this is a
killer, killer team at home with one of the best home-field
advantages in college football. Once opponents make the long flight and
see the beaches and bikinis, all thoughts of football tend to drift
away. Where’s that crash and burn road loss going to come? Louisiana
Tech? UNLV? San Jose State? Idaho? No, no, possibly, and no. The trip to
Nevada might be the end to the BCS debate, but the Warriors will still
be favored. The home games? Charleston Southern, Utah State, New Mexico
State, and Fresno State before getting Boise State and Washington. If
the Boise State or Washington games were on the other side of the water,
Hawaii would likely lose. But they’re not.
Who is better, the SEC West or the Big XII South? I need to settle a
bet. – Mark
A: Gambling is illegal at Bushwood and I never slice. This year? Whoooo.
Play it off. Projected No. 1 Texas vs. No. 1, LSU on a neutral field,
I’d take LSU, but it’s a pick ‘em. I’d take No. 2 Oklahoma over No. 2
Auburn, No. 3 Texas A&M over No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Oklahoma State over
No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Texas Tech over No. 5 Ole Miss, and No. 6 Miss
State over No. 6 Baylor. I think it’d be 4-2 Big 12 North, but I won’t
argue if you want to call it dead even.
What is the difference between "Beamer Ball" and "Tressell Ball"?
They seem to be the same thing to me: great D with an emphasis on the
kicking and running game. Who first claimed this type of playing style
if they are the same? – BH
A: The media-created Tressel Ball term refers to when Ohio State runs
the ball, uses a conservative passing game, and has an overall offensive
gameplan designed to not make mistakes, while hoping for the defense to
be solid and the special teams to be flawless, particularly when it
comes to the kicking game. The negative connotation is that Tressel Ball
often keeps the other team in the game because OSU doesn’t take many
chances and doesn’t go for the jugular with any deep passes. It’s also a
negative term, to a point, because it suggests Ohio State doesn’t always
use its superior talent and athleticism to its fullest. The positive
side is that it works. No one can argue with the results.
Beamer Ball refers to getting a game-changing home run from the special
teams, primarily from a blocked kick. For years, Tech has gone through
great pains and practice time to wreak havoc on the special teams, and
has gotten so good at it that it’s almost a part of the gameplan.