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.)
Why is there so much
negativity surrounding Tim Tebow winning the Heisman. It's the fans
foolishness on top of the voters hard hearts that have caused the
credibility of the award to be tarnished. I have never seen this much
controversy over a guy winning the Heisman because he has run for 20
touchdowns and thrown for 20+ touchdowns. Even here in Gainesville there
is negativity, that is ridiculous, I tell them where would be with any
other quarterback, Dennis Dixon, Chase Daniel could and maybe Pat White
could put up the same numbers. Ask Chris Leak if he appreciates a
championship defense, because without one I think Gator fans would under
appreciate him more than they do now. What is going on?
– Kevin
A: I’m not sure. I said this throughout last year that America isn't all
that interested in Florida, and Gator fans vociferously disagreed with
me. It’s only been one of college football’s premier programs for almost
two decades, but for whatever reason, from my experiences and
discussions, I’ve never felt like Florida gets the same attention or
love like a USC, LSU, Oklahoma or Texas. Last year’s team never captured
the imagination until it obliterated Ohio State, and by then it was too
late; the sports world had moved on. Rex Grossman didn’t get the Heisman
when he was the best player in 2001, and it seems like many are
searching for anyone to step up and take it away from Tebow. As
I’ve said for a few weeks, if Tebow was a senior, or if the Gators were
in the running for the SEC East, this would be a landslide. He’s having
an all-timer of a season, and it’s not like he’s doing it in the MAC. To
me the race is over. Unless Chase Daniel or Todd Reesing do something
special over their final two games, Tebow has my vote.
I assume the
UL-Monroe victory over Bama is the biggest win in Sun Belt
history. What's hallmark win for the other smaller
conferences?? - Wes
A: The UL Monroe win over Alabama was certainly a shocker, but
no one saw it and no one was paying attention. Troy’s 24-14 win
over Missouri in 2004 might have been bigger only because it was
a Thursday night national TV game. I’m assuming you’re talking
about the non-BCS leagues when you’re referring to the “smaller”
conferences. I don’t know if the Mountain West exactly qualifies
as one, but …
Mountain West – Utah 35-7 over Pitt in the 2005 Fiesta
Bowl. Pitt was a buster of a BCS team that year, but it was
still a victory that made Urban Meyer’s Utes 12-0. TCU’s 17-10
win over Oklahoma in 2005 was close.
Conference USA – Louisville’s 26-20 win over Florida
State in 2002. Obviously the Cardinals are now in the Big East,
but it was a watershed win for Conference USA at the time. It
also marked the unofficial beginning of all the talk of one of
the bigger leagues raiding C-USA for its top teams.
MAC – Toledo’s 24-6 win over Penn State in 2000. This was
in Beaver Stadium in the 2000 opener and it wasn’t just a win;
it was a domination.
WAC – Boise State’s 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.
What is wrong with Steve Slaton? Is it the Oline? Are
defenses keying on him? Lost a step? – Josh
A: He seems to be missing that hiccup quick step that makes
takes seemingly little runs and turning them into back-breakers,
but he’s fine. The offensive line has been terrific, yes,
defenses are keying on him and taking their chances with Pat
White, but the biggest issue is the number of carries. He only
has run 17 times or more twice in the last six games, and those
two were 100 yard games. The other four weren’t. How good is
Slaton? The dude runs for 988 yards and 15 touchdowns and many
are asking what’s wrong.
What has happened to Cal? They were great until the bye week
hit and since then they stink. Nobody in the country can tell
me they were overrated because for the first 5 weeks they played
great and had big wins against Oregon and Tennessee. I haven't
seen that team since the Oregon game. What has happened and who
is to blame? – Chris
A: According to some Cal fans, I’m to blame for disrespecting
the Bears and not believing in them from the start. The
defensive line is getting shoved around way, way too often, but
having a D that gives up yards isn’t anything new around
Berkeley. Where are the offensive stars? Justin Forsett has
certainly been strong running the ball, but DeSean Jackson
hasn't set the world on fire. QB Nate Longshore has been merely
average. How can a team with so many offensive weapons struggle
so much to put points on the board? It’s not the offensive line;
it’s playing as well as any in America. Basically, the passing
game isn’t consistently clicking and the defense isn't getting
enough production up front.
Is it fair to say that a Big Ten team will never win the
National Title until the Big Ten conference adjusts to the new
BCS system and starts playing games into December? – MW
A: No. I know you’re implying that the desperately long layoff,
over 50 days, nearly two months, between the end of the regular
season and the national title game is way too long and allows
Big Ten teams to get fat and lazy, like last year’s Ohio State
team, but there’s a flip-side to that. That extra time allows a
coaching staff that much more time to prepare. I know, no one
should need much more time than a few weeks, but it allows the
coaches to do that much more in-depth work on their own team
before finding out who they’d play. Second, it allows injuries
to heal. Short of the guys knocked out for the year, everyone is
going to be 100% healthy. Of course, there’s always the question
of football-shape. If a Big Ten team gets blasted again in a
national title game, especially one as good as last year’s
Buckeyes, then some changes might be made.
With the way this year has played out with all the upsets and
parity, do you ever envision a time in which we are debating
which two lose
team should get into the BCS Championship game? – TS
A: I was thinking about that when it comes to Georgia. Arizona
State already lost to USC, now let’s say Tennessee loses to
Kentucky, West Virginia loses to either Connecticut or Pitt, and
the Big 12 North winner loses to Oklahoma. Georgia is then in
the SEC title game, and if it beats Georgia Tech this week and
then knocks off the number one team in America, then it might
move up from that seven spot into the top two to face Ohio State
for the national title. You’d get a contingent screaming about
Hawaii, if it’s unbeaten, about deserving a shot, but it would
be a tough fight.
Let’s take this a step further in the philosophical discussion.
Say West Virginia doesn’t lose the rest of the way, but the Big
12 North winner loses the title game and Georgia shocks LSU with
a double-digit win. At that point, the Bulldogs could claim they
beat up the number one team in America on a big stage with
everything at stake. There would be a huge segment of voters
who’d argue the Dawgs would deserve to go ahead of either Ohio
State or West Virginia.
To your original question, the one way a two-loss team would
truly be in the hunt, without a ton of help, would be if it lost
its first two games of the year with its top two players out.
For example, say Oklahoma is ranked No. 3 to start next year,
loses Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray for both of those games
after offseason injuries, and then the two stars come back and
the Sooners obliterate everyone by 30 the rest of the way. It
would still be a tough sell, but it would make for an
interesting debate.
The one question I have never been able to answer about
college football is how some teams who don't (or can't) recruit
well at all routinely exceed expectations. Recent case in point
is Boise State, which hasn't finished in the top 50 ever. But
there are others too like Utah under Urban Meyer, Southern Miss,
Fresno State, Wake Forest, Kentucky. Of course, the obvious
answer is that they have great coaches. But, without good
players, good coaches don't win. I think it has all to do with
being able to see qualities in players the elites ignore like
size, speed, determination and heart. But what do they see, and
how do they see it? – EK
A: Because college football recruiting is a ridiculously
overrated waste of time. Check that; covering college football
recruiting is a ridiculously overrated waste of time. The
non-superpower programs might not get the four and five-star
players, but they get guys who fit their systems and they
recruit a certain type of under-the-radar talents who might have
chips on their shoulders. How many top recruits actually pan out
and become superstars? Many top programs spend so much time and
energy courting the stars that they’re screwed if things don’t
work out.
You have to remember what an inexact science this is. A
superstar recruit who’s getting courted at 16 and 17 by Oklahoma
might develop different physically than a mid-range recruit who
goes to Boise State. You’re right in that some of the unheralded
guys might tend to come to campus ready to eat glass and run
through a brick wall, and if you get enough of those guys, you
can put together a top team. And then there are teams like
Kansas and Missouri who get the guys that the really, really big
boys aren’t showing much interest in, and then sprinkle in a few
other guys who blossom late. To answer your question, yeah,
Boise State might be fantastic in a one game shot, but with the
talent it gets it’d be no better than fourth on a yearly basis
in the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten or Pac 10. Of those teams you
listed, how many have had sustained success against the big
boys?
Pete the Oddsmaker...Rank'em 1 thru
5, (longest odds being No. 1).
A) Saban finishes his
career at Alabama;
B) Tedford finishes his
career at Cal;
C) Miles finishes his
career at LSU;
D) Weis finishes his
career at Notre Dame;
E) Notre Dame finishes
Weis' career.
Discuss.
– SR
A: 1) (least likely to happen) Weis finishes his career at Notre Dame,
2) Miles finishes his career at LSU, 3) Tedford finishes his career at
Cal, 4) Saban finishes his career at Alabama, 5) (most likely to
happen) Notre Dame finishes Weis’ career.
Should players like Darren McFadden & Brian Brohm who are
likely top 10 NFL draft picks risk their payday to play in meaningless
Bowl games for underachieving teams? And if not, then what's the point
of playing in those Bowl games after disappointing seasons for teams
like Arkansas & Louisville? Is it for all the luster & prestige of the
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl?
– MP
A: It depends. If you’re in a national title hunt, you play no matter
what. If you’re in a conference title hunt, you play. If your team is an
also-ran, and you’ve been told by the NFL advisory committee that you’re
a first round draft pick, you should sit. I’ll never, ever understand
why a sure-thing top ten draft pick on a mediocre college team would
play one more down than he’d have to. If you’re a certain to 50 pick,
you always leave early. Ask Michael Bush. You don’t wash your pants with
a winning lottery ticket in the back pocket.
Most college fans can’t seem to grasp the business side of the equation,
and my NFL prospect-quitting-team belief is one of the two topics (along
with my rant that college players should have be able to have agents and
be allowed to be given money and gifts from boosters) that generates the
most negative reader feedback. There’s SO much money at stake, not to
mention NFL career potential, that it’s big business for the top 50
draft prospects, and fun for everyone else.
If you’re a quarterback you can probably suffer a big injury and not be
too affected. After all, most teams are going to want to take at least a
half a year before getting its star quarterback rolling anyway. If
you’re a running back, or a player who can’t afford to go from a 4.4 to
a 4.6 40, you get out now. I said this last year when it came to Adrian
Peterson, and I’ll say the same thing now for Darren McFadden. What
happens if McFadden blows out his knee? Are the Arkansas fans going to
hold a bake sale to repay the tens of millions of dollars he’d lose? Oh
sure, he could heal up, come back for his senior year and come out for
the draft in 2009, but he’d lose an entire year of NFL salary along with
the interest and investment dollars from his bonus. Ask Matt Leinart how
much money he gave away to play at USC for one more year. I’m a college
fan and want all these guys to come back, but again, this is a
multi-million dollar business here.
Of course, if McFadden were to come out before the LSU game to say he’s
quitting the team to focus on the NFL draft, he’d be destroyed by the
media and the fans, and there might be one or two teams questioning his
character. And then Jerry Jones would trade the naming rights to his new
stadium and a date with Tony Romo for the No. 1 pick to take the former
Hog star and give him a $20 million signing bonus.