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.)
When all is
said and done, what college team do you root for or make sure to
watch on Saturdays?
– Dave
I've been a big fan of Kirk Herbstreit. How much does this
guy know, or is there someone who is doing the research for him
and other analysts. It seems like he has a real passion for
College Football, and he speaks in a candid tone on his take on
the College Football world, but am I reading too much into his
knowledge of the sport? - Matt, Malden, MA
A: Kind of like the Tom Hanks character in Saving Private
Ryan keeping what he did for a living a secret until he had
to diffuse an ultra-tense situation, I try to avoid talking
about any allegiances past or present. Honestly, I mostly root
for my picks each week, especially if I go out on a limb with a
call, and I always root for whatever will create the best
matchup down the line, but yeah, there are a few teams that
always find their way on the office's main TV. While I’ve long
ago become absolutely and totally neutral when it comes to
covering and analyzing teams and conferences, I have to keep any
possible rooting interests, when they're there, under wraps or
else my objectivity comes into question whenever I go positive
about those teams.
I’ve interviewed Kirk Herbstreit and exchanged e-mails with him
so it's not like I know him, but he knows his stuff; he’s a
total college football geek. He totally loves college football
and is into all the nuts and bolt and ins and outs of the sport.
He does his research, unlike several talking heads and writers
out there.
I tied the two questions together because it points out the
problem of revealing any rooting interests. Herbstreit is an
unabashed Ohio State fan, and he should be considering he played
for the Buckeyes and still lives in Ohio, but whenever he talks
about how good they are he gets slammed for being a homer. I
hear it from SEC fans, among others, about how Herbstreit talks
about the Buckeyes, so I can only imagine what he has to deal
with whenever he says something nice about them. I've always
thought he's been objective and truly honest when he analyzes
the Buckeyes, but he still gets pounded. It's not fair.
It seems like so much of what I read about this years LB
either have a lot of them at weak side or in the middle. Who are
the guys that could ultimately play on the strong side? Are
these the DE/LB tweeners or are they bigger MLB guys? I would
really appreciate any sort of explanation as to how to identify
these guys. As a NYG fan, I have a feeling that LB is in their
cards at 31 and Id like to be as informed as possible. – JM
A: Everyone plays a 4-3 in college, but most strongside college
linebackers are a bit too small to be an elite NFL strongside
defender.
USC’s Keith
Rivers and Penn State’s Dan Connor are the exceptions in a down
year for linebackers.
That’s why most
undersized college defensive ends, who lined up on the line,
gets used as a hybrid in the pros. Ohio State’s Vernon Gholston
is the dream tweener because of his speed and size, but he’ll
mostly be used as an end. Auburn’s Quentin Groves will be there
for the Giants and could do a little of everything. Purdue’s
Cliff Avril and Michigan’s Shawn Crable are decent tweener
prospects, while Wake Forest’s Jeremy Thompson could be the best
of the mid-range lot even though he’s more of an end.
Aside from home field advantage, what are the biggest advantages
and disadvantages Ohio State and USC must overcome to claim a
victory on September 13th? – PF
A: USC has to get the running game going early on since the
Buckeye secondary, assuming Donald Washington, Jamario O'Neal,
and Eugene Clifford aren’t suspended for whatever caused them to
be on their spring double secret probation, should be OSU’s
biggest advantage. I’ll believe USC receivers Patrick Turner and
Vidal Hazelton are the real deal when they finally do something.
Malcolm Jenkins and Washington form the nation’s best corner
tandem and should control the Trojan passing game.
Obviously we’ll get into this big-time when the time comes, but
keeping in mind that it’s still April and there are a bazillion
things that will happen between now and mid-September, the only
position advantage USC appears to have is at linebacker, and
even that’s almost dead even if OSU can find a steady strongside
defender to replace Larry Grant. USC might end up having a
slight advantage on the defensive line, but I’d give the edge on
quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, secondary, and kicking
game to the Buckeyes. Even so, I’ll have a really, really hard
time picking against USC.
Who do you see being the most productive Illinois RB this year?
– CP
A: Does Juice Williams count? The problem early on is that no
one has stepped up in place of Rashard Mendenhall, and there
isn’t anyone close to Medenhall’s talent. The Illini coaches
have to be hoping for true freshman Jason Ford to provide a
spark later this summer, because Daniel Dufrene, the No. 1
coming out of spring ball, doesn’t appear to be the type who’ll
tear off 1,681 yards and 17 scores.
How much an impact does the all time wins record have on Joe Pa
and Bowden’s decision to hang on? These men have accomplished
more than enough in their lives, professionally and personally,
and could have quit years ago without any regrets. I just
can’t shake the feeling that they keep their positions as
nominal head coach, when most of the actual coaching seems to be
taken over by others, simply for the desire to have the biggest
number next to their name. Can’t blame them but it seems
unbecoming of men of their stature – PA
A: Interesting theory, but as competitive and as nuts as those
two are, I honestly don’t think the win number has anything to
do with them sticking around. If you’re like Bowden and Paterno
and you’re at one place as long as these two have been, and have
become such institutions for their universities, the football
program is your life and what you’re all about. You don’t get to
the point they’re at without wanting to go gently into that good
night. These two legends love what they do. They love teaching,
being the heads of their programs, and they still love the
competition. If one decided to retire, the other wouldn’t retire
the moment he assured himself of the all-time D-I win total.
Should D1A college football introduce some sort of expenditure
cap? Today you have roughly the same number of BCS and non-BCS
schools. However, the non-BCS schools are getting squeezed
between the football arms race on one hand and Title IX
expenditures on the other. Fresno State for example has lost
their offensive coordinator (Cignetti, Hagen, and Mac) 3 years
in a row to schools paying 3-4 times their salary at Fresno. I
think we will quickly see the time where mid majors have to drop
football or fall to D1AA. California has already lost a number
of football teams of the past 20 years. Perhaps some think this
is good for the sport. Others perhaps do not. I would be
curious of your opinion. – DO
A: The world needs ditch-diggers, too. There’s no need to put a
spending cap on the football programs any more than there’s a
need to put a spending cap on the English department. I know
this is a hard concept to swallow, but it’s not like a
university has to have a high-powered D-I college football
program. Yes, college and universities are about more than just
sports, and if you have a goofy-rich booster like a T. Boone
Pickens who wants to put the athletic department ahead of the
rest of the school, then that’s life. Who’s to say there isn’t a
die-hard Fresno State fan out there who’s about to become a
billionaire and will want to make sure his beloved football
program is among the best in the game? If your program can’t
keep up, then welcome to the world of survival of the fittest. I
just wish that logic applied to non-revenue sports.
It seems each year there's always a team that gets a little
extra love from the media You know the "sexy" pick for the
season. Usually it's a team you don't normally see mixing it
up with the big boys on a regular basis like the LSUs, the USCs,
the Oklahomas, & Ohio States of the world. This year that
team appears to be Missouri. Don't misread me I think Mizzou is
a good team, and I'm neither a Mizzou fan, nor a Mizzou hater.
This is just a casual observation, agree? If not, who do you
believe will be the team that gets that little extra umph! from
a media standpoint, as long as they play up to expectations.
- Mike, Dallas, TX.
A: Missouri is certainly going to be on everyone’s watch list,
and rightly so, but to twist your question around a bit,
considering my call is one of the biggest of the big boys, that
team might be Georgia. Don’t get me wrong, this should be one of
the five best teams in the country, but the Dawgs are getting a
wee too much umph! considering the schedule is nasty, the
passing game is still a question mark, and with an offense that
wasn’t exactly consistent. I still want to see Georgia live up
to expectations when the lights are on. This is a program under
Mark Richt that always seems to be at its best when it flies
just slightly under the radar. Texas Tech is also on the verge
of being a media darling, at least it’s the CFN sweetheart going
into this year, and the media always seems ready to put
Wisconsin and Clemson over the hump.
I don't know if this subject has been broached before in your
column, but I've argued with people before that Urban Meyer's
Utah team that blew out the Pittsburgh in the Fiesta was his
best team yet, better than the Florida team he won the national
title with. Okay, that may be going a bit far, but I really
think that team is underrated and gets overlooked when it comes
to the best teams this decade. So, how do you think that team
matches up with the '06-07 Gators? Thanks. - Adam, Waltham,
MA
A: First of all, no, that 2004 Utah team talent-wise couldn’t
touch the 2006 Gators, but they would’ve hung tough in a
head-to-head matchup and I’m with you that I would’ve loved to
have seen Urban Meyer’s Utes play 2004 USC, Auburn or Oklahoma
instead of Pittsburgh. Alex Smith ran that attack to absolute
perfection, and while there weren’t many great wins, the big
name victory was over Texas A&M, the Utes were never threatened
all season long, no one came closer than two touchdowns.
Considering how devastating the spread offense is when it’s
humming on all cylinders and at a high level, I’d have given
those Utes a puncher's chance against anyone that year.