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.)
After watching the national title game between Oklahoma and
Florida, I wondered why so much was made of Percy Harvin's
injury versus DeMarco Murray's injury which kept him out of the
game? In the the first half I believe Murray might have
scored on the earlier drives we missed. It was
obvious Percy Harvin looked very healthy and was a difference
maker. I also feel Murray's absence was difference maker
as well.
- Alex B., Oklahoma City
A: The
difference is that Oklahoma could’ve won without Murray and I’m
not sure that Florida could’ve won without Harvin. Chris Brown
is a draftable back who’ll likely go in the top 100 picks in
2010, so it’s not like OU was without a good runner (he ran for
110 yards). Give a little credit to Florida for whipping the
great Sooner line on a few of those key goal line plays, and
blame the play-calling for not using the NFL offensive front
enough. I thought OU abandoned the run for too many key
stretches. Meanwhile, Harvin was terrific. He was the
game-breaker that the offense desperately needed to pull out the
win.
I noticed
your top four teams from the Big XII recruiting this year are
all from the South. In fact no team from the North has won the
Conference since 2003. If you had to reverse this trend as a
coach from the North how would you do it? Also, if you were a
betting man, (wink, wink) when would the North actually be able
to overtake OU and Texas and win the Conference? – JW,
Dallas
A: More to your point, it isn’t even that the
North hasn’t been able to win the title, it’s that the division
needed an upset when it has won in recent years. Whether it was
Colorado over Texas in 2001, or Kansas State over Oklahoma in
2003, the shockers showed it’s clear that the South has been the
better division mainly because it has the two mega-powers.
However, when the Big 12 first started in 1996, it was
Nebraska’s world and everyone else was just taking up space.
After Nebraska, it was Kansas State who turned into a power, and
Colorado wasn’t all that far removed from being in the national
title picture. And then everything switched. It seems crazy to
think now, but back when the Big 12 was formed Oklahoma was
down, way down, and Texas was mediocre. It wasn’t until Bob
Stoops and Mack Brown entered the picture that the two legendary
programs got back to national superpower status.
To
answer your question, it depends on what team I’m coaching.
Nebraska has the history and the potential to turn the cycle
back its way. I think Bo Pelini has the potential to be a
special head coach who’ll make the defense a killer as long as
he’s there. Kansas and Missouri will need to show some staying
power, and Colorado will eventually be more prominent again.
Kansas State and Iowa State have work to do, but they’ll be more
competitive. The one blueprint to success might be at Oklahoma
State where Mike Gundy has put together a killer offense and a
slew of great athletes on defense. However, the North simply
needs one team, probably Nebraska, to become a national power
again to be a challenger for OU and Texas. That comes with
recruiting and a few big home wins. The Huskers will get their
chance when the Sooners come to town.
How do you see Terelle
Pryor doing this year? He had a good year but really
struggled throwing the ball at times. Do you think this
year it all comes together and he leads the buckeyes to a
national championship and a heisman or does it look like hes
going to keep relying on his feet to make plays? –ZZ
A: Did Pryor struggle or did he have the wraps put on him by the
coaching staff? The Buckeyes had a good receiving corps and they
didn’t use it once Pryor took over, preferring to revolve the
offense around Beanie and the running of Pryor. There’s no
denying that he’s an elite talent, and it’ll be interesting to
see how he’s used this year. Remember, he was a true freshman
being thrown out there to try to lead one of the nation’s most
talented teams. This year, with so much personnel turnover,
he’ll have to do even more, and while he’ll have his rocky
moments, he needs fight through them to use this season to build
towards 2010. Ohio State’s recruiting classes have been
phenomenal, and there seems to be little question that this will
be the class of the Big Ten by far for the next few years. Even
though this year’s team won’t be anywhere near as good as the
last few Buckeye teams, if it can somehow pull off the upset
against a rebuilding USC at home, there’s a chance to be in the
thick of the national title chase considering how bad the Big
Ten is.
Colorado’s
Dan Hawkins said 2009 will be a 10 win season, no excuses.
Do you think the Buffs can accomplish this with a lot of talent
coming off IR and a comparatively easier schedule on tap?
If not, does CU go back to the Boise State well and go after
Peterson? – CL
A: It’s not as insane a goal as it
might appear. You’re right; the team was really,
really banged up last
year meaning that there will be a major infusion of talent to
boost the depth as well as the first team. Just getting to a
bowl would be a good step, but to get to ten wins it would
likely take a nine-win regular season and a bowl victory. Forget
about winning at Texas or Oklahoma State, and winning at West
Virginia will be tough, but there isn’t another game on the
schedule that’s a sure-thing loss. Kansas, Missouri, and
Nebraska all have to come to Boulder, and the other two Big 12
road games (besides the dates in Austin and Stillwater) are at
Kansas State and Iowa State. I don’t think the Buffs win all
their home games, and I think seven wins is a more likely
finish, if everything breaks the right way in a mediocre North,
it’s not impossible for CU to be the league’s breakthrough team.
And no, if the Hawkins experience doesn’t work, Colorado isn’t
going to go back to Boise State to get Chris Petersen.
I am 100% in agreement
with you that the NCAA's silly little rules are outdated, out of
touch, and flat-out unjust. Heck, the NCAA doesn't even
officially recognize the BCS National Champion in its records.
So why in the world do the FBS universities even cater to the
NCAA? If the NCAA doesn't officially recognize their
champion, then what gives them the right to determine things
like player eligibility and improper benefits (i.e. Reggie Bush,
Rhett Bomar, Ray Ray McElrath, etc.)? Why don't the FBS
universities just break away, form their own coalition, create
their own governing body to dole out rules and rulings, and keep
all their money to themselves? Who needs the NCAA? -
Ross in Nashville, TN
A: It’s not as far-fetched an idea
as you might think for the top college football programs to
break away from the NCAA, but that would all but end any help
for the non-revenue sports, there would be a whole slew of
administrative issues from insurance to academic oversight to
maintaining even the slightest pretense of it being
college football.
However, it wouldn’t be as hard as you might think for 50
schools to break off and decide to form a league on their own.
They’d just have to combine forces, get the TV contract in
place, and suffer the consequences when it came to the other
sports. Of course, this will never happen because the college
presidents wouldn’t have anything to do with it, but if the BCS
schools formed a football-only league on its own, the money
would be NFL-like.
Was wondering. If you
could rank the best teams that never had the opportunity to play
for the NC? Like Auburn in 04, Tulane in 98 and so on. –
Mike
A: A great idea … we’ll be coming up with a piece
like that this summer. Doing a quick look at the data at our
All-Time Season Ranking formula, based on how good a season the
team’s had, 1983 and 2004 Auburn teams are somewhere in the top
five of the teams that didn’t play for or win the title, if not
the top three. 1995 Florida, 1983 Nebraska, and 2003 USC are
also in the discussion. Again, we’ll do this more in-depth this
summer.
What do
you/voters/computers determining strength of schedule prefer in
non-conference scheduling? I am an Ohio State fan and
prefer one HUGE game at USC and three cupcakes, but it seems the
voters/computers would prefer four teams that "look" good (say,
Maryland, Ole Miss, Colorado, and Arizona) but are actually
second (or third)-tiered teams in their conferences. - Josh
A: When it comes to the Strength of Schedule that the
NCAA puts together and turns out to be the one that everyone can
point to for various arguments, all that matters is playing a
slew of teams that finish with good records. For the voters in
the polls, beating the one monster team tends to work wonders,
and it’s even better if you can do it on national TV with
everyone paying attention. For me, when it comes to a team like
Ohio State, to get in the national title discussion it’s a must
to beat USC at home. For USC, I wouldn’t have a huge problem
with a loss at Ohio State as long as it’s close. In other words,
in the monster superpower games, the home team has to win, and
if the road team wins, then it’s really time to start giving up
the love. As far as the overall non-conference schedule, I don’t
dog a team too much for being Florida and scheduling one game
against Citadel because there were also games against Miami and
Florida State. Yeah, scheduling Citadel sucks, but no one
would’ve said anything if, say, Memphis went to Gainesville, and
that would’ve been a Florida blowout, too. In the end, it all
comes down to actually watching the teams and the games, and
it’s easier to slot the teams and evaluate accordingly when
there are stronger non-conference matchups.
Every year the fans of the top college teams talk about how their team
could beat the worst team in the NFL (ex. Florida Gators or USC Trojans
could beat the Detroit Lions). Now we all know that this probably
wouldn't happen considering that the Detroit Lions team is full of,
well, NFL players and the Gators and Trojans are all college players who
aren't as experienced and physically developed at this stage.
However, if you were able to put together a complete team from this
year’s draft class, give them, say, two-to-three months to practice, and
give them a college all-star coaching staff (Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll,
Jim Tressell, Nick Saban, etc.), do you think they could beat the 2008
Detroit Lions? For that matter, how many of the 2008 NFL teams do
you think they could beat? If they played a full season in the
NFL, what do you think their record would be? – EH
A: My
knee-jerk reaction to this question I get at least five times a year is
the same as always: the college team would get destroyed. But I like
your twist. I’d still take the NFL team only because of the physical
differences, 26-year-old men who’ve spent years in an NFL weight room
with NFL (cough) supplements are far different athletes then even the
best of the 21-to-23-year-olds. However, talent-wise, would the Detroit
Lions dump their entire team for an all-star team of this year’s draft
class? In a freakin’ heartbeat. However, in a one-game shot, here’d be
the college team I’d put together …
QB – Matthew Stafford
RB –
Beanie Wells (This is for a one game shot. For the long haul, the choice
would be Knowshon Moreno.)
WR – Michael Crabtree
WR – Percy Harvin
WR – Jeremy Maclin
TE – Brandon Pettigrew
OT – Andre Smith
OG –
Eugene Monroe (I’ll move him inside for this)
C – Alex Mack
OG –
Duke Robinson
OT – Jason Smith
DE – Brian Orakpo
DT – Peria Jerry
DT – B.J. Raji
DE – Aaron
Maybin
LB – Aaron Curry
LB – Rey Maualuga
LB – Jasper Brinkley
CB – Malcolm Flowers
S – Vonte Davis (I’m moving him to safety for
this to get his speed on the field)
S – Patrick Chung
CB –
Alphonso Smith
I still think Detroit would win. Out of all the
players I just listed, at least half will under-perform, at least five
will be busts, and a few will need a few years, but it would be a fun
battle to watch.
I
understand your point that Florida didn't win the National Championship
just because it was in Miami, but that certainly played a part.
Look at USC's record in the Rose Bowl (24-9? off the top of my head) and
yes they've won those games because they've had good teams, but the is
clearly an advantage when they can prepare like it is a home game when
they only have to travel 19 miles, and any Big 10 team must play 2500
miles away with LA press. And I know it isn't a 'home game' for
USC because there is an equal amount of tickets given to each school,
but that isn't the end all be all of home field advantage. I was
at the 2008 BCS Championship game, Ohio State - LSU, and LSU fans in the
stadium outnumbered OSU fans 3 to 1, and the ratio was even more in
LSU's favor in the rest of New Orleans. Obviously I'm a little
biased (notice the Ohio State email address) but it definitely is an
advantage when one team can have 75% fans at a "neutral" site. –
Phil
A: Ohio State didn’t lose to LSU because it was played in
New Orleans. Ohio State lost to LSU because Glenn Dorsey, Ali Highsmith,
and the Tiger defense spent the game sitting on Todd Boeckman’s head.
That game could’ve been played in Columbus and LSU would’ve won. Every
player I’ve ever talked to says that in the really big games, the crowd
noise only matters when you can’t hear and that affects both teams. Some
teams actually prefer the road trip for a big bowl game because it keeps
them focused on the business at hand as opposed to being at home and
dealing with friends, family, regular life, etc. The point about USC
might be valid if the Trojans didn’t also blast away on everyone on the
road, too. It’s not like USC had any issues in the Orange Bowl games
against Iowa and Oklahoma. In the national championship games, and in
the top bowl games, the best teams win because they’re the best teams.
I'm a long time reader of
your column and a very long time SC fan (went there in the early '70s).
Not all SC fans think you're biased. I think you're dead on with most of
your evaluations. Coach Carroll is an awesome recruiter, and a great
defensive coach. He's one of the most charismatic individuals I've ever
met. His Achilles heel is that he thinks he's a better offensive coach
than he is. I don't know what personal or professional issues drove Norm
Chow away, but I can only wistfully dream of what might have been if
coach Chow had stayed on the last few years. – TF
Will you PLEASE put up something
nice about USC fans, too? I don’t always agree with you, but I get your
points about why we didn’t play in the national title over the last few
years, and so do other fans I talk to, but you only seem to print the
questions and e-mails from the fringe element just to come up with good
copy. – HK
Die-hard
USC fan here and I’m having a riot reading all the back-and-forth
between you and our passionate fan base. Curious, do you ever hate teams
because of their fans and do you ever get sick of getting so much hate
mail from some fans? - TP
A: Absolutely right. The angry
e-mailers always create a livelier and more spirited debate, but I want
to always make it clear that even when I’m getting blasted by some
segment of a fan base, there’s always another segment that either agrees
with me or doesn’t agree yet is able to do it in a non-combative, bar
room debate sort of way.
I’ve learned over the last decade of
doing this column that there will always be a part of every fan base
that will assume I’m biased against their team if I don’t write XYZ
STATE RULES WOO-HOO!!! in every sentence. Actually, I’ve sort of said
that about USC in everything I’ve written since Pete Carroll took over,
but it’s always the case that you can say 99 nice things but it’s the
one thing that’s not so glowing that gets remembered.
I like all
the e-mails. If you want to write in and yell at me for being an idiot,
cool. Just tell me why and what your beef is.
I never have any problem with
anyone who disagrees with me. I think Florida would’ve beaten USC last
year, but it’s great to hear from anyone who wants to debate that.
However, if you want to blast away on me and call me biased, just back
it up with facts and don’t gutlessly write in to insult me without
stating your beef. But no, I don’t hate any fan base and I actually get
a kick out of a lot of the angry e-mails.