I know SECSPN would rip me for this but it's the truth. There is immense talent in that league without a doubt and I would never say something bad about Saban (for fear of my life--note: he's the exception), but this weekend was an embarassment of coaching in that league. It's gotten to the point where the coaches (and interested media partners--looking at you worldwide leader---and CBS) spend more time talking up the conference to create a false excuse for the horrible blunders from the sideline. Les Miles finishes a game for which he should be fired and his comment is "Just another day in the SEC." I guess one interpretation would be a slam on the mediocrity of the conference and horrid coaching (sans Bama).
Let's start with the minor infraction by a coach considered 'one of the best', Mr. Urban Meyer. The Gator's have been the poster child of the SEC for the last 5 years or so (Praise Tebow), but their time has come and there's a new leader in town. The torch was passed last year in the SEC championship to the Tide. The beatdown in Tuscaloosa was more evidence of this phenomenon. Regardless of this transition, Meyer doesn't want to let go of Tebow. You know the play to which I'm referring. 4th and goal, 1st quarter, down 7-0 and Meyer calls the Tebow special: the jump pass. Look, I think the right call was to take the points, but if you want to go for it, fine. Worst case scenario is Bama gets the ball on the 1...or not. Jump pass is read by the Bama coaches before the play and Trey Burton (termed Tebow-Lite...tipping your hand maybe?) throws the pick in the endzone to not only give up the points, but also gives Bama favorable field position. Urban needs to realize that they need to play with an underdog mentality again even though it's been 40 games since they've been the underdog.
Now, to the abomination of the weekend. Baton Rouge featured the showdown for dumbest coach in America (won by the well-known Derek Dooley--who?). I was so excited when I saw Les Miles ineptitude bite him by substituting his whole offense with 10 seconds to go, snapping before the team was set, recovering the fumble, and the clock expiring. Hooray! He got his comeuppance....but wait. Dooley and his assistants sent 13 Vols on the field for the final play of ineptitude. Note: these extra defenders didn't influence the play at all. Dooley hands Miles another untimed down on which they score to end the game. In the words of Jerry Palm, CBS writer, "It's hard to out-dumb Les Miles, but if you don't put your mind to it, it can be done. Without referring to the myraid official failures on this play (1. not staying over the ball until UT had a chance to substitute which is allowed by rule, 2. not calling the personal foul for the LSU player spiking his helmet after his coach screwed them, perhaps I should stop there), both of these coaches better get either fired or severely questioned by their alumni/athletic director. Dooley is almost certainly an interim coach after the Lane Kiffin debaucle, but Miles better watch it.
2) The Heisman race is not over regardless of the media's perception
Watching ESPN and reading all kinds of coverage of college football, the 2010 Heisman Trophy has already been engraved with Denard Robinson. While he is absolutely the frontrunner (undefeated team, stunning video game numbers, dual threat QB, leadership, etc.), it is the first week of October.
What if Robinson trips over a curb tomorrow and breaks a leg? He's out.
He is the UM offense so he takes a ton of hits. What if he breaks when someone catches him (which most likely will happen)? He's out.
What if they play a real defense that knows how to tackle (see the next...oh 7 weeks)? He's out.
What if his team hits a losing skid and ends the season 6-6 or 7-5 (very possible)? He's out.
What if another candidate has a great stretch that sends his team into the title talk? He's out.
There is way too much time to call this a done deal when there are so many different scenarios still to come.
3) Everyone blaming the BCS for Boise's falling need to critically examine the situation instead of the knee jerk reaction.
So many people in the media have ambushed the AP poll and the coaches poll for jumping Oregon over Boise in the latest poll. Oregon has the best win outside of Bama of those high ranked teams and are deserving of jumping as high as 2 in the latest poll (this coming from a Buckeye fan). By saying this, I want to temper the statement by saying if OSU goes to Wisconsin and Iowa and wins both of those (impressively or not), they will deserve to jump back to number 2--Bama is still 1 until they lose, they've earned it.
Most of the talk I hear is centered on the 'outrage' that Boise can get jumped while thumping the horrid teams in their conference. Many blame the BCS to find an outlet that is in no way related to the argument. With or without the BCS, ordering happens based on who you beat and how you beat them. That's the nature of ordering. A playoff is supposed to heal all wounds in this scenario, but what happens if 2 non-conference champions round out the top 8? Right now it's Boise and TCU in the playoff. Are you suggesting that an uproar wouldn't come from Arizona, Michigan (State and Wolverines), Oklahoma, and the multitude of undefeated teams...not to mention the one loss teams vs. the top opponents? The sad truth is that every system misses something. A playoff makes us feel good about Boise and gives them 'their shot' but do they deserve a shot? Of course! Do they deserve it over many other teams? Not as clear.
My major point of contention is that the same people 'up in arms' about this are those who rail against preseason rankings for their 'bias' and affect on the championship picture. Let's look at it critically. Boise was number 3 in the preseason and everyone complained that they have no chance to jump into the top 2 without a top 2 team losing because of the horrible, evil, very-bad, no-good, rotten pollsters who vote with the sole intention of screwing Idaho. Yet, these same people say how wrong it is for an accomplished Oregon team who beat a good Stanford team to jump a Boise St. that has no wins of that caliber. It's a ludicrous double standard. If you want Boise to have the opportunity for moving up based on their body of work, they must also have the ability to move down based upon their body of work. The sad truth is this: Boise's does not have a win as good as any team above them (yes, OSU's win over Miami is better than Boise's over VT by a hair). The sadder truth is that they will not have a better win by season's end as their next best game is against the powerhouse Wolfpack of Nevada (I'm aware they played Oregon State and I stand by my statement).
Here's my solution. Keep the preseason rankings. They're fun and always a point of contention. But from week to week, the voters (coaches, media, and Harris) must be willing to allow the poll to fluctuate based on the entire body of work. The idea of you own the position until you lose is outdated and must go...unfortunately, there's about zero chance of that happening so we'll have to keep arguing here.
I'm so sick of everyone's absolutely defiant opinions about which conference is the best. Here it is, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: NO CONFERENCE IS CLEARLY BETTER THAN ANOTHER IN THE BIG 4 (SEC, Pac 10, Big 12, Big Ten)--sorry Big East, you're terrible and sorry ACC but you just don't have the juggernaut this year--very competitive, but no standout. The Big 12 is hanging on by a thread with OU and Nebraska but Texas is really hurting.
The SEC is the de facto because they've been top heavy these last few years with Alabama and Florida (and LSU a few years back). Now, it's Bama at the top, UF, Ark, LSU, SC, and Aub in the ok but still haven't proved anything yet, and the rest is trash. The Big Ten has OSU at the top, Iowa, Wisc, MSU, UM, PSU, and NW in the ok but nothing proven and trash. The Big 12 is pretty much OU and Neb with some stragglers (what happened to Texas). And finally, the Pac 10 is getting way too much love...more to come (see point 5). Stop trying to order them because each conference has it's goods, oks, and citgos (bad). Just enjoy the game and see which team plays harder and comes out on top.
5) West Coast bias is starting to cloud judgement...yeah...you heard me.
I'm sure some people will come down on me here but I'm gonna say it. Slow down on the Pac10 talk. They've joined the party, but nothing special. Top to bottom, the Pac 10 has a very good Oregon team with a dynamic offense (and no defense); a good Stanford team that will only go as far as Luck takes them; a stout Arizona team that is the only team out there that plays defense (and will still play a major factor in the conference); and....well not much else. USC was gutted by sanctions and have already shown vulnerabilities; UCLA went on the road and exposed Texas (good win) but lost to Kansas St.; Washington beat USC in their house but got destroyed out of conference; Oregon St is the most overrated of them all getting beat by TCU and Boise (good teams) but catching them on bad nights--not to mention squeaking by Louisville at home; Cal got smoked by Nevada; Arizona St. had a stellar special teams unit they gave them a chance to pull off the upset in Madison but fell short with no offense; and Washington St is a train wreck.
All the 'east coast' reporters are quick to laud the Pac 10's 'reemergence' as the 'second best conference'. They're just pandering to the crowd to show how they've always been a supporter (false) so more people will read their column. This refers to point 4: this brought them back into the top tier, but can you really say they're better? The answer is no.
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