Top prep coach gets major job

Just how big is high school football in the state of Texas?

Big enough, apparently, for Division I-A North Texas to appoint the state’s top school boy coach as its head guy despite very little college coaching experience.

More telling: Nobody seems to think it was a bad idea. In a poll currently being run by the Dallas Morning News, 82 percent of voters think Southlake Carrol High’s Todd Dodge is a good hire. One person even wrote, “Good for UNT, but a step down for Dodge.” Even the writers think it’s a great idea.

Although bringing in a high school coach isn’t an unprecedented move (see Notre Dame’s failure with Gerry Faust) I’m pretty surprised more people aren’t making a big deal out of this. Prep sports have gone mainstream ever since LeBron James started producing better ratings than NBA games on ESPN; you’d think an Outside the Lines would be in the works discussing whether state championships could translate to D-I success.

To me, it’s seems hard to believe Dodge is going to turn UNT into a strong program. Of course that opinion comes from Connecticut, where we couldn’t fill a mini-van with D-I football players. He does have that going for him. He’s the best high school coach in the nation’s premier recruiting hot bed.

Without question, UNT is gambling. Now they’ll have to see if any of the state’s best are willing to follow suit and take the same chance on a rookie head coach.

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Shannon's a great hire; now give him a fair shot

When you consider the numbers – 47 percent of Division IA football players are African-American, but only six head coaches – Miami should be praised for hiring Randy Shannon. But make no mistake about it; this was not a victory in minority hiring.

The majority just didn’t want the job.

So after a nationwide search that turned into a nationwide joke, the school promoted from within, appointing Shannon to help rebuild a tarnished program. Unfortunately, he’s got a lot going against him, namely the character issues and time. I just hope that a few years from now, he doesn’t end up the scapegoat as opposed to the hero.

Had Miami brought in Steve Spurrier or Greg Schiano, the new coach wouldn’t have to deal with being a partial reason for the Hurricanes image problem. Shannon is. As a defensive coordinator, he helped recruit guys like Brandon Meriweather and Willie Cooper.

There’s strike one.

In terms of ability, the Hurricanes always have one of the best defenses in the country. It’s the offense, which averaged less than 20 points and amassed 314 total yards per game, that has struggled of late. Shannon’s ability to bring about changes is going to be scrutinized from day one – and rightfully so.

Strike two.

Time is not on his side and sadly, being African-American will give him even less margin for error. Remember Tyrone Willingham, the last black head coach to get a big time job?

It’s deplorable, but if history tells us anything, Shannon has about three years to win a National Title or strike out trying.

A Brown Boys Struggle – Miami Hurricanes Sun-Sentinel blog. (Omar Kelly is a phenomenal writer.)

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Gators getting raw deal

Update: What a silly post this turned out to be. You gotta love college football.

Florida has a chance to win the Southeastern Conference Championship tonight.

Yeah, but so what?

Been there, done that. Five times. The Gators know the only real championship game in college football will be played Jan. 8, and no matter what happens in the Georgia Dome this evening, their season won’t make it that far into the new year.

Despite having the same amount of losses as Southern Cal and Michigan, it seems like most people are completely content with the idea of the Trojans playing themselves into the BCS Championship game opposite Ohio State or the Wolverines getting their rematch on neutral grounds. No one has love for the Gators.

Sure it’s disenchanting to hear Urban Meyer lobby for his team like he’s still coaching a school no one watches. And no, they probably can’t beat the Buckeyes. But disliking a coach’s actions or just assuming a team is a bad fit for the title game should never play into one’s vote when it comes to the national rankings. That’s what has happened in Florida’s case.

It used to be that losing early hurts a team less than, oh say, losing its final game of the regular season. Not this year. The Gators lost to Auburn two weeks before USC lost to unranked Oregon State and five weeks before Michigan dropped its last game. Somehow, they were still jumped by the Trojans while the Wolverines stayed ahead of them the whole time. All because the voters have inexplicably decided they can’t do as well against the Buckeyes as their counterparts.

A lot of the media points at many of Florida’s games being close as a way of deeming them unworthy. Apparently winning by a few points isn’t as valuable as losing by a few.

It’s hard to understand what exactly they’ve done wrong. It’s certainly not about who they lost to. Auburn is far better than Oregon State. Then again, it’s not about who they beat either. LSU and Tennessee are probably better than Notre Dame and Wisconsin.

Assuming things play out as expected and both Florida and USC win today, people might start calling the Gators’ season a blessing in disguise.

After all, this year more than any other suggests a four team playoff would work better than a “plus one” game or an eight team tournament. They won’t get their crack at Ohio State, but they’ll have their SEC title, win the Sugar Bowl and maybe one day be remembered as the team that helped destroy the evil BCS.

You can bet on what Meyer and his team will be thinking.

“Yeah, but so what?”

Let’s stick it to them all – Saurian Sagacity
Gators had better win big or shut up – SC Football (the go to USC football blog)

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Over the weekend...

• The last five great football games I’ve seen: USC/Texas, Penn State/FSU, USC/ ND, Penn State/Michigan last season and now Ohio State/Michigan. Maybe it’s the rivalries or the way one game can have so much impact, but college football has done such an amazing job living up to the hype that surrounds its biggest games.
  
  Ohio State survived in a game I don’t think will be as close if there’s a rematch. The Buckeyes gave up some big plays but practically scored at will on what most people thought was the best defense in the country. It’s unreal how many outstanding skill players they have. They’re a lot like USC last year with a much better defense, though that didn’t show Saturday.
  
  Should there be a rematch? No. Look, it wasn’t an actual conference championship game, but Michigan lost the game that decided the Big Ten champion. There was uproar when Oklahoma lost to Kansas State and then played for the national title anyway. And that Sooners team was phenomenal. The same debate comes up here. How is right for the winner of the PAC 10 or the SEC champion with the same amount of losses to have to sit back and watch Big Ten A versus Big Ten B for the title? Keep in mind, no BCS national champion has ever finished second in its own conference.
  
  By the way, I think Jim Tressel looks a lot like Slugworth from Willy Wonka. Maybe not.
  
  
• Let me just throw this out there. The NFL to me is like the NBA for most people. I really can’t get excited about it until the playoffs. Honestly, if it wasn’t for fantasy football, I probably wouldn’t even watch television on Sundays. However, I do appreciate greatness and the way LaDainian Tomlinson is dominating his sport is among the most captivating things I’ve ever seen.
  
  Get ready for the cliché that our grandfathers have probably heard at ten different points in their lives: It’s an exciting time to be a sports fan. Like him or not, you’re about to see Barry Bonds break the most sacred record in sports. I’d put LeBron, Kobe, Arenas, Garnett and Duncan against any five players from any other era and I’m not sure it would be close. You have LT and Manning in football. Hockey’s still played on ice. The present most definitely rivals the past at every level.
  
  
• As I watched Tony Romo post near negative fantasy numbers, it hit me. Other than centerpieces like Manning and Brady, most quarterbacks are similar to the seven and eight hitters in a National League lineup. Think about it. The Bears have a dud at quarterback and they’ll probably be in the Super Bowl. Eli Manning leads the NFC in interceptions and the Giants are pretty good. Who else? Phillip Rivers isn’t doing anything Drew Brees couldn’t have done. Take anyone, even the real good ones and you’ll pretty much have the same results no matter where they play. If Carson Palmer and Chad Pennington switched spots, neither team is going to be that much better because of change.

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Big East hurt by Rutgers' success

Successful college football in Jersey was once a farfetched dream. After Thursday night, it’s a dreadful reality for the Big East.

Rutgers’ stunning –and that’s not saying enough– 28-25 win over Louisville all but confirms that the black sheep of BCS conferences will not send a team to the national championship game, even if the Scarlet Knights win out.

This isn’t even about the undeniable need for a playoff in college football. That’s not going to happen. It’s about the Urban Meyer’s of the world that voiced their disgust with Louisville possibly playing in the title game. It’s about all those coaches that didn’t speak out, instead using a top 25 poll to state their opinion. It’s about Jason Whitlock, who still voted the Cardinals tenth on his writer’s poll ballot even after last Thursday’s win over West Virginia.

All of them were right. The Cardinals do not deserve to play for the national championship. But if it wasn’t for last night, they would have been there Jan. 8. No one outside of a few columnists trying to be different actually believes Rutgers is BCS title game worthy. But a team that could have finished second in the country would have been.

Now Florida and Texas and USC and all of the “stronger” one loss teams can breathe easier. One of those schools will back into the title game without having to worry about some unbeaten Big East team, no matter what Rutgers’ record is.

In the long run, a strong team from the biggest media market in the world will be help the Big East thrive. The future of the league is promising.

It’s the present that's looking cloudy.

Here’s the scenario that it would take to get to Rutgers to the BCS title game – Why don’t we get drunk and blog?

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Last time I checked, UConn wasn’t Yale II

And this time it’s actually on the field.

While the big name DI school upstate hovers around mediocrity, Yale football needs one win in its final two games in order to clinch at least a share of the Ivy League crown. It won’t be easy though. The 25th ranked (IAA) Bulldogs (7-1, 6-0) host No. 21 Princeton Saturday and end the season at No. 15 Harvard.

Although history says they shared the league title with Brown in 1999, I cannot remember a time during my life that Yale has been any good. They’ve lost all five times I’ve seen them play.

This season is slightly different though. The New Haven Register is showing them love, they’ve got an outstanding running back and they even have a little street cred. If it wasn’t for some battle between two hick states, ESPN’s Gameday crew was going to attend Saturday’s game, which is pretty impressive.

At this point, you have to be rooting for the Yalies. They could use a feel good story considering they’re partially to blame for Georgey Bush. Both of them.

All kidding aside, I think an instate clash between the Bulldogs and Huskies would actually be very competitive. Of course, it wouldn’t settle the dispute for the best football team in Connecticut.

The winner would have to play Greenwich High.

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A random where are they now?

My original intent for this post was to give credit to the University of Hawaii football team for its amazing ability to run a set offense. Nobody gets more out of a system than the Warriors, who run & shoot their way to over 500 yards of total offense per game. Junior quarterback Colt Brennan, who has both spent time in jail and living in Laguna Beach, might throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns this season.

Instead, I'd like to shift the focus to Timmy Chang. You know him as the former Hawaii quarterback or as the NCAA’s all time leader in passing yards with 17,072. Chang has been cut by the Lions, Cardinals and Eagles and was the backup for Drew Henson in NFL Europe.

Maybe realizing that his dream of becoming the first NFL quarterback of Chinese decent isn’t going to pan out, Chang has taken up acting in order to pay the bills. His Wikipedia reports that the former college star has appeared in such esteemed classics as “Big Balls 5,” “Chinese’ Lovin’ 3” and “Sex with the Chinese.”

I can’t help but find it amusing when the words “Big” and “Chinese” are associated with porn.

It’s strange that Chang would bring himself to appearing in adult videos when he could probably make the same amount of money playing in Canada or in the Arena league. You’ll have to assume teams in the NFL won’t want to bother with the baggage that Chang brings to the table, making it difficult to ever get another shot.

Then again, he could wind up in Minnesota. That would be fun.

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Craig James, shit-listed by many

Yet another announcer is facing heat after going out of his way to be a dickhead.

On a day in which it was easy to make an “it seems like everyone from Penn State has been laid out today, including Joe Paterno” joke, ABC commentator Craig James chose to attack the 183 year old head coach’s timelessness.

At half time, Paterno yelled at a cameraman because he was unhappy that Wisconsin purposely went offside on back to back kickoffs in order to kill the clock. James then deemed it necessary to make fun of the burst of energy from JoePa.

“So JoePa goes in at halftime, and I mean the camera crew is following him, and JoePa's Geritol, the Geritol that he had too much of this morning, kicks in. Must of had, must of had bad beans in his soup last night. Man JoePa is fired up and ready to get after him.”

Now that’s really not that bad, but it set up another gem from James as he applauded Wisconsin’s coach.

“Way to go Coach Bielema. Give it to the old fart.”

As you would probably guess, Nittany Lions fans are calling for James to be fired, tortured and burned at the stake. Me? I’d just settle for the latter two.

Seriously though, James should not lose his job over this. He picked a bad forum to make a tasteless joke. That’s all. He wasn’t challenging JoePa to a fight or making ethnically insensitive comments or calling him gay. He just got carried away hearing his own voice.

(Quick side-question about Paterno getting hit in the third quarter. Where the hell was Alfred E. Neuman Mike McQueary? His job is very clear: Recruit top players and make sure JoePa doesn’t fall over during games. On Saturday, he failed.)

James Adds Gas to Fire – Scout.com
Joe Paterno And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – Silva Sports

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Last time I checked, UConn wasn't Yale

It’s easy to make excuses about why UConn doesn’t succeed at football.

It’s a basketball school, there’s a distinct lack of tradition and autumn in the northeast is spent cheering for and then bitching about the Sox and Yankees – there’s just no time for this college football nonsense. All fair points.

But how about the school’s admissions policy?

Last week, head coach Randy Edsall said that he cannot recruit the same way he did when he first came to Connecticut eight years ago because the classes have become that much more difficult.

"It's much tougher in the classroom than when I first got here. There are more demands. The competition in the classroom is a lot higher. We've had to change our focus because the university has changed."

To be fair, he’s not lying. UConn has gone from a safety school to a dream school for many in the last decade. But we aren’t talking about Duke or Notre Dame here. Or Penn State. Hell, it’s not even Rutgers.

Edsall didn’t come right out and say that any of this effects recruiting -merely that it changes his style- but it seems like that’s what he was getting at.

I just find this all hard to believe. Jim Calhoun can bring in a 7’3 center that may or may not have ever gone to high school but Edsall can’t even land a bottom tier Division I quarterback? The school has put all this money into building one of the top football complexes in the nation, but it won’t admit half the players it’s trying to attract?

There’s no question about it. UConn football is a hard sell.

But it's not because of rising academic standards. Now that’s just hard to buy.

UConn Needs To Help Edsall Help His Football Team (The Day - New London)
UConn coach says academic standards changes how he recruits – (Boston Globe)

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ACC has fallen on tough times

It’s no secret that ACC football has lived off the success of Florida State. From 1991-2000, the Seminoles won two national championships, appeared in three BCS title games and finished in the top five every year. Over that same span, only one other team from the league (UNC in ‘96) finished its season in the top ten.

The epitome of top heavy.

Ironically, the league is now faltering and it has nothing to with FSU being down or a lack of depth. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. The ACC has become too good for its own good.

When Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College left the Big East to join the league in 2004 (BC began play last year), a super-conference was born. With the Hurricanes and Hokies as perennial national title contenders and BC good for a top 25 finish every year, cupcake schedules became nonexistent. Now, with teams like Georgia Tech and Wake Forest stepping up, it’s becoming impossible not to slip up.

Unlike in basketball, where a strong conference prepares a team for March, only dominance prevails in college football.

Only perfection really.

That’s how mini-dynasties are born. Today USC has what Oklahoma had a few years ago, and what Nebraska had before that. Undefeated seasons put you on the map. It’s also no mistake that while these teams flourished, they had no more than one team in their respective league to mount a serious challenge.

How is any team in today’s ACC going undefeated? Mini-dynasty? What school is going to be able to control the league for even one year, let alone two or three? It’s just not going to happen.

It’s going on six seasons since an ACC team has even appeared in the BCS title game. It was FSU and they lost.

From the looks of things, the league might never get another chance.

For more on ACC football, check out:
David Glenn's ACC Journal
ACC Nation

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Big East football roundup: What they’re sayin’

…Other than that it’s still a joke.

Rutgers 20, Pitt 10
Paul Franklin of the Asbury Park Press writes, “Another week has begun, and with that comes another week to prepare. But when you're unbeaten, ranked 16th in the country and locked in on taking care of business, all is well.”

And so Rutgers has a little swag. Weird. If you take a look at the team’s last five seasons, you might have seen this coming. In 2002, they were getting blown out at home by Buffalo and losing heartbreakers to Temple. A year later, they were beating their lowly counterparts. By 2004, they had their first breakthrough victory, a 19-14 stunner over Michigan State. Of course in good ole Rutgers fashion, they managed to lose at home to a I-AA team the following week. Last season they reached a bowl game and now you have people in Jersey finally believing they’re better than Don Bosco Prep.

Even better news the school’s fans: As long as Lamar Thomas is breathing, there’s no way a guy from Rutgers ever gets hired to coach at The U.

West Virginia 37, UConn 11
Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant writes, “You want the one-sentence explanation on this one? West Virginia is better. You want another sentence? West Virginia is way better.”

If this was 2004 and the Huskies still had Dan Orlovsky, this would have been a game. Unfortunately Randy Edsall has done an awful job recruiting skill players and the defense collapsed in the second half. Edsall helped build the Connecticut program from the ground up so he’s got a ton of leeway, but its time he brings in a little more talent on offense.

Louisville 28, Syracuse 13
Brian Bennett of the Courier-Journal writes, “The Cards (7-0, 2-0 Big East Conference) have fallen behind in the first half during four of their past five games. In three of those contests -- against Miami, Cincinnati and Syracuse -- they didn't score in the first quarter and didn't produce their first touchdown until shortly before halftime”

Louisville gave Syracuse every chance they could to stay in the game and prevailed only because they have that much more athletic ability than the Orange. That won’t be the case with West Virginia. The Mountaineers are going to blow them out on Nov. 2.

Cincinnati 23, USF 6
The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bill Koch (not the pitcher) writes, “If the University of Cincinnati football team is ever going to be a force in the Big East Conference, the Bearcats are going to have to develop an offense. But on Sunday night all they needed was their stout defense.”

The Bearcats have one of the best rush defenses in the nation and they nearly shutout a team that has a decent chance to go to a bowl game. They’ll never compete with Ohio State for the stud in state recruits but if they can just land a few second tier players on offense, they’ll become a force in the Big East.

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