View From Bennett Avenue

When the NCAA allowed Cam Newton to continue to play this season despite the fact that they found evidence that his father attempted to sell him to Mississippi State (and may have to Auburn too), there was a fear that this situation would happen more often as no one was properly punished for the crime committed. But programs that find it necessary to cheat will do so whether they are punished or not. And they are especially likely to cheat when they feel they are up against the wall.

Take Alabama as an example. Now normal people would not consider the successful Tide's football program up against anything, but the pressure is on Nick Saban and his staff to win the national title every year. Add into the mix that Auburn, of all schools, won both the SEC and the national title (or are those the same thing?) this year and the pressure has been amped up. In their eyes Auburn should never win at anything. And so Alabama, despite being on probation for most of the past decade for, among other violations, buying their own player (just one not as good as Cam Newton), bent two significant rules (at least two that I know of as there may have been more) since the close of the regular season. After accepting a bid to the Capital One Bowl, played in Orlando, the Tide made a deal with Dr. Phillips High School of Orlando to use their facilities for practice. That is not so bizarre. Dr. Phillips, alma mater of Johnny Damon among other pro athletes, has been rented before by college teams preparing for bowl games. Built in the late 1980s the high school has plenty of amenities. The problem is that Alabama recruits Dr. Phillips, which sits right in the middle of Florida, hard and has the two best players from a 14-1 team, signed to play for them. In fact, S Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix of Dr. Phillips is rated as the no. 1 recruit for the Tide by ESPN, while teammate RB Dee Hart, who decommitted from Michigan late in 2010, is tied for 5th in the Tide's stellar class and is the top back. Making matters worse, Alabama coach Nick Saban left a nice Christmas present for the school in addition to the justifiable fee for playing there. Alabama overhauled the field and the locker rooms at Dr. Phillips. The Tide justified their actions by declaring that they did not want any of their players injured, which of course begs two questions. Then why did you book a high school field when their are numerous colleges in the area? Who exactly would have been injured by the paint job in the locker room, which was one of the changes made?

This really is minor stuff compared to some of the allegations thrown at SEC teams each year. But being that Alabama has been put on probation multiple times in the 2000s and was on probation when they won the 2009 national title, you think they would not do things that are so blatant. And, of course, Hart officially signed on for 2011 after Alabama left. Meanwhile his high school coaches and teammates had to be impressed with the upgrade to facilities that were deemed some of the best in central Florida before Alabama showed up.

But Saban had more tricks up his sleeve regarding future recruiting classes. Soon after his team handily dispatched Michigan State in the bowl game, Saban was invited to talk to some high school coaches in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. At first glance that seems fine as one could certainly see why some high school coaches would want one of the more successful college coaches around dropping by to pay a visit. Except of course that we were still in the quiet zone of no visits to seniors (as Auburn and Oregon were still to play and they were too busy to recruit). But that was fine as Alabama was not recruiting any seniors from OKC Heritage Hall. But there is a highly sought after junior attending that school who happens to have a famous father--Barry Sanders, Jr, one of the studs of next year's recruiting class. The official rule concerning high school juniors is that a college coach or representative cannot have an extended conversation with any of them before July 1 of their senior year unless they, the player, comes to your camp or school. So Saban could go to Heritage Hall but he could not speak to Sanders, Jr and the mission of his trip had to be something other than talking to the kid. But as anyone paying attention to recruiting knows, Saban is a master at "accidentally" bumping into recruits on the road. The NCAA has even made rules about bumping into recruits more stringent because of him and the "Saban Rule" took coaches off the recruiting trail for long stretches of the spring as the kids do have to go to school some time. But here was Saban bumping into a superstar back with impeccable bloodlines days after his own superstar back with impeccable bloodlines, Mark Ingram, opted for a pro career (or an officially professional career). Saban was allowed to say hello but was supposed to move on quickly. But Sanders admitted that Saban's conversation with him was long enough to include the coach telling him that Ingram was going pro before Ingram's official announcement, that Alabama needed him with Richardson possibly having only one more season (what no mention of Dee Hart?) and that they discussed his, Sanders's, recent foot surgery. All of that is not only a violation--although admittedly a minor one--but is driving Oklahoma State, who feels that Sanders belongs to them, crazy. Oh and the high school coaches admitted that Saban never watched film of their team with them to give them advice but just toured the school and left.

Now neither of these events are major violations. But they do lay bare the arrogance big programs like Alabama have when breaking rules in front of everyone and the lack of a firestorm to stop this crap from happening. Was a big deal made about either event? No--at least outside of Oklahoma and perhaps Gainesville and Auburn--and that is because like steroids in baseball, fans assume that everyone cheats in recruiting so why shouldn't Alabama, and because the big media outlets do not want to piss off Saban for fear of lack of access. And so it all continues despite an occasional fine or time on probation. And Saban knows that, like Pete Carroll, if the NCAA does investigate his program he can hightail it to another job (there are already rumors about him talking to the Tennessee Titan floating around) for a ton of money. He has absolutely no motivation--beyond a personal code of ethics--to play by the rules. And it is hard to see evidence of his own desire to be honest and forthright about anything.

View From Bennett Avenue

Another week, another bout of horrible news from Iowa City. Most of the problems of the recent years--apart from losses to weaker opponents--stemmed from arrests of players and failed drug tests. Now we have 13 players hospitalized as a result of rhabdomyolysis, which is basically working out too much especially when not warmed up to heavy workout loads. The players, who were just back to the school program after three weeks away, definitely did a heavy load (one player said he had to do 100 squats of 240 pounds in a timed fashion followed by 100 bench presses). They then complained of fatigue and "tea-colored" urine and were hospitalized to prevent kidney damage. This same situation happened to high school kids in Washington State last summer.

Now Iowa's program has been able to compete with schools sitting on better recruiting territories because of excellent coaching and a famous strength and conditioning program. Many the little-known, slight high school player has been transformed into a first round draft pick by that staff. Now that does bring its own set of red flags, but a proper plan for adding strength is of course possible if done the right way especially in terms of keeping a guy for a red shirt year and working around the clock combined with a proper plan for nutrition. Iowa claims that this is the same first-day-back set of drills as previous years, but now we have 13 sick kids. Something is wrong. Meanwhile head coach Kirk Ferentz was out recruiting and not only missed seeing the kids hospitalized but the ensuing press conference. That is a mistake he may live to regret, especially for a program that went 3-4 in the second half of the 2010 season.

Mountain West Spite

The decision by the Mountain West to switch the Boise State-TCU battle scheduled for next fall from TCU to Boise to both punish the Horned Frogs for leaving the conference and reward Boise for joining is just the latest example of small mindedness on part of conference officials. Sure you are mad at TCU, despite the money and prestige the Horned Frogs gave the conference these past few years. But if the goal is to give what will be a loaded Boise team a shot at the national title game, decreasing the strength of schedule for Boise is not the way to do it. The team's marquee non-conference game is Mississippi in Oxford on September 3rd. If the Rebels--who need to find a QB--do not surprise everyone and contend in a loaded SEC West, then winning at TCU would have possibly been the best way for the Broncos to impress the voters. But perhaps that is not as important as the Boise faithful have led us to believe.

View From Bennett Avenue

As a fan of the New York Yankees I find it funny that any move the team makes is qualified by the amount of money they have to spend. Virtually every baseball expert treats the Yankees as a team winning an unfair game. They win more because they spend more.
But that rule is never applied to another realm of the sports world that is unburdened by a salary cap: college athletics. Major powers dominate the roll call of national champions but no writer or broadcaster ever mentions the disparity in budgets among BCS teams. Of course Alabama spends more money than UAB, but they also outspend virtually every team from a BCS conference. Take the recent Fiesta Bowl where everyone bemoaned the match-up of Oklahoma and Connecticut, which is really like the Yankees squaring off with the Royals. But if that was a first round baseball match-up, all of the attention before the first pitch of the first game would center on a "have not' challenging a "have". But in college football the attention was based on a challenge of UConn's conference's right to have a BCS berth despite the fact that said conference, the Big East, had a top five ranked team entering the bowls last year and had a conference champion beat Oklahoma in a BCS bowl game four year ago.
Money fuels the sport.

Biggest Football Games Belong on Network TV

ESPN has never been shy about beating its own drum, and on Tuesday the tub-thumpers at "the worldwide leader in sports" issued the news that Monday night's BCS Championship Game in which Auburn edged Oregon 22-19 on the last play of the game drew the largest audience in cable television history.

Bully for ESPN. But, that news bit turns out to be classic half-truth.

ESPN earning 16.1% of all the televisions in the nation's biggest markets—that would be the "overnight ratings" to us dunderheads who didn't major in broadcast journalism at Syracuse University—is the lowest BCS title game rating in six years. It is off 11% from the previous year's showdown between Alabama and Texas that appeared on Fox Sports.

Even given the understanding that Auburn and Oregon don't claim the national identity of the more consistently-successful Alabama and Texas, a recession of 11% is rather huge. All of ESPN's BCS games dropped considerably except the Sugar Bowl that enjoyed having a big national brand in Ohio State playing against Arkansas. Its viewership went up 25%.

Worse than ESPN's effect on the title game was the 14% drop in viewership of the anchor of New Year's Day, the revered "Granddaddy of them All," the Rose Bowl. TCU, a BCS bowl interloper for the first time, nipped Wisconsin by two points in a thriller that was in doubt to the last minute. Yet, the cold-bound natives of Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin, failed to tune by 20% less than the number who watched the Rose Bowl on ABC in 2000, the last time the Badgers visited Pasadena.

So, what's the problem? The problem is that ESPN is a cable network, not a universally-available, over-the-air network like ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC. Not everyone subscribes to cable TV service, and in a rotten economy like America finds itself, those figures are dropping daily.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed out a week ago that Milwaukee-area TV households without cable service is at 22.6%, while the national percentage of broadcast-only homes in 9.6%.

We all know this first year of cable exclusivity is here to stay for the short-term because ESPN's contract is in its first year. Frankly, advertisers, while depending on their product, are going to be split on this. Executives at Ford, vigorously selling its "new" Ford F-150 pickup truck, realize those who can't afford cable TV aren't in the market for a new truck. Beer brands like Budweiser, Coors, and Miller, on the other hand, probably sell better in a lousy economy. Let's ask them in Milwaukee.

The fathers of the BCS owe it to the nation to make sure the games, especially the annual Rose Bowl treat and the championship game, are available on network and cable TV. The biggest football games belong on the networks.

Bob Boyles

The 2010 Party is Finally Over

Although I have problems with Auburn winning the national title, based on my belief that Cam Newton should have been ineligible and that I am getting tired of the SEC, the better team did win. And while Dyer's not-totally-down run was huge, they were driving and would have positioned themselves for a longer FG that Bynum would have nailed. Oregon's defense did yeoman's effort to keep Ducks in the game but they easily could have lost by two TDs. Then again, if they call Cliff Harris's near INT in 2nd Q an INT (Auburn scored TD after retaining ball)and Lavasier Tuinei does not get tripped up heading toward end zone in 4th Q (Ducks ended up with 0 points on that drive), Oregon wins. It was that close.

What's next for these programs? Auburn takes a step back in terms of star power as both Newton and Nick Fairly depart, but they are recruiting well and will be strong for years to come barring any possible sanctions (nothing brewing but NCAA did say investigation was not over). As much as I want to say that they will take a step back, Alabama lost a lot of studs early to the pros, Arkansas is losing Mallett, LSU may have to deal with a coaching change, etc. Oregon needs to figure out a way to play their BCS game in mid December. The Ducks have lost four games total in the past two years but three have come when their opponents--all powerhouses--have had multiple weeks to prepare for their offense. All three of those schools, Boise State, Ohio State and Auburn, get good play from their D-lines and have athletic linebackers. But Chip Kelly will tinker and his QB will gain more experience. They are what they are and played hard. They will be the Pac 10 favorite next season.

4th Quarter

Musberger is having an awful game, even by his standards.

3rd Quarter

While I did bet the under, I cannot take credit for predicting that these two teams would combine for three 2rd Q points. Incredible.

Half

There are so many more points to come that while it will be interesting to see the adjustments made, it is hard to get a feel for what will happen. Both teams should be more settled so the play should be at a higher level. Let's have some fun.

Oregon Goal-Line Stand

While Matthews did make a great tackle on 3rd down--and that was a few plays after Newton had run him over for 1st down--Auburn then got cute with playcalling. Run Newton on 2nd, 3rd and 4th downs. If Oregon can stop him three straight times then hats off to them. He only ran one time and they did not score.

Still 2nd Q

The play action pass to Maehl was a product of excellent blocking by Oregon line. The Auburn line can get on a QB so fast that the play has to be done correctly by all 11 players. And the 2-pt conv run was fun. The title game may as well be entertaining.

Early 2nd Q

I thought that was a pick. And since that....I was going to say momentum swung but then Maehl beat Thorpe for long gain.

First Quarter

Slow start was expected as both of these teams during the season felt out their opponents before scoring in bunches. Plus neither is experienced at this national championship game scenario. Oregon is driving now and looks to take a lead, but you need a large cushion to feel good against Auburn. Brilliant play by Goggins. And then nice pass play to end quarter.

View From Bennett Avenue

With the amount of space given to debates over the legitimacy of the BCS--and at Sports Illustrated and The New York Times that discussion trumps all--college football journalism has failed to present accurate coverage of the sport. And if there is a modicum of space left for game previews and write-ups, the subject matter always centers on the stars of the game. That is true in all sports of course, after all how many articles or televised pieces centered on Matt Ryan of the Falcons compared to those focused on Brett Favre?

And so we are left with a BCS Title Game featuring Cam Newton and Nick Fairly of Auburn squaring off against Oregon's LaMichael James and, well, I guess Jeff Maehl. Maybe Casey Matthews. To be honest Oregon does not get much attention behind a "boy do they play fast" critique. But TE David Paulson and C Jordan Holmes joined Maehl and James on the all Pac 10 first team offense while CB Talmadge Jackson joined Matthews on the first team defense. CB Cliff Harris also made the first team for his punt returning and second team for his defensive play, while QB Darron Thomas, OT Bo Thran, DT Brandon Bair, DE Kenny Rowe and special teamer Bryson Littlejohn all made second team. Does anyone east of the Rockies say boo about these players? But before we blame East Coast media bias, the great majority of Auburn starters are unknown to the general football fan despite playing in the big, bad SEC. OT Lee Ziemba (pictured) and C Ryan Pugh joined Newton on the first team All SEC, while G Byron Isom, DE Antoine Carter and LB Josh Byrnes all made second team. And this is not to slight the other starters and contributors who all helped make these two teams undefeated.

The problem is that the media and the fans grew fat on some combination of USC, Texas, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida making the BCS game every year. There are too many FBS teams, so the coverage went to the presumed best every year, which of course helped them stay on top. With a number of stars departing for the pro ranks in recent years and the media firm in its conviction that a lack of a playoff system is on par with some horrific atrocity plaguing third world countries, the amount of space for the Spencer Paysingers and Darvin Adams is nonexistent. Last year we had stories on the BCS being bad, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow. This year it's the BCS being bad, Urban Meyer and Cam Newton.

It was not always this way, of course, and I am not talking about the glory days when college football ruled the sports pages. Take the 1981 Clemson Tigers, who won the title without even being ranked in preseason. They were 6-5 the season before and played in western South Carolina for a little-known coach. But before they played Nebraska in the Orange Bowl at the end of that season, the regular college football fan knew who QB Homer Jordan was, and that his favorite target was WR Perry Tuttle. The Tigers won on defense and regular fans knew the names of stars such as Jeff Bryant, Jeff Davis and Terry Kinard from the stop unit. And fans of the sport certainly knew that big William Devane helped clog the middle for that defense and that Cliff Austin, Chuck McSwain and Jeff McCall led a balanced running attack. But again, these players and their games were fully covered by a media that did not have to worry about a BCS or potential playoff. They, more or less, focused on the play on the field. We have lost something very important.

Tonight's Pick

Is the season over? The dragging out the "excitement" until well into January is one of the worst decisions ever made by the television executives truly calling the shots. Dumb. Half the country has already moved on to the NFL playoffs, while the other half may give the game a decent rating but has signed off on the games played between 1/1 and tonight.
College football should take over Christmas as the NBA and college football have two different audiences. If the NFL can have a triple header on Thanksgiving then college football can up the ante on Christmas. New Year's Eve can also be better utilized and the lesser games can be used as first games of double headers with the BCS games. And do not be afraid of the last Sunday night NFL game as that game is usually meaningless or, like this year's "battle for the NFC West" not carrying too much import even when a playoff berth is riding on it.
As for tonight I have like Oregon all along and do not see a reason to change. The game should be fun but not as high-scoring as people think. Don't get me wrong, both teams will reach the high 20s, but it will not end up 45-44. Enjoy.

Tonight's Pick

Although I am not a fan of a the decision to string along the January bowl games I am happy that the Cotton Bowl is getting some love with a Friday night showcase and an interesting match-up. Of course I would prefer that it opened the January 1 festivities like the old days, but that will never happen--or at least it will never be given its own slot unopposed by other games. so, we take what we can get.
I am predicting a close win by LSU--aren't they all--but will root for the Aggies. It should be a fun game.

Rather be Luck, Who is Good

As a unabashed fan of college football I am very happy that Andrew Luck is returning to the Cardinal for another year of outstanding play. College football needs to promote more guys like Luck who play well and hit the books. Unfortunately the media seems more enamored with guys like Cam Newton, who was a hired gun whether or not he was sold to Auburn. Shall we celebrate one year of a player, regardless of how good he was, or three to four years of another top player's career? And as for Luck's decision, he may or may not be leaving money on the table but there is something to be said for graduating from Stanford and getting to enjoy another year with the Cardinal instead of a crap season with Carolina? He does not need the money and enjoys the college experience. What is wrong with that? To be honest I was surprised the draft experts had him leaving.

As a fan of Notre Dame football I could be disappointed that we now have to face Luck at the end of the regular season. But I am excited to get to beat him one time, especially since such a win will clearly stamp the Irish as back (assuming they enter the game ranked high). And it will be refreshing to see a battle of two academic powerhouses shape up as a candidate for game of the year, but I am getting ahead of myself. Both programs will have a lot to prove between now and late November.

Bad News For Big Ten

Please excuse my delay in posting but I have not been able to overcome Randy Edsall calling the Maryland football head coaching gig his "dream job". But the bad news that the Big Ten has to deal with is that they no longer have Rich Rod to kick around anymore. The haves in the conference have feasted on Michigan the past three years and now have to actually be worried about the game (assuming the Wolverines hire a decent coach) as soon as the replacement gets the team in shape.
Of course the conference as a whole benefits from a reborn Michigan team. Then again, perhaps they need to fall further out of the spotlight. That was the problem with the January 1 massacre of conference squads. Because the conference supplies both television viewers and people willing to travel to bowl games, Big Ten teams are highly coveted for bowl invitations. And so they get invited to better games then they deserve. This was especially true of Michigan, but so too of a few others. Moving up in class because you deliver viewers is no way to win a bowl game (see Notre Dame prior to their recent two-game win streak--when they were not over-seeded).
And so the conference remains popular but disrespected nationally. Unfortunately the two go hand-in-hand.

Love For Luck

I cannot take it anymore. AHHHHHHHHHH! Jaworski and Gruden have to shut up about Andrew Luck. Yes, he is a good QB. But they talk about him as if he is the greatest player in college football history. It is the ESPN way: find the star and talk about him non-stop. It drives me crazy.

View From Bennett Avenue

In the middle of the overload of football games being played this week came the news that recent Pitt coaching hire Mike Haywood was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman, who was the mother of his child, in his/their South Bend home. By the time he was released on bail, the charge was upped to a felony and he was out of a job. This is not a situation whereby one has to wait for a potential trial as just the fact that he put himself in a situation that got him placed in jail is enough of a reason to can him. Hopefully he will be proven innocent, or if guilty get the punishment he deserves and treatment.

The Panthers are back to square one. As we have already discussed here, their AD Steve Pederson has proven to be woeful when it comes to hiring coaches. Who does he turn to now? There is plenty of Internet chatter about Rich Rodriguez, should he be fired from his job at Michigan. But can Pitt fans embrace a former enemy? And don't we as fans need a year or two off from him? I know I do. Why not give a shot to K.C. Keeler (pictured), the head man at Delaware? He lacks fbs experience but is a Pennsylvania man and certainly knows how to win.

Great Game

Now that was a great Rose Bowl and fitting cap to excellent season for TCU. Both teams played well and the game was compelling from beginning, when the offense dominated, to end, when each first down was an accomplishment. The Horned Frogs seemed pretty happy considering that all those crying for a playoff will be upset for TCU. But they, like 34 other programs, will end this year with a win.
Wisconsin, like fellow conference rivals Michigan, Northwestern, Michigan State and Penn State, lost today in what will go down as a dark day for the Big Ten. The biggest problem is that all of these second tier bowls want the conference because its teams travel loads of alums. So mediocre teams like Northwestern and Michigan get to play on January 1 when more deserving teams sometimes do not.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year.
Games are kicking off so let me say that I rolled with underdogs today, five of which are Big Ten teams. It should be a fun day.
Hopefully I can shake my hangover. I had to celebrate the big Notre Dame win.