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.

View From Bennett Avenue

Now that I am finished complaining about something SI did I can turn my angry gaze toward ESPN. Of the many stupid things that network does on a daily basis, one of the biggest is the discussion of the NFL draft during the college football season. Today, draft experts Bozo 1 and Bozo 2 had to debate the draft potential of the top college QBs. They both are enamored with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and predict that he would be the first QB taken in next year's draft and would, therefore, be in the hunt for the no. 1 pick overall.

This type of debate annoys me on many different levels. First of all, it is SEPTEMBER. The f'ing draft is seven months away. These guys are wrong most of the time in the spring build-up to the draft. Who cares about what they have to say now?

Secondly, Luck is only a sophomore on the field, junior in the classroom. Constantly talking about underclassmen as the top pick usually forces the issue with these kids. That probably will not happen in this case as the family is incredibly, almost annoying, smart and therefore are probably fully aware of Luck's potential. His father Oliver also combined academics and athletics at West Virginia, graduating magna cum laude after starting for three years as the team's quarterback. He then played four years as a Houston Oiler and is now the athletic director at his alma mater. So, the family does not need the two bozos influence, but they do affect others. Either way, let the kid continue to develop as he has only started 16 games and has yet to perform under the pressure he will be in this Saturday against Oregon.

The final reason this stuff drives me crazy, and I have complained about it before, is that like the Bednarik reference in Sports Illustrated, discussions like this make college football a secondary sport to the NFL game. The time they devoted to Luck's draft status should have been devoted to the upcoming game. From what I saw of Luck against Notre Dame, he is very good but is not a finished product yet. Let's enjoy his college play against the no. 4-ranked Ducks in a hostile environment. If he continues to play well and comes out for the draft early, we can then devote the months and months available leading up to the draft to discuss his pro potential. Until then, let's enjoy his contributions to the glorious game of college football now as they happen.