Service Academy Glory

Do you remember the heat Notre Dame took a few years ago because they had all three service academies, Air Force, Army and Navy, on its schedule? Would any BCS power line up today for something similar? No. 1 ranked Oregon, who scheduled Tennessee but also Portland State and New Mexico? Auburn, who did play Clemson out-of-conference, but also Arkansas State, Louisiana Monroe and Chattanooga?

No way. As Ohio State, who edged Navy last year, and Oklahoma, who struggled with Air Force this year, learned, there is no benefit to playing these teams and much too much to lose. What the powers do get is the ability to teach their five and four star recruits some humility after film sessions that show them struggling with the likes of QB Ricky Dobbs of Navy (listed in Phil Steele's preseason guide as the 142nd QB of his high school class) or QB Trent Steelman of Army (no. 245 in his class) or QB Tim Jefferson of Air Force (no. 390 in his class! And that is just at QB.) The service academies are back and looking forward to bowl season.

How did it get this way? Well for one thing serving your country in the military is not looked down upon anymore as it was, in some parts of the country, back during Vietnam when the academies started to slip athletically. Second, there is a lot more support monetarily as no one looked at woeful records by programs representing our military as a positive example of our fighting spirit. Thirdly, coaching has saved the day as Air Force coach Troy Calhoun learned under Fisher DeBerry in the late 1980s and both Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo and Army coach Rich Ellerson fell from the Paul Johnson tree of coaching. And the fourth, and main, reason for the success of these teams is the option attack that they use which is difficult to execute--but a bit easier for students used to the regimen of their daily lives--and difficult to defend. All three academies now run some form of wishbone or option attack and dare defenses to stop them. A huge advantage is that no BCS team is going to spend enough time preparing for them at risk of losing to a bigger named opponent the following week who throws the ball all over the field. Oklahoma defenders were recruited to stop Colt McCoy and Garrett Gilbert of Texas, Taylor Potts of Texas Tech and Zac Robinson and Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma State, not Tim Jefferson of Air Force. I am sure many of his teammates agreed with Sooners LB Travis Lewis when he said this of trying to cope with the Falcon attack that had just scorched OU for 458y: "I never want to see this kid of offense again."

And you know what? They probably won't. Until more teams go back to running some form of option, the bigger teams will shy away from scheduling the academies. What was once considered an easy win is a lock no more. But, of course, there will always be bowl games where despite having multiple weeks to prepare, Missouri and Houston were routed by Navy and Air Force last year. Good luck to those teams chosen to face the three academies this postseason.

What We Learned Saturday

I am unsure if anyone had great expectations for yesterday's college football "card" (and, no, I did not watch the fight last night)? Absent the huge match-ups of top ten teams we had grown accustomed to, the day would need competitive performances from some teams below the radar for us, as fans, to have a fun time. And that is exactly what happened.

Northwestern got the ball rolling with a stirring comeback of all things--the Cats have lost twice this year in big games thanks to allowing rallies--to nip Iowa at the wire and eliminate the Hawkeyes from the Big Ten race. That QB Dan Persa was lost for the season on the play just added to the drama. Fortunately this game was exciting as Wisconsin was clubbing seal cubs on another ESPN outlet at the same time.

But then in a span of a few moments in the afternoon, Ohio State, Auburn and TCU were all losing by a couple of scores. They did all rally to win, and at night both Oregon and Stanford won closer games than expected, but the excitement--from noon until late at night--stayed with anyone fortunate enough to have tuned in. All five of the underdog teams in question, Penn State, Georgia, San Diego State, Cal, and Arizona State respectively, played with heart and all put a scare into teams still clinging to BCS title game aspirations. But then plenty of other teams without hopes of reaching the BCS title game played with spirit too, like South Carolina who whacked Florida to earn the SEC East crown or Virginia Tech, who looks determined to win another ACC crown. Or how about North Carolina State, Maryland and, yes, Syracuse, who all won their seventh game of the year.

Days like yesterday are proof that the college football game is not broken.

Paul's Picks

I had a brilliant performance two weeks ago to pull my season record to 22-23 and then had another brilliant week seven days ago only to have computer problems and not get the picks in on time. So here goes for this week:
Iowa (-10) at NORTHWESTERN:
Some programs just have the number of another. And no I am not speaking of dominance by a power over an also-ran but when a middling-to-good program consistently tops one considered better than them. Take the Wildcats, who have upset Iowa in four of the past five years. They have a very good team and must have learned from their late meltdowns against Michigan State and Penn State. The Hawkeyes are good but not 10 points on the road good. Pick: Northwestern +10
Kansas State at MISSOURI (-13)
Although Missouri has won four straight in the series the games have been closer than the score would indicate. KSU can run on anyone and veteran coach Bill Snyder did not let them bask in the sun this week after their big performance against Texas. Pick: KSU +13
Utah (-6) at NOTRE DAME
This is an odd spread, based solely on the hangover effect after Utah got whacked last week against TCU. But that would have been a factor if they lost close. By getting routed, the Utes need to show a national television audience that they are one of the better teams in the country. Last year they followed all three of their losses with impressive wins. Notre Dame meanwhile is struggling to keep healthy bodies on the field. Pick: Utah -6
Stanford (-6) at ARIZONA STATE
While this has the makings of a trap game, coming in between Stanford's huge win over Arizona last week and their rivalry game against Cal next week, coach Jim Harbaugh has these guys playing such hard-nosed football that it is not a worry. Last year the game in between their upset of Oregon and Cal was the USC game and all The Cardinal did was whack the Trojans 55-21. They are getting no mention nationally despite an excellent year and will take out their frustrations on the game Sun Devils.
Tulsa at HOUSTON (over/under 76)
Last year these teams combined for 91 points; in 2008 it was an even 100. Pick: Over 76

Remember When

With all of the craziness swirling around the Auburn football program, Remember When will look back on the 1957 national champion Tigers, who went undefeated en route to claiming the national title despite being on probation for...you guessed it, buying players. Now the money being claimed today, and actually no one has yet to say that Auburn bought Newton but that people representing him solicited money from Mississippi State, is a lot more than what Auburn was caught paying back in the day but the money earned today from the sport is a lot larger too. There is a lot riding on the play of these kids and a lot of pressure for programs to succeed. As we wait for more information on the current situation, here is a key win by Auburn over Mississippi State from 11/9/57 as recapped in The USA TODAY College Football Encyclopedia:
AUBURN 15 Mississippi State 7 (Birmingham): Seeking its best record since going 7-3 in 1947, Mississippi State (5-2) scored 1st when it caught powerful Auburn (7-0) D napping late in 2nd Q. On 3rd-and-4, Bulldogs sub QB Tom Miller rolled left and targeted E Ned Brooks, who slipped deep and into clear at Tigers 25YL. Brooks romped uncontested for 57y on TD pass play that became only 3rd TD allowed by Auburn in season to date. Essentially, Miller's surprise pass was only gaffe all season for mighty Plainsmen D. Maroons HB Bubber Trammell had bolted for 16y gain on game's 1st scrimmage, but Mississippi State made no other first downs all 1st H other than its TD. As 2nd H opened, Auburn blazed 76y in 11 plays to FB-K Billy Atkins' 2y TD dive and tying kick. Tigers soph C-LB Jackie Burkett stormed in on Bulldogs P Bill Schoenrock, and E John Whatley followed to block punt for safety for 9-7 edge in 4th Q. Atkins added another TD after FUM REC was secured at Maroons 10YL.
Auburn was ranked no. 3 in country at time, needing upsets (Notre Dame over Texas and Rice over Texas A&M) and convincing wins over lowly Florida State and Alabama to overcome voter reluctance in becoming title winner despite probation.

Say It Ain't So, Cam

With the latest allegations thrown Cam Newton's way--that he cheated on numerous occasions at Florida--it is becoming apparent that the only way to stop Cam Newton is to derail him with off-the-field stuff. What's next? That Cam was invented by NASA? That he was 5'7, 180 until four years ago when he started taking certain "supplements"?
I do not know what is real and what is not regarding these allegations. Coach Gene Chizik's defense was pathetic. Loudly chanting that Newton is "eligible" was specious at best. Yes, we know he is eligible. Reggie Bush was eligible when we first heard allegations thrown his way.
Meanwhile Rece Davis kept wondering out loud if Newton had already wrapped up the Heisman. Ummm, he is being accused of shaking down schools while deciding where he would transfer to. Just a few months removed from Bush returning his Hesiman and voters are going to run to give the prize to a guy who has already been arrested for accepting stolen merchandise and then has been accused of soliciting money for the privilege of suiting him up? That is crazy.
What bothers me the most is that this crap can potentially overshadow a fine season.

TCU An Outsider?

The Horned Frogs are good--just in case anyone still wondered. They whipped Utah every which way, chasing the Utes from the BCS discussion while making a strong case for themselves as worthy of a title shot. Are they better than Boise State? Who knows. The two programs appear to be pretty even. Do they have a better shot than Alabama of reaching the BCS title game? They do now.
One thing I find funny is the "outsider" status of TCU, which is based solely on their current status as a member of a non-BCS conference. But the Horned Frogs are a traditional power having won national championships under coach Dutch Meyer in the 1930s and Southwest Conference championships under Abe Martin in the 1950s. The program fell on hard times and had some pretty pathetic seasons in the 1970s and '80s, but you cannot hang an outsider tag on them because they had to be rebuilt. The reality is that some teams have been considered "haves" because of the conference they play in and others "have nots" because of the conference they play in but the reality is sometimes different than the accepted truth. TCU is proud of their history and proud of their recent dominance. They recruit Texas hard and pay their coaches well. Like Boise, they play football to win games--many schools do not--and they are very successful at it. Unlike Boise, they should not be considered an outsider.

Big 12 Round-Up

Baylor beat Texas. In Austin. I just thought that I remind everyone of that occurrence, from Saturday, as the news is slow to get out these days. Baylor last beat the Longhorns in 1997 and last beat them on the road in 1991 (Ah the Southwest Conference). And yes sir, the Bears are currently in first place in the Big 12 South by a half game over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. And it is November. The Bears have a fine coach in Art Briles, great quarterback in Robert Griffin, nifty running back in Jay Finley and a defense that is exceeding expectations. Griffin's return from a torn ACL has gone extremely well so far as he has already thrown for 2,592y with 20 TD passes and rushed for 410y and 7 more TDs. In a conference loaded with star players, he may be the mosy dynamic. Of course two tough games await Baylor in Oklahoma State in Stillwater and Oklahoma at home (and the Bears cannot overlook Texas A&M either), but these Bears will be bowl-bound for the first time since 1994. These are heady times in Waco.

Although Nebraska and Missouri are still tied atop the Big 12 North, the Tigers will need some help due to the Cornhuskers not only owning the head-to-head tiebreaker but possessing an easier schedule the rest of the way. Still, there is plenty of football yet to be played.