Who's Ready for UConn vs. Kansas?

Another week, more mediocrity in college football. You know, by the time this season stops spinning, most of you people scolding me as somehow being “anti” college football will understand the point I’ve been making all along.

It’s not that college football sucks in general. It’s just that this year, there are literally NO compelling teams to follow on the road to the championship. There is mediocrity, and more mediocrity.

Go ahead, call it parity if you want. Either way, it just means that whomever is playing for the fake “National Championship” will likely have lost a game, or be inserted into the game with dubious credentials.

Boston College is getting shut down for 58 minutes at Blacksburg, before Beamer’s tepid prevent defense bails them out.

Kentucky, just two weeks removed from stunning LSU, mails it in against Mississippi State.

Yesterday’s darlings, South Florida, falls to UConn. Many are shocked that discover that UConn plays football.

Florida with a chance to loop back into the picture, flops against Georgia. I hear there were cocktails served. I’m not sure the NCAA wants me to mention that one.

Southern Cal keeps getting beat.

Virginia gaks against a formerly 2-5 NC State team.

Texas barely survives a Nebraska team that is on life support, being given mouth to mouth by former legend Tom Osborne.

Yawn.

I’m actually starting to “believe” in Ohio State seeing as how they rolled into JoePa’s House of Road Rage and layeth down the smack. However this is stupid, because even Brent Musburger accurately pointed out on the telecast itself, that “nobody” in the country will accept the Big 10 as an elite conference because of a) Last year’s twin humiliations in the BCS Title game and the Rose Bowl, and b) App State beating Michigan this year.

All I ask of you who still do not see this mediocrity, is to look back at the 2005 season where USC and Texas were 1-2 from wire to wire. The title game went down to the wire. And Reggie Bush and Vince Young went 2-3 in the draft.

Or 2004 when USC and Oklahoma played for the title, while Auburn with an almost unheard-of perfect SEC record and Sugar Bowl win had to settle for the consolation game.

Or 2002 when 12-0 Miami met 12-0 Ohio State and played a game for the ages, with perhaps the most contested late penalty in overtime to give Ohio State life, and ultimately the win.

Only one time in the history of the BCS (1992) has there not been an undefeated team in the championship game (2003). I’m betting it happens again this year.

Looking ahead, here’s the unbeatens and their roads ahead.

Ohio State hosts quality clubs Wisconsin and Illinois, then closes at the Big House against a Wolverine team that has found its feet. Dicey.

Boston College has Florida State at home in a let down spot, then losable road games at Maryland and Clemson, then the Hurricanes at home, then the ACC Championship game. Good luck.

Arizona State is at Oregon. That should end this nonsense right away. If not, then at UCLA, home against USC, and a rivalry showdown with Arizona. Somewhere, one of these teams will stop them.

Kansas hosts Nebraska, is at Oklahoma State, then hosts Iowa State and Missouri. Iowa State is a chump, but the other three could quite easily stop them. Then there’s little chance they win the Big 12 Title game.

That leaves Hawaii as the last unbeaten, and who cares who’s left on their plate, if they finish perfect they’ll be told to call Boise State and ask them what happens to small school gimmick programs when it comes time to choose the BCS title game.

Maybe ’05, ’04, and ’02 were all too good, and we’ve been spoiled. Maybe not. Just tell me what team to get truly excited about, and I’ll try to get on board. I just don’t see that team right now.

The saddest part of all this, is that seasons like this are PERFECT for a playoff. That way, it would be a wide-open mini-tournament chock full of upsets and cinderellas. It could actually sell me that this season in college football has been “fun”.

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I will say this much for the BCS: their website is very clean, and very helpful with information. Good work. One thing though really made me angry.

This from the BCS Website

Army and Navy were each allocated a participation fee of $100,000 for making themselves available to participate in a BCS bowl game if selected effective for the 2006 regular season, in recognition of the investment the academies continue to make in their football programs, the programs' historical significance and the unique contribution the institutions make to higher education. It was also agreed that Notre Dame would receive an annual fee of $1.3 million from the BCS in the years when its team does not participate in one of the games, and $4.5 million when its team does participate.

REACT: What the hell? Notre Dame gets a $1.3 million stroke just for sitting around in their own vomit this year? You gotta be crappin’ me! Real nice of them too, to give Army and Navy each 100k. Good grief. These kids are only going to be DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY WITH THEIR LIVES!

If you want a somewhat hilarious walk through BCS evolution (Remember the famed “Dunkel Rankings? Or when the BCS thought that the New York Times actually had something meaningful to say about college football?) then this page is a must read.

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College Football Loose Ends

Class move by Mark Richt sending his ENTIRE team on the field to get a MANDATORY unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the ‘Dogs first touchdown. If it was my league to run, Richt would get a one game suspension. Ridiculous.

Did you see Jamal Charles in the 4th quarter against the “Black Shirts” of Nebraska? No? Neither did they. Good god.

Cedric Hill stone cold dropped a tying TD from Matt Grothe of USF in the waning minutes. Why do receivers today constantly try to catch balls with their chest and arms, and not their hands?

Did you see Jim Tressel talking to Joe Paterno prior to the game? It was friendly, but it looked a lot like a boxing style stare-down. Be honest Penn State fans. When you see this, do you REALLY think that the coaching acumen – ON GAME DAY – that you are getting from JoePa is equal to that of a young stud like Tressel? Honest now.

Question: do you think every D-1 football team has at least one player with flowing dreadlocks under the helmet? Except Harvard and Navy, that is.

Okay, here’s the deal. Plow through your choice of either a) Holly Rowe b) Doris Burke or c) Michelle Tafoya. Then you get to “trade up” prizes to the large plush toy of either a) Bonnie Bernstein or b) Erin Andrews. You game?

The Scarlet Knights’ game day mascot is awesome. Simply awesome. Full Scarlet knight suit. Red clad horse. Well played. Well played.

Did you see Mark Mangino in full-body velour (or was it terrycloth?) on Saturday for Kansas? Good choice of fabrics, coach. Smooth, warm, and loose. Plus, expandable waistbands!

True Fact: When you google “Mark Mangino” it comes up with “Also Try: ‘Mark Mangino weight’ and ‘Mark Mangino fat.’ As Dave Barry might say: “I am not making this up.” You can try it.

You gotta love South Carolina kicker Ryan Succop’s name. Sounds like “Suck Up.” If only his holder could be named “Brad Brownose.”

OTHER STUFF….

I’m sorry, but when did anybody give a ground pound of horsemeat about the Breeders’ Cup? They wasted a good 1:25 hi-lite package on this nonsense on SportsCenter Saturday.

You can’t make this one up! C. Vivian Stringer has APOLOGIZED to Isiah Thomas for basically calling him the CAD he is in a story that broke late last week. I kid you not. Don Imus fell all over himself to say he’s sorry, and Rutgers nearly made a federal case of it. Thomas hasn’t apologized for a THING, and now she’s backing off. Pathetic.

Who can fuck up a simple press conference? FEMA can! That’s who! Remember people, the first letter of FEMA is “F”. It stands for FEDERAL. As in, your big ass, bloated, stupid GOVERNMENT. You don’t want to count on your government for ANYTHING if possible. And after reading this story, there are some who still think government run health care is a good idea. Wake up people. Wake up.

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AND NOW YOUR PIC O' THE DAY!!

As they say, sometimes when you are in a dry spell, you'll hit just about anything.