Podcast: 11/22 Sports Blitz

Title: 11/22 Sports Blitz

This Bob Long’s Sports Podcast analyzes the MLB Awards, the FCS Playoffs, the big College Football games this week, Pennsylvania High School Football, and a short piece about Penn State Basketball. With Chris Pierangeli and Kevin Long.

Link: http://bobsportsblog.podomatic.com/entry/2010-11-22T20_56_21-08_00

Podcast: BCS and National Championship Preview

Title: BCS and National Championship Preview

A full, in-depth look at the scenarios that can affect the National Championship picture in college football.  I’ll clarify the chaos that exists in the BCS and college football right now.

Link: http://bobsportsblog.podomatic.com/entry/2010-11-17T16_03_28-08_00

College Football Week 10 Preview

Saturday will be one of the most intense, important, and influential days of this year’s college football season.  Two top 10 matchups, multiple other ranked matchups, and a milestone-seeking game for Joe Paterno and Penn State highlights the weekend.

The biggest matchup of the weekend will take place at Baton Rouge this weekend.  Alabama will travel to LSU for a top 10 matchup that will likely propel the winner to be the top ranked 1 loss team.  LSU is arguably the most underrated team in college football.  Analysts constantly knock their offensive capabilities and their coaching.  However, the Tigers are 7-1 in the toughest conference in football, have beaten Florida, Mississippi State, West Virginia, and North Carolina, have only lost to #1 Auburn on the road by 7 points.  Alabama remains the top ranked 1 loss team, and looks to further improve their already impressive resume by beating #10 LSU.

MY PREDICTION:  Gut feeling here, and maybe a pick from the heart, but no one is giving LSU a chance, and that is wrong.  Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee will do just enough on offense, and the LSU defense will hold strong as it has all year.  Playing in Baton Rouge doesn’t hurt, either.          LSU 24—Alabama 20

Two top 5 teams and the two leaders in the Mountain West will play in Salt Lake City, as TCU travels to play Utah.  TCU recently jumped Boise State in the BCS rankings to climb to 3rd, and Utah jumped 3 spots to 5th last week for no apparent reason after skating by Air Force.  Utah is the most overrated team in college football.  Their notable wins are victories over Pitt (by 3 in overtime at home), Air Force by 5 (TCU beat Air Force 38-7), and a blowout win against Iowa State.  Utah has shown nothing to impress me this season, which is why I have the Utes ranked at #21.  That’s right, 16 spots behind the BCS.

MY PREDICTION:  Utah is exposed at home by a solid TCU team. TCU 34—Utah 20

In Happy Valley, Joe Paterno seeks his 400th victory against Northwestern.  Joe’s 399 wins leads all coaches who have ever coached at the FBS level.  Number 2 all-time, Bobby Bowden, trails him by 22 wins, a full 2 or more seasons of work.  Paterno will cement his resume as the best college football coach of all time with the victory, if he has not done so already.  Paterno will decide on Saturday whether to start sophomore Matt McGloin, who led the Nittany Lions to victory with an impressive performance against Michigan, or Rob Bolden, the freshman who started the season for the Lions and suffered a concussion in the Minnesota game 2 weeks ago.  To me, McGloin gives the Lions the best chance to win, and has been effective in limiting his mistakes in the 2 games he has played.

MY PREDICTION:  No matter the starting quarterback, Penn State will find a way to win on Saturday.  The atmosphere at Beaver Stadium will be electric, the running game will continue to improve, and the defense will play an inspired effort to give JoePa his 400th win and a slight upset against upstart, 6-2 Northwestern.  Penn State 27— Northwestern 23

Other Notable Games: (And my Predictions)

#1 Oregon (42)—Washington (17)

#2 Auburn (59)—Chattanooga (3)

#4 Boise State (42)—Hawaii (20)

#12 Stanford (31)–#15 Arizona (27)

#17 Oklahoma State (31)—#21 Baylor (28)

#18 Arkansas (38)—#19 South Carolina (24)

Illinois (30)—Michigan (28)

Miami (35)—Maryland (24)

Texas (19)—Kansas State (17)

Rick Reilly, Have a Clue about Boise

Rick Reilly is a columnist for ESPN.com, and he makes periodic appearances on ESPN.  He thrives upon composing humorous and entertainment based sports stories that don’t always hit the main issues themselves.  I have been a strong critic of Reilly’s style for a very long time.  He is a national pundit in every sense of the word; he focuses far too much on general stereotypes and often says things without processing them and the consequences of his statements.

For example, in one ESPN feature, Reilly inadvertently disrespected every US soccer player by speculating about how good the national team would be if players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Ryan Miller, and other star athletes played soccer instead of their own sports.  He sent the message that our current players weren’t the best the country could produce, and I took major offense to that belief and subsequent statement on national television.

In another feature, Reilly degraded the entire Philadelphia fanbase by arguing that Donovan McNabb was mistreated in Philly.  He stated that the fans should be apologizing to McNabb, and that nothing makes them happy. Of course, as with most pundits, one of his major points was that the fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus.  Hey Rick, that happened in the 1960s, get over it.  The fact that he simply stated that Philadelphia fans are not classy was unfounded and unprofessional.

So what must he have done this time to perturb me enough to write a blog entry?  This entry is a response to Rick Reilly’s article on ESPN.com, “Broncos Can’t Buck this Trend” (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5725597).  I recommend reading it, but if you would rather not, here is a general summary.  Reilly believes that Boise State should be ranked above Auburn and Oregon, and should claim the top spot in the BCS rankings.  He feels that the Broncos are consistently disrespected, and argues that the resume of the Broncos trumps that of any other college football team.  If he wants to make that argument, that is fine, but my problem is with the lack of logic and intelligence with which he did so.

First, Reilly argues that Boise should be ranked above Auburn, and gives the stat that Auburn has 13 less wins in the last 5 seasons than Boise.  I have 3 problems with this statement.  First, and most obvious, the rankings are not based upon past years, the rankings are solely based upon what has happened this year.  Second, Auburn plays in the SEC, and doesn’t play Louisiana Tech and Idaho on a yearly basis.  Instead, the Tigers play LSU, Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas on a yearly basis.  Just a hunch, but I feel that playing Idaho and Louisiana Tech each year might lend itself to a few more wins per season than a team playing in the SEC.  So explain the thought process behind that stat, Rick.  Finally, the personnel is completely different at Auburn from even 2 years ago.  Head coach Gene Chizik was hired in 2009 after Tommy Tuberville was fired, and Heisman contender Cam Newton is a first year starter at Auburn.  But clearly, Rick Reilly thought all that through when he decided that the basis for his Boise State over Auburn argument was a difference of 13 wins in the last 5 years.

Second, Reilly defends the Broncos by arguing that they beat Oregon 19-8 last season at home, and that the Ducks undeservingly sit ahead of Boise.  Hey Rick, who was the starting quarterback for Oregon last year?  That’s right, it was Jeremiah Masoli, now the quarterback of Ole Miss.  Rick, meet Darren Thomas, the 2010 starter for the Ducks, who is tearing up the Pac 10 and everyone else right now.  When you make an argument about a head to head matchup, and the starting quarterback isn’t the same for the losing team in a previous season, that is stupid and inane, and has no bearing on anything whatsoever.

Third, Rick Reilly argues that Boise State plays and beats whoever is throw at them.  He states that Boise State beat San Jose State 48-0, and Wisconsin, who beat Ohio State and Iowa, only beat San Jose State by 13.  Compelling argument Rick, but I have a question, where are Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Iowa ranked in the BCS?  10, 11, and 18, respectively.  How about Boise? Number 3.  What exactly are you arguing, Rick?  That Boise should be ranked higher than Wisconsin? Done.  Higher than Ohio State? They already are.  Higher than Iowa?  They have been all year.  How your stat makes an argument that Boise State should be ranked above Auburn and Oregon is beyond me.

Fourth, Reilly argues that since Boise crushed Wyoming 51-6, who almost beat Air Force, who almost beat Oklahoma, Boise could absolutely beat Oklahoma.  Again, my question to Rick is, where is Oklahoma ranked?  That’s right, 9th, 6 spots behind Boise.  Is it me, Rick, or are your arguments becoming less and less relevant as your article continues?

If you didn’t think it could get worse, it did.  He then stated, with regards to Boise State beating Oklahoma, “Oh wait, it already did [happen].”  Rick, that was January 1st, 2007.  Jared Zabransky and Ian Johnson are not playing for the Broncos anymore, and Paul Thompson and Adrian Peterson are not playing for the Sooners anymore.  A comparison to a game 4 years ago is completely ridiculous, and is embarrassing to you as a journalist, Rick.

Finally, Reilly argues that Boise would “carve up” the ACC because the Broncos “whipped” Virginia Tech on the road (I have a hard time calling a 33-30 game a “whipping,” and it technically was not a home game for Tech, either).  But Rick, tell me, what team in the ACC is ranked higher than Boise State, thus in your mind disrespecting the Broncos?  None.  Get your facts and logic straight, and then come back to me.

Pardon the point-by-point analysis, but I found nearly everything included in this article to be completely ridiculous and unprofessional in nature.  There was no logic involved, it was simply a biased opinion based upon readily available and popular facts that were thrown together in a way that made no sense whatsoever and negated every one of the points he tried to make.

The fact is that Boise is lucky to be ranked #3.  Missouri is undefeated with more quality wins than Boise State, and Alabama I have ranked ahead of Boise because of 3 quality wins that trump Boise’s top win over Virginia Tech.  So please, Rick Reilly, and all other national pundits who want to make an argument about Boise State, you can make the argument, but before doing so, please, have a clue.

Podcast: 10/20 Sports Podcast

Title: 10/20 Sports Podcast

In this Bob Long’s Sports Podcast, Chris and I discuss many issues in sports, including the new BCS rankings, the NHL power rankings, and the issues of headshots and other illegal hits in the NFL.

Link: http://bobsportsblog.podomatic.com/entry/2010-10-20T14_57_18-07_00

The Power of the FCS

The Football Championship Subdivision, formerly know as Division 1-AA, is a part of Division 1 along with the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1-A. The pervasive attitude among the majority of college football fans is that the FBS is significantly better than the FCS at football.  Most think that FBS and FCS are two separate levels of Division 1 football, and that FBS is simply the higher level.

However, three years ago, the proper description of Division 1-AA changed to Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and Division 1-A became the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).  This change in terminology was made because the NCAA believed that by categorizing the subdivisions as D1-A and D1-AA, it created an unfounded assertion that D1-A was better than D1-AA.  The NCAA did not want to send that incorrect message, and therefore the terminology was changed.  The FCS includes many talented football teams that are fully capable of competing with and defeating solid, marquee FBS programs.

FCS football is characterized differently than the FBS because of the amount of money that is dedicated to a school’s football program.  Competitive schools in the FBS are funded inordinate amounts of money from the athletic departments, sponsors, and patrons.  These are the schools that often have the 75,000+ seat stadiums.  Schools in the FCS are funded by the athletic department, but often are not the center focus of athletics at the university.  For example, the Villanova Wildcats basketball team is funded much more by the athletic department, sponsors, and patrons than the football team is.  The same relationship exists at other FCS schools like Georgetown and Dayton.

FCS teams often have smaller stadiums that hold anywhere from 10,000-25,000 fans.  In 2006, statistics were recorded about the attendance ratings for college football.  It found that the average attendance for an FBS game was 45,828 fans, while the team who averaged the highest attendance was Michigan with 110,026 fans per game.  FCS average attendance was 8,029 fans per game, and the team with the highest average attendance was Montana with 22,600 fans per game.  Therefore, the separation between FBS and FCS teams is not made because the FBS was thought to be much better than the FCS.  The distinction is made because FBS schools’ football programs receive more funding and more revenue than FCS programs do.

A common argument against the quality of FCS play is that because the FBS schools devote more money to their football programs, those schools consistently get the best recruits, and whoever is left simply falls to FCS schools.  This notion is not true because the high school football talent has been expanding exponentially over the past 15 years.  Many high schools have either begun a football program, reinstated a football program, or drastically improved their football program over the past few decades.  High school football has expanded across the country and has produced many more talented players than ever before.  The quality of the top high school players in the country has not drastically improved, but the number of talented players has increased greatly.  This trend has created a surplus of quality talent across the high school football circuit.

FCS programs have benefited greatly from the rapid expansion of high school football.  These schools can now recruit players that before would not have been interested in the football program.  Consider the decision facing a current high school senior who is being recruited by a solid FBS school and a reputable FCS school.  Should he go to play for an FBS school, face a lot of bench time, and possibly play as a walk on, or should he go to an FCS school and play for all four years and be under scholarship?  Many high school athletes are realizing that the more financially responsible and the more enjoyable option is to go to an FCS school and be a star football player for four years.  In addition, FBS schools no longer have the clear advantage in recruiting because the top high school players are no longer much more talented than those players recruited by FCS schools.  This new trend has leveled the playing field in college football and has allowed FCS schools to keep pace with FBS schools in terms of recruiting.

Another argument attempting to belittle the quality of play in the Football Championship Subdivision is that the top tier FBS schools, such as Florida, Alabama, and Texas, would beat the top FCS schools, and therefore the FBS is so much better than the FCS.  It is definitely true that Florida could beat Villanova, Alabama could beat Richmond, and Texas could beat Montana.  However, in the November 28^th, 2009 BCS rankings, Florida, Alabama, and Texas were the three teams who were ranked far ahead of the rest.  In addition to a numerical ranking system, the BCS uses percentages, which calculates how well teams have played while also considering the difficulty of their schedules.  Florida (.987), Alabama (.951), and Texas (.928), are all rated much higher by percentage than the next rated team (TCU .869).  The 10^th team in the country, Georgia Tech, had a .580 percentage, which shows how quickly the ratings drop after the top teams.  When people argue that the three top teams in the FBS would defeat the top three FCS teams, they are correct, but they also need to realize that these teams would defeat every other FBS team, and often quite handily.  This is also evident when one looks at the top three team’s records.  Neither Florida, Alabama, nor Texas was beaten in the regular season last year, and all three teams play in one of the top two conferences in the country.  Therefore, one can not say that the FBS as a whole is better than the FCS by citing the quality of only the top three teams in the FBS.  One must examine the quality of the majority of teams in both subdivisions before making a statement about which subdivision is better.

There have been numerous games where FCS teams have shown their talent by beating solid, competitive FBS teams.  Many of these games were shown on national or regional television, which increased the viewership.  The most recognizable FCS victory over an FBS school was Appalachian State’s victory over then fifth ranked Michigan on the road in 2007.  This year was not just a down year for Michigan.  The powerhouse Michigan Wolverines still finished the season ranked in the top 15 and defeated Florida in the Capital One Bowl, regarded as the best non-BCS Bowl and the sixth best bowl in the country.  In 2009, the success of the FCS has continued, with many FCS victories over FBS opponents.

On September 3^rd, 2009, the Villanova Wildcats defeated the Temple Owls to capture the inaugural Mayor’s Cup.  The Temple Owls went 9-3 in the regular season last year, with the only other losses coming to number 11 ranked Penn State, and Ohio, the MAC East Champions.  Temple had a 9 game win streak at one point during the season and was nearly ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

On September 5^th, 2009, the William and Mary Tribe beat the Virginia Cavaliers, a solid ACC program who went 5-7 last year.  The Tribe played on the road and defeated the Cavs convincingly 26-13.  Also on September 5^th, the Richmond Spiders defeated Duke, from the ACC, by a score of 24-16.  Duke went 5-7 last year and started 5-3 before finishing with a four game losing streak.

Iowa and Northern Iowa also played on September 5^th, 2009.  Northern Iowa lost to Iowa by one point on the road and had two chances to kick a last minute field goal to win the game.  Iowa proceeded to start the season 9-0, finish second in the Big 10 Conference, and be ranked in the BCS top 10.  The Hawkeyes only missed the conference championship because of an overtime loss to number 8 ranked Ohio State.  Northern Iowa gave Iowa a test at home and arguably played better than Iowa.   These same Iowa Hawkeyes earned a BCS Bowl berth and beat Penn State by 11 points on the road.  These games are just a few examples of FCS teams competing well with and often defeating quality FBS teams in 2009.

Early in the 2010 season, things have not changed.  FCS teams have continued to surprise and scare big name FBS teams.  Notable efforts include Jacksonville State (on the road) defeating Ole Miss from the SEC, James Madison (on the road) defeating Virginia Tech from the ACC, who lost to Boise State by only 3 points in Week 1 and beat perennial mid-major standout East Carolina by 22 points in Week 3.  Finally, just this past weekend, Massachusetts, a solid but not stellar program from the FCS, played undefeated and much-heralded Michigan close, and lost by only 5 points on the road.  The Minutemen scored 37 points on a team that gave up 10 points to Connecticut and 24 to Notre Dame.  These are only a few examples of FCS victories over FBS marquee programs over just the past 2 years.

Jeff Sagarin is a USA Today journalist who has provided a unique college football ranking system since 1985.  He has produced the most well-renowned college football rankings that include both FBS and FCS teams.  In the November 28^th, 2009 rankings, the top ranked FCS team was Villanova at 40.  William and Mary and Richmond were ranked 55 and 56 respectively.  Notable FBS teams ranked lower than 40^th included Florida State, UCLA, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Notre Dame.   Some FBS teams that were ranked lower than 56 include: Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Michigan State, Temple, and Minnesota.  These top FCS teams were ranked higher than many traditional college football powerhouses.

When fans are watching college football on a fall Saturday, they need to realize the talent and strength of FCS football as a whole.  FCS football does not get the respect it deserves for the talent it produces and the success it has against the FBS.  For years the quality of the FCS has been neglected by the public, but this ignorance is beginning to fade.  The many FCS victories over FBS opponents are no longer upsets, they will become more prevalent as the playing field becomes even more level.  It has been proven that FCS programs have caught up to many FBS football programs in terms of recruiting and success.  It has been shown that many FCS teams have played well against and defeated quality FBS teams in 2009 and 2010.  Fans will be reluctant to accept the fact that the FCS is in fact extremely competitive, but given the rapid increase in the quality of play, people need to begin to give it more respect.

Podcast: Sports Blitz

Title: Sports Blitz (9/13)

The first “Sports Blitz” in which Chris Pierangeli and I analyze the big sports issues that caught our eye the past week.

Big points: Villanova Moving to the FBS, Trent Richardson, the Calvin Johnson “no-catch”, Kolb vs. Vick, Boise State deserving of the National Championship Game?, and the power (or lackthereof) in the ACC.

Download Link: http://bobsportsblog.podomatic.com/entry/2010-09-13T20_44_48-07_00

Hold Your Horses

Last night, Boise State defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 33-30 at FedEx Field in Washington D.C.  The game had huge implications for the National Championship picture, as Boise State has only 1 more game that should realistically give the Broncos any trouble.  In 2 weeks, Oregon State will travel to the Smurf Turf to face Boise State in what will be Boise’s last BCS school matchup until potentially the bowl game.  Most assume this game to be a victory for Boise, who will face an Oregon State team who will most likely be unranked after this weekend’s loss to TCU.

Therefore, I will write this blog under the assumption that Boise State will go undefeated in the regular season.  Should the Broncos earn a spot in the BCS National Championship Game if they do so?  Part of me feels bad saying this, but absolutely not.  The Broncos will not have done nearly enough to put together a compelling resume that would top a 1 loss or even a 2 loss SEC, Big XII, or Big Ten team.

The big issue for me is about strength of schedule.  It is a exaggerated example, but a middle of the road college football team playing the best high school teams would still hammer the competition and post an undefeated record.  While the WAC isn’t filled with high school teams, it is one of the lesser conferences in the country, and the fact that Boise State does (should) have 8 easy games on the schedule each year makes it difficult for me to give the team credit as a National Championship contender.

For the purposes of this post I will assume that Ohio State loses 1 game this season and still wins the Big Ten.  I will also assume that Alabama loses one game and still wins the SEC.  Finally, I will assume that Boise State will be the lone undefeated school this season.  Which of those teams should go to the National Championship? I would immediately eliminate Boise State.  With an undefeated season, Boise State will have 2 solid wins: Virginia Tech and Oregon State, with the Virginia Tech game considered the only quality win.  Ohio State, on the other hand (judging by the schedule), with 1 loss, would have 4-5 quality wins, and even more solid wins.  Alabama would have 6 quality wins and 9 solid wins even with one loss.  The simple fact is that Boise State does not have to deal with the week-in week-out grind that BCS conference teams do.

However, some have argued that Boise State proved that it could beat a top 10 team, so therefore should be put in the National Championship Game because they can “beat anyone.”  These people are either forgetting or ignoring the fact that bringing the best performance in 1 or 2 weeks is completely different than needing to bring it 9 or 10 times a season like an Alabama or Ohio State does.  Boise State has shown the ability to come out and play well in big games over the past few years.  They have shocked BCS schools.  However, the difference between Boise and these other schools is the fact that Boise can cruise through 75% of their season in order to prepare for one game on the schedule.  Alabama can’t do that.  If the Tide looked ahead 3 weeks to a game against Florida, then the team would get beat by either Penn State or Arkansas.  If the Tide came out flat in either of these games, the team would lose.  That is the big difference.  Boise State can and has cruised through past games.

Last season, the Broncos beat a very mediocre Nevada team 44-33.  After Boise took an early lead, Nevada staged a 2nd half comeback that fell just short, and included a stretch of the game where Boise could not stop the Nevada offense.  In addition, Boise played a game against Louisiana Tech in which the Broncos won 45-35.  Finally, Fresno State posed a challenge to Boise, as the Bulldog offense scored 34 points on the Bronco defense.  33 points, 34 points, and 35 points.  That is the amount of points that the Bronco defense gave up in 3 regular season games against opponents that could not be considering anything but mediocre.  However, in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against TCU, Boise State won 17-10 (in Andy Dalton’s worst performance of his career as TCU quarterback).  Now why did Boise’s defense give up 33, 34, and 35 points to WAC opponents, and only 10 to then undefeated TCU?  Either, these mediocre WAC teams have much better offenses than top 10 ranked TCU, or more reasonably, Boise State cruised through these regular season games even though they came out flat, and thereby were incredibly fresh when the bowl game came.

The big question is, how would Boise State have done against LSU, Georgia, and Florida if the Broncos played these teams instead of the WAC teams mentioned above?  Boise State came out very flat in these games, and cruised through to victory, but if the Broncos played top teams in these weeks, there is no way they would go undefeated.  In fact, I would be surprised if the Broncos won 2 of these 3 games against the SEC teams listed above.  Therefore, while Boise State is able to win its bowl games, and win the 1 big regular season game each year, there is no way to know or assume that Boise State could beat Alabama, Florida, LSU, and Georgia in the regular season and then still come out fresh for a big non-conference game and a bowl game.  Assuming this and putting the Broncos in the National Championship Game under such an assumption is not fair to a 1 loss team out of the Big Ten or SEC, because the Broncos can come out flat in many games under their current schedule and still go undefeated.

Alabama, on the other hand, rarely had the option to come out flat.  Did the Tide come out flat when they beat Virginia Tech by 10 points in the opener last season?  Were they flat when they beat Ryan Mallett and the powerful Arkansas offense 35-7?  The closest the Tide came to playing flat was the Tennessee game, which was decided by a blocked field goal by the Alabama special teams.  However, Alabama had to bring it every week, and did so to earn themselves an undefeated season and a spot in the National Championship Game.

The big issue when deciding who will go the the National Championship Game is which teams had the best regular season, and the criteria go beyond solely record.  The criteria include record, strength of schedule, style points, etc.  If Boise State goes undefeated like last year, but only plays 1 or 2 quality opponents, it is extremely difficult to justify their schedule over a 1 loss SEC team or Big Ten team.  In addition, when the defense gives up 30+ points in multiple games to WAC opponents, it becomes even more difficult to justify this team’s success over a 1 loss BCS school, who didn’t have the opportunity to look past 8 conference games a year and only prepare for the big games.  As I said above, assuming that Boise State would go undefeated in the SEC, especially considering the Broncos struggles early in the game at times with WAC teams, and their struggles on defense with WAC teams, is simply not logical, and is unfair to the BCS conference teams.

I do feel bad that Boise State can not do too much about the scheduling problem that they have, and wish that things could change.  However, I am not here, and the BCS Committee is not here, to play favorites or simply give the proverbial “David” a chance.  It is a shame for Boise, but even though the team won all its games, and did everything it could, I can’t with a clear conscience put the team in the BCS National Championship Game simply because of this.  I can’t put them in when a 1 loss Ohio State or Alabama clearly has a more solid schedule strength, has more solid wins, and has cruised through and played less games flat than Boise.  I just can’t.  It is a shame for Boise, but until they join a BCS conference, or a playoff system is instituted, there is no way to know and would be wrong to assume that Boise can be a top tier team over the course of a full season, which is necessary to earn a spot in the National Championship Game.

Podcast: 2010 Preseason College Football Predictions

Title: 2010 Preseason College Football Predictions

Bob Long’s Sports Blog’s inaugural podcast, featuring colleague Chris Pierangeli.  The podcast includes analysis and predictions for the upcoming college football season.  Created on August 25, 2010.

Download Link: http://bobsportsblog.podomatic.com/enclosure/2010-08-29T18_00_39-07_00.mp3

What to do about the Agents?

The most prevalent and daunting problem in college football right now is that of illegal benefits given to college athletes by agents, and the premature contact between the player and agent.  It has led to the controversy surrounding Reggie Bush, and has cost USC scholarships, bowl appearances in the future, and was very close to costing the university its 2006 National Championship.  The university, clearly scarred in a bad way by the scandal, returned its copy of the Heisman Trophy to Reggie Bush in an effort to distance itself from the running back and from that corrupt era of Trojan football.  Now the Heisman Trophy Committee is considering stripping Bush of the trophy altogether.  Why has USC and Reggie Bush incurred such shame?  An agent gave illegal benefits to Reggie Bush while still in college, including the financing of a new house for his mother.  This incident 5 years ago and the recent investigation of this issue brought a dark, secretive, illicit part of college football into the bright lights in the past week.

In the past 5 days, 3 players were accused by the NCAA of illegally accepting money and benefits from agents.  South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, Alabama defensive end Marcell Darius, and most notably, Florida center and 2010 First Round draft pick Maurkice Pouncey have been accused by the NCAA.  Specifically, Pouncey was accused of accepting $100,000 from an agent, an accusation Maurkice has denied.  Now, Georgia has been informed that it will be investigated by the NCAA this week.

This issue has caused coaches such as Nick Saban and Urban Meyer to address the issue as an “epidemic,” and has led Nick Saban to now infamously refers to these agents as “pimp”-like.  SEC media day was controlled by talk of the agent problem in college football, and football itself was second fiddle.  And for good reason; this problem is extremely important.  These athletes abide by the rules and regulations of the NCAA, the governing body of college athletics.  The NCAA regulations state that any improper benefits taken by players from agents or otherwise will result in the loss of the player’s eligibility.  The loss of a player’s eligibility can also impose sanctions on the university for which he plays, as USC has learned in a harsh way.  Therefore, this pervasive problem needs to be fixed, and offseason media days need to become less focused on corruption and scandal in college football.

Before providing a solution, lets get to the root of the problem itself.  Who is to blame for this problem?  The answer is everyone, including the NCAA, but most importantly and most to blame are the players themselves.  It is comparable to steroids.  In terms of the steroid problem, the manufacturers who made the products too readily available were to blame, the doctors who allowed the players to take them were to blame, the managers and players who knew about it but didn’t say anything were to blame, the owners who knew about it but enjoyed their revenue flow too much to say anything were to blame, and many fans and journalists who showed their apathy with their checkbooks were to blame.  So many people were to blame, and these other people and sources enabled the culture, but who took the steroids?  The players.  Yes, the influences on these players from outside sources were not positive, and there were pressures on the players to take steroids, but at the end of the day, it was the players who stuck needles into themselves.

The same situation exists in college football.  There is no way that Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Pete Carroll, among others, did not know that something was amiss.  Reggie Bush came from a poor family, and when he began driving Escalades and Corvettes to practice, Carroll knew indirectly if not directly that something was being done that wasn’t quite right, or legal.  The coaches knew.  The athletic directors had to know.  Obviously the agents knew.  However, even though the problem could have been stymied by all these sources, the fact is that the first move was made by the players themselves.  Reggie Bush didn’t need to take the money, the cars, and the house.  He didn’t need to handicap his program for years after his departure, he didn’t need to jeopardize his program’s 2006 National Championship, and he didn’t need to risk his own Heisman Trophy.  He knew it was wrong, he knew the possible sanctions, and HE ACCEPTED THE IMPROPER BENEFITS.   Nick Saban said in his press conference, “How would you feel if someone did this to your son or daughter?”  Nick, the fact is that these college students are adults who can make their own decisions and need to accept responsibility for these decisions.  These players aren’t puppets to whom something is “done” without their control.  Opportunities are presented (some of them illegal) and these players decide to put their interests ahead of that of their university, their coaches, and their teammates.  Therefore, the root of the problem is the players themselves, with the influence of the agents dependent upon the consent of the players themselves.

How can this problem be fixed?  First, the player needs to be addressed.  However, at this point, the player already faces heavy sanctions if discovered during his college career.  He loses his eligibility immediately and is unable to resume college play.  The only problem with this strong sanction is that most players engaging with agents are planning to move to the NFL, and therefore their eligibility isn’t extremely important to them.  The next and more important step is to heavily penalize the schools themselves.  For example, in the USC case, if a precedent was set in the form of a vacated National Championship and, say, a 10 year ban from bowl play, a message would be sent to coaches and athletic directors that this behavior and acceptance will not be tolerated, and that heavy, program handicapping penalties will ensue.  If these type of penalties are established, there will no longer be coaches and AD’s looking the other way on these cases the way Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer appear to have done.  These coaches will instead seek out the problems in order to quell them before the NCAA can find out and impose sanctions on the program.

The next way to address the problem is to address the agents.  If an agent is caught with a player in college, his license should be suspended for five years.  Players in the NFL who have hired these agents will have to find new agents if their agents are caught with college players.  This solution will do two important things.  First, it will discourage many agents from attaching to college players, because while the rewards will still be there, the risks will be significantly higher, and because of the steps I defined in the previous paragraph, the chance of being caught will be much higher.  In addition, agents would be much less likely to associate themselves with college players because their existing clients will be likely to switch agents if they knew of their agents’ dealings with college players in the past.  These NFL players will not want to face the possibility of their agent being taken from them without their control, and thereby some will leave their agents on their own terms in order to find a more stable option (ie. an agent who will not get his license suspended at an arbitrary time because he does not deal with college players).  These two consequences of this proposed regulation will invariably force the corrupt agents from the sport and will quickly clean the image of the college football stars, and that of college football itself.