PLaw
1/20/2008, 04:28 PM
I just came across this article on Fox Sports - can't believe how ridiculous some folks think - in this case the "fan" asking the first question. Besides that, nice props from Pete to Sam "Money" Bradford.
BOOMER
55-44-43-48 NEVER AGAIN
Ask CFN: Is Stoops the new Carr?
by Pete Fiutak
For more previews, predictions and prognostications, go to CollegeFootballNews.com.
Updated: January 19, 2008, 7:04 PM EST 26 comments RSS digg blog email print Fire over your questions to me at [email protected]. I might not be able to answer them all, but I promise they're all read. Any e-mails sent to this address may be published or edited unless requested otherwise. (Please put ASK CFN in the subject line, and PLEASE keep the questions short ... it makes my life easier.)
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Question: I'm a Big 12 fan and an OU fan. How long do you think the booster at OU will put up with the poor game planning and play calling of Bob Stoops? I know the Sooners won the title but that was with Blake's players. He hasn't won since. Do you think Terry Bowden would ever consider coaching OU? — WA
Answer: You're really a Texas fan, right? How else could you explain having any interest in Terry Bowden over Bob Stoops? Not to throw you under the bus and start ripping since this question is hardly unique as Stoops has turned into the new Lloyd Carr, but this is nuts.
All Stoops has done is win two straight Big 12 titles, play in five of the last six Big 12 championship games, and win a national title. There are more than 100 other teams out there that would kill for the Oklahoma resume over the last eight years. Bad times with good, as the "poor game planning and play calling" has been good enough to go 90-17. Along with LSU, Ohio State and USC, Oklahoma belongs among the elite of the elite of the elite.
With that said, you're right when it comes to the bowl games. There was no excuse for losing like that against West Virginia, and the Boise State loss will stick forever. That's not to say the Mountaineers and Broncos weren't good, or to say the wins were a fluke in any way, but they weren't more talented than OU and those were two major upsets considering the situations.
Question: With some maturity, is Sam Bradford the type of field general that can lead the Sooners to the promised land by his junior year? — JM
Answer: What more maturity do you need? All the kid did was lead the nation in passing efficiency as a freshman. When he got time, he ripped everyone apart. What he'll have to figure out how to work past is the pass rush, but that goes for 99 percent of all quarterbacks, especially ones who don't run much. If Oklahoma doesn't win the 2008 national title, it won't be Bradford's fault. He's good enough right now to win a championship with.
Question: I was trying to find a stat online but was not able and hoped you could help. What is the longest streak of having a 1,000-yard rusher at a school? I know Northern Illinois has to have one of the longest active streaks, dating all the way back to the Thomas Hammock days. Thanks for any help you can provide. — SG, Illinois
Answer: I couldn't find it in the NCAA record book, so I'll leave it up to the readers to correct me for being wrong. If memory serves, either it's Wisconsin, rolling from Brent Moss through Terrell Fletcher, Carl McCullough, Ron Dayne to Anthony Davis, with the string being broken when Davis got hurt, or it's North Carolina starting in 1974 with Mike Voight and going through Amos Lawrence, Kelvin Bryant and Ethan Horton on the way to 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons. Minnesota had a nice string going for a while.
Question: Why isn't the Reggie Bush scandal getting much media attention? It seems to me that the NCAA is hoping the situation just magically disappears. Everyone in the country knows rules were broken while Bush attended USC. Not to mention, USC was caught red-handed when Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight were involved in a three way phone conversation while McKnight was being recruited by Carroll. All someone had to say was "Um, Joe misspoke. He was just listening to a conversation between Carroll and Bush," and the NCAA didn't even raise an eyebrow. — Donnie
Answer: It's coming. It has to. It seems like the NCAA is waiting for the Reggie Bush case to be sorted out first legally, and then it can simply rule accordingly. There isn't that much of a national uproar over it because no one really cares. Personally, I think they're silly rules that deserve to be broken, but fans of several other teams hit by sanctions over the years are absolutely entitled to wonder why things are progressing so slowly.
If Oklahoma was forced to vacate wins because Rhett Bomar took a few bucks, then USC's record book might need a huge eraser if all the Bush stuff is true. Even so, unless you can make everyone forget about Bush's career and the stomping of the Sooners to win the 2004 national title, it really doesn't matter except in a book that no one reads.
Question: Is the NCAA actually going to take a serious look at an eight-team playoff, or are they just blowing smoke? If so, what are the chances? 50/50, higher? — DM
Answer: Take a look at a proposal, yes. Take a serious look, yeah, sort of. Do anything about it? Yeah, right.
Question: As a dejected yet loyal Buckeye, I wonder, is it possible the pollsters will allow us to play in the NCG even if we are able to beat USC, after the last two years? Also without a fullback, several returning receivers, is it possible that we will see a more spread offense (a la old-school Purdue) with Todd Boeckman or a run-and-gun with Antonio Henton? — SS
Answer: It seems like the coaching staff is going to do a little of both by getting Henton more involved to add even more running to the overall mix.
What will Ohio State's offense look like next season? ( Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Yes, the pollsters will "allow" little old Ohio State back in to another national championship game if it goes 12-0 with a win over USC at USC. Dog the Big Ten all you want, but the schedule is nasty from the first game of October on. At Wisconsin, Purdue, at Michigan State, Penn State, at Northwestern, at Illinois, Michigan. That's six bowl teams in seven games, and the strength of schedule will look decent.
However, if the Buckeyes lose once along the way, there might be a backlash because of the last two national title games if there are other viable options.
Question: Will anyone ever realize that the Buckeyes aren't as good as everyone thinks they are? They lost to an Illinois team that was destroyed by USC in the Rose Bowl and they have been destroyed in the previous two BCS national championship games, by LSU and Florida. Sure they won the Big Ten, but it was a weak year for the Big Ten. Michigan was banged up with Henne and Hart both missing time and the rest of the Big Ten isn't very good. I thought it would be LSU and Oklahoma, who lost one game without their quarterback against a strong Texas Tech team (I know they disappointed against West Virginia, but they didn't play that badly). In conclusion, I will restate my question: Will anyone ever realize the Buckeyes aren't that good? — SL
Answer: "Didn't play that badly?!" Oklahoma was awful against West Virginia and lost to Colorado with Sam Bradford and Texas Tech with Joey Halze playing relatively well. Did you forget that LSU lost to Kentucky and Arkansas teams that were slightly above average and worse than Illinois? USC lost to Stanford. That's the big matzo ball that doesn't go away in the discussion. Ohio State was that good, but when LSU had time to rest up, heal all their top players, and get everyone at near 100 percent, it proved what we all knew at the beginning of the year that it was a killer.
Remember, Ohio State wasn't supposed to be playing for the national title last year. The team actually overachieved considering the replacements made on offense. Also remember that there's no shame in losing to Florida and LSU. It gets glossed over for recent Sooner and Buckeye teams that they lost in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Not the Capital One Bowl, not the Sun and not the New Orleans.
Question: Which college's NFL alumni would field the strongest pro team? You need enough players in the league to have starters at each position, which probably narrows it down to 10-12 programs with enough alumni to insure enough starters to build a top 22 with no one playing out of position... Given the importance of QB play, you'd have to think Michigan with Brady would be at the top, but looking at the DL, it's pretty thin (only three DL in the league, and one DE). Maybe Tennessee? — DB
Answer: It's always a fun argument that until recently was always won by Miami. Now, as strange as it sounds for the former factory, there's no quarterback to lead the way. Tennessee is in the discussion, especially with Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry in the backfield, Robert Meachem and Donte Stallworth at receiver, Jason Witten at tight end, but the O line would be a problem. The defensive tackle combination of John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth would be a killer, the ends would probably be Shaun Ellis and Parys Haralson, the linebackers Omar Gaither, Kevin Burnett, and incoming rookie Jerod Mayo, and the secondary Jason Allen, Gibril Wilson, Deon Grant and I'd take incoming rookie Jonathan Hefney.
USC would pose a challenge. Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Justin Fargas in the backfield, Steve Smith (of the Giants) and Keary Kolbert at receiver, incoming rookie Fred Davis at tight end, a line starting with Ryan Kalil, Deuce Lutui, incoming rookie Sam Baker, and bust Winston Justice, a D line of Mike Patterson, Shaun Cody, Frostee Rucker, and incoming rookie Sedrick Ellis and/or Lawrence Jackson, a killer linebacking corps of Lofa Tatupu, Junior Seau and incoming rookie Keith Rivers, and a secondary starting with Troy Polamalu, and then being forced to play Darnell Bing and Will Poole.
Question: Would love to know your top picks for players that were stars in the college game, but duds in the pros, and those who were simply OK in college but went on to stardom in the NFL. — Ann
Answer: My top five all-time great college players but pro busts (and I'm not talking about the Tommie Fraziers of the world who were never pro prospects, and I'm also not talking about the pure busts who were good college players, but not legends, like Ryan Leaf.): 1. Charles Rogers, WR Michigan State, 2. Tony Mandarich, OT Michigan State, 3. Peter Warrick, WR Florida State, 4. Brian Bosworth, LB Oklahoma, 5. Kenneth Sims, DT Texas. Desmond Howard probably belongs in there somewhere.
Best decent college players who grew into killer pros: 1. Tom Brady, QB Michigan (although I seem to be the only one who thought he was great as a Wolverine), 2. Brett Favre, QB Southern Miss, 3. Johnny Unitas, QB Louisville, 4. Mike Webster, C Wisconsin, 5. Terrell Davis, RB Georgia
BOOMER
55-44-43-48 NEVER AGAIN
Ask CFN: Is Stoops the new Carr?
by Pete Fiutak
For more previews, predictions and prognostications, go to CollegeFootballNews.com.
Updated: January 19, 2008, 7:04 PM EST 26 comments RSS digg blog email print Fire over your questions to me at [email protected]. I might not be able to answer them all, but I promise they're all read. Any e-mails sent to this address may be published or edited unless requested otherwise. (Please put ASK CFN in the subject line, and PLEASE keep the questions short ... it makes my life easier.)
-----------------------------------
Question: I'm a Big 12 fan and an OU fan. How long do you think the booster at OU will put up with the poor game planning and play calling of Bob Stoops? I know the Sooners won the title but that was with Blake's players. He hasn't won since. Do you think Terry Bowden would ever consider coaching OU? — WA
Answer: You're really a Texas fan, right? How else could you explain having any interest in Terry Bowden over Bob Stoops? Not to throw you under the bus and start ripping since this question is hardly unique as Stoops has turned into the new Lloyd Carr, but this is nuts.
All Stoops has done is win two straight Big 12 titles, play in five of the last six Big 12 championship games, and win a national title. There are more than 100 other teams out there that would kill for the Oklahoma resume over the last eight years. Bad times with good, as the "poor game planning and play calling" has been good enough to go 90-17. Along with LSU, Ohio State and USC, Oklahoma belongs among the elite of the elite of the elite.
With that said, you're right when it comes to the bowl games. There was no excuse for losing like that against West Virginia, and the Boise State loss will stick forever. That's not to say the Mountaineers and Broncos weren't good, or to say the wins were a fluke in any way, but they weren't more talented than OU and those were two major upsets considering the situations.
Question: With some maturity, is Sam Bradford the type of field general that can lead the Sooners to the promised land by his junior year? — JM
Answer: What more maturity do you need? All the kid did was lead the nation in passing efficiency as a freshman. When he got time, he ripped everyone apart. What he'll have to figure out how to work past is the pass rush, but that goes for 99 percent of all quarterbacks, especially ones who don't run much. If Oklahoma doesn't win the 2008 national title, it won't be Bradford's fault. He's good enough right now to win a championship with.
Question: I was trying to find a stat online but was not able and hoped you could help. What is the longest streak of having a 1,000-yard rusher at a school? I know Northern Illinois has to have one of the longest active streaks, dating all the way back to the Thomas Hammock days. Thanks for any help you can provide. — SG, Illinois
Answer: I couldn't find it in the NCAA record book, so I'll leave it up to the readers to correct me for being wrong. If memory serves, either it's Wisconsin, rolling from Brent Moss through Terrell Fletcher, Carl McCullough, Ron Dayne to Anthony Davis, with the string being broken when Davis got hurt, or it's North Carolina starting in 1974 with Mike Voight and going through Amos Lawrence, Kelvin Bryant and Ethan Horton on the way to 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons. Minnesota had a nice string going for a while.
Question: Why isn't the Reggie Bush scandal getting much media attention? It seems to me that the NCAA is hoping the situation just magically disappears. Everyone in the country knows rules were broken while Bush attended USC. Not to mention, USC was caught red-handed when Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight were involved in a three way phone conversation while McKnight was being recruited by Carroll. All someone had to say was "Um, Joe misspoke. He was just listening to a conversation between Carroll and Bush," and the NCAA didn't even raise an eyebrow. — Donnie
Answer: It's coming. It has to. It seems like the NCAA is waiting for the Reggie Bush case to be sorted out first legally, and then it can simply rule accordingly. There isn't that much of a national uproar over it because no one really cares. Personally, I think they're silly rules that deserve to be broken, but fans of several other teams hit by sanctions over the years are absolutely entitled to wonder why things are progressing so slowly.
If Oklahoma was forced to vacate wins because Rhett Bomar took a few bucks, then USC's record book might need a huge eraser if all the Bush stuff is true. Even so, unless you can make everyone forget about Bush's career and the stomping of the Sooners to win the 2004 national title, it really doesn't matter except in a book that no one reads.
Question: Is the NCAA actually going to take a serious look at an eight-team playoff, or are they just blowing smoke? If so, what are the chances? 50/50, higher? — DM
Answer: Take a look at a proposal, yes. Take a serious look, yeah, sort of. Do anything about it? Yeah, right.
Question: As a dejected yet loyal Buckeye, I wonder, is it possible the pollsters will allow us to play in the NCG even if we are able to beat USC, after the last two years? Also without a fullback, several returning receivers, is it possible that we will see a more spread offense (a la old-school Purdue) with Todd Boeckman or a run-and-gun with Antonio Henton? — SS
Answer: It seems like the coaching staff is going to do a little of both by getting Henton more involved to add even more running to the overall mix.
What will Ohio State's offense look like next season? ( Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Yes, the pollsters will "allow" little old Ohio State back in to another national championship game if it goes 12-0 with a win over USC at USC. Dog the Big Ten all you want, but the schedule is nasty from the first game of October on. At Wisconsin, Purdue, at Michigan State, Penn State, at Northwestern, at Illinois, Michigan. That's six bowl teams in seven games, and the strength of schedule will look decent.
However, if the Buckeyes lose once along the way, there might be a backlash because of the last two national title games if there are other viable options.
Question: Will anyone ever realize that the Buckeyes aren't as good as everyone thinks they are? They lost to an Illinois team that was destroyed by USC in the Rose Bowl and they have been destroyed in the previous two BCS national championship games, by LSU and Florida. Sure they won the Big Ten, but it was a weak year for the Big Ten. Michigan was banged up with Henne and Hart both missing time and the rest of the Big Ten isn't very good. I thought it would be LSU and Oklahoma, who lost one game without their quarterback against a strong Texas Tech team (I know they disappointed against West Virginia, but they didn't play that badly). In conclusion, I will restate my question: Will anyone ever realize the Buckeyes aren't that good? — SL
Answer: "Didn't play that badly?!" Oklahoma was awful against West Virginia and lost to Colorado with Sam Bradford and Texas Tech with Joey Halze playing relatively well. Did you forget that LSU lost to Kentucky and Arkansas teams that were slightly above average and worse than Illinois? USC lost to Stanford. That's the big matzo ball that doesn't go away in the discussion. Ohio State was that good, but when LSU had time to rest up, heal all their top players, and get everyone at near 100 percent, it proved what we all knew at the beginning of the year that it was a killer.
Remember, Ohio State wasn't supposed to be playing for the national title last year. The team actually overachieved considering the replacements made on offense. Also remember that there's no shame in losing to Florida and LSU. It gets glossed over for recent Sooner and Buckeye teams that they lost in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. Not the Capital One Bowl, not the Sun and not the New Orleans.
Question: Which college's NFL alumni would field the strongest pro team? You need enough players in the league to have starters at each position, which probably narrows it down to 10-12 programs with enough alumni to insure enough starters to build a top 22 with no one playing out of position... Given the importance of QB play, you'd have to think Michigan with Brady would be at the top, but looking at the DL, it's pretty thin (only three DL in the league, and one DE). Maybe Tennessee? — DB
Answer: It's always a fun argument that until recently was always won by Miami. Now, as strange as it sounds for the former factory, there's no quarterback to lead the way. Tennessee is in the discussion, especially with Peyton Manning, Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry in the backfield, Robert Meachem and Donte Stallworth at receiver, Jason Witten at tight end, but the O line would be a problem. The defensive tackle combination of John Henderson and Albert Haynesworth would be a killer, the ends would probably be Shaun Ellis and Parys Haralson, the linebackers Omar Gaither, Kevin Burnett, and incoming rookie Jerod Mayo, and the secondary Jason Allen, Gibril Wilson, Deon Grant and I'd take incoming rookie Jonathan Hefney.
USC would pose a challenge. Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Justin Fargas in the backfield, Steve Smith (of the Giants) and Keary Kolbert at receiver, incoming rookie Fred Davis at tight end, a line starting with Ryan Kalil, Deuce Lutui, incoming rookie Sam Baker, and bust Winston Justice, a D line of Mike Patterson, Shaun Cody, Frostee Rucker, and incoming rookie Sedrick Ellis and/or Lawrence Jackson, a killer linebacking corps of Lofa Tatupu, Junior Seau and incoming rookie Keith Rivers, and a secondary starting with Troy Polamalu, and then being forced to play Darnell Bing and Will Poole.
Question: Would love to know your top picks for players that were stars in the college game, but duds in the pros, and those who were simply OK in college but went on to stardom in the NFL. — Ann
Answer: My top five all-time great college players but pro busts (and I'm not talking about the Tommie Fraziers of the world who were never pro prospects, and I'm also not talking about the pure busts who were good college players, but not legends, like Ryan Leaf.): 1. Charles Rogers, WR Michigan State, 2. Tony Mandarich, OT Michigan State, 3. Peter Warrick, WR Florida State, 4. Brian Bosworth, LB Oklahoma, 5. Kenneth Sims, DT Texas. Desmond Howard probably belongs in there somewhere.
Best decent college players who grew into killer pros: 1. Tom Brady, QB Michigan (although I seem to be the only one who thought he was great as a Wolverine), 2. Brett Favre, QB Southern Miss, 3. Johnny Unitas, QB Louisville, 4. Mike Webster, C Wisconsin, 5. Terrell Davis, RB Georgia