December 2007 - Posts
When the first day of 2007 closed with Boise State’s thrilling 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl who would have known that it was just the beginning? The wackiest and most unpredictable year in college football history was born and it wasn’t about to let up.
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While getting set for the Poinsettia Bowl, the first of 32 bowl games, I’m here to pose this week’s 20 questions:
When you think about students possibly cheating on a test, wouldn’t an online music history course be among the furthest things from your mind?
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Although colorless and rather clinical, Duke’s public job posting for “football coach” was refreshing. Reading about the work expected from the person filling this position reaffirms the true essence of being the leader of a college football team. Much of that gets lost these days, especially when shady characters such as Bobby Petrino dominate the discussion.
Although the posting surely played no role in Saturday’s hiring of David Cutcliffe, as you would expect, Duke’s human resources department had all the nuts and bolts nailed down. Other schools still seeking head coaches should do the same, but with some slight changes. If they added a heavy dose of pure honesty into the mix, it would certainly result in a more effective process.
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At first I thought it was a great idea. ABC’s plan to unveil the 25 greatest players in college football history seemed like it would provide interesting nuggets each week as the countdown inched toward revealing the top two players during the Rose Bowl broadcast on New Year’s Day.
When Ernie Nevers started it off at No. 25, I was even more encouraged. College football has such a rich history and this process appeared to be destined for thoughtful selection and education. You knew it was going to be controversial, but I couldn’t help but think that this was going to be beneficial, especially for younger fans who may not be familiar with some of the legends of yesteryear.
Then it all changed.
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The regular season was everything but regular. Led by the efforts of Missouri, Kansas and Hawaii, the college football landscape underwent major renovations in 2007, and experienced some dramatic shifts along the way, as Stanford and Pitt took over where Appalachian State left off.
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Although some of it isn’t in line with the spirit of the holiday season, it’s like Christmas come early when the ballots that make up the USA Today Top 25 coaches' poll are made public. There’s so much to look at and discuss, much of it quite frightening.
Let’s start with Bob Stoops, who went all out to support his Sooners, placing them in the top spot, while also slotting LSU all the way down at No. 6. However, the Youngstown native didn’t attempt to do any sabotage to Ohio State’s point total, ranking the Buckeyes at No. 2. Too bad his brother Mike doesn’t vote in the poll. It would have been interesting to see how the Arizona head coach felt about such matters.
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We should have seen this coming. But at the same time, we’ve been expecting the madness to subside. It obviously hasn’t and the 2007 season has been a constant downpour of shockers and shakeups.
Now, after 14 erratic weeks of college football, we’re left with a virtual free-for-all. On Sunday, the combination of computers and pollsters will spit out the names of two teams that will play for the BCS title on Jan. 7, but it’ll be far from definitive … and highly controversial.
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