BlogPoll Roundtable Discussion

by T Kyle King on Mar 30, 2006 11:55 PM EST in Football

Joey over at Schembechler Hall has posted the latest---or earliest, depending upon how you choose to look at it---BlogPoll Roundtable.

Because I have been picking fights with Texans (memo to self: don't do that), I have been among the slowest of Bulldog bloggers to respond, but here are my thoughts on Joey's questions:

1) It's early, but thus far, which offseason change or changes in college football are you most excited about?

Besides the N.C.A.A.'s "don't ask, don't tell"-like backpedaling from its asinine Indian mascot quasi-ban?

If North Carolina's sports teams were called the Silverheels instead of the Tar Heels, U.N.C. wouldn't have received a bid to this year's N.C.A.A. tournament.

Naturally, I am a big fan of the fact that the 12-game regular season schedule becomes a permanent fixture of college football in 2006 after a two-year trial run (due to a quirk of the calendar) in 2002 and 2003. The extra contest enables traditional rivalries like Georgia-Clemson to be revived and generally adheres to the principle that too much of a good thing is an even better thing. More college football is better.

Related to this is the fact that I agree with Orson Swindle that "[t]he continued blossoming of interconference scheduling" is a major plus for the sport. Obviously, Ohio State's trip to Austin next fall headlines this series of games, but, after years of receiving just criticism for weak out-of-conference scheduling, the S.E.C. has upgraded its non-league opposition in a major way. Next stop: Georgia-Michigan!

2) With spring practice underway, what are the three concerns about your team that are causing you the most anxiety?

I'll tell you the one that isn't causing me anxiety: the quarterback battle. A quick look at what has happened to Georgia's and Florida State's respective Q.B. situations since Mark Richt moved from Tallahassee to Athens convinces me that the right man for the job will be brought along and installed in the position. When Coach Richt taps a signal caller and says, "This is our guy"---that's our guy.

The most visible area of concern is the receiving corps. Sean Bailey is out for the season, a puff of white smoke will signal Leonard Pope's selection in the upcoming N.F.L. draft, and Mohammed Massaquoi can't bring the Bulldogs to the mountain all by himself. Nowhere does untapped potential need to become on-field performance more desperately than on the hands team.

To Leonard Pope! He's 10 feet tall, weighs two tons, showers in vodka, eats hammers, and can take a shotgun blast standing!

Perhaps less obvious, yet even more critical, is the offensive line. Depth is a major concern, particularly if anyone else decides to pull an Ian Smith.

Speaking of which, my third area of concern doesn't have to do with any particular position, but with the Bulldogs' maddening annual tendency to become involved in penny-ante incidents that amount to nothing. Don't get me wrong . . . I'd rather deal with suspended licenses and underage drinking citations than the sort of stuff that went on with Barry Switzer's Sooners, Jimmy Johnson's Hurricanes, Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys, Barry Switzer's Cowboys, and . . . hey, I'm sensing a pattern here.

Every year, guys lose games to suspension over stupid childish nonsense like unpaid parking tickets or typically poor judgment calls by 19-year-olds who don't seem to get that they aren't typical 19-year-olds. Such foolishness causes needless distractions, embarrasses the program, and results in shuffled personnel assignments that interfere with teamwork. Every moving violation by a Georgia player makes me absolutely nuts.

3) Care to take a stab at a preseason top five?

No. No, I don't. Oh, all right, fine.

Brian already beat me to the punch on this one, but I'm more inclined to start with a preseason not top five. Southern Cal lost everyone of significance on offense. Ohio State lost everyone on defense, significant or otherwise. West Virginia won't be able to sneak up on anyone this season and the Mountaineers' two star players are due for sophomore slumps. Notre Dame hasn't strung together consecutive quality seasons in over a decade. Florida will be improved, but the Gators aren't yet ready to make the quantum leap into the top five. Where does that leave us?

Hoss Cartwright won't be smiling quite so broadly at the end of the next season. (I still can't believe we lost to those guys!)

Texas---While I do not discount the importance of Vince Young's departure, the defending national champions finally have the swagger to go with all that talent.
Louisiana State---The Tigers overcame the greatest natural disaster in American history and Les Miles's coaching to win 11 games and demolish Miami in the Peach Bowl. The Bayou Bengals could be scary nasty good next season.
Oklahoma---None of us ever had the Sooners ranked right last year. O.U. was overrated in the early going and underrated at the end of the year. Oklahoma lost to some solid teams and, but for a blown call against Texas Tech, the Sooners would have ended the season on a winning streak, capped off by a bowl victory over favored Oregon. The Red River Shootout should be the epic game in 2006 that Notre Dame-Southern Cal was in 2005.
Auburn---They're talented, they're seasoned, and no coaching staff in the country received a bigger offseason upgrade than the Plainsmen's huge boost at defensive coordinator. No game on Georgia's schedule has me more nervous than this one. I hate Auburn.
Michigan---Call it a crazy hunch.

Preseason football predictions in March are accompanied by plausible deniability, right?

Go 'Dawgs!

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Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Upon further review, the offseason change in college football about which I am most excited is . . . the absence of change.

Growing up, I was more a baseball fan than a football fan. The problem is, baseball has been a downhill ride my entire life.

I was born the month after the 1968 season---"The Year of the Pitcher"---ended. In order to prevent good pitching from beating good hitting, major league baseball lowered the mound. This began, both literally and figuratively, baseball's descent into the dirt.

In 1969, divisional play began, producing major league baseball's biggest fluke, the Miracle Mets.

Then came the designated hitter . . . and the splitting of the leagues into three divisions (even though the number of teams in each league was not evenly divisible by three) . . . and the wild card . . . and the five-game divisional series . . . and interleague play . . . and the All-Star Game as a mechanism for determining home field advantage in the World Series . . . and the juiced ball . . . and the juiced park . . . and the juiced player . . . and the juiced record book . . . and the 1994 strike, for which I have never quite forgiven the national pastime. Pete Rose isn't eligible for the Hall of Fame, but it just dawned on Bud Selig that maybe Barry Bonds ought to be investigated.

Baseball's great legacy was its tradition. That tradition has been shattered by mismanagement and mendacity.

College football stands alone as a bulwark of tradition in athletics, steadfast in its preservation of its historic system. Among its most storied programs are to be found teams that haven't changed their uniforms in decades: Alabama and Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State.

During the English Civil War, Lord Falkland said, "When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change."

Viewed in that light, the best change to college football was . . . no change at all.

College football isn't broke. Good for the N.C.A.A. for not fixing it.

by T Kyle King on Mar 31, 2006 12:16 AM EST reply actions

Good point

That's a fair assessment.

Rest assured, I'm not writing that game off . . . if nothing else, we have the "away field advantage" of playing the Tigers at Jordan-Hare, where we always fare better than we do at home . . . but Auburn looks like the toughest game on the schedule right now, although you are right that heightened expectations might be the Plainsmen's downfall.

Nothing would please me more than being able to report back in November that you were right and I was wrong. The great advantage of being a pessimist is that you are always either proven correct or pleasantly surprised.

by T Kyle King on Mar 31, 2006 10:25 AM EST reply actions

Great Thread Kyle!

It has been an awesome run for the USC faithful. I couldn't be more proud of how SC played and handled all that came with being in the spotlight. While their accomplishments during their run is well documented, even a little over hyped, it was extremely disappointing not to get the Three-Pete. I will take what I have witnessed the past couple of seasons any day of the week.

Congrats to Texas! A special team with a special player. That was a special night to be a part of; too bad we were on the losing end.

Off Season Changes:

I'd like to the NCAA take a uniform approach on instant replay. It works in the pro's there is no reason that it can't work here. The last time I checked it seemed a little haphazard and optional. Has this changed Kyle?

My 3 Concerns:

1- Booty's back trouble. I know he just had back surgery and everyone is optimistic. But that is the business I'm in and I would be concerned if a 20 year old was having a herniated disc operated on. Especially with all the hits he will take during the season.

2- Running Back. Obviously there are a lot of new faces back there and not a lot of experience. Lets see how they respond.

3- Offensive line. SC missed out on a couple of Five Star prospects, one went to Notre Dame and I think the other went to Alabama? I'm not sure. But protecting Booty or Sanchez has to be top priority. Without that protection I don't care who they have back there it will be tough to be effective.

My Pre-Season Top 5:

In no paarticular order except for Texas being #1

Texas- they are the Champs! And until the champs are knocked off they get to hold the top spot. They will have a good year. New freshman QB's will have their work cut out for them and that might be a bit much to overcome. BCS bowl bound-Yes, Fiesta Bowl- No. But they will be fun to watch. Hat tip to BON!

Auburn- After a disappointing 2005 I would agree Auburn is due for jumpstart in 2006. Call the 2005 season a letdown after a stellar 2004. As a Trojan fan I thought SC vs. Auburn in the Orange Bowl would have been a far superior game.

Notre Dame- God, I hate The Irish! But I can see the Irish in the top 5. It's a whole new program under Weis. He infused a totally different mindset and the team responded. SC vs. ND 2005 was a Classic. If he gets that secondary fixed they will be tough to beat. Charlie will have them ready to play. They also have one of the toughest schedules year in and year out so I would give the benefit of the doubt. That inconsistency is about to come to an end.

Alabama- Alabama has to get some love this year. Shula has really turned them around. This could be the year of the SEC. They are just too proud of a program and they are starting to come around.

LSU- what can I say, after all that they went through in 2005 they responded unflinchingly! The ASU game sent a message of mental toughness. Can they have a bit a letdown this year after that adrenaline rush of 2005? Maybe, but I doubt it.

Other Opinions:

Michigan- I'm just not sure about Michigan-talk about flaky. I am shocked at level of underachievement in the past couple of years. That Lloyd Carr still has job is a bit surprising. I just can't see them in the top 5.

The OSU- if they come of Austin with a win they skyrocket to the top of the polls.

Oklahoma- we'll see. I think they needed a year to recover after the Orange Bowl..

Florida- better in 2006, but it's the Tebow show in 2007!

By the way, SC fans hate being called Southern Cal. We don't want to be affiliated with "the Peoples Republic of Berkley" I know no offense was intended. It's just a pet peeve we have.

I loved the Messin' with Texas/Texas twopeat threads. Very creative. Keep up the great work!

Thanks.

Fight On!

by Paragon SC on Apr 1, 2006 3:23 PM EST reply actions

U.S.C.

Thanks for the detailed response and thanks for reading Dawg Sports.

I haven't followed the replay thing too closely, but my understanding is that they're trying to make it more uniform. Some form of coaches' challenge has been added.

I apologize for the "Southern Cal" thing. If memory serves, that was what U.S.C. went by when I was growing up and old habits die hard. (I still say "Pitt" rather than "Pittsburgh.")

Generally, I have shied away from using "U.S.C." for two reasons. First of all, one of my alma mater's division rivals is South Carolina, which shares the same initials, so I tend to spell out the names of the schools in order to avoid confusion. (Along those same lines, I would never use "U.T." or "U.M." without context, since that might lead to confusion between Tennessee and Texas or between Michigan and Miami.)

My other reason---and this is no fault of the Trojans, I realize---is that my aversion to the abbreviation "UGA" as shorthand for "Georgia" predisposes me not to use abbreviations for other schools. (For the same reason, I almost always use "Texas Christian" rather than "T.C.U.")

I will, however, try to defer to the wishes of the school and its fans. Would "Southern California" be an acceptable substitute, as long as I didn't lop off everything after the first syllable of the name of the state?

Thanks again for reading and for sharing your thoughts.

by T Kyle King on Apr 1, 2006 7:21 PM EST up reply actions