Musings on NCAA football

I’ll start this post off with a disclaimer: As a graduate of D-III school Wesleyan (which has inexplicably produced two NFL head coaches – Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini - and one MLB GM – Jed Hoyer - but that’s a story for another day), I’m not a huge follower of college football.  I will also admit ignorance about the BCS, a system which commentators and school officials outside the SEC seem to despise without offering a viable alternative.  However, I did watch more games on TV this season than ever and while the “Game of the Century – LSU vs. Alabama” was a bust, many have been thoroughly entertaining like Oklahoma St.’s 2OT loss to Iowa St which knocked them out of the Championship Game. With this increased exposure I feel the need to share my thoughts so here goes…

1) I understand that the BCS correctly identified the top 2 teams in the country in LSU and Alabama but realistically who outside the Southeast wants to watch this game? While I’m not going to argue with Alabama finishing in front of #4 Stanford despite the fact that the latter’s one loss came against a Top 10 team (Oregon), I personally believe that some sort of playoff system should be implemented to put an end to the constant second-guessing. In any event, I only hope that the Championship Game is not a field goal slugfest like the first match-up!

2) Andrew Luck, Stanford’s QB, is NOT projected to win the Heisman Trophy this Saturday in New York which to me represents such a remarkable turn of events that I’m almost rendered speechless. There was so much made of his decision to stay in college for one more season that anything short of a National Championship is now a failure. Forget that he led a PAC-12 school known for its academic rigor to the still-prestigious Fiesta Bowl, threw for 35 TDs and over 3,100 yards and is guaranteed to be the #1 pick in the upcoming draft; Baylor’s QB, Robert Griffin III (who??) clearly deserves the award because he’s fun to watch and he beat Texas (which has an 0-4 record against Top 25 teams by the way). This makes absolutely no sense to me but Luck can console himself with thoughts of a very large contract coming his direction! Now if  he could only get Archie Manning to stop giving his input on the Colts’ QB situation…

3) Can someone explain to me why Virginia Tech, which got blown out by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, was given a BCS at-large bowl bid? They are now playing in the Sugar Bowl instead of (the more deserving) Kansas St or Arkansas, two teams which face each other in the Cotton Bowl (apparently not a BCS bowl which I only figured out now.)

4) Along the same lines, how embarrassing is it that UCLA – which had just fired its coach for getting demolished by USC the previous week - played Oregon for the Pac 12 title? If that wasn’t enough, the team actually received a waiver to accept a bowl bid. Are you kidding me? Why does a team with a 6-7 record and no head coach deserve to go to a bowl? The mind boggles…

5) Finally, I just read a very confusing article about the Big East’s expansion next year to include Boise St., Houston, SMU, San Diego St, and Central Florida.  I haven’t studied geography in awhile and currently live outside the U.S. but am I correct in pointing out that Idaho, Texas and California are very far from the East Coast? Apparently, these teams have worked out some convoluted agreement that this is solely for football purposes (e.g. ability to make money from TV contracts) as their other sports programs will play in other conferences like the Mountain West and Conference USA. You understand my confusion right? Do conferences even matter anymore as the constant realignment has realistically rendered them pointless. Come 2014 when these teams are allowed to opt out of the Big East, I bet they form their own conference just out of spite!

The BCS trophy goes to an SEC team...again

Random Thoughts

My daughter is off from school for Easter (yes, this early!) so I’ve spent the last few days entertaining her meaning my posts become entirely less cohesive. Anyway, here’s what’s on my mind:

1) I just watched the Butler-UConn title game last night (living in London means I don’t watch alot of live games) and I must say that I almost fell asleep during the second half. That was one of the most boring match-ups I’ve ever seen which is a shame given how exciting the tournament was. Butler’s shooting was horrendous -18.8% from the field and only 2 points in the paint – as they only managed 41 points.  UConn played well, especially Kemba Walker who undoubtedly will declare for the NBA draft, but Butler looked completely out of sorts offensively. While I’m glad the Big East was somewhat vindicated, I can’t help but thinking UConn should’ve been banned from tournament play for their recruiting violations.Their punishment was definitely a slap on the wrist.

2) The Reliant Energy Center should not host the Final Four again. I understand that massive numbers of people attended the games but watching on TV, I sensed no buzz whatsoever. That may be partly due to Butler’s presence as it’s a tiny school (under 3,000 undergrads compared to a huge state school like UConn) but the venue is realistically a football stadium.

3) Who’s hot in baseball right (all of 5 games into the season): Mark Teixeira is batting .333 with 4 homers and 10 RBIs which will hopefully put to rest the annoying talk about his slow starts; the Baltimore Orioles are 4-0 and are leading the AL East – that won’t last but Buck Showalter as Manager is a major step in the right direction;  the Cincinnati Red are also undefeated and should prove that last season was no fluke.

4) Who’s not hot in baseball: Manny Ramirez is batting .063 and has been given a “rest” by Joe Maddon; the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are struggling as pitching has surprisingly been a weak point for both teams.

5) Is Tony Romo guaranteed to start for the Cowboys if there is a season? According to some of his teammates, Romo should be made to “compete” for his job with Kitna who did a great job at QB during Romo’s injury.  Always drama in Cowboyland!

 

AP Photo / Jessica Hill

 

 

 

The Sweet 16 is set…

and frankly I’m exhausted from watching game after nail-biting game, my bracket in disarray (although my predicted Final Four of UNC, UConn, Florida and Kansas could still materialize). Here are my random thoughts which aren’t the most coherent I’ve ever written but my brain is still trying to comprehend how VCU, a First Four team, has made it into the round of 16.

- From what I gather, I’m not the only college basketball fan having bracket issues right now but I’m still pleased to have picked 10 out of the 16 teams left correctly, the same number as President Obama I might add. By the way, Obama is clearly one of the busiest men in the world but please cut him a little slack – the world didn’t end in the time it took to fill out his bracket with Andy Katz.

- Every season there’s a cinderella team that defies expectations by knocking off one (or more) high seeds. In years past, schools such as NC State, Gonzaga, and Princeton have all worn the glass slipper with the Wolfpack winning the tournament in 1983. Last year, Butler occupied this position going all the way to the title game and, proving they’re no fluke, still continue to be a story in this tournament having just beaten Pitt. Given the wide open field, however, they’re not THE story. Instead I look to VCU, a team playing with a chip on its shoulder, having been forced to play an extra game just to gain admission to the ball. All they’ve done is take out Georgetown and Purdue!

- What on earth has happened to the Big East? As of today, only UConn and Marquette have been left standing! I’m not surprised obviously that all 11 teams haven’t made it, especially as several inter-conference match-ups played out over the weekend.  I am deeply shocked though that Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville went out as quickly as they did. I won’t back away from my assertion that the Big East was the best regular season conference this year but with a one game playoff format, the smaller conferences always have a better chance at sending through their teams.  (Please note that I don’t advocate a BCS system!)

- Of the remaining 3 top seeds left, Kansas has the clearest path to the Final Four as they play 12 seed Richmond next. Assuming they win that game (not a certainty this year!), the winner of 11 seed VCU vs. 10 seed Florida St. awaits. At least I hope this happens because I’ve picked Kansas to win it all and I’d like to say I got that right at least so Rock chalk, Jayhawk!

 

Has this been a good year for college basketball?

This has been the prevailing question among sports talk shows as teams play hot potato with the number 1 ranking. Duke, Texas, and Ohio State have all been top ranked at some point but there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut favorite this season as in years past. Remember when we wondered whether Ohio State could go undefeated? Seems like eons ago although they should still get a top seed in the upcoming NCAAs assuming they perform well in the Big 10 tournament.

Personally, I think parity does wonders for college basketball as is the case with the NFL. Given that I root for big market New York teams, you know I’m being sincere here! Certain schools like Duke and UNC for instance are “legacy” programs who are almost always competitive but even they have down years as the latter did last season. Sports are after all cyclical (just ask the Detroit Pistons who have fallen off a cliff but I digress) so this year, it’s time for some upstart teams to grab headlines. St. John’s has a rich basketball history but nobody predicted they’d be so good this year. With a strong Big East tournament showing, they could be as high as a 4 seed in the NCAAs. Same goes for Notre Dame who Sports Illustrated predicts may have replaced Duke as one of the top seeds! This tournament should be full of surprises, making brackets even more difficult than usual to complete. And that’s a good thing as people identify with the underdog even if that team does win a conference title.

Speaking more of Notre Dame, read this article from SI about Ben Hansbrough Ben Hansbrough fuels Notre Dame’s rise in Big East – Jordan Conn – SI.com. It’s amazing how much he’s emerged from his older brother’s shadow and just in time as he’s helped his team peak at just the right time.

Sports Illustrated/ AP photo

11 Big East teams in NCAA tourney?

That’s what Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s “bracketologist” (apparently he’s got a ridiculously good track record) is predicting. Bracketology – NCAA College Basketball Brackets and Predictions – ESPN. Whether this pans out remains to be seen but I wouldn’t be too upset by this conference over-weighting. Without question, the Big East has the most depth as game in and game out, teams are playing nationally ranked opponents rather than simply bottom feeders. Take a look at the ACC standings for example where, as of today, 7 of the 12 teams have .500 or below .500 overall records.

Let’s take a closer look at this past weekend’s games. Duke, while clearly deserving of their high ranking, lost to Virgina Tech, a decent although not outstanding team. St. John’s, which upset Duke at MSG, (I can’t remember the last time that happened) beat a tough Villanova squad on the road. This win is more impressive given how they handled Villanova’s late comeback, outscoring the Wildcats down the stretch behind Dwight Hardy’s 34 point performance (he should be Big East player of the year by the way). Then, in the other marquee Big East match-up, Louisville squeaked by Pitt, a team which has the best record in the conference. The Big East tournament will decide the NCAA entrants and seedings but I don’t think 11 teams is a stretch although Marquette and West Virginia are definitely on the bubble. This intense competition though will make all of the Big East teams selected tournament ready and I suspect that at least 1 (if not 2) will make the Final Four.

Can’t wait to fill out my bracket!

Dwight Hardy in action. Photo courtesy of ESPN website and Howard Smith/US Presswire