From collegefootballtopten.com. I want to take the time to wish our readers and your family a very Merry Christmas. I hope this Christmas season finds you with friends, family, fellowship and good cheer. I hope that you are able to take the time to enjoy time off and consider the good news of Jesus during this season.

May God Bless You!

Todd E. Jones

Yesterday, the Associated Press released their Little All-Americans List. Tonight Appalachian State plays Delaware for the Football Championship Subdivision National Championship. Should we, as college football fans, give any thought to these two different events. Well, yes. We have seen in the past that good players, no, great players do come from these programs. I will mention Steve McNair and Jerry Rice as examples. Steve McNair quarterbacked his team to the Super Bowl, and has an outstanding NFL career with the Titans and Ravens. Jerry Rice may go down as one of the greatest Wide Receivers in NFL history.

There are reasons that these kids never played at the Bowl Championship Subdivision level. All have their own unique reasons. Armanti Edwards, the Appalachian State superstar, was basically a late bloomer. He started playing QB during his junior year in High School and was barely noticed by the time he finished. A couple of Bowl Championship Subdivision teams offered him scholarships, but to play something other than QB. Now, he may be, arguably, the best dual threat QB in all of college football. You do remember Edwards don’t you? He ripped Michigan on September 1 in Appy State’s huge road upset of the Wolverines. He may get sniffs at the Heisman next year.

As a kid I remember watching Arkansas State rule the Southland Conference in the 80′s. They went to the Division I AA playoffs, it seemed like, every year. They advance in most of those years eventually reaching the championship game. They lost to the very dominant Georgia Southern team. Georgia Southern’s then Offensive Coordinator is now the new head coach at Georgia Tech. He will bring his Hamm Bone, as they named it after QB Tracy Hamm, to Tech.

Every year, there is a great NFL prospect that comes out of the small schools. So, you see, you don’t have to be a starter at a Bowl Championship Subdivision school to play in the NFL.

Another example of that is Tony Romo. When Romo came to the Cowboys, I hadn’t heard of him. But he made the team and continued to get better. Romo was an Undrafted Free Agent from Eastern Illinois, a Football Championship Subdivision school. He set records at EIU, but few people noticed. He got his chance for the Cowboys, and now he is considered one of the top QB’s in the league.

My friend Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has written a book about Tony. It’s called America’s Next Quarterback. You can visit the website to order a copy of the book. If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you can probably pick up a copy at your local Borders Bookstore.

I am a Razorback fan. I grew up in Batesville, AR watching Ken Hatfields’ Razorbacks compete hard in the old Southwest Conference. They won two championships heading to the Cotton Bowl. I don’t talk about the Hogs on this site much so that I won’t appear biased. Well, tonight I am going to reveal my thoughts.

Now, it seems if the Hogs win 8 games they take a trip across the state line to play in the Cotton Bowl, and that just doesn’t seem to be enough for the fans. You see, times have changed and the Cotton Bowl, while it is a good bowl, is not the BCS.

Ten years ago the Hogs were limping to the end of the 90′s after the Danny Ford era that ended with one trip to the SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks hired a brash young coach who played a season in the 70′s for Frank Broyles’ team before moving on to play somewhere else.

Houston Nutt took the Hogs to two SEC Title games in 10 years. He may have coached the Heisman Trophy winner for 2007. He brought passion back to the sidelines in Fayetteville.

After a tumulteous two years, Coach Nutt took his gear and bolted, to Oxford. Mississippi, that is. Yes, Houston Nutt left to go to the power of Ole Miss. The Hogs have to play him every year until the Ole Miss Athletic Department runs him off for not winning a national title.

Now, the Hogs are trying to make the right hire. First, there were cries for Auburn’s Tommy Tubberville, a native Arkansan. He decided to stay. Then Tommy Bowden was interviewed. Both coaches received contract extensions and raises. Next up, Jim Grobe. Nope. He don’t want it either. At least he didn’t show up for a press conference, pretend to do a Hog Call and then change his mind like Dana Altman did last spring after taking the Men’s Basketball job only to return to Creighton.

The Hogs are having trouble attracting somebody. And, right now, fans might like to have somebody, maybe anybody. Fans are calling for Arkansas to hire the next Bob Stoops. Stoops, was hired at OU after being a successful coordinator and assistant coach. I have heard fans call for Razorback Defensive Coordinator and Interim Coach Reggie Herring, Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham and Tulsa Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn. Down here (Fort Worth, TX) I’ve even heard Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach’s name thrown out there.

When I thought the job would be open, I had two people on my “wish list” from day one. Now, I doubt that Athletic Director Jeff Long or Chancellor White will be looking to me for ideas of who to hire, but at least I can make my case. The first name on my “wish list” is Terry Bowden. Bowden has hinted to the possibility that he might want to coach again. Terry took Auburn to an undefeated season in 1993. He is, in fact, a prominent member of the Bowden football tree. He can coach, he has passion and emotion. If Bowden is going to coach in 2008, he will make a good coach. And, he might as well coach at Arkansas.

However, I don’t know if Bowden moves to Fayetteville. He could, but he might be interested in coaching somewhere bigger. My next choice for a Razorback coach, and he is actually 1 b, is TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson. I have lived in Fort Worth for 10 years now. I watched during the first few years as Dennis Francione led the Horned Frogs to successful seasons as the TCU played in the Conference USA. When Fran left, I didn’t think that TCU football could get bigger. Boy I was wrong!

TCU immediately asked Gary Patterson to step in and be the new coach. I didn’t know anything about Patterson, but let me tell you, he is the best coach you’ve never heard of. If you don’t believe me, then ask Stewart Mandel. Mandel included him in his 10 Best Coaches article. Patterson has everything a Hog coach needs. He has passion. He has motivation, for himself and his players. He instills discipline, on and off the field. His defenses play lights out. Consider this. Last year’s TCU defense held Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe to 28 yards rushing in the 2006 Poisettia Bowl. Wolfe was an All American running back and hung 285 all purpose yards (171 rushing) on Ohio State in 2006 which basically had the same defense as the one this year that led the Buckeyes to the title game.

Patterson usually has good special teams. TCU had 4 block kicks (punts/field goals) this year. Patterson is a very likable guy. He recruits well for the disadvantage that TCU has in Texas. He is a defensive minded guy who likes to turn the offense over to a talented offensive coordinator and works hard to put together a disciplined team that excels in all phases of the game. The Frogs knocked off Oklahoma on the road in 2005 and were leading the Longhorns this year at halftime. They shut down Texas Tech’s offense last year.

The Hogs and Frogs will have a series in a few years. If Patterson isn’t coaching the Hogs, he’ll probably be giving them problems on the field as the Frogs coach. Patterson’s TCU teams play in front of 42,000 at the most, and they have to be perfect to play in a BCS game. At Arkansas, he would be coaching in front of 80,000 fans who are just a passionate about football as he is. Arkansas doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone in the state whereas TCU does in Fort Worth. I think he might consider it. He coaches in a BCS game at Arkansas by winning the SEC Title, or just being in the Top 10. He can’t do those things at TCU.

If Arkansas passes on Patterson, then I will continue to be a Frog fan. I am a Hog fan first, but I will always enjoy keeping up with the Frogs. And, when the Frogs play the Hogs in 2012, if Gary Patterson is in purple, expect trouble on the field for the Hogs. TCU’s defense will be coming, the offense will use a variety of formations, and the special teams will get after the Hogs.

Here is what a sixteen team playoffs would look like this year. All 11 conference champions would receive an automatic bid. The remaining highest ranked teams would be invited as at-large teams (I used the BCS rankings). The highest seeded team would play at home in the first round. The remaining seven games, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the national championship game would all be in designated neutral sites. Examples are provided, for the second round, semifinals and championship game.

I have heard for a few days now all of the arguments about who should or should not be in the National Championship Game in January. The the new old way of deciding the champion just isn’t getting the job done. The new old way, says we will wait until the season is over to see who the clear-cut best two football teams in the country are. The two teams will separate themselves from the pack by winning the conference championship without a loss (unless you are in the SEC, then we give you at least one loss because it is such a tough conference) and beating at least one key quality non-conference foe. At the end, through various polls, some of which are computers, we decide who was the best all year or who is the best team now or who deserves it the most. And then, we will invite them to shoot it out in the BCS National Championship Game.

Admittedly, the controversies that arise in such scenarios are what keeps the appeal of college football alive. Fans like the product, as it were, and are passionate about the sport. Many have made the claim, but I give credit to Stewart Mandel in his book Bowls, Polls & Tattered Souls for this point. But, seeking to improve the sport will not lesson the passion and love for the game as we know it. In fact, that is what we have been trying to do the last ten years. Maybe there has to be some ambiguity, but let’s decide who the champion is on the field. We have been moving toward this for a while now. Do you remember how it use to be? I do. When the season was over, teams were invited to play in bowls. Conference champions went to certain bowls. The Big Eight champion went to the Orange Bowl, the Big Ten to the Rose Bowl, etc. Then, after the bowls, if a team was left unbeaten, the voters decided they were national champions. There were two polls: the Associated Press and the Coaches Poll. Sometimes, the polls disagreed. Before that, the national champion was decided before the bowl games were ever played.

Then something happened. The Fiesta Bowl changed everything. They came along made us all crazy for a unanimous national champion. They had a game where they persuaded the two best teams in the country to play in their bowl game. The two teams were independent and not tied to a bowl by virtue of a conference. Everyone got a taste of what could be (See Mandel, pp. 190-191.). The result of this was the moving toward this BCS thing we have in place. We decided it was best to put the two best teams on the field and let them play for the National Title. What we should now, is move it forward yet once again.

After a season such as this one, where no two teams were able to separate themselves from the rest of the college football world, there is little evidence available to tell which teams are actually qualified to play for the championship. Consider this. Stanford beat Cal. Cal beat Oregon. Oregon beat USC. USC beat UCLA. Stanford also beat USC (remember the shocker). Therefore, shouldn’t Stanford beat UCLA. No, Stanford lost to UCLA in the first game of the season. Illogical circles like this exist all throughout college football this year. The “85 Scholarship Rule” has helped level the playing field, so the future should be more of the same. In other words, it’s just going to get harder and harder to tell who the two best teams are by the end of the year. It may be a while before a team in the SEC wins their conference championship without losing a game.

Now is the time. We need to move toward a playoff format. I believe the BCS Contract is up in 2010. It appears that a “plus one” format may be soon. Hopefully, we will go to a eight team playoff and then, finally, to a sixteen team playoff.

What do we do with the bowl games? Well, renew the reason for which bowl games began. Bowl games would serve as a reward for those teams who have a good season but fail to qualify for the playoffs. Of course, there would be fewer bowl games, and bowls could continue to have conference tie-ins if they want. And, no team should play in a bowl game if they did not have at least seven wins.

But, let’s not decide who should be playing for the national championship based on who we think looks best. This is not a pageant. This is football. Let’s settle the championship on the field.

Saturday night is Championship Saturday. There will be three conference championship games played, and many will be interested in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game for two reasons. First, if Missouri wins the Big 12 Championship Game, they will be headed to New Orleans for the BCS National Title Game. Second, they will be watching Missouri QB Chase Daniel’s last audition for the Heisman. Daniel needs this game for the trophy. By all indications, the Heisman chase is down to Daniel, Tim Tebow of Florida, and Darren McFadden of Arkansas. I think most voters will wait until after that game to decide. McFadden has been on the list all year based on his second place in the voting last year, and Tebow has put up “Superman” like numbers and performances all year. But, Daniel is the newcomer. He had a great year last year, but he was unknown. This year, he has played great and has his team on the verge of a conference championship and a shot at the National Title. And, based on recent Heisman winners, that is the kind of year voters like to see.

However, with the kind of year we have seen in College Football, a Mizzou loss is just as likely. In fact, Oklahoma is favored to beat Mizzou. That would put Heisman voters in a dilemma. Heisman voters have a recent record for voting for the most outstanding player on a team in the National Title Game. Neither McFadden nor Tebow will be in the National Title Game. Florida has 9 wins and Arkansas has 8. Florida played better all year than Arkansas. But, McFadden had two of the most “super human” performances of the year. Against South Carolina, McFadden rushed for 323 yards, had a rushing TD and a passing TD. And, again McFadden led the Hogs of an upset over Top Ranked LSU the day after Thanksgiving with 206 yards rushing, 2 rushing TD’s and one passing TD. However, Tebow had stats like that all year. Tebow has 29 pass TD’s and 22 rush TD’s. Tebow’s biggest weakness, for the Heisman Trophy voters, is that he is a Sophomore. That might have been the same weakness that cost McFadden the trophy last year.

The dilemma could be avoided if Chase Daniel has a humongous game for Missouri and they win the Big 12 Title and advance to the National Championship. Everyone will be watching, including, most likely, all 923 voters for the Heisman.

Next Up

Let the coaching carousel begin. Several coaches have resigned, been fired or “retired.” Arkansas’ Houston Nutt had already resigned and found a new job by Tuesday night. Speculation surrounds the Michigan job and the LSU coach Les Miles. Texas A&M has already hired Mike Sherman to replace Dennis Francione. Southern Miss’s Jeff Bower has resigned after 17 years. There are other jobs up for grabs, and it should be an interesting few weeks.

If you were a regular follower of this site, all 1.5 of you, you noticed I stopped updating and posting a top ten poll back in October. There are a couple of main reasons for this.

First, I just did not have enough time. I wish that I was a sports writer. It would be cool to be paid to go to games and then write about what I saw. I know that there is more to it than that, but I might be willing to put up with all of the “suffering” that goes along with it. My favorite college football writer is Stewart Mandel from SI.com. I really do think that he is pretty balanced in his writing, and I agree with him most of the time. If you like college football and are intrigued with the hot topics that give it so much passion, then you might check out Stewart’s book. Back to reason number one, time. I, like so many who have blogs etc., have a full time job. I also have other projects going. Therefore, it became difficult for me to do the research necessary to keep up with one of the most changing years in college football. Last year when I did the poll, I think I missed one or two weeks. Basically, I set up my top ten and adjusted it when teams lost, which was not nearly as often as this year. Not only were teams losing this year, but they were losing to unranked teams. The changes were fast and often.

Second, I just couldn’t see enough games. My computer wasn’t working well during this stretch which kept me from seeing any highlights and researching teams in which I just couldn’t see on TV. In order to run a college football site, one needs to have some kind of cable TV (with Saturday off) and/or a good access to the internet. Well I work on Saturdays and I don’t have cable TV. Cable TV accounts for about 85% of the games being televised (my observation). I live in Fort Worth, TX, and I have only seen TCU play once, at a friends home. Cable packages, of course, are not customizable where one can customize it for a lot of sports channels. Maybe I’ll get cable again someday, but right now I’d rather have internet.

So, why I am thankful in light of this. That I have a job. Of course, it might be more fun if my job was writing about sporting events, but I have a job. Not being able to keep up with my blog means that I was busy because of my job, which have. The job allows us to eat, have internet access, cell phone, pay bills, and almost everything I really need. I have been without one before, and it really makes it tough. It might not be my ideal job, but at least it is one I can do well, and one I like most of the time. I am able to laugh at work. With my fellow workers and my supervisors. I have access to almost all things relating to entertainment. I have been fortunate to meet some really nice people, some local celebrities. I have some very smart and very thoughtful customers. My company, Borders Books, provides me with some benefits. Today, my wife and I will go eat Thanksgiving lunch, and we will be able to pay for it.

I apologize to readers for dropping the ball, fumbling if you will. If I continue this blog, it will have to take a different direction. I am in the process of figuring that out. If you have any suggestions, click on on contact link on the homepage and email me your ideas. I am thinking about keeping my articles and having various top tens. One idea is the Top Ten Surprises in 2007. Those kinds of things. That keeps the site more true to the domain name. There are many polls out there, from the “professionals” to the serious bloggers. I might defer my poll making to those guys. Maybe I will provide a one stop shop for polls or a list of links to find the best polls. I figure that I can write what I think about college football based on what I observe through the games I see on TV, read about in the paper, and read on the internet. It is certainly harder for me to know about teams from other areas of the country than the ones near North Texas. Therefore, I will be brainstorming on how to make this a viable site which works for my time and energies. Just because I had a fumble, it doesn’t mean the game is over.

The end of the season is here. The final few weeks are left, and there is still a lot of season changing games left on the schedule. And then, of course, it become bowl season.