In honor of the first week of college football, Examiner.com has published a comprehensive list of college previews provided by their Examiners. You can find a preview of almost every team in every major conference including the ones I did for the Razorbacks.
So, if you need some college football related material to consume to feed your college football itch, then this is a good place to start!
The BCS has a never-ending campaign to justify it’s BsCS. Now, they are letting us know that the student-athletes (don’t you love their use of student) prefer the bowls over a playoff format. They sent every unsuspecting, playoff-supporting writer/blogger a press release that explains.
It was another stellar sesaon in college football. There were plenty of controversy, passion, and upsets to really keep the college football fan watching the game. It might be even better if we had a true “post season,” but we had plenty of moments to keep things going.
1. Alabama crushes Clemson
I don’t know if this game was a sign of things to come or not, but the Crimson Tide who was a paltry 6-6 the year before absolutely beat down the Clemson Tigers who was ranked number 9 in the preseason rankings. The loss would eventually lead to the dismissal of Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden (see below). ‘Bama’s win would lead to the Sugar Bowl.
2. USC routs Ohio State
I think we were all waiting for this early season match-up of the two football behomoths. Ohio State was fresh off of another loss in the BCS Title Game, and USC had what was considered one of the best defenses in a while. Note even close. It didn’t help the Buckeyes that “Beanie” Wells was hurt, but most people would have said that it didn’t matter.
3. Oregon State upsets USC
It happens every year, or at least it seems like it does. USC dominates, but
they slip up against someone in the Pac-10 Conference. The Beavers were rebuilding their front seven on defense and had gotten whipped by Penn Stae in Happy Valley. The Beavers used a freshman running back by the name of Jacquizz to jump out to a big lead in Corvallis and hold off the Trojans for the first real shocking upset of the year.
4. Texas Tech beats Texas on Crabtree touchdown catch
It is probably one of the more memorable plays of the year. I can still hear Brent Musberger making the call, “Touchdown, Red Raiders, with a second to go!” Graham Harrell to Micahel Crabtree. How many times have they done that? This time, it was to beat the number one team in the country.
5. Toledo upsest Michigan in the “Big House”
Last year it was Appalachian State. The first game of the year this year was Utah. And, if that wasn’t enough, the Wolverines have lessened any intimdation factor it has at home with a loss to Toledo. Coach Rod has a lot of work to do.
6. Tommy Bowdon is fired (uh, resigned?) mid-season
It was bound to happen. Things just weren’t going very well at Clemson this season. They started the season ranked number 9, and they were sporting expectations of an ACC Championship and BCS Bowl. First they got whipped by Alabama, and it seemed to go down hill from there. The mid-season firing definitely raised some eyebrows.
7. Tommy Tuberville fires Tony Franklin in mid-season and then resigns at the end of the year
Well, the mid-season thing worked so well for Clemson that Auburn head
coach Tommy Tuberville decided to relieve Offensive Coordinator Tony Franklin of his duties early. The “spread” thing just wasn’t working that well. At the end of the year, Tuberville decided the whole thing wasn’t working that well. Auburn missed the post-season and that was enough to inspire him to move on.
8. Syracuse upsets Notre Dame and Buffalo upsets Ball State
These two upsets also “shook the earth” (see below, Utah). It has been a tough tenure for Syracuse coach Greg Robinson, but he got a parting gift from his players as they knocked off Notre Dame late in the season. Nevertheless, Notre Dame was able to improve on last year’s bowless season by making it to the Hawaii Bowl. Buffalo was among the worst programs in NCAA Division I football when head coach Turner Gill arrived. Just a few years later, the Bulls upset undefeated Ball State in the MAC Championship Game to win the title.
9. Myron Rolle wins a Rhodes Scholarship and then plays in the Maryland game
Florida State Safety Myron Rolle is not just a smart guy, he is a brilliant guy. On the day of November 22, 2008, Rolle interviewed for and won a Rhodes Scholarship, and then he received a police escort to Byrd Stadium to help his team beat Maryland. He had a long day, and he deserved the next day off. This only happens once in every other generation. We should enjoy Myron’s success on and off the field. He has a tough choice to make after school: the NFL, or Oxford.
10. Utah upsets Alabama in the Sugar Bowl
My original list did not include this, but it is well worth the inclusion. Utah, the original BCS Buster, knocked out Alabama on Friday night January 2, 2009 for one of the most “ground shaking” upsets of the year. The Utes, who is not a flashy team, plays very “blue collar” like. Take away a punt return by Alabama in the second half and the score is 31-10. There will be arguments for Utah to be national champions.
Most people have the college football magazine that they love. This can be seen in some of the results of my favorite college football magazine poll. Some are die hard Phil Steele fans. Others, it seems, are more 
of a Street and Smith fan (which is now, of course, just Sporting News). Regardless, I set out to waste as much time as possible to flip through the four big college football magazines and jot down a few notes so that you would be well informed about stuff in which you probably already knew.
I decided to note the features present, and I have chosen four which are present in all four magazines, to some extent or another. All have some kind of Heisman preview, or at least they all refer to it. Athlon, it seems, wants you to go to its website to check out their Heisman preview. The only place that I saw Heisman mentioned was on page 9, which is essentially a big advertisement for Athlon’s website. On that page, it explains that you can keep up with the “Heisman Hopefuls” throughout the season at AthlonSports.com. A quick check, however, shows that the “Heisman Hopefuls” section isn’t ready yet. Oh well, we can always click on HeismanPundit.com.
The next feature is coaching changes. Well, at least all four have something to say about it. The Sporting News and Lindy’s does a coaching changes/coach hot seat kind of thing. Phil Steele seems to delve into the philosophy and all of the scenarios involving coaching changes including, you guessed it, numbers. 
Athlon also has a section which it calls “Coaching Carousels.” Of course, there are other places you can learn about coaching carousels or hot seats.
The third feature is All American Teams. All four have one. And, drum roll please, Tim Tebow is Preseason First Team All American QB by all four magazines! Popular choice for Second Team seems to be Pat White and Chase Daniel. Chris Wells and Knowshon Moreno is choice by all four as First Team All American at running back. It is also important to note that Lindy’s, Athlon and Phil Steele rank either positions or units or both. This is really interesting and an opportunity for bragging rights.
Finally, there is recruiting.
Sporting News reviews recruiting for many of the schools. Sporting News also lists:
Lindy’s lists include:
Athlon also has a fairly comprehensive Recruiting preview.
Phil Steele:
Why have a blog on college football? I love it. But why? What is it about college football that is so special? I’m glad you asked. Here are the top ten reasons I like college football.
10. Bands–When ABC does their commercials for college football games, what do you hear? The band. It is special! Everybody can remember hearing the Florida State Seminole Band do the war chant. What about the Ohio State band dotting the “I”?
9. Preseason Hype–The magazines come out in the early summer, and the excitement begins. Have you begun buying your magazines? Fans tout the fact that their team will be the national champs in just a few months. I saw this from a Baylor fan on the comment section of an article by Brian of IntheBleachers.net on the Fox Sports website. Huh? I guess everyone has a shot.
8. Uniforms–College football uniforms are great. They have color, they have style, and they are unique. Oregon sets the trend with their flashy uniforms. Let’s just say, they have their Knight in shining armor. Even the simple uniforms are classics, see Alabama, Notre Dame, and Penn State.
7. Controversy–We hate debating playoffs and who’s number one every year, don’t we? Sometimes I wonder. It has been noted (See Stewart Mandel) that controversy is part of the winning formula for college football. I still want a playoffs, but it’s hard to argue with the numbers.
6. Rivalries–The Red River Shootout (oops, I mean Rivalry), The Iron Bowl, The Border War (uh, Shootout), Army vs. Navy, World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, The Big Game (Cal/Stanford), The Egg Bowl, Michigan vs. Ohio State, and Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, just to name a few.
5. Cheerleaders–They are cute, they lead the crowd in the traditional cheers, they keep the crowd loud, and they are really good students.
4. Stadiums–105,000 fans! That is just astounding. The Big House, The Coliseum, Between the Hedges, Death Valley. College football stadiums are unbelievable.
3. Statue of Libery/ The Hook & Lateral–Only in college football can you run these plays and they work.
2. Passion–College football fans are die-hard fans. Tailgating is a ritual. But don’t miss the game!
1. The Student Athlete–What I like about college football is, when a 3rd string tailback, can enter the game and rush for 205 yards and help lead an underdog to a big time victory. What a thrill!
In my first Short, Short List, I listed some books I wanted to read. Well, I have read one of those books. However, I have read at least a couple of college football books since then and am working on one now. Here is my new Short, Short List.
1. Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting. Bruce Feldman. Good book, and here is my review of the book. By the way, if you are interested, Brian at inthebleachers.net has a podcast in which he interviews the author, Bruce Feldman. You can check it out here.
2. Fourth and New Orleans: How Tulane Football Survived the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrinea. Benjamin Hochman with Coach Chris Scelfo. My review for this book is here.
3. We Are Marshall. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox. A co-worker of mine who is not a big football fan told me that she cried when watching this movie. It is very moving and inspiring. Gives a bit of background on how freshmen were eventually allowed to play on varsity college football teams. If you love college football and feel-good stories, this is one you want to watch.
Coming Soon
Tarnished Heisman: Did Reggie Bush Turn His Final College Season into a Six-Figure Job?
by Don Yager and Jim Henry. Visit their website here.
Meat Market: Inside the Smash-Mouth World of College Football Recruiting has got to be one of the most interesting reads about college football. The book is written by ESPN Columnist Bruce Feldman and follows former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron as he dives head first into the world of recruiting the class that would change the direction of the program that Orgeron oversaw. It is a particularly interesting read now that Oregeron has been replaced at Ole Miss by former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt.
Feldman is the “fly on the wall” during Ole Miss coaching meetings discussing recruits, particularly in the “war room,” the place where Orgeron did his recruiting work. Feldman reports what coach Orgeron and his coaches say about potential recruits and how Orgeron’s staff identifies and pursues future college stars such as Joe McKnight whom Ole Miss made a serious attempt to sign out of New Orleans. Feldman also reports how certain circumstances during the football season caused the Rebel staff to place a greater importance on “character” players as well as academics in their recruiting strategy.
Feldman explains the use of the Ole Miss summer football camps to identify the “sleeper” recruit which is a tactic of summer football camps all over the country. Orgeron and his staff seemed to embrace the use of the internet recruiting sites using them to boost their own rank with potential recruits by either being the first to pursue a recruit or just by being on a recruit’s short list.
The most exciting part of Felman’s book are the last two chapters as National Signing Day looms closer. This at part of the book is like an intense action-packed 3 hour movie in which circumstances seem to change every 5-10 minutes. Those two chapters follow the most sought after recruits on the Ole Miss board and the reports, rumors, and communications (including text messages) which give the coaches an indication of the direction in which each recruit will or will not go. Feldman seemed to be able to interview some or all of the recruits as well as their families, coaches, mentors, or teachers, etc.
One problem I had with the book is the ability to keep up with all of the different people introduced in the book. Undoubtedly, Feldman met far more than he mentions in the book. I am not really sure how he could help the reader keep up with the ones he mentions. He did provide some helpful reminders, but I often found myself asking about someone he mentioned earlier to try to remember how he or she was mentioned and why.
It is a good read, especially during the spring part of college football when recruiting players for your favorite college football team is still fresh in your minds. Hop on down to your local Borders Bookstore and buy a copy. And, enjoy.
Based on a work at CFTT.
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