Tis the season for exams and bowl games…

Apologies for my extended absence, guys. What with a surprisingly demanding set of final exams and the dislocations inherent in travelling home for the holidays, I’ve been going every which way for the past week. But, safely back in Iowa for Christmas, I’d like to first send a shout out to my Arizona Wildcats, winners of the Las Vegas bowl, who, along with the also-victorious Wake Forest Demon Deacons, have made this a very festive vacation indeed.

Arizona played about as well as I’ve ever seen an Arizona team play on Saturday, dominating the BYU Cougars (ranked 16th and gunning for their season’s 11th win) both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Willie Tuitama, the Cats’ oft-maligned senior quarterback, had the best game of his career, and the defense shut down the Cougars’ vaunted passing attack when it mattered. Admittedly, the quality of the team we saw on Saturday begs Arizona’s early-season losses be re-examined (New Mexico State!? Stanford!?); however, being an Arizona fan, and thus quite unaccustomed to postseason play, period, I’ll put those demons to rest, content with a great season finale.

And speaking of demons, an almost equally impressive win for Wake Forest happened on that same Saturday (making it my second favorite football day of the year, after Iowa’s win over Penn State in November). Wake defeated Navy 29-19 in the ‘Who-Cares-What-It’s-Called’ Bowl – avenging a previous loss to the Midshipmen earlier in the season — on the strength of a perfect game from quarterback Riley Skinner (11/11, 166 yds, TD) as well as a surprisingly powerful running game. I think we can now safely conclude that little Wake Forest, the second-smallest division I football school, is building a dynasty.

For once, college football gets it right

And the winner of this year’s Heisman trophy is…Sam Bradford. As the sophomore quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, Bradford has thrown up numbers that pretty much defy rational explanation (even surpassing fellow Big 12 supermen Colt McCoy and Graham Harrell), and has led his team to a 12-1 record, a conference championship, and a berth in the BCS championship game. So, in short, I agree with the pick; in fact, I felt that it was close to an obvious choice.

But it wasn’t the numbers or his team’s record or even the fact that he looks like a mer-man that ultimately convinced me of Bradford’s worthiness. That moment came during Oklahoma’s game against Oklahoma State — a bruising matchup in which both teams combined to score, roughly, 243 points, trading touchdowns like jello shots at a frat party. In the third quarter, when the outcome was still in doubt, and after the momentum appeared to be shifting in the Cowboys’ favor, Bradford’s Sooners faced 3rd and goal from OK State’s ten yard line. Bradford hiked the ball, and the play was almost immediately busted by the Cowboy defense (a rare coup in this game, to be sure). With his offensive line breaking down in front of him, Bradford was chased out of the pocket by a linebacker who looked sure to take him down for a fifteen-yard loss. Somehow, though, Bradford evaded the sack, rolling out to the strong side with linebackers hot on his heels. At this point, I figured Bradford would simply throw the ball away and settle for a field goal, and in fact I wouldn’t have blamed him; that would have been the sensible thing to do. Instead, he took off down the sideline and lunged for the endzone, only to be blasted into a somersault by three tacklers. He didn’t score, but the result was an eight-yard gain after what should have been a backfield sack. And more than that, the play was pure guts. After what looked like a punishing landing, Bradford immediately leapt to his feet, yelling encouragement to his teammates, and promptly took a QB sneak into the endzone on fourth down. That’s the kind of thing that wins Heismans.

Update: But why would you read my description when you can watch the play for yourself:

When Congress and the BCS collide…

…the Federal Trade Commision Act will be violated. It seems our esteemed Congress, after dilly-dallying about for all these years in the mundane practice of actual governance (if we’re being kind), has finally discovered its true calling. That’s right, I’m talking about legislative action against the BCS computer ranking system, and specifically in support of a playoff to determine the season’s champion. As Deadspin summarizes, this might well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back:

And so the BCS as we know it is doomed, of course. It’s caught in a perfect storm, with rabid Texas Republicans on one side, popular President-elects on the other, and the thorniest nemesis of them all, ESPN, waiting in the wings. The Worldwide Leader signed a four-year commitment to broadcast four BCS games beginning in 2011. So if you think the current system will still be alive then, keep dreaming.

Incidentally, one of the bill’s co-sponsor’s includes Illinois rep. Bobby Rush, none other than the only man to ever defeat Barack Obama in an election (back in 2000, and he blew Obama out of the water). So we’re glad they’re agreeing on something, these days. The BCS seems to bring people together that way.

As if there weren’t already enough reasons to kill the BCS…

…Here’s another one. Besting my Iowa Hawkeyes, Cal, and LSU, among others, I give you: the no. 24 Division I-AA James Madison Dukes!

The Big 12 South is getting a little crazier…

Following last night’s 65-21 Oklahoma thrashing of Texas Tech, what has been a very curious situation in the Big 12 South is suddenly on the verge of becoming a political nightmare. As things currently stand, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma are all tied for the division lead, with records of 10-1 and 6-1 in conference. Normally, this kind of thing would be resolved by way of head-to-head matchups, but here’s the catch: each of the Big Three’s three losses have come against one of the other two teams. Oklahoma’s only loss was to Texas, Texas’ loss came against Texas Tech, and Texas Tech, of course, was defeated by Oklahoma. This means, assuming all three teams win next week(as they are favored to do), that the intrepid BCS voting system alone will determine who gets to play Missouri in the Big 12 championship game, despite there being no logical way to determine superiority. What’s more, since the BCS bowls can only accept two teams per conference, if Missouri upsets one of the Big Three in the Big 12 championship, we could be looking at two teams, both presumably ranked in the top 8 of the BCS, both with 11-1 records, on the outside of the BCS looking in, while somebody like Georgia Tech, with three or possibly four losses, gets an Orange Bowl berth.

Needless to say, it’s hard to blame the BCS for such a wacky conference situation, and even in the best of circumstances it would probably be impossible to resolve the problem without at least one of the teams getting the stick’s short end. However, it does seem valid to once again harp against the automatic bid system of inclusion into glamorous bowl games for conferences that simply do not measure up. It strikes me as being, on a very basic level, completely absurd for a team with three conference losses to play in an Orange Bowl in January, while Texas Tech (who, having lost most recently, is probably most likely to get the BCS shaft) is relegated to someplace like the Sun Bowl. This kind of thing flies in the face of everything that’s intuitive about being rewarded by a great regular season.

JoePa, still immovable as ever

While emphatically brandishing his cane at a student rally in State College, the venerable Joe Paterno has promised to stay at Penn State as head coach of the Nittany Lions. This news comes much to the chagrin of the folks at Deadspin, who contend that he’s “clearly past his expiration date.”

I must say, I don’t quite understand this desire everybody seems to have to see Paterno resign. Granted, the man is in his eighties, and gives every indication that he might be slipping into senility, however let’s be serious for a moment about his team. To be frank, they’re damn good. This year, his 10-1 team needs only to defeat Michigan State this afternoon to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl, and if not for an upset in Iowa City (!) would be contending for the national championship. And this success is not a new development — Penn State enjoys both a storied tradition and contemporary dominance, and almost all of it can be attributed to Paterno.

So I have to ask: do all these Paterno nay-sayers actually have legitimate reasons for their desire to see him ousted? Is there actual proof that his refusal to leave is hurting the program?

Update: Final score: Penn State 49, Michigan State 18. PSU moves to 11-1, and earns a trip to the Rose Bowl. But Paterno still needs to go…?

Yes We Can (eliminate the BCS)!

As we all know, one of the most contentious issues of the past few years in the world of college football has been the BCS ranking system. Since its inception in 1998, barely a week goes by without condemnation of the system from commentators and fans at large. USC’s recent drop of two spots in the BCS rankings, despite their 56-0 blowout of Washington that very Saturday, was the most recent source of controversy, though by no means the first or the last.

All that said, change might be in the making. With the recent election of Barack Obama, an ardent foe of the BCS system, it’s possible that an executive order will result in Obama’s preferred 8-team playoff system in lieu of computer rankings and guaranteed BCS bowl slots. Ok, maybe not. However, in a ’60 Minutes’ interview, set to air this Sunday, Obama does express his preference for such a playoff system. Here’s a brief Obama breakdown of his proposed solution:

Eight teams. That would be three rounds to determine a national champion. It would add three extra weeks to the season. You could trim back on the regular season. I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. 

We’ll see what happens. I particularly like the notion of shortening the regular season, though I doubt money-grubbing athletic departments would ever acquiesce to it. There’s something wrong about a 12 game regular season followed by a conference championship game, followed by a bowl game. Too long…

We’re gonna fight! fight! fight! for Iowa..!

So I’ll admit from the outset that the Iowa Hawkeyes are my primary college team — I grew up in Iowa City, and I’ll always love Iowa sports, probably above all other college institutions (even, I confess, my Arizona Wildcats). Those of you who’ve followed the Jealous Athlete know this.

[end disclaimer]

That being said, the Hawkeye’s 24-23 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions this afternoon was, objectively, the best college football game I’ve seen all year. After a first half perfomance from PSU that would have sapped the strength of most teams (PSU dominated statistically, including time of possession, yards, first downs, and every other category you could name), the Hawks roared back in the second half and took control of the game. Shonn Greene, who’s the best Heisman candidate you’ve never heard of, and young quarterback Ricky Stanzi took the ball with three-and-a-half minutes to go, down by two, and orchestrated a beautifully poised drive, culminating in a last-second field goal by Daniel Murray, a guy I happen to have played ball against in high school.

Lest we forget, Iowa does indeed have a proud football tradition. Under Hayden Fry in the 1980s and 90s, the team more often than not ended the season with a bowl game appearance. Recently, caoch Kirk Ferentz’s success includes leading Iowa to three straight seasons finishing no. 8 in the country. But in the past three years, Iowa has struggled, mired in an inconsistent mediocrity that has been difficult for Iowa Citians to get used to. The team looked listless at times during this stretch, losing games they should have won, and, more seriously, sporting a disturbing record of disciplinary problems among players.

This win, I predict, marks the end of that mediocrity. Today the Hawkeyes were everything I’ve ever loved about Iowa football. They didn’t beat the Nittany Lions on a fluke play, nor did they require a special teams miracle or Penn State mistakes. They simply played good, consistent defense, came through offensively when plays were called for (7/10 on third down conversions for the game, including several during the winning drive), and adjusted brilliantly at halftime to Penn State’s offense and defensive schemes. There’s no second-guessing to this game, and when Iowa’s at its best, there never is.

Update: Incidentally, I’ve long held out against the practice of rushing the field after a win, generally because I feel like the student section should act like it’s been there before, but I’ve never been happier to see Kinnick Stadium empty onto the pitch when time ran out, snow flurries and all. There’ll be some hearty celebrating in Iowa City tonight, and well deserved!

Why college students should all be locked away…

Via deadspin, this story from Happy Valley, Pennsylvania, marking certainly the first and undoubtedly only instance of collegiate madness following a football victory. Yes, Penn State beat Ohio State in the most important Big 10 game of the year, and yes, the win might well have paved the way for an undefeated Nitanny Lions team (I’m knocking on wood for the sake of a PSU buddy of mine) to reach the national championship game. So sure, a law-breaking mob riot might well have been called for.

But there was no story about what happened prior to Arizona’s homecoming game against powerhouse Southern Cal…(administration officials breath a collective sigh of relief).

I tried my best to attend the 7 o’clock game, and I can safely say this: the U of A’s student body was, in a word, terrifying. A late start time for a football game allows for excessive drinking in preparation for kickoff, and this partially explains why, in a remarkable feat of humanity, a wrought-iron fence protecting mass entrance into the stadium was literally toppled by those unlucky ones, myself included, who were turned away (due to a sold out student section). This victory was an illusion, however, because we were then subjected to removal by mad-eyed bouncers cops, who had no qualms about literally throwing us in whichever direction they deemed appropriate. I emerged from battle without having gained entrance to the game (my lucky roommates, who I lost amidst the crowds, somehow made it in successfully), shoes covered with vomit, and slight bruises on my left temple and right forearm. Others were less lucky, however – I witnessed at least three unfortunate souls trip and fall during the mass stampede, only to be trampled by the wildebeasts communication majors behind them. Arizona football is just that important.    

Suffice it to say that college kids can be, collectively, one of the most vicious forces known to man. The future’s shining beacon of hope we might be, even so, as long as we don’t kill ourselves first… 

Oh, and U of A lost the game anyway, 17-10.

Ann Arbor – Fourth Reich? So says Dr. Lou…

Well, it looks like everybody’s favorite phlegm-spewing ESPN college football analyst Lou Holtz could soon be enjoying a broadcasting absence, stemming from this incident on live television, in which he appeared to liken Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez to Hitler. Except the comment made absolutely no sense. Valiant ESPN straight man Rece Davis tried to temper the insane remark, which only served to further confuse Holtz’s message (whatever that might have been). The irony is that in likening Rodriguez to Hitler, Holtz seemed to be attempting to praise Rodriguez’s coaching abilities (Adolf, after all, successfully conquered much of Europe), despite the fact that Michigan is 2-4. So was he attempting to draw comparisons between their visions for humanity. Does Rodriguez secretly harbor anti-Semitic sentiments? Has he made public a desire for Aryan supremacy? Of course this is speculation, but if the scoop hits, you heard it here first…   

The next question: will ESPN revoke Holtz’s honorary doctorate? I sincerely hope not, because ’Dr. Lou’ has become the funniest part of my Saturday afternoons: