I recently read Stewart Mandel's latest College Football Mailbag on SI.com and the first thing that he covers is a question from someone in Ohio claiming that if Ryan Hamby, the tight end for Ohio State, didn't drop a wide-open end-zone pass, then OSU would have won and there would be a huge BCS controversy. Mandel goes more in depth than I'm about to here, but in case people have forgotten that game, the dropped pass was in the third quarter!
You should go to the article and read more on it, but this just sums up what I've heard recently from OSU fans. They are in general some of the most crazed, irrational fans I have ever known — say one negative thing about their team and they jump down your throat. Hamby even received numerous death threats after dropping that catch from the aforementioned irrational OSU fans. There is one thought here that just won't leave my head and I won't be able to rest until I say this and it gets into some sort of media: it's just a game!
The same thing happened with the Chicago Cubs and Steve Bartman a couple of years ago (how many people wouldn't have reached out for that ball?). I might be able to understand if you had money on the game and OSU losing lost you some change, but even that doesn't really merit sending death threats to a player who dropped a pass in a non-critical point in the game. It just goes to show you that some people need to get a life, or a girlfriend, or at least something to do besides live OSU football.
The next thought goes out to Oregon Duck fans, and is sort of along the same lines of what is above: we told you so. Ever since the bowl season was formed this year, Oregon fans couldn't stop talking about how their team got snubbed and they were more deserving to be in a BCS bowl than Notre Dame and Ohio State, both two-loss teams, when Oregon went 10-1. Now, I'll give it to you that they were definitely more deserving than Florida State, but Thursday night's Holiday Bowl showed you that they weren't necessarily that deserving.
Out of Oregon's 10 wins, none came against a team that finished better than 8-4 going into bowl season, and one of them came against 8-4 division I-AA Montana. It's not an East Coast bias that's going on, the Ducks just weren't that good this year. They played a weak schedule in a weak conference outside of USC, and they got blown out by them 45-13 in Eugene, by the way (a team that Notre Dame took down to the wire).
If there is no reason that appeases OU fans as to why they weren't selected for a BCS bowl, then just know that it was indeed a money issue. Notre Dame and Ohio State have much larger fan bases than OU, which nobody really cares too much about who doesn't live in Oregon. So in conclusion, we told you so. Oregon wasn't that good, and four-loss team finally showed you what we already knew.
One last thought before this gets out of hand. What is it with our country's obsession with needing to see the best in history? Eight years ago, someone had the bright idea to unveil the 50 greatest players in NBA history, and how many of them were current players at the time? How many current players would make the list now? I'm willing to bet that if fans voted on that right now 75% of the players would be people that played within the last five years. The same can be said for ESPN's love-affair with this year's USC squad.
In case people haven't been watching SportsCenter for the past 10 to 11 days, ESPN is taking the top 11 teams in history as voted on by fans (seven of which are from 1990 on, with 1988's Notre Dame team also being on the list) and having polls as to how this year's USC team would stack up against them. Every single time, people have voted that USC would win the game. Well, I've got news for you, we're probably not watching the best team in college football history. This sort of thing happens every few years in every sport — it makes for good journalism.
A few years ago, people were ready to put Miami on a pedestal, one month ago people, were ready to crown this season's Indianapolis Colts when just last year, people were talking about the Pats being one of the greatest teams ever, and I guarantee you that if the Pistons can manage to go into March at 50-6, then people are going to be ready to anoint them in that waste of a league known as the NBA.
The simple fact is that if the national championship game were being played at a neutral site this year, then I guarantee you that Texas would win half the time. Texas is just as good as USC, if not better. Outside of a close win at Ohio State, where almost nobody wins, not one team has been able to touch Texas this year. Their closest game was a 40-29 win at Texas A&M, and they're averaging a 36.3-point winning margin. If everyone weren’t so in love with USC, then people would notice what a phenomenal season the Longhorns are having. Even still, I think people will be very surprised at the outcome of the Rose Bowl if the world continues to think that USC is the best team ever.
Notes
* Florida State's leading tackler in A.J. Nicholson has been suspended from the Orange Bowl for being accused of sexual assault. Good luck coming close in this one, Bobby Bowden.
* The Indianapolis Colts will steamroll everyone on their way to winning Super Bowl XL after this weekend's game with Arizona, and they'll do it all for Coach Tony Dungy.
December 30, 2005
Brent Morrow:
How about the 1988 WVU Mountaineers that Notre Dame beat. That win by ND was an upset. WVU was a better football team! Major Harris the WVU quarterback was taken out of the game from the start with an injury. I believe WVU would have won that game had he not been injured, and if so would qualify as one of the best ever teams. They had over 40 players on the team that could bench press more than 400 lbs, excellent backs and receivers, and a very powerful line on both sides of the ball!!! I think they are forgotten because the school has never won a championship and has strugglerd in bowls.
Hopefully that will end this year with a win in the Sugar Bowl!!!!
Go Mountaineers!!!!
December 30, 2005
Scott Phillips:
I run a college football power ranking system that takes all D1A games into account, not just one or two that are selected to support your prejudices. Results this year for average power by conference put the Big 10 at #1 (they ran away with it), and the “weak” Pac 10 at #2. Wake up!
— Scott Phillips, Los Alamos, New Mexico
December 30, 2005
Paul Lindsay:
Jeff having such a huge fan base I know your’re aware- that the bell curve applies to all groups - having the largest university in the country (along w/Minn) OSU is going to have some “irrational” folks. Let’s put the broad brush away when your really talking about such a small group.
Thanks
December 31, 2005
Jeff:
Scott, I would love to see the website that has this power rankings or if there isn’t a website then I’d like to see what your power ranking system is. I could easily come up with something that proves that the MAC is the most powerful conference in football. I’m not just brushing you aside, just prove your point
Lindsay, first, Arizona State is actually the largest university according to the National Center for Education Statistics, but you’re close enough with UofM and OSU being numbers two and three, respectively. It’s interesting that you say that there are only “some” irrational folks. I understand that every fanbase has irrational folks, but I have yet to see any OSU fans. Of all the people I’ve met, and all the people I’ve heard on the radio, and any comments I’ve seen on sports websites, there has not been one rational person among them. I’m not one to stereotype, but it’s hard to put the broad brush away when that’s all I ever see.
January 3, 2006
Scott Phillips:
Jeff,
Yes, I should get that thing onto the web. It’s based on percentile margin of victory and takes the median home-away (3 points this year) into account. Strength of schedule is automatically accounted for. It’s very straightforward, and uses undergrad level math (least squares).
Margin of victory cannot be used for the BCS, as you know, and for good reason. But it is more accurate.
I had WV slightly ahead of Georgia, and was perhaps the only one outside of the state of West Virginia that thought they would take it. What a game.
I also had Oregon at #9, which partly proves your point here. I like the Ducks, though. The Holiday bowl letdown got ‘em. As a coach, I know that that type of game is tough to get a team up for. Too bad.
And Ohio State at #3. They looked great.
Scott
January 3, 2006
Jeff:
You definitely need to put that on the web. If it’s as accurate as you’re saying then you never know, some sports networks might see it and pick it up and use it as a gauge if it’s as accurate as it seems. Would you mind sharing your rankings with me? Who do you have for the Rose Bowl? I’d like to see people shut up USC lovers claiming that they’re the best team ever, but since it’s in Pasadena, I don’t think the Longhorns will get within 7 unfortunately