8.10 - Right, Wrong, Accountability and Michigan

Travis Thomas ain't goin' nowhere according to Charlie Weis: “I’d be surprised of turning back at this point,” Weis said. “At this point I’m not in any big rush to pull him back over there.”

So there you have it... Notre Dame will have its most athletic LB corps possibly in history this year if the Thomas-Crum-Thomas trifecta holds. As covered here before, I think it's a great move that may pay dividends next year as well.

And major Kudos to Weis for taking a stand on smear reporting. About time. A few hairpullers attempted some strange sort of retribution, but in keeping with the theme, not one even bothered to read the articles in question, which is kind of funny in that sad-funny way.

Shame on the SBT's Bill Bilinski for not examing his own writers work in addressing the issue again on 8.9. He certainly would have gained more credibility in the eyes of readers if he and his paper owned up to the laughable Google example or in presenting completely unbalanced points of view. He never even bothered to address his own paper's obvious twisting of facts in an attempt to create a "series." That the authors defend their writing as issue oriented is insulting to anyone with a base level of intelligence. How many "issues" are there really in covering a local college football team? In Carroll's case this is simply code and cover for muckraking. There really just aren't any big issues right now (other than positive ones,) so they created a negative issue that didn't exist and defended themselves by saying that's the kind of writing they want to do. Circular reasoning 101. If there aren't warning signals shooting up everywhere, then no one's paying attention. What's the next issue to be concocted at the SBT? Perhaps posters' idea of staging a boycott of SBT advertisers has merit. As they say, voting with the pocketbook is the ultimate form of free speech.

Here's the bottom line. Charlie Weis has brought accountability to Notre Dame. Kids must go to class or they're in Charlie's office early in the morning -- a fate worse than... just about anything. Assistant coaches can't excuse their breakdowns, they must produce. Players must show up at practice and work. And reporters can't pen lazy, hatchet jobs designed to sell papers and make reputations without repurcussions. Charlie himself set the standard by calling himself out after losses. The result has been winning, the highest GPA in team history, a slew of feel good stories from Pass Right to the Navy salute and a renewed commitment all around to excellence. Of course, such changes bring wailing and gnashing of teeth from those who don't meet that standard. That's good. It's a sign that it's working. Eventually lazy, agenda driven "issue" hacks like Carroll will be driven out by their own misguided intent and ethics. Oh, they'll complain and cry and make all sorts of charges, but no one of any credibility has read his and Weineke's articles and defended them. No one.

They're just whining about being held accountable and in a college football world of virtually none. That's a good thing. Charlie is right to defend his program and his players and he deserves your support. For too long Notre Dame's let such reckless reporting go unchallenged and it has inflicted serious damage over time. And it's just plain wrong to think that Charlie "has it in" for writers who pen negative articles, he's actually friends with many reporters who've been negative toward him and has been for years. He respects them and their mission and their work, but respect is a two way street. If you write ill-researched, smear pieces, you don't get respect and the carrot, you get the stick. Weis is completely in the right.

Speaking of shame... isn't it one that Michigan has become, as one poster put it, the General Motors of college football? It's bad enough that they received a disqualification for minority graduation rates, and that Llloyd is mentioned in every coach on the hotseat article, but now they're so bad that Amani Toomer said on Mike and Mike, "I don't watch them as much as I used to. They are such consistent underachievers. They are just difficult to watch." That's Amani Toomer, folks. How about this: A Michigan fan wrote us to stop bashing Michigan because they'll "beat Notre Dame AFTER LLLOYD RETIRES AND WE GET A REAL COACH." That's tellin' us. Dionte Allen, a top CB prospect for Michigan, BTW, just verballed to FSU and Taurian Washington, another top recruit, just verballed to OSU. These guys are out of their own backyard. I'd say Llloyd's days are quickly coming to an end, but he's just keeping up the mediocre legacy of Bo Schembechler who said just the other day, "We don't need Notre Dame. They need us more than we need them."

Look, if I couldn't beat Davieham, I'd want out too. Without further ado, the Bo legacy by omahadomer:

They have a fine program that is noted, in particular, for coughing up hairballs in big games. Let's review the record of their greatest coach, Bo Schembechler --

1969: Michigan wins the Big 10 but then loses the Rose Bowl to USC 10-3
1970: Michigan is 9-0 heading into Ohio State but comes up short 20-9
1971: Michigan is 11-0 and facing heavy underdog Stanford in the Rose Bowl: 13-12 Stanford
1972: 10-0 heading into OSU: 14-11 Buckeyes
1973: 10-0 and Michigan has Ohio State at home: 10-10 tie and the conference athletic directors vote to send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl
1974: 10-0 heading into Columbus: 12-10 Buckeyes
1975: 8-0-2 and have OSU at home: 21-14 OSU. But good news, the Big 10 now allows other Big 10 teams to go to a bowl. 14-6 Oklahoma over Michigan in the Orange Bowl
1976: Inexplicable 16-14 loss to Purdue, but Michigan finally gets by Ohio State and goes to the Rose Bowl. Oh goody: 14-6 USC
1977: Another dumb conference loss, this one 16-0 to Minnesota. But they beat the Buckeyes and they're back in the Rose Bowl and a huge favorite over 7-4 Washington, so finally Michigan's going to win the Rose Bowl. Oops: 27-20 Washington
1978: This time the conference gag is against MSU but the Wolves beat the Bucks again and are back in the Rose Bowl. Same song, 18th verse: 17-10 USC
1979: Michigan has Devine's worst team in Ann Arbor and the Wolves have already tuned up on Northwestern and it's ND's opener. No matter, Bob Crable blocks a game-winning FG attempt and ND wins 12-10. 8-3 Michigan finally gets an easy bowl opponent, UNC in the Gator Bowl. Thanks for playing Bo: 17-15 UNC.
1980: Finally Michigan wins a Rose Bowl (over Washington). But a 51-yard FG by Harry Oliver beats UM in ND stadium. The next week the stunned Wolves also lose to South Carolina, removing them from NC consideration.
1981: Bo finally beats ND (Faust's 5-6 team) and beats UCLA in a bowl game. The bad news? It's the Bluebonnet Bowl.
1982: Bo gets beat by Faust but still makes it to the Rose Bowl at 8-3 and plays UCLA. UCLA wins of course, 24-14.
1983: Good news: ND's off the schedule for Bo. Bad news, they have to play Washington again and lose 27-25. 9-2 Michigan gets invited to the Sugar Bowl where they lose to Auburn 9-7. Bo has now managed to lose 3 of the then-Big 4 bowls.
1984: Michigan flops around to a 6-5 record and then makes history as the weakest opponent ever in a bowl game for a national championship team as BYU gets by them 24-17 to claim the NC even though BYU would've been a 2-touchdown underdog to either Oklahoma or Nebraska.
1985: A conference loss to Iowa and a tie with Illinois keeps UM out of the Rose Bowl and NC consideration. UM does beat Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
1986: Familiar scene. ND is jobbed by a bad call as the game-winning TD is ruled out of bounds. UM somehow loses to Minnesota in Ann Arbor but still makes it to the Rose Bowl where the Wolves lose 22-15 to ASU. ASU is now the 5th Pac 8 or 10 team to beat Bo's teams in the Rose Bowl.
1987: Lou drills UM 26-7 in Ann Arbor. Michigan suffers 3 more losses to go 8-4.
1988: Gillette's miss allows ND to win 19-17 setting up ND's 12-0 season. UM does finally manage to win the Rose Bowl over USC. ND defeats both participants in the Rose Bowl during the regular season.
1989: Rocket runs back two kickoffs and Michigan loses 24-19. Michigan plays well and wins the next 10 before losing the Rose Bowl to USC. ND beats both participants in the Rose Bowl, again.

And thus concludes Bo's career. Llloyd's football epitaph to probably be written after this season.

Did I mention that I LOVE the move of Thomas to LB?

~ The Rock

Looking Back: 2004 Season, Part I

Earlier this week I explained how my first trip to Michigan Stadium came about and how it changed me into a Michigan fan. That kicked off a series where I have and will review every Michigan football game that I've ever attended. The last season, 2005, took three parts to complete, and it was finished yesterday with the review of the Notre Dame and Northern Illinois games. Continuing in the reverse order, we move on to the 2004 season.

Looking Back at the 2004 season will actually start in the year 2005. That's because the annual Rose Bowl is always played on New Year's Day or later. Part I will include only one game, simply because the game was on such a big scale, and it turned out like nobody would've expected.

**January 1, 2005 - #13 Michigan: 37 vs. #6 Texas: 38
You wouldn't think that scoring 37 points in the Rose Bowl would still leave you short of the opposing team. Normally, when you score 37 points, your chances of winning are pretty good. Adding in the Rose Bowl raises those chances because the tradition of two great defenses clashing. In the 2005 Rose Bowl, things would be completely opposite. The game would be a battle of two high-powered offenses. Actually, it was more like one surprisingly great offense against Vince Young.

Michigan and Texas was a great matchup. Michigan finished the season in Columbus with a loss, but thanks to some help from around the Big Ten, they still brought home a second consecutive Big Ten title, earning another trip to Pasadena. Texas themselves had not won the Big Twelve title, but rather were hoping for an at-large bid into the BCS. Mack Brown himself even planted the thought in the voters' heads by making some statements about the at-large system. Mack Brown and the Longhorns would get their wish as they received an at-large bid to play in the Rose Bowl because the Pac-10 representative, USC, would be playing for the national championship in Miami. This was surprising in a few aspects for Michigan fans. Most thought that Cal had deserved the at-large bid, and had hoped that because it would provide a better chance to win along with the traditional Big Ten/Pac-10 matchup.

Imagine if Cal had received the bid to play in the Rose Bowl. How different would college football be today? Cal ended up in the Holiday Bowl against Texas Tech, and just completely got annihilated by the Red Raiders. Texas Tech went right through the Golden Bears defense with an illustrious passing attack. And it didn't help that Cal had trouble scoring either. If Michigan and Cal met in the Rose Bowl, chances are Michigan would've come out on top. Texas would've ended up in a different bowl game, and wouldn't have been on the national spotlight the way they were in Pasadena. An abnormal performance by Vince Young against a Michigan team that left it all on the field was just the setup for a repeat one year later. Young did say they'd be back. So, Texas doesn't win the Rose Bowl; their bowl game goes noticed, but with less impact. The high ratings aren't there to start the proceeding season, and everything is different.

But, enough with the what ifs. Let's see what actually happened. There was some Vince Young, some more Vince Young, and did I mention Vince Young? Take a look at this video for a visual review of the 2005 Rose Bowl.


Man, this really brings up some memories. I'm not even talking about the highlights. I'm talking about Trev Alberts! I may have hated him a lot, and disagreed with 99.9% of what came out of his mouth, but I would take him over Lou Holtz any day. He just had to skip out on one stinking show.

Oh, back on topic. This truly was one of the surrealist experiences I've ever been apart of. From the back-and-forth scoring to the very last kick, even though it went in favor of Texas, I'm glad to be apart of it. As you'll find out later on when I look back at the 2004 Rose Bowl against USC, the fans from Texas were much classier. The way the trip was made was through the Michigan alumni association, so we stayed with a lot of Michigan fans. The difference in the 2005 hotel was that Texas fans booked that hotel as well. Personally, I'm glad they did. Texas has got some of the nicest fans out there. Compared to USC, who had drunks swearing every word in the seats around us during the '04 Rose Bowl, it was nice to meet people who actually were just glad to be there.

To this day I still think Vince Young might be running past Earnest Shazor and breaking a tackle from LaMarr Woodley. A few simple changes could've had Michigan winning. One tackle on Vince Young in the 4th quarter could've stopped the Texas charge. How about one coaching decision? Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd, if you have timeouts, then use them. 30 seconds is plenty of time to create something, especially with Steve Breaston having a career kick return night. I still don't get why he just let the time tick off the clock, allowing Texas to just setup the game-winning kick.

Speaking of that kick, here's another what if. If Prescott Burgess' hand was an inch or so bigger, then that game-winning field goal as time expired would've been blocked. If Earnest Shazor would've dove in front of that kick a split second faster, then it would've been blocked. Basically, the entire game was a lot of what ifs on the Michigan side. Texas just wanted it more when crunch time came. Even with all of the things that could've gone differently, it was a spectacular game, especially to see in person. That's why this is a personal favorite, despite the loss.

I wonder when Texas will pay us back for their national championship. I mean, Jim Herrmann's solid defense did put Vince Young on the map. Either way, the nightmares of Vince Young will continue to haunt every Michigan fan that watched that game, especially with ESPN Classic showing it every other week. Did I mention that the '94 Colorado game was on a few days ago? Part II of a look back at the 2004 season will continue most likely on Monday with a review of an easy late-season win over Northwestern, and one of the greatest games of all-time against Michigan State. Until then, enjoy your weekend and Go Blue!

San Jose Mercury: Wilner: Cal poised to challenge USC atop Pacific-10

By Jon Wilner
Mercury News
LOS ANGELES - Cal Coach Jeff Tedford hadn't been at the podium more than two minutes Thursday when he was hit with a series of questions about the nationally televised season opener at Tennessee. Sure, it's a big game for the Bears -- at stake will be their top-25 ranking, their national reputation and Marshawn Lynch's Heisman Trophy candidacy -- but it's not their biggest. That comes Nov. 18, at USC. Without winning that game it's hard to envision the Bears winning the Pacific-10 Conference and playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1959.
It's also hard to envision the Bears having a better chance of dethroning mighty USC than it has this season. Thursday, at Pac-10 media day, Cal was picked second to USC in the preseason media poll; the Bears received seven first-place votes to the Trojans' 18. (Stanford was picked ninth.)
Cal has its best mix of talent, experience and depth since Tedford took over in 2002. The Bears return 16 starters, have several preseason All-Americans, and are a lock to open the season in the top 15. ``Cal has a lot of good players back, and they have some big stars, as well,'' Arizona Coach Mike Stoops said when asked to assess the title chase. ``And Oregon has played very consistent.'' Toss in Arizona State, and there are at least three teams capable of challenging USC -- and that's three more than last year. The three-time defending league champions must replace quarterback Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman winner; tailback Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman winner; and tailback LenDale White, who scored 26 touchdowns last season. That's not easy, no matter how many five-star recruits you have on the depth chart.
``Any time you have the positions, like quarterback and tailback, that they're replacing, there's a learning curve,'' Tedford said. ``Like us last year.'' When USC Coach Pete Carroll reached the podium Thursday, he compared these Trojans to his 2003 team, which had to replace its starting quarterback (Heisman winner Carson Palmer) and its defensive leader (safety Troy Polamalu). That team responded by winning 12 games, beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl and claiming half the national championship.
``This is an opportunity to show we have staying power,'' Carroll said. ``This team is the culmination of three big-time recruiting years.'' The Trojans are stocked at receiver and on defense but have much to prove on the offensive line and at quarterback and in the backfield. The favorite to replace Leinart, John David Booty, missed all but one spring practice because of a herniated disk in his back that required surgery. The backup, Mark Sanchez, is a redshirt freshman. And the presumptive starter at tailback, junior Chauncey Washington, has just 19 career carries after being academically ineligible in 2004 and 2005.
How does Cal compare? Very well, actually. The Bears return eight starters to what should be their best defense in Tedford's tenure, and they're loaded at receiver and tailback. The questions are on the offensive line and, like USC, at quarterback. Sophomore Nate Longshore will be given every opportunity to win the job he held last season for one quarter. (He suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the opener against Sacramento State.) Longshore's toughest competition will come not from Steve Levy but from senior Joe Ayoob, who incurred the wrath of Cal fans with his inconsistent play last fall.
Ayoob, who transferred from City College of San Francisco, was clearly overwhelmed by the speed of the game and the size of the playbook. If he finds a comfort zone and if Longshore continues to develop -- reasonable expectations, given Tedford's track record -- then Cal could have two effective passers. Then again, Tedford doesn't need either quarterback to make big plays. He just needs them to avoid bad ones. ``This team has the potential to accomplish quite a bit,'' Tedford said. ``We have a lot of experience . . . a lot of skill on both sides of the football.''

Why Can'tI Live in Two Places at Once?

We just returned from a ten day trip back to Los Angeles.

The trip was about as spur of the moment as a transatlantic trip can be: we made our plans on December 4, the day after the UCLA-USC football game.

I'm a USC alumna, and my husband has some pretty hardcore Trojan supporters in his family so he was an easy convert.

It sounded like the perfect excuse for a trip back to Los Angeles: The USC football team would be going for their third national championship title (sorry, any LSU lovers/USC haters out there, but the AP title counts. It has for over 50 years. So sit down and shut up. Thank you.) And they'd be playing practically at home, in the Rose Bowl. The last USC game we were able to attend was the 2004 Rose Bowl, a win over Michigan - it was time to see another one. The days in London are short and dreary, some Southland sun would do us good. And hey, we'd get to celebrate for surely Pete Carroll and co. would triumph. After all, they had for the last 34 games.

It will come as no surprise that the trip didn't go as planned.

It started with Virgin changing our seats from a window/aisle twosome at the front of the economy cabin to two seats in the middle at the rear of the plane, even though we checked into our preferred seats via the internet the day before the flight. Apparently, there had been a change of aircraft and our original seats no longer existed on this plane. A minor thing, but enough to start the trip off on a sour note.

The sun was also lacking, at least when we arrived. It was the first time in 52 years that it rained during the Rose Parade. In fact, it rained so hard that the floats were barely visible on television (we thought about going, but the weather put a quick kibosh on that). The viewing stands started out full, but as the parade went on more and more white bleacher space was revealed. And if the precipitation weren't omen enough that this would not be a Tournament of Roses to remember, KTLA's demotion of Stephanie Edwards from parade co-host to lowly sidelines commentator was. Stephanie and Bob Eubanks are a tradition, damn you KTLA! Just as much of a tradition as USC winning the Rose Bowl. Oops...

We didn't have tickets to the game. No problem, we thought. Yes, it's a national championship game and there's a lot of hype and endzone tickets are going for over $1200 each on EBay the day before the game, but c'mon. There's bound to be some scalpers at the game who'll eventually panic and sell the tickets for less.

Not.

We arrived at the Rose Bowl around noon, for a 5:15 p.m. kick-off, and got onsite parking immediately. See! This will be easy!

My, how naive we were. We should have grabbed a clue when we saw it was parking stacked ten deep and eight across, and we were surrounded by cars carrying people in ugly burnt orange. (Oh, c'mon. It IS an ugly color. It's so ugly, Crayola doesn't have it even in the big box.)

It turned out that not a small number of people, from both schools, had the same idea as we did re: tickets. There were far more buyers than sellers. The two pairs of tickets we were offered were $1400 each and $2000 each. We wanted to see the game, but we also wanted to keep a semblance of sanity. We walked around the Rose Bowl twice, stopping to refresh ourselves at my in-laws' RV, before resigning ourselves to watching the game on one of the bigscreen TVs set up by various tailgaters for the members of their party who couldn't get tickets (they even had satellite dishes linked up to the TVs so as to get the best signal).

But as we were walking back to the car to put away our tailgate gear, a guy saw us asking for tickets and told us he had singles to sell for $600 a piece. "Oh," we said. "It's a little steep but we'll pay it." Inside we were jumping up and down and screaming with excitement. We ended up with a pair after all - but in the Texas section.

Now, a disclaimer. I lived in Texas for five years, near Dallas. I know a lot of very nice, very intelligent, very cultured Texans. I know they are the norm rather than the exception.

And I could handle losing to Michigan. Or Penn State. Or Ohio State. In fact, a Rose Bowl vs. a Big 10 team? That's the way the world is supposed to work. Or even Notre Dame. Losing to Notre Dame is honorable. They're a highly respected rival. But the University of Texas? Crybaby Mack Brown who whined his way into a BCS game last year and "gangsta" Vince Young (hey, his words, not mine)? Losing to a team whose quarterback is such a poor excuse for a sportsman, he couldn't even shake Reggie Bush's hand when Reggie won the Heisman?

Oh, that HURTS.

Texas fans in person are some of the nicest people I've met. We were treated very decently, sitting in their section. But Texas fans online are obnoxious, moronic, and classless. Seriously, just stay away from sports message boards. I've learned my lesson the hard way.

I'm proud of the Trojan football team. It was a good game. If it had been one minute shorter or one minute longer, USC would have won. It was that close. Both teams played very well on offense, and both teams' defenses didn't show up at key moments. USC made one more mistake than Texas, and that was their downfall. If Reggie Bush hadn't tried to showboat and throw a lateral, the final score would be much, much different.

But, oh! Do I despise a certain segment of the online Longhorn fan population. Hatesss them I do, precious.

To get my mind off the game - and to return to my normal, sweet, humankind loving self (honest. I am usually a very nice person. Even to neo-cons, who after all make up 80% of my family) - I went shopping. Nothing like a little retail therapy to lift the soul. And there were many retail therapists to visit, from Target (I miss Target most of all, I think) to Anthropologie to Bloomingdale's.

Which brings me to the burning question: Why can't I live in two places at once?

I mean, I love London. I do. We're having a great life here. There's travel and theater and history and new things to learn and do and see. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, to make sure I take a minute and appreciate all that I have, the opportunity I've been given.

But then we visit Los Angeles. A place where I lived for twenty years and my husband lived his entire life. We have family there. Friends. Roots.

Life in Los Angeles is...easy, for lack of a better word. The weather is generally amazing, give or take a few winter downpours and a few sweltering summer days. So it's easy to get out, to get around. No need to struggle with umbrellas or mittens or muddy boots. And no need for an extensive wardrobe (unless you want one) - your spring clothes are your summer clothes are your autumn clothes. Add a few cardigans for winter and you're done.

Yes, you have to drive everywhere. And the freeways can be congested. But the streets are broad and for the most part well maintained. Parking is usually plentiful. It's just...easy...to go places, run errands, pick up and drop off at will. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy using public transport, especially knowing that I'm not polluting the planet with my individual gas guzzling machine. But it is such a hassle to run errands on public transport. Not only are you limited to just what your arms can handle, you also have to negotiate your bundles up and down stairs, squeezing past your fellow passengers, walking from the bus/tube stop home, etc. How wonderful to have cargo space and a back seat in which to put shopping bags, dry cleaning, take out meals, presents for friends and family members! You don't know what you'll miss until it's gone: for me, it's a car trunk.

And, oh, there's so many other things that make life in Los Angeles attractive. The beach. The sunsets. The neighborhoods that change ethnicity when you cross a street. The wide variety of food that comes from living among so many cultures. The farmers' markets. The Farmer's Market. Silverlake. Griffith Park. Dodger Stadium. The grassy median that divides San Vincente. Cinco de Mayo. UCLA Extention. And that's just the tippy-top of the iceberg.

When I'm in LA, I want to live there.

When I'm in London, I want to live here.

And when I'm in one city, I yearn for the other.

I guess as problems go, it's a pretty First World, privileged problem to have. So I'll shut up about it.

But London does have one thing that is currently tipping the scales in its favor: No one wears burnt orange.

Ten Greatest Quarterbacks of All-Time

collegefootballnews.com

Over the next ten weeks before the start of the season, CFN will examine some of the great historical questions around college football from the best games, worst Heisman winners, all-time offensive and defensive teams, and more.

Pete Fiutak
Q: The ten greatest quarterbacks of all-time are ...

A: With the proliferation of the NFL over the last 30 years into the world's greatest sports league, the football spotlight has been the brightest on the quarterbacks. Montana, Elway, Bradshaw, Aikman, Marino, Manning, Brady, Favre; these are just some of the magical names made into superheroes by the sports world. It's different for college football. Running back has historically been the glamour position in the college game with high-octane passing attacks and star quarterbacks a relatively recent phenomenon. Finding great college quarterbacks over the past century-plus of college football is far harder a task than it might appear to be.

Here's my criteria for putting together a top ten quarterback list. 1) Production. I don't care about what these guys did or didn't do in the NFL. All that matters is what they accomplished in college. 2) Championships. John Elway and Peyton Manning were among the greatest pro prospects of all-time, and you'd take either of them in a heartbeat to play on your college team, but they each won a fat load of jack squat. I know, I know, Manning won one, one SEC title and technically played in a national title game in the 1998 Orange Bowl, but going 0-4 against Florida and not playing in a true title game like we have now knocks him out compared to the others on my list. Elway never played in a bowl. 3) Legendary status. I'll overlook the national title thing if a player is a true legend. You'll see what I mean. A Heisman helps. Georgia's David Greene might be the biggest winner and Hawaii's Timmy Chang might have the best numbers, but they don't exactly get the heart racing.

The players that just missed my cut and why (in order of how close they came) ...

- Ty Detmer - I won't argue if you want to put him on the list. Outside of the classic win over Miami, the record-setting passing numbers came against horrendous defenses. Could he have cranked out the same production in the SEC or Big 10?

- Archie Manning - I'm not happy about not having him on there. The lack of titles keeps him off.

- Steve Walsh - One of the game's ultimate winners, he's missing that legendary quality compared to my top ten. Many young fans have no idea who he is.

- Jamelle Holieway - He has a national title and was, arguably, the greatest option quarterback of all-time, but the total lack of passing stats affected him here.

- Doug Flutie - While there might not be a bigger legend in recent college football history, and there certainly wasn't anyone more magical, the lack of national title experience is the hair-thin difference between making the list and not.

- Peyton Manning - That Tennessee won the national title with Tee Martin the year after the Manning era can't be overlooked.

The top ten ...

10. Michael Vick, Virginia Tech
In hindsight, and with Vince Young's career a recent memory, it's easy to forget what an impact Vick had on the game. He was a revolutionary playmaker who helped carry the Hokies to the 1999 championship game losing to Florida State in a classic. He lost two games in his career with the second at Miami in 2000.

9. Charlie Ward, Florida State
I'm not nearly as high on him as others are even though he went 23-2 as a starter. While he was one of the game's ultimate all-around quarterbacks and the signature offensive star of the great Bobby Bowden era at Florida State, he was average in the national title win over Nebraska and lost to Notre Dame in the biggest game of the 1993 season.

8. Roger Staubach, Navy
Staubach carried an average Navy team to a 9-1 record and number two ranking in 1963 before losing to undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl. One of the games greatest all-around quarterbacks, he completed 292 of 463 career passes and piled up 4,253 yards of total offense.

7. Ken Dorsey, Miami
Even with a 38-2 record, 31 straight games with a touchdown pass, one national title, and a questionable pass interference call and a Willis McGahee injury from another, the two-time Heisman finalist still doesn't get his just due. He was just a product of a great system with a boatload of talent around him, right? How did Vinny Testaverde do in his national title appearance with that great 1986 Hurricane team? How has Miami done since Dorsey? When you're the most successful Miami quarterback of all-time, you belong on the list of greats.

6. Davey O'Brien, TCU
There's a reason the award for the nation's top quarterback is named after him. The 1938 Heisman winner led the nation in passing in 1936 and 1937, and finished his career with 24 TD passes, 2,659 yards (remember the era we're talking about), 928 rushing yards and ten touchdown runs along with being a star kick returner and defensive back. Even at only 5-7 and 150 pounds, he was tough as nails and was a consummate leader.

5. Danny Wuerffel, Florida
Wuerffel put up mind boggling stats against some of the nation's best teams completing 708 of 1,170 passes for 10,875 yards and 114 touchdowns. During his career, the Gators played 22 ranked teams finishing with one national title and another national title appearance. How many national championship games has Steve Spurrier been to without No. 7? Zero. Wuerffel's career passer rating of 163.56 was the best in major college football history including a 178.4 rating in 1995. He was the only college passer to ever have back-to-back seasons with over a 170 passer rating.

4. Vince Young, Texas
With the Rose Bowl still fresh in everyone's minds, Young might be the number one choice of many. It came down to overall accomplishments which kept VY out of the top three despite being a transcendent star who came up with one of the greatest performances ever in the win over USC. Had he come back for his senior year and led Texas to another title, he'd have been number one on this list.

3. Sammy Baugh, TCU
This isn't the pretentious nod to history that you might think. Back in 1934, the passing game in college football wasn't just in it's infancy, it was almost non-existent. Remembering what time period he did this in, Baugh was amazing completing 285 of 597 career passes for 3,471 yards and 39 touchdowns. He led the 1935 Horned Frogs to the national title.

2. Matt Leinart, USC
Everyone came out of the 2006 Rose Bowl talking about Vince Young, and rightly so, while Leinart's brilliant performance was swept aside. Talk about your money players, the guy went 39-2 as a starter, completed 70 of 109 passes for 1,024 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception in his three bowl games. He won a Heisman, was in the mix for another, won a BCS national title, two AP national titles, and was the leader of one of the great runs in the history of college football. The career stats are amazing: 807-1,245 (65%), 10,693 yards, 99 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, nine rushing touchdowns, one touchdown catch.

1. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
Before Frazier came to Nebraska, the Huskers had only beaten one top 20 team in four years. That all changed as he became the heart and soul of one of the most dominant teams college football ever saw leading the Huskers to a 13-2 record (when he started) over AP ranked teams only losing to Florida State in two Orange Bowls. Even though he missed several games with a blood clot in his leg, Frazier still won 33 and took the Huskers to three straight national championship games, winning two, and coming within a late field goal of winning a third. Fine, so he only completed 49% of his throws, but he threw 43 touchdown passes with only 11 interceptions. By the time he left Lincoln, he was the career leader in total offense with 5,476 yards, touchdown passes, rushing touchdowns by a QB with 36, and total offensive touchdowns for a career with 79. Those stats don't even take into account his bowl performances led by the 199-yard rushing day in the win over Florida.

Richard Cirminiello
Q: The ten greatest quarterbacks of all-time are ...

A: 1. Matt Leinart, USC (2003-05) – Cackle if you must, but I defy you to find a more accomplished quarterback in the history of college football. Quarterbacks are judged by their record and individual numbers and awards, and Leinart is peerless in all three categories. In three seasons, his Trojans went 37-2 and never finished lower than No. 2 in the polls. Leinart accounted for 108 touchdowns to just 23 interceptions and finished in the top six of the Heisman voting three times, winning the award in 2004. Short of beating Texas in his Trojan finale and winning a second Heisman, he had a near-perfect career, making this a clear choice.

2. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska (1992-1995) – Great quarterbacks aren’t always the greatest throwers. Sometimes they run real well and never lose. Frazier was the consummate winner, going 33-3 as a starter and leading the ‘Huskers to back-to-back national championships in 1994 and 1995. He was an inspirational leader in Lincoln and for four years, ran the Nebraska option like a virtuoso.

3. Danny Wuerffel, Florida (1993-96) – System shmystem. Yeah, I know, you could put up big numbers with Steve Spurrier calling plays. The difference is that Wuerffel ran that system like no one before or after he’d arrived in Gainesville. Plus, he has the national championship and the Heisman hardware to separate him from other quarterbacks that have piled up insane career stats.

4. Doug Flutie, Boston College (1981-84) – Who cares that Flutie originally lacked the size to play in the NFL? He was plenty big enough to carry a program to new heights and establish himself as a true American sports icon. He had plenty of records and awards when he left Boston College, but all that hardly defined him. What makes Flutie an all-time great was his will to succeed and his ability to make those around him believe in his magic.

5. Peyton Manning, Tennessee (1994-97) – Had he beaten Florida and won a national championship in his career, Manning would be a right-handed Matt Leinart. Still, he lost just six times as a four-year starter and shattered 42 NCAA, league and school marks, en route to staking his claim to being the best pure passer the SEC has ever seen.

6. Charlie Ward, Florida State (1989-1993) – Arguably the most decorated and important player in Florida State history, Ward was sensational all-around athlete. Because he went on to play in the NBA, rather than the NFL, he doesn’t get nearly enough credit, despite bringing the ‘Noles their first national championship and first Heisman Trophy.

7. Ty Detmer, BYU (1988-91) – Yeah, Detmer was a system guy, but he actually raised the bar at BYU with some astonishing individual numbers and by winning the 1990 Heisman Trophy. By the time he left Provo, the two-time All-American had thrown for a hard-to-comprehend 15,031 yards and owned more records than the local Sam Goody.

8. John Elway, Stanford (1979-82) – Amazingly, Elway never played a college game beyond November, but on physical ability alone, he still has few peers. The Cardinal won just 20 games in his four years on The Farm, but you can’t blame Elway, who unleashed 77 touchdown passes, while throwing for more than 9,000 yards.

9. Roger Staubach, Navy (1962-64) – From head to toe, Staubach was one of the most complete quarterbacks to ever put on a helmet. A born leader and a nifty scrambler, he won the 1963 Heisman Trophy and carried the Middies to an unexpected berth in the Cotton Bowl.

10. Major Harris, West Virginia (1987-89) – Long before there was Michael Vick and Vince Young, there was Harris, an original that helped usher in the era of dual-threat quarterbacks. He’s one of just two passers in history to throw for more than 5,000 yards and run for more than 2,000 more in a career, and came within a Fiesta Bowl win in 1988 from guiding the Mountaineers to an unlikely national title.

John Harris
Q: The ten greatest quarterbacks of all-time are ...

Overall Top 10

1. Doug Flutie, Boston College – Many of the QBs on the list helped put his respective school on the college football map, but arguably there was no BC football before Flutie. The Eagles had not played in a bowl game since 1942 before Flutie came to Chestnut Hill; they went to three in a row during Flutie’s career. But, Boston fans identified with the underdog, the 5’9” gunslinger/play maker who did everything he could to put BC in the end zone.
I got a chance to see his last college game against Houston in the Cotton Bowl. My two best friends’ father was a coach for the University of Houston and we were going nuts every time Flute carved up the Houston secondary. He looked so Lilliputian on the field, but BC’s team hung on his every move. His overall numbers are solid. The effect on his program is felt to this day. I’d take him any day of the week and so he goes number one.

2. Matt Leinart, USC – Transcendent moment – 4th and 9, fourth quarter, less than 2 minutes left at Notre Dame – the audible to the “sluggo” route to Dwayne Jarrett, to be followed by the QB sneak for six.

3. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska – Transcendent moment – 1996 Fiesta Bowl – breaking 85 University of Florida tackles for 75 yard touchdown run and the proverbial nail in Florida’s coffin.

4. Charlie Ward, Florida State – Transcendent moment – 1992 Georgia Tech game – it might not have been his best performance, but the second half comeback he led cemented the Fast Break offense at FSU and his Heisman year in 1993.

5. Jim McMahon, BYU – Transcendent moment – 1980 Holiday Bowl – the late comeback that culminated in the Hail Mary to Clay Brown to beat SMU 46 – 45.

6. Danny Wuerffel, Florida – Transcendent moment – 1996 SEC championship game – led the Gators with a tremendous performance against Alabama to seal his Heisman campaign and a rematch with FSU (okay, so the 1993 Kentucky game – pass to Doering introduced us to Wuerffel)

7. Sammy Baugh, TCU – Transcendent moment – 1935 - #1 vs. #2 matchup in Fort Worth against SMU which introduced Baugh and a team with a passing game to the entire nation.

8. Vince Young, Texas – Transcendent moment – 2006 Rose Bowl, arguably the best performance by a QB in a bowl game, ever.

9. Roger Staubach, Navy – Transcendent moment – 1964 Cotton Bowl – CBS introduces Instant replay to the college football nation to show the great Staubach in action.

10. Jim Plunkett, Stanford – Transcendent moment – 1971 Rose Bowl – Beating a dominant Ohio State game – completed 67% for 265 and a touchdown.

Top 10 “Option/Running” QBs
1. Vince Young, Texas
2. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
3. Brad Smith, Missouri
4. Darian Hagan, Colorado
5. Tony Rice, Notre Dame
6. Jamelle Holieway, Oklahoma
7. Donovan McNabb, Syracuse
8. Major Harris, West Virginia
9. Michael Vick, Virginia Tech
10. (Tie) Woody Dantzler, Clemson, Dee Dowis, Air Force and Jack Mildren, Oklahoma

Top 10 “Dual Threat” QBs
1. Doug Flutie, Boston College
2. Vince Young, Texas
3. Charlie Ward, FSU
4. Roger Staubach, Navy
5. Archie Manning, Ole Miss
6. John Elway, Stanford
7. Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech
8. Charlie Justice, North Carolina
9. Major Harris, West Virginia
10. Terry Baker, Oregon State

Top 10 “System” QBs
1. Ty Detmer, BYU
2. Andre Ware, Houston
3. Timmy Chang, Hawaii
4. Klif Kingsbury, Texas Tech
5. David Klingler, Houston
6. Drew Brees, Purdue
7. Jamelle Holieway, Oklahoma
8. Philip Rivers, NC State
9. Eric Zeier, Georgia
10. Danny Wuerffel, Florida

Top 10 “Pure Passers” QB
1. Matt Leinart, USC
2. Jim McMahon, BYU
3. Doug Flutie, Boston College
4. Sammy Baugh, TCU
5. Danny Wuerffel, Florida
6. Peyton Manning, Tennessee
7. Jim Plunkett, Stanford
8. Vinny Testaverde, Miami
9. Dan Marino, Pitt
10. Troy Aikman, UCLA

Matthew Zemek
Q: The ten greatest quarterbacks of all-time are ...

A: Quarterback is one of those positions where great statistics and talent don't always translate into great win-loss records. (John Elway would be an example.)

With that in mind, choosing the greatest college QBs of all time demands two lists: a list for the great performers, and a list for the winners. These areas could certainly overlap, but the point is that more names demand recognition for this one position, given the uniqueness of college football quarterbacking, as opposed to the NFL, where winning comes almost exclusively through raw performance. In college, greatness is just as much an ability to win as it is an ability to perform at another level.

Performers:
Elway, Jim Plunkett, Sammy Baugh, Charlie Ward, Archie Manning, Tommie Frazier, Danny Wuerffel, Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Steve Young.

Winners:
Jay Barker (the quintessential "winner" as a college football quarterback), James Street, JC Watts, Tom Clements, Joe Montana, Turner Gill, Roger Staubach, Bernie Kosar, Craig Krenzel, Ken Dorsey.

Best college QB ever?
Frazier. The best pure mix of blood-and-guts poise under fire and sheer athletic beauty. The leader of the great Nebraska teams of the mid-90s (with the '95 edition being the best of all time) had equal portions of toughness and excellence, enabling an observer to view Frazier as a physical specimen who also gave it the old college try. The fact that he destroyed Wuerffel--another player you could identify as both a performer and winner of the highest order--in a head-to-head matchup for a national title is the reason Frazier gets the nod.

In 1976, Bruins Left Buckeyes in Ruins

What were the odds? Ohio State rolled into Pasadena for the 1976 Rose Bowl with an 11-0 record and No. 1 ranking. One of those victories came in the fourth game, a 41-20 thrashing of UCLA at the L.A. Coliseum, which in those days was the home turf of the Bruins. It was the fourth consecutive appearance in the Rose Bowl for Ohio State, which featured a powerhouse backfield of two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin and battering ram Pete Johnson. UCLA had rebounded from the loss to the Buckeyes to go 8-2-1, win the Pacific 8 title and secure the rematch. They teed it up and Ohio State controlled the ball for all but four minutes of the first half, yet trailed, 3-0. The Bruin offense, which gained only 48 yards in the first half, took control in the second, and UCLA stunned Ohio State, 23-10. "It was probably the biggest upset in the history of the Rose Bowl," said Dick Vermeil, left, who was in his second season at Westwood. It also was the last Rose Bowl for Buckeye coach Woody Hayes, the other guy in the photo. Two weeks after the game, Vermeil was gone, off to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. This past week, former Bruin players and coaches gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their upset of the Buckeyes. Also included is commentary from the superblog, Bruins Nation.

Reggie Bush vs Vince Young

I havent written an article on Vince Young for awhile and as Vince has just finished his last opportunity to impress the Texans, I thought I might add some more info that isn't already included in my mock draft.

I think it is nearly a slam dunk that Houston will choose Reggie Bush and it is the logical choice as with choosing Vince you risk the snickers from the media and even a significant number of texan supporters. So really picking Reggie Bush is nearly risk free.

I dont think Tennessee will choose Vince young but really who is going to win between Reggie Bush/David Carr vs Vince Young and Co.

As no one can seems to find fault with Reggie Bush going to texans I might as well make some up.

1. Three of Reggie Bush's offensive line will be going in the first day of the draft and is rated by some as the best ever. So Bush's running lanes were bigger then normal
2. Performed in an offense that has record setters in Quarterback and Running back so three pronged attack. So opposing defenses couldn't key on one area
3. Gary Kubiak and Reggie Bush will signicantly help David Carr but I still cant see David Carr winning big games
4. Reggie Bush hype machine. Bush had the second most first-place votes in the history of Heisman voting, even though Leinart, White and offensive line are significant parts of the USC Team. Would Bush still have won the heisman after the Rose bowl. I would also bet the majority of the people that chose Bush in the heisman are communicating why Vince Young shouldnt be picked first.

5. Reduced value of runningback in NFL because
- Defenses are stronger in defending the run
- Rules have moved away from Runnning back and more to helping wide received eg Holding in the offensive line and new bump and run laws for corners
- Using platoons of Running back so moving away from one team one running back
- Offensive lines play has a more significant effect on Running backs yardage
- Easier to find a running back in the lower rounds of the draft
- Defensive players are getting bigger and stronger so causing more damage to Running backs.

6. Reggie Bush's lateral in the Rose Bowl
7. Karma of replacing a hometown hero especially now Vince has stated that he will support Bush because he plays for his team the texans.

In the end it comes down to what would Vince Young have to do to be drafted above Reggie Bush. Have the highest passers rating as a quarteback, beat Reggies Bush in one the greatest college performances ever, ??. If vince young was faster then Bush the talking heads whould still say that Bush should be chosen ahead of Young

Why do I care and blog about this in Fiji. Because Vince Young came into my radar when I watched him dominate Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl and then the ESPN saying that USC was the best team ever really pissed me off. In my opinion what is happending to Vince Young is similar especially with the Houston angle. I suppose if Texans wasnt choosing first then this wouldnt be an issue with me.

Okay three weeks to go to see what is going to happen. Interesting the Vince young has nearly double the amount of news articles then Reggie Bush.







Internet advertising