Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

B1G Uglies - The Biggest Question Mark for Each Team

Big Ten fans, are you ready for the season to start?

Of course you are, which is why you should head to College Football News! This week, Phil, Bart, and Terry will break down the biggest question marks for each team in the B1G.

To read the full article, click here.

Monday, August 13, 2012

In defense of Lane Kiffin

Very few people in college football are as polarizing as USC's Lane Kiffin. He's much like the Miami Hurricanes of the 1980's - you either love him or hate him. There's no middle ground.

Regardless of how you feel about him, it's time that someone called out USA Today for revealing Lane Kiffin's ballot.

Let's quickly recap what happened. Reporters tell Kiffin that Rich Rodriguez voted USC as the number one team in the land. Kiffin responds: "I would not vote USC No.1, I can tell you that". Shortly afterward, USA Today publishes an article revealing that Kiffin placed the Trojans in top spot on his ballot.

Here's how the publication justified its interference:

"Each coach's vote normally is kept confidential until the final vote of the regular season under an agreement between USA TODAY Sports and the American Football Coaches Association. However, when a voter volunteers false or misleading information about his vote in public, then USA TODAY Sports, in its oversight role as administrator of the poll, will set the record straight to protect the poll's integrity."


This type of unprofessionalism makes me sick.

USA Today is fooling itself if it believes anything that Kiffin did damaged the integrity of its poll. Most of the coaches don't watch all of the games (and rightfully so because they're preparing for the next opponent), making the poll more of a beauty contest than an accurate assessment of a team's merits.

Even if, and that's a big if, Kiffin did provide false information, USA Today could have handled things much differently. If they felt that his comments did not reflect his ballot, they should have made an attempt to qualify his comments or at least place some sort of context around it, rather than writing a "liar, liar pants on fire" article about it.

More importantly, the USA Today Poll now has a credibility problem. As USC's Tim Tessalone pointed out, the poll told its participants that all ballots would remain confidential with the exception of the final poll. Giving this information to a reporter, or to anyone not involved with administration of the poll, breaches that agreement.

It's too bad the people over at USA Today chose to make the news, rather than report the news.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Relax, LSU will be fine without the Honey Badger

Ever since Les Miles dismissed Tyrann Mathieu (aka the Honey Badger) from the team yesterday, members of the media have said that his loss derails any chance that LSU had to win the national championship this season.

While his departure certainly doesn’t help their cause, the Tigers will still have a great season without him.

Mathieu was clearly the most electrifying player on the team last year. Every time that the Tigers needed a big play, he seemingly came up with one, forcing a school-record 11 fumbles. LSU scored six TDs last year when they were behind, and the Honey Badger scored three of them. His penchant for making clutch plays earned him a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist.

However, to say that his loss eliminates LSU from winning the national championship is absurd. The reason that the Tigers dominated everyone last season was because the front seven simply manhandled its opponents. The Bayou Bengals were always in opposing backfields, leading the nation in sacks and tackles for a loss. They also thrived against top competition, holding two of the top nation’s top rushers in LaMichael James and Michael Dyer to a combined 104 yards on 30 carries.

Many of the top players from this stalwart defensive line return this year, including Barkevious Mingo, Anthony Johnson, and Sam Montgomery. With another year’s experience under John Chavis, they will continue to terrorize opposing QBs, which will force some ill-advised throws.

Let’s not forget that the Tigers play in the SEC West, which means that they always land the nation’s top talent. While Jalen Collins and Jalen Mills are inexperienced, they would not have earned a scholarship to LSU if they didn’t have exceptional cover skills.

In other words, there should be no drop off in the secondary this season, even with the loss of three very highly decorated starters.

Make no mistake about it -- Alabama is still the team to beat in the national championship race.

But even with the loss of Mathieu, the Tigers will be nipping at their heals, and have the advantage of playing the Crimson Tide in Death Valley.

Terry Johnson is a member of the FWAA and covers college football for www.CollegeFootballNews.com. Please contact him via email at johnsoncfn@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @TPJCollFootball

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Big Ten Burning Questions

After a brief respite, Phil, Bart, and I are back at again on the B1G Uglies. This week, we address the following topics:

1. Should Anything be Done with the Competitive Balance of the Divisions with Penn State Out of the Mix for the Big Ten Title Game for the next Few Years?

2. Could Anything Been Done Differently With the “Recruiting” Situation of Current Penn State Players?

3. What Does the Departure of Silas Redd Mean for Penn State?

You can read the full story here.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Initial Poll

Throughout the offseason, many of you have asked which teams belong in the Top 25. Here's what my preseason ballot looks like:

1) Alabama
2) Oklahoma State
3) LSU
4) Oregon
5) Wisconsin
6) Oklahoma
7) USC
8) South Carolina
9) Stanford
10) Florida State
11) West Virginia
12) Georgia
13) Michigan
14) Boise State
15) Clemson
16) Arkansas
17) Virginia Tech
18) Nebraska
19) Iowa
20) Texas
21) Utah
22) Mississippi State
23) Missouri
24) NC State
25) Michigan State

What do you think? Feel free to email me at johnsoncfn@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @TPJCollFootball

ACC Quick Slants

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for another addition of ACC Quick Slants. This week's topics include:
  • Sammy Watkins' Suspension
  • NC State's QB Depth problems
  • What does Kevin Haplea's transfer mean to Florida State
  • Greg Reid dismissed
To see the full story, click here or go to the College Football News homepage at http://cfn.scout.com