Heismanpundit

So the chairman of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee has warned that the alternative to the BCS is not a playoff, but a return to the old bowl system.

What I think most people don’t understand is that the alternative to the current system is not a playoff. The alternative to the BCS is going back to our traditional relationship with our bowl partners.

I wish it were a promise more than a threat.  I’d love a return to the old bowl system.  It’d be wonderful.  Sorry all you playoff people, but I’m a college football traditionalist.  If you want playoffs, feel free to start watching football on Sundays.  It’ll make my favorite sports bar much less crowded when I am there on Saturday.

While we’re at it, can we bring back the real Cotton Bowl of yore?

I find it funny how hard Florida State is fighting on behalf of Bobby Bowden to keep 14 of his wins from being vacated.  The idea is that, with 382 career wins, he needs to keep pace with Joe Paterno (who has 383 wins).

But Bowden already counts 31 wins from his time as head coach of non-Divison One Samford. 

If we take into account just Division One games, then, Bowden has 351 wins (not counting the 14 potentially vacated) and is nowhere near Paterno’s mark and has no chance of catching him.  So those 14 wins FSU is trying to keep are irrelevant.

And if we ARE counting non-Division One wins, then John Gagliardi of St. John’s (Minn.) has 461 of them and the 14 wins vacated by FSU are still irrelevant (at least when it comes to the all-time wins list). 

An honest accounting shows that Bowden isn’t within reach of the all-time wins record…unless he decides to coach until he’s 110.

Honestly, the BCS doesn’t bother me so much that I think Congress needs to get involved.  The thought of politicians messing with college football makes me sick.

Pitt’s Tony Dorsett, 1976 winner of the Heisman Trophy.  Courtsey of SI’s Vault:

Eric Berry’s 13-year-old younger brother, Evan, has already verbally committed to play for Tennessee.  He’ll be a freshman in high school this fall.  He’ll go to college in the fall of 2013.

I wonder who will be coaching the Vols by then?

For the rest of the position rankings, go here.

1. Syd’Quan Thompson, California–Tough, lockdown corner.  Had 70 tackles, 14 pass breakups and 4 interceptions last year.  Also a very good punt returner.  2nd-team HP All-American in 2008

2. Trevard Lindley, Kentucky–Coming off an outstanding season in which he had 4 interceptions and 11 pass break ups.  Part of the reason the Wildcat defense has improved so much recently.  2nd-team HP All-American in 2008.

3. Alterraun Verner, UCLA–Great instincts and cover skills.  He led the nation with 18 pass breakups and was second on the Bruins in tackles with 73. 

4. Joe Haden, Florida–Impressive sophomore season highlighted lights-out Gators secondary.  Had 87 tackles, 12 pass breakups and 3 picks.

5. Javier Arenas, Alabama–Super fast corner who had 63 tackles and 7 pass breakups last year.  Also an excellent return man.

6. Devin Ross, Arizona–Naturally smooth corner who came into his own as a junior with 50 tackles, 13 pass breakups and 3 interceptions. 

7. Dominique Franks, Oklahoma–Led the Sooners secondary with 4 interceptions last year and should be the Big 12’s top corner in 2009. 

8. Donovan Warren, Michigan–Big talent in is third year as a starter and primed for a breakout season.  Had 52 tackles and 4 pass breakups in 2008.

9. Kendric Burney, North Carolina–Had 78 tackles and an outstanding 7.5 TFL in 2008.   Also added three interceptions.  The leader of a very good Tar Heel secondary.

10. Kyle Wilson, Boise State–The best defensive back in the WAC.  He had 10 pass breakups and 5 interceptions last year.

Honorable Mention: Joshua Moore, K-State;  DeAndre Morgan, NC State; Kevin Thomas, USC; Rafael Priest, TCU; Anthony Gaitor, FIU; Patrick Peterson, LSU

Here are my ’surprise’ teams for 2009 (in no particular order):

Illinois–Juice Williams throwing to Arrelious Benn, Jeff Cumberland and Jarred Fayson means that Illinois should have the most explosive offense in the Big Ten this year and one of the best passing attacks in college football.  If Juice cuts his interceptions in half, I think this team wins at least 9.

Clemson–Always an attractive team on paper.  They are strong along both lines and have two of the fastest players in college football in C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford.  If Willie Korn can get his act together at quarterback, this could be a very good team and should win the ACC.

Alabama–I know it seems odd to have a team that won 12 games last year in this spot.  But I don’t think Bama is getting the respect it deserves due to it having only 4 starters coming back on offense.  But I think the Tide will upgrade at quarterback with Greg McElroy and maintain a strong running game with Mark Ingram and the addition of frosh Trent Richardson (who should be a great goal-line back).   And don’t forget a saltier Julio Jones at wide receiver.  This team is a national title contender in my book, especially with such a great defense.

Arkansas–Bobby Petrino is an offensive genius and it is only a matter of time before it shows in Fayetteville.  He has strong-armed Ryan Mallet to work with and some playmakers in Michael Smith, D.J. Williams and Joe Adams as well.  They could be this year’s Ole Miss. 

Auburn–Wherever Gus Malzahn has gone, he’s done wonders his first year.  Auburn should be as stout as ever defensively, so a significant improvement on offense should make the Tigers a bowl team once more.  I think they’ll score an upset or two and get to 8 or 9 wins. 

Michigan–Rich Rodriguez didn’t suddenly forget how to coach.  I think this team has a decent chance to start out 6-1 or even 7-0.  By the time it gets to the teeth of its schedule, it should have a lot of confidence and be able to hold its own against the better Big Ten teams.  By the end of the year, this will be a good team and will be set up for a very good season in 2010. 

Baylor–With Robert Griffin at QB, Joe Pawelek at LB and an improved roster–plus the nation’s most underrated coach in Art Briles–this program looks to be on the upswing.  I foresee a bowl bid for the Bears in 2009.

Stanford–I think this will be the Pac-10’s surprise team in 2009.  I think Andrew Luck is going to end up as one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.  The Cardinal have an excellent power running game going with Toby Gerhart and a hard-nosed defense.   Jim Harbaugh will have Stanford back in a bowl.

Others to watch:  UNLV, San Jose State, Miami (Fl.), Colorado

Get all the 2009 position ratings here…

First, the inside guys:

1. Brandon Spikes, Florida–An HP preseason and postseason AA in 2008, he is the Butkus favorite after collecting 93 tackles, 8 TFL and 4 interceptions last year.

2. Rolando McClain, Alabama–Built upon a big freshman year with an even bigger sophomore year.  Led the Tide with 95 tackles including 12 TFL and 8 pass deflections.

3. Pat Angerer, Iowa–Impressive in coverage, he had 5 interceptions last season while leading the Hawkeyes in tackles with 107.

4. Micah Johnson, Kentucky–The Wildcats were much improved defensively last year and Johnson is a big reason why.  He had 13 TFL and 93 tackles.

5. Joe Pawelek, Baylor–A tackling machine who can do it all.  Had 128 tackles, 7 pass breakups and 6 interceptions!

Honorable Mention: Ryan Reynolds, Oklahoma; Reggie Carter, UCLA; Martez Wilson, Illinois; Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina; Greg Jones, Michigan State

Outside Linebackers

1. Navorro Bowman, Penn State–All over the field for the Nittany Lions last year, collecting 106 tackles, along with 16.5 TFL and 5 pass break ups.  The latest addition to Linebacker U.

2. Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri–Had a staggering 155 tackles last year (which led the nation), including 18.5 for losses, 7 pass breakup and 3 interceptions. 

3. Rennie Curran, Georgia–A third-team selection to last year’s HP AA team, he led Georgia with 115 tackles and 10 TFL.

4. Mark Herzich, Boston College–As productive a linebacker as you’ll see in all of college football.  Had 110 tackles, with 13 TFL, 8 pass breakups and 6 interceptions. 

5. Keenan Clayton, Oklahoma–Helped keep things together for the Sooners last year when Ryan Reynolds went down.  Had 82 tackles, including 10 TFL and 9 pass breakups. 

6. Clinton Snyder, Stanford–A tough, mouth-to-mouth tackler who had 58 tackles and 6.5 TFL last year.  Very underrated. 

7. Kavell Conner, Clemson–Led a stout Clemson defense with 125 tackles and 6 TFL.   

8. Michael Mohamed, California–The Bears’ leading returning tackler with 87, he also had 3 interceptions and 6 TFL while starting only five games in 2008.

9. Nate Irving, NC State–A budding star who had 80 tackles, 11 TFL, 5 pass breakups and 4 interceptions despite only starting nine games last year due to injury.

10. Eric Norwood, South Carolina–An all-conference outside backer who had 75 tackles, 14.5 of them for a loss last year.

Honorable Mention: Patrick Benoist, Vanderbilt; Keaton Kristick, Oregon State; Cody Grimm, Virginia Tech; Sean Spence, Miami; Eric Norwood, South Carolina; Justin Winters, Buffalo

…from our friends over at Football Talent Advisors.  As we’ve been saying a long time, the best way to gauge speed accurately is to utilize track marks instead of 40 times.   And the best way to verify–or discredit–40 times is to also use track marks as a cross reference.  As FTA notes:

Players that run 11.5 in the 100 can’t  legitimately run 4.4, 4.5, or even 4.6 in the 40…the recruiting sites should learn this!

Don’t hold your breath.  Recruiting sites peddle 40 times like a drug dealer on a street corner.  They’ll say anything to make you buy their product. 

I’d say that if you don’t see an electronically timed 10.60 or better in the 100m (or a sub-21.50 200m or at least a 24-foot long jump) on a player’s resume, then you could pretty much discount the report that he has run a legitimate 4.3 or better in the 40-yard dash.  There will always be a couple exceptions–some athletes don’t have access to proper track coaching or facilities, some play center field in baseball instead–but as a general rule, track marks more accurately reflect true speed.

As noted in this story on Yahoo:

During a visit to Reggie Bush’s(notes) house in Los Angeles, there was a certain piece of memorabilia that caught the eye of All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson.

“I found myself walking up the steps, and I looked down right at this big Heisman Trophy just sitting in this real nice case,” Peterson said Friday during a break from his football camp. “I was like, ‘Awww!’ I wanted to ask him where Matt Leinart was so I could go over there and take mine. But it’s all good. It is what it is.”

Nearly five years later, Peterson still covets the two trophies he was denied by the Trojans.

“When I look back, I had an outstanding career,” Peterson said. “There were some things that – a national championship, I didn’t accomplish that. I fell short. I had the opportunity my freshman year, and I don’t even want to talk about that.

“I definitely wanted to win the Heisman Trophy, and that didn’t work out. There was definitely a lot that I wanted to accomplish, but unfortunately I didn’t do it.”