The South

The South will go for Tebow.  I think McCoy is likely to finish second in that region, both for traditional purposes (Southern voters will prefer the upperclassman) and for strategic purposes (if Bradford is seen as the threat to Tebow, voters will either pick Bradford third or leave him off their ballot altogether).

Current Prediction: Tebow, McCoy, Bradford

The Southwest

The Southwest will be very close between McCoy and Bradford, but I think that McCoy with his base of Texas-aligned media will edge out Bradford in this region.  Tebow will be a very distant third and you will probably see lots of support for Graham Harrell as well.  In fact, it is possible that Harrell gets third here.

Current Prediction: McCoy, Bradford, Harrell

The Midwest

No great love for the SEC in this region and I don’t think Tebow will get much support here.  Bradford and McCoy will be very close and you will see lots of support for Shonn Greene, as well as a smattering of votes for Javon Ringer, Daryll Clark and James Laurinaitis.   This will probably be Tebow’s weakest region.

Current Prediction: Bradford, McCoy, Greene

The Mid-Atlantic

This region doesn’t have a dog in the hunt.   It will come down to name recognition and here’s where McCoy and Tebow have the advantage.  I think it is close between the three main candidates here with Tebow splitting the two.

Current Prediction: McCoy, Tebow, Bradford

The Northeast

This region strikes me as being especially influenced by the ESPN culture that has its base here.  Television games hold huge sway.  The Big 12 has had a heckuva year on TV and to me that means McCoy or Bradford wins this region, with Tebow third.

Current Prediction: Bradford, McCoy, Tebow

The Far West

This region respects tradition, but also has a bit of a chip on its shoulder.  If Texas gets left out of the BCS title game, there might be a sentiment here to give the Heisman to McCoy.  On the other hand, the region isn’t too fond of Mack Brown for his politicking in 2004 that left Cal out of the BCS.  However, I’m not sure the region respects Oklahoma either, after getting beaten by USC and Boise in recent bowl games.  McCoy wins this one, with Tebow costing Bradford some much needed votes.

Current Prediction: McCoy, Bradford, Tebow

Current projected tally:  McCoy wins the Far West, Mid-Atlantic and Southwest;  Bradford wins the Midwest and Northeast;  Tebow wins the South.

Tennessee has been playing football since 1891. It has 776 wins in its glorious history, ninth all-time among 1-A teams.

It has won 13 SEC titles and four national titles. After, Alabama, it is the second-greatest tradition in the South.

And now, it is getting ready to hire as its coach a guy whose sole head coaching experience was with the sinking ship known as the Oakland Raiders.

Never mind that Lane Kiffin has never been a college football head coach. Never mind that in his only stint as a pro head coach, he went 5-15. Never mind that the only reason he took the Oakland job was to gain enough credibility to be seen as a legitimate candidate elsewhere (and to pull down a nice fat paycheck). Never mind that he’s never accomplished anything in his coaching career without the considerable help and influence of his father, Monte, and his godfather, Pete Carroll. (Surprise, Monte is going to come to Knoxville to hold his hand)

Never mind that he has no connections to the SEC, or that the offense he runs is more suited for the pro game than the college game, or that his abrasive personality has made him a much-despised figure wherever he has gone. Never mind that, despite the hype to the contrary, he is a horrible recruiter. Never mind that out of all the bright young minds in the college game, he doesn’t even register as a blip on the radar (hullo?  What about Major Applewhite or Gus Malzahn?).  Never mind that his prickly personality will not mesh with the warm, gregarious tradition of Southern hospitality. Never mind that he has never had to do the things that head coaches have to do everywhere, but even more so in the South–deal with alumni, relate to boosters, fire up the grass roots and all the other necessary little things in a region where football is a way of life.

Never mind all that. The guy is 33 years old. If you are going to hire a 33-year old as your head coach in the SEC, he’d better be a whiz kid. He’d better not be a guy whose career was borne on the wings of nepotism, family connections and a sense of entitlement.  He’d better be a guy who is familiar with the SEC from top to bottom. He’d better be a guy who has an offense that actually works in college, not a clunky pro scheme of the type tried by the Callahans and Hacketts of days gone by. He’d better not be a guy whose main claim to fame was keeping Reggie Bush on the bench during the most critical play of his team’s season. He’d better not be a guy whose only clear attribute is that he was hated by Al Davis (who isn’t?).

This has to be one of the worst and most unjustifiable coaching hires I’ve ever seen in college football. Paul Hackett, Buddy Teevens or even Howard Schnellenberger circa 1995 would make more sense.

Back in 2005, that was the question asked of USC’s offense. Now, looking at it from a talent standpoint, I think you would have to go with USC’s unit, which had 9 starters taken in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

However, from a pure effectiveness standpoint, you have to go with OU.

The Sooners are averaging 53.3 points per game, 7.1 yards per play and 556 yards per game. They rush for 202 yards and pass for 354 yards each game. They have scored at least 60 points in each of their last four games and over 50 eight times this season.

By comparison, that USC team averaged 579 yards and 49 points per game and 7.5 yards per play (heck, maybe it underachieved, given its talent!).

The Sooners have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher (DeMarco Murray) and another who has 988 and will soon pass 1,000 (Chris Brown), plus two receivers (Juaquin Iglesias, 967, and Jermaine Gresham, 806), who have a shot at 1,000-yard seasons (two games left to play).

USC had a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and 1,000-yard receiver (with another just under 1,000).

I am certain that no school has ever had a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard receiver (much less two of them) in the same season.  And, mind you, OU still has two games to go!!

Pretty amazing, historic stuff. How exciting would a Florida-OU matchup be?

I will have the full results later but, for now, here is the latest top 10 in the HP Fantasy Challenge. As you can see, there are only two players who can win the grand prize of 2 tickets to the BCS title game. It’s either going to be Woody’s Boys or Swamp Nuggets, who still has Stafon Johnson left to play. Everyone else has either used up all their players or are mathematically eliminated.

The Top 10

Woody’s Boys–316

Centurion–315

Swamp Nuggets–314 (Stafon Johnson)

ItsGr82BAFlG8r–301

Hoboken Mountaineers–295

Ballzak–293

Texas Fight!–289

South Beach Scarlet–287

Jake the Snake–274

Beanie’s Stiffarm–264

How amazing was that game yesterday?  I’m talking Oklahoma-Oklahoma State. That game epitomized the Big 12 this season. Lots of fireworks, excitement, big plays, scoring and, in the end, sustained excellence by Oklahoma offensively.

Sam Bradford’s flip near the goal line was an amazing play and exactly the kind of thing he needed to do to show that he isn’t just a robot back there in the pocket. Could you imagine Jason White trying to do that? I don’t think so.

Oh, let’s look at Bradford’s remarkable stats on the season:

268 of 393, 4,080 yards (68.2%), 46 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 190.97 rating (on pace for the NCAA record), plus 5 rushing touchdowns.

Those are some crazy numbers and he’s not done yet. Given Missouri’s sieve-like defense, 50 touchdown passes is a real possibility for Bradford.

Heisman voters have real dilemma this year. Do you pick the sophomore with the crazy stats who has his team on the verge of the BCS title game? How can you not? Or, how do you ignore what the Gators’ rock star has done as an encore this year, with his team killing everyone? And then there’s the one-man show who beat the Sooners head-to-head…

Tough.

Bradford has the Sooners on the brink