Remember back in your college days when you’d head to the bookstore to pay obscene amounts of money for books you’d crack open the night before the final and then never touch again?Remember how there was always that one professor who would have three required textbooks and four or five more “recommended” books?How many of those recommendations found their way on to your bookshelf?Yeah, same here.
So I find it amusing to read that the Nebraska athletics department self-reported a violation to the NCAA yesterday. Their crime? Violating an arcane NCAA rule that allows universities to provide student athletes with the books required for their classes, but not the recommended ones. Yep, extra textbooks. While you were out partying it up, Husker student athletes were home getting ahead of you by reading all those books their professors recommended, but didn’t require. (Well, at least I assume they were. It’s not like they’re normal college kids or anything.) And NU Athletics Director Tom Osborne says the athletes in question weren’t even allowed to sell their books back and pocket the cash!
An unnamed Nebraska athlete is seen openly flaunting her violation of NCAA rules.
No offense, Nebraska, but you’re doing this all wrong. Everyone knows extra benefits are supposed to involve cash under the table, free cars, hot co-eds, tattoos and jewelry. Not extra political science and kinesiology textbooks. You’ll never beat Texas [insert name of new Big Ten rival here] that way. Sure, you might extend your NCAA record of academic all-Americans. But how can Jim Tressel and Chip Kelly even take you seriously? Besides, it’s not like you actually want your scholarship students to get an education or anything. I mean, next thing you know you’ll be calling yourself an educational institution and your students will just be learning and developing the ability to think freely all over the place. Anarchy!
So come on, Cornhuskers. There’s gotta be a “recruiting service” or a friendly booster-owned car dealership around you can call.
Hey, Warren Buffett’s a fan. And he’s totally into tattoos.
Recently, I came across an article talking about how outdoors superstore Cabela’s, which is headquartered in Sidney, NE, had given a custom made $62,000 bass boat to the University of Nebraska bass fishing team.
Smooooooooooooth.
My first reaction was, “Dang, that’s a nice boat.” But it was followed closely by my second reaction, “Wait, what? There’s a college bass fishing team?”
So I did some research and found that, yes, there are now entire college bass fishing leagues. I’ve found at least two national-level competition leagues—one simply called “College Bass U” and another known as the more verbose “BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championshp Series.” Sure, it’s not an NCAA-sanctioned sport (I'm pretty sure either Title IX or the BCS is to blame), but who cares? Imagine how different my college experience would have been. Sure, my GPA would have dropped considerably, and my blood alcohol content would have probably gone up a little bit. But how cool would it have been to put “First-Team All-American Largemouth Fisherman” on my resume? Besides, which looks cooler hanging on a wall: a Phi Beta Kappa Key or an 8 pound bass? And the bass definitely tastes better (don't ask me how I know--just trust me on this one).
The water in my part of the country is warming up nicely. So maybe it’s time to grab my rod (uh, wait, that didn’t come out right), fill the cooler and head to the lake to wonder-what-might-have-been in my college days. Now how do I get Cabela's to sponsor me?
While in town for tomorrow's ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club, Griffin is also doing his part to promote the Wendy’s High School Heisman which celebrates high school seniors across the country who excel in academics, athletics and community leadership. Since the program’s start in 1994, more than 305,000 students have been recognized by the program for their outstanding achievements both on and off the field.
Wes presses him on whether or not their would be another multi-time winner, whether he voted for himself in 1975, his thoughts on Nebraska joining the Big 10, how character should be weighed in Heisman voting in light of Reggie Bush and Cam Newton controversy, and has Griffin make an Oregon-Auburn prediction.
For more information about the High School Heisman program and the nomination process, visit http://www.wendysheisman.com or contact your local high school principal, guidance counselor or athletic director. “Like” Wendy’s High School Heisman on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wendyshighschoolheisman for program updates and to connect with alumni.
The time in which ABC's Holly Rowe sets the profession of female sports reporting back 50 years and Brent Musburger let's her know it...
In what could be the dumbest sideline insight in decades Holly Rowe makes Eric Dickerson look like Walter Cronkite after her report on the University of Nebraska's super-kicker Alex Henery being a 'regular guy' because he wears 'regular shoes'.
Shoes--of course it's shoes that the lady on the sidelines is focused on.
We’re nearing the end, my friends. The end of the season. The end of many fans’ dreams. The end of many coaches’ jobs. And the end of many turkeys’ lives.
If you need any proof that football is the greatest sport in the world, I would submit this week as Exhibit A. Drama. Great rivalries. Great games. Football on Thanksgiving Day. Meanwhile, as I write this, I'm suffering through Dick Vitale announcing another Duke basketball game. I rest my case.
On with the football.
Mea Culpa
I have to start off this week with an apology. In my post last week, I commented on the lousy officiating in the Big 12, but disagreed with those Nebraska fans who said that the conference was somehow out to get the Huskers for leaving for the Big Ten. I now owe all of you conspiracy theorists an apology.
You were right. I was wrong. And the fix is in.
After watching the Nebraska/Texas A&M game, I really can’t come to any other conclusion. The officiating was so ridiculously one-sided that you’d have to be wearing some pretty thick maroon-tinted Aggie glasses not to notice.
Consider if you will:
Nebraska was flagged 16 times for 145 yards (both school records), including six personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
Texas A&M, which was one of the most heavily penalized teams in the country coming into the game, had just 2 penalties for 10 yards.
The Aggies, despite starting two freshmen at the tackle spots and facing one of the more aggressive defenses in the country, were never called for holding.
Late in the game, 3rd-and-6 at the A&M 12 yard line, the Aggies were flagged for pass interference, which would have kept the Huskers’ potential game-winning drive alive. Except the refs picked up the flag.
On A&M’s subsequent drive, the Huskers got an atrocious late-hit penalty (on 3rd-and-11 from the 49; see video #1 below) that moved the Aggies into position for the game-winning field goal.
ABC, which is stuck in a big-money contract with a conference with no championship game and really only one national marquee game and just lost a bidding war to Fox for the Big Ten championship game, mysteriously never showed replays of two different personal fouls called on Husker DE Eric Martin.
Certainly none of these things individually point to a conspiracy. Picking up the pass interference flag was probably the right call. Although he was obviously provoked (video #2 below; showing A&M’s Tony Jerod-Eddie auditioning for a “junk-grabbing” job with the TSA), the flag on TE Ben Cotton for retaliating wasn’t improper. And Bo Pelini’s maniacal raving at the officials probably didn’t help the team get any borderline calls. But in my mind, here is the smoking gun: The same officiating crew did Nebraska’s games against Texas, Iowa State and Texas A&M. In those games, the Huskers were flagged 32 times for 293 yards. Their opponents were called for just 9 penalties for 103 yards (a difference of almost 8 flags and over 63 yards per game). Compare this to the Huskers’ 4 other Big 12 games this year in which the penalty discrepancy was less than 1 flag and 8 yards per game.
Those kind of numbers cannot be a coincidence.
So Husker conspiracy theorists, consider me a believer. And, assuming you can get by Colorado this week (wonder which officiating crew is doing the game?), I hope you enjoy your last Big 12 consolation prize in the Insight or Alamo Bowl. Because there is not a chance in hell that Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe and his minions will let you get a sniff of the conference championship trophy.
“OK, the Boss wants us to make sure that Nebraska doesn’t win the conference championship. But it’s gotta look like an accident. So who thinks we can do it?”
Welcome to the Party
It only took 12 weeks, but congrats to the Big East on finally getting enough bowl-eligible teams to fill your six spots (well, if you count Notre Dame’s deal to take one of your spots when they don’t make the BCS). First team to 8 wins gets the Fiesta Bowl and its $17 million payout. Who says mediocrity doesn’t pay?
Does this come in Pitt colors?
Weaksauce (As I'm Told the Kids are Calling it These Days) Scheduling #1
I find it very amusing that the loudest voices calling for a playoff to “prove it on the field” are also the loudest ones railing against Boise State’s schedule and that they shouldn’t be given a chance to “prove it on the field.”
A tasty pre-Thanksgiving snack.
Whodathunkit?
Imagine if, 5 years ago, I would have told you that:
Texas would not be bowl eligible, but San Diego State, Texas-El Paso and all three service academies would be.
Boise State would still be a national power, and Notre Dame would still be irrelevant.
Weaksauce Scheduling #2
Speaking of scheduling, what’s up with the new trend of scheduling weak nonconference games late in the season? Alabama vs. Georgia State. Texas vs. Florida Atlantic. Florida vs. Appalachian State. These are the kind of games that belong on Labor Day weekend, not the week before Thanksgiving. It’s sad and not just a little pathetic when supposedly big-name programs feel the need to schedule a scrimmage the week before their end-of-season rivalry games.
From all of us here at HHR, a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your favorite football teams this year.
We're right about at the halfway point of the season. Some things we know (Oregon is good. The Pistol is football's newest craze. Les Miles has replaced Nick Saban as Satan's pet project). Some things we don't (How will Taylor Martinez fare against stronger competition? Is Ohio State really the #1 team in the nation? How bad will things get for Penn State? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?). But things are definitely getting interesting. With Alabama proving to be mortal after all, the national championship race is as wide open as I can remember. You could make a pretty good case for any one of 8 or 9 different schools winning it all. We've got a bunch of really good teams, but none that are without their faults. So buckle up everyone. The next few weeks could be a wild ride. Now on to this week's observations.
You Suck. Yeah, You. I don't care how much you can bench, how many Monster energy drinks you can chug or how many Affliction shirts you own. Unless you've lost a body part during a game-and stayed in the game-you are a great big steaming pile of pansiness compared to Virginia Tech OL Greg Nosal.
Game tape of Nolan in action.
Now That's Motivation By now, everybody knows that New Mexico State football is really bad. But, on the plus side, the Aggie players still had the luxury of being football players, with all the girls, parties and other perks that went along with that stature. Until now. As Sports by Brooks alerted us last week, an unnamed person or persons distributed thousands of NSFW flyers around the NMSU campus, urging the local co-eds not to engage in, um, extracurricular activities with any of the football players until they won a game. (As the flyer so eloquently put it, "Once you score a win, then you can get it in.")
Crude though it might have been, the extra motivation apparently worked, as the Aggies snapped their 11-game losing streak with a 16-14 win over in-state rival (if you can call an 0-6 team who's even worse than you that) New Mexico.
I'm guessing Coach Walker's postgame press conference wasn't the highlight of the celebration.
New Math Les Miles is 49% football genius and 51% bats*%t insane. Or vice versa. Depending on the week.
"Les, did you remember to take your meds today?"
When the Lawyers Win, We All Lose Earlier in the week, the U. of Texas Athletic Department cracked down on an internet company that was selling Nebraska-themed shirts with the famed Longhorn logo upside down in preparation for this week's grudge match between the Huskers and the 'Horns. (FYI: Texas made over $10 million in royalties off of the Longhorn logo last year. I've always wondered how much of that came from Oklahoma fans who bought the Texas logo just to put it upside down. Never made sense to me. You do know you're aiding your enemy, right? OK, moving on.) But it raised a bigger question: shouldn't the makers of Angry Birds be paying royalties to Ball State?
Well, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the impending Armageddon of conference realignment, the bomb has finally dropped and we’re left with, well, pretty much what we already had. Nebraska moved to the Big 10. Colorado and (reportedly) Utah will be heading to the Pac-10. And Mountain West teams will soon be heading to the Smurf Turf of Boise State. But other than that, it all turned out to be much ado about nothing. But that doesn’t mean we can’t engage still in a little snap judgment. With that, here are (in no particular order) the Big 12(10) Winners and Losers in the expansion fiasco.
WINNERS
1. Texas. The big winners in all of this. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s hard not to respect the piece of Machiavelliangenius that Texas just pulled off. The Longhorns successfully managed to dupe the Pac-10, (most of) the rest of the Big 12 and the national sports media. And what did they get?
A potential new TV deal that will pay them even more.
Nine other schools now completely at the Longhorns’ mercy.
Making the five schools that didn't have a BCS conference invite sign over their share of the Nebraska and Colorado buyout money.
An even greater revenue disparity to their benefit.
Their own TV network.
A conference schedule that will, in all likelihood, put them just one game away from a shot at the national title every year.
In other words, everything they wanted from the beginning and then some. Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch put it best: “No one can say Horns never play anyone. They just played everyone.”
Forget the World Series of Poker. DeLoss Dodds is the real Texas Hold ‘Em Champion.
2. The Big 12 Teams Not Named Texas (Short-Term). If Dan Beebe can pull off his miracle TV deal he claims he can get, the TV package for all the schools will grow significantly. More importantly, the remaining Big 12 schools that didn’t have BCS conference invites are spared the indignity of having to beg the Mountain West or the MAC for membership.
3. The Big 10. They add one of the most successful programs in NCAA history that brings in big TV numbers. They finally get a conference championship game for a big money payday. And, by not jumping the gun to super-conference status right now, they leave themselves some wiggle room for Notre Dame future expansion.
4. Nebraska. Tom Osborne proved to be prophetic. Whether you agree with his opinion of them or not, it’s true that everything he lamented in the conference—the shifting of power to Texas, the unequal revenue distribution, the lack of a Big 12 network, etc.—not only will continue under the new Big 12, but appear to be getting even worse. For good or bad, the culture of the conference simply isn’t what it once was. Nebraska had become an outsider in its own conference and the move to the Big Ten was a natural one. Yes, the extra money ($22-$25 million instead of the $10 million they made in the Big 12) and the chance to leave Texas behind are nice, but perhaps even more important the move gives the Cornhuskers the stability and egalitarian culture lacking in the Big 12.
“What can I say, I TRIED to warn them.”
5. Chip Brown, Orangebloods.com. Yes, it seems a little slimy when a site trolling for subscribers and serving as a mouthpiece for the biggest player in all this is the one breaking the stories. And, sure, those stories weren’t always accurate (he broke both the report that Texas was joining the Pac-10 and that Texas was staying with the Big 12). But over the last week, he’s had ESPN eating out of his hand and become a household name with football geeks waiting on pins and needles for his next Tweet.
What do Chip’s sources say today?
6. Pot dealers. When Colorado and California get together for their first Pac-10 meeting, there may not be enough dope, tie dye or Phish cover bands to go around.
Tailgating in Boulder
7. Stewart Mandel, Sports Illustrated. The man predicted Nebraska’s move—three years ago.
8. The Red River Rivalry. With Nebraska out of the picture and no conference championship game, the annual Oklahoma/Texas shootout becomes a de facto conference title game and very likely a play-in game for a BCS title shot.
One of the biggest games in college football gets even bigger. Plus it has corn dogs.
9. T. Boone Pickens. Without having to compete with Phil Knight, Pickens can maintain his status as the biggest spender in the conference.
Lord Boone mingling with the commoners.
10. Arizona and Arizona State. Under the proposed Pac-10 expansion discussions, the Wildcats and Sun Devils would have been put in a western division with the six new schools from the Big 12. In other words, they would have to play Texas and Oklahoma every year. Now they can breathe a sigh of relief and still hold on to that pipe dream of making it back to the Rose Bowl someday. Plus, Bob and Mike Stoops don't have to worry about those awkward family reunions.
LOSERS
1. The Big 12 Teams Not Named Texas (Long-Term). This whole process showed one thing. Texas is the king, and everybody else in the conference exists for the sole purpose of doing the Longhorns bidding. If there was any doubt about who the top program in college athletics is, it’s over now. While the smaller schools in the conference are breathing a sigh of relief right now, I wouldn’t get too comfortable. The only reason the Big 12 exists today is because, right now, it is in Texas’ best interest. But the Longhorns won’t commit to anything long term (another reason Nebraska wanted out—UT refused to commit to anything past 2016), so the conference may be right back in this same position a few years from now when the new TV deal runs out. Texas is looking out for Texas. Period. And if the revenue doesn’t come in like projected or they think they can cut a better deal somewhere else, the rest of the Big 12 will all be scrambling for new homes.
Help, help, I’m being repressed!
2. Missouri. The Tigers have had their bags packed for months, not even trying to conceal their love affair with the Big 10. So to get stranded at the altar in favor of Nebraska had to sting quite a bit. Plus, they’re now stuck with a new TV deal where the revenue disparity will be even bigger than before and they have to play both Texas and Oklahoma every year. While they have to hold out hope that the Big 10 may expand somewhere down the line, the uncertainty of their immediate future has to have Mizzou hating life.
“I want to go to the Big Ten THIS much.”
3. Colorado’s Short-Term Future. Colorado tried to get ahead of the curve by jumping to the Pac-10, expecting the Big 12 to dissolve behind them. Because it didn’t, the Buffs are now on the hook for approximately $9 million over the next two years in lost revenue they owe back to the Big 12 as punishment for leaving.
And you thought CU fans were upset when they couldn’t come up with the money to buy out Dan Hawkins.
4. Oklahoma’s Self-Respect. The Sooners’ marching band is called the Pride of Oklahoma. After this week’s developments, they may have to rethink that. For some inexplicable reason, OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione kept finding ways to reiterate the fact that the Sooners would go wherever Texas went. While that move might (and I emphasize might) have been in OU’s best interest (at least in the short term), did it really help to paint the Sooners into a corner like that, take all other options off the table and basically admit that OU has become the Longhorns’ little sister?
C’mon, Joe. You guys are better than that.
5. Journalism. I, for one, will never trust any future article with the line “Sources close to the program say . . .” again. There was so much misinformation and outright deception going on that journalistic integrity was the first casualty in the Great Expansion Wars of 2010. And if someone wasn’t breaking incorrect stories, then someone else was running with that information and claiming it as their own.
I’m looking at you, Joe Schad.
6. Brett Favre. For the first time in years, the annual summer “will he or won’t he” retirement talk hasn’t been the biggest offseason story in football.
"Hello? Will somebody pay attention to me now?"
7. Big 12 Relevance. For some time, the Big 12 North division has largely been an afterthought. The winner of the Oklahoma/Texas game would go on, win the conference championship and then go on to the BCS. But there was always at least a little bit of intrigue, given the history of title game upsets (Texas in ’96, A&M in 98, Kansas State in ’03, etc.) and Nebraska’s recent resurgence. All that, however, goes out the window with the loss of the conference title game and no real competition for the Longhorns and Sooners. Barring some huge upsets, 9 of the league’s 10 teams will effectively be irrelevant on the college football scene by mid-October.
8. Dan Beebe’s Math. I took calculus in high school, and then clepped out my college math requirements. So I haven’t studied math in . . . let’s see, minus 18, times the circumference, carry the one . . . a lot of years. But I still can’t figure out how Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe figures that subtracting one of your better TV draws (Nebraska), scrapping a conference championship game and losing the Denver media market somehow adds up to almost doubling the conference’s TV contract.
9. The Pac-10. Here they thought they had Texas, the biggest fish in the college football sea, coming aboard. All they had to do was take their in-state rivals, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, with them. But then word got out that Baylor had friends in high places and that some Texas legislators were threatening to submarine the deal if Baylor wasn’t included in the package. So the Pac-10 tried to call their bluff, issuing a pre-emptive invitation to Colorado. However, the plan backfired and, instead of getting Texas as the jewel in their conference crown, they’re stuck with an underachieving Colorado program that just got hit with NCAA scholarship reductions.
10. Jerry Jones. Jerry had just secured the Big 12 Championship game for his new Taj Mahal in Dallas through 2013. Now it appears that there won’t be a title game past 2010.
Available for parties, weddings, rehearsals, bar mitzvahs...
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about conference expansion and realignment. At the top of that list is the Big 10’s expressed desire to expand to 14 or 16 teams. While much has been discussed (Notre Dame pipe dream, anyone?), the three most common—and logical—potentials to join the Big 10 are Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers.
After a great deal of thorough analysis over some frosty beverages, I’ve come to one carefully-reasoned conclusion—this is a marriage made in football heaven and everybody involved would have to be a complete freakin’ idiot to not pull the trigger on this deal.
Although somehow “Big 14” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
First, let’s look at what those three schools would gain from joining the Big 10.
Academics—Some colleges still have this crazy notion that universities exist for purposes other than supporting football teams (strange, I know). Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers—along with all 11 members of the current Big 10—are members of the American Association of Universities. If you’re known by the company you keep, AAU represents the cool kids in academic circles. Only 63 colleges and universities are members, but they receive 57% of all federal research dollars (more than $17 billion). 70% of U.S. Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with one of these schools. In other words, the Big 10, especially with the addition of these three schools, would have a whole lot more in the way of academic funding and prestige than the Big 12 or Big East can offer.
It’s no Heisman, but it’ll do.
Equality—Over the course of the Big 12’s history, Nebraska has been on the losing end of more than one 11-1 votes. And others in the Big 12 North have quietly grumbled about the power in the conference moving south. The current state of the Big 12 is very simple—whatever Texas wants, Texas gets. A TV contract that heavily benefits the big name schools? You got it. Moving the Big 12 title game to Texas permanently? No problem. The list goes on. In the Big 12, the rich (Texas and Oklahoma) keep getting richer. The Big 10 is much more egalitarian in its structure, with all members treated more or less equally. (For example, they are the only conference in which all teams share BCS money evenly).
Clap if you’re a fan of the Big 12
Money—The Big One. Let’s be honest, none of this talk would even be on the table if there wasn’t money—and a lot of it—at stake. Under their current football TV contracts, Nebraska and Missouri each pull in approximately $10 million annually, while Rutgers gets about $4 million. If the Big 10 expands, each school would get in the neighborhood of $22 to $25 million. I’m not great at math, but even I can crunch those numbers.
Warren Buffett is a Nebraska fan. And he knows a good deal when he sees one.
So what does the Big 10 gain from these three extra schools?
Money—Yes, it all comes back to money again. Don’t act surprised. With these three schools in the mix, you pull in the New York/New Jersey, Saint Louis and Kansas City media markets. And while Nebraska may be small in terms of population, it is a traditional power that routinely brings in the big TV viewership numbers appealing to advertisers. In other words, you’re going to have a whole lot of eyes watching these games. They way I understand the Big Ten TV contract, they get 10 cents per cable subscriber in non-Big 10 areas, but approximately 70 cents per subscriber in Big 10 markets. Take that net 60 cents per subscriber difference times the number of cable subscribers in New York City, New Jersey, Missouri and Nebraska and you’re talking about a pretty good chunk of change. And that doesn’t even include the revenue from a potential conference title game, additional bowl bids, etc.
The Big 10 Network gets a whole lot Bigger. And Tennier.
History—To be sure, the Big 10 is not lacking for history or storied programs. But the addition of Rutgers (played in the very first college football game in 1869) and Nebraska (5 national titles and a laundry list of national award winners) certainly wouldn’t hurt the conference’s record books.
Rutgers 6, Princeton 4. You can’t get more old school than that.
Other Sports—While the focus of most of the expansion talk has understandably been on football, Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers bring a lot to the table in other sports. For example, Missouri would be an immediate favorite for the baseball title. Nebraska volleyball would have a natural rival in Penn State as Final Four fixtures. And Rutgers women’s basketball has become a perennial contender.
Nebraska and Penn State have won 6 of the last 11 national championships in women’s volleyball, including the last three straight by PSU.
Are their downsides? Sure. Higher travel costs. The (potential) end of some traditional rivalries. Possibly fewer recruiting inroads in Texas for MU and NU. Some restructuring and rescheduling of the current Big 10. But are any of those reasons enough to say no to this deal? Absolutely not. At the end of the day, there’s really no good reason for this deal NOT to happen.
(Regular HHR contributors Rusty and The Cynic are born-and-bred fans of the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, respectively. The one thing they have in common is having been suckered into recruiting hype. In time for National Signing Day, we at HHR thought it might be good for them to provide some perspective. Enjoy.)
Ah, signing day—the pedophile’s national holiday. Seriously, isn’t it just a little disconcerting hearing a bunch of pasty middle-aged white dudes describing 17-year old boys as “physical specimens?” You know, the ones who drool over YouTube videos of high school game films and know just a little too much about his chosen school’s recruiting targets? While I understand wanting to get the top players for your team, with some of these guys there’s a very fine line between Rivals and kiddie porn.
Anyway, recruiting is, at best, an inexact science. Sure, getting a bunch of 5-star guys probably helps your team’s odds overall. But it’s certainly not uncommon to see those same guys leaving school or riding the pine a couple of years later while players with less talent but better work ethics run onto the field. Plus, it tends to be somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy (Recruit X has offers from Texas, Alabama and Florida, therefore he must be a top player, right?). So before you get too excited about where your favorite team’s recruiting class ranks on Scout.com, let us give you a brief cautionary tale.
So much talent. Now what?
The Cynic: Harrison Beck was on everybody’s 2005 recruiting radar. Rated as the third-best pro-style QB recruit in the nation (behind Mark Sanchez and Jonathan Crompton; 12 spots ahead of Colt McCoy), he chose Nebraska over offers from Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss and North Carolina State, among others. When he arrived in Lincoln, Beck was supposed to be the savior—the one who would take Bill Callahan’s West Coast Offense by the reins and resurrect a declining Nebraska program. But after a disappointing freshman year, in which he saw very limited action and finished just 1-10 for 21 yards and an INT, cracks in Beck’s seemingly invincible armor began to appear.
Fast forward to two-a-days in August 2006. Beck skipped a couple days worth of practice. Reports circulated that he was upset with his lack of playing time (having dropped to third on the depth chart) and was looking to transfer. However, he supposedly had second thoughts and had asked for (and received) Callahan’s permission to rejoin the team. Then it happened. And by “it,” I mean Harrison’s mom. A Lincoln paper quoted Evelyn Beck-Bothwell as saying that Harrison was being treated unfairly and that, if he was given a fair amount of repetitions in practice, he would be the starter.
While there were few positives about the Bill Callahan era at Nebraska, most Husker fans would agree starting QB Zac Taylor was one of the toughest SOB’s to ever put on the scarlet and cream. He was the unquestioned leader of that 2006 team, popular with both the fans and the players. So to say that Mrs. Beck-Bothwell’s comments badmouthing Taylor and #2 QB (and eventual starter) Joe Ganz were not well-received would be a massive understatement. Once the comments became public, too many bridges had been burned and Coach Callahan quietly told Beck that it would probably be in everybody’s best interest if he were to continue his career elsewhere.
My mommy says I'm special.
So Beck packed his bags and headed back east, eventually landing at North Carolina State.
####
Rusty: Harrison Beck’s tenure in Raleigh was as stable as an episode of MTV’s The Real World. Beck was mired in a post-Rivers stable of mediocre quarterbacks. After sitting the mandatory first year required by the NCAA, Beck was narrowly edged out by NC State legacy Daniel Evans for Tom O'Brien's debut as the Wolfpack coach. Evans' first game under O'Brien wasn't pretty, and Beck soon found himself with the starting job. However, his two touchdowns thrown in relief of Evans would be his only ones of the season. Despite his Hulk Hogan arm and cocksure swagger, Beck helped the Wolfpack stumble to a basement dwelling 1-4 start by throwing 8 interceptions in 5 games. His only win as a starter that year came against lowly D1-AA Wofford.
In his second year in Raleigh, Beck would only get the starting nod once, having bee relegated to the backup role for soon-to-be-named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, Russell Wilson. His one start was certainly one for the record books--3 picks, no touchdowns, and a completion percentage of less than 30 percent. Much to the delight of Wolfpack nation, it would be the last action he saw in the regular season, though rumors circulated that his mother was fashioning vodoo dolls of Coach O'Brien. In fact, by that point relations had soured so much between the formerly heralded recruit that, when he did see action again in the Papa John's Bowl, he seemed to relish completing his only pass of the game . . . to the Rutgers secondary. The other players in red-n-white didn't find Beck's 16th interception to only 119 career completions nearly as funny. (For you math whizzes out there, that means he completed 13 percent of his passes to the guys wearing the other uniform over his career for the Wolfpack.)
Sadly, even after leaving NC State, Beck remained defiant, basically saying that his poor performance wasn't his fault and seemed to outright endorse the idea that he was more interested in throwing deep balls and making SportsCenter highlight reels than executing the coaches' game plan: "That's [deep passes] a little different than what I've ever had [at NC State]. It was always, 'Don't lose the game,' 'Don't throw that,' 'Check it down to the fullback, throw it short, take that stuff.'" Quite the team guy.
Action shot of Beck not checking down.
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After washing out at two BCS conference schools, Beck accepted an offer to play for new coach Terry Bowden at Division II North Alabama. In fairness, he did have a solid senior season: Beck threw for 31 TDs, more than 3,800 yards and finished sixth in the voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy, the D-II equivalent of the Heisman. But, in typical Beck fashion, he managed to throw his former coaches and teammates under the bus, saying his success was due to having receivers and a coach who "understand who I am as a quarterback."
Beck taking one for the team. Or not.
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Still, this one year of D-II success is a far cry from the lofty visions that Beck, his mom and the various recruitniks around the country had for him in 2005. Beck may have been talented, but his ego and inability to play the coach’s game that kept him on the sideline and ultimately on the bus to Alabama.
But don’t cry for Harrison Beck. He’ll always have a place in history—as the only player whose mommy ever got him kicked off the team.
Thanksgiving is always my favorite holiday. What's not to love? Every kitchen becomes my own personal buffet. I don't have to worry about what racial, ethnic, religious, etc. group might get pissed off about celebrating the holiday. A few hours of peace and quiet while the women all leave the house before I'm awake on Friday morning. And football. Lots and lots of football.
Football solves so many of the world's problems. It's the best thing ever for dealing with family. Crazy relative wants to tell you about all her medical maladies? "Sorry Aunt Martha, the game's on." Your father nagging you to move out of the basement and get a real job (insert gratuitous blogger joke here)? "Hey dad, can we talk about this when the game's over?" Mom wants to tell how glad she is you could make it home for the first holiday since Grandpa passed away? "You stupid %$%#!!! Why would you call a quarterback draw on 3rd and 12 with less than two minutes left, you dumb ^&*@#$%!!!!"
Yep, it's the perfect holiday. With that, a few football notes.
Time, Time, Time is on Our Side
Somewhere in Baton Rouge Sunday morning, an LSU graduate student was passed out with several empty bottles of vodka sitting on top of the tattered and tear-stained remains of what was supposed to have been his MBA thesis entitled “The Business Applications of Coach Les Miles’ Time Management Principles.”
Way to man up there, coach. Maybe now you can help wash the bus tire tracks off your quarterback.
Pity the poor football fans in San Antonio. The local ABC affiliate, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to air two hours of infomericals and a rerun of Oprah instead of Friday afternoon’s Nebraska/Colorado game. Look, I know there’s not much on the line in this game (Nebraska has already clinched the Big 12 North; Colorado is 3-8). But don’t you think there are more than a few folks in south Texas who are interested in the game? Like, say, Texas fans interested in seeing Nebraska play once before they meet the Longhorns in next week’s Big 12 championship game? And besides, IT’S COLLEGE FREAKIN’ FOOTBALL FOR CHRISSAKES!!! KSAT is reportedly the only ABC affiliate in the country that will not be airing the game. The decision is made even stranger by the fact that the station is preempting its local programming to show the early game, Illinois vs. Cincinnati.
So while you’re enjoying day 2 of your turkey and football coma on Friday while your wife or girlfriend is out shopping, be thankful for how much better you have it than those poor schmucks in San Antonio. [Ed. Note: shortly after this post was written, KSAT decided to reverse course and will show the NU/CU game on Friday. Thanksgiving is saved!]
One is a giant 300 pound freakishly unstoppable force of nature. The other is Ndamukong Suh.
A Season to Forget
Connecticut is currently sitting at 5-5, with all five losses by four points or less. So it's been a tough enough season on the field. But add in the tragic murder of UConn CB Jasper Howard and this year has been the stuff of nightmares. So it was good to see them get arguably one of the program's biggest wins ever on the road over Notre Dame. While most media outlets have been focusing on the game as the final nail in Charlie Weis’ time at Notre Dame, it was good to see UConn pull out a huge overtime win after a very challenging season.
Congrats on the win, Coach Edsall. Here's hoping you never have to go through a season like this again.
First off, I apologize for not getting a review post done last week—we had some family friends with a medical situation, so I just wasn’t around enough to write one. Hope you can forgive me and, fortunately, everything is all better now so I can get back to thinking about football.
Last weekend, I went to visit my parents in Dallas. Didn’t have anything else going on, so I decided to make the trip down to Waco for the Nebraska/Baylor game. The game itself, a 20-10 Cornhusker win, wasn’t much to write home about but it made me think just how much things can change during the course of a football season. Just a few weeks ago, Nebraska’s offense actually looked competent, Baylor phenom QB Robert Griffin was healthy and this looked like it could have been a good game. Since then, Griffin’s knee went kaput and Nebraska’s offense never met a turnover it didn’t like.
The Nebraska offense’s team bus arrives at the stadium.
The same is true on the national scene—at the start of the season, it looked like we could have an epic championship race with Florida, Texas and Oklahoma all returning their star QBs. But injuries and sloppy play have taken their toll. Honestly, is there anyone this year that you would consider a truly great team? Sure, those three plus Alabama, TCU, Boise State, Oregon are all playing some good football. But will whoever wins ever be mentioned in the same breath as great teams of the past? Not likely. Anyway, on to my review of other bad football from the past couple of weeks.
Fading Reds
Speaking of the Cornhuskers, this Saturday’s Oklahoma/Nebraska game marks just the second time since 1969 when neither team was ranked in the top 15. While I understand that money rules college football and that’s why the Big 12 exists, I’m still saddened by the fading of this once-great rivalry. Growing up, Oklahoma/Nebraska was a Thanksgiving tradition between two great powerhouses. Now, it’s just another game. Sigh.
The Game of the Century. Gone but not forgotten.
Throw the Flag. Or Not.
You know things are bad when fans and the media spend more time complaining about SEC officiating than preaching the gospel according to Tebow. Is it just me or has officiating across the country been terrible this year? Not just on judgment calls like pass interference or personal fouls, but on truly bad calls that were either made incorrectly (balls not crossing the goal line) or not called (outrageous personal fouls that go unflagged). And then they review every other play. And they STILL don’t get calls right. There’s been a lot of focus on SEC refs and officials taking 14 points away from Indiana based on dubious (to put it mildly) calls vs. Iowa, but the bad officiating has been equal opportunity this year.
Think you could do better?
Justice is Served
Let’s see: Dez Bryant tells a lie and is banned from football for a year. Brandon Spikes tries to gouge someone’s eyes out and he has to sit out one halfone game. Against Vanderbilt. Am I missing something here?
Could be worse. He could have been punished by having to play FOR Vanderbilt.
Pick Your Poison
Worst Division in Football: ACC Atlantic vs. Big 12 North. Discuss.
Hail to the . . . um, Whatever
Rich Rodriguez’s trip off the hot seat was short-lived. It’s amazing what losses to your in-state rival and a previously 1-6 team will do to erase memories over your 4-0 start.
Give Coach Rod credit: it’s not easy making Ron Zook look good.
At my local Chinese takeout joint in lovely Central New Jersey, I learned that the Chinese are big retro Cornhusker fans, as their proudly displayed 2009 calendar boasts a young Asian lass (lad?) sporting a 1994/1995 Nebraska back-to-back national championship sweatshirt/turtleneck/tank top.
One of the nice things about writing for a national sports blog (aside from the money, fame and women they keep telling me will be here soon) is that it gives me a good excuse to make road trips to college football games around the country. This last weekend I had the opportunity to do something unique—something that had little to do with a game itself, and more about the reasons why we love college football. I made the trip to Lincoln, NE to join in the celebration of Nebraska’s 300th consecutive sellout.
A remarkably lifelike image of The Cynic in action.
Think about that—no unsold tickets for 300 consecutive games. The last time a seat went unsold in Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium, it was 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a week old. Gas was 32 cents a gallon. The Beatles had just released their first single, “Love Me Do.” And the silicone breast implant had just been invented.
God bless technology.
Sure, the cynic in me (after all, that’s my job) says it’s easy to say, “Well, what else is there to do there?” But I’ve discovered not only is that sterotype not true (hint: Omaha and Lincoln have the same entertainment options as any typical mid-major or capital city, plus some neat “local flavor” stuff), but there’s something much deeper. Because there is no pro team or “Nebraska State”, the people of Nebraska identify with their team in a way not seen in many other places. The best analogy I can think of is to imagine Boston if there were no Bruins, Celtics or Patriots.
And the Red Sox only played seven home games a year. You think they might fill up Fenway for those games? That’s the level of devotion we’re talking about here—because the Huskers are the only game in town, the entire state rallies around that one team and are as fiercely loyal as any fan base in America. And it’s not just in football—earlier in the day, the Nebraska girl’s volleyball team lost to #2 Texas in front of their 125th consecutive sellout.
There is a waiting list for volleyball season tickets. Now THAT is fan support.
The game itself (a 55-0 shutout of Louisiana-Lafayette) wasn’t much to write home about, but the fanfare surrounding the 300th sellout was worth the price of admission. It was homecoming. The Huskers rocked some pretty cool throwback uniforms. Surviving members of the 1962 team were back, as was 1972 Heisman trophy winner Johnny Rogers. The massive video board featured tributes from former Huskers (Frank Solich, Turner Gill and Barry Alvarez) as well as some “outsiders” who played a big part in Nebraska football history (former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer and ABC commentator Keith Jackson).
Whoa, Nellie.
Since 1962, the seating capacity has expanded from 31,000 to 86,000. Nebraska fans been through heatwaves and blizzards, Bob Devaney and Bill Callahan, Brook Berringer and Lawrence Phillips, five national titles and five years of Steve Pederson, dominating wins and Sooner Magic. So while the last 300 home games have been undeniably good for Nebraska (261-39), Husker fans have also had their hearts broken more than a few times. And yet they remained as loyal as ever.
Switzer was responsible for much of that heartbreak.
Above the gates on the east side of the stadium, there is a sign that reads “Through these gates pass the greatest fans in college football.” And they’ve got 300 straight sellouts to back up that statement. So congratulations, Husker fans. Your reputation as one of football’s nicest and most loyal fan bases is well-deserved. I look forward to seeing you all again in October 2023 for the 400th sellout. Anybody wanna bet the streak will be broken before then? I didn’t think so.
Hard to argue.
A few other random shots:
300 games. 300 sellouts. One sea of red.
Wait, I did find two empty seats. Section 38, Row 90, Seats 9&10, I’m calling you out!
