How a college football fan views a map
Just when you thought the war of words would stay confined to the SEC with Nick Saban, Ohio State felt they needed to stir the pot…with everyone. I guess you do what you have to do to fill the void during this long off-season. This is the time when you want your school out of the headlines and just focusing on the upcoming season. Usually if your favorite school is mentioned around this point it’s because of a major arrest or some scandal. I think I will turn my focus to the NCAA LAWSUIT and other major matters going on this past week.
1. The official four team playoff has not even begun but we already have people like TEXAS AD DeLoss Dodds saying we need eight. I am sure most everyone is happy just to have a playoff going into affect next season (which everyone has partially the SEC to thank for….”the rematch“). I think the four team playoff will work just fine…for now. We will only complain about expanding the playoff when we have a finish like we did in 2000 where Oklahoma beat Florida State for the national title. Early that season FSU lost to Miami but the 10-1 Seminoles still got the title game nod over Washington, who beat Miami, and also finished 10-1. It’s a year like that, where a 4 team playoff still will not be enough. On a side note, we could have also used a playoff in 2001 – I am sure Oregon fans do not need to be reminded of that. I think Oregon would have given Miami a lot better test than Nebraska did that year. We will probably be asking for a wild card game or more teams in the playoffs after we have another year where five or six teams finish 11-1 and all lost to each other in head to head matchups…. and certainly when the final four somehow has three spots going to SEC teams.
2. He hasn’t even played a game yet but we have our next hyped up Quarterback to watch for the upcoming season. FSU’s Jameis Winston is projected to not only be the starter but also be on everyone’s Heisman ballot, lead FSU to a national title game, break every FSU offensive record and generally be the best ever. Can we at least let this kid play a game before he is anointed the next “great one”. I feel bad for players when this kind of hype happens. Even when they have decent seasons they still will not have lived up to the hype others have set before them. Enjoy the kids playing at your school but don’t overload them with the pressures of unreasonable expectations.
Speaking of high expectations – One of these men has already delivered.
3. WOW! You really want to get under your rival’s skin, then be like Texas A&M’s president and say what he said about Texas during a recent speech. He basically told reporters that the rivalry with Texas is no longer relevant. Everything is better in the SEC. The can of worms has been opened. This is not a serious story but it is good to see that even when Texas A&M and Texas no longer play, they still have that good old fashion “hate” going. I am of the same mind as Texas A&M’s president. Texas is no longer relevant to the Aggies or even the national title scene of college football. Texas is paying Mack Brown $5 million a year and he can not even give them a 10-win season or BIG-12 title. Mediocrity is the new norm for Texas while A&M is prepared for great things. I can see another 10 win season for the Aggies. They just need to find a way over LSU and hold off a revengeful Alabama squad. Texas A&M has been in the news this whole off-season and for all the right reasons. Definitely a good time to be an AGGIE.
4. Another week is in the books and another war of words has begun. During the SEC’s annual spring meetings in Destin, Fla. the coaches spoke about not making jabs at one another and not making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, even though that is what Spurrier is famous for. I guess that means the SEC might be out of the news for another week or so.
I can’t wait for the season to start. So much to look forward to and story lines to follow. How will Oregon fair with a new captain leading the ship? Will Florida have another successful season or was it all a fluke? Will Alabama repeat…again? Can someone end the SEC dynasty? Which team will make a surprise appearance in the BCS? It’s things like these that keep college football entertaining. Some school is always doing something new and changing the landscape of college football.
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NATIONAL NEWS:
1. Navy in choppy waters
2. Rutgers can not get it right
3. SEC staying relevant
4. BIG-12 makes BIG MONEY
5. Eligibility problem in Oklahoma
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Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF’s first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.