Midwest Football Revival?

[Creed]

So the Midwest (primarily Big 10 and ND) has been kicked down repeatedly by the national media, SEC fans, etc. I think a lot has to do with Ohio State's two losses to the SEC in title games and annual thumpings to USC in their back yard. Media, SEC fans etc don't seem to recall that the Big 10 is .500 against the Big Bad SEC in other games in the BCS era and the fact that the slow midwestern OSU Buckeyes beat the speedy Canes for the title in 2002. Nebraska had some dark times in recent years as well.

 

I assert there will be a midwest football revival in the next 5-10 years going back to the glory days where ND, NU, OSU, PSU, and Mich ruled the college fball landscape. Here's is why.

 

1. A resurgent NU (a midwestern school) is joining the Big 10 conference making the Big 10 more competitive with the SEC and ahead of the Big 12.

2. OSU will always be strong, Mich will eventually get back to form and Iowa keeps getting stronger. Wisc is very good about every 3-4 years. PSU is the only question down the road with JoePa's retirement. The Big 10 has been better the last couple years and that trend will continue.

3. Brian Kelley will breathe new life into ND and within 2-4 years they will be a Top 10 team.

4. USC shannagins will bring them back to earth and they will not be a dominant force for a long time. The PAC 10 will go back to being an avg fball conference.

5. A depleated Big 12 conference will not be as strong with only two decent teams and less notoriaty.

6. Maybe the NCAA will finally open their eyes to the sleeze that goes on in the SEC. Allegations at SC, UF and AL in the last three days. Could there be more of this in the near future causing sanctions at SEC schools?

7. I don't see the U or FSU Criminols being good anytime soon.

[Manhattan]

What of the pundits that said the slow, plundering Ohio State could not handle the speediest offense in the nation (Oregon) at the Rose Bowl? Ohio State destroyed them.

[redbeerman]

What of the pundits that said the slow, plundering Ohio State could not handle the speediest offense in the nation (Oregon) at the Rose Bowl? Ohio State destroyed them.

 

We know all about those pundits. The 95 Huskers were way to slow to keep up with the speedy Florida Gators in the 96 Fiesta Bowl according to all the pundits. The whole playing on grass thing had them convinced. The result was about the same as yours.

[bbeerma2]

The pundits also seemed to thing that Georgia Tech was too fast for Iowa and Miami was too fast for Wisconsin and LSU was too fast for Penn State and...

[VprHis]

The pundits also seemed to thing that Georgia Tech was too fast for Iowa and Miami was too fast for Wisconsin and LSU was too fast for Penn State and...

 

Man, that Wisc/Miami game was awesome. I wallowed in it. Watching the 'canes shivering on the sidelines 'cause it was <gasp> 50 degrees!!! ...and watching John Clay & Co. making them know the meaning of power football.

 

'Twas a thing of beauty.

[Creed]

Now throw UGA hat in the ring for being investigated. I am sure SCar, UF, Al, UGA will follow SEC procedures and suspend the offending player for a cream puff game.

 

Interest article about who the NCAA should take a hard look at. I like the reported who just stated to descend on the entire SEC.

 

Send waves to Alabama

 

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel

 

If I were king of the NCAA, I would not only saturate Alabama with investigators, I would set up a branch office in Tuscaloosa.

 

 

Register with Chicago Tribune and receive free newsletters and alerts >>

 

In Alabama, cheating is as much a part of the football lore as the houndstooth hat worn by Bear Bryant.

 

Alabama has seen it all over the last 20 years. Shady loans. Athletes illicitly accepting cash payments from agents and boosters. Multiple probations. Postseason bans. Scholarship reductions. Lack of institutional control.

 

In the last decade, Alabama has recorded more NCAA probations (three) than national titles (one).

 

It should also be noted the iconic Bryant may not have ever been caught cheating himself, but he tutored some of college football's biggest outlaws.

 

Roll Tide?

 

Alabama's new rallying cry should be, "We Lied!"

 

Set up camp in Hollywood

 

Baxter Holmes, Los Angeles Times

 

Mount Everest for NCAA investigators is stationed in Los Angeles, and they just recently scaled it: USC.

 

It's a prestigious private school/football factory, and the allure of Hollywood draws the hottest prospects and also the dirtiest agents and would-be sports marketers. ( Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll would attest to that, someday...)

 

Keeping USC clean is a tough task for school officials, let alone the NCAA, which spent four years working on what many considered the make-or-break case that would define its authority.

 

Since the dynamics of Los Angeles and its relationship to USC aren't likely to change, and since the Trojans' new coach is Lane Kiffin, the same guy who, with Carroll, apparently missed a lot of dirty dealings, NCAA investigators would be wise to keep a close eye on Heritage Hall.

 

Sink teeth into Gators

Shandel Richardson, Sun Sentinel

 

It's hard to argue with placing the Florida Gators atop this list.

 

The Gators have had their share of legal problems and NCAA infractions. The penalties are racking up alongside the wins. Not all the arrests or violations have been major, but they still give a black eye to one of the nation's most successful programs.

 

Unlike USC, most of the Gators' incidents have occurred in recent years. The latest news of Maurkice Pouncey possibly receiving improper benefits should make Florida the undisputed king in this debate. Accomplished coach Urban Meyer has claimed two national titles.

 

His team may be headed toward a less flattering distinction if this trend continues.

 

Descend on entire SEC

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune

 

When rival coaches and recruiting analysts talk about life at the helm of a Southeastern Conference football team, it's with a mix of spite and awe. To hear them tell it, more than a few SEC coaches view cheating as more than a necessary evil. They have elevated it to an art form.

 

And really, can you blame those coaches for bending in some cases, shattering the rules? The pressure to win in that league is so outrageous that the six SEC coaches who made cameos in "The Blind Side" are no longer at their school.

 

So while the temptation would be to go all Big Brother on USC's Lane Kiffin who, by accusing Florida's Urban Meyer of cheating, proved he does not even know the NCAA rules I'd spread out my best men across every SEC school. Other than Vanderbilt.

[junior4949]

So the Midwest (primarily Big 10 and ND) has been kicked down repeatedly by the national media, SEC fans, etc. I think a lot has to do with Ohio State's two losses to the SEC in title games and annual thumpings to USC in their back yard. Media, SEC fans etc don't seem to recall that the Big 10 is .500 against the Big Bad SEC in other games in the BCS era and the fact that the slow midwestern OSU Buckeyes beat the speedy Canes for the title in 2002. Nebraska had some dark times in recent years as well.

 

I assert there will be a midwest football revival in the next 5-10 years going back to the glory days where ND, NU, OSU, PSU, and Mich ruled the college fball landscape. Here's is why.

 

1. A resurgent NU (a midwestern school) is joining the Big 10 conference making the Big 10 more competitive with the SEC and ahead of the Big 12.

2. OSU will always be strong, Mich will eventually get back to form and Iowa keeps getting stronger. Wisc is very good about every 3-4 years. PSU is the only question down the road with JoePa's retirement. The Big 10 has been better the last couple years and that trend will continue.

3. Brian Kelley will breathe new life into ND and within 2-4 years they will be a Top 10 team.

4. USC shannagins will bring them back to earth and they will not be a dominant force for a long time. The PAC 10 will go back to being an avg fball conference.

5. A depleated Big 12 conference will not be as strong with only two decent teams and less notoriaty.

6. Maybe the NCAA will finally open their eyes to the sleeze that goes on in the SEC. Allegations at SC, UF and AL in the last three days. Could there be more of this in the near future causing sanctions at SEC schools?

7. I don't see the U or FSU Criminols being good anytime soon.

 

 

1. The thing to keep in mind about having a conference championship game now is the fact that there is a decent likelihood

of a potential NC contender being knocked out of the NC game. See Big 12 1996, 1998, and with new rules 2003 and

possibly 2008. If the Big 10 becomes as competitive as you hope, there's much less of a chance of there being an

undefeated Big 10 team.

2. The Big 10 is no different than any other conference. Every other conference has seen some teams get better (Mizzou)

and some teams get worse (CU).

3. I have a wait and see from Brian Kelley. He coached in the Big East. I believe this is also where Rich Rod had some

pretty good success, but it hasn't translated into much at Michigan. Considering ND has had a coaching carousel there

for quite some time, I'm sticking to my wait and see.

4. While USC is sure to fall, it wouldn't shock me to see some teams in the Pac 10 benefit from USC's lost recruits. I

think the coach at Oregon State is pretty good. I can see Oregon, Cal, and possibly Arizona and Arizona State

benefitting.

5. Depleted Big 12? Up until last year, neither Nebraska nor Colorado was anywhere near the top of the conference. I

find it quite odd how some/many wanted Turner Gill to be out next coach. Now that he's at Kansas, Kansas is projected

to be one of the dogs of the Big 12. While I highly doubt Pickle ever becomes an elite coach, he has put Mizzou into

respectable territory. Leach was a mad scientist at TT, but Tommy Tub is no slouch as a coach. I guess too many people

are forgetting about a few years ago when Texas, OU, Okie State, KU, TT, and Mizzou were all ranked fairly high. All

these teams are left in the conference.

6. While the SEC teams may or may not have committed NCAA violations, it's also quite possible that Big 10 teams did as

well.

7. As long as Randy Shannon is the coach at Miami, I agree that Miami won't be good anytime soon. However, I don't agree

on Florida State. Both schools still have a huge pool of talent around them. Both recruit very well. It wouldn't

be shocking to see a run made by them.

 

It's quite possible for a Midwest team to make a run. It's also quite possible for Boise State to win a NC this year. College football has become harder and harder to predict. When schools started firing coaches for 3 loss seasons, things changed. When coaches started making 3+ million, things changed. When schools started naming replacement coaches several years in advance, things changed.

[huKSer]

The pundits also seemed to thing that Georgia Tech was too fast for Iowa and Miami was too fast for Wisconsin and LSU was too fast for Penn State and...

Florida (24) was too fast for Nebraska (62)