|
| |
 |
|
|
Reaction: Personal foul Who should have made the top eight
Posted: Tuesday August 24, 1999 02:55 PM
CNN/SI asked you to tell us who should have made the Century's Best college football top eight list. Many of you were very unhappy with the list, but the volume of quality alternatives underscores the wide variety of opinions in this sport. Among the more popular suggestions were Hershel Walker, O.J. Simpson, Tony Dorsett and Archie Griffin. Here's a sampling of some of your responses.
I can think of plenty of running backs who would be more deserving to be included in the top eight besides Ricky Williams. Numbers do not always indicate the better player. Just because Williams holds numerous records does not mean that Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Mike Rozier, Tony Dorsett, O.J. Simpson, and others were not better college runners. After Ron Dayne breaks Williams' records, does that mean that he is the best of all time?
While participating in your "Century's Best" polls over the past few months, I have to admit that I have raised an eyebrow on more than one occasion. I felt the omission of Dan Marino from the pro football poll was a fairly big mistake. However, your college football poll really brings home the inadequacy of this poll and down right neglect of those who are involved in the selection process to carefully consider their selection. In 1974 and 1975, college football rushing was dominated by Ohio State's Archie Griffin. So much so that he was awarded the Heisman Trophy in both years. Finishing his career with 5,117 yards, Griffin's career is one of the greatest on record. While this total may be quite a bit less than that of Ricky Williams or Tony Dorsett, no one else in the history of the game has won the Heisman trophy twice. This fact alone should merit Griffin's inclusion in this poll. While I have great respect for those players that you have selected, in my opinion, there ar!e at least four selected individuals that cannot match the success Archie Griffin had in the college game.
Earl Campbell should have made the list. You can talk about whoever you want to, including Ricky Williams and Herschel Walker, but no one ever epitomized power running, especially in college, like Earl Campbell. It took entire defensive teams to stop him, and even then they sometimes couldn't even tackle him but merely push him out of bounds. He's one of the very few runners who ever struck true fear into the hearts of every defensive player.
-- Robert Reynolds , Las Vegas, NV
I thought that Verducci was the only racist writer on your staff when he ignored black superstars such as Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson in favor of a lilly-white group featuring only one black player (Willie Mays). Then Peter King picked a another nearly-all-white field for the best pro football group featuring only two black players (Jim Brown and Lawrence Taylor) which ignored players such as Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders. Now Tim Layden picks a college football group that ignores players like Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. Why is it that your writers feel compelled to pick white players who starred against inferior pre-desegregation era and who today would merely be mediocre players over black players who excelled against a much superior competition? Is it only racism or nostalgia run amuck?
Hershel Walker is the man when it comes to college running backs. He would still own the record for career rushing yards if he played for four years at Georgia. On top of his incredible ability, he raised his Bulldog teams to a level they'd never been to before and haven't reached since -- National Champions. Hershel's stats and ability to lift his team to unseen heights makes him one of the best eight players ever.
What, did Tim Layden copy down the pro football top eight picks because he was late with his deadline? Does he even watch college football? Here is a thought. You might consider adding the only college player to win two Heismans to the list. That's Archie Griffin, Tim.
Don't get me wrong; as a Hurricanes fan I find it hard to appreciate anything about the Nebraska Cornhuskers. But to leave Tommy Frazier off your list of the greatest college football players is a major oversight. All he did was lead his team to three consecutive undefeated regular seasons, three straight national title games and two straight National Championships. What did Ricky Williams win?
How could you leave off Archie Manning? Not only did he have the skills, he had the heart. Who can forget watching him tearfully leave Legion Field after his Rebels came up one point short against the Crimson Tide in '69 on a night that he smashed over a dozen SEC and NCAA offense records. Or the 38-0 whipping he put on Steve Kiner and the undefeated Tennessee Vols after Kiner responded with "Archie Who?" when asked about him during the week leading up to the game. Archie "Super" Manning... now that's a college football legend for all time.
Brian Bosworth should have made the list. He is the only four-time All American and probably the most dominating linebacker to ever play the game. It is unfortunate that his off-field miscues and lack of success in the NFL have hurt his stock. No one dominated the way that he dominated.
The only one I agree with is "The Galloping Ghost". If you visit the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana, you'll see a picture of Red Grange. On it says Grange "was the greatest open field runner of all time". Where's "The Gipper" ? I don't remember any Win One For Tommy Nobis speeches? Herschel Walker was the greatest college football player I ever saw. Where's he? How 'bout Doak Walker? I don't remember giving out any Jerry Rice awards in college? How 'bout the greatest athlete that ever walked the earth, Jim Thorpe. He played college football, didn't he? If he's the greatest athlete that ever walked the earth, he's probably one of the 8 greatest college football players. As a Notre Dame fan, I can't leave out Anthony Davis. 11 TD's in 3 games against ND sold me. As for defense, how 'bout Hugh Green? He came fairly close to winning the Heisman as a defensive lineman. Charles Woodson did; though he did play some as an offensive player and excelled as a return! specialist. There you have it. Arguably my 8 greatest. They're better than yours.
Those so called top eight of yours are almost as absurd as ESPN's top 50 athletes. Are you guys on the take or something? How could you fail to mention, Herschel Walker, Tony Dorsett, Barry Sanders or Bo Jackson. The only picks I even agree with are Red Grange and Ricky Williams.
I am simply amazed that your list did not include one of the most celebrated and decorated players in the history of college football; Charlie Ward, Quarterback, Florida State University. Through his leadership, both on the field and off, Charlie epitomized that which all coaches want from their players. Charlie also did something some of your other candidates did not - he lead his team to the National Championship. Charlie continues to be the greatest college quarterback in history, and is now the best quarterback to ever play in the N.B.A. Funny, they all said he was too short...
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Read our privacy guidelines.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
