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 Enjoy the preseason bowls
Posted: Wednesday August 25, 1999 06:19 PM
Click here to send your college football questions to SI's Ivan Maisel. I don't care that it's Aug. 28. My leaves are turning brown, so it must be time for college football. So what if this August foliage is drought-related, it's one of the few plus sides from the lack of rain. There's a plus side to these preseason "bowl" games as well. While most of the teams are trying to survive two-a-days, four of the top-ranked teams in the nation are getting ready to play each other. Enjoy the Arizona-Penn State and Miami-Ohio State games, though, because the next two weeks of the schedule are s-l-o-w. Mark Coomes of Jacksonville, Fla., asks the philosophical question: "Candy Canes or Whippin' Canes? Do you think Miami has enough to win three of their 'Big Four' games (Ohio State, Penn State, Florida State, Virginia Tech)?" How about Need-A-Canes? I'm still having flashbacks of that 66-13 loss at Syracuse I witnessed last November. No way they win three. If they split, I would be mighty impressed. Joe Swanson of Frankfort, Kan., asks, "Since everyone at CNN/SI likes to poke fun at KSU's schedule, I offer you this challenge: Go to a school you think KSU should be playing and tell them to contact KSU for a home-and-home series that will provide equal payoffs for both schools. Since they will play each other at each of their respective home stadiums nobody will shorted financially. Let me know what you come up with." Hey Joe, like I've got time to answer you and be the Kansas State athletic director? It's their job to schedule games and our job to say, "Temple and UTEP, back-to-back? Whoa, big fella." This just in: Kansas State has signed a deal with the defending national champion. Oh, it's I-AA champ UMass. Never mind. Craig Talarek of Commack, N.Y., writes, "If QB Randy McCown can stay healthy all season, what kind of chance do you give Texas A&M of winning a national championship this season?" An Aggie on Long Island? Either that's a bad TV-movie or someone is a long way from home. Craig, I think A&M will win the Big 12 South again. I think Randy McCown is the best quarterback in the division, at least until Oklahoma State's Tony Lindsey proves he's healthy and operating on all gigabytes. But I don't think the Aggies are ready to win the national championship. They went as far as they did last season because of a remarkable group of seniors. They're gone and they're not coming back. C. Westfall of Durham, N.C., has uncovered a major historical find. "Considering that Duke has recently recommitted itself to football," C. writes, "do you think that Carl Franks will wake up the echoes at Duke?" What do you mean, "recommitted?" Did I miss the first commitment? Brian Hoffman of St. Petersburg, Fla., is worried about the Florida Gators' defense. "It lost probably the best defensive coach in the country in Bob Stoops," he frets. "Do you think they will be a Top 5 team at the end of the year?" Brian, here's my answer, and I've thought it over for four weeks: I don't know. Yes, there's a lot of physical talent on the defensive side. But nine new starters with a new coach and Tennessee coming early? Wow. Chew on this: only two players on the Gators roster have ever played in an SEC Championship Game. A lot of inexperience must be overcome. "Hi Ivan," writes the friendly Bryan Patterson of Little Rock, Ark., "I just wanted to ask you a simple question. Why, after the season that Arkansas had last year -- 8-0 start, beating Tennessee for 59 minutes at Tennessee -- are they not getting the respect they deserve? Alabama is ranked higher than the Hogs, yet we have beaten them three in a row." Bryan, you've only beaten Alabama three of the last four years. Don't get greedy. What made the difference for me was the offensive line. Give me the team's level of experience on the offensive line and I'll tell you whether they'll be successful or not. Arkansas has one guy returning. Your witness. Andrew Mayon of Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, wants to know if the Pac-10 will expand. "It would be a beer maker's ULTIMATE marketing conference ... the '12 Pac.'" Thank goodness, Andrew. For a minute I thought you would suggest that Hawaii be one of the two new members. As long as the Big Ten status is quo -- and now that Notre Dame turned the league down, the league has no plans to pursue other schools -- the Pac-10 will remain just that. I'm not so sure about your confidence in the 12-Pac as a slogan. The NL Central is already known as the Six-Pac and there's still no signs of a marketing bonanza for the league there. Barry Ramsey of Arlington, Va., asks, "If VA-Tech can go 11-0, do you think they will be eligible for the Sugar Bowl under the BCS guidelines? Will the strength-of-schedule part of the formula take them out of the picture? They play a weak Big East schedule, with JMU and UAB tacked on at the beginning of the year. If they live up to their potential, they will remind me a lot of last year's Kansas State team, the one that played such a weak schedule and almost backed into the championship picture." Barry, the Hokies are eligible and the schedule strength will hurt them. But we don't know how many teams will go 11-0 this season. Last year was unusual in that three teams made it to the last week of the season undefeated. I like the Hokies for the Big East championship but it's a lot to ask of redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Vick for the Hokies to go 11-0. "Do you think," asks Robert Roncaglia of Toronto, "that UCLA's defense can regroup itself from the season where they were known as Swiss cheese?" Be careful, Robert, the Swiss dairymen may sue you for libel. Send a question to Ivan Maisel, and check back every week to read more of his answers. Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers college football and
appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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