Just one win into Ty Willingham's campaign, and
"Return to Glory" T-shirts were all the rage in South
Bend. Add a second victory over Purdue on Sept. 7,
with No. 7 Michigan on the horizon, and it seems that
some Domer fans are preparing even more prodigious
proclamations.
Whoa there.
No doubt your stone-faced savior has the program on
the right track, but shouldn't Touchdown Jesus have
taught you not to covet that which is your neighbor's? Right now, "Return to Glory" is far more
apropos for your silver-domed (and Buckeye-spotted)
neighbors to the east, Ohio State.
The Buckeyes, who posted a 7-5 record in head coach Jim
Tressel's inaugural season, began 2002 with a
No. 13 ranking, and have since risen to No. 6 with
nothing-less-than-dominating wins over Texas Tech and Kent
State. Granted, Ohio State has yet to face a truly
daunting opponent, but a convincing win over No. 10
Washington State in Columbus on Saturday could vault the
Bucks into the top five and give them a license
to start believing in "glorious" slogans.
This is the school that under previous head
coach John Cooper flexed its muscles from 1995-98,
finishing with national rankings of No. 6, 2, 12 and 2 in those four seasons. And this, too, is
the school that took a relative nose-dive after that,
finishing two of the next three years out of the
Top 25. Going from unranked at 2001's end to No. 6
in September 2002 is a significant jump -- but then
again, up-and-down stories of that nature have become
the norm in the Big Ten, where six different teams
have won at least a share of the conference title in
the past six years.
Ohio State, however, isn't an Illinois or a
Northwestern or a Purdue, teams that slipped into
mediocrity after making their championship runs. OSU
is on the brink -- seriously -- of becoming The Next
Oklahoma, if you will, the next historically powerful
program to revitalize itself after a lull.
Once king under Barry Switzer, Oklahoma was a glutton
for NCAA punishment -- and a .500-or-lower team five
times -- during the lost decade of Gary Gibbs, Howard
Schnellenberger and John Blake from 1989-1998. Enter head
coach Bob Stoops, who cleaned up the Sooners'
image and took them to a 13-0 season and a
national championship in a span of just two years.
Tressel has both the look and the history of a
champion, after coaching Ohio's Youngstown State to
four Division I-AA championships in 15 years. Although
he inherited NFL-bound
players like senior safety Mike Doss, Tressel has
begun to dominate recruiting in Ohio, bringing in
instant-impact blue chips like RB Maurice Clarett, the
state's 2001 Mr. Football. All in all, Tressel pulled
a Midwestern coup by netting 15 of the state's top 20
recruits (as ranked by TheInsiders.com) in his 2002
class.
The Buckeyes already are tooled to make a run, but if
Tressel can continue to keep an iron grip on his own
recruiting nest -- keeping foes like Michigan, Penn
State and Notre Dame away from Ohio high schoolers --
there's no reason OSU shouldn't take its place in
the same group as Oklahoma, Texas and Florida State. (Miami, for now, can remain in a separate,
upper echelon.)
Tressel isn't the only coach looking to pull a
turnaround a la Stoops at OU; Texas' return is
already deep in progress, as even Ohio State could
take lessons from Mack Brown on how to recruit in one's
own state. The 'Horns have loaded, and overloaded,
themselves with Texas talent, but are still waiting to
see championship results. Tarnished Alabama, currently
on NCAA probation, is hoping ex-TCU skipper Dennis
Franchione can be Mr. Clean (problem-free) and Bob
Vila (rebuilder) all packaged into one.
Oh, and last, but not least, is the Golden Dome, also
a bit tarnished and definitely in a slump, pinning the
kitchen sink on Ty Willingham in hopes that he'll do
what Bob Davie could not and orchestrate what Irish
fans' apparel is begging for.
But can we make those shirts in scarlet and gray first?
Canadian Bacon
What happens when you grow up north of the border and get so big that you resemble one of those enforcers from Blades of Steel? Jump straight into the CFL? No, apparently, the "in" thing to do is become a lineman at Miami. Despite the fact that Florida consistently teems with football prospects, three of the top-ranked Hurricanes' linemen -- C Brett Romberg, G Sherko Haji-Rasouli and G Joe McGrath -- are Canadian. Romberg and Haji-Rasouli are from Ontario, while McGrath hails from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The 'Canes had 312 rushing yards in Game 1 and 306 vs. Florida in Game 2 -- not bad, eh?
Brigham on back
Everyone -- OK, maybe just me -- was ready to put the "Fresno State version 2002" label on Colorado State; that is, until the Rams self-destructed in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game at UCLA. But the real story out of the Mountain West Conference may be that BYU, the team that went 12-1 and came thisclose to throwing a much-needed wrench in the BCS last year, hasn't seemed to miss a beat since losing a pair of statistical superheroes in QB Brandon Doman and RB Luke Staley. A quartet of tough road dates (Georgia Tech, Colorado State, Air Force and Utah) will make an undefeated season a stretch, but replacement QB Bret Engemann and RB Marcus Whalen, for now, are lookin' tough.
Smooth Operators
The latest odd NCAA violation to result in a football suspension: telephony. Stanford quarterback Chris Lewis received a one-game suspension for the Cardinal's game vs. Boston College after the NCAA reportedly discovered he used an athletic department access code to make personal, long-distance calls during the summer of 2001. Nebraska's Thunder Collins faced an even worse fate last week –- he'll miss three games –- after reports surfaced that the Husker I-back accepted a long-distance phone card from a summer employer. Are they the only people in the world who haven't seen those Carrot Top ads?
HOT: Jason Fife, Oregon Is there anything he can do to stop being compared to predecessor Joey Harrington? Probably not, but putting together a purely Joey-esque comeback to beat Fresno State will keep Duck fans happy. Four plays, 43 yards, touchdown. Upset (and even heavier scrutiny) averted.
NOT: Health of Big 12 quarterbacks
The insurance premium on this job is about to go up. First, Oklahoma's Jason White goes down with a horrific ACL tear --– his second in two seasons, on different knees, no less -– and then we hear that Colorado's Craig Ochs could be sidelined indefinitely after suffering his third concussion in a one-year span.
HOT: West Virginia's Mascot
Davy Crockett got by in that silly getup, but did he ever have to sweat buckets on the 100-plus degree Astroturf at Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium? I think not. The ladies may not agree with the "hot" rating, but props anyway to this bearded trouper for toughing it out in a leather suit and a coonskin cap.
NOT: Illinois
Let's see -- the Chicago Bears, who now call Memorial Stadium home while Soldier Field undergoes renovations, are 1-0 in Champaign with a thrilling win over Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Illini make their campus debut this weekend after looking NOTHING like last year's Big Ten championship team in two non-conference losses to Missouri and Southern Miss. Can you say second fiddle?
Marshall at Virginia Tech, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET Byron Leftwich et al, you've been forewarned: Go ahead and sweep the MAC, beat every Troy and Kent in the phone book and, unfortunately, it won't matter one whit in the BCS formula -- unless you beat the Hokies. Marshall got its shot at SEC power Florida in last year's opener and was thumped 49-14. Sure, Leftwich may be the best QB in college football, but Virginia Tech's Lee Suggs is one of the nation's best RBs ... and so is the Hokies' Kevin Jones. That pair, combined with a stingy defense and the best special teams unit in the country, is enough to break up the Cinderella Herd.
Washington State at Ohio State, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET The Cougars are everyone's favorite upstart, coming out of nowhere last year with an 11-2 record and a Heisman QB in the making. Ohio State is on the way back up after a few mediocre seasons, and a win here could move the Buckeyes into the AP's top five -– where I think they could stay for the rest of the season. Sure, Washington State held Idaho to just 51 yards rushing, but Ohio State's backfield is a rotating staccato burst of studs: Clarett-Ross-Hall 20 times over ... who's gonna stop that?
Nebraska at Penn State, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET Play along here. In Week 1, Penn State barely beat UCF -- then regarded as a reasonably good team -- 27-24, while Nebraska throttled Arizona State 48-10. In Week 3, Arizona State roughed up UCF 46-13. If the Huskers were 38 points better than the Sun Devils, and the Sun Devils beat the Golden Knights by 30 more points than the Nittany Lions did, does that mean NU should beat PSU by 68? Maybe not, but it still doesn't bode well for JoePa. With an excruciating road schedule that includes games at Wisconsin (Oct. 5), Michigan (Oct 12.) and Ohio State (Oct. 26), Penn State needs to make the most of its home dates –- and there is none bigger than this showdown with Nebraska. Pull off a win, and PSU is in the Top 25; lose, and well, it could be a long road back.
How this week's games played out on EA Sports' NCAA Football 2003.
Virginia Tech beats Marshall in an overtime thriller, 40-39. (Wait, can a simulation actually be called exciting?) Ohio State slips by Washington State 26-24. If the real games are as close as they were on the PlayStation, we're in for a good weekend of football.
I played out the Marshall-Virginia Tech game -– as the Thundering Herd -– and no doubt, Leftwich is as good as his billing. To borrow from the Super Tecmo Bowl era, his arm is like Warren Moon's, his legs like Randall Cunningham's. To realize how mobile Leftwich is compared with other QBs on the game, play with Rex Grossman and try to move out of the pocket -– then use Leftwich, and fly all over the field.
Leftwich can throw well from inside the pocket, but if you call plays that allow him to roll to his right –- PA Wheel and HB Rollout out of the Ace Spread set, for example -– it's really tough not to complete a pass. Mix it up out of the same formation with the QB Draw and the Quick Slant pass to Darius Watts, and you're set.
If the season ended today ....
Fiesta: Miami vs. Texas
Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Sugar: Tennessee vs. Oklahoma
Orange: Florida State vs. Florida
Each week during the season, this space will be devoted to your comments on a particular issue. Last week's topic: Other than Miami-Florida, what classic games should be played every year, but unfortunately aren't?
What happened to the "Game of the Century" matchup between Oklahoma and Nebraska? Every two years doesn't do the rivalry and college football justice.
Gary Doyle, Olathe, Kan.
A true Kickoff Classic, the defending NCAA champ vs. the worst NFL team. Any question who'd win between the Panthers and the 'Canes?
Steve Morrison, Black Mountain, N.C.
Auburn and UAB. Classic "little brother" matchup to see who is in second place for the year to Alabama, who will always be the top team in the state.
Doug Simpson, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Overused Nickname Bowl. The winner of the Bulldog bracket (Georgia, Mississippi St., Fresno St., Louisiana Tech) plays the Wildcat winner (Kentucky, Arizona, Northwestern, Kansas St.) in an annual tilt for the Lack of Creativity Crown.
Jon, Atlanta
Nebraska vs. Oklahoma. Maybe Tom Osbourne can push a bill through Congress to make sure we don't have to wait every two years for this game.
John Madison, Cincinnati, Ohio
Arkansas vs. Texas. From the famous 1969 "shootout" to the 2000 Cotton Bowl, this old SWC rivalry was heated every year. Everybody loved to see the Hawgs and the Horns mix it up.
Amber Bates, Conway, Ark.
This week's topic: I made the case for Ohio State as the next Oklahoma. Which historically successful team, recently in a bit of a lull, do you think can reassert itself as a national contender?
Luke Winn is college football producer for CNNSI.com. To send him a comment or question, click here.
