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Suiting up for another season Posted: Thursday August 29, 2002 2:34 PM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel will answer your college football questions every Thursday. Click here to send a question. Lorenzo Booker may be redshirted this season, but my editor insists that I play, which ruins my dream of being a fifth-year senior. So I'm sitting here watching it rain and listening to the new Dixie Chicks CD (remember the Ginger vs. Mary Ann debates? So who would it be? Natalie? Emily? Martie?) and I'm wondering whether Nebraska's problems in the running game are temporary or the sign of something worse. That is, if the airlines come through. Yeah, I'm a little concerned. As they say on the first tee of the U.S. Open, "Play away, please." Why does the press keep slaughtering Chris Simms on the big-game factor? I was there when Colorado came to Austin in '01, and I saw Simms kill the Buffaloes. Does the media void this performance because the ball bounced the wrong way in the Big 12 Championship Game?
"Ball bounced the wrong way"? When Simms left the game in the second quarter, Texas was behind 29-10. Colorado had converted two interceptions into 14 points. Ball bounced the wrong way? Look, college football needs more Chris Simmses. He's a smart guy and a nice guy. He obviously has competitive fire. But he hasn't played well in the Longhorns' biggest games. Has he been treated unfairly? Well, he has received more scrutiny than he would have if his name were Chris Jones. I'm sure that is a trade Simms would be happy to make. Trust me -- when he plays well, he will be highly praised. What is up with the lack of respect Florida is dealing with? The Gators have the talent to do what Miami did last season: win the national title. The one thing that gets me is how the "so-called" experts are picking Georgia ahead of Florida. Until the Bulldogs can beat the Gators, no way they should be picked ahead of them.
Robert, I don't know if you heard, but Steve Spurrier isn't your coach anymore. Florida has a new coach and a new offense. Ron Zook may be the greatest thing to happen to Gators football since, well, Spurrier, but we "so-called" experts are skeptical. (That's our job.) Georgia, on the other hand, has a lot of talent coming back and a coach who, we assume, will not make the same mistakes two years in a row. Why doesn't anyone realize that the main reason the Big Ten is not considered as good as usual is that it is more balanced. A team can't go undefeated in a conference where there are two or three teams just as good and where even the worst clubs are dangerous. The Big 12 is considered the best conference, but the bottom half is horrific. Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska only have to play one or two games against top-tier teams. You can't say, "Texas is better than Michigan because the Longhorns are 5-0 and the Wolverines are 4-1," because Michigan has to beat teams like Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois, while Texas has Kansas, Baylor and Missouri. I mean, look at how the Big 12 and Big Ten did in bowls.
Wait a minute, Jake. You're in a Big 12 town. How can you be such a Big Ten honk? First of all, as a friendly tip, don't use the bowl records. The Big East went 4-1 and I'm going to assume you don't think it's the best conference. Second, no team in the Big Ten won more than 10 games last year. I bet you're going to say that means the league is the most balanced in the nation. Perhaps. But balance doesn't equate to greatness; it equates to reallygoodness. You could make the same argument (top-heavy, bottom-light) against the SEC and the Pac-10. But you didn't. By the way, write back if Iowa finally beats Iowa State. I have followed Florida State for years and love Bobby Bowden, but I wonder about his killer instinct. It seems whenever we get a large lead we fail to maintain it in the second half. Do you think Bobby is just the opposite of Steve Spurrier with regard to not wanting to embarrass the opposing team and coach? I think he is great for college football, but sometimes it comes close to costing us games (last week against Iowa State, for example). What do you think?
As wild as Bowden coached in the '80s, when his "barnyard" plays helped Florida State secure its place on the national map by upsetting one prominent team after another, he is by nature a conservative man. He wants to run the clock down, get the game in his back pocket and head home. That said, I put the blame for the Iowa State game at the feet of his players. They are the ones who surged to a 31-7 lead and then mailed in their performances. When will Bobby Bowden retire, and who will succeed him?
Bowden will retire when he isn't enjoying himself any longer and when his competitive zeal dissipates. Let's see -- he'll be 73 in November; he is in his 51st year of coaching. I don't think he'll coach more than another 15 or 20 years. Seriously, I think he and Paterno will be good for each other. Both are competitive enough to chase one another for that all-time victories record for some time to come. Bowden, with 324 W's, trails Paterno by three. Is Iowa State as good as it was in its near-upset of Florida State on Saturday, or did the Cyclones simply expose FSU's vulnerabilities?
I'd say both. That's the last time Seneca Wallace will be underestimated, by a defense or by me. Can you think of a team in the Top 25 that will have a chance to dominate without an exceptional quarterback? In other words, can a team dominate a league based on exceptional offense and defense, and strategy?
No one's ready to send Jason White to the College Football Hall of Fame, Randy, yet Oklahoma is the consensus No. 1. The Sooners fit your criteria to a T. Jason White has not had much playing time, but Oklahoma nevertheless is expected to have a great season. If White leads OU to an unbeaten regular season, I imagine he will emerge as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Yet I have not seen White on any preseason Heisman lists. Why is a longshot like Kliff Klingsbury of Texas Tech more of a candidate at this point than White?
Gee, I don't know. White has already started for an entire half-season. Why didn't he come out for the NFL draft? Life is sooooo unfair. Who do you predict will be the biggest surprise and the biggest disappointment? My predictions: Penn State will have another losing season because of lack of depth, and Auburn will surprise the SEC with a very strong defense and finish a Top 25 team.
I like Boston College -- a lot of experienced depth on both sides of the ball and a favorable schedule (Miami on the road, but Virginia Tech and Syracuse come to Alumni Stadium). Plus, my friend Bob in Chestnut Hill has invited me to play at Brae Burn CC if I get up there for an Eagles game. As for the biggest disappointment, see the next question. Every year it seems as if a couple teams in everybody's preseason top 10 end up losing four or five games and finishing out of the rankings. If you had to pick, which top-10 teams do you think might be in for a fall this year? I say Colorado because the Buffs don't stop the run and Tennessee because the Vols lost their whole D-line.
John, with an attitude like that, you ought to be a sportswriter. Let's see, who's going to do a face plant this year? I don't think Colorado or Nebraska is a top-10 team, although the Huskers have a chance if they get their running game straightened out. Their defense is better than I expected. I remain skeptical that Florida can make a seamless transition under Zook. Yes, Larry Coker did it last year at Miami but Coker had been there as an assistant. With all of their offseason mishaps and misfortunes, how do you think the 2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will fare?
A lot more optimism emanates from South Bend than I expected. Players maintain they were a bounce here or there from finishing 7-4 or 8-3 last season. I question their ability to adapt to a new system and to learn how to win games in the fourth quarter, and to do so in time to make a big turnaround this season. The various preseason ACC rankings seemed to agree only that Florida State will finish first and Duke last. As for the middle of the pack, I have seen Clemson as high as second and as low as sixth. Does this just mean that the ACC is wide open and no one has a clue what is going to happen?
That's how I read it. You can make a valid case for anybody but Duke to finish second, although my faith in Maryland is wavering after the loss of tailback Bruce Perry. How do you think Matt Mauck and LSU will do this year? Another New Year's Day bowl game? A repeat SEC championship? Or will we be playing in Shreveport at the end of the season?
I'd say somewhere between Shreveport and Tempe, Kevin. Perhaps Dallas? I have no doubt Nick Saban will get the defense into shape. He usually does. I'm antsy about the offense. Josh Reed doesn't play on Saturdays anymore. Come to think of it, LSU doesn't, either. The opener at Virginia Tech is on Sunday. I know this could be a bit premature, but if Maurice Clarett performs as well the rest of the season as he did last week, do you think he has an honest shot at the Heisman?
If it makes you feel any better, Karen, Herschel Walker didn't even start his first game at Georgia in 1980 and went on to finish third. Clarett's biggest problem, if he continues to rush for 175 yards per game, will be figuring how to get the NFL to waive its rule that first-year players can't come out early. Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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