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Rising in the west Pac-10 is making a lot of early noisePosted: Thursday September 19, 2002 2:33 PM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel will answer your college football questions every Thursday. Click here to send a question. I'm answering a lot of questions today, because if I don't, I've got to mow the lawn. Suggestion: Ask very long questions. This week, we welcome back to the college football stage Kelley Washington of Tennessee. We may welcome back to reality the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I think the Irish will beat Michigan State on Saturday, but the Spartans are so unpredictable, I don't think it very loudly. We welcome back Kansas State, fresh from its annual tour of Division IV teams. And say hello to the Ivy League, which will start its season on its own damn sweet time, thank you very much. Do you think the Pac-10 has proven it's the top conference in the nation this year? Teams went 8-1 last weekend and the league is a combined 22-4 on the season. Also, our only four losses are on the road, three against highly ranked teams: Arizona State at Nebraska, Washington at Michigan and Washington at Ohio State -- games the top teams in a few other conferences wouldn't even schedule. The fourth game was Stanford traveling to Boston College, and you don't see a lot of teams that go coast to coast pull out a win. Where would you rank the Pac-10?
I'd say the Pac-10 and the Big 12 are neck and neck as we pass the quarter pole of the season. (Jason, write again in six games. I've always wanted to shout, "And DOWN the stretch they come!") Don't get too excited about that 22-4 record; the Pac-10 is 7-4 -- good, but not great -- against the other BCS conferences. How did Cal not get a single vote in the coaches' poll? Maybe there is a typo or I overlooked it, but if it's true, how can anyone consider this even remotely accurate? Cal beat Michigan State to a pulp in East Lansing. If Cal can't get a single vote for that, the coaches should just acknowledge they aren't paying attention.
Wes, I am shocked that the coaches' poll would not be keenly tuned toward the action on Saturdays. Reminds me of the day I discovered that my congressman didn't always vote with the community's interest at heart. (By the way, teams on probation are not eligble for the coaches' poll.) What's your opinion of Oregon State so far? I think the Beavers have looked much stronger than any team ranked 11-25, but they've gotten little mention anywhere. Do they have some weakness sportswriters know about that the rest of us don't?
Yes, Troy. The weakness is that group of orphanages they've been playing every Saturday. I hear the Beavers are good, but I'm reserving judgment until they play someone. He doesn't have the press or the advantage of playing for a highly ranked team, but watch Cal quarterback Kyle Boller. The NFL scouts are. This kid is far better than his numbers show. Why is nobody talking about him?
Any quarterback who starts for a Division I-A school is better than the numbers Boller put up the last three years. But that experience and the teaching of new coach Jeff Tedford have turned around Boller's career. He is finally living up to his recruiting hype. When Cal signed him four years ago, he was considered the best prep quarterback in the state of California, a group that included Ken Dorsey. With Texas A&M's offensive unit so inept, would you start freshman Reggie McNeal at quarterback to give the offense an extra dimension? How come the Aggies offense is always this inept?
First question: No, I would not start McNeal. R.C. Slocum told me not long ago that he wants to play McNeal, and that he sees McNeal competing for the backup position. However, if you start McNeal, you're sacrificing this season, and the Aggies don't need to do that yet. If a coach has a chance to start a 27-year-old grown-up who won't make mistakes, i.e., Mark Farris, he's going to do it every time over an 18-year-old someday superstar. Second question: Slocum is always going to be conservative on offense. I can understand, after 14 seasons, that you may be tired of it. Hang on until next year, when McNeal will add some jalapenos to your chili. With Jason White out for the season, if Nate Hybl is as ineffective as he was at times last year, will Bob Stoops put in redshirt freshman Brent Rawls (when healthy) to generate a spark or will he rely on his defense to win games?
I think the minute Rawls recovers from his thumb injury and concussion, Stoops will start giving him playing time. After that, it will depend on Rawls and, of course, on Hybl. I'll tell you this -- the coaches love Rawls and what he will bring to the field once he gets some experience. Missouri freshman quarterback Brad Smith has been very impressive in his first two career starts. I know it's still early and he's very young, but do you think this kid could be the next Michael Vick? He definitely has us Tigers fans reminiscing about better days when Corby Jones and Devin West handled the ball. Also, do you think the Tigers have any chance of coming out of the Big 12 with a good enough record to go to a decent bowl game?
Can Brad Smith be the next Michael Vick? Wouldn't you settle for him being the next Phil Bradley? Now there's a Missouri quarterback who knew how to run, pass and win. Don't know who Bradley was, eh, Flip? Go ask somebody really old, like 35 or 40. Smith is good, and he will someday be able to lead the Tigers back into contention for bowls and conference titles. But as the loss to Bowling Green showed, he and his teammates have a lot of work to do in the interim. With D.J. Shockley out of the picture for the next few weeks, allowing David Greene to concentrate solely on winning instead of earning playing time, do you think Georgia has what it takes to beat Tennessee next month for the third straight time?
I think you're onto something, Noah, re: Greene relaxing. I made that point in Sports Illustrated this week. However, the way the Dawgs have been playing, if you think they will be good enough to beat the Vols, I think you're just on something. Let's see Georgia go into Tuscaloosa and win on Oct. 5 before we get too jazzed up. I have been a Hurricane since the early '80s, and I don't recall them ever being as dominating as they are now. Is this the best Hurricane squad ever? And seriously, what would their chances be against a team like the Detroit Lions?
Adam, I admire your loyalty. It's tough being a Tulsa fan these days. But the Golden Hurricane will get it turned around soon. Oh, wait a minute. Miami? How hard is it to be a Miami fan? That's like rooting for a wave to wash up on shore. And don't kid yourself. The Lions would pound the Hurricanes. You're talking about the equivalent of a college all-star team, and you're also talking about, literally, men vs. boys. If you could pick any non-quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy this year, who would it be and why?
My first choice would be ... me. I always wanted to win the Heisman. Besides, my son's bedroom door doesn't stay open. We could use the doorstop. But ethics compel me not to vote for myself. Non-quarterbacks? At this point, you're looking at a group of tailbacks that includes freshman Maurice Clarett of Ohio State, sophomore Cadillac Williams of Auburn, and, depending on how he does at Alabama on Saturday, possibly senior Derrick Nix of Southern Mississippi. Wide receiver Charles Rogers of Michigan State is a shoo-in All-America, but he doesn't return kicks, something that non-backfield players usually have to do to capture the voters' attention. Is Steve Logan on his way out at East Carolina? I sense some conflict between him and AD Mike Hamrick, and his customary annual one-year contract extension did not happen this year. Do you think Logan is nearing the end of his tenure? Do you have an opinion on a potential replacement?
I've heard the same stories you have, Jay, but I haven't talked to anyone at ECU. Losing to Duke couldn't have helped Logan, could it? When is Lloyd Carr going to face the fact that Michigan is never going to win a Big Ten championship, let alone a national championship, with John Navarre at QB? Navarre's accuracy is mediocre at best, he can't run, he's not much of a leader, and he's not very good at finding secondary receivers. Spencer Brinton can't possibly be any worse than Navarre. After all the weak performances last year and so far this year, why won't Carr at least give Brinton a try?
Sorry, Tom, but this Mailbag considers all Michigan complaints null and void. After the gift you received from Washington, you have no right to bitch about anything. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't stop kneeling and yelling, "Thank you, God!" until mid-October. Hype always surrounds the usual suspects (Miami, Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas), but my interest always lies in the sleeper teams. Who do you think is most likely to crash the BCS party? I have my eye on N.C. State and Texas A&M.
My three sleepers are those two and Boston College. All three may wake up Saturday. The Wolfpack has to play at Texas Tech, which is never easy; Boston College is at Miami; Virginia Tech is coming to College Station. I think the Aggies have the best chance of the three to win. Also, keep an eye on Oregon State. How can the SEC's leader in rushing and all-purpose yards (Artose Pinner), for an undefeated team (Kentucky), still be flying so low under the national radar?
We're all reserving judgment until Kentucky plays Florida on Sept. 28. But I do have to admit, the thought of Kentucky and Alabama winning their respective divisions and not going to Atlanta for the championship game has crossed my mind. I have noticed that many writers, including your, continue to place Byron Leftwich at the top of their Heisman Watches. I was extremely impressed with his poise and the numbers he put up against Virginia Tech, but honestly, if your team doesn't score points then you're not getting the job done. On the other side of the ball that night were two running backs (Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs) who would easily be in every writer's top five if they played on different teams. Agree or not?
Mike, I heard Phil Simms say on The Don Imus Show this morning that no position is so dependent on others as quarterback. Leftwich can't catch the balls that he put right on the hands of his receivers. You may be right about Jones and Suggs, but they're happy doing what they're doing. That's why we've all taken notice of them. I've heard some very credible media members take shots at Roy Kramer and his reign as SEC commissioner. Lots of the SEC schools are on probation, have been on probation, or are looking down the barrel of the probation rifle. What is your take on how much of the blame should be assigned to Kramer? Should a commish be a 24/7 watchdog responsible for keeping his member schools in line? Is the lack of institutional control at member schools his fault? Shouldn't these college presidents have a hand in playing bad cop instead of depending on a commissioner? I'd like to hear your thoughts.
The commissioner sets the tone and the direction of the league. Kramer is a smart man, one of the shrewdest politicians I've ever met. He set out to make the SEC the most powerful and most lucrative league in college sports, and he succeeded. He's also a former chair of the NCAA Infractions Committee, which makes the lack of ethics among member schools during his tenure really curious. It speaks to the lack of control he actually has over the day-to-day actions of the schools. It also speaks to the fact that he was watching the money so closely, he neglected to make ethics one of the priorities that he preached. Why isn't Rashaun Woods from Oklahoma State getting any Heisman recognition? He plays on a team without much of a supporting cast, quarterback included, yet still makes opposing cornerbacks look horrible. He walks away from each game with 100 yards receiving and at least one touchdown. Can't Woods get any love?
Can't Woods get any teammates who'll help him win? Then he'll get plenty of love. 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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