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OT is tired out Arkansas-Tennessee game hurt by marathon endingPosted: Sunday October 06, 2002 9:17 PMUpdated: Monday October 07, 2002 1:37 PM
Like with most anything in life, college football’s unusual overtime format has its share of pros and cons. The positives: Well, it can be pretty darn exciting, as anyone who watched Washington State’s 30-27 victory over USC or Texas Tech’s 48-47 shootout with Texas A&M would attest. While a normal game may have you on the edge of your seat only the last few minutes, overtime extends the suspense indefinitely, ensuring what little remains of your fingernails gets completely gnawed off. Overtime also tends to produce its share of heroes, like the Cougars’ Drew Dunning, who nailed the game-winning field goal against the USC, or Louisville’s Anthony Floyd, who made the memorable interception to help knock off Florida State two weeks ago. But then there are the negatives, most of which were on full display during Tennessee’s 41-38, six-overtime marathon victory over Arkansas late Saturday night, the least of which was delaying SportsCenter. More serious, the overtime format, much like the Hogs’ seven-OT, 58-56 duel with Ole Miss last season, took what had been a hard-nosed defensive struggle, with the teams knotted at 17-17 after regulation, and turned it into a total mockery. When overtime first was introduced in the college ranks in 1996, these type of back-and-forth battles of field goals and two-point conversions seemed cool. At this point, though, does anyone really enjoy watching running backs turn 2 yards into 13 against defenses too tired to tackle? Coaches playing as conservative as possible because they know from the beginning they have a near-guaranteed field goal? This isn’t football. You might as well decide the thing with Rock, Paper, Scissors. Then again, there’s no clear answer of what to do instead. No one really seems eager to return to the days of ties. You could go to NFL-style sudden death, but then a lot rides on a coin flip. You could move the starting point back from the opponents’ 25 to the 40 or 50, but then the games might get even longer. Me personally, I wouldn’t mind implementing a traditional backyard football rule: you’ve got four downs to score a touchdown, or else. Maybe I’m in the minority. Maybe most of you enjoyed watching Arkansas QB Matt Jones play pinball with exhausted Tennessee defenders. Maybe you enjoyed seeing Casey Clausen essentially play catch with his receivers, so absent was the defense. But I know at least two groups who weren’t happy campers Sunday morning: the Vols, who travel this week to No. 6 Georgia, and the Razorbacks, which visit No. 24 Auburn.
If college players were elegible for fantasy football, Kingsbury would be the No. 1 pick. A week after shredding New Mexico for 407 yards and six touchdowns, the Big 12’s all-time leading passer did more of the same, but against a much better defense. His 49-of-59, 474 yards, five-TD day against Texas A&M helped the Red Raiders emerge victorious despite the opposing QB, A&M’s Dustin Long, throwing for a conference-record seven touchdowns. It may be the only league passing record Kingsbury doesn’t hold.
Terrible. Pitiful. Horrendous. Those were just a few of the words I heard used to describe the Rebels’ defense during the early part of my weekend in Tuscaloosa. People are quickly revising their opinion, however, after Ole Miss held Florida scoreless after halftime in a landmark 17-14 upset. Matt Grier notched two of the Rebels’ four interceptions of Rex Grossman, as Ole Miss improved to 2-0 in the SEC for the first time since, believe it or not, 1970.
The Tigers didn’t blink an eye down 23-7 to the mighty Sooners, promptly rallying to a 24-23 lead behind super frosh Brad Smith’s 391 yards of offense -- including 213 rushing, a school record for quarterbacks. What made this a classic, however, was Bob Stoops’ gallant call to fake what would have been a 31-yard field goal, resulting in the winning touchdown. Pat Dye won’t be questioning Stoops’ manhood anytime soon.
Rex Grossman’s story was of the feel-good sort his first three years at Florida. Overlooked coming out of Bloomington, Ind., he convinced ultimate QB guru Steve Spurrier to take a chance on him, beat out the more vaunted Brock Berlin for the starter’s job and rode it within one step of the Heisman Trophy. But then Spurrier bolted for the NFL, Grossman decided to stay, and so far this season has been a near-total nightmare. Suddenly his is a sad tale. Two quarterbacks playing on opposite sides of the country whose career paths have had almost nothing in common. Yet no two better demonstrate how quickly things change in college football. Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com. Got a comment, question or scoop for Stewart? Click here. |
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