SI.com - SI On Campus - The Vent: 10/15/2006

10/20/2006 11:41:00 AM

Who are the nation's Top 10 QBs?

SI.com ranks Pittsburgh's Tyler Palko as the fifth best quarterback in the nation. Where does he rank on your list?

Jason Bridge/US PRESSWIRE

The college football season has reached its midpoint and a few things are certain. First and foremost, Oklahoma has really bad luck. The Sooners were expected to make a run for the national championship, but the loss of QB Rhett Bomar and RB Adrian Peterson put an end to those hopes. While some may argue that Romar has nobody to blame but himself, it's still an unfortunate blow to Sooners fans. Second, Ohio State - Michigan on Nov. 18 is shaping up to be the game of the year. Third, it's Troy Smith’s Heisman to lose. While some pre-season pundits picked Brady Quinn as the odds-on favorite, Smith has been phenomenal while leading the Buckeyes to a perfect 7-0 record and the No. 1 national ranking.

As if the lead in the Heisman race and the No. 1 ranking weren't enough, Smith also tops SI.com's list of the Top 15 Quarterbacks in the nation. Here's the top 10:

1) Troy Smith, Ohio State
2) Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
3) Erik Ainge, Tennessee
4) Brian Brohm, Louisville
5) Tyler Palko, Pittsburgh
6) Pat White, West Virginia
7) Nate Longshore, California
8) Chad Henne, Michigan
9) Chris Leak, Florida
10) John Beck, BYU

We know you're going to have issues with our list, so let’s have your Top 10.

View comments | Add a comment

10/19/2006 12:19:00 PM

Should a 14-year-old be offered a scholarship?

Was USC Coach Tim Floyd wrong to offer a four-year scholarship to a 14-year-old?

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Not much was said yesterday when it was revealed that USC men's basketball coach Tim Floyd received a verbal commitment from rising Los Angeles hoops phenom Dwight Polee, Jr. After all, USC hoops is on the rise and obtaining a local star is the lifeblood of many programs. But what makes Polee unique is that he's 14-years-old and has never played a game of HIGH SCHOOL basketball. That's right. A 14-year-old already has a free ride to college. We'd condemn Floyd for offering Polee the scholarship, but he's not the only coach to engage in such activity.

Three years ago, another rising hoops star in L.A., 14-year-old Taylor King, committed to UCLA. King, now a high school senior, has since changed his mind and committed to Duke. There's a good chance that Polee will follow King's lead and opt to play for another school, but the question remains: Should a 14-year-old be offered an athletic scholarship so many years before he will attend college?

For starters, it kills any motivation the athlete may have to hit the books in high school because he knows the absolute minimum amount of work he needs to do to advance to college. Second, it gives him a swelled head. I mean, if you were a high school freshman and knew that you were getting a free ride to USC, how could that not change your attitude? On the other hand, college recruiting is a cutthroat game, so why should a coach not be allowed to get a head start and secure good players at a young age?

How do you feel? Should the NCAA step in and set a minimum age limit for scholarship offers, or is this much ado about nothing?

View comments | Add a comment

10/17/2006 11:37:00 AM

Miami-FIU - What would your punishment be?

How would you punish the Miami and FIU players who participated in Saturday's brawl?

Photo by AP

By now, you've seen Saturday's bench-clearing brawl between the Miami and Florida International, which is certainly the biggest black eye to a sport since a certain someone named Artest decided to run into the stands during an NBA game two seasons ago. But a bigger black eye just may be the lack of response from the University of Miami. FIU took decisive action by dismissing two players -- Chris Smith and Marshall McDuffie, Jr. -- and suspending a total of 16 who will be placed on athletic probation for the remainder of the academic year, forced to complete 10 hours of anger management counseling, and undertake a community service project to educate South Florida youth on appropriate behavior in athletics (insert joke here). Miami, meanwhile, suspended Anthony Reddick (also known as the nutbag who charged across the field, helmet raised over his head, and slammed it into an opposing player during the brawl.

Some people, such as SI.com's Stewart Mandel, feel Miami is letting its players off easy. Today, we want you to be the ACC League Office. How would you discipline the members of both teams who were involved? At SIOC, we'd suspend all players involved for three games and dismiss FIU's Smith and McDuffie as well as Miami's Reddick. We’d also fire Larry Coker right now for his awful coaching performance and the overall deterioration of the Miami program. He's likely to get fired at the end of the season anyway, so why not do it now and send a strong message to the players that this type of behavior won't be tolerated?

That's how we'd do it, what would your punishments be?

View comments | Add a comment

Do you have a topic worth venting about? Send your suggestions here.