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Chat Reel: SI's Ivan Maisel
Nebraska could be headed toward a big season
Latest: Wednesday August 09, 2000 06:44 PM
With the college football season quickly approaching, Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel joined CNNSI.com users on Aug. 9 to discuss everything from Heisman hopefuls to national champion contenders. A transcript follows.
CNNSI.com Host: Welcome to our chat with Sports Illustrated's Ivan Maisel. Thanks for joining us, Ivan.
Ivan Maisel: How do? Let's get this going.
CNNSI.com Host: Let's get started with the questions.
From Wolverines2k: Who's your pick as the most underrated team entering the 2000 season?
Ivan Maisel: I'm really impressed with Maryland. The Terps have had all winter and spring to think about losing their last four games of 1999 and missing out on a bowl. Any offense run by Calvin McCall and LaMont Jordan is going to be dangerous. They're unranked, so keep an eye on them.
From gunner: Can Ohio State bounce back from last season? And if not, is John Cooper history?
Ivan Maisel: Yes and yes. Although, to the second yes, I would say Cooper will quit long before anybody could ever fire him. But there will be no need to have that discussion. They have a lot of talent and now that they've been humbled I would suspect the ship will right its course.
From Wolverines2k: It seems collegiate players are under the microscope more than ever for potential NCAA violations (gifts, etc). What are your thoughts on providing athletes with a yearly stipend to assist them?
Ivan Maisel: A yearly stipend will not get them out from under the microscope. In case you haven't noticed, this here Internet has put everyone under the microscope 24/7. A stipend will not diminsh the number of NCAA violations. If anything, it will lead to more opportunities to flout the rules.
From Hornman: How good will the Texas defense be this year?
Ivan Maisel: They probably have the best defensive line south of Nebraska in the Big 12 and one of the best in the country. With Texas, it's all going to come down to wide receivers.
From gunner: Any chance Indiana can make it to a bowl game? Antwaan Randle El is amazing, but can the defense stop anyone?
Ivan Maisel: Sure they can get to a bowl, even if the defense can't stop anyone. Illinois proved that last year in the Big Ten. Randle El is really something. I hope I get the chance to see him play this year.
From Chi-Town Badger: Wisconsin-Alabama in the national title game ... what is the likelihood?
Ivan Maisel: On paper, it's a pretty good likelihood. In reality, it's rare that two teams predicted to finish high actually do so, much to the concern of us experts. That game would be about as physical a national championship game as any in the last few years.
From Eric: There has been a whole lot of hoopla surrounding the Nebraska-Notre Dame game. As a Huskers fan, I can't help but think that strange things can and do happen in South Bend. What are your thoughts on the importance of this game and its outcome?
Ivan Maisel: It's a heck of a lot more important in South Bend than it is in Lincoln. On the face of it there's no reason for anyone to pay attention when a No. 1 team plays an unranked team. But you nailed it. Notre Dame Stadium has a history as a place where upsets occur. Oklahoma in '57 and FSU in '93 come immediately to mind.
From Carlos: When TCU goes undefeated this year, what will the Horned Frogs chances be of getting into a BCS bowl? Will experts give them more respect than they gave Marshall or Tulane?
Ivan Maisel: No. They have little chance because of schedule strength, the same malady that struck Marshall and Tulane.
From Chris: In recent years the Big Ten has not had a team contending for a national title. Is this because the conference is so good that teams beat each other out of contention or has it just been averagely consistent without a breakout team?
Ivan Maisel: Or have you had amnesia and forgotten Michigan in '97? No question that the Big Ten has a lot of good teams, but that hasn't stopped the SEC from winning national championships -- and the SEC has that playoff game that the Big Ten does not. So don't cry about how tough the Big Ten is. You'll get no shoulder to cry on here.
From Don: Arkansas dominated Texas 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl. The Razorbacks return most of their offensive line, Cedric Cobb, and the best linebacking crew in the SEC, but warrant no preseason ranking while Texas is in the top 10. What gives?
Ivan Maisel: We all hate people from Arkansas. Just kidding. The questions about Arkansas at quarterback and elsewhere on defense, other than linebacker, has made everyone hesitant to pick them. Even Houston Nutt says this is a team for 2001.
From Josh: Do you think Oklahoma could be undefeated when it plays Nebraska in Norman, and if so, would Oklahoma have a decent chance of winning and thereby shocking the nation?
Ivan Maisel: Obviously, if they're undefeated at that point, they'll be pretty good. Even with that Mickey Mouse of a non-league schedule. But I wouldn't want to have to throw against Nebraska for a living, or run against them for that matter.
From Jorge: Do you think Miami is back completely? Do the Hurricanes finally have the talent to beat Florida State and Virginia Tech?
Ivan Maisel: I think Miami is as far back as it is going to get. And, no, Miami does not have the talent to beat FSU. It could beat Virginia Tech though, since it's in Miami.
From Jeffrey: Who do you think will be the Volunteers' starting quarterback for the home opener against Southern Miss, and how realistic is the chance that UT starts the season 0-2?
Ivan Maisel: I think Joey Matthews will start against Southern Miss. I don't think 0-2 is out of the question but I would be surprised. Never underestimate the power of 110,000 pairs of lungs to intimidate an opponent.
From Bill: What team is considered a surprise pick to contend for the national title, much like Virginia Tech did last year?
Ivan Maisel: I guess I get paid the big money to try and answer this question in early August. I would say Clemson and whoever wins the Pac-10. No one thinks anybody out west is any good. If one team makes big strides it will be able to feast on the other nine that aren't that good, if you get my drift.
From gunner: Why have preseason rankings? Why not wait a few games into the season and start rankings based on actual achievement and not reputation.
Ivan Maisel: I'll say this slowly -- t-o s-e-l-l n-e-w-s-p-a-p-e-r-s. The AP poll began in 1936 as something for entertainment. Nothing has really changed about that if you think about it.
From Mike: Can you see South Carolina making a bowl before Lou Holtz retires? It's been long wait.
Ivan Maisel: Yes, because Lou is going to coach until he's 90. It's interesting to remember that Lou's teams have always burst with success in his second season at the school.
From Ed: Where do Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno fall on your coach hypocrisy-o-meter? Dadgum it, do they not generally receive extraordinarily soft coverage from the national football media?
Ivan Maisel: Dear Jealous in Gainsville, Bobby is not a hypocrite. For that matter, neither is Joe. You don't get to be 70 years old and have that amount of success by being two-faced.
From Jason: UCLA vs. Alabama: first game of the season for these two teams. What do you see taking place?
Ivan Maisel: I think Alabama will win handily. Even if UCLA is not as bad as its 4-7 record of last year, the Bruins don't have the depth or the athleticism of the Tide. Plus, there will be a lot of crimson and white in the Rose Bowl stands. It's going to clash with those pink seats.
From Nick: Why in the world is Wisconsin ranked ahead of Michigan in most preseason polls? Do people honestly think that they will beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor? I think that Michigan has a better chance of losing at UCLA or Illinois, but they will not lose to the Badgers.
Ivan Maisel: Well the SI rankings have Michigan ahead of Wisconsin. And I don't think the Badgers will win in Ann Arbor.
From Jeremy: Why do none of the preseason polls ever rank Oregon in the Top 25? Do people on the East Coast forget about the Ducks?
Ivan Maisel: The who? If it makes you feel any better, I thought about ranking them and was out-thought. SI has them 27, though, and I'm sure they are going to be headed for another bowl game this season.
From bellja2: Do you agree with Hal Mumme's decision to bench Dusty Bonner, and what do you think of Jared Lorenzen, his replacement?
Ivan Maisel: What I don't agree with is how Mumme handled it, and I would venture to guess even he might do it differently. But I'm not going to second guess Hal Mumme when it comes to analyzing quarterbacks or Hal Mumme's offense. I saw Lorenzen two weeks ago and he is the size of a tight end. If that is the future of college football, then 400-pound offensive linemen aren't far away.
From smalls: What do you think about North Carolina's chances for this season?
Ivan Maisel: You have to believe the Heels will be better if only because there's no way anyone would get that many bad breaks two years in a row. Obviously with quarterback Ronald Curry and Brandon Spoon at linebacker, the team's on-field leaders are ready to go. And that's got to be worth a few wins.
From Nate: Do you think that Eric Crouch has a real chance at winning the Heisman Trophy this year or next year?
Ivan Maisel: No. Nebraska QBs have a hard time winning the Heisman because of the way the offense is set up. He's got an awful good chance at winning the national championship, though.
From Do: Who wins in a fight: Lloyd Carr or John Cooper?
Ivan Maisel: Hold on, let me get my Ring encyclopedia. Cooper has a lot of knockouts but he can't beat Carr, no matter what.
From ChiTownBadger: What is your take on Brooks Bollinger, the Wisconsin QB?
Ivan Maisel: Well, he's undefeated. It's hard to argue with that. I'm interested to see how much an offense that has been five-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust can retool to take advantage of a QB who can run and throw.
From cfbfan: Did you vote Nebraska over the Noles? Why/why not?
Ivan Maisel: Yes, I did. Mostly on the strength of the Huskers defense. And I'm not quite sold on the Noles defense just yet.
From Wolverines2k: Many upper-echelon teams seem to have a cushier-than-usual non-conference schedule this fall. What title contender do you see having the most hurdles to clear?
Ivan Maisel: In the top seven or eight, I would say Wisconsin, Michigan and Miami come to mind as having a lot of work to do on the road.
From Marc: Is Michigan's defense good enough for the Wolverines to be ranked in the top 10? Personally, I think high-octane offenses (Purdue, Illinois) will shred the Wolverines. Will their offense be able to keep up and win those 42-38 type of games?
Ivan Maisel: I would expect that the higher the octane the opposing offense, the more we will see David Terrell in the secondary, à la Charles Woodson. As for the Michigan offense, it all comes down to Drew Henson, doesn't it?
I'd put my next month's rent on him.
From dolomite: Regarding your earlier comment about the Noles, what will it take to sell you on the FSU defense, which returns nine starters?
Ivan Maisel: Yeah, when you put it that way, it sounds a little silly. But the defensive ends have got to start producing more than they did last year. I don't know how much of what Virginia Tech did to FSU is solely attributable to Michael Vick, but 27 points has got to show something that other teams can take advantage of.
From Kevin: How well do you think the University of Hawaii will do this year? I know TCU and Fresno look pretty good in the WAC.
Ivan Maisel: Sure would have liked to have seen that Texas game. As is, it's interesting that Wisconsin must finish its season out there. I would expect that Hawaii will be good once again if only because the players have had another year under June Jones and will be that much more sophisticated in running that offense.
From Guest: If Michael Vick's season is comparable to last year's, what can Frank Beamer say to persuade Vick not to turn pro?
Ivan Maisel: Not a damn thing.
From JW: Do you think Arizona State has a chance to surprise people in the Pac-10 this year?
Ivan Maisel: If the Sun Devils contend it would be a big surprise. They were a big disappointment last year, especially in terms of playing teams that weren't as good as they were. That's usually the sign of problems from the shoulder pads up.
From dolomite: If FSU demolishes BYU in the Kickoff Classic and the defense shines, do you think they will jump Nebraska in the polls, and how would you vote?
Ivan Maisel: By proving that they can shut down a bunch of 23-year-old, slow, mountain guys, I'm not sure that that would be taken as a reason to change my preseason assessment. That wouldn't be much of a surprise.
From YJ: Will Notre Dame be able to score this season?
Ivan Maisel: I definitely believe that Arnaz Battle will get the Irish in the end zone before the conclusion of the Orange Bowl. The funny thing is, as caustic as Irish fans are these days, I don't have any idea whether that question came from an Irish fan or Irish hater.
From sooner333: Do you think Josh Heupel has a chance to win the Heisman?
Ivan Maisel: No, not against that schedule -- the early-season schedule, anyway.
From Ike: How do you think D.J. Williams will do his freshman year?
Ivan Maisel: I can't wait to find out how much Miami decides to play him. From what I've heard, moving Dan Morgan to middle linebacker in the spring was not that successful, so the Canes still have some questions that maybe D.J. could answer.
From Husker: Is Thunder Collins the real deal?
Ivan Maisel: I haven't seen him so I don't have any better idea than you. However, if ever anyone could manufacture a bunch of bad headline puns, it would be Thunder Collins. So as far as I'm concerned, I hope he doesn't play well. I'd hate to have to read that over my cereal every Sunday morning.
From cfbfan: Do you think Steve Spurrier will be throwing his visor in disgust a lot this season?
Ivan Maisel: He says he's trying to cut back. The easiest way for him to cut back would be for Jesse Palmer to step up. The more I see Jesse Palmer, the more I miss Danny Wuerffel.
From Mo: How solid will Kansas State's defense be?
Ivan Maisel: Solid enough to beat that Gateway Conference schedule that Bill Snyder lines up.
From Bamaboy92: Seriously, does Deuce McCallister have a legitimate shot at the Heisman? And does Ole Miss have a shot to win the SEC?
Ivan Maisel: Yes and no. McCallister is a great talent. I wonder how David Cutcliffe can keep Deuce and Joe Gunn, the other tailback, happy. Going to Tuscaloosa will determine the Deuce's Heisman chances and in all liklihood keep Ole Miss from winning the SEC West.
From dolomite: Honestly, how many teams do you get to watch each week? I always wonder how analysts such as yourself can be so informed about so many teams. I didn't think it was possible to keep up with 100 or so Division I teams, players and coaches.
Ivan Maisel: OK, OK, I admit it -- I haven't seen Buffalo practice. There, you dragged it out of me. Seriously, though, the Internet helps a lot, I hear from writers around the country who string for SI and I talk to coaches around the country during the week. But you've busted me. There's no way to be fully informed on 115 teams.
From dolomite: Do you think that the more success that Butch Davis has the more likely he will take an NFL job?
Ivan Maisel: Let's let Butch have some success, such as winning the Big East, before we discuss what his next step is.
From smalls: What do you think about Alge Crumpler?
Ivan Maisel: For those who don't know, he is North Carolina's tight end. When I went to Chapel Hill last fall, no one was more in the dumps than Crumpler, who had blown out a knee. But if Curry is healthy and if this offense does what offensive coordinator Mike O'Cain's offenses did the last few years at N.C. State, I would think Crumpler would do nicely.
From noplayoff: Any chance of Jamar Fletcher and Wendell Bryant staying around for their senior seasons?
Ivan Maisel: Let's let them play their junior seasons. If they meet their potential this year, the answer is no.
From wvu22: Where do you see the West Virginia Mountaineers ending up this season? We have seven home games, and we usually win home games. Even if we go 5-2 and beat Rutgers, Pitt and Temple on the road, that's eight wins. Is this possible?
Ivan Maisel: This is a big, big year for WVU. You know that Don Nehlen does not want to finish his career with another season like last year. If there is another season like last year, my guess is his career would be finished. For the reasons you point out, and the shift on offense from less of a standard dropback passing game to more of this new, mobile-quarterback stuff, I suspect WVU will be back on the top side of .500.
From Hate_a_gator: Quincy Carter: legitmate Heisman candidate or not?
Ivan Maisel: Yes, absolutely. If Georgia doesn't make it happen this year, the Bulldogs never will, though.
From LunaFreak: Why would SI put Clemson at No. 8? Is this just to gain a little respect for the mediocre ACC?
Ivan Maisel: Yes, you've uncovered a big payola scandal. Look at Clemson's schedule -- the Tigers trade Marshall and Virginia Tech for Missouri and the Citadel. That's two games right there. They're in their second year in Rich Rodriguez's complex offense, and there's no one outside of Tallahassee in that league that you can point to and say they will definitely beat Clemson. 9-2 seems perfectly reasonable for the Tigers.
From Ray: Why is it that people who vote in the polls don't seem to take into account the quality of opponents a team plays? They continually put Florida State at the top even though the Noles play in a weak conference and play a weak nonconference schedule. This should be about the best team, not the team that can win the most against inferior competion while running up the score to impress the voters.
Ivan Maisel: By every measure last season, from voters to computers to a phone call from the President, FSU was the best team in the country. I am not going to disparage a team that won the national championship by 19 points. What else could they have done?
From Frank: Have you been to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend? What is it like?
Ivan Maisel: It's a real kick in the pants. It does a great job of capturing all the reasons that we wake up on Saturday mornings in the fall with a knot in our stomachs. Fight songs, heroes, big games -- you get it all there. If anyone is in the neighborhood of South Bend they should drop in.
From Harry: How is it that Nebraska hardly ever has a top-15 recruiting class, yet is consistently one of the top five teams in the nation? Do high school recruiting analysts know what they are doing?
Ivan Maisel: Great question. Nebraska has the luxury of having its own farm system -- and I mean that literally. All those big, Nebraska farm boys stop chucking around bales of hay in time to show up in Lincoln and block in that offense that no one has been able to stop.
From noplayoff: Besides the first one, what game are you most looking forward to this season? And how can I convince my girlfriend to let me watch 12 hours of football every Saturday?
Ivan Maisel: You know, I stayed home on a Saturday last fall and sat on the couch from noon until 10 p.m. At one point, my wife asked me, "If you didn't do what you do for a living, is this what you'd do every Saturday?" Without looking away from the TV, I nodded yes. To answer your first question, the game I'm looking forward to is whichever of the traditional-rivals games I go to on Nov. 18: Michigan-Ohio State, Florida-Florida State or Alabama-Auburn. There's nothing like them.
CNNSI.com Host: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks for joining us, Ivan.
Ivan Maisel: OK. Talk to you soon.
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