A BCS PRIMER

 

The college bowl season rolls around again. This year's Bowl Championship Series seems, for a change, to have a lineup that is relatively fair. To understand how UConn made the final pairings, it was necessary to research how the BCS system works.

Listed below are the five BCS matchups, followed by an explanation of how each team qualified for the BCS.

2010 BCS GAMES

(Automatic Qualifiers are listed in red; At-Large teams are in blue.)

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: (1) AUBURN (SEC) V (2) OREGON (PAC-10)

ROSE BOWL: (4) WISCONSIN (BIG 10) V (3) TCU (WAC AS AQ BY BCS ELIGIBILTY RULES)

ORANGE BOWL: (5) STANFORD (PAC-10 AT-LARGE) V (12) VA TECH (ACC)

SUGAR BOWL: (6) OHIO STATE (BIG 10 AT-LARGE) V (8) ARKANSAS (SEC At-LARGE)

FIESTA BOWL: (7) OU (BIG XII AQ BY LEAGUE RULE) V (25) UCONN (ACC AQ)

The National Championship Game is always a matchup of the top two BCS-ranked teams. Thus we will see the Auburn Tigers take on the Oregon Ducks in Glendale, AZ., on Jan. 10.

 

By BCS Rules, the champions of the Pac-10, Big XII, Big 10, Big East, Southeastern and ACC all receive automatic berths in the five BCS games: the NCG, Rose, Orange, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls, which rotate the order of choices on a yearly basis.

 

Wisconsin, by virtue of its final BCS rank (#4), became the automatic Big 10 qualifier and was selected for the Rose Bowl.

 

Virginia Tech won the ACC and was picked by the Orange Bowl.

 

Oklahoma won the Big XII Championship game and finished as the highest ranked BCS team in the league, earning an automatic berth and picked by the Fiesta Bowl for another date in Arizona.

 

UConn won the Big East crown to earn an automatic berth and the right to face OU in the Fiesta Bowl.

 

TCU became an automatic qualifier under BCS Rules regarding final rankings of champions in conferences without AQ status. Below is the rather vague BCS Rule that addresses qualifying for schools not in automatic qualifying conferences:

    [The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will
earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:

• A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
  
• B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.
  

    No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year. (Note: a second team may be eligible for at-large eligibility as noted below.) If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be considered for at-large selection if it meets the criteria.]

That leaves three at-large teams to fill in the remainder of the BCS bowl spots.

 

Ohio State (6) finished ahead of Michigan State (9) in the final BCS rank and earned an at-large spot. By BCS Rule, only two teams from any conference may participate in BCS games. Stanford and Arkansas made the final BCS field in the same way, finishing higher in the final BCS rank than any other team in their respective conference.

 

Michigan State, Boise, and LSU finished 9^th, 10^th and 11^th, respectively, to miss out on the BCS games. Of those teams, only Boise was eligible for an at-large selection. Even though Boise finished higher than VaTech and UConn, only one team from non-AQ conferences may receive an automatic bid. (See above.)

 

So we have the top eight teams, along with VaTech and UConn in the top five bowl games this year.

 

Mizzou Review

As the clock ticks down on Missouri's 2009-10 basketball season, it is time for a quick review of the Tiger's season.

A couple of losses early to Richmond and Vanderbilt were offset with a win in St. Louis against Illinois, the first Mizzou win in the river rivalry in a decade.

The Big 12 season went better than I expected, especially for such a young and inexperienced team. Beating Texas and K-State at home were bonuses; but the A&M loss was snatched from victory. The two losses to KU were predictable. The loss to Nebraska wasn't. And the loss of Safford late in the season didn't help.

MU played a great game against Clemson in the first round of the Big Dance, but came up short against Bob Huggan's Mountaineers in Round 2. The Tigers battled but just didn't get the ball in the hole, which I attribute to tired legs. They "uglied" up the game just enough to give their long-suffering fans a slight measure of hope when they got it to 3 points just inside the 4-minute mark and again when they got it to 55-59 at just over 2 minutes; then give up a board on a missed free throw and go down by seven in the blink of an eye. A couple of misses, a charge here, a put back there, and down goes Missouri.

BUT Missouri didn't wreck my bracket picks. Kansas did.

Missouri wasn't expected to do much, not as one of the last teams into the tournament. KU, on the other hand, was the top #1 seed, having ridden atop the polls for much of the year. Any win after the first round would have been a bonus for Missouri. Any loss short of the national title was what Kansas and their fans expected.

Must be great to have that kind of confidence.

MISSOURI-TEXAS A&M RECAP

It had to happen eventually, and it did Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena when the Texas A&M Aggies snapped Missouri's 32-game homecourt winning streak with a 77-74 victory.

Mark Turgeon's hoopsters took the game to the Tigers from the opening tip, with no hint of intimidation by MU's "40 minutes of chaos". A&M consistently passed over Mizzou pressure for easy scores in the early stages of the first half. As poorly as Missouri executed, they managed a 37-36 lead at halftime.

To start the second half, the Tigers probably played as well as they have all season and sprinted to an 9-pont lead, 55-46, by the second media timeout. For those watching, the next 8 minutes were agonizing: the Tigers went scoreless and fell behind by eight with just over a minute to play. I've seen sicker dogs get well (MU v Iowa in the KC preseason tourney with Gilbert, Rush, Johnson & Paulding).

With 1:o6 to go, Mizzou mounted a furious comeback that fell short at the buzzer when J.T. Tiller's 3-pointer to tie clanked off the front iron.

The loss was Coach Mike Anderson's fourth straight against the Aggies, not having notched a "W" against A&M since coming to MU; and it was Missouri's sixth straight defeat to A&M.

Mizzou slips to 4-3 in Big 12 play (16-6 overall), and A&M goes to 5-3 (16-6), almost guaranteeing MU a Thursday game in Kansas City to open first round play in the conference tournament. As disappointing and troubling as was Missouri's second half drought, the intensity and desire the Tigers displayed in the last minute were reminiscent of the desperate energy they showed last year; and that may, in time, help define this team's identity.

After the Illinois game, I saw the Tigers as a .500 team in conference; and I worried this game might mark end to the streak, although I felt they might stretch the run until Texas came to town. To finish with a winning Big 12 record MU must sweep Nebraska, Iowa State and Colorado to offset probable losses to KU and Texas at home and to K-State and Baylor on the road.

Nevertheless, for a squad overpopulated with underclassmen, this team may have learned how good they can be. The scoreless 8 minutes was the result of playing too carefully, not forcing the action and failing to attack on offense, ultimately putting the Tigers in a panic mode as the shot clock wound down. They quit passing, quit moving, quit screening and cutting, seemingly afraid to lose rather than battering a dazed opponent that was sagging on the ropes. Then, with no realistic hope of winning, Anderson's troops manned up with a maniacal counterattack that almost succeeded in defending the home turf. It is that kind of fervor that carried MU to the NCAA regional finals last year and the kind of emotion with which it must play in the next month to finish off a season for which few had realistic expectations of more than a modest showing.

Again, Missouri fans tend to become enraptured with surprising success and then seem stunned when a game like this one ends in disappointment, fraught with bewildering consternation and befuddlement regarding the team's uneven performance. But there are reasons for the spotty play.

We are young. And we are MU.

NCAA HOOPS REPORT – MID TERM (Part 1)

    With a little more than a month before conference tournaments begin and the NCAA Tournament selection committee picks the 65 teams for March Madness, it's time to look at how college basketball is shaping up.

    When the rankings come out February 1, look for Kansas to regain the top spot it held before losing at Tennessee in what might best be described as a wrinkle in the fabric of time and space. Villanova, undefeated in Big East play has a chance to take over the #1 ranking; and Kentucky, which was #1 until losing at South Carolina, is another contender. Texas continues to slide after a week at the top.

Rankings at this time of year are more or less for the fans; and achieving the Number One position has proved, again, to be something of a curse.

    The Big East and Big 12 Conferences appear to be the best of the leagues. The Southeastern Conference has some strong teams; and the ACC is a train wreck. Last year's NCAA champion, North Carolina, will probably fall out of the Top 25 for the first time in eons; and Maryland leads the ACC, at least for the time being.

 

BIG EAST

    Villanova, which made the Final Four last year, is led by Scottie Reynolds, a strong candidate for Player of the Year. At 19-1 and 8-0 in the league, 'Nova looks to be the cream of the Big East.

Syracuse (19-1, 8-1), West Virginia (17-3, 6-2), Pittsburgh (17-4, 6-3) and Georgetown (6-3, 16-4) have all been highly ranked this season and are probably locks for the Big Dance. The Orangemen may even have a claim for a #1 seed come tourney time. They are led by Wesley Johnson, a superbly gifted swingman who transferred from Iowa State.

Connecticut, ranked #19 at the start of the week and another 2009 Final Four team, was in a slide before Coach Jim Calhoun took a medical leave of absence. They beat St. Johns and then #1 Texas in Storrs in the first games of Calhoun's absence but lost late at Providence and again Saturday to visiting Marquette.

Louisville (13-8, 4-4) and Notre Dame (4-5, 15-7) will have to make up some ground in conference play to earn NCAA bids.

 

BIG 12

    Kansas, with Saturday's overtime win over Kansas State in Manhattan, has a stranglehold on the Big 12 lead. The Jayhawks stand at 6-0 in conference play and at 19-1 overall. Bill Self's squad must still go on the road to Texas and Missouri and will see K-State again in Lawrence; but the Jayhawks' depth and athleticism should power them to their sixth straight Big 12 title. KU's strength is an aircraft carrier in the post and a tough and experienced guard on the perimeter. Cole Aldrich, a preseason All-American choice, is beginning to assert himself in the paint; and Sherron Collins gives them a floor general who's not afraid to fire from outside or take it strong to the rim. Add to that the Morris twins, Xavier Henry, and a never-ending troop of McDonald's All-Americans off the bench to provide scoring and defensive pressure and you have a team that will be hard to handle come March.

Texas has, at times, looked unbeatable. When Rick Barnes' young guards take care of the ball and let Damion James and Dexter Pittman have their touches inside, the Longhorns are scary. We'll have to see how the 'Horns handle the 'Hawks.

Kansas State, with fiery Frank Martin at the helm, is a street-mean team with no fear. They have hovered around #10 for most of the year and will be a difficult matchup come tourney time.

Missouri's "fastest 40 minutes" of roundball can be problematic, both for opponents and for themselves. Coach Mike Anderson's sophomore-laden team is one of the youngest in the country and has had trouble finding a consistent scorer and inside presence; but at mid-term, they are tied with Texas for second in the league and have a 32-game home winning streak that includes a perfect record at Mizzou Arena in last year's run to the Elite Eight. If the Tigers can split their remaining conference games, they should make it to the NCAA's again.

Baylor, under Scott Drew, has already played the toughest part of its schedule and faces just one ranked team (Texas) before the Big 12 Tournament. At 16-4 overall and 3-3 in conference, look for the Bears to move up in the polls and the conference standings.

The Big 12 had the best record against non-conference opponents (142-31), and lost only one home game before conference play began. It also has the best record (28-12) in the country in games against the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East and Pac-10. The strength of the conference may help bubble teams, such as Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, receive at-large bids to the NCAA dance.

 

ACC

    Maryland (4-1, 14-5) is atop the topsy-turvy ACC Conference. Gary Williams' Terrapins only conference loss was at Wake Forest, but they have not yet played a ranked conference team.    

    Duke, at #7 beginning the week, is probably the best team in a league that guarantees nothing for the perennial powers. The Blue Devils lost have lost at Georgia Tech and North Carolina State and Saturday dropped a non-conference game at #11 Georgetown. Mike Krzyzewski's crew is led by Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, typical Dukies with a penchant for making big shots.

    Florida State and Georgia Tech both stand at 4-3 in conference play and 16-5 overall; but the Seminoles have won both meetings with the Yellow Jackets in early league play. Georgia Tech has been in the Top 25 for most of the season; and Florida State has flirted with national ranking all year.

    Clemson, too, has been ranked but has lost three straight going into Sunday's home game against Maryland. They blew out North Carolina, then #13, on January 13. The Tarheels (13-7, 2-3) lost three straight in mid-January and fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since January, 2006.

    It may take all of February to sort out the ACC, but look for the league to send as many as nine teams to the NCAA tournament.

 

 

    

BIG 12 REPORT - JANUARY

After almost a month of conference play, here's how the Big 12 teams size up, with their prospects for post-season play. Every game between now and the Big 12 tournament is scheduled for television.

KANSAS (20-1, 6-0)

The Jayhawks probably will move back to #1 in the polls after Kentucky lost this week at South Carolina. After the Missouri game, my opinion of KU rose substantially. They are certainly the best team in the Big 12 and have a legitimate chance for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Their only loss at Tennessee was probably the result of a rip in the time-space continuum. They gutted out a win in Manhattan Saturday night in overtime to put a stranglehold on the Big 12 conference race. Villanova, undefeated in the Big East, may be a legitimate contender for the nation's best team; but Kansas' never-ending stream of quality athletes gives them my vote as the frontrunner to win all the marbles in March.

TEXAS (18-3, 4-2)

After reaching the top spot in the national polls for the first time in program history, Rick Barnes' Longhorns lost three of their next four games, including a nail-biter in overtime Saturday in Waco against a very good Baylor team. After storming back to tie in regulation, Texas will have a chance for revenge against the Bears in their season finale in Austin. The 'Horns get Kansas at home, as well. Texas' young guards can be really good or pretty bad; but Damion James, without a doubt one of the best in the conference, is always good. When Dexter Pittman is not in foul trouble and involved in the offense, Texas is very, very good. I don't see them losing more than twice the rest of the way in league.

MISSOURI (16-5, 4-2)

Despite some horrid shooting nights since conference play began, the Tigers are tied for 2^nd place and have a chance to solidify that spot over the next 10 days with winnable games against Texas A & M and Iowa State at home and Colorado on the road. If the Tigers can hold serve at home (with the exception of Texas in Columbia on Feb. 17) and beat Nebraska, Colorado and Iowa State on the road, they could end up as one of the top four seeds in the Big 12 Tournament with a 10-6 league mark (22-9 overall) and a decent resume for the NCAA selection committee.

KANSAS STATE (17-4, 4-3)

The Wildcats are fearless going to the hole and on the boards. They had a chance to beat KU Saturday night on ESPN, but a non-call on a missed layup at the buzzer ended regulation. It didn't help they committed two lane violations with Cole Aldrich at the free throw line. Their coach, Fiery Frank Martin, seems to be on the verge of going postal; but the scrappy 'Cats seem to feed off his energy. They finish the season with nine appearances on ESPN (or affiliates) and have perhaps the easiest remaining schedule in the conference. Already with wins over Texas and Baylor, KSU' biggest tests will be Missouri in the "Octagon of Doom" and a trip to Lawrence on March 2. They could easily finish out 8-1 and high in the polls.

OKLAHOMA STATE (16-5, 4-3)

The Cowboys face a brutal schedule in February. They host Texas tomorrow on Big Monday, then alternate home and away against Texas Tech, OU in the second part of the Bedlam Series, at Iowa State, Baylor, at Texas, Kansas at home. Still they could conceivably win six of their remaining nine and make a run at a bye in the Big 12 tournament. All their games are televised, including the KU game at 3 p.m. February 27 on CBS.

TEXAS A & M (15-6, 4-3)

After Wednesday's matchup with Missouri on ESPNU (8 p.m.) the Aggies must face Baylor twice, Kansas and Texas, not to mention Tech, OSU and OU, and Iowa State in Ames. Tough task for Mark Turgeon's troops.

BAYLOR (16-4, 4-3)

Scott Drew's Bears have faced the meat of their schedule, with Texas, which they beat Saturday in overtime in Austin, as the only ranked team left to play before tournament time. They take on Iowa State Wednesday and Missouri February 13 in Waco. Otherwise, they face all South Division foes the rest of the way. They are good enough to go undefeated between now and the start of the Big 12 tourney. Look for them to climb back up the polls as the season winds down.

OKLAHOMA (12-9, 3-4)

With nine games left before the Big 12 Tournament, the Sooners still have Texas (twice), Kansas, K-State and Baylor, not to mention Tech and A&M to whom they have already lost. Colorado might be the only team they will beat coming down the home stretch.

IOWA STATE (13-8, 2-4)

The Cyclones have beaten Nebraska and Colorado and still must face K-State and Missouri twice. Their next game is at Baylor. With KU, OSU and A & M still on the slate, the 'Clones have a tough row to hoe if they hope to win more than two between now and season's end.

TEXAS TECH (14-7, 2-5)

Pat Knight's Red Raiders, too, have a tough finishing stretch with Baylor twice, Texas and K-State still on tap. If Tech can regain some of its early season success, they have a chance against OSU, OU, and A & M. They should handle Nebraska and Colorado on the road, but probably won't finish above .500 in conference.

COLORADO (11-10, 2-5)

Despite being somewhat more competitive this year, the Buffaloes are in for a long February with two against Mizzou and KU and a rematch with K-State, which they played close in Manhattan. They have a chance against the remaining South teams (OU and Tech) and with Nebraska in Lincoln and Iowa State in Boulder. They did beat Baylor in the altitude for a signature conference victory; but it'll be tough for the Buffs to move up the conference ladder.

NEBRASKA (13-8, 1-5)

Before the Cornhuskers meet Missouri again, they face four ranked teams in their next five games. Iowa State and Colorado are the only possible wins left for Doc Sadler's Bugeaters. Having said that, they will probably blow out MU in Lincoln.

MIZZOU – OSU RECAP

    Missouri's month-long shooting slump ended with a bang yesterday at Mizzou Arena in a 95-80 win over Oklahoma State.
The Tigers hit 17 of 31 3-point shots to post their 32^nd straight home win against the last team to win in Columbia. They were 17 of 34 from inside the arc, combining to shoot 52.3% for the game, far and away their best statistical game since conference play began. Add to those numbers 21 assists on the 34 makes, 24 forced turnovers including 11 steals, and 10 points on fast breaks (after just 14 points on fast break opportunities in the first five conference games).

    With five minutes gone in the second half, the Cowboys, behind James Anderson's torrid 15-point 1-man run, closed to 52-51 before the Tigers answered with six 3's in a 27-9 burst over the next seven minutes. Coach Mike Anderson and his Tiger teammates credited little-used Steve Moore with the spark that ignited the offensive explosion. Moore snatched an offensive board, and two passes later Zaire Taylor canned a three to start the run that put the 'Pokes away. Travis Ford, the 2^nd-year OSU coach who played one year for Mizzou before bolting for home-cooking at Kentucky and to play for Rick Pitino, said it was just the Tigers' day.

    MU was outrebounded 40-29 and hit only 10 of 20 free throws, two stats that mattered little in Saturday's game but that could come back to haunt the Bengals down the road.

    While this game boosts Mizzou (16-5, 4-2) into second place in the Big 12, it could hurt the Tigers in the long haul. There is an old adage in basketball: live and die with the jump shot. Or, in the case of the Tigers: with the 3-pointer. The halfcourt offense did look better Saturday; and many of the 3-point looks came off penetration and inside touches. The shooters were squared up and on target; but just firing away from outside (like the striped Cats did against Kansas) isn't going to get it done in the down the stretch.

    Mizzou has three winnable games in the next 10 days: Texas A&M (15-6, 4-3) at home Wednesday night; Colorado (11-10, 2-5) in Boulder next Saturday; and Iowa State (13-8, 2-4) back home on Feb 10. Mark Turgeon's Aggies flirted with the Top 25 prior to conference play. Their only loss to an unranked team was to OSU on the road. The Buffaloes are always tough in Boulder; and they have shown some scrappiness all season. They beat Baylor and Nebraska in the mountains and lost by just six, four and one on the road to K-State, A & M and Iowa State on the road. The Cyclones gave Texas all they wanted at Ames and kept the KU game there close until late in the second half.

    If the Tigers can put these three games in the win column, it will set them up for a chance at a good finish in conference play. The final seven league games are fraught with danger: Baylor, Nebraska, K-State and Iowa State on the road are all traps; Texas, despite its current slump, will be tough here; and, of course, the Tigers close out the regular season with a rematch against KU.

    Looking ahead, with just a month of conference play in the books, MU conceivably could finish 10-6, two games better than my pre-conference prediction.

MIZZOU-OKIE STATE PREVIEW

    Missouri, with the worst field-goal percentage in the Big 12, looks to break out of a shooting slump today at 1 p.m. on ESPN when the Tigers (15-5, 3-2) host the Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-4, 4-2).

    OSU comes to Columbia on a 3-game winning streak, including a road win over Kansas State. This will be Travis Ford's first trip to Mizzou since he departed for Kentucky following his freshman year under Norm Stewart. The Cowboys beat MU 75-73 the last time they played here in 2008, the last home loss since Mizzou started a 31-game home winning streak. Mizzou beat the 'Boys twice last year, in overtime at Stillwater and in the Big 12 semifinals.

    While it's still a little early to call this a "must" game for the Tigers, a victory today is imperative for Mike Anderson's sophomore-laden squad. I earmarked this game as a "win" after the Illinois game;; and it's a game MU needs to have a chance to break even in the Big 12. The MU guards have to find their shooting touch. They need to stop relying on long-range jumpers and must start attacking the paint. For Anderson's helter-skelter style to work the Tigers must press off made baskets; and if shots aren't falling, opponents are getting back to their offensive end without much trouble. MU's frontcourt players are starting to pick up their games. Justin Safford has started hitting the boards and taking it to the hole with more authority. Laurence Bowers has been productive, but his minutes haven't really increased. Why? Keith Ramsey played decently for a short period at Kansas but was overmatched in the paint by Cole Aldrich and the Morris twins.

    James Anderson leads the 'Pokes and the league in scoring. The 6-6, 210-pound guard puts up 22.1 points per game and scores it from outside and inside. He will be a tough matchup for any of the Tiger guards. Pat Knight, the Texas Tech coach, calls him one of the best players in the country.

    With a win, MU would move ahead of OSU in the league standings; and, depending on the outcome of the K-State/KU game, could climb to third place in the conference. A loss would drop them to .500 and in the middle of the pack. With three winnable games coming in the 10 days after the OSU game, the Tigers might solidify an NCAA berth before facing the meat of their schedule in the final seven games.

    

MU v. KU Preview

    After a long layoff due to a) my computer shooting craps and b) much work, I am back at it.

    There has been a lot going on in the Big 12 since my last post: Kansas lost at Tennessee; Texas took over the #1 spot in the polls only to lose at Kansas State and UConn; Missouri dropped a winnable game at Oklahoma and, thanks to Miguel Paul, yesterday beat Nebraska at home.

    Now, it's on to Lawrence for the first battle of the2010 Border War. Kansas is unbeaten in conference play and starting to find a rhythm, while Mizzou, at 3-1 in conference, is looking for the chemistry that carried them last year.

    It's been ages since the Tigers won in Lawrence, and it will take MU's best effort to come away with a win Monday night on ESPN. Coach Mike Anderson's young squad has yet to find a go-to scorer, relying instead on different players for key contributions. J.T. Tiller and Zaire Taylor have struggled at times this year; and Kim English has struggled since conference play began. Justin Safford has been coming on a bit as the season progresses, hitting the boards with some success; but he'll need a lot of help against the tall and athletic Jayhawks.

    If the Tigers can find a way to neutralize Cole Aldrich in the paint and keep Sherron Collins from driving the lane and putting Missouri in foul trouble, the Tigers might be able to keep the game close.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RETROSPECTIVE (PART 2)

COACHING CIRCUS

    The college football coaching carousel started the day after Charlie Weiss was ousted at Notre Dame. The Irish hired Brian Kelly away from undefeated and Sugar Bowl bound Cincinnati. The Bearcats lost to Florida, 24-51.

    Cincinnati hired Butch Jones from Central Michigan. The Chippewas won the GMAC Bowl in overtime. On January 12 Central Michigan introduced Dan Enos as their new coach. He has been a Michigan State assistant the past four years.

    Immediately after Kansas lost to Missouri in the Jayhawks' season finale, Mark Mangino's contract was terminated for alleged player abuse. The corpulent coach and AD Lew Perkins never really hit it off despite the fact Mangino put KU back on the football map. Kansas hired former Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill away from Buffalo, a program with which Gill had considerable success. Gill had been interviewed last year for the Syracuse job.

    The Mike Leach saga dominated the airwaves and Ethernet for days following the disclosure of his treatment of Adam James after the player was diagnosed with a concussion. James is the son of ESPN college football analyst Craig James, which only magnified media coverage. The Red Raiders, under interim coach Ruffin McNeill, beat Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. The fact that Leach and the Tech administration had been at odds since Leach's exploratory foray into other coaching opportunities following the 2008-09 season and that Leach was due an $850,000 cash bonus on January 1 further muddied the waters. While Leach pursues possible legal action, the university hired Tommy Tuberville as the new head coach.

    Jim Leavitt, the only coach the University of South Florida has ever known, was fired January 9 following allegations of player abuse. The fiery coach has asked for and received an administrative hearing in an effort to save his job. USF seeks to end his contract "with cause" to void any monetary termination penalties. It has been reported Leavitt's style was wearing thin with players, administrators and assistants. USF, which joined the Big East in 2005, hired Leavitt in 1995 to build a football program from the ground up. He has compiled a 95-57 record with five consecutive bowl appearances and two straight bowl wins.

    With USC facing an NCAA investigation and possible sanctions, Pete Carroll bolted the Trojan program for another shot in the NFL, this time with the Seattle Seahawks. "Slick Pete" denies any connection between his sudden departure and the NCAA probe.

    That brings us to yesterday's news from Knoxville. After only one year of stirring up trouble for the University of Tennessee, Lane Kiffin (The Mowf in the Sowf) has headed back to the sunny climes of SoCal to replace his old mentor. He's taking Daddy Monte to be the defensive coordinator and is reportedly on a raiding party to woo his pal Norm Chou away from the Tennessee Titans to serve as offensive coordinator.

    These coaching changes are just the tip of the iceberg. ESPN reports there have been 21 head coaching changes in the FBS since season's end.

    Like many professions in our world, coaches (and their families) live in a pressure cooker under intense scrutiny from administrators, alumni, fans and the media. There aren't many Joe Paternos left on the college coaching scene. It's just a fact of life that coaches come and go.

Unfortunately, some of them bring on their own demise, apparently (like some of the prima donna athletes they coach) putting themselves above the bounds of civil behavior. Some, like a few former Missouri coaches, just aren't good enough to keep their jobs; and some are so good they naturally climb the ladder of success.

    This year's coaching merry-go-round seems to magnify inherent problems with the way the system operates. First, the money head coaches command is obscene. With big money comes big problems such as buyout clauses, bonuses and tampering. But the most striking aspect of this game of musical chairs is the effect on the players left behind and the recruits coming in. Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati's All-American receiver, was visibly angry when Kelly left for the Golden Dome. Understandably, he felt betrayed. The same can probably be said for the future freshmen Kelly had signed to commitments.

    It is in the area of recruiting I see the biggest problem. For example: After John Calipari bailed on Memphis for Kentucky following last year's college basketball season, he loaded up his recruits and took them with him to Lexington, leaving Memphis' cupboard almost empty and facing an NCAA investigation, the second time he's left a program in shambles. Because college football recruiting is in full swing during December, coaches moving to different programs are forced to do so immediately. That leaves the program they are leaving in a bind, facing post-season play without the guy that took them to success and leaving signed commitments in limbo. And, often, they take with them the assistants who have recruited and built their teams into contenders.

    One possible cure for the problems of "coach jumping" at season's end and during the height of recruiting would be to put a moratorium on recruiting December through January and to move the signing date for football scholarships to March 1 instead of early February.

The NCAA, in all its wisdom, has enough rules to fill an encyclopedia, but there's always room for one more:

    No NCAA member institution may hire (nor contact) any coach under contract with

    another member institution until the conclusion of the Bowl Championship Series.

    Before the legal eagles start tearing this argument to shreds, claiming it violates free enterprise, realize the NCAA operates as a quasi-monopoly anyway. Yes, the Supreme Court stepped in a decade ago to open the doors for individually negotiated television rights; but the governing body for college athletics still carries a big stick when it comes to dictating rules for members.

    A moratorium on recruiting and hiring until the bowl season ends (or until March Madness concludes, in the case of basketball) could ameliorate some of the chaos that we saw at the end of the 2009-10 football season.

    

    

    

        

    

    

COLLEGE FOOTBALL RETROSPECTIVE

    Now that the NCAA football season is over, it's time to look back at some of the big stories, especially those outside the white lines.

 

THE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

    This year the BCS system worked fairly well. Undefeated Alabama was crowned national champions, leaving Boise State as the only other team without a loss. There is no chance university administrators will abandon the current system in favor of a Division I-A playoff. There is just too much money to be made with the current bowl setup. It seems a bit suspicious that TCU and Boise were matched up in the Fiesta Bowl, especially after non-BCS qualifiers have won three of four games when facing automatic qualifiers in the past few years.

 

BOWL PAYOUTS

    Despite the huge pile of cash involved, the system is rife with inequities. In the Big 12 this year Texas, playing in the championship game, received $1.63 million in expense dollars. Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Iowa State received $1 million each for playing in the Cotton, Holiday, Alamo and Insight bowls, respectively. Texas A&M and Missouri got $630,000 each for the Independence and Texas bowls. All conference bowl teams receive $300/one-way mile. Payouts range from $17 million for the BCS games to $300,000 for the Papaohns.com Bowl. Below is a list of the total payouts for this year's Big 12 bowls:

 

    Independence Bowl:         $1,100,000

    Holiday Bowl:         $2,200,000

    Sun Bowl:             $1,900,000

    Texas Bowl:             $1,250,000

    Insight Bowl:             $1,200,000

    Cotton Bowl:             $3,000,000

    Alamo Bowl:             $2,250,000

    BCS Championship:      $17,000,000

                 $29,900,000

    

    While some bowls divide bowl payouts unequally between participating teams, I think the eight with Big 12 ties split the dollars evenly. Big 12 By-Laws dictate that all revenue from the bowls is to be divided equally among all conference schools. There are a few caveats to that distribution. To use Missouri as an example this year, it failed to sell its full allotment of tickets to the Texas Bowl. The conference guarantees all the tickets for all bowl participants and was therefore obligated to cover the cost of the unsold ducats. Such costs are deducted from total revenues before the splits are distributed. Although I cannot, for the life of me, crunch the numbers, it has been reported MU lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 to take team, staff, hangers-on, the band and pep squads to the Texas Bowl. My roommate stated unequivocally that he could balance a bowl trip budget. I suggested he start his own blog, do the research and/or apply to be Missouri's athletic director. That would probably solve everything.

    Big money is THE big problem in today's college sports world. The FBS college presidents have received their report from the Knight Commission addressing that very issue. I'll have more on that soon.

    Time constraints prevent me from continuing this post with commentary on the coaching hirings, firings and related drama. That, too, will be addressed in future commentary.

COLLEGE ROUNDBALL ROUNDUP

    Texas (15-0, 1-0) moved to #1 in the AP polls on Monday, but with Kansas, Kansas State and Texas Tech losing on the road Saturday, the Big 12 took a bit of a hit.

    The Longhorns claimed its first-ever top ranking, moving up from second after a 103-86 win over the Colorado Buffaloes (9-6, 0-1). Rick Barnes' juggernaut goes on the road again Wednesday to face Iowa State (11-4, 0-0).

    After holding the top ranking since the season began, KU (14-1, 0-0) slipped to #3 after losing 68-76 to Tennessee Sunday in Knoxville. Bruce Pearl's Volunteers (12-2) moved up to #9 from the 11^th spot and used smoke and mirrors after losing four scholarship players following a traffic stop that turned from bad to worse. Pearl dismissed Tyler Smith after police found alcohol, drugs and a handgun in a carful of scholarship players. The other three have been suspended indefinitely, forcing Pearl to rotate a number of walk-ons to upset the Jayhawks. The Vols, always a long and athletic bunch, outran, outjumped and outhustled Bill Self's 'Hawks, playing their first quality opponent of the season. KU tips off its conference schedule Wednesday in Lincoln against Nebraska (12-4, 0-1), which lost 53-64 Saturday on the road to Texas A&M (12-3, 0-1).

    K-State (13-2) dropped two spots to #13 after losing 68-74 in Columbia to Missouri (13-3, 1-0). In his post-game comments, Wildcat Coach Frank Martin questioned pollsters and prognosticators who picked the Tigers to finish as low as 8^th in the Big 12, calling it a "slap in the face" of a team that went to the Elite Eight in last year's NCAA tournament.

    Pat Knight's Red Raiders (12-3, 0-1) fell out of the Top 25 when they dropped their conference opener 52-81 at Oklahoma State (13-2, 1-0). Travis Ford's Cowboys go to Norman tonight to face Oklahoma (9-6, 0-1) which was walloped 60-91 on the road at Baylor (13-1, 1-0) in its conference opener. The Bears moved up to #22 in the polls, after being unranked in the early going. Bryce Drew's crew goes to Boulder Tuesday.

    Texas A&M (126), Missouri (64), Oklahoma State (26) and Texas Tech (10) all received votes in this week's poll. That puts eight conference teams in the top 40.

    Mizzou travels to Lubbock Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tipoff against Tech on ESPNU. Stealing this game on the road could be crucial to the Tigers' plans for March. After the Illinois win, I chalked up the home opener against K-State as a loss and suggested MU would need to pick up a road win against Tech or Oklahoma to offset any home losses. While it is still too soon to foresee how the Big 12 will play out, a win Wednesday would clearly give the Black and Gold a leg up in the conference race.

    

MU/K-STATE SUMMARY

    The Missouri Tigers clawed out their 30^th consecutive homecourt victory, 84-78, over the previously once-beaten and 10^th ranked Kansas State Wildcats in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

    Mizzou used a 15-2 run to close out the first half with a 36-33 lead and then rallied down the stretch with timely 3-point shots, made free throws and forced turnovers.

    K-State went on a 14-2 spurt of its own in the second half, taking advantage of MU's cold-shooting from outside and from the line. Marcus Denmon single-handedly kept the Tigers in the hunt, canning two huge threes during an otherwise long second-half drought from the field. As the game clock ticked inside a minute, Zaire Taylor answered a Jacob Pullen 3-pointer with one of his own with 33.3 seconds left to give the Tigers a 3-point lead. Then, with the shot clock off, KSU's Pullen fired another bomb, this one an air ball that Dominique Sutton put back to close the gap to one.

    The 'Cats fouled J.T. Tiller who made the first of two charity tosses. When his second effort bounced off the right side of the rim, Laurence Bowers snagged the rebound, was fouled and sank both gratis shots, putting Mizzou up by four with 13 seconds on the clock. As K-State desperately raced to their end, Keith Ramsey stole the ball and whipped a pass to Bowers, who punctuated the win with a 2-handed reverse slam dunk as the clock ticked away.

    Missouri's frenetic pace in a foul-plagued contest finally rattled K-State just often enough to give MU the edge. The Tigers dodged the proverbial bullet, hitting only 28 of 43 free throws and committing 20 turnovers while forcing 21 KSU miscues. The Wildcats had their own trouble from the free throw line, hitting just 20-30.

    The whistle-happy officiating crew called 56 fouls in the game, many of which were greeted with jeers from both sides of the court. Given the nature of MU's pressure-cooker defense and K-State's physical style, the zebras had a tough game to call; but, as usual, they were so inconsistent that it was difficult for the players to adjust to the calls. Pullen gave Mike Dixon a forearm shiver that sent Dixon to the bench with his fourth foul in just six minutes of play. Pullen also knocked Kim English into the press table when both were racing for a loose ball. That's right: foul on English. Late in the game, another Wildcat leveled Tiller, who lost the ball out of bounds. Possession to KSU. I'm sure K-State coach Frank Martin saw a few go against his team, too.

    Despite the rough edge to the game, the victory gives the Tigers a signature win on any future NCAA resume. Defending the home court in Big 12 Conference play will be critical to making a strong run toward tournament time. This was a game I had as a loss in my post-Illinois analysis. Missouri still needs to pick up road wins against the weaker North Division and steal one on the road against a South Division foe to finish at .500 or better in the league.

    

    

BOWL BREAKDOWN

    With Alabama's victory over Texas in Thursday night's BCS Championship game, the 2009-10 college football season ended with the Crimson Tide standing victoriously atop the standings.

    My first efforts at handicapping the bowl matchups left me with a 14-19-1 record against the spread. In the $10 heads-up pool I entered, I finished 18-16.

    Here's a breakdown of this year's bowl results (with my losing picks in blue and winning picks in red):

    1. New Mexico Bowl: Wyoming 35-Fresno State 28 (2OT). Dave Christensen's Cowboys rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to upset the Bulldogs (10-1/2 point favorites) in two overtimes.

    2. St. Petersburg Bowl: Rutgers 45-Central Florida 24. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu scored three touchdowns to lead the favored Scarlet Knights to their fourth consecutive bowl win.

    3. New Orleans Bowl: Middle Tennessee 42-Southern Miss 32. The Blue Raiders' Dwight Dasher set a bowl rushing record for quarterbacks, his 201 yards topping Vince Young's 200 in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Favored by 3-1/2 points, the Golden Eagles couldn't contain Dasher who completed 15 of 25 passes for 162 yards.

    4. Las Vegas Bowl: BYU 44-Oregon State 20. BYU quarterback Max Hall threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 15^th ranked Cougars (2-1/2 point underdogs) past the 16^th ranked Beavers, while the BYU defense kept the usually explosive OSU offense in check.

    5. Poinsettia Bowl: Utah 37-California 27. Down by two touchdowns early in the game, the 23^rd-ranked Utes rallied for their 9^th consecutive bowl victory, tied for the second-longest with USC behind Florida State's record of 14 straight post-season wins. Favored by 3 points, the Golden Bears' string of four straight bowl wins came to an end.

    6. Hawaii Bowl: SMU 45-Nevada 10. In SMU's first bowl game since the "Death Penalty", the Mustangs demolished the 14-point-favored Wolfpack behind freshman quarterback Kyle Padron, who passed for 460 yards to set an SMU record.
Nevada, which led the nation in rushing, was without two of its four 1,000-yard rushers. Padron, an 18-year old freshman, took over the starting job in SMU's 7^th game. He followed Chase Daniel (Missouri's all-time passing leader) and Greg McElroy (Alabama's starting QB) at Southlake Carroll (TX) High School.

    7. Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Marshall 21-Ohio 17. The Thundering Herd continued its dominance over the Bobcats, a former conference rival.

    8. Meineke Car Care Bowl: Pittsburgh 19-North Carolina 17. Pitt kicked a field goal with 33 seconds left to win (but not cover the 3 points) in a game I thought might be close.

    9. Emerald Bowl: USC 24-Boston College 13. The Trojans took an early lead and then covered the 9-point spread with a late-game touchdown.

    10. Music City Bowl: Clemson 21-Kentucky 13. C.J. Spiller capped a great career with 172 all-purpose yards and a 4^th quarter touchdown that put the Tigers over the 7-point spread. Kentucky coach Rich Brooks announced his retirement shortly after the Wildcat loss on a cold and gusty night in Nashville.

    11. Independence Bowl: Georgia 44-Texas A&M 20. Giving up 7 points to the Aggies, the Bulldogs were my "lock of the season".

    12. Eagle Bank Bowl: UCLA 30-Temple 21. Despite trailing by two touchdowns early and playing in frigid East Coast conditions, the Bruins came back to win and cover the 3-1/2 points they were giving up.

    13. Champs Sports Bowl: Wisconsin 20-Miami 14. The Badgers (3-point underdogs) were a lot tougher than I thought.

    14. Humanitarian Bowl: Idaho 43-Bowling Green 42. According to the early line, Idaho was a 1-point favorite; but that moved to a 2-point spread for Bowling Green. Either way, the Vandals' improbable comeback when they went the length of the field in the game's final 34 seconds then opted for the successful 2-point conversion with four seconds left was the most exciting finish in this year's bowl games. Based on the initial line, this game was a push on my board.

    15. Holiday Bowl: Nebraska 33-Arizona 0. Although I picked the Cornhuskers over the 1-1/2 point favored Wildcats, I expected a close game. The Bugeaters chewed up Arizona, dominating every phase of the shutout and giving their stoic coach Bo Pelini a reason to smile.

    16. Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force 47-Houston 20. The Falcons picked off six passes and used a lethal ground game to control the clock and the game. The Cougars, 4-1/2-point favorites, didn't know what hit them.

    17. Sun Bowl: Oklahoma 31-Stanford 27. I actually hit this one on the nose, picking OU to win but Stanford to cover the 9-point spread.

    18. Texas Bowl: Navy 35-Missouri 13. My attendance record at Mizzou bowl games remained perfect (0-3) when Navy's Midshipmen and QB Ricky Dobbs embarrassed the favored Tigers.

    19. Insight Bowl: Iowa State 14-Minnesota 13. The Cyclones, going in as 2-1/2 point underdogs, pulled off a mild upset in a game no one outside the schools' home states saw or cared about.

    20. Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Virginia Tech 37-Tennessee 14. The Hokies, favored by 4, took it to a Volunteer team that was inconsistent throughout the year.

    21. Outback Bowl: Auburn 38-Northwestern 35 (OT). Northwestern (7-1/2 point underdogs) had a chance to win a turnover-riddled game with a field goal at the end of regulation. After their placekicker was roughed and injured on a field goal attempt in overtime, Wildcat Coach Pat Fitzgerald inexplicably called for a fake field goal that would have tied the game in OT. The "trickeration" came up short, and Northwestern's 61-year bowl drought, including last year's overtime loss to Missouri, continues.

    22. Capitol One Bowl: Penn State 19-LSU 17. The Nittany Lions failed to cover the 3-point spread in awful conditions.

    23. Gator Bowl: Florida State 33-West Virginia 21: Bobby Bowden's underdog

Seminoles came up big in the senior citizen's finale.

    24. International Bowl: South Florida 27-Northern Illinois 3. Did anyone watch or care?

    25. Papajohns.Com Bowl: Connecticut 20-South Carolina 7. The "Old Ball Coach" dropped this one, as predicted.

    26. Cotton Bowl: Ole Miss 21-Oklahoma State 7. The Cowpokes looked inept against a Rebel team that was much better than I thought. Another disappointing showing by the Big 12.

    27. Liberty Bowl: Arkansas 20-East Carolina 17 (OT). The Razorbacks failed to cover the 7-1/2-point spread.

    28. Alamo Bowl: Texas Tech 41-Michigan State 31. The Red Raiders scored late to cover in a game overshadowed by the Mike Leach saga.

    29. GMAC Bowl: Central Michigan 44-Troy 41 (2OT). The Chippewas just missed covering the 4-point spread in one of the best games of the bowl season.

    30. Rose Bowl: Ohio State 26-Oregon 17. Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes snapped their BCS bowl drought; and Terrell Pryor put on a signature performance against a Duck team that failed to show up.

    31. Sugar Bowl: Florida 51-Cincinnati 24. Tim Tebow had his best day in a stellar career, leading the Gators to a rout of the Bearcats, seemingly hung over from Brian Kelly's departure to Notre Dame.

    32. Fiesta Bowl: Boise State 17-TCU 10. The Broncos used a stingy defense and a fake punt to finish undefeated. The Horned Frogs never got their high-powered offense untracked.

    33. Orange Bowl: Iowa 24-Georgia Tech 14. I finally got a BCS game right! This one lacked much of the glitter of the other top matchups.

    34. Championship Game: Alabama 37-Texas 21. Despite losing Colt McCoy just five plays into the game and falling behind 6-24 at the half, Texas made a game of it until two costly turnovers resulted in Crimson Tide scores that cemented the national title.

    If I were grading myself on this first concentrated effort to analyze and pick the winners, I'd have to give myself a C-.    

    

BOWL REVIEW

    My career as a college football handicapper looks pretty shaky. With only three games left on the board, I stand at 12-18-1 and am guaranteed a losing record.

    Several of the games were complete surprises:

    1. Missouri's miserable meltdown against Navy is probably at the top of the list,     although, as a long-suffering Tiger fan, I might have expected it.

    2. Air Force's annihilation of Houston was a bombshell.

    3. SMU's rout of Nevada was unexpected.

    4. Although the line was only a point, I really thought Bowling Green would beat     favored Idaho.

    5. Fresno State's poor showing against Wyoming got things off to a miserable start.

    6. Florida's rout of Cincinnati probably shouldn't have come as such a shocker, given     the departure of the Bearcat coach and the motivation for Tim Tebow in his final game.

    Although I picked Nebraska to beat Arizona, the manner in which the Cornhuskers manhandled the Wildcats was depressingly impressive. Maybe the Bugeaters' Coach Bo Pellini can smile now that his team has reclaimed favored status atop the Big 12 North. The dour Pellini hadn't smiled since Texas kicked a last-second field goal to win the conference championship game. Seriously, did you ever see him smile during all the post-season awards shows he attended with Ndamukong Suh?

    Basically, I really missed the strength of the Mountain West and overestimated the Pac 10. I picked against Iowa State out of spite and really just hoped Florida State would stumble in Bobby Bowden's last gasp. He certainly didn't run out of breath in the post-game press conference.     

    All the coaching drama was hard to figure. Florida's rout of Cincinnati was pretty much unexpected. I thought it possible the Gators, under the shadow of Coach Urban Meyer's off and on retirement announcements, would win a much closer game. Apparently the Bearcats were hit harder than I thought with Brian Kelly's exodus to Notre Dame. The Mike Leach saga seemingly had only minor implications in Texas Tech's narrow win over a Michigan State team racked by disciplinary suspensions.

    I 'm 6-5-1 picking underdogs based on the line that came out just after the bowl schedule was announced. The dogs have gone 17-13-1 through the games in the books.

    There have been some hugely entertaining games, including the opener that went to overtime. The Outback Bowl between Auburn and Northwestern was rife with turnovers and missed opportunities and ended bizarrely when the Wildcats eschewed a field goal try to tie in overtime. Pittsburgh cost me a pick, narrowly beating North Carolina with a last-minute field goal; and Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions escaped with a 2-point win over LSU in the slop in the Capitol One Bowl. Idaho's miraculous finish against Bowling Green, capped with a 2-point conversion with 4 seconds on the clock had to be one of the most dramatic finishes in bowl history.

    A number of great individual performances have been turned in this bowl season. Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green's star wideout, broke all NCAA receiving records in his last college game, the loss to Idaho. Barnes, a Biletnikoff finalist, caught 17 balls for 219 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 34 seconds to play. He finished his career with 155 catches. No one can convince me Notre Dame's Golden Tate deserved the Biletnikoff Award over Barnes.

    Navy's junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs had his best day ever, running for 166 yards and three TDs and completing 9 of 14 passes and another TD in the Midshipmen's shellacking of Missouri in the Texas Bowl. While shredding Mizzou's hapless defense, he topped 1,000 yards rushing and passing for the season and set an NCAA single-season record for quarterbacks with 25 rushing touchdowns.

    Dexter McCluster, Mississippi's standout running back, saved the Rebels' cause in a 21-7 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. The diminutive senior picked up 182 yards and two TD's on 32 carries in a game in which the teams combined for 12 turnovers.

    With Texas Tech trailing 31-27 in the fourth quarter of the Alamo Bowl, Interim Coach Ruffin McNeill pulled starting quarterback Taylor Potts and replaced him with Stephen "Sticks" Sheffield who promptly engineered two scoring drives that put Michigan State away. Sheffield had been part of Leach's 2-headed QB rotation early in the year.

     Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State's much ballyhooed sophomore quarterback, finally played like he has been expected to and helped the Buckeyes and Coach Jim Tressel shed a 3-year BCS bowl jinx. Playing with a partially torn knee ligament, Pryor threw for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns while keeping Oregon off balance with 72 yards on some timely runs.

    Tebow, Florida's main man, saved his best performance for his final college game, an utterly convincing 51-24 pasting of outmanned Cincinnati. After a pedestrian showing in the SEC title game against Alabama and the potential distraction surrounding Meyer's health issues, the 3-time Heisman finalist and 2007 winner hit his first 12 passes and led the Gators to scores on their first five possessions. He threw for a career-high 482 yards and three TDs, with another 51 yards on the ground including a rushing TD. His 533 total yards set a BCS record, eclipsing Vince Young's 467 in Texas' 2007 Rose Bowl over USC. Despite the tiresome and non-stop hype surrounding Mr. Goody Two-Shoes, there may be a case for Tebow as the best college football player ever. He received more Heisman votes than anyone in history and led Florida to two unprecedented 13-game winning seasons and a 22-game win streak that included last year's BCS championship. While it remains to be seen if Tebow can succeed in the NFL, one cannot discount the toughness and leadership he's shown as the signal caller at Florida.

    
 

    

ROAD TRIP

STAGE ONE (KC to Houston)

    When Missouri was invited to the Texas Bowl to play Navy, KP and I decided, on the spur of the moment, to make the trip to Houston. This was a road trip from the get-go. No sissy airplanes for us. After all, it has been a long time since K and I have gone on a long drive together. Of course we are older now and should be wiser.

    From our starting point in Johnson County, KS, it is 749 miles to Reliant Stadium. According to Mapquest it should take us 11 hours and 47 minutes. The weather is, as it should be, snowy. I only got stuck getting out of my sister's subdivision once. The P-ster overslept (didn't get his wake up call) so we got a bit of late start but were on the road by 8 a.m. That should get us to Houston sometime around 8 tonight.

    Our friend J, who lives in Houston, told KP to take US 71 south from KC to Joplin, picking up I-44 into Oklahoma. So we took US 69 immediately upon leaving my truck at K's most recent commercial storage development. The passing lane is snow, ice and slush covered and the driving lane is wet but OK. Hopefully the snow will dissipate before long. I sure hope so because passing that first semi was pretty exciting. (KP's pant leg is damp.)

    After 2-1/4 hours, we hit I-44 and rain; but we are cruising on a relatively clear four lane interstate highway. Between Mapquest and J's directions, we will basically take US 69 south for most of the day. The weather along the route is going to be gray and wet.

    The conversation, to this point, has centered on NCAA athletics. Naturally KP would like to see all the "wieners" fold up their athletic departments and let the free enterprise system rule college sports. He also thinks the universities should set up "off-campus betting parlors" to subsidize the athletic departments. I believe he should start his own blog, for I will go no further in encouraging his madness.

    We stopped about 11 a.m. in Vinita, OK, for lunch at Mickey D's. P turned the wrong way out of the parking lot but quickly made a U-turn to get us back on track. We made Just one more "Uey" three miles down the road to put us once again onto US 69 South (for 218 miles) before another chance to get lost. Saw a Mizzou magnet on a car gassing up in Vinita.

    Go Tigers!

    I worked on blogs until I took over driving about 1:30 in McAlester, taking us to the Texas state line at Denison where we stopped at the welcome center for maps at 3:05 p.m. Just 319 miles to Houston. And the sun popped out as we reached the Lone Star State.

    KP took over again and drove until about 5:30, through Dallas at rush hour in a blinding sun. I worked on my MU/Navy preview while the P-ster drove. After gassing up, I took over the pilot's seat and got us into Huntsville by 7:30. It was a long day on the road, but the time flew as I worked on my blogs. We're still about 70 miles out of Houston, but safely ensconced in a cheap hotel with the TV tuned to Nebraska beating up on a shell-shocked Arizona team.

    We should be able to get to Reliant Stadium in plenty of time for some tailgating before the Tigers and Midshipmen kick off the Texas Bowl at 2:30.

 

STAGE TWO (Game Day)

    KP and I were on the road shortly after 8 a.m. and arrived in Houston to meet J the Painter for coffee. J's car clock must have been on Eastern Time and I pushed to get to the stadium early enough to scope out the sights and spectacle surrounding the game. Really, there wasn't much going on and we were more than early. Reliant Park is a complex of arenas and parking lots surrounding the ghostly spectre of the Astrodome. There wasn't anything like the excitement or hoopla of the Labor Day game against Illinois in St. Louis.

    The stadium itself was excellent. They retracted the roof about an hour before kickoff and the game was played "outdoors" but under the lights on a rather raw and foggy day that grew a bit cooler as the afternoon wore on.

    Our seats were on the Missouri side just a few rows off the field at the goal line where Danario Alexander scored on MU's second offensive play just 24 seconds into the game. That was as good as it got. Only a "rock star" view of the Golden Girls made the game bearable.

    The Midshipmen took the Tigers to the woodshed, whipping them 35-13. Simple as that. Navy dominated MU in every way possible. Ricky Dobbs was the best athlete on the field and shredded the Missouri defense with slick ball-handling, determined running and timely passing. Navy's triple-option reminded me of Oklahoma's veer attack in the 70's and 80's; and MU had no answer for the precision with which the Middies assaulted the ill-prepared Tiger defenders. It was surprising to see how easily Navy got outside containment; but with the front four crashing on the fake to the fullback, with the corners being taken out of the play in single coverage and the linebackers cut off the pursuit angles, Coach Ken Niumatalolo's game plan worked to perfection.

    The game might have been over in the first half but for two Navy fumbles deep in Tiger territory. Despite a huge disparity in time of possession and total yardage, MU trailed only 14-7 at intermission. Any chance to make a game of it in the second half was blunted when Navy took the kickoff starting the 3^rd quarter to midfield and scored a few plays later to knock the fight out of the Tigers, who settled for two second half field goals when they needed touchdowns. Blaine Gabbert, who had regained some measure of his early season flair in Missouri's late-season charge, looked dazed and confused for most of the game. With the passing attack in disarray, Gary Pinkel and his staff tried to generate some offense with the run and had some success; but potential touchdown drives deep into Navy territory were thwarted by incompletions, fumbles and sacks.

    After a month-long layoff, Missouri (8-5) appeared sluggish and disinterested. Navy capped a 10-win season with crisp, military precision. The loss will leave Mizzou fans with doubts about next season's prospects, especially considering Nebraska's dominant showing against Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.

 

STAGE THREE (New Year's Eve)

    After the energy-sapping loss, KP and I drove to Galveston Island for dinner, drinks and cozy accommodations on the Gulf shore. The seafood and vodka, coupled with two hard days on the road and the cloud of tomorrow's return trip, dulled any ideas of bringing in the New Year with revelry or celebration. Despite Missouri's disappointing showing and with the prospects of a long trip home, I'm still glad we made the trip.

    Unfortunately, I am now 0-3 for bowl trips. We lost the 1970 Orange Bowl, the 1979 (?) Liberty Bowl and the 2009 Texas Bowl. Remind me not to go to a bowl game after the 2019 season. I blame myself for not understanding the numerological aspects of this trend.

    As the clock ticks down on the first decade of the 21^st Century, I close with wishes to all for a Happy New Year!

 

STAGE FOUR (The Return Trip)

    The insistent ring of a distant phone roused me from a deep and dreamless sleep. KP gave me my wakeup call at 8:05, although I was not ready to face 13 hours on the road. In retrospect, we might have headed north after the game to shorten today's (Friday's) return to the frosty climes of Missouri. Instead, we had traveled south to the island for the sake of a seafood dinner and an early bedtime.

    Nevertheless, we were on the road by about 9 a.m. with KP at the wheel. We are retracing our route through Texas towns named after animals (Longhorn and Mustang) and Oklahoma villages named after Indian tribes (Kiowa and Choctaw, among others). The drive has been relatively uneventful, with the exception of K's side trip to the Choctaw Casino shortly after we crossed from Texas into Oklahoma around 2:30. While I went to fill up with gas, he had an itch to roll some bones. Apparently Native Americans don't play craps; but the slots were loose. He hit a $105 jackpot on a $20 pull to cover last night's dinner tab.

    The miles had melted away to that point, as I was able to find the Outback Bowl on a "computercast". What a game! We have a number of running bets for today's bowl games. I took Northwestern and the points against Auburn, and he took the "over". We split. I took West Virginia and the over against Florida State. Another split. As the long day turns to night, we are listening to the Rose Bowl, as the signal strength allows. He is getting 3-1/2 and taking Ohio State with the under.

    It looks as if we will be back in Kansas City before 10 p.m., and I will be more than ready to crash at my sister's place. I can drive back to Columbia Saturday at my leisure in plenty of time for tomorrow's bowl telecasts.

 

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In an effort to share my ruminations on Missouri Tiger athletics and related subjects, I've created a site for those who might wish to read my opinions, observations and prattle. Feel free to drop in for new "blogs". You're welcome to respond to my rantings and to correct any misinformation in my sometimes spotty research.
You can receive notice of new postings with e-mail notifications. Just follow the prompts under FOLLOWERS in the lower left portion of this page. You can also open my site (http://steelesworld.blogspot.com/) and save it to your "Favorites" index.
As time passes, I'll customize the site as topical subjects change and my muse dictates.
For me, "blogging" is an exercise in writing, a means to sharpen my rusty journalistic skills, and a forum from which to share my ideas and opinions.
I hope you find REAL'S WORLD intersting, informative, stimulating and worthwhile.