BrokenCowboy: Sports Views with a West Coast Bias

Three Men and a Little Heisman

The travelling road show that is USC Football -- we'll call it Trojan-palooza -- swings through one of college football's erogenous zones this weekend, and the nation is buzzing. The game's greatest cross-regional rivalry will be renewed on Saturday as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the Trojans in South Bend, Indiana.

What we're supposed to believe is that USC's twenty-seven game winning streak is in jeopardy. We're supposed to believe that Notre Dame's #9 ranking is for real. We're supposed to believe that Coach Charlie Weiss has installed an offense that will shake down the thunder and befuddle the injury-riddled SC defense, allowing the Irish to keep up with SC's typically frenetic pace. In short, we're supposed to believe that the Irish can win this game.

Nonsense.

Excuse me for resorting to such a hackneyed gimmick, but are ten reasons why this absolutely won't happen.

10. USC's offense is absolutely ridiculous.
We know about the Big Three (see below if you don't), but what about wideouts Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett? This offense is as balanced as peanut butter and jelly, and just as delicious. Take a look at the total yardage numbers they've posted in the first five games of the season: Hawai'i, 518; Arkansas, 736; Oregon, 593; ASU, 631; Arizona, 724. They've average 52 points per game this year, and they'll top that on Saturday.

9. Notre Dame's offense isn't as good as advertised.
Sure, the Irish have put up some points, but don't fool yourself. Their toughest test yet, a flawed Michigan team, held the Irish to only seventeen points. The Trojan defense, even weakened as it is, is by far the best they've seen yet.

8. Brady Quinn ≠ Tom Brady.
Okay, we know that Weiss used to be the guy in charge of the New England Patriots' offense, but this isn't New England. They've looked good at times, but they've also been inconsistent at others. That won't fly on Saturday.

7. USC is ready to peak.
Believe it or not, the Trojans haven't played a solid game yet. They rolled Hawai'i and Arkansas, but those were glorified scrimmages. They've looked a bit rough around the edges in their last three conference games against Oregon, Arizona State, and Arizona. I'm guessing that they're ready to show how great they can be.

6. Did we mention this? 27 straight.
As ESPN reminds us every two or three hours, this team is chasing history, and they know it. They'll have no trouble focusing against the Irish.

5. USC gets no respect.
Let's see. SC has won twenty-seven in a row and they've been sitting in the top spot in the polls longer than your typical J-Lo marriage, but I'm claiming that they get no respect? Damn right. Last week people started touting Texas as the top team in the land, and you'll notice that in this week's rankings seven AP votes went to the Longhorns and four USA Today voters made the same mistake. But if that's not enough, SC's absorbing a bit of disrespect in their own backyard as some are wondering if the upstart Bruins might knock of the Trojans in their December 3rd matchup. Please.

4. Lendale White
I don't want to hear anything about any other running back in the country. You can take any guy you want, transfer him to USC right now, and he's #3 on the depth chart.

3. Reggie Bush
The lightning to White's thunder, Reggie Bush is the best player in the country. Aside from just being a great runner, he's also a receiving threat out of the backfield and an electric kick returner. He might not be 100% on Saturday, but he'll be close enough.

2. Matt Leinart
Imagine for a second that you're Matt Leinart. You wake up in the morning, have a bowl of Fruity Pebbles while checking out SportsCenter, then maybe get in a quick workout before class. While some guys are worrying about juggling PoliSci with Econ, you've got only one class -- ballroom dancing. So while you're dancing in class, doing your best to ignore the rugby match in the corner as dozens of desperate TriDelts fight for the right to join you in a waltz, you let your mind wander long enough to weigh the pros and cons of playing in Green Bay vs. Arizona. When you snap back to reality, you find the winning TriDelt (Steph? Christine?) asking if she can see your Heisman after class.

1. The Heisman
Once in a while there's a school with two Heisman candidates, and every generation or so a team will have three. The Trojans, believe it or not, actually have four. You know the Big Three, but punter Tom Malone even has a Heisman campaign. Let's see the Irish top that.

You See Davis, I See Disaster

Much has been made on the west coast of USC's continued dominance, UCLA's not-so-surprizing win over Oklahoma, and Cal's continued push up the rankings, but there was one score from Saturday that stood out above all others:

UC Davis 20, Stanford 17

It isn't easy being a Stanford football fan. Every once in a while a few key recruits choose the road less travelled and come to Palo Alto, embracing the dual challenge presented by Stanford's curriculum and Pac-10 schedule, but there usually aren't enough of these brave souls. There are exceptional years when the stars align (1999, for example) and a strong Stanford team combined with a weak conference makes for success, but this doesn't happen often. Mediocrity is more typical.

I don't ask much of the Mighty Card. I'd like for them to qualify for a bowl game more often than not, and I want them to beat Cal, but I don't pretend that this school will ever be a perennial pigskin power. Here's what I would like. I'd like to see them beat all of the Division II schools on their schedule. Maybe next year.

Without question, this is the worst loss in the program's history. Stanford doesn't have the tradition of Michigan or Notre Dame, but we're still talking about a Pac-10 team that has graduated players such as Jim Plunkett, John Elway, and James Lofton. Sure, UC Davis has won some championships, but those were Division II championships. Unbelievable.

Just to put this loss into perspective, here's an excerpt ESPN.com's game recap:

The Aggies played their first game against a Division I-A team in eight years and beat a I-A team for the first time since 1986 against Pacific. It was the first time in 65 years they had faced a team that currently is in the Pac-10 and they lost to Stanford the only previous time they played 59-0 in 1932 when Pop Warner was Stanford's coach.

And apparently the game wasn't as close as the score would indicate. A few key stats:

First downs: 21-11
Passing yards: 251-118
Rushing yards: 157-62
Total yards: 408-180!!

Quarterback Trent Edwards went down early, pushing T.C. Ostrander into the game, but that cannot explain what happened. Ostrander was a blue-chip recruit who played well at times last season, so I would expect more from him. The bottom line, though, is that a Stanford team should be able to beat a Division II team even with a member of the debate team at quarterback. Stanford University will never stand amongst those few schools who consistently challenge for national championships, but Coach Walt Harris and his staff certainly must expect more than this. I know that I do. This loss was an absolute embarrassment.

For what it's worth, my reaction is based completely on a perusal of the stats and game report. For a more thorough first-hand account and accompanying analysis that arrives at the same conclusion presented here, jump over to Andrew Aymeloglu's site. Good stuff there.

On the Warpath

In a curious announcement late last week, the NCAA banned the use or representation of Native American mascots by schools participating in any post-season tournaments.

What exactly does this mean? Schools like Florida State (Seminoles) or Illinois (Fighting Illini) will still be eligible to participate in NCAA tournaments, but they'll have to leave parts of their identities behind. There will be no dancing mascots during timeouts, and if their nickname normally appears on their uniforms, it will have to be either covered up or removed. It's my guess, however, that "tournament jerseys" bearing the schools' names rather than nicknames will be created and sell like gangbusters.

The deeper financial significance lies in the second tier of the NCAA's decree. No school with a Native American mascot or nickname will be allowed to host an NCAA tournament game, meaning that baseball powerhouse Florida State would have to give up the considerable revenue that comes from hosting NCAA regional and super regional baseball series. Either that or strip their field of all Seminole references and images. Illinois and Utah (Utes), both frequent sites for NCAA basketball tournament games, would face the same decision.

Though there are some who disagree with the edict, accusing the NCAA of strong-arming its member institutions in the name of political correctness, I think it's time these mascots were put to rest.

Certain forward-thinking schools came to their senses on their own. The Stanford Indians became the Cardinal in the early '70s, and more recently the Eastern Michigan Hurons switched to the Emus while St. John's dropped Redmen and now call themselves the Red Storm. Other schools, however, need the push that this rule will provide.

By forcing its members to rethink their nicknames, the NCAA is taking a stand against racial intolerance. We would not, after all, buy a jersey for a team called the Pittsburgh Negroes or the Kansas City Jews, but thousands of Seminole, Brave, Ute, Illini, and Chippewa jerseys are sold every year.

Hopefully the NFL and Major League Baseball are paying attention. The teams with probably the two most egregious examples of culturally offensive mascots are the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins. The Indians' mascot Chief Wahoo, with his hooked nose and enormous buck-toothed grin, seems to be from another century, during a time when racist caricatures were common and acceptable. In Cleveland the calendar appears stuck in the 1800s.

And the Washington Redskins? Schools like Florida State can at least argue that they are honoring a particular tribe's heritage and bravery in battle, but the professional football team that represents the capital city of the United States of America uses a racial slur as its nickname. Imagine if they were the Washington Japs or Niggers? How long would that last?

It's my hope that the NCAA's recent ban on such offensive mascots and nicknames serves as a wake-up call not only for colleges and universities around the country, but also for teams like the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and Atlanta Braves. This is the 21st century, after all.

Buddy Bounces Back

Remember our old friend Buddy Teevens, the football coach who somehow managed a mediocre at Stanford University despite having six players drafted in the 2005 NFL draft? He was predictably fired within weeks of his team's final game last fall, but he's landed on his feet.

He'll be taking over this fall as head football coach at his alma mater, Dartmouth University. They say that water always finds its own level, and usually it's said in a somewhat demeaning way, but I don't think that's the case here. This is clearly a good move for Teevens.

Teevens left Dartmouth several years ago to pursue his coaching dream, but he doesn't see his return as a step back. "Maybe I didn't appreciate what I had here, but being able to renew so many outstanding relations has made me realize that Dartmouth is a very special place for me."

That quote highlights what I always felt was Teevens's strength as a coach. He's a people person, a quality not always highly valued in the world of Division I coaching. The return to the Ivy League and the I-AA level will likely give Teevens the chance to teach and mold young men without the immense pressure associated with coaching the Pac-10. Even though he irritated me to no end during his brief tenure on the Farm, I'll be rooting for him and his Dartmouth squad in 2005.

They Might Be Giants

The 2005 NFL Draft is finally over, and although I didn't watch the entire fifteen hours of coverage offered on ESPN (I TiVo'd day two and saw bits and pieces while scanning through it), a few things jump out. Certainly, there will be no shortage of articles today focusing on Denver's bold (or misguided) selection of Maurice Clarett at the end of Round 3, Aaron Rodgers's freefall from potential #1 to the rear of the first round, and the draft's winners and losers. But taking a step back and looking at the draft from a broader view, it's interesting to look at where the players came from. In seven rounds, ranging from Alex Smith to Adam "Mr. Irrelevant" Stokes, 255 players were selected from 109 different four-year universities and a few junior colleges. As expected, programs like Oklahoma, Florida State, and USC were well represented, but when you look at the top dozen schools along with their 2004 won-loss records (see chart below), one school jumps out.

School	# Drafted	'04 Record
Oklahoma	11	12-1
Florida State	9*	9-3
Virginia	7	8-4
Wisconsin	7	9-3
Georgia	6	10-2
Louisville	6	11-1
Stanford	6	4-7
Cal	5	10-2
Iowa	5	10-2
Miami	5	9-3
USC	5	13-0
Utah	5	12-0

* Includes Adrian McPherson You'd expect that the schools with the highest number of NFL draft picks would be among the best in the country, and that's certainly the case. There are eleven teams with at least eight wins (and seven with at least ten). Eleven teams that played in bowl games. Eleven teams that are typically thought of as having strong football programs. And there's Stanford. Cardinal head coach Buddy Teevens was fired just a few days after the close of the season, perhaps because he could manage only four wins with a team that included six '05 NFL draft picks. Without looking through the other 97 schools who had players selected this weekend, I'm fairly comfortably going out on a limb and saying that Stanford was the only school with more draft picks than wins -- quite an accomplishment. So what do we make of this? Not a lot. Stanford has actually been fairly consistent in developing NFL talent, sending a handful of players on to the professional ranks every year, but the problem will always be depth. Their recruiting pool is just a touch shallower than, say, USC for example. And so today, by one measure at least, the Stanford Cardinal sit along side the giants of the game. In September, when they start playing games again, expect things to go back to normal.

Change of Plans

As it turns out, this site isn't going anywhere, dammitt! Essentially, I'm keeping this site active as an archive of my past writings and a link to where I'll currently be writing -- Only Baseball Matters. I'll still be writing about all kinds of things at OBM, so I encourage you to continue reading what I have to say. And don't be shy -- feel free to jump into the conversation.

Anyway, click here to read my thoughts on this weekend's NFL draft. Maurice Clarrett? The Broncos were kidding, right?

Also, if you'd like to cut out the middle man, add this to your bookmark list and you'll get straight to my corner of OBM:
http://www.onlybaseballmatters.com/archives/waddles_author.php

California Dreamin', On Such a Winter's Day

While spending the afternoon with my children on an 80° day in the middle of January, it suddenly occurred to me -- so THIS is why Matt Leinart decided to come back for his senior season. Who would want to leave? Sure, he could've gone first overall to San Francisco or second to Miami, but what if something happened? What if he were to fall to Cleveland at number three or Chicago at four? Much better to stay and play in the warm California sun for another year.

Even so, I was shocked that Leinart decided to stay. Experience shows that whenever one of these underclassmen, whether in football or basketball, says something like, "I still haven't made my decision," he really has. If he's on the fence at all, he usually hops right over as soon as reality sets in. My guess is that reality comes knocking about a week after the season is over when our hero's alarm clock goes off at around 9:00 AM and he has to get up for an economics lecture. There must be a moment, maybe after the third or fourth time he hits the snooze button, when it occurs to him that he could just hit the off switch instead and sleep until noon, dreaming all the while of NFL millions. (Afterall, I made this decision countless times in college, and their were no NFL millions in my future...)

But to Leinart's credit, he chose to come back. He chose to spend another year juggling text books with playbooks and French lessons with film sessions. Certainly, he has a lot to play for. His Trojans have won 22 straight games, and I'm pretty sure that Leinart will wrap up his collegiate career by leading them to their 34th straight win in the 2006 Rose Bowl, next year's BCS championship game. Write it down.

As shocking as Leinart's decision was, it was far from the strangest thing that happened during that press conference last week. Just before Leinart took center stage, there was a moment that I can't imagine we'll ever see repeated. A punter announced that he was forgoing the NFL draft to return for his senior season. A punter? But not just any punter. Meet Tom Malone. He's a good punter, probably the best in the country, and he's even the subject of a Heisman campaign and website, Malone4Heisman.com. There are dozens of reasons to spend a few hours at the site, but here's my favorite one: anagrams of "Tom Malone for Heisman." A sample: "manlier, smooth on fame." Check it out. Good stuff there.

So next year, except for one game, I'll be rooting for the Trojans. I'm sure the east coast media will pump up a pretender to the throne, someone like Tennessee or Ohio State, but it will be a waste of time. With Leinart and Malone and summer in January, how can you beat Southern California?

Orange Crush

Eventually I'll run out of song titles from REM's catalog, but for now the headlines seem to write themselves, and the hits just keep on coming...

The outcome of last night's Orange Bowl wasn't all that surprizing, but the final score was rather stunning, as Southern Cal crushed the previously unbeaten Oklahoma Sooners 55-19 to claim college football's national championship. It wasn't unanimous, though, as three lunkheads cast their AP votes for Auburn. Perhaps Larry, Moe, and Curly were busy watching home movies on Tuesday night...

How bad was the beating? One of ABC's sideline cameras caught Oklahoma All-American defensive end Dan Cody in a candid moment during the game's final moments. This was a man who knew he had been dominated. With an "aw shucks" grin which in another setting might've been used to cover the embarrassment of letting a big ol' catfish jump out of the boat and back into the water hole, Cody said, "I just can't wait to get on that red eye to Oklahoma," and red eye was pronounced "red ahh." You half expected to see him turn around and run after his pa while whistling the theme to the Andy Griffith Show.

The scary thing about these Trojans is that as good as they are (and just imagine if Mike Williams had been allowed to play this season) they just seem to be getting better. Pete Carrol is the happiest man in America and should be guiding the ship for years to come, Norm Chow seems ready to return for another year (and by the way, what in god's name was Stanford thinking about when they turned him down? Walt Harris? Sounds like a commitment to mediocrity, if you ask me...), the offensive line is as young as they are good, the running tandem of LenDale White and Reggie Bush will be back, and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart hasn't ruled out a return. (And even if Leinart does take his game to the NFL, their are blue chippers waiting in the wings to replace him, just like there is at every position at USC.)

Looking at their schedules for 2005 and 2006, it wouldn't surprize me to see their current twenty-two game winning streak climb towards forty. Now wouldn't that be fun? Pity the Pac-10, pity the Sooners, but hail the Trojans.

Axed by the BCS

For the second year in a row, a Pac-10 team has been screwed by the BCS. The Cal Bears should be headed to Pasedena for the Rose Bowl, but instead they'll be travelling to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. (Yes, Auburn got screwed too. They probably deserved to play in the Orange Bowl instead of Oklahoma, but I addressed that issue a few weeks ago.) As for Cal, there are a lot of reasons why they deserve to play in a BCS bowl. Their only defeat was a six-point loss to #1 Southern Cal, and that game ended with the Bears inside the Trojan ten-yard-line with a shot at a win. They had been a solid #4 in both voter polls for several weeks, and only slipped after failing to run up the score against Southern Mississippi on Saturday night.

The Bears played with poise and dignity all season long, following Coach Tedford's belief that their job was simply to win football games. He chose not to shill for votes. Meanwhile, Texas's Mack Brown stumped after every game, constantly whining about how his team deserved to be a part of the BCS. Sadly, the voters listened to him. (Here's another opinion, straight from the Daily Californian.)

I guess my biggest problem with this whole thing is that I was looking forward to a traditional Rose Bowl. It never seems right to me to see teams like Miami, Nebraska, or Oklahoma in Pasadena, and now we'll have the Texas Longhorns coming out west. Remember the good old days? Under the old system, January 1st might shape up like this:

Cotton Bowl: Texas vs. Georgia
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. USC
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Cal
Sugar Bowl: Auburn vs. Miami

I wouldn't mind spending my day watching those four games. The Trojans would crush Michigan, Auburn would handle Miami, and Cal just might surprize Oklahoma. Meanwhile, though, Utah would beat someone like Iowa by about thirty-five points in the Holiday Bowl, giving us three undefeated teams and a boatload of controversy. Then some wise guy would come up with an idea for a bowl championship series...

Put the Needle on the Record

It's typically called the coaching carousel, but the better analogy is probably musical chairs.  Either way, it's begun. 

A few weeks ago, the first big domino fell when Ron Zook was mercifully fired from his position with the Florida Gators, opening up a glamour job in one of the nation's premiere conferences.  Steve Spurrier was expected to walk in off the golf course and saunter into his old office in Gainesville. 

But then Lou Holtz stepped down (Retired?  Maybe not...) from his post at South Carolina, and within five minutes or so the Gamecocks swooped in and hired Spurrier.  Florida looked ready to hire the newest boy wonder, Utah's Urban Meyer. 

Out west, Stanford axed Buddy Teevens and immediately looked south with a covetous eye cast on USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow.  The Washington Huskies were also in the market for a new coach, and Cal's Jeff Tedford was on everyone's list of candidates.  Meanwhile, in the NFL, the Browns grew tired of Butch Davis and sent him packing.

Basically, business as usual in the high stakes world of football coaching.

And then all hell broke loose when Notre Dame threw Tyrone Willingham under the bus.  (And then there were two, by the way...)  When the golden throne of the Golden Dome is placed in our circle of musical chairs, the game obviously changes.  Florida no longer appears to have a shot at Meyer, as he seems destined for Notre Dame.  Others will likely be considered, but since Meyer spent a few years coaching in South Bend under Bob Davies, the job is probably his if he wants it.

But before we stop the music and send everyone scrambling, let's take a closer look at what happened with Willingham in Notre Dame.  He got out of the gate with a misleading 8-0 mark during his first year there, but a lot of things went wrong after that.  His teams won only thirteen more games over the next two plus seasons, while losing fifteen, including three crushing losses to chief rival USC.  Even so, Willingham was fired too soon.

He was only three years into a five-year contract, and his recruiting classes were only just beginning to contribute.  Coaches are typically given more time to shape a program in their own vision, but Willingham wasn't allowed that luxury.  It should be noted that Willingham's predecessor, Bob Davies, had a similar mark after three seasons but was allowed to complete his five-year contract.  But since Davies is partially responsible for Notre Dame's current situation, maybe they just didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

I have a problem, though, with something that Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White mentioned during his Tuesday press conference.  "From Sunday through Friday our football program has exceeded all expectations, in every way.  But on Saturday, we struggled."  A translation: it's nice that the boys are doing a good job in the classroom and working towards their degrees, but the bottom line is that Notre Dame is a football school, and Saturday outweighs the rest of the week.

I understand that Notre Dame football is bigger than life, and that to a certain extent the school is defined by its football team, isn't Sunday through Friday at least a little important?  It seems to me that if the team was exceeding all expectations in those areas, maybe they could've given Willingham a chance to improve what was happening on Saturdays.  He at least deserved the two years remaining on his contract.

Not everyone agrees.  Apparently a group of students had planned a Tuesday night rally calling for Willingham's firing.  Hopefully they stayed in and did some studying instead.  The good folks at NDNation.com lauded the university for showing the courage to demand excellence in both academics and athletics.  Nice.

But the good thing about all this is that now I can go back to rooting against Notre Dame.  Already, the world seems like a happier place.