College football 2010: The good and the bad
The SEC has won its fifth straight BCS national championship. Auburn has won its first national title since 1957. And the argument continues: What if No. 1 Auburn (14-0) played No. 2 TCU (13-0) on Saturday to settle the national title? We’ll never know.
The incredible thing about a college football season is that in July and August, it just feels like it will never start. Then, once it does, it seems to be over in a couple of heartbeats.
I will always remember the 2010 season because it gave us both the good and the bad that is the game of college football in the 21st century.
You know the good. The game, as it is played on the field, has never been better. Every week there was a new, dramatic story line. Every Saturday there was something that made us go “Wow!”:
**–Oct. 2: For about 90 seconds in Baton Rouge, Tennessee had apparently pulled a stunning upset at LSU. But on what appeared to be the last play of the game, Tennessee’s defense had 13 men on the field. LSU got one more snap and won.
**–Oct. 9: South Carolina upsets Alabama, the defending national champions, to beat the No. 1 team for the first time in school history.
**–Nov. 26: It was a Friday that we will never forget. Auburn rallies from a 24-0 deficit at Alabama and wins a game for the ages, 28-27. Then, in the wee hours of Nov. 27, Nevada ends Boise State’s dreams of playing for the national championship with a field goal in overtime.
I could go on and on. College football is so good now that we EXPECT to have these unforgettable moments week after week. The game rarely disappoints.
But we also had a chance to see college football’s dark side. This is the side that threatens to undermine the long-term credibility of the game with the public that loves it so:
**–The academic scandal at North Carolina that forced the school to suspend as many as 13 players. It turned an ACC championship caliber team into one which was lucky to finish 7-5.
**–Agent gate: One bad decision by one of the game’s premier players (A.J. Green), basically wrecked Georgia’s season. An agent throws a South Florida party for underclassmen because the benefit far outweighs the risk. This problem is not going away. It is only going to get worse if something doesn’t change–and quickly. Unfortunately, the NCAA doesn’t do much of anything quickly. They need to open up the proccess and get these kids talking to agents much earlier in their careers.
**–In June there was the money and power grab that was known as conference expansion and realignment. When it was over the Big Ten had 12 teams, the Big 12 had 10 teams, and the Mountain West had lost its three most high-profile programs: TCU (Big East), Utah (Pac-10), and BYU (Independent). The Pac-10 almost talked Texas into leaving and destroying the Big 12. It was an ugly thing to watch.
**–USC got hammered by the NCAA in the summer and Reggie Bush eventually gave back his Heisman Trophy.
**–While Cameron Newton’s play on the field was magnificent and deserving of the Heisman Trophy, the entire case involving his father was bad for college football. Legally, the NCAA had no choice but to let Newton play based on the facts (or lack of them) in evidence. But this loophole needs to be closed before another season comes around. The guardians of the sport had better hope that no more damning information comes out about this case. We watched USC vacate a national championship and its star player give back a Heisman Trophy. College football does not need another body blow like that.
**–And then there was the Ohio State ruling, which suspended five players for selling stuff given to them by the school. But the NCAA allowed the suspensions to start after they played in the Sugar Bowl. Critics jumped on the NCAA and college football because it appears both are making these rules up as they go along. The ruling made no sense unless you believe Ohio State’s claim that their players had not been instructed on the rules. I don’t.
There was also tragedy:
**–Student photographer Declan Sullivan was killed when the scissor tower where he was filming Notre Dame’s practice collapsed.
**–Eric LeGrand of Rutgers suffered paralysis in a terrbile injury against Army.
**–Mississippi State defensive end Nick Bell lost his battle with cancer. He was only 20 years old.
So again, it was a good season and it was a bad season. Mostly it was a tough season.
The hard edge to the Cameron Newton debate was disturbing. The kid almost lost everything because the father. The Newtons got lucky. The next kid whose father gets caught doing this won’t be so lucky. Parents who act like agents in the future (and get caught) will not be happy with the result.
The nastiness of the BCS debate is disquieting. I want a four-team playoff or a true plus-one, where two teams are picked after the bowls. I believe college football will need to made a change in the post-season format when the current BCS contract expires after the 2013 regular season. The debate has always kept interest high in college football. But I think we are reaching a tipping point where the debate is so destructive that it hurts the game.
In many ways it was another great season but in many I’m glad the season is over. I don’t remember feeling that way too many times.
Please follow me on Twitter:
“Barnhart and Durham:” Among our guests will be Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com. We’ll look at his early Top 25 for 2011. Join us at 10 a.m. www.790thezone.com
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572 comments Add your comment
Warm Beagle
January 16th, 2011
10:28 am
Oh well… We we’re #1 for a day.
Now Oklahoma’s #1.
Thanks for the memories.
MikeP
January 16th, 2011
11:12 am
Henry
January 15th, 2011
10:19 pm
“Mike P, Shopping your kid has been proven to work! The whole country has seen how easy it is to do. Your kid can just lie, and say he didn’t know about any thing. Pretty easy. Dad might get a slap on the wrist, ”
Uh, what worked Henry? If Cecil had received any money, Cam wouldn’t have been eligible. If you can’t get money, why go to the trouble? “it worked” doesn’t make any sense. Remember, Kenny Rogers approached Cecil about money, not vice-versa.
Now this is a blast! Have you guys given up on “the FBI will get you” and moved on to “The NFL will require lie detector tests”? Puhleeeeze!. Talk about grasping at straws!
If there is any investigation going, it’s directed at Mississippi State, not Auburn. Look at the Albert Means case. Bammer paid the money, later Means transferred to Memphis and played. Who got in trouble? Bammer did, not Memphis. In the Newton case it has been established that no money changed hands. It’s even questionable if Kenny Rogers was acting on behalf of State or if he was trying to get his hands on cash without State’s knowledge. The latter is more likely.
For those of you wondering why the media hasn’t done more, etc, the answer is simple. As soon as they dig into things they find out nothing is there. A good example is the TV reporter that went to Newnan and looked at the minutes of the city council meetings. Turns out Cecil had the money to fix his church in July of 2009, six months BEFORE Cam signed with Auburn. Gee, that’s no fun! As Josh Bynes said “The truth doesn’t sell.”
You all need to accept the fact that Auburn whipped everybody fair and square and move on with your lives, you’ll sleep better.
Explain This BAMA "dude"...
January 16th, 2011
12:16 pm
This from 2009:
The NCAA Committee on Infractions called the University of Alabama a “serial repeat violator” with an “abysmal infractions track record” and an “extensive recent history of infractions cases unmatched by any other member institution in the NCAA,”
dawg777
January 16th, 2011
1:05 pm
WHERE DID CECIL NEWTON GET THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO GO TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN ARIZONA ? HE WAS AT THE GAME, LET SEE !!TICKETS, FOOD AND MOTEL = THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. DID AUBURN BOOSTERS GIVE HIM THE MONEY? ALL SO CECIL WAS NOT SUPPOSE TO BE NEAR THE AUBURN PROGRAM . BUT CAM NEWTON KNEW RIGHT WHERE HE WAS SITTING IN A CROWD OF 78,603 PEOPLE ,CECIL NEWTON BROKE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AUBURN AND THE NCAA .
Tony Geinzer
January 16th, 2011
2:43 pm
Tony, I can say bad riddance to Dirty Rotten Apples, including AJ and Cam, and too, I have been fighting this Playoff Fight For Years and the way some folks tarred Carolina still angers me and I feel that Boise and Bama are due to cross paths in 2011.
Dawg Tired
January 16th, 2011
2:48 pm
Let’s get one thing straight: The SEC rule says if a parent (among others) asks for money in return for his athlete/child to play for ANY TEAM in the SEC, the athlete/child is ineligible to play for any team in the SEC. That rule was violated. The SEC choose to ignore the violation. The explanation offered by the SEC was lame at best. Let’s just admit the SEC sold whatever integrity it had so Auburn could play for the NC. So be it. Just quit pretending there was no violation.
War Eagle
January 16th, 2011
3:04 pm
Just to let never one know I will not comment again on this topic,SO BAMA STOP USING MY USERNAME
MikeP
January 16th, 2011
3:09 pm
By Dawg Tired: “….The SEC choose to ignore the violation. The explanation offered by the SEC was lame at best. Let’s just admit the SEC sold whatever integrity it had so Auburn could play for the NC”
Dawg Tired, the SEC started investigating this last January. Tell me how they knew Auburn would be in the NC game eight months before the season even started. You don’t know the specific rules, the SEC compliance office does.
dawg 777, It’s nobody’s business where Cecil got the money to attend the game in Arizona. This is America and private citizens can go where ever they please. Auburn University and the NCAA can make all the agreements they want to, those agreements are not laws. There is no way that Auburn or the NCAA could prevent Cecil Newton from attending a public event in Glendale, Arizona.
Crimson Crush
January 16th, 2011
7:59 pm
In what is one in a string of articles in nationwide publications that MikeP claims don’t exist or if they do exist … are discredited … USA Today wrote an interesting piece on the latest PUBLIC meeting by the NCAA brass
NCAA president Emmert sets no-nonsense tone in address ( is the title
)
I for one think Mike P should fire up his email client right away because clearly the writer doesn’t understand that “everything is over … Auburn was cleared and found fully 100 % forever and all time innocent” .
That particular writer in one of these latest articles ( along with the rest of the nation outside the Manson “Family” ) seems to be under the impression that while the ELIGIBILITY staff had to take the word of the lying AU admin and let $Cam skate … “A more in-depth probe by the ENFORCEMENT staff continues.”
Now this has been repeated … over … and over … and over … and over … and over …. and over … and over … and over … and over … and over (my ability to cut paste just can’t hang with Mike Ps ability to live in denial ) Still … even the dumbest Boog will have to realize at some point … that AU has far from skated . To believe something like that you would have to be the type person who believes a laptop thief/paid Auburn pro athlete who tosses the stolen goods out a window when the cops arrive … “just bought it ” LOL
Auburn Cheats
January 16th, 2011
9:19 pm
Can’t believe fools are still buying that poor Cam was almost done in by his father. Anyone with a brain knows that Cam knew everything that was going on. Anyone with a brain knows that Auburn cheated to get him and that the SEC and NCAA turned a blind eye to maintain the cash cow that is the BCS championship game.
MikeP
January 17th, 2011
12:12 am
Cwimpsin Crush, I read that article. It appears your reading comprehension is not so hot. All you are seeing is what you want to see, and it’s not there. Any sort of ongoing investigation is in Mississippi. Auburn is not going to “skate”, Auburn has already skated all the way to the National Championship. The Auburn end of the investigation was over before December 2nd. Learn to live with that fact.
The main thrust of the article is that some new rules will be considered. This concerns Auburn how, exactly?
12 CRIMINAL CHARGES 6 wins 7 LOSSES
January 17th, 2011
7:26 am
Hey “Mr” College Football (joke)—-what about GA winning The Richt Cup? How can you ignore that?
sec rules
January 17th, 2011
9:28 am
follow SEC news all year at http://www.secsportsworld.blogspot.com
MikeP
January 17th, 2011
10:04 am
All you guys that think Auburn paid for Cam Newton: The thing you have to do is simple,,,,all you have to do is figure out how the Newtons, a family of moderate means, hid $200,000 in cash from teams of experienced investigators for over a year.
The SEC and NCAA investigative teams have visited in the Newton home, the NCAA’s team twice. Cecil voluntarily turned over all family and church financial records to both the SEC and NCAA.
In over a year, no flashy new clothes, no big-box TV’s and things of that sort, no sporty new cars, no cruises or week-long trips to Europe, no home remodeling. What do you claim that they did with the money? Why get it and not spend it? Cam Newton rode a Mo-ped scooter around campus all year and owned no other vehicle. Do you think they did without things all this time with $200k sitting in a paper bag? Get real.
It’s simple: Show me the money. Until then, you are just a bunch of jealous fans of rival teams that can’t stand Auburn’s success.
Get used to Auburn’s success, Gene Chizik and his staff of energetic young coaches are just now getting started. It’s a great time to be an Auburn Tiger!
Crimson Crush
January 17th, 2011
2:15 pm
First of all … to claim or even halfass imply that the NCAA or the SEC had investigators out “for over a year” is a flat out lie . One of the BIG things being discussed is HOW to tighten up the reporting and action timelines . After reporting only the bare minimum ( that SOMETHING had occurred ) around spring practice , Mississippi State didn’t bother actually getting back around to actually responding to the SEC request for more information until JULY .
They spent their own good time playing finger **** with the information provided … and then decided it might be a good idea to ask the saintly Aubrun “family” what they thought about it all . ( By that time is was kickoff time in college football )
Being the fine upstanding upholders of college football integrity that the Auburn clan .. “family” is … they went right to work out digging out every scrap of information they could find . No expense was spared . This investigation was going to be bigger than the hunt for Pat Dye’s lost pants !!!!
Of course , like Sgt. Schultz , they found notttthingggggg . As far as they could tell poor little Cammy Cam was a simple preachers son who had never stolen so much as a laptop . But being sooooooooo concerned about the “integrity of the game” and the “good name” of the Barn … they decided to take an extra lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg look … you know …. just to make sure . Can’t be too careful .
In THAT interim ( more than halfway through the frigging season ) was when the NCAA got tired of being publicly kicked in the azz for allowing the barely semi-literate $Cam continue to play while other schools were threatened with forfeits if they even THOUGHT about playing kids who might be later ruled ineligible .
Too many public reports about the game of dragazz being played by Auburn … too many explicit details … and FINALLY … in NOVEMBER the NCAA decides … ehhhh … what the hell … let’s send some people down there … AU seems to be taking an awful long time to clear this up .
Now granted … at that point you might actually forgive the NCAA for being dumbfounded at the fact that ANY school would look them in them eye … and basically say … We really don’t care if we get busted down the road or not … at least for once in our pathetic lives we might get a brief glimmer of what it feels like to be like Alabama playing for all the marbles
And so they up the ante … ALL IN as you idiots loved to flaunt and taunt to the NCAA and the rest of college football on signs at every venue .
the AU crooks in charge wait until the Laptop Thief Supreme and best paid player in college football had FINALLY delivered them (multiple times ) by the skin of their teeth through the regular season … and then declare Mr. $Cam “ineligible” … with the fine understanding that due to the schools own game of dragass and obstruction … no “smoking gun” that would 100 % bench him existed .
While already mentioned … it should be repeated … NO ONE from the NCAA has exonerated $Cam , AU or the Colonial Bank robbing crew that runs AU . The NCAA simply ran into a situation where the AU inbreeds yelled prove it tomorrow or we will play him consequences be damned .
Having a school’s own admin look you flat in the eye and let you know that a shot at a once in a lifetime( for AU people anyway
shot at even Pyrrhic “glory” was more important to them than any potential fallout that might come later … they were ALLIN consequences , appearances and any potential damage to AU’s “integrity” be damned …
It caught the NCAA staff flat footed . They had no procedure to deal with a school that was willing to piss on the rulebook , tell them it was raining and then give them a smart ass “Prove it isn’t . But don’t worry there Skippy … they will
Chizik and “Krew” just getting started is the silliest joke in all of what you wrote . Chizik isn’t a real head coach you tool . He is the head cleanup boy for the AU bank busting bag men . Nothing more … nothing less . Mark Richt has a FAR better chance of lasting at Georgia than Cheezestik … simply because Richt actually HAS a chance .
But … at this point .. I don’t really blame YOU personally Mike P … all you really have left is “You can’t prove any of this…(yet) ”
You know as well as we do … AU isn’t going to be jack chi* going forward … Chizik and Krew at AU are now on 24 hour watch for EVERYTHING they do … and the AU crooks that have greased the wheels for the cheat machine are either broke , going broke or headed to jail .
So you hang on to that little scrap of soiled AU National Championship blankie there bub . It is a once in a lifetime type thing for an AU backer to even smell a soiled one .
Someday … when you are trying to explain to your own grand kids what it felt like to watch AU and $Cam cheat their way to the top … you can take a long obscene sniff and sob out a heartfelt rendition of “We Were (once) The Champions” LOL
MikeP
January 17th, 2011
5:25 pm
Look, Bamzo:The only things you put out there as facts are parts of a dateline, which is as wrong as it can be. MSU informed the SEC of a possible problem on January 5th, the day after Newton signed with Auburn. SEC notified Auburn at that time. The SEC investigates for 10 months, Auburn compliance office investigates for ten months, NCAA investigative team works the case for five months. All that lookin’ and nothing found. No indication of one red cent of extra benefits.
The rest of everything you wrote is simply spewing jealous bile and wishful thinking. Get used to Coach Chizik and staff continuing Auburn’s dominance of the iron Bowl. This year’s beatdown was seven of the last nine for Auburn, in case you lost count.
Forget all the BS you wrote and do one simple thing; show me the money. Since the investigators have all moved on to other places your dreams of Auburn getting in trouble have fallen like a brick thrown through Bill Curry’s window. They didn’t find any money while they were looking and now they have stopped looking.
So sad for you, to have your dreams hanging on another school’s problem and then find out they don’t have a problem.
Crimson Crush
January 17th, 2011
11:19 pm
We are’nt talking Aubrun fantasy land here bub . Mississippi State gave the SEC a heads up early in the year BUT did NOT get get BACK to the SEC office with a requested report until JULY . There is no reason to debate this with your dumba** .
Anyone with just a fraction of skill using Google can find … not only the dozens of articles detailing the timeline … but the also the followup articles since that time where BOTH the SEC head office AND the NCAA has came out over the last few weeks and said they have GOT to tighten up the rules on how fast schools get back to them with proper information . This isn’t a you said potato and I said potata debate you chowderhead . That is simply the harsh facts ( if you are an Aubrun fan
)
As far as “dreams” … I am a Bama fan bub … you should know who we are . If you don’t … look the program up some time . You can start with the final recruiting rankings in two weeks . Or the in the pre-season and postseason college polls next year …
You have had your once a century run … however long it stands up . The Tide … we will remain forever … Bama …
It really doesn’t matter what the Barn does to try and boost their standing … buys a once in a Barnyard lifetime championship with a 2010 version of Lennie Small … gets it yanked because you can’t even cheat right … or when goes unranked at seasons end next year because the pay train is being shot full of holes as we type and ( Chizik is about as much a true head coach as I am a reincarnated General Patton )
You will ALWAYS remain THE University of Auburn (located in west Georgia ? ) to the rest of the nation … ( or just Alabama Polytechnic Institute to those of us who know you best
)
All the you clowns will have managed to accomplish with the IN YOUR FACE WE CHEATED and WE DON”T CARE We ARE ALL IN signs at every game is to hack off the rest of college football fans nationwide . Every revelation from here on out will simply harden that fact .
You keep trying to hold that dike back lil Dutch boy …. You don’t have enough fingers to plug all the holes … even in what you attempt to write here … forget the leaks busting out in Auburn LOL
MikeP
January 18th, 2011
11:12 am
I see you continue to write out your daydreams of Auburn’s demise. I know very well who UAT is. It’s the school where Auburn owns their home field to the tune of 7-1 all time. We call that place Jordan-Hare West, you know.
As for your dying hopes of Auburn getting in trouble, I’ve already told you the solution is simple. All you have to do is find the money. If you can’t, case closed.
The rest of your spiteful blather is, well, the helpless blather of someone seeing his rival passing him at every turn. They tell me Valium is still a good tranquilizer, ask your doctor about a prescription.
War Eagle, ALL IN!
Crimson Crush
January 18th, 2011
5:14 pm
Now you just sound plain silly . AU isn’t even passing LSUor for that matter Arkansas in the SEC West … let alone Bama . No one with an ounce of football knowledge is even putting AU in the top 10 next year …. forget the top 5 . One and done makes you … one … and done LOL
I suppose you haven’t bothered to check your own schedule or for that matter your roster lately. You will need a lot more than a couple of pay for play $Cammy $Cam and Nick ” I love to hit people late in the back ” Fairley’s to carry next years scrubs . You guys have lost your veteran chop blockers on the O line . No need to even bother discussing your defense
As far as the finding the money trail to $Cammy … that is one of only SEVERAL different ways to skin this cat . All will get covered before this is over .
Just for your FYI … I have already told you previously … I (rhymes with EYE … or AYE ) don’t need to find anything . That work is already being handled by professionals .
I will say this . You suggest Valium due to a condition you seem to think is caused by AU “passing” Bama “at every turn” . Ignoring the straight out pure comedy gold of that statement .. I will let you know that I have never dreamed in my life that AU actually bumbling and buying their way into a “championship” would be actually be a cause for this much sheer enjoyment .
I get to see the same group of hypocrites who last year guffawed at Bama fans because a pre-arraned outside the school corporate sponsor put the BCS trophy in Wal Mart ( the thinking by the AU “fambly” was … what the hell … it is not like we will ever win one )
THIS year ( THIS WEEK actually ) the pics are already flying of the AU “fambly” members standing like a bunch of slope head goobs hunkered around their bought ( well leased …rented … what’s the difference ? ) “glory” . And of course … they all are AU graduates … because … you know … AU doesn’t have anyone rooting for them that didn’t attend school there LOL
Nah … I see no reason .. at ALL to need “valium” . AU is falling part at the seams … but the more inbred and insane “fambly” members seem to think they are “passing Bama at every turn”. The set up for the fall is insane(ly funny) to this Tide (and college football ) fan .
Knowing how many in the AU crew of wife beater “fans” are just one (inevitable ) bad news story away from a cheap case of rot gut vodka and a .22 pacifier is the most soothing med available for this fan of college football
MikeP
January 18th, 2011
9:34 pm
Surely you don’t think your last bit of nonsensical ranting is worthy of comment?
Gene Chizik and his great staff will not only continue, but increase the dominance Auburn has enjoyed over UAT since Bahr quit over there. Your best bet is to go back in time and “discover” another championship like that 1941 farce you bamzos hang a flag for. Finish 3rd in the SEC, 20th in the AP poll and yet bammer claims a championship for 1941. What a HOOT!
No wonder y’all are college football’s laughing stock.
War Eagle, ALL IN!
MikeP
January 18th, 2011
11:35 pm
“Coach Gene Chizik was awarded the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award. This award, ever since it was created, has been won by each of the past three Auburn coaches- Bowden, Tuberville, and now Chizik.”
Thanks, Bahr. Another Auburn tradition; winning the Bryant Coach of the Year Award.
You Have A Serious Problem Crush!
January 20th, 2011
10:07 am
Is Crimson Crush really a Bama fan or is he just some loony-tune on a weekend pass from the Funny Farm? Tried to get through a few lines of his nonsense and it’s barely even legible. Makes the Tucson gunman look sane by comparison!