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.
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“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
Neutral Observer
January 14th, 2011
11:52 am
The worst that would come out of this would be Newton is declared retroactively ineligible and AU would maybe get probation and lose some scholarships. The NCAA already gave AU their blessing and they WILL NEVER take the NC away. It just won’t happen. As for the HEISMAN, it could be taken away possibly, but I highly doubt it at this point.
Geaux Tigers!
January 14th, 2011
11:52 am
I love college football but hate the NCAA. It’s all about money to them and it’s beginning to ruin the game.
This season was great though and I cannot wait until next year. Geaux Tigers!
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
11:52 am
ARdawg, what did he get? That’s the problem right now- there’s no evidence that he got anything. Bush’s parents were living in a mansion for peanuts. In the words of Rod Tidwell, “Show me the money!”
3rdN8
January 14th, 2011
11:52 am
Bob/ Okeefe
Glad you posted that. I didn’t realize the Alabama was the only school to oversign….in the whole universe. I also didn’t realize that we are the only school….in the whole universe….to grayshirt players…or to take scholarships away.
Damn….that Saban is one creative dude….invented all of that by himself.
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
11:52 am
Bama dude
I am aware of the appearance of my tinfoil hat and conspiracy theory but, for me it’s one of the few things that actually make some sense of this whole clusterfack
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
11:53 am
it’s not as much conspiracy as it is BIG BROTHER
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
11:54 am
Neutral Observer, USC has been stripped of the 2004 BCS title pending appeal. The meaningless-since-2002 AP poll will let them keep theirs, so there is that.
3rdN8
January 14th, 2011
11:55 am
Neutral Observer
Retroactive inelgibility occurred (plus vacating an entire season)at Alabama over the Antonio Langham case in 1994. He received nothing….he just entered into a contract with an “agent”, that was drawn up on a restaurant napkin.
Geaux Tigers!
January 14th, 2011
11:56 am
Enter your comments hereThe worst that would come out of this would be Newton is declared retroactively ineligible and AU would maybe get probation and lose some scholarships. The NCAA already gave AU their blessing and they WILL NEVER take the NC away. It just won’t happen. As for the HEISMAN, it could be taken away possibly, but I highly doubt it at this point.
__________________________________________
wishful thinking!!! the NCAA will pull that trophy from you guys in 5 years. count on it. Newton should have never been allowed to play once the allegations came out. if it comes out that no wrong was done, then I’ll admit that I was wrong for passing judgement.
jbirdawg
January 14th, 2011
11:57 am
Good article, Tony. Only problem I have with it is that maybe you should have started another paragraph after mentioning AJ. The next line makes it sound like he was involved in the Miami party and he wasn’t.
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
11:57 am
Bama dude
there is much implication that he received cash and contracts for his trucking business. He was a one truck business that is now 11 trucks. Is it going to tie in to any of the FBI investigation, who knows? Unlikely I’d say. FBI has no dog in that hunt. Do you not agree that anything coming to light in CamGate is bad for business over at the NCAA and BCS?
Geaux Tigers!
January 14th, 2011
11:59 am
Wouldn’t Cecil Newton techinically be an Agent for Cam if he was asking for money? Goodbye Auburn national championship.
But as the oregon players said, we still lost on the field….
kral
January 14th, 2011
11:59 am
i had a player I took home from practice once..he was fine it seemed…later that night he was in the er suffering from heat stroke..I went to see him…luckily he was fine..my hs that I retired from had a great player receive a pass get hit and never get up..unless you write some evidence of abuse..your worse than your bad richie
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
12:02 pm
ARdawg, I get what you’re saying. That said, folks seem to forget who the “NCAA” is. It is nothing more than an association of colleges. Committees are appointed to establish and enforce rules by the member institutions. The committee that makes these decisions has nothing to gain or lose financially. To suggest that all of the other institutions would sit by and let the Barn get away with something because to do otherwise would be “bad for business” is a bit asinine to me. The outcry from some other conference officials, misguided as it may be, suggests otherwise. The committee that makes these decisions has nothing to gain or lose financially.
Spinoza
January 14th, 2011
12:03 pm
Tony, why continue the pretense that college football is anything other than a side money making activity for some universities, a money raiser among alumni for most, big business for television, and a conduit to the professional ranks. The concept of “student-athlete” is in general a joke. For every player like Alabama’s quarterback there are hundreds who would never gain admission to their universities if they couldn’t play football.
Those so in love with this sport or in Tony’s case it seems his reason for existence are blind to what it really is and how little it has to do with the real purposes of universities which are teaching and research.
jh
January 14th, 2011
12:03 pm
SEC went 5-5 on the bowl season. N Caroliana over Tenn and FSU drilled S Carolina
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
12:04 pm
Wow, I was redundant and said the same thing twice. I don’t usually do that and it’s not like me to do so.
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:04 pm
You know, I should just leave it alone . . . but, I can’t.
“The NCAA/BCS is the most corrupt organization in sports.”
Does that include the East German swimming & diving association? The North Korean soccer association? The Soviet Olympic Committee? The NFL Players Association? The World Wrestling Federation?
Words have meaning, and unlike the characters in Alice in Wonderland, the meaning of words is independent of what we mistakenly believe they mean. “Corruption” implies that someone is receiving improper benefits to jerry-rig an unfair outcome. “Corrupt” does not mean “I don’t like their decision” and “they treated my team more harshly than your team.”
The NCAA is not perfect. The NCAA sometimes makes mistakes, and it sometimes rules inconsistently based on the particular facts and circumstances. Sometimes the NCAA makes dumb decision based on political correctness. It is not, however, “corrupt” in a meaningful sense of the word. The NCAA’s investigative and enforcement arm is underfunded, undermanned and overworked, and it can only rule on facts in evidence, not on the opinions of rival fans. Believe it or not, it’s enforcement arm actually employs due process for accused institutions. Funny, though, how my institution always gets screwed by the NCAA, and yours gets off scot-free, isn’t it? I am, of course, being sarcastic. In the past 20 years, Alabama, Miami, Michigan and Southern Cal have all been on probation for various NCAA violations. That’s not a sign of favoritism; it’s a sign that the big boys get punished, too, when there’s evidence of wrong-doing. And so have numerous other programs been punished; and so they should have been.
And BTW, the NCAA does not run the BCS; the six major conferences do. So, if you don’t like the present BCS championship, take it up with the commissioners of the Pac-10 (12), Big Ten (+2), Big XII (X), Big East, ACC and SEC.
Bye bye Auburn!!
January 14th, 2011
12:05 pm
Auburn will receive the closest thing possible to the death penalty as soon as the NCAA decides to come clean with their findings. The fact that not a single person, including the COO, at Daddy $cam’s church can explain where the money came from is proof enough that Auburn paid the family. And Auburn’s arrogance and defiance over the past few months will force the NCAA to shut the program down if they wish to keep any good faith. And the fact they allowed the OSU players to participate in their bowl game during a season where two other players did the exact same things but were punished immediately will definitely force the NCAA to come down hard on Auburn.
Bye bye Auburn!!
January 14th, 2011
12:07 pm
@ jh,
Meanwhile, UGA still has the same amount of BCS wins as the entire ACC combined. Thanks for playing.
Ramma Bama
January 14th, 2011
12:08 pm
Auburn’s tainted title–bought and paid for by big auburn boosters who paid off cecil to get cam. Now cam’s heading to the nfl for those millions, laughing at all the auburn chumps who bought his act. He’ll be a bust in the nfl—too much partying like vince young.
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:10 pm
Oh, and by the way, you can rest assured that IF the FBI or any other source has any real evidence of any further meaningful NCAA violations by Cecil Newton, Cam Newton or Auburn, that the NCAA, liked the slow, but dogged organization it is, will eventually deal with it. If there isn’t any real evidence, all of this blog blather is a futile exercise in mental masturbation and wishful thinking by rival fans who simply want to rain on their rivals’ parade.
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
12:10 pm
Bama dude
That’s true to a point. What you are overlooking is the fact that the NCAA is an entity with an office, with employees and a big cog in the money machine that is college athletics. What the NCAA was founded as and what it is today isn’t the same thing. It is the Sheriff, Jury and Judge and only answerable to the committee of University Presidents. It is a Beast and designed to morph that way, IMHO
Buckeye
January 14th, 2011
12:11 pm
Sugar Bowl Champs, 12-1, Top 5
Ohio State # 1 NCAA Basketball!
vs.
Liberty Bowl Losers to Conf USA, 6-7, Unranked.
Can’t hold a top 25 ranking.
All UGA has is to ride the SEC/Auburn/Bama/FLA coatails. UGA is SEC in name only.
3rdN8
January 14th, 2011
12:11 pm
@ Atlanta Gator
Your rant is very hurtful to those of us who live on hyperbole….ALL OF THE TIME….EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY!!!
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
12:13 pm
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
12:10 pm
Bama dude
That’s true to a point. What you are overlooking is the fact that the NCAA is an entity with an office, with employees and a big cog in the money machine that is college athletics. What the NCAA was founded as and what it is today isn’t the same thing. It is the Sheriff, Jury and Judge and only answerable to the committee of University Presidents. It is a Beast and designed to morph that way, IMHO
And those presidents would raise all manner of hell before they’d let the Barn skate for paying players. Rest assured, nobody’s hiding any evidence.
Geaux Tigers!
January 14th, 2011
12:13 pm
i would be embarrassed if I was an Auburn fan. Got tired of being 2nd tier to Bama, UF, and LSU so they had to buy the championship. i can’t wait to hear how much Fairley was paid to play at the barn. UH oh Auburn!!!!!
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:14 pm
Ramma Bama—-As if by magic, you appear to illustrate my point.
Please name the “big Auburn boosters who paid off Cecil to get Cam.”
Please identify the amount or amounts of money paid, the dates on which it was paid, and the medium (i.e., cash, check, money order, wire transfer, etc.) by which it was paid.
Oh, wait, you can’t provide those simple bits of information? Then, sir, you are full of @#$%.
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
12:14 pm
Bama dude
Until it interferes with the revenue stream, that is correct.
Frank Derrickson
January 14th, 2011
12:15 pm
Plus One won’t work.
Your plus one game of TCU v Auburn is a fantasy. If we had a plus one Oregon would have played Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and Auburn would have played someone maybe Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. Assuming they both won they would have played each other in your “plus one” national championship game. So the reality is that things would probably have worked out just as they did. Then people would be whining for a plus two. Ask Vernon Jones.
ARdawg
January 14th, 2011
12:15 pm
Am I the only one who believes Buckeye to be retarded?
kral
January 14th, 2011
12:15 pm
very astute atl gator..no sarcasm intended…….just goes to show..there are to many generals in college football..and the championship as all other championships should be under the NCAA
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:16 pm
3rdN8—-
Yeah, I’m a real a@#hole. I’m sorry.
QR
January 14th, 2011
12:16 pm
It’s all President Bush’s fault…..
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
12:18 pm
ARdawg, that’s what you don’t get. The SEC has the most revenue. Their putting two teams in the BCS every year keeps schools in other conferences from making money. If an SEC school is cheating, they would absolutely want everyone to know about it.
3rdN8
January 14th, 2011
12:18 pm
@ Atlanta Gator
I happened to be sitting in a pew, at a small, black, church last summer. Toward the end of the services, and large man, wearing an orange shirt, came in the back door. When the collection plate was passed, he placed a large canvas bag on top of the plate. It took three ushers to carry it to the church’s office.
I’ve never told anyone about this. My wife thinks I should contact someone. Is she right?
BAMA dude
January 14th, 2011
12:19 pm
I mean the other conferences would want people to know.
DIT
January 14th, 2011
12:21 pm
As a Dawg person, I’m so tired of the Cam Newton and Nick Fairly talk. It’s over, let it go. I personally don’t care and not since the UGA/Auburn game ended. I’m more worried about what direction my team is headed and if they will ever get to an elite status in the SEC again.
I say Congrats to Auburn. I was pulling for them. I believe if the roles were reversed most Auburn people would have pulled for UGA. Have to admit, there are way too many whiners on here about Cam & Nick. It’s over, let it go. Whining about it will not do anything more for the situation.
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:21 pm
“Auburn will receive the closest thing possible to the death penalty as soon as the NCAA decides to come clean with their findings.”
Wrong.
Even if the Auburn program were guilty of every thing every idiot rival fan on this blog had accused AU of, AU would not be eligible for the NCAA’s “death penalty’ because AU has not been on NCAA probation within the required time window.
Duh.
kral
January 14th, 2011
12:22 pm
ole buckshot..your right aboout our season,but you can’t say UGA is SEC in name only unlees you wish to make broad assumptions or comparisons
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:23 pm
QR—-
Of, course, it’s ALL George W. Bush’s fault. But remember, he’s working with the Illumnati. You don’t REALLY think Bush was smart enough to pull this off on his own, do you?
Avatar of Snarkiness
January 14th, 2011
12:24 pm
The common denominator in all of these scandals- M-O-N-E-Y.
The players are’nt stupid. They see their coaches make millions,they see the schools take in millions more and they see the “heavy hitter” boosters call the shots in the biggest programs and they wonder where their slice is.Room,board and tuition ain’t gonna do it for much longer because everybody is sharing the gravy except the gravy makers.
Tony, I don’t know if you are familiar with baseball history,but the same type sitaution led directly to a scandal that almost wrecked the game. I’m referring to the “Black Sox” scandal after the 1919 season in which underpaid players,working for a wealthy owner decided to take tainted money from gamblers to throw World Series games (against Cinncinati).
Now. We’re not there yet. But by the time that a group of players ( Or a key player like a quarterback) sells out a game or a season to get their hands on some spending money,a page of history will have turned and things will never be the same. Remember the revulsion we all felt at Cecil Newton pimping his own son ? We’ll all feel that way about every program when players feel that they have to “do a little bit of business” to get their hands in the cookie jar.
The NCAA wants to have it both ways- they want to maintain the illusion of amateurism without chasing away the commercial parasites that exist around the edges ( $600,000 “Non profit” Bowl Directors,anyone?) and the players know it. It makes it almost irresistable when an agent whispers in a players ear that EVERYONE is getting rich,so why not get your share?
Bye bye Auburn!!
January 14th, 2011
12:24 pm
You know something is up when your two best players in FOOTBALL are one and done
wballs1977
January 14th, 2011
12:25 pm
gayeux tigers,
It took 2 years of coaching Fairley to develop him into the player he was this season. Not sure why Auburn would pay for that.
Happy to say my squad won the championship by actually winning. How does it feel perched up on the 1st tier with 2 championships won despite losing 3 games? Impressive. Your 2 championship teams would not have cracked the top 5 this season.
3rdN8
January 14th, 2011
12:25 pm
re: conspiracies…in general.
They only work…and usually for a short period of time….if only a few people know. That’s why I agree with BAMA dude. The other schools would come off the hinge if this was common knowledge.
Same goes for paying all of the players. Do I think some players are paid? You bet. But to think that it’s a widespread practice is laughable. Somewhere, sometime, a player would get upset, and spill the beans. There is no way things of this nature would go unreported, and uninvestigated for an extended period.
Atlanta Gator
January 14th, 2011
12:25 pm
3rdN8—-
Many stranger things have happened in black churches, but they usually involve Democrat Party get-out-the-vote efforts.
MikeP
January 14th, 2011
12:26 pm
war beagle
January 14th, 2011
10:59 am
“Does anyone have any news on who paid for the court side seats Cam used at the Lakers game?”
Why, yes we do. Both teams were provided their seats by the Fiesta Bowl people. Look around that picture a bit and you’ll notice the entire Auburn and Oregon teams were there. See how easy it is when you ask?
Bye bye Auburn!!
January 14th, 2011
12:26 pm
Buckeye,
The only people that will give your shameless program credit for FINALLY barely defeating an SEC team in a bowl (a team UGA nearly beat as well) all live in Ohio. There will forever be a HUGE asterisk next to that game.
DIT
January 14th, 2011
12:27 pm
@Atlanta Gator
Many stranger things have happened in black churches, but they usually involve Democrat Party get-out-the-vote efforts
_____________
No that’s funny and true right there
wballs1977
January 14th, 2011
12:27 pm
Bye Bye Auburn – when bloggers refer to other ‘idiot bloggers’, they are talking about you.
Fairley played 2 seasons at Auburn and is projected to be the no.1 pick in the draft.
Cam Newton played possibly the best season of any player in the history of the game, won a Heisman Trophy and NC…and is projected to be a 1st round pick.
Why would either of these two players remain in college? You suck.