Cowherd piles on ACC, describes Tech’s offense as “clever” and “goofy”
ESPN radio and TV personality Colin Cowherd, co-host of SportsNation, rubbed a little bit of salt in Virginia Tech’s wounds Tuesday afternoon by saying that the Hokies aren’t a premier program by pointing out they are 1-26 against teams rated in the top five.
He also gave his thoughts on Georgia Tech’s offense, its potential in the NFL, and the state of the ACC.
“Nothing against the ACC, but FSU and Miami have eroded. North Carolina is loaded but depleted,” Cowherd said. “They don’t have the one program like an Alabama, Florida, Texas or USC, the go-to program in the big games.
“Virginia Tech is probably the worst program in the big games.”
Cowherd’s comments came a day after a young Hokies squad was beaten by No. 3 Boise State, 33-30, on Monday in Landover, Md. In another closely watched game, a No. 18 North Carolina squad, missing more than a dozen starters, was beaten by No. 21 LSU, 30-24, in the Georgia Dome.
“Virginia Tech will beat up the dogs, but they never play well in big games,” Cowherd said. “I don’t think they’d win the Big 10 this year. I said before the season that I thought Virginia Tech was the most overrated good team in the nation.”
The concern for fans of the ACC is that the Hokies are the presumed favorite to win the conference.
The ACC has a few more chances to improve its image, starting on Saturday when FSU (1-0) travels to Oklahoma (1-0), Miami (1-0) goes to Ohio State (1-0) and Virginia (1-0) goes to USC (1-0), though no one’s pinning their hopes on the ACC looking good in that one.
Georgia Tech can help by beating up on Kansas, should that opportunity occur.
Switching topics to the Yellow Jackets, Cowherd described Paul Johnson’s offense as “fun” and “clever” and, in what would probably make Johnson a little aggravated, “goofy.”
“Georgia Tech is an interesting program,” he said. “Clever, unconventional, maybe you have to be in the SEC territory.”
I asked him if the option offense would work in the NFL if there were no salary cap, eliminating the financial concern of risking multi-million dollar quarterbacks to hits from linebackers and safeties.
“No, because I think the NFL is so fast and so violent,” he said. “Tim Tebow was banged up all the time in the SEC. He plays one game in the NFL and gets hurt. You’re asking too much.
“When nobody else plays it [the option], it’s a little bit like the wildcat in the NFL. It’s clever, it’s goofy , it’s different.
“It’s just assignment football. Catch a team on a short week, it’s really a bear…In the NFL you can practice all week.
“But I don’t want my quarterback running the football in the NFL, it’s problematic.”
Cowherd’s radio show, “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” can be heard from 10-noon on 680AM.
“I love being on in Atlanta, it’s always been a good affiliate,” he said.
More thoughts from Cowherd:
On who will play for the national championship:
“Boise State and Ohio State. They both have one tough road game, Boise State’s won theirs. Ohio State will be favored to win theirs.
“Florida will be a really exceptional football team. They’ve recruited so many good athletes. How many years have they had No. 1, 2, or 3 recruiting class?
“The SEC is good this year, I don’t think it’s great. Other than [Arkansas QB Ryan] mallet, I don’t think there’s a great quarterback in the conference. Workable schedule by SEC standards. Ton of young talent in the program. But they won a national championship with a young roster.
–
On the difference between Virginia Tech and Boise State:
“I think Virginia Tech hs better talent than Boise State, but their QB isn’t as good. Boise State has won a lot of games in a lot of years. This is their first great team because their quarterback is great.
–
On the future:
“I think a lot of the really good powerhouse teams are a year away. I think USC is going to be very good. I think people are underselling them.
“I think you are going to have these Boise States with a bunch of seniors.
“Big Ten will have a very good year. Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio state all have a lot of seniors. The Big Ten is pretty close to being with the SEC.”
“I think LSU and Auburn are good, but I don’t see either of those schools scoring a lot of points. LSU and Auburn have better talent, but Iowa and Wisconsin have better quarterbacks.
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218 comments Add your comment
BigTimeTechFan
September 7th, 2010
3:22 pm
“Jackets offense and defense is goofy, unconventional, and poorly coached” – yet rushed for 400 yards against UGA in one game.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:27 pm
BigTimeTechFan -Joshua Nesbitt – is coached to play like he’s going to get his head knocked off every play
he’s coached that way because they know he cannot throw the ball more than 5 yards without overthrowing his receivers.So you try and coach him into a running back not a quarterback . Old PJ just hoping he can get one quarterback like TCU to run his failing system
coachx
September 7th, 2010
3:27 pm
“Nothing against the ACC, but FSU and Miami have eroded. North Carolina is loaded but depleted,” Cowherd said. “They don’t have the one program like an Alabama, Florida, Texas or USC, the go-to program in the big games.
“Virginia Tech is probably the worst program in the big games.”
True statements. Don’t hate the messenger when they speak truth. Colin.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:27 pm
Enter your comments here
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:28 pm
Well how many yards did they rush against the MEAC champs LMAO
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:29 pm
How many sacks did the def get against that stiff competition
AMG
September 7th, 2010
3:29 pm
Doug, how much of it was football and how much was the total compared with the SEC, football only contract?
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:32 pm
Big Time , you are a funny man , Tech men are funny , unconventional , goofy ,
why do you bring up one game in 2008 against UGA to prove all of your points , you have played many games and the proof is in the pudding , tech has barley gotten by many times and has not dominated anything except being middle of the pack.
AMG
September 7th, 2010
3:32 pm
Also, just check, the football does not cover ACC football games, only ACC vs other confrences and bowl games and they do individual contracts for select games in the ACC. there is only one game on ESPN for GT this year and that is the VT game. The opener was on their internet site.
GT Sambo
September 7th, 2010
3:33 pm
Turkey Neck rides again,
Here they come again. The UGA fans who want to explain away their loss to GT in 2008 and our ACC championship in 2009. Paul Johnson was using Gailey’s players. His high school offense will never work in D-1A. Well, two years in to the CPJ era we are as successful as we could have hoped. Like any college football season, a few plays one way or the other, and you look like a hero or a goat. So far CPJ has put us in a position to look like a hero. At this point, I’d consider it a perfectly successful season of we beat UGA and won our bowl game.
RDR
September 7th, 2010
3:36 pm
GT = a laughable football program…………”goofy”! Ahahahahahahaha.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:40 pm
GT Sambo , old PJ has had three years to develop a Quarterback , jeez he recruits enough of em, but has failed to have one pass more than 12 yards a game. How the rest of the country seems to find several Quarterbacks that can run and throw amazes me, even Long for Jacksonville State-300lbs 6′1 could throw and out run the defense
JB
September 7th, 2010
3:40 pm
NFL strike. Not for long. These young punks make from 500,000 to 2 mil per on average, and most are 3 -4 pay checks away from bankruptcy……..Strike won’t last long.
North Ave Killer Beez
September 7th, 2010
3:41 pm
I’m with Maddog, this dude is the “JOKE” of sport’s talk radio. One full day of listening and it will probably be your last.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:42 pm
Crickets-Crickets That’s what i thought , you don’t deserve to have your own Blog
It is simply .......small ball folks.
September 7th, 2010
3:46 pm
This piece says it all. GT and the rest of the ACC are small ball.
Go Dogs.
St. Richt
September 7th, 2010
3:47 pm
Cowherd is a moron, plain and simple. And him calling anything goofy? Talk about pot calling the kettle black.. No one can dispute that the Hokies are atrocious in big games. But you can’t trash the ACC in general after losing 2 games they were expected to lose- UNC because of suspensions to half their team and VT barely (and with the refs help) losing to a higher ranked opponent.
I can tell you that I quickly change the channel when I hear that little whiny loser on the radio. He is a joke and has clearly never worn a jock strap in his life. For the life of me I can’t understand why anyone would value his opinion on anything, much less football. Gilbert and Lewis from Revenge of the Nerds might as well have a sports talk radio show if Cowherd does.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:48 pm
Fourth string running back for Heisman campaign lol , better luck starting a campaign for your kicker
wesleywhatwhat
September 7th, 2010
3:49 pm
“pj’s high school” must be related to “dawgfan”.
same douchebag mentality.
wesleywhatwhat
September 7th, 2010
3:50 pm
by the way, loser – it’s spelled HIGH SCHOOL.
did u graduate from one or just hear about it from friends?
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:51 pm
wesley dont blame me blame your program and your coach, nice job bringing the talent to tech
ToolBox Cowherd
September 7th, 2010
3:51 pm
GT is clever and goofy, unlike me who is goofy and not so clever. Does anybody care what this d-bag has to say?
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:52 pm
sorry , i knew you would pull the old kant spel on me, LOL
Doug Roberson
September 7th, 2010
3:53 pm
AMG: there’s no way to divide the money up between the sports
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
3:53 pm
wesley , your team cant do it on the field so you will do it with a dictionary LOLOLOL
DawginLex
September 7th, 2010
3:53 pm
Enter your comments here
ToolBox Cowherd
September 7th, 2010
3:54 pm
Hey small balls, does Ole Miss losing to Jacksonville State constitute big ball? Oh yeah, LSU really dominated needing a no call in the final seconds to hold on for the win against UNC’s scout team.
DawginLex
September 7th, 2010
3:54 pm
doug, what happened to my post?
Doug Roberson
September 7th, 2010
3:54 pm
He didn’t mean goofy in a critical way. It was more of a compliment, actually.
RambleOn84
September 7th, 2010
3:58 pm
Dog fans sure are obsessed with Tech…thank you for thinking of us…
Melinda
September 7th, 2010
3:59 pm
Colin Cowherd is dead on about 10% of the time, and the rest he’s just talking to hear himself talk. All offenses are dependent on having the correct personnel to run them. Peyton Manning would be like Calvin Booker in the option. Slow and ineffective. Tim Tebow = brilliant. The NFL offenses are less about scheme than talent. It takes several years for a pro-style QB to develop and adjust to the speed of the NFL game… scheme is more effective at the college level. Two completely different animals in my mind, from player management to scheme, the whole enchilada.
RAID
September 7th, 2010
4:02 pm
Colin may not be the greatest college football mind but its not hard to look at the scoreboard the last few years and see that not only VT, but the rest of the ACC simply does’nt perform well in big games……UGA has more BCS wins than your whole conference combined…..And yes, the SEC will occasionally have a team upset but they have a pedigree of winning against the best of the best….The ACC cant say such….Even mid pack SEC teams are destroying the top tier ACC teams…..It was really no surprize that Boise St beat Va Tech
layinlow
September 7th, 2010
4:03 pm
GT Sambo, so according to you’re logic you don’t think Tech had a successful season last year?
” At this point, I’d consider it a perfectly successful season of we beat UGA and won our bowl game.”
Tech didn’t accomplish either of you’re requirements for a successful season. just sayin.
West Coast Two Stars
September 7th, 2010
4:04 pm
Raid -not surprising at all that Boise crushed VT’s def and offensive lines with there undersized bodies, the ACC has no heart.
Burdell
September 7th, 2010
4:05 pm
What a full life you must have ‘highscool’–if this is how you spend your time…
Jackets are 1-0. We are only going to get better as the season progresses…D will solidify somewhat and the timing on offense will improve.
GO JACKETS!!
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
4:06 pm
OMG , tech has a successful season if they beat one team and win a bowl game. That is whats wrong with tech , they are short sighted
Doug Roberson
September 7th, 2010
4:07 pm
I think that VT, as young is it is, played and represented the school and ACC fairly well. Especially when you factor in Boise’s experience.
the same is true for UNC, though I wonder how much of that comeback was helped by LSU losing interest. No way of knowing.
Burdell
September 7th, 2010
4:07 pm
RAID—wow really profound. Not a surprise that a team that went undefeated last season and returned 21 starters from a year ago beat a lower ranked team?
Onimonipea
September 7th, 2010
4:08 pm
Who has the better team, GaTech or LSU. If it is LSU, then Tech better be ready to go into Chapel Hill, especially if it has some of its better players back for that game. Actually, Tech is going to have its hands full regardless. What’ya think?
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
4:09 pm
Boise has new def cord , played great last night , shut down VT, Sacked tyrod t several times , how many times did you sack a 6′1 300lb MEAC champion
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
4:11 pm
Burdell , Burdell , Crickets
CrackDaddy
September 7th, 2010
4:11 pm
Ifs and buts for LSU. But if the UNC fullback had not dropped the football in the endzone in the 1st quarter (they had a 1st down on the 5 and he was all alone and the ball was thrown perfectly) and not had to settle for a FG, and had the center not sailed one over the QB’s head (for a total of 6 pts) into the endzone, we would have had a tie game.
DawginLex
September 7th, 2010
4:12 pm
All I said was it is too early to write off any league.
I actually said some nice things about the ACC.
Comment gets censored????????????????
Wreckem
September 7th, 2010
4:13 pm
PJ,
I would check you facts about the passing yards per game. If you mean this season you are correct, not the past two.
CT_Jacket
September 7th, 2010
4:14 pm
I listen to Cowherd most days. Obviously he is relevant. He has a national sports radio show on a major sports network. I don’t think that he’s the best, but I like his business perspective on sports. He likes sports franchises that are committed to winning with large fan bases that care with smart leadership (Texas, Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Celtics, Lakers, Steelers, Yankees, etc.). Certainly he is wrong at times, every sports personality is, but he job is to generate listeners. He gets paid by the ratings whether you like him or not…and he knows his demographics. He gets past being a “fan” and offers objective insight, which most “fans” hate.
While GT has a lot of fans that are committed and support the program, it is nothing on the scale of many of the SEC and Big 10/12 schools. I think that hiring PJ to run the football program was smart because we have to differentiate ourselves from the football factories. The offense is clever and fun. Goofy? No, but after watching football for decades, the first time I saw it I was intrigued. I think that it will be even better when we get a QB that can pass almost as well as he can run.
As far as VT, I think that Cowherd said today that the media becomes enamored with a choice and props it up as much as possible. VT lost almost half of their defense and has the fewest returning starters in the ACC, yet they’re picked to win the ACC?! There was no reason for them to be a top 10 team other than the media love for Beamer and Foster.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
4:17 pm
sorry wreckem , forgot my stat book , jeez did not know i would have to have it down to the yard to post . All you have to do is watch a game and your eyes bleed .as a matter of fact i would like to apologize to all of the tech fans out there , i know in 10-15 years tech will develop a Quarterback and this topic will be mute.
You guys and your huggy bear attitude , no wonder you stay middle of the pack , you have no cream to rise to the top
RAID
September 7th, 2010
4:19 pm
Burdell, you kind of made my point…When is an ACC team actually going to step up and win one of these games…..I hope this weekend cause I’m pulling for Miami to beat Ohio St and for the Noles to pull one out against OK…..I just do’nt expect it to happen…..Tech beating Kansas really is’nt a big game…..Tech should win this one…..
Brock
September 7th, 2010
4:20 pm
PJ’s highscool offense. The fact that you don’t even know who tech played by mentioning Jax state in two posts just shows you are only on here to show your ignorance.
RDR
September 7th, 2010
4:22 pm
pee jay’s “goofy” offense. I think it’ll stick.
Shane
September 7th, 2010
4:23 pm
The A She She is was the A She She is.
By far the worst BCS conference.