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
Matt the Brave
September 7th, 2010
6:55 pm
Y’all know I’m a die-hard Dawg, but really Coherd? You hate Atlanta because you were murdered in the ratings here. To quote: ““They don’t have the one program like an Alabama, Florida, Texas or USC, the go-to program in the big games.” Just because he loves these teams only blinds him to other good teams.
It’s just like him in baseball, too. If it were up to him, he’d want the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs, Angels and Dodgers only in the playoffs. EVERY YEAR. Because it’d get ‘ratings’, the only thing that Cowherd loves.
That all said, I think that Tech’s still going to lose to my beloved Dawgs. ;D
swd311
September 7th, 2010
6:58 pm
Dawgfan….please are you serious? I don’t hear anyone whining. VT loses by 3 to a #3 ranked Boise State team and that is whining. How about UNC without half their team losing with the ball on the 5? Uh? Boise would beat UGA by 45 in UGA and all the UGA fans would be crying like a Red Headed 5 year old after she stubbed her toe……..on the way to Nashville for the Music City Bowl where all the UGA rednecks could wear their hair like Elvis and break out their blue swade shoes!!! After the game you could post your victory and say we’ll get em’ next year by gosh!
West Coast Two Stars
September 7th, 2010
7:00 pm
u really stink – wow , lets talk about years gone bye since that fits your argument. You sound like a tech fan talking about the past , i say this year Boise would roll GA dogs. I think its funny how a non AQ school has such a better team than the GA dogs in the big bad SEC
swd311
September 7th, 2010
7:01 pm
Matt the Brave…..good luck to UGA and the game in Athens. Its nice to have those feelings for your team but I think you should concentrate on the next 9 games before you start worrying about Tech…again. BTW its gonna suck being only having 7 wins in that game and going to the Pizza Inn bowl in Shreveport….again.
swd311
September 7th, 2010
7:04 pm
For all you loser UGA fans…reality sucks…your team consists of a bunch of morons whol like the limelight of a huge football program that no one cares about outside of Georgia! Why am I talking trash? Well this is a GT blog! Get lost and go somewhere else with your stupidity!
swd311
September 7th, 2010
7:07 pm
Reality Stinks…go to Boise and play them there now! UGA would lose and lose big!!! Now go home from your job and leave us alone until the only game that matters to UGA.
Reality Stinks
September 7th, 2010
7:11 pm
West Coast 2 Dopes
I guess your a Big Bad Boise State fan who thinks he beat a top 10 team last night.
Well if you are I hate to burst your bubble, but VT will lose to Miami, GT, FSU, this year and make your so called upset nothing more than a joke
Because a 3 loss ACC team is big and bad blah blah hahahahahahahahahahaaha
By the way if your a GT fan, GT will lose to UGA and that makes things even worse
Reality Stinks
September 7th, 2010
7:19 pm
swd311
We have played the Blue Joke and would gladly play them again and beat them down again.
Lose and lose big, yea ok, just like VT got beat by us in the Chik
By the way congrats on the first time in 40+ years you got to go to a real bowl for once thinks to the ACC tie in,
though you embarrassed yourself and dropped the soap against IOWA another joke of a team enjoy that while you can because here comes FSU and Miami again
saban
September 7th, 2010
7:26 pm
Georgia Tech will be just fine.
Tech has the best coaching staff in the country and a perfect system for a school where folks actually attend classes and generally graduate.
At Georgia a successful year is beating Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and keeping the players out of jail.
Once the NCAA finishes with Georgia they will be missing a lot more than their red panties.
REally liked Athens the last time we visited. Richt`s black uniforms were so precious.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
7:29 pm
Saban , r u serious , tech has the best coaching staff in the country, wow , look how their QB has progressed , they say they show the most improvement between week 1 and week 2 – he may throw for 24 yards next game
Reality
September 7th, 2010
7:30 pm
@ Doug Robertson -
Cowherds comments interesting. Your negative slant on the ACC is unappreciated.
If VA Tech is over rated, that has no bearing on the ACC conference as a whole and certainly not on the other ACC teams.
UGA has been over rated for each of the last ten years – does that mean that the SEC has been a horrible conference?
A conference is not rated or defined by one team – a thought totally missed by SEC folks. You guys claim that because ONE team from the SEC does well in a season then the SEC is the ‘best’ conference – how silly! A conference is rated or defined by ALL teams in the conference from top to bottom.
The SEC is loaded with AVERAGE teams…. UGA, SC, Auburn, etc. It is also loaded with below average teams… Kentucky, Vandy, and let’s not forget that team that just lost to Jacksonville state. It has one or two GOOD teams…. Florida and Alabama.
The ACC has many above average teams… Clemson, GA Tech, FL State, Miami, VA Tech, etc. It has one below average team… Duke. It may not have that one or two superior teams, but overall, the ACC is a better football conference than the SEC.
dawg4u
September 7th, 2010
7:30 pm
Enter your comments here
Snellville GT
September 7th, 2010
7:31 pm
After Tech edges Kansas this week, the Jackets will step up another notch in the polls. You hafta like it. Do all the analyzing you wish.
CPJ ain’t nothin’ but a winner.
Reality Stinks
September 7th, 2010
7:31 pm
saban
Stop hiding behind a your dream coach, Nick Saban you tech joke
Your right about beating those teams but you forgot to add your team to that list the Ramblin Joke next to Coke
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
7:37 pm
snellville , you would like it if tech would inch their way up the polls one notch at a time for edging the big Kansas. you guys r pathetic , you should expect more from your great coach, josh to pass for 200 yards for beginners and bury your next opponent , not edge past them
GT Sambo
September 7th, 2010
7:37 pm
saban,
totally agree! We aren’t typically going to compete for an NC with UF, FSU, Texas, Alabama, and I am ok with that given everything you mentioned about Tech. Fortunately for us, UGA isn’t an elite program, so we have a chance to be competitive against them. Others here mentioned that we won’t get the elite talent to come to Tech b/c we don’t play a pro style offense. Newsflash! We didn’t get the elite talent when we did run a pro style offense for six years. Maybe we should be doing something different. I’d rather be one of the top schools in the south fighting for mobile, athletic QBs, smaller, more mobile OL, and smaller, speedy backs, than trying to compete with UF, FSU, and Alabama for pro-style 5-star QBs, RBs, WRs and OL.
dawg4u
September 7th, 2010
7:37 pm
Enter your comments here The name Cowherd just really fits this guy if you really thing about it. Every time I hear him I really do think about a bunch of cows. I could never listen for more than about 10-15 minutes and I love sports talk radio. This guy makes Keith Olbermann seem humble. How can one person be so arrogant and know so little is beyond me. The voice is one of the most irritating and annoying in sports and I thought Howard Cosell’s was the champ until I heard Cowherd.Cosell at least was very knowledgable about sports and had an opinion that was challenging and thought provoking. Cowherd just makes me scratch my head and think about how in the world he ever got a job on sports talk radio. He is clueless!
Reality Stinks
September 7th, 2010
7:38 pm
Reality
Your Above average ACC teams you listed lost to your average SEC UGA team the past decade last time they played one another,
Oh and your ACC division champ chumps both lost to average SEC teams in South Carolina and UGA
Nice Try
Stay Thirsty my Friends
Master of Analysis
September 7th, 2010
7:39 pm
You can’t cut-block Bulldogs, because their legs are too short, their faces are too ugly, and though they look tough, they are fragile and tire easily.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
7:41 pm
really stinks , your team is no better than tech , all the resources to be a top 5 team year in year out. but your team blows just like tech. your coach cant even take great recruiting classes and accomplish anything with it. they spend so much time in jail they cannot practice i guess?? GA should be talked about in the national spotlight every year , with ranking no less than 5 with all that is available to them. Nick Saban walked into Alabama 4 years ago and look at his body of work
mwh6767
September 7th, 2010
7:42 pm
to say tech isn’t on the right direction is foolish. Am I saying tech is an elite program no. You gotta play BCS games( done that) and win them. Yes Nesbitt , MUST progress as a passer for tech to get back to a BCS game and win it this year. Will it happen, I’m not sure. Has he progressed in this offense, most definitely. He runs the triple option portion of this offense with ease now. And alot of times that is plenty to win the ball game. Progress under Johnson for tech has been made by leaps and bounds. To say it hasn’t is just trying to be a hater.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
7:45 pm
no hater , but josh running the 3o smoothly wont win the big game. Your coach cannot develop a passer like the other 119 teams in college ball. Bench that motha and get another QB , your old coach gailey said the same thing , maybe next year
Reality Stinks
September 7th, 2010
7:48 pm
PJ’s Highschool offense
There is one thing about me you will find when the truth is spoken I will agree with the person
Im not a delusional fan so even though you talk bad about my team if there is truth to it I will agree
What you stated is pure fact about our coaches and players and I totally agree
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
7:54 pm
amen ,
someone who accepts the truth and did not tell me i forgot a period or place a comma in the wrong spot
You my friend may be one to talk football with
What does your football program plan on doing about this problem ??
mwh6767
September 7th, 2010
7:55 pm
Pj I’m sure you don’t follow the recruiting of Ga. Tech but the guys that are being brought in do have a better passing background so I do expect the passing to get better. I like don’t think you bench a senior capt. however. Yes he must show progress and that starts this week. I do think your expectations for a qb are a little out of whack. As a true objective fan of tech what I’m looking for out of nesbitt is 800-1000 rushing and 2000 yrds passing. This is very attainable, he had 1000 rush and 1700 pass last yr. He has got to get help from his recievers as well. Saw an earlier post about the lack of pass rush, I was at the game and tech got some hurries on the big qb but no sacks yes. In defense of tech they only rushed 4 i think five time and 5 only twice. Very vanilla on both sides of the ball. I will be much more worried if the pressure doesn’t pick up in the next two games.
Jared
September 7th, 2010
8:01 pm
Anyone who has ever watched ACC and SEC games can agree with this. The SEC games APPEAR to be better for two reasons, 1) the announcers praise both teams all game so you think that nobody ever loses a game in the SEC, that one team instead wins in some valiant way. 2) The crowds at the average SEC game are larger and louder than at the average ACC game.
All I ever hear is talk about SEC speed SEC speed. Give me a break. The number of NFL talent players in the ACC and SEC is virtually identical (look at the drafts the last 10 years if you don’t believe me). Even when a team has a fast player like a CJ Spiller, they say “wow he has SEC speed”… no your wrong he has ACC speed… he is in the ACC!
If you played games 1 through 12 for the SEC and ACC it would probably end up about 6-6. SEC would win some of the top games with the ACC taking many of the middle games. But it all goes back to perception, and the crowd factor decides that…. For example, watch a South Carolina vs. Ole Miss game that’s played at 8 pm, then watch a Clemson vs. Boston College game played at noon. The atmosphere alone makes you think the SEC teams are better, but if you swapped the atmosphere then you’d think the two ACC teams were better.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
8:02 pm
mwh6767 – i follow tech recruiting , vad lee , synyn days, forgive my spelling. Last year in the Orange Bowl it was evident that josh was not going to take tech where it needs to be , a lot of
people are going to accept his year this year because he is a senior , his lack of passing cannot be accpeted last week for a program like Tech.He had his chance to improve over the summer and failed against a weaker opponent.
Your defense failed to sack a 300lb QB that moves like a snail , i dont care how many you rushed , and logan walls stayed on his back all day
Stop making excuses for your team !!!
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
8:08 pm
Saban changed the world in 3 years , look at what he did at MSU , LSU. They are still riding the saban wave. Alabama raised the bar on expectations , Auburn is going to do the same thing, They will raise the bar because they must.
It is sad to see Georgia ( both schools )football become irrelevant , which if your are honest with yourself , it has
mwh6767
September 7th, 2010
8:11 pm
Pj isn’t a bcs bowl where you want to be? I understand everyones ultimate goal is the nat. title but the bcs bowls are the yardstick correct? You get to them your team must be doing something right correct? I’m not a fan of logan walls, ben anderson is back this week as well as robert hall so we will see if the push up front gets better.
mwh6767
September 7th, 2010
8:12 pm
I watched a good portion of the auburn game and hate to tell you they didn’t look that great on defense either
Reality Stinks
September 7th, 2010
8:16 pm
I can tell you this
If the arrests continue and the beat downs by FL occur again this year and next year without a win, Richt will not survive
I think Muschamp will be brought over by then if he doesnt go to LSU first because Miles is not going to make it this year, they look abysmal, and in my opinion LSU is the most under coached team in all of football.
I do bash Boise but they have probably one of the best coaches in college football, I could see him coming to UGA and with that talent he really could do something
Paul in RDU
September 7th, 2010
8:19 pm
Some interesting comments on here – I didn’t know you could judge a season based on 1 game.
robdawg08
September 7th, 2010
8:23 pm
Fact is last year Georgia (the 5th best SEC team) beat Ga Tech (the ACC champ). The running QB doesn’t work in NFL because every one on the defensive side of the ball is as fast as the QB and the defenses are the all-stars from many college teams not a guy playing linebacker at Maryland that will be selling insurance after he graduates college…
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
8:23 pm
two full years worth of passing and two full years of bowl stomping , not just barley loosing , but in the trenches beat down.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
8:25 pm
robdawg08 – well good for you , you should have beat tech , and never played that crappy bowl , should have played MNC
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
8:27 pm
robdawg08 your a genius , have you seen your recruiting classes the past ten years , come back when you know something
jarvis
September 7th, 2010
8:28 pm
Your conference is fine.
I like to take my shots at it, but just to make you knuckle heads angry. Cowherd has no idea what he’s talking about.
Watch Ponder throw all over W. Martinez’ secondary next week.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
8:31 pm
crickets , crickets paul in RDU
Jared
September 7th, 2010
8:33 pm
robdawg08:
I don’t think your argument works too well. The reason UGA beat GT one of the last two years against PJ’s option was the defense. The GT defense last year was horrendous and GT almost lost to just about every ACC opponent they played because of it. Scoring an average of 34.5 pts against UGA over two years doesn’t sound like anyone has “solved” the offense.
StingerSplash
September 7th, 2010
8:52 pm
I actually think the option offense would work in the NFL. Yes every player on defense is big and fast. That’s also true on offense. The problem is you’d need more than three quarterbacks, and i doubt guys would stand in line for the job.
Hmm… sounds like someone’s been listening to PJ ….
Because he’s said the same thing for about 12 years now.
GTPak
September 7th, 2010
8:57 pm
Doggies, you forget that we beat the crap out of your best team in decades with your NFL passing great QB so give it rest. No one really wants to hear you trying to live vicariously through your little football team, ranting, raving. Stay on topic or stay off the board!
Like many I never cared for Colin either, his voice is irritating, his analysis is faulty and I switch to another station when he comes on.
killerj
September 7th, 2010
8:58 pm
I love it when VT loses,over rated,just like Ugay.
Ugay morons
September 7th, 2010
9:26 pm
all you morons pointing the finger at CPJ’s “h.s. offense” well your precious SEC (Auburn) wanted him badly at the 08 season and Notre Dame was listing CPJ in the hunt in 09 and DRAD quickly gave him a raise. SO shut the blank up..Ugay has won nothing yet, a win over Lafayette doesn;t make u king of the hill. Nobody in your conference has done a d@mn thing lately except Bama and FL. VT and Clemson beat TN and Ky who beat you idiots last year so shut up
GT Sambo
September 7th, 2010
9:32 pm
My Goals for GT in 2010 (note – may not match CPJs):
Beat UGA
Win Bowl Game
Win the ACC
In that order!
steve D
September 7th, 2010
9:35 pm
I am a life long fan of Va Tech, but have to admit this guy is right.The whole team was trying to make it a one man show and got beat, they are just lucky it was not by more.Maybe they will get it together before its to late.
PJ's highscool offense
September 7th, 2010
9:35 pm
GT Sambo , im all ears ,how are u gonna obtain your goals , suit up and go out for the team
Tony Barnhart
September 7th, 2010
9:45 pm
Doug, clever how you mention “Cowherd” in order to generate readers. Your column is still lame-O mister.
NOBODYYOUKNOW
September 7th, 2010
9:47 pm
PJ’s offense will win some games. but lets admit it folks, the teams that win championships are the teams with big, intimidateing offensive and defenseive lines. And overpowering running backs. They will wear you down and beat you every time.
PJ wets the bed
September 7th, 2010
9:48 pm
Don’t worry guys, I still consult with Ken Niumatalolo from Navy on pointers for red zone offense.
Damon - shaken not stirred - Evans
September 7th, 2010
9:57 pm
Position Wanted – Former AD at major SEC school is interested in leading your program. Skill set includes Alumni relations, working with bail bondsman and sheriffs. Has affinity for woman’s lingerie and undergarments. Capable of crying like a little girl to avoid uncomfortable situations. Salary Negotiable.