What If College Football Was Narrated Like A Nature Film?

The landscape that is college football sometimes can be described as a jungle at times but the below video might take it to a whole other level.

Here is what the Iowa/Wisconsin game would have been like if it was a nature documentary:

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Bowling Season In College Football Now Open

Ah yes, it’s that time of year again. Temperatures are low all across the country, snow, rain, and cold are usual forecasts many meteorologists predict in every neck of the woods. Kids cross off dates on their calendars, eagerly anticipating that final day of school before being let free for winter break. Malls fill with adults trying to find the gift their children have been begging for the past few weeks.

Then there is, of course, College football bowl games. It might not have a catchy-ring to represent it like “March Madness” does for basketball, but there is no denying the excitement of “Bowl Season”.

Curious about what the season encompasses? Well here’s a break down of the simple logistics of what is in store: 35 games, 70 teams, four weeks, 25 days off hard-hitting, game breaking plays by some of the best, young collegiate talent in the nation. Bowling kicks off on December 18th and culminates on January 10th for the championship game.

With so many games, players, and teams; finding out which games will have the biggest buzz and major studs can be a pain to figure out. Luckily, that won’t be the case for 2011. Here are some non-BCS and BCS games that fans can watch while enjoying the holidays:

Capital One Bowl – Michigan State vs Alabama

How could this match-up not be intriguing; last year’s championship title winners and preseason number one ranked team going up against a program that shares the honors of winning the Big Ten this season?

In the infamous words of WR Terrell Owens: Get ya popcorn ready.

This game contains some of the best players and two of the top teams in college football with talent and value high enough to be a BCS matchup. Sadly though, this is a bowl game that will fall under the “other” category.

Alabama Running back (and 2009 Heisman trophy winner) Mark Ingram and 2010 second team All-American WR Julio Jones are the main features in a Crimson Tide offense that under-performed during the 2010 season.

Coach Mark Dantonio leads a Michigan State team looking for some admiration for a college known more for its basketball program. With an 11-1 record (their best finish ever), the Spartans will be drooling over the chance to knock off the highly decorated Alabama team in hopes of solidifying their arrival as a perennial, football program.

Gator Bowl – Michigan vs Mississippi State

Many games have a strong pull because of the teams, the talent of the players, or the rivalry between the programs. This is one of those games that have virtually none of these issues, but still has big significance dependent upon its outcome.

For weeks now, rumors and questions have been swirling around the Michigan’s program. Will Rich Rodriguez be fired? Who will come in to take over the program? Can Michigan really ever get back to what they used to be? If Rodriguez wants to start silencing the rumors and keep his job, he’ll need a big win at the Gator Bowl.

For Mississippi State, it’s all about winning to build on an impressive season for the program. They sport a running game that ranks 16th in college football and a brilliant offensive mind in Coach Dan Mullen. Beating Michigan will give them more respectability in their tough SEC conference, as well as their first bowl win since the Liberty Bowl in 2007.

BCS Sugar Bowl – Arkansas vs Ohio State

Want a very even match-up with promising talent, headline coaches and historic football programs? This is the game to tune into when January 4th rolls around.

Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel and dual threat, junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor will head into New Orleans to face off against Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino and the strong arm of QB Ryan Mallett for one of the premier BCS bowl games in the Sugar Bowl.

Tressel leads a Buckeyes squad that is one of the best running offenses in the country (14th in college football) that can score an awful lot of points in a hurry. Along with a high-powered running attack, the team has a defense that is one of the stingiest in allowing points (third in the country).

Petrino will have no worries with his Razorbacks team currently 8th in the BCS rankings. Mallett runs a strong passing offense team that can hurl the ball all over the field (third in college football for passing yards) and players he loves to feed (five players with 40 receptions or more on the season).

No doubt, the key to this game will be Ohio State’s defense against the Arkansas offense. The edge of that battle will probably determine the victor of the game.

BCS Rose Bowl – TCU vs Wisconsin

This game will have numerous labels: a runner-up match, a debate an undefeated team not playing for the national title, a non-automatic qualifier against a major conference champion.

The TCU Horned Frogs are the David in this match up against the Goliath that is the co-Big Ten champion Wisconsin Badgers. TCU will be pushing hard for a win with hopes of ending any doubts the pundits have had all season about a top five, non-major conference program.

Wisconsin will be ready to give them their all when the kick off happens on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. They have a three-headed, monster running lineup (James White, John Clay, Montee Ball) that helps to make them one of the best running teams in all of football (12th in the nation). Their run game is also a main reason they average over 40 points per game.

TCU will surely be ready with such an efficient running game when they themselves sport one of most decorated defenses in the nation. Currently, they are the best in the nation in points allowed per game and have two All Americans on defense in safety Tejay Johnson (1st team) and linebacker Tank Carder (2nd team).

Wisconsin’s offense vs TCU’s defense is the key match up for this one.

BCS Championship Game – Auburn vs Oregon

The chain of bowl games end when the Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks roll through Glendale, Arizona on January 10th to see who can claim this season as college football champions.

This battle has the potential to be a high-scoring affair, with eye-popping plays from start to finish. Both teams rank in the top ten for scoring and rushing in comparison to the rest of the Division I colleges. That’ll happen when you have two of the most electrifying standouts in the nation.

This year’s poster boy in college football is Heisman trophy winner and 1st team All-American quarterback Cam Newton, and he is the main cog in the Auburn offensive engine. A dynamic athlete who can break plays with his legs, the junior QB can now also create plays with his arm. An impressive game, along with a win, for the young superstar will raise his stock in next year’s draft, which might be too tantalizing of an opportunity to pass up for his senior season in college.

The only problem is that the Oregon Ducks have one of the most explosive running backs in LaMichael James to counter the Auburn QB. The 2011 Doak Walker Award winner (for the best running back in college football) James is small in stature (five feet, nine inches tall at 185 pounds), but can break off some big runs (eight games with at least one run of 30 yards or more).

The Tigers will be a tough foe, but the Ducks have all the potential to topple them for the BCS title.

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Fantasy Drafthelp: College Football Team Draft

Suggested League Guidelines

Take 6 owners and conduct a 7-round standard draft. Points will be assigned at four intervals: when the September 26 Associated Press poll is released, when the October 31 Associated Press poll is released, when the December 5 Associated Press poll is released and when the final BCS poll is released after the national championship game. The September 26 poll accounts for 20% of the total score (with the exception of the bonus points, which are mentioned below), the October 31 poll accounts for 20% of the total score, the December 5 poll accounts for 20% of the total score and the final BCS poll accounts for 40% of the total score.

For the first three polls, scoring is as follows: 1st place (50 points), 2nd place (45 points), 3rd place (43 points), 4th place (42 points), 5th place (41 points), 6th place (38 points), 7th place (37 points), 8th place (36 points), 9th place (35 points), 10th place (34 points), 11th place (30 points), 12th place (29 points), 13th place (28 points), 14th place (27 points), 15th place (26 points), 16th place (22 points), 17th place (21 points), 18th place (20 points), 19th place (19 points), 20th place (18 points), 21st place (13 points), 22nd place (12 points), 23rd place (11 points), 24th place (10 points), 25th place (9 points).

Points are doubled in the final poll, since it accounts for twice the point total of each of the three previous ones. Additional bonuses are awarded for the following accomplishments: 25 points for winning the BCS Title Game, 10 points for earning a spot in the BCS Title Game, 10 points for a conference title (or piece of one), 12 points for winning a BCS Bowl Game, 6 points for earning a spot in a BCS Bowl Game, 5 points for winning a non-BCS bowl game, 10 points for having the Heisman Trophy winner on one of your teams.

2010 Draft Board

TOP TIER
1 Alabama
SECOND TIER
2 Ohio State
3 Boise State
THIRD TIER
4 Texas
5 Florida
6 TCU
7 Nebraska
8 Virginia Tech
9 Oregon
10 Iowa
11 Oklahoma
FOURTH TIER
12 USC
13 Miami
14 Wisconsin
FIFTH TIER
15 North Carolina
16 Georgia Tech
17 Pittsburgh
18 Arkansas
19 Florida State
20 LSU
21 Penn State
SIXTH TIER
22 Georgia
23 Auburn
24 Cincinnati
25 West Virginia
26 Oregon State
SEVENTH TIER
27 Utah
28 Houston
29 UConn
30 Notre Dame
31 South Carolina
32 Navy
33 Temple
34 Missouri
35 Stanford
36 California
37 Texas A&M
38 Arizona
39 Washington
40 Middle Tenn St
41 BYU

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College Football Coaches 2009-10: In Memoriam

One of the best college football blogs out there is, "Everyday Should Be Saturday".

This is one of their latest gems called, "In Memoriam: 2009-2010" which signifies the loss of college football coaches who left or were fired from their jobs during that time-frame.

Hey, a cameo from Yo-Yo Ma.

(Courtesy of EDSBS)

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THE FLIP SIDE: What Was Harbaugh Thinking?...I'll Tell You

As if scoring more points than any other team in history on the Trojans' home turf was not enough, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh attempted a two point conversion with the game out of hand. Through the rest of the weekend, the story line morphed from the play on the field to the meeting of the head coaches at midfield after the game. Sources tell us that canter was pulled straight out of the back of the recess line of your local elementary school following a heated dodge ball game.

Pete Carroll: "What's your deal?"

Jim Harbaugh: "What's YOUR deal?"

Now all that I have read and heard from media and fans alike are dumbfounded questions and comments wondering where the line is drawn on proper etiquette in the drubbing of an opponent. Seems as if the interpretation of the two point conversion attempt is something of the personal sort between Carroll and Harbaugh. While this stance is the most obvious and a logical one at that, might I ask readers to consider an alternative. What if Harbaugh's decision had nothing to do with Carroll and USC? Is that really possible? Can you wrap your mind around this conclusion?

If not, consider this. After a successful career in the NFL which his pesky presence led a team to the Super Bowl, he chose to coach. Though he coached briefly in the pros, he strayed quickly from the predictable path of a former player turned coach. What we are talking about here is a man who, in the infantile stages of his coaching career, volunteered at Western Kentucky followed by his first head coaching job at the University of San Diego. Just to be clear in case you skimmed over that last part. WESTERN Kentucky, not the Wildcats of the SEC. And hallowed members of the Pioneer League, San Diego Toreros, stadium capacity: 6,000. Hardly the path of least resistance for a Michigan grad and all-pro quarterback with coaching in his bloodline. And now Stanford. A campus much more acclaimed for its brains that its brawn. A high profile school, yes, but few would argue the toughest place to recruit talent to contend with the likes of USC is in Palo Alto. I've heard the whole "graduate from our school and see how many job offers you get", doesn't really go over well with blue chip All-American talent.

All that said, the path that Jim Harbaugh has paved in his coaching career are very indicative of his choice to go for 2 against the defeated kings of college football's recent history. To me, its obvious Jim Harbaugh takes pride in making the ugly duckling not just cute, but a mantle piece. 2 national titles in 3 years at San Diego? Volunteering to recruit the bulk of players at WKU who also won a national title? He must know something about winning football that many do not. In fairness, he has not chosen winners and kept them that way. He has turned odor into aroma many times over for less than prominent programs. With his apparent commitment to success over notoriety, I have a hard time believing that Coach Harbaugh decided to make a 2 point conversion about something personal. maybe a better reason for going for the even 50 against the USC is that he is committed to making his school believe that their play is worthy of making people mad...even the Trojans. Finally that stench of losing on the Cardinal sideline is fading because of the aromatic delight that is the leadership of Jim Harbaugh.

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Kirk Herbstreit likes to “Salsa”

The smell of college football is in the air and we are only a few hours away from the first game.

The ESPN College Gameday crew has finally put out their latest commercial offering with current Alabama coach Nick Saban.

I did not know that Herbstreit wanted to be on Dancing with the Stars, maybe he could take tips from Kenny Mayne.

(Courtesy of Roll Bama Roll)

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