NCAA Football

To the ordinary sports fan, college football has been put into the rear view mirror and will not be unearthed until the local farmers market starts advertising for pumpkins and hay bales. To the college football aficionados, the season never ends. The coaching carousel spins to the tune of the school marching band. Players make decisions regarding their football careers. Athletic directors and officials attend meeting after meeting discussing rule changes and violations. The most disturbing thing which seems to rear it’s ugly head however is the headline grabbing scandals.

The University of Miami started the wave pool when popular home-grown head coach Randy Shannon was let loose with his offensive coordinator Mark Whipple after they failed to beat cross state University of South Florida. A game where pre season press phenom Jacory Harris was supposed to bring back the ways of “The U” with an explosive offense to match Shannon’s defense. It never happened, Harris struggled and to the bench he went for freshmen Steven Morris. Didn’t matter. Gone was Shannon and Whipple for the a Golden boy named Al. Al Golden injected life into the Temple Owls, the Division I school from the heart of North Philadelphia. Temple Football teetered dangerously with extinction before coach Golden sent the Owls bowling. Miami wants to keep a clean image. The Ghosts of “the U” are shuttering at the thought. Time will tell , but Miami and Al Golden will give it the old college try…

Fiesta Bowl official John Junker for 30 years was the driving force behind the Fiesta Bowl, one of the BCS shining jewels. Then came this year when the decision was made to take Big East over achievers UConn with the stoic Randy Edsall and send them from the chilled northeast to the warm environs of Tempe, Arizona to meet the Boomer Sooners. College football fans cringed at this matchup and tried to convince themselves that UConn had a punchers chance. The box office took a beating. UConn students and alumni couldn’t gather enough financial support and they took a bath both in the pocket and on the field. This mismatch helped bring light to the ledger sheet and found strip clubs, birthday parties and trips were financed by this non-profit bowl. Edsall moved on to Maryland, considered an upgrade, while the BCS brains decide what to do. The Cotton Bowl is already being whispered as replacing the Fiesta as an official BCS bowl. The dilemma is to do whats right. The BCS will give it the old college try…

With the state of the NFL unknown, the NFL draft fast approaches. The combines have come and gone and the draftniks have changed their mind on a weekly basis. Prospective draft picks hold pro days and edit film of their greatest hits to try to achieve the dream of every 65 pounder playing Pop Warner, make it on the stage on the first day of the draft. These gifted talents by now have accepted invitations to be in New York City for the opportunity to don that team cap. Some will squirm in their seats as the numbers are called. The camera will focus on these guy’s discomfort and dismay. There will be surprises no doubt. Some kid will be grocery shopping when he gets the call. It happens every year. The current NFL players union or non-union tries to encourage these kids not to attend the draft to show solidarity. These are the same guys that will make their new teammates buy the breakfast at camp, carry helmets and get the chicken for the road trips. Just today, the NCAA player security official warned the students that accepting anything at the sponsored draft parties would jeopardize their own eligibility, a black mark , per se. Both the NFL Players and NCAA want the potential new millionaires to do the right thing. In a few weeks the pictures may become clearer but both are giving it the old college try…..

The Big East and Villanova started flirting with each other at the end of last season. Villanova coach Andy Talley brings the Wildcats to the top echelon of their group year after year. Players are getting invites to NFL camps. There is a school spirit that erupts on the main line of Philadelphia on Saturdays. They have a radio network covering their games and local news will give you their highlights more consistently then Temple and Penn, both bigger and more recognizable schools. The Big East actually evicted Temple for its lack of interest in football and the failure to uphold the expectations of a conference seeking football recognition. Temple now plays in the MAC and has fans filling the lower bowl at Lincoln Financial Field. Villanova plays in the CAA at their own cozy horseshoe. There are many details to be worked out for Villanova to meet Big East standards in football but the parties are talking. Both are giving it the old college try….

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Tags: College Football, NCAA