MIke,
You realize you totally contradict yourself by saying last year means nothing, but then saying last year's champ basically gets to be #1 by default until they lose, right? Also, if you don't think TCU is the 3rd best team in the nation, why rank them there? Isn't that the whole point? Otherwise, I can't take too much issue with your rankings. They seem mostly about right, Wisconsin included. Wisky's rush offense is ridiculous.
I'm fairly certain this decision was based on the fairly unique set of facts presented (a signed letter of intent but he had never suited up for Iowa, and an unforeseen coaching change after the LOI was signed). Once a player has actually played for a B10 program, or without a coaching change, I'm certain the rule against intraconference transfers would stand. The fact that Brust has, as far as I know, a good academic record and is from the heart of Big Ten country (making it understandable he would want to stay within the conference) probably didn't hurt his case either.
It just gets more ridiculous every year. 70 bowl teams? And not only has MAKING a bowl has lost all meaning whatsoever, but, apparently playing after the New Year now has as well. The "Dallas Football Classic" on January 1st? Big Ten No. 7 vs Big XII no. 8? Kind of takes away the prestige of a "New Year's Day Bowl", no? And what is with all these stupid games a week into the new year? The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl? The GMAC Bowl? And finally, to conclude my rant, the BCS title game is January 10th?! 10 full days after the Rose and Fiesta and a week after the Orange and Sugar? Let's just put it the Saturday before the Super Bowl, have a full blown "championship weekend" and be done with it.
I liked the general notion that the games got bigger as the bowl season went forward, culminating in a football feast of epic proportions on January 1st. If you want to put a couple BCS games a day or two into the new year to give them a primetime football audience, fine.
But this has just become absurd. *end rant*
Jeez Tiger. Nickelback? Really? I don't profess to have good taste in music. I like all kinds of stuff that music snobs would consider incredibly lame and mainstream. But even I know that Nickelback might be the worst thing in the history of top-40 radio. They are beyond horrendous. I cannot farily put my hatred of Nickelback into words, but, as with the infamous Facebook page, I'm a lot bigger fan of the pickle.
The sideline reporters are fine when they provide releavnt injury updates, some insight into the mood on the sideline at a particular point in the game, or eavesdrop on a heated conversation between two coaches or a player and a coach and fill us in, stuff like that. But I agree that the questions they ask heading into or out of halftime are beyond inane.
Reporter -- "Coach, you're down 21-0 at half, what do you need to do differently?"
Coach (looking annoyed and bewildered) -- "Uh, stop getting our butts kicked?"
To expand on that, the conventional thinking is he probably could have had the St. John's OR Seton Hall jobs had he aggressively pursued them, but instead made it known the high major D-1 opening that most appealed to him was Iowa. He wanted to be here. His wife is from Minnesota and he wanted to return to the midwest. Combine that with success as a head coach at three stops, success as a high-major assistant, and a style of play that should be pleasing, and I think this is a solid hire. He is said to have good recruiting connections in Philly and NYC. Is it the splash most of the fanbase wanted? No. But this guy looks real solid, and I don't think this is Lickliter part deux as some are already contending. Give him a fair chance. I'm optimistic you'll like what you find.
Good post, but one small quibble Scott. Iowa was not a bubble team in 1999. Between the KU win and a winning record in a good Big Ten, there was no selection Sunday drama. That Iowa team was a 5-seed IIRC, which is why they were playing #1 UConn in the round of 16.
I agree with these comments. I'm far more concerned about OL than LB. On a scale of 1 to 10, with one being "we're all set, no problems at all" and 10 being "Oh no, this is the position that's going to derail an otherwise great season," linebackers are about a 3 or 4. Offensive line is more like a 6 or 7, if not an 8.
I don't think Ferentz was ever on the "hot seat," but, at the same time, after losing 5 games in '05 (albeit 3 in heartbreaking or crazy fashion), 7 games in '06, and 6 games in '07, I don't think he was exactly comfortable either. Iowa was 5-4 going into the '08 PSU game, and coming off an absoulute clunker against a mediocre-to-bad Illinois team. The perception that Iowa simply could not, under any circumstances, pull out a close game or come from behind in the 4th quarter was very, very real.
My point? I don't know if I can ever recall a single win changing the fortunes and perception of an entire program and coaching staff as much as that 2008 Penn State game in Kinnick. I don't think you can underestimate the importance of that win. And they haven't looked back, going 14-2 since, with even both losses being close, winnable games.
I've got one from left field -- Todd Bozeman. Think about it. It's been 14 years since his transgression. If one believes in second chances, it could be perfect redemption for both a coach and a basketball program that have fallen far. It would make a splash and leadoff SportsCenter. He's 42-6 in his last 48 conference games at Morgan State. The guy can coach and recruit.
Yes, he made a horrible mistake. He also paid his price. Someone's going to give him a shot, why not Iowa? People said Bruce Pearl couldn't make it back either. If he succeeds he'd likely stay loyal where some other mid major guys might seek to climb even higher. African American, still pretty young (46), his team averages 77 points a game (Iowa fans are clamoring for a more uptempo game). Don't dismiss this out of hand. Google him and read some of the articles about him.
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Invention