College Football Pass or Fail: Offseason Recap

Day two of game week only means four more days until Alabama and Virginia Tech kick off in Atlanta, and only two more until South Carolina/NC State and Oregon/Boise State.

Of course, the path to these games takes all off-season to prepare for, and some things went better for some teams than others.

Sure, there will be some hits and misses here, but this is the gist of things from the off-season that will have the greatest impact in 2009.

Head of the Class: Heisman hype is here! Even though not one game has yet to kickoff, it is pretty safe to say the Heisman trophy of 2009 will go to one position, and one of three men who play it. Short of Best running for 1500 yards or Dez, Julio or AJ going for 1200 and 15 TDs, Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, or Colt McCoy will come away with the bronze this December. Never in the history of college football have two Heisman winners returned for a season, and surprisingly, neither of them have a legit leg up on the other two vying for the title. None the less, this season should be a real treat for college football fans watching these guys battle it out, and to see if anyone can actually challenge them for a spot in New York.

Pass: Minnesota moving outside this year. The Golden Gophers will now have a new home at the TCF Bank Stadium. The new digs include a horseshoe style stadium with two levels located just outside of town on Minneapolis plus a very soccer-esque look of colored seats with the school name spelled out in the seats. The weather may not be a factor for the first game against Air Force, but once Illinois comes calling November 7th, the snow and cold might sway the play of the Ilini in that game.

Fail: Credentials are out of control. After the incident with a blogger and Tim Tebow at SEC Media Days, I have to call into question who the SEC and other conferences allow to their Media Days and other events. Personally, I don't view an individual blogger as a member of the media. If the blogger is connected to a respected site or newspaper, sure, let them in. In other words, I have more credentials than the crack addict who asked Tebow if he has used his Heisman trophy as a seduction tool. With this precedent, don't be surprised if in three years the SEC is getting requests from people on Facebook with 1,000 friends or Twitter with 500 followers. The SEC needs a stricter policy before the circus that hits Hoover every July gets even more out of hand.

Pass: Everybody, say hello to Western Kentucky. Yes, yes, team number 120 becomes official this year as the Hilltoppers join the Sun Belt conference as a part of the Bowl Subdivision. After two years in a relative purgatory, Big Red and Co. have ascended into the realm of the big boys. Their initial prize, opening at Neyland Stadium.

Fail: Oh yea, that Kiffin guy may have finally shut up. Maybe. Speaking of Neyland, one man who made more headlines than his team did was Lane Kiffin. The Vols did a good job of recruiting under Kiffin in his first go-around, but the Village Idiot had plenty to say about his guys, his opponents and his opponents guys. Around Media Days, he had finally toned things down a bit, but the man still needs to learn one important lesson in life: even if you are nervous, you must breathe.

Pass: New Rules!!! As usual, the Rules Committee has decided that college football isn't restricted enough, so they came up with new rules once again. For the first time in almost four years, they didn't touch the clock, which is probably why this is a pass rather than a fail. The two major additions are as follows: First, teams are now allowed to play through the whistle on a play deemed an incomplete pass. What this means is that if the ruling on the field is overturned to a fumble, and the defense recovers, the defense will get the ball. Second, the road teams will now be allowed to wear dark colors as long as they do not clash with the home team's jerseys. In other words, don't be shocked if the Village Idiot goes into Gainesville on September 19th wearing orange.

Fail: Watch lists going off of school rather than skill. Before reading this, take a look at the Davey O'Brien Award watch list for the best quarterback in college football. Now, here is what I see wrong with this picture: Ryan Mallett and Aaron Corp have never started a college football game. EVER. Hell, Aaron Corp lost his starting job, yet still made this list. Josh Nesbitt of Georgia Tech had 123 ATTEMPTS last season, only completing 54 of them for a 44% completion rating, and he is on the list. Tyrod Taylor threw for 1036 yards last season and made this list. My problem with this list, as well as others done before the season, is how are guys who perform well suppose to make it into the running? What if Joe Cox or Greg McElroy light up defenses this year? What should they do about Crompton if he decides to finally play like a man? What about if Matt Barkley or Russell Shepard lead their team to the National Title game? Why even have a watch list to begin with? Each individual award is better off waiting for the season to play out a bit, just like the BCS, and then unveiling their semifinalists for all the world to see. But then again, this is college football, logic doesn't exist.

Epic Fail: Florida State vs. Miami, tickets STILL available. Only ten years ago, it was one of the most vicious, talked about rivalries in college football. Now, it can't even fill a stadium. Labor Day evening used to be known for this game, now its just there. With Randy Shannon struggling to right the Hurricanes ship, and Florida State making more news off the field than on, no one really cares about this game. In all actuality, Miami could start an 0-4 season at this game, and I wouldn't put it past them.

Links

• My weekly Tuesday favorite is no other than Pat Forde's "Forde Yard-Dash." It covers forty national topics in the span of the column for each week of the season. To kick things off, he looks as to why this season will be a special one in the minds of college football fans. Forde's twitter is @espn4d.
• Want to know the best games to watch for this season? Well, Mark Schlabach has taken time out of his day to lay out the schedule for every week of the season, and you can bet there are potential upsets every week of the season. His twitter is @Mark_Schlabach.
• One man who knows and loves college football is Tony Barnhart, columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has a blog that runs every day in the AJC, and today's is on coach Saban's new contract and how Alabama has him at a bargain. His twitter is @MrCFB.
• From the Sporting News' Matt Hayes, here is a look at why Atlanta has become the new college football hot spot for premiere games to begin the season and why the city may be pushing these marquee games year after year. The twitter for all things Sporting News is @sninsider.
• Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples began his new blog for the site on college football today called In the Trenches, and today he has already gotten a post up about his attempt to secure the records from coaches voting in the ESPN/USAToday poll. His twitter is @Andy_Staples.
• I know football is now only two days away, but anyone who knows me knows that basketball is as much of a draw as football. In other words, here is the preview of the SEC for this season from espn.com, with Alabama being mentioned only when Anthony Grant is mentioned as well.