As I've mentioned many times on this College Sports blog, there are thousands of college student-athletes who excel on and off the field and court, but do not get the recognition because they don't play for "big time" programs.
In this article, I want to recognize some football players from Eureka College, an NCAA Div. lll school located in Eureka, ILL. Ten Eureka players recently received recognition from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. Headlining the list was Eureka SR QB Nick Lindsey. Lindsey had a tremendous Senior season to finish his four year career with the Red Devils. He led the UMAC with 317.4 yards of total offense per game, and passed for 2,471 yards and 23 touchdowns (second among UMAC quarterbacks). Lindsey also rushed for 703 yards, which was sixth in the UMAC for rushing yards and first among UMAC quarterbacks.
Eureka Sophomore WR Wes Schmidgall led the league with 1,247 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. A transfer from the NAIA's Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, Schmidgall averaged 124.7 receiving yards per game, which was the fifth-highest total in all of Division III. Freshman Kicker Travis Huber made First Team All-UMAC. The Morton, ILL native finished his Freshman year with a perfect 6-for-6 on field goal attempts, and set Eureka's all time record for longest FG made when he converted a 43-yard field goal against Crown College on Nov. 7.
Two Eureka Senior defensive players made First Team All-UMAC. they are Linebacker Matt Knake and Corner Back Cody Troutman. Knake led the league in tackles with 105, including 45 solo tackles. Knake also led the Red Devils with 12 tackles for loss. Troutman finished his four year career in a Red Devils uniform with an outstanding season in 09. The Normal, ILL native finished the season with 77 tackles and led the team with interceptions with four. In fact, Eureka went 3-0 in games in which Troutman made an interception.
Five Eureka players earned Second team UMAC honors. Lineman Todd Stewart helped the Red Devil Offense gain 4,296 yards of total offense in 2009, which was third in the UMAC. Jr. tight End Dillon Reed set new personal records this season with 36 catches for 497 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Rounding out (but certainly not least) the list of Eureka stand outs are Rosney Beverly, DeMarco Neal and Mike Minehan. All three are defensive players and earned Second Team All-UMAC honors.
Overall, the 2009 season for Eureka was a struggle. The Red Devils went 3-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play. However, regardless of the final record, to have 10 players to make All-Conference is truly an accomplishment. To find out more about Eureka College and the Red Devils, you can visit the school's athletic web site at www.eureka.edu/athletics. I have had the pleasure of meeting Eureka's Athletic Director Paul Bryant, who I helped as a Clothing Consultant at my place of work; K&G Men's Fashion Store in Atlanta. If you are a high school student-athlete and are interested in playing sports in college, contact Paul Bryant at pbryant@eureka.edu <pbryant@eureka.edu.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Bowl Season Coming To An End
There are several people in the sports media who say that all of the "second tier bowls" are meaningless and they don't bother to watch them. I disagree. Let's look at the GMAC Bowl played last night between Central Michigan, out of the Mid America Conference (MAC) and the University of Troy, out of the Sun Belt Conference. the game was an exciting, high-scoring game featuring one of the best quarterbacks in College Football: Central Michigan's Dan LeFevoor.
LeFevoor led his team to another come from behind victory to give CMU a 44-41 overtime win. It is, I believe, the 9th time in his career that he has brought his team back from behind. Many scouts believe he will be a top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Who can forget the solid win the Iowa Hawkeyes had over Ga. Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl. Iowa's defense was outstanding, in particular Linebacker Adrian Clayborne, who was named the MVP of the FedEx Orange Bowl. I truly enjoyed seeing Boise St. and TCU battle it out in the Fiesta Bowl. Both teams came in undefeated and ranked among the top 10 in the country. It was the first time two schools from "Non-BCS" conferences were in a BCS bowl game. I would have liked to see them play one of the "big name" schools, but never the less, I thought it was an entertaining game (Boise St. won 17-10).
Other non-BCs bowls that I thought were very compelling include the Capital One Bowl. Northwestern QB Mike Kafka did everything he could to bring back the Wildcats, who were down 21-7 to Auburn, to tie the game at 21 all. The game went into overtime and Auburn won 36-33. If the Northwestern FG Kicker could have made 1 of his 3 missed field goals, the Wildcats would have upset their SEC opponents. It was fun to see Ohio St. finally win a BCS bowl game. They had lost twice in the National Championship Game in years past, both to LSU and Florida, but were able to beat an exciting Oregon team out of the PAC-10. Well, there's one more game left. It's for ALL the marbles: the BCS National Championship Game between #1 Alabama and #2 Texas. I hope it lives up to the hype. I remember a few years ago when USC played Oklahoma for the National Championship in the FedEx Orange Bowl. There was so much hype, but it ended in a blow out with USC winning something like 45-10. The greatest college football game ever played, in my opinion, was Boise St. vs Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl back in 2006. A heavy underdog, Boise St. upset the Sooners 43-42 in OT, and the BSU running back who scored the touchdown proposed to his fiance, a BSU cheerleader, on national television. I think Alabama will win, but I hope the game is close. I'll go ahead and pick a score: 27-20 in favor of the Crimson Tide.
LeFevoor led his team to another come from behind victory to give CMU a 44-41 overtime win. It is, I believe, the 9th time in his career that he has brought his team back from behind. Many scouts believe he will be a top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Who can forget the solid win the Iowa Hawkeyes had over Ga. Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl. Iowa's defense was outstanding, in particular Linebacker Adrian Clayborne, who was named the MVP of the FedEx Orange Bowl. I truly enjoyed seeing Boise St. and TCU battle it out in the Fiesta Bowl. Both teams came in undefeated and ranked among the top 10 in the country. It was the first time two schools from "Non-BCS" conferences were in a BCS bowl game. I would have liked to see them play one of the "big name" schools, but never the less, I thought it was an entertaining game (Boise St. won 17-10).
Other non-BCs bowls that I thought were very compelling include the Capital One Bowl. Northwestern QB Mike Kafka did everything he could to bring back the Wildcats, who were down 21-7 to Auburn, to tie the game at 21 all. The game went into overtime and Auburn won 36-33. If the Northwestern FG Kicker could have made 1 of his 3 missed field goals, the Wildcats would have upset their SEC opponents. It was fun to see Ohio St. finally win a BCS bowl game. They had lost twice in the National Championship Game in years past, both to LSU and Florida, but were able to beat an exciting Oregon team out of the PAC-10. Well, there's one more game left. It's for ALL the marbles: the BCS National Championship Game between #1 Alabama and #2 Texas. I hope it lives up to the hype. I remember a few years ago when USC played Oklahoma for the National Championship in the FedEx Orange Bowl. There was so much hype, but it ended in a blow out with USC winning something like 45-10. The greatest college football game ever played, in my opinion, was Boise St. vs Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl back in 2006. A heavy underdog, Boise St. upset the Sooners 43-42 in OT, and the BSU running back who scored the touchdown proposed to his fiance, a BSU cheerleader, on national television. I think Alabama will win, but I hope the game is close. I'll go ahead and pick a score: 27-20 in favor of the Crimson Tide.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Men's College Basketball Coach With Most Wins....Not Who You Think
In the long history of US College Basketball, there have been many great coaches: Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, John Wooden, Pat Summit in the Women's game, we could go on and on. However, with the exception of Summit, none of these other coaches have won as many games as Harry Slatham, the Men's Basketball Coach at McKendree University in Lebanon, ILL.
As of Dec. 15, 2009, Slatham has won 1,005 games during his 44-year coaching career at McKendree, an NAIA Div. l school in Lebanon, ILL near St. Louis, MO. That's more than Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and John Wooden. He is the all-time winningest coach in ALL of Men's College Basketball, including NCAA Div. l. He has only Tennessee Women's Coach Pat Summit to beat. It is amazing that Coach Slatham has stayed at one place for 44 years. The only other college coaches I know of who have that long of a tenure are football coaches: Bobby Bowdon and Joe Paterno.
Slatham reached the 1,000 win mark when his Bearcats defeated East-West University 79-48 in the McKendree classic on Nov. 13. His most recent win came on Dec. 15 of this year when the Bearcats defeated Concordia (MO) 84-38. Currently, the Bearcats are 10-5 on the season. During the 2008-09 campaign, Slatham guided the Bearcats to a 14-0 America Midwest Conference record en route to winning the regular season championship and a berth into the NAIA Div. l National Tournament in which McKendree reached the "elite 8" for the third time in school history. That is just one of the many, many accomplishments of Slatham's tenure at McKendree. Slatham has led the Bearcats to post season play in 38 out of his 43 years of coaching at McKendree. The 2009-10 season will mark Slatham's 44th year at the school.
McKendree has qualified for the NAIA National Tournament 13 times in its history, and Slatham has been the coach all 13 of those years. He led the Bearcats to 5 straight NAIA "Big Dance" appearances from 1999-2004. Since he began his tenure at McKendree in 1966, Slatham's teams have averaged 23 wins a season and reached the 20 win mark 31 times.
I wonder how many offers this man has gotten from Mid Major NCAA Div. l programs such as Southern Illinois, Bradley, St. Louis or other schools. McKendree is fortunate to have had Coach Slatham for as long they have. Here are some of the many accomplishments Slatham has achieved while at McKendree:
As of Dec. 15, 2009, Slatham has won 1,005 games during his 44-year coaching career at McKendree, an NAIA Div. l school in Lebanon, ILL near St. Louis, MO. That's more than Bobby Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and John Wooden. He is the all-time winningest coach in ALL of Men's College Basketball, including NCAA Div. l. He has only Tennessee Women's Coach Pat Summit to beat. It is amazing that Coach Slatham has stayed at one place for 44 years. The only other college coaches I know of who have that long of a tenure are football coaches: Bobby Bowdon and Joe Paterno.
Slatham reached the 1,000 win mark when his Bearcats defeated East-West University 79-48 in the McKendree classic on Nov. 13. His most recent win came on Dec. 15 of this year when the Bearcats defeated Concordia (MO) 84-38. Currently, the Bearcats are 10-5 on the season. During the 2008-09 campaign, Slatham guided the Bearcats to a 14-0 America Midwest Conference record en route to winning the regular season championship and a berth into the NAIA Div. l National Tournament in which McKendree reached the "elite 8" for the third time in school history. That is just one of the many, many accomplishments of Slatham's tenure at McKendree. Slatham has led the Bearcats to post season play in 38 out of his 43 years of coaching at McKendree. The 2009-10 season will mark Slatham's 44th year at the school.
McKendree has qualified for the NAIA National Tournament 13 times in its history, and Slatham has been the coach all 13 of those years. He led the Bearcats to 5 straight NAIA "Big Dance" appearances from 1999-2004. Since he began his tenure at McKendree in 1966, Slatham's teams have averaged 23 wins a season and reached the 20 win mark 31 times.
I wonder how many offers this man has gotten from Mid Major NCAA Div. l programs such as Southern Illinois, Bradley, St. Louis or other schools. McKendree is fortunate to have had Coach Slatham for as long they have. Here are some of the many accomplishments Slatham has achieved while at McKendree:
- Selected as the 2001-02 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
- AMC Coach of the Year award eight different times, including each of the last two years.
- Six-time recipient of the NAIA District 20 Coach of the Year.
- Named the NAIA-Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year 12 times.
- Led McKendree to an 83-72 victory over Maryville University, marking his 880th career win, passing legendary University of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith for the all-time wins record among college basketball coaches.
- Led McKendree to a 34-4 record and 10-0 record in conference play back in 2002-03.
- 1998 induction into the NAIA Hall of Fame. He is also a 1987 inductee into the IBCA-NAIA Hall of Fame.
- 70-48 win in St. Louis against Concordia. That marked career game No. 1,355 on the bench for Statham, allowing him to pass Jim Phelan for the college basketball record for games coached. Back on Nov. 25, 2005, Statham reached the 900-win mark as the Bearcats defeated Freed-Hardeman University, 73-69.
- Nov. 15, 2002---Led McKendree to an 88-87 win over Mountain St. University, becoming the NAIA’s all-time leader in career victories with career win No. 817.
- Statham has coached 67 different players that have received post-season accolades. Nine of those players have earned NAIA All-America honors.
One amazing thing in spite of all of these accomplishments, Slatham has never won a national championship. Let's hope that before he retires, whenever that may be, he gets to lead the McKendree Bearcats to a national title, capping off a brilliant coaching career spanning almost half a century. Information in this article was obtained from the McKendree University Web Site www.mckendree.edu.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Oregon Tech "Miles Ahead"
As far as college athletics is concerned in Oregon, Oregon and Oregon St. get the most attention. After all, the Ducks are headed to this year's Rose Bowl, and Oregon Sate's Baseball program has won two national titles in recent years.
But probably the best and most consistent college athletic program in the state of Oregon has to be the Oregon Tech Men's Basketball Program. The Hustlin Owls, as they are known, have won two NAIA Div. ll National Title in 2004 and 2008. A year ago, OIT made it to the NAIA Div. ll National Tournament for the 11th time in school history. They won their first round game against Iowa Wesleyan before losing to Belleview (NE) in the "Sweet 16". OIT finished the year at 29-6.
Head Coach Danny Miles has won 364 games while at OIT, and is ranked sixth in all-purpose wins (NCAA/NAIA) with 876 wins, which ties him with the late Adolph Rupp of Kentucky. Miles will move a head of Rupp with a win over Corban College on Dec. 30.
Miles ranks second in all time wins in the NAIA and is number one in NAIA Div. ll. He trails Harry Slatham of McKendree College (Ill.), who leads all of college basketball (NCAA and NAIA) with most wins at 995.
Back in 1995, when Miles won his 5ooth game, the President of OIT, Lawrence J. Wolf, proclaimed the basketball court had a new name, Danny Miles Court. Another footnote, Oregon Tech has the most NAIA Div. ll National Tournament wins of any school with 26.
Currently, the Hustilin Owls are off to another great start. They are 11-3 and are ranked #5 in the NAIA Div. ll Top 25 and are led by 6'4 Sr. Guard Justin Parnell. Parnell averaged 15.2 points per game, 4.4 RPG and 4.3 APG a year ago, earning him First Team All-Conference honors. He helped lead the Hustlin Owls to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Div. ll National Tournament in 2009, and was named NAIA Div. ll All-America Honorable Mention. This year4 so far, Parnell is averaging 17.5 PPG, including a season high 32 points in a 97-71 win over Willamette back on 11/27. Parnell is also averaging 4.6 APG. Oregon Tech is primed and ready to once again win the Cascade Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship and take their 12th trip to the NAIA Div. ll "Big Dance". There is no doubt the Oregon Tech Men's Basketball is the most successful college basketball program in the state of Oregon.
But probably the best and most consistent college athletic program in the state of Oregon has to be the Oregon Tech Men's Basketball Program. The Hustlin Owls, as they are known, have won two NAIA Div. ll National Title in 2004 and 2008. A year ago, OIT made it to the NAIA Div. ll National Tournament for the 11th time in school history. They won their first round game against Iowa Wesleyan before losing to Belleview (NE) in the "Sweet 16". OIT finished the year at 29-6.
Head Coach Danny Miles has won 364 games while at OIT, and is ranked sixth in all-purpose wins (NCAA/NAIA) with 876 wins, which ties him with the late Adolph Rupp of Kentucky. Miles will move a head of Rupp with a win over Corban College on Dec. 30.
Miles ranks second in all time wins in the NAIA and is number one in NAIA Div. ll. He trails Harry Slatham of McKendree College (Ill.), who leads all of college basketball (NCAA and NAIA) with most wins at 995.
Back in 1995, when Miles won his 5ooth game, the President of OIT, Lawrence J. Wolf, proclaimed the basketball court had a new name, Danny Miles Court. Another footnote, Oregon Tech has the most NAIA Div. ll National Tournament wins of any school with 26.
Currently, the Hustilin Owls are off to another great start. They are 11-3 and are ranked #5 in the NAIA Div. ll Top 25 and are led by 6'4 Sr. Guard Justin Parnell. Parnell averaged 15.2 points per game, 4.4 RPG and 4.3 APG a year ago, earning him First Team All-Conference honors. He helped lead the Hustlin Owls to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Div. ll National Tournament in 2009, and was named NAIA Div. ll All-America Honorable Mention. This year4 so far, Parnell is averaging 17.5 PPG, including a season high 32 points in a 97-71 win over Willamette back on 11/27. Parnell is also averaging 4.6 APG. Oregon Tech is primed and ready to once again win the Cascade Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship and take their 12th trip to the NAIA Div. ll "Big Dance". There is no doubt the Oregon Tech Men's Basketball is the most successful college basketball program in the state of Oregon.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
NCAA Volleyball Final Four Featuring a Battle of Coaching Legends
Tonight, the NCAA Div. l Women's Volleyball Final Four will take place at the St. Peterburg Times Forum in St. Petersburg, FL. The semifinalists are Texas, Minnesota, Penn St. and Hawaii.
In this blog, I want to focus on the semifinal match between Penn St. and Hawaii. Penn St. is coming into this match with an undefeated mark of 36-0, while the Lady Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii come in with a 32-2 mark. What is most interesting to me is battle between the coaches. Penn St. Head Coach Russ Rose will earn his 1,000th career victory if the Lady Nittney Lions can win tonight. His counterpart, UH Head Coach
Dave Shoji, already has over 1,000 career wins with a record of 1,016-175 (.852 pct.) record. Rose is currently 999-159 (.863 pct.) in his 31 years at Penn St. Between Rose and Shoji, they have won a combined 7 national championships.
The Lady Nittney Lions have the winningest Senior Class in school history, and maybe in NCAA history. Senior Outside Hitter Megan Hodge is a four time AVCA All-American. Senior Setter Alisha Glass ranks fourth in the NCAA with a 12.02 set assists average. She has an average of 0.89 kills, 466 digs on the season, and an average of 0.85 blocks. Hodge ranks 10th in the nation with an average of 5.23 points, 8th in the country with an average of 4.75 kills, and 8th in the nation with a total of 399 digs. The Nittnery Lions went 38-0 last year on their way to a national title, defeating Stanford in the championship 3 games to 0. If they win tonight and then win the title against either Texas or fellow Big 10 foe Minnesota, they will have gone 76-0 winning two straight national titles without even 1 loss: Absolutely incredible!
Dave Shoji's Lady Rainbow Warriors will try to derail that streak and they will do it with players like Sophomore Outside Hitter Kanani Danielson. Danielson was named First Team All-American this year and was a Third Team All-American selection a year ago as a Freshman. Danielson ranks 29th in the country with a 4.25 kill average. Senior OH Senior Aneli Cubi-Otineru earned Third Team All-America honors this year, having posted an average of 3.88 points, 3.08 kills, .301 aces average (11th in NCAA), and a 2.53 digs average. Senior Middle Hitter Amber Kaufman is ranked 4th in the nation in number of kills (436), an o.38 ace average and an 0.79 block average.
I'm not by any means discounting the successes of Texas and Minnesota, but the coach and player fire power on both of these squads is tremendous. Most likely, the winner of this match will go on to win the 2009 National Title. That's my opinion, and I welcome yours. More info on this article can be obtained at www.ncaachampionships.com.
In this blog, I want to focus on the semifinal match between Penn St. and Hawaii. Penn St. is coming into this match with an undefeated mark of 36-0, while the Lady Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii come in with a 32-2 mark. What is most interesting to me is battle between the coaches. Penn St. Head Coach Russ Rose will earn his 1,000th career victory if the Lady Nittney Lions can win tonight. His counterpart, UH Head Coach
Dave Shoji, already has over 1,000 career wins with a record of 1,016-175 (.852 pct.) record. Rose is currently 999-159 (.863 pct.) in his 31 years at Penn St. Between Rose and Shoji, they have won a combined 7 national championships.
The Lady Nittney Lions have the winningest Senior Class in school history, and maybe in NCAA history. Senior Outside Hitter Megan Hodge is a four time AVCA All-American. Senior Setter Alisha Glass ranks fourth in the NCAA with a 12.02 set assists average. She has an average of 0.89 kills, 466 digs on the season, and an average of 0.85 blocks. Hodge ranks 10th in the nation with an average of 5.23 points, 8th in the country with an average of 4.75 kills, and 8th in the nation with a total of 399 digs. The Nittnery Lions went 38-0 last year on their way to a national title, defeating Stanford in the championship 3 games to 0. If they win tonight and then win the title against either Texas or fellow Big 10 foe Minnesota, they will have gone 76-0 winning two straight national titles without even 1 loss: Absolutely incredible!
Dave Shoji's Lady Rainbow Warriors will try to derail that streak and they will do it with players like Sophomore Outside Hitter Kanani Danielson. Danielson was named First Team All-American this year and was a Third Team All-American selection a year ago as a Freshman. Danielson ranks 29th in the country with a 4.25 kill average. Senior OH Senior Aneli Cubi-Otineru earned Third Team All-America honors this year, having posted an average of 3.88 points, 3.08 kills, .301 aces average (11th in NCAA), and a 2.53 digs average. Senior Middle Hitter Amber Kaufman is ranked 4th in the nation in number of kills (436), an o.38 ace average and an 0.79 block average.
I'm not by any means discounting the successes of Texas and Minnesota, but the coach and player fire power on both of these squads is tremendous. Most likely, the winner of this match will go on to win the 2009 National Title. That's my opinion, and I welcome yours. More info on this article can be obtained at www.ncaachampionships.com.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
EMU Basketball Off To Great Start
The Eastern Mennonite University Men's Basketball Team is off to one of the best starts in school history. The Lions have an overall 8-1 record and are undefeated at 2-0 in the Ole Dominion Athletic Conference.
The early success of the Lions is an entire team effort, but much of the credit can go to Jr. Wingman Todd Phillips. The Waynesboro, VA native is averaging 19 points per game. Already twice this season, Phillips has scored over 25 points. He had 29 against Shenandoah University and pumped in 34 against Virginia Wesleyan, thus breaking his game high record of 20 points against Lynchburg last year. Phillips was named ODAC Player of the Week back in November and was named to the BC/Don Glick Basketball Classic All-Classic Team.
Another player who has been a major factor for the Lions in the 2009/10 campaign is Jr. Wingman D.J. Hinson. The native of Newport News, VA is averaging 13.4 points per game, and poured in a game high of 34 against Wesley earlier this year. The Lions were undefeated at 8-0 until they locked horns with Southern Virginia last Saturday. Up until that game, EMU was averaging 90.6 points per game and Southern Virginia was averaging 82.5 points per game. Southern Virginia prevailed 92-79 largely to shooting 45% from the field for the game including 9-18 from beyond the arc and converting 12 of their final points from the free throw line. Southern VA also out rebounded EMU 42-34.
Despite the loss, Eastern Mennonite should have a good shot at winning the ODAC Title and a trip to the Div. lll NCAA Tournament in March. Of course, they will have to contend with the favorite to win the conference, Randolph Macon, who is also ranked #5 in the nation.
The early success of the Lions is an entire team effort, but much of the credit can go to Jr. Wingman Todd Phillips. The Waynesboro, VA native is averaging 19 points per game. Already twice this season, Phillips has scored over 25 points. He had 29 against Shenandoah University and pumped in 34 against Virginia Wesleyan, thus breaking his game high record of 20 points against Lynchburg last year. Phillips was named ODAC Player of the Week back in November and was named to the BC/Don Glick Basketball Classic All-Classic Team.
Another player who has been a major factor for the Lions in the 2009/10 campaign is Jr. Wingman D.J. Hinson. The native of Newport News, VA is averaging 13.4 points per game, and poured in a game high of 34 against Wesley earlier this year. The Lions were undefeated at 8-0 until they locked horns with Southern Virginia last Saturday. Up until that game, EMU was averaging 90.6 points per game and Southern Virginia was averaging 82.5 points per game. Southern Virginia prevailed 92-79 largely to shooting 45% from the field for the game including 9-18 from beyond the arc and converting 12 of their final points from the free throw line. Southern VA also out rebounded EMU 42-34.
Despite the loss, Eastern Mennonite should have a good shot at winning the ODAC Title and a trip to the Div. lll NCAA Tournament in March. Of course, they will have to contend with the favorite to win the conference, Randolph Macon, who is also ranked #5 in the nation.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Big Boys Without Big Names
Last Sunday, the participants in the BCS were announced. I was hoping that TCU and Boise St. would each play one of the "Big Name" teams from the BCS conferences. I was disappointed to find out that they would be playing each other. I thought that neither school would get the credibility and respect they so richly deserve. I wanted to see if they could beat an Iowa, GA. Tech or Florida. We will never know.
However, perhaps we are too hung up on the "name". Perhaps the Horn Frogs and Broncos ARE the Big Boys. They are both undefeated and both teams ran through their conference foes like a knife through butter. Also, they both beat quality BCS teams. TCU defeated Clemson, who almost knocked off Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship , and Boise St. beat Oregon, the PAC-10 Champs who will be playing Ohio St. in the Rose Bowl. TCU and Boise St. are Big Boy teams without Big Boy names. I honestly think TCU would give Alabama stiff competition if the two teams were playing for the National Championship. Boise St. would probably beat Iowa and go toe to toe with the likes of Alabama, Florida and Texas.
So when you watch the Fiesta Bowl and you see two non-BCS schools playing against each other, remember that they are big boy teams without big boy names. As one blogger put it, it is the "other national championship game". I will watch it, as I will watch as many of the other bowl games as I can. It should be a great game!
However, perhaps we are too hung up on the "name". Perhaps the Horn Frogs and Broncos ARE the Big Boys. They are both undefeated and both teams ran through their conference foes like a knife through butter. Also, they both beat quality BCS teams. TCU defeated Clemson, who almost knocked off Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship , and Boise St. beat Oregon, the PAC-10 Champs who will be playing Ohio St. in the Rose Bowl. TCU and Boise St. are Big Boy teams without Big Boy names. I honestly think TCU would give Alabama stiff competition if the two teams were playing for the National Championship. Boise St. would probably beat Iowa and go toe to toe with the likes of Alabama, Florida and Texas.
So when you watch the Fiesta Bowl and you see two non-BCS schools playing against each other, remember that they are big boy teams without big boy names. As one blogger put it, it is the "other national championship game". I will watch it, as I will watch as many of the other bowl games as I can. It should be a great game!
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