So Let’s Pretend for a Moment

I don’t think Stoops will leave Oklahoma, but for the sake of speculation and entertainment lets pretend Stoops left Norman.

Who should the Sooners hire to replace him?

The most obvious choice would be defensive coordinator Brent Venables–a young, popular head-coaching commodity–but I have a better idea that is somewhat cynical, but bear with me.

Other big names will come up, but the guy the Sooners should hire is located right here in the Big 12, but it isn’t who a lot of people would think.

Are you ready for this?

I think Oklahoma should hire Kansas head coach Mark Mangino, but as a stipulation they should secretly make an arrangement for Mangino to manage his weight by any means necessary.

A lot of people may think this would be an unfair request, but just think about it: obesity is looked down on in America and, at this point, Mangino’s weight is holding him back.

Jason Whitlock, the controversial sports columnist who a lot of people dislike, recently suggested that in the midst of Mark Mangino’s problems regarding his verbal abuse of his players his biggest problem was his weight.

Whitlock is one of my favorite writers and I don’t always agree with him, but it isn’t his job for me to agree with him, it is his job to make me think outside the box. And, in this case, Whitlock hit the nail right on the head.

I have been saying it for a long time that if Mangino weren’t obese he would be looked at much differently as a coach. Rich Rodriguez turned around the West Virginia program and is now the head coach at Michigan. Brian Kelly has done a great job at Cincinnati and there is no doubt he will be upgrading soon. But Mangino’s name has never even been mentioned.

Coaches around the country are getting upgraded head coaching jobs for turning around programs, but now, after one down year, Mangino is on the hot seat? When you think about him, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? It should be that he is a hell of a football coach, but the harsh reality is that it is his weight.

How many times have you seen Bob Stoops or Nick Saban cuss out a player after a mistake? Yet, while Stoops is having a down year in Norman, you aren’t hearing the admnistration nitpicking about him yelling at his players.

Mangino’s weight has made him an easy target at a vulnerable time, similar to the young, chubby kid who gets picked on at school. If he looked like Stoops or Saban his name would come up when big-time coaching positions became vacant, but  instead he is stuck in Kansas and might even be on his way out.

Mangino was the offensive coordinator at OU when they won their only national championship under Stoops and he has turned around the Kansas program juristically. Kansas isn’t a powerhouse by any means, but at a school where football is strictly looked at as preseason basketball entertainment, Mangino has made football somewhat significant.

Mangino’s best season with the Jayhawks in 2007, in which the Jayhawks ended the season with a 24-21 victory over No. 5 Virginia Tech, was due in large part to the fact the Jayhawks had a favorable Big 12 schedule. Sure, they didn’t have to face Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, but it is hard to deny that Mangino can flat-out coach.

If you don’t believe me, just wait and see how quickly Mangino gets another job if the Jayhawks foolishly get rid of him. It will take Mangino less time to snatch up a coordinator position faster than it takes Paris Hilton to snatch up new boyfriends.

A Head Coaching Job…That is Another Story

A head coach represents a University and is the face of the institution and the program. Would you really want Mangino to be the “face” of your program? If not, then why? Because of his coaching?

I seriously doubt it. If your son was being recruited by Mangino, would you be able to take him as seriously as a coach that wasn’t obsese?

Pure and simple: Mangino’s weight overshadows his good coaching and negatively affects his image and the way he is treated and looked at by others. Kansas would be foolish to let him go–a football coach of his calibur should never be on the hot seat in a program like Kansas–but if Mangino ever wants to reach his maximum potential as a football coach, he is going to have to gain control of his weight, because at this point his apparent obescity is the source of all his problems.

Need proof?

Well, 10 weeks into the season:

• The Giants have gone from the class of the NFC to a team that isn’t mentally tough.
• The Cowboys have gone from a team that cannot win with Tony Romo to arguably the best team in the NFC and back to a team that cannot win with Romo.
• Mark Sanchez has gone from being crowned this year’s Matt Ryan to a struggling NFL rookie.
• The Jets defense was being called a mirror image of the Baltimore Raven’s defense and now they can’t stop people.
• The Eagles were everyone’s pick to win the NFC East and now they are being called a finesse team.

The list could go on-and-on. Talk to me at about week 14 and we will have a better idea of where everyone stands. The NFL is a marathon, not a sprint.

Hero to goat is a term that describes NFL players week-to-week. Players are prematurely crowned, teams are overhyped, and the story lines change every week. It never stops.

We might be 10 weeks into the season, but there is still a long way to go and we still don’t know that much. Everyone likes to overanalyze what is going on in the NFL, but right now we don’t know much.

Five things we know about the NFL so far?

1. Indianapolis, New England and Pittsburgh are the only legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the AFC.
2. The Minnesota Vikings are the best team in the NFC.
3. The New Orleans Saints are built for regular season success, but playoff success is to be determined.
4. The Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals want to be contenders, but aren’t right now.
5. All of this is subject to change.

Patriots vs. Colts

Belichick’s dumb decision cost the Patriots the game, but didn’t cost a lot in the long run.  A lot of people are criticizing Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth down Sunday night against the Colts in his own territory and rightfully so. There is no reason that a coach with the experience and success of Belichick should ever do something that foolish. I would expect this from an irrational college coach, but not the best coach in recent NFL history.

Giving the Colts the ball with two minutes left in the game and one timeout at the 29-yard-line is foolish. Sure, if the Patriots convert on fourth down they win the game, but you have to play the percentages.

Even if the Patriots convert on fourth, the decision to go for it is foolish. I have heard some people say it wouldn’t have mattered because the Colts would’ve scored anyway. That is a hypothetical statement.

It is harder to drive 70 yards in two minutes than it is to drive 30 yards in two minutes. That is a factual statement.

I am all about hypothetical sports debates, but I will side with the facts on this one. While Belichick’s decision may have cost the Patriots the game, in the long run it isn’t too costly.

The Patriots (6-3) are still going to win their division and have an excellent chance to have a first round bye. They are still the only team with a winning record in the AFC East and are two games ahead of the 4-5 Dolphins. Furthermore, they are also one game behind the Cincinatti Bengals for a first round bye and home field advantage against everyone except Indianapolis.

I am sure Belichick and company would much rather play the Colts at home during the playoffs, but despite last night’s loss the Patriots showed they can compete with Indianapolis and probably should’ve won the game.

However, I am also the same guy who drinks less during football season because I don’t want to have a skewed view of the action so I consider myself unique and borderline nerdy when it comes to sports.

With that said, I do not like what happened to Auburn in 2004 so I think something should be done to prevent that, which is why a plus-one would work for me.

I feel no sympathy for undefeated teams like Boise State, Utah or TCU not getting a chance to compete for a national title because that is just the way the world works.

Graduating with honors from Tech isn’t treated equally to graduating from Harvard with a C average.  That is how it is in the real world.  Why should football be any different?

People will point to the NCAA tournament as proof that teams like TCU and Boise State deserve a chance, but when is the last time a team like TCU or Boise State won the tourney?

Boise State’s overtime victory over an Oklahoma team with a starting QB that was a receiver the previous season and back into a conference championship wasn’t enough to convince me other wise.  Neither was Utah’s win over an SEC battled, injured Alabama team.

I just don’t see any reason to make significant changes to the current college system.  So sorry, I just do not see it that way.

I can understand why a lot of the younger generation have an intense hatred for the BCS, they have only been watching college football for a few years.  But I don’t understand why the older generation acts like the BCS is the worst thing to ever happen to college football.  Do they have memory loss?

The BCS is the best formula college football has ever had!

Back in the day they didn’t even attempt to match-up the two best teams.

Remember the days of co-national champions every season, or have you already forgotten?

Is the current system perfect?  No.

Is it on the right track?  Absolutely.

It will only get better!

Just because the bottom of your television screen doesn’t say playoff game doesn’t mean the implications are any less.

A lot of college football fans need the title of a playoff system to understand the importance of games.

So let me make the current college football situation clear:

• Alabama: Must beat Mississippi State, Chatanooga and Auburn, followed by a win over Florida in the SEC Championship to make it to the championship game.
• Florida: Must beat Florida International, FIU and Florida State, followed by a win over Alabama in the SEC Championship to make it to the championship game.
• Texas: Must beat Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M, followed by a win in the Big 12 Championship to make it to the championship game.
• One-loss teams: You lose the ability to control your own destiny when you lose a game.

All of these games mean something right now, in a playoff system they wouldn’t.  However, they still would in a plus one.

Some people don’t think that the body-of-work in college football, where emotion runs wild every Saturday, is very important and feel like a playoff would give them more satisfaction.

I know I am in the minority rather than the majority on this stance, but the majority of America has made some bad decisions before.

When it comes to a playoff I don’t think it’s time for a change, maybe just a little tweak.

This got me to thinking about the different playoff ideas out there.  I know about 70 percent of the people reading this are playoff proponents.

I have divided the different playoff proponents into categories, describing each one’s unique characteristics.

What type of Playoff Proponent are you?

Rational, educated plus-one Proponent

These people like the intensity and emotion of college football game and the playoff-like intensity teams play with every Saturday.

They anticipate Saturday every week and never miss a big game.

They respect the body-of-work and difficulty that it takes to achieve greatness during a college football season, but realize that the current system could be improved.

They think that team’s that slip-up shouldn’t have control of their own destiny, but agree that the same thing that happened to Auburn should never happen again.

To prevent this from happening they believe in a plus one, a system where the regular season doesn’t lose significance, but a situation like the previous mentioned never happens again.

Naïve, 8-Team Proponent

A lot of people don’t think that the body-of-work is as important as what happens at the end of the season, these people are called naïve 8-team proponents.

These are people who would like to see a system where undefeated teams like Texas, Florida or Alabama, despite the difficulty of going undefeated in a BCS Conference, are placed on an equal playing field with one loss teams at the end of the season in a tournament.

People who don’t appreciate traditional college football rivalries at the end of the year where Texas A&M, Florida State and Auburn, have a chance to ruin their hated rivals season with an upset.

These people enjoy college football, but don’t have an overwhelming appreciation for the week-to-week battles that go on every Saturday in college football.

Casual, 16-team Proponent

There are fans that could care less about the regular season.

During a gruesome SEC battle these people flip back-and-fourth between the Discover channel and the game and only tune in during the fourth quarter, if the game is close. If not, they would rather watch Family Guy or something more entertaining.

These fans only watch the NBA and NFL during the playoffs and during the Super Bowl these guys cannot wait until there is a timeout so they can watch some funny, entertaining commercials.

A lot of these fans likely support second-tier SEC or Big 12 teams and mistakenly believe that their teams would dominate in a conference like the Big 10, ignoring the fact that if you cant beat the best teams during the season then you wont beat them at the end of the season.

However, these people don’t care and just want a chance to postpone the inevitable with a playoff system.

These people say that a system like this wouldn’t affect the regular season, but these people most likely don’t anticipate regular season games like the true college football fan.

They wake up every Saturday and have no idea what teams are playing each other until they turn on the TV.

Irrational, Pirate-like, 32-team (or more) Proponent

Trying to be as politically correct as possible, these people are out of their mind.

These are the fans that are on the same boat as Mike Leach and think there should be a 32 or 64 team tournament to decide a champion in college football, showing zero respect for the regular season and the body-of-work.

People who think everyone should compete in post-season play, regardless of scheduling conflicts, or difficult seeding.

These people feel that high school grades should mean nothing when colleges accept students, but that SAT and ACT scores should carry all of the weight.

What happens during the regular season means virtually nothing to people like this and they would trade the most exciting regular season in sports for a season that resembles week 17 of the NFL season week-to-week, as long as there are playoff games.

However, while these people are playoff proponents, they aren’t really college football fans and probably couldn’t even tell you who won the national championship last season.

They casually watch Sportscenter, but never really sit down and watch an entire college football game.

At first you feel the need to give that friend a courtesy laugh, but eventually he becomes so annoying that you want to backhand him in the face.

Well, for whatever reason, the people and the media in Lubbock aren’t like you and me.  It appears they’d rather humor the irritating friend.

For 10 years now, people have become intrigued over Leachisms and continue to humor the coach with courtesy laughs at things that quite frankly aren’t funny and are way played out.  I can understand the initial infatuation and intrigue to Leachisms–I get it–but this stuff has been going on for over a decade, it’s nothing new.

Are these random, off-the-wall, dryly delivered comments ever going to get old to anyone else?

In a conservative town like Lubbock where wearing your pants below your crack is frowned upon, why are people so amused with a Division One, Big 12 head coach talking about zombie movies, fat chicks, and funny movies after one of the most embarrassing losses in recent history?

The pirate’s recent catch phrase is his reference to player’s “fat girlfriends” and the praise which they receive from them–a bad joke that has been used multiple times by Leach since the loss to the Aggies.

I am not one of the people that think it’s an offensive statement, but I just don’t see why it is so funny.

Every time I see a member of the local media waste ink by amusingly analyzing Leachisms I feel like I am watching a wealthy CEO get his ass kissed by his co-workers at a business cocktail party.

I know I am going on a rant and getting repetitive, but seriously, is this getting old to anyone else?

It is no secret that I used to work for The Daily Toreador and had a “falling out” following an article I wrote about the pirate after the loss to Houston.  (For those that missed it, I called Leach’s reference to his players as narcissists hypocritical.)

Following that article my editors were called to the office of some of the hierarchies who told them that I had no right to write negative articles about the pirate because I didn’t attend practices or press conferences (among other things), but went on to say that if I wanted to write something positive then that would be fine.  I guess credibility is OK when you are positive, but not OK when you are critical.

I want to make it clear that beat writing will never be my thing because I think that it has become very PR-like and it isn’t something that appeals to an opinionated, pompous, loud mouth like myself.

In an article written Tuesday in The Daily Toreador by a good friend of mine wrote an article that left me puzzled, troubled, and at a loss-for-words–a rarity indeed.

The article was called Leach on Pie Throwing, Fat Girlfriends, Zombies.  I want to make it clear I have the utmost respect for this writer and, next to Don Williams, I think he is the best “real sportswriter” in the city of Lubbock.  However, this article was something that belonged in a comic book rather than a sports page.

It was a short story about Monday’s press conference in which the writer expresses his amusement and infatuation with Leach’s unorthodox humor.  The writer even asks Leach is he has ever considered comedy and concludes by saying the pirate could easily be a stand-up comedian if he wanted to.

I am very pessimistic (and maybe a little bitter), but I simply do not understand the amusement in dry-humored, repetitive sarcasm, especially in the midst of a shaky quarterback situation, a very important game against a desperate Kansas team this weekend, and an embarrassing home loss to Texas A&M in the rear-view mirror.

Why in the heck would one of the most talented writers in all of college media feel the need to write an article like that after a loss?

There is no way that he really thought these comments were that funny.

During my lifetime I have outgrown the chili-bowl haircut, ninja turtles, and Pogs, and after ten years of the same old dry-humor, I think “Leachisms” are now on that list.

Maybe I need a better sense of humor.  Maybe I take the college football head coaching images too seriously.  Or maybe ten years of the same dry humor has merely lost its luster in my eyes.

I guess I just don’t get it anymore.

I have made it very clear that I am a huge supporter of the current college system, but would be in favor of a plus-one.  I love how a team’s body-of-work is rewarded in college football, and I continue to argue that college football has more meaningful games than any other sport in the country, but that is an argument for another discussion.

Although I disagree with the proponents of a college football playoff, I can see where a lot of people are coming from in their desire for a playoff.  I disagree, but I can see where they are coming from.

With that said, I couldn’t relate to Senator Hatch, who used words such as discrimination and corruption to describe his displeasure with the current system.  He believes that schools such as Boise State and Utah–from smaller “non-privileged” conferences–should get the same opportunity as schools from larger conferences.

Hatch’s recent whining stems from the University of Utah’s 2008 undefeated season in which the Utes weren’t given an opportunity to play for a national championship despite having an undefeated record.  The fact that Utah was allowed to compete in a BCS game with an undefeated record against below-average competition should be enough to satisfy the Utah faithful, but Utah and Boise State fans continue to bite the hand that feeds them.

A degree from Harvard undergrad is worth more than a degree from Texas Tech Honors College, that’s just the way it is.  And a one-loss team from the SEC, Pac 10, or Big 12 should be rewarded over an undefeated team from the Mountain West or WAC Conference.

The fact that these teams from small conferences are rewarded with BCS appearances over teams from larger conferences should be enough, but, for whatever reason, it isn’t.

I am sick and tired of people who should be worrying about issues that they know nothing about.  These lawmakers, senators, and other elected officials need to get a life and quit worrying about college football’s current system.

It seems like these old people have only been watching college football for a few years.  The system is as good as it has ever been and it will only improve.  Back in the day they didn’t even attempt to match-up the top two teams and we had multiple National Champions every season.

The BCS is a good system.  It might have a few flaws, but it will only improve.  There are plenty of issues that these elected officials have to worry about and a college football playoff isn’t one of them.

A few things for College football playoff proponents to be cautious of…

• Too many teams would ruin the regular season.  It is a fact that too many teams would damage the most exciting regular season in sports. People who talk about a 16-team and 32-team playoff are absolutely nuts; probably not very big college football fans.
• How many one-loss teams from small conferences would complain when they were left out?
• What motivation would undefeated teams have at the end of the season?  Games like Texas vs. Texas A&M would be a mirror image on Week 17 of the NFL season where teams are resting their players for the playoffs.
• An eight team playoff is far more outrageous than the current system.  Am I to believe that the difference between the No. 8 and No. 9 teams is any different than the difference between the No. 2 and No. 3 team?  No, there would be just as much complaining.

Giving all of the conferences automatic bids in an eight-team playoff that would be an even bigger travesty than the current system.  Furthermore, why in the heck should an undefeated Florida or Texas be put on an equal playing field with the No.3-No. 8 ranked teams that likely have one loss each?

Plus-one is the way to go

The only legitimate travesty that the BCS has experienced was not allowing Auburn to compete for a national championship.  But this is only one example.  A plus-one would prevent this from ever happening again.

If you win your games in the current system, in a conference that competes against good competition week-to-week (sorry Mountain West), then more often than not you can control your own destiny.

With Texas A&M’s 62-14 loss to a Kansas State I am still scratching my head. I have been an Aggie optimist all season, but there is no excuse for an A&M football team to lose like that to a team like Kansas State under any circumstance.  I don’t care how young the players are, how bad the athletes are or how much of a “work-in-progress” the Sherman project is.

It is Mike Sherman’s second season as head coach and I am not expecting the guy to compete at the top of the conference.  I am, however, saying that getting embarrassed and humiliated by Kansas State is not acceptable and should not be accepted or justified by any supporter of the Texas A&M football program.

I have stood by the statement that Sherman isn’t the coach that is going to take the Aggies where they want to be (realistically or unrealistically), but I thought that he would at least show some improvement this season before the Aggies blowout loss to Arkansas in Arlington.

Last week the Aggie faithful accepted a moral victory and were encouraged after a five point loss in College Station to an Oklahoma State team without its two best players on offense, but that optimism was wiped-out after Saturday’s loss to Kansas State.  The Wildcats made the Aggies look like an early season, cupcake non-conference opponent instead of a Big 12 team with good recruits and great facilities.

It is very apparent that Sherman isn’t the guy that will take the Aggies to where they want to be, but at this point I wonder if he can even take them to the level where Dennis Franchione had them.

Some Aggies are remaining patient with the Sherman experiment, a total 180 from the stereotypical Aggies train-of-thought.  It is ironic that the fan base notoriously known for its unrealistic expectations has now become a naïve fan base where mediocrity is justified and underachieving has become part of a “bigger plan.”

Mike Sherman has a lot of the Aggie faithful brainwashed, just like a sweet, innocent girl who is madly in love with her lowlife boyfriend.

After years of hating the Aggies for their unrealistic expectations, I now find myself feeling sorry for them and rooting for them to do well because of their recent acceptance and justification of mediocrity.

Halt!

Sorry but you must be a subscriber to Williams and Hyatt On Demand to view the remainder of this article.

• Subscribe now
• Learn More
• Homepage

Halt!

Sorry but you must be a subscriber to Williams and Hyatt On Demand to view the remainder of this article.

• Subscribe now
• Learn More
• Homepage