Pay or play

Congratulations to the Miami Hurricanes, Washington State’s defense and Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray. All three could claim important accomplishments on Saturday. The ‘Canes struck first by capitalizing on Florida’s mistakes to earn their first win over a top-15 team in four years. Murray exorcized a bunch of demons by finally getting one against South Carolina and looking good doing it. Finally, WSU held USC to a single touchdown – set up by a turnover, no less – in their first game holding an opponent to fewer than 19 points since 2010. All three games were also significant to the conference and/or national title races.

Florida’s loss was the second nonconference defeat by an SEC heavyweight in as many weeks, showing that perhaps the gap has narrowed between the leagues. That notion was only bolstered by UGA’s fine performance versus the Gamecocks; after all, if Georgia really is great, Clemson’s better. While USC wasn’t expected to be a BCS Championship contender, the Trojans’ loss was important because of how it affects the rest of the Pac-12, particularly in regards to outside opinion. A better SC makes for a better (and more respected) league, that’s undeniable.

I’ll never understand taking a bye after one game (don’t the players want to play again?), but in some cases schools probably wished they had been idle. Ohio State and Cincinnati both lost QB’s to injury – Cincy probably much more severely – and came away from their games extremely anxious about the future. The Bearcats have more serious issues to correct after a thrashing by projected Big Ten bottom-feeder Illinois, but I can’t imagine the Buckeyes feel too great after seeing Braxton Miller go down.

It’s still amazing how some power schools (Florida, LSU, Texas) can’t seem to recruit a single above-average QB. With the resources available to them, you’d think these programs would always have a four-star guy waiting in the wings. Instead, we’re stuck watching the likes of UF’s Jeff Driskel or Jordan Jefferson (formerly of LSU). Imagine how excruciating it must be for fans of the teams. Terrible QB play lost LSU at least one national title (2011) and Florida would have gone undefeated in the regular season last year if not for Driskel’s turnover-fest against Georgia. The inability to get a single player who can complete a pass longer than 10 yards is baffling. That’s not even mentioning what happened to USC this week, because I think I need more time to digest how an offense with a receiver like Marqise Lee could be that bad.

The biggest win of the weekend – indeed, of the young season – was Miami (FL) over Florida, which for longtime Hurricanes fans had to feel somewhat like cosmic payback for the events of the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. This time it was Miami, not its opponent, winning despite a complete inability to move to the ball and a relatively mediocre defensive performance. The Gators sure have a good D, though, eh? Turning it over five times will kill you, though, even if you nearly double up the opposition in yards and first downs. Somewhat like in that Georgia game last year, Florida found out that great defense can only take you so far with horrendous QB play.

Other than that early upset, there weren’t a whole lot of surprises. None of the mid-major leagues acquitted themselves particularly well with big upsets. Georgia rebounded to knock off South Carolina, but that was hardly shocking. The Big 12, in general, looked awful. Outside of Gainesville, the most disgusted people have to be in Austin, where their Longhorns now boast the worst run defense among AQ schools after giving up an eye-opening 550 yards on the ground to BYU. Somehow, Texas managed to not figure out how to stop a QB who completed a laughable nine of 26 pass attempts. Over in Norman, Oklahoma was struggling to a 16-7 victory over West Virginia. After looking so strong last year, the Big 12 has opened 2013 with a thud.

The AAC took another hit when title hopeful Cincy got rocked at Illinois. The best teams in the American are looking like Louisville and UCF. This does not bode well. Rutgers looks decent but fairly defense-less, while the rest of the pack continues to demonstrate why they used to be mid-majors. However, only the ACC has really stepped up among the BCS leagues. Miami (FL)’s win, the conference’s second in two weeks over the SEC, was huge. The ACC has been the worst AQ league in BCS bowls over the past 15 years; perhaps it will turn things around just as the BCS ends.

The SEC has undeniably been less than stellar so far, but with the Big Ten still rebuilding and the Big 12 looking to be in serious decline, the only minor competition for “best conference” is the Pac-12. The teams out west have performed respectably, but Oregon’s blowout of Virginia doesn’t earn them any points. Cal and Colorado nearly losing to FCS teams the week after Oregon State did doesn’t help the conference, either. We’ll get a much better feel for how this season will play out after this Saturday when UCLA visits Nebraska, the first of four Big Ten-Pac-12 matchups. Washington also travels to Illinois (Chicago, not Champaign) and Ohio State and Wisconsin return the favor by coming to Cal and ASU, respectively.

The headliner is Alabama and Texas A&M in the revenge game. While there are obviously championship implications, the game probably won’t mean as much in terms of the SEC race. The West is still a dogfight, so starting 1-0 in conference play, while nice, isn’t going to come close to deciding things. Unlike in previous years, it doesn’t mean a freebie in the SEC Championship either.

Pac-12 Report

ASU got off to a predictably smooth start against Sacramento State. Utah followed suit against another FBS team, Weber State. Both Pac-12 squads looked crisp and powerful, as they should have against overmatched competition. However, it was the conference’s other two games against lower-division schools that gave me reason to pause.

First, it’s true that Cal was coming off an emotionally charged game last week. A home and season opener with a new coach, a new system and a ranked opponent in town could certainly explain away the rough first half the Golden Bears had against Portland State. But a Northwestern hangover can’t excuse giving up more than 500 yards to the Vikings. The Bears’ defense stiffened up in the second half, but the final margin of seven points says it all. That was way too close. Cal will need to play far better if it hopes to compete with its next two opponents – Ohio State and Oregon.

As for Colorado, thank goodness for Paul Richardson. I emphasized in the preseason just how important he was to this team, and it’s fair to say he might have swung both of the first two games for the Buffs. Colorado is clearly still rebuilding, needing to score the final three TD’s of the game to win 38-24. With Fresno State on deck, it’s hard to imagine CU keeping this win streak going. Nevertheless, even very small steps should be celebrated at Colorado right now. 2-0 feels a lot better than 0-2.

I mentioned earlier that Oregon’s win over Virginia didn’t tell us anything, which is true. The Cavaliers, stout thought their defensive front may be, were picked to finish low on the ACC totem pole for a reason. As much as Ducks fans are excited about the Mark Helfrich era looking exactly like the Chip Kelly one, Oregon hasn’t played anyone remotely close to its level. Tennessee should be overmatched this week, but does offer a test on both lines. UO struggled to run the ball on the interior against UVA. If that continues against the Volunteers, you know teams will continue to try to stuff the box.

Oregon State looked much improved versus Hawai’i, even if some old issues popped up. It’s hard to say at this point if it’s the players or the scheme, but OSU doesn’t look as sharp as last year. Injuries (to LB Michael Doctor and across the O-line) have rocked this team. The Beavers have to be able to run the ball more effectively to compete in the Pac-12, but if the line can’t hold up it might force Mike Riley’s hand. Defensively, at least the secondary wasn’t nonexistent against the Rainbow Warriors. This is an unfortunate week to have to play on the road for the first time, but OSU is more talented than Utah and is more than capable of getting a key league victory.

I’m very concerned about Arizona. That seems strange when the Wildcats rolled to 58-13 win over UNLV, but going beyond the box score reveals that UA has problems; more than say, Oregon State, whose fans are feeling pretty anxious right now. The most obvious issue is that Arizona simply can’t throw the ball. It’s great to rack up rushing yards on one of the worst teams in the country, but QB B.J. Denker went 8-21 for 81 yards. That’s not going to get it done later in the year. I will say the Wildcats’ D has been a lot better so far, but even that comes with the caveat of horrendous competition.

I’ll end with WSU – USC, so to Stanford we go… overall, the Cardinal clearly controlled the game with San Jose State. It remains to be seen whether the Spartans can recapture the magic of last year’s 11-2 campaign, so it’s difficult to say if this was a great defensive effort. All of the traditional Stanford trademarks were seen in the game: airtight run support, efficient passing and generally smart football. Still, even for Stanford, less than 200 yards rushing isn’t exactly amazing. The Cardinal will need to show me a little more in the future.

The de facto nightcap (let’s be honest, no one was excited about Stanford – SJSU) featured Wazzu at USC in one of the strangest games the Pac-12 has seen in quite some time. Think, if you will, of the conference’s long-time reputation: high-scoring, pass-heavy shootouts between finesse teams, right? Now look at the numbers from Saturday night: 26 total first downs, just over 400 COMBINED yards of offense, exactly zero points scored that weren’t set up by the defenses. That was without question one of the ugliest games I’ve ever seen, and I watched the 2006 Auburn – LSU game that ended 7-3. It was a gigantic win for WSU as the program tries to grind its way back to respectability.

And yet… I can’t stop thinking about the Trojans, not the Cougars. USC’s appalling offensive performance brought to mind memories of the terrible Nebraska attacks a few years ago, when the Cornhuskers would run the ball twice, get sacked and then pray for a big play from the defense. The fact that it was a USC offense that looked that weak, inept and scared was jaw-dropping. You can blame Lane Kiffin – sure, he’s likely a lame-duck coach with a complete lack of scruples – but given his past aggressiveness (if not creativity) in play-calling, I think the truth is that he knew exactly how capable his QB’s were. Which is to say, not at all. The fact that WSU (Wazzu!) wasn’t afraid of the Trojans’ offense whatsoever says volumes about the QB situation and how sanctions have crippled the program’s depth. It seems unfathomable that SC could be this bad with the (supposed) talent on the roster.

This week: four Big Ten matchups loom. It will be interesting to see how UCLA handles the emotion of getting back on the field for the first time since the death of WR Nick Pasquale last Sunday. Outside of the sectional clash, Oregon faces Tennessee, USC hosts Boston College and Colorado gets Fresno.

Random Thoughts and Observations

You can add TCU’s Casey Pachall to the list of veteran QB’s who suffered significant injuries last Saturday. It’s quite a shame to see Pachall go down after the road he took to get back to football. On the flip side, the Horned Frogs are fortunate that Trevone Boykin got so much playing time last year with Pachall out and can step in again. It’s possible TCU could be a bigger player than expected in what has started to look like a down year for the Big 12.

A new Yahoo! Report has implicated five former SEC players of receiving impermissible benefits while at school, and SI is reporting that Oklahoma State had a pattern of violations throughout most of the last decade. It’s sad, but I think at this point most fans just assume this is going on at most places around the country – except their school, of course. The lack of attempted outrage or even surprise at these allegations says a lot about our cynicism toward the sport and the NCAA.

Does this mean it’s time to pay the players? TIME Magazine deemed the subject important enough to make the front cover over, you know, ANYTHING else happening in the world. Public opinion does seem to be swinging that way and other publications have had writers come out in favor of compensation. I’m against it for the moment, for reasons I think should be obvious.

To be clear, the NCAA does not need more money. The greed, hypocrisy and incompetence of that institution have long been established. The “amateurism” argument is a sham; I’ve never argued that point. With that said, I’m still against paying college football players. First and foremost, a full scholarship to a four-year institution (that takes the place of an actual student) IS payment. It’s a whole lot of payment, especially when you consider that most athletes wouldn’t be at their school if they were regular students.

But they’re not regular students, because they make the university millions of dollars a year (well, some do, although most athletic departments are actually in the red). But for the sake of argument, let’s say every college football program rakes it in each season. Aren’t the guys who make that happen entitled to something? Fair enough. The question is, how would you go about compensating them?

Would player salary be tied to program revenue, so the more money a team made, the more players would get? Or would there be a sliding scale for value? After all, some players are clearly worth more than others. Shouldn’t they be compensated accordingly? Would the NCAA decide how much money could be awarded, or would it be individual schools or conferences? How about a salary cap to level the playing field? Would the Phil Knight and T. Boone Pickens types just be allowed to give exorbitant amounts to any player they wanted?

The problem is that despite the cries of “slavery!” and murmurings of how darn unfair it is to the kids – won’t someone think of the children? – no one has yet proposed a single feasible long-term plan for this problem. If a stipend is the answer, go with it. But even that was too difficult for the powers that be to decide on. A little reality check: players will want always want more. Is it fair to the players that the NCAA denies them all benefits? Not really. But you know what? Football is a game they play by choice, a game that awards them fame and adulation and whole lot of other “benefits” that everyone knows come under the table. It’s hard to feel sorry for people who have chosen to play a game that furthers their own interests.

Next week: THE Ohio State University? Hopped in the polls again?! Folks in Columbus won't be happy, no sir. Also: will the party be in College Station, or Tuscaloosa? It's hard to imagine Nick Saban getting beat twice by the same team...