Pre-Christmas Sunday Thoughts

All the bowls available now combined with Conference Championship games in December really cut down on time without college football.  While I don't really care about the Potato Bowl or the Battle of Louisiana, having college football is better than not having it.  SportsCenter this morning also showed off some unique turf.  In addition to the Smurf Turf out in Boise, there was a Red Rug in Washington for a Division 1-AA playoff game.  I get that the turf gathers attention for the school / stadium (obviously I am discussing it here).  However, after the novelty wears off the television viewer is simply annoyed with this crap.  I would think that folks would realize that this isn't exactly a new thing now, so quit being cute and go back to using standard green turf

The Colorado State / Washington State game yesterday was a bit ridiculous.  There is no excuse for that kind of collapse by Washington State.  I will say that the Statue of Liberty play is always amusing to watch and Colorado State was able to execute that one well to tie the game up late.  Washington State will kick itself all offseason for giving the ball--and the game--away late.

Dr. B started the discussion about the importance of roster management yesterday.  This item is extremely, extremely important as wasting a scholarship on someone who will sit on the bench is just plain stupid.  If Clemson wants to move up in the ACC pecking order, we'll need to open our eyes and call it what it is.  Scholarships are only guaranteed for one year.  Walk-on players should be fully aware of this point and likely not surprised if the numbers just don't work out.  Recruited and signed players should be encouraged to look elsewhere if the player is not contributing and basically eating a scholarship.  Along these lines, an interesting program to watch this year will be Carolina.  They are losing only a couple seniors and 2-3 players to the draft.  They now, however, have 16 players committed and look to sign 22 or so.  This means that unless quite a few don't qualify, Spurrier will be forced to make some decisions to get his numbers in order.

This coming week, we'll get a full dose of the smaller bowl games again.  I am a little interested in the Ohio / East Carolina game on Monday as I think ECU is a pretty good team and am interested to see how they match up against Ohio.  Boise / Oregon State in Hawaii on Tuesday night looks to have some potential.  Saturday looks to be the first big bowl day as Rutgers/Notre Dame and Miami/Louisville highlight the day's activities.  Obviously as we get closer to New Year's Day and the BCS games, the level of excitement will increase.  Feel free to discuss any of the games you want within the thread below.

The NFL action is definitely heating up today.  The Cowboys are, well, turning into the December Cowboys we've all come to expect these days.  Last week's determination to give away the football game is par for the course.  Why the 'Boys chose to stop running the football is inexplicable and may cost Jason Garrett his job.  There is no excuse for Tony Romo's late interceptions either.  If this wasn't a weekly occurrence, you could pass this off as just a couple bad throws.  However, that guy seems determined to throw an interception or two late in a football game.  I don't particularly care about the Dallas Crackwagon but will say watching the team and the owner is just a trainwreck that is nearly impossible to ignore.  The fact that the Cowboys are still in the chase for the division at 7-7 is nuts.

The Panthers and Saints are playing for the NFC South crown and the #2 seed in the playoffs.  This is critical for the Saints as they have issues on the road and need to host if they plan to win big.  Denver holds the tie-breaker over KC so most expect the Broncos to hold on in the West.  I didn't realize that Green Bay was still in the mix, but the NFC North is a logjam.  At 7-7, the Lions have a favorable schedule remaining while the Bears (8-6) and the Packers (7-6-1) still have to play each other next weekend.  Until college football gets back into BCS swing, I'll certainly give the professional game attention.

If you haven't seen this rant, take the time to hit the play button and enjoy what you hear.  Otherwise, have a Merry Christmas and enjoy this time of year.