When they meet the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Easy on Tuesday night, though, it will be hard to tell — judging from their histories in New Orleans — which team wants or needs to change its luck there more.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the Razorbacks have one victory in five appearances in the Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes also have one victory, but they have only made three appearances in New Orleans.
And they've been to New Orleans much more recently.
In fact, their most recent trip there was a success.
On New Year's Day 1999, the third–ranked Buckeyes took on the eighth–ranked Texas A&M Aggies in the Superdome, and the Aggies drew first blood, driving 59 yards in six plays against the nation's second–best defense.
But Ohio State scored three touchdowns before the first period was over. The backbreaker was a blocked punt that the Buckeyes recovered and quickly converted into an unchallenged score.
The Ohio State offense didn't play particularly well in the second half, but the defense lived up to its reputation and stopped every A&M threat except one. Ohio State prevailed, 24–14.
It was the polar opposite of the Buckeyes' experience the previous year, when fifth–ranked Florida State raced to a 21–3 halftime lead after a fairly competitive first quarter.
Ninth–ranked Ohio State's offense just never got on track, and the Buckeyes lost by a wide margin, 31–14.
But that beating wasn't as severe as the one inflicted on Ohio State when Woody Hayes took the Buckeyes to New Orleans for the first time 20 years earlier.
On Jan. 2, 1978, third–ranked Alabama, led by Bear Bryant, hammered ninth–ranked Ohio State, 35–6.
The Razorbacks don't have a history of success in the Sugar Bowl. With a record of 1–4, Arkansas fans cannot plausibly argue otherwise.
Did you ever see the movie "Broadcast News" with William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks?
Do you remember the scene where Brooks is on the phone at home, feeding information to Hunter, who, in turn, is feeding that information to Hurt, who says it on camera?
Brooks watches this play out on his TV screen and says, "I say it here, it comes out there."
These Ohio State football players are all juniors, and they could choose to skip their senior years, thus avoiding having to pay any penalty for violating NCAA rules.
It's the best of both worlds — playing in a BCS bowl, then not having to be held accountable for NCAA rules violations. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too.
Tressel said he told the players they would have to make their intentions known to him before the team left for New Orleans. The team is now in New Orleans waiting the start of Tuesday night's game.
"Tressel said he told the five they 'have to make any decision based on the future and (leaving early for the) NFL prior to us leaving for our bowl game. It wouldn't be fair if someone was able to participate' and then leave."
I'm not the first person to suggest that some or all of these players might play in the Sugar Bowl, then decide to skip their senior years and avoid paying any kind of penalty.
And I'm skeptical, to say the least, about all of this. Beyond cautioning the players that it "wouldn't be fair" for them to play in the Sugar Bowl and then skip town, I'm not sure Tressel will be in any position to do much if a player goes back on his word once the game is over.
I mean, it's not as if the players made a commitment on paper — like a scholarship.
Roland Sales led Arkansas to an 11–win season with an Orange Bowl victory over the University of Oklahoma on Jan. 2, 1978.
Next Tuesday night, my alma mater, the University of Arkansas, will face Ohio State University in the Sugar Bowl.
To say this is a big deal for me, for all the folks I knew growing up in Arkansas, for the school and for the state would be an understatement.
With a 10–2 record, the Razorbacks have finished the season with 10 wins for only the second time in the last two decades. If they win next week, they will have 11 victories in one season for the first time since 1977, when Arkansas went 11–1 and recorded an upset victory over Oklahoma in the 1978 Orange Bowl.
The only game the Razorbacks lost that year was to Texas and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell.
I remember that Orange Bowl. It was an amazing start to what turned out to be — in my opinion — a mediocre year.
All the years I was growing up there, Arkansas fans seemed to crave national recognition, national respect. They were sort of the Rodney Dangerfields of college sports fans. Being invited to play the Sooners was, in their eyes, an indication that Arkansas finally was getting that respect.
But then, a few days before the Orange Bowl, first–year Arkansas coach Lou Holtz suspended three of Arkansas' best players for unspecified team rules violations.
I've never seen an optimistic mood deflate so quickly. Almost instantly, everyone in Arkansas became convinced that the Sooners would pound the Razorbacks to a pulp in the Orange Bowl.
I don't think Holtz's action changed how people outside of Arkansas viewed the matchup very much. Everyone seemed to assume from the beginning that Oklahoma would win.
The folks in Las Vegas had made OU the heavy favorite even before Holtz suspended the players; after Holtz did that, the oddsmakers in Vegas refused to take any more bets on the Orange Bowl. They thought it was a foregone conclusion that OU would win. Just about everyone did.
But, then, do you know what happened? A miracle happened!
A previously unknown sophomore running back named Roland Sales stepped up, set an Orange Bowl record for rushing yards and led Arkansas to a 31–6 victory over Oklahoma.
Now, as we get closer to what may be the biggest bowl game in which Arkansas has played since that Orange Bowl in the late 1970s, I'm getting sort of a sense of deja vu.
All five players will be eligible to play in New Orleans next week.
Something about how it is an established NCAA policy to treat postseason games differently than regularly scheduled games.
I'm not sure that's right, though. I mean, depriving these players of facing Akron and four other teams next fall is a greater punishment than preventing them from playing on a national stage in the Sugar Bowl?
I'm sorry, but I just can't follow that logic.
All those players are juniors so, depending upon how many of the players declare themselves eligible for the NFL draft in the spring, it is possible that none of them will ever have to pay any sort of penalty for apparently violating NCAA rules.
What sort of message does that send to those who follow in their footsteps? I'm just spitballing here, but it might tell young people that, no matter what kind of mess you find yourself in, there is always a loophole.
I don't think that is the kind of message the NCAA wants to send to student–athletes — because that definitely is not the way the real world operates.
Of course, maybe that is the way things are in the rarified atmosphere of athletics. Loopholes, after all, exist primarily for the privileged. And there may be no more privileged group in America than professional athletes.
Actually, skipping their senior years might not be a bad idea for most of those Buckeyes. It isn't hard for me to see them looking at the balance sheet and seeing jumping to the NFL early as a plausible solution; instead of sitting out the first half of their senior seasons, they could just go ahead and try their luck in the pros.
One player is the team's top rusher. Another is the team's second–best receiver, but neither might be where they are if not for the exploits of quarterback Terrelle Pryor (who was mentioned as a Heisman prospect when the season began and also happens to be one of the suspendees).
Facing the uncertainty of Pryor's plans, his suspended teammates may figure that bad publicity is better than no publicity — especially if they remember how far Texas fell this season after Colt McCoy's collegiate career ended. There are four other quarterbacks on Ohio State's roster (three are freshmen), but Pryor threw all but 25 of the team's 323 passes this season.
If Pryor leaves, there won't be much experience at the position, and that wouldn't be likely to give his suspended teammates much in the way of recent highlights. Now may be the time for those players to cash in on their success.
As an Arkansas alumnus and a lifelong Razorback fan, I'd really prefer that the Hogs face — and defeat — the Buckeyes at full strength. But I wonder if there isn't a more important principle at stake here.
All things considered, declaring for the draft could be, as I say, the most prudent choice for the others, but it might not be the answer for Pryor, who just isn't ready for prime time but may be left with no choice but to jump instead of twiddling his thumbs, according to Pat McManamon of the Fanhouse.
But if he stays, the experience level at quarterback won't be very high in Ohio State's first five games next year. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, the majority of those games aren't with top–flight competition, and all but one will be played at home.
There are some trouble spots, though. The road game will be played in the middle of the suspension — Ohio State has to travel to Miami on Sept. 17 to play the Hurricanes. And the final game of the suspension is at home against Michigan State, currently ranked seventh in the nation and co–Big Ten champ this year.
(In case you were wondering, the Buckeyes beat Miami this year, 36–24; they last lost to the Hurricanes in the 1999 Kickoff Classic. And Ohio State has a seven–game winning streak against Michigan State, with the Buckeyes' last loss to the Spartans also coming in 1999.)
Then, those players who stay for their senior years and serve the five–game suspensions will return to the field on Oct. 8, when they must travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Cornhuskers.
All of that is very superficial, though. It's more of that Tiger Woods–LeBron James–Brett Favre "it's all about me" thinking that seems to permeate sports today — and tends to irritate all but the athlete's dedicated fans.
Well, there's so much money in sports now. I guess athletes — and their agents — have no choice but to think in terms of how the intangibles will affect them.
In recent years, after all, I have watched the annual NFL draft and I have heard analysts speak of how much dropping a slot or two in the draft can cost an athlete when it comes time to sign the contract.
And "cost," in this case, tends to be measured in the millions of dollars.
Financially, there is a lot at stake, and I guess you can't be too hard on a kid who is only following the example set by others.
"Maybe it's coincidence, maybe not, but Pryor's mentor and role model is LeBron James," McManamon writes. "And James was driving a Hummer when he was a high school senior — a Hummer acquired, mind you, through what was determined to be a legitimate loan to his mother.
"No doubt," he continued with more than a dash of sarcasm, "the guy would have loaned the same money to a standout history student."
(McManamon went on to observe that "James this week sold sponsorships to his birthday party — for $10,000.")
But I would argue that there is also a lot at stake as far as integrity is concerned.
I guess I'm what you might call old school when it comes to something like this. I'm not apologizing for that. I'm simply stating a fact.
I was brought up to believe that attaining a higher education was a goal to be aimed for. If you were given a scholarship — be it athletic or academic — it was a contract, and you were obligated to fulfill the commitment you had made.
True, I guess everyone who goes to college sees it as a means to an end. A college degree, we are told, is a ticket to a better life. (It doesn't always work out that way, but that's the general idea.) Consequently, people invest the time to earn a degree because they believe it will make certain things possible.
Not everyone has the fame and fortune of a professional athlete's career waiting for them after graduation. Even some athletes who excelled in college don't make it on the professional level.
Pryor probably will. But he is also mindful of his collegiate legacy, and John Kampf of the Cleveland News–Herald says this isn't the kind Pryor wants to leave behind.
"Earlier this season," Kampf writes, "when explaining why he was planning on returning to Ohio State for his senior season, the Buckeyes' junior quarterback talked about leaving a legacy at Ohio State and that he wasn't leaving 'until all the records are broken.'
"Unfortunately for him, the most notable record he and a handful of teammates have set is the longest suspension for the most amount of merchandise sold."
If Pryor stays, he will miss the first five games of his senior year. It is highly unlikely that he will win the Heisman on the basis of his performances in half a dozen regular–season games, no matter how remarkable they may be. It is also unlikely that he will break all the career records for quarterbacks at OSU.
And, if his teammates stumble once or twice during his absence, he may never have the chance to play for a national title.
So Pryor's game against Arkansas may well be his last opportunity to make an impression. In fact, it might be his farewell collegiate appearance. Or will it?
I say "media event" because you couldn't call it a press conference. Folks from the media were there, but they weren't allowed to ask any questions.
Without any questions, the statements sounded managed, self serving. That makes it hard to assess the candor level. I'm guessing it will be hard for NFL executives to assess it as well.
For what it's worth, though, it wasn't hard for me to come to one conclusion based on those brief statements.
"I didn't mean to hurt nobody," Pryor said.
If Pryor really is concerned about his legacy, it wouldn't hurt to return for his senior year — and publicly proclaim his intention to do so. He could be a positive role model in a couple of ways — by honoring his commitment to finish his work on his degree and by taking his medicine for his mistakes.
Even if his football game doesn't improve appreciably, the additional year in school could only help.
Maybe he would learn what a double negative is — and how to avoid being one.
If you're under 40, you almost certainly have no memory of a time when professional football didn't allow for overtime periods during the regular season.
And you definitely have no memory of a time when there was no Super Bowl.
It was 45 years ago this year that professional football teams last played a season without a Super Bowl to crown their champion.
The Super Bowl was introduced to the American public after the 1966 season — but, originally, it wasn't called the Super Bowl. In the early days, it was called the AFL–NFL World Championship Game.
The story behind how the Super Bowl got its name is an interesting one, but it isn't the one I wish to tell today.
Today, I want to talk about 1965. But I can't say that I have much to share in the way of personal memories of that year.
In 1965, I was so little I probably didn't know much about football. I'm sure I didn't. My parents didn't own a TV set in those days.
I've seen pictures of myself from those days in which I was wearing a football helmet. I don't know who gave it to me — my parents? my grandparents? — but it was very generic. No logo on the side, just plain red with a white stripe down the middle.
I doubt that I knew much, if anything, about its purpose. I probably didn't give it any more thought than I gave to the enormous red plastic fish that I carried with me wherever I went.
(You can see that big red plastic fish in the picture at the left, by the way. That's me, second from right, with the fish at my side, as always in those days.)
My grandfather was an avid fisherman, and I had been with him on many fishing expeditions in east Texas, but I had never seen him hook a fish that big.
And he certainly never landed a red fish.
It goes without saying, I guess, that I know much more about football now than I did in 1965. It should also go without saying that that isn't the only thing that has changed in the last 45 years.
As I mentioned, the Super Bowl has undergone a name change since its debut. And the NFL belatedly started allowing overtime to be played during the regular season.
The league was using overtime in the postseason before that. It had been in the rule books for more than a couple of decades.
The rationale for allowing overtime was that you couldn't permit a championship game to end in a tie, although the NFL's rules made that a possibility for more than 20 years, between the founding of the league in 1920 and the implementation of the overtime provision in the playoff guidelines in 1941.
Today, of course, the issue in professional football is not whether to allow games that are tied at the end of regulation to go into overtime. The issue is which kind of overtime format should be used.
It was a different world in the mid–1960s. But even though the overtime provision had been in the rules for nearly a quarter of a century, it had seldom been needed.
A few years later, the fledgling American Football League played two overtime periods before the Dallas Texans defeated the Houston Oilers.
And those were the only two times, before this day in 1965, that American football fans had experienced sudden death.
Modern football fans — if they could be magically transported back to 1965 — would be astonished, too, by the way playoffs were handled. In 2010, a dozen playoff spots will be awarded in the NFL, and it will take about a month to crown the champion.
Prior to 1966, the NFL was split in two divisions. The regular–season winners faced each other for the championship the week after the season ended. No other teams were involved — unless a division ended in a tie. Then, there would be a one–game playoff between those two teams, with the winner advancing to face the other division winner for the title the following week.
Anyway, that is what happened. The Baltimore Colts and the Green Bay Packers ended the regular season tied atop their division (in the NFL, the divisions actually were called the Eastern and Western conferences at that time) with 10–3–1 records so they met in Green Bay on this day in 1965.
The winner would face the Cleveland Browns (in what would be Jim Brown's last game) for the NFL championship the next Sunday.
(A couple of points here — First, under modern rules, such a playoff would never have been necessary. The Packers and Colts, being members of the same conference, faced each other twice during the regular season, and the Packers won both games. If tiebreaker procedures had been on the books, the Packers would have won based on their head–to–head victories.
(Second, since the Packers swept their games with the Colts during the regular season, obviously the teams didn't play to a stalemate at some point during the regular season. The Packers, in fact, ended their season with a tie against San Francisco. If they had won that game, the third game with the Colts would not have been needed.)
On this day in 1965, the Colts scored 10 points in the first half, and the Packers scored 10 points in the second half. Don Chandler kicked a controversial 25–yard field goal (many Colts fans insisted it sailed wide) in overtime to win the game and send the Packers into the NFL championship game.
Actually, there was a third angle to the playoff between the Colts and the Packers — one that would almost certainly seem alien to 21st–century football fans.
During the 1960s, a game called the Playoff Bowl was played between the second–place teams in each of the NFL's conferences the weekend after the actual NFL championship was played.
The Packers, who were coached by Vince Lombardi in 1965, had played in the NFL championship game in 1960, 1961 and 1962, but they finished second in 1963 and 1964 and had to play in the Playoff Bowl
Lombardi hated the Playoff Bowl, and in 1965, he used that as motivation for his players prior to the playoff with the Colts. If they lost to Baltimore, he warned his players, they would wind up in the Playoff Bowl, which was, he told them, "the 'Shit Bowl' ...a losers' bowl for losers."
The NFL did away with the Playoff Bowl after the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970.
Christmas is one of those holidays — like Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July — that inspires memories, both great and awful, that seem to follow you as long as you live.
When you get right down to it, Christmas is just another day on the calendar. It's great for some, not so great for others.
But whatever happens on that day seems to take on more significance, simply because it is Christmas Day. Whatever happens on this day definitely does not stay on this day. It lives on in memory, and its details become, if anything, sharper with age.
Depending upon who you are, I guess, Christmas 1971 was just such a day.
It was, as I recall, the first of three consecutive Christmases my family spent at South Padre Island, Texas.
Ordinarily, we spent Christmas with my grandparents in Dallas, but, by Christmas 1971, my parents were in the mood to hit the road. They had purchased a popup camper (much like the one you can see at the right) a few years earlier, and we had taken it on family trips in the spring and summer.
(Actually, that picture is a pretty fair representation of the camper we had, except that the bottom part wasn't white, it was green. Frankly, I never thought it was a very attractive shade of green, either, but my mother really liked it. She dubbed the camper the "Big, Bright Green Pleasure Machine" after a Simon & Garfunkel tune.)
In December 1971, we took it about as far south as you can go in Texas and set up our campsite at a campground not far from the beach. It was, as I remember, a couple of days before Christmas when we arrived.
The weather was gorgeous for late December, which wasn't unusual in Port Isabel, Texas. That certainly hasn't changed. Even after it cooled off here in north Texas late this week, it stayed in the 70s in Port Isabel. Temperatures there might dip into the mid–60s today, but I'm sure that still sounds pretty good to many Americans right now.
It was probably like that 39 years ago. I don't remember if I even knew what the temperature was that Christmas. All I remember is that it was warm and sunny.
Just another Bethlehem–like day slightly north of the border.
The campground actually had a putt–putt golf course that campers could play for free. All you had to do was go by the office and get a putter and a ball. It didn't take me long to make a friend and spend hours playing miniature golf with him in the warm south Texas sun.
Anyway, when Christmas arrived, we did our family Christmas in that camper. It was kind of cramped in there for much Christmas festivity for a family of four with a dog so when the gifts had been exchanged and all the rituals had been observed, I exited the camper and hooked up with my new friend to play some miniature golf.
I don't know how long we played. We never kept score, we just putted until we both got our balls in the hole, then we proceeded to the next hole, and we could do that for hours. (It really is amazing how much energy you have when you're a child — and how oblivious you are to extremes in temperature.)
Anyway, at some point, we returned to the campground office, perhaps to turn in our putters and balls for the day.
And I recall that most of the men from the campground — workers and campers alike — had gathered there to watch the AFC playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs.
I'm sure no one realized it at the time, but a new order was emerging in professional football.
People seldom seem to recognize such transitions for what they are at the time. It is only with the benefit of hindsight — and a certain amount of distance — that most can see things clearly.
Up to that time, the dominant teams in the AFC were probably the Chiefs, Raiders and Jets, all charter members of the old American Football League. The Colts (still in Baltimore at that time) had just won the first Super Bowl to be played following the NFL–AFL merger, and they had done so as members of the AFC, but the Colts were NFL refugees. They had no history against the AFL — other than their upset loss to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III in January 1969.
By 1971, the Chiefs had been to as many Super Bowls as the Packers and the Colts — and they had won as many, too. The Dolphins, meanwhile, had never been to one before. In fact, they were making only their second–ever playoff appearance that Christmas Day — but they were doing so with the Colts' former coach, Don Shula, and he knew something about getting to the Super Bowl, as he demonstrated that year.
I don't remember what the point spread was, but I'm sure the Chiefs must have been heavy favorites.
And they got off to a fast start. Jan Stenerud nailed a field goal and Ed Podolak scored a touchdown, and Kansas City had a 10–0 lead when the first quarter ended. But Miami rallied with a Larry Csonka touchdown and a Garo Yepremian field goal in the second period, and the score was tied, 10–10, at intermission.
My friend and I, being normal boys who couldn't understand why anyone would stay indoors when it was warm and sunny outside, didn't spend much time in the office until after the sun went down that day. We popped in for a drink of water — and a score update — from time to time, and we heard that the teams traded touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, and the game went to overtime with the score tied, 24–24.
By that time, if my memory serves me, the sun had gone down, and we remained in the office with our fathers, who were engrossed in the game — so engrossed, in fact, that many of the men remained in the office even after their children came to tell them that dinner was ready back at their campsites.
I recall that my own father was among those who resisted the calls from their wives.
It really seemed the Chiefs were going to put an end to things early in overtime, but the Dolphins blocked what would have been the game–winning field goal, and the defenses, who must have been wearing down, dominated things through the first overtime period ...
... and into the second.
All anyone had to do to win was to score — any kind of score would do, even a safety, and, finally, someone did score. After more than 82 minutes, Yepremian kicked a field goal with 7:40 showing on the clock in the second overtime period, and the Dolphins advanced to the AFC Championship game.
It remains the longest professional football game ever played.
No one knew it at the time, but that was the last time anyone would see Kansas City in the playoffs for more than a decade, and it would be two decades before the Chiefs would win in the postseason. Miami, on the other hand, was about to go to the first of three consecutive Super Bowls. In all, the Dolphins have been in five Super Bowls since that Christmas Day 39 years ago. The Chiefs haven't been to any.
No one knew that on this day 39 years ago, but everyone did know it was the last time the Chiefs would play in Municipal Stadium. The Chiefs were scheduled to begin playing in Arrowhead Stadium the next year so when their 1971 season ended, so, too, did Municipal's existence.
In addition to serving as the home to the Chiefs' two Super Bowl teams, Municipal hosted Kansas City's baseball teams — the American League's Athletics (before they moved to California) and the Royals in their early years, the Negro Leagues' Monarchs, the minor leagues' Blues — for half a century.
The times they were indeed a–changin'. But no one seemed to know it.
I'm a football fan. I've been a football fan all my life, and I have seen a lot of football games.
Most have been entertaining. Not all have been memorable.
It seems to me that there are three things, any one of which can make a football game truly memorable:
Extreme conditions
A remarkable individual performance
A fantastic finish
When I say "extreme conditions," I'm talking about something like the "Ice Bowl," in which severe weather plays a significant role in the outcome.
Of course, I guess that could also mean playing a game under unusually stressful circumstances. This would have applied, I suppose, if the NFL had played its regularly scheduled games the weekends after the 9/11 attacks or the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
When I say "a remarkable individual performance," I'm talking about something like the day 45 years ago this month when Chicago Bears rookie Gale Sayers scored six touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers.
And when I say "a fantastic finish," I could be talking about something like the "Ice Bowl," which had the coldest air temperature ever recorded in an NFL game.
But sometimes what makes a game's finish truly fantastic is the fact that the issue is not resolved in the regulation 60 minutes and overtime is required.
One day, I guess, the NFL will perfect its overtime provision. It will probably have to experiment with different formats, including the one currently in use in the NCAA, in which each team gets a chance on offense, and the game continues if neither team has the lead after both have had that opportunity.
In that arrangement, it is advantageous to get the ball second. That way, your team knows how much it must score either to win the game or force another overtime period.
As things stand now in the NFL, the first team to touch the ball might score and the other team would never have that opportunity. Consequently, in this arrangement, it is to a team's advantage to get the ball first.
Of course, that practically assumes that, if you get the ball, you're going to score. It doesn't always work out that way.
It didn't work out that way 33 years ago today.
I remember the Christmas Eve of 1977 quite well. My family was visiting my grandmother in Dallas, as usual. And, as usual, I was sick that Christmas Eve.
When I think back on my adolescence, I recall being sick during the Christmas holidays — usually a cold but occasionally a virus — a lot more frequently than I recall enjoying good health.
And on Christmas Eve 1977, a stomach virus was keeping me close to the bathroom in my grandmother's house.
It was a Saturday, the first day of the NFL playoffs. The Oakland Raiders were the defending Super Bowl champions, but they had lost the AFC West to the famed Orange Crush of Denver so they were the AFC's wild–card team and had to travel to Baltimore to play the Colts, winners of the AFC East.
I remember stretching out on my grandmother's sofa and my father sitting in one of her parlor chairs. My mother must have been doing some last–minute Christmas shopping. My grandmother and my brother may have been with her.
My father and I are the only ones who were in that living room that afternoon, and we watched an intense struggle between the Raiders and the Colts, a back–and–forth affair that went into overtime, then went into a second overtime.
It wasn't the longest game ever played. That was the AFC playoff game between Miami and Kansas City on Christmas Day in 1971.
It wasn't a championship game. If it had been a championship game, it might have been the longest one ever played.
The championship game that holds the distinction as the longest remains the AFL title game between the Dallas Texans and the Houston Oilers on Dec. 23, 1962. The Texans won that game, 20–17, 2:54 into the second overtime period.
The Colts–Raiders game falls somewhere in between. It went into a second overtime period, it matched future Hall of Famers and great coaches, it never appeared to be in either team's pocket until tight end Dave Casper scored the winning touchdown.
I will always remember watching it with my father in my grandmother's living room on Christmas Eve 1977.
Ironically, the teams may be poised to make some more holiday memories this weekend. The teams will meet in Oakland on Sunday.
Neither team can clinch a playoff spot on Sunday, and it is highly unlikely that the teams can match what their franchise ancestors did in Baltimore 33 years ago.
But it might be fun to watch — and possibly memorable.
On this day in 1972, Terry Bradshaw completed a pass to Franco Harris that scored the game–winning touchdown against the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the AFC playoffs.
Over the years, Bradshaw probably completed dozens of passes to Harris. But what made that play so memorable was the fact that Bradshaw hadn't been throwing to Harris. His target, based on the play that had been sent in from the sideline, was meant to be a fellow named Barry Pearson, a rookie receiver.
Oakland led, 7–6. It was Pittsburgh's ball, fourth–and–10 on the Pittsburgh 40. There were 22 seconds left. After the ball was snapped, Bradshaw was almost immediately under considerable pressure by Oakland's linemen, and he scrambled around a bit, then threw the ball in the direction of John Fuqua.
Fuqua collided with the Raiders' hard–hitting safety, Jack Tatum, and the ball ricocheted in Harris' direction. Harris scooped up the ball before it could hit the ground and ran in with what wound up being the winning touchdown.
It may be the most famous play in NFL history. NFL Films chose it as both the greatest play and the most controversial play of all time.
It is called "The Immaculate Reception," a name it apparently was given that very day.
The story I've heard is that the nickname was used first by a Pittsburgh sportscaster, who was reporting on the game. A Pittsburgh woman called him and suggested it. He used it, and it has been in use ever since.
I've heard lots of nicknames for games, plays and players over the years, and that one may be the most perfect I've ever heard.
What makes it perfect is knowledge of the Steelers' history — and how that play really changed things for them forever.
The 1972 season was the Steelers' 40th in the NFL. More than 75% of the time, the Steelers had finished seasons with losing records. As they entered their game with the Raiders on this day 38 years ago, they had never won a playoff game. But Harris' catch heralded the changing of the guard in the NFL.
The Steelers didn't win the Super Bowl that year. Instead, they lost the AFC Championship to Miami the next week, and Miami went on to cap its 17–0 season with a Super Bowl triumph over Washington.
But the Steelers wound up being the dominant team of the decade, winning four Super Bowls with Bradshaw, Harris, Lynn Swann and the Steel Curtain defense.
And the seeds for that great run could truly be said to have been planted in Three Rivers Stadium on this day in 1972.
They just don't make 'em like Rapid Robert anymore. At least, that's what I've been told.
"Rapid Robert" is a nickname that was given to Bob Feller, the legendary pitcher who died last night at the age of 92.
How else can you say it? His was an American story.
He grew up on a farm in Iowa. He even learned how to play baseball on an actual "field of dreams" that was built by his father on the family's land in the early 1930s.
He won 266 games as a pro, and he led the American League in strikeouts six times. He pitched three no–hitters and a dozen one–hitters.
For his career, Feller is 26th in strikeouts. No currently active player has thrown more strikeouts than he did, and it doesn't seem likely that anyone is going to match his personal achievement any time soon.
The nearest active player is 48–year–old Jamie Moyer, who suffered what is thought to be a career–ending injury last month.
(Thirty–four–year–old Javier Vázquez of the Marlins needs 208 strikeouts to pass Feller. Thirty–eight–year–old Andy Pettitte of the Yankees needs 331, and 44–year–old Tim Wakefield is 519 behind.)
In 1962, he was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame on his very first ballot with the support of more than 93% of those voting.
Clearly, he wasn't understood. Maybe it was because he played in Cleveland.
He was an American icon, writes Bill Livingston in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the newspaper that serves the city where Feller played his entire major league career.
You seldom find an athlete in any sport anymore who spent his entire career in the same city — unless that athlete's career could be measured in months or, perhaps, a few years, not nearly two decades.
Feller's career began July 19, 1936. It ended Sept. 30, 1956.
Mathematicians will tell you that is more than 20 years, but Feller's playing career actually was a few years shorter than that. It was interrupted by his voluntary service in the Navy, which began the day after Pearl Harbor.
In the next four years, many major leaguers would fight in World War II. Feller was the very first major leaguer to enlist following the Japanese attack. He had quite a distinguished military career — as a gun captain, he received five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars.
He was the greatest Cleveland Indian, says Bob Dolgan in the Plain Dealer.
And that's tough to argue with.
He is, writes Dolgan, "the only Cleveland pro athlete to be immortalized with a statue." The same cannot be said of the great Jim Brown. It certainly can't be said of Lebron James.
Feller was a true patriot, writes Pat McManamon of Fanhouse.
"A real natural existed before Roy Hobbs was a creation in a filmmaker's mind," McManamon writes. "A guy who learned to pitch throwing into a makeshift backstop with his father on the family farm in Iowa. A guy who would achieve greatness in baseball and willingly sacrifice some of that greatness for his country."
I really like what Bob Ryan wrote about Feller in the Boston Globe:
"I’ve often imagined that if I could be one 20th–century American athlete it would be Smoky Joe Wood in 1912," Ryan wrote. "But it wouldn't have been a bad thing to have been Bob Feller in 1940. Or 1946.
"Because to be Bob Feller in those years was to be the baseball equivalent of the heavyweight champ. There were many fine pitchers in those days, just as there were many fine boxers not named Joe Louis. But Joe Louis was boxing to the average person. He was the one and only Heavyweight Champeen of Da Woild and he didn't just defeat opponents; he knocked people out! Likewise, in Bob Feller's heyday he was pitching to the average baseball fan. He owned the preeminent fastball in the world, and he didn't just retire batters; he blew them away!"
By the way, if you crave one more piece about the life of Bob Feller, I recommend David Wade's article in The Hardball Times about the day a kid from Chicago faced Feller in a ball game while the two were in the service — and recorded a single after taking his coach's advice ("When he starts his windup, swing").
This Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins will meet in a renewal of what was once a great rivalry in the NFL.
They'll be playing in Cowboys Stadium in nearby Arlington and, because of the way the broadcasting rules are set up in the NFL, no other games can be televised locally while the team from the local market is playing a game in its home stadium.
That's too bad because there are several other games with playoff implications being played at the same time. But, if you live in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, unless you have access to the satellite TV package that gives you the broadcasts of every NFL game being played on Sunday, you're stuck with the Cowboys and the Redskins.
There was a time when football fans around here wouldn't have felt they were stuck. They would have eagerly anticipated the game, stocked up on gameday food and drinks — and taken the phone off the hook when the game began.
It was more than a game. It was an event.
A Cowboys–Redskins game doesn't hold much allure now, with the Redskins at 5–8 and the Cowboys at 4–9, but 31 years ago, it was a different story.
On Dec. 16, 1979, at Texas Stadium in Irving, Roger Staubach brought the Cowboys back not once but twice from 13–point deficits against the Redskins, the second time for keeps. As a result of their 35–34 victory over the Redskins, the Cowboys went on to the playoffs, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams. The Redskins went home.
Staubach's career ended shortly after the Cowboys' season did. Consequently, his last victory as a pro came against the Redskins.
Ironically, his coach, Tom Landry, also recorded his last victory (in 1988) against the Cowboys' old nemesis, and Landry's successor, Jimmy Johnson, recorded his first victory (and the only win of his inaugural NFL season) against the Redskins.
By that time, the mere mention of the Cowboys–Redskins rivalry could still make Dallas football fans' hearts beat a little faster, but the series clearly had lost something. Maybe it was the fact that, a decade after Staubach's departure, the Cowboys no longer possessed an offense that was capable of striking quickly and often.
Watch the attached clip and you'll see that there was a reason why they called Staubach "Captain Comeback."
But there was also a reason why the Dallas defensive unit was known in the 1970s as "Doomsday." You can see that, too, in the Cowboys' miraculous comeback against the Redskins 31 years ago today.
There were many reasons why the Cowboys–Redskins rivalry was special in those days.
In their long history, the Arkansas Razorbacks have never played Ohio State in a football game.
For that matter, the Razorbacks have seldom played in the Sugar Bowl.
But both will happen on January 4.
I know the game will not be played for a national championship. That will be between Auburn and Oregon nearly a week later.
And it probably isn't the most intriguing of the remaining postseason games. That distinction, I think, has to go to the Rose Bowl, where 11–1 Wisconsin will take on 12–0 TCU.
But I really do believe the Sugar Bowl between the 10–2 Razorbacks and the 11–1 Buckeyes is next on the list.
I just hope the Hogs can win the game. The Sugar Bowl hasn't been a very sweet experience for them in the past.
Neither, for that matter, have the Hogs' encounters with teams from the Big Ten. Ohio State will be the fourth Big Ten team Arkansas has faced in a bowl since the 1998 season, and Arkansas lost to the other three (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin).
When you factor in the Razorbacks' 1–2 regular–season mark against Big Ten teams, Arkansas' overall record against the conference is 1–5. Not terribly impressive.
John Tamanaha of NBC Sports doesn't think the Hogs will beat Ohio State, either, but he does think they will beat the 2½–point spread.
I guess both teams have a lot to prove.
The Buckeyes, writes the Associated Press, are "tired of hearing how their predecessors have lost all nine bowl meetings with teams from the Southeastern Conference."That's a skid that dates back to the days of Woody Hayes. Through most of his career at Ohio State, Hayes was bound by Big Ten rules. Only the conference champion could play in a bowl game, the Rose Bowl. Everyone else had to stay home.
Many years, that meant that some pretty decent teams, teams that were capable of competing for a national title, stayed home during the postseason, often because they could not defeat Ohio State.
But conference rules changed and, in his final years with the Buckeyes, Hayes could accept invitations to play in other bowls if Ohio State did not go to Pasadena. And, in January 1978, Hayes' Buckeyes lost the Sugar Bowl to Bear Bryant's Alabama team.
The other eight bowl losses to the SEC came under other coaches. Hayes was forced into retirement late that year when he struck an opposing player in the 1978 Gator Bowl.
It still strikes me as odd to hear Arkansas mentioned as a Southeastern Conference team. All five of their previous Sugar Bowl opponents were from the Southeastern Conference
When I was growing up in Arkansas, a berth in the Cotton Bowl was the reward for winning the Southwest Conference — which is where Arkansas played until the early 1990s — so that clearly was the objective that Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks aimed for when each season began.
The Cotton Bowl game seldom means anything anymore, but old habits die hard, I guess. If the Hogs can't play in a BCS bowl (and this will be the first time since the introduction of the BCS more than a decade ago that Arkansas has been in a BCS bowl), I want them to come to Dallas and play in the Cotton Bowl.
But, although Broyles won nearly 70% of all the games he coached in at Arkansas, he led the Razorbacks to as many Sugar Bowls as he did Cotton Bowls.
In the 1960s, the Hogs played in four Sugar Bowls and lost three.
Arkansas' first appearance in the Sugar Bowl came on New Year's Day 1962 when the Razorbacks faced Alabama.
The Razorbacks were 8–2 and ranked ninth in the nation. Alabama was 10–0 and ranked #1.
It was a low–scoring contest, with Alabama getting all 10 of its points in the first half and Arkansas getting its lone field goal in the third quarter.
A 10–3 final score may seem odd to people who look at the box score of that game from the perspective of 2010, when high–scoring offenses have led the Tigers and Ducks to the brink of college football supremacy and defense almost seems to be an afterthought. But the Razorback defense entered that game third in the nation against the pass and 10th in the nation overall.
And Bryant's defense did a great job of protecting that lead in the final quarter.
Only three of the Hogs' regular–season foes scored more than 10 points against them in 1961, but Bryant claimed his first national title with the 10 points his Crimson Tide scored on Arkansas that day.
The Razorbacks were back in New Orleans the next year, this time to face third–ranked Ole Miss (9–0). The Razorbacks were ranked sixth and entered the game with a 9–1 record.
Another defensive battle ensued, with Ole Miss prevailing, 17–13. The Rebels, coached by the legendary Johnny Vaught, took a 10–3 halftime lead, then held on while Arkansas outscored Ole Miss in the third quarter, 10–7.
The fourth quarter of that year's Sugar Bowl, like the one the year before, was scoreless.
Arkansas did not return to New Orleans for another Sugar Bowl for six years.
On Jan. 1, 1969, the Razorbacks, ranked ninth in the nation and coming off a 9–1 season, met the Georgia Bulldogs, who were fourth in the nation with an 8–0–2 mark.
This time, the Razorbacks won the game, but, once again, it was a defensive battle. Given Arkansas' history in New Orleans, that was probably to be expected. Georgia's defense was #1 in the nation.
But Arkansas' defense, which was much more prone to giving up points than the first two teams Broyles took to the Sugar Bowl, got the better of things. The Georgia defense provided the Bulldogs' only score — a second–quarter safety.
Meanwhile, the Arkansas offense — led by Chuck Dicus' 12 receptions — scored 16 points and won the game, 16–2.
The Razorbacks returned to New Orleans the next year.
The Sugar Bowl was still a prestigious bowl game, but it had the feeling of a consolation bowl for the Razorbacks and their fans. If they had beaten Texas in the "Game of the Century" in December 1969, they would have gone on to play for the national title in the Cotton Bowl.
But they lost that game by a single point and had to face Ole Miss, with Archie Manning at quarterback, instead.
In the aftermath of that classic Arkansas–Texas game, wrote Jim Bailey and Orville Henry in "The Razorbacks," the history of Razorback football, "[a]ll the accolades you could imagine fell on both teams, but nothing could change the fact that Texas was going to the Cotton Bowl to play Notre Dame for the final No. 1 prize, and Arkansas was going to the Sugar Bowl to play Ole Miss for nothing, compared to what they had just lost."
My memory of the game is that Arkansas (9–1 and ranked third after the loss to Texas) made ghastly mistakes — Bill McClard, who was at that time the best kicker ever to play for the Hogs, missed field goals, and the offense failed on a two–point conversion attempt and turned the ball over in some critical situations — while Ole Miss (7–3 and ranked 13th) played essentially turnover–free football.
That tends to win against just about everyone, and it won against Arkansas that day.
And Broyles, who will be 86 the day after Christmas, never coached in a Sugar Bowl again.
But he returned as the Arkansas athletic director when his successor as coach, Lou Holtz, brought the Razorbacks to New Orleans for their first (and, until next month, their only) Sugar Bowl appearance in New Orleans' Superdome.
All four of Broyles' Sugar Bowl appearances had been at Tulane Stadium.
And for the fourth time in five Sugar Bowls, the Razorbacks went down to defeat, this time by the biggest margin yet.
The Hogs came into the game with a 10–1 record (ranked sixth in the AP poll, seventh in the coaches' poll), but they were no match for unbeaten Alabama (ranked second by AP, first by the coaches). Alabama sprinted to a 17–3 halftime lead.
I was a student at the University of Arkansas at the time, and I remember watching the game on my TV in Fayetteville, yelling at the screen, "Throw it to Farrell!" In case you're unaware, Robert Farrell was Arkansas' star receiver.
Alabama's defense kept Farrell bottled up for most of the game (he only caught three passes all day), but Arkansas QB Kevin Scanlon finally found him for a touchdown in the third quarter.
At the time, the score cut the deficit to 17–9, but Alabama scored an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter and won the game, 24–9.
The Hogs haven't been back to New Orleans to play in the Sugar Bowl in the 30 years since.
Maybe that's enough time for their luck to change. I hope so.
In the 1976 movie "Network," Peter Finch's character (the TV newsman known for ranting that he was "mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!") was told by Ned Beatty's character (the chairman of the conglomerate that owned the TV network), "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, and you must atone!"
The bad weather had already forced the postponement of the game — the New York Giants, who were scheduled to face the Vikings, couldn't get there because of it — but that wasn't really relevant. The collapse occurred when most of the fans who were planning to attend probably were still snuggling in their warm beds. It was 5 a.m. No one was there.
It is fortunate, indeed, that the roof collapsed when it did, that it didn't wait about seven hours — when more than 60,000 fans were expected to be in those seats.
But in the absence of loss of life, I have found myself pondering the supposedly controlled environments in which many football and baseball teams must play.
It wasn't always this way.
When I was growing up, many of the most memorable games were played in adverse conditions — including games in Minnesota.
It's been more than four decades since the "Ice Bowl" was played, but people still speak of it.
When I was in college at the University of Arkansas, the football team played a bowl game in a fog that was as thick as pea soup. I wasn't there, but I watched it on TV. And I can remember more details of that game than I can of games I watched yesterday.
And just about 35 years ago — in an NFC playoff game on Dec. 28, 1975 — Dallas' Roger Staubach threw the pass that was dubbed the "Hail Mary" pass.
Watch it in the attached clip. That white stuff along the sidelines is snow.
Previous generations called such a play an "Alley–Oop." But, as the saying goes, a rose by any other name ...
My point is that the condition at gametime is the kind of intangible neither team can really prepare for. Victory belongs to the team that can make the needed adjustments first.
And sometimes I wonder if humans have simply been meddling with the primal forces of nature in their attempt to create ideal conditions for the teams and their fans.
Sure, in some circumstances, I can see the wisdom of building an indoor facility for what is essentially an outdoor game. It rains so much in Seattle, for example, that I can see how it would be difficult to complete a baseball season there without an indoor facility.
But football games are different. Football games have always been played in all kinds of weather. It takes something really severe — like flash floods or extremely strong winds or lightning — to interfere with a football game.
Personally, I always thought the possibility of bad weather gave the home team an added incentive to win. After all, who wants to come out to watch a losing team play in the rain or the snow or the fog?
The Vikings of the 1970s made the game conditions part of their home field advantage.
Maybe the indoor stadiums are better — for the fans' comfort — but I think something good has been lost.
Perhaps, when the Vikings return to Minneapolis for their final home game next Monday, a local outdoor stadium will be used — and Minnesota football fans can experience football the way it once was in Minneapolis.
It seems fitting, I guess, that Don Meredith, the famed "Dandy Don," as his Monday Night Football colleague Howard Cosell called him, died last night at the age of 72.
For it was while I was watching Meredith and Cosell and their other colleague, Frank Gifford, doing a Monday Night broadcast that I learned that John Lennon had been killed.
The 30th anniversary of that event will be this Wednesday, and I expect to be writing about it later.
I was in college, and I was drinking beer and eating nachos with a couple of my buddies when Cosell made his announcement. The beer may have clouded my memory a bit, but what I recall is that Meredith said nothing about Lennon on that occasion. He and Gifford apparently sat in the booth and listened while Cosell informed the viewing audience that Lennon had been shot and killed only minutes before.
The thing I remember about Meredith's Monday Night Football career was his habit of bursting into a rendition of "Turn Out the Lights (the Party's Over)" when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
I'm not sure when he did it the first time. I just know he became famous for doing it, and I always knew, when he started singing, that it was time for me to go to bed.
I have few memories of Meredith's playing days. He retired from the NFL before I really began following it, but I do have spotty memories of seeing him play in the infamous "Ice Bowl" against Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.
I remember, when I was a child, the adults in my world dismissed the Dallas Cowboys as "the team that couldn't win the big one." Some of that criticism was directed at the head coach, Tom Landry, but much of it focused on the team's field general — its quarterback, Don Meredith.
That criticism wasn't fair, but it never really went away until Roger Staubach started playing for the Cowboys — and Dallas finally won the big one.
Granted, Meredith didn't compile eye–popping numbers while playing for Dallas, but he was the Cowboys' quarterback in their early days, when wins were few and far between.
The fact that the Cowboys of the 1960s were ever in the position of participating in the postseason at all was due, in large part, to Meredith's play.
I hope Meredith didn't carry that criticism with him for the rest of his life. And, judging from what I saw during his Monday Night Football career, I don't think he did.
I heard yesterday that Ron Santo had died — and, while I have never been a Chicago Cubs fan, I mourn the loss.
Santo actually died on Thursday — in a hospital in Arizona — but I didn't hear about it until Friday. Apparently, he lived in the Southwest during the offseason, but for more than 20 years, he had been announcing Cubs baseball for WGN radio.
Unless you're older than 40, though, you have no memory of the days when Santo played third base for the Cubs, and, for most folks who are old enough to remember but didn't live in Chicago, I guess, that memory would be spotty at best.
Santo's career ended several years before cable TV. There were no baseball telecasts every day of the week during the season when he played, only a single "game of the week" on Saturday afternoons, and many solid ballplayers in his era were virtually unseen by most fans outside their local fan base.
I was old enough to collect baseball cards in the latter years of Santo's career, and I saw him play once when my family went to St. Louis and watched the Cardinals play the Cubs one warm summer night. The Cubs absolutely hammered the Cardinals that night, much to the dismay of the Busch Stadium crowd, but we stayed to the end, long after many of the Cardinals fans had departed.
It had been my first major league ballgame. I don't remember if Santo hit a homer that night. He may have because the score was something like 12–0. I remember hearing his name a lot. If he wasn't hitting home runs, maybe he was getting some hits — or at least fielding a lot of grounders.
He did it all, really. He was an All–Star nine times, and he won five straight Gold Glove awards.
He could hit home runs, too. He hit 342 in his career, a number that may seem pedestrian by today's standards but it stood as a testament to power hitting in the pre–steroids era.
Yes, I knew who Santo was when I was a child. I knew who most of the ballplayers of those days were, the famous and the not so famous, because I collected the cards. And I thought I knew a lot about all the ballplayers because I had their cards.
But I continue to learn how little I really did know. And it reminds me of the truth of something Harry Truman once said — The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know.
I didn't know, for example, that Santo played professional baseball while concealing the fact that he had diabetes. But he did.
It is said that Santo died of complications from bladder cancer so diabetes is not being blamed. But diabetes may have caused those complications. I don't know. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 18, and he was 70 when he died the other day.
And I know that diabetes ultimately led to the amputations of both his legs in recent years.
He kept his diabetes secret from his teammates and team management at first, then continued to keep it a secret from the public until near the end of his career. I don't remember hearing about it until after he had retired, probably because I didn't live near Chicago.
Many folks outside Chicago also didn't know about his charitable work. I didn't.
"People would ask me whether I knew Ron Santo," writes Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun–Times, "and my response was always the same: 'Yes, and so do you.'
" ... [H]e never did get the things he wanted so badly: a Cubs World Series title and a plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y. But what a good life he led, 70 years' worth, and he knew it."
Santo never stopped believing that both of those dreams would someday come true. They didn't come true in his lifetime.
And, while I can't say that I'm particularly eager to see the Cubs win a World Series, I do hope Santo is recognized by the Hall of Fame — soon.
Whatever the truth may be about Cam Newton, Auburn, Mississippi State, recruiting, etc., apparently will have to wait until after the 2010 football season is in the books.
As Kalani Simpson observes for FOX Sports, the NCAA isn't going to interfere and keep Newton from playing in tomorrow's SEC championship game — or, apparently, the national title game.
I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, we aren't too far removed from the Reggie Bush experience, and that is something I don't think any college football fan is eager to repeat.
I won't go into detail on that — and I'm sure no one associated with Auburn needs to be reminded of the Bush experience.
Southern California (Bush's alma mater) played Texas for the title that year. Undefeated Auburn was ranked third and had to play Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. I knew some disappointed Auburn fans who called it the Consolation Bowl — but it didn't seem terribly consoling to them.
If Newton is allowed to play tomorrow — and, presumably, in the national title game — and then it turns out that he, like Bush, must forfeit his Heisman (assuming he wins it, and most folks, at this point, are treating that like it's a given) and Auburn must forfeit its title (if it beats Oregon), unbeaten TCU will be in the same position as Auburn was then — deserving of a spot in the national title game but denied one because of the inappropriate actions of an underclassman.
But what choice do we have? There isn't enough time to hear the charges in full and whatever defenses may be offered. There isn't enough time for a jury or a panel of some kind to consider the evidence and render a just verdict before kickoff.
Indeed, there seems to be only one choice, and that is to let Newton play tomorrow. To do otherwise simply wouldn't be fair — to Newton, to Auburn or to South Carolina.
But, whether this eventually turns out to be Reggie Bush Revisited or simply Much Ado About Nothing, something needs to be done — unless we want recruiters bidding for Heisman prospects as if they were wannabe senators from Illinois.
#24 Northern Illinois at Miami (Ohio), 6 p.m. on ESPN2: Northern Illinois might be one of the best teams that hardly anyone has been talking about.
NIU is in the Top 25 in both offense and defense, but the offense is especially good, ranked 17th in the country. Miami, by comparison, is 85th.
Miami's defense, like NIU's, is in the Top 30. But I'm skeptical that it could make up for Miami's offensive deficiencies, so I pick Northern Illinois to win.
Saturday
#1 Oregon at Oregon State, 2:30 p.m. on ABC: In Oregon, they call this the Civil War. The rivalry between the two schools has been fought for more than a century.
Unless one of these teams is playing in a bowl, this is ordinarily the season finale for both schools.
As it is, though, Oregon will be playing in the postseason. The Ducks are currently undefeated and ranked #1. Oregon State, on the other hand, is 5–6. The Beavers need a win to become bowl eligible, which is motivation enough, I suppose, since Oregon State has gone bowling in the last four seasons and I doubt the Beavers really want to end their streak.
Just being bowl eligible is not a guarantee this season, though. As I understand it, there are already enough bowl eligible teams to fill all the bowl slots — and there may be a few more after this weekend's games. If so, then some bowl–eligible teams will be left out in the cold. There seems to be no way around it.
But it seems likely to me that, if Oregon State can defeat the top–ranked team in the country on the last Saturday of the regular season, the Beavers can count on being in a bowl. That's pretty inspirational.
And, to a casual observer, the situation may look pretty good. The game is being played, after all, at Oregon State.
But the last time Oregon came to Oregon State, the Ducks scored 65 points — which is pretty close to what they've been averaging in many games this season.
Prior to that, though, Oregon State won five straight meetings at home. And, in this series, home has been important. Since 1997, the home team has won all but two of the Civil Wars.
I don't think the home team will win this time ... but you never know about these rivalry games. That old saying about tossing the records out the window really does apply, even if it seems like a worn–out cliche.
Nevertheless, I think Oregon will win and go on to face Auburn for the national title.
SEC championship — # 18 South Carolina vs. #2 Auburn, 3 p.m. on CBS: Legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant used to tell his players to "act like you've been there before" when they scored a touchdown.
In that spirit, Auburn has been to the SEC championship game before. This is the Tigers' fourth appearance.
On the other hand, this will be South Carolina's first trip to the SEC title game, but, even though the modern SEC competes in divisions and these teams don't face each other every year, this is not the first encounter between these two schools.
In fact, they met earlier this year — at Auburn — and Auburn won, 35–27. And Auburn won the four previous meetings since they became conference rivals.
It would be tempting, for several reasons, to assume that South Carolina will lose this game, too. But let's not be too hasty.
Yes, the records suggest that 12–0 Auburn will beat 9–3 South Carolina. Yes, the recent history of the series also favors the Tigers. And it is also true that the once–dominant SEC East, which Carolina will represent in tomorrow's game, is not what it was.
But that brings up an interesting point.
Non–divisional opponents face each other on a rotating basis. Some years, a team's non–divisional schedule may seem light compared to other years.
But I think South Carolina's schedule in 2010 — the usual SEC East opposition, which includes Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, plus three of the toughest teams in the SEC West (defending national champion Alabama, presumptive national title competitor Auburn and Arkansas) — may have been one of the stoutest in the nation.
It's true that Newton has Auburn's offense ranked in the Top 10 while Carolina's languishes at #48. But Carolina's defense is 33rd in the country following its challenging season, which is better than Auburn's (#58).
When it gets right down to it, yes, I think Auburn will win. But I wouldn't be surprised if Carolina pulled off the upset.
Utah State at #9 Boise State, 2 p.m. on ESPN3.com: Boise State hasn't lost to Utah State since 1997, and Utah State hasn't won at Boise State since 1996.
The numbers don't suggest any kind of change is likely. Boise State's offense and defense are among the nation's best. Utah State's are among the nation's worst.
The only way I see Utah State winning this game is if Boise State is in some kind of funk over last week's overtime loss to Nevada. Otherwise, I expect Boise State to win ... big.
Big 12 championship — #13 Nebraska vs. #10 Oklahoma, 7 p.m. on ABC: When Nebraska beat Oklahoma last season, it snapped a four–game OU winning streak that included a win in the 2006 Big 12 championship game.
Before that, Nebraska took full advantage of the fact that the Cornhuskers were enjoying a surge while the Sooners were stumbling, winning seven out of eight in the 1990s. Sometimes during that stretch, Nebraska was merciless, rolling up wins of 73–21 and 69–7.
The marquee matchup in this game unquestionably will be when OU's 12th–ranked offense has the ball, and it must face Nebraska's fifth–ranked defense. But the outcome may depend on what happens when Nebraska's 31st–ranked offense takes on OU's mediocre defense (63rd in the country).
In the second half of the season, I'm inclined to think Texas A&M was the best team in the Big 12 South and deserved to play Nebraska for the league crown. But the Sooners got the nod, even though they lost to A&M in the final weeks of the season.
With its historic rivalry as a backdrop, I think this may be the most entertaining game of the day. And I pick Nebraska to win it.
ACC championship — #20 Florida State vs. #12 Virginia Tech, 6:45 p.m. on ESPN: Florida State always seems to get the better of Virginia Tech.
They compete in different divisions in the ACC so they don't play each other every year, and they haven't been in the same conference very long.
But, even though their time as conference rivals has been brief, they have met for the ACC crown before — in 2005. Florida State prevailed, 27–22. Before they were in the same conference, they met in the Gator Bowl following the 2001 season. Florida State won that one, too.
And they met in the Sugar Bowl following the 1999 season. Florida State rolled to a 46–29 win.
They faced off as regular–season, non–conference opponents every year between 1988 and 1991. Guess what? Florida State won those games, too.
In fact, since 1976, Virginia Tech has beaten Florida State only once — at Virginia Tech in 2007.
The defenses are pretty evenly matched, which means the game could well hinge on offense. If that is so, Virginia Tech should be due to end its frustration at Florida State's hands — this time, anyway.
#14 Nevada at Louisiana Tech: Nevada has beaten Louisiana Tech five straight times. The last time Tech won was in 2004, when the teams opened the season at Louisiana Tech.
Like Oregon State, Tech could be bowl eligible with a win. But the numbers don't favor that. Nevada's third–ranked offense should be too much for Tech's 114th–ranked defense. Tech's offense should be able to score on Nevada's defense, too — but probably not as often.
Consequently, I pick Nevada.
Rutgers at #23 West Virginia, 11 a.m. on ABC: West Virginia has beaten Rutgers 15 straight times.
West Virginia's defense is third in the nation, easily capable of handling Rutgers' 107th–ranked offense.
I'll take West Virginia.
UNLV at #25 Hawaii, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN3.com: Hawaii is clearly better on both sides of the ball.
The recent history of this series has been competitive, but I'm inclined to think Hawaii will win this one easily.
When I was growing up in Arkansas, I experienced many excruciating moments watching Razorback football games.
Rarely was it as excruciating as the Arkansas–Mississippi State game last weekend.
I grew up before overtime was part of the rules. In fact, I still recall the night I first learned that there was no overtime at any in college football, not even in bowl games. It was a New Year's Night, and I remember sitting down to watch the Orange Bowl with my father and some of his friends.
That year, the winner of the Orange Bowl was widely expected to be named national champion in the next day's poll, and my father and his friends were speculating about what might happen if the favorite lost or won by less than the point spread — or if the game ended in a tie.
(Strength of schedule was not a factor in those days.)
"They'll go into overtime," I confidently volunteered. (I was about 8 or 9 years old at the time.)
No, one of the men assured me, there was no overtime in college football.
I couldn't understand. How could that be? I had heard overtime mentioned in postseason games in every sport I had seen on television — even professional football. I knew college football games often ended in ties during the regular season ... but in what amounted to a playoff game?
I didn't care for that idea, but I could rationalize it: Pro football had overtime, but it had no two–point conversion. College football had no overtime, but it did have the two–point conversion — which gave a team some strategic flexibility. It was a tradeoff.
Now, of course, such differences do not exist.
Oh, they have different kinds of overtimes, and that still provokes some arguments. But when a title is on the line, they'll keep playing, college or pro, until one of the teams wins.
And both have the two–point conversion now.
Well, anyway, my alma mater — Arkansas — faced a tough Mississippi State team last Saturday and almost gave the game away.
It looked like Arkansas was on the verge of putting the game away, but MSU fought back, apparently inspired by the memory of their teammate, Nick Bell, who died earlier this month.
Well, to make a longer–than–expected story short, MSU was down by three late in the game and had the ball on Arkansas' side of the field after the Razorbacks fumbled around the 50. The Bulldogs had to settle for a field goal, and the game went into overtime.
Mississippi State got the ball first and promptly turned it over, and all Arkansas needed to do was kick a field goal to win, but the Razorbacks' kicker shanked it. So it went to a second overtime.
Arkansas didn't squander this opportunity, scoring a touchdown and forcing MSU to match it for the game to continue, but the Bulldogs couldn't do it and the Razorbacks will go into this Saturday's game against LSU with a 9–2 record.
Not bad — even if it has cost me a piece of my longevity.
All times are Central.
Today
#17 Texas A&M at Texas, 7 p.m. on ESPN: Dave Curtis of The Sporting News says this is one of 10 games this holiday weekend that will play significant roles in shaping the postseason.
Rarely have the Aggies been able to anticipate a Thanksgiving Day road encounter with their hated rivals with as much eagerness as this year's team — and all its fans — must certainly have anticipated this one.
The Longhorns, as most people must know by now, have suffered through a painful season less than a year after playing against Alabama for the national title. They've lost home games to Iowa State, Baylor and UCLA. They also lost their Red River Rivalry game with Oklahoma.
Going into Saturday's game against cupcake Florida Atlantic, UT had lost four straight. The last time Texas lost three in a row was 1999. And, about once a decade (if that), the Longhorns have lost four in a row. They did it in 1997, 1988 and 1956. A few times, they've lost four out of five or six.
Five straight losses would have been an all–time low.
For the resurgent Aggies, who were expected to struggle to break .500 and secure a bowl bid, this is an opportunity to punch their ticket for a January bowl — and who better to achieve that against than Texas? The Aggies have enjoyed limited success in Austin in recent years, with only one win in their last six visits.
It's a real role reversal, as Richard Justice writes in the Houston Chronicle.
All eyes will be on the Aggies when they have the ball. A&M's offense is ranked 15th in the nation, but it will be up against the eighth–ranked defense. Those should be dramatic possessions.
The outcome may depend on what happens when Texas' 60th–ranked offense must face A&M's #51 defense.
To me, it looks like it could well be a typical UT–A&M Thanksgiving brawl. Well worth watching. And I pick Texas A&M to win — and deny the struggling Longhorns bowl eligibility.
Friday
#20 Arizona at #1 Oregon, 6 p.m. on ESPN: Arizona has won only two of its last 11 encounters with Oregon, and the numbers don't look too favorable for the Wildcats this time, either.
Arizona's had a pretty good season, 7–3 record, currently ranked 20th in the nation in both offense and defense. But Oregon has been better in both categories, especially offense, and the Ducks are the hosts.
I expect Oregon to hand Arizona its third straight loss.
#2 Auburn at #9 Alabama, 1:30 p.m. on CBS: Alabama has beaten Auburn two years in a row, but Auburn was in control of the series for seven of the eight years before that.
And, if Cam Newton is able to play for the Tigers, I expect Auburn to win this game, too. But a lot can happen, even on a holiday.
With Newton, Auburn has the sixth best offense in the nation. Without him, who knows? Alabama hasn't been too shabby on offense, either, ranking 26th in the country, and the numbers suggest that Auburn's 50th–ranked defense will struggle to contain the Tide.
It's true the Tigers have given up a lot of points at times — more than 30 points to four of their last six foes. But they have exceeded 40 points on offense six times this season including 65 against Arkansas last month.
Newton's been a mystery to most teams. If he can play, I expect him to baffle Alabama, too. But, as I say, a lot can happen.
Anyway, assuming Newton is allowed to play, I pick Auburn to win the game.
#3 Boise State at #19 Nevada, 9:15 p.m. on ESPN2: Boise State is 9–0 against Nevada since they've both been members of the Western Athletic Conference.
Nevada enjoyed some success against Boise when they were both members of the Big West Conference. Boise has won four straight at Nevada; Nevada's last home win over Boise came in 1998.
I'm not inclined to think Nevada (10–1) will reverse that trend this time — especially since Boise is so much better than Nevada on defense. That might seem odd, given the reputation Boise State (10–0) has established with its offense. But the truth is that Nevada actually is rated just ahead of Boise on offense. Meanwhile, Boise has the nation's second–best defense compared to Nevada's 67th–ranked unit.
It might be competitive for a half, but I expect Boise State to seize control of the game and improve to 11–0.
Colorado at #16 Nebraska, 2:30 p.m. on ABC: Four of the last five games in this series have belonged to Nebraska.
Not too long ago, Colorado had the upper hand. But, most of the time, Nebraska has had the edge.
This time, a win will put the Cornhuskers in the Big 12 championship game against (probably) the winner of the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State game.
Nebraska has been far better than Colorado in both offense and defense. On offense, Taylor Martinez has been getting all the ink, but the Cornhuskers have managed to put together the nation's ninth–best defense, and it wouldn't surprise me if Nebraska puts the clamp on Colorado early and keeps it there the whole game.
Saturday
#4 TCU at New Mexico, 3 p.m. on Versus: Dennis Dodd writes, for CBS Sports, that 11–0 TCU's chances for securing a BCS bowl bid got better with Nebraska's loss to Texas A&M last Saturday.
That may be so. If Nebraska had not lost that game, the Cornhuskers surely would still be in the national championship discussion, but with two losses, they are much less likely to be a factor.
At this stage of the season, I have to think that TCU will not stumble before the bowl bids are announced. If Auburn loses to Alabama on Friday, I don't see how TCU could be denied a spot in the title game.
It doesn't seem likely that 1–10 New Mexico will get in the way.
TCU has won five straight against New Mexico since both have been members of the Mountain West Conference. The wins have been a bit more lopsided when the games have been played at TCU. But this year's game is being played in New Mexico, where the scores have been somewhat closer. Even so, as I say, TCU has dominated New Mexico lately.
I doubt that the score will be close this year. TCU is an easy choice.
Northwestern at #5 Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN: The home team has won the last five meetings. The visitor hasn't won since Northwestern won at Wisconsin 10 years ago.
Northwestern has had a pretty good year, but the Wildcats, who won their first five games, have lost four of their last six. They will be hard pressed to win at Wisconsin.
The Badgers are better on both offense and defense (significantly better on defense), and they will have the home crowd. Plus they're still hoping to go to Pasadena in January. I pick Wisconsin.
#6 LSU at #12 Arkansas, 2:30 p.m. on CBS: LSU has dominated this series since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992. The Tigers have won 11 of the last 18 games, including last year's heart–stopping victory in Baton Rouge.
And that wasn't surprising, really. Arkansas has rarely beaten LSU on the road. But it's been a different story in Little Rock, where the Razorbacks have won five out of nine — and where this year's game will be played.
Arkansas has been much better than LSU on offense. The Razorbacks are eighth in the nation; the Tigers are 90th.
But LSU has a much better defense. The Tigers are fifth in the country; the Hogs are respectable at 38th.
I'll take Arkansas at home.
Oregon State at #7 Stanford, 6:30 p.m. on Versus: Oregon State has won seven of its last 10 games with Stanford, but before the 21st century began, Stanford tended to own Oregon State, compiling lengthy winning streaks.
I get the feeling the pendulum is swinging back in Stanford's direction. Stanford has been much better on both offense and defense and should win handily.
Michigan at #8 Ohio State, 11 a.m. on ABC: Ohio State–Michigan is one of the legendary rivalries in college sports.
And the football games are usually competitive, although Ohio State has won the last six.
Michigan may be the best possible example of how numbers can be deceptive. The Wolverines are #5 in the nation in offense with Denard Robinson pitching in nearly 140 yards a game on the ground. They've been better than the Buckeyes and quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was mentioned prominently as a Heisman prospect before the season began.
But Ohio State's defense is third in the nation, far better than Michigan. And the game will be played at The Horseshoe. I pick Ohio State.
In fact, because Michigan's defense has been so bad this season, this game really could get ugly early. In anticipation of such a development, Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News thinks that coach Rich Rodriguez, who enjoyed a successful career at West Virginia before coming to Michigan three years ago, must go if Ohio State wins.
Maybe Rodriguez should be polishing his resume.
#14 Oklahoma at #10 Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. on ABC: In Oklahoma, they were calling the OU–OSU rivalry "Bedlam" before I was born.
Even in the years — and there have been many of them — when nothing special, except for in–state pride, was on the line.
But, as Jenni Carlson points out in The Oklahoman, this year's game, with a trip to the conference championship game hanging in the balance, is "the biggest game in [OSU] history."
And if they were playing it in Norman, OSU probably should be nervous. The Cowboys haven't won there since 2001.
On the other hand, it has been nearly as long since the Cowboys last beat Oklahoma in Stillwater. That was in 2002.
So, if you're keeping score at home, that means OSU has lost its last seven encounters with the Sooners. Why should the Cowboys think they can win this time? Especially when you consider that, as Carlson observes, "this was supposed to be a rebuilding year" for OSU.
Well, it ain't defensive performance. Oklahoma's defense, once feared from coast to coast, is currently 62nd in the nation. That looks good, though, compared to Oklahoma State (78th on defense).
On offense, Oklahoma State is currently the best in the land, even more productive (by 10 yards per game) than top–ranked Oregon. In fact, OSU is averaging more than 80 yards per game more than OU (which is 13th in the nation in offense).
Since neither defense seems prepared to stop the other team, I expect a high–scoring game — with Oklahoma State eventually winning it and moving on to next week's Big 12 title game against Nebraska.
#11 Michigan State at Penn State, 11 a.m. on ESPN2: Michigan State has won only four of 17 games against Penn State since 1993.
But the numbers favor the Spartans this time. The offense is ranked 37th with Kirk Cousins passing and Edwin Baker running. Penn State, on the other hand, is 66th. Both teams are better on defense, but, again, Michigan State (#28) is better than Penn State (#48).
I expect Michigan State to win.
Virginia at #13 Virginia Tech, 11 a.m. on ESPN3.com: The Hokies have beaten the Cavaliers six straight times, and they've won their last five home games against the Cavs.
Is there any reason for Virginia to think it can turn things around this time? Well, actually, Virginia's offense is ranked higher than Virginia Tech's.
Tech's quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, is 12th in the country, but he might struggle against Virginia's pass defense, which is ranked 29th in the nation.
Overall, however, Virginia is 80th in the nation in defense, thanks to a run defense that is one of the worst. And I have to think the Hokies, who have the country's 19th–best ground game, will find a way to exploit it.
I pick Virginia Tech.
#15 Missouri at Kansas, 11:30 a.m. on FSN: If Nebraska loses to Colorado on Friday, this game could propel Missouri into the Big 12 championship game. But, if Nebraska wins the game, this game will be virtually meaningless.
Either way, they will know prior to kickoff if anything like a divisional title is riding on the outcome.
Missouri has been considerably better on offense and defense and should win, even if a Big 12 championship game berth is no longer available.
#18 South Carolina at Clemson, 6 p.m. on ESPN2: This is the last tuneup for the Gamecocks prior to their SEC championship game showdown with currently second–ranked Auburn.
I'm inclined to pick South Carolina to win the game — as long as the Gamecocks don't look too far ahead and remember that Clemson is no pushover (the Tigers have won 16 of their last 22 meetings with South Carolina).
South Carolina has the better offense, but beware. Clemson has the better defense. Which will prevail?
I'm going to pick South Carolina.
#21 North Carolina State at Maryland, 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2: N.C. State beat Maryland last year, snapping a three–game Maryland winning streak.
It is still possible for N.C. State to tie Florida State for the ACC's Atlantic Division crown. By virtue of the Wolfpack's win over the Seminoles a month ago, N.C. State would win the tiebreaker.
There isn't much difference between N.C. State's record and Maryland&pos;s, but N.C. State has been better on both offense and defense. So, even though Maryland has beaten N.C. State four of the last five times the teams have played in Maryland, I predict North Carolina State will win this game and go on to play Virginia Tech for the ACC title.
Florida at #22 Florida State, 2:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN: Florida enters this rivalry game with a six–game winning streak against Florida State.
These two schools have accounted for four Heisman Trophy winners since 1993 so you might think that tradition favors offense, but both are rebuilding their offenses this season. Both have been better on defense; in Florida's case, a lot better. The Gators are 10th in the nation on defense, so I will take Florida to win.
Brigham Young at #23 Utah, 2:30 p.m. on The Mtn.: This has been a pretty competitive series, with each team winning 10 of the last 20 meetings.
What does this season tell us? Well, both teams have been pretty good on defense, but Utah has the edge. On offense, the advantage is more decisive. I pick Utah.
#24 Iowa at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network: Iowa has dominated this series lately, winning eight of the last nine meetings.
Neither team has been particularly impressive on offense, but Iowa does have the 14th–best defense in the country. And that should be sufficient to give Iowa its fourth win in its last five trips to Minnesota.
#25 Mississippi State at Ole Miss, 6 p.m. on ESPNU: In Mississippi, they call this game the Egg Bowl — or the Battle for the Golden Egg, and this year's edition of the game will be the 107th.
If that "egg" part seems baffling, it is because it is a reference to the shape of the football that was in use more than 80 years ago.
Since 2004, the home team has won every game. Mississippi State hasn't won at Ole Miss since 1998.
I think that will change. I pick Mississippi State.
A "tomato can" is a fighter who is believed to be past his prime and an "easy" or "guaranteed" win for an up-and-coming fighter who wants to pad his record.
Sometimes, though, the "tomato can" doesn't cooperate. For example, in 1990, undefeated heavyweight champion Mike Tyson lost the title to a 42-to-1 underdog named Buster Douglas.
Another heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, almost lost his title to lightly regarded Chuck Wepner in 1975. Wepner nearly went the distance against Ali and inspired the original "Rocky" movie.
I got my bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas, and I got my master's degree in journalism from the University of North Texas. Most of my adult life has been dedicated to writing and editing in one form or another. Most recently I have taught writing (news and developmental) as an adjunct journalism professor at Richland College, where I advise the student newspaper staff. Go, Thunderducks!
