Five Myths of College Football (And Beyond)

by 5th Year Senior on Aug 31, 2010 3:18 PM EDT in Mountaineer Football

Reading article after article about the upcoming college football season, I'm noticing a pattern: sports writers and commentators alike are regurgitating the same drivel as in years past. College football writers perpetuate many myths from year to year, without so much as changing the language. If they're not plagiarizing others, they're just plagiarizing themselves form the year before -- or in the case of Corso, from 1997.

So what are those old, tired myths? Glad you asked...

1. Notre Dame is a national power.

This one is a golden oldie, always available in a pinch. Notre Dame has not played for a national championship in over 20 years. They have had little to no success in recent bowl games and have struggled to be above .500. Their Catholic base, once a powerhouse in America, has become smaller and smaller as the nation's populations expands. While Notre Dame still enjoys a perch above a lot of college football teams, they are not automatically an elite team without question. Their evolution into the new age of recruiting, playing style, etc. has not been smooth, and it's not guaranteed that they will ever recover to a stature in the same area code as their former glory days. At this point, Notre Dame is just a team with a good television contract, at least until proven otherwise. And we've been waiting to be proven otherwise for 20 years.

2. UConn is now a power in the Big East.

I'll admit, this is a new one. Finally tired of waiting for Rutgers to turn the corner, UConn is the newest media darling in television and print.

This year, UConn returns 16 starters from a team that had a 8-5 record in 2009. That sounds somewhat promising, but if you look a little deeper you see the flaw in the experts' logic. The Huskies were 0-3 against Top 25 opponents and only 3-4 in the Big East.

The only reason, at least that I can see, for the experts jumping on the UConn bandwagon, is the fact that they are all tired of jumping on the Rutgers bandwagon and looking like idiots at the end of the season. WVU, Pitt and Cincinnati are all coming back with strong teams, that also include a lot of returning starters. Suddenly, UConn's position doesn't look all that special.

Two teams have a shot at winning the Big East: Pitt and WVU. Sorry experts, you are all going to look like idiots again at the end of the year, but after the years of Rutgers love, you're used to that. No change necessary.

3. Only "traditional powers" can win a national title.

College football is the rare sport that wins and losses don't matter at the end of the day. What really matters is what happened during the 1965 Cotton Bowl where "Three legged Willey" and "Back door Brownie" ran wild on the Princeton defense. If you don't have "tradition," you don't have shit college football.

Aging sports writers like Beano Cook, Ivan Maisel and Gene Wojciechowski don't give teams the credit they deserve until the teams prove it during multiple seasons. And by multiple seasons, I mean decades.

4. A playoff would diminish the importance of bowl games.

The bowl games, all 459 of them, are a wonderful reward for teams and, more importantly, student athletes. It allows them more practice time, a trip to a usually warm locale (sorry Marshall and your perpetual trip to the Motor City Bowl), and the chance to kick back and have some fun. Of course, outside of the BCS games, these bowl games have little to no meaning in the big scheme of the college football season. It's a point of pride for the school, of course, but really only the top 8-10 teams play meaningful games.

In a playoff system, that would still be the case. Bowl games would still continue, but we would just take those top 8 (or so) teams, and have them play truly meaningful games. I can't imagine how trying to determine a true, legitimate champion is a bad thing for college football. It just doesn't make any sense. And unless you really want to sacrifice that end result for preserving the beauty and tradition that is the damn Sun Bowl, then you should be in favor of a playoff.

5. The moon shot was real.

OK, granted, you don't hear many sportswriters talking about this, except for yours truly, and I'm not much of a sportswriter. But that picture above is totally fake -- as fake as Rutgers football.

Let's go over the basics in the above photo: 1) the shadow directions of the landing module and flag are essentially opposite. The sun is tricky, but it's not that tricky. 2) The flag is blowing in the wind, except there is no wind on the moon. Suspicious? I think so. 3) Mythbusters is full of shit. We know those guys just do a bunch of mushrooms and then just blow up stuff on TV. Hell, I can do that, but it doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I completely agree w/ you on

1-5
1. ND is no longer a power. They are in geographic isolation. Black recruits from South/West (best athletes, especially at skill positions) have no interest in South Bend.
2. UCONN gets a little extra attention because of it’s proximity to the WWL (in my opinion). Randy Edsall is always a “great coach” yet does so little.
3. Boise could very easily win a title this season. Unfortunately, people are still saying that Ohio St w/ 1 loss or Alabama w/ 1 loss gets in ahead of undefeated Boise team. If they win first 3 games and blow out WAC opposition they’re in….they’re #3 right now.
4. This is the reason profootball is superior to college football. Along w/ fantasy football, NFL Sunday Ticket a lack of a playoff is downright maddening. I really think college football will be kicking itself after this season. If it had a playoff I think it would gain the most (including NBA and MLB which are still very popular) when the NFL locks out for an entire season in ’11.
5. That shot IS fake.

by WVUColumbus on Aug 31, 2010 4:14 PM EDT reply actions

So who is ready...

…to see Ohio State look past Marshall High School to Miami and loose their opener? I doubt it will happen but it would be sweet. One of the few times I’ll pull for the Blundering Terds.

"Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." -- Winston Churchill

by Pepperoni Roll on Aug 31, 2010 8:44 PM EDT reply actions

I'll be pulling for them too.

It will make our victory the following week that much sweeter.

Leave no doubt tonight! Leave no doubt tonight! No doubt! They shouldn't of played the Old Gold'n Blue.

by 5th Year Senior on Aug 31, 2010 10:37 PM EDT up reply actions

A few years back it took a

Mike Nugent last second 50+ yd fg to prevent the game from going to OT.

Would love to see the Herd knock off the Suckeyes

OSU-38
Marshall-7

by WVUColumbus on Sep 1, 2010 6:21 AM EDT up reply actions

I Am Pulling For an Upset Too....

but I think the Bucknuts cover the number, unfortunately…..

Now is the time boys to make a big noise.
No matter what the people say,
For there is naught to fear, the gang's all here,
So hail West Virginia, hail.

by JP Fanshawe on Sep 2, 2010 12:08 AM EDT reply actions

agree with all sentiments, except that the moon shot is fake. you guys know that the flag is made of metal, right?

We do not live to be able to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and that is what it is for.
--George Leigh Mallory

by WyoMountie on Sep 2, 2010 10:57 AM EDT reply actions

Why so hard on Rutgers?

I understand living or even being a fan of West Virginia is depressing, but no reason to hate. I think the trends will continue. WVU fades away and becomes a basketball only school and RU wins a national championship by 2014.

by Andrew Muldowney on Sep 2, 2010 12:21 PM EDT reply actions