In the wake following the NCAA upholding the five-game suspension of several Ohio State football players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, head coach Jim Tressel promptly increased his self-imposed suspension from two games to five games–at least it’s self-imposed for now.

That could quickly change when the NCAA comes out with their final verdict.  Many fans out of Columbus are applauding Tressel’s move, citing the fact that he will not let his players take a more serious punishment than he is taking. 

Others have to wonder what else could come down.  The players, after all, are being punished for accepting money and tattoos in exchange for giving away clothing and rings that they were awarded for their achievements on the football field.  Tressel, on the other hand, misled and impeded the NCAA’s investigation into the matter.

The real question facing the NCAA is whether or not a head coach should have more responsibility and be held to a higher standard than a bunch of 18-22 year old college kids.  It should also be noted that star Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant was suspended for the rest of his junior season in 2009 for lying to the NCAA about having lunch with former NFL player Deion Sanders. 

If the NCAA was that harsh with a scared college kid who was afraid because his eligibility (and ultimately, his NFL draft stock) was on the line, what should they do to a grown man who is supposed to run one of the most storied college football programs in the country?

The issue isn’t whether the punishment fits the crime–it is absolutely ridiculous that Bryant lost a season because he had a lunch that the NCAA thinks he shouldn’t have.  It has more to do with the NCAA once again painting themselves into a corner.  By hammering Bryant, and suspending several college athletes for selling clothes and materials that belonged to them, giving Tressel a lesser punishment than Bryant received a couple of years ago will only add to the joke that is the NCAA.

In 2007, Michigan decided that the Lloyd Carr era was over.  The only problem was that the storied program didn’t have anyone locked in to take the vacant position.  Speculation was that LSU’s head coach Les Miles would return to Ann Arbor, where he played and coached, but Miles made an announcement before he led his LSU Tigers into that year’s SEC Championship game.

The Rich Rodriguez experiment did not go well for Rodriguez or Michigan (google images)

Michigan then turned to Rich Rodriguez, despite not being the program’s top choice to fill the vacancy, and despite the fact that Rodriguez’ coaching style was in stark contrast to the Wolverine’s 4-3 defense and pro style offense.  It was not a pleasant three years for Rodriguez or Michigan football.  In his brief tenure at Michigan, Rodriguez was 15-22 with just six wins against Big Ten opponents.

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon showed that the program didn’t necessarily learn their lesson, firing Rodriguez in favor of what he thought would be Jim Harbaugh, who led the Stanford Cardinal to a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory.  Harbaugh instead opted to take the head coaching job for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.  Brandon quickly turned his focus once again to Miles.  But, once again, Miles said thanks, but no thanks.

Brandon is hoping the third time is a charm, and Michigan announced today the hiring of San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke.  Brandon insists that Hoke was Michigan’s first option, but the timing of his hiring suggests otherwise.  Hoke’s season with SDSU wrapped up on December 23rd, when he coached his Aztecs to a bowl victory over Navy.  And yet the decision to hire him did not take place until after Harbaugh and Miles were not only finished with their bowl games, but the decision also came after each coach publicly announced their decisions to coach somewhere other than Ann Arbor.

On paper, Hoke actually looks like a better fit for the traditional Michigan program–he did, after all, coach as an assistant at Michigan from 1995-2002.  Hoke actually has an overall losing record (47-50), but he has shown an ability to revamp programs.  He led Ball State to a 12-1 record in 2008, and after a losing season in his first year at SDSU, Hoke led the Aztecs to a 9-4 mark.

He will have his work cut out for him as the head man in Ann Arbor though.  Not only will all eyes be on him to see if he can right the ship, the new head coach will also have to revamp, recruit and reconstruct Michigan’s defense, which ranked 110th in the FBS.  He will also have to give the Wolverine offense its second complete overhaul in four years if he goes with a more traditional offense that the Wolverines have been known for in the last few decades, instead of Rodriguez’ spread attack.

Add the fact that Hoke is taking over a programs with only three weeks before National Signing Day, and it could be at least two years before fans of the Big Blue can expect any reason to celebrate.  Brandon will go down as a genious or a moron when the dust settles, and nothing in between.  If he can’t dig the program out, Brandon will be looking for a new job long before Hoke will.

The wait is nearly over.  Tomorrow college football fans will get to see the match they have been waiting for since mid-season when Auburn and Oregon bring their high-powered offenses to Glendale, Arizona to declare this year’s BCS Champion.  In case you missed it, College FootBlog provided two previous breakdowns for this match up, but in the finale, we will provide what we feel will ultimately be the difference in this shoot-out, and we will give our score prediction.

As we pointed out in our first breakdown, each team has an X-factor, and both Oregon’s Darron Thomas and Auburn’s Cam Newton are on the offensive side of the ball.  The difference in this game, however, will be who can make plays on defense.

For Oregon, there has been a lot of talk about senior linebacker Casey Matthews, and rightfully so.  If Oregon has a shot in this game, however, FS John Boyett must have a big game.  Boyett is tied for the team lead in interceptions with five and ranks third on the team in tackles with 67.  The talented sophomore defensive back has proven all season that he is dangerous against the pass, but he is also excellent in run support.  The Ducks will need the best of both worlds against Newton, who is the most dangerous dual threat quarterback in the nation.

Auburn DT Nick Fairley has dominated all season and will be key in the BCS Title Game on Monday (google images)

For Auburn, DT Nick Fairley is one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the country, and the Tigers’ success or failure to limit Oregon’s potent rushing attack, led by the nation’s top rusher LaMichael James, will depend largely on how effective Fairly is against the very quick offensive line from Oregon.  The dominant defensive tackle has racked up 21.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks on the season.

Final Analysis/Score Predicition

We agree with the experts that this game will light up the score board.  We believe that Fairley’s impact on this game could be the difference.  Fairley has dominated all season, many of those games coming at the expense of a solid running game (see Alabama).  While the Crimson Tide’s rushing numbers have been down considerably compared to last season, they were finally healthy and back up to full strength for the Iron Bowl match up and presented Auburn with a very balanced attack.  Fairley dominated against both the run and pass.

Although Auburn has faced the spread attack, they have not faced the speed and balance that Oregon presents.  Still, in the end, we expect Auburn to create a key turnover in the second half that could prove to be the difference, and most turnovers, even the interceptions, are caused by pressure up the middle.

As Terrell Owens would say, “Get your popcorn ready.”  This will be a fun game to watch that will likely not be decided until late in the game.  Our final score prediction:  Auburn wins 41-31.

The college football bowl season is about to begin, and although there are several solid match ups, none are as intriguing as the title game, where arguably the two most explosive offenses in the nation square off, as Oregon and Auburn take the field in Glendale, AZ next month.

In the first of our three-part breakdown of the title game, College FootBlog took a brief look at the X-factors from each team.  In part 2 of our analysis, we look at the individuals who have led the way for each team–the head coaches.  

Gene Chizik:  When he was named head coach at Auburn, many experts questioned the hiring, mainly due to Chizik’s mediocre results as the head coach at Iowa State.  Chizik silenced most of those critics last season when he led the Tigers to an eight-win season and gave Alabama (the eventual national champion) everything they could handle in last year’s Iron Bowl.  Chizik slammed the door on the few, if any, critics that were left going into this season, as he has rolled through the nation’s deepest and strongest conference with a perfect 13-0 record.

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik has had a lot to celebrate this season. Will he be celebrating a BCS Championship next month? (google images)

Chizik, who had been known for his defensive strategies, has relied on his offense since arriving at Auburn last season.  While Auburn has some play makers on defense, Chizik and his staff bet all their chips on Heisman Trophy winner Cameron Newton to be a virtual one-man show, and the bet has paid huge dividends. 

Perhaps even more impressive is how well Chizik has sheltered his team from the media frenzy that has surrounded the program since questions regarding Newton and his father handled his recruitment last season.  Through it all, Chizik has kept his cool, but more importantly, his team has continued to prosper, despite the negative attention.  Handling the media for a national title game should be a cake walk, compared to the last month.

Chip Kelly:  Oregon’s offensive explosion is actually a continuance of Kelly’s days as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator.  He took the OC job in 2007 and perfected the spread attack, and the Pac 10 hasn’t been the same since.  While the Ducks have athletes on defense as well, Kelly remains an offensive mastermind, and other than one game against Cal, no team has kept Oregon from putting up 37 or more points–the Ducks put up at least 50 points in and astounding six of their twelve games this season.

Like Chizik, Kelly is in just his second year as head coach of his program.  And like Chizik, Kelly has generated championship results, despite controversy surrounding his team.  Even the avid college football fans probably didn’t even know who Kelly was until the famous right cross of LaGarrette Blount connected on Boise State’s Byron Hout after the Ducks’ opening week loss to the Broncos.

Kelly suspended Blount, who had been his top running back, and publicly discussed the incident and his plan get his team refocused and to help Blount get back on track.  Oregon won the Pac 10 title last season, but in the wake of the Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, his starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate, Jeremiah Masoli was dismissed from the team for burglary.  Even without his starting QB, Kelly’s squad has put up ridiculous numbers on offense, leading the nation with over 49 points per game.

Analysis:  Each program should be very excited about their respective head coaches, not only for this season, but for years to come.  There really appears to be no clear-cut advantage in the coaches.  Expect each coach to have his team ready to play, and the way they have led their players through previous media turmoil, don’t expect either team to be rattled because after all, each team has been in the national spotlight (for good reasons and bad) quite a bit the last several months, but each coach has persevered and each coach now has a shot at a championship ring in year two of taking the reigns.

Look for our third and final breakdown of the BCS Title Game later this week.

Florida State’s 31-7 throttling of the Florida Gators this past weekend was much more than a win–it marks a new beginning for the Seminoles and a sign of things to come.  All three of the state’s major programs (Florida, Miami and FSU) have made runs, but with blow out victories over Miami earlier this season and over the hated Gators and Urban Meyer last weekend should have FSU fans very excited about the direction of their program.

College FootBlog takes a look at four major evolutions that were apparent with FSU’s coveted “State Championship”–something the ‘Noles had not done since the 1999 season.

1.  Talent discrepancy:  Over the last decade (Miami in the first part of the decade and Florida over the last six years), FSU was outmatched on at least one side of the ball.  FSU had no answer for Sean Taylor and the dominant Miami defenses in the early part of the decade, and they were absolutely no match for Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin.

My, how times have changed.  While Florida has plummeted to #78 nationally in total offense, the FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher has the ‘Noles have continued to develop into a more balanced offense, but the biggest difference has been the FSU defense.  After ranking in the 100′s in every major statistical category last season, new defensive coordinator Mark Stoops has revamped the D in the top 40 defenses in the nation this year.   While the Gators and Hurricanes have dropped to worse records this year, Florida State already has nine wins with two more games left in the season.

FSU Head Coach Jimbo Fisher beat rivals Miami and Florida in his first season (google images)

2.  Recruiting:  Florida State was already off to a great start in recruiting (Rivals currently has FSU ranked 4th overall), and the huge wins over the ‘Canes and Gators will only solidify a top five finish in recruiting.  There were over 100 recruits at the Florida game, and many of those athletes are considering the Big 3 schools in the state of Florida. 

Those recruits saw a completely one-sided game on Saturday, one in which the Florida Gators displayed an unimaginative, ineffective offensive game plan that generated a whopping 64 yards passing.  Meanwhile, the Hurricanes lost an overtime game to the South Florida Bulls, which resulted in a 7-5 regular season and the firing of head coach Randy Shannon.

3.  Preparation for the NFL:  Tebow’s lack of development as a passer was well-documented last spring before the NFL combine.  Tebow had to spend his spring retraining himself how to throw a football.  Urban Meyer was openly criticized by scouts and media for not making those corrections in the four years he had Tebow on campus.  In contrast, current Florida QB John Brantley, who is more of a pro-style quarterback has struggled mightily in Meyer’s spread attack, posting anemic numbers this season.  Despite having all the speed and talent at wide receiver, Brantley is averaging just over 168 yards passing per game.

In Miami, quarterback Jacory Harris entered the season on the Heisman radar, but he has noticeably regressed in 2010.  Both Harris and FSU quarterback Christian Ponder have been down statistically versus last season, and injuries to each have been a major culprit.  However, there is no question on which QB is more NFL-ready. 

4.  Size of Players:  Since Fisher’s arrival as the offensive coordinator four years ago, he immediately began recruiting bigger, more physical players, and that trend has continued on defense since he took over as head coach this past January.  On the defensive line, FSU is beginning to look more like an SEC team, with defensive tackles going from the 270 lb range to 285-300 lbs.  Defensive ends, linebackers and safeties are getting much bigger and faster as well (FSU’s starting safeties are Nick Moody at 6’2″, 228 lbs. and Terrance Parks at 6’2″ , 218 lbs.).

The past few years, FSU has lost games in the trenches to bigger, stronger teams.  That discrepancy was not as apparent this season, and as Fisher and his staff continue to recruit bigger players, along with an enhanced strength and conditioning program that Fisher instituted immediately after taking the reigns, expect this trend to continue.

With only six weeks remaining in the college football season, College FootBlog takes a look at who is making the strongest cases to make the trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony.  Here are the four elite players we feel have the best shot at bringing home the hardware this December.

Cameron Newton (QB/Auburn):  When you’re leading your team in rushing as a quarterback and your team is ranked #1 in the country, you’re making a very strong case for the Hesiman.  Newton’s numbers have been sick this season, averaging over 305 yards per game with 27 total touchdowns.  He will get at least one more chance to shine on national television when he leads his Tigers into Tuscaloosa to face Alabama in the Iron Bowl.  A strong performance against Nick Saban’s defense would essentially lock up the Heisman and an SEC Championship game.

Sophomore LaMichael James leads the most explosive offense in the nation (google images)

LaMichael James (RB/Oregon):  After missing the opener due to a suspension, many writers had removed the talented running back from their Heisman watch lists.  But James has burst back onto the scene and currently leads the nation in rushing yards per game with 161.  If Oregon keeps winning and James keeps getting his touches, he could be the fourth straight sophomore to win the coveted award.

Kellen Moore (QB/Boise State):  Once again, BSU’s quarterback has quietly put together the most efficient passing attack in the NCAA.  The junior signal caller has thrown for over 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns, with only one interception.  With six more games remaining, he could end up with video game statistics again this year, and his Broncos have their best chance ever at playing for the BCS Title.  If his stats hold up (and based on his career, they should) and if BSU can secure a BCS Title game, Moore will have as good of a shot as anyone at winning the Trophy.

Justin Blackmon (WR/Oklahoma State):  Dez Who?  Blackmon has ripped through secondaries all season long for the 6-1 Cowboys and leads the nation with 158.9 yards per game.  In last weekend’s shoot out with Nebraska, the sophomore wideout eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark to go along with 14 TD receptions.  If he keeps this pace, he would finish the season with 1906 yards and 24 touchdowns–numbers that should lock him up for a trip to New York.  OSU has a tough road to finish the season, with games against Texas and Oklahoma, so keeping that pace will not be an easy task.

Look for another breakdown in a few weeks that will provide our pick for the top three, along with who College FootBlog thinks will ultimately bring the award home.