Ohio State Band Pays Tribute to Michael Jackson

Let's not get it twisted. I hate Ohio State. However, I will admit that the school in Columbus has one thing going for them -- the BEST DAMN BAND IN THE LAND. Watch their tribute to Michael Jackson that took place this past weekend against Iowa. This is simply amazing stuff.

Week Seven Quick Hits

A few notes from the first wave of college football games today...

Sleep easy tonight Mack

• Coming into the Red River Shootout, the atmosphere surrounding Texas head coach Mack Brown was similar to that of a wake before a funeral. Rumors had circulated that Mack would be out if the Horns didn't show up against Oklahoma. As it turns out, the troops rallied around their beleaguered general, and Texas routed OU. In a span of 4 hours, the Longhorns have gone from dead in the water to the front runner for the Big 12's automatic BCS bid.

• Georgia's rash of injuries didn't take long to haunt them. Aaron Murray and company looked like a totally different team against Mizzou today, and the Tigers played well enough to take out the Bulldogs minus five of their top skill position players. We still don't know if Missouri is a true contender in the SEC or nationally, but we now know that UGA is out of the national title race -- a sad development considering the Dawgs may have been the second most talented team in the country when at full strength. 

• After watching Virginia Tech's defense hold Pitt to a paltry nine points, it's becoming clear that Tech could be a very underrated factor in the national title race.The Hokies may not be able to climb into the conversation themselves, but they are playing well enough to knock a team or two out of the running. The Gobblers get Miami next month, and if they win they will likely get a shot against the winner of FSU/Clemson in the ACC championship game. Sweeping those contests could cause a significant amount of chaos in December.

• Michigan State looks to have finally found an offense to go with their defense that has been one of the nation's best all season. Connor Cook has firmly entrenched himself at the top of quarterback depth chart, and skill players like running back Delton Williams and MacGarrett Kings have also emerged to give Sparty a more formidable set of weapons. State has two more likely wins [Purdue and Illinois] before meeting up with Michigan. Considering the Wolverines' shaky performance at times this year, the Spartans may be the team to beat in their division three weeks from now.    

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The Only Stuff You Need to Know: Week Six College Football Recap

For some college football teams [most notably the still undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes], this season is officially past its halfway point. Most of the non-conference mismatches have been played, and now each week widens the gap between man and child both in the polls and in the standings. Here's a summary of this week's most important developments.

•  Tennessee is on the right track under new coach Butch Jones. The Vols didn't get the win over Georgia on Saturday, but they did enough to prove to the nation that they are no longer to be taken lightly. Butch Jones has won everywhere he has went as a head coach, and Tennessee looks to be his next turnaround story. The game may have counted as a loss in the standings, but it was definitely seen as a W in the living rooms of a lot of future Vols around the country. Expect Tennessee to reach a bowl this year and continue to work towards a return to national prominence...well unless a program like USC or Texas steals away Butch at the end of this season. 

He may never lose [tears]

• Ohio State has one exceptional talent. It is called winning football games. Urban Meyer has yet to assemble the wealth of speed and talent that he had at Florida, but his genius as a coach has led to an undefeated record during his tenure in Columbus. Northwestern had OSU dead in the water on multiple occasions, but the Buckeyes kept coming back to life. It's becoming a theme for all close games involving the team. Now it seems clear what Urban's bringing to the table. Ohio State has a nasty defense led by Ryan Shazier, a prototype "Urban Meyer QB" in Braxton Miller, and a rhinoceros of a running back in Carlos Hyde. The scant possibility of Michigan emerging as a legitimate contender is the only thing that looks to stand in the way of Urban being 25-0 in Pasadena for the national championship game. The scariest part of this situation is that Ohio State is recruiting leaps and bounds above every other team in the conference [except for Michigan] which means we could be looking at the infantile stages of decades of dominance. As a life-long Michigan fan, I can't even try to hide my disappointment. 

USC fans would love to see these two switch jackets

• Despite losing at Stanford, Washington looks to be the real deal under coach Steve Sarkisian. The Huskies continued an interesting trend that has developed throughout the course of this season. Steve Sarkisian's team made a huge statement in a losing effort -- similarly to how Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, and arguably Northwestern have done the same. The Pacific Northwest has waited for Keith Price to turn into a stud QB, but while waiting for Price, Bishop Sankey has developed into a factor back under the radar. That duo, with assistance from the nation's best tight end [Austin Seferian-Jenkins] and a serviceable defense, looks to be ready to compete against anyone in the country. In other news, the emergence of the Huskies has USC fans wondering why Sarkisian (a former Trojan coordinator) didn't get more of a look for the head coaching gig that was given to Lane Kiffin.     

• The people who thought Teddy Bridgewater would win the Heisman really underestimated the awfulness of Louisville's schedule. Let's not get it twisted, Teddy is one of college football's best, and he will make millions in the NFL next year. Still, the Heisman race is a media driven phenomenon, and Bridgewater is really struggling to stand out playing the likes of Temple while other contenders get opportunities against highly ranked competition. Louisville looks like a lock to go undefeated, and they will waltz to a BCS bowl game, but by the time the Cards get to truly prove themselves...someone else will already be holding college football's highest individual honor. 

Coach Briles, he can't win the Heisman if you pull him at the half

• The Baylor offense is the single most entertaining thing about this college football season. Before the Bears played a game this season, their supremely talented running back Lache Seastrunk proclaimed himself as a Heisman contender...and not too many noticed nor cared. Well the Bears just posted 73 points in their latest contest against West Virginia, and they did it while racking up over 800 yards of total offense [a Big 12 record]. Seastrunk has played the role of prophet thus far, looking like a Heisman contender with 172 yards before halftime against the Mounties. The passing game has yet to miss a beat either, despite coach Art Briles using his second straight new QB since sending off RG3 to the NFL. Bryce Petty is the latest newly minted star to lineup in the gun for the Bears, and he has done all the that has been asked of him so far. In a year where the conference looks to be at it's weakest, a conference title and [dare I say it] an undefeated season are well within reach for this program that is clearly on the upswing.  

VCU Prepping for the Season with Navy SEAL Training

Check out Shaka Smart and his Virginia Commonwealth Rams have been preparing for the upcoming college basketball season. The Rams are the favorites to win the Atlantic-10 conference and a Top 25 team. A return trip to the Final Four is also being discussed in some circles, as this looks to be the most talented team ever assembled at the school.

Trojans Fire Lane Kiffin

It's become a fact of life at this point for football fans across the country. The Lane Kiffin era never ends well. In Oakland, Kiffin left during a messy feud with the legendary and now late Al Davis. He resurfaced at Tennessee, where he was essentially hated by everyone from day one, but still managed to piss everyone off even more when he left after one season to take over at USC. As a former Pete Carroll assistant, he seemed to be the bright young coach that could return the Trojans to the glory

This face pretty much sums it up

days that Carroll brought to Coliseum, when the USC depth chart had All-American's competing for a place on the third string. Unfortunately, the Lane Kiffin era at USC ended very messy and very abruptly. USC is not on the precipice of greatness. As a matter of fact, they are currently 0-2 in their conference and did not receive a single vote in either the media or coaches polls this week. During the halftime show of what would turn out to be Kiffin's final game as head coach, a studio analyst mentioned that he thought USC could pull off an upset. The problem with that statement was that the apparently upset-minded Trojans were playing Arizona State, an unranked team that less than a decade ago didn't even belong on the same field as USC. Once one of the great dynasties in college sports, the Trojans are just a fiesty group trying to pull off an upset or two. The media hype machine may have done more harm than good to Kiffin's tenure. USC opened up last year as the preseason number one team in the country. They boasted promising skill position players like potential Heisman candidate Matt Barkley and the reputation of being one of the game's traditional juggernauts. However, the 2012 season unraveled, quickly exposing the team for what they were -- a team robbed off its depth by scholarship sanctions relating to Reggie Bush's time on campus [when Carroll was the coach]. USC looked good when you glanced at the starting lineup, but their depth chart was a mess. The Trojans would go from preseason number one to postseason number nothing, an unheard of occurrence in college sports. All of this occurred under the watch of Lane Kiffin. Ultimately, Kiffin's undoing took place on the recruiting trial. Pete Carroll bolted from the program once it became apparent that the school would be punished for improprieties during the golden era of Bush and Leinart. Kiffin took the position and would quickly feel the wrath of the NCAA. Kiffin's first USC team was ineligible for the postseason, and he has never recruited a full class at the university due to sanctions. Despite the drawbacks, excellence was still expected by the likes of athletic director Pat Hayden, and it was not delivered. As Carroll's recruits left campus, the wheels on Kiffin's wagon became more and more likely to one day fall off. Kiffin has always seemed to rub people the wrong way, and apparently this must have been the case on the recruiting couch as well. Kiffin brought in good classes, but nothing near the level of his predecessor. It didn't help that USC's scholarship restrictions coincided with the resurgence of California programs such as UCLA and Stanford [two of the Pac-12 conference's three best teams as of now]. This past Saturday, around the time when Arizona State was tallying their 62nd point of the night, the wagon officially found itself without wheels. Twitter erupted with speculation over whether Kiffin was done. College football writers such as Yahoo's Pat Forde had essentially chalked up his demise. The overwhelming sentiment was that giving up 62 points to Arizona State was the equivocal point of no return. The Twitter-verse was right. Pat Hayden fired Lane Kiffin in the airport terminal after the game. Kiffin reportedly pleaded for his job but to no avail. Another Lane Kiffin era has ended with the sky falling on top of his head. USC will turn to veteran staffer Ed Orgeron to guide the team in the interim, and former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio has been mentioned as a possible permanent solution. As for Kiffin, who knows where he will resurface. When he does, we will wait for his seemingly inevitable demise. Nobody leaves a job in a more dramatic and entertaining fashion than Lane Kiffin. 

EA Sports Bails on NCAA Football Series Amidst Controversy

Denard Robinson: The Last Cover Athlete

NCAA Football 14 will be the last college football game produced by video game giant EA Sports. Weeks after announcing that they would be ending their relationship with the NCAA, EA is now stepping away from the college sports table all together, announcing earlier today that will no longer produce a college football video game. This news comes in response to a series of court cases involving former college athletes that have accused the NCAA of profiting off of their likeness without compensating them (this is exactly what the NCAA does, but that's a different story). EA Sports was involved in separate lawsuits related to the matter that they have since settled outside of court. Meanwhile, the NCAA is still embroiled in legal battles with former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller and former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon. The original plan of action from EA was to part ways with the NCAA and produce a game using the license of individual schools. When major athletic conferences balked at the idea of participating in the project, the eventual decision to cease production was inevitable. This effectively ends the genre of college sports video games for the foreseeable future. At one point, college basketball and baseball were also featured in the EA Sports line up, but now EA Sports has made the decision to separate themselves from one of the largest controversies in sports.

Whitehead Commits, Red Storm Lose NYC's Best Player to Seton Hall

Isaiah Whitehead, a product of Brooklyn's famed Lincoln high school, made the shocking decision to attend Seton Hall University today. During an afternoon press conference Whitehead, who is one of the country's top shooting guards and a McDonald's All-America candidate, surprisingly announced his intentions to join the Pirates over the likes of Indiana and the local school that many believed to be the favorite to land him, St. John's. With Whitehead heading to the Hall, coach Kevin Willard now has a formidable 2014 class to bring into the new Big East. The blue chip prospect will team up with his close friend Khadeem Carrington [Brooklyn/Bishop Loughlin] and prep school standout Angel Delgado [Huntington Prep].

Isaiah Whitehead will be a Seton Hall Pirate in 2014

Across the river, the St. John's Red Storm have once again failed to lure a prized New York City recruit to their Queens, NY campus. Even as the Red Storm currently stand as a popular sleeper pick to win the Big East, featuring a roster that is loaded with talent from top to bottom, the program defining local commitment has eluded them once again. For nearly a decade the Red Storm have watched nearly all of New York City's best talent leave the five boroughs. The Johnnies were barely in the running for Lance Stephenson when he was being touted as one of the city's best prospects ever. They were jilted at the altar by Sylven Landesberg, despite Landesberg playing his high school ball minutes away from the St. John's campus. Those recruiting failures came on the watch of former head coach Norm Roberts. Since current coach Steve Lavin took over the program in 2010, he has yet to sign anyone "great" either. A McDonald's All-American hasn't signed with the Red Storm since Omar Cook in 2000. However, some of Lavin's "good" signings have quickly turned into great players [see current NBA contributor Maurice Harkless]. The Red Storm have used superior player development to turn top 100 prospects into All-American contributors. With a growing reputation for skill development that features a very pro-centric coaching staff, it's confusing to see top notch recruits pass over the Johnnies year after year. Isaiah Whitehead is the latest elite prospect to sidestep coach Lavin's overtures. Last year, it was New Jersey prospect Kyle Anderson that chose UCLA over the Red Storm. Even without elite recruits, the Red Storm have built a top tier program that is poised to stand out in the new Big East. Still, we can only imagine what Lavin and his staff would be able to do with Whitehead, an elite level defender with a NBA-body and a deft scoring touch. While it is clear that brighter days are ahead for the Red Storm, ascending to the heights of national title contention will be dependent on securing the signature of players like Isaiah Whitehead

Business Just Picked Up: Week Three College Football Recap

Now we've got ourselves a football season! Week three finally gave us a good number of match ups that actually told us something about this young season. Alabama and Texas A&M lived up to the hype, and the Pac-12 and Big Ten met in a series of games that separated some potential contenders from definite pretenders. We're only a few weeks away from conference schedules kicking the season into high gear, but this week gave us enough to talk about to make it finally start feeling like fall.

Johnny F'n Football

• Alabama won the game, but ALL HAIL JOHNNY F'n FOOTBALL!!!! College football's game of the year lived up to the hype, and saw Johnny Manziel have the type of gritty losing effort that will make America love him again. The Tide won the game, but they didn't stop Johnny Football. It leaves us to wonder if Johnny Manziel can be stopped. To hell with Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Football is the new Heisman favorite. Also, is there a person on this planet that wouldn't want to see a Bama/A&M rematch in the final BCS title game? Could you complain too much if one-loss Texas A&M leaped over an undefeated Louisville team to play for the national title?

• I owe AJ McCarron an apology.  I've always given Alabama quarterbacks a hard time, especially AJ McCarron. I always give him his credit as a game manager and a smart player, but I have always contended that he was relatively talentless in the terms of being able to make plays that win games. On Saturday, McCarron out dueled the best gunslinger in the nation, and did so while maintaining his mistake free reputation. AJ McCarron is a really good quarterback. There, I said it. 

• Texas Tech can beat anyone in the Big 12 with Kliff Kingsbury at the helm. The Red Raiders didn't score a million points against TCU but they scored enough to win, and played solid defense against a team that was supposed to contend for the Big 12 title.

•  What the hell happened to Michigan? After two very impressive wins to begin the season, the Wolverines laid an egg at home against a bad Akron team in a game that they should have lost. After two weeks I was certain that we would be seeing Michigan vs Ohio State back to back to finish the regular season, but if Michigan plays like this at any point during the Big Ten schedule, they can't be considered the favorite in their division. 

•  UCLA, not Stanford, may be Oregon's stiffest competition in the Pac-12. The Bruins throttled Nebraska, while Stanford struggled to put away Army. To beat Oregon, it's clear that you're going to have to score at least 30 points [I originally typed 40]. It seems that the only team in the conference that can do that is UCLA. Stanford doesn't seem to have the explosiveness to be able to keep up. 

• 

  The Belldozer

  Oklahoma found it's quarterback, and now they are a legitimate contender. Even some of the game's best coaches make mistakes sometimes. Clearly Bob Stoops did a bit of over thinking when he questioned whether or not Blake Bell was his QB of the future in Norman. Stoops saw the offense sputter behind freshman Trevor Knight, but with Knight on the shelf, Stoops got a chance to see his second choice prove to be the obvious choice after throwing for 400+ yards and four touchdowns. After being used as a specific package QB for the past two years, Bell finally got a chance to go the full 60 minutes. His success at the position means that OU can make a run at going unbeaten in a weak Big 12 until they meet with Oklahoma State for what could be an epic Bedlam Game. 

• Ole Miss is in the Top 25 to stay.  The Rebs announced their arrival to college football relevance by thrashing Texas in a game where they were flat out the better team. It was by no means an upset. Ole Miss is recruiting at an elite level, and their talent is starting to develop nicely. This team could possibly settle in very nicely behind Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, and South Carolina in the SEC. 

• The Pac -12 is loaded -- ask the Big Ten. One of the more interesting subplots of the weekend was the miniseries of games that took place between the Pac-12 and Big Ten. Three games between evenly matched teams from the two conferences yielded three victories for the Pac-12. Washington exposed Illinois, UCLA handled Nebraska easily, and even Arizona State managed to weasel out a win against a favored Wisconsin team [Cal did lose to Ohio State, but would you trust the Buckeyes to take out Oregon or Stanford on a neutral field?] The Pac-12 should give us entertaining football all year as it looks to be a year where everybody can beat anybody...well, except Oregon. No one in that conference can beat Oregon.  

Unusual Two Sport Star: Nose Tackle Armand Fernandez-Pierre

This should not be physically possible...that's 335lbs in the air

[Information for this post was taken from a Dallas Morning News story written by Brad Townsend]

One of the best stories the recruiting trial has ever produced is the sudden stardom of Dallas-area defensive line prospect Armand Fernandez-Pierre. A massive high school senior [6'3, 335lbs] with quick feet and a noticeable mean streak is sure to get the attention of a lot of college coaches, but Fernandez-Pierre has drawn national acclaim mostly for his off-field exploits. As a nose tackle for the Episcopal School of Dallas [ESD], Armand dominates his often over-matched competition. Luckily for his opponents, he only plays a portion of the game -- that's because he is also a dedicated member of Episcopal's cheerleading team. This isn't a joke or a stunt either. Armand has actually been a high school cheerleader longer than he has been high school football player! The incredibly nimble and athletic big man suffered a serious neck injury while playing football in middle school. At one point, Armand Fernandez-Pierre was partially paralyzed, and it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that he would never play football again. In the absence of the sport, Fernandez-Pierre first dabbled and then excelled in many other non-athletic ventures. He turned out to be a rather talented thespian and singer [he is in the school choir], and is enough of a technology buff to work on the "Geek Squad" at his local Best Buy. It was during his junior year that he decided to get a little bit closer to the football field by joining the ESD cheer squad. The school's newly hired football coach at the time, Clayton Sanders, had to be driven crazy by seeing such an exceptional athlete doing cartwheels along his sidelines each day during practice. The new coach was finally able to recruit Armand to join the football team [pending medical clearance], but it was only under the condition that Armand be able to split his time between the football team and the cheer squad. Figuring that a part time dominant player is better than no dominance at all, Sanders sought to make the arrangement work. Once getting medical clearance, reaching a timeshare agreement with the school's cheer coach, and receiving the blessing from Armand's understandably hesitant mother, Sanders was able to see his prize recruit in pads. The unique talent that Sanders uncovered has the likes of Notre Dame, UCLA, North Carolina and Miami all very curious. While rehabbing his injury, Armand slowly developed into a gifted power lifter. It is reported that he benches 325lbs, squats an incredible 650lbs, and dead lifts up to 560lbs. Armand's herculean strength, combined with his uncanny fitness and agility create a package that makes him one of the country's most intriguing prospects. Fernandez-Pierre is aware that his foray into playing football has become serious business, but he remains dedicated to the commitment that he has made to cheerleading. As interest eventually turns into scholarship offers, it will be be very interesting to see where Armand Fernandez-Pierre takes his many talents next year. Also, is there any chance that he cheers in college?

College Football Recap: Week Two

At this point, the college football season is still in the midst of that awkward opening stage filled with intermingling between FBS powers and FCS minnows. For example, fresh off of nabbing a huge home win against Georgia, Clemson blew off some steam by beating up on a local HBCU [South Carolina State if anyone cares] in week two. Admittedly, the upstart programs from the FCS have done their best to make many of these games interesting, and have even pulled off a decent amount of wins in the past two weeks. Still, the usual outcome is a FBS team playing horribly and still walking away with a win [KUDOS to Nicholls State and Chattanooga, the two FCS teams that actually pulled off wins against FBS competition this weekend]. Week two didn't deliver a riveting schedule from top to bottom, but there was enough meat on the bone for us to come to a few realizations by the end of Saturday night. Here's all you need to know about week two. Feel free to forget anything about week two not mentioned below.   

• Ladies and gentleman...we have a Heisman race. Teddy Bridgewater is still the unquestioned frontrunner, but the reigning Heisman winner Johnny Manziel took a week off from being a super-villain in order to allow college football fans an opportunity to notice that he is playing better than ever. Bridgewater will edge out Johnny Football statistically at year's end. That's primarily because Louisville has a schedule that would be pretty manageable for some high school football programs. However, Manziel will have the marquee matchups that Heisman campaigns are often built on. Even if Teddy throws for 700 yards against Western Idaho Clown College next week [aka Kentucky], none of it matters if Johnny Manziel can take down mighty Alabama next week. This year's Heisman race is going to be a heavyweight fight between the best two signal callers in college football. Will it be Teddy's stats or Johnny's big wins? The season-long saga begins next week in College Station.

At least this guy [Shilique Calhoun] can score for MSU

• Michigan State is comically bad on offense. The good news is that they may have one of the best defenses in the country. Sparty improved to 2-0 after knocking off USF in a hideous display of something that was meant to resemble football. Five different Spartans took snaps at QB [three quarterbacks, and two running backs in a sad variation of the Wildcat], and none of them were effective. When any of the QBs did manage to get a decent pass off, it usually  ended up bouncing off the hands of an equally inept wide receiver. The best hands belonging to a Michigan State Spartan on Saturday were those of defensive end Shilique Calhoun. Calhoun scored MSU's first two touchdowns, scooping a fumble for a score and also returning an interception for six more much needed points. State's QB carousel started with Connor Cook, halftime saw Andrew Maxwell make a return, and even true freshman Tyler O'Connor took some snaps. None of them were able to provide any sort of spark for the Spartan offense. The one bullet still in the QB chamber for State is another true freshman, dual-threat Damion Terry. Terry would have likely saw time against USF, but he was recovering from strep throat. The most awkward part about State's QB struggles is the fact that all their quarterbacks seem to be good players, but none of them can force their talents to translate on the scoreboard. Next week, coach Mark Dantonio will try to hash out his QB situation against Youngstown State,  but Notre Dame is waiting in week four. 

•  The "U" is a major issue. Al Golden has worked wonders in Coral Gables, taking his program from the shame of probation to the precipice of the national title conversation. The Canes took down a hapless Florida team that was nearly as anemic as Michigan State was on offense this past weekend. Now Miami has the college football world thinking, "Why not the Hurricanes?" Wins at Florida State and in Jacksonville for the ACC Championship [likely against Clemson] will be necessary, but it surely isn't impossible to imagine Miami running the table and finding its way to Pasadena. Miami has the speed and the play makers to have a special season. We found that out on Saturday as they locked down the Gators.

The Dawgs hunkered down against South Carolina

•  Georgia is still a national title contender. The Bulldogs started the season entrenched firmly in the national title conversation, but a combination of ambitious non-conference scheduling [opening at Clemson] and unfavorable conference scheduling [South Carolina and LSU in weeks two and four respectively] made a 1-3 start a very real possibility for one of the best teams in the country. A tailspin was on the horizon after dropping the opener to Clemson last week, but the Dawgs righted the ship by outlasting South Carolina on Saturday. Though a date with LSU is two weeks away, teams such as Alabama and Texas A&M aren't on the schedule this year, meaning that a SEC title and a possible back door route to the BCS title game are still possibilities for the Bulldogs. Georgia has the look of a team that could find themselves playing Alabama in the SEC Championship for the second year in a row -- once again with a trip to the BCS title game on the line.

Devin Gardner has Michigan rolling

•  Notre Dame isn't that good, but Michigan is. For the second week in a row, the Michigan Wolverines looked great during their dismantling of the Irish. The game wasn't as close as the score indicated. Michigan was dominant for long stretches of the game, as Devin Gardner orchestrated Al Borges' pro style offense to perfection [except for his epically awful interception that was caught in the end zone]. Notre Dame, on the other hand, was exposed as a team that lacks creativity on offense and discipline on defense. Michigan has a favorable schedule until November, so it will be awhile before we know how good Michigan really is. What they have shown us so far is that they will at least be a formidable opponent for Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. 

• The mighty have fallen. USC and Texas were slammed back to earth with shocking losses that caused them to exit the AP Top 25. Now both schools have coaches on the hot seat, and questions on both ends of the ball. USC may have a built in excuse for the lame effort they turned in against Washington State. NCAA sanctions have robbed them of the depth that made them a juggernaut in the 2000s, now the school has just enough talent to have high expectations, but nowhere near enough to meet them. Texas has suffered a steady decline since a freak injury robbed them of a shot to beat Alabama in the 2010 national championship. Inconsistent quarterback play may be the primary culprit of Texas' demise, but as BYU showed us late Saturday night, the defense isn't quite what it used to be either. The Cougars rushed for a mind blowing 550 yards against the Longhorns, leaving many in the state to question whether coach Mack Brown has lost control of his program. It will be interesting to see how these two traditional powers will regroup during a season where expectations have been tempered early on.      

Country's Top Lineman Commits to Bama

The University of Alabama has done more with less at the quarterback position than anyone else in recent college football history. Winning national championships with the likes of Greg McElroy and AJ McCarron [brilliant game managers, but otherwise underwhelming talents at the game's most important position] takes a special blueprint. The Crimson Tide's latest dynasty has been dependent on recruiting elite talent to execute a simple [as in straight-forward], yet devastating, game plan. It's a scheme that values decision making over play making at the quarterback position, and nothing breeds good decision making for a QB like having the time to figure it all out. That's why a commitment from top ranked offensive line recruit Cameron Robinson is a huge get for Nick Saban and the rest of Tide Nation. Robinson [6'5, 330lbs] is the type of prospect that allows the AJ McCarrons of the world to win national championships. Maybe more important than putting Robinson in a maroon uniform, is keeping him out of purple and gold one. Robinson, a Louisiana native, was a top recruiting priority for the rival LSU Tigers. However, Alabama got the job done in the living room, and now Robinson will be getting the the job done next year in Tuscaloosa. No one knows who will be quarterbacking the Tide this time next year, but we now know one of the men who will be protecting him. Cameron Robinson is Alabama's newest bookend.

College Football Recap: Week One

The opening weekend of the 2013 college football season was so big that it actually started on Thursday evening and ended late Monday night, but now that the festivities have finally concluded, here's a few things that we learned during week one.

• Jadeveon Clowney is going to have a tough time pleasing the prognosticators that pegged him as a Heisman frontrunner. The reason why defensive ends don't get Heisman nods was on full display Thursday night when South Carolina opened the season against North Carolina. The media microscope that was fixated on Clowney revealed a dirty secret to the world -- defensive ends take plays off. Now this may not come as shocking news to anyone who has ever played football before, but criticism and scrutiny hit the junior phenom like an anvil as pundits began critiquing his work ethic on running plays that were heading in the opposite direction of his pursuit or pass plays where he was triple teamed. It would make sense to run the ball away from Clowney, especially when you consider that he nearly killed Michigan running back Vincent Smith during last year's bowl game [Watch the video. I seriously thought he was dead when I saw it live. I still have no idea how he got up from that hit]. Just as shut down corners struggle to intercept passes because quarterbacks don't throw to their side, Jadeveon Clowney won't when the Heisman because opposing teams will spend more time running away from him, rather than running up the field. It seems that his Heisman run has ended before it even started. 

Fresno State QB Derek Carr

• No one is beating the Fresno State Bulldogs. I didn't think much of Fresno State's win against Rutgers when it happened. The unfortunate thing about being a good team in the Mountain West is that Boise State is always better than you. However, after watching the Broncos get crushed by Washington Saturday night, it's obvious that this year is providing an exception to the rule. The Dogs, led by Derek Carr [brother of David] and a ridiculously talented group of skill position players, are clearly a better team than Boise this year. Fresno can score with any team in the country, and Boise has finally graduated too much talent to replenish in one year. Never count out Chris Peterson, but it looks like Fresno is this year's best candidate to be a BCS-buster.

•  I could throw for at least 300 yards and two touchdowns if I suited up at quarterback for Texas Tech. New head coach Kliff Kingsbury started a true freshman walk-on quarterback against a half decent team from Southern Methodist last Friday. What would surely be a recipe for disaster at most schools turned into a record breaking performance from little known Baker Mayfield [he even has a walk-on sounding name]. Mayfield threw 4 TD passes and rushed for another score on his way to 413 yards passing in relief of another unknown Texas Tech quarterback who will probably through for 500 yards next week since he's on scholarship. It doesn't matter who is taking the snaps for Coach Kliff, the Red Raiders are going to put points on the board. 

• Johnny Manziel has officially turned heel. Similar to Hulk Hogan's turn to the dark side that saw him become "Hollywood" Hogan and join the NWO, Johnny Manziel's transformation into Johnny Football has turned him into college football's favorite villain [The video of Hogan betraying the good guys pretty much parallels Manziel's day against Rice. We thought Johnny Football would run out and make everything OK...instead he took the field and delivered three leg drops to Randy Savage]. Manziel's taunting and other antics against Rice on Saturday weren't that big of a deal. What could be a big deal is Manziel's apparent revelry in his new found role as the bad boy of college football. Manziel, much like Tim Tebow in college and in the NFL, is a competitive force of nature more than anything else. The more angry Johnny Football gets, the more his negativity may be channeled towards his competition. Two weeks from now, we could see Johnny Football holding a can of spray paint as he stands triumphantly over an unconscious AJ McCarron, writing "A&M" across the back of his jersey to cap off a second straight upset of the Crimson Tide. Johnny's angry, and I don't think his opponents will like him when he's angry. Rice sure didn't. 

• A quick note on Alabama. AJ McCarron is an awful quarterback -- and it just doesn't matter. He's still good enough [mostly smart enough] to lead Bama to big wins. The Crimson Tide are well on their way to another national championship. 

• The Clemson Tigers had every opportunity to "pull a Clemson" and give away their marquee game against Georgia, but the Tigers showed a trait that hasn't been seen on campus in a long time. These Clemson Tigers showed a killer instinct against the Bulldogs, refusing to loosen their grip on the game and their national title hopes. After holding it together against Georgia, the Tigers essentially play a three game season that includes Florida State, South Carolina, and the ACC Championship game. Clemson has never been in better early season position to play for a national title.   

Who was the idiot who put these guys on the schedule?

• The FCS ain't nothing to f--- with.  This weekend, several FBS programs found out the hard way that the lower rung of Division I plays some pretty decent football. Fresh off a banner year behind quarterback Colin Klein, Kansas State welcomed two-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State to the Family Stadium in the Little Apple. K-State is still trying to figure out what hit them, as the Bisons stunned them on their home field. Eastern Washington won the 2011 FCS National Championship preceding NDSU's two titles. They showed off their championship pedigree by beating a ranked Oregon State squad in Corvallis. Northern Iowa, a ranked FCS outfit, knocked off Iowa State. McNeese State, who is unranked even in the FCS, blew the doors off of USF in the debut of their new head coach. The most ironic part of this FCS uprising is the fact that the losing teams from the FBS are dishing out six figure payouts to these FCS programs. This money, in most cases, is being used to help further the development of the already rapidly growing athletic programs at these FCS powerhouses. The more cash unsuspecting FBS programs throw towards the likes of NDSU and EWU, the harder it will become to beat them.

•  The Heisman trophy is Teddy Bridgewater's to lose...and so is a spot in the BCS National Championship. Watching Bridgewater dismantle Ohio this weekend was a joy to watch, but what's truly scary is that the Bobcats were actually one of the better teams on Louisville's ridiculously soft "power conference" schedule. Excluding a complete and total meltdown, the Cardinals' only chance of losing a game is on December 5th in the season finale

  

  Teddy Heisman?

  against Cincinnati [Seriously, Ohio is the second best team Louisville will play this year, check the schedule]. With double digit wins almost a certainty, Bridgewater should have two main goals for 2013 -- throw as many touchdowns as possible, and look good enough doing it to be the second player picked in the 2014 NFL Draft [behind Jadeveon Clowney of course]. If Louisville can run the table with Bridgewater tossing 4-5 touchdowns each weekend, a trip to New York's Downtown Athletic Club is a definite, but it may also prelude a trip to Pasedena for the BCS title game. Louisville will never have an easier road to gridiron glory, and they may never have a more talented quarterback to get them there.   

AmStat's Bowl Madness 2012-2013 (Part One)

The Bowl Season gets more ridiculous every year, but the reason why it still exists is because we as fans can't withstand the urge to travel halfway across the country for a game that in the grand scheme of things means absolutely nothing. I don't plan on wasting too much time getting through most of these picks, but each one is worth a few lines I guess. Just remember that I'm not picking against the spread, so don't blame me if you lose your entire Christmas bonus because of a backdoor cover. Let's get started...

Gildan New Mexico Bowl - Saturday 12/15/12 1PM on ESPN
University Stadium (Albuquerque, NM) 
Nevada Wolfpack (7-5) vs Arizona Wildcats (7-5)
Nevada might have a chance at winning this game if Colin Kaepernick was still operating Chris Ault's pistol offense, but that isn't the case. The Wildcats will be suiting up the nation's leading rusher and Doak Walker finalist Kadeem Carey. That should be enough for an Arizona victory. However, as long as Rich Rodriguez is coaching this team, I hope they lose every game.
Bear Down 45, Wolfpack 13

This will never get old

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Saturday 12/15/12 4:30PM on ESPN
Bronco Stadium (Boise, ID)
#22 Utah State Aggies (10-2) vs Toledo Rockets (9-3)
Utah State quietly had a really good season (they came very close to knocking off Wisconsin earlier this year) and deserved to be ranked. Still, Toledo won nine games including six in the much better than advertised Mid-American Conference. Utah State can sputter on offense against good teams, and Toledo can score on anyone. The Rockets will get their 10th win and will end the season as one of three ranked teams in the MAC.
Rockets 42, USU 31

San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - Thursday 12/20/12 8PM on ESPN
Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, CA)
BYU Cougars (7-5) vs San Diego State Aztecs (9-3)
BYU has been a minor disappointment this year after registering ten wins last year, but the Aztecs are a manageable opponent for Bronco Mendenhall's Cougars. In the end, I expect San Diego's home field advantage to carry them in a close victory.
Aztecs 27, The Honor Code 24

Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg - Friday 12/21/12 7:30PM on ESPN
Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)
Central Florida Golden Knights (9-4) vs Ball State Cardinals (9-3)
The MAC has a chance to have four teams finish with double-digit wins this year. Ball State will be the team that doesn't meet their end of the bargain. UCF is preparing for a move to the Big East and they have accumulated a wealth of talent in preparation for the move. Recent sanctions may have derailed some of their momentum but UCF is too far developed as a program to drop a bowl game to Ball State in Florida.
UCF 45, Ball 17

Pirate's Booty: Because booty is more important than water

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - Saturday 12/22/12 12PM on ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Superdome (New Orleans, LA)
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (8-4) vs East Carolina Pirates (8-4)
The Sun Belt is rapidly improving as a conference every season. Successful Sun Belt programs are starting to make a living off of recruiting fringe level SEC players with promises of immediate playing time. Transfers are also making a major impact, as is the case at ULL with quarterback Terrence Broadway. A top prospect out of high school, Broadway made his way to the Bayou primarily as part of the aftershock that occurred when Kevin Sumlin bolted Houston. Now the Cajuns are playing a bowl game in their own backyard and the best player on the field is suiting up for their team. Things are definitely changing in the Belt.
Ragin' Swamp People 31, Pirate's Booty 24

Maaco Las Vegas Bowl - Saturday 12/22/12 3:30PM on ESPN
Sam Boyd Stadium (Las Vegas, NV)
#19 Boise State Broncos (10-2) vs Washington Huskies (7-5)
Boise State may have a record that is on par with what we remember from the Kellen Moore era, but don't be fooled. This is a down year for Boise State, and they will prove it by dropping this game. Washington QB Keith Price will look good enough in this bowl game to start next year as a dark horse Heisman candidate for the second consecutive year.
Huskies 48, Blue Man Group 35

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Saturday 12/24/12 8PM on ESPN
Aloha Stadium (Honolulu, HI)
Southern Methodist Mustangs (6-6) vs Fresno State Bulldogs (9-3)
SMU took a step back this year on their road towards respectability. They would have liked a better season going into the Big East next year, but they will have to settle for being throttled in a bowl game by this very underrated Fresno team.
That Random Green V 35, Not Quite Pony Excess 13

WKU fans: What...the hell...is this?

Little Caesars Bowl - Monday 12/26/12 7:30PM on ESPN
Ford Field (Detroit, MI)
Central Michigan Chippewas (6-6) vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7-5) 
The MAC is a very top heavy conference, but the Sun Belt is building a more complete collection of programs down south. This bowl season will show that the middle and bottom of the Sun Belt are much stronger than the middling teams in the Midwest. A topping of CMU by the Hilltoppers will be another piece of evidence in favor of the rise of the Sun Belt.
Big Red Gumdrops 21, Maroon Chips 17

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman - Tuesday 12/27/12 3PM on ESPN
RFK Memorial Stadium (Washington D.C.)
#24 San Jose State Spartans (10-2) vs Bowling Green Falcons (8-4)
San Jose State has completed an epic turnaround from being one of the worst programs in college football a few years ago to being ranked in the BCS Top 25. Of course when that happens, your coach leaves for a crappy power conference job where he has no chance to succeed and will probably be fired before he can even be realistically expected to compete. Okay, maybe that doesn't always happen, but it did happen to the Spartans. Mike MacIntyre has already bolted for Colorado (after their treatment of previous coach Jon Embree, the Buffs are lucky anyone wanted their awful coaching gig), but San Jose State has way too much talent to drop this game against BG. Honestly, 100% of their focus won't be required. After this year's big three in the MAC (NIU, Kent State, and Toledo), the rest of the conference struggles to stack up to other Non-AQ competition. By the way, if you're wondering how good San Jose State is, they held Stanford to 20 points and only loss by three at the Farm earlier this season.
Ain't No Sparty Like A West Coast Sparty 52, Random School My Ex Went To 31

Belk Bowl - Tuesday 12/27/12 6:30PM on ESPN
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)
Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3) vs Duke Blue Devils (6-6)

Connor Vernon

Congrats to Duke on reaching their first bowl game since a time when I still occasionally wet the bed. David Cutliffe is the man who accomplished mission impossible and has the Dukies bowling. Sadly, the Blue Devils have to play in the ridiculously named Belk Bowl (Belk is a Charlotte based business, no word on whether or not they actually sell belks). More good news though, this will at least be a virtual home game for Duke in Charlotte. If the school can get a Cameron Crazy type performance from a football fan base with a reason to be excited, they could pull off an upset. It will also help to have stud wide out Connor Vernon lining up on the outside as well. Vernon will be a possession guy on Sundays, but he will be a home run threat in this game. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is going into this game disappointed in themselves for not winning the Big East's BCS bid, and mourning the departure of their coach Butch Jones (gone to Rocky Top Tennessee). I think Cincy will drop this game in a minor upset, but good luck to my former high school teammate George Winn. He's the Bearcats starting running back, and it's been great to watch him play this year.
I Can't Believe Duke is in A Bowl Game 34, Bearcats Are Actually Kind of Cute 31

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl - Tuesday 12/27/12 9:45PM on ESPN
Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, CA)
#17 UCLA Bruins (9-4) vs Baylor Bears (7-5)
The Holiday Bowl has traditionally been one of the best bowl games in terms of great players, high powered offenses, and great finishes. This year will be no different. This game features a Doak Walker finalist (UCLA's Jonathan Franklin) and a Biletnikoff Finalist (Baylor's Terrance Williams), leading two offenses who can really light it up. Baylor showed what it can do at full potential when they thrashed then #1 Kansas State, they can carve out a very impressive 8-win campaign with a win in this game. UCLA could announce they're arrival as a consistent Pac-12 contender with a 10-win season.
Powder Blues 49, Sic 'Em Bears 45

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl - Wednesday 12/28/12 2PM on ESPN
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA)
Ohio Bobcats (8-4) vs Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (8-4)
The Ohio Bobcats opened up the season with a win against an emotional Penn State team that turned out to be very good. Monroe's huge early season win against Arkansas turned QB Kolton Browning into a media darling for a week or two, but the Hogs turned out to be really bad team under John L. Smith (who is a lunatic, keep in mind). I've been hard on the MAC outside of their best three teams, but I think Ohio has what it takes to get the job done down south. Records may point to Ball State and Bowling Green, but Ohio is really the fourth best team in the MAC.
Bob 30, War 14

I'd run through a wall wearing one of these

Russell Athletic Bowl - Wednesday 12/28/12 5:30PM on ESPN
Citrus Bowl (Orlando Florida)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3) vs Virginia Tech Hokies (6-6)
The Scarlet Knights were one win away from playing in the BCS and reaping all of the financial benefits that went along with it. Instead, they're now rummaging through an undoubtedly unimpressive gift basket from the fine people at Russell Athletic. There's no way they can be excited about this game. Combine that with their matchup with against a more talented Virginia Tech team who is probably determined to avoid giving Frank Beamer his first losing season in ions, and Rutgers doesn't have a chance in this game.
FYI: Hokies Are Turkeys 34, Those Helmets Are So Cool 14

Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas - Wednesday 12/28/12 9PM on ESPN
Reliant Stadium (Houston, TX) 
Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-6) vs Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-5)
The name of this bowl sucks. Minnesota sucks. Texas Tech is good...especially on defense (and especially when they are playing bad teams). Side note, the way Tommy Tuberville left Tech is disgusting. The rumor circulating is that he was at dinner with a few recruits on a visit to Texas Tech, and he left the dinner mid meal to take the job at Cincy. I don't understand how the NCAA can penalize kids for transferring with a straight face after hearing a story like that. Tech already has a much classier guy in former Texas A&M OC (and former Tech QB) Kliff Kingsbury.
Not Those Raiders...the Red Ones 52, Seriously...They Suck 17

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 11:45AM on ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium (Fort Worth, TX)
Air Force Academy Falcons (6-6) vs Rice Owls (6-6) 
Rice has to play Air Force in a bowl game dedicated to honoring members of the armed forces, and the game is sponsored by Bell Helicopter...Rice Doesn't have a chance do they?
AFA 28, Hooters 14

Who wouldn't want to play in this bowl game!

New Era Pinstripe Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 3:30PM on ESPN
Yankees Stadium (Bronx, NY)
Syracuse Orange (7-5) vs West Virginia Mountaineers (7-5)
Bowl games are often decided not by who has the best team, but by the team that is most excited to be there. Syracuse loves playing in this NYC based bowl game (this is their second appearance in the bowl's three-year existence). New York City is a vital market to the Orange and they take their unofficial title of being NYC's home team in college football very seriously. Playing at Yankees Stadium is a pseudo home game to them, and they play extra hard to protect their home turf in NYC. West Virginia comes into this game reeling. The Mounties were thinking national championship at one point this season, but their porous defense started a trend of losing that they just recently bucked with a pair of wins over Big 12 bottom-feeders (Iowa State and Kansas). Syracuse has a balanced and dynamic offensive attack, and I don't think the 'Neers can get off the field enough to win.
Juice 59, Mounties 56

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 4PM on ESPN2
AT&T Park (San Francisco, CA)
Navy Midshipmen (7-4) vs Arizona State Sun Devils (7-5)
The Naval Academy is coming off of an emotional win against Army, and Arizona State doesn't have too much going there way in the momentum department, but I expect the Sun Devils size and speed to be a bit overwhelming for the Middies.
Sparky 38, Annapolis 21

The Original Angry Beavers

Valero Alamo Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 6:45PM on ESPN
Alamodome (San Antonio, TX)
#13 Oregon State Beavers (9-3) vs #22 Texas Longhorns (8-4)
It took us 17 games to get to this magical point in time, but we have finally arrived at the first pairing of two ranked teams in a bowl game. The Alamo Bowl is usually a pretty good football game, and I expect as much from the 2012 edition. The Beavers have over achieved all year, racing out to nine wins out of nowhere. This year's Texas team was short on the talent that is typically on the field in Austin, but these Longhorns worked their butts off to squeeze eight wins out of this year's schedule. I can't wait to watch this game because it will be two hard hitting teams that will leave it all on the field. When the clock hits triple zeroes, the aftermath at the Alamodome may look like the aftermath at the actual Alamo.
Hook 'Em 27, Angry Beavers 21

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl - Thursday 12/29/12 10:15PM on ESPN
Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe, AZ)
TCU Horned Frogs (7-5) vs Michigan State Spartans (6-6)
Both of these programs entered the year poised to have breakout years. TCU was supposed to prove they belonged with the big boys during their first season as a member of the Big 12, and Michigan State was supposed to compete for the Big Ten title after falling just short of the Rose Bowl a year ago. Instead, TCU was derailed by their starting QB's off the field issues, and the Spartans struggled to find effectiveness from any skill position players not named Le'Veon Bell. However, the Spartans seem to have more figured out at this point. There offense has shown much more life now that young receivers Keith Mumphery and Aaron Burbridge have a more prominent role.
Sparty Hard 23, Horny Toads 17

Well this will hold you over until New Year's Eve. Enjoy the bowl games and be on the lookout for the rest of the bowls being blurbed about soon!

Wolverines Basketball Making A Return to the Elite

It's been awhile. The year was 1998 to be exact. Whether you choose to believe it or not, that's the last time being a Michigan fan really meant something. There have been great moments since then, but not consistently sustained greatness. Being a Michigan fan has been a rather pedestrian experience for the past decade and change. It's gotten so bad that I now support Michigan State just to have a second horse in the race.

It's important to understand that I've been a Michigan fan since birth. My friends and family did an excellent job brainwashing me into believing that decent wholesome people cheered for the Wolverines, and that Michigan State fans were simply savages who couldn't educate themselves any better than to root for the glorified community college that was located in East Lansing. Also, East Lansing isn't really a place. They drilled that into me so well that I still believe it to this day. Let's be serious. If you've ever been to Lansing, you know the only way to get to East Lansing is to be on Michigan State's campus. As a matter of made up fact, Mateen Cleaves is actually the mayor/emperor of East Lansing. Though this isn't true, it very well could be because East Lansing isn't a real place...but I digress.

Let's get back to the year that was 1998. We (yea, I said we...dammit) kicked things off by winning the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. That win subsequently clinched our most recent national championship in football and derailed the rest of Ryan Leaf's career. You also wouldn't be going out on a limb if you were to say that it derailed the rest of his life. The win also ushered in the creation of the BCS, the completely nonsensical system that we currently use to decide the national champ. Don't forget that if not for one of the luckiest play in the history of sports, Nebraska would have lost to Missouri earlier in the season and the BCS would have never existed. Eight year-old me was devastated by that Nebraska win against Missouri. Like most eight year-olds, sharing was not high on my priority list. Sharing a championship was unfathomable to me then (okay, it still is now).

Since the BCS era began in 1998, Michigan has been involved in five BCS bowl games. They have won both the Sugar and Orange Bowls, but have lost three consecutive Rose Bowls. The biggest game the program has played since 98' wasn't even a bowl game, it was their #1 vs #2 showdown with Ohio State in 2006. They lost that game too. They even suffered through a period known as the Rich Rodriguez era, when the always proud Michigan defense looked like they had been swapped out with the Delaware Blue Hens defense. Michigan football is now on the road to recovery under Brady Hoke, but the program is nothing to poke your chest out about.

The Tractor was the Tournament's MOP

A few months later in the glorious year of 1998, Big Ten basketball fans were introduced to something that had never been seen before -- a conference tournament. Back in these days, the Ivy League was joined by the Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) and the Big Ten (now the Big Ten with 12 teams) as athletic conferences that did not indulge in the hoopla of playing a conference tournament. However, all of this was due to change in Big Ten country. The Big Ten kicked off their inaugural tournament at the United Center in Chicago, and expectations were high for Michigan. The Wolverines featured three future pros (including one lottery pick, Robert "Tractor" Traylor), and were on the safer side of the bubble going into the tournament. Michigan caught every break they needed, avoiding both Michigan State and Illinois on their way to the championship game against Purdue. The scene was set for me to be watching the first ever Big Ten Championship Game at the Detroit Roller Wheels Skate Rink, because my mom had forced me to go to some girl's birthday party on that particular day. eight year-old me struggled mightily to stay upright on roller skates, but I managed to see enough of the game to imprint the lasting image of Robert Traylor (R.I.P.) cutting down the nets after a decisive victory. 

That was the Michigan basketball program's last great moment, but a return to the elite is on the horizon. The 2012-2013 Michigan Wolverines are good. Truthfully, they are damn good. To top it off, not only are they damn good, they're just as young as they are good. It's a sinister combination.

It all started when the university decided to hire John Beilein as their next head basketball coach back in 2007. Beilein had experience winning games while wearing maize and blue. He had been brilliant during his time at West Virginia, carving a Big East mainstay out of humble beginnings in Morgantown.

Blake was a bit much for Zack Novak

Despite his winning reputation, I admittedly didn't like the decision to bring in Beilein. I'd always viewed Michigan as a sleeping giant in college hoops, but I thought it would take a big name to shake some life into the program. I always secretly hoped to land Tubby Smith (now the coach at Minnesota). I always believed Beilein to be a coach with a low ceiling. He got the most out of his squads, but their potential would always be limited. I dreaded an assumed two decades of seeing my beloved Wolverines bounced in the Sweet Sixteen year after year with no breakthrough in site. At first it seemed that I was right. Beilein's Mountaineer teams could always shoot the rock, and Beilein promptly went to Larry Bird country (Indiana) to find two marksman. Stu Douglass and Zack Novak arrived on campus armed and dangerous, and they proved to be a perfect compliment for Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, the two standout Detroit Public School League products that former coach Tommy Amaker had left behind. The new core of the Wolverines instantly changed the team's fortunes and put them in the NCAA Tournament in Beilein's second season. They would advance to the second round to play against Oklahoma. The game against the Sooners summed up everything that was wrong with Beilein in my eyes. Oklahoma was led by their 6'10 somewhat superhuman power forward Blake Griffin. Michigan's starting power forward was 6'4 Zack Novak. In layman's terms, Michigan showed up for the NCAA tournament without a power forward. Michigan played hard and hung tough with the Sooners, but ultimately lost the game. Blake Griffin scored 33 points and grabbed 17 boards. To this day he probably thinks he played that entire game wide open. He probably never looked down to notice Zack Novak.

To make matters worst, the next year's Michigan team floundered under the weight of high expectations. They missed the postseason, and a riff between Beilein and star player Manny Harris caused him to make an ill-advised jump towards the NBA. My dislike for Beilein ratcheted higher as it seemed that not only could Beilein only recruit shooters, he was also scaring away the most talented player that he already had.

It looked as if the wheels would officially fall off of the Beilein regime in year four when Michigan started 1-7 in the Big Ten. However, something very strange happened midway through the conference schedule. Beilein's long term plan began to fall into place. Novak and Douglass were two of the countries top shooters, and sophomore point guard Darius Miller was quietly turning into an early entry NBA candidate. With Harris no longer around, Beilein was able to give his minutes to another freshman gem, Tim Hardaway Jr. When Selection Sunday rolled around, the Wolverines were winners of 9 of 13 games and safely in the tournament field once again. With a little more size now on the roster, the team demolished Tennessee before giving Duke a handful in a losing effort. The team was now on everyone's radar, and not even the early departure of Morris could quell expectations for success.

Burke is one of the nation's best point guards

Morris' departure was nullified by the addition of Trey Burke. It's not very often that a freshman point guard is an upgrade over a point guard that is currently playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, but if you asked Mike D'Antoni if he would pull the trigger on a Burke for Morris swap, I don't think he would hesitate. Burke was a Freshman All-American (he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week seven times) who showed glimpses of being dominant at times. With Burke pushing the pace, last year's team raced to a share of the Big Ten title. It was a fitting send off for Novak and Douglass, the two recruits who changed the culture of Michigan basketball. Even though Novak and Douglass were almost living legends on campus, rumblings had already started to surface that their replacements might even be better. The trio of Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary, and Canadian import Nik Stauskas was being hailed as one of the best incoming groups in the country. A quick glance at the roster revealed that the Wolverines were only losing two contributing players from a team that won the Big Ten, and from there the hype machine was born.

When Michigan entered this season as a top five team, it seemed a little bit outrageous. Though they had a great season last year, they did get bounced in their first NCAA Tournament game, there were definitely areas that should have attracted more concern. Could a trio of freshman really be that much better than two proven veterans who played the game with an extremely high level of intelligence? 

It didn't take long to find out. 

Just over a month into the season, Nik Stauskas is being touted as the most surprising freshman in the country. He has proven to be as good of a shooter as Stu Douglass, but can attack the basket with the reckless abandon of Zack Novak (with much more efficiency and skill). You can pencil Stauskas in as being one of the Big Ten's most deadly offensive threats for four straight years. 

Glenn Robinson III has simply lived up to his name. The Little Big Dog does so many things that make him resemble his dad during his days of dominating the Big Ten while he was at Purdue. GR3 has an incredibly sculpted NBA body. If you gave an NBA general manager a magical marker and told them to draw a small forward, the picture would look very similar to Glenn Robinson III. The skill set would be fairly on point as well. The kid can play on the wing by using his athleticism, or he can turn into a power forward on the low block. 

Mitch McGary has drawn some favorable comparisons to a player who had a decent college basketball career. When you see McGary running around the court like a mad man, it's hard not to see the type of motor that made Tyler Hansbrough one of the greatest college players ever. What makes McGary a terrifying player is that he is taller, stronger, and faster than Hansbrough ever was.   

Add these three with returning stars Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, and it is clear that Michigan is not to be taken lightly. This Wolverines outfit has already taken down the likes of Pitt, K-State, Arkansas, and North Carolina State on it's way to a comfortable perch in the top three of both polls. They are living up to the hype, and are a legit Final Four contender. In addition to this season's success, if Beilein can continue to recruit at a high level (he already has a commit from next year's #5 point guard and #5 small forward in the country) the Wolverines could do something that not even the Fab Five could do -- win a national championship.