College Bowl Time

What is better than college bowl time? A game every night for a month, and often some pretty good games. Here are some of my random musings heading into the Rose Bowl tonight.

-- Listening to announcers over-hype games and players is as frequent as lights on houses in December. Brent Musberger calling the Ohio State QB "the best in the country" was laughable. Troy Smith is nails, but not the best in the country.

-- It pains me that kickers get carried off the field. Fact is that they are like the cashiers in an eatery. Chefs and waiters do the work, and these clowns take in the money. Anytime a kicker misses, the rest of the team should be allowed to kick the holy hell out of him.

-- Did you hear that Tom Zibikowski was a Golden Gloves boxer?

-- That UCLA victory was vital. If they blew that lead against Northwestern, you could have called their rebuilding project virtually over. Now they have a bowl win, a solid record and great recruits starting to pour in. I am a Karl Dorrell fan and like UCLA's future. They cannot catch USC anytime soon, and he seems to know that. He is taking care of UCLA first, then will turn his sights on dealing with the advantage USC currently has over the Bruins.

-- I like ND's future. They play hard and do not quit. The real thing I took away from the Fiesta Bowl is that OSU is the fastest team in the nation. They may have given SC the best game of anyone, but I am hoping Texas can still do the job. Texas must be good- and fast- to beat Ohio State.

-- I love Joe Paterno, but was he even watching that game. He should be commended on a spectacular season, but it's time to retire and keep his legacy intact. Actually, it was time a few years ago.

-- Is the Holiday Bowl the Holiday Bowl if the winning team only scores 17 points?

-- No matter what the offense, and what the play calling, the teams that can run the ball win the game. I am not saying the teams that run the ball the most, but the teams that CAN run the ball win. The threat of running is what allows everything else to work, particularly in the new spread option sets. The other thing is a QB that is a running threat. Chris Leak is a great QB, but Troy Smith is a threat and runs the offense better right now.

-- Hard to believe the success Barry Alvarez had at UW. I was in Wisconsin for the end of the Don Morton era, and things were bleak. What Alvarez has done there is nothing short of amazing. Retired AD Pat Richter should also be credited for making the right hire at a time with no real margin for error.

-- Reggie Bush is the most exciting player I have ever seen.

-- Go Texas. I hate SC.