A requiem for a season:
As other, more mathematically-inclined bloggers have pointed out, the mythical national championship game was an essentially appropriate ending to this college football season: predictable before, cruel and boring throughout, and unsatisfying after. McCoy's injury provides the ultimate example, of course, of the absurd and unfair nature of the Football Fates, the one eye they pass between them falling on Colt McCoy at the worst possible time. McCoy's presence wouldn't have necessarily saved Texas in that game, but the fact that he never even got the chance is as fitting a symbol for this season as I can think of.
This certainly isn't meant to take anything away from Alabama's team, which would in any year be one of the most dominant in the country. At its worst, the defense was merely stifling. At its best, it mangled any quarterback, enveloped any receiver, demolished any halfback, and humiliated any offensive line that it came across. Despite the loss of Dont'a Hightower, Bama realized its potential in a way that few other teams managed to this year, and that's why they hoisted the crystal ball. It's worth noting that Alabama did all of this not with a sneer, but with consummate professionalism; even so, Alabama was equally hard to like as it was to hate. The team was simply a force of nature, and there was no use fighting that sinking feeling when it asked your team the most they ever lost on a coin toss.
What, then, were the disappointments? How about the college football-viewing public only recognizing a true defensive phenomenon in the penultimate game of his career? How about Sam Bradford's injury robbing college football of one of its greatest villains' (Oklahoma) chance of competing? How about Robert Griffin's torn ACL? How about the tragedy of the speed backs: Jahvid Best's injury depriving us of a true showman; Noel Devine never realizing his potential; and CJ Spiller, the Dwyane Wade of college football, being failed time and again by his teammates. How about Julio Jones' regression, A.J. Green's injuries, and Dez Bryant's suspension? How about Florida failing to achieve the promises of its insane talent and ending up an also-ran instead of one of the greatest college football teams ever? How about Ole Miss spectacularly living up to the worst-kept secret of the preseason, which was that they weren't actually very good at all?
How about the failure of the outsiders? Miami, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Stanford, and Iowa, despite intermittent teases, couldn't change the chalky status quo in college football. It certainly isn't as disappointing as 2007, when West Virginia, South Florida, and Oregon all failed to shock the world and move us away from a nucleus of USCs, Ohio States, and Floridas, but it leaves the whole viewing community wanting. Let's not even start on the mid-majors.
2009 didn't offer us anything we couldn't have found in the last five years. CJ Spiller put his name into the conversation for RB of the decade, but didn't Shonn Greene last year and Darren McFadden the year before offer us similar team-carrying bonanzas? Ndamukong Suh had an incredible season, but I could point you to Eric Berry last year or Glenn Dorsey the year before. Alabama-Tennessee was a great game, but not compared to Iowa-Penn St. last year or Florida-LSU the year before. What QB burned as brightly as Tebow in 2007 or Young in 2005? Maybe it's not fair to expect this out of the game, but outside of LSU I watch college football for spectacle, and can't really say I got it.
Then what did we learn? The SEC, despite having its fourth champion in as many years (and from a third university, no less), has been on a gradual (and inevitable) conference-wide decline from the extraordinary competitiveness of 2007, but the signs for the future look rosy enough. Based on an excellent bowl performance, the Big Televen seems to be rising from the ashes of its dismal national reputation, and will as always be riding the coattails of its favorite son Ohio State and feted man-child Terrelle Pryor. The ACC is where it's always been because of Miami, Va. Tech, Georgia Tech's shortcomings, and things look as bad as ever for the Big East. The Big 12 will suffer from a talent drain like the Pac-10 did last year, while the Pac-10 looks more and more like ACC West.
The theme of the season has been failure and disappointment, and that's not just coming from an LSU fan. Traditional powers remain in decline, the ruling class dwindles, and this year's seniors and juniors, whose ranks included some of the very best to play the game, never gave us the clash of the titans we wanted and expected. Instead, an undeniably effective--and undeniably boring, to non-fans--team stands supreme, the result of excellent defense; ladies and gentlemen, the San Antonio Spurs!
Here's to next season, everyone. I remain, as always, cautiously optimistic.
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McCoy's injury- I don't want to say questionable, but there may be something fishy. We'll find out details later i'm sure, but the fact he didn't try to re-enter the game and had a goofy explaination afterwards makes everyone think he didn't wanna risk injury/higher potential draft status. It also helps the NCAAF/NFL debate: In the NCAAF biggest game, a player chose a chance to play in the NFL.
ReplyDeleteI would say Ndamukong Suh was a better DT in his last year than Dorsey was, but maybe that was due to Dorsey having a better overall defense to support him than Ndamukong Suh. Not that Nebraska's defense is bad, but LSU's that year was excellent. Everything else was spot on in my opinion. 2011 NC Ohio State vs. Alabama? Go Bucks!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I'd weigh in on the issue, but don't really have the facts to do so. I can only say that from the persona Colt McCoy has presented (which may be very accurately calibrated to the true Colt McCoy), ditching a game for his pro future is unlikely at best. Moreover, it doesn't make sense; his draft status is already (rightfully) in question, and skipping out on the biggest game of his career (thus removing the veneer of leadership) wouldn't help things.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to compare Suh and Dorsey, largely due to the fact that Dorsey alternated more frequently between holding open blitz lanes and outright rushing than Suh, who generally went full-speed at all times. The stats are certainly in Suh's favor, but I'd like to stress that the tradition of great LSU defensive linemen is less the result of mutant talent in the three-deep than it is singular talents allowing lesser players to flourish.
Chad Lavalais' sheer unstoppability made everyone around him better, including Marcus Spears, who soon took on the mantle himself. Glenn Dorsey had a lot of his stats vultured by Tyson Jackson and Ricky Jean-Francois, neither of whom proved to be the same player without Dorsey eating blocks next to them. I won't mention the lingering effects of the chop block, either, but suffice it to say that Suh played healthy and Dorsey didn't.
Regardless, they were both great players who were rightly heralded in the media. Unlike Dorsey, however, Suh deserved the Heisman, another disappointment from this season.