A long Labor Day weekend was the perfect time to kick off the 2010 college football season.  In my opinion, college football is the best thing going in the sports world.  As good as the NFL is, college football games have energy and enthusiasm far superior to its professional counterpart.  Here are my rambling thoughts on the first week of action.

1.  The Arkansas Connection

Razorback fans were happy with an opening win even if it was against an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) opponent.  But what really thrilled the Hog faithful was watching another OVC, Jacksonville State team knock off Ole Miss in Oxford.  Former Razorback coach, Houston Nutt led his SEC team to an embarrassing loss.  That made current Razorback fans deliriously happy.  In a twist of irony, the Jacksonville State coach is also a former Razorback head coach.  Jack Crowe lost that job when he led the Razorbacks to defeat in an opening season game against The Citadel years ago.

2.  Another Painful Beginning

Small school, North Dakota State managed to score 6 points against the Kansas Jayhawks.  Usually that doesn’t impress, but on this day that was twice as many points as Kansas scored.  Not a great start for the new coach at Kansas, Turner Gill.  I hope Gill and Kansas get things turned around.  I have a small connection to Gill.  We both played quarterback at the same Texas high school.  I did not know him.  He was younger and I was off to play the rest of my games in the state of Oklahoma.

3.  Another Connection Loses His Job

In the wake of umpteen suspended players at North Carolina, John Blake resigned from his coaching job for the Tar Heels.  Blake played nose tackle for Sands Springs (OK) High School when I was the quarterback for the rival Sapulpa Chieftains.  The hardest hit I ever took was delivered by Blake.  Sadly, he sacked me on the play and caused me to fumble the ball away.  I don’t think I’ve ever forgiven him for that.

4.  The Big East Conference played like the basketball conference they are.

I have enjoyed watching the Big East make strides in football over the past few years.  But if opening week is any indication, they are going to remain a second tier conference.  Pitt began the season ranked in the polls.  They lost their first game.  UConn began just outside of the Top 25.  They lost.  Louisville opened in a newly expanded stadium.  They lost to their in state rival.  Cincinnati had a great season last year.  They lost on the west coast.

Only Syracuse provided a conference win against an FBS opponent.  That opponent?  The Akron Zips.  Not much to write home about.

5.  Player of the Week (POW)

The first Frank Gantz POW goes to Denard Robinson, quarterback for Michigan.  Playing in front of the largest college football crowd in history, Robinson was unstoppable against UConn.  He was 19 for 22 passing for 186 yards and a QB rating of 172.39.  He also ran the ball for 197 yards.

It is almost time to kickoff the 2010 college football season.  The Oklahoma Sooners have a storied football program that features 7 National Championships and 5 Heisman Trophy winners atop the numerous other awards garnered by the teams and players.  Several players will try to add to the trophy case.  These are the players that are on the watch lists for the various individual awards.

Lombardi Award (for nation’s top lineman or linebacker)

Jeremy Beal

Travis Lewis

Doak Walker Award (for nation’s top running back)

DeMarco Murray

Dick Butkus Award (for nation’s top linebacker)

Travis Lewis

Paul Hornung Award (for nation’s most versatile player – this is the first year for this award)

Ryan Broyles

Biletnikoff Award (for nation’s top receiver)

Ryan Broyles

Ted Hendricks Award (for nation’s top defensive end)

Jeremy Beal

Manning Award (for nation’s top quarterback)

Landry Jones

Jim Thorpe Award (for nation’s top defensive back)

Quinton Carter

Davey O’Brien Award (for nation’s top quarterback)

Landry Jones

Bronko Nagurski Award (for nation’s top defensive player)

Jeremy Beal

Travis Lewis

Outland Trophy (for nation’s top interior lineman)

Cory Brandon

Ben Habern

Adrian Taylor

Maxwell Award (for nation’s top football player)

Ryan Broyles

Landry Jones

DeMarco Murray

The Oklahoma Sooners have a storied football legacy.  With that in mind, I will be counting down the players I consider to be the top 10 of all time.  Today I am listing players up for consideration.  I would appreciate your input on who should be on the list.  Leave a comment on who you think should be on that list.

I have one glaring omission from the list – the wishbone quarterbacks.  Clearly they were key men on some great Sooner teams.  However, none of them made any All-American teams.  If you think we should consider one for inclusion on the top 10 list, please leave that quarterback’s name in the comment section.

Here is the breakdown by position of the 27 players to be considered.  I have chosen to use national award winners, multi-year unanimous All-American picks, etc.

QB – Sam Bradford, Jason White, Josh Heupel

RB – Billy Vessels, Tommy McDonald, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Adrian Peterson, Greg Pruitt, Joe Washington

OL – Kurt Burris, Jerry Tubbs, Jamaal Brown, Greg Roberts, J.D. Roberts, Jim Weathrall

TE – Keith Jackson

DL – Lee Roy Selmon, Tony Casillas, Tommie Harris

LB – Rod Shoate, Brian Bosworth, Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman

DB – Ricky Dixon, Derrick Strait, Roy Williams

Agree?  Disagree?

As a lifelong Oklahoma Sooner fan, I was ecstatic while watching the Crimson and Cream Show at the beginning of the draft last night.  When tight end, Jermaine Gresham was drafted 21st by the Cincinnati Bengals, the tally for the Sooners stood at 4.  That is 4 of the top 21 picks in the draft played for the Sooners.  Even more amazingly, 3 of the first 4 picks hailed from Norman.

Recap of OU picks:

#1 – Sam Bradford (QB) – St. Louis Rams

#3 – Gerald McCoy (DL) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

#4 – Trent William (OL) – Washington Redskins

#21 – Jermaine Gresham (TE) – Cincinnati Bengals

* Sam Bradford became the 18th quarterback selected as the NFL’s overall #1 pick in the draft.  See info and list of the previous 17 here.

*  Sam Bradford became the 3rd Oklahoma Sooner to be the NFL’s overall #1 pick.  He joins Lee Roy Selmon (1976 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Billy Sims (1980 by the Detroit Lions).

*  This was the 1st time a school has produced 3 of the top 4 picks in the draft.

*  Schools with Multiple Picks in the 1st Round

1. Oklahoma – 4
2. Florida – 3
3. Tennesee – 2
4. Oklahoma State – 2
5. Alabama – 2
6. Cal – 2
7. Rutgers – 2
8. Georgia Tech – 2

Other Thoughts on the 1st Round:

1.  Good for the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow.  Mel Kuiper nearly blew a gasket in his opposition to Tebow in the NFL.  Jon Gruden loved the pick.  I’m with Gruden on this one.

2.  NFL folks don’t buy the press hype when it comes to Notre Dame quarterbacks.  Jimmy Clausen still awaits a phone call even though Mel Kuiper had him rated above Bradford and Tebow.  Do you remember the sweat drops pouring off of Brady Quinn 3 years ago when he slid to #22 in the draft?

3.  Does Clausen’s slide indicate what NFL folks really think about the coaching of Charlie Weis?

4.  ESPN analysts

Jon Gruden’s stock continues to rise on being a guy who really is a whiz when it comes to understanding football.

Kuiper looked childish in his relentless criticism of Tim Tebow.  Perhaps he was peeved that his player analysis was repeatedly at odds with the NFL talent people.

Chris Berman is great to have leading the panel.

I admire Tom Jackson and his comments except when it comes to his beloved Broncos.  Then his emotions take over.

Steve Young?  He is fine when he is talking about an actual game.  When it comes to player evaluation and trying to mind-read teams, the lefty appears out in left field.  I think I even saw the other panelists roll their eyes a few times over his comments.

Sam Bradford

During the NFL Scouting Combine, players take a 50 question timed test called Wonderlic or Wunderlich (I’ve seen both spellings).  The scores are sent to NFL teams.  A writer for the Palm Beach Post listed the scores of the top 4 quarterback prospects in this years draft:

Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) – 36

Colt McCoy (Texas) – 25

Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame) – 23

Tim Tebow (Florida) – 22

So does this mean that Bradford is the smartest quarterback in this year’s draft class?  We’ll see.  Anybody who has ever taken standardized tests wonders about the process.  Yet they seem to give us some insights into how people stack up.  If nothing else, it provides Oklahoma fans with something else to boast.

Last year Mark Sanchez (USC) had a great year with the Jets.  He scored a 28.  The best score recorded was by Ryan Fitzpatrick of Harvard – makes sense – with a 49.  Vince Young (Texas) plays for the Tennessee Titans.  He represents the low end with a 6 on his first try.  He retook the test and scored a 15.

The 2009 football season did not turn out the way the Oklahoma Sooners had planned. The losses of Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham began the season on a sour note. In the preseason, players were up for 21 national awards. None of those individual awards panned out, but the Sooners are still represented on All-American teams.

Gerald McCoy, Defensive Tackle (Jr)

1st Team All-American: Sporting News, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America

2nd Team All-American: Associated Press

Trent Williams, Offensive Line (Sr)

1st Team All-American: Associated Press, Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association

2nd Team All-American: Sporting News

Jeremy Beal, Defensive End (Jr)

3rd Team All-American: Associated Press

Tress Way, Punter (Fr)

3rd Team All-American: Sporting News

]]> http://www.frankgantz.com/410/oklahoma-sooners-2009-post-season-honors/feed/ 1 http://www.frankgantz.com/370/top-ten-college-football-quarterbacks/ http://www.frankgantz.com/370/top-ten-college-football-quarterbacks/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:39:45 +0000 Frank Gantz http://www.frankgantz.com/?p=370

With only a few games remaining in the regular season of college football, here is my updated top 10 quarterbacks.

1.  Tim Tebow, Florida Gators

I don’t think any other college football player has reached the icon status for a program or a state like Tebow has for Florida.

• Freshman Year – National Championship
• Sophomore Year – Heisman Trophy
• Junior Year – National Championship
• Senior Year – Potential National Championship and Heisman Trophy

2.  Colt McCoy, Texas Longhorns

3.  Kellen Moore, Boise State Broncos

4.  Case Keenum, Houston Cougars

5.  Ryan Mallett, Arkansas Razorbacks

6.  Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

7.  Max Hall, BYU Cougars

8.  Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M Aggies

9.  Sean Canfield, Oregon State Beavers

10.  Andy Dalton, TCU Horned Frogs

Agree or disagree?  Leave your comments.  I would be interested in seeing who you might add to this list.

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On Saturday the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will renew the greatest rivalry in college football.  The game will again be played at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas.  This is the site of the Texas State Fair.

The Gantz family will be in full participation mode.  At the game on the 40 yard line will be my oldest son, Cameron and my father, Eugene.  I am excited that the two will get to experience this event together.  Texas enters the game as the favorite since Oklahoma enters with 2 losses this season.

Cameron’s record of attending Oklahoma events has not been good lately.  Last year he attended the Oklahoma-Texas basketball game in Austin.  Texas won.  In January he attended (with me) the BCS National Championship Game in Miami.  Florida won.  In September he (and a host of family members) attended the Oklahoma-BYU game in the new Jerry Dome in Arlington.  BYU won.  So I really hope he gets to experience a win.

My other children (Leah, Carlton and Bethany), their families and I will be watching the game at Carlton’s house.  We will be celebrating as if we will be – State Fair style.  We will be eating turkey legs, corn dogs and other fair food.  I don’t think we will be doing deep fried Snickers or Oreos however.

Here are couple of tidbits about the game this year.

In 2008 Texas headed into RRR week with a 38-14 victory over Colorado.  Last week Texas defeated Colorado 38-14.

In 2008 Oklahoma QB, Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy.  Texas QB, Colt McCoy was the runnerup.