Fisch Gone: what does it mean?

By now you've heard that Jedd Fisch is gone.    As they say, Jedd, on your way out, don't let the door hit'cha where the good Lord split'cha.

I'm not going to go back over how inept Fisch's offense was, how poorly they ranked in every offensive statistical category, how schizophrenic the play calling was, or how it never appeared that there was any kind of offensive game plan or adjustments.  Really, I'm not going to go back over those things. 

When it comes to Fisch leaving, in the words of Ron Burgundy, "I'm not even mad."

But there's a bigger issue here, and it's not exactly the elephant in the room.  Pre-dating even Tim Brewster, this football program has had a revolving door of coordinators for a decade now.  The question is, does this have more to do with the head coaches, or the program in general. 

Look, Tim Brewster is right, this is a business, and everybody wants to be a head coach, so they are going to take the job that is going to be the best means to that end.  But I have a hard time believing that if Jedd Fisch thought he had the opportunity to be a successful offensive coordinator at Minnesota that he would have left to be a QB coach in the NFL. 

Now, maybe we don't think Fisch's opinion of the Minnesota program (which clearly can't be too high) matters much here.  And maybe Fisch just wanted to be in the NFL all along and taking the Minnesota job was a hiatus for him.  And maybe getting the opportunity to work with someone like Pete Carroll was just too tempting to Fisch.  I don't know.  But I still have to believe that if Fisch saw the offense turning around next year he would have been on the sideline at The Bank this year. 

Which is why I think this has more to do with Minnesota as a program, or maybe more accurately, the perception of Minnesota as a program.  You see, while Tim Brewster is trying to change the culture here at Minnesota, and in a lot of ways he is doing the right things toward that end, the true litmus test is on the field, and the results on the field still feel an awful lot like they did in the Mason years.  This is why, when it comes to coordinators, he can't get past the national perception that a program like Minnesota cannot be successful in the long term.

So how is Tim Brewster going to get past this perception and keep some coordinators around for more than 2 years?  You guessed it.  Win, and win now. 

Gone Fisching

It's officially official- Jedd Fisch is leaving Minnesota to become the quarterbacks coach of the Seattle Seahawks. His departure means Brewster will have to hire his third offensive coordinator in four seasons, and that senior QB Adam Weber will be playing for his fourth OC in five seasons. Yikes. As hard as I've been on Weber, that is not a recipe for success for a QB, no matter how good or bad they are.

As I said yesterday, this creates quite the problem for head coach Tim Brewster. Fisch's system was trying to fit square pegs into round holes- his two best quarterbacks, Weber and MarQueis Gray, both have strengths that do not fit a classic pro-style offense. Anyone who watched Minnesota in 2009 saw this was obvious, yet Brewster has remained steadfast that he wants the new OC to maintain continuity by keeping Fisch's playbook, right down to the terminology. AS GN says over at The Daily Gopher (and props to those guys for getting pub in Rittenberg's blog. They're definitely the hardest working bloggers in all of Gopherland), maintaining continuity is pretty much impossible at this point, but in hopes of saving his job, Brewster says he's sticking to the plan.

I've said this before and will say it again: Weber's run a spread system before. Gray ran it in high school. Most of your linemen have run the spread too. Yes, it'd be a departure from Fisch's system- BUT IT WOULD FIT YOUR CURRENT PERSONEL, ESPECIALLY AT QUARTERBACK!!!!!!

While I would love to believe, even for the briefest of moments, that Brewster realizes this and just gets the best man for the job, I can almost guarantee you it won't happen. Brewter is desparately coaching for his job, and he clearly seems to think getting a Fisch clone is the best way to keep it. It's not, and for all the anti-Brewster people out there, this could be the final nail in his coffin. But then again, maybe whomever he brings can still make something happen despite being hamstrung by Brewster's demands.

The Strib has a list of possible replacements from outside the program, but the guy who makes the most sense is current o-line coach and running game coordinator Tim Davis. Yes, he's never called plays, but if you want continuity, Davis will know the players, and Fisch's system, better than anyone Brewster could bring in. Let's just hope Davis emphasizes more of the packages and plays that play to the strengths of Weber and Gray instead of trying to force them to be pocket passers.

Heck, maybe Brewster will be right, and all these kids needed was another offseason to keep learning the same offense and same plays. Maybe just another year of experience is all they need. While I'm not Brewster's biggest supporter, I'm going to watch this team regardless of who is coaching and what offense they're running. So here's hoping the new OC can turn our group of offensive players into a productive unit, because I'm not sure I can handle another year of offensive ineptitude like we had to endure in 2009.

Maturi says Fisch is Going to Seattle

Still no official word from the Seahawks or Jedd Fisch, but in a Strib story published late last night, Gophers AD Joel Maturi says Fisch has already flown the coop:

"I believe he's gone," Maturi said. "I believe it will be official soon, that he will no longer be our offensive coordinator."

Asked if he's talked to head coach Tim Brewster about finding a replacement, Maturi had this to say:

"We have not chatted specifically about it, about names," Maturi said. "He's out recruiting hard right now. My comment to him was, 'Take a deep breath, do the right thing for the football team and for him. There is no need to hurry.'"

Um, Joel? I would disagree with your last sentence. There IS a need to hurry and get someone else in here ASAP to at least maintain the illusion of continuity. The Daily Gopher is saying that two more recruits, CB Allen Veazie and OT Josh Allen, are backing off their commitments, and WR Chris Hawkins is taking a visit to TCU. The last Gopher recruit to do that, Texas four star RB Josh Huff, ended up committing to the Horned Frogs.

We need a new OC in here to stop anymore commits from jumping ship. This is not an ideal situation, and losing his OC can't be blamed on Brewster. He's out there recruiting as hard as he can right now and trying to add to the recruits he has, and also keep the ones he's got. Fisch leaving is out of his control, but the fact Fisch is leaving is telling of just how dire the situation is in Dinkytown right now.

Think about it: Fisch is going to leave his post as an offensive coordinator at a Big Ten school to take a quarterbacks coach job in the NFL for comparable, or perhaps even less, pay. Anyway you slice it, that's not a lateral move, that's a step down. Why take a step down unless you're worried about your job security? Is Fisch concerned that his offense isn't going to get any better in 2010 and he'll be out on his can looking for work at this time next year?

It's the only rational explanation I can think of for wanting to take a demotion. Perhaps the recruits are seeing it too, which is why they're also leaving. Whether Maturi gets Brewster his extension or not, it's clear the word is out that Brewster's days seem to be numbered, and that even though Brew is back for 2010, he won't be around for 2011. As much talent as I believe is on the roster, you have to believe that if Brewster puts together another six win campaign and a crappy bowl trip, it's not going to be enough for him to keep his job. So if at least seven wins is the bar, I'm sorry, but I just don't see seven wins on the 2010 schedule. I just don't. They should win three of four non-conference games, but there are no gimmes in the Big Ten this year. Everybody looks like they should be as good or better than they were in 2009 (with the possible exception of Penn State, who should finish in the top four in the conference again, but won't be in the hunt for a BCS game), which means you can't look at the games against Northwestern, Purdue, and Illinois and say those are automatic wins. They're certainly not un-winnable, but they're not going to be easy. Neither will Michigan State or USC. And need I remind you that Brewster is o-fer against the remaining teams of Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, and Penn State.

If ever there was a year for Brewster to break his Trophy Game drought, or just to pull an upset and beat a team they're not supposed to, 2010 will be it, because that's what it's going to take for him to keep his job.

This then raises the question of who Brewster can get to replace Fisch? You can cross off any of the big-name offensive coordinators at other schools, and any prime-time position coaches who have aspirations of being a head coach for two reasons: One is that nobody who has good potential and are in a good position are going to leave their current job to move to Minneapolis in what looks like a one-and-done situation. Somebody in the Strib comments section mentioned Major Applewhite as a possibility, but dream candidates like that aren't coming.

They're not coming because Brewster could very likely be in his last year as head coach, AND because of his assertion that he wants whomever the new coordinator is to keep the status quo and keep Fisch's offense intact. So you're coming to a one-and-done situation AND you have to keep the former guy's offense and terminology?!? Admit it, you'd have to be pretty desparate to take that job. It's why I think Brewster will end up promoting O-line coach Tim Davis. He's already here, he's been around the offense, and he'll certainly take the job. If Fisch took a step down from the Gophers to the Seahawks, maybe the new guy will leave a better situation for this one. It's about our only hope right now.

A Way, WAY Too Early 2010 Big Ten Preview

As we wait for Jed Fisch's departure to become officially official, and now that the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft has passed, we might as well take a gander at how the Big Ten will look for the 2010 season. After the way the conference finished up the bowl season, I can tell you the Big Ten looks strong- very strong. There's at least one legit national title contender that should start the season ranked in the national preseason top five- and maybe even top three- two more in the top ten, a fourth in the top 12-15, and perhaps even a fifth that lands somewhere in the top 25.

2010 really could be the Season of the Big Ten, and should improve upon the seven teams we sent bowling in 2009. The league should only be better at the top, but much deeper, as 10 of the 11 teams have legit hopes of going to a bowl game. We'll go in reverse order of how I see them finishing. This, of course, is not only subject to change, but WILL change once recruiting is finalized next month, we get a look at spring ball, and the Gophers have players that either don't qualify academically or get arrested. Oh for the days when we used to be able to make those jokes about Iowa...those days, by the way, were this time last year.

(By the way, check out this fantastic schedule chart from BigTen.org I will be looking at that rougly 1,000 times between now and the end of next season)

11. Indiana Hoosiers (2009 record: 4-8 Big Ten: 1-7)Returning: 8 starters on offense, 4 on defense
SCHEDULE:
Non-Conference: Towson, C. Michigan, and two more cupcakes yet to be named
Who They Miss in the Big Ten: Michigan St and Minnesota
Big Ten roadies: Ohio St, Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue. And they play a "home" game against Penn St. in DC.
Reason(s) for Hope:
The Hoosiers return just about everybody from a productive offense, including their top running back and a really good receiving tandem of Tandon Doss and Demarlo Belcher.
***UPDATE***As John M so astutely pointed out, Indiana QB Ben Chappell is not gone. Not at all. In fact, he's nly a junior, he'll be back for his senior season in 2010. OK suddenly things are looking better and better for IU.
Reason(s) for Concern:
Pretty much all of their defensive starters who were sorta kinda good from a defense that was definitely not. Also, this is Indiana, where we never expect them to do much.
Outlook:
Bill Lynch will be coaching for his job, and if he gets the Hoosiers to a bowl, he should not only keep it, but be the Big Ten coach of the year. IU SHOULD be able to win their four non-con's considering they're all crap, but as usual they'll find a way to get blown out by Virigina or someone like them.
After John's reminder that Chappell returns, the Hoosiers look a lot more intriguing. If they can find a way to stop people, and just figure out how to finish games- remember they had leads on Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Iowa last year before losing them all- IU could make some noise in 2010.

10. Illinois Fightin' Illini (2009 record: 3-9 Big Ten: 2-6)
Returning: 5 on offense, 4 on Defense
SCHEDULE:
Non-con: Mizzou, N. Illinois, S.Ill, @ Fresno St
B10 Miss: Iowa AND Wisconsin. Seriously.
Roadies: Penn St, Michigan St, Michigan

Reason(s) for Hope:
Juice Williams is gone. Never thought I'd say that as a positive, but the offense seemed to run just as well or better without the erractic but talented Juice. The Illini return two solid QB options, and The Zooker went out and got some coordinators who will play to their strengths as passers instead of the read option spread. The Illini, who had a top 30 rushing offense, should continue to move the ball well on the ground, as they return all of their tailbacks. The Zooker is coaching for his job, and unlike last year, there's zero expectations for the Illini, so they could be dangerous flying under the radar.
Reason(s) for Concern:
Well The Zooker is still coaching. They have no real proven receivers returning, and seven starters leave a defense that had a lot of trouble stopping anybody.
Outlook:
The schedule isn't exactly easy, as Missouri and Fresno St are quality non-con opponents and traveling to Happy Valley, East Lansing, and Ann Arbor are never fun, but considering the schedule gods somehow have them skipping the Hawks and Bucky Badger- two preseason top 10 teams!!!!- AND have somehow have five Big Ten home game s?!?! The Zooker can't ask for anything more to keep his job. The favorable schedule + a roster stocked with talent + zero expectations outside of Champaign mean the Illini could be a dangerous team in 2010.

9. Minnesota Golden Gophers (2009 record: 6-7 Big Ten: 3-5)
Returning: 9 on offense, 2 on defense
SCHEDULE:
Non-con: Middle Tennessee, USD, USC, N. Illinois
Big-Ten Miss: Indiana and Michigan
Roadies: Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan St, Illinois

Reason(s) for Hope:
There's a lot of returning experience at quarterback and receiver, and hopefully the new OC can get to them and use them better than Fisch did. A trio of talented freshmen running backs should push the incumbents, and let's hope another offseason, and more recruits, make the o-line functional and useful. Certainly the running game couldn't get any worse...right? Defensively, there's a lot of young talent returning.
Reason(s) for Concern:
Nine of eleven starters return for an offense that was awful. Was it the coordinator or the players? We'll find out soon enough. The running game couldn't get any worse- except we thought that each of the last two seasons and look what happened. Yep, it got worse. As mentioned, there's talent and speed returning defensively, but so much of it is inexperienced. Sam Maresh's progression at middle linebacker will be a major key. So will keeping him and everyone else on the team out of handcuffs.
Outlook:
You could make a strong case for ranking Minnesota higher than this, but an equally strong case for dropping them lower, so I'll start them here at ninth. This is it for Tim Brewster, and he can't use the schedule as an excuse. He should win three of four Non-con's, and three of four Big Ten roadies are winnable. The home slate? Holy Christmas, it's brutal, but at least it's at home: USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa. Yikes. But if you want to be a consisten winner, you have to win some of those. Bettering the six regular season wins from last year looks really difficult, as does just equaling that total.

8. Michigan Wolverines (2009 record: 1-7 Big Ten: 5-7)
Returning: 7 on offense, 8 on defense
SCHEDULE:
Non-Con: UConn, @ND, UMass, Bowling Green
B10 Miss: Minnesota, Northwestern
Roadies: Indiana, Penn St, Purdue, Ohio St

Reason(s) for Hope:
Seven starters back on offense, including soph QB's Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson. Uber-frosh Devin Gardner couldn't enroll early, which could be a blessing in disguise. It'll give him a redshirt and put him two full seasons behind the two sophs, making him more than ready to take over in a few years. Forcier handled things incredibly well for a true freshman, and should be improved in his second season running the offense. A ton of young talent back on offense, and most everybody back on defense.

***UPDATE***
Rittenberg blogged late yesterday afternoon that Gardner has gotten into school early after all. He was able to enroll a week and a half after the semester started, and will be eligible for spring practice. The Wolverines QB battle just got a whole lot more interesting. I'd still chalk that up as positive, as whoever wins that battle will have to be very, very good.

Reason(s) for Concern:
An awful defense lost it's by far its two best important players when juniors Brandon Graham (DE) and Donovan Warren (CB) left early for the draft. They leave a lot of experience behind, but seemingly very little talent. When do you ever think you'd hear that said about a Michigan defense? The schedule also does them no favors with roadies to Notre Dame, Penn State, and Ohio State- and Purdue won't be a picnic this year either.
Outlook:So what's the magic number for RichRod to keep his job? Eight wins? Nine? Certainly no less than that. He's always had a dynamic offense everywhere else he's been and he looks loaded with young talent, especially at the skill positions, so an explosion in points and production can be expected. But can the Wolverines stop anybody? They'll be a better team and WILL be bowl eligible, but I have a hard time finding eight wins on this schedule.

7. Northwestern Wildcats (2009 record: 8-5 Big Ten: 5-3)
Returning: 7 on offense, 6 on defense
SCHEDULE:
Non-con: @ Vandy, Ill. St, @ Rice, C. Michigan
B10 miss: Michigan and Ohio State
Roadies: Minnesota, Indiana, Penn St, Illinois

Reason(s) for Hope:
Pat Fitzgerald is the most underrated coach in the conference and maybe the country. With three straight seasons with at least six wins, even a pessimist like me has to start believing in Fitz and what this program can do. Four of five o-linemen starters return, which always helps, and while they lose some defensive talent, because of so many injuries last season on that side of the ball, they have guys coming back with starting experience. Oh, and their schedule is cup-cake city as usual.
Reason(s) for Concern:
The loss of QB Mike Kafka cannot be understated. A run-first guy morphed into one of the conference's most dangerous passing threats. Can Fitz work miracles two years in a row with Dan Persa taking over? They also lose their two best receivers, and all-conference end Corey Wooten.
Outlook:
If Kafka was coming back, they'd be pushing for a top five conference finish again, but without him, I have to knock the Wildcats down a few spots. The schedule almost guarantees them six wins, but anything beyond that will be tough considering the depth of the Big Ten. Then again, I doubted them last year and look what happened.

6. Michigan State Spartans (2009 record: 6-7 Big Ten: 4-4)
Returning: 7 on offense, 8 on defense
Schedule:
Non-con: W.Mich, FlaAtl, Notre Dame, N.Colorado
B10 miss: Indiana, Penn St.
Roadies: Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa, Penn State

Reason(s) for Hope:
15 starters return, including Big Ten DPOY LB Greg Jones, who should win that award again in 2010. They also return their top 2 QB's and RB's, and including Jones get six of their starting front seven back from an excellent run defense.
Reason(s) for Concern:
Who is going to catch the ball, and who is going to stop the other team from catching it? Senior wideout Blair White went from walk-on to 1st-team Big Ten, and outside of Eric Decker, no receiver will be missed more by his team. The defensive secondary was torched on a regular basis, and Mark Dantonio's going to need to work some miracles back there if the Spartans have any hope of a top four finish. The Big Ten schedule also isn't kind to Sparty, as they miss Indiana (the one gimme win) and have four very, very tough roadies.
Outlook:
Dantonio's going to have to do his best coaching job yet to take another step forward in 2010. They were the preseason darlings of 2009 as the media predicted them to finish third, but they fell well short of that. This year, somewhere between 5-7 looks about right considering what they have to replace and what the schedule holds. Maybe replacing White won't be so difficult, and getting Jones back was a coup, but too bad he can't play safety and corner.

Part II tomorrow. Or maybe Wednesday, depending upon when the Fisch departure becomes official.

Will Wonders Never Cease?

Like mana from heaven the boys at The Daily Gopher posted last night that according to Seattle Seahawks beatwriter Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times, the chances of Gopher "offensive" coordinator Jed Fisch becoming the Seahawks QB Coach has gone from probable to likely. How is this possible? How can it be that the man responsible for Minnesota having an offense ranked 109th in total offense, 100th in scoring offense, and 100th in 3rd Down Conversion Percentage get a job in the NFL? How is it possible that the man responsible for Minnesota's quarterbacks being ranked 99th in passing efficiency, 97th in interceptions thrown, and 75th in passing offense possibly be selected as an NFL team's quarterbacks' coach?!?

I don't know and I don't care: I just hope it happens. I hope Pete Carroll continues to drink whatever Jed Fisch Kool-aid he's been drinking long enough to get him the hell out of Minnesota. It'd be nice if he could find a spot for Tim Brewster on his staff too so we could bring in a head coach who talks less and wins more (Kevin Sumlin anyone? Please? Pretty please?), but I'll settle for a new offensive coordinator. Yes, our third in as many seasons. Yes, the third new offense incumbent starter Adam Weber will have to learn. While this kind of constant change and upheaval usually isn't a recipe for success, it's still better than having Fisch calling plays, and trying to fit our square pegs at quarterback into a round hole.

As much as I wanted Adam Weber yanked last year in favor of MarQueis Gray, I'll concede that Weber was not, and is not, suited for a pro-style offense. He struggles to throw the short and intermediate timing routes (and by struggle I mean he's proven to be pretty much incapable) required in the pro-style drop-back passing offense Fisch brought with him from Denver. What Weber does excel at is throwing long passes, and making throws on roll-outs and play-action fakes, which he got to do a lot of in the previous spread, read option offense Mike Dunbar ran in 2007 and 2008. Obviously as a "dual threat" recruit, Gray's strengths also lie in a spread option offense too.

So while Fisch might have improved by leaps and bounds in his second year calling plays for the Gophers, his best options at quarterback still wouldn't fit his offensive scheme even in the best of times. If/when Fisch takes the Seahawks QB job, Brewster should and hopefully will bring in somebody with an offensive more suited to our talent at quarterback, and while it will be our third offensive coordinator in three years, our players should be more familiar, and hopefully more successful, in a system they ran for two years under Dunbar. Here's hoping.

Big Ten Bowls Rule TV Screens...Except for One

Adam Rittenberg has a post up this morning on the success of the Big Ten excelling in bowl TV ratings.

From Rittenberg:

Here's what you need to know:
The Rose Bowl matchup between Ohio State and Oregon on ABC drew the second-highest rating (13.2) -- behind the BCS title game -- and reached 5,143,000 households and 24,025,000 viewers.

The Capital One Bowl between Penn State and LSU drew the fifth-highest rating (6.8), and had a six percent increase in viewership from last year.

The Orange Bowl between Iowa and Georgia Tech ranks sixth with a 6.8 rating but had a 26 percent increase in viewership.

The Outback Bowl between Northwestern and Auburn had a 30 percent increase in viewership on ESPN.

The Alamo Bowl matchup between Michigan State and Texas Tech was ESPN's most viewed bowl and the fifth-highest rated ever. It reached 5,554,000 households and 7,829,000 viewers, and drew a rating of 4.8, which ranked sixth overall and represented a 23 percent increase in viewership.

The Champs Sports Bowl between Wisconsin and Miami ranked 12th with a 3.9 rating but had a 13 percent drop in viewership.

The only bowl involving a Big Ten team which didn't do so well? You guessed it, the Insight Bowl with our very own Golden Gophers against Iowa State. And to say it "didn't do very well" would be like saying Tennessee fans are mildly upset about Lane Kiffin's departure: the Insight was the WORST rated bowl of all 34!!!

Here's a handy-dandy chart with all of the ratings, and as you'll notice, people would rather watch games like Central Michigan/Troy, Fresno St/Wyoming, and the ultimate kick in the crotch- Middle Tennesee St/Southern Miss. Yep two teams from the Sun Belt and C-USA had more viewers than Minnesota vs. Iowa State. I'm going to go out and on a limb and say that if the Gophers are the only Big Ten choice for the Insight next year, what would happen first- the Gophers decline the bid or the Insight forfeit the game? I can't wait to see how much money the U lost because of this game.

The Last and Final GGFB Top 25

Looking at the final rankings for this year, our beloved Big Ten shows up pretty well. Our four top teams all won against good competition, and what's better, three of the four return a ton of talent for next year. I want to wait until January 15th for all the underclassmen to declare for the draft before looking ahead to 2010, but the Big Ten looks to be very, very strong for next year.

Anyway, onto the final top 25, made completely and totally with my own bias, but mixed with love, care, and hatred for Iowa. You're welcome. As always, here is the official BCS Standings, as well as the final Sagarin rankings.

FINAL 2009 GGFB TOP 25

1 Alabama (14-0)
Bama 2010= Florida 2009, but in some ways reversed. The Gators lost some key players on offense but returned their entire 22 deep on defense. Bama returns almost their entire offense, but will lose some key pieces on defense, including all-world linebacker Rolando McClain and Mt. Cody. Still, the Tide should be the undisputed #1 to begin 2010.

2 Boise State (14-0)
I'm out of excuses for trying to keep Boise State behind the big boys. Sure, they only played two good teams all year in Oregon and TCU, but they thumped them well enough to make me believe they'd have a chance against Alabama. Not saying they'd win, but they'd be at least as competitve as Florida and Texas were.

3 Florida (13-1)
Ok so both the Gators and Horns lost to Alabama, so the hypothetical question is: who would win on a neutral field? After watching the bowl games, I'm going to side with Florida. I would not fault you for choosing Texas with a healthy Colt McCoy.

4 Texas (13-1)
I know I play too many video games when my thought watching the NC game is "This isn't fair! Somebody hit the reset button? Why can't we hit the reset button?" Tough way for Colt McCoy to go out, but hopefully his shoulder recovers in time for him to work out for scouts. I'd love to see him in Purple next year. Also, why the end was tough for Longhorns fans, the future looks pretty bright with frosh QB Garrett Gilbert. A pretty impressive performance going against a defense with 11 starters who will all probably play on Sundays sometime soon.

5 Ohio State (11-2)
This is me standing up and applauding The Sweater Vest. I applaud him and credit him for opening up the offense and turning Terrelle Pryor loose, which I never thought he would do. THAT Pryor, and that style of Ohio State offense, makes them a national championship contender in 2010, and unlike past years againt LSU and FLorida when they got blown out, they're going to have the horses and the speed to compete with anybody. Once again, the Big Ten title conversation for next year will begin and end with the Buckeyes.

6 TCU (12-1)
I almost dropped them out of the top 25 just for those gawd-awful uniforms. Um, Coach Patterson? Just because Nike wants you to wear some crazy new-fangled crap, doesn't mean you have to. That's about the only bad decision he's made in his time at TCU though.

7 Iowa (11-2)
WHO HATES IOWA?!? I certainly still do, but as much as it kills me, you have to give them a ton of credit for slowing down the Georgia Tech triple-option. While they lose some very key players, they also return a ton of talent, and are right behind Ohio State in the Big Ten entering next year, and could very well start the year in the national top 10.

8 Cincinnati (12-1)
This is not a list of who had the best season, but who the best teams are at season's end, and without head coach Brian Kelly, the Bearcats are just not the same team. That or Florida, and the other teams above them, are simply better. I'd say yes to both.

9 Penn State (11-2)
This will be last time to take shots at Penn State for their gutless non-conference scheduling, as next year's slate includes a trip to Tuscaloosa to face the defending national champs. They didn't play many good teams, and sucked against Iowa and Ohio State, but they played well in poor conditions against LSU.

10 Virginia Tech (10-3)
I might not even have them ranked high enough. Another national title threat next year as they return a boatload of talent.

11 Oregon (10-3)
12 Wisconsin (10-3)
13 Brigham Young (11-2)
14 Georgia Tech (11-3)
15 Nebraska (10-4)
16 LSU (9-4)
17 Miami (FL) (9-4)
18 Utah (10-3)
19 Pittsburgh (10-3)
20 Stanford (9-4)
21 USC (9-4)
22 Mississippi (9-4)
23 Texas Tech (9-4)
24 Central Michigan (12-2)
25 Navy (10-4)

Roll Tide

I'm always excited and yet saddened for the BCS National Championship game: you always go in expecting to see a great game (hopefully this year is no exception), but it also means that no matter what happens, it's the last college football game for almost nine full months. I know, it bums me out too (although if it nine months of not having to watch the Gopher offense, then maybe it's not so bad). So what will we see in Pasadena tonight? Will we get a classic like the 2006 game when Texas upset USC, or a blowout stinker like when Ohio State played LSU...or when Ohio State played Florida...well, you get the idea.

Since the conference title games were played in early December, you know, when Bama crushed the #1 team in the country, and when Texas barely- and I mean BARELY- survived against an all-defense no-offense Nebraska team. It was not so much because of those results themselves, but what those results meant when factored into the whole season. Sure, both teams are 13-0, and sure, both teams didn't have the most daunting of schedules, but Alabama rose to the occassion in all of their tough games, whereas Texas struggled.

The Longhorns were third in the country in scoring offense with an average of 40 points per game, and had the 15th best offense in the country averaging 432.8 yards per game. But here's why I'm worried the national title game could get ugly in a hurry:
The Horns played only two top 30 defenses all season (Bama faced six)- Nebraska (7th), and Oklahoma (8th): Their averages in those games are a little less rosey, as they averaged just 14.5 points and 235.5 yards of offense. Seriously. While Bama doesn't have a defender as good as Nebraska's Ndkamong Suh, they DO have the nation's second best defense, and a pair of corners better than anything Texas has seen all season. Not to mention Bama's 80+ blitzes available to them, Colt McCoy will be lucky to live through four quarters at the Rose Bowl, let alone move the chains and score touchdowns.

Now sure, Texas has had a month to prepare for what Bama is going to bring, but the Horns just don't have many weapons, they can't run the ball, and as the stats show against Oklahoma and Nebraska, their line is shaky at best.

However, thankfully there's plenty of reasons to think Texas has a chance tonight, most of which I culled from SI.com's Andy Staples, who had to pen an article today on why Texas has a chance. Upon seeing the headline, I laughed and felt bad for Andy, who defintitely drew the short end of the stick, as senior college football writer Stewart Mandel got the easiest assignment of his career in telling us why Bama wins tonight. But after reading Staples' five reasons, I have to say, I've been swayed: I'm not going to go so far as predicting a Longhorns upset, but I do think we'll get a close, low-scoring defensive battle, probably similar to the Big 12 title game.

Considering the following:
- In the BCS Era, anytime we get a heavy underdog, they seem to win. Ohio State over Miami in 2003. Texas over USC in 2006. Florida beating Ohio State in 2007.

- Bama might have the #2 defense, but don't forget Texas is #3. How do the Horns beat OKlahoma and Nebraska with such dismal offensive performances? Because their defense is unreal. Sergio Kindle and Earl Thomas will be wreaking havoc on a Crimson Tide offense that had by far the best game of their season against Florida, but otherwise have been solid but not spectacular. Yes, the Bama running game will be the best Texas has seen all year, but Greg McElroy stunk in the middle of the season, and if Texas can find ways to pressure him, we could see the mid-season McElroy instead of the guy who had the game of his life against the Gators.

- The Heisman Curse. Like the Madden Cover and SI Cover curses, maybe this exists and maybe it doesn't, but you can't discount the fact Heisman winners have not had a great record in a game like this.

- Turnovers. I know, I know, saying turnovers could decide the game is like saying whoever scores more will win. Obvious, but I still feel the need to bring it up. Texas led the county in takeaways, while Alabama led in fewest giveaways. As they say, something has to give, right? If the Longhorns can force an opportunistic fumble, or pressure McElroy into throwing picks, the Horns have a chance.

As I said, I don't have the stones to pick the upset, but I do think Bama wins a tight, low-scoring ball game 20-17. Whatever happens, I just hope the game is close, and I'll take solace in knowing the offense's can't look any worse than Minnesota's.

Kevin Whaley Dismissed After Arrest

Kevin Whaley is just the latest Golden Gopher football player to run afoul of the law, but this time, the university is taking a stand. According to a report in the Pioneer Press, Minnesota is releasing the redshirt freshman running back from his scholarhship, allowing him to transfer to another school immediately. Where he ends up is anyone's guess, but what we know for sure is he'll never wear the Maroon and Gold again.

Per the Marcus Fuller story:

Minnesota athletics director Joel Maturi said the university had to part ways with Whaley after he was arrested on an assault charge at a nightclub in Scottsdale, Ariz., following Minnesota's 14-13 Insight Bowl loss to Iowa State on New Year's Eve.

It's the second time Whaley has been arrested for assault in a nightclub in his brief stint as a Gopher, and apparently the U had had enough. Not sure if this was Brewster's call or if it was forced by Maturi, but either way, two arrests in two years for a decent but not great running back was enough to punch his ticket out of town.

Whaley would have pushed for a starting job in the spring, but with three heralded freshmen coming in, it's not like depth is going to be an issue. Then again, we thought that last year until our top recruit didn't qualify because of academics, and the rest of our backs were underwhelming and unproductive.

More of an issue for me is this: Whaley was the eighth football player just this year involved in off-season incidents. Eight guys! The Gophers had more players show up on the police blotter this year than wins!! Fans will tolerate this kind of stuff if you're winning (Bobby Bowden has probably had as many players arrested and suspended than games won down at Florida State), but if you're going 6-7 and losing to Iowa State? Yeah not so much.

It seems Brewster has rolled the dice A LOT on guys with character issues, and whether it be legal troubles or academic troubles, his players seem to be in the news more for the wrong reasons than the right ones. I don't see this tactic changing, however, as we all know 2010 is a make-or-break year for Brewster (or at least it'd better be). Because he's coaching for his job this fall, and because he hasn't seen the kind of on-field results he, and all Gopher fans, have hoped for, you can be sure he's going to continue to throw good character out the window and continue to gamble on troubled players in hopes he can get just a few that can help him win in 2010.

Gophers NEED to Hire Mike Leach

So this morning I log onto one of my favorite college football sites, The Rivalry, Esq. to do some reading. After a few bowl recaps (hopefully the performances by Ohio State and Penn State will shut- as well as Wisconsin last week- will shut some people up about how good the Big Ten is. As much as I hate Iowa, a win over Georgia Tech only improves the conference's image), I saw this post: Gophers Need to Hire Mike Leach.

Intrigued, I read the short post from a commenter, and like him I was skeptical at first. But by the time I got to the end of it, I now have the following question: Give me one good reason why the Gophers SHOULDN'T hire Leach? Really, go ahead, I'd love to hear one.

People are going to argue two things: one is that you don't hire Leach because it's bad publicity. The second is you don't fire Tim Brewster now because it shows instability in the program.

Second thing first: If you watched the Insight Bowl, or any Gopher games in November, you should know instability should be the least of our worries. THE problem right now is that despite all of these acclaimed recruiting classes, Tim Brewster's teams cannot win in November and they cannot win bowl games. Period. They had 15 freaking practices to figure out what went wrong with the offense, and what did they find? They couldn't fix it. Same old stagnant, predictable and ineffective offense. This leads to only three conclusions: 1) Brewster's recruiting classes are vastly overrated, 2) Brewster and his staff can't coach, or 3) all of the above. Any way you look at it, that does not look good for Brewster. And yet after watching this team for 2009, and for his full three seasons here, those are the only three conclusions you're left with.

If you're expecting things to change in 2010 you're either expecting miracles or you know something the rest of us don't. The athletic director has so little confidence in his coach, he said point blank that Brewster could take the Kansas job and he wouldn't stop him. The fan base (that being the few of us left crazy enough to cheer for this team) has so little faith in Brewster, that the vast majority of respondents to polls in the daily newspapers in this town wanted him to take the Kansas job and don't believe he deserves an extension. This coming from the people who follow this team closely.

So again, please try and sell my why it would look "unstable" to can Brewster now, but won't in November or December of next year when we struggle to another six win season. Please, I'm listening.

While you're thinking of that one, I'll respond to the first thing people would say about hiring Mike Leach, that it would be bad publicity: People, at this point for the Gopher football program, ANY publicity is good publicity. There is no hype and no hope surrounding this team right now. None. Zero. Zilch. Go ahead and peruse the dailies and see how far into the archives you have to go to find a story about Gopher football. Head over to our favorite Gopher site The Daily Gopher and see how fired up those guys are about the team (hint- they're not). Heck, look how long it took us to get something up about the loss- or about ANYTHING- and we're supposed to be a Gopher football site!!

Unfortunately the bowl game loss only reinforced what we already knew: the offense is terrible, 15 additional practices added nothing and improved nothing, and considering we return pretty much the same offense we did this year (well, except for our best player and the conference's most important offensive player) we're left to expect nothing less than the shoddy results we were given this year. We already know Brewster is going to huff and puff about improvements and how much he loves his kids and his offense and his coaches and he'll huff and puff about quarterback competition and offensive competition and his players will probably look pretty good in the spring game.

But all of this was true last year, and what happened? 6-7 happened. One of the worst offenses in Division 1-A football happened. Brewster recruited better than any coach has here in a long, long time yet he got out-coached and his team was outplayed in just about ever game this season. He has not won a game in November or December and has not won a single trophy game. No matter what Tim Brewster says between now and the first game of 2010- and as we know, he'll say a LOT- he's going to get tuned out by the media and most sports fans and even most Gopher football fans in this town. And he should, because that's what we've come to expect in his three seasons here. We hope for the best and expect the worst because that's what Tim Brewster has brought us. We will expect that until he proves otherwise, and there's nine really long months until he gets a chance to fix this program, and most of us believe whether Brewster had nine, or nine hundred, months he couldn't get us to a New Year's Day bowl or Big Ten title.

Hiring Mike Leach would change that in a big, big hurry. Would it bring negative publicity? Yes, it most definitely would, at least for a short time. No matter what you read or hear, we don't know exactly what happened down in Lubbock. Did Mike Leach do something wrong? Yes, I think he did, but what exactly happened we don't know, and may never know.

Here is what we DO know however:
- In an interview with ESPN's Reece Davis, Texas Tech University chancellor Kent Hance said that Mike Leach got fired for insubordination, NOT for whatever happened with Adam James.

- Mike Leach was suspended, and then fired, before a full investigation was ever conducted or finished.

- Adam James' dad Craig, the former SMU star and current college football analyst, called and harassed Leach and his son's position coaches all the time about why his son wasn't playing more. He was the worst of "hockey dad's". Other coaches on the staff have not denied this. James has a lot of money and a lot of influence.

- Mike Leach was a hot coaching commodity last season when his Red Raiders almost ran the table, and to keep him, the school signed him to a massive contract extension.

In a subsequent interview with Davis and ESPN, Leach goes onto defend himself on every charge. While this is Leach's side of the story, and you can't believe everything the man says until it's proven or confirmed by others, it paints a pretty clear picture of a coach and administration at odds with each other since the contract extension last year. Considering the man was suspended and fired before the investigation was ever conducted or finished, it seems obvious the school had an axe to grind, and was looking for the first sign of trouble to give him the boot.

And they got one. I'm not defending what Leach allegedly did by locking James in a storage garage because of migraines. No matter how much a kid's dad bothers you, or how much you question the kid's work ethic (again, TT coaches have denied neither claim. From all accounts, James comes across as a spoiled brat who felt entitled to start because his dad was Craig James, and when he was told he had to work for it like everyone else, he whined and cried to daddy), you can't lock him in an equipment "shed" (which has been confirmed is the size of a garage, not a shed). IF that's the entire story and it's entirely one-sided with Leach being the bad guy and James and his family a saint, then you have problems. But considering Texas Tech ran Leach out on a rail before any official investigation was made to find out, and all we're left with is James and the University vs. Leach, that says to me the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

So yes, Leach would be a controversial hire, but make no mistake- the man can coach. And the man can coach offense. We have the weapons at wideout and enough good quarterbacks coming back that I believe Leach could turn this offense around tomorrow if given the chance. And like Tubby Smith when he was let go by Kentucky, Leach would jump at the chance to coach a BCS conference school and rebuild his name. Would he treat this as a stepping stone job and try to bolt for greener pastures like he did at Texas Tech? I would assume so, but that would be true of ANY coach here. Until this program has sustained success like Wisconsin or Iowa, it's always going to be considered a stepping stone job.

For me, Leach has done enough to clear his name in the court of public opinion, and since we're probably never going to know exactly what happened, that's about all you can ask for. You deal with the negative publicity and then sit back and watch the man do what he does- coach offense and win games. He's certainly proven much more in his time at TT than Brewster has here.

Hiring Mike Leach gets you back in the sports consciousness of the Twin Cities, gets you a much better coach than we could ever have dreamed of getting, and gets us pointed towards the New Year's Day bowls and conference titles Brewster promises but doesn't deliver.

Unless you believe in miracles, we're going to be looking for a new coach at this time next year, so why not go get a much better coach than will be available to us, and should be available to us? The time might not seem right, but the time is now. Hire Mike Leach.