4th and 1: Marvin Austin Dismissed, Coaches Leave Out Oregon State…
Dismissals, conspiracy theories, and digit reattachments. Why we love college football.
1st. Marvin Austin made a number of bad decisions when accepting improper benefits, but his worst decision may have been to return to UNC for his senior season. The highly-touted defensive lineman could be playing in the NFL this season, but decided to return to the Tar Heels for one more year. One year that will never be.
Austin was kicked off of the team due to the investigation into exactly what he received. Fellow UNC players Greg Little and Robert Quinn were permanently suspended. Austin gets the larger punishment due to receiving nearly double the benefits of Little and Quinn.
Without those three – and a number of other players – the Tar Heels have stumbled through the early part of the season. The team once considered to be a favorite in the ACC now sits at 3-2 (1-1) and will be without Austin, Little, and Quinn for the remainder of the year. Austin will still have a shot at playing in the NFL and Little was expected to be a first-round draft pick, but both will take hits after missing an entire season of football.
This could signal the beginning of the end for UNC head coach Butch Davis. Under Davis, the Tar Heels are coming off back-to-back 8-5 seasons, but have never finished higher than third in the ACC Coastal. With the conference seemingly up for grabs this season, 2010 was expected to be the year UNC made a move. With no better than an average product on the field and plenty of problems off it, Davis might not be on the sidelines much longer.
2nd. With the BCS standings coming soon the conspiracy theories are flowing. The latest is that the coaches are attempting to penalize Boise State by not ranking Oregon State. The Beavers have two losses on the season, both coming to top five teams and both in games Oregon State was in until late. But the coaches don’t have them ranked. Could they be trying to hold back the Broncos?
Probably not. Although many teams now find themselves halfway through the regular season, there is still a whole lot of football left to go. Regardless of who they lost to, Oregon State did so twice. In the humble opinion of this blog’s president, CEO, head coach, editor, offensive coordinator, strength and conditioning guru, and struggling writer (me) it is still too early to rank a two-loss team. There are plenty of undefeated and one-loss teams still out there, too many to rank someone who has tasted defeat twice.
Well then why do they rank Florida you ask? And to that I can honestly say I do not know. According to the coaches, the Gators – who have lost to the #8 and #9 teams – are better than the Beavers – who have lost to the #3 and #5 teams. The real reason is because every poll attempts to predict how the season will end and odds are Florida will fight back (offense not withstanding). But even if you devalue the Boise States and TCUs of the world, it is really time to rank based on performance, not expectation.
And just for fun, the coaches rank a team that Oregon State beat. Arizona comes in at #20.
3rd. Things may get harder for the Beavers as the season continues and their schedule is only part of the problem. Oregon State will be without star wide receiver James Rodgers for the remainder of the 2010 season.
Rodgers injured his knee in the Beavers’ upset victory over Arizona. It is a big loss for Oregon State as Rodgers was ranked sixth in the nation in all-purpose yards per game. He has the second-most career all-purpose yards of any active player. With Rodgers gone, the Beavers lose an important weapon on both the offensive side of the ball and special teams.
4th. One of the nation’s top running backs has made his decision and will be leaving the South to play football in Big Ten country. Dee Hart had SEC school Alabama among his finalists, but will instead head to Michigan to play college ball.
Hart, from Dr. Phillips in Orlando, FL, is the nation’s top all-purpose back according Rivals.com and ranks in as the #37 player overall. Hart is not a huge back (he weighs in at 190), but his power is one of his strengths. Now coaches will be eager to see if he can maintain his speed as he adds bulk.
Hart’s choice was no surprise as the Wolverines were long thought to be out in front.
And 1. Is it a sign of toughness to postpone the reattachment of part of your finger to keep playing? Or stupidity? You would have to ask Virginia Tech offensive lineman Greg Nosal. Nosal lost the tip of his finger in the first half of the Hokies’ last game and opted to stay in the game and have the tip reattached later. All to play more against Central Michigan.