It's our old pal, Dennis Dodd

What, you actually expected a thoughtful, insightful piece of journalism from CBS's Dennis Dodd?

"Monday was also a glimpse of your future, Joe. No farewell tour. Possibly a minor bowl. Basically being run out on somebody else's terms."

Geez, I forgot how much I didn't miss reading his crap.

I refuse to link to hit jobs like this one, mainly because the entire idea behind them is to generate web hits by whoring out any journalistic credibility for the sake of the all mighty dollar. But I find it interesting how any half-sane human could possible reach the same conclusions as Dodd has in his steaming pile of words published this morning. I suggest you take five minutes (it will seem much longer, and you'll probably want to X-out the window before you're finished, but trust me, finish reading it), clench your teeth, and read this thinly veiled yellow journalism.

More below the fold...

Bowden out... Weis, too

The annual coaching carousel hit overdrive today, as two of college football's biggest names are on their way out. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis received his walking papers today, a fully expected decision after Weis lost the final four games this season with the Irish.

But the day's biggest news is still young. Various media outlets are reporting tonight that Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden will announce his retirement tomorrow, following a meeting with university officials today. The official statement was that Bowden was going to decide overnight, with an announcement coming tomorrow. We can expect an announcement tomorrow that Bowden, No. 2 all time in coaching victories, will depart the program that he molded into one of the greatest powerhouses in college football history. It's an unfortunate ending for the Hall of Fame coach, but what seems to be a necessary one.

I'll have more on this story as it develops throughout the week.

More below the fold...

Bowden getting the boot?

We like to dog Bobby Bowden here in Lion country, but college football will miss him when he goes. Today, it seems we'll miss him sooner than we expected, according to a report out today:

"Jim Smith, the chair of the university’s Board of Trustees and a 1962 graduate of FSU, also said it is time to eliminate any doubt about Jimbo Fisher’s role and responsibilities in the football program... “The President intends to announce we’ve negotiated a contract with Coach Fisher,” Smith said."

I get it, Florida State doesn't seem to be improving. But for all the barbs people like me have thrown his way, I do feel for Bowden right now. The Gators are running roughshod over the Sunshine State, the Hurricanes are picking up speed, and hell, even South Florida is a better team right now. It's too bad Bobby couldn't go out with one more good season. (Tallahassee Democrat)

More below the fold...

Tip to NCAA: It's all about the money

◊ The Orlando Sentinel had a good article today by Alan Schmadtke, who explained that if anything is ever going to change in college football, it must start and end with the money.

"Hitting the Seminoles right where they hurt most -- Bowden's record -- isn't the most effective way to punish schools across the board when it comes to NCAA penalties... Hit schools where it hurts: in the checkbook."

I couldn't agree more with Schmadtke. While I don't personally mind, for obvious reasons, if the NCAA upholds the forfeit of those 14 Bowden wins, I do believe that it's not an effective way to solve these problems.

College football is one of the best run businesses next to the NFL. You could actually say it's better, due to the ever-ridiculous cloak of "student athletes = more wholesome sport." Bullshit. By taking away wins from another team that committed a similar ––we'll use USC as the example–– it would not really hurt the football program the way a financial punishment would. Do you think USC and other juggernauts would be so lax about the rules, if they faced the possibility of a hefty fine on top of all the other normal punishments?

You throw a $500,000 fine at USC, including loss of scholarships and probation; now there's incentive to behave.

Schmadtke continued,

"The NCAA screams about the arms race in college athletics. Schools spend too much money on athletic facilities, it says. They're escalating coaching salaries too high, it says. Budget trends are non-sustainable, it says...Well, OK. Force schools that cheat to cut back. Fine them. The bigger the penalty, the bigger the fine... Fine them and put all of a school year's fines into an escrow account to pay for NCAA initiatives that will benefit athletes and schools that don't cheat."

Now that's a winning point right there. If the NCAA did that, it would be viewed as a shining beacon of light in an otherwise dark world of college football. I really hope someone from the NCAA reads this.

Now, I don't want to hear people contend that the NCAA can't do things like fining and stuff. Bullshit. When college football went to bed with the BCS, and rakes in billions of dollars each season, they forfeited any right to complain about financial sanctions for rule breakers.

But there is one last thing about Schmadtke's article I should point out. He wrote the following passage:

"Steve Spurrier was railing about this way back in 1990 when he arrived at probation-laden Florida when his first team was paying for the sins committed under former coach Galen Hall."

This is simply a misinformed statement. I don't know how you could be a college football writer at one of Florida's leading news organizations, yet mess something up this big. The NCAA violations which resulted in the sanctions placed on Florida in the 1980s, were due to infractions by the Gators' previous coach, Charley Pell. Galen Hall did not commit those "sins" while at Florida. In fact, he went on to several very successful seasons with the Gators, despite the fact that he had to deal with Pell's mess.

(link) Orlando Sentinel

Have a great weekend everyone!

More below the fold...

The first runner up is... Bobby Bowden

◊ Until this week, the argument between Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden was just filler. Now, it's very much a relevant topic in college football. It's a perfect storm, really, for the conversation to jump to new heights.

Usually, we talk about the wins race during the season, when there's not much room for elaboration. Now, it's the offseason, when every little bit of news is magnified due to the lack of an active football season.

The wins race was also viewed as a close contest, one that would only be resolved by which one coach could make a late-career run, overtake the other, and hope for retirement.

Not anymore.

This week has been dominated by Florida State and the NCAA punishments, handed down for the cheating scandal. We all know that part of the story, and quite frankly, it's old now.

The conversation has taken a dramatic shift to the objective views towards each of the legends' coaching careers. This could be attributed to the fact that, if the 14 Bowden wins from 2006 and 2007 are scrubbed from the record books, this race is as good as over. Paterno would win.

So what do we discuss now? Well, besides the useless, burnt out tirades crying for Paterno and Bowden to retire, and that they're bad for college football (this argument isn't even worth a rebuttal), it's time to take a look at the two careers for their merits and flaws, to finally figure out which coach has the better on-paper career.

The first (usually the only sane) sportswriter to do so was Pete Fiutak, from CFN:

"Paterno finished up last season one win ahead of Bowden up 383 wins to 382. So while any lost wins off Bowden’s total might secure Paterno’s place in history, it could be argued that the Penn State head man deserves the title no matter what... While Paterno got all his wins at one school, Penn State, Bowden came up with 31 wins at Samford against several interesting opponents (to go along with a solid stint at West Virginia). Of course, no one would ever question Bowden’s all-timer status, but when taking a hard, objective look at the two careers, it’s not really that close."

Fiu then goes on to list the worst and best wins in each coach's career. I'll tell you, seeing them "on paper" right in front of you really drives the point home. Even if you take the two undefeated national championship seasons, 1986 for Penn State and 1999 for Florida State, the Lions' win over Miami was much more impressive, in terms of opponent relative quality, than the 'Noles' win over Virginia Tech.

It's unfortunate, really, that this is how it might end. No one expected it to be like this, especially those close to the schools and the teams.

But this is just another episode in college football, where nothing is determined "on the field." Rather, like the Mythical National Championship itself, the eternal argument Paterno v. Bowden will be forever tarnished with a sense of illegitimacy and doubt.

More below the fold...

A special comment on Florida State

◊ Florida State was handed four years probation, reduction in scholarships, and forfeit of wins achieved during the 2006 and 2007 athletic seasons. In all, 10 sports programs at the university will be sanctioned. So what does this all really mean?

This kind of wide-range academic cheating scandal doesn't come along very often. In fact, we've never seen something similar, involving so many different sports programs at one school. The punishments are, well, much more severe than they even seem; and that's saying a lot.

I'm going to focus mainly on the football team, as that is the most visible program at the university, and of most interest to my readers.

Academic infractions usually get treated much more severe by the NCAA. For instance, when Reggie Bush was being accused of getting a free apartment and cash for his family, it felt like the NCAA was doing all it could to sweep it under the rug.

Then, when Oklahoma was nabbed for non-academic infractions, it was forced to vacate all wins from 2005. Later, however, an appeal was won by the Sooners, and their wins reinstated.

Don't count on a successful appeal by Florida State. Oh, they will try, but I really don't believe that the NCAA will budge on their decision. The punishment was a dead giveaway that they're being dead serious about this one.

Only one team in college football history has been punished by The Death Penalty, SMU in the late 1980s.

Before and ever since, not too many program have been whacked with sanctions like the ones Florida State will now have to deal with. This punishment is so severe, you could call it "The Death Penalty-lite."

Then there's the record for all-time wins by a major college football coach. While slim, there is still the chance for a successful appeal to at least reinstate the wins from 2006 and 2007. But that would mean the university would have to have known the students were ineligible to play at the time of the games, which is tough to prove.

However, if those wins are in fact forfeited, Bobby Bowden would lose 14 wins from his career total. That would mean he'd no longer trail Joe Paterno 383 to 382, but rather 383 to 368.

Bowden's current deal allows him to coach until 2010, where after if he stays on, coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher would be paid a few million a year until Bowden leaves. Assuming the wins are vacated, Bowden would absolutely have to continue coaching beyond 2010 to even catch Paterno again.

In a more long-term view, what does this do to Bowden in the end? He was once idolized by every rising coaching star, and feared by all opponents. Now, with his team mired in mediocrity on the field, and disgrace off it, Bowden's legacy is in danger.

History usually views things differently than the people living the situations. I think history will look kindly on Bowden in the end, with this final disappointment as just a small blemish when compared to the greatness of his career.

As much as we all jump to demonize coaches who allow their programs to run out of control, particularly when those programs win a lot of games over the years, it can't be forgotten that coaches like Bowden don't come along all that often anymore.

Does this punishment go to far? No, definitely no. Florida State and its athletic department deserves everything coming at it. But we can't forget that this is not a problem unique to only a few universities.

And that's the sad part, now isn't it? For every Florida State that gets caught, there are about 50 more programs that don't get caught. College sports have become a bloated, self congratulating conglomeration, hell bent on making as much money as possible. The NCAA can't keep up.

It's an unfortunate reality we have to live with. Football, college football specifically, needs help, but no one wants to seriously bring it up. There's too much money at stake.

The universities, athletic departments and the boosters have too much invested to allow their teams and athletes to fail, even if it means looking the other way just when guidance is needed most. In Tallahassee, those who were supposed to be stewards of hundreds of young people's lives just looked the other way.

Unfortunately for 10 Florida State athletic programs, and the athletes in them who didn't cheat, the NCAA saw what no one else wanted to. It's about time.

More below the fold...

Seminoles, Bowden slammed by NCAA

◊ Florida State is in deep trouble. The NCAA just handed down severe sanctions, including four years probation, loss of scholarships, and, most interesting to Penn State fans, the forfeit of all games from the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

More to come later, so check back tonight.

More below the fold...

Paterno or Bowden, yet again

It's about freaking time some preview (The Quad, to be exact) acknowledges the fact that Bobby Bowden is NOT the career I-A wins leader.

"Tidbit (coaching edition): As all loyal readers of the Countdown undoubtedly know, Paterno trails only Bobby Bowden on the career list for major college wins; Bowden has 373 victories, with Paterno on his heels with 372. However, if we discount Bowden’s 31 wins on the F.C.S. level (Samford, 1959-62), Paterno holds the edge in F.B.S. victories, 372-341."

The funny thing about this, since the conversion to FBS (former I-A) and FCS (former I-AA), who the hell knows which coach is the real leader? Are we now going by how many wins at the F-B-S level, or is it unchanged from when it was I-A football? Of course, it's unchanged. I don't care what you call it, but there's no comparison between Bowden's wins over Mississippi College, Furman, Troy and Delta State, and Paterno's wins over Pitt, Maryland, Syracuse and Texas. Even if you took away all wins over I-AA schools by both coaches, Paterno would still lead. So don't try to say 'Paterno played I-AA teams, too!' It doesn't work.

There's not much to worry about though, as Florida State doesn't look to contend for anything this season (even with all those I-AA/FCS schools on the 2008 schedule). Penn State, even with a decent record, should push Paterno back up and beyond Bowden's false record. I would just like to see more writers/sports fellas respect the fact that Paterno has won more games on a higher level than Bowden. And just because there was no I-A/AA designation before 1978, doesn't mean that ALL those 'Major College' wins count alongside the true I-A/FBS wins.

Completely off the Paterno/Bowden topic, but a great debate nonetheless: Say that again?

More below the fold...

It's the Bowden bashing hour, brought to you by Foot Locker

Mike over at BSD tore Bobby Bowden a new one, after EDSBS took the initial swing at the legendary FSU coach. All I have to say is Bowden had it coming sooner or later. Wrote Mike of BSD:

"This is a common practice in these southern schools. They are only supposed to sign no more than 25 kids in any one recruiting class. But every year there's Alabama taking 32, Auburn taking 30, LSU taking 26. This year Florida State granted scholarships to 30 kids. Inevitably someone has to get cut. So you start hearing stories about kids being declared academically ineligible. Or suffering mysterious injuries that cut their career short. Or in this case, fifth year seniors who are basically asked not to come back."

Read the original letter sent by former FSU lineman Geoff Berniard's girlfriend to Larry Williams, of the Post And Courier in Charleston, SC. The letter explained how the Bowden family is following a disturbing trend--win at any cost, even if you ruin some people's lives along the way.

But let's take a different angle on this. I'm not going to get on Bowden's case today. I've done plenty of that, and usually focus on his wins at Samford--they count towards his career wins record, even though Joe's were all at a major program like PSU.

Where I'm going with this is PSU's recruiting efforts in recent years. Every one's been bashing the coaching staff for the last two hauls in '06 and '07. The loud minority fan base, which has cried for a top-ten class every year, says that PSU won't win championships by awarding fewer than "the other" do. Mike mentioned earlier that SEC schools usually sign between 25 and 30 recruits... each season. Maybe that's the reason SEC schools usually rank so high on the recruiting class lists. These coaches--in this case, when I say "SEC" I really mean most southern schools--offer kids a scholarship, with nearly no guarantee that they'll remain on scholarship if the on-field performance isn't up to par. That's just plain bullshit. You offer a kid to play for your team, and if he doesn't pan out, tough luck for you, not him. The coaches should never encourage a kid to leave school, just to save a freaking scholarship for next year's recruiting class. Bowden--and by Bowden I mean his whole staff, since he's responsible for their actions--has now fell into the "SEC" category of coaches. Mike's take was hardly as sweet as mine:

"Like I said before, in a way I was glad Joe Paterno broke his leg in 2006. It delayed him from entering the College Football Hall of Fame by one year. If you remember, he was supposed to enter the Hall alongside Bobby Bowden and they were both going to share the stage. I'm glad Joe didn't have to share anything with that fat jerk. The only thing these two men have in common is a lot of wins on the football field. Outside of that, the two programs could not be any more different."

That's just it. Penn State is nothing like Florida State. To many sportswriters and "experts" lump the two schools together all to often. Why, because the two coaches have been around forever and racing to see who could finish with the most wins? Sure, but that's the one and only connection between the two schools. How many times has Florida State played Penn State? Three times. Wow, I'm impressed. Bowden was forced to play PSU in the '70s because West Virginia always played PSU. I don't see FSU scheduling PSU anytime soon. Actually, I don't see FSU scheduling any living, breathing opponents anytime soon.

Let FSU die its slow, painful death. It'll be good for college football. The age of cheating and under-the-table deals is gone in this sport. I'm not being naive. I know there's still wheeling and dealing every hour of every day. But a program like Florida State--rulers of the late '80s and the entire 1990s--needs to go to rehab after its 15-year high. Penn "Mr. Boring Straightedge" State might not be as exciting or fun. PSU is surely not the life of the party in college football, but if you consider what Joe Paterno and his coaches have done for the last 50 years, it's a feat no other school could fathom doing. How many times has PSU been on probation in the Paterno era, or any era for that matter? NONE. Penn State wins with honor.

Oh, and if you didn't get that Foot Locker reference, go look up "Florida State," "Foot Locker," and "1993."

Email ZN: ZombieNationPSU@gmail.com Please take a moment to support ZN, by visiting some of our sponsors.

More below the fold...

Paterno vs. Bowden

You know, a couple day/weeks ago-whatever-I got a comment on my Top 25. The comment asked how I could have FSU ranked so high, yet Joe would pass Bowden. Well, here's my simplified answer, which totally slipped my mind at the time. Shame on me.

Joe Paterno doesn't actually need four more wins than Bowden this year, due to the fact that in the real world, Bowden is 27 wins behind Joe. 31 of Bowden's wins were not in current D-IA schools, which shouldn't count. It's not like the 61 homeruns record or any other record that is affected by how long a season is. Bowden was playing Crap Community College, while Paterno was playing Maryland, North Carolina St., Pitt, Syracuse and other at-the-time powerhouses. The NCAA needs to step up and take an official stance with this, and settle the matter once and for all.

If Bobby Bowden leads Joe Paterno in career victories, and the Samford years are officially included (which they are by the NCAA's standard), then Eddie Robinson should, in fact, actually be the all-time leader in career victories with 408-167-15 at Gramblind State. Try proving me wrong on that one.

More below the fold...