Whither the Little Guy?: How Hawaii Set College Football Back 20 Years

Did Hawaii deserve a BCS berth?

Yes.

But their loss in the Sugar Bowl set college football back 20 years.

Once upon a time, it was Tulane that went undefeated from a small conference. After the BCS was formed, Utah was the little guy who broke down the barrier. Then it was Boise State, in last year's amazing Fiesta Bowl.

Finally, it seemed the little guys were getting the respect they deserved.

This year, the Hawaii Warriors had their shot. Count me as one of the many who thought the little team from the islands would win a high-scoring Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

I was wrong.

It wasn't so much the fact that UH lost to UGA—it was the nature of the game: uncompetitive, unexciting, un-everything. The Warriors were flat out bad.

And like it or not, it will take more than an undefeated season for the "little guys" to overcome what happened on Tuesday.

For the last decade, the little guys fought their way into the spotlight—and in one game, all that effort went for naught. The voters will now second-guess every little guy with a great record unless they have a win or two against top-quality teams.

Hawaii wasn't prepared for Georgia. They've played SEC and BCS conference teams before, and never looked so bad.

I still believe Colt Brennan and his WR corps are among the best in college football.  However, the UH O-line was overmatched—even Tom Brady or Peyton Manning wouldn't have been successful playing behind them.

The difference between this UH team and last year's squad is three departed NFL-caliber O-linemen.  Both first-year Warrior starters were manhandled up front.

In my Sugar Bowl preview, I said Marcus Howard would get to Brennan—and he did. Frequently.

My unofficial count had Howard getting nine hits on Brennan, with three sacks, two forced fumbles, and a TD. He was a monster.

As far as the other Tuesday games—USC thumped Illinois, Mizzou clobbered Arkansas, and Michigan won a nail-biter over Florida. Those victories, and the feelings of joy experienced by the winners, are the reason I believe we'll never see a playoff in college football.

A bowl win is a joyous occassion—no matter what happened in the rest of the season. In a playoff scenario, only one team ends up joyous. Everyone else goes home a loser.

For that reason alone—to say nothing of money or politics—the coaches, school presidents, and conference officials will never let a playoff happen.

New Year's Day 2008—mark it down as the day college football took a step into the past. Everything new just turned old again.

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