Bleacher Report - Articles by Gregory Salyer

Louisville's Scott Long Out for the Season? Ahem: #@%$!!!

Gregory Salyer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:32:00 -0400

The Courier-Journal reported today that Scott Long, the junior wide receiver who caught five passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday against South Florida, is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in practice on Tuesday.

It was the second time this year that Long has suffered an injury—he also broke a bone in his foot during a summer practice, causing him to miss the first four games of the season.

"I'm very disappointed for Scott. He's worked so hard this year to get into shape," Cardinals coach Steve Kragthorpe said.

"It occurred during a non-contact drill in practice. We have to move on from this situation and get ready to play a good Syracuse football team."

It's a shame. Obviously, the first concern is this kid's health, as we all hope he as a successful recovery, but he sure will be missed on the playing field as the team is just now getting into what will be a difficult conference season.

Louisville-South Florida: Cardinals Finally Get a Signature Win

Gregory Salyer — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:46:00 -0400

Louisville finally earned their first signature win in the Steve Kragthorpe era as they knocked off 16th-ranked South Florida 24-20. All of a sudden they are unexpectedly back in the race for the Big East championship as they improved their overall record to 5-2, while improving to 1-1 in conference play.

The win did a lot. The program has been on life support since we lost to Syracuse last year, and this win just revived the program. The players and coaches are starting to believe in themselves, the fans are starting to back the team again (as sad as that is), and there's actually a little buzz around town about UofL for the first time since we lost to Kentucky last year.

Hunter Cantwell looked solid as he completed 12 passes on 21 attempts for 212 yards, as well as two touchdowns and one interception. He connected with wide receiver Scott Long five times for 134 yards and both touchdowns. The running game was decent, as Victor Anderson rushed 18 times for 64 yards and Brock Bolen racked up 47 yards.

But as good as it feels to have beaten a ranked team for the first time since the Orange Bowl in January of 2007, we got a lot of help from South Florida.

USF quarterback Matt Grothe was sacked a season-high five times yesterday for a total loss of 27 yards, but he still completed 30 of 40 for 344 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions, one of them coming late in the fourth quarter, which allowed UofL to run out the clock.

South Florida had 14 penalties for 109 total yards, while the UofL defense held South Florida to just eight yards rushing. Ouch. I could almost hear Jim Leavitt screaming from my home in St. Matthews.

USF did not play like the pride of the Big East yesterday. They looked as vulnerable as the rest of the conference has all season. They looked boring and weak, and they didn't play like they wanted to win. Still, they almost came back, so we have a lot of work to do before we've proven ourselves.

On one hand, it's good that we tend to beat up on each other all season because it seems to help our top teams come bowl time, but on the other hand, we're not even top-heavy this year. We now have one ranked team left, which is still South Florida, and they're hanging on by a thread as it is.

Nonetheless, UofL should be bowl eligible this season between Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Rutgers. I hope I'm not jinxing the team, which I don't believe in anyway, but we're sitting in a good position now.

I believe that, at this point, we will finish the season 8-4. We should be able to beat Syracuse and Rutgers. Having West Virginia at home while they seem to be having a bit of a down season helps. Cincinnati being at home helps too. We haven't lost to them in years. Pittsburgh at Heinz Field seems to be our toughest test left in the regular season.

With that being said, I would be extremely pleased to finish the regular season 8-4.

Midway Through Season, Big 12 Has Proven Its Toughness

Gregory Salyer — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:43:01 -0400

Say hello to the premier conference in college football—and it's not the SEC.

Like I've said in the past, the SEC is overhyped. I'm not saying it's overrated, because it is a great football conference. But the fans and participants of the SEC carry with them an arrogant, holier-than-thou superiority complex that clouds the judgment that they have about the rest of the college football world.

I'm not going to lie: The SEC coaches whine too much and usually whine their way into the national championship. Many of the backwoods SEC fans are ignorant to the game of football and usually only cheer, not for the love of the game and their school, but for territorial pride.

Every year, the SEC claims top to bottom conference dominance while failing to even recognize the talent of any other teams across the nation.

Then when Florida ends up losing to Michigan or Georgia loses to West Virginia come bowl season, it's the same old thing year after year: They're so beat up from playing in the SEC that it's hard for them at the end of the season.

Please, just stop contradicting yourselves because the SEC's fourth or fifth-best team is not better than the Big East's or ACC's top team, or the Big 12's or the Big Ten's second or third-best team. That is not a valid theory, nor has it ever been one.

Vandy, Kentucky, and South Carolina could not just march into any other conference and automatically win the title like they claim they can.

"SEC speed" is also a theory that is played out. See how well "SEC speed" holds up when a big cornbread-fed defenseman from the heartland of America is readily waiting to meet the ball at the line of scrimmage.

Big 12 toughness is the new supreme characteristic that is fueling college football. Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma State, and a handful of other schools aren't going to argue about what the toughest conference in college football is. They'd just as soon walk the walk instead of talk the talk and prove it on the gridiron.

Again, the SEC is a great conference, but the whole "can't win bowl games because we get banged up during our regular season" excuse is starting to get very old. Ask Ben Roethlisberger how banged up he would get during MAC conference games.

Think it's easy to go into Reser Stadium at Oregon State and pull out a victory? Think again. Just ask USC or any other Pac-10 team how easy it is.

Don't think a team gets banged up after they play West Virginia? Then you're wrong. Regardless of the arguments of SEC fans, no conference game is easy for any team in college football, especially on the road.

Last year, the Big 12 was a conference on the rise again, and this year the Big 12 has proved that from top to bottom, it is a force to be reckoned with.

At about the halfway point in the season, there are six Big 12 teams ranked in the top 15 of the coaches' poll, all with solid victories over both conference and non-conference foes. Out of all of them, Texas Tech looks the least proven but still upholding the fact that they are a very good team.

Chase Daniel, Sam Bradford, and Colt McCoy are every bit as good as, if not better than, Tim Tebow, John Parker Wilson, and Matt Stafford. And don't think for a second that the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party holds supremacy over the Red River Rivalry.

Also, the Big 12 region is traditionally home to some of the best developmental football in the nation. These kids are handed a football when they are first sat down in their playpen, and they eat football-shaped birthday cakes every year as children.

They are bought up students of Math, Science, English, Social Studies, and Texas or Oklahoma or Kansas State or A&M football. They play the game until the sun goes down after they finish their homework and eat dinner.

Week after week, the Big 12 is going to beat up on each other this year, and a one-loss winner of the conference deserves to go to the National Championship more so than any other one-loss team in the country.

Alabama had better go undefeated to make it to the big game because they have proved that they should be a top two team in the country, if not the best, because this year the Big 12 has proved that it's going to be hard to make it out of that conference without a loss.

Quite frankly, if it came down to a one-loss Texas or Oklahoma against a one-loss Florida or Alabama, it would be a crime to go with the SEC team given the toughness of the Big 12 this year.

While it can't be argued that the SEC is a great conference, it seems clear that the Big 12 is making its case as the capital of college football.

Lousville Hasn't Relinquished Football Dominance to Kentucky Quite Yet

Gregory Salyer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:34:00 -0400

If there are two things I'm not a fan of, they would have to be the University of Kentucky and the Courier-Journal's Eric Crawford (sorry Eric, I know you're heartbroken). Eric has proclaimed that Lexington is now the football capital of Kentucky.

Why? Because of a last minute touchdown last year at home, and a fourth quarter meltdown on Sunday? Even though Kentucky controlled most of the game by just a touchdown and a field goal, that makes them the mecca of football in the state?

Hardly, Eric.

I believe that just because UK has taken two games in a row doesn't necessarily make them the greatest thing to ever happen to the sport in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. What about the four straight years prior to last year, where Louisville basically destroyed them? Shouldn't they match that to even be considered competitive?

Seriously, I may be somewhat biased, but I usually carry pretty realistic views and expectations, and I wouldn't go so far as to say that Lexington is the football capital of Kentucky just yet. I wouldn't even say that Louisville is either.

I might have to vote for Bowling Green since they're the last ones to see a national championship in the sport, or the only one.

Honestly, when was Kentucky's last truly stellar season? 1977 or something like that? They weren't that good last year, and honestly, they're not that good this year. I'm not saying that Louisville is, but I'd match up last year's Kentucky team against the 2006 Louisville team, and we'd probably walk away with at least a 25-point victory.

Point being, Kentucky is going to have to do a little more than a 7-5 season and a pretty shoddy victory (like I said in an early post, that 27-2 victory was pretty deceitful) to impress me or even be considered the "football capital of Kentucky."

Roll out a 62-7 beating en route to winning a BCS bowl, and then I'll call Lexington the football capital of Kentucky.

Bad Eric. Bad.

Go Get Him.

Awf-UL: Louisville Suffers Embarassing Loss

Gregory Salyer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:59:00 -0400

I'm usually the most positive person there is when it comes to UofL football. But there is no way to sugarcoat the game versus Kentucky this past Sunday—if you even want to call it a game.

All I can really say is that if things don't turn around, and fast, the fans had better brace for a tremendously tough season. If we're as bad against Tennessee Tech as we were against Kentucky, we won't win, plain and simple.

First off, the offense looked horrible. I didn't expect them to show up playing like the New England Patriots, but I also didn't expect them to show up playing like a team of eight-year-olds who have never played the game before. I know that's harsh, but honestly, where was the offense? They couldn't get the ball moving.

Hunter Cantwell didn't look poised in the pocket at all, which is the one place he should look comfortable, considering we actually have a pretty good offensive line. Hunter just seemed to be putting way too much on the ball in two ways. He would either send a bullet on a short pass when he didn't need to...or he would give it way too much air, overshooting the receiver and often ending up in the hands of a Kentucky defensive back.

One of our big problems, and one that may haunt us the entire year, is the lack of experience among the receiving corps. We just lost two of the more talented wide receivers that UofL has ever seen in Douglas and Urrutia (despite Mario's lackluster season last year).

Beaumont and Chichester didn't look bad, but they just have no experience. They just need time, and they should be solid.

I don't even know what to say about the running game. We may as well not have even run the ball on Sunday. That's probably going to be our biggest problem on the offensive side of the ball this year. We simply have no established running game.

I don't think anyone was overly impressed with Anthony Allen last year, but he would be a big improvement over what we have now.

I guess every cloud has a silver lining—kudos to the defense for stepping up and really keeping us in the game. The 27-2 score does not reflect the game in its entirety, as we were only trailing by eight at one point in the fourth quarter.

The defense actually did great, holding Kentucky to roughly the same offensive stats that we had, the only real difference being the multiple turnovers committed by the Louisville offense.

We stayed in the game for three-and-a-half quarters thanks to the defense. It's the same story as last year: We just couldn't finish. If we would have finished each game last year, we very well could have been playing in January, the only huge loss being South Florida.

Let me just end by saying that it feels awfully wrong to look at Louisville's standings and see "Points For" as 2 and "Points Against" as 27—not to mention the 0-1 record. Let's just hope that we can shake off the offensive bugs and pound Tennessee Tech next week.

As sad as that sounds, it's not a given.

Louisville Football: Athletic Director Says Cardinals Are "Rebuilding"

Gregory Salyer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:45:00 -0400

University of Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich has stated the obvious.

“We’re definitely in a rebuilding process," Jurich said. "We’re very limited from a depth standpoint. The next two years...I just want to get through them.”

There's nothing wrong with rebuilding phases. We've seen all big-name schools go through them. Alabama, USC, Notre Dame...the only problem is, most of those schools had a good run of probably 30 to 40 years before they saw slumps.

Let's put it this way, we're nowhere near the elite of elite programs. Moving to the Big East, winning the Orange Bowl and attracting a handful of four- and five- star recruits has definitely moved the program up a level. But we're still nowhere near where we need to be if we want to be considered with the elite. Last season's slump proved that.

At the same time, we have an enormous amount of potential. We have the potential to be competing for the Big East championship within a few years and we have the potential to aim for a BCS bowl every year.

Right now, the best thing for the school to do is back up coach Steve Kragthorpe. He put together a recruiting class that has the potential to develop into a great class down the road and he has made some top-notch hires with Ron English and some of the other position coaches.

We're also stacked on quarterbacks for the next four years. I think that the fans are excited to see what Hunter Cantwell can do. I also think that NFL scouts are anxious to see how well he performs.

It's funny, usually when you have a player, especially a quarterback, of Brian Brohm's caliber, it's usually hard to fill their shoes. That still won't be easy or anything, but I could point you to quite a few fans who preferred Cantwell over Brohm (which I think is kind of dumb, but that's neither here nor there).

When it comes down to it, I think Cantwell has the confidence that he needs to take over, and the bar isn't set that high for him considering a winning season, even 7-5, will be an improvement over last year.

Our biggest problem is still going to be that defense. Ron English has a lot to do, and not much to work with. The departure of Lamar Myles didn't help at all either, leaving us with basically no linebackers and a very limited amount of veteran leadership on the defensive side of the ball.

This is a situation where we really need to be patient, as fans, players and coaches. We're not going to be competing for the Big East championship next year, but as long as we aim forward and don't take any major steps back, we'll be back up there in a year or two.

MLB: An Offseason To Forget

Gregory Salyer — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:57:53 -0400

I can't lie—the Boston Red Sox may be turning into the new baseball empire that everyone will soon hate.

I would be lying, though, if I said that I wasn't sitting in front of my television last October rooting for them to bring home its second World Series title in just a little under a century.

That may have been the last decent story about baseball in the past six months.

Last December, baseball fans witnessed the biggest baseball drama since the 1994 strike, the Dowd Report or even the Black Sox Scandal of 1919—the release of the Mitchell Report.

Millions tuned their televisions to ESPN to realize that their heroes were being accused of tampering with the game, by way of performance-enhancing drugs. Heroes such as Lenny Dykstra, David Justice, Gary Sheffield, Chuck Knoblauch and of course, Roger Clemens.

In all, the Mitchell Report linked 89 of our heroes to the use of performance-enhancing drugs or Human Growth Hormone. Some came clean, some denied it, some just flat out avoided it. But a drama spawned off of the Mitchell Report that soap operas such as Days Of Our Lives, General Hospital or All My Children couldn't even compete with: The accusations of Roger Clemens' steroid use.

All of a sudden, accusations of Clemens using performance enhancing drugs seemed to be a dime a dozen. Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee admitted injecting Clemens with the drugs and Andy Pettite and Jason Grimsley also stated that Clemens was guilty of steroid use.

Less than a month after the Mitchell Report was released and just a day after appearing on 60 Minutes, Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against McNamee.

Fast forward to February 13th, 2008.

Roger Clemens and his former trainer, McNamee appeared on Capitol Hill for a Congressional hearing on the issue. Clemens had one story while McNamee had another and while they were under oath, it became evident that one of them wasn't telling the truth.

"It's hard to believe you, sir, I hate to say that. You're one of my heroes. But it's hard to believe," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told Clemens in what may have been some of the most harsh words heard throughout the whole hearing.

The case is currently in the hands of the FBI.

A lesser-known story that put pain in the hearts of baseball fans was the death of a legend this past offseason. Former Reds pitcher and radio broadcaster Joe Nuxhall.

Nuxhall, also known as "the Ol' Lefthander", put together a respectable career with the Reds. He signed with the Reds at the age of 15 and is, to this day, the youngest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game.

He signed during World War II, and played on a unique wartime roster at the start of his career. In all, his career included a 135-117 record with an ERA of 3.90 while making the All Star roster twice.

Joe's playing career isn't what most Cincinnatians or die-hard baseball fans remember Joe for. It was the sound of his voice on the radio, calling a game along side with Marty Brennaman. It was his catch phrase "...Rounding third and heading for home." Probably most of all, it was the heart-warming, genuine smile he gave you when he met you for the first, second or third time.

Nuxy, as called by many of those close to him, was one of those guys who always put others before him. Whether it be the fans, the players, other members of the media or just someone he crossed paths with in his day to day life. He would shake your hand, look you in the eye, ask you how you were doing and actually mean it.

His funeral in nearby Fairfield, Ohio was attended by thousands. Thousands of friends, fans and colleagues. Thousands cried upon the news of his death. Thousands will miss his voice on the radio, even if he just occasionally called a game, this upcoming season.

He undoubtably will leave a void for the Reds season, no matter how good or bad. Something will be missing, but the memory of Nuxy will always remain with Reds fans.

It's been a hard offseason for Reds fans and baseball fans around the world. An offseason of "what if's" and questions about the future of baseball—hard times as we see some of our heroes accused of cheating.

But as baseball progresses and the Reds re-emerge, we can at least be assured that somewhere, The Ol' Lefthander is somewhere, watching down and giving one of his genuine smiles to the game that we all love.

Louisville Basketball: A Whole New Ball Game for the Cardinals

Gregory Salyer — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:33:47 -0500

Earlier in the season, it looked like the Louisville Cardinals were doomed to repeat the same underachieving effort that they displayed two years ago in their inaugural season in the Big East.

Derrick Caracter was still struggling with the same off-court problems that he had trouble with since he enrolled at the university. David Padgett and Juan Palacios were suffering from injuries.

On New Year's Day the team had a record of 9-4. Having lost to a less than impressive Cincinnati squad in Freedom Hall, there was already discussion going around about the Cardinals being a bubble team and were only one game into Big East Conference play.

All of that seems like it was an entire season ago.

Since then, Louisville has become one of the hottest teams in the country. After the Cincinnati loss, the Cardinal bounced back to beat rival UK for the first time since 2003. Derrick Caracter has stepped up to become a leader on the team and seems to give his all every game. Palacios played solid and David Padgett has proven himself to be one of the best big men in the country.

The Cardinals have beat the ranked Marquette team twice, at home and on the road, by an average of 18 points. They were finally starting to play with confidence when Georgetown came to town for what may have been Louisville's biggest game since joining the Big East in 2005.

College GameDay was in town. The game was designated as a White Out game, where all fans were encouraged to wear white. And wouldn't you know, Rick Pitino, the man who would give his team poor marks in some aspect of the game even if they won the national title, was caught up in the hype. He walked onto the court for the first half of the game wearing an all white suit.

After playing a flat first half, the team rallied to beat the Hoyas by a somewhat comfortable eight point margin.

There hasn't really been a difference for the Cardinals except the fact that they just needed to get healthy and play a more consistent game. Since they have played with the potential they've always had, everything has fallen into place. They look more like the team that the Big East coaches picked, along with Georgetown, to win the Big East title.

Since the Georgetown game, the Cardinals have racked up wins against Depaul on the road, a tough and underrated Providence team, as well as a Syracuse squad that has definite potential to make the NCAA tournament.

It hasn't been easy for the Cards, nor has it always looked pretty, but they are playing with confidence. They believe that they can win and they are maturing as a team. They have been playing complete games with strong second half efforts.

Bench players, such as Preston Knowles, have stepped up and made major contributions on offense, as well as defense. Padgett, who at one time in his career was criticized for not using his size to his advantage, has begun to power his way to the basket. Earl Clark has been on fire and Andre McGee has transformed his experience into leadership on the court.

The Cardinals have had an up and down season, but they seem to be on the right track now. The same track that many publications, and so-called experts, picked them to be on as a major contender for the final four come March.

It's still not going to be easy. They have to play road games at Pittsburgh and Georgetown, as well as games against two solid teams in Notre Dame and Villanova. They might even drop a game or two, but they are playing with the confidence that make great tournament teams and lead to strong tournament runs.

They are finally playing like they belong with the big dogs of college basketball.

Ted Roof to Minnesota?

Gregory Salyer — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:12:58 -0500

We haven't even had Ted Roof for a month and he is being courted by the University of Minnesota for their opening at defensive coordinator. He was interviewed for the position and appears to be the front runner for the job.

Honestly, we saw this with Bobby Petrino and that just leads to the question... What good is anyone's word anymore? What good is a contract if you're not going to uphold it? If the guy wants to go to Minnesota rather that UofL, I don't have the slightest problem with that other than the fact that he made an obligation to be here and he's not sticking to it.

I really hope he stays but the chances look gloom. When you weigh them... Big Ten Defensive Coordinator -vs- Big East Linebackers Coach, of course you are going to go with Big Ten Defensive Coordinator because it wouldn't make sense not to. Plus, although Minnesota has been down these past few years, they're still a great program filled with plenty of tradition.

In short, Roof is a great coach. I really, really hope that he stays with us here. But how permanent was this coaching position anyway? I mean, the man went from being a head coach in the ACC to being a linebackers coach.

I'm sure that he wants to be a head coach again, and the closer step is as a defensive coordinator.

There, I've made my peace with you Ted. I hope that you decide to stay but if you do go, best of luck to you, and thanks for a solid month.

Louisville BB: Louisville's New Marque(tt)e Rivalry

Gregory Salyer — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 21:22:04 -0500

Louisville has many rivals.

The most obvious of these is the Kentucky Wildcats, just 80 miles down Interstate 64. To describe the amount of hatred between these two teams is nearly impossible.

You can argue the Duke-UNC rivalry all day long, but I don't believe I've ever seen two teams despise each other as much as U of L and UK do. It's the kind of rivalry that family members disown each other over.

There are several reasons for the U of L-UK rivalry. It's an in-state rivalry, so most fans have the option to pick one or the other. It also splits the state in half geographically as most of Eastern Kentucky roots for UK while most of Western Kentucky roots for Louisville.

Then there's that whole Rick Pitino thing.

Cincinnati is also a rival of Louisville. For as long as anyone can remember, these two teams have been in the same conference, dating back to the 1970's when these teams were both in the Metro Conference. They've played each other in one sport or another for most of the 20th century.

The Memphis rivalry has all but been deserted. After Louisville left Conference-USA to join the Big East in 2005, the two teams haven't played each other in basketball since. It's a shame because right now both programs seem to be at or near the top of their games, and it would make for a great bout between two heavyweights in the world of college basketball.

Now there's Marquette.

It's an odd rivalry, but due to the level of competition between these teams throughout the past decade, it's nearly inevitable. The contention is growing by the season. I don't know if there is a basketball coach that drives Louisville fans up the wall more than Tom Crean.

Looking at the surface, you wouldn't think they would be rivals. For one, they're far away geographically speaking. They've been playing in the same conference since the mid-1990's but that's only about 15 years; it's not an entire century full of competition.

So why do these two teams hate each other so much?

When you start to look deeper, it becomes obvious. Both programs are legendary and were led by renowned coaches in Marquette's Al McGuire and Louisville's Denny Crum. Both employ future Hall of Fame coaches now in Tom Crean and Rick Pitino. And both have national championships under their belts (Marquette won in 1977, Louisville won in 1980 and '86).

That's nothing though. You wouldn't really understand unless you've watched these teams play each other over the past decade.

Half a dozen games have come down to buzzer-beating shots. Enough harsh words between players, coaches, and fans to fill entire notebooks. Both programs have been successful in recent years, hanging around the top 25 polls. And both teams have advanced to the Final Four in recent years (Marquette in 2003 and Louisville in 2005).

Louisville fans still cringe when they hear the names Brian Wardle, Dwayne Wade, Steve Novak and Travis Diener. Marquette fans can't stand to hear about Reece Gains, Francisco Garcia and especially Wisconsin-native Jerry "Bleepin" Smith.

It's a rivalry for a new day and age, between two programs that are longing for the success that they once had over a quarter of a century ago. Though neither school is the other's biggest rival (you'll never hear a Louisville fan tell you that they look forward to the Marquette game over the Kentucky game), the games they've been playing prove they sure are trying to be.

Sorry, SEC: Your "Speed" Doesn't Impress Me Much

Gregory Salyer — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:55:52 -0500

So I've been going all season long hearing the phrase "SEC Speed."

The phrase is like an overplayed song on the radio: No one really cares to hear it anymore, except for the fans of the song, but the radio DJ keeps on playing it.

Ever since Ohio State lost to Florida last season, it's like someone has repeatedly hit the replay button on the #1 song "SEC Speed"—but it's really starting to get a little old.

The SEC has been a great conference these past few years and the most competitive out of all the BCS conferences. I'm sorry, though, it doesn't make the SEC bigger or faster or stronger. Nor is the SEC going to be on top forever.

Everyone argues that the Big Ten just isn't on the same level as the SEC because of Ohio State these past two years. That has nothing to do with it. That just means that Ohio State isn't on the same level as Florida and LSU in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Just because someone is playing on an SEC team doesn't make them faster than their Big Ten equivalent. They may be faster—Auburn may have recruited a faster running back than Wisconsin—but not as a result of the patch on his jersey that reads "SEC." That's because, at the same time, Michigan is recruiting a running back that is faster than the Auburn guy or the LSU recruit.

Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Peter Warrick, Pat White, Lawrence Maroney, Troy Smith, Desmond Howard, Warrick Dunn. These are all fast guys, and none of them played in the SEC. They were faster than anyone else in the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 10 and ACC—and they would have been faster than anyone else in the SEC too.

Recall the late 1990's and the early 2000's, when you would constantly find Big Ten teams like Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State ranked in the top 25 along with Ohio State and Michigan. At the same time, I can only recall a few of the SEC teams that would be ranked—Florida, Auburn, Georgia and LSU.

Things change. Teams and conferences fluctuate, and states and regions surge with good recruits. Just because a conference is down right now doesn't necessarily mean that it's eternally inferior to another. Just because Ohio State lost to two SEC teams doesn't mean that the SEC is the all-time pinnacle of college football—or that SEC states produce the best recruits.

Take a gander the almighty 2006 Florida team—a team that defines SEC style football and the "SEC Speed." They're a team that pulls so many "great" in-state prospects and "great" recruits throughout "SEC Country."

But wait—three of their best players weren't even from "SEC Country." Chris Leak is from North Carolina. Jarvis Moss is from Texas. And running back Deshawn Wynn is from... OHIO!

To me, that sounds like Atlantic Coast Speed, or Texas Speed or Midwest Speed. They didn't become any better or any faster because they went to an SEC school. Had Leak gone to NC State, Moss went to Texas and Deshawn Wynn went to Ohio State, they all would have become the same players that they are today.

I'm not bashing on the SEC. I think its a great conference an has the highest level of competitiveness, along with the other BCS conferences. Sure they might be the best conference right now—but 5 years ago it was the Big Ten, 10 years ago it was the Big 12 and 15 years ago it was the Big East. In five years it will be the Pac 10 and in 10 years it will be the ACC.

Everyone seems to take their turn at the top.

Gregory Salyer is the author of Red Reign, an in-depth Louisville Cardinal blog.