The 25 Biggest Media Darlings in College Football

The truth is college football is no fairer than life.

Yes, as some folks are popular and well thought of in life for no apparent reason, certain college football personalities and entire programs garner attention based on a set of variables that many times lack sensibilities.

Since the mainstream media controls the flow of stories, coverage and overall tone of the information we receive regarding college football, they get to pick who gets the most buzz.

And since the media is formed by fallible human beings pre-programmed with certain preferences, likes and dislikes, some participants in our game get better coverage than others.

The following slideshow pinpoints 25 individuals or entire programs that are the apple of the media’s very transparent eyes.

These are the people and teams who receive such an over saturation of positive exposure that they, in many cases, shoulder the burden of a legion of haters to go along with the love letters they receive regularly from reporters.

Notre Dame

Despite the fact that the Golden Domer’s last two National Championships came in 1988 and 1977, you’d be hard pressed to find a bigger media darling in all of sport than Notre Dame football

Yes, this is the program that hasn’t finished in the final AP Top 25 since 2006, but still manages to have a steamy, lucrative relationship with NBC.

The Irish don’t just have their own TV network; they have exclusive rights to sell their wares on one of the Big Three, where reverence to the mystique of Notre Dame football is paid in a cheesy, melodramatic fashion.

And all this regardless of actual on field results.

Chris Petersen

Regardless of which side of the fence you camp on in terms love/hate Boise State, Chris Petersen deserves our respect.

Here’s a guy who hasn’t had a Top 50 rated recruiting class, ever, but has managed to win at every conference home and in every BCS bowl he’s ever supposed to have not belonged in.

But still, is Petersen really a genius and what would happen if he took over the reins at say Tennessee or Washington or Texas?

Petersen represents the underdog faction beautifully, but why is it we spend so much time talking about him and so little time discussing the coaching stylings of Gary Patterson at TCU who has done as much, and maybe more, than Petersen?

Clemson

Clemson is admittedly a low grade member of this list, meaning their “media darling” tag is less deserved than others featured here.

What did achieve the Tigers' inclusion is the treatment they received coming into last season’s BCS Orange Bowl, where they were thoroughly expected, and verbally touted, to run all over West Virginia.

Perhaps the reason why everyone, including myself, jumped on the Clemson bandwagon (after nobody picked them to do anything coming into 2011), was more disrespectful to the Mountaineers than it was preferential to the Tigers.

Regardless, it’s difficult not to be drawn to a tradition packed, colorful program with an enthusiastic young coach like Dabo Swinney and Clemson.

If they continue to win in grandiose fashion, expect the Tigers to be the darling of the ACC.

 

Lou Holtz

Now a member of the media himself, Lou Holtz is a darling of the darling designators.

I personally like Holtz; I enjoy watching him on TV and I respect what he did during his six stops as a head coach in college football, but seriously, when is too much too much?

Maybe it's Holtz’s connection with Notre Dame football that brings the continuous accolades from a purely coaching standpoint, which would frankly be more suitably directed at a guy like Nick Saban.

Michigan

Even the ugliness of the Rich Rodriguez experiment at Michigan didn’t completely run the national TV cameras out of town, which means the hope of Hoke rolled a few more in.

Many would argue that Ohio State, not Michigan, is the real media darling of the Big Ten, but with the national media’s current level of red alert regarding even the smallest misstep in Columbus, claiming the Buckeyes are favored would be well, nuts.

If you refuse to believe that Michigan is not a glitzy sweetheart type, then explain how the Blue and Maize, who failed to win the Legends division, went to the BCS Sugar Bowl instead of Michigan State.

Sparty finished 7-1 in Big Ten play while the Wolverines were 6-2, and really what held Michigan State back from the big money dance was three-fold.

First, they had the audacity to lose the championship game, by three points, giving them an extra loss in an extra game.

Second, Michigan State has a smaller fanbase who, though passionate, doesn’t travel quite as well; I’m unsure as to how number of travel plans booked works into the BCS calculation, but apparently it does.

Lastly, the Spartans don’t get the adoration of a media who would rather talk about Michigan, regardless of which team has won more actual football games in a given season.

Urban Meyer

Urban Meyer’s resume certainly affords him a certain level of credibility and yes, media love.

Meyer has been ultra-successful at each of his three coaching stops and is primed to continue the festivities at his new post at Ohio State.

But when does press keenness become smothering obsession?

Yes, do we really, from a national perspective, need to know that Urban Meyer coached at a clinic in Michigan?

Matt Barkley

The next in line for a bro-mance with college football desk jockeys nationwide, Matt Barkley could well repeat or exceed Andrew Luck’s 2011 man-love numbers in 2012.

Barkley has all the on-field prowess to be a legitimate candidate for all the honors he has been mentioned for, but it’s impossible not to see a healthy dose of “darling” coming for him from the national media.

Florida State

Though the Seminoles’ two national titles from the 1990s definitely earn them some well deserved respect, Florida State is a team that the media continues to taut as having “turned the corner” and are on “the verge of winning it all” when in reality, not much is happening.

Top ranked recruiting classes certainly don’t make favorable predictions for FSU seem like pipe dreams, but still this is a team that’s only won their division twice since the ACC split in 2005.

Yes, these are the guys that haven’t won the ACC since 2005 but still, they’re not only on the radar to win the Atlantic Division but the ACC crown and perhaps compete for a national title.

It’s difficult not to love Chief Osceola and his blazing spear, but perhaps the mainstream media needs to stop the chop until the ‘Noles live up to the hype.

Al Golden

Here’s another fellow who is likeable and this despite the fact that he works with a program that historically, for better or for worse, has been associated with debauchery.

But Golden, like Will Muschamp at Florida, is being heralded as the savior of Miami Hurricanes football before he’s really done anything herald worthy.

At least Golden had previous experience in head coaching via his 27-34 run at Temple, but seriously, other than the tie and the dedication to a job that was not as advertised, what has he done to back up all the hype?

The Hurricanes went 6-6 last season, a year filled with enough off-field distractions to throw anyone off course, but still maybe we should delay the crowning until the next best thing in coaching is, well, the best thing in coaching.

 

USC

The Men of Troy…national titles in five different decades, legendary coaches, gold encrusted breastplates, home of seven Heisman trophy winners.

Yes, it’s easy to see where the buy-in comes from, and it’s frankly logical to deem USC as the beacon of hope in West Coast college football, but boy don’t the media love the Trojans?

If USC really does make a triumphant return to the top of the charts in 2012 you can see ESPN, ABC and BCS licking their cash dripping chops.

Charlie Weis

The media tracking of Charlie Weis’ location in college football is a bit reminiscent of the coverage surrounding where Tiger Woods’ caddies are now.

Really, the parallel is striking because the truth is anyone ever associated with Tiger Woods or Notre Dame football is destined to extra coverage and perhaps a dose of “darling.”

Charlie Weis, who is now saddled with the unenviable role as the head coach at Kansas, went 35-27 over five increasingly painful seasons at Notre Dame and most recently led the Florida offense to a No. 71 national ranking in scoring.

But still, they want to tell us where he is…

Tyrann Mathieu

LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu represents that rare athlete that can combine personality with ability to concoct a sensation.

Mathieu literally did it all in 2011 and though punt returns, fumble returns, picks, sacks and tackles for losses are worth the media attention, does anybody else out there think things went a bit overboard?

Yes, when you find yourself on YouTube looking for video snippets of the honey badger in the wild, perhaps things have gone a bridge too far.

Florida

The Gators media darling status was upgraded in 2011 when they received an invite to the sometimes prestigious Gator Bowl after suffering their worst regular season showing since 1987.

Having Florida play in the Gator Bowl is wildly convenient and sells a boat load of tickets, but honoring two teams who finished the regular season 6-6 with a New Year’s Day bowl game seems almost hysterical.

After winning three national titles with two legendary coaches and being in the mix almost every other year since 1990, it’s easy to see why the media loves Florida.

But the truth of the matter is the darling tag never shines brighter than when a historically great program dips from dominance, and they are still treated like the bees’ knees anyway.

Mack Brown

Certainly not a darling in the eyes of fans of Longhorns’ opponents or, given their fall from grace, Texas fans themselves, Mack Brown plays the schmooze game well enough to get some media love.

Part politician, part good ole’ boy and part member of the big shots club, Mack Brown really does a good job of coming off favorable to reporters and cameras alike.

If things don’t ultimately work out at Texas, perhaps Brown should run for office in Texas.  Due to his quasi-darling status (at least nationally) you’d have to figure he’d fare better than Craig James.

 

Andrew Luck

It’s frankly difficult to think of a guy in college who got more media man-love than Stanford’s Andrew Luck did in 2011.

Luck was certainly skilled and lived up to his big billing but still, all that sappy, borderline stalker-like commentary that followed Luck was alarming.

Frankly, and even though RGIII deserved the big bronze prize, it’s still unreal that Andrew Luck didn’t win the Heisman trophy.

If Andrew Luck would have magically extended his eligibility at Stanford, he could have easily been treated like Tiger Woods or Notre Dame, long term darlings, by the mainstream media.

 

Brian Kelly

Notre Dame’s most recent contribution to the head coaching profession, Brian Kelly, makes our list simply because he’s the big man on campus in South Bend.

Personally, I don’t see Kelly as the darling type, but being the head guy at Notre Dame gets you way more media love than anyone deserves, or might ever want.

EJ Manuel

Though expectations for Florida State QB EJ Manuel in 2012 might be less shiny than they were coming into 2011, the starting QB for a top three team is bound to get lots of media love.

What’s striking about Manuel from a purely “darling” approach is the fact that coming into last season, his first as a starter, he was so well thought of that he earned a No. 2 spot in the voting for ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

High honors indeed for a guy who hadn’t even put a full season in.

Lane Kiffin

Though some would rightly argue that the most of the college football world hates Lane Kiffin, this is a guy who mysteriously gets a bunch of love from the press corps.

Perhaps it’s more “attention” than “love” but still, for a guy we love to hate, Kiffin actually gets a big dose of affection.

Kiffin’s association with glitzy USC certainly doesn’t hurt, and you have to wonder if the Trojans win it all in 2012 if Coach Lane won’t go from “can this guy really coach?” to “the guy who single handedly saved Trojan football” in sixty seconds.

That’s scary.

Mike Leach

Placing “Mike Leach” and “media darling” in the same sentence is almost like putting “Sesame Street on Ice” and “Ultimate Fight Challenge” on the same marquee.

But somehow, someway the non conformist, quirky Leach has gotten under the skin of the same media who he refuses to dance with to the point of a lawsuit.

Maybe the fondness bubbles over because Leach’s antics give reporters something new and fresh to write about in a world where everyone else wears the exact same pants, shirt and belt to work every week.

Landry Jones

Oklahoma’s latest QB product Landry Jones lives under the very real pressure of being the guy who either will or won’t lead the Sooners back to the Promised Land.

If he gets near the golden gates, and he may well do so in 2012, he’ll be up for the Heisman as were those who played under center in Norman before him.

Jones is a great kid and a decent QB but frankly, it seems slightly “darling-esque” if a certain program’s QB is a Heisman finalist every year they win more than 10 games.

Will Muschamp

The cunning race to get Will Muschamp to the head coaching altar was borderline humorous, given the fact that this is a guy who had never served as a head coach at any level.

But, the man who was once dubbed the king-in-waiting at Texas suddenly became the head of one of the nation’s top tier programs, and everyone who had bought into the hype expected the wins to roll off the factory lines like they had in the past.

You could certainly argue that Florida was entering a slight downturn as Urban Meyer left Gainesville, but still, a 7-6 finish with all that talent is as hard to explain as what’s gone down at Texas.

The media's affectionate, celebratory treatment of Muschamp, especially on the national level, is very reminiscent of the way Tony Romo has been handled at Dallas.

Romo had only thrown a couple of passes and flashed a couple of smiles for the Cowboys before he was heralded as the next Troy Aikman.

Troy Aikman…seriously?  One of the most accurate passers in NFL history, the guy with three Super Bowl rings?

Again, could we please stop and think before we start pulling a Beano Cook and declaring that Ron Powlus is going to win AT LEAST two Heisman’s?

 

Boise State

Though the Broncos have their fair share of haters, mostly folks from BCS conferences who have had enough of the whining about how a Mountain West conference slate really does compare with one from the SEC, certain sects of the media love them, a lot.

Perhaps it’s the blue field or maybe it’s because Boise State highlights some inconvenient truths about fairness in today’s college football, but these guys have managed to get themselves on TV every Thursday and Friday night for a couple of decades.

Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier is probably the best coach, from a long term perspective, in college football today.

Add in a Heisman as a player and you’ve got a package that’s almost impossible not to respect, even if you are a hater.

But, please, for the love of all that is good in this world, can we please knock off the whole “Ole’ Ball Coach” routine?

 

Robert Griffin III

Coming into 2011 Baylor’s QB Robert Griffin III wasn’t even on the long, long list to win the Heisman and really, if you think about it, his ascension to bronze-dom is one of the truly fantastic feats in the modern era of college football.

Seriously…how does a guy from BAYLOR win the Heisman trophy?

Despite all the wonder and awe, who out there is a little sick of the media’s minute-by-minute RGIII sock update?

 

Derek Dooley

Another likeable guy who most people want to see succeed; Derek Dooley could be the singular reason Janet Jackson wrote “What Have you Done for Me Lately?”

Dooley is 28-34 over his five years as a college head coach and somehow, someway his 17-20 mark at Louisiana Tech was enough to get him the Tennessee job.

If you don’t think the media loves this man, think back to how many times you turned the TV on to ESPN on Thursday night from 2007 to 2009 and saw Dooley stalking the sidelines while Louisiana Tech played.

And then think about how many times you’ve seen the Bulldogs on the tube since then…