What I Have Learned in College Football 101 (2009 Edition)

Well, the month of September is almost over, so I thought I would take a minute to assess the 2009 College Football season.

Here are the 10 things that stood out to me during the first month.

1. The College Football Inquirer

Following college football is more irritating than the National Enquirer! Every week fans and pundits alike act as if the season is over.

They over/under-rank teams (I never really understood the concept behind creating a battle of ranked teams based on a preseason poll created before the players had time to enroll in classes), over-diagnosing every win/loss as if it is the crystal ball to the rest of the season (I understand that college football lacks the drama of a end-of-season playoff but is a week one win/loss really that big of a deal?).

To the previous point: The Miami Hurricanes defeat two top 20 teams (No. 18 FSU/No. 14 GT), causing them to be over-ranked in the top 10, and are then "upset" by No. 11 Virginia Tech on the road in Blacksburg (VA Tech’s ranking the result of an opening game loss to a top five Alabama team, when they were themselves ranked in the top 10, on a neutral field)!

Finally, the Oklahoma Sooners fall to BYU (without their leading receiver for the entire game and their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for the entire second half) by less than a field goal. The pundit’s synopsis is that Oklahoma is overrated and BYU is not the leading non-BCS contender for a BCS bowl bid.

2. The Big Game

Each week, certain games are over-hyped for no real reason. After Michigan beat Notre Dame, in Ann Arbor mind you, it was determined that the Wolverines were back as one of the nation’s elite, while the Fighting Irish were relegated to the land of the has-been overrated.

For the record, Notre Dame has been a has-been for the last 15 years, while Michigan can attribute much of last season’s struggles (the school’s first losing season in over 30 years) to a first-year head coach not having the players to run his offense.

Likewise, Miami’s week one win over an underachieving Florida State team did nothing more than secure the Hurricanes a much-needed win in their annual in-state rivalry game.

3. Lane Kiffin Vs. Gator Nation

Lane Kiffin and Tennessee actually beat Florida! If you ignore the scoreboard for a minute, you will see that the Gators were huge favorites and the Vols not only hung with them, they also exposed the following facts:

(1) After four years Urban Meyer still has no running back for his system (no, Gator Nation, Tim Tebow does not count);

(2) The Gator receivers are really not that good if you actually challenge/cover them and/or pressure the quarterback;

(3) The Gator D has some concerns, especially in the secondary.

In the end Kiffin got the last laugh when Florida chalked the close game up to “flu-like symptoms” that no one really knew about prior to the game. Hey Urban, let’s see how that one works on the recruiting trail.

4. The Buckeye Curse

The Ohio State University Buckeyes will NEVER win the "Big Game" under Jim Tressel (unless you count the OSU-MICH game). I will give the Buckeyes credit for making the USC game close this season, but they just don't seem to have the mental makeup to beat any team outside of the Big Ten that matters.

5. College Football Affirmative Action: Black coaches need more chances.

Aside from the fact that there are only FIVE in all of College Football, each has already shown an aptitude for success in his own right.

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin has the Cougars looking like the 2009 BCS Busters with consecutive wins over Big 12 foes (Oklahoma State/Texas Tech). If the Cougars can beat UTEP next week and keep the "F*&King Cow Bells" from ringing in their heads (maybe they can talk to Denzel Washington/Derek Luke to get some ideas), they will be sitting at 5-0 (1-0) heading into the meat of the Conference USA season.

New Mexico State’s DeWayne Walker has his team one win shy of last year’s total after the first month. True enough, New Mexico first year coach Mike Locksley has yet to win a game, but look at what he was given to work with.

Finally, Buffalo coach Turner Gill, while struggling this season after the first month, is a year removed from guiding the Bulls to the school’s first MAC Division/Conference titles and its first Bowl game in school history (not counting the game the school boycotted for racial reasons).

The evidence is there. Just ask Miami’s Randy Shannon, who is 2-1 (2-0) while playing arguably the hardest month of any school in major Division I football (four ranked teams in four weeks).

It is time for college football to get in line with America...or at least the America we think we live in! 

6. The Overrated ACC

The ACC sucks because Virginia and Duke lost to Bowl Subdivision schools William & Mary and Richmond, respectively? NO...Duke sucks, and Virginia's coach Al Groh will be applying for unemployment in 2010. How can one or two teams create a reputation for an entire conference? 

7. I AM Legend

Rich Rodriguez's system works. I know his first season in Ann Arbor was pretty bad—actually, it was God-awful—but "he's back!" After the month of September, the Wolverines are 4-0 (1-0) and head into next week’s battle in East Lansing in good shape.

All this because of one full offseason of workouts (so some of them were more that the allowed amount per NCAA rules, but you see what cheating gets you...).

Not to be lost in the success is the little-known freshman quarterback (Tate Forcier), who, according to one broadcaster who called the MICH/IND game this past Saturday, is already a legend. 

8. The Replacement

West Virginia's Bill Stewart is actually a decent head coach. After upsetting Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl two years ago, the much criticized coach won nine games in his first full year and finished the first month of the 2009 season with a 2-1 record (his team beat East Carolina and lost to Auburn on the road). 

9. The New Guy Can Play

Greg Paulus can actually play football! After the first month of the season, the Orange have one less win than all of last year, and he is a big reason. He has completed 66 percent of his 86 passes and looks more like a veteran than a guy who has not played football in half a decade.

10. Tim Tebow OVERRATED

I know he has a Heisman Trophy and guided the Gators to the National Title last year (he also played an important role in the Gators' National Title his freshman year), but can we be honest a little?

Gator Nation, despite the numbers, Mr. Tebow is an inconsistent passer, and he is not that good of a runner. Without the aid of all the misdirection provided by Urban Meyer’s system, those runs are a waste of time (see the Tennessee game, where the Vols were able to expose this fact).

Now I will never question his leadership or heart—those two things are on point with the hype—but he is nothing more than a guy whose game is tailor-made for a college system and will subsequently not translate to the NFL. He is not fast enough to run the Wildcat Offense at the pro level, and he is not good enough to play quarterback.