BCSBusters “OUT of WHACK STATS” - “Steering The BCS Ship”

Well, Now! It took all but two seconds for ESPN to reveal its allegiance to the SEC as Reece Davis opened the 2007 college football season stating “Everyone seems to have forgotten the magnitude of the throttling that Tennessee put on California.” Later reiterating, “Cal’s defense ranked 91st last year and they lost their best player due to graduation (shrugging shoulders)…” To the casual observer (of which there are many who tune in to ESPN) this is most likely passed off as well informed wit, adding a bit of humor to the much anticipated opening weekend of college football, especially considering the de-shoveled appearance of Davis after counting down the last 25 hours prior to the season opener on ESPN’s live college football countdown.

Minutes before, at the tail end of Sports-Center, PAC-10 bash-er Craig James put an ultimatum on the PAC-10. “CAL must win in order to change the perception of the PAC as being a soft-conference. The reputation of the entire conference is riding on the outcome of this game.” He’s been singing this song since 2003, with a bitter tongue considering the NCAA Infractions Committee (Big-10/PAC-10 alliance) was involved in the infamous SMU scandal (resulting in the Death Penalty), of which he was a direct participant.

On Friday night, during the half-time show of the Washington - Syracuse game, Davis again utilized the TOMA technique “the beat down occurring in Knoxville has been burned into their (CAL) soul, the Bears are looking for redemption.” The only thing that has been burned into our soul is the constant bashing the PAC-10 has received for the last decade via the techniques utilized by ESPN and CBS - the two flagship stations in Cahoot’s with the SEC.

In a previous article this week I spoke of the power that TOMA (better known as Top Of The Mind Awareness) has in creating a branding identity in college football. If you’ve been paying attention to the “game within the game” and the signs that point directly to the media, such as ESPN, who ultimately strive to create the thunderous match-ups involving the traditional (status quo ) powers in college football, it is easy to identify.

Most fans, however, rarely remember the controversies stretching from one season to the next. Due to the branding identity created via the practice of TOMA, most will be influenced by this subliminal form of advertising whether they realize it or not. This is not limited to the fans as many sportswriters will tune into the ESPN, ABC, TBS, NFL-Network and CBS pre-game and half-time shows for their information before submitting their Top-25 votes before Monday morning. The theme regarding the strength of the Big-12, SEC and Big-10 schools will be vehemently burned into their soul, along with ours, much like CAL’s misfortune on Rocky-Top last year.

Even though co-analyst Robert Smith (along with Lou Holtz) stated “CAL will likely win - talking insight-fully regarding the role that turnovers and big plays contributed in the opening debacle last year with Tennessee, the mindset (due to the power of TOMA) has been set in stone, for even if the PAC-10 manages to go undefeated this weekend, nary a whisper will be spoken regarding the power of the PAC.

This has happened so many times since I began my research project four years ago, that you will likely become annoyed with this author who will continually drum away at this argument until people recognize the roots behind the BCS Controversy, which has a constant and continual “Bash The PAC” theme. The same players seem to be involved year-after-year and the message is always the same - The PAC is weak and the SEC is the best conference in the country! I didn’t want to speak about this AGAIN, but ESPN has forced my hand as there is a clear intent behind this campaign of which I want everyone to recognize.

If coaches could rank their uneasiness and confidence regarding any game during the regular season in college football, the first game would rank the highest in uneasiness and the lowest as far as confidence. First games are a crap-shoot because you never know if your team is ready…if you’ve over or under prepared as a coach… and injuries and off-season motivation play pivotal factors in the performance of the opening weekend. Which is why it is so important to gain momentum from a bowl victory as you head into the off-season condition program and head out into the recruiting scene.

Tennessee was at a major cross-roads heading into last year, coming off their worst season in decades at 5-6 (2005). Intensity would be high this opening weekend of 06′, especially with offensive guru David CutCliffe back in the fold. I stated several times with caution that “VOL Nation would be circling the wagons heading into this season opening (2006) match-up.” I told many friends and readers of my old blog, which is no longer accessible, that California would be walking into a major hornets nest in Knoxville. CAL coach Jeff Tedford admitted that the game quickly went sideways “faster than any other he had coached” stating “We’ve never seen anything like this at CAL since I’ve been here - the atmosphere was incredible.” But even more incredible was silence (relief actually) behind Tennessee’s next game - almost an even bigger debacle against Air Force, who was gutsy enough to go for two after a miraculous fourth quarter comeback fell short due to an ill conceived play call.

But, things are never as good as they seem or as bad as they seem - somewhere in between reality lies. That is a quote that Lou Holtz made famous many times during his coaching career, and his comment last night after Reece Davis mocked the PAC-10, “Nothing scares you more than the opening ball game,” rings true to form if you’ve coached or followed college football with a keen eye.

Reece Davis, Craig James, Will McDonough and John Saunders are always skeptical about the PAC-10, and this form of advertising (TOMA) will be used repeatedly throughout the season by these individuals. They will also utilize the scheduling issues if a non-BCS team (likely to be Hawai’i or TCU this year) starts threatening the BCS throne, defended at all costs by the traditional powers of the CFA (College Football Association).

I didn’t want to tread these waters again, but I had to write about this today, because I predicted it would take less than a minute for ESPN to “Bash The PAC,” and uphold and praise the status of the traditional powers that be (the teams associated with the CFA)… it actually took less than three seconds - so let the steering begin. I will be counting these smear attacks on the PAC-10 and other Non-BCS West Coast teams (WAC, Mountain West and C-USA) throughout the season in my Friday article called “OUT OF WHACK STATS.”

I’m hoping for a great first weekend to the 2007 season, minus of course, the continual attacks. Who knows, in another decade - as the radical playoff idea grows into a movement - maybe the fans could actually witness the great - thunderous- match-ups like Tennessee and California on a regular basis as part of the regular season, which would ultimately determine the bowl games, icing on an already delicious desert!