Ask Cfn

[jimotis4heisman]

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2004/Ask_CFN/Ask_CFN.htmWith all the coaching openings, we got into a debate about head coaching jobs. Regardless of if they currently have a coach or not, what schools would you consider the top 5 or 10 jobs in the country? – Jnoto

A: It all depends on what you want. Do you want the pressure of coaching a big-time program that expects compete for a national championship, or would you rather take over a promising program that could be a power under your reign to make you a god. Would you rather be Urban Meyer at Utah or Urban Meyer at Notre Dame? Whatever the criteria, if all the jobs were open right now, here are generally considered to be the ten most prestigious.
1) Notre Dame – A close second to coaching the New York Yankees as the biggest gig in sports.
2) Michigan – The closest thing to Notre Dame to being a nationally followed program.
3) Ohio State – The dream gig for many coaches because so many have Ohio ties.
4) Texas – Always one of the most scrutinized positions in the football mad state. You can fall out of bed and recruit a great team.
5) Penn State – When Paterno retires it’s going to be a dream and a nightmare. Who wants to be the one to follow him?
6) Alabama – All coaches idolized The Bear. He is now far enough removed for most top coaches to want the job (even though Dennis Franchione bailed for Texas A&M.).<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P> </O:P>
7) USC – The combination of the weather, the big city and the tradition makes this a gem. There’s no pro football team in L.A. making USC and UCLA football even bigger deals than they would be in most big cities.
8) Nebraska – With arguably college football’s best fans and nothing else going on around that part of the country, the head coach at Nebraska is the number one celebrity in an entire region <O:P></O:P>
9) Tennessee – 100,000+ fans and a tradition of superior talent make this a top gig.
10) Iowa – The Haden Fry factor reaches deep into the coaching fraternity. Getting the Iowa job is a bit like taking over The Tonight Show.
Five others that should be in the top ten:
Miami – You’ll get to be in the national championship hunt every year and should be in the top ten. However, the fan base and the Miami area make this more like a pro job.
Florida – Who wants to be the one to live up to Spurrier?
UCLA – One of the most underrated jobs in sports. The schools wants to win and the weather and campus area are unbeatable.
Florida State – See Florida and apply it to Bowden.
Oklahoma – It doesn’t have the reputation among top coaches of being an elite coaching destination, but it's one of the best of the bunch.


What would your prediction be for the 2005 Ohio State Buckeyes? With QB Troy Smith, All World Tedd Ginn Jr., WR Santonio Holmes (hopefully), and a now experienced offensive line coming back, the outlook has to be fairly bright. Not to mention, the LB corps. that these Buckeyes are bringing back are one of the best in the country. Any thoughts? – JasonA: Much depends on how the off-season shakes out. Will the Clarett thing be a big whoop and an overall distraction? It wasn't against Michigan, but that might not last. I’m still not sold that the explosion is there on offense even after the Michigan game. The experience will certainly be there in a relatively down Big Ten, but it’s hard to pick the Buckeyes to be all that much better (at least at how it looks in December 2004) than the likely odds-on favorite, Iowa.

Pete, last ASK CFN you were asked which conference had the best 3 teams and listed them out for you to choose from. You picked the Big 12 with OU, TX, and T A&M over the SEC with Auburn, GA, and TN. I’d like you to add 3 more teams from each conference and answer the same question. For the SEC I’d add LSU, FL, and Alabama. You can choose whoever you like for the other conferences. Thanks, - GmanA: To rank the conferences based on how good the top six teams are in each of the BCS leagues, I’d put them like this.
1) SEC – Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Alabama
2) Big XII – Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Missouri (Yeah, I know Colorado is the North champion, but the Tigers beat the Buffs and have the better team. Now watch CU beat Oklahoma.)
3) ACC – Miami, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Clemson
4) Big Ten – Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota
5) Pac 10 – USC, California, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon State, Oregon
6) Big East – Pittsburgh, Boston College, West Virginia, Syracuse, Connecticut, Rutgers

 

[daddyphatsacs]

but it’s hard to pick the Buckeyes to be all that much better (at least at how it looks in December 2004) than the likely odds-on favorite, Iowa.

I guess this cheeseball forgot to look at the schedule and see that we have them at home next season, which is almost a given win. In fact we've only lost once at home over the last 3 seasons.

Next year is really looking bright.

 

[jwinslow]

I don't put a lot of stock in someone who puts Wisconsin at #3 in the BigTen. They're gonna be okay as usual, but they will be even less than what they are now without their DL and Davis. He also has Minnesota above Michigan State (also unlikely, if Stanton can avoid getting injured every game). I think MSU will be top-4 in the BigTen at worst.

 

[Piney]

I don't put a lot of stock in someone who puts Wisconsin at #3 in the BigTen. They're gonna be okay as usual, but they will be even less than what they are now without their DL and Davis. He also has Minnesota above Michigan State (also unlikely, if Stanton can avoid getting injured every game). I think MSU will be top-4 in the BigTen at worst.

Just a little FYI

Well, Wisconsin did kick our arse this year and going to a better bowl, so wouldn't you say Wisconsin is the 3rd best team in the Big Ten? for 2004?. And that is what those rankings are, for 2004. The 2005 question was a separate part of the whole article.

 

[scooter1369]

Funny how when its anyone else returning lots of starters, they are going to be great, but when its us, we won't be any better than before. What a hack.

 

[OilerBuck]

Funny how when its anyone else returning lots of starters, they are going to be great, but when its us, we won't be any better than before. What a hack.

We haven't shown much consistency all year and one game (albeit scUM) does not an offense make. I'm not convinced we will be that much better next year until I see if the 2nd half at Purdue and the scUM game carries over into the bowl. If that is the case, you will see a lot more respect for us going into next year. I firmly believe the bowl game could be the difference between top 10 and top 25 going into next year.

 

[jwinslow]

The 2005 question was a separate part of the whole article.

My bad, I erroneously skimmed the article.

We haven't shown much consistency all year and one game (albeit scUM) does not an offense make. I'm not convinced we will be that much better next year until I see if the 2nd half at Purdue and the scUM game carries over into the bowl. If that is the case, you will see a lot more respect for us going into next year. I firmly believe the bowl game could be the difference between top 10 and top 25 going into next year.

Agreed. We should have done a little better against MSU for us to be talking trash.

However, keep in mind that Indiana was pretty good (obviously they're not real tough :)), but PSU was a STRONG showing for our defense and we ran the ball well against their defense. I'd say PSU was a good showing for the offense even tho their hands were tied.

But I think you said it about as well as can be said. We have some serious potential here, but have to prove it is gonna stay this way thru the Alamo Bowl. If we toast oOSU (which I think we can, not necessarily what we will do), I think we'll be Top-10 2005 preseason. If we lose, we don't climb higher than 15.