Give Thanks

As #5 Oklahoma throttled #2 Texas Tech Saturday night and created what will likely end as a three-way tie in the Big 12 South, the national championship picture got a bit more complicated. But let’s not dwell on matters beyond our control. Seeing as how Thanksgiving is less than a week away, there’s no better time to take a moment and focus on a few things to be thankful for this college football season.

1) Fans witnessed one of the greatest college football games in years when Texas Tech took down then-#1 Texas in a 39-33 thriller. A gutsy comeback from Texas quarterback Colt McCoy had the Longhorns in position to win until Michael Crabtree’s touchdown grab with one second remaining sealed the deal for the then-#7 Red Raiders. The only other two games I can remember as that exciting were Notre Dame vs. USC in 2005 and, of course, that same USC squad vs. Texas in the 2005 title game.

2) Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford’s mastery of Texas Tech and Heisman frontrunner Graham Harrell on Saturday further muddied the waters of the Heisman race. Expect the competition for college football’s most prestigious individual award to come right down to the wire between Bradford, Harrell, McCoy, and last year’s winner, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow...which should make for some exciting football.

3) NCAA college football did not follow college basketball’s lead and make an unnecessary change to a key dimension of the game. The men’s three-point line was moved back one foot from 19’9” to 20’9” – right between the international length and the NBA length – prior to the start of the 08-09 season. Why they didn’t expand the lane OR move the women’s line as well OR settle for the 20’6” international length is beyond me. Can you imagine having to gain 11 yards for a first down?

4) Penn State lost to Iowa 24-23 on November 8th, dropping them out of the #3 spot and assuring that Joe Paterno and crew will not be included in the national championship picture. If the Nittany Lions had won out and received a berth in the title game, it would have been shameful to college football fans and embarrassing to Penn State fans. The Big 10 is a weak, overrated conference compared to the Big 12 and the SEC. For a recent history of how Big 10 teams have fared in national championships, see Ohio State: 2006 and 2007.

5) College football did not listen to Barack Obama and change the BCS to an eight-team playoff system. The president-elect is far from alone on this controversial issue, but BCS coordinator John Swofford has his reasons for keeping things the way they are. The importance of each and every game in college football makes for a season that Swofford believes is “the best and most meaningful in sports.” That’s not to say the current BCS system is perfect and free of obvious snags, but for now, let’s just try to enjoy college football for its uniqueness.