LOS ANGELES -- The enthusiasm in Berkeley is muted because the California Golden Bears have been here before, possessing the opportunity to seize the Pac-10 crown from a vulnerable USC team, loaded with returning starters and gifted skill players, including a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.
It was 2006, and Marshawn Lynch was being billed as a Heisman candidate and the Bears were ready to unseat their hated rival from the south. Instead, they were blown out by Tennessee on national TV to open the season and then lost their Rose Bowl chance with a brutal loss at Arizona in November. Cal was relegated to the Holiday Bowl, and relegated once against to second-tier status in the college football landscape.
Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, California), which pits Miami against California.
Overview/Matchup: While the Emerald Bowl isn't an ACC Championship, much less a BCS berth, give Randy Shannon credit -- this Miami team looked completely and utterly doomed heading into October following devastating losses to North Carolina and Florida State. Sure, ending the season with back to back L's against Georgia Tech and NC State wasted the good run, but he certainly saved his reputation. The news gets worse for him though, as the 'Canes were horrible against the run during their last two games, and guess what Cal running back Jahvid Best ran for over the final two weeks of the season? Yeah, just a casual 512 yards. Ouch, babe.
Hotels: The Ritz-Carlton at Nob Hill is one of the finest hotels in the United States. Our reviewers, as well as our CEO, have always been impressed with the property. The Hilton San Francisco is also a fine establishment for those in the midrange category. The hotel is positively enormous, designed primarily for conferences and large groups. Although its size may be a detractor, it does have its advantages. There are a number of stores and restaurants in, or attached to the property. For bargain rates and great proximity to the stadium try the Civic Center Inn.
We've already spent a good chunk of FanHouse real estate covering the Golden Bears and the likelihood of their mediocrity in 2008. But in the interest of equal time (and bet hedging), it seems only fair for us to explore the other side of the argument as well. After all, this team has spent their fair share of time in Top 25 the past few seasons, even if they have managed to lose more than a few seemingly winnable/gimme games.
Jeff Tedford's team enters this season as the prototypical wild card: (a) they've been successful the past few seasons but have seemed to struggle under the weight of high expectations, and this year will have a decidedly lower profile than they did the past couple; (b) they have some key departures, but several of the replacements for those who left could actually prove to be a substantial upgrade by the time everything shakes out; and (c) they have a schedule that sees all but one of their tough games take place at the comfy confines of Berkeley's Memorial Coliseum.
Let's take a closer look at how Cal might manage to shock the "experts" and contend in 2008.
If Mediocrity had a football team, its mascot would most likely wear a giant foam Mike Stoops head
Ahhh, mediocre college football. Three words that go together like turkey, gravy, and stuffing.
While the majority of space here at FanHouse and on every other college football publication will be focused on the Top 25, season after season a huge slice of the college football fan pie (mmmm...fan pie) find themselves supporting a team who would most aptly be described as thoroughly mediocre, at best. I'd venture to guess that for every legit contender, there are probably three teams with a couple of flaws so glaring that only those blinded by the partisanship of homerdom can pretend their team's downsides won't inevitably sabotage any hopes of playing in a bowl of even moderate respectability.
And therein lies one of the most cruel realities of the college football landscape: winning 6 or 7 games is no small feat, and yet every year coaches and players around the country will be abused for achieving that very milestone. Of course, when you play in a conference like the Pac 10 -- who rewards its third place finisher with a December 31 game in El Paso's Sun Bowl -- can you really be that surprised when fans and pundits are critical of barely topping out above .500?
Who from the Pac 10 will slide to the middle of the pack in 2008? Here's a quick rundown of the leading candidates for Pacific time zone mediocrity this season.
Sunday College Football Hangover is a (hopefully) regular feature from a groggy FanHouse writer recovering from 16+ hours of watching as much college football as humanly possible. The Big Story
What else but perhaps the greatest upset in college football (sports?) history. As our own Ryan Ferguson wrote, Appalachian State is a very good lower division football team. They're the defending I-AA national champs, in fact. But Michigan's loss is absolutely inexcuseable and mind-bending in its implications.
A I-AA team beat Michigan. This shakes the foundation of my comprehension of the world to such a vastly greater extent than any upset, sighting, conspiracy theory, apparition, miracle or act of nature I could possibly cite. This is frogs raining from heaven. This is physically impossible
Indeed. I don't know whether this is a good or a bad thing for the sport. On one hand, we have a celebration of the underdog and further proof of why style and scheme matters so much in college football. The NFL is a robotic operation with 32 teams all doing the same thing over and over again with people paying them hand over fist to see it. College football's got soul, though, and it's expressed in Appalachian State's defensive effort and utilization of overlooked athletes.
On the other hand, this is clearly the story of the season. How does college football come down from this? There is simply nothing that can happen in the next 14 or so weeks that will come close to matching this upset. Nothing. USC could lose nine times and yet the event everyone will first recall from this season is Appalachian State's upset of Michigan.
Few things awe people more than the act of speed. I sit here writing this while the Daytona 500 plays out on my television screen, cars ripping across asphalt at nearly 200 miles an hour. The main event at the Olympic games is the 100 meter dash. In college football, our fastest players have quite often been amongst the most celebrated.
Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson came along and spent three seasons simply running right by defenders. They gave way to Ted Ginn who capped his career with a kick return touchdown that was Ohio State's lone highlight in January's BCS Championship Game.
But now that those guys are gone, who is left to fill the void as captivating speedster?
For players already on college rosters, Clemson has two of the zoom zoomiest around in receiver/returner Jacoby Ford and tailback CJ Spiller, both sophomores. There are other players out there yet to make their mark and we'll be on the lookout for them. One such burner is Jamere Holland, a redshirt freshman receiver at USC who clocked somewhere in the 10.3 range in the 100 meters in high school.
Florida sophomore receiver Percy Harvin is also a superb choice, weaving expertly through defenses any time he so much as has a step on a defender. West Virginia junior tailback Steve Slaton has excellent speed and is a worthy candidate. Junior Arkansas tailback and Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden is an obvious selection here. Finally, there is junior Texas tailback Jamaal Charles who ran somewhere in the 10.2 range in high school and owns several long touchdown runs to his name.
Among incoming recruits, many people have made comparisons between Louisiana's Joe McKnight (a USC signee) and Reggie Bush, but McKnight is probably a step slower with a personal best of 10.71. There are some reports of him having clocked a 10.4, but I have yet to find anything legitimate and official backing that up. He's definitely a playmaker but I'm not sure he's quite in that class of guy who simply runs right by college defenders as Peterson and Bush and Ginn were able to do.
My nominee among this year's incoming freshmen to fill the speed vacuum would be tailback Jahvid Best, a 10.41 runner who has signed with California.
Noble reader: now that you've seen my list, I ask you now who else should be under consideration as an impact player with awe-inspiring speed? Feel free to leave a comment below.
In Part One I named five college football recruits who will make an "impact" in 2007 and beyond. What follows are the top five impact recruits.
Please keep in mind the word impact can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. My rubric is slanted towards guys who people will be talking about early in their careers and not necessarily the best players, period.
Jahvid Best, Tailback (California) - The "sleeper" out of my ten, if you want to call him that. Best is a little on the light/small side (5'-10"/183 pounds) but the man can scoot (a California high school best 10.39 in the 100-yard dash). There are only a handful of people every year who are that fast and are legitimate football players. Think Ted Ginn, Reggie Bush, those types of zoom zoomers. Best may be the next. Video here and here. Strange video here.
Joe McKnight, Athlete (USC or LSU or Ole Miss) - McKnight is considered by many to be the best recruit in this year's class. People compare him to Reggie Bush because of his versatility (15 yards/carry, 30 yards/reception) but he's a little slower (10.75 compared to 10.41 in the 100 meter dash). That said McKnight can do it and should start out as a running back. Video here, here, here.
Noel Devine, Running Back (West Virginia) - Many would consider Devine the nation's top recruit but his off-field elusiveness and questionable academics have muted expectations a tad. That said, outside of Reggie Bush there hasn't been a more breathtaking player to come out of the high school ranks. It's useless to give words to his abilities, just watch tape and see for yourself. He just committed to West Virginia and if he miraculously qualifies will be all over SportsCenter every Saturday night for the next three years. Boatloads of videos (~45) here. Noel Devine is a YouTube phenomena and has been since his sophomore year of high school.
Everson Griffen, Defensive End (USC) - If we can return from space and into the relatively elevated stratosphere for a moment, we must talk about the amazing Everson Griffen. Aside from Devine, no other player's tape stands out more this year than Griffen's. He puts on a show running through defensive lineman and past defensive backs as a ball carries and simply blows past offensive tackles and chases down running backs way downfield as a rush end. He reportedly clocked a sub 4.5 second 40-yard-dash at a camp this year at nearly 270 pounds. Griffen is a true physical freak and there's a chance to play at the Leo end spot opposite Lawrence Jackson for the Trojans this year.
Jimmy Clausen, Quarterback (Notre Dame) - And finally we arrive at the great Jimmy Clausen. Jimmy has been eyeballed since the middle school days as an elite quarterback prospect and so far has lived up to the billing. He'll go to the Mecca of college football, Notre Dame with expectations far beyond those of another ballyhooed prep slinger, Ron Powlus (ironically, his quarterback coach this year). Clausen is the most polished high school quarterback in ages and has a quirky personality and awesomely bad hairdo. Pair that with the hype and the fact that he's at Notre Dame and the guy is college football's biggest lightning rod ... perhaps ever. And that's before ever having taken a snap. People will most definitely be talking about this guy and so he headlines this list of the top 10 impact recruits of 2007. Video here. A few more videos here.
Alright, there it is, my list of the top 10 impact recruits. Who else should have been on this list? Who would you have omitted. Fire away (within reason).
Every Thursday, Pickin' On the Big Ten previews the weekend's action, or lack thereof.
LOS ANGELES -- The enthusiasm in Berkeley is muted because the 
Turkey Legs to Go
