a good loss?
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:05 am
It's probably safe to say that anyone taking the time out of their life to read this piece is a fan of college sports, most likely, both college football and college basketball. Both carry the same appeal – emotional, visceral affairs with more meaning and feeling than you get in pro sports.
Yet both are distinct in a not-so-subtle way. College basketball is a playoff sport, more akin to the pros, where folks generally snooze through a non-descript regular season and begin paying attention come playoff time, with the hoped for big championship payoff in the end. Even casual fans love March Madness and dig the Final Four, of course at the expense of a relatively meaningless four-month regular season.
We all know college football has no payoff at the back end, no playoff system, which drives just about every fan and media type crazy. You get the incessant hue and cry about how every other sport at every other classification, down to Little League, is able to settle championships on the field why can't Division I college football?
Most know my stance and we're not here to debate this whole playoff deal (although I maintain the unique nature of college football is EXACTLY what makes it so special, but I'll never push that past the ubiquitous BCS bashers, so I won't try here).
Instead, the reason for this little off-the-path monologue is to steal a trite term from college basketball and apply it to last week's Florida-LSU classic. In college basketball, you hear all the time, usually around NCAA Tournament selection time, about certain teams having "good losses" and "bad losses." Because a team can lose five, eight or even 10 games and still make it to the Big Dance, the losses become categorized – falling to North Carolina by two on the road is deemed a "good loss," getting blasted by High Point by 20, probably a "bad loss."
Since every weekend in college football is akin to a playoff because teams simply can't afford to lose, all losses are devastating. But if we can use the analogy and carry it over, then Florida's setback in Tiger Stadium can be considered a "good loss."
Again, don't lose sight of the original premise – in reality, there is no such thing as a "good loss" in college football. We're talking in figurative terms here.
Coming off a sub-par performance in a home setback to Auburn (a "bad loss"), having to face LSU at Tiger Stadium before a pumped up crowd delirious on jambalaya, corn juice and their school's first No. 1 ranking in the regular season in 48 years (hard to believe) was a tall order.
Yet in a heavyweight battle supreme, Florida stood toe-to-toe with LSU, on the road and battled a veteran team headed by tons of juniors and seniors. In fact, for 44 minutes, Florida controlled the action and had a handle on the game before making some key mistakes down the stretch.
Obviously, the aftermath was an agonizing defeat, one that could have easily been a watershed victory for this young team. But it still may provide that defining moment down the road for many of the youngsters involved. Logic would dictate that this team will file the hurt away and learn from it, and better be able to handle the late-game situations once it matures. Even in defeat, this game may pack a residual benefit, in the immediate future or in the long term.
Last year's Florida team, also a veteran bunch, learned how to win close games, learned how to come from behind – it trailed at some juncture in nine of 14 games last fall. It's not a given who knows, maybe the setback to LSU begins a long downward spiral for Florida football. But that's doubtful. There's too much talent, the coaching is too strong, to let the losses linger.
Some time in 2008, or 2009, a player or coach will point to last Saturday as a significant moment in the maturation of this program. They will use the lessons learned last Saturday night in Tiger Stadium as a platform for better things. I'm convinced this gaggle of sophomores and freshmen, once they become old guys, will look back on this LSU game perhaps as the springboard to the top.
And at that point, we will all agree that the disheartening 28-24 triumph by LSU was indeed a "good loss" . . .
And I'll end with a random, somewhat frivolous question – why is it when a team, at the end of a half or the end of a game, with its offense on the field to do a kneel down and plants a player 20 yards behind the quarterback in case of a fumble disaster, why is that player an offensive guy? For instance, at the end of the first half last Saturday, the Gators did a kneel-down leading by 10 points and had Andre Caldwell back some 20 yards behind Tim Tebow.
Why not have a defensive player, like a Major Wright or Joe Haden back there? To me, if a disaster does happen and some defensive player suddenly has broken away with the ball, Caldwell would be the last guy I'd want back there to make a saving, open-field tackle. Doesn't make sense to me.
I know, I know, I have too much time on my hands.
GRAND HIGH EXALTED MYSTIC RULER
The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler (GHEMR) is the player on Florida's team who deserves notice above all others for his play in the previous game. And my selection of the GHEMR is totally subjective – feel free to offer your own.
For week six, we're going to go with a guy who experienced a bit of a "coming out party," one fans had been anticipating for quite some time – sophomore defensive end Jermaine Cunningham. Cunningham was all over the field Saturday night, credited with 17 tackles and a pair of batted down passes against the Tigers. I can't recall a defensive lineman ever recording 17 tackles in a game for Florida, and frankly was a bit surprised after the game the total was that high. But in tandem with the continued strong play from fellow end Derrick Harvey, the Gators are getting tremendous effort off the edge on the defensive front.
STOCK UP
Ah, the rising fluctuation of the Gator stock market, identifying players who are moving up or down based on the past week's outing. On offense, we're going to go with a guy we've often been a touch critical of in the past, but who had a really solid game – tailback Kestahn Moore. Yes he had the critical fumble late in the third quarter that helped turn the game around, but prior to that point, Moore had supplied the needed inside running complement, gaining 79 tough yards on 12 carries with two receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown on a nifty shoe-top catch.
On defense, we're going to give props to freshman cornerback Joe Haden, who turned in another all-around sterling performance. In just six games, Haden has already become one of the best tackling corners in recent Gator memory. In the stirring cauldron of a huge showdown, Haden recorded 10 tackles, including one for a loss, plus an interception. The future is limitless for Haden.
STOCK DOWN
On the offensive side, it's tough to bang on a guy when he's not 100 percent healthy, but it seems like every week we're told this is the time Andre Caldwell is going to make it back, and even Caldwell himself gushed to reporters after practice last week about anticipating a breakout night against the Tigers. Well, one catch for 10 yards and a drop isn't exactly a vintage Caldwell performance. He just doesn't appear healthy, and it's getting to the point where it would be almost better if the coaches just didn't talk at all about injuries rather than give us what appears to be a disingenuous spin every week, which makes both players and coaches look bad in the end.
Defensively, he was his own worst enemy, but senior strong safety Tony Joiner was not a positive influence on or off the field. We know all about the distractions over the towing incident, but Joiner, who sat out just the first series and played the majority of the game, wasn't a factor on the field either. LSU ran 80 plays, and Joiner was credited with two assisted tackles. Not much production.
AROUND THE SEC
It was a statement week for a trio of teams – Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia. The Vols delivered their oration with an exclamation point, pounding Georgia and thrusting themselves, after two league games, squarely back into the East race. Likewise Auburn has risen off the mat and is a serious contender in the West. On the flip side, the schizo Dawgs of Mark Richt have bottomed out and are essentially out of the East race.
The marquee matchup this week is LSU venturing to Lexington to take on a humbled Kentucky team that did not handle the big stage of a national Thursday night TV game at South Carolina particularly well. Some folks might point to a letdown for LSU after the emotional win over Florida with Auburn on the horizon next week, but the Tigers have too much at stake, plus are too good overall for the Wildcats, to let one slip away.
The undercard features Auburn taking a trip to Arkansas. We'll see if Auburn really is going to stick around in the West race and set up a showdown next week in Baton Rouge, or will the Tigers fall by the wayside. The Razorbacks, who have not beaten a BCS conference team this season, blew out the Tigers in Auburn last season, but they will not catch 'em off-guard this time around. Even though the contest is in Fayetteville, the suddenly-hot Tigers (amazing what can happen when you don't commit five turnovers a game) will prevail.
The other three league games won't hold much intrigue – Tennessee will beat Mississippi State on the road, Georgia will do likewise to Vanderbilt on the road and Alabama will pull a road trifecta in Oxford. Outside league play, South Carolina will make it a clean road sweep by taking care of Butch Davis' North Carolina guys in Chapel Hill.
MARTY LIKES
After a winning campaign in 2005 and a scorching .600 pace set last season, the unpredictable nature of college football this fall has put me in a world of hurt. I experienced my second bagel in six weeks and have fallen to 7-11 overall, thanks to a horrendous pick of Ball State to cover over Central Michigan (hey, Ball State only gave up 58 points), an equally rancid choice of Southern Cal minus-38 over Stanford (oops) and a tough one, with Troy surrendering a meaningless touchdown with less than 30 seconds left to prevail over FIU 34-16, not covering the 19.5-point spread. Making it more maddening was that in my "also under consideration," I had three winners with Ohio State, Ole Miss and Boise State all covering easily. Oh well, there's only one place to go from here – I hope. On to this week's picks:
1) Oregon minus 17.5 over Washington State: An open week to get over the tough loss to Cal should help the host Ducks, who are averaging a tad under 44 points a game. Washington State's only wins have come over Idaho and San Diego State (a combined 3-8 with only one Division I-A win) and have yielded 137 points in three road losses.
2) Cal minus14 over Oregon State: Notice a theme here? The Bears are also coming off an open date after the stirring win at Oregon and have shot up the polls. Like Oregon, the Bears are averaging 44 points a game at home while Oregon State's quarterback leads the nation in interceptions.
3) Cincinnati minus 10.5 over Louisville: This is being billed as one of the biggest games in school history for Cincinnati, off to a 6-0 start following a road win at Rutgers last week. Louisville has been awful and has given up at least 38 points in four of its six games. The 3-3 Cardinals still have road games left with Cincy, unbeaten UConn, unbeaten South Florida and once-beaten West Virginia plus a home game with Rutgers – ouch!
Also under consideration were Kansas minus-24.5 over Baylor, Tulsa minus-14 over Marshall and Boston College minus-14 at Notre Dame.
Yet both are distinct in a not-so-subtle way. College basketball is a playoff sport, more akin to the pros, where folks generally snooze through a non-descript regular season and begin paying attention come playoff time, with the hoped for big championship payoff in the end. Even casual fans love March Madness and dig the Final Four, of course at the expense of a relatively meaningless four-month regular season.
We all know college football has no payoff at the back end, no playoff system, which drives just about every fan and media type crazy. You get the incessant hue and cry about how every other sport at every other classification, down to Little League, is able to settle championships on the field why can't Division I college football?
Most know my stance and we're not here to debate this whole playoff deal (although I maintain the unique nature of college football is EXACTLY what makes it so special, but I'll never push that past the ubiquitous BCS bashers, so I won't try here).
Instead, the reason for this little off-the-path monologue is to steal a trite term from college basketball and apply it to last week's Florida-LSU classic. In college basketball, you hear all the time, usually around NCAA Tournament selection time, about certain teams having "good losses" and "bad losses." Because a team can lose five, eight or even 10 games and still make it to the Big Dance, the losses become categorized – falling to North Carolina by two on the road is deemed a "good loss," getting blasted by High Point by 20, probably a "bad loss."
Since every weekend in college football is akin to a playoff because teams simply can't afford to lose, all losses are devastating. But if we can use the analogy and carry it over, then Florida's setback in Tiger Stadium can be considered a "good loss."
Again, don't lose sight of the original premise – in reality, there is no such thing as a "good loss" in college football. We're talking in figurative terms here.
Coming off a sub-par performance in a home setback to Auburn (a "bad loss"), having to face LSU at Tiger Stadium before a pumped up crowd delirious on jambalaya, corn juice and their school's first No. 1 ranking in the regular season in 48 years (hard to believe) was a tall order.
Yet in a heavyweight battle supreme, Florida stood toe-to-toe with LSU, on the road and battled a veteran team headed by tons of juniors and seniors. In fact, for 44 minutes, Florida controlled the action and had a handle on the game before making some key mistakes down the stretch.
Obviously, the aftermath was an agonizing defeat, one that could have easily been a watershed victory for this young team. But it still may provide that defining moment down the road for many of the youngsters involved. Logic would dictate that this team will file the hurt away and learn from it, and better be able to handle the late-game situations once it matures. Even in defeat, this game may pack a residual benefit, in the immediate future or in the long term.
Last year's Florida team, also a veteran bunch, learned how to win close games, learned how to come from behind – it trailed at some juncture in nine of 14 games last fall. It's not a given who knows, maybe the setback to LSU begins a long downward spiral for Florida football. But that's doubtful. There's too much talent, the coaching is too strong, to let the losses linger.
Some time in 2008, or 2009, a player or coach will point to last Saturday as a significant moment in the maturation of this program. They will use the lessons learned last Saturday night in Tiger Stadium as a platform for better things. I'm convinced this gaggle of sophomores and freshmen, once they become old guys, will look back on this LSU game perhaps as the springboard to the top.
And at that point, we will all agree that the disheartening 28-24 triumph by LSU was indeed a "good loss" . . .
And I'll end with a random, somewhat frivolous question – why is it when a team, at the end of a half or the end of a game, with its offense on the field to do a kneel down and plants a player 20 yards behind the quarterback in case of a fumble disaster, why is that player an offensive guy? For instance, at the end of the first half last Saturday, the Gators did a kneel-down leading by 10 points and had Andre Caldwell back some 20 yards behind Tim Tebow.
Why not have a defensive player, like a Major Wright or Joe Haden back there? To me, if a disaster does happen and some defensive player suddenly has broken away with the ball, Caldwell would be the last guy I'd want back there to make a saving, open-field tackle. Doesn't make sense to me.
I know, I know, I have too much time on my hands.
GRAND HIGH EXALTED MYSTIC RULER
The Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler (GHEMR) is the player on Florida's team who deserves notice above all others for his play in the previous game. And my selection of the GHEMR is totally subjective – feel free to offer your own.
For week six, we're going to go with a guy who experienced a bit of a "coming out party," one fans had been anticipating for quite some time – sophomore defensive end Jermaine Cunningham. Cunningham was all over the field Saturday night, credited with 17 tackles and a pair of batted down passes against the Tigers. I can't recall a defensive lineman ever recording 17 tackles in a game for Florida, and frankly was a bit surprised after the game the total was that high. But in tandem with the continued strong play from fellow end Derrick Harvey, the Gators are getting tremendous effort off the edge on the defensive front.
STOCK UP
Ah, the rising fluctuation of the Gator stock market, identifying players who are moving up or down based on the past week's outing. On offense, we're going to go with a guy we've often been a touch critical of in the past, but who had a really solid game – tailback Kestahn Moore. Yes he had the critical fumble late in the third quarter that helped turn the game around, but prior to that point, Moore had supplied the needed inside running complement, gaining 79 tough yards on 12 carries with two receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown on a nifty shoe-top catch.
On defense, we're going to give props to freshman cornerback Joe Haden, who turned in another all-around sterling performance. In just six games, Haden has already become one of the best tackling corners in recent Gator memory. In the stirring cauldron of a huge showdown, Haden recorded 10 tackles, including one for a loss, plus an interception. The future is limitless for Haden.
STOCK DOWN
On the offensive side, it's tough to bang on a guy when he's not 100 percent healthy, but it seems like every week we're told this is the time Andre Caldwell is going to make it back, and even Caldwell himself gushed to reporters after practice last week about anticipating a breakout night against the Tigers. Well, one catch for 10 yards and a drop isn't exactly a vintage Caldwell performance. He just doesn't appear healthy, and it's getting to the point where it would be almost better if the coaches just didn't talk at all about injuries rather than give us what appears to be a disingenuous spin every week, which makes both players and coaches look bad in the end.
Defensively, he was his own worst enemy, but senior strong safety Tony Joiner was not a positive influence on or off the field. We know all about the distractions over the towing incident, but Joiner, who sat out just the first series and played the majority of the game, wasn't a factor on the field either. LSU ran 80 plays, and Joiner was credited with two assisted tackles. Not much production.
AROUND THE SEC
It was a statement week for a trio of teams – Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia. The Vols delivered their oration with an exclamation point, pounding Georgia and thrusting themselves, after two league games, squarely back into the East race. Likewise Auburn has risen off the mat and is a serious contender in the West. On the flip side, the schizo Dawgs of Mark Richt have bottomed out and are essentially out of the East race.
The marquee matchup this week is LSU venturing to Lexington to take on a humbled Kentucky team that did not handle the big stage of a national Thursday night TV game at South Carolina particularly well. Some folks might point to a letdown for LSU after the emotional win over Florida with Auburn on the horizon next week, but the Tigers have too much at stake, plus are too good overall for the Wildcats, to let one slip away.
The undercard features Auburn taking a trip to Arkansas. We'll see if Auburn really is going to stick around in the West race and set up a showdown next week in Baton Rouge, or will the Tigers fall by the wayside. The Razorbacks, who have not beaten a BCS conference team this season, blew out the Tigers in Auburn last season, but they will not catch 'em off-guard this time around. Even though the contest is in Fayetteville, the suddenly-hot Tigers (amazing what can happen when you don't commit five turnovers a game) will prevail.
The other three league games won't hold much intrigue – Tennessee will beat Mississippi State on the road, Georgia will do likewise to Vanderbilt on the road and Alabama will pull a road trifecta in Oxford. Outside league play, South Carolina will make it a clean road sweep by taking care of Butch Davis' North Carolina guys in Chapel Hill.
MARTY LIKES
After a winning campaign in 2005 and a scorching .600 pace set last season, the unpredictable nature of college football this fall has put me in a world of hurt. I experienced my second bagel in six weeks and have fallen to 7-11 overall, thanks to a horrendous pick of Ball State to cover over Central Michigan (hey, Ball State only gave up 58 points), an equally rancid choice of Southern Cal minus-38 over Stanford (oops) and a tough one, with Troy surrendering a meaningless touchdown with less than 30 seconds left to prevail over FIU 34-16, not covering the 19.5-point spread. Making it more maddening was that in my "also under consideration," I had three winners with Ohio State, Ole Miss and Boise State all covering easily. Oh well, there's only one place to go from here – I hope. On to this week's picks:
1) Oregon minus 17.5 over Washington State: An open week to get over the tough loss to Cal should help the host Ducks, who are averaging a tad under 44 points a game. Washington State's only wins have come over Idaho and San Diego State (a combined 3-8 with only one Division I-A win) and have yielded 137 points in three road losses.
2) Cal minus14 over Oregon State: Notice a theme here? The Bears are also coming off an open date after the stirring win at Oregon and have shot up the polls. Like Oregon, the Bears are averaging 44 points a game at home while Oregon State's quarterback leads the nation in interceptions.
3) Cincinnati minus 10.5 over Louisville: This is being billed as one of the biggest games in school history for Cincinnati, off to a 6-0 start following a road win at Rutgers last week. Louisville has been awful and has given up at least 38 points in four of its six games. The 3-3 Cardinals still have road games left with Cincy, unbeaten UConn, unbeaten South Florida and once-beaten West Virginia plus a home game with Rutgers – ouch!
Also under consideration were Kansas minus-24.5 over Baylor, Tulsa minus-14 over Marshall and Boston College minus-14 at Notre Dame.