Read Loyal Homer’s argument that swagger defines great and Sports Geek’s argument that statistical dominance defines great.
Recently, our friend Andrea Adelson at the Orlando Sentinel posed a question to her readers: Which college football team in the last nine years would currently ranks as the “Team of the Decade?”
There have been some outstanding teams over the past nine years, including the 2005 Texas Longhorns, the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes, the 2004 USC Trojans, and Adelson’s pick, the 2001 Miami Hurricanes.
During our production meeting last week we here at TSD discussed the merits of her list, and out of that discussion came an interesting debate topic for us…
What is the best criteria by which to measure the success of a college football team?
Sports Geek will argue that statistical dominance is the key (big surprise), and Loyal Homer will argue that swagger and attitude are what separates the men from the boys.
For me the answer is much simpler than stats or attitude. It all boils down to talent and success of the players at the next level, the NFL.
Keep in mind, we’re not debating what it takes to be a good college player, we are talking about choosing the “BEST” team, and just like gourmet meals are made from the best ingredients, the best team is made up of the best players.
Statistics and swagger are good, but they are merely by-products of talent, and they don’t always tell a true story. For example, the 2004 National Champion USC Trojans didn’t even crack the top-10 in total offense. You know who did? The Toledo Rockets and the Bowling Green Falcons, both out of the Mid-American Conference. Does that mean that the MAC actually had two schools that were better than USC that year? I don’t think so.
As another example, who was the best running back from the class of 2005? I bet you said Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, didn’t you? (That’s okay, so did I.) But, he wasn’t statistically the top rusher of the year. He was actually third behind DeAngelo Williams of Memphis and Jerome Harrison of Washington State.
Surely, then, he was at least the top scorer of 2005, right?! Wrong again. In this little statistic, he doesn’t show up until eighth on the list. In fact, he wasn’t even the top scoring running back for his own school! That title actually belonged to LenDale White.
My point here is that statistics can be misleading, or that quality is more important than quantity. What is not misleading is the ability for a player (or a group of players) to consistently do what needs to be done in order to remain competitive for extended periods of time, at ANY level of competition.
Think about the teams I mentioned above as some of the best from the past decade. What made them all great was the fact that they were populated by the best players of that time. The 2001 Hurricanes had Ed Reed, Jeremy Shockey, Andre Johnson, Clinton Portis, and Kellen Winslow Jr. The 2002 Buckeyes had Maurice Clarett (ahh, what could have been), A.J. Hawk, Michael Jenkins, Chris Gamble, Mike Doss, and Will Smith. The 2004 Trojans had Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Lofa Tatupu, LenDale White, and Eric Wright. The 2005 Longhorns had Vince Young, Selvin Young, Limas Sweed, Brian Orakpo, and Justin Blalock.
These players dominated in college, and (with the exception of Clarett) moved on to successful NFL careers as well, and those names only make up a fraction of the total number of NFL caliber players who contributed to the success of those respective teams. In fact, as Adelson point, the ’01 Hurricanes actually sent 38 players from the roster to the NFL, including 17 first-round picks! It’s no accident that this team became National Champions.
It isn’t about blowing out an opponent by 50 points, dominating total passing yardage, or having the flashiest plays. The one common thread that each of these teams shared is TALENT. They had the best players in the right positions to make the plays needed to win.
Think about the Texas vs. Ohio State game of 2005. In that game, The Ohio State Buckeyes were driving late in the game and were ready to go ahead by 10 points. Unfortunately for the Buckeye faithful, Tight End Ryan Hamby (who?) ended up dropping a sure touchdown pass from Quarterback Justin Zwick (who?) in the endzone, and the Buckeyes had to settle for a field goal, giving them only a six point lead.
In response, the Longhorns (led by the superior talent named above) were able to march down the field and take the lead from Ohio State with only 2 minutes left in the game, thanks to a TD pass from Vince Young to Limas Sweed. That touchdown ended up being the difference maker as the Longhorns would close out that game and go on to defeat the USC Trojans in the National Championship game later that year.
What made the difference? The Longhorn talent was able to execute under pressure where the Buckeye players could not. Texas didn’t dominate the game statistically, they just did enough to win the game, and at the end of the day, that’s ALL that matters.
The best teams are the ones that are made up of the best players… end of debate!
