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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Miami is the nation's most talented team
By Terry Bowden
Special to BCSfootball.com
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
Skip to your team: Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and the BCS
Miami was easily the second best football team in America at the end of last season. The Hurricanes will be the most talented college football team in the country this year. That said, they are a lock to win the Big East. Miami is going to be ... well, awesome.
However, each time I sit down to list all the reasons why the 'Canes will win the national championship this season, I end up listing all the reasons why they won't. So, I am going to give you the reasons why Miami will not win it all this year and you can write in and tell me why I'm wrong.
|  | | Larry Coker is expected to win a national title in his first year at Miami. |
First, Miami lost head coach Butch Davis. Tell me the last time a first-year head coach in Division I-A won a national championship. I dare say, never. Larry Coker is a fine coach, and he will have his day. It just won't be tomorrow.
Secondly, Miami had four first-round draft choices this year. Did you hear me? I said four. How many victories was one of those four guys personally responsible for last season. Oh, about four.
Finally, Miami has a wicked road schedule: at Penn State, at Florida State and at Virginia Tech. Sometimes you just have to play the odds. The odds of winning all three of those games on the road this year? Not very good.
Now, I know what you're going to tell me. They have a great quarterback coming back in Ken Dorsey. They have a stable of running backs that could win a trifecta at the Kentucky Derby. Their offensive line is incredible. And, the only difference between last year's three NFL-bound receivers and this year's talented youngsters is that that group shaves once a day and this group shaves once a week.
Miami's defensive backs are the best in the country, led by safety Edward Reed and corners Mike Rumph and Phillip Buchanon. Their front four is so deep it could actually be called the front nine. And both the kicker and punter return after stellar seasons a year ago.
You will probably tell me that the Hurricanes will be as good or better at every position on the field than every opponent on their schedule.
OK, OK, enough already. I changed my mind. They will win the national championship next year.
But, I'm not ready to say this is my final answer.
Virginia Tech faces its critics again
The next few years are going to tell us a lot about Virginia Tech. Not just how the Hokies will fare in the Big East, but also how well they will contend for a national championship.
|  | | Michael Vick helped Virginia Tech reach the National Championship Game as a freshman in 1999. |
I'm not talking about the Hokies having a winning program or being well-coached -- that's a given. I'm talking about whether they are truly at a point in time where, year in and year out, they can compete with the University of Miami for the conference championship and an automatic berth to the BCS. Miami is finally over the effects of its probation. An 11-1 record, No. 2 national ranking and four players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft clearly indicates that.
Virginia Tech, on the other hand, has just lost Michael Vick. He is unquestionably one of the finest athletes to ever pass through the college ranks and he alone could have propelled the Tech program to a level it may not be able to achieve again. Not many people imagined Virginia Tech playing for a national championship before Vick and I'm not sure many people imagine the Hokies playing for one again.
Toughened up in Morgantown
New West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez says that the problem with his football players is that they're "too nice" -- on the field that is. Look for Rodriguez to change that pretty quick. For all the reputation he brings to the Mountaineers as a passing guru who runs a finesse offense, he is a very intense individual. After spring ball is over, those players are going to feel like they've been through boot camp.
Messing with a good formula
John Swafford is trying to take margin of victory out of the BCS equation. Fuhgetaboudit. Nothing he does is going to satisfy those that want a playoff. Nothing shows the difference between a dominant team and a good team like margin of victory. At the most, there could be a cutoff, at 21 points or so, after which the margin of victory would not be factored in. Besides, you have to be a coach to understand the feeling on the sideline that no lead is ever good enough. I was watching ESPN Classic the other night and they showed the 1984 game between Miami and Maryland. The Hurricanes were up by 31 points at halftime and ended up losing the game. Besides, there's an old saying that you can't legislate morality. If a coach tacks on a few more points at the end of a game that he already has won it's still a ridiculous thing to do just like it always was.
Terry Bowden was the head coach at Auburn from 1993-98. He is ABC's college football studio analyst and writes a daily notebook for BCSfootball.com.
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