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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Defense will keep Northwestern short of its goal
By Terry Bowden
Special to BCSfootball.com
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
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Who would have believed the day would come when the so-called "experts" would be picking Northwestern as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference? Well, it's here.
Why do the Wildcats have a chance to win the league title next season?
|  | | Zak Kustok ranks 15th in the nation in total offense with 275.2 yards per game. |
Mostly because the conference race is wide open. Every team in the Big Ten has a few chinks in its armor and everyone has to feel like they have a chance to win -- especially Northwestern.
Look at what the 'Cats have going for them. Not only did they tie for the conference championship last year, but they have a lot of the same guys returning. They have 10 offensive starters back from the fourth-best offense in America. They have the best backfield in the league with RB Damien Anderson and QB Zak Kustok. Plus, they have their top six offensive linemen back and all but one of their wide receivers.
And they have an offensive scheme, like Purdue, that gives the run-oriented teams of the Big Ten fits.
But championships are won with defense, which is something Northwestern has not had. Last year, the Wildcats' defense was ranked 104th out of 114 teams. You can't get much worse than that. With six starters returning on that unit, they will be better, but not good enough to win the league crown. When you give up 30 points per game, you just can't outscore all 11 of your opponents.
My theory is that Northwestern is still not getting enough good athletes to fill both sides of the ball. Whereas you can scheme people on offense, you need a lot of athletic guys who can run and tackle on defense. We saw the same thing under Hal Mumme at Kentucky.
Although Northwestern will make a nice run for the Roses and end up in a bowl somewhere, the league title is something the Wildcats just won't be able to arm tackle.
JoePa sets his sights on the record
I'm really having a tough time figuring out how good Penn State will be this year. When a team has been good for as long as the Nittany Lions have, one would think that last year's 5-7 record was a fluke.
However, for Penn State to get back to its winning ways, a lot of improvement must be made. Last year, out of 114 teams, the Lions were not in the top 50 in any offensive or defensive statistical category. The offense ranked 62nd in rushing, 84th in passing, 85th in total offense and 81st in scoring. The defense was 67th against the run, 53rd in passing, 67th overall and 53rd in scoring.
|  | | Matt Senneca will help Joe Paterno become the winningest football coach this season. |
In other words, the Lions need to make considerable improvement in every area of their football team. That is why a quarterback or a linebacker or a lineman is not going to be the answer to their problems. The answer in Happy Valley is coming back together as a team.
Coach Joe Paterno said that this spring when he talked about his players needing to show more camaraderie and togetherness. This is just another way of saying you need to start playing like a team. In other arenas, it's been called esprit de corps, synergy and goodwill. In football, we call it chemistry.
Last season, there were just too many distractions for the team to fully jell. From Rashard Casey's legal problems to Adam Taliaferro's catastrophic injury to JoePa's pursuit of "the record" to Jerry Sandusky's retirement, there was no time to think about being a team.
The distractions are mostly behind them now, and the talent cupboard was never really bare. Joe Paterno will become the winningest coach in Division I-A history and the Nittany Lions will get back to their winning ways.
Spartans face a QB battle
Michigan State head coach Bobby Williams had two big decisions to make this spring. One had to deal with the decal on the side of the Spartan helmets -- right out of a Gary Barnett nightmare -- and the other has been which quarterback will lead the team next year.
|  | | Jeff Smoker may be Michigan State's best option at quarterback. |
The first question was solved last Saturday when Williams unveiled the traditional block "S" on each side of the helmet instead of the Spartan logo. The Spartans also changed from white to black shoes. This may be a good move aesthetically on William's part, but it's not going to do much to make Spartan fans forget about last year's 5-6 record.
Naming a starting QB has proven to be a little more difficult. Michigan State goes into the summer without naming a definite starter between sophomore Jeff Smoker and senior-to-be Ryan Van Dyke. Although Van Dyke had his best spring ever, when all the smoke clears, look for Smoker to get the nod.
Footnote: Bobby Williams is one of the few African-American coaches to be given a chance to be a head coach at a Division I-A football program. The college game needs for him to be successful.
QB job up for grabs at Ohio State
Ohio State's new head football coach, Jim Tressel, has put the quarterback position up for grabs this spring. Two-year starter Steve Bellisari is getting competition from sophomores Scott McMullen and Craig Krenzel, along with redshirt freshman Rick McFadden.
However, Bellisari's biggest competition may come from himself. He has shown a tendency to turn the ball over all too frequently in his first two years, leading the Buckeyes to a mediocre 13-9 record. Still, if Tressel, who will not tolerate foolish interceptions, is to get the Buckeyes back on track next season, Bellisari needs to be the man.
Spreading thin
Word is getting back to me that a lot of coaches are putting in the spread offense this spring (Wisconsin, too, if you believe it). The old three yards and a cloud of dust is definitely not in vogue at the current time. One just has to look at the Orange Bowl to see what style of offense is getting people to the championship game. However, there's an old saying among college coaches -- if you were the first person to put in the wishbone, you won a national championship, but if you were the last one to take it out, you got fired. Makes you wonder where we are now in this passing trend doesn't it.
As for Wisconsin, hopefully Barry Alvarez won't be utilizing the spread outside of the two-minute offense. As much as I love the passing game, I just can't picture the Badgers chucking it 47 times a game. If they do, you can count them out of the Big Ten race this year. The learning curve on that offense is a little more than nine months.
Wideout misgivings
Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El was moved to wide receiver this spring. The only guy in the world who thinks this is a good move has got to be backup quarterback Tommy Jones. El is only the most versatile QB in the country and is the reason the Hoosiers scored so many points last season. Now, instead of handling the ball 60-75 times a game, he should get about a dozen touches. If you have to get your best 11 players on the field, then let him go both ways because, as I recall, it is Indiana's defense that needs the overhaul. Sounds to me like a desperate move for a team that's gone 13-31 over the last four seasons.
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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