Who Is The Best?

Watching Oklahoma and Florida tonight, and remembering that each has won a BCS Championship in the last ten years, I got to thinking about which teams have been the best over the past five years and are in good shape for the next 5 years. (The idea that this would be the middle of a ten year run.)

Up front, just to provide you with the criteria that I used to formulate my opinions, I considered the following factors:

• BCS Appearances;
• BCS Championship Game Appearances;
• National Championships;
• Conference Strength;
  
• Recruiting Success (over the past 3 years, projecting 3-4 years into the future); and
• General Program Prestige.

Thus, based on the those factors, the top programs in College Football are currently:

1. Southern Cal. --As much as I hate to say it, USC has been the best and nothing looks to change until the money in L.A. dries-up or Pete Carroll moves back to the NFL. (Here's to the recession).
   
2. Florida (trending up)--Two words: Tim Tebow. And recruiting has been right there with USC over the past 4 years. Urban Meyer is the real deal.
   
3. Oklahoma (trending up)--Three National Championship appearances over six years (four total in nine years) says it all.
   
4. LSU (trending down)--Two championships in four years will get you on this list, but recent off-field problems and poor on-field performances this year cloud the future.
   
5. Texas (trending down)--Since Vince Young left, this has been a very good team, but not a National Championship team.
   
6. Ohio State (trending down)--Back-to-back National Championship appearances (blowouts) and dominating the Big Ten will get you on the list, but not above the teams that actually win the game. Recruiting is the best in the northeast/midwest, but I need to see more from "The Vest" in big games (read: Texas, USC, Florida, LSU, Penn State).
   
7. Georgia (trending down)--Great recruiting, but this team always seems to lose at least one game that they should win every year. With all of the talent that has been in Athens, why has this team failed to make a National Championship game? (Answer: Florida and LSU.)
   
8. Penn State (trending up)--After the worst 5 years in the history of Penn State football (2000-2004), Penn State is regained its place in the top ten with two Big Ten Titles and two BCS games over the past four years. Recruiting, admittedly the problem from 1999-2003, is much improved and Joseph Vincent Paterno has proved that he can still get the job done through delegation to his talented coaching staff.
   
9. Virginia Tech (trending down)--The Hokies always seem to be playing in a BCS game, although weak Big East and ACC conferences prevents this team. Plus, nobody else gets the most out of blue-collar recruits than Frank Beamer.
   
10. Alabama (trending up)--This is the hot team in the recruiting world. A lose to Utah this year does not help, but Nick Saban will continue to stockpile talent for the Crimson Tide and rival LSU for yearly SEC-West championships.

Just missed the cut: Utah (conference issues), West Virginia (conference issues), Michigan (a bright future may be more than four years away), and Notre Dame (recruiting is good but big game performance is as poor as they come).

Recruiting Is Heating Up And Winding Down

A month since we last visited Penn State's 2009 recruiting needs, several big developments have occurred.

First and foremost, Kevin Newsome stepped-up and committed to Penn State just days after Pat Devlin announced he was transferring. With Newsome enrolling early in January, every indication points to Newsome as Penn State's second string QB for the 2009 season. Over the weekend, Newsome competed in the Army All-American Game in San Antonio. All reports from practice and the game indicate that Newsome showed a strong arm, nice touch on longer throws, and an athletic ability that closely resembles Michael Robinson, more than Daryll Clark.

Almost as important as Newsome was to solidifying the QB position, strong safety Gerald Hodges (who has been compared by some to Florida State safety Myron Rolle) also reversed ground and committed to Penn State after spending his Senior season as a Rutgers commitment. At 6'3" 215 lbs, Hodges could also step into Mark Rubin's vacant safety spot as a true freshman if he is able to grasp the scheme in time for the Big Ten schedule.

Finally, DT Jordan Hill, also a former Rutgers commit, verballed to Penn State on Monday January 5, 2009. In high school, Hill played DE at 6'3" 290 lbs and ran a 4.7 40-yard dash. With that type of size and athleticism, Defensive Line coach Larry Johnson, Sr. should be able to find a spot for Hill when starters Odrick, Koroma, and Ogbu graduate and move on to play on Sundays.

The Nittany Lions verbal commitment total is currently at 23. Expect at least 2 more recruits to commit before signing day, and as many as 4-5 more if certain defensive players declare for the NFL draft (read: Maybin, Evans, Odrick, or Bowman). Note: the last day to declare for the draft is January 15, leaving Penn State at least 3 weeks to fill those holes before signing day.

Here is a brief list of the top targets/candidates to fill those voids:

1. Jelani Jenkins (OLB)--Top defensive player in the country; looks like another Florida v. Penn State battle for his services (see King, Williams, etc.)
   
2. Justin Brown (WR)--Big receiver who recently cut Boston College from his list of schools; he's the top offensive target left on the board.
   
3. Je'Ron Stokes (WR)--Army All-American and Tennessee commit is looking around at other schools. This Philly native could end up at Penn State before it's over.
   
4. Shawney Kersey (WR)--Tall, slender receiver who is close with Gerald Hodges and might take another look at Penn State after committing to Rutgers in the fall.
   
5. John Urschel (OG)--Under-the-radar upstate New York sleeper who has received an offer from Penn State, among other top programs, late in the year.
6. Tariq Tongue (WR)--Undersized receiver who would likely be a preferred walk-on; has the potential to be another in a long line of quality walk-ons. (Think Jordan Norwood.)
   
7. Andrew Shoop (QB)--PA QB could also be a preferred walk-on and add some needed practice squad depth at the QB position.

I have also heard rumors that several players, who are currently committed to other teams, would reconsider Penn State if guys like Maybin and Evans declared for the NFL draft next week.

Inevitably there will be drama. With everything that could happen over the next 4 weeks, college football recruiting is just heating up, even if the we can see the finish line from here.

Penn State Is Still One Of The Best Teams In College Football

Freshly back from L.A. (pictures to come) and after watching all but one BCS game, I am convinced that Penn State is one of the best team in College Football and would be in an Eight-Team Playoff (if one existed). Below is how I think the brackets and seeding would break down.

1 Florida/Oklahoma
8 Ohio State

5 Utah
4 Texas

3 Oklahoma/Florida
6 Penn State

7 Alabama
2 USC

Just missed the cut: TCU (good team, but not one of the top 8 teams).

After watching how Ohio State played against Texas, and knowing how Penn State went into Columbus and beat Ohio State, it's clear that Penn State has the talent and defense to compete with all but 3 or 4 of the top teams in the country (USC, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma). Showing respect to Utah (13-0), and not passing judgment on that team, Penn State is still in the top 5 or 6 teams in the country.

Moreover, I think we have the type of team that could beat any team (yes, even USC) on any given day. Just because we did not play well in Southern California on January 1st, does not mean that it wouldn't be a different story if they played again.

This team should be proud of what they accomplished this year, no matter what happened on a bitterly cold day in Iowa or under the bright L.A. lights.