Who's going to win the 2008 National Championship? Better yet, which teams will accompany the 2008 National Championship winner with their own National Championships at the close of the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons?
The contemporary version of winning big in college football constitutes a team to utilize the forward pass, albeit each team can do so in an assortment of different ways. A nuance here, a creative trick-passing play there, and a mobile quarterback over yonder…the point is, well, there are many ways to confront a defense with via the passing game.
Before continuing on, let it be noted that I, Radio Man, am a staunch believer in the ideological foundation of a physical ground assault. With that said, the passing game dictates National Championships, but the nuances, oh, how intriguing! Before the 1980s, the running game dictated to the pass game, then in the 1990s, sans Nebraska, it became balanced with the passing game, and now, during the 21st Century, the running game feeds off of the passing game's big plays. Get it? College Football is no longer about Bo and Woody. OK, now it's time to explain what all of this is about. There are but roughly fifteen schools that, to date, proved themselves to be worthy of competing for and winning a National Championship during the past thirty years. For the record, and if you read this blog from time to time, you'll see this list again, I promise, the list includes Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Louisiana State, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Southern California, and Notre Dame. The two caveats, as they are moonlighters with this list, would be Colorado and Washington. One team will rise up the Big XII ladder this fall and possibly be a BCS contender beginning in 2009. While the latter, well, call me when it gets a real coach to compete for elite recruits to help the Huskies compete for and win Pac 10 titles before talking National Championship. Cool? There are other schools that came desperately close to playing for the National Championship, fell on hard times in recent years, or jus flat out cheated to gain their championship caliber talent. The list, however, short as it may be, only accounts for roughly four percent of the teams in College Football: Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Clemson (probation soon followed its 1981 Championship for paying players), Georgia Tech (watch out for Paul Johnson!) and West Virginia. All of the aforementioned teams have uphill climbs with recruiting because they are anointed to being "the other State U." in their respective states (the first four teams on that list) with regards to recruiting, or simply located in a state with a low population base, leading to few in-state recruits. Hello Mountaineers. Ironically, it would not shock anyone if West Virginia won the National Championship next year. That possibility goes away if Noel Devine finds himself in a jail cell (see recent police blotter). So here is a look at the best bets for the next five National Championship contenders, team by team, with a look at their QB and head coaching situations as the main barometer of success. Shall we? Michigan: The Wolverine faithful need to be a bit patient at the outset of Rich Rodriguez's career as the Michigan head football coach. His system, the spread-option, currently does not possess a signal caller with the type of athleticism to run the show in Ann Arbor. Ah, but that will likely change after the 2009 recruiting class. Look for the 2010 Wolverines to be in the hunt for a title, but their hated rivals to the south will be a year ahead of them due to a certain QB recruit the Wolverines just lost out on to the Buckeyes… Ohio State: The worst kept secret in College Football recruiting circles? Terrell Pryor signing with Ohio State. Once in the fold, look for Pryor to quickly be acclimated to the Buckeyes offense. By 2009, Pryor will be running the show in Columbus. Thus, the Buckeyes will be in the title hunt for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 National Championships. Plus, the Wolverines' fans will likely wait for their next title run beyond Pryor's entry to the NFL. Penn State: There is no nice way to say it, until Paterno steps down and the new coach has three full years to recruit, the Nittany Lions' faithful will be full of gloom and doom. Sure, the Nittany Lions still possess talent, but the inconsistency within its recent recruiting classes, particularly at offensive tackle, tailback, and cornerback, will not allow Penn State to be in the National Title hunt for the foreseeable future. Pat Devlin, a talented quarterback that will be a redshirt sophomore this fall, will be more than a capable quarterback. Too bad the materials will not be around him to win on College Football's largest stage. Tennessee: Remember the name Jonathon Crompton. He's the next signal caller for the Vols. He can play; mark it down. With a disgusting level of off the field incidents by its players in recent months, however, the program seems to be stuck in a rut. It does not help that both Georgia and Florida have even better overall talent either. And then one considers the fact that Steve Spurrier coaches a team down in Columbia, S.C. The Vols will be good, but not good enough for head coach Phil Fulmer to win another National Championship. Look for the Vols to have a new head coach during this time. Tennessee is a plum job; someone will gain a great opportunity when Fulmer steps away. Alabama: Assuming Nick Saban sticks around Tuscaloosa long enough, his coaching prowess will lead the Crimson Tide back to the National Championship once again. The key will certainly be finding a signal caller that can be the leader, not the do-all quarterback in the mold of an Elway or Manning or Favre. Saban's a control freak; his offensive philosophy dictates a more conservative approach. Therefore, he needs a signal caller to manage the game, not win the game. Look for the Tide to be a wild card in each National Championship race from 2010-2012. Who will the Tide's signal caller be? Georgia: It's hard not to like Mark Richt, minus the on-field celebration he delegated to his players against Florida last year. His gunslinger, Matthew Stafford, will provide Dawg fans with much to cheer about in 2008 and 2009, assuming he does not head for NFL riches at the conclusion of this upcoming season. All of the Dawgs' offensive and defensive talent will be tough to go defeat during the next two seasons. Look for the Dawgs to plays for at least one title over the course of the next two seasons. Florida: Tim Tebow became a winner before he ever set foot in the Swamp. He just might lead the Gators to another National Championship in 2008. If he returns for his senior season in 2009, watch him keep the Gators in the mix for the National Championship again. Beyond Tebow, the Gators have a couple of other young stud quarterbacks. With all of the Gators' skill position talent on offense, their defense will only have to be top 25 caliber to keep them in the title hunt. Florida recruited well above top 25 defensive players the last three years. Look out. The Gators will be a top five team for the foreseeable future. Florida State: One name, quarterback E.J. Manual, will be synonymous with Seminoles' Football by the end of the 2009 season. Just remember the name. The bigger question, how will Jimbo Fisher do as the next head coach? Rumored to be stepping down is current head coach Bobby Bowden, after the 2008 season. The defensive talent never left Tallahassee. The 'Noles are not a great bet to win a National Championship during the next five years, but they could. More likely, they will ruin title runs for the Gators and Hurricanes during that time. Miami: Tampa native Robert Marve will be the next Miami signal caller. He exploded during his senior season of high school, but he's probably not ready to dominate College Football. If the Hurricanes move back into the nation's elite, it offensive coordinator, Patrick Nix, a former Georgia Tech quarterback himself, must drastically improve his offensive game planning. OK, I'll say it. Nix might ruin Miami's title hopes by himself. Projection: Nix bombs during the 2008 season, he's canned. If the offense comes around, look out. The Hurricanes defensive recruiting this past season turned heads. Watch out for the 'Canes, assuming the coaching issues go away. Louisiana State: The only reason the Tigers will not be the favorites to win the National Championship this year would be their inexperienced quarterback situation. That will not last. Nobody recruits DL like the Tigers, and they still recruit tailbacks better than any team not named Southern California. Once Jarrett Lee, a redshirt freshman, becomes the signal caller, the Tigers will be back in business. Watch out for the Tigers come 2009. Texas: Openly, I longed since believed that Mack Brown recruited well, but his game day coaching did not live up to the truly great College Football head coaches. I firmly hold that Brown is coaching at the easiest job in all of College Football due to how easy recruiting proved to be over the past thirty years down on the Forty Acres, but without Vince Young, or another quarterback talent similar to him, he's not winning another title. The 'Horns will disappoint during the next few years under Brown, relative to its overall talent level. The Longhorns reload its talent each February. The next head coach (likely to be Major Applewhite) will walk into a great situation. Oklahoma: Look for the Sooners to be in the title hunt for the next three years. Why? The Sooners were close this past season with a mere redshirt freshman, Sam Bradford, who played great last season. The Sooners talent doesn't stop in the backfield with quarterback, as the tailback recruiting has been excellent. Now can Oklahoma return to a dominant defense? That's the big concern. The Sooners will be in the National Title hunt, but the Big XII conference's versatile in-conference scheduling will be a lot to overcome for a team that routinely tanks one game a year (hard to explain), with its defense being a big reason why. Do not doubt the Sooners, but they are a bit of a Jeckyll and Hyde story. Bob Stoops can definitely coach. Now can he keep his team consistent? Quarterback play will not be an issue. Nebraska: Sans Penn State, this program will be the worst from this list over the course of the next five years. Bo Pelini was not, is not, and will not be the answer. Besides, who will the Huskers' quarterback be during the foreseeable future? Joe Ganz, a kid that did not make many high school All-American lists, steps under center this fall. Who's Joe Ganz? The Huskers' quarterback recruiting leaves much to be desired. Southern California: Can a team have too much talent? The Trojans overall recruiting during the past six years goes beyond anything in recent College Football History. The Trojans loaded up with five-star talent during the past six years, and now they will attempt to win at least one National Championship without one Norm Chow. Mitch Mustain or Mark Sanchez, last year's part-time starter, will lead the Trojans the next couple of years, plus they have the no. 1 quarterback in the class of 2009 already committed, Matt Barkley. Not to mention, the Trojans recruit tailbacks even better than Louisiana State's! Unless the chemistry issues and overconfidence issues of the 2007 season continue, look for the Trojans to win at least one National Championship during the next five years. Pete Carroll deserves quite a bit of credit for one of the greatest runs in College Football History. Notre Dame: The Irish were dreadful last year under third year head coach Charlie Weis. Much of the fault falls on the former Irish coaching staff's horrific recruiting efforts that produced porous junior and senior classes for Weis to work with during the 2008 season, but Weis's propensity for great offensive production deflated last year. He needs experienced players for his complicated system. He will have that in spades beginning in 2009. Jimmy Clausen's health improved as the 2007 season moved forward, and with an off season of physical conditioning, Clausen will be one of the better College quarterbacks for the next three years. Dayne Christ, a friend of Clausen's since their childhood, will join him in South Bend this summer. The offensive skill talent will be awesome during the next few years as well. Defensively, the best recruit was Jon Tenuta, the former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator took on assistant head coaching duties and the linebackers, and he will work with second year defensive coordinator Corwin Brown. Now, can the Irish front seven hold up? Not in 2008, too much youth. Beginning in 2009, watch the Irish flourish on both sides of the ball. The possible caveat, will cornerback Darrin Walls leave a year early for the NFL, to thwart the Notre Dame title run in 2009? It's possible. The Trojans and Irish promise to provide great games during the next five years. The Other Five: Only West Virginia truly looks like a National Title Contender in the near future. The Big East does not have the same caliber of talent that the Pac 10, SEC or Big XII enjoys, and the Mountaineers have Pat White. West Virginia could win the championship in 2008. We'll see. So here are my picks for the next five years, with teams within the () being the next two best teams for that given year: 2008: The Trojans will be back on top. The big game may actually be played twice. Ohio State travels to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to play the Trojans on Sep. 13th. Look for the Trojans to whip the Buckeyes, then the Buckeyes will roll through the hapless Big 10 (sans a good Wisconsin team), and then play the Trojans in the National Championship game. Trojans win again. UCLA and Notre Dame will give the Trojans a scare, and Arizona State will stay close to the Trojans for three quarters. The Trojans run the table despite a touch schedule in and out of conference. (Georgia and West Virginia) 2009: From 3-9 to National Champions two years later. With Tenuta and Brown being a very good compliment to Weis' offensive knowledge (with experienced players), the Irish take advantage of a road schedule without a dominant opponent due to Michigan being in a rebuilding mode, and a home date with rival and defending National Champion Southern California. What a difference a talented group of players from the freshmen to senior players makes, coupled with good coaching on both sides of the football, and a manageable schedule. The Irish defeat Georgia for the National Championship, and Mark May finally bows down to Notre Dame, despite hating every minute of it. Lou Holtz smiles. (Southern California and Florida) 2010: The Bayou Bengals return to prominence, as Jarrett Lee's experience during the 2009 season provides enough balance with the Tigers dominant defense. The SEC Championship Game, which will pit the Tigers vs. the Gators, will be a classic, vaulting the Tigers to the BCS Title Game. The difference will be the Tigers' defensive line depth. Who will the Tigers' play? Oklahoma. Sam Bradford wins the Heisman, but loses the National Championship to the boys down on the Bayou. (Ohio State and Notre Dame) 2011: Michigan gets back on track, but it lost Pryor to the Buckeyes during the 2008 recruiting wars, and it will lose its chance at a BCS Championship when Pryor leads the Buckeyes into the Big House and knocks off the Wolverines, propelling the Buckeyes into the National Championship Game against Florida. Pryor goes out with a National Title ring and a Heisman Trophy, as the Buckeyes defeat the Gators and future NFL signal caller John Brantley. (Notre Dame and Southern California) 2012: The Trojans climb back to the top behind senior signal caller Matt Barkley and one of the greatest offenses in College Football History. The Trojans knock off top 10 teams UCLA, Arizona State and Notre Dame in the regular season to earn their National Championship Game birth against Alabama. Nick Saban leads the Tide to the Championship game with fifth-year senior quarterback Brad Smelley, and out schemes Carroll in leading the Crimson Tide to its first National Championship since 1992. (Notre Dame and Louisiana State) Now this started and ended as fun, but history repeats itself. The teams above will prove their worth during the next five years. Enjoy the action.
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