Boise State is Heartless

You want game coverage let me know what ESPN has to say. That’s where I go. If you want a different angle and 6Magazine’s take, then keep reading homie.

First off, is it just me or does the Mountain West want respect? Last time I checked, Oregon was in a BCS conference and has some of the best athletes in the country because of that conference and of course the best jerseys in college football.

Boise State didn’t care one bit as they took it to Oregon all game long. Although the score was only 19-8, it seemed much bigger for Boise St. You can attribute the sloppy play from both teams from it being a first game, but you can’t use the sloppy play as an excuse for Oregon who just plain got whipped.

Either way, what everyone was talking about was the LaGarrette Blount punch on Boise State’s, Byron Hout, after the game. A lot of noise was being chopped back and forth before the game by both teams, and ironically so because this first week of the college football season this year was Sportsmanship week.

So the story goes like this, Hout walks up to Blount after the game, taps Blount’s shoulder and talks some noise. Blount didn’t like it too well. Hout had his helmet off, big no, no. Blount’s was on. Full protection. Hout wasn’t all the way man enough about it, because he didn’t look Blount in the face, and said whatever junk he was talking as he passed Blount. Hout’s coach stopped him and berated him. As Hout is getting lashed out at, Blount sees Hout’s open chin for the taking. And he took it, right to him, and good too. So good that you briefly see Hout black out for a milli-second and drop to his knees. Blount was attacked by a swarm of Bosie State players, sike, they all looked at him, let ‘em walk, and watched their teammate come back to consciousness.

Story over? Not hardly. Blount was being escorted off the field after his oversized Floyd Mayweather impersonation, and I guess a few Boise State fans said something about his mama, because he went irate. The situation turned bad to worst when he started lunging at fans and had to be held back by police and security. As you now know, Blount was suspended for the entire season.

My problem with the situation is the Boise State players. Yes, I know it was the smart thing not to get involved, but this dude just knocked out your teammate. You are just going to stand there? Now in their defense the hit was unexpected and their head coach was right there, but c’mon. You mean to tell me they couldn’t shove the guy or do something. Maybe Hout is not a well-liked player on the team and he had it coming to him? Bottom line, it was Blount and about five Boise State players watched their teammate get the infamous one-hitter quitter. I don’t know about you but I call that heartless.

That’s all I got,

Ricky Writer

Out with the Old and In With the New: Oregon’s Chip Kelley

Oregon announced last week that Mike Belloti would step down as head football coach to take the athletic director position, and highly regarded offensive coordinator Chip Kelley would be his replacement. . While Kelly was offensive coordinator at New Hampshire (1999-2006), the Wildcats' offenses averaged better than 400 yards of total offense in seven of his eight seasons and more than 30 points per game in his final four seasons. Kelly, the mastermind behind I-AA power New Hampshire, employs a spread-based system he put together after consulting with, among others, Rich Rodriguez and the Wake Forest staff. Kelley is the Bobby Fischer of offensive coordinators in college football posting ridiculous numbers with two different quarterbacks in his time at UO. In Kelley’s first year2, he directed a potent attack led by the now Pittsburg Steelers QB, Dennis Dixon. The Ducks more than likely would have challenged for the national title if Dixon had not suffered a severe knee injury late in the year against Arizona State that essentially cost Dixon the Heisman trophy. In 2008, the Duck offensive attack caught fire again under the direction of juco transfer QB Jeremiah. Masoli came to Eugene with an impressive resume playing for St. Louis School of Honolulu in the prep ranks and perennial power CC of San Francisco at the Juco level. Under the tutelage of Kelley, Masoli posted 1744 yards in the air with 13 td’s and 5 int's while posting a 56.9 completion percentage. Masoli was also a serious threat on the ground rushing for 718 yards for the year. A review of the Holiday Bowl versus Oklahoma State will tell you that Masoli will be one to watch as he buried the Cowboys with a physical running style in the second half that will have defensive coordinators working long nights during next season. What is more impressive about these accomplishments is the seasons initial starter for the FLOCK was Nic Costa who injured a knee and missed the rest of the season. Kelley while molding a first year juco quarterback also found time to produce two thousand yard rushers, Jeremiah Johnson and the bruiser LeGarrette Blount. Once more Kelley is the real deal Holyfield and if you cant see that you will once Oregon gets rolling in the next few years.

This move by Oregon is the first of many coach-in-waiting scenarios that become popular amongst the powers of college football. Texas has announced that Will Muschamp will succeed Mack Brown whenever he steps down for the Horns. Florida State has also put such a plan in place to with Jimbo Fisher set to succeed legend Bobby Bowden whenever he steps down in the near future. There are also some “unofficial” hierarchal succession plans at Virginia Tech, Penn State and Kentucky.
Bud Foster is the popular choice to replace Frank Beamer at Tech. The Pope (Joe Paterno) is said to have christened Tom Bradley as the next coach at Penn State. Lastly, Rich Brooks at Kentucky as tabbed Joker Phillips as the next coach down on the Blue Grass.

Contrary to what seems to be popular opinion I think these types of succession plans bring continuity to college football programs that implement them. It provides stability to the program, especially when a longtime coach has been rumored to retire in the near future. This brings peace of mind to possible recruits and current players within the program. The only downside is that there will not be an extensive and “appropriate” search for a new candidate to fill the vacancy. I must admit I am more for this type of strategy even though it has one main negative point.

Oregon has made the right move in hiring Kelley, expect the Ducks to challenge Troy’s stronghold of the Pac-10 immediately. The offensive will post staggering numbers and Ducks will finally make a move into tip tier royalty in college football after so many years of knocking on the door. Congratulations to Oregon and Chip Kelley let the fireworks begin

Sincerely, Claudius Minimums