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Joey Johnston's Sidelines: An Intelligent Decision By ESPN

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

THE SMART GUYS

Four BCS conference schools better known for academic prowess are off to successful starts this season:

On a day that features Florida State-Miami, Oregon-USC, Missouri-Nebraska and Ohio State-Wisconsin, where is ESPN's "College GameDay" crew?

In that noted college football hamlet ... Nashville, Tenn.

Yes, Vanderbilt's 4-0 start is going national. The Commodores are hosting Auburn (4-1). What are the chances Lee Corso places a battleship on top of his head?

"The Commodores weren't at the top of the list going into last weekend," "GameDay" senior producer Michael Fountain said. "But with all the upsets, they're in first place in the SEC East, they're creating some buzz and we haven't been there before. We want to go to, if not the big games, certainly the most intriguing matchups. And the Commodores are certainly intriguing."

Saban Has Their Attention

Alabama coach Nick Saban couldn't be happier. The Crimson Tide (5-0) are up to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll after a 41-30 win at Georgia. But Saban was assured his players won't get carried away - after leading 31-0 at halftime, Alabama surrendered 30 points to the Bulldogs.

"I hope our players learn, 'What did I do when we played well?'" Saban said. "And, 'What happened when I didn't play well?' And that, my friends, will be the answer to why you're successful and why you aren't.

"I'm just the only person who talks about it harping on consistency, even after an impressive win. And you guys in the media beat me up about it. Which is all right. Then the next week, you say, 'He's right. My God, he was right.'"

HIGH TIDE

Alabama, unranked in The Associated Press preseason poll, has risen to No. 2 after its first four games. ESPN research shows it is tied for the second-fastest ascension to No. 2 by an unranked preseason team:

For the first time since Oct. 15, 1994, the three traditional SEC East powerhouses (Florida, Georgia, Tennessee) all lost on the same weekend.

Stephen Garcia Update

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier went back and forth on his plans for Stephen Garcia, the freshman from Jefferson High, before naming Chris Smelley as his starter today at Ole Miss. Either way, Garcia will play a lot.

Garcia rushed for a team-high 86 yards - most by a South Carolina quarterback since 2002 - and passed for 131 more in a 26-13 win against UAB.

"I think we've got to give Stephen Garcia every opportunity to play," Spurrier said. "I think his ability to run out of the pocket adds an extra dimension to our offense."

Then the obligatory, Spurrier-esque kicker:

"We'll see if we can't try to teach him a little bit where to throw the ball."

Bad Memories

Texas is Colorado's homecoming opponent today.

Last meeting: Texas 70, Colorado 3 in the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game.

"We move on and, you know, it's better that way," said Colorado senior safety Ryan Walters, one of the nine players or assistant coaches still on the roster. "Any time you get a basketball number put up on you, it's embarrassing. It's something you don't forget."

The Drought

Missouri (4-0) visits Nebraska (3-1) tonight, and the Tigers haven't won in Lincoln since 1978. That's when Tigers RB James Wilder (still the Bucs' all-time leading rusher) had four touchdowns to spur Missouri's 35-31 upset of No. 2 Nebraska.

Since then in Big Red Country? Nada.

Fourteen straight losses.

"Nebraska just always had a real good team," former Missouri coach Warren Powers told the Columbia (Mo.) Tribune. "But, my God, I can't believe somebody hasn't beaten them."

Chase Daniel, you're on the clock.

BIG RED BLUES

A year-by-year look at Missouri's 14-game drought in Lincoln, Neb.:

Remember when Kansas (3-1) was criticized last season for playing a cream-puff schedule en route to its Orange Bowl appearance?

The Jayhawks might get a relative breather today at Iowa State. But after that?

Absolutely brutal.

The Jayhawks still have games remaining with four teams in the AP top 10 - No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Missouri, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Texas Tech.

Opening It Up

Ten years ago, Purdue's offense was described as "basketball on grass." Tradition-minded people in the Big Ten made light of Coach Joe Tiller's spread offense.

Now people copy it.

Even Penn State (5-0), which saw its return to prominence coincide with joining the 21st century. The Nittany Lions visit Purdue today. Tiller, who will retire after this season, gets one more game against Joe Paterno.

"It's a sign of a great coach that he changes with the times," Tiller said.

The first time Tiller's Boilermakers played Penn State, the two coaches were visiting on the sideline.

"He said, 'Tiller, you're not going to throw the ball all over the field, are you?'" Tiller said. "I said, 'We are what we are. We're going to go out and play sissy ball.'

"Apparently, now he wants to do the same thing."

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