College Football uniforms

Watching plenty of Pac-10 action, we've probably seen more variations of the Oregon Ducks' uniform than actual games. Swear they change those fuckers at halftime.

While Oregon's uniforms are just awful -- really, horribly awful -- there are some FANTASTIC unis out there.

Some of our favorites:

-Texas' all whites
-Penn State
-Georgia's all blacks
-Washington's home (purple top, gold pants)
-Alabama

Are you the type to love the classics (USC, Ohio State, 'Bama)? Or do you go for the more new-wave, gimmicky outfit (Oregon, Georgia Tech, TCU come to mind)? Or perhaps something in between?

Your favorite -- and least favorite -- college football uniforms in the comment, please.

College Football teams we can all root against

We're filled with hate. We hate bland food, Gap commercials and many college football teams.

Not really sure why we dislike certain teams -- do we root against uniform, players or both? Probably both. While every college football fan hates their rival, most fans can come together for some community hate.

The top five teams that we all can root against every Saturday:

5. Ohio State


Whether it's Jim Tressel's ridiculous sweater vest, Brutus Buckeye's nonsense or Ohio State just giving us lousy championship games far too often, the Buckeyes are worth rooting against just so we don't have to see them an SEC team after the new year.

4. Alabama


Between Nick Saban being an asshole and a Golden Retriever being able to successfully play QB for the Tide, there's nothing likable about this team. Except the numbers on the helmet. That's pretty cool.

3. Florida


Urban Meyer + Tim Tebow + two National Championships in three years (and maybe more) = a lot of hostility from everyone else.

2. USC


It's always been a running joke that LA still has a professional football team and they wear red and gold. We've actually sorta liked a lot of the players that have come through SC and we don't really have any problems with Pete Carroll. Yet when you win seven straight Pac-10 titles, go to seven BCS bowl games in a row and finish in the top five seven straight years, you're going to have a very big X on your back. And what's up with Will Ferrell and Snoop Dogg? Go make Old School 2 already and stay away from the football field.

1. Notre Dame


We really think our biggest problem with the Irish is that the BCS will do anything to get them into a major bowl game. They could be 10-2, with wins over the regular of Michigan State, Stanford, Navy, etc. and go to a premiere game when you leave the likes of Boise State, TCU and Utah out.

And when Brady Quinn is succeeded by Jimmy Clausen, you really just wanna sock Charlie Weis in the gut for recruiting such pompous pricks.

What teams do you root against? Share your hate in the comments...

New Year's Day Bowl Games used to mean something

Remember when New Year's Day was filled with awesome games like the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Citrus (Capital One) Bowl and Cotton Bowl.

Those pit good teams from good conferences who play in front of fans who are hung over but certainly like good teams from good conferences playing each other.

But the new Dallas Football Classic seems to have little regard for New Year's Day tradition.

Dallas city leaders say the Dallas Football Classic is planned for New Year's Day 2011. The plan calls for using teams from the Big 12, Big Ten and perhaps Conference USA.

The first game will likely pit the seventh-ranked team from the Big 12 against the sixth-ranked team from the Big Ten, should those teams be excluded from Bowl Championship Season consideration.

Super! If the game were played this year, we'd have 5-4 Iowa State and 4-5 Michigan State. Of course neither team is bowl-eligible yet, but that doesn't really matter. Who needs to see six-win teams on New Year's Day anyway? Regardless, everyone will be tuned in to the Cotton Bowl. Oh. Wait. That's now on Jan. 2. Heaven help us...

Insert Oregon into the BCS Title discussion

It's not likely that Oregon will have a shot at a BCS Championship -- the Ducks would have to have all sorts of help to get in the top two of the BCS standings. Probably need five of the seven undefeated teams in front of them in the BCS standings to lose, including Boise State.

Bad news for Oregon. Great news for Florida, Alabama and Texas. There hasn't been a more dominant team the last five weeks than Oregon. They're unstoppable on offense -- over 600 yards of total offense and nearly 400 RUSHING Saturday! -- and the defense is very good. Oregon's speed on offense versus Florida's speed on defense would be a game that we're sure many would like to see.

USC is admittedly shocked and felt like they kept getting punched in the face. It's hard to imagine an offense better than the Dennis-Dixon-led squad in '07, but this team's might be better.

It's seems like another season where Oregon lost to Boise State and lost it's star running back for the season. But the Ducks might be better off with the speed of LaMichael James rather than the bruising style of LeGarrette Blount.

Oregon travels to Stanford next week, followed by the Arizona schools and a Thursday Cival War date with Oregon State. Rolling off 11-straight wins to close the season seems very likely. A trip to Pasadena equally as likely. But will it be on Jan. 1 or Jan. 7?

We've been there too, buddy

Head in hands, on the brink of tears, wanting to punch a hole through a brick wall...just a day in the life of a tormented sports fan.

After Clemson's near comeback against Georgia Tech on Sept. 10, this Tigers fan didn't take the loss well.



Don't worry, friend. They put Virginia on the schedule for a reason.

Jumping on the U-Dub bandwagon isn't that easy

For how great the Huskies' win was Saturday -- and don't get me wrong, it was fucking great --there was a part of me that was hesitant to be fully excited and jump on the Huskies-to-the-Rose-Bowl bandwagon.

I have a few theories why I pulled back from fully embracing a huge upset, a huge win, and didn't celebrate by eating a bottle of tequila.

1. I wasn't there.

Haven't lived in Seattle for over a year, have been out of school for over three and wasn't in the raucous Husky Stadium to feel the excitement.

When you watch a game on TV it takes something away. You're not invested the same way you are when you spend time amongst the fans and scenery of an actual ballgame.

So watching, nearly 1,000 miles away, I couldn't hop on board as easily as I would've liked.

2. USC wasn't at it's fullest.

The Trojans were missing their starting QB, their likely overall best player in safety Taylor Mays and Pete Carroll may or may not have actually been there. LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke had some choice words.

3. I'm scared to jump on board.

Call me a bad fan, but I think that by getting sucked in to another on-the-fence-good team (read: 2009 San Francisco Giants) I'm setting myself up for the fall.

With losing comes apathy. Of course with winning comes elation, but unless we're in Florida or Pennsylvania, no one's doing much winning.

When you've lost 15 in a row, No. 16 doesn't sting. But when you win five in a row, are on the cusp of a good bowl game, that first loss after the wins feels like salt in every fucking wound.

When the Giants lose 100 games, I'm checked out by No. 85. Fairweather? Perhaps. But, ask any woman in my life, I'm far easier to deal with when they lose on a daily basis opposed to when they rip out my fucking heart.

I'm excited about these Huskies. Hell, I went to school there for that football program. But I'm not ready to "give up sports for good this time," after a gut-wrencher to Stanford.

The Dawgs get to 9-1? Let's talk.

[Photo: The Seattle Times]

Ohio State-USC GameDay photos

Our friends friends Busted Coverage were in Columbus for USC's win over Ohio State Saturday. The Buckeyes' play was underwhelming, as expected, but we'll tip our cap to the OSU students for creativity.

It's almost college football time! But until then...

We're a week away from the first full Saturday of games! That means tailgates, the Spread Option and sorority girls making football jerseys sexy again.

We'll get into college football here during the week and Friday we'll be kicking off what three people have said is the best college football column in the blogosphere. That might be misquoted. And it might have been two people.

So sit back, enjoy the Dog Days of Summer, enjoy the insanely hot Lauren and have a fucking fantastic weekend. Fall starts next week and that means the best sports season of the year. Gear up!

Montana to, ugh, hmm...TOUCHDOWN HUSKIES!

Who said 0-12 isn't a good recruiting tool? Fuck that, says, Nick Montana, who's daddy used to throw touchdowns and bang plenty of road beef.

Pictured throwing a football prior to nap time, the baby-faced Montana gave a verbal commitment to Washington where Steve Sarkisian will turn Montana into the next Matt Leinart or Mark Sanchez; he even has the similar 'N Sync look.

The last name doesn't automatically make Montana good, though he was ranked as the No. 13 QB by Scout.com. Even if he starts as a freshman in two years, Montana might see the remnants of a winless team. Devin Aguilar and Jermaine Kearse aren't exactly Rice and Taylor.

Big Ten (12?) Up for Grabs in 2011

Ohio State has been the story of the offseason in college football because of their violations that have netted a suspension of five games, minimum, for coach Jim Tressel, quarterback Terrelle Pryor and a few others. The Buckeyes have won the Big Ten title for six straight years, either outright or shared, but now they’re in a hole and that means the league championship is up in the air. It should be a wild year in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes shared last year’s title with Michigan State and Wisconsin, and both of these teams should be in the hunt once again. But those who bet on college football predictions at BetUs will also put Nebraska into the mix as the Cornhuskers finished first in the Big 12 North last year and narrowly lost to Oklahoma in the conference title game, which would have sent them to the Fiesta Bowl. Michigan and Penn State look to improve after lackluster seasons, especially the Wolverines, who have the most explosive player in the conference in quarterback Denard Robinson. Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern and Indiana are also in the hunt, but they’ll probably bring up the rear.

This means we could have another three-way tie atop the Big Ten, and Ohio State may not be any of them as they have to figure out how to overcome the loss of their coach and offensive leader, and we wouldn’t expect the Buckeyes to be challenging for the conference title. It’s not clear whether or not there will be a team who can compete for the national championship, but if you can manage to get through the Big Ten with a perfect record, you have an excellent chance of winning a spot in the BCS championship game, which the Buckeyes proved in 2006 and 2007, when they got romped by Florida and LSU in consecutive years. Nebraska moved out of the Big 12 in order to get a better shot to reach the title game, and with Ohio State likely on the downslide, the Cornhuskers may have the best chance in what will be a wide-open Big Ten.

As long as Pete Carroll is at USC, will the Trojans ever fall?

As the high-school class of '09 signs away their lives for the next four years (maybe three if you're lucky), the top talent seems to be heading to the same schools as always.

USC, as of late Tuesday, was No. 3 according to Rivals (behind LSU and Ohio State) and had more five-star recruits (5) than any other school.

The LA Times speculates that the Trojans are too good for their own good and may lose possible commits because the depth charts are too clogged. Good problem to have, if you ask us.

The better question though is: will USC ever fall?

With a dynamic coach, a world-renown city and a wealth of talent in its backyard, what's it gonna take for USC to come down a level?

The only thing we can think of -- aside from Carroll leaving which ain't gonna happen -- is a major violation that leads to probation. And with the Reggie Bush thing swept under the rug, that doesn't seem too likely.

Letters of Intent, fallen into the wrong hands

Happy National Signing Day, dick weasels! It's like Christmas morning, only with undeveloped, pimply-faced high school kids valued with stars instead of shiny new toys. We fucking love shiny shit.

We got our hands on some Letters of Intent and deleted the names for privacy purposes. Wouldn't want to, you know, get sued. Anyway, these are neat. College! Letters! Hooray!!!!

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Dear Mr. Bowden,

I am pleased to announce my intent to attend Florida State University and to play football for your fine program. Unfortunately, sometime during my redshirt season, I plan to be arrested for doing drugs, getting in a fight, or sleeping with an underage girl in my dorm room. I'll also likely be put on academic probation, because, let me tell you, it's pretty hard to concentrate on your studies while your high, getting head from a high school senior and fighting with her boyfriend. At that point you'll probably have to kick me off the team. Anyway, looking forward to seeing you on campus!

Warm regards,

Top Recruit

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Dear Mr. Paterno,

I do not intend to attend your university. Frankly, I'd like to play for a coach who I don't fear will die before I graduate. Good luck!

Best wishes,

Top Recruit

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Dear Athletic Director,

I am pleased to announce my intent to attend your university and play for your football team. Unless of course you fire your coach, don't get funding for your new locker room complex, or if I don't start soon enough.

Fondly,

Top Recruit

---------------------------------------

Dear Coach,

I really enjoyed my recruiting visit, but the blow just wasn't pure enough for my taste, and one of the chicks you lined up for me refused to suck my dick after it had been in her friend's ass. What's up with that? Good luck getting top recruits with that attitude.

---------------------------------------

Dear Notre Dame,

Some university you have here! Lots of religious white people. I like that! And Charlie Weis is a nice man. I didn't get any other offers, so I'd like to give you my intent to join your team.

Psalms 19,

Top Recruit, #41

---------------------------------------

So there you have it. Pretty interesting stuff there. As for us, we would only have one thing to say if we were writing a letter of intent:

To whom it may concern,

We, the writers of The Big Picture, hereby declare our intent to not get caught.

Bad day for Boston College

The Transitive Property states that if a = b and b = c, then a = c.

When applied to sports, common logic says:

"Team A defeated Team B, and Team B defeated Team C. Therefore, team A will defeat team C."

So enter Harvard as Team A, Boston College as Team B and North Carolina as Team C and we prove that Harvard will defeat UNC.

Of course mathematicians will tell you that's an unsound application of the property, to which we say, bullshit! Harvard wouldn't beat North Carolina, but the Crimson should probably be ranked No. 3 in the country. Or maybe No. 2. Fuck Duke. And fuck you eighth-grade algebra.

Meanwhile, things in the Boston College football department weren't so warm and fuzzy either.

After head coach Jeff Jagodzinksi was told he could not interview for the Jets coaching vacancy, he did anyway and was promptly fired Wednesday.

The Big Lead says its a win-win, while we're still wondering who the fuck Jeff Jagodzinski is. Didn't the Eagles lose five games this year, including a bowl stinker against Vanderbilt? Um, why would any team be interested in this guy? And why would he risk getting fired when nobody in their right mind would want this guy?!

Anyway, Boston College had a shitty day and the rest of the world can smile upon its failure. It's not the Red Sox or Patriots, but any sports failure in the state of Boston is a national victory.

FOX is killing the already-terrible BCS

A riddle:

How can you make the BCS any worse?
Are Verne Lundquist, Mike Patrick and Ron Franklin calling the games?
Then you can't.

We've had enough of FOX's coverage of these so-so BCS games that seem to becoming less interesting every year. Not only are the matchups not that enticing, but we have FOX -- which covered zero college football games all year -- sucking the life out of the games with drab announcers, bad camera shots and no passion.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel -- are you reading Stewart Mandel yet? We've basically been doing free advertising for the guy the last few months! -- wrote that the installment of the fifth BCS game is killing TV ratings.

BCS officials can't be pleased with these early returns. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the addition of a fifth BCS bowl can officially be declared an abject failure.

Seven of the nine lowest-rated games of the BCS era have now taken place over the past three seasons. That coincides with the beginning of the current cycle in which the BCS added a fifth game and turned the national championship game into a stand-alone event.

It also happens to coincide with the BCS' contract with FOX. Coincidence?

Sorry, but we can't take a broadcast team of Matt Vasgersian and Tim Ryan seriously. And by "we," we mean anyone with two ears and a passion for college football.

Clever

Matthew Stafford?! Really?!

It's never too early to start talking NFL Draft -- four months baby! Get the drinking games ready! -- and, clearly, many other websites agree with us. DC Pro Sports Report compiled a list of whom each Draft site has going No. 1, No. 2 and then to the NFC East teams.

The thing to take from the list: it looks like Michael Johnson's the guy in Washington! Kidding...

Matthew Stafford seems like the favorite to be the top player selected -- all-but-surely by the winless Lions.

The 20-year-old junior has improved statistically every year, but couldn't help Georgia live up to the hype as the preseason No. 1; Georgia finished the regular season at 9-3 and will play in the Capital One Bowl.

Stafford's numbers were fine -- 61.1 completion percentage, 3,209 yards, 22 TDs, 9 INTs. At 6-foot-3, 237, he's got a linebacker's body and moves like a lineman. Not exactly the dual-threat QB.

He's popular with the NFL scouts namely for his cannon arm, to which we say: Kyle Boller and JaMarcus Russell also had rocket arms coming out of college and that's gone real well.

Some NFL Mock Drafts that have Sam Bradford coming out have him going No. 1. We think that makes a bit more sense. But knowing the Lions' track record with drafting, they'll turn Stafford into a $35 million disaster.

Or they'll draft Michael Crabtree.

They're not saying 'boo,' they're saying 'Chiz-ik'

Our pals at Busted Coverage had this good find Sunday of an Auburn fan awaiting the arrival of Tigers AD Jay Jacobs. Auburn fans were plenty pleased to see the dismissal of Tommy Tuberville, but are none too happy about the hiring of a coach who went 5-19 in two years at Iowa State.



Sweet ride, though. And very GQ with that blazer.

That video sorta reminds us of this one, which, has very little to do with college football or tigers, but has plenty to do with princesses and fairy tales.



Just skip the kissing part.

Where does Tim Teboner stand on the "best ever college player" list?

Don't have the time, energy or resources to dig deep into the stat books, but Tim Tebow could very well win his second national title and Heisman trophy in the next month...and there's a good chance he'll be back next year for another shot.

Some big names that come to mind in the last 50+ years:

-Griffin
-Walker
-Brown
-Simpson
-Butkus
-Thorpe

So, Tim Teboner. Where's he stand? Your lists in the comments, please.

[The Big Lead: Tebow vs. Frazier]

Graham Harrell's weekend will not consist of media events, photo ops and a boring ceremony

What was the discussion process naming the three Heisman finalists? It might have sounded like this.

Heisman Chairman #1: Whaddya think?
Heisman Chairman #2: Tebow for sure.
Heisman Chairman #3: Bradford and McCoy gotta come.
Heisman Chairman #1: Harrell?
Heisman Chairman #2: Great numbers.
Heisman Chairman #3: System quarterback, though.
Heisman Chairman #1: And it's not like he's from a media-friendly school like Notre Dame.
Heisman Chairman #2: But his numbers are out of this world.
Heisman Chairman #3: My comatose grandmother could throw for 4,000 yards in that offense.
Heisman Chairman #1: And there's also that other issue.
Heisman Chairman #2: What's that?
Heisman Chairman #1: (Rubs thumb against fingers indicating the money gesture)
Heisman Chairman #2: You cheap fuck.
Heisman Chairman #1: Flights are $400 from Lubbock. Another $200 a night for hotel. Transportation...the economy is failing right now.
Heisman Chairman #3: Don't forget food.
Heisman Chairman #2: Go fuck a goat, Herb.
Heisman Chairman #3: Harrell coming to New York would cost us at least a grand. And it's not like he'd win anyway? Bradford and McCoy were televised more often and got more pub.
Heisman Chairman #2: He's passed for 41 touchdowns and ran for six more. His completion rate is over 70 percent.
Heisman Chairman #3: (Puts a burlap sack over Chairman #2's head)
Heisman Chairman #1: So Tebow, Bradford and McCoy? We good?
Heisman Chairman #3: Yep. We're good. Make the calls.

Lane Kiffin is the Shia LaBeouf of football

It's weird how a coach gets to be a "hot" name. Much like a Hollywood star, someone becomes the trendy name and no one's quite sure why.

Take Lane Kiffin. Pretty solid coordinator at USC and then a 5-15 record with the Raiders. The guy wasn't exactly a franchise-changing coach, yet he was elevated to the top of many teams' vacant coaching lists.

Why, exactly?

Enter Shia LaBeouf, Hollywood star. He's a trendy, young actor, in many of the biggest movies. Girls love him, guys are envious of him.

Why, exactly?

He went from Even Stevens to Disturbia to Transformers to fucking Indiana Jones. It's not like any of those movies were actually good. If Transformers didn't have Megan Fox it would have been virtually un-watchable.

But the kid's a hit -- and much like Lane Kiffin -- his track record is underwhelming. How people become the "hot" name is a strange, strange thing.