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Commodore Notebook – September 5 9/5/2006 Commodore Notebook Hype One, Hype Two, Hype Three I love collegiate football, always have and always will. I got a cold chill when Michigan’s band came high stepping onto the field and played “The Victors”. I like The Grove on a football Saturday. I never get tired of Fred Russell’s yarns involving Dan McGugin and Red Sanders. Texas A & M’s 12th Man, Army-Navy, Script Ohio and Boomer Sooner have a special place in my playbook. It isn’t surprising that I enjoy ESPN’s college football coverage. Some of my SEC colleagues think the network has gotten too big for its television britches but I tend to like anyone that has my interests at heart. I still want to nit-pick a bit with some of the first week hyperbole we happened to catch over the long Labor Day weekend. All the personalities have their Heisman Trophy list. Fair enough; these golden throats are being paid good money to have an opinion and encouraged to make it known. Brady Quinn, Notre Dame’s quarterback, is high on most lists and he has to be a really good player. But name a Notre Dame quarterback that hasn’t been a Heisman hopeful. I’ve gotten more skeptical of Heisman hoopla since realizing how close the trio of Vince Young, Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler are skill-wise. Leinart darn near repeated as Heisman winner last year. Young was trumpeted far and wide. And Cutler? He was voted pre-season all-SEC by the football coaches and many in the media mocked that choice, believing there were better quarterbacks in Gainesville, Tuscaloosa and even Knoxville. So much for self-anointed expertise. There is a locker room full of guys capable of becoming college football’s Most Valuable Player. I can’t tell you who will win but we can rest assured that the winner will come from one of the time honored football factories. That’s a club that is virtually impossible to crack from the outside. A Big House, Big Time Surplus A Michigan administrator told me that the Wolverine athletics department posted a SURPLUS of $17 million last year in a budget of $80 million. I’m not sure if that leads the NCAA but it wouldn’t take long to call the roll if it doesn’t. All seats in Michigan Stadium between the 20’s require a hefty donation to the annual fund. Little wonder Michigan will soon embark on a $300 million facilities facelift, two-thirds of that or more adding suites and dressing up Michigan Stadium. By the way, did anyone notice there was not a single corporate sign in The Big House? No promotions, no contests, no nothing. With $17 million in your pocket, you can choose to keep your old-time atmosphere. Youth Movement Bobby Johnson probably confused some fans this summer by saying that red-shirting nearly his entire freshman class the last couple of years might not have been such a good idea. It is generally thought that anytime you can avoid playing first-year players you are wisely investing in the future. Coach Johnson’s analysis was that keeping some talented true freshmen on the bench hurt our depth, especially on special teams where we may have had to play tired troops. He hinted that he was likely not going to red-shirt as many freshmen in the future. He kept true to that observation Saturday, playing six true freshmen against the Wolverines. True freshmen D.J. Moore and Brent Trice covered the opening kickoff while other true freshmen who saw action included Matt Quinn, Brett Upson, Patrick Benoist and Greg Billinger. Five Commodores made their first career starts: defensive end Curtis Gatewood, safety Ryan Hamilton, quarterback Chris Nickson, tight end Brad Allen and offensive guard Merritt Kirchoffer. Soccer’s Griffin is Honors Candidate Speaking of national awards, soccer goal keeper Tyler Griffin has made the 22 member Hermann Trophy watch list this fall. The Hermann Trophy goes to the outstanding soccer player in the nation. Griffin was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last year. |
