Sports debates have been around since the first sweat was broken. What was once argued on barstools has now evolved into daytime programming for sports networks. Embracing debate is why Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith are paid millions and why Your Veteran Scribe loves his remote’s mute button.
Discussions involving college football cover a wide variety of topics. Several of the top programs like to claim that they dominate certain positions. For years, Penn State liked to call itself Linebacker U. Whatever the assertion of superiority, there were always other schools who would dispute the bragging rights.
The great thing about sports debates is that most have no definitive ruling. The arguing can go on indefinitely. A great example is the recent work of colleague Richie Whitt, who stirred the pot by listing his top 10 teams in DFW history — “The greatest team in DFW history.”
In an effort to further churn the waters of the discussion regarding which schools dominate which positions, ESPN this week unveiled its top 10 schools for eight positions – quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker and defensive back. You can check out the complete package at ESPN.com: Position U. .
ESPN Stats & Information developed a formula based on award selections (all-conference, All-America) plus NFL performance. The selections were limited to players who appeared in games starting in 1998 – Bowl Championship Series and College Football Playoff eras.
Pro journalism tip: This is the perfect time for this sort of story. Football media days have been held, practices open in a few days and the season is just over a month away. This is also the sort of project that is like throwing chum to a school of sharks – the feeding frenzy (debates and arguments) can begin.
Quarterback U
1, USC; 2, Oklahoma; 3, Oregon; 4, Texas; 5, Florida State; 6, Louisville; 7, Auburn; 8, Florida; 9, Texas A&M; 10, Ohio State.
Here are the notable players listed for OU, UT and A&M:
Sooners — Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray.
Longhorns — Major Applewhite, Chris Simms, Vince Young, Colt McCoy.
Aggies — Jerrod Johnson, Ryan Tannehill, Johnny Manziel, Kellen Mond.
Comment: Not sure of the methodology or logic to have Kellen Mond listed for Texas A&M and not have Sam Ehlinger listed for Texas.
Running back U
1, Alabama; 2, Wisconsin; 3, LSU; 4, Oklahoma; 5, Miami (Fla.); 6, Pittsburgh; 7, Texas; 8, Oregon; 9, Arkansas; 10, Auburn.
The notable players listed for Oklahoma and Texas:
Sooners – Adrian Peterson, Samaje Perine, DeMarco Murray.
Longhorns – Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Jamal Charles.
Comment: Jamal Charles’ final season at Texas was 2007. The Longhorns’ search for a quarterback after Colt McCoy has been well-documented but the school has also suffered from the lack of big-time running backs.
Wide receiver U
1, USC; 2; Ohio State; 3, Florida State; 4, Oklahoma State; 5, LSU; 6, Oklahoma; 7, Florida; 8, Michigan; 9, Alabama; 10, Notre Dame.
Notable players from Oklahoma State and Oklahoma:
Cowboys – James Washington, Justin Blackmon, Dez Bryant.
Sooners – Marquise Brown, Ryan Broyles, Jalen Saunders, Sterling Shepherd.
Comment: UT and A&M fans, hang your heads in shame. The pass catching talent has resided in the Sooner State.
Tight end U
1, Miami (Fla.); 2, Iowa; 3, Stanford; 4, Missouri; 5, Wisconsin; 6, Oklahoma; 7, UCLA; 8, Arizona State; 9, Virginia; 10, BYU.
Notable players from Oklahoma: Mark Andrews, Blake Bell, James Hanna, Jermaine Gresham, Stephen Alexander.
Comment: With coach Lincoln Riley calling the plays, Oklahoma’s use of the tight end is one of the most innovative in the game.
Offensive line U
1, Alabama; 2, Wisconsin; 3, Oklahoma; 4, Michigan; 5, Ohio State; 6, USC; 7, Notre Dame; 8, Florida State; 9, Texas; 10, Florida.
Notable players from Oklahoma and Texas:
Sooners – Jammal Brown, Davin Joseph, Phil Loadholt, Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, Orlando Brown, Cody Ford.
Longhorns – Jay Humphrey, Leonard Davis, Mike Williams, Derrick Dockery, Justin Blalock, Connor Williams.
Comment: It’s what’s up front that counts in The Red River Rivalry.
Defensive line U
1, Alabama; 2, Clemson; 3, Penn State; 4, LSU; 5, Florida State; 6, Ohio State; 7, Texas; 8, Florida; 9, USC; 10, Tennessee.
Notable Texas players: Shaun Rogers, Casey Hampton, Cory Redding, Marcus Tubbs, Tim Crowder, Brian Orakpo, Lamar Houston, Malcolm Brown.
Comment: With four SEC schools on the list, Texas can take some pride for being included in the top 10.
Linebacker U
1, Georgia; 2, Alabama; 3, Ohio State; 4, USC; 5, Penn State; 6, Oklahoma; 7, UCLA; 8, Florida State; 9, Michigan; 10, Florida.
Notable Oklahoma players: Curtis Lofton, Teddy Lehman, Rocky Calmus.
Comment: Ah, the good old days when the Sooners had defensive players who could tackle. Of the three OU players listed, Lofton’s final season was 2007, Lehman’s was 2003 and Calmus’ was 2001.
Defensive back U
1, Ohio State; 2, LSU; 3, Alabama; 4, Florida; 5, Florida State; 6, Texas; 7, USC; 8, Miami (Fla.); 9, Virginia Tech; 10, Oklahoma.
Notable players from Texas and Oklahoma:
Longhorns – Kenny Vaccaro, Earl Thomas, Quentin Jammer.
Sooners – Roy Williams, Andre Woolfolk, Zack Sanchez.
Comment: Note that the only Big 12 schools to make the defensive lists were Texas and Oklahoma with four mentions. SEC schools were mentioned 10 times in the three defensive positions.
The definition of “back”
Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman wrote about those three little words – “Texas is back.” To flip that phrase, this season it’s a question: “Is Texas back?” Here are two quotes from national writers that punctuated his story:
Bruce Feldman, who covers the sport for The Athletic and is a sideline reporter for FOX telecasts: “Literally, Texas isn’t all the way back until they have a parade celebrating the national title. Sam (Ehlinger) is terrific, but in order to really punctuate it, he needs to do what Vince (Young) did. That’s how high the bar is. Those guys shouldn’t be shying away from it. It’s ridiculous how mediocre they’ve been.”
George Schroeder, the national college football writer for USA Today: “It’s more than contending for the Big 12. It’s contending for the Big 12 while you’re a legitimate playoff contender. Then, you have to win the Big 12. You may not have to make the playoff, because it’s hard to get into the four. But you’ve got to be a legitimate No. 4, 5 or 6.”
Week Two look ahead
Some interesting research from Connor O’Gara of Saturdays Down South regarding LSU playing at Texas in Week Two. During the College Football Playoff Era (starting in 2014), the Tigers’ visit to Austin on Sept. 7 will be the first time an SEC team will be involved in a Top 10 road game.
Several teams open the season in marquee games that are played at neutral sites. And it’s rare for a team from the Big, Bad SEC to venture on the road this early in the season to face a highly ranked opponent. (The first polls won’t come out until next month but it’s almost a sure thing that LSU and UT will both be in the top 10).
The same day, Texas A&M plays at defending national champion Clemson. The Aggies are likely to be knocking on the door of the top 10 but probably won’t be that highly ranked.
O’Gara’s research shows there have been eight non-conference games matching top 10 teams since 2014. The winner of three of those games (Oregon over Michigan State in 2014, Oklahoma over Ohio State in 2017, Notre Dame over Stanford in 2018) reached the CFP bracket that season.
Getting defensive
New Texas Tech coach Matt Wells is expected to bring something to Lubbock that’s been missing for several years – a solid defense. The Red Raiders’ offense is still expected to put up a lot of points; what should be different is the opponent not scoring more.
Wells, who spent seven seasons at Utah State, said he’s impressed with the Big 12’s offensive reputation plus the talent of the play callers and skill positions. But he thinks the counterpoint is that there are some quality defensive minds in the league.
“I think, if you will, in the Big 12 because there are certainly great defensive coaches here,” he said. “I think at the top is Gary Patterson. TCU has been doing it for a long time,” Wells said. “Todd Orlando at Texas, Jon Heacock at Iowa State. There are a lot of great defensive coaches that have major challenges every Saturday and I respect the league and I respect the challenges and I respect what has gone on before me and I’m an offensive guy.
“I like scoring points more than anybody, but I like winning better and I think part of winning is great defense.”
Final word
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher on the new rule – created in reaction to the Aggies and LSU playing seven overtimes last season – that requires teams to attempt only two-point plays after the fourth OT:
“I know one thing, I got to make sure I have a lot of two-point plays from now on.”