1951 Sugar Bowl, Kentucky vs. Oklahoma

Voting for the first poll is officially over.

The question was which Associated Press champion since 1997 was the most controversial? Here's how you voted:
1997 Michigan 14 (51%)
2002 Ohio State 6 (22%)
2003 Southern California 6 (22%)
2006 Florida 1 (3%)

Yeah, I have to agree with you. And if you think that's a hint to how some of these are portrayed in the book, especially the list of the 10 most controversial champions in history, you would be correct.

Monday, I'll have a Michigan photo in honor of the victory, along with a new poll regarding one of its rivals. Meanwhile, today we honor Kentucky for being ranked in the top 10.

Kentucky coach Paul W. “Bear” Brant and Oklahoma’s Bud Wilkinson go “bowling” prior to the Sugar Bowl. Although the Sooners had already been proclaimed national champions, the Wildcats won 13-7. Courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

1941 Duke vs. Oregon State

Alabama vs. Florida State in Jacksonville this weekend kind of reminds me of another famous game played in a unique setting.

Although it didn’t have a bearing on the national championship, the 1942 Rose Bowl game was moved from the West Coast as a wartime precaution and played at Duke University in North Carolina. The host team lost to Oregon State, 20-16. Bob Dethman threw the winning touchdown pass to Gene Gray. Courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

1948 Michigan

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced today that eight people are joining its national board of directors. Check out the names:

Jerry Jones, Owner, President and General Manager, Dallas Cowboys.
Robert Kraft, Founder, Chairman & CEO, The Kraft Group; Chairman & CEO, New England Patriots.
Michael Moe, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, ThinkEquity Partners, LLC.
Kevin Plank, Chairman & CEO, Under Armour, Inc.
Roger Williams, Former Secretary of State, State of Texas.
Jim Delany, Commissioner, Big Ten Conference.
Mike Slive, Commissioner, Southeastern Conference.
Deborah Yow, Athletics Director, University of Maryland.

Apparently, there are 36 other active board members, including Archie Griffin, Archie Manning, Chuck Neinas (he's the guy who helps schools find coaches, and is incredibly good at it), George M. Steinbrenner III, Grant Teaff and Gene Washington. Wouldn't you like to have lunch with that group?

The 1948 season was one of the few in which there was practically no doubt which team was the national champion, Michigan. Led by All-American quarterback Pete Elliott, the Wolverines finished 9-0 and outscored opponents 252-44. Courtesy the Bentley Historical Library (photo BL001327), the University of Michigan.

1964 Alabama

For those of you who might watch the Alabama vs. Florida State game in Jacksonville, an interesting sidebar to the game is the number obvious crossovers between the schools.

I wrote about this for Tuesday's edition of the Tuscaloosa News, and those familiar with the schools know about the three obvious ties:

- Former Alabama standout Cecil "Hootie" Ingram became FSU's athletic director.

- So did Crimson Tide All-American Vaughn Mancha.

- Bobby Bowden always dreamed of playing quarterback at Alabama, and then coaching in Tuscaloosa. It almost happened about 20 years ago.

Now check out the rest of the coaching staffs:

- FSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher had the same position with Nick Saban at LSU (2000-04).
- Alabama assistant head coach and secondary coach Kirby Smart was a graduate assistant coach at Florida State in 2002-3.
- Seminoles assistant head coach and offensive line coach Rick Trickett had the same position with Saban at LSU in 2000. His son, Travis, is currently a graduate assistant at Alabama.
- Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews was a football and baseball player on the Capstone in the 1960s, and won two national championships under Bryant.
- Tide assistant head coach and offensive line coach Joe Pendry was on Bowden’s staff from 1970-74 as a graduate assistant, freshman coach, wide receivers coach and offensive line coach. After Bowden left for Florida State in 1976, Pendry returned for a two-year stint as offensive coordinator. They’ve opposed each other only once, when Pendry was at Pitt in 1978 (the Panthers won 7-3).
- Seminoles defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator Jody Allen was on Ray Perkins’ staff here for three seasons. He was a graduate assistant in 1984-85 before being named receivers coach in 1986.
- Tide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Curt Cignetti worked for Chuck Amato at North Carolina State from 2000-06. Amato is Bowden’s executive head coach and linebacker’s coach.
- FSU wide receivers coach Lawrence Dawsey was a graduate assistant at LSU in 2003.

College football. It's a small world.

Alabama and Florida State haven't played in 33 years, so I don't have a photo, but here's a good one from the 1964 Iron Bowl, when three Alabama players converged on Auburn’s punter. The Crimson Tide won 21-14, and thanks to No. 1 Notre Dame’s 20-17 loss to Southern California secured the national championship. Courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

1970 Stanford

A quick book update. Monday night I heard from a friend that her office had received an advance reading copy of the book and said that it looked great.

Real quick, the advance copy is a paperback version of the proofs used to basically work out all the printing bugs, etc., and in this case was done about a week before the final edits were completed. They print out a hundred copies or so and sent them to potential reviewers, journalists, and so forth.

It's basically the last step before the book officially comes out. By now I imagine all the real copiess, hardcover (and hopefully with all my final changes), are in a warehouse being prepared to be shipped. But I'm getting anxious to see it.

Here Stanford rallied from a 17-13 deficit in the fourth quarter with a touchdown catch by Randy Vataha from Jim Plunkett and a Jackie Brown touchdown set up by a Bob Moore reception. The 27-17 final squashed Ohio State’s bid for a national championship. Courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

1991 Washington

Ok, confession time. I have some really nice shots from the Orange Bowl, but for some reason I can't get them to work on here. This is relevant because I really wanted to post a Bobby Bowden shot today since I'll be at Saturday's game in Jacksonville.

Anyway, I went from the Bowdwn shot that didn't work, to finding a Don James shot that did. What does James have to do with this? Simple, when Nick Saban on was James' staff at Kent State, and his father died, Bowden offered to create a job from him at West Virginia if he wanted to be closer to home.

Yeah, it's a reach, but it's a good story.

Anyway, James, here pictured with Bo Schembechler prior to the 1981 Rose bowl, guided the Huskies to a 12-0 season in 1991, good enough to split the national championship with Miami. Courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

1924 Notre Dame

Because Notre Dame touchdowns this season are about as rare as Fighting Irish appearances in the Rose Bowl ... well, you get the idea.

In the Four Horsemen’s last ride, Notre Dame made its lone Rose Bowl appearance and defeated Stanford, 27-10. Pictured is Jim Crowley on a carry. Courtesy of Tournament of Roses archives.

Incidentally, here's this week's version of "This Date in college football history" from the National Football Foundation. Enjoy:

Sept. 25, 1920: California knocks off the rival San Francisco Olympic Club football squad 21-0 to start a 50-game winning streak from 1920- 25.

Sept. 26, 1998: Prairie View A&M ends the NCAA's longest losing streak at 80 games by downing Langston 14-12 in Prairie View, Texas. The skein began on Oct. 28, 1989, and lasted almost a full decade. The second-longest losing streak in NCAA annals belongs to Columbia - almost half the total amassed by PVA&M in the 1980s and 1990s.

Sept. 27, 1969: Rutgers and Princeton celebrate the Centennial of college football (first game played in 1869 between these schools) as the Scarlet Knights blank Princeton 29-0. Antique car parades and appearances by surviving members of both universities' 1927 teams mark the occasion, while RU quarterback Rich Policastro goes 14-for-19 passing for 164 yards and one TD to pace the attack.

Sept. 28, 1995: Rhode Island tight end Brian Foster sets a national record (all divisions) for receiving yards in a game by a TE with 327 as the Rams defeat Brown in the 70th annual Rhode Island Governor's Cup Game. The receiving yardage still is tops for NCAA FCS individuals for a single contest.

Sept, 29, 1894: Yale opens a record-setting 16-0 season (no scheduling limitations in those pre- NCAA-1906 days) by topping Trinity (Conn.) 42-0. The Bulldogs outscore their opponents by an average of 31-1 in going undefeated.

Sept, 30, 1972: Army celebrates "Earl Blaik Day" in honor of the tri-founder of the NFF & College Hall of Fame and Hall of Fame member with a 21-21 tie of heavily-favored Washington State. "We need to chase Washington State to the Pacific Northwest," Blaik tells the Michie Stadium crowd in a halftime address. He almost gets his wish as Black Knights' halfback Jimmy Hill scores twice, rushes 23 times for 88 yards, and leads a near-comeback before the game ends in a deadlock.

Oct. 1, 1904: Baseball Hall of Fame member Branch Rickey coaches his first game at Allegheny (Pa.) - a 5-0 win over Warren (Pa.). Rickey guides the Gators to a 5-5 record in '04 and coaches the 1905 squad to a 3-8 mark before going back to baseball. He later breaks the modern Major League Baseball segregation barrier by bringing former UCLA football standout Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

1979 Alabama

Time to head to the stadium, where people have been tailgating all day, not to mention the ESPN College GamdeDay crew setting up camp.

That's possibly the worst thing about my job, walking by all those grills, smelling all the great food, and not being able to stop and really enjoy the atmosphere. Oh well - we all have our burdens, and if that's my worst today it'll be a pretty good Saturday. But I digress ...

Here quarterback Steadman Shealy led Alabama to a 12-0 season in 1979, and with Ohio State losing to Southern California in the Rose Bowl, a national championship. Courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

Have some ribs for me.

1999 Texas

First off, I'm going to be on The Sporting News radio network Saturday morning, talking about Georgia at Alabama, and the book. Hope you enjoy.

Second, I have Texas on my mind today, and not because I was recently asked to do a Texas book (long story I'll tell later, but the bottom line is I'm not doing it), but regarding something I posted on my blog with the Tuscaloosa News.

Every week, ESPN,com's Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach make bowl projections, and they're both excellent at what they do. What was interesting to me was that both had Alabama playing Texas in the Cotton Bowl (which from a personal standpoint would be great because the Cotton Bowl people really know how to put on an event), although they arrived at that through very different ways.

Right now, Maisel believes the national championship will be Southern California vs. Oklahoma, with two other SEC teams in the BCS, LSU vs. West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl, and Boston College vs. Florida in the Orange Bowl. I think the only way that happens is if LSU split and Florida split between their game Oct. 6 and then the SEC Championship game. Maisel then thinks South Carolina will be the top-rated SEC team remaining and play Wisconsin in the Capital One Bowl.

Schlabach, meanwhile, has LSU against Southern California in the title game, with Florida vs. Rutgers in the Sugar Bowl. However, for the Capital One Bowl he has Georgia vs. Wisconsin, which means he probably believes Alabama will lose this weekend. Interestingly, Maisel has Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Virginia Tech, while Schlabach has Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina.

Both have Kentucky in the Outback Bowl, Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl, and have either Auburn or Arkansas in the Music City of Independence Bowls, giving the conference nine bowl teams. Neither believe Mississippi State or Vanderbilt will play in a bowl. The Bulldogs have two wins, with games remaining against Gardner Webb, UAB and Ole Miss. Even if they win all three, they'll need another upset against South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama or Arkansas to get the minimum six victories. The Commodores are also 2-1, with Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Wake Forest as their non-conference foes. The SEC opponents at Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Just some mental food for thought. Anyway, the photo is of Major Applewhite (Alabama's current offensive coordinator), against Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game. The No. 3 Cornhuskers won, 22-6, but couldn’t move up in the polls. Courtesy of the Big 12 Conference.

1980 Georgia

In honor of being on the Home Depot Southern Football Kickoff Show, which is on 790 The Zone out of Atlanta, this morning, Georgia seems fitting today. My thanks for Tony Barnhart for having me on. I think when people ask me how I'm able to cover the team, write books and do everything else, I might start saying that I'm just trying to keep up with Tony, because he set the bar so freaking high. Anyway, if you're a college football fan and you don't have a copy of his “Southern Fried Football,” you need to go out and get it ... right after you buy "Who's No. 1?" which I hope to have an update on next week regarding its release (I can feel it, we're getting really close to the first books hitting stores).

Here Coach Vince Dooley is carried off the field after the victory against Georgia Tech to put the Bulldogs in position to win the 1980 national championship. Courtesy of the SEC.

1988 Notre Dame

Hey, isn't that Lee Corso?

Yes, T-town is being overrun by ESPN, which is televising Saturday's game against Georgia and brining its College GameDay crew along. Trust me, to some people around here it's bigger than a presidential visit.

When Lou Holtz, pictured here running a practice at South Carolina, won the national championship with Notre Dame, he proclaimed: “This team will go down as a great football team because nobody proved otherwise.” Courtesy of the Southeastern Conference.

1947 Rose Bowl

ESPN's College Gameday is coming to town, which has everyone in Tuscaloosa all excited except for one thing. The Crimson Tide is 0-4 when the show has been here. Oops. Some people are also remembering the coverage Nick Saban got when he decided to leave the Miami Dolphins for here. Should be interesting.

Having said that, I thought Saban had a pretty good answer yesterday when a reporter asked him about rising expectations and how fans were beginning to say crazy things.

“They’ve been saying crazy things ever since I’ve been here. What else is new?”

No. 4 UCLA was on pace for an undefeated season when it faced No. 5 Illinois at the 1947 Rose Bowl in the first meeting with a Big Ten/Pac-10 agreement. Led by “Orange” Julius Rykovich (107 yards) and Mr. Five by Five, Buddy Young (103 yards), Illinois won, 45-14. Courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

Auburn

I'm actually going to steal from my blog for the Tuscaloosa News http://walsh.tuscaloosanews.com/default.asp?item=677573 for part of this:

A lot of people have been asking me for my opinion about New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick being fined $500,000 for violating league policy on the use of equipment to videotape an opposing team’s offensive or defensive signals, in addition to team penalties (their own first-round draft choice in 2008 if they reach the playoffs, or their own second-round and third-round picks if they do not qualify for the playoffs, and a $250,000 fine).

FYI, in case you didn’t know, I covered the NFL for seven seasons (Packers, Cardinals and Buccaneers) before Alabama.

Here it is: I’m not surprised by the penalty, but I am about the hoopla.

That requires a little explaining.

The reason why I’m not surprised about the penalty is because the Patriots were specifically warned about this violation, and knew the consequences.

Ok, that’s out of the way. Now the tricky part.

Yes, it’s true that every team in the NFL tries to steal signals. There are players who actually have reputations for being able to figure out signals during games. It’s also true in other sports, and there’s a team very close to here that is extremely good at deciphering the signals of opponents. It’s part of the game.

However, what makes this all a little over the top for me is the actual rule being violated.
It states that: “no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game” and that all video shooting locations for club coaching purposes “must be enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead.”

In other words, a team can film an opposing coach from upstairs or on the roof, where every team films every game, with a zoom lens, but not on the field.

Because that distinction is so small, it’s probably why Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t feel like he could justify suspending Belichick. Meanwhile, the coach and the Patriots, who were my preseason pick to win the Super Bowl, will take it out on the rest of the league.

As for the photo, Bo Jackson had an immediate impact with Auburn, and went on to record a school-record 1,786 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior in 1985 to win the Heisman Trophy. Courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

1927 Stanford

Ok, as promised, less SEC for a few days, especially since I'm still recovering from Saturday's game.

After earning a 7-7 tie with Alabama the year before, Glenn “Pop” Warner guided Stanford back to the 1928 Rose Bowl and edged Pittsburgh, 7-6. The nickname stemmed from his days at Cornell because he was the oldest member of the freshman class.

Courtesy of Tournament of Roses archives.

Another (not-so-good) bonus shot!

So I'm standing on the sideline, Alabama is about to go for the win against Arkansas, and it suddenly dawns on me that I have a camera on me. Hmmmmm ....

As you can tell, well, it's probably a good thing that I'm not a photographer. Then again, I was confined to a specific area and didn't have an opportunity ... ah, well, never mind. Yeah, and I didn't have a chance to hit the zoom.

So this is a really, really bad shot of the game-winning touchdown catch by Matt Caddell in Alabama's dramatic 41-38 victory. For a really, really good shot, check this out ... http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=TL&Date=20070915&Category=TSFOOTBALL&ArtNo=915012&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=7

or ...

http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=TL&Date=20070915&Category=TSFOOTBALL&ArtNo=915011&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=16

1992 Alabama

Wow, the college football schedule is loaded today with a number of intriguing matchups. Thankfully, because they had so much to get to, my brief return to College GameDay Tailgate on ESPN Radio this morning was brief because I was half-awake. Maybe they could tell, but I think I was a last-second replacement so I don't feel too bad.

Speaking of ESPN, one of the television shows has expressed interest in the book and said they'd like to have me on whenever the next controversy happens in the rankings. Considering how LSU is closing in on Southern California (which plays Nebraska tonight), who knows, it could be this week. I'll let you all know beforehand if I can.

I know I've been a little SEC heavy this week, and promise to branch out a little more in the next few days. Here Crimson Tide players celebrate in the end zone during the convincing 34-13 victory against Miami in the 1993 Sugar Bowl to win the national championship. Courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

Arkansas

Saturday I get to see Darren McFadden play for the fourth time, and I have to admit whenever I've seen Alabama against Arkansas it's always been an amazing game. There's the 50-yard Matt Jones run. McFadden stiff-arming safety Roman Harper on his way to the end zone, considered his breakout game. Alabama winning when DJ Hall wasn't covered in the end zone. Last year's game in which Leigh Tiffin missed three field goals and an extra point as the Tide lost in double-overtime.

I was also also at last year's SEC Championship game, in which Florida was just too darn good (are really proved it in its following game).

Anyway, unfortunately I don't have a photo of McFadden, but I still like this one from 1961of Lance Alworth. That season he led Arkansas in rushing, receiving, punt returns and kickoff returns. Courtesy of the SEC.

1998 Tennessee

It's Thursday, and I'm going to try and so something rare for me during a season, get away from football for a couple of days. Trust me, it's a lot harder to do than you think.

But since Tennessee's season is essentially on the line Saturday against Florida, a Vols picture seems appropriate today. I was actually at the 1998 national championship game, the Fiesta Bowl, against Florida State, and like many other people thought going in that the previous team with Peyton Manning was better. Oops

Although the Volunteers were ranked No. 10 in the preseason, Phillip Fulmer’s team survived both the SEC regular season and SEC Championship game unscathed, and defeated the Seminoles 23-16. Photo courtesy of the Southeastern Conference.

1975 UCLA

A couple of quick book notes:

1) I'll be appearing on the CSTV podcast previewing this weekend's games and talking a bit about the book. We're recording at noon (Eastern time) today (Wednesday). The link is http://cstv.collegesports.com/podcasts/.

2) I've just been informed that the official publication date of the book has been switched from Jan. 2008 to November. That means it will be available in October (as expected). When I finally see a copy, I'll be certain to post it here.

As for the photo, UCLA coach Dick Vermeil stands with Woody Hayes before his final appearance in the Rose Bowl. Although No. 1 Ohio State dominated the first half, UCLA stormed back to win 23-10 and open the door for Oklahoma to win the 1975 national title. Courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

1945 Army

I have a soft spot for old photos, I can't help it. However, how often do you get to look at a football picture from a memorable series played at Yankee Stadium?

Yeah, THAT Yankee Stadium.

For the second straight year Army crushed Notre Dame, 48-0, for a combined total of 107-0. It helped set the tone for one of the greatest games in college football history, the 1946 meeting. Photo courtesy of the United States Military Academy.

1902 Rose Bowl

Ok, it's time to get back to this season, and I'm going to use yet another Michigan photo because it may be a while before I can do so again. In case you missed it (and I can't imagine how you could), the Wolverines are 0-2 and have already changed college football in a way none of us imagined. Last week, the Associated Press decided it would allow its voters to cast ballots for non-FBS teams starting with the Sept. 10 national survey (in other words, Appalachian State). The last non-current-FBS member to be ranked in the then-AP Top 20 was Colgate with a 9-0 mark at No. 20 in the Nov. 7, 1977, national ratings.

By the way, Colgate has a writeup in the book.

The photo is from the first Rose Bowl, when Michigan crushed Stanford, 49-0. It was the first of four consecutive national championships for the Wolverines (the first two consensus). Courtesy the Bentley Historical Library (photo BL000013), the University Michigan.

Who's Really No. 1?

Even though Vanderbilt isn't usually the first program to come to mind when someone mentions national championships ... ok, it's not in the top 100 ... this weekend's hit-and-run trip to Nashville did remind me that college football will always be about the student and athletes.

This a photo of former Vanderbilt running back Kwane Doster, the only Commodore ever named SEC freshman of the year.

In 2004, the end of my first season covering the Crimson Tide, Doster was killed while sitting in the back seat of a friend's car near Tampa, Fla. It was Dec. 26, and with Vanderbilt not playing in a bowl game, he was home enjoying the holidays with his family. Meanwhile, I was in Nashville for the Music City Bowl, where I saw firsthand the impact his death had on the school and community.

I wrote a column about it for Saturday's paper. Here's the link: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20070908/NEWS/70908047/1015/NEWS

Oh, and by the way, Vanderbilt is in the book.

Bonus picture!

This is from the press box Saturday for Alabama at Vanderbilt, before it really started to rain. Actually, this is the opening kickoff, but what's interesting to note are the number of people in the stands wearing red (or crimson). Because Vanderbilt offered a season-ticket package starting at $99, a number of Alabama fans purchased season tickets just for this game and then sold the rest off.

Now that's dedication.

You may also notice that despite covering the visiting team I was sitting at the 50. That was probably a first for me.

1926 Alabama

So I'm at Alabama at Vanderbilt today, and I've already experienced two firsts. 1) I don't think I've ever sat at the 50-yard-line in a visiting press box (that's usually reserved for the home beat writers) and, 2) Parking across the street is $5. Because Vanderbilt offers a season-ticket package for $99, numerous Alabama fans purchased season tickets and sold the rest off just to be here for this game. I expect the stands to be at least 2/3 full of people wearing crimson, maybe more.

It's supposed to rain today, which for some reason reminded me of this picture of the Crimson Tide practicing during the 1926 season. The defending national champions returned to the Rose Bowl and tied Stanford, earning a share of the title. As for what they're doing, I have no idea. Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

1990 Colorado

I was looking for a team that wore black today, and, well, that kind of made for slim pickings. But more about that in a moment.

Here, linebacker Alfred Williams celebrates at the 1991 Orange Bowl after winning the dramatic rematch with Notre Dame, 10-9. The year before, Colorado was No. 1 heading into the Orange Bowl, where it lost to the Fighting Irish, 21-6.

On a personal note, I’m deeply saddened by the loss of tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who died Thursday at his home in Italy. He was 71. Hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, Pavarotti died during the night at his villa near the northern city of Modena after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Some people grew up with the Beach Boys, others with the Rolling Stones. More than anyone else musically, I grew up with Pavarotti, whose music almost always filled our house, in part because my mother was an opera singer. I never got a chance to enjoy his singing live, but I’m glad she did.

I also liked the comment Bono of U2 gave about Pavarotti, hailing him as “a great volcano of a man who sang fire.” Bravo.

1936 Pitt

Yesterday I heard that the galleys of the book are in, which is a good sign that the actual books are getting close to appearing. FYI, according to an online dictionary, a galley is "a typeset draft used for proofreading copy and estimating text length, sometimes sent to book reviewers." That's pretty darn dead on. My publisher likes to use them to make sure everything looks great, and after they give them the once over send a bunch out to be reviewed. I remember my first book the galleys were done before the final edits were made, so they were particularly bad. Hopefully no one read them. However, I don't think there was time to do that in this case, so I'm optimistic that they're pretty decent.

Either way, I really want to see one. Oh well. Not much longer now.

I'm guessing theyr'e going to send out approximately 80 copies of the galleys in the next couple of days, primarily to national football writers and college football media outlets, so things will start picking up as we near the end-of-month release. This is now the official calm before the storm, although considering the season has already started everything's a blur anyway.

As for the photo, Frank Patrick scored two touchdowns and combined with Bobby LaRue, Bill Daddio and Marshall Goldberg to lead a 254-yard rushing performance as Pitt defeated Washington in the 1937 Rose Bowl, 21-0. The following year, the Panthers would be the consensus national champion. Photo courtesy of Tournament of Roses archives.

1976 USC

I got it!

I think we're going to be talking a lot about Southern California this season, so it's time to get the Trojans in the mix. What better way than one of the more unusual photos in Rose Bowl history.

Shelton Diggs makes an amazing reception, one of his eight, as Southern California defeats Michigan in the 1977 Rose Bowl, 14-6. However, it’s not enough to overcome Pitt (12-0), which won the national championship. Courtesy of the Tournament or Rose Bowl archives.

1904 Vanderbilt

I feel the urge to go old-school today, and, since I'll be in Nashville this weekend, why not Vanderbilt?

This is coach Dan McGugin (here pictured later in his career), who in 1904 led Vanderbilt to a 9-0 record as the Commodores outscored opponents 474-4. Vanderbilt didn’t receive much consideration for the national title, but came close again in 1906 and 1911.

Nowadays, most people know McGugin as being the person who inspired Tennessee to hire General Robert Neyland because the Volunteers couldn't beat their in-state rival. Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University.

1981 Clemson

It's the Bowden Bowl, with Florida State at Clemson tonight and all eyes on the family affair due to the fact that the NFL doesn't kick off its season until Thursday. Personally, I don't see how anything could top Saturday, with the emotional start to Virginia Tech's season, the dramatic upset that sent Michigan reeling, and Cal's revenge on Tennesseee.

But I'm game. Bring it on.

"That's why they play the games."

Anyway, only five opponents managed to reach double-digits against 1981 Clemson, which had 22 players who went on to play in the NFL. The highest-scoring team against the Tigers was Wake Forest, which lost 82-24. Photo courtesy of Clemson University.

1992 Michgan

Oh my, how the mighty have fallen. I mean, I had been telling people that Appalachian State would be a lot tougher opponent than most expected, but win in the Big House? Didn't see that one coming. Neither did Michigan.

Here Corwin Brown holds the Rose Bowl trophy after Michigan defeated Washington 38-31 to finish undefeated, but with three ties. Tyrone Wheatley had 235 rushing yards only to narrowly miss the Rose Bowl record when he was sidelined by back spasms. Photo courtesy of the Tournament of Roses archives.

1961 Alabama

Game Day! You know, I have to say, I didn't really get an offseason (something about a coaching change here along with finishing a book), but this had the be the longest offseason I've ever experienced. There was so much going on, and so much anticipation. Thankfully, we're here.

Well, I put up one photo from Notre Dame, and all of a sudden everyone's "Hey, what about ---!" Heavy sigh. I'll get to them, I promise. Remember, it's a long season. One thing I frequently come across is a shot of a coach being carried off the field by his players. This seemed to happen every couple of weeks or so for Paul W. "Bear" Byrant because there are so many photos out there of his players doing just that. I don't know what the record is for times carried off a field, but I bet he has it.

This is from the 1961 season, his Bryant's first national championship with the Crimson Tide. Alabama went 10-0 in the regular season (the last five games were all shutouts) and defeated No. 9 Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, 10-3. Photo courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum.