1966 Alabama

Ok, the paper has run this year's Top 25 rankings and everything that goes with them, so I 'll have that posted here later on.

Anyways, here's the final category:

Coaching legacy
1. Alabama
2. Penn State
3. Florida State
4. Notre Dame
5. Ohio State
6. Oklahoma
7. Nebraska
8. Michigan
9. Chicago
10. Tennessee
11. Southern California
12. Texas
13. Carlisle
14. Brigham Young
15. Florida
16. Georgia
17. Georgia Tech
18. Texas A&M
19. Vanderbilt
20. Cornell
21. Army
22. Ole Miss
23. Michigan State
24. Pittsburgh
25. Minnesota

If you don't know who the guy on the right is ... ah, never mind.

1988 Notre Dame

Ok, the story's done and we're very close to unveiling this year's Tuscaloosa News rankings. Just two more categories to reveal here:

College Football Hall of Fame inductees (players)
1. Notre Dame 42
2. Michigan 28
(tie) Southern California 28
4. Yale 24
5. Army 23
6. Princeton 21
(tie) Ohio State 21
8. Tennessee 20
9. Navy 19
10. Pittsburgh 18
(tie) Oklahoma 18
(tie) Pennsylvania 18
13. Minnesota 17
14. Stanford 16
(tie) Harvard 16
(tie) Alabama 16
(tie) Penn State 16
18. California 14
(tie) Texas 14
20. Nebraska 13
21. Cornell 12
22. Georgia 11
(tie) Georgia Tech 11
24. Illinois 10
(tie) Washington 10



Quarterback Tony Rice, here leading the season-opening 19-17 victory against Michigan, ran for 75 yards and passed for 213 more in the Fiesta Bowl, when Notre Dame defeated West Virginia, 34-21, to win the 1988 national championship. Courtesy of the University of Notre Dame.

1991 Michigan

So I was up late last night double-checking all the numbers in the Tuscaloosa News rankings. Yep, we're that close to running this year's version. In fact, I'll be writing the story tonight.

All-Time AP Top 25
1. Michigan 741
2. Oklahoma 722.5
3. Notre Dame 710.5
4. Ohio State 675
5. Alabama 637
6. Nebraska 617
7. Southern California 575
8. Texas 573
9. Tennessee 548
10. Penn State 486
11. Miami 439
12. Florida State 413
13. LSU 412
14. Georgia 400
15. Auburn 396
16. Florida 370.5
17. UCLA 352
18. Arkansas 293
19. Michigan State 266
20. Texas A&M 264
21. Washington 260
22. Georgia Tech 227.5
23. Ole Miss 223.5
24. Colorado 218
25. Iowa 217



Desmond Howard won the 1991 Heisman Trophy, but only had one reception in the Rose Bowl, as Washington defeated No. 4 Michigan, 34-14, to gain a share of the national championship with Miami. Courtesy the Bentley Historical Library (photo BL001380), the University of Michigan.

1977 Notre Dame

Today's all-time category is Associated Press national championships, which, of course, means Notre Dame. Here's the list:

1. Notre Dame 8
2. Oklahoma 7
3. Alabama 6
4. Miami 5
(tie) Southern California 5
6. Minnesota 4
(tie) Nebraska 4
(tie) Ohio State 4
9. Texas 3
10. Army 2
(tie) Florida 2
(tie) Florida State 2
(tie) LSU 2
(tie) Michigan 2
(tie) Penn State 2
(tie) Pittsburgh 2
(tie) Tennessee 2
18. Auburn 1
(tie) Brigham Young 1
(tie) Clemson 1
(tie) Colorado 1
(tie) Georgia 1
(tie) Maryland 1
(tie) Michigan State 1
(tie) Syracuse 1
(tie) Texas A&M 1
(tie) Texas Christian 1

As for the photo, the Fighting Irish, here defeating Air Force 49-0, had an early loss to Ole Miss, 30-13, but then won 10-straight games including a 38-10 victory against Texas in the Cotton Bowl, to be the consensus national champion. Courtesy of the University of Notre Dame.

1973 Alabama

The Tuscaloosa News is getting ready to release this year's rankings, so I'll be posting one all-time category each day this week. First up, all-time bowl appearances.

1. Alabama 55 (31-21-3)
2. Tennessee 47 (25-22)
(tie) Texas 47 (24-21-2)
4. Southern California 46 (30-16)
5. Nebraska 44 (22-22)
6. Georgia 43 (24-16-3)
7. Oklahoma 41 (24-16-1)
8. Penn State 40 (26-12-2)
9. LSU 39 (20-18-1)
(tie) Ohio State 39 (18-21)
(tie) Michigan 39 (19-20)
12. Arkansas 36 (11-22-3)
(tie) Florida State 36 (16-19)
(tie) Georgia Tech 36 (22-14)
15. Florida 35 (16-19)
16. Auburn 34 (19-13-2)
17. Miami 31 (18-13)
(tie) Ole Miss 31 (19-12)
(tie) Texas Tech 31 (10-20-1)
20. Clemson 30 (16-14)
(tie) Texas A&M 30 (13-17)
22. Washington 29 (14-14-1)
23. Notre Dame 28 (13-15)
(tie) Colorado 28 (12-16)
(tie) UCLA 28 (13-14-1)

Here, halfback Wilbur Jackson helps lead Alabama to a 42-21 victory against Tennessee. The Crimson Tide earned a split, though controversial, national championship which led to the United Press coaches’ poll moving its final voting from the end of the regular season to after the bowl game. Notre Dame was the consensus choice. Courtesy the Paul W. Bryant Museum.

Coming soon to a store near you ...

Yep, here it is, the cover of the next book, which should be out in roughly a month or so.

I guess they couldn't get my name any smaller, but hey, they want to sell books.

From the website:
"Knowledge and memory are an important part of the fabric of being a fan. So are experiences. 100 Things also includes things football fans should actually see and do before they join their heroes at the Pearly Gates. This book contains numerous tips and suggestions for enjoying a team on a different, more involved, level."

Well, you get the idea. Actually, that's on the back of the jacket too, but instead of Pearly Gates it says that Red Elephant Club in the sky, or something like that.

What I like is that they got No. 12 right, and that the book only costs $14.95. What a bargin!

There are also versions (not by me) for Ohio State and Texas, and anyone interested can see them at the Triumph Books website (http://www.triumphbooks.com/) and look under the college football section.

And even more book news!

Here’s how my life seems to be going right now: After essentially spending nearly a week in a hospital to support my mom when she had hip-replacement surgery (she’s doing great, by the way), I pretty much spent the following week wanting to go back to the hospital, any hospital, after getting food poisoning my first night at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships in West Lafayette, Ind.
I’m not sure the lesson to be learned, other than don’t visit Purdue during the summer and order a meal right before closing time (however, if you do go swing by Harry’s Chocolate Shop and get someone to tell you the history of the place).
Ok, enough of that. Here’s some news on the book front:
1) From what I hear, “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” won’t start hitting stores until sometime in July, but will out well before the start of football season.
Here’s a link for it (and will eventually provide the first look at the cover): http://www.triumphbooks.com/products/100_things_crimson_tide_fans_should_know___do_before_they_die/1572435789.php?page_id=14
2) My next project, which has actually been in the works for something like three years, is finally set in stone and I’m ready to divulge. It’s a series of what we’ll call handbooks on a number of football programs.
The 2009 versions will feature Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
There will also be one pro version, the New York Giants (those of you who know me well know I didn’t pick that one).
Plans are already in the works for at least Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Nebraska, Penn State and Southern California versions in 2010, in addition to possible updates on the original eight (i.e. there could be annual editions). Should the Giants version sell well, we’ll add other NFL teams.
I’ve already put in a lot of work on the series and down to the point that I’m focusing on one handbook a month, while working on the Giants book on the side. June is Michigan, while Alabama is pretty much already done because I wrote it up as a prototype.
Feel free to lobby me for doing a version on your school, or specific information that should be included.

2007 LSU

The newspaper is getting pretty close to running this year's rankings, so it's time I start picking up the pace a little bit on all the categories. Here's the last of the five present-day rankings, and the one everyone knows, last season's final Associated Press poll.

In case you missed it, LSU won the national championship.

1. LSU
2. Georgia
3. Southern California
4. Missouri
5. Ohio State
6. West Virginia
7. Kansas
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Texas
(tie) Boston College
12. Tennessee
13. Florida
14. Brigham Young
15. Auburn
16. Arizona State
17. Cincinnati
18. Michigan
19. Hawaii
20. Illinois
21. Clemson
22. Texas Tech
23. Oregon
24. Wisconsin
25. Oregon State

In a personal note, I'm on the road for a few days, but I do have some news on the book(s) front which I'll be sharing with you all in the near future. Yep, another project, and this one has the potential to be the biggest yet.

1934 Stanford

The photo to the right (and yeah, it's small, I know, and courtesy of the Rose Bowl), is from the 1934 Stanford team, known as the "Vow Boys." Although Stanford lost to Alabama in the Rose Bowl, 29-13, it returned a year later to defeat Southern Methodist, 7-0.

The NCAA released the national Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores yesterday, and after sorting through every team's report, here were the top 25 teams from the 2006-2007 academic year (FYI, as far as I know, this is the only place you'll find this):

Grades (APR scores)
1. Stanford 986
2. Navy 979
3. Duke 977
(tie) Rutgers 977
5. Air Force 976
6. Rice 975
7. Boston College 972
8. Northwestern 969
(tie) Notre Dame 969
(tie) Miami 969
11. California 967
12. Georgia 965
(tie) Miami (Ohio) 965
14. Penn State 964
(tie) Wake Forest 964
16. Florida 962
(tie) Army 962
18. Texas Christian 959
(tie) Vanderbilt 959
20. Southern Miss 958
21. Syracuse 955
(tie) Memphis 955
23. Florida State 954
24. Auburn 953
(tie) Boise State 953

Another book!

Greetings all.
Well, I finished going over the final proofs for the next book, and I have to admit there's nothing quite look putting a manuscript to bed, so I guess it’s time to let you all know what exactly it is.

The title is “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” and it’ll be hitting stores right around July 1, give or take. As soon as I see the cover I'll post it here.

Oh, and it's all football. For some reason that word was taken out of the title (so be it).

If the project sounds a little familiar, it’s because there are going to be some versions by other people, or other teams.
Here's a link for the Boston Red Sox verion:
http://www.triumphbooks.com/products/100_things_red_sox_fans_should_know___do_before_they_die/1572435710.php?page_id=187
... and the Mets:
http://www.triumphbooks.com/products/100_things_mets_fans_should_know___do_before_they_die/1572435711.php?page_id=187

So that's it. Alabama fans, I really hope you like it, and when we get a little closer to publication I might even put together a pure "100 Things to Do" list and post it here.