Plays of our lives: Ditch those daytime soaps; plenty of steamy stuff will unfold in college football's postseason

Sporting News, The, Dec 20, 2004 by Matt Hayes

Tommy, our paranoid, jilted hero, thinks no one wants him and his players at the beach party because they aren't pretty enough. Pete, our persevering star, doesn't care. He was in Tommy's shoes last year. And then there's Bob, the fortunate son, whose team somehow got another break in our ever-changing soap As the BCS Turns.

Rumors are flying--voter fraud, a Heisman heist and even the ever-so-slight possibility of a split national title. Oh, the humanity.

When we last saw Tommy, he was figuring out how his Auburn Tigers could one-up the party in Miami and gain a split national championship with some well-timed posturing and pleading after his little tryst with Frank in New Orleans. That sort of sniveling worked for our villain Mack, didn't it?

So while Pete's Southern California Trojans and Bob's Oklahoma Sooners prepare to tango in South Florida, Tommy's goal is to rout underdog Virginia Tech the day before the Orange Bowl and proceed shamelessly to implore every voter to choose a champion from not just one game--but two games. He also needs some help from Pete's and Bob's teams, which have to look so hideous that it forces voters to seek an alternative.

Is it possible?

Anything is in this soap opera. Among the other story lines:

* Will Bob Stoops stay at Oklahoma? Stoops' name is mentioned with every NFL opening, as it should be. But the only way he would leave OU would be if Bill Parcells leaves the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones offers Stoops, oh, $5 million a year. That offer just might pull Stoopsie from his comfort zone in Norman.

* Which conference will prove superior? Four games will tell the tale for the Big Ten: Michigan over Texas (Rose), Iowa over LSU (Capital One), Ohio State over Okle State (Alamo), Purdue over Arizona State (Sun). And if Wisky can roll Georgia in the Outback, the Big Ten will bask in that frigid winter for weeks.

* Which players will use big bowl games to leave school early for the NFL? USC quarterback Matt Leinart has said since last summer that he's staying for his senior year. That is, until he wins the Heisman (done that), leads the Trojans to another national title (just wait three weeks) and some NFL personnel guy tells him he could be the No. 1 overall pick (no doubt). Thanks for the memories, Troy. Others: California quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Memphis tailback DeAngelo Williams.

* Who will emerge as next year's favorites for the national title? On a whim, let's go with Ohio State and Florida. Have you seen Buckeyes stars Troy Smith and Ted Ginn? Better yet, why didn't OSU coach Jim Tressel see them a little sooner--say, after the first loss of the season? Or the second? Or the third? And Florida, well, let's just say the Gators had better be playing at least for the SEC championship--not that such an engagement helped much for those with national championship aspirations this season (see: Auburn)--or Superboy Urban Meyer can take that funky little offense and giddyup back to Utah.

IF IT'S ... A viewer's guide to the bowls

The ratings

Freshmen

1 Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma

2 Michael Hart, RB, Michigan

3 Jamario Thomas, RB, North Texas

4 Chad Henne, QB, Michigan

5 Dwayne Jarrett, WR, Southern California

Pitch-and-catch combos

1 Jason White to Mark Clayton, Oklahoma

2 Tyler Palko to Greg Lee, Pittsburgh

3 Chad Henne to Braylon Edwards, Michigan

4 Derek Anderson to Mike Hass, Oregon State

5 Omar Jacobs to Charles Sharon, Bowling Green

6 Kyle Orton to Taylor Stubblefield, Purdue

Running back combos

1 Reggie Bush-LenDale White, Southern California

2 Carnell Williams-Ronnie Brown, Auburn

3 Laurence Maroney-Marion Barber, Minnesota

4 Gerald Riggs-Cedric Houston, Tennessee

5 Alvin Pearman-Wali Lundy, Virginia

6 Eric Shelton-Michael Bush, Louisville

Running quarterbacks

1 Vince Young, Texas

2 Aaron Polanco, Navy

3 Rasheed Marshall, West Virginia

4 Reggie McNeal, Texas A&M

5 Alex Smith, Utah

6 Donovan Woods, Oklahoma State

7 Marcus Randall, LSU

8 Bryan Randall, Virginia Tech

Playmakers

1 Reggie Bush, RB, Southern California

2 J.J. Arrington, RB, California

3 DeAngelo Williams, RB, Memphis

4 Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan

5 Roddy White, WR, UAB

IF IT'S ON ... A viewer's guide to the bowls

Spend some time with the little guys this holiday season

These players don't play for glamour schools or in marquee bowls, but it will be worth tuning in to see them, even if it's for only a quarter:

Omar Jacobs, QB, Bowling Green, He entered the season as the untested replacement for standout Josh Harris. Jacobs enters the bowl season with 36 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.

Jovon Bouknight, WR, Wyoming. He is on a streak of three straight 100-yard receiving games, including 142 against unbeaten Utah.

Bruce Gradkowski, QB, Toledo. His 27 touchdowns are nice, but what really stands out is his 70.8 percent completion rate. That's not easy-even in practice.

Jordan Palmer, QB, UTEP. Carson's kid brother throws his share of picks, but he also excels at spreading the ball around; UTEP has seven receivers with 15 or more catches.

Garrett Wolfe, RB, Northern Illinois. The Silicon Valley Classic doesn't start until 11 p.m. ET, but you can TiVo Wolfe, who has scored 20 TDs this season despite being only 5-7, 171.