Warthog wrote:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/w ... index.html
"I'm used to people disagreeing with me about various things I write. Let's face it: Nobody agrees about anything in college football, so the more debate, the merrier.
I do get a tad bit alarmed, however, on the rare occasions when something I write elicits a near-universal, negative backlash, as was the case with item No. 5 in last Sunday's Five Things We Learned This Weekend.
I wrote: "That the mid-majors are getting greedy." Just looking at it now, out of context, makes even me cringe. I sound like the Grinch that Stole Bowl Season.
Just to be clear, I've got absolutely no beef with Utah, Boise State, Ball State, et. al., whose coaches and players have done nothing whatsoever to elicit my criticism. This item was a direct reaction to two events from the weekend (which I'm going to list in reverse order, for convenience sake):
1. Bowling Green firing a coach, Gregg Brandon, whose program was the winningest in the MAC during his six years there. Now that BCS berths have become a more realistic goal for mid-major programs, we're starting to see their standards for success get redefined to the point where Auburn and Tennessee now show more loyalty to their coaches than Bowling Green.
(It has since been pointed out to me that, beyond the on-field record, Brandon's program had endured a rash of off-field problems, including a low APR score that cost the program scholarships. That certainly adds context to the decision, but let's be realistic -- if BG went 9-3 instead of 6-6 this year, he'd still be the coach.)"
