Rose Bowl revisited: The curious case of Andy Dalton

TCU's win over Wisconsin saw them become the first non AQ (automatic qualifier) school to win the Rose Bowl, joining Utah who won the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and the 2009 Sugar Bowl.  No redemption could have been greater, especially after Ohio State president Gordon Gee dissed them and compared their schedule to the "Little Sisters of the Poor".

Tank Carder made what proved to be the biggest play in the Horned Frogs season, when he batted down a pass on two point conversion attempt, that would have surely sent the game into overtime.  That was just one of the many plays that he made for TCU.  He was no doubt the man about town that day.

While Carder's efforts could have earned him the game MVP, and rightfully so, that honor deservedly went to Quarterback Andy Dalton.  A four year starter, Dalton seemed nothing like the player from last year's Fiesta Bowl.  In that 17-10 loss to Boise State, he was picked off 3 times in what was agreeably one of the worst games of his career.

Dalton scoring on a quarterback keeper in the first half

In this trip, following another stellar showing in the regular season, he saved his best game for last.  He passed for a touchdown, ran for another and helped TCU control the game long enough to pull off the historic win.

His 42-7 record makes the him the school's career leader for wins by a starting quarterback.  What makes this even more impressive, are the names on that list; Sammy Baugh and Davey O'Brien.  Should Andy Dalton be considered the best quarterback to have played for TCU?

Slingin' Sammy Baugh was a two time All-American in 1935 and 1936.  He went on to a 16 year career in the NFL, all with the Washington Redskins.  The Sammy Baugh trophy, awarded to the nation's top passer, is named in his honor.  He was enshrined in both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame. 



Baugh & O'Brien were legends at TCU and in college football too.

Davey O'Brien won the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and Heisman Trophy; becoming the first player to win all three awards in the same season.  In that same season, 1938, he led TCU to an undefeated season and a national championship.  Some of the records he set still stand to this day.  The Davey O' Brien Award, which is awarded to the nation's best quarterback, is named in his honor.

There has been many a legend that has passed through Forth Worth; Larry Brown (a three time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys), LaDainian Tomlinson (Doak Walker Award winner who led the nation in rushing in both 1999 & 2000), Dutch Meyer (played for TCU and coached them to National Championships in both 1935 & 1938)...... this list could go on.

It would not be far fetched to say that Andy Dalton has more than secured his legend at TCU.  By the time the program has its next great quarterback, we might have a college football playoff in place.  Now that might be far fetched.

 



Leaders, legends....LOSERS!!!

In case anyone was even paying attention, the Big Ten opened the New Year by going 0-5 in their respective bowl games.  It could be 0-6 if you want to count Nebraska, judging by the way they played against Washington; a team who they routed 56-21 in Seattle, earlier in the season.  The Cornhuskers aren't officially in the Big Ten, but they might as well be.

Let's look at how it all went down.

1. Texas Tech 45, Northwestern 38: The Red Raiders jumped to a big lead and were able to withstand a late rally by the Wildcats.
2. Alabama 49, Michigan State 7: This game was effectively over when the Tide went up 28-0 at the half; thanks to a 21 point second quarter.  Mark Ingram and Julio Jones put on quite a show in what could possibly be their final collegiate game.  And Nick Saban, way to stick it to you former employers.
3. Florida 37, Penn State 24: The Nittany Lions held a 24-20 lead going into the final period, but Florida put up 17 points including Ahmad Black's interception return for a touchdown to seal the game.  Urban Meyer got to sign off on a winning note.
4. Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14: The Wolverines led 14-10 at one point in this game.  Fortunately for Miss St, Michigan didn't have a defense; and that explains where the 42 unanswered points came from.  This pretty much was the final nail in Rich Rodriguez' coffin.
5. TCU 21, Wisconsin 19: In their first ever Rose Bowl (something that Brent Musburger didn't fail to point out every other minute), the Horned Frogs did enough to hold off the Badgers.  First, they stopped Wisconsin on a 2 point conversion attempt that would have tied the game, then recovered the ensuing onside kick; winning the Granddaddy of them all for every little school out there.

Just based on these results, would it be fair to say that the Big Ten is overrated?  I'll let you decide.

Stoops to "The Swamp"? If not him, then who?

With Urban Meyer set to coach his last game (for now) in the Outback Bowl, the search for a replacement is currently the hottest news in the land.

Even before the regular season came to a close, there were a few openings around; Minnesota, Miami, Pittsburgh; but in all honesty, and no disrespect to any of these programs, they all take a back seat to the Florida.  A school that has gone 64-15 and won 2 national championships over the last 6 years has got to be "hot property", at least in my opinion.

As expected, there might be that pitch to Bob Stoops, to try and get him back to The Swamp.  This is after all where Stoops, while running the defense, made a name for himself.  What's not to like about Florida?  The state is a major recruiting hotbed and there's enough talent to go around; inspite of stiff competiton from Miami and Florida State. 

Money won't be an issue either, as the school would be willing pay the going rate for a coach of his calibre.  Considering how fast he was able to turn Oklahoma from an afterthought to contender, what wonders could he do with a team that is 2 seasons removed from it's last championship?

As good as it may seem, I don't think Stoops would be willing to change addresses.  I don't know the guy personally, but I don't see this move happening.  He was approached back in 2001 after Steve Spurrier stepped down, and I'm sure he must have been contacted back in 2004 when the "Ron Zook" experiment didn't work out at all.  During his tenure, he's been wooed by the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and even Notre Dame (after they fired Charlie Weiss).  He's held firm and I've come to believe that he's found a home at Oklahoma.  Of course, I could be wrong, but only time will tell.

So if not Stoops, who else is out there that can take the reins and lead the Gators back to prominence?  Former Meyer assistants Dan Mullen (Mississippi State) and Charlie Strong (Louisville) have also been mentioned.  If it's any credit, both coaches have led their respective programs to a their first bowl games in a while.  That being said, and with all do respect to both coaches, I doubt that either of them are quite ready to take on a bigger job.  Mullen is finishing his second year in Starkville, while this this only Charlie Strong's first year as a head coach.

Then of course you have Bobby Petrino, but he just signed an extension at Arkansas, so I doubt he'll be leaving any time soon.  Then again, after he did an about-turn on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, who's to know what's on his mind right now?  He did an amazing job leading Louisville to an Orange Bowl win before leaving for the pro's; and he's got Arkansas playing in their first BCS bowl since............. (I don't even remember).  Well, if you consider how quickly Lane Kiffin jumped ship from Tennessee to USC, nothing is ever certain.

Kirk Ferentz is a name that has also been mentioned here and there.  Rumours have it that he's probably the strongest candidate out there.  You can't always believe what you read or hear now, can you?  Even though he could do really well at Florida, I doubt that he'll leave Iowa.  And even though he's in a conference dominated by Ohio State currently, he's always managed to make the Hawkeyes relevant.

In my opinion, the BEST qualified candidate would be Gary Patterson of TCU.  He's been at the school since 2001 and has led them to a bowl game every season (5-3 record), except in 2004.  He has also led the program to 10+ wins in 7 of the last 10 seasons.  He has consistently produced winning seasons despite the limited resources and talent; and has had TCU a spot away from playing in the national championship game the last 2 seasons.

We do not know who Florida will hire at this time, but what we do know is that they want to win right away.  I guess let's just sit back and see how all this plays out.