By Clay Horning
Dear Bob,
I want you to read the next sentence very carefully. Well, the next sentence, and the one after that.
I agree.
You’re right.
See. Who says coaches and media can’t get along.
In fact, you couldn’t be more right.
Not to get all Rob Schneider and Saturday Night Live about it, but you’re the King of Right, the Rightmeister, the Rightarino. You’re so right, if you were wrong, they’d have to change the rules just to make it right.
But here’s the thing. It’s all right to be right.
Don’t try to play both sides because it’s so clear where you stand and where you stand is right.
Okay?
Got it?
Right?
It’s true, we already have a playoff in college football. What you said Tuesday was right on the mark. A playoff might be great, but it doesn’t matter because we already have one.
“It’s like a playoff right now. Ohio State and Texas just found that out,” you told us. “I don’t need to tell you it’s a playoff. It’s a 12-game playoff right now.”
You might have thrown in there how no split-national title ever sent a real college football fan packing, but only gave him more to yap about with the rest of his college-football-fan friends.
You might have told us how a playoff will never be enough. Because if they make it four teams, folks will want eight teams and if they make it eight teams, folks will want 16. You didn’t but you still had your points.
“What nobody wants to write about is the excitement it creates right now in the early parts of the season,” you said of the handful of great games a few schools still choose to play before the conference slate begins, like maybe the one you’ve got coming up at Oregon. “And again, I always say you guys all want (a playoff) because it gives you something to do in the four weeks leading up to the bowls.”
That was when one scribe offered “… instead of covering bad basketball,” and you came back with “ … or basketball that isn’t quite as important yet.”
And it was that very moment I thought about how I had better things to do then watch Gonzaga and Duke in Hawaii in November even though, are you kidding me, it’s Gonzaga and Duke!
So, you’re right.
Just don’t be afraid to be right.
Telling us these things, you extolled the virtue of programs like the one you run, Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Texas, Ohio State and any other program that goes out of its way to bring great games to their fans and the nation, even at a time a case can be made for going the other way, scheduling outside Division I-A, or all those teams in Louisiana not in Baton Rouge or all those Texas teams not in the Big 12 or Conference USA just to bank some wins, get bowl eligible and hit the conference slate unbeaten.
After all, it’s not like strength of schedule is that important anymore.
Just don’t be afraid to run with it.
“So there’s merit in both. What’s right? I don’t know,” you said. “You know some people will take the other path, I’m sure.”
Only you do know what’s right.
You and Joe Castiglione decided it was better to respect yourself in the morning than play the games that had Auburn on the outside looking in not so long ago. And you were right.
“I don’t need to call anybody out,” you said, “but you guys can look around and see who they are.”
Sure we can, but why not call them out yourself?
Get off the fence.
Because you’re right.
We already have a playoff and some folks are trying to win it the right way. Your program’s one of them. Well done. Now don’t go letting everybody else off the hook.
Really, you hardly ever let us, the guys and gals who cover you, off any hooks, so why are you letting Rich Rodriguez off the hook.
There’s no need.
This time, you’re right.
Clay.
Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com
