Nothing could be finer than my Miami Hurricanes vanquishing the defending National Champion Ohio St Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff 24-14.
Thank you Taylor Blitz Times readers for a record setting month of December with 18,158 website reads! My best ever month! Your patronage is appreciated & I want to express both thanks and encourage you to leave more likes and comments.
In fact reads since November 1st 2025? Try 26,445! We’ve had reads from China, Japan, India, England and of course the US. Although I’ve written on the 2025 season the 5 articles with the biggest hits are historic pieces.
Thank you and looking forward to a great 2026!! Can my Miami Hurricanes win it all??
So let me ask you this Arizona Cardinals: Chief OC Eric Bienemy swallowed Eagle DC Gannon in the 2nd half of Super Bowl LVII and scored on every possession and that convinced you to hire Gannon? Check
You hired Patrick Mahomes college coach Kliff Kingsbury who couldnt produce a winning record in the Big XII. Check
Sooooo the OC that coached Patrick Mahomes to the 1st 50 TD season as a starter, most yards in a season 2 MVPs and 2 Super Bowl championships and should have been 4 Super Bowl appearances in the last 5 years isnt good enough or considered?
And you have a broken quarterback to fix in Kyler Murray??
After bypassing Asst GM Adrian Wilson for a GM from the outside? Check… Check…Check…
When you had Steve Wilks as a coach, you fired him in one year and he had no chance to build? Check Yet you gave Kingsbury several to “grow into” his position? Check
Sounds like and definitely looks like some racism/placism to me. No black men in positions of authority no matter the relationship with the organization or resume…. Got it!!
Now it’s being “leaked” Brian Flores was offered the Head Coaching position. Really? Thats news sitting here listening to 98.7 FM on a daily basis and your flagship station where Cardinals Coach gives his obligatory press conference. Interesting…
May you lose 17 games a season until you sell the team! Henceforth we’re changing the name – The Apartheid Cardinals.
Slaton celebrated all night with a dazzling rushing performance.
Then along came Rich Rodriguez and his West Virginia Mountaineers. He took the spread offense to a complete zenith with what you could do with a 53 1/3 yard wide field and implemented a power rushing attack from a spread formation. First he recruited Pat White from Alabama. At 6’0 (being generous) and 185 lbs. he was short for a quarterback and had a decent arm, yet it was his 4.28 40 yard dash that made it nearly impossible for interior linebackers to read blocking patterns, than get to the flank to defend against his options or pitch to Steve Slaton.
Slaton was brought down from Pennsylvania and one of the nation’s fastest running backs coming out of high school in 2005. He had committed to Maryland who had offered him a scholarship then retracted their offer. He took his 4.3 speed to West Virginia to team with Pat White, Owen Schmitt, recievers Darius Reynaud #82 and Brandon Miles#7 and a powerhouse was born. They spread from a traditional set and some 3 receivers yet ran what they call a speed option that most MLBs didnt have the lateral quickness to stay with. The result?? First we have to set the table for you.
Pat White became the first QB in history to win 4 New Years Bowl Games.
My Miami Hurricanes and Boston College had just fled the Big East to join the ACC. Many felt that the Big East was no longer a top flight conference with two of their heavyweight schools having departed. Yet the Mountaineers started a redshirt freshman in Pat White, and a freshman tailback in Steve Slaton and a new offense took the country by storm.
They improved as the season went on and Slaton finished the season with 1,128 yards and 17 TDs, while White finished with 952 yds rushing and 7 TDs to go along with moderate passing to keep defenses honest.
Once they ran out to a 10-1 record, their Big East championship gave them an automatic bid to the BCS Sugar Bowl where they would take on Georgia. The Bulldogs that year were 10-2 and only a close loss in SEC play had kept them from appearing in the National Championship Game and were ranked 3rd.
Experts scoffed that West Virginia’s offense couldn’t perform that well against a superior defense from a superior conference. Yes experts were treating the Big East as a second tier conference with the remaining teams. So the battle lines were drawn and since the Sugar Bowl had to be moved from New Orleans to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, because of Hurricane Katrina, this would be a home crowd for the Bulldogs too. No way the Mountaineers could stay on the field with an SEC team……………….right??
The Mountaineers had humiliated the Georgia defense rushing for 382 yards. They were within 53 yards of the Sugar Bowl record of 439 that had stood for 35 years. A record was set with Steve Slaton’s 204 yards on 26 carries and 3 scores. West Virginia embarrassed the entire SEC into recognizing the spread offense in front of millions. Since the game recieved a 9.0 Nielsen rating, somewhere around 14 million viewers watched Georgia’s defense give chase but never catch Pat White and Steve Slaton.
The entire SEC Conference moved their offensive approach to the spread from this point on. Take a look at Urban Meyer’s first Florida national champion to Auburn and Cam Newton’s 2010 championship. They were all in spread read option offensive attacks where just 6 years before they had been laughing at the approach.
So the landscape has changed, first through the proliferation of cable television stations allowing players to play in far away places and still be seen back home. This changed the way colleges could approach players when they weren’t the clear cut favorite to land a particular recruit. Players weren’t forced to switch positions to go to a particular name school when there were other alternatives. This happened simultaneously with the NCAA limiting the amount of scholarships teams which spread talent all over the collegiate landscape.
Steve Slaton killed Georgia with 202 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Then in an effort to find the great equalizer, coaching innovations leveled the playing field even more with better tactics while landing a better athlete on their campus than ever before. Couple these factors with the natural chip on the shoulder that most underdogs play with and college football has turned into “On any given Saturday…” Making college football an even greater game than before.
The following year Rodriuguez’s team charged into the season ranked 3rd and were in a dead sprint to play for the National Championship for 2007. Ranked #2 in the country going into the final weekend they were upset 13-7 in “The Backyard Brawl” to their rival Pitt. The nation was introduced to Sean “Shady” McCoy who ran for 148 yds and the difference making touchdown.
They were “this close” to playing for it all! They did rout Okalhoma 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl to finish the season ranked 3rd.
Yet it was this Sugar Bowl played in prime-time the year before that changed the attitudes of coaches and pundits of the power conferences. From coast to coast teams were using the uptempo spread offense to run as well as pass. Teams could outflank those they couldn’t physically go toe to toe with. Forcing their opponent to field a different set of defenders and players who play better in space. This game was Rich Rodriguez’s masterpiece and changed the way college football is being played today.
Early last December we had the first redshirt freshman win the Heisman Trophy. Everyone marveled at “Johnny Football’s” mobility in and out of the pocket. His touch once he threw the football during games, and a slew of YouTube tricks to marvel at. Yet no one thought of the light that would be shown on a 20 year old kid. The scrutiny that would follow him off the football field has led to an off-season of setbacks. All of which culminated with his removal from the Manning passing camp.
In the ever-changing world of social media, there is light where there has never been before. Any anonymous person, can take a picture of you while in the middle of devouring a cheeseburger, and link it to the rest of the world via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc… Caught in this lurch are the first generation of athletes who can’t escape the limelight of the media, now that the American populace has become a part of it. Athletes are having to mature faster and think quicker on their feet in regards to what their actions can possibly cause.
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram had just cooled from the Pouncey twins sporting “Free Hernandez” ball caps. This of course in reference to former Florida Gator teammate Aaron Hernandez, who has been accused of murder. Now comes the story of Manziel being released from the camp run by the Mannings. He’s been blown up on social media for a series of transgressions this off-season. Pictures of him in drinking establishments although he’s not 21. The rest of us football fans have taken to social media, to express ourselves about Johnny Manziel and his celebrity.
First and foremost, let’s not forget this is a 20 year old who was at a football camp. The camp is there to mentor and train hundreds of prep school and college signal callers about the nuances of playing the position. Of course they were covering 3, 5, 7 step drops, Pistol shotgun mechanics, and footwork. Here is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner attending a football camp to help the next generation.
Although he has a lot of light on him for various reasons, he was kicked out of the camp and now has to deal with the embarrassment on ESPN and social media all alone. The Chancellor of Football’s take?? I would think higher of the Mannings had they sat Johnny Manziel down and mentored him about professionalism and kept things in-house. Between Archie, Peyton, and Eli, there is nearly 40 years of NFL experience between them. Just like Johnny, Peyton and Eli grew up affluent also so they could identify with his position. This isn’t a poor college student who can only afford to go home and train out of the spotlight only. To boot him out and say”Oh we’d invite him back” while he now has to be a 20 year old in damage control mode. Understand he doesn’t have an agent to coach him and he could always say the wrong thing in front of one of these cameras.
Yet lets ask ourselves a question: What were all of us doing at 20 years of age?? Are you kidding?? I went to parties at schools in four different states let alone be a real high profile college KID. Don’t let social media warp your level of perspective. Does he need to calm down some?? Yes…why not have some compassion for his situation and sit Johnny down?? The Mannings missed a golden opportunity to mentor him in something more important than football…life.
To get him to slow down and understand how living in the fast lane has derailed many careers, or worse. To know how his life is being scrutinized by future employers. To understand the 15 minutes of fame young girls, and other fans who want to befriend him will do with this instant media, can paint him in a negative light. Naturally someone may say it’s not their responsibility to tell him that. The reason they had him there in the first place was they had the platform to teach young quarterbacks about playing football. Why not take it a step further with him instead of let him twist in the wind from a P.R. standpoint?? He has no one around him to tell him NO. He’s hanging around other 20 year old kids who are more popular because they hang out with “Johnny Football.’ Don’t forget there are limited hours his college coaches can talk to him in the off-season due to NCAA regulations. Not one of them could have sat him down for a 15 minute heart to heart conversation??
We do have to keep in perspective that he’s only 20 yet let’s empathize with what he’s dealing with also. If I tapped you on the shoulder and told you I have pics and vids of your behavior to upload to facebook from you at 20, how wide would your eyes get?? Exactly. For what we’ve heard this off-season give this kid a break, he’ll learn from this. The number one thing for him is he’s just a few weeks away from where he needs to be… back in school and in the safe haven of practice at Texas A & M. I hope he’s learned a couple lessons.
Just like last year, one of the nation’s college quarterbacks is starting to leave his contemporaries behind. Last week The Chancellor placed his first vote for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for Geno Smith of West Virginia. What does he do for an encore? A 4 touchdown performance on the road in a 48-45 win over Texas. Now this isn’t the first time the Mountaineers have shocked on a national stage.
Less than a decade ago, West Virginia rose to prominence when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College, abandoned the Big East Conference only to have WVU revolutionize college football with their run first spread option play. Eight years later they jump to the Big 12 and now have college football’s #1 rated passer. Talk about coming full circle.
For the year Geno Smith has 24 touchdowns without an interception. With his team facing new competition in a new conference, you have to appreciate what you’re seeing. It would be different had he faced these teams in previous years and knew what to expect from his opponents. This puts him ahead of even Robert Griffin III’s performance last year in Big XII play. The question is can he keep up this blistering pace?? Well, considering the fact WVU dropped 70 on Baylor last week, you can’t bet against him. With the success of RGIII and Sam Bradford in the NFL, his stock is rising dramatically for next year’s draft.
Of course we’re getting ahead of ourselves here but when you look ahead to the four games against ranked teams, he faces Oklahoma and Kansas State at home. However, the trip to Stillwater and Oklahoma State looms large in the distance. If Smith continues his play and can go 3-1 against TCU and these teams, the Heisman is his. If WVU can go undefeated for the season beating 5 ranked opponents, they have a legitimate shot at the National Championship. Both of these eluded Pat White and that great Mountaineer team of nearly a decade ago.
Robert Griffin III outruns Andrew Luck for the 2011 Heisman Trophy
Congratulations to the 77th Heisman Trophy winner in Baylor’s Robert Griffin III. He was easily the most electrifying player this year, a Cam Newton-lite if you will. It may have been a benefit Newton didn’t win it last year. Although he was swirled amidst off field allegations, had he won it last year the voters may have looked to give the award to another type of player this year or position. However if you look at Griffin III’s season in a vacuum, he deserved it hands down.
All he did was lead perennial doormat Baylor into the National spotlight completing 267 of 369, for 3,998 yards, 36TDs to only 6 interceptions. He was also a threat on the ground where he ran for 649 yards and another 9 touchdowns. He’s just 353 yards away from a 5,000 yard season against stellar competition and still has an Alamo Bowl showdown with Washington to pad his stats further.
Statistics don’t tell half the story. It was this electrifying talent that led his teammates to believe they could play with anyone. It started with his destruction of #14 TCU’s highly ranked defense, to the tune of 359 yards passing and 5 touchdowns in building a 47-21 lead. After the Bears offense grew cold, Griffin proved his mettle driving the Bears to the winning field goal 50-48 and a collegiate star was born. This was the first great early game of the season and talk of Griffin III’s exploits were showcased on national television.
Then really grew steam when he performed the coup de gras against Oklahoma. His Baylor Bears were ranked 22nd and were taking on media darling Bob Stoops and his #5 ranked Sooners. You have to understand the Bears were 3 weeks removed from losing badly to ranked #4 Oklahoma St. (59-24) and #23 Texas A & M (55-28). Their confidence was shaken as a team going into this game and it was do or die to find out if they were for real. Griffin, who passed and ran his team to a 38-24 fourth quarter lead in one of the game’s of the year, dazzled early. Once their momentum crested, the high powered Sooners sprang to life and rallied to tie the score 38-38, with 2:38 to go.
With Oklahoma holding all three time outs, the Bears came out conservative and ran a dive showing they were content to go to overtime. Stoops called the first of his timeouts, which showed the Sooners wanted to force the Bears to punt the ball back and give the Sooners a chance to win it in regulation. Baylor’s body english looked defeated and Waco was completely silent. Armed with the knowledge of what Oklahoma intended to do, it was Griffin III who charged back to the huddle to breathe life in his team. He completed two strikes in the heart of the Sooner’s zone to put Baylor in field goal range reversing the momentum. Instead of waiting to kick the winning field goal, on first down he scrambled to his left and fired a 34 yard touchdown to Terrance Williams with :08 left. BALLGAME!!
By the time he engineered a 48-24 trouncing of the 22nd ranked Texas Longhorns, it was obvious this was the best player in all of college football. He led the Bears to a 4-2 record over top 25 teams. In the aforementioned games with Oklahoma and Texas how’d he do?? Against Oklahoma Griffin III ran for 98 yards while throwing for 479 yards and 4 touchdowns. Then you had him toast up the Longhorns rushing for 36 yards and 2 TDs, while throwing for 320 yards and 2 more scores.
Buoyed by these three signature games, it was impossible to hand the Heisman to another player. He carried his team into national prominence and backed up the press clippings with performance. The Baylor Bears went 9-3 with him at the helm and had their best record since 1986. Now further that distinction with bringing the school it’s first ever Heisman winner. So what does he do as an encore?? We suspect a 500 yard performance (rushing and passing) and a high draft status in April. With the Colts eyeing a pure drop back passer in Andrew Luck, it looks like many teams would vie for his services. Right now, the Cleveland Browns are on the clock.
For if he’s Cam Newton-lite, he may be just as deadly in his rookie year. We’ll have time for that later. As for right now, congratulations Robert Griffin III. You deserved your Heisman with a performance for the ages.
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