NCAA: College Football Postseason Awards

It’s over. The most controversial college football year in a long time has finally come to a close. The burning wreckage has stopped falling from the sky, and there’s one team out there with no holes. College football never really stops—coaches are out there planning and recruiting right now—but for our purposes, it’s time to pass out the hardware and then turn out the lights until spring.

(drum roll…)

Team of the Year - Oklahoma. Just two seasons ago the Sooners were filed under “Former Dynasty.” Bob Stoops arrived and changed everything; two years after his arrival the Sooners are 13-0 and National Champions. Oklahoma earned its seventh national championship in the Orange Bowl, and gave mighty Florida State a lesson in how real dynasties work in the process. Just showing up every year isn’t enough—you have to convert some of those chances, too.

Bust of the Year (Regular Season Division) – Alabama. Before the 1999 season Alabama was in trouble, coming off a poor year and rocked by a scandal involving then-Head Coach Mike DuBose. The Tide responded with a 10-3 record, SEC Championship, and Orange Bowl berth. So what happened when 2000 rolled around and Alabama was picked to contend for the national title? The Tide went 3-8, the players quit, and DuBose got the ax. Now Dennis Franchione is faced with the task of tunneling out from under the ugliest Alabama season in memory. Good luck.

Bust of the Year (Bowl Division) – Notre Dame and Florida State (tie). The Fighting Irish saved coach Bob Davie’s job with a 9-2 season and got into the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Oregon State and looked bad doing it. Every Virginia Tech fan out there was hopping mad when the Irish were picked for the Fiesta over the Hokies; now they’re vindicated. The Beavers were one of college football’s worst programs until 1999, but they made the proud Irish into a laughingstock with a 41-9 romp that wasn’t even that close. As for the Seminoles, after rolling through most of the regular season (with the exception of Miami), they were picked to win big in the Orange Bowl. But Chris Weinke and the high-octane offense didn’t muster a single point in a 13-2 loss that was probably the most embarrassing defeat in head coach Bobby Bowden’s career.

Player of the Year – Josh Heupel, QB, Oklahoma. Florida State’s Chris Weinke won the Heisman; Heupel won the title. The title matters more. Heupel’s stats and passes weren’t always as pretty, but he won the games and helped swing the spotlight away from Florida for a change.

Coach of the Year – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma. It’s an OU sweep for my top awards. Stoops resurrected a powerhouse and created the blueprint that every team will be analyzing and dissecting as much as corporate America analyzes Stephen Covey’s seven habits.

Good Sport Award – John Swofford, ACC Commissioner / BCS Mouthpiece. Acting as spokesman for the BCS, Swofford stood in a hot spotlight and was forced to justify the equation time and time again in the shakiest season since the mathematical monstrosity was introduced. Oklahoma was a no-brainer, but three teams were able to make a decent case to join the Sooners in the Orange Bowl because the BCS brains somehow forgot to count head-to-head games in their equation, which is a little like forgetting to put gas in your car and then wondering why the thing won’t run. Florida State’s miserable performance in the championship game only made things worse. It was Swofford who had to answer all the tough questions, and now the NCAA owes him—big.

And finally…to look ahead, here’s a sneak preview of the 2001 prospects for this year’s BCS teams:

Purdue - the Boilermakers will miss Drew Brees dearly, but just about anything’s possible with Joe Tiller’s wide-open offense. The cards may not hold another conference title, but Purdue should be able to come up with enough wins to be bowl eligible again.

Washington -the Huskies should be able to contend for the Pac-10 title, but huge losses at quarterback and on the offensive line will slow them down, at least to start.

Notre Dame – the Irish will go into the ’01 season with the lingering taste of defeat in their mouths and a lot of tough questions to answer. This season’s 9-3 mark was good enough to save Bob Davie’s job for awhile, but another bad bowl loss will have the boosters howling for his exit once again.

Oregon State – Dennis Erickson has built the Beavers for speed, and there’s no reason to think they won’t be able to make a run at the Pac-10 title and another BCS berth behind the running of Ken Simonton, who’s said he plans to win the Heisman Trophy.

Miami (FL) – The ‘Canes will need to shore up some holes on their dominating defense, but the core of this season’s offense should be back, including QB Ken Dorsey and WR Santana Moss. Butch Davis swears he isn’t interested in another job, but his name keeps popping up.

Florida – The Gators will start the season somewhere in the top three because tons of talent returns. WR Jabar Gaffney may be ready for his Heisman close-up.

Florida State – the program that reloads has to make wholesale changes on both sides of the ball and in the coaches’ box, but you can never count them out.

Oklahoma – Heupel is gone, but much of Bob Stoops’ two-deep chart is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Make no mistake: the Sooners are back and ready to stay for awhile.