Sour Apples

In the state of Washington, college basketball has probably never been welcomed with such open arms.

That's because the 101st installment of the gridiron version of the Apple Cup, between the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars, is being called the worst ever college football matchup.

The media has coined several new monikers for this rivalry including the "Rotten" Apple Cup, the "Crapple Cup" and calling the game "Full of Worms." Best of all Fox Sports has made this year's Apple Cup its national TV game tomorrow.

This season the Cougs and Huskies have a combined 1-20 record and are a pathetic 0-15 in the Pac-10. (The only win was Washington State's 48-9 victory over I-AA Portland State.)

Making this more bizarre is the fact that Wazzu's men hoops team scored 15 more points than in their opener than the football team has combined for in eight Pac-10 games this year.

Washington State's offense has been ugly and the depth became so thin at midseason that first-year coach Paul Wulff held open tryouts. Just look at the numbers. In three of their past four losses, the Cougars football team has been shut out 69-0, 58-0 and 31-0, ending their streak dating back to 1984 where the Cougars had not been shut out.

However, if you think this game doesn't matter, think again. The stakes are high.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel writes "if you're a Washington or Washington State player, you're already doomed to a legacy of having played for the worst team in school history. Beating your archrival would be the one saving grace to keep the season from being a total nightmare."

I couldn't agree more. This is a rivalry game, it matters to the players, coaches and the fans. These games carry even more significance when there hasn't been anything to celebrate.


Here's what other writers have said about this weekend's Apple Cup:

Rivals.com writer David Fox pays tribute to some of the other worst end-of-the-season rivalry games.

In a special to FoxSports.com Billy Witz says in a season of inexperience, injuries and bad breaks nobody's calling this rivalry about bragging rights.

And win or lose in tomorrow's game, Washington State head coach Paul Wulff has a major task ahead to rejuvenate football in Pullman. It's hard to believe how far the program has fallen after going 30-8 at the beginning of the decade, and arguably being the best team in the Pac-10 from 2001-2003. So how will Wulff turn it around? He's got a plan.

Romo's got more than game

For all of the drama, his tabloid relationship and failures in the postseason, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is proving he's a down-to-earth guy with a heart.

Romo first grabbed headlines this year for changing a couple's tire on a roadside as he headed home the night of the season opener. Today, Tony's back in the headlines.

According to a "Dallas Morning News" article, Romo not only shelled $6.70 for homeless man to enjoy a movie, but the $67 million man sat next to this complete stranger sharing a funny film for 90 minutes.

"For me, it was a blessing," Doc said. "It came at just the right time. It gave me some encouragement and faith in mankind."

How cool is that?

Romo's goodwill goes beyond helping his Cowboys tarnished image. In an age of "me first" athletes this act of kindness makes you feel better about all professional athletes.

I'm sure for every story like this that gets reported, dozens of other go unreported. But major props to Tony Romo and other athletes that show heart off the field.

Red River shout out

I should probably save this hot topic for another day, but the airwaves from Bristol, Conn. are already smoldering.

Chris Fowler, Scott Van Pelt and Kirk Herbstreit are leading the debate over who should represent the Big 12 South in the conference title game, if Oklahoma wins out (defeating Texas Tech and Oklahoma State) creating a cluster of one-loss juggernauts.

As it stands the BCS rankings would decide who goes to Kansas City, which means it would essentially be up to the voters. Picking up the cause for the Longhorns, Fowler and company cannot comprehend a scenario where the Sooners would jump Texas, a team OU lost to in early October.

However, if the talking heads stopped pontificating for mere moments and listened to what else they were saying, they would have their answer.

Kirk Herbstreit has been boldly proclaiming that Florida is the best team in the country right now, despite being ranked No. 4 in the most recent BCS standings. And there's the magical answer.

The voters must decide which of the three squads (Texas, Texas Tech or Oklahoma) is the best team, who is playing the best football right now. Sure pollsters should take into account the outcome of the Red River rivalry, but in this 'imminent' scenario they should only keep Texas ahead of Oklahoma if they truly believe the outcome of their October game would be the same in late November.

Of all the top Big 12 teams, Oklahoma has the strongest full season resume right now with quality non-conference wins over TCU and Cincinnati. Texas Tech took down two I-AA (or FBS) schools and Texas ran over four I-A featherweights.

Again, this is just a relative debate right now, all contingent on an if. After all, the pundits have never, ever been wrong about pre-picking an outcome. Think about it, they nailed the 2002, 2005 and 2006 National Championship games.

Shades of 'Carolina' blue

Carolina fans had a bit of a dilemma Saturday. Support the Tar Heels on the gridiron or support the Tar Heels on the hardwood. Both Chapel Hill teams were in action at the same time.

But, this should have been an easy choice. The "true" UNC fans were watched their No. 1 ranked men's basketball team tip-off.

Sadly it's that time of year already. Men's NCAA basketball, one sport in a litany that start too early, has tipped-off.

So, if you need the skinny on man-to-man defense and other hoops trends to get into the basketball mood, SI.com's Luke Winn reports on 50 things he learned about basketball ideology. Including that Nike dominates the college scene with 72 percent of schools wearing the Swoosh.

As for what to expect this season, fellow blogger Colin Storm delivers his annual college basketball thesis.. I mean preview. Check it out at Eye of Storm.

Similarly, SI.com gives the inside scoop with their Top 20 scouting reports.

FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman takes a look at the preseason Top 25 and calls the North Carolina Tar Heels the total package.

And if you want a look at what the experts think the field of 65 will be, ESPN has the projections. Analyst Dick Vitale has his awesome predictions, while Joe Lunardi already has Bracketology revved up.

Enjoy the early season tournaments!

BCS sharpens focus

Barring complete disaster and utter chaos, ESPN college football researcher Brad Edwards says the national championship chase is down to two. Two conferences that is, not two teams.

Three teams from the Big 12 South and two teams from the SEC form the glut atop the BCS standings. So rather than playing what-ifs with four weeks to go in the season (I'll leave that up to ESPN's talking heads), I want to focus on the non automatic-qualifying conferences for a fleeting moment.

An interesting storyline is developing between two previous BCS-crashers, Utah and Boise State. The Utes from the Mountain West Conference stayed perfect with a dramatic last-minute win over TCU. But more importantly, they grabbed command of the one automatic at-large BCS bid for the non-power conferences.

Translated, if Utah wins out they should clinch their second major bowl berth, even if the Broncos also finish with a unblemished record. In that senario the WAC's gem Boise State would have to hope to be selected for another at-large spot. And there's fat chance of that happening with Ohio State eyeing at-large consideration as well.

Boise fans should start feeling as blue as their turf.

So what would an undefeated Boise State BCS snub prove? Only what I've been saying for a long time. That the Broncos are a bunch of frauds and really need to beef up their non-conference schedule.

This year, the Broncos "best" win was a 37-32 upset of then-No. 17 Oregon at Autzen Stadium. The win would be much more impressive had Boise not given up 19 fourth-quarter points with the Ducks playing their 13th string quarterback. Actually, Oregon rotated two sub-third string freshman at QB. Also, it was Boise State's first win ever on the road versus a BCS-conference team, hardly something to cheer wildly about.

Then there's the fact only three of the eight Division I-A (or FBS) teams the Broncos have beaten currently have a winning record.

Unlike ESPN's Bruce Feldman, who projects the Broncos to get a berth in the Sugar Bowl, people in southern Idaho should start sweating. Time to look for something red and black!

The REAL Politicking begins

Now that we've elected our 44th president, we can turn our attention to the real political landscape. The '08 BCS Championship campaign is officially underway.

The most recent successful campaign dates back to 2006, when Flordia's Urban Meyer excessively whined.. I mean lobbied.. his way into the championship game, throttled Ohio State and took home the ultimate prize.

The current battlegrounds are taking shape. In Pennsylvania, things aren't so happy in Happy Valley where Penn State coach Joe Paterno was quick to question the wacky BCS formula.

"Is it the BCS or the BSC? I don't know," Paterno said in a recent press conference. JoePa is launching a sarcastic campaign, but the 81-year-old is probably harboring some resentment from being left out of the championship picture during four undefeated seasons (1968, 1969, 1973 and 1994).

Then yesterday, USC coach Pete Carroll launched his BCS Championship campaign from the perpetually 'blue' LA area. During his weekly press conference Carroll insisted he doesn't understand the BCS system. But then went a little further.

"I think it stinks. I don't think it's the way it should be," Carroll said.

What stinks is USC's performance during games they're heavily favored to win. There's a litany of haunting losses from Oregon State (in '06 & '08) to Stanford last year to UCLA in 2006. What really stinks though is the Trojans' aura in the post-(Reggie) Bush years. Just take care of business Pete.

Concern is growing with how college football crowns its champion, especially with a glut of elite teams in the Top 10. But even if college football had a playoff, coaches would still politic jockeying for position.

There's no cure-all for college football, so lets just tee-it-up and play some games. The dust will settle, just like the real political season that ended this morning.