Predictable

I feel obligated to weigh in on the ongoing controversy over Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s attack on Daily Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson.

By now you’ve likely seen the video of Gundy’s tirade, in which he attacked Carlson for her column questioning the “heart” of Cowboys quarterback Bobby Reid—a column Gundy claimed was “three-fourths inaccurate.” And you’ve likely read Carlson’s rebuttal, published three days later on the front page of the Oklahoman, in which she defended the accuracy of her piece and blasted Gundy for questioning her integrity.

And most certainly you’ve seen countless commentators offering their two cents on the matter—either supporting Gundy or blasting him, backing Carlson or bashing her.

Unfortunately, most of what you’ve heard, read or seen on this topic has been—I’m stealing a phrase from Gundy here—“garbage.”

I am always saddened when people are predictable, whether they're Democrats, Republicans or Penn State offensive coordinators. And yet it seems our lives are dominated by arguments of the, “I’m right, so you’re wrong” variety. Certainly, in the days after Gundy’s explosion, we saw the debate split into two distinct groups.

1. Sportswriters, journalists, etc.: These folks (may of whom, I imagine, did not read Carlson’s piece) quickly jumped to the columnist’s defense. But many did so in the least classy way possible—by attacking Gundy. They chided his career losing record at Okie State. They poked fun at his loss earlier this year to Troy State (as if that had anything to do with anything). And they completely ignored Gundy’s point—that the column went too far. Which it did.

2. Coaches, former coaches, and the media-hating general public: These folks celebrated Gundy’s tirade from the get-go. They glorified him for his impassioned defense of a wronged player. And they absolutely vilified the columnist, whom they likely knew nothing about. They also used the episode to once again cast journalists as ever-questioning do-nothings, and posited that college athletes don’t deserve criticism.

But you know what? Both of these groups were wrong. And I’ll tell you why.

Because both Gundy and Carslon were wrong.

Carlson claims her assertions that Reid lacks heart are supported by her “sources.” That’s all well and good. But any journalist with a brain (or a heart) knows Carlson crossed the line when she brought Reid’s mother into her piece, suggesting the quarterback’s lack of toughness is the result of his mother babying him. What does that have do with anything, Jenni? Answer: nothing. You reached. Apologize.

As for Gundy, he screwed up on two fronts. First, he acted like a petulant child. And he was obviously grandstanding. If Gundy had a problem with Carlson’s piece, he should have approached her individually. Or called her editor. Or simply refused to ever to speak to her on the record ever again. All of these steps could have been taken. Instead, Gundy publicly—and very intentionally—went after Carlson when he knew the moment would be captured on video. Maybe more troubling, Gundy basically wished harm upon Carlson’s future children—a truly low blow. Mike, you went too far. Apologize.

As for everyone else who so quickly took sides in this little spat?

I would only ask that you take the time to think about the issue a littie more closely.

If you do, I think you may realize that nobody is in the right here.

All you’ve got is two adults acting like children.

Out And About: News And Notes You May Have Missed

• When folks talk about the “spread offense,” the image that leaps to mind is a high-flying, gimmicky passing attack led by some junky quarterback like Andre Ware or David Klinger. But when the spread is done right, what it really does is open up the running game. Evidence of this can be seen out in Eugene, Oregon, where the spread offense of coach Mike Bellotti (who, it should be noted, looks an awful like former TCFA Champion Michigan Bob Seif) has produced the most remarkable running game in the nation. The Ducks, who are taking on No. 6 Cal in this weekend’s best game, are averaging a whopping 299.8 yards per game on the ground. They also already have 13 rushing touchdowns (they had 18 during all of last season). Said Ducks tailback Jeremiah Johnson: "People think of us as a passing team. That's what we want other teams to think because they dismiss the run. When we start running they're going to start harping on the run and we're going to start passing. We just keep teams off balance and score touchdowns." In other words, they do the exact opposite of Penn State.

• Hey, who says the SEC doesn’t have a heart? Last week, the conference informed officials at the University of Arkansas that former running backs coach Danny Nutt—who had to leave the Razorbacks staff earlier this year because of a recurring condition involving bleeding in his brain stem (the team is wearing Nutt's initials on their helmet this season)—is no longer allowed to either sit in the coaching booth or hang out near the team bench during games. The ruling from the suddenly Stalinesque SEC comes one week after Nutt was spotted in the coaching booth wearing headphones. My God! Headphones? Get him and his bleeding brain out of there! He might actually experience some joy. Explained Spokesman For Stalin's Conference Charles Bloom: “Danny Nutt cannot be in the team bench area or in the coaches' box during the football games. He can watch the game from the sidelines [outside the team bench area] or any other area in the stadium that would not cause him to be deemed a countable member of the football staff."

• Now for your weekly Penn State update. Your Editor is going to go out on a limb and say he’s never seen the Penn State fan base as angry and embittered as they have been in the last week, as they collectively recover from No. 21 Penn State’s absolutely inexcusable 14-9 loss to Michigan. Their complaint? That if Penn State’s offense had, you know, maybe tried to win, they could have. But as you all know, Penn State instead ignored all of Michigan’s earlier struggles against the pass and instead came out running—in fact, the Nits ran the ball on first down on six of their first seven possessions up in Ann Arbor. The result? They dug an early hole and lost. This week, as the Nits prepare for a tough trip to Illinois, the team is struggling to recover. Reports trickling out of camp indicate that the defensive coaches and offensive coaches aren’t getting along, that the players aren’t very happy or inspired, that several key players are at risk of losing their jobs, and, most disturbingly, that Coach Joseph Vincent Paterno actually played a major role in the “trimming down” of the offensive playbook last week—a trimming down that occurred, according to some, after the team had spent the whole week implementing various spread formations. Those reports gained some credence this week, when Joe told reporters that he wouldn’t change a thing about his offensive approach. Said Paterno: “When you lose a game like that, you can only point the finger at one person: You've got to point it at the head coach. There were plays could have been made there, decisions could have been made, so forth, even in preparation for the game. People like to be critical of this coach, this assistant coach, that assistant coach. None of those things goes on without my OK."

Quick Hits: Straight And To The Point

• Kudos once more must be extended to officials at Iowa State, who, as was reported by TCFA earlier this year, decided to redesign their uniforms—but let the fans do the designing. The six-month process concluded this week, when the school announced the Cyclones would, starting next year, wear a helmet featuring a large “I” and interlocking “State” design. But the school was so open to fan input—and the fans were so enthusiastic about the changes—that the new helmet will also feature a completely different color than was originally anticipated. At first, school officials asked fans to simply choose one of three helmet designs. And while the fans overwhelemingly picked the “I-State” helmet, many also complained that the proposed white helmet should be scrapped for a maroon one. And so school officials made the change. Said I-State athletic director Jamie Pollard: "Our staff initially proposed the concept of a white helmet to help make our new logo stand out. We've chosen a cardinal helmet because it's what the majority of our fans wanted."

• There are 109 players in the country who are averaging more offensive yards per game than the entire Notre Dame offense.

• Florida State’s season records over the past four seasons: 10-3; 9-3; 8-5; 7-6. Um, sense a trend there, 'Noles fans?

• Quotable: Purdue Coach Joe Tiller on Notre Dame Coach Charlie "I Am Genius By Decree of JCSPN" Weis: “I think he has a real understanding of what he wants to get done and how he wants to go about doing it. I don’t think he’s a grab-bag coach. I think he does a real good job of planning. Some guys philosophically aren’t that way. They tend to shift horses in the middle of the stream and that never works.”

• I don’t want to alarm you Penn State fans (oh wait, you’re already alarmed), but the Nittany Lions defense is going to face its first real test of the season this weekend—the powerful (no joke) running offense of the Illinois Fighting Illini. Yes, there is quarterback Juice Williams. But he’s not the problem. The real problem is tailback Rashard Mendenhall, who not only wears Larry Johnson’s college number, but also runs a whole lot like him (really, he does). Mendenhall is averaging 134 yards per game and  7 yards per carry. Plus he has seven touchdowns. Asked to explain Mendenhall’s improvement from last year to this year, Illini coach Ron Zook said: “He's running tougher, he's holding onto the football. When he gets the opportunity to explode, he's exploding.''

• Speaking of Big Ten tailbacks ... Michigan's Mike Hart is on pace to rush for 2,150 yards this season. If he were to do so, he would end his career with more than 5,800 total yards. That sounds impressive. Hell, that is impressive. But you know what? He would still trail the Big Ten's all-time leading rusher by approximately 10 miles. Because Wisconsin's Ron Dayne racked up a whopping 7,125 yards in four years at Madison. I don't miss playing that guy.

• Finally, folks, I'd hate to beg. But I will. You'll notice over to the right, below the photos, there are a couple of ads. Now, if you could just spare a couple moments each week to click on those ads--not necessarily buy anything, mind you, but rather just click on the ads--it would be greatly appreciated. Because believe it or not, if enough of you folks click those ads, TCFA gets money. Which could help us pay for all the stuff that TCFA requires. So, in advance, thanks.