[net.sport.foot] College Football 82

tif (09/12/82)

Well, the first wave of college football has been played. And folks
despite all the talk about an upswing of passing (and offense in
general), it looks like the defenses are to dominate this season, too.
Two games of national importance have yielded a grand total of 33
points. Georgia, with the most talked-about offensive back in years
has played two games and scored a total of 30 points. And won twice.

Where is the offense? Granted, the defense usually has an upper hand
in early games, but 33 points!? (Oh, yes, there has been a lot of
offense in several games, but I'm not concerned obout them. I'm
talking about the predictions that wide-open football would become
the norm, and lead to an alteration of balance in college football
from the defensive powers to the offensive ones. Pitt, for instance,
was supposed to be so good because of their great passing game.
I wonder where Dan Marino kept his great arm in the North Carolina
game, because it was DEFENSE that kept Pitt No.1). Are all games
between the nation's best teams destined to be defensive in nature?

Now personally, I like defensive games; they tend to be close, hard-
fought contests. I was distressed when I kept hearing that the pass
would seriously alter the game; I am heartened to see that such
predictions were premature, at best. But gee whiz, I think even I
could get tired of an endless array of 7-6 and 13-7 games. Has the
offense VANISHED from college football? That would be ironic.

Is this an accurate viewpoint? Does the defense REALLY have to hold
the opposition to 90 points a season (like Clemson did last year)
to win the title? If so, just what IS the value of players like
Herschal Walker? Does ANYBODY have an offense that can't be stopped
(Georgia, Clemson, UNC, Pitt, and BYU sure dont)?

Well? How about it?