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?