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The pressure in college football has grown to insane levels in recent years. Coaches must win or show major changes in three years or they find themselves out of a job (ask Minnesota’s Tim Brewster), high profile recruits must perform when they are in the spotlight or they get boo’d (ask Florida’s roster of 5-star players) and teams must maintain a high level of play as the pollsters dub them the nations number one squad.
Obviously, that is not easy. In fact, it is incredibly difficult. But it’s not impossible.
Dealing with the pressure of big time college athletics
should not be a surprise to anyone involved. In fact, it is
expected and teams in the past that could handle the pressure
actually welcomed it. Why?
Well, once you welcome the pressure and attention from
outsiders it becomes normal. It becomes normal to demand excellence
from your staff, it becomes normal to make big time throws on
clutch third downs and it becomes normal to perform with lofty
expectations.
Thus far in the 2010 season, the teams who have been ranked
number one in the nation have not been able to handle the pressure
associated with it. Alabama did the best job out of anyone as they
beat Arkansas and Florida in consecutive weeks before falling to
South Carolina. Once Ohio State was dubbed the top team in the
land, they fell apart at the seams in Madison, Wisconsin as they
lost 31-18.
To make matters worse, the team that beat the Crimson Tide
couldn’t sustain their level of performance and lost to
Kentucky Saturday night 31-28 and this weekend, don’t be
surprised to watch Iowa beat the Badgers in Iowa City.
On one hand, we must recognize the parody that exists in college football as the talent at each university is at an unprecedented level, but on the other we would be foolish to look past how teams handle, or mis-handle, success.
The blueprint to handle the pressure of college football in
a world of mass media, facebook and twitter was done at USC under
Pete Carroll. I’m not trying to start a debate regarding
Reggie Bush and NCAA sanctions, but point to sheer facts.
In Carroll’s tenure, they won seven straight Pac-10
titles, appeared in seven straight BCS bowl games and finished in
the top five for seven straight seasons. They did it with a
demeanor that no team has yet to replicate because they created a
culture that didn’t demand great performance, but simply
expected it.
It was normal to be ranked number one, it was normal to face
everyone’s best and it was normal for the man under center to
be in the Heisman Trophy race.
That normalcy was uncommon and it was the reason why the
Trojans were so dominant for so long. But as we usher in a new
generation of coaches for the next generation of athletes one thing
is certain—the handling of pressure in 2010 is suspect, but
it is entertaining.
So as we enter the last six weeks of the season, be sure to
buckle up and don’t turn your channel as the pressure is only
getting larger and who knows what will happen next.
