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Then And Now
10 years ago Mississippi State was the defending SEC West Champs
Then And Now
7.16.09
Amazing how so much has changed in college football in the last 10 years. Dixiefriedsports looks back on these changes and where we were then(July 1999) and where we are now.
- Then Phillip Fulmer and the Tennessee Volunteers were the defending national champs, Now Tennessee is coming off a 5-7 season and has a young coach who loves to run his mouth.
- Then Mississippi State was the defending SEC West Champs, Now MSU is hoping to get out of the SEC West's bottom
- Then South Florida was a 1-AA team about to compete in its 3rd season of football, Now South Florida is a legit top 25 program and might be the 2nd best team in the Sunshine State this season
- Then Bear Bryant was the winningest coach of alltime, Now Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden are within 1 win of each other but a NCAA ruling could put 14 of Bowden's wins in jeopardy.
- Then Lou Holtz was taking over a 1-10 South Carolina program that he inherited from Brad Scott, Now Lou Holtz is a comedic personality on ESPN doing skits like Dr. Lou
- Then Tulane was coming off a 12-0 season where they finished #7 in the nation, Now Tulane is coming off a 2-10 season
- Then Paul Hackett was coming off a 5 loss season at Southern Cal, Now Southern Cal has lost 5 games the past 3 seasons
- Then Urban Meyer was a position coach at Notre Dame, Now Urban Meyer has won 3 BCS games and 2 National Championships
- Then Oklahoma and LSU were coming off losing seasons, Now both of these programs have played for multiple national championships this decade
- Then Steve Spurrier was the most feared coach in college football, Now Spurrier is struggling to finish 4th in the SEC East
- Then Arkansas fans loved Houston Nutt, Now Arkansas fans hate Houston Nutt
- Then Boise State was a 3rd year 1-A program, Now Boise State has a chance to be the winningest program in the first decade of this century
- Then Florida Atlantic didn't play football, Now Florida Atlantic has won 2 straight bowl games
- Then Art Briles was the head coach of Stephensville High School where his team broke the national high school record for total yards in a season with 8,664. Now Briles is coaching in the Big XII
- Then Gus Malzahn coached a Shiloh Christian High School that set the nation passing TD record with 66 TDs, Now Malzahn is the offensive coordinator at Auburn
- Then Ron Dayne was about to break the NCAA record for rushing yards and win the Heisman, Now Ron Dayne is a NFL free agent
- Then Butch Davis was stocking up talent in Miami, Now Butch Davis is stocking up talent in Chapel Hill
- Then TCU had gone 60 years without a 10 win season, Now the Horned Frogs are coming off their 6th 10+ win season in 10 years
-Then Mike Dubose was the coach at Alabama, Now the Tide have seen Dubose, Franchione, Price, Shula, Kines(interim coach), and Saban all hold the title of head coach since 99
- Then South Carolina was in the middle of a 21 game losing streak, Now South Carolina hasn't had a losing season in 6 years
- Then there was the Northeast Louisiana University Indians, Now there is the University of Louisiana at Monroe Warhawks
- Then East Tennessee State played football, Now East Tennesse State has no football team
- Then Alabama added a 2nd deck to Bryant Denny Stadium to increase capacity from 70,123 to 83,818, Now plans are on the way for Bryant Denny to expand to 101,000 by 2010
- Then Alabama played 3 games a year at Legion Field, Now the historic stadium is only home to the UAB Blazers
- Then Pete Carroll was about to be fired in New England, Now Pete Carroll has a record of 88-15 at Southern California
- Then Florida State had only lost 17 games in the last 12 seasons, Now Florida State has lost 16 games the last 3 seasons.
- Then Colonel Reb was a proud figure on the Ole Miss sidelines, Now Colonel Reb is sadly gone from the Ole Miss sidelines
- Then the SEC was in its 23rd year on artificial noise makers, Now Mississippi State fans continue to not care one bit what the SEC rule and I applaud them for this
- Then The WAC was a 16 team conference with a championship game, Now The Mountain West Conference exists and is making headlines challenging the BCS
- Then the Big West Conference included teams in Utah, Idaho, Texas, and Arkansas, Now there is no Big West Conference for football
- Then Miami, Boston College, Temple, and Virginia Tech were in the Big East, Now Miami, BC, and VT are in the ACC while Temple is in the MAC
- Then Wake Forest had only attended 3 bowl games in 50 years, Now Wake Forest has attended 3 straight bowl games
- Then Chuck Amato was an assistant at Florida State, Now Chuck Amato is an assistant at Florida State
- Then Marshall was about to be 35-4 as a 1-A football program, Now Marshall hasn't had a winning season since 2003
- Then there was 1-A and 1-AA, Now there is FBS and FCS
- Then the BCS was 1 year old and fans wanted a playoff, Now the BCS is 11 years old and fans want a playoff
- Then 42 teams made bowl games, Now 68 teams will play in bowl games
- Then Texas A&M and Kansas State played for the Big XII championship, Now neither team made a bowl last season
- Then Former walkon/All American Brandon Burlsworth was killed in an automobile accident 11 days after the 99 NFL draft, Now a movie is being made about the Former Razorback
- Then Spread offenses at Purdue, Tulane, and Kentucky were considered to be gimmick offenses, Now it seems as if everyone runs some kind of version of the spread
- Then Ball State was coming off an 11 loss season, Now Ball State is coming off a12 win season
-Then Hawaii was coming off an 0-12 season, Now Hawaii is 2 years removed from a 12-0 regular season
- Then Tim Tebow was an 11 year old kid learning as a homeschool student, Now Tim Tebow has a chance to become the 2nd player in NCAA history to win the Heisman and could win his 3rd National Championship
- Then College Football could be seen on ESPN, ESPN 2, CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox Sports. Now College Football can be seen on ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, ESPN 360, ESPN Gameplan, CSS, CBS, CBS College Sports, ABC, NBC, Versus, Fox Sport Regional, The Mountain, The Big 10 Network, and Cox Sports
- Then the internet offered fans a place to get some college football news, Now fans are the ones giving college football news on the internet. The internet now gives the fans a voice and also gives fans a chance to listen to or watch their teams online
- Then my alma matter Newberry College were known as the Newberry Indians, Now Newberry hasn't had a nickname in 2 years and has no communication with their alumni on what their plans are to get a new nickname!!!
Matt Barber
Dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
Matt Barber
Dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
