HOW TO HANDLE LOSING

November 15, 2012

One thing that is a certainty in college football is that sooner or later your favorite team will lose. You may be able to go undefeated for a year. If you find a special player and a favorable schedule, you may even follow it up the next year. But, no one who plays major college football goes their entire career without a defeat.

For some programs, handling losses is easy. They come in bunches. It is the wins that are a few and far between. Losses for these fans barely last an hour before they are on to something else. 

At schools where winning is expected, there is always someone to blame for the loss. Sometimes it is the head coach. Other times it is the quarterback, but too often the blame lies on those that supposedly wish to see your program fail... the officials.

This leads me to the Voice of Reason’s first rule of losing... Own your losses. Referees make questionable or even blatantly wrong calls every game. Guess what. Some go in your favor. Some even assist you in a victory. You never notice those, but God help an official that makes a debatable call in a close loss.

Let me break it to you. The ref does not have money on the game. The conference commissioner has not instructed them on who is supposed to win. If it seems like the favored team is getting helped out by penalties or foul calls, they are. Not because the ref is Tim Donaghy. It is mostly because your underdog team is not as quick or strong and is a split second late. Good defense in other games becomes interference. A clean block is now a hold.

Own your losses. Don’t whine about officials. Block better. Tackle better. Shoot better. You still could have won. Oh, and if you are a Penn State fan, I don’t care if the end of your next game is an exact duplicate of the Seahawks-Packers debacle on Monday Night Football... Pipe down. No one wants to hear you complain about this. In fact, no one wants to hear you complain about anything! You only make yourself look bad. I know. I know. “Those kids deserve better.” You whining about it isn’t going to change a damn thing. All it will accomplish is it will give people looking for more reasons to continue to dump on PSU more ammo. So please... shut up.

With that being said, let me add that I have absolutely no problem at all with PSU QB Matt McGloin after the Nebraska game saying, “We're not going to get that call here. We're not going to get that call ever, actually, against any team. It doesn't matter who the refs are. We'll never get that call.” 

McGloin is a fifth year senior QB who just came off the field after a tough loss. His comments are a reminder to not expect any help from the refs. I know that comments like these only fuel the conspiracy theorists in the fan base, but a player making that particular statement and fans whining are two different things to me.

My second rule is one you heard long ago. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. (Or walk around naked for that matter.) For example, Big Ten fans taunting Alabama for losing to Texas A&M is just absurd. Mind your own season before you start taunting.

My final rule is one i bring up year after year on my show. If you are going to wear your team’s gear proudly after a win, you should also wear it after a loss. Don’t hide your colors. Show that you stand by them in good times and bad. 

Trust me. Follow these rules, and you will be amazed at how much respect you will be shown by your friends. Break one of these rules and you deserve any grief they want to dish out.

Games of the Week:

Stanford @ Oregon- The Oregon Ducks have their work cut out for them over the next three weeks. The first test comes from the Stanford Cardinal. The folks from Palo Alto have been impressive with Andrew Luck now leading the NFL’s Colts. Stanford has lost its last five trips to Eugene with four of them coming by at least three TDs. This game would be harder to call if it was at Stanford. With the Ducks playing at home, I expect them to have too much offense as usual. I like the Ducks 49-24.

USC @ UCLA - This isn’t the season Matt Barkley envisioned when he announced he was returning to USC for his senior year. They already have three Pac 12 losses. They must win here to play for the league title and likely get another crack at Oregon. USC has won five straight in the series and hammered UCLA last season 50-0. The Bruins are young and talented offensively, but I don’t think Barkley will allow them to fall here. I like the Trojans in a shootout 48-38.

Ohio State @ Wisconsin - Yes. Yes. I know. The Badgers have already clinched the Leaders Division title. There is still intrigue here as OSU looks to stay undefeated. Plus, with Penn State ineligible for postseason play for three more years, this match-up will likely determine the Leaders champion for the next three years minimum. The Badgers are at home and have enough talent to win here. Braxton Miller is a true talent, but against better teams, he can’t do it all alone. I like the Badgers to win 23-20.

BCS BOWL PROJECTIONS - 

BCS TITLE GAME - Kansas State vs. Oregon

ROSE BOWL - Nebraska vs. Notre Dame

FIESTA BOWL - Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M

SUGAR BOWL - Alabama vs. Clemson

ORANGE BOWL - Florida State vs. Louisville