The problem with college football talk is that there is so much terrain to cover, especially in Chicago. If the floor is going to be opened to any game, the host has to be able to talk about probably any of the teams in the top 10, plus all the Big 10 teams, plus ND.

It's so easy to come off as lazy in this area. When people listen for Bears talk on Monday morning, every major storyline has already been rehashed by earlier shows, print media, ESPN, online sources, etc. There are no surprises. That's why after every game there seems to be two or, at most, three storylines that unanimously emerge. The script is set for the week.

College football gets a lot of coverage, but each individual game does not, especially in an area where fans of one team do not predominate. Hosts have to acquire a lot of information, because the person that calls with Northwestern questions is going to know more about Northwestern than you do, which is probably not true for the Bears. The worst thing that can happen is Matt Rotowald syndrome (see http://score670.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=39592 for this) where the host knows just enough to convince himself that he is speaking intelligently but fools no one else, especially if he risks alienating non-college football fans in the process.

Even if the talk is a level above Rotowaldian nimcompoopery, I worry. I remember during the 2008 season, MJH were having a college football conversation. Talk turned somehow to Alabama. When Jurko talked about how good Alabama's running game was, Mac asked him whether he could name any of the running backs on the Crimson Tide (answer: no). This was a team with future NFLer Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram as a backup. It was painful to hear that...the veneer of expertise was immediately shattered.

That's the biggest danger in talking college football in Chicago, which is why no one does it (Chicago is a "college sports town," notwithstanding some lists to the contrary, just not a fan of any one team in particular). If someone asks why the Northwestern running game has been so bad, you need to talk about it, and a name or two would be nice. What about Michigan's problems in the secondary? Who is that awesome receiver on Indiana? Why don't the put in the back of QB (what's his name?) at Minnesota? This is all basic stuff for fans of Northwestern, or Michigan, or Indiana, or Minnesota; if you flub it, why should they listen?

If you could answer those questions pretty easily and feel like the discussion could go beyond "so should I take the points at Michigan State" (the most banal and unlistenable of sports radio besides maybe fantasy football talk), it's worth doing. If not, well, there will always be an audience for venting against Lovie Smith.

Very good analysis. I believe that hosts say that Chicago is not a college sports town because they don't want to be obligated to watch more than the local pro teams.

Big Ten hoops will be the strongest conference in the nation with 3, and possibly up to 5, teams in the top 12 in the nation or so.

I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.

I am glad to see you are so high on Indiana this year.

If you hate Laurence, then don't listen - don't comment. When he co-hosts the B&B show, take that day off ... listen to an old podcast of a Bernstein solo show and jerk off all day.

I would be happy if IU was just competitive again, it's been a rough couple of years.

I have MANY years of experience in trying to appreciate steaming piles of dogshit.

So does NU's next win make them "Bowl Eligible"?

if i'm not mistaken, isn't he on the zook plan where he doesn't really coach? i think he was the linebackers coach or maybe D-coordinator under coach walker, and when walker died NU wanted to get an "inspiring leader" who "bleeds wildcat purple" to rile up the team and help them get over the loss of the coach.... so in steps a young guy not too far removed from his own NU playing days (i think he was one of barnett's guys when they had their big rose bowl year in the 90s?) so it seemed that he was kind of like some sort of motivational speaker / guru / recruiter and whatnot. they got solid offensive and defensive coaches around him and it worked out well... he brings da fire and da pashin and literally has become the focus of their (first-ever?) massive advertising campaign, as he literally has the fist clenched about a second or two before he's about to shout something out in those ads they run on the front page of the trib and suntimes sport sections.

i enjoy him for being a caricature and essentially a mascot for NU... there is legitimate joy flowing through me when i've got the game on yesterday and they convert a third down and i let loose a fist-clenched GO CATS!!! but yeah, i don't take the guy seriously... if i did i reckon i'd be in the same boat as you.

And he was the one who called the "Fastball" play that cost us the game at the Outback Bowl.

BUT GIVE ME COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANY DAY.