Why Pressure is Getting

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.