Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from Cidsports

There is plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving as a sports fan.

• Creighton has joined the Big East Conference - Volleyball, men's soccer, men's and women's basketball and baseball all should be very competitive for the Bluejays!
• Iowa, Creighton and Iowa State are all ranked in the Top 25 in College Basketball, with the Hawkeyes and Bluejays on TV this Thanksgiving, as celebrate the holiday with a tounrament!
• Iowa Football has rebounded from the awful 4-8 season a year ago, with an opportunity to finish 8-4, with a win in the Heroes Game III in Lincoln on Black Friday.
• The 2013-14 College Bowl Season and NFL Playoffs to look forward to, though the Green Bay Packers are not looking very healthy in 2013 ...
• The end of the BCS is near ...

  Iowa was awarded a MNC, after the 1958 season by the Football Writers Association of America.  Iowa received the Grantland Rice Trophy for the work of coach Forest Evashevski's team performed on the field that season.

Nebraska has won four Grantland Rice Trophies over the years, for the work Bob Devaney (1970, 1971) teams and Dr. Tom Osborne (1994, 1995) teams performed.

The modern era of College Football began in 1954.  The 50 years of College Football, a Modern History of America's Most Colorful Sport was written, beginning with the 1953 season.

The BCS era brought the end of the Big 8 Conference, including the Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry. In many ways, it ended the Nebraska dominance in football. The fate of Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has been debated endless by many in the media and Cornhusker fan-base.  The reality is Nebraska hasn't won a conference title, since 1999.

The 1992 season brought the Bowl Coalition, which didn't have much impact on Nebraska. By the 1995 season, the Bowl Coalition had become the Bowl Alliance.

Nebraska enjoyed its last undefeated season in 1997, as Dr. Tom Osborne's Cornhuskers went 12-0, with a MNC split with the Michigan Wolverines, who won the Grantland Rice Trophy for the season.

The first the Bowl Championship Series was 1998. It also was the first season of the Big 12 Conference.

• Tennessee, 1998 season
• Florida State, 1999 season
• Oklahoma, 2000 season
• Miami - FL, 2001 season
• Ohio State, 2002 season
• LSU, 2003 season
• USC, 2004 season
• Texas, 2005 season ***
• Florida, 2006 season
• LSU, 2007 season
• Florida, 2008 season
• Alabama, 2009 season
• Auburn, 2010 season
• Alabama, 2011 season
• Alabama , 2012 season
• The 2013 season is the final season of the BCS. With two weeks left in the regular season, only five teams remain undefeated: Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, Fresno State and Northern Illinois.
• In 2014, a four game playoff will begin with a College Football Playoff 13 member selection committee. By the way, former Nebraska head coach and athletic director Dr. Tom Osborne is one of the 13 committee members.

*** Highest rated BCS title game in the history of the BCS.

The 2011 BCS Championship Game would help resolve matters over the 1958 trophy awarded by the Football Writers Association of Amercia

Should Iowa be considered a National Champion in Football ever?

Look at the 1958 listings per HickokSports.com on the subject of College Football National Champions.

In 1958, the Football Writers Association of America awarded the University of Iowa with the Grantland Rice Trophy, as national champion. The trophy is still awarded each year by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), along with other various Football Writers Annual Awards and all-American teams. The 2009 team included LB Pat Angerer, from Iowa.

News on the Grantland Rice Trophy

"Thu., Aug. 26: USC's 2004 Grantland Rice Trophy, awarded to the Trojans for their national football title, will be revoked and the team barred from consideration for the award following the 2010 season. In addition, the FWAA declined to name a replacement for USC's vacated spot. USC will remain in the Grantland Rice Trophy 2010 preseason rankings, it has been determined."

The University of Iowa is 3-3 in major bowl games and 13-10-1 all-time in bowl games. The 2009 Iowa football team won the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl 24-14 over the ACC Champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It was Iowa's first major bowl win, since the 1959 Rose Bowl.

With Nebraska joining the Big Ten in 2011, there is some jawing going back and forth on various message boards regarding National Champions. For example, did Nebraska win a MNC in 1977? Does Iowa have the right to a lay claim for a MNC in football ever? How many?

If you want to water things down, wikipedia is likely the right source. If you want to answer the question on Iowa, than HickokSports.com is likely a fair source for University of Iowa fans. After all, the Grantland Rice Trophy is awarded each year, since 1954 and the news out of Southern Cal merits notation, regarding the 2004 trophy.

If the University of Iowa fan base really wants to close the book on the National Championship debate in football, the Hawkeyes would be wise to have a strong 2010 college football season and find a way to win the 2011 BCS Championship Game. Of course, getting there is another story, as the Hawkeyes open the 2010 season on Saturday in Kinnick Stadium and face a challenging FBS schedule and Big Ten conference race.

Will the University of Iowa be successful in 2010 earning their second Grantland Rice Trophy in school history? Alabama won their fifth trophy in winning the BCS Championship Game last season. The 2010 College Football season kicks off on Thursday, September 2, 2010.

peace