Game Changer, by Kirk Cousins

Cousins and Griffin

In the latter half of the last decade, a couple of lightly recruited quarterbacks came to play at colleges that were trying to regain some footing on the football field.  They both led their teams to great seasons, and both became known as team leaders, articulate speakers, and young men guided by their faith.  In the 2012 NFL draft, they were both drafted by the Washington Redskins.  The lives and careers of Kirk Cousins and Robert Griffin III have some parallels, and now run on the same track in the NFL.

In his new book, Game Changer: Faith, Football, and Finding Your Way, Cousins talks about his life and his faith, and gives the reader insight into his relationship with the real Game Changer, Jesus.  The son of a pastor and church consultant, Cousins has definitely been shaped by his faith and shows a spiritual maturity beyond his years.

Fans of Michigan State football will not be disappointed with Cousins' recounting of his seasons there.  He had some serious letdowns, but turned those into opportunities to grow his faith, and, ultimately, led the Spartans to a couple of their best seasons ever.  I was reminded of the feeling Baylor fans had when RG3 led the Bears to bowl games, two years in a row.

Time will tell whether Cousins has a great NFL career.  At the rate RG3 has started this season, Cousins might have a chance to step up.  In any case, Game Changer shows that his priority is not being in the spotlight leading the team, but in serving Christ, whether on the field, on the sideline, or after football ends. 

Fourth and Long, by John U. Bacon

It's the most wonderful time of the year--college football season!  In between games, and in between reading the updates and predictions of your favorite games, football fans of all stripes will enjoy John U. Bacon's tour through the 2012 Big Ten (or should I say B1G) football season, Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football.  Although Bacon is a Michigan grad, and this book focuses on four Big Ten teams (Northwestern, Michigan State, Penn State, and Michigan), these programs are reflective of larger changes in college football, and fans of other colleges and conferences will find plenty to relate to.

As we well remember, 2012 was a pivotal year, especially for Penn State and Ohio State.  At Penn State, one of the most legendary coaches of all time, Joe Paterno, was fired, along with many athletic and university staff, in the wake of the scandal surrounding former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse charges.  The NCAA came down hard on Penn State, stopping short of the death penalty, but crippling the football program.  At Ohio State, some players had exchanged memorabilia for tattoos,  then Coach Jim Tressel covered it up, and the Ohio State program was suspended from any post-season play.  Bacon, observing how little consequence fell to Tressel and other coaches who lead their programs astray with NCAA violations, comments that "if the NCAA ran local law enforcement, whenever they pulled over a drunk driver, they would impound the car and let the driver hop in another one and drive off."

As these two programs tried to rebound from their respective scandals, they were faced with finding their deepest motivations to play the game of football.  The NCAA penalty against Penn State seemed like it was designed to kill the program, but as Bacon writes,

If the folks who ran the NCAA had set out to design an experiment to prove the student-athletes' commitment to their school and their studies was greater than their need for glory on the gridiron, it's hard to imagine they could have done a better job than what they'd created for Penn State's players that fall.

The commitment and passion which the Penn State players, coaches, and fans showed during that season were inspiring.  Bacon goes on:

When the Penn State players had the bells and whistles of big-time college football stripped away by the NCAA sanctions, they discovered something better: they  believed deeply in the ideals of the student-athlete experience that the NCAA had always espoused--and they believed in them more than the NCAA itself.

At Ohio State, the sanctions were not as extreme or long-lasting, but to have their talent base, and to have no possibility of a conference championship, a bowl, or a national championship has to have an impact on a team's motivation.  To lead the team, they called in a long-time OSU fan Urban Meyer, who had twice won a national championship at Florida.  I was impressed with his leadership and his commitment to the team as he lead them to a historic 12 wins.  Many believe they could have won a national championship.

Bacon tells the story of the Big Ten, these programs, as well as Michigan and Northwestern, in such a way that will make you a fan of the players and coaches involved.  He discusses some of the changes football faces, and the financial stakes get higher, and colleges try not to become merely the NFL's development league.  Most of all, he will remind you why we love college football.  "College football fans don't just love football.  They love college football--the history, the traditions, the rituals, and the rivalries that surpass those of the pro game."  Questions of bowl games and national championships are important, but, as he quotes a fellow Michigan alumnus, "the essence of college football is not a national title.  That's as cheesy as a unicorn. . . . It's regional rivalries that go back generations."

Bacon gets it.  These college football programs get it.  It's college football.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!