The Maisel Report: College Football's Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Coaches, Teams, and Traditions (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: national champions, yell practice, underrated coach, Notre Dame, Florida State, Ohio State (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Maisel has been covering college football since 1987, most recently for ESPN.com. In that time, he has formed opinions—college football, after all, may be the sport driven the most by opinion and the least by verifiable fact (there is no national championship tournament; the best teams from one conference often don’t play the best from other conferences, etc.). Hence, opinion rules. Maisel is here to tell us what’s wrong with our opinions and what’s right about his. The book is divided into categories (Programs, Conferences, National Champions, Coaches, Players, even Fight Songs). Maisel breaks them all down into two groups: the most overrated and the most underrated. Naturally, this plays into our own prejudices perfectly, and readers will react either with glee or outrage. A sample: most overrated program?  Miami (yes the Hurricanes have won a mess of national championships, but nothing since 1991); most underrated program? Boston College (wrong market, wrong conference equals no respect). And because you’re dying to know, the most overrated fight song is a little ditty called “Gimme a G,” sung by Florida Gators fans. Good fun. --Bill Ott

Product Description

Whether you saw winning national championships in the 1983 Orange Bowl or 2001 Rose, Ivan Maisel says there's only one true nickname for the Miami Hurricanes - the No. 1 most overrated program in college football history. Who's his most overrated Heisman Trophy winner? Only the star of Michigan's 1997 national championship team, the Wolverines' Charles Woodson. Michigan fans will join the rest of the Big Ten in lamenting Maisel's assertion that the conference is the most overrated in the NCAA.

The Maisel Report:College Football's Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Coaches, Teams, and Traditions by Ivan Maisel pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. With more than 20 years of sports journalism under his belt - including six with ESPN - Maisel has seen, talked to and worked with the best in the business. But he is setting the record once and for all about what are probably the biggest sports debates ever argued between fans.

Football fans will be stunned when they see where he ranked the following stadiums, coaches and players:

* Nick Saban
* Frank Beamer
* Eddie George
* Tim Tebow
* Charlie Weis
* Phillip Fulmer
* Bill Walsh
* Michigan Stadium
* Orange Bowl

Nobody is left out. Maisel goes through the best of college football's history, including sections on the most over/underrated moments, national champions, Heisman Trophy winners, stadiums and more.

The Maisel Report is not a fans' opinion of college football history, it is a detailed, highly-researched thesis that will make even the most die-hard fan of a team admit that their feelings have muddied their opinions and weakened all previous arguments about the who and what is the most overrated and underrated ever .

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (IL) (August 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160078092X
• ISBN-13: 978-1600780929
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #315,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great subject, but misses the mark a bit., October 1, 2008

By	Bill Hayes (Richmond, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

Not bad, but not great. It really states the obvious too much. Maisel will not bowl you over with any revelations here, but I would recommend this book to the fan that is not too familiar with the college game. Maisel is a witty writer, but his book concentrates mostly on the big names in college football. The SEC, Big Ten, and Notre Dame seem to take up most of the book's pages. Overall I liked the book, but I think the author missed a good opertunity to write a really great book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, insightful read, May 10, 2009

By	Timothy R. Sullivan - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I consider Ivan Maisel the best college writer out there today -- and yes, I've one of the many schmucks who has sent Mr. Maisel an e-mail disagreeing with one of his ESPN.com columns. He respectfully wrote back very politely.

He knows his stuff and in turn can turn a phrase with the best of them -- the line about the last time a college team won when Barry Bonds' hat size was smaller just a sample of a great one-liner.

He bashes some long-held myths out there, hits it spot-on, and goes from there. Just a great, fast moving read. Funny how Chris Fowler explains in the forward that college football is about opinion, and Ivan himself goes on further to explain the importance of opinion in college football and one "reviewer" (I use that term lightly) here says there's too much opinion in this book.

Bunk. That's what makes it fun, ratings, rankings, and opinion. Maisel has traversed the country and written millions of words on college football. His opinion is an educated one and an astute one. Plus, he has fun with it, making the book that much better.

If all the no-sense-of-humor college football die-hards can lower their blood pressure for a few hours, pick up this book and have fun. If they can't do that, pick it up anyway, but keep your doctor's number nearby. The book will surely get your blood boiling.

One of the best books ever on college football!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely a Phenominal Read, August 26, 2008

By	Brian F. Ridgeway AIA (Fairfield, Connecticut) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like the quote on the cover, once I started, I just couldn't put it down. I started reading it at 10pm and, sure enough, before I knew it, it was well past midnight (very late for me on a Sunday night). I kept on finding more and more fascinating material sprinkled with witty interjections, I completely lost track of time. Therefore, I highly recommend NOT reading your book before bed...this book is just too darn good.

Being a Clemson grad, I thought I'd have issues with several of Ivan's opinions, but his thoughts are well organized and very convincing...I no longer consider them mere "opinions". I completely understand why Ivan Maisel is called the dean of college football. This book is a MUST read for anyone interested in collegiate athletics...