CFB Week 14 (11/29-12/1) News and Picks--Last Week!

[RJ Esq]

Marching Owl Band Drops the D-Bomb on Todd Graham
By SMQ
Posted on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 05:49:48 PM EDT


Marching bands are part of what separates the college game from its oppressively corporate, sterile pro counterpart, but as far as halftime shows go, most fall into the category of eminently forgettable wankery in the face of otherwise depressing apathy. Just do the fight song, and the other one that's not really the fight song but we do every time anyway, and for heaven's sake, stop playing when the offense has the ball. At Michigan, for example, apparently the halftime show to close the season against Ohio State involved some sort of tribute to, or perhaps even performance by, Cirque de Soleil. Okay, whatev. Play football.

If you're not the Sonic Boom, don't even try.
- - -
The only times this isn't true is with raucous historically black outfits, and the rare occasions the cheeky band nerds get a little too impatient with authoriteh. The hijinks of the Stanford Marching Band are legend, but the new championship in subversive musical tomfoolery after Saturday undoubtedly belongs to the fine future leaders of the William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science and Art, who let loose on the Owls' former coach - the one who left for the opening at division rival Tulsa last winter the day after signing an extension at Rice - with a stirring rendition of "Todd Graham's Inferno":

• TULSA, Okla. -- Tulsa has filed a formal complaint with Conference USA over the Rice marching band's performance of "Todd Graham's Inferno" during halftime of Saturday's football game in Houston. Graham left Rice for Tulsa after just one season. His Golden Hurricane defeated Rice 48-43 to win the C-USA West Division title. Tulsa plays Central Florida for the conference championship Saturday.
  The band's show depicted a search for the former Owls coach through different circles of Hell -- based on Dante's "Divine Comedy."
  The Tulsa World reported Tuesday that the show ended by calling Graham an offensive name over the public address system.
  - - -

The first question, naturally, is: what was the "offensive name"? To find out, I put in a call to Tulsa's media department, where a very nice representative took my number, actually called me back and, going above and beyond the call of communications assistant duty, directed me to the Web site of the Marching Owl Band, which contains the following transcript:
Introduction

Announcer: The MOB decided it was high time to give Todd Graham a piece of our mind. We searched high and low, asking "Where the hell is Todd Graham?" Lucky for us, we found Dante, wandering in a dark wood, who told us we should be asking: "Where in Hell is Todd Graham?"

2nd Circle: Your Mom
Announcer: We knew he wasn't in Limbo (since he had no spine), so we started our search in the second circle of Hell. We didn't find Todd Graham among the adulterers but your mom suggested we go lower.
4th Circle: Franchione in Hell
Announcer: We thought we might find Todd Graham in the fourth circle with the greedy and the avaricious, but he was nowhere to be found. However, we did find his shredded Rice contract -- leading like breadcrumbs into the inferno -- and there, gathering the pieces, was Dennis Franchione.

8th Circle: A River (of poo) Runs Through It
Announcer: Since he had made all those pretty speeches about how much he loved Rice and would never, ever leave, we were sure to find Todd Graham with the flatterers in the eighth circle, wallowing in donkey dung. But the damned said they'd had enough of his B.S.
Tulsa: Damnation
Announcer: And lo, The MOB descended to the ninth circle of Hell -- home of traitors and the Prince of Lies. Yet, of Todd Graham, there still was no sign. Cautiously, we approached Satan to inquire.
Demon: Todd Graham?! That oaf knows better than to hope for the sweet release of my ninth circle.

Announcer: We thought him scum, to be sure, but did he deserve an eternity beyond Hell's greatest depths?
Demon: If you wish to see his fate... come.
Announcer: A twisted path led down to a door, blackened by flame, inscribed with three frightful words: Welcome. To. Tulsa.
Closing
Announcer: You know, that reminds me of a joke: A priest, a nun, and a rabbi walk into a bar. Now, I forgot how the rest of it went, but I think in the end Todd Graham is a douchebag.

"In the end, Todd Graham is a douchebag." Enjoy the second half, everybody! Offended parties are instructed to send complaints to, quote, "your mom at mob dot rice dot E-D-U."
To recap: noncontextual French-Canadien bizarro acrobatics? No. Hyper-contextual Medieval revenge parody referencing "averice" and "donkey dung"? A million times yes. Hats off to you, Marching Owls Band. See you when your suspension ends in 2016.

 

[RJ Esq]

Chow and Leach interested in ucla?
By Paragon SC Section: Football
Posted on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 06:32:32 PM EDT


Interesting.
Bruce Feldman has the story, though it's on the pay side of ESPN.com
Here is a taste:

Sources close to Texas Tech coach Mike Leach say he'd be thrilled to come to Westwood and take over the Bruin program. Leach loves Southern California and went to law school here at Pepperdine. Leach's biggest competitor for the job ultimately could be QB guru Norm Chow.
A source close to the Tennessee Titans assistant said that Chow really wants the job.

I say fine to either one though I think Leach would have the inside track because of his head coaching experience.
There are questions with both. Chow's lack of head coaching experience, rumors are he doesn't interview well. Chow also makes abut 1.2 Million so ucla would be a pay cut.
And at least to me, Leach's ability to win especially in a less than stellar Big 12 where he looks to have been out recruited by Texas and Oklahoma, that is strictly my opinion as I write this. I will look it up later and correct it if I'm wrong.
As they say, developing...

 

[RJ Esq]

MICHIGAN’S NEXT COACH: NOT FERENTZ

Come down off that ledge, Michigan Man/Woman: it’s not Ferentz, according to the Wolverine, Rivals.com’s Michigan site. The source is “really, really good and you’ll have to trust this because we’re all flying blind in this thing, you know, because it’s a coaching search, and those really just come down to, what, like 3 people talking in a room or something, and like, big drug deals have more witnesses than the negotiations involved in most hires, like right?”
Yeah, like right. On to the Hat and Brian Kelly for Michigan, who doesn’t really need to be in a hurry with this one. In fact, for those sweating it out, it’s going to be a sauna of a coaching search. Both Cincinnati and LSU are headed to bowl games, and the hire could, in theory at least, stretch into the bowl season if Michigan’s going to be as deliberate and decorous about this thing as we think they’ll be.

 

[RJ Esq]

Life on the Margins, Week Thirteen
By SMQ
Posted on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 02:31:37 PM EDT


Weekly obsessing over statistical anomalies and fringe idiosyncracies. Don’t get carried away by these scores from last weekend...
(As always, click here for a definition of 'Swing points')

<table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3"> <tbody><tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(164, 74, 74) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">Ole Miss</td> <td align="center">Miss. State</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Total Offense</td> <td align="center">319</td> <td align="center">273</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">1st Downs</td> <td align="center">21</td> <td align="center">10</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Yds./Play</td> <td align="center">4.0</td> <td align="center">4.5</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">Yds./Possession</td> <td align="center">21.3</td> <td align="center">19.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Turnovers</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">2</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">Swing Points</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">+7</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Final Score: Miss. State 17, Ole Miss 14
- - -
I chronicled the oddities of this game in the “Sunday Quarterback” recap, and the really surprising statistic above is Mississippi State’s yards per play, which is half a yard better than the Rebels’ despite the Bulldogs’ overall struggles. I never would have guessed that sitting in the stadium, probably because Ole Miss had a couple of stretches of moving the ball consistently – as on a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown to open the game and a 12-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to open the second half – while MSU’s few positive plays were isolated amid long droughts of futility. Of State’s 153 yards in the first 50 minutes of the game, 80 came on two plays: a 27-yard run in the first quarter (after which MSU lost ground and was forced to punt) and a 53-yard pass in the third quarter (after which MSU lost ground and turned the ball over on downs). Eight of the Bulldogs’ first ten drives prior to the final ten minutes covered 12 yards or less, and one of the two that went longer covered 17 yards in the third quarter before a fumble. It’s hard to overstate the wretchedness of the Bulldog offense through first 50 minutes. It’s equally hard to overstate the inevitability of its rejuvenation after Ole Miss was stopped on 4th-and-1 at midfield with a 14-0 lead, though, a decision I cite again as Ed Orgeron’s signature on his own death warrant. MSU outgained the Rebels 121-3 from that point forward and added the requisite punt return for touchdown to tie – three of the Bulldogs’ four SEC wins this year hinged on a crucial defensive/special teams touchdown. Orgeron is gone because, based on the first three and a half quarters, Ole Miss didn’t think it should have even been in a position for the last one to matter.
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</td> <td align="center">So. Florida</td> <td align="center">Pittsburgh</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Total Offense</td> <td align="center">352</td> <td align="center">393</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">1st Downs</td> <td align="center">18</td> <td align="center">20</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Yds./Play</td> <td align="center">5.3</td> <td align="center">4.8</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">Yds./Possession</td> <td align="center">29.3</td> <td align="center">26.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Turnovers</td> <td align="center">2</td> <td align="center">3</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">Swing Points</td> <td align="center">+21</td> <td align="center">+7</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Final Score: South Florida 48, Pittsburgh 37
- - -
It would be very misleading to suggest Pitt “outplayed” USF, as the per play and per possession yardage totals should demonstrate, but the Panthers were in control of the first half, limiting the Bulls to just five offensive possessions and heading into halftime up 14-10. It fell apart when the Panthers let Matt Grothe take off for an 80-yard touchdown on the first snap of the second half, a prelude to one of the worst quarters by any team all season. Not only did Pitt’s next six drives result in four quick punts and two interceptions, but the picks went straight onto the scoreboard, one directly and another by putting the ball at the one for an easy plunge that put the Bulls ahead 34-24 late in the third. After the Panthers finally broke out of their funk, drove for a touchdown to pull within a field and delivered a three-and-out on defense, USF picked off another pass, its third in five possessions, and took it back for a touchdown, too. Pitt had its breaks – USF fumbled at the end of a long drive in the third, and had a 55-yard kickoff return to the Bull 19 to set up its final touchdown – but it was those three throws by Pat Bostick that proved to be an overwhelming burden in an otherwise very evenly-played game.
<table cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3"> <tbody><tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(164, 74, 74) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="center">
</td> <td align="center">Duke</td> <td align="center">North Carolina</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Total Offense</td> <td align="center">360</td> <td align="center">224</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">1st Downs</td> <td align="center">18</td> <td align="center">20</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Yds./Play</td> <td align="center">4.6</td> <td align="center">4.1</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">Yds./Possession</td> <td align="center">30.0</td> <td align="center">20.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right">Turnovers</td> <td align="center">1</td> <td align="center">2</td> </tr> <tr></tr><tr style="background: rgb(234, 234, 234) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"> <td align="right">Swing Points</td> <td align="center">0</td> <td align="center">+6</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Final Score: North Carolina 20, Duke 14 (OT)
- - -
Overtime games are all inherently “margin games,” and it’s impossible to sort through the numbers and critical plays of a three or four-OT epic like LSU-Arkansas or Tennessee-Kentucky. But Duke-UNC only went one extra period, and it was clear why the Devils came up short of the upset: they can’t kick. Duke improbably controlled this game after giving up a touchdown on Carolina’s first series, but its missed opportunities are legion: four times the Devils moved into UNC territory and came up empty, punting once, fumbling once and missing a pair of field goals – killers, these, coming at the end of solid 51 and 58-yard drives, the latter culminating in a missed 40-yarder to win as time expired. A different kicker, Joe Surgan, missed again from 42 yards in the first overtime, and the Heels walked out winners in arguably their worst overall performance of the season with a 25-yard run on the first play of the next series.
Notes: Clemson had to beat South Carolina on a field goal on the last play of the game, and recover from a 3rd-and-18 on the game-winning drive to get there, even though the numbers show the Tigers in total control, especially in terms of possession (better than 17 minutes more time on offense than USC) and turnover margins (the Tigers were plus-two on the night). The Gamecocks hung with good old firepower, averaging a pretty stunning seven yards per play against a good defense. But even when the offense is rolling, it can’t score when it doesn’t have the ball, and when it can’t hang on to it.

 

[RJ Esq]

Virginia adds year to Groh's contract

Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2007 3:34PM; Updated: Tuesday November 27, 2007 3:54PM

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Virginia exercised an option to add a year onto the contract of coach Al Groh, who guided the Cavaliers to a 9-3 record this season.
Groh's deal will now run through the 2011 season.
"This is an indication of confidence on my part and the university's part on the work that Al and his staff have done," Cavaliers athletic director Craig Littlepage said. "I think it's also a good indication of the confidence that we have in the future direction of the football program, both in the short term, that is, in the upcoming bowl game, as well as in the long-term future. I'm very pleased we're at this point."
Groh, who won Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year honors Tuesday, said he was appreciative of the "gesture," but hadn't thought about the extension since last year.
"I don't coach for contracts. I coach for the players and for the sense of accomplishment that comes from our achieving together," he said.
Virginia finished 9-3 in the regular season and ranked No. 22. The Cavaliers lost on Saturday 33-21 to No. 6 Virginia Tech in a game to determine the Coastal Division's representative in the ACC championship against No. 15 Boston College.
With its bowl destination yet to be determined, the Cavaliers still have a chance to become only the second team in school history to win 10 games.
A year ago, the Cavaliers finished 5-7 and did not qualify for a bowl game, and the school declined to exercise its right to add another year to Groh's contract then.
At the time, there was speculation that the school's wait-and-see approach to Groh might damage recruiting, and Groh said other programs tried to use it against him.
"The way it came out last year caused some people that we recruited against last year to blow it into a bigger issue than what it was," Groh said.
This year, he won't have that concern.

 

[RJ Esq]

Reserve tailback will miss ACC championship game

Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2007 11:41AM; Updated: Tuesday November 27, 2007 12:01PM
BOSTON (AP) -- Boston College backup running back A.J. Brooks has been suspended from the team indefinitely after allegedly beating and kicking a 20-year-old man on campus.
Brooks was released on $250 bail Monday after pleading not guilty to charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, for allegedly kicking the man with his shoe on, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley's office.
Brooks, a junior from Orlando, Fla., was suspended from the school on Sunday, pending the outcome of the case, Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said. BC plays Saturday at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Virginia Tech in Jacksonville, Fla.
The alleged victim, whom authorities did not identify, required stitches after suffering injuries to his head, neck and face during the fight about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Conley's office.
Campus police found the Weston man, who was visiting friends on campus, Wark said. The man was treated and released from Brigham and Woman's hospital.
It was unclear what started the fight, Wark said. Brooks reportedly told police the man pushed him and he responded by punching him and knocking him down.
Campus police arrested Brooks after a witness described him and what he was wearing. Police recognized the description as matching Brooks, whom they spoke to earlier in the evening, Wark said. Dunn said the school could not give any details of the incident or the police's earlier interaction with Brooks.
Brooks was taken into custody after he acknowledged being in a fight, Wark said.
Attempts to call Brooks on campus on Tuesday were unsuccessful. A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.
Coach Jeff Jagodzinski said Monday that Brooks was suspended for a violation of team rules.
Brooks played in seven games for the No. 12 Eagles (10-2) and ran 25 times for 79 yards and no touchdowns. His best season came as a freshman when he rushed for 160 yards in his first start and finished the season with 319 yards and three touchdowns on 57 carries.

 

[RJ Esq]

Lubick in 'retirement negotiations'

Colorado State offers coach job in athletic department

Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2007 11:47AM; Updated: Tuesday November 27, 2007 11:47AM

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Colorado State University president and athletic director want coach Sonny Lubick to stick around -- just not on the football field that bears his name.
Lubick, 70, has been offered a job as an associate athletic director focusing on fundraising, the clearest signal yet that his coaching career with the Rams is over after 15 years.
Athletic director Paul Kowalczyk revealed the job offer Monday but stopped short of saying Lubick has been fired or has resigned. School president Larry Penley said the university and Lubick are in "retirement negotiations."
Lubick and Kowalczyk are planning to attend a news conference Tuesday in which a departure deal, including Lubick's response to Kowalczyk's offer, is expected to be announced.
"No one knows better than Sonny Lubick how critical it is that we dramatically improve donor and booster support for our team, and he is in a unique position to make that happen," Kowalczyk said. "As we move forward, it is my hope that Sonny will continue to play a prominent leadership role at the university, lending his energy and expertise to building a solid future for our football program and our student athletes."
The most successful coach in school history, Lubick has led the Rams to nine bowl games, won or shared six conference crowns and posted a 108-74 record in 15 seasons in Fort Collins. But the Rams went 3-9 this season and haven't had a winning record since 2003.
Lubick is a native of Butte, Mont. and a 1960 graduate of Western Montana College. He was head football coach at Montana State University from 1978 to 1981, where his teams went 21-19.
Kowalczyk said the school has offered to pay Lubick, who makes $530,000, his base coaching salary for the remaining two years on a contract extension he signed before last season. He said Lubick's assistants would receive compensation for the next three months or until they find other jobs.
Penley and Kowalczyk said in written statements Monday they wanted Lubick to remain with the school in some capacity. Kowalczyk said if Lubick accepts a job as senior associate athletic director, he would focus on fundraising and function as a "goodwill ambassador."
Penley said alumni, boosters and students have become increasingly frustrated with the program's performance and he instructed Kowalczyk to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement on Lubick's future.
"It is in no one's interest for Sonny to end his head coaching career feeling anything less than honored and valued for all he has done for our students and Rams athletics," Penley said. "If that is his perception, for whatever reason, then clearly Paul Kowalczyk has some work to do in continuing to outline a successful future for our football program and Sonny's continued involvement with CSU."
As recently as last Monday, Lubick said he wanted to continue coaching and was eager for the recruiting season, but he told his assistants before Friday's 36-28 win over Wyoming at Sonny Lubick Field that he was probably coaching his last game.
Prominent supporters and former players don't like seeing the affable Lubick forced out.
"I think it is very disrespectful and wrong to not let him leave on his own terms," said booster Rick Callan. "I would certainly think people would reconsider their pledges until they find out what actually happened and how things were handled."

 

[RJ Esq]

Ben Olson Is UCLA's Best QB Option

Rory MacDonald, TrojanWire

Osaar Rasshan couldn't complete a pass against Oregon. And Patrick Cowan is still feeling this.

 

[RJ Esq]

Lubick relieved as Colorado St. coach

Coach hasn't decided whether to stay on as fundraiser

Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2007 6:25PM; Updated: Tuesday November 27, 2007 6:25PM

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Sonny Lubick is out as Colorado State coach and hasn't decided whether to accept the school's offer to stay on as a fundraiser and goodwill ambassador.
"I have no plans right now. It's too early to speculate," Lubick said Wednesday at a news conference.
Athletic director Paul Kowalczyk said Lubick has a job as associate athletic director available to him "if and when he wants it."
Speculation has been swirling around Lubick's future for days after the Rams finished the season 3-9. They haven't had a winning record since 2003, although Lubick is 108-74 in 15 seasons at Colorado State and is credited with turning an underachieving program into a consistent winner for most of his tenure.
He led the Rams to nine bowl games and at least a share of conference titles in six seasons.
"This episode over the last few days doesn't change anything for me," Lubick said in a rambling farewell before about 200 players, supporters and media. Later he added, "I'll be a Ram until the end of time. I'll be watching."

 

[RJ Esq]

Fayson released from scholarship

Florida sophomore wide receiver expected to transfer

Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2007 4:58PM; Updated: Tuesday November 27, 2007 4:58PM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida receiver Jarred Fayson has been granted a release from his scholarship, allowing him to transfer.
School officials said Tuesday that Fayson had asked for his release after catching 12 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns and running 19 times for 89 yards this season.
The sophomore was rated the No. 3 receiver in the nation by Scout.com coming out of Hillsborough High in Tampa, but he played sparingly in two years with the Gators -- overshadowed by teammate Percy Harvin.
Fayson caught one pass for 9 yards last season and ran 14 times for 126 yards and a score.
Tight end Trent Pupello also was granted his release. Pupello, who quit the team briefly before the season, did not play.
The 10th-ranked Gators (9-3) return to practice Thursday and will find out Sunday where they will play a bowl game.

 

[RJ Esq]

CURIOUS INDEX, 11/28/07

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</td> <td width="528"> Les to worry about for Michigan (abominable puns being his chief gift to college football copy writers) as with Kirk Ferentz out, the job searchlight focuses directly on the beaming white skittle of Les Miles’ hat. Miles is still mumming about the question and instead pawning the press off with stories of his daughter, who evidently takes no shit from dad when it comes to losses.
After the shattering defeat, Miles said no less an authority than his youngest daughter, Macy Grace, told him, “Dad, I’m mad at you because you lost.” Miles said he tried to reason with the tot, letting her know he “was still the same Dad,” and trying to make her understand blood is thicker than scoreboards.
In addition to Miles occasional mismanagement of the clock, this should concern Michigan fans even more. Scoreboards are made of steel, metal, and diodes, all clearly thicker than weak, watery blood!
This leaves the only other serious contenders for the Michigan job–after two interviews with assistants Mike Debord and Ron English–as Brian Kelly and, in the random possible stack…Jeff Tedford? That’s just something pulled straight from the crazy idea box, but it’s out there. Michigan would have no problem with stadiums built on a faultlines or hippies in the trees, since Ted Nugent is legally allowed to shoot on sight anyone he chooses in the state and have them prepped and ready for the grill in 15 minutes. Tastes like patchouli and lentils, brother!
Rice’s band continued the tradition of private school excellence in band snark by staging an entire halftime show around the treachery of Tulsa coach Todd Graham’s departure from Baylor for his current job, following a fictional search for Graham through the circles of hell and passing Dennis Franchione along the way. Really, the entire thing validated itself with the unnecessary and superb jab at Franchione; however, it rocketed into new territory with its ending.
You know, that reminds me of a joke: A priest, a nun, and a rabbi walk into a bar. Now, I forgot how the rest of it went, but I think in the end Todd Graham is a douchebag.
Tulsa reacted as we big, burly, super-tough Americans do: they filed a complaint. FUCK YEAH!
Randy Shannon is reinstating the Miami standard by <strike>revoking the salaries</strike> allegedly cutting six players’ scholarships from the team, including that of scatter-armed qb Kirby Freeman. Miami Sports Blog thinks it has something to do with a pulse of gifted Miami Northwestern recruits coming in for early enrollment. We think it has something to do with Miami sucking hard and often for the second half of the season.
This week’s to-do list is up at the Sporting News.
TRADITION! Please give Joel the hits he so richly deserves by checking his full explanation of how the Vols managed to wobble their way into the title game, but we’ll go ahead and with his permission bite the Youtube he put together of Tennessee’s Fiddler on the Roof act to get them there. Phil Fulmer dancing with a mule is involved.

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[RJ Esq]

Jackson might not play vs. Stanford

Posted: Tuesday November 27, 2007 11:58PM; Updated: Tuesday November 27, 2007 11:58PM

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- California receiver DeSean Jackson isn't sure he'll play in the 110th Big Game after sitting out of Tuesday night's practice because of a bruised right leg.
Jackson, who has 60 catches for 681 yards and five touchdowns this season, severely bruised his quadriceps during a second-quarter punt return in Cal's loss at Washington on Nov. 17. The junior missed the rest of the game, and a week of rehabilitation hasn't healed him completely before Saturday's meeting with archrival Stanford.
"I'm feeling pretty good, but still not back to where I want to be," Jackson said. "Closer to game time, I'll see how I feel. ... Every year I've played in the Big Game, it's been one of those great years. It would be good to keep that tradition going on. Right now, I just want to protect my knee from whatever it is."
Jackson's knee aches when he moves on it because of the bruise, he said. That's a debilitating problem for a player whose game is based on speed, both as a receiver and a punt returner.
Jackson is expected to declare his eligibility for the NFL draft after the season, perhaps further complicating his decision to play on an injured leg.
"We want to go out on a note showing everybody we are an explosive team," Jackson said.
Cal already will be without freshman tailback Jahvid Best, who's likely out for the season with a hip injury. Best, Cal's second-leading rusher with 221 yards, was hurt while blocking on a kick return at Washington.
Best still holds out hope of returning for a bowl game, though California coach Jeff Tedford said his prized youngster's season probably is over.
"It scares me a little bit, but I think it's more precautionary," said Best, who's making his way around campus on crutches. "We're trying to play it safe and make the smartest decision."

 

[RJ Esq]

FARK OF THE COVENANT: THE BATTLE OF ALL BATTLES

Occasionally, a thread emerges from a message board of such magnificent stupidity and silliness that it must be pulled from the otherwise drab fabric surrounding it. A skein of gold, if you will, woven into the dull burlap of our existence.
We must perform such an extraction on the Fark War going on at the Fark Factory at Tennessee, where LSUFreek is napalming away at Vols fans with devastating accuracy and creativity. We sample one below; the rest are over at their house.
Someday, in a truly awesome world, masters’ students will be writing theses on these.

Flattering to both of them, we think.

 

[RJ Esq]

CBS Sportsline is reporting that Baylor and Houston Coach Art Briles have agreed to terms.

No idea whether Art will coach Houston in the Texas Bowl yet.

 

[RJ Esq]

Still no idea whether Briles will coach Houston in the bowl game.

Baylor hires Briles

Coach led Houston to four bowl games in five seasons

Posted: Wednesday November 28, 2007 1:54PM; Updated: Wednesday November 28, 2007 2:23PM

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Art Briles (above) replaces Guy Morriss, who went 18-40 in his five seasons at Baylor.
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</td></tr></tbody></table>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Houston coach Art Briles is next to take on the task of pulling Baylor out of the Big 12 basement.
Briles confirmed he was leaving in a news conference Wednesday at Houston after meeting with his players.
Baylor spokesman Nick Joos said a news conference was scheduled later in the day on the Waco campus to announce the school's new football coach.
Briles led Houston to four bowls in his five seasons. He was offered the job Wednesday, a day after meeting with Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw in Dallas.
"Life is full of decisions. Sometimes, you have to look at things from a professional, personal standpoint," Briles said. "Professionally, (Houston) ... is great university with a situation I'm proud to be a part of. Personally, the move allows a person of my nature a little more security. When you're getting up in my age, that's an important factor in life."
The Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site that Briles will get a seven-year contract for about $1.8 million per season. Briles, who turns 52 Monday, had four years left on his Houston contract with a base salary of $900,000 annually.
Briles replaces Guy Morriss, who was fired Nov. 18 after five seasons. Morriss' firing came the day after the Bears (3-9) completed their 12th straight losing season with their 12th consecutive Big 12 loss, 45-14 to Oklahoma State.
Houston (8-4) has already accepted an invitation to play in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28 in Houston against an undetermined opponent. The Cougars won the Conference USA title last season.
Briles was 34-28 in five seasons at Houston with only one losing season. Before his arrival, the Cougars had only two winning seasons in the previous 12 years.
Before going to Houston, where he was a four-year letterman as a receiver and played in the 1976 Cotton Bowl, Briles spent three seasons as running backs coach at Texas Tech. His previous head coaching job had been at Stephenville High School, where in 12 seasons he was 136-29-2 and won four Texas state championships.
Morriss was 18-40 overall, 7-33 in conference games. The Bears were 0-8 in the Big 12 this season.
The leading candidate initially was Mike Singletary, the assistant head coach for the San Francisco 49ers. But the Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker and Baylor icon took his name out of consideration after a lengthy meeting with McCaw last week in California.
Briles was also on Baylor's short list, along with Houston Nutt, who resigned at Arkansas on Monday and was named Mississippi's new coach Tuesday.
Baylor's 12 consecutive losing seasons have come under the four coaches since Grant Teaff left in 1992 after 128 victories and eight bowl appearances in 21 seasons.
The Bears are the only Big 12 team without a bowl appearance since the conference's inception in 1996. Only two teams from Bowl Championship Series conferences have gone longer without a bowl, but Indiana (7-5) is expected to play its first postseason game in 14 years. Vanderbilt (5-7) lost its season finale to miss making its first bowl in 25 years.
There were some positive accomplishments under Morriss, a 15-season NFL lineman who was 9-14 in two seasons at Kentucky before taking the Baylor job.
Baylor beat two-time defending North Division champion Colorado in Morriss' conference debut in 2003. The coach also delivered the first Big 12 road victory, in 2005 at Iowa State, and then in 2006 the Bears won three Big 12 games in the same season for the first time.

 

[Aztec4Life]

RJ - I see you're already on the Sooners. I know that you know the Big 12 quite well, so...why is it you like them so much? I lean to OU as well, but Daniel and those TE's scare me...alot.

:cheers:

 

[RJ Esq]

Aztec--See the Mizzou-OU thread. Went through it in great detail.

In short, give me the better team (I know, brand name; fuck that, 4-1 Big XII Champs last 7 years means better recruits, talent, and we know they have better coaching) with a short line.

 

[RJ Esq]

Michigan gets OK to talk to Miles

Wolverines must wait till after SEC title game

Posted: Wednesday November 28, 2007 10:18PM; Updated: Wednesday November 28, 2007 10:27PM

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Michigan athletics officials asked for and received permission from LSU to meet with Les Miles about the Wolverines' head football coaching vacancy.
LSU athletic director Skip Bertman granted the request on condition that Michigan representatives wait until after Saturday's Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta before starting negotiations, LSU spokesman Herb Vincent said.
Vincent said Bertman and LSU chancellor Sean O'Keefe also plan to meet with Miles next week to discuss his contract.
"We're trying to get the SEC championship game behind us that's why we're scheduling these things for next week," Vincent said.
LSU was not prepared to make a statement about the extent to which the school was prepared to compete with Michigan's offer, should one be made, Vincent said.
"We're just looking forward to the game Saturday and that's the focus of the entire program right now, Saturday's game against Tennessee," Vincent said.
Miles, in his third season as LSU coach, went 11-2 his first two years. The Tigers are 10-2 this season and ranked fifth in the AP poll.
Calls and e-mails seeking comment were left with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Martin, who has not commented on the search since Carr's announcement, interviewed Michigan coordinators Ron English and Mike DeBord earlier this week.
"We're not going to make any comments on the search," Michigan spokesman Bruce Madej said Wednesday night.
Miles seems to have everything college football's winningest program is looking for, including ties to the school and the late-great coach Bo Schembechler.
He played at Michigan and was on the coaching staff in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he met his wife.
Last week, though, Miles pleaded with the media to let the topic rest.
Even though Miles appears in a great situation leading the Tigers in a talent-rich area without a competing school nearby, LSU was concerned enough about him bolting for Michigan that it put a specific clause in his contract to make it an expensive move.
In the "termination by coach" section of his deal, Michigan is the only other school mentioned. It states that Miles will not seek or accept employment as Michigan's coach. If Miles does leave LSU to coach the Wolverines, he must pay LSU $1.25 million.
Martin has said he is looking for the next Carr, who led Michigan to the 1997 national championship and five Big Ten titles while keeping the school above even suspicions about NCAA violations.
Michigan traditionally has gotten away with paying its football coach less than top of the market rates.
Martin acknowledged the school might have to offer a candidate up to $3 million a season or roughly twice as much as Carr earned annually.
After Carr announced his retirement, Martin said he did not expect it would be difficult to land a coach to lead what Carr told him is the best job in the country.
"Not only because it's Michigan, but because of the renovations we're doing to the Big House and also because we broke ground last Friday morning for our $28 million indoor practice facility," Martin said. "We'll have the finest facilities in the country. We also have patience to work with a coach as he transitions in."

 

[RJ Esq]

Thurmond replaces Briles ... for now

Posted: Wednesday November 28, 2007 7:54PM; Updated: Wednesday November 28, 2007 8:02PM

HOUSTON (AP) -- Houston assistant Chris Thurmond was named the interim coach of the Cougars on Wednesday, a few hours after Art Briles accepted an offer to become the coach at Baylor.
Thurmond, 54, will coach Houston through the Texas Bowl on Dec. 28 while the school searches for Briles' successor. Thurmond has spent the past two seasons as Houston's recruiting coordinator and assistant coach in charge of cornerbacks.
"Right now, I have been designated as the guy to keep the team together, and that's what we'll do," Thurmond said.
Briles, who turns 52 on Monday, went 34-28 at Houston and led the Cougars to the Conference USA championship last season. He had four years left on his Houston contract with a base salary of $900,000 annually.
Houston athletics director Dave Maggard said he was launching a national search to find a permanent replacement.
"There is no set timetable," Maggard said. "It will be as quickly as we can thoroughly get the job done."
Maggard named no candidates specifically, but said he wasn't necessarily seeking a coach who taught an offense similar to Briles' fast-paced, pass-oriented system.
"Anybody will be considered," he said. "This job has not been promised to anyone. This job is absolutely wide open."
Maggard met with Briles' assistants on Wednesday and didn't know yet how many would follow Briles to Waco.
"I am not going to be in judgment if someone says, 'I am leaving because this is a career situation for me and I feel like I need to do this,"' Maggard said. "If that is the case, then that's the case."
Briles met with his players early Wednesday afternoon to tell them he was leaving.

 

[RJ Esq]

Does Duke Want Chan Gailey?

Posted Nov 28th 2007 7:32PM by Ian Cohen
Filed under: ACC, BCS, NCAA FB Gossip, NCAA FB Coaching, Duke Football

For a moment, imagine you're Joe Alleva. You know, Duke AD? Right? Man...well, first- ignore your temptations to spike K-ville's water supply with Benadryl and think about your no-account football squad for a sec. Do you try to find some retread coach who can at least elevate the program to some degree of respectability, or go the Al Golden/Larry Cristobal route and get some young firebrand to energize the program while having carte blanche? It's one thing if you're at large, public, somewhat off-the-radar programs like Temple or Florida Atlantic, but what about Duke's unique situation? You'll need someone who can run a tight ship, has an awareness of how to recruit amidst high academic standards and isn't some wildly head...Which has led whispers to arise that recently deposed Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey might be a good fit for the Blue Devils. After all, Georgia Tech may be outstripped in terms of national academic prestige, but unlike some schools that shall go nameless, getting in isn't the hardest part of the college experience. Moreover, he's familiar enough with the ACC recruiting territory and could possibly score Duke some Florida and Georgia prospects that slip through the cracks.

Sounds kinda tempting don't it? Yeah, he may have been ran out of Atlanta because he was a walking guarantee of 7-5, but when was a Duke coach ever fired for being too competent? Then again, it's hard not to agree with SI's Stewart Mandel's appraisal of the situation:

More than anything, it will be important for Duke to hire a coach who brings excitement to the table. He's got to be as much a salesman as a football coach, because right now there's simply no enthusiasm for that program, and the new coach will have to somehow create it. I'm talking about a Ron Zook-type, a high-energy guy who's able to convince recruits and fans that they're on the brink of something special even when there's almost no evidence to suggest it.​

So, that sound like Gailey to you? Frankly, Duke sorta wins either way. If they get Chan, it's a proven commodity that could give way to a young talent if and when he makes it a more attractive job. If they get some ambitious go-getter who's willing to become a legend with a 4-win season, well...that's at least not hustlin' backwards.

 

[RJ Esq]

Thankfully The Backyard Brawl is Being Played in Morgantown

Posted Nov 28th 2007 7:17PM by John Radcliff
Filed under: Pittsburgh Football, West Virginia Football, Big East

After watching the Steelers and Dolphins struggle for four quarters to score any points on the swampy wasteland that was Heinz field Monday night, I'm really glad the Backyard Brawl is being played in Morgantown this year. Everyone in the world has gone on record bad mouthing the caretakers of Heinz Field for allowing so many games to be played there in one weekend. So I'm going to skip that and just move on to something else.

It could possibly be the last regular season game that Slaton and White share the same backfield. While the rest of the offense had a huge day against UConn, Slaton was rather limited in carries and yards. And if this the last regular season game for either one or both, it would be nice to see them on a field that will contribute to their talents. Not one that will diminish them.

Pitt fans are thinking the exact opposite. And I can't blame them. Pitt has been a team that White and Slaton have feasted on over the past two seasons for 834 yards rushing. At times, it has hardly seemed fair for the Panther defense to be on the same field with White and Slaton. But if it is to be their last game together, I'd like to see a repeat of the past two years. Just so we can all marvel in their abilities that took the West Virginia program to new heights one more time.

 

[RJ Esq]

You Have Meddled With the Primal Forces of Nature, Mr. Herbstreit, and I Won't Have It
By SMQ
Posted on Wed Nov 28, 2007 at 08:38:09 PM EDT


Do Kirk Herbstreit's bosses know what he's writing?

• In my opinion, Ohio State could do more about [improving] the image people have of its program by playing a talented USC team that right now is as hot as any in the country ... I promise you, if Ohio State goes into the Rose Bowl, everyone is going to be saying, 'USC is going to kill Ohio State.' ... Ohio State will gain more respect if it plays USC in the Rose Bowl and wins that game, than if it goes and beats West Virginia and wins the national title. From an image standpoint, Ohio State would score more points going to the Rose Bowl than by going to the national championship game. If you can believe that, that's the truth.
  - - -

Openly question the value of playing in the BCS Championship game? That's a Buckeye!
- - -
Well, here's the thing re: cynical capitalist motivation: Herbstreit's WWL/ABC/Disney employers are still broadcasting the Rose Bowl and therefore have every reason to hype it at the expense of the mythical championship game, hosted by Fox. Herbstreit bows to no Australian gazillionaire. He also sets up his alma mater nicely - Missouri loses and clears the way for the Buckeyes into the championship game? Great! Win it all, boys. Missouri and West Virginia win and OSU gets sent to the Rose Bowl instead? Also great! Haven't been there in a decade, and it's just as meaningful a game in the long run. So make of that what you will, you skeptic, you. But the subversive idealist in me smiles beneath the wizened exterior, because at least the idea is out there, that the "National Championship Game" is not actually the national championship game, but a corporate ratings con that carries no more legitimacy than any opinion poll ever has. Herbstreit doesn't go this far, and I think he's only responding to the current situation, not thinking systematically about the BCS as an inadequate system that makes no sense, decides nothing and should be junked. He's not college football's Howard Beale. I'm pretty sure he was on this week defending the Series against a playoff, actually, in response to a WWL fan poll in which 70 percent of respondents were in favor of some kind of tournament. He's the same guy who lobbied way too hard and foolishly for an OSU-Michigan rematch last year at the exclusion of Florida. And this stuff about everyone picking USC to kill Ohio State in a hypothetical Rose Bowl clash of titans - he's drawing on supposedly lingering perceptions of OSU's athleticism against high-end opponents from last year's debacle against Florida - is fairly ridiculous; the Trojans would be slight favorites at best in the mind of anyone who's paid attention, if that.
But this remains the only time I'm aware of that a well-known, mainstream talking head has suggested there is a greater reward than being selected for the concocted championship. USC got a little sympathy in 2003 with the AP vote, but that didn't seem to dent the myth of a real, be-all, end-all championship. I don't remember anyone on ESPN in 2004 arguing that Auburn should be considered on par with USC for its 13-0 season. The Tigers were just screwed. Sorry, guys, and better luck next time.
This is the kind of thinking/external force that will drive the inevitable evolution of the BCS into a lamentable "plus-one" model and then a real playoff, when pundits and fans stop thinking of the "championship game" as such and start looking at the big picture in exactly the same way they did before the BCS attempted to shoehorn a happy medium a decade ago. Maybe Bernie Machen and his alleged $100 million in hypothetical playoff loot can start some kind of public relations campaign - the championship fiasco won't change until people start recognizing it for what it is.
- - -
Hat tip: Mountaineer blogger Charley West of West By God Virginia, who does not agree with me, and in fact thinks Herbstreit is even crazier than Les Miles.

 

[RJ Esq]

Robinson gets fourth year with 'Cuse

Posted: Wednesday November 28, 2007 5:36PM; Updated: Wednesday November 28, 2007 7:26PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Greg Robinson will have another season to get Syracuse turned around.
Athletic director Daryl Gross announced Wednesday that Robinson will remain as coach in 2008, despite leading the Orange through the worst three-year stretch in the history of the program, including the first two 10-loss seasons in school history.
"I have evaluated our football program now that the 2007 season has concluded and want to make clear that Greg Robinson remains Syracuse University's head football coach," Gross wrote in an e-mail. "Nevertheless, I have set a bar of significant expectations for all of our programs, and like our players, fans, and supporters, I was very disappointed with the outcome of this season, along with our overall record the past three years."
Robinson, who said he had extensive discussions with Gross about the future of the program, hinted there could be changes on his staff "to maximize the substantial talent we have on our roster to achieve success."
Robinson's teams have gone 1-10, 4-8, and 2-10, and been outscored by 514 points in the 28 losses.
Gross said he sought input from current student-athletes, former players such as Floyd Little and Art Monk, former head coach Dick MacPherson, alumni and fans.
"Despite our collective disappointment with this season, those I talked with agreed with me that stability is tremendously important to our program, specifically as it relates to recruiting, and stabilizing and building solid classes of student-athletes," Gross said. "We also recognize that as deeply as the SU community wants to win, we are a place of integrity and commitment, and that it is important to provide our head coaches with a legitimate and reasonable time frame in which to demonstrate progress."
So far, not much progress has been evident on the field. Robinson, who became a head coach for the first time in his 30-year coaching career when he succeeded Paul Pasqualoni in January 2005, is 2-19 in the Big East.
Improvement was expected this fall after the Orange finished 4-8 in 2006. Instead, they put up these sorry numbers: 1-6 and last in the Big East; 63 yards rushing and 292 yards of offense per game; nine sacks and 54 sacks allowed; 16 points per game and 35 points allowed per game; and 469 yards allowed per game.
All of those statistics rank 107th or worse among the 119 teams that play at college football's top level.
"I had substantial expectations coming into this season, expectations that were not met," Robinson said. "As head coach, I take full responsibility for that, as I should.
"I share the community's desire for a winning program, and there is no one that wants to win more than I do," Robinson said. "I have won before and I expect to win again. I know we have the talent, heart and commitment to bring Syracuse football back, and I plan to make that happen."

 

[RJ Esq]

Brian Kelly Could Be Leaving Cincinnati

Posted Nov 28th 2007 5:23PM by John Radcliff
Filed under: Big East, NCAA FB Coaching, Cincinnati Football

It's not entirely shocking that Brian Kelly would be receiving attention from so many big name schools for their head coaching vacancies. After all, he has taken a Cincinnati team that was thought by most going into the season to be average at best and turned in a 9-3 mark and an invite to the PapaJohns.com bowl.

More importantly, he put University of Cincinnati football on the map in Cincinnati. No small task to be sure. With two pro sports teams and the ever present Ohio State University, Bearcat football has been something of a red headed stepchild in Cincinnati for as long as I can remember. But from day one he has done every interview, shook every hand, kissed every baby, etc. to get people interested in Cincinnati football. Then, of course, he followed that up with one of the best seasons in the schools history.

And now the race is on to see which school he will coach next. And that school could very well be Nebraska.

...following UC's victory over Syracuse, the Department of Athletics sent out a release on Monday, Nov. 26, stating, "Director of Athletics Mike Thomas and head football coach Brian Kelly will not be commenting on any active football coaching searches or the status of Kelly's contract at the University of Cincinnati."​

Do I blame him for exploring a shot at coaching a school such as Nebraska? Of course not. It's probably one of the top ten coaching jobs in America if you look at tradition and winning and all those warm fuzzy things. And if it doesn't happen there, there's always the Michigan job. Not to mention all the other jobs that are out there.

The thing is that as much as it hurts Cincinnati football if he leaves, it is probably more of a detriment to Big East football. It's a signal to the rest of the country that Big East jobs are nothing more than a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Rich Rodriguez, Jim Leavitt, and Greg Schiano staying at their respective schools is more of an exception to the rule rather than the rule. And while those three schools are seeing unprecedented success, the rest of the Big East has to almost think that it would be better to be just good enough to make a bowl, and no better. So they don't have to face the prospect of finding a new coach every time their team does well.

Mark Dantonio left Cincinnati after an 8-4 season last year. Randy Edsall is being mentioned for several jobs, including the Georgia Tech job. And yeah, while Rodriguez, Leavitt, and Schiano are still here, there's no guarantee that any one if not all three will be contacted if Les Miles should leave LSU for Michigan. It's a matter of money. The big schools have it, and the Big East doesn't.

 

[RJ Esq]

Southern Miss Continues Futile Search In Face of Hopeless Future
By SMQ
Posted on Wed Nov 28, 2007 at 04:19:04 PM EDT


As much of the state begins to bubble over with Nutt Fever - $7.4 million worth - Southern Miss' coaching search continues more judiciously, with promises of a wide net and a wild informal list of candidates literally dozens of names long - among those rumored to be in the wings, or who should be in the wings, or who might have been contacted, or who might be contacted, or who conceivably make sense:

• • South Carolina DC/Ex-USM DC Tyrone Nix
  • Auburn DC Will Muschamp
  • Florida DC Charlie Strong
  • Georgia Southern HC Chris Hatcher
  • Ex-Ole Miss HC Ed Orgeron
  • Browns QB Coach/Ex-Memphis HC/Ex-USM OC Rip Scherer
  • Miss. State DC/Ex-USM Assistant Ellis Johnson
  • Oklahoma State OC Larry Fedora
  • Montana HC Bobby Hauck
  • Ex-Auburn HC/Inane Analyst Terry Bowden (Very popular. Woo!)
  • Florida State OC Jimbo Fisher
  • Oklahoma OC Mike Sumlin
  • Atlanta Falcons QB Coach Paul Petrino
  • Troy HC Larry Blakeney
  • Troy OC Tony Franklin
  • Alabama OC Major Applewhite
  • USM DL Coach Randy Butler
  • Tennessee OC/Ex-Ole Miss HC David Cutcliffe
  • North Alabama HC Mark Hudspeth
  • New Mexico State HC Hal Mumme (hey, man, him and the AD are tight...)
  • Buffalo HC Turner Gil (Favre could talk him into it!)
  • Ball State HC Brady Hoke
  • McNeese State HC Matt Viator

I'm not saying. I'm just saying...
- - -
Er. At least half of those are obviously ridiculous, insubstantial shots in the dark. Somebody's uncle in Jackson threw in Mike DuBose, for the heck of it (why not? They brought up Shula, too). How about Jay Paterno?! The Scherer thing I picked up off a Tulane message board - he's the frontrunner! - and include for the sake of hilarity on behalf of Southern fans, because the well-traveled quarterback guru probably cannot show his face in Hattiesburg again after two mostly abysmal seasons in the booth there, to say nothing of his losing seasons as boss in Memphis. Reality has left the building. Otherwise, his old coordinating counterpart, Tyrone Nix, is the uneasy, off-the-record leader. Not that any fans seem to want him - far from it, actually; Nix was a very good linebacker in Hattiesburg in the early nineties, but his defenses at USM were below average by Southern standards, especially the oft-ripped unit of 2004 that allowed 430-plus yards six times and 500-plus thrice, and his already sketchy defense at South Carolina has fallen apart down the stretch. Darren McFadden or no Darren McFadden, there is no love for a man whose charges allowed 500 yards rushing in a single night. If a miniority candidate is a priority (there is a completely unsubstantiated rumor that it is), the preference is overwhelmingly for somehow luring Strong from Florida. Then again, Strong's name doesn't seem to have real traction, and anyway, Woody Paige likes him,which is a pretty substantial red flag.
The real straw poll leader appears to be either Hatcher or my personal favorite, Muschamp, a young, energetic coordinator with high-level SEC and NFL experience and a consistent track record of producing very good defenses on very good teams. His candidacy also appears to be pure fantasy. The best guess is Nix, and it has everyone's knees knocking.
Take a look at the national or local media, though, and you'd be surprised Southern Miss had a chance to hire anyone better than the local ninth grade coach. When a school fires an unerringly loyal coach with 14 straight winning seasons, and that school is allegedly in Hattiesburg, Mississippi - a town which may not actually exist - damn, man, that school is craaaazy:

• National college football experts greeted news of Jeff Bower's forced resignation as the Southern Miss coach Monday morning with shock. "I'm shocked and perplexed," ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde wrote in an e-mail. "If there's a more consistent mid-major winner than Jeff Bower, his name escapes me. Who, precisely, does Southern Miss think it is?"
  His colleague at ESPN.com, Ivan Maisel, was equally as puzzled.
  "I was stunned," he said. "The guy has done nothing but win and at a place that is not the easiest to win at."
  - - -

Maisel came back Tuesday morning with a word of warning to those presumptuous, impatient hardhearts foolish enough to think anyone could adequately fill the gargantuan shoes of Bower at Nowhere U:

• For years, Bower's name received mention as a coaching candidate at programs with more resources than he has at Southern Mississippi. He stayed out of a sense of loyalty and family. He stayed, and now the school and its fans have left him. Southern Mississippi begins a search for a coach who fits what it needs more than Bower does. It won't happen. The Golden Eagles will find that out soon enough.
  - - -

Neither Maisel nor Forde mentions the ever-looming carrot of becoming a "BCS buster," but frequent commenter "Tom" did, under my original post on Bower Monday:

• The flipside to Utah, Boise State, and (apparently) Hawaii making it to BCS bowls in recent years is that now every non-BCS program thinks it should be stringing together ten-win seasons. Even ten years ago, when a Tulane or a Marshall would go 12-0, they had no hope of making it to a big-time bowl and had to be satisfied with a mid-level bowl game. Ten years ago, if you were Southern Miss, you'd take eight wins every year over an undefeated season (but, in Tulane's case, being awful the rest of the time.) Now, the expectations have changed for the mid-majors, and practically every program is starting to expect the kind of success that Boise State has had. It's not so much that Southern Miss has stagnated under Bower, but that the level of expectations have changed to the point where it's seen that Bower is not going to be the guy to get them over the hump. In other words, USM is willing to gamble here for a guy who will get them to a BCS bowl, at the risk that the same guy could run the program into the ground...
  - - -

In the beginning there was Bower, and into the program he breathed the breath of life and yea, saw that it was good, all things considered.
- - -
The assumption of each of these opinions is that USM is a steady team - hey, 14 straight winning seasons, right? - that has grown tired of winning at the same level every year and wants more. This is fundamentally wrong: Southern Miss hit a wall eight years ago (in a specific game in November 2000, in fact, against then-nobody Louisville) and beneath the superficial seven-win seasons has been slowly deteriorating since by any measure you can conjure. The offense has remained bad, but the once-proud defense is worse, the losses are worse, the wins are worse, and the general feeling is and has been of a program sinking in a swamp of its own staid, inbred satisfaction with the status quo. Southern Miss played four games on ESPN's two networks this year, none of which Maisel or Forde watched. I say this with certainty, because anyone who did watch USM lay down against Boise State and (inexcusably) winless Rice in consecutive weeks, then struggle to put away winless Marshall and get run over while allowing 200 yards rushing and barely touching the ball in the second half of a 17-point home loss to Central Florida would not suggest this team, the one predicted by everyone who cared to venture a guess to win a very weak Conference USA, represents a consistent lateral step.
No, that's wrong - this team does represent a consistent lateral step, and that's the problem. From 1996-2000, the first five seasons of Conference USA's existence, Southern Miss won 24 of its first 26 league games and three of the first four conference championships, finishing in the AP top 20 in 1997 and 1999. USM has been trading on that success a long time, and so has the media, especially when dealing with Bower, who was feted with his past glories every time he appeared on camera in some forgettable midweek game. But since then, since Southern lost two C-USA games in an entire four-and-a-half-year span, it's averaged three conference losses per season since 2001, and only lost fewer than three once in those eight years. And the losses get persistently worse, from semi-understandable defeats to other conference heavies like Louisville and TCU to disturbing lapses against middling underdogs like Cincinnati, Tulsa and Houston to outright embarrassments like Rice. We went from proud and excited to show off our team on rare television appearances to scared to death at what might happen - and, this year, the year the schedule and the experience and all the pieces were in place to restore order after Louisville and TCU and Cincinnati and even who dat noob South Florida had left C-USA with what would have once been easy-pickin' scraps, our fears were confirmed. The final record after clinging to a win over Arkansas State in front of 17,000 people, at best, was 7-5, but it felt like a disaster.
See it this way: since all-time wins leader Pie Vann retired in 1968, about the time "Mississippi Southern" was beginning to shed its small college status, Jeff Bower's .589 winning percentage ranks third, behind his predecessor, Curley Hallman (.676 from 1988-90, which got him a short-lived stint at LSU) and Bobby Collins (.613 from 1975-1981) and just ahead of Jim Carmody (.561 from 1982-87). From 1975 to 1990, the 16 years prior to Bower's hiring, Southern Miss' cumulative record was 108-70-2, a winning percentage of exactly 60 percent - slightly better than Bower's winning percentage since 1991. Stretch the sample back to 1974, encompassing the 17 seasons before Bower's 17 seasons, you get (surprise!) exactly 14 winning seasons. Those years included wins over No. 20 Florida State (1981), No. 17 Alabama (1982), No. 6 Florida State (1989), No. 13 Alabama (1990) and No. 15 Auburn (1990), among others, more wins over ranked teams than Bower's "giant killers" logged even if you include such coups as beating No. 9 TCU (2003), No. 13 TCU (2000), No. 13 Alabama (which finished 3-8 in 2000), No. 16 East Carolina (1999), and No. 23 Louisville (1993). Jeff Bower did not invent Southern Miss football, and his record in the job was just par for the course - for all intents and purposes, Bower had become Chan Gailey, who guided Georgia Tech to an unlikely string of consecutive bowl games, too.
And the situation was not stagnating; it was getting worse. Everyone associated with USM will always be grateful to Bower for his success and his loyalty, and his departure is hardly under ideal circumstances, but there is nothing whatsoever in the recent history of the program that suggests a competent hire will be a dropoff from Bower's production on the field. That notion is ignorant and insulting. The real concern is maintaining his high graduation rates and even, scandal-free keel.
Pat Forde has to condescendingly ask, "Who does Southern Miss think it is?," as if there are no expectations for such a program, and it should be happy to take any little pizza web site-themed bowl game that sniffs in its direction. No. Southern Miss thinks it is a legitimately competitive program that expects to win or at least significantly contend for the Conference USA championship every season, pull meaningful upsets on a semi-regular basis and earn regular top 25 consideration. This is not new or ambitious: this is the standard, one Bower largely perpetuated but did not at all create, and it has not been remotely met for the better part of eight years. Not that anyone has to justify seeking improvement, but the change has nothing to do with the BCS or taking "the next step." It's just taking back the step the Eagles have lost.

 

[RJ Esq]

Somebody Has To Coach Baylor, After All

Posted Nov 29th 2007 3:09PM by Mark Hasty
Filed under: Alabama Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Rumors, NCAA FB Coaching, Baylor Football, Houston Football

Baylor is the wild bronco every cowboy thinks he can break. The latest <strike>sucker</strike> coach to think he's up to the task is Art Briles, who until today was the head coach at the University of Houston. Briles takes over for Guy Morriss, who we all thought was nuts back in 2002 when he left Kentucky for Waco. Morriss was coming off Kentucky's first winning season since 1998 and one of only four they'd had since 1977. He would not experience a winning season at Baylor.

Enter Briles, who has done just about everything at Houston except win a bowl game. He has never coached outside the state of Texas. Makes sense. Baylor's coach needs to be Texan to the core, because there are a lot of big dogs recruiting the Lone Star State. Not only that, but he'll have to slug in out in the Big XII South, where there are no weak teams except, historically, for the one he'll be coaching. I mean, the only coach who's had any sort of success at Baylor is Grant Teaff, and even he had to eat worms to make it happen. Good luck, Art; you're gonna need it.

Meanwhile, now the Houston job is open, and one of the early names being kicked around is Alabama offensive coordinator Major Applewhite. However, a vocal contingent of Texas Longhorns fans are insistent that Chris Simms should get the job instead.

 

[RJ Esq]

51 Tebow Tds in 5:15

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[RJ Esq]

MAN SEES SIGNS OF FADED FOOTBALL HOPES EVERYWHERE HE LOOKS

Lincoln, NE–(AP) Local man Neil Shurbock sees signs of faded football hopes everywhere he looks, according to friends and neighbors who have become concerned over his overall well-being during Nebraska’s increasingly disappointing 2007 season.

Friends are concerned.
“Everything reminds him of how good the Huskers were supposed to be,” says girlfriend Tracy Bowles, 28, of Lincoln. “He sees a kite crash to ground in the park, and it’s a Sam Keller pass crashing to the ground. He spills a glass of water, and it’s our defense not grabbing a pick. It’s really straining our relationship.”
Bowles said the behavior dates back to the Frank Solich era, but has become exaggerated and even more demonstrative with the now-finished Bill Callahan era.
“We’re playing Call of Duty the other night, and all of a sudden he just flips out and starts throwing grenades everywhere screaming, ‘I’M JOE DAILEY, I’M JOE DAILEY!!!’ Dailey hasn’t even played for us in two years, man,” says friend Tim Smalley, who’s known Shurbock since “the Tom Osborne era.” Smalley says he’s concerned for his friend’s well-being, and fears the new coaching search might tip him over the edge. “He totally killed our whole campaign.”
Even the mention of Husker favorite Bo Pelini does not seem to calm Shurbock in his perpetual state of anxiety.
“He starts screaming about Brad Smith every time Pelini’s name comes up. ‘246 yards rushing! 246!’ He’s like some demented parrot at this point.”
The stress has started to affect even the most private of moments in Shurbock’s life.
“We were having sex the other night, and I decided to let Brad finish…um…al fresco, shall we say,” said girlfriend Bowles, who has sex with Shurbock three times a week on average in a normal week but gets no intimacy for two weeks following a Nebraska loss.
“He was…finishing, and then just burst into tears in the middle of it. I asked him what was wrong, and he said it was just like Todd Reesing spraying the ball all over the field against the ‘Huskers earlier this year. ”
Bowles’ eyes gleamed with tears momentarily, and she composed herself. “I’m thinking of leaving him. I’ll have to tell him in football terms for him to understand, like ‘I’m firing you just like Frank Solich got fired.’ He’ll understand that, right? Right?”
Shurbock had no comment on this story, saying he was awaiting the outcome of the coaching search before resuming “the rest of my shitty, lose-to-Kansas like we’re…we’re…FREAKING KANSAS, for- God’s-sake life.”

 

[RJ Esq]

Alabama Coaches In The Carousel

November 29, 2007 — TideDruid It’s the time of year where jobs are opening up. What current, and former, Alabama coaches are deemed to be on the market? Let’s take a look.
Major Applewhite is obviously the one people are talking about in regards to Alabama football. The Tide Offensive Coordinator has seen his name mentioned for such programs as SMU and Southern Miss (briefly), but with Baylor grabbing up the Houston coach Art Briles, the Cougars have asked for permission to talk with Coach Applewhite regarding their head coaching position.
Applewhite has seen his stock soar up the charts in the last few years, but his lack of experience does bring up the question on if Major is ready for such a big leap. Personally, I think he will be a head coach someday, but still needs to work on his play calling abilities as a Coordinator first. Rushing things could lead to disaster for him, something that many people don’t want to see. Besides, Texas will eventually come calling for him. The Longhorn fans have been talking about keeping him on the short list for replacing Mack Brown someday, so he shouldn’t try rushing things too much. If he were to wait say….. 2 to 3 more years, he would benefit greatly from it in the long run.
Next, we have former Alabama head coach Mike Shula….. yes, Shula. Finishing with a 26-23 record in Tuscaloosa, Shula has landed on his feet in Jacksonville as the QB coach. Recently, his named has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Ted Roof at Duke. Should Shula take the jump and go for the first position in sight?
Personally, I would tell Coach Shula to wait a little bit longer. Moving the family so much in such a short period of time is pretty stressful. Besides, we’re talking about Duke here. Yes, Spurrier did ok, but he certainly wasn’t going to take them to the next level as he did with Florida. If Shula wants another college coaching job, he should probably wait to see what other programs with better football resources want to do.
I’ve heard rumors of Jack Del Rio and LSU if Miles leaves for Michigan, which would be kind of funny considering that he might take Shula along with him. Imagine having Mike as the opposing Offensive Coordinator for LSU. I doubt Del Rio would go there, but it is interesting to think about it.

 

[RJ Esq]

South Carolina Fans Not So Fond of DC Tyrone Nix

Posted Nov 29th 2007 1:35PM by Ryan Ferguson
Filed under: SEC, NCAA FB Fans, NCAA FB Gossip, South Carolina Football, NCAA FB Coaching

South Carolina's embattled Defensive Coordinator, Tyrone Nix (not shown at right) started the season with one of the SEC's best defenses.

But as they say, you're remembered for how you finish, not how you start: Nix ended up with the nation's 58th ranked defense (ranked 9th in the SEC) and 108th in rushing defense, allowing an average of 209 yards per game on the ground.

Hot? Not so much.

Garnet and Black Attack has been keeping track of Nix's status with the 'Cocks via their Tyrone Nix Firing Watch.

Although the meter started at 80% probability of Nix's firing, the latest update suggests that Nix might actually leave on his own accord to take over the vacant head coaching job at Southern Miss.

... the firing of Jeff Bower at Southern Miss, Nix's alma mater, might open up an opportunity for everyone to save face. The Eagles' former linebacker is set to meet with the school -- at an "undisclosed location," so the get-together might include Dick Cheney -- about their vacancy.​

In any case, I still believe Nix is all but gone at the end of the year. But he might get out without being fired.
The Cool Chicken, meanwhile, doesn't care if Tyrone goes away angry, just that he goes away:

While I would hate to see Spurrier Jr. head to another school, I would love to see Nix head out of town. I think that would be a fantastic deciscion [sic]. Maybe not for Nix but most definitely for the Gamecock nation.
​

Stay tuned to FanHouse for updates.

 

[RJ Esq]

Charlie Weis Likes to "Go Commando". I Apologize for Ruining Your Lunch.

Posted Nov 29th 2007 12:15PM by Brian Stouffer
Filed under: Notre Dame Football, NCAA FB Gossip, NCAA FB Coaching, NCAA FB Media Watch

There was a very uncomfortable moment in the ND-Stanford game that didn't involve the disastrous refereeing, but instead was the result of sideline reporter Jack Arute giving us just a little bit too much information. Now, I know the sideline reporter is a thankless job which involves delving up any trivial detail you can to provide filler between plays, but Jackaroo missed the mark quite widely on this one.

During a standard lull in play, they flipped down to him to talk about whatever tidbit of information he could glean from a meeting with Charlie Weis and his wife, Maura. Arute yammered on about Weis scripting out the plays for his offense, but deviates from the script into more game-specific calls at about the eight minute mark of the first quarter. Arute then went on to say that Maura's affectionate term for this switch is "Charlie Going Commando".

What followed was an uncomfortable pause, then the commentators, obviously much more familiar with this definition of "go commando", sheepishly replying, "Uhhhh, thanks for the information, Jack".

 

[RJ Esq]

Pac 10 Changes Standard for Replay Reversal to "Having a Good Feeling"

Posted Nov 29th 2007 11:58AM by Brian Stouffer
Filed under: Notre Dame Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Scandal, Stanford Football

In an interesting move, Pac 10 Head of Officiating Dave Cutaia has eschewed the easy road of admonishing the terrible replay reversal made in the Notre Dame-Stanford game and instead has elected to rewrite the rules of replay. Cutaia sent out an e-mail that explained the justification for the Pac 10 replay crew's unbelievable ruling:

The replay official felt he had a shot that showed the point of the ball hit the ground... This is basically a judgment call on his part, as an on-field official might judge defensive pass interference.​

And with one fell swoop of the... well, keyboard, I guess... the Pac 10 has completely changed its benchmark for overturning plays with instant replay. I guess it's time for them to update their website, which still has the outdated standards for video reversal... you know, "indisputable video evidence" and whatnot. The site needs to be updated to reflect the new, completely opposite standard: "having a good feeling" and "making a judgment call irrespective of video evidence".

All sarcasm aside, Cutaia, in what appears to be an attempt to defend the video official's ruling, has essentially publicly admitted that they made a mistake. Maybe he should have a chat with Verle Sorgen, the Head of Replay Officiating in the Pac 10. Sorgen, I'm sure you'll remember, was fired from Cutaia's job after the Oregon-Oklahoma replay fiasco last year and was admonished by Pac 10 commish Tom Hansen for his comments after the Oregon State-Washington replay disaster of two weeks ago.

 

[RJ Esq]

ruhroe

Osborne tabs himself interim coach

Huskers icon makes move so he can hit recruiting trail

Posted: Thursday November 29, 2007 11:23AM; Updated: Thursday November 29, 2007 2:30PM

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Already Nebraska's interim athletic director, Tom Osborne declared himself interim head coach for recruiting purposes.
AP


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</td></tr></tbody></table>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Tom Osborne is back as Nebraska's football coach -- just for now.
Osborne, already the interim athletic director, has declared himself interim head coach until he hires a successor to Bill Callahan.
The interim coach designation lets Osborne visit prospective recruits away from campus, athletic department communications chief Randy York said Thursday.
The 70-year-old Osborne passed the NCAA certification test on his first try Wednesday, York said. Osborne went on the road to recruit Thursday and Friday, and the school sent a letter notifying the Big 12 of Osborne's new title, York said.
Once a hire is made, Osborne could continue to recruit until the new coach assembles a full staff of nine assistants, York said.
As the Cornhuskers' head coach from 1973 to 1997, Osborne won 255 games and three national championships.
Gary Bargen, assistant athletic director in charge of compliance, said Osborne's interim head coach designation shouldn't be considered an indication that Osborne is thinking about a return to the sideline.
Osborne was not available to comment Thursday. Asked last month whether he would consider coaching again, he said that his wife, Nancy, would "shoot me" if he did.
Bargen said Osborne wants Nebraska to continue recruiting while the coaching search continues.
As solely the athletic director, Bargen said, Osborne would not have been allowed to correspond with prospective recruits other than those who visit campus. Football is in a recruiting contact period until Dec. 15.
Osborne said in a radio interview with the Husker Sports Network on Wednesday that he hoped to have a new coach selected by next week. He already interviewed Buffalo coach Turner Gill and LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini and spoke informally with Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, according to media reports.
Another coach linked to the search, Cincinnati's Brian Kelly, told local radio station WCKY on Wednesday that he had not been contacted by Nebraska.
Two assistants from Callahan's staff, defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove and cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian, are no longer recruiting for Nebraska, York said.

 

[RJ Esq]

ESPN Reanimates John Denver's Corpse to Introduce West Virginia Starting Offense
By SMQ
Posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 11:46:03 AM EDT


Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and confirmed cadaver John Denver will be re-animated from beyond the grave to introduce West Virginia's starting offense in the Mountaineers' season finale against Pittsburgh this weekend, ESPN officials announced Thursday.
The move marks the first time a human corpse has been revived from the icy, eternal grip of death to announce a starting lineup since Lazarus was miraculously risen from his tomb by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth in 31 A.D. to introduce the defense of his alma mater, the Cyprus 49ers.

Though an New Mexico native, Denver is the writer of the 1971 hit "Take Me Home, Country Roads," an ode to West Virginia and an unidentified "mountain momma" whose folk-tinged sweetness reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the theme song of West Virginia University and has been performed before every home game since 1972, including a live performance by Denver in 1980, in front of first-time WVU head coach Don Nehlen and thankful fans with no inkling of the grisly death the artist would suffer <strike>alone in the mountains</strike> when his plane pluned into the churning Pacific two and a half decades later.
"We're always trying to up the ante for our increasingly sophisticated viewers, who demand cutting edge sportstainment. They've quickly grown tired of coaches, players, alumni and even cartoon characters introducing instantly forgettable lineups. We have to keep upping the ante," said ESPN producer Fred Gaudelli, whose crew will produce the game and administer drugs to keep the mop-haired zombie from becoming too aware of the state of his rapidly decomposing body. "When we saw West Virginia on the schedule, we immediately thought of the song, and it hit us simultaneously, 'John Denver.' Then it was like, Jinx! We had to dig him up."
The introductions will be taped before the game, if Denver's rigor mortis-racked, decaying remains can be positioned in front of a camera and brought to life in a terrible storm of elictricity that claimed the lives of commentator Mark Jones and a half dozen Disney make-up artists in trial runs. An attempt at an on-field concert after the game is rumored to employ an Egyptian-style sarcophogous, according to Gaudelli, depending on how well the frigid Morgantown air can preserve the singer's stinking, rotting flesh.
"It's always a crazy, fun show, and I can't wait to be right in the middle of the action," the deceased singer-songwriter said from the afterlife through a spokesman. "I always hoped to get back to sing for those great kind West Virginians again, and possibly feast on their dellightful mountain brains. You know, I suggested to Coach Nehlen back in 1980 that he try a `spread option' that I saw once being run by the Northern Paiute tribe in Idaho, when my functioning brain still had the capacity for memory and critical thought. But he just said 'sing yer song, hippie.' Those were heady days.
"But a Mexican coach, I didn't see that coming."
Denver's career has flatlined since his untimely demise, though his agent was in reanimation talks with the musical "Almost Heaven," based on Denver's songs, until negotiations hit a snag when producers refused to let the singer's cadaver croon on "Calypso/I'm Sorry."

 

[RJ Esq]

Auburn Grads Burp the Fight Song and Have Tobacky-Spittin' Grandmas, Says Alabama-based Jeweler

Posted Nov 29th 2007 10:34AM by Ryan Ferguson
Filed under: Alabama Football, Auburn Football, SEC

File this one under "Not all publicity is good publicity." Here's copy from an ad run by Birmingham-based jeweler Bromberg's:

"Whoever said love conquers all' obviously wasn't in love with a Cow College grad. But even though her grandma was the state tobacky-spittin' champ and she can burp out every bar of War Eagle, your world revolves around her. So turn her thoughts from blue and orange to wedding white with the perfect engagement ring from Bromberg's."
​

Not surprisingly, this went over like a lead balloon with Auburn fans.

Says one:

"Bromberg's just offended half of the state, and that's not good marketing," added [Auburn grad] Kennedy, who has worked in public relations for over a decade. "They've lost me as a customer."
​

Mssr. Bromberg, according to the Birmingham News, graduated (gasp!) from the University of Alabama.

But let's give what little credit is due here back to the jeweler. Lost somewhat in the translation is the fact that the company actually ran two ads: one targeting Auburn fans and the other Alabama fans.

The Alabama ad talks being in love with "Tide Pride gal" and "countless stories of rigged officials and national championships won 20 years before she was born."
​

Equal opportunity offender and all that, but apparently the Auburn ad cut far more deeply:

"If we had known this would be so offensive, we wouldn't have run the ad," Bromberg said. He added: "In retrospect we now know the Auburn ad went probably a lot further than it should have."
​

Well, hey. Can't beat 'em on the football field? Put out crappy ads slamming their grandmothers and wives. That ought to show 'em!

 

[RJ Esq]

SQUEAK UCLA SQUEAK SQUEAK USC SQUEAK YAH

Courtesy of Bruins Nation: OMG UCLA SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK YAH SQUEAK USC SQUEAK FUCK SQUEAK SQUEAK USC SQUEAK SQUEAK UCLA!
<embed style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-265943988151087013&hl=en" flashvars=""> We honestly did not understand a word these ladies just said besides UCLA, USC, and the word “fuck.” They pointed to their asses a lot, too, meaning that foreigners viewing this video would naturally assume that these were a group of retarded cult members participating in some kind of ritual centering on laxatives, purity, and banishing bad spirits clad in blue and yellow, personified by the tall male at the end of the clip.

 

[RJ Esq]

Navy's Johnson to be hired at SMU?

<script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-0237893561790135"; google_ad_width = 300; google_ad_height = 250; google_ad_format = "300x250_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; //2007-11-27: entries, fanblogs, inpost google_ad_channel = "0603066557+5452098552+3119009114"; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "003399"; google_color_text = "333333"; google_color_url = "999999"; google_ui_features = "rc:10"; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><iframe name="google_ads_frame" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-0237893561790135&dt=1196372304265&lmt=1196372303&format=300x250_as&output=html&correlator=1196372304265&channel=0603066557%2B5452098552%2B3119009114&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fanblogs.com%2Fsmu%2F007356.php&color_bg=FFFFFF&color_text=333333&color_link=003399&color_url=999999&color_border=FFFFFF&ad_type=text_image&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Freader%2Fview%2F&ui=rc%3A10&cc=100&ga_vid=700325724.1194291038&ga_sid=1196372304&ga_hid=1178246206&ga_fc=true&flash=9&u_h=1024&u_w=1280&u_ah=1024&u_aw=1280&u_cd=32&u_tz=-480&u_his=1&u_java=true&u_nplug=18&u_nmime=67" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300"></iframe> From the Department of Never in a Million Years....
Dennis Dodd is reporting that SMU is close to hiring Navy HC Paul Johnson to be the Mustangs next head coach.

The announcement of his hiring could come as soon as early next week. Officials at both schools are thought to want to wait until after Saturday's Army-Navy game.​

What? Huh?
Johnson's name has been tied to nearly every vacant head coaching job in the country over the past three years. He is one of the hot names in coaching circles. If you have a BCS job opening, Paul Johnson is somewhere on your list... period. Hot! Hot! Hot!
In other words, he is everything that SMU is not.
The Ponies have produced nothing but an awful string of losses since the NCAA shut down the Mustangs program. Since 1991, SMU has had just two seasons at or above .500 and have never won more than six games in any season. The Mustangs have had four different coaches in those 17 seasons, but the only constant has been the losses.
So... Paul Johnson... and SMU? You could have given me eleventy billion guesses and I never would have come up with SMU. But -- if this goes through -- it may turn out to be the single greatest hiring in the history of college football.

 

[RJ Esq]

Reports: Tuberville to Arkansas
By outsidethesidelines Section: Football
Posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 10:37:37 PM EDT


Brace yourself folks...
Several published reports have Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville going to Fayetteville to be the new head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. This is no longer just your typical dumb "Tubby's goin' to Arkansas" type rumor, it has reached a legitimate stage.
KNWA TV out of Fayetteville reported earlier that the situation could still change, but they "firmly believe" that Tuberville has agreed to take over the Arkansas football program.
Arkansas Sports 360 is reporting something similar in their own right. They say that the deal is not final yet, but that "Tommy Tuberville appears prepared to accept Arkansas' offer to become the Razorbacks next football coach."
The contract negotiations with Auburn have ran into some troubles, and the deal was not finalized when it was wanted to. Tuberville later said that he would be out of the office for the next week or so, and that indicated a deal with Auburn was not looming in the immediate future. And now it looks like Tuberville is heading to Arkansas. Sufficed to say, this one could be big.

 

[RJ Esq]

Two suspended players indicted

Jones, Henry named in connection with July incident

<script src="http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/js/NewsworthyAudioC2L.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/newsworthy/statesman/sports/stories/longhorns/11/30/statesman_sports_stories_longhorns_11_30_1130indict.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

Click-2-Listen​

By Suzanne Halliburton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, November 30, 2007
Two suspended Texas football players were indicted Thursday by a Travis County grand jury for their alleged roles in a July robbery.
Freshman defensive tackle Andre Jones was indicted on four counts of robbery.
Redshirt freshman running back and safety James Henry was indicted for knowingly destroying or concealing stolen items.
Ariel Payan, Jones' lawyer, declined comment Thursday. He had yet to read the indictment.
Bill Hines, who represents Henry, said, "He's certainly looking forward to clearing his name in court. The only thing he's guilty of is being a good friend."
Both players were suspended by Texas coach Mack Brown as soon as they were arrested.
The indictments stem from an incident that police say took place at a Southeast Austin apartment July 27.
Jones and former Texas safety Robert Joseph were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery.
Witnesses told police that Joseph and Jones each were armed. According to court documents, witnesses said the two stole electronics, a laptop and marijuana.
Henry was arrested Sept. 17 after Austin police listened to recorded phone conversations between Joseph, who was in jail, and Henry, Joseph's friend.
A transcript quoted in the warrant for Henry's arrest said that Joseph asked Henry to dispose of the stolen property.
Joseph has been in Travis County jail since July 27. He's facing four charges, with bond set at $60,000.
Two of the charges against Joseph are misdemeanors from his arrest in June of burglary of a vehicle.
No court dates have been set for the three.

 

[RJ Esq]

Don't Remember Me This Way
By SMQ
Posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 07:01:26 PM EDT

Louisville is 5-6, and I'm pretty certain Brian Brohm deserves better. But maybe not - since Brohm's near-flawless game in the Cardinals' upset at then-undefeated Cincinnati, a win that momentarily absolved the curse of three losses in four games and gave UL a renewed sense of opportunity with the bulk of the conference schedule still waiting, the Cards' have again lost three of four, and the culprit down the stretch hasn't been the of-charred defense as much as it has Brohm's suddenly unreliable decision-making and accuracy. Last year, Brohm threw five interceptions all season en route to a win in the Orange Bowl; In UL's first seven games this season (after which it sat at 4-3), he threw just four. In the Cardinals' last three losses alone, he's thrown seven interceptions to four touchdowns, the first time in his career that number has turned on him over any multi-game stretch, and he threw three interceptions in the most recent humiliation in a season full of them, a 55-17 drubbing at South Florida two weeks ago. The current falls on the blue chip, the golden boy, the could-have-been number one pick as he struggles in vain to overcome the sagging running game around him, to offset the yields of a defense that can't cover and can't get to the quarterback, to salvage something from the season that was supposed to end in triumph.
There's a very good chance the final curtain tonight against Rutgers will be Brohm's last, even the Cardinals muster enough pride and defense to vanqish the team that ruined their otherwise perfect season last fall - a win would get Louisville eligible for a bowl, but at 3-4 in the Big East and just 6-6 overall, sixth place in the conference, not an attractive candidate. Really, this season for UL is beyond salvaging, and really was a long time ago. Brohm has continued to deliver a steady barrage of yards (3,787) and touchdowns (29), but his final team beat Murray State and (barely) Middle Tennessee State, and is 3-6 since with a loss to Syracuse and no consecutive wins since the first two. The only thing left, really, is some kind of redemption agaisnt the defense that hounded Brohm into the least productive performance of his career last year in New Jersey.

Well, at least I didn't take the Miami job...
- - -
If the Knights lose, they'll be about as disappointing. Rutgers is going to bowl, at least, and beat Syracuse, at least, but aside from the Thursday night win over South Florida, the season was a drain on its hyped run in 2006 and Greg Schiano's rocketing reputation: Rutgers was upset by Maryland, upset by Cincinnati, dropped at UConn and blown out at home by West Virginia. The Knight offense has itself hit a wall, 400-yard rushing game against mighty Army notwithstanding - Mike Teel, for all the promise for improvement he showed late in his sophomore season and early this year against very bad competition, has matched Brohm's late slide and raised it, throwing six picks to just one touchdown in the last four games, including three interceptions in the last two (wins over the aforementioned Knights and Pittsburgh) despite throwing just 13 passes. Backup and Star Wars extra Jabu Lovelace can't hit the side of a barn with a pass (4 of 16 in limited duty over the last two) but hasn't turned the ball over and has made up for his blinding lack of arm with good productivity as a scrambler. But it's taken Army and Pitt to get this team to seven wins. Nebraska and Alabama notwithstanding, probably no team has underachieved as spectacularly as Louisville, and no game since the Cards' trip to West Virginia two weeks ago has lost as much juice as this one, which was conceivably a do-or-die game with BCS implications in early September. In reality, only a couple of elements on either team have been anything like what we thought they'd be, and most of those work in Rutgers' favor: the Knights are still outstanding at making and keeping Ray Rice the focal point of the offense (he averages 30 carries against defenses not from Norfolk State and has not been held to less than 94 yards), protecting Teel (Rutgers is second in sacks allowed per game, against a UL front that's nearly achieved a first-to-worst slide nationally in rushing the passer, from second in 2005 and 06 to 101st this year) and stopping the pass (the Knights are second in yards allowed through the air and eighth in pass efficiency defense, though though both have been achieved largely against the non-Louisville portion of Big East quarterbacks).
We have to assume that Brohm is going to do his share of damage, but also, given last year's second half meltdown the last month of UL woe, that the fast-changing, that the oft-blitzing Knights will force him into a few mistakes, as well, which is hardly the way to go out at home. But then so few of us get to time our exits.
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[RJ Esq]

Carroll: Give Me a Playoff or Give Me <strike>Death</strike> Another Shot at Stanford, Please.
By SMQ
Posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 04:39:35 PM EDT


Regular readers know that if SMQ has a loosely-defined crusade to justify lobbing virtual Molotov cocktails, it is for a playoff and against the BCS cartel, against which no opportunities should be wasted, no allies turned away. So, in the spirit of la Résistance, welcome to the fight, Pete Carroll:

• It looks to me like the BCS system is one that, at the end of the process, designates the team that had the most attractive season based on who they played and what their record is at the end and all of those things that you add up. In my opinion it does not have anything to say about who the best team is at the end of the year, meaning that, who would be the team that would win if you had a playoff, and who's playing the best football? I'm not saying that's us. But there are teams out there - and we'e one of them - that could arguably be able to beat any team in America when the time comes...We're playing the game to see how far we go and how far we can take it.
  [...]
  The only way you get it perfect is to play 'em off...There's a lot of time in between these bowl games, you know, and when the season ends. there's a lot of time we wait to play games. There's a few weeks in there now. We could do some playing there, still play some games and then have bowl games.
  - - -
  (HT: L.A. Times "All Things Trojan" blogger Adam Rose)

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Carroll reacts to the BCS: Give ‘em hell, Pete.
- - -
Carroll is a little scattershot here, off the cuff (you would be too, at a short press conference), but touches very briefly on a couple issues we've churned over here for a couple years now, I guess, namely the idea that the "best team" is only the one that survives a bracket with clear, onjective on-field criteria (win and advance) that puts teams on the same plane without arbitrarily hashing out schedule strength and other trivia that could be "settled on the field," to use the cliché. The BCS, because it's comparing lab tests of the chemical makeup of one apple to lab tests of another apple to determine the best one instead of actually tasting them, has no choice but to base its decisions on "all those things that you add up," which is why as long as polls are a factor I will always argue a team is its resumé, and that's all it is; the "most attractive season" is the only possible criteria. Not so the playoff: the resumé gets you in the door, but on level ground, a championship can't be voted. It has to be won. A playoff appeals to Carroll's ingrained competitiveness, and I think he's right. Mergz at Saurian Sagacity is also right that the Trojans are not playing the best football in America at the moment, having won close games over mediocre opponents Oregon State and Cal before finally, satisfactorily pounding suspicious frontrunner Arizona State last week, and any projections of the grandeur all foresaw at the beginning of the season to majestically unfurl at the end (apparently Kirk Herbstreit falls into this category) are severely premature, and wholly inadequate for atoning for SC's earlier defeat to Stanford, which is every bit as damaging now as it looked at the time. If there is a solid argument against a tournament, that's it: should a team that somehow managed to lose to the last place team in its conference have a chance to re-emerge as a national champion? Pete Carroll obviously thinks so, and if push comes to shove, so do I, given the current alternative. Plowing through the rest of the conference and then a top-tier three or four-game playoff bracket is a hell of an act of penance.
When he starts talking about being "able to beat any team in America when the time comes," though, he should remember that the ability to beat any team and the ability to lose to any team are not mutually exclusive. "The best" is a fleeting concept.

 

[RJ Esq]

CURIOUS INDEX, 11/30/07

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Still unstoppable on the 360, though.
Louisville rocked back to finish at 6-6 by beating Rutgers last night 41-38. Brian Brohm gimped heroically through the game, but even with the valor Louisville’s probably not going to a bowl game, something which must be mentioned as one of the season’s great fiascoes. Louisville was in many a top 25 and went into a flat spin courtesy of their suddenly awful defense. Tracey Jordan on 30 Rock once illustrated his own stupidity by repeating “I voted for Nader. Nader.”
Louisville lost to Syracuse. Syracuse.
Pete Carroll really will blow your mind. We’re rereading this now, but LAMag.com’s got a profile piece on Pete Carroll that has delidded us, spun the brain around three times, and replaced it backwards.
Among the fascinating–and we mean the word there–things in the piece by J.R. Moehringer.
–Pete Carroll drives around South Central L.A. just shaking hands and handing out his cell phone numbers to kids in backalley dice games.
–Pete Carroll doesn’t sleep.
–Pete Carroll doesn’t drink, either. As in, drink water or anything for half-days at a time, especially when a reporter gets into a dehydration contest with the man.
Clearly I don’t want to get into a thirst-off with this man. Nothing good can come of that. I take a sip of Gatorade. The cool orange flavor runs down the back of my throat, and I almost weep with pleasure.
That night I get a text message. I don’t recognize the number. But it doesn’t take long to fi gure out who it’s from.
still haven’t had anything to drink.
–Pete Carroll locks himself out of his office quite a bit.
Jay Jacobs, Auburn AD, says the University of Arkansas has not asked for permission to speak to Tommy Tuberville, and that he fully expects Tuberville to be back for a tenth season at Arkansas…er, Auburn. Jimmy Sexton, agent to the stars of the Chee-To belt, is pleased with your confusion, college football administrator. (Laughs, pulls on Cohiba, tents fingers.)
Paul Johnson, who coaches a 1982 offense at Navy to great success, may be coaching the ripaway jersey hottness of 1982, or at least being linked to it: SMU is interested and, according to those awesome sources everyone has, has tons of money to throw at him. In Texas the three main pools of investment money seem to be for a.) football coaches, b.) fake tit investment funds, and c.) badass gun collections. This is why their growth rate is unstoppable, son, along with low taxes and hot accents: people love football, guns, and tits. That formula just doesn’t die.
Don’t do this to SMQ. Terry Bowden’s at the front of the line for the USM job. The costs of this could be dramatic, since in addition to gambling on a man who’s been out of coaching for circa ten years, you’ll have to invest serious capital in changing the athletic facilities, what with all the step ladders they’ll have to purchase and install for Bowden’s convenience.

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[RJ Esq]

Tuberville Is Auburn's to Lose

Posted Nov 30th 2007 10:10AM by Pete Holiday
Filed under: Auburn Football, SEC, NCAA FB Coaching

12 hours after various media outlets started reporting that Tuberville was headed to Arkansas, things really aren't much more clear. That said, if we take a look at the coach-speak (the only language in which everything is simultaneously truth and a lie), it starts to look more and more like Tuberville wants to stay at Auburn, but some of the powers that be don't really think he's worth his asking price.

If we go back to the goings on surrounding the Texas A&M job, we've got a bit more to look at. For starters, it took forever for Tuberville to even address the swirling rumors that he'd be bolting for College Station. When he finally did, he only said that he hadn't been contacted and didn't expect to be. Later he expanded those comments, saying he'd stay at Auburn "as long as they want us."

Well, that settles it, right? In the language of regular people, there's no deal, Coach Tuberville doesn't want one, and it's Auburn or bust, right? As Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend..."

The problem that most folks have with understanding coach-speak is that they neglect the inherent ambiguity of the English language. In order for "communication" to occur, an idea has to (1) be formed, (2) converted into words, (3) transmitted, (4) received, and (5) converted from words back to ideas. It's like a miniature game of telephone, and the only transparent steps for the listener are (4) and (5) -- problems in the first three steps will usually go unnoticed.

Take, for example, the "as long as they'll have us" comment.

It could, as many people assumed, mean "I don't want to leave Auburn ever, for any reason." Or, Tuberville could have been saying "I'll stay if they want us, and they can show us that they want us by upgrading their facilities and bumping our pay."

Fast-forward to yesterday. Rumors start swirling about Tuberville bolting for Fayetteville. On his radio show last night, Tuberville went on something of a tirade about facilities and other improvements that, one would guess, the Auburn powers have been dragging their feet on. He said "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, San Serif]I am not looking to go anywhere. I am looking to make sure people understand what we need to do to get better." Chew on that for a minute.

So what if he finds out that the Auburn Board and Athletic Department don't "understand what [they] need to do to get better"? What happens then?

Simple: he leaves for a school that does.

Translation: if Auburn sells-out and gives him what he wants, he stays. If they try to have a sausage measuring contest, he'll go somewhere where he won't have to fight so hard for the things he thinks his team needs.

The recent news accounts would suggest to me that Tuberville is starting to hedge his bets. Tommy, himself, has probably not spoken with Arkansas, but if you think his agent, Jimmy Sexton, hasn't been testing the waters, you're delusional. If I had to venture a guess, I bet that Arkansas and Sexton have had a round or two of hypothetical negotiations.

Bottom line: Tuberville is Auburn's to lose, but things are going to have to change if they want to keep him on the Plains, and with some of the big egos involved, don't be surprised if Auburn is the third or fourth SEC west school to be looking for a coach here in a few weeks.[/FONT]

 

[RJ Esq]

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="904"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td colspan="15" rowspan="2">[SIZE=+3]Phil's Top 25 Forecast[/SIZE]
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</td><td colspan="14">Each week I will look at the matchups involving top 25 teams for the upcoming week and give you my forecast on the game. If you read pages 324 and 327 of my National college football preview you will see I have a Power Plays projection for each teams yards for the season. I will give you my computers projection for each game as well and keep track how both do this season. The numbers above the game reflect the Power Plays projected box score for each game. I then write my personal analysis below. I am not a computer and I do not just go by what a computer predicts, so sometimes the forecasts may vary. All games will be tabulated by the Straight up winner of each game. I will also have a couple of extra marquee games or upset selections each week to keep it interesting. Here are this weeks games involving Top 25 tms.*Numbers in Red are actual numbers/ Highlighted numbers are within 30 yds or 4 pts!
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</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="3">#2
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</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Rushing
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#1 Missouri
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">140
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">300
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">37
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">1.7
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#9 Oklahoma
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">140
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">260
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">32
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.7
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">Pittsburgh
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">98
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">150
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">14
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#2 West Virginia
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">312
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">140
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">46
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</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="3">Missouri is playing with the extreme pressure of being #1 and needing a win to get to the national title game. Oklahoma is NOT the team in the spotlight and that will help them here. OU gave up a TD in the final minute of their first meeting and “only” won by 10 but have the stronger defense and much more experience in BIG games as this is their 5th Big 12 title game while Missouri is in uncharted territory.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #9 Oklahoma 37 #1 Missouri 30
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</td><td colspan="9" rowspan="3">The Backyard Brawl. West Virginia controls their own destiny but a lot of their week is spent answering questions about the national title game and who they will play. Last week Connecticut actually outgained them in the first half! Pitt actually led WV at the half last year. I like the way Pitt has played vs Rutgers and Louisville as of late and they actually should have won both of those games outright. This one is tighter than expected.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #2 WEST VIRGINIA 37 Pittsburgh 20
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#14 Tennessee
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">107
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">230
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">27
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.4
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#5 LSU
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">178
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">250
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">35
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">1.5
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">UCLA
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">70
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">80
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">7
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#8 USC
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">175
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">230
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">29
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.5
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</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="3">Emotion will be the key here as the Tigers may come in with a “bubble-burst” attitude after LW’s 3OT loss. The have the superior offense and defense and should handle the Vol’s. LSU’s QB Flynn is however banged up as of this writing.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #5 LSU 33 #14 Tennessee 20
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</td><td colspan="10" rowspan="3">Revenge is an overused term but it certainly applies here as UCLA’s win LY kept the Trojans from the title game. The Bruins continue to have attrition with their offensive skill players. Since QB Booty returned from his injury the Trojan offense is now as potent as expected to match their elite defense. USC has also beaten UCLA by 33 ppg in their L3 home meetings.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #8 USC 38 Ucla 10
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</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">Washington
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">229
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">178
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">32
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.8
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#11 Hawaii
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">67
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">463
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">42
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.5
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</td><td colspan="7">#12
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</td><td valign="top" width="53">Turn Overs
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#12 Boston College
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">31
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">295
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">18
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.8
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">Virginia Tech
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">99
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">280
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">31
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.0
</td></tr></tbody></table></td><td colspan="4" rowspan="2">
</td><td height="1">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td rowspan="3">
</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="3">A win here equals the Sugar Bowl for Hawaii . UW is off their big Apple Cup game and their pass defense looked clueless at home vs the Cougars and must now travel to the islands and run around in the heat. The wild card for the Huskies that could hurt Hawaii is QB Jake Locker who should have success both running and passing. My computer shows the Huskies with 229 yards rushing.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #11 HAWAII 45 Washington 31
</td><td colspan="5">
</td><td height="53">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="19">
</td><td height="4">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="5">
</td><td colspan="10" rowspan="3">VT did not have LB Hall in the first meeting and RB Ore (147 yds LW) is finally healthy. VT also had BC beaten up by two scores with 2:00 to go and somehow let it slip from their grasp. No letup this time.
PHIL’S FORECAST: Virginia Tech 30 #12 Boston College 17

</td><td colspan="4" rowspan="3">
</td><td height="73">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="14">
</td><td height="24">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="4" rowspan="3">
</td><td colspan="5" rowspan="3">#13
</td><td colspan="5">
</td><td height="1">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="19">
</td><td height="30">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="6">
</td><td colspan="7" rowspan="3">#18
</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="3">
</td><td height="17">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="15">
</td><td height="3">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="3" rowspan="3">
</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="3"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td height="12" valign="top" width="124">

</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Rushing
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Passing
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Points
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Turn Overs
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">Arizona
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">38
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">285
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">24
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.2
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#13 Arizona St
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">147
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">265
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">31
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.2
</td></tr></tbody></table></td><td colspan="4">
</td><td height="28">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="17">
</td><td height="4">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="2">
</td><td colspan="10" rowspan="3"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td height="12" valign="top" width="124">

</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Rushing
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Passing
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Points
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Turn Overs
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">Oregon St
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">135
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">155
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">23
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.8
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#18 Oregon
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">160
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">245
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">27
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">3.5
</td></tr></tbody></table></td><td colspan="5" rowspan="3">
</td><td height="22">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="13">
</td><td height="4">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="3" rowspan="3">
</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="3">The Sun Devils will likely be eliminated from Rose Bowl contention by the time this is played but should still land a BCS bid with a win. Arizona beat an Oregon team that did not have QB Dixon but now takes on an offense that is at full strength. ASU is the stronger team and gets the win.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #13 ARIZONA ST 34 Arizona 24
</td><td colspan="2">
</td><td height="28">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="17">
</td><td height="4">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="2">
</td><td colspan="10" rowspan="5">The Ducks have been wiped out at QB and go from Dennis Dixon who would have won the Heisman to a rFr QB (one of two). Their offense was shutout for the first time since 1985 last week. The Ducks are at home and at least this week the young QB’s got in some work with the first string in practice and they will figure out a way to win.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #18 OREGON 20 Oregon St 17

</td><td colspan="5" rowspan="5">
</td><td height="75">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="13">
</td><td height="19">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="5">
</td><td colspan="5">#21
</td><td colspan="3">
</td><td height="48">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="13">
</td><td height="4">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="3" rowspan="2">
</td><td colspan="8" rowspan="2"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td height="12" valign="top" width="124">

</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Rushing
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Yds Passing
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Points
</td><td valign="top" width="53">Turn Overs
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">#21 BYU
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">238
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">318
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">38
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.2
</td></tr><tr><td height="17" valign="top" width="124">San Diego St
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">88
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">288
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">21
</td><td valign="middle" width="53">2.1
</td></tr></tbody></table></td><td colspan="2">
</td><td height="14">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="17">
</td><td height="40">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="28">
</td><td height="4">
</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td colspan="3">
</td><td colspan="8">San Diego St has allowed 694 and 670 yards the last two games and now takes on the potent high flying offense of BYU. BYU is #18 in the BCS standings and can move up with an impressive win.
PHIL’S FORECAST: #21 Byu 41 SAN DIEGO ST 13
</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[RJ Esq]

Pssst! On the Next Episode of SEC Coach Swap...
By SMQ
Posted on Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 09:19:51 AM EDT

Multiple sources confirm it. A friend of mine who is a big Auburn fan just texted me and said Tuberville is headed to Arkansas and Orgeron is going to be his defensive coordinator. Book it, fans.
Ongoing joke of the day on Southern Miss boards: if you can dream it, there's a South Carolina TV station that can confirm it. Probably an Arkansas TV station, too.
Who has confirmed Tuberville is bolting the Plains for Razorbackistan: the unstoppable train of rumormongering on every message board in the South. He's already bolted, in fact, for those vaults of sweet, sweet Wal-Mart coin. Who has not, even after an evening and night of complete certainty on the Web: any single mainstream print news outlet in the states of Alabama or Arkansas.
The instinct in `Bama, apparently, is to reassure: the Huntsville Times soothes anxious readers by reminding them Tuberville recorded a statement for his radio show saying, "I'm not looking to go anywhere," and assuring them Auburn AD Jay Jacobs denies Arkansas reports on Tuberville, while the Mobile Press-Register writes the Hogs haven't asked about Tubbie. Less assuredly, the Birmingham News reports Tuberville skipped a scheduled contract meeting Wednesday and is in no rush to sign a new deal.
The Northwest Arkansas Times, hearing the TV and Web rumors (and there is very little difference, I'd say), getting indications from its own sources that the deal was done or going to be done, hunted down Arkansas AD-to-be Jeff Long at the Arkansas-Memphis basketball game Wednesday, where he said this:

• "I will say that many reports about an SEC West coach are extremely premature, not only premature but fantasy, " Long said Wednesday night.
  - - -
  (emphasis added)

That was Wednesday, of course, and things change very quickly these days in 24 hours - the "done deal" rumors heated up well after Long compared Tubs in Fayetteville to Gandolf in Middle Earth or whatever. Publicly, though, one athletic director says, "I know nothing, and if there was more than nothing, I'd know," and the other says "It's fantasy," and no reliable mainstream outlets (TV=not reliable, especially when "there is still a chance the situation can change") or Brian Cook types (which do not exist in Southern blogdome) have come up with anything solid to the contrary after a good 36 hours of intense gossip. So we'll see.

Why god why?
- - -

This is tidier, if that's possible, than what's going at Southern Miss, which according to boards interviewed South Carolina and ex-USM defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix Wednesday, then offered him Thursday (per the now-notorious South Carolina TV station), then convincingly denied either of these events had occurred; the Carolina station quickly pulled its offer story from the Web, though there is still one up this morning, weirdly, from a station in Wisconsin. Nix is the most obvious of the many, many, many possible candidates being bandied about, and as such appears to have at least informally talked with AD Richard Giannini this week. But Giannini insists some of his targets are coaching this weekend and no formal interviews will be conducted until next week. Southern Miss Web partisans - united about 10 to 1 against Nix, at least - are momentarily relieved but still forced into action to downplay Nix's candidacy every hour or so from South Carolina fans dropping by to insist our boy is coming home. Both factions appear to be operating primarily on wish fulfillment. In the meantime, more popular names - Jimbo Fisher, Will Muschamp, Georgia Southern head coach Chris Hatcher - gain traction, along with, ridiculously, Terry Bowden. Terry Bowden? Please, folks. It's a name, an old, mostly discredited name after the heap he left in Auburn - recall why Tuberville's such a commodity these days - and even if USM was shortsighted enough to stoop for a recognizable but extremely out of practice SEC retread, he's got a cushy booth job where he can jabber on about his daddy and would never be interes...what? He is interested? Oh shit.
He's on campus with Will Muschamp, man! Swear ta gawd!
Update [2007-11-30 11:21:25 by SMQ]: Michigan, by contrast, being upright and stolid Midwesterners content to watch the fracas with disapproval from its office window, is keeping things simple: the Wolverines beckon to Les Miles, and the old charge dutifilly relents, according to MGoBlog, which, undeterred by the collapse of last week's initial Ferentz rumors, has it on good authority – well, "authority" - that Miles has told his players goodbye and will accept the Michigan job after Saturday's SEC Championship game.
That leaves an opening at LSU, which fortunately for the Internet has the potential to redefine 'wild.' If I can have your ear for a second, Tigers, I'd like to put in a good word for a certain ex-Auburn coach...

 

[RJ Esq]

Cowan to Start against USC
By Paragon SC Section: Football
Posted on Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 08:43:03 AM EDT


I'm not surprised.
With the tenure of Karl Dorrell on its last legs KD is pulling out all the stops to pull out a win on Saturday and the final card he can play to givem a chance is to start Patrick Cowan. Of the three QB's that ucla has Cowan seems to be the most effective to run the bruin offense. The kid is real gamer I'll give him that, he got right up after that hit that Rey Rey put on him last year and he has shown he can be mobile, not Dennis Dixon mobile but he can move.

Patrick Cowan, who hasn't played since suffering a concussion and slight collapse of his right lung Nov. 3, will start at quarterback for UCLA against No. 8 Southern California on Saturday. UCLA coach Karl Dorrell made the announcement after practice Thursday, saying Cowan would get the nod because of his mobility. Dorrell also said it's possible that Ben Olson and Osaar Rasshan would see action at quarterback as well against the Trojans.
Rasshan was 0-for-7 with one interception while playing the first half of UCLA's 16-0 victory over No. 18 Oregon last weekend. Olson played the second half -- his first action since injuring his left knee Oct. 6 -- and was 4-of-10 for 64 yards with one interception. Olson's knee is still bothering him.
Dorrell gave a hint of what was to come on Wednesday, saying: "This is a pretty fast defense. Whoever is playing has to have his mobility. That's a concern with Ben, given his injury and his recovery from the injury."

I really don't think Dorrell has a choice. Ben Olson looks to be a fragile as tissue paper and Rasshan while being very mobile is one-dimensional, at least Cowan can run and throw the ball. I think SC was preparing to see multiple QB's thrown at them as ucla's offense sputters so this shouldn't be a big deal. It's simple really keep the ball in front you to take away the big play and things should go well.
We'll find out in 36 hours!

 

[RJ Esq]

Penn State accepts bid to Alamo Bowl

Posted: Friday November 30, 2007 3:53PM; Updated: Friday November 30, 2007 3:53PM

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Joe Paterno is going back to the Alamo Bowl.
Penn State accepted a bid Friday to play in the Dec. 29 bowl game in San Antonio against a Big 12 team -- likely either Texas Tech or Texas A&M. The final determination will probably be made Sunday.
The Nittany Lions (8-4) last played in the Alamo Bowl in 1999, when they shut out the Aggies, 24-0.
"This team has worked hard all season and has been a great group to work with. I'm happy for the squad that their efforts will be rewarded with an opportunity to go to San Antonio," Paterno said in a statement.
Paterno holds records for most bowl appearances (33) and postseason wins (22). The Alamo Bowl will also be the 500th game of his head-coaching career (371-125-3).
The Alamo Bowl is sponsored by Valero.

 

[RJ Esq]

Miles Will Go to Michigan If Offered, LSU Players (Supposedly) Say

Posted Nov 30th 2007 4:54PM by Ryan Ferguson
Filed under: LSU Football, Michigan Football, Big 10, SEC, NCAA FB Coaching

If you want rock-solid coaching carousel info, you go to one source: MGoBlog.

Our own Brian Cook has been hitting them outta the ballpark all year long. Mssr. Cook first broke the Lloyd Carr retirement story and nailed the timeline; then he sniffed out the Kirk Ferentz offer, and correctly predicted Ferentz would turn Michigan down; and now he's got sources telling him Miles will interview on Sunday, after the SEC Championship Game, and that there's a good chance he'll get an offer.

From MGoBlog:

What may be one final blast of unconfirmed internet rumor: Tigerdroppings has multiple posters who say Miles has told the players he's leaving.

He told the team today after practice that he's stepping down and going to Michigan. (or at least so a little birdie told me...)

Another:

I can confirm this as well. Heard directly from a players mouth. Miles is gone. Expect it to break soon. Players can't keep this secret long.​

And more:

this was just confirmed to me through a text message from a guy i know on the team...so its pretty true.​

An email followup to one of the guys on the board:

I'm pretty good friends w/ RJ Jackson. I was hanging out w/ his girlfriend, Chelsea, tonight. I dropped her off at his apartment so they could hang for a while before they left for ATL. He told us Miles informed them at practice today that "he was leaving". Told whole team he took the UM job. I didn't get to go into details. Its true and a done deal.​

Local news stations down in Baton Rouge also seem pretty sure he's out.​

Brian concludes that this isn't 100% solid... more like 90%. Sounds about right.

 

[RJ Esq]

Applewhite Staying

November 30, 2007 — TideDruid Alabama Offensive Coordinator Major Applewhite appears to be staying in Tuscaloosa for at least one more year. From Ian Rapoport of the Birmingham News:

Alabama offensive coordinator Major Applewhite told a key recruit that he’s not leaving for another job.
Star Jackson, a coveted quarterback from Palm Beach, Fla., told The Birmingham News that Applewhite informed him Thursday night that “he’s not leaving. He’s going to stick there. The only way he’s leaving is if he gets fired.”
Jackson’s in-home visit from Applewhite on Thursday night lasted past midnight.
​

So, it seems that we’ll at least have Major around for another year. Who knows where Houston will be going next for their vacancy.
By the way, I would like to thank the folks at The Big Lead for linking to my site earlier today.

 

[RJ Esq]

Michigan Officially Gets Railroaded



Maybe I'm just infuriated because I'm a Michigan fan, but don't you guys think it's a little ridiculous that a team just playing for the conference championship on the last week their season will be relegated to the Champs Sports Bowl?

Now, granted, the Capital One Bowl has yet to make a selection, but they're going to be foaming at the mouth to create an Illinois/Florida matchup. We know that for sure. Plus, Illinois is everybody's darling right now because of how downtrodden they have been over the past few seasons.

And, as a Michigan fan, I don't have as much problem with Illinois or Wisconsin getting selected ahead of Michigan because the bowls deserve some wiggle room to select whoever will give them the greatest opportunity at generating revenue. I don't take issue with that. I do, however, view what the Alamo Bowl just did as a borderline abomination (that's hyperbole, folks) to the entire bowl selection process.

Unless you've been in a coma, it's no secret that the bowls are looking out for their financial interests. And I don't have a problem with that because that's what they're there to do. It just is absolutely unfair that a team with a 4-4 conference record (that was defeated by Michigan and their backup QB, Ryan Mallett) gets selected ahead of them.

So, Big Blue fans, pack your bags for Orlando! It sure is a fun place to go on vacation, but I assume the Maize and Blue faithful would much rather make plans for traveling to the other bowl game in Orlando or at least Tampa.