Erin Andrews' Diminished Role

Stacey Dales is turning up more and more as a sideline reporter on ESPN telecasts, which begs the question: Is ESPN grooming her as a replacement for Erin Andrews?

Dales did the second of her three bowl assignments Sunday night. Meanwhile, long-time Wiz favorite Andrews did her only on-air appearance Saturday night at the Alamo Bowl. Andrews will be at the Rose Bowl, but she'll be working for ESPN Radio. Awful Announcing said it best: "What's the point?"
Rob Stone has the most sideline assignments with four. Stone, who in the opinion of this blogger does solid and entertaining work, made a name for himself earlier this season when he took on Bhut Jolokia, the world's hottest chili pepper.

But back to the question of the day: Why has Andrews' on-air role been diminished this postseason? Dales has — as they say — been sexed up and is turning up frequently on the four-letter network. Just wondering. ...

Thanks to TV Tan Line.

Fire Rick Neuheisel For Sale: $250,000

Now that Slick Rick Neuheisel is back in the game, so is his domain.

But if you want the hottest domain name going — Fire Rick Neuheisel.com — get ready to pay. A Michigan man named Mike owns the site and has the following terms of sale:

• You must donate $75,000 to the University of Colorado general scholarship fund.
• You must donate $75,000 to the University of Washington scholarships for students program.
• You must donate $100,000 to the Teach for America program.
  

We contacted Mike and he explained the reasons behind his unusual demands:

Why did you purchase the site?

Mostly as a kiss off/parody of other "Fire X" sites. This was at the time of the height of popularity of the Ron Zook site. Major college athletics is very broken right now in many respects, this is where I think fans become way, way too involved. I really don't think a slight dip in a program's quality should be worth having a coach being fired.

And of course, to a fan, the only measure of quality is wins and losses, not how many special cases your program has to bring in to get those wins or whether or not your coach is teaching athletes to become the leaders of tomorrow. It's just a game. If a team's success or lack thereof affects you in any way, unless you are directly involved with the program as a player or coach, you have problems.

Why did you post the message you did?

As much as I hate the "Fire X" sites, Rick Neuheisel to me is another person who is a major problem with college athletics. He has no regard for any part of the college experience that doesn't involve his football team nor the rules that try to keep college football from not being NFL Triple-A ball. And for Washington having to pay millions of dollars to pay him off was sickening to me.

Secondly, I am really getting sick of the amount of money that is thrown around now in major college athletics. Why should a football coach make millions of dollars? If it's a private school or your athletic department is self-sustaining (meaning no money from students at all), then sure, go ahead, pay all you want. But even the ones that claim they are self-sustaining are not, since they usually have to charge students for tickets.

To me, this was the perfect combination of combining the ludicrousness of the "Fire X" site with the obscenity of the money being thrown around and schools' willingness to latch on to obvious problem cases if it can mean a few extra wins.

Do you work in academia?

No. I chose the education groups involved because a college/university, after all, is supposed to be about the education. I'm not some ivory tower snob, I see a lot of college athletics. I have Michigan football and hockey season tickets and I regularly attend softball, baseball and water polo. Although I really don't know how much longer for football. My season ticket is approaching $500. For eight games. Absolutely ridiculous.

Greatest Moments of the Season

If you are stuck in a cubicle and looking for a way to goof off on the last day of 2007, we've got the place for you. The site All American Football League has a nifty video post of the greatest moments of the season. It starts on the grandest of stages — Michigan Stadium — with Appalachian State stunning the Wolverines. The upsets continued to pile up — Stanford over USC, Illinois over Ohio State and Kentucky and Arkansas over Louisiana State. And how can we forget Trinity's 15-lateral play to beat dreaded Millsaps? Highly recommended. Thanks to Pete!

Reporters' Notebooks

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Outstanding piece here. College football fans have been and are being duped. Fooled. Bamboozled. Deceived. Unfortunately, they are a willing participant in the scam.

Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News: Some Michigan linemen appear to have not missed many meals over the holidays.

Brian Dohn, L.A. Daily News: Could Michigan freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett, who appears to be a bad fit for Rich Rodriguez's offense, be headed for UCLA along with outgoing Wolverine quarterbacks coach Scott Loeffler?

Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press: How a freak nerve injury may have cost Michigan a berth to the Rose Bowl.

Ted Miller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Rick Neuheisel. You either love him or hate him, but they have already circled Nov. 15 on the calendar at Washington, the day UCLA plays the Huskies in Seattle.

Blaine Newnham, Seattle Times: What has happened to the biz? Cutbacks claim another one. The longtime columnist pens his final one for the paper.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: A hula performed by Texas A&M players at a pregame function added to Penn State's desire to win the Alamo Bowl.

Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times: Cal coach Jeff Tedford said that receivers DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan and safety Thomas DeCoud will not start in the Armed Forces Bowl because they violated team rules.

A happy and safe New Year to the valued readers and journalists who make this site what it is.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Houston.

Good Times for the Longhorns in San Diego

If you've never been to a Holiday Bowl, well, you must. Ross was kind enough to send us a link to images of his excursion to America's Finest City and he came away impressed, calling the experience "a blast."

"I met up with Rob and Katy who run Hornfans.com and also Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation. Rob and Katy put on a tailgate at every Texas game (home and away and bowls) and I helped them put it together. We met up at about 9 a.m., bought food and beer for the group and got to the stadium and set up our tailgate area at 10 a.m. (for a 5 p.m. game).
"The crowd started showing up in droves at about 2 p.m. and we grilled sausage wraps and went through about a dozen 36 packs of beer. Good tailgate that came together with the help of a lot of sources bringing the awning and chairs, grill, etc.
"The game was great from the Texas point of view. We came out aggressive and played hard. We were badly outnumbered in the stands (80/20). But a lot of the local ticket holders without a stake in the game left at half and ASU fans began leaving in the third quarter."

You can view more images from the game by clicking here. If you're headed to a bowl, send us images and comments about your experience. The address: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Headlines

Getting ready to throw out some papers we've been saving since the start of the bowl season and thought you might want to look through them before they reach the recycling bin. As always, click an image for a closer look.

That's Pete Carroll on the Left

The run-up to the Rose Bowl began in grand fashion last week when players and coaches from USC and Illinois visited Disneyland. Image of Sport was on the scene and you can check out the gallery by clicking here.

Slick Rick Is Back in the Game

UCLA chancellor Gene Block released the statement: "I'm pleased to welcome Rick Neuheisal back into the UCLA family . . ."

UCLA later sent out a correction — spelling Neuheisel's name correctly.

Yes, the Neuheisel-UCLA marriage appears to be one of desperation. Slick Rick, who racked up 50-plus NCAA violations at Colorado and Washington, is back in the college ranks, leaving his gig as first-year offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, who stand No. 23 in offense and No. 25 in scoring and touchdowns. The Ravens, 13-3 a year ago, have lost nine in a row entering Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.

UCLA, desperate to make a hire, gets a coach on the cheap: A reported five-year deal for $1.25 million annually, plus incentives. But it's not like Neuheisel, 46, needs the money. In 2005, he settled a wrongful termination lawsuit against the NCAA and Washington for $4.5 million.

Neuheisel didn't leave many friends behind when he bolted Colorado for Washington. T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times found this gem: When Neuheisel departed Boulder, the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla began his column, "The Colorado Buffaloes have no football coach this morning, which is an improvement over their position 24 hours earlier."

Neuheisel has a career record of 66-30. Of Slick Rick's time at Washington, the Seattle Times Bob Condotta writes: "Neuheisel was 33-16 at UW but what many close to the program think is more relevant is that he was 8-9 in his last 17 games. That was the period when the Huskies began not to be able to run the ball well — they never topped 200 yards rushing in any of his last 23 games as UW's coach; and began to give up points in bunches — UW gave up 30 or more points in eight of those games.

"One person close to the UW program once told me that they thought the best thing that ever happened to Neuheisel's coaching reputation was that he was fired in the manner he was, his theory being Neuheisel might have been fired in a year or two for on-field performance. Being fired for something else — and at the time he was — allowed him to merely point to his overall record of 66-30 as evidence of his coaching acumen instead of the fact that both UW and Colorado began to lose more the longer he was in control."

Crable: Tebow Just Another Quarterback

Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable, navigating his way over the Purdue line, has some freakish skills. He also has a message for Tim Tebow, Florida's Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, who he hopes to meet up close in the Capital One Bowl:

"I think y'all are too concerned with this Tebow, I mean he’s just a quarterback. He's really not [different.] He's got some freakish stats because they use him differently, they use him in the red zone a lot to run the ball but he's nothing more exceptional than we've ever played against.

"If you ask me about [Oregon’s] Dennis Dixon or you ask me about [former Texas quarterback] Vince Young, I'd be like, now those are some freakish people. You ask me about this guy, he's just a quarterback."

It's Snack Time at the Alamo Bowl!

Quite a week in San Antonio for Texas A&M. First came the "Joe Paterno's on his death bed! And someone needs to find him a casket!" embarrassment brought upon the school by a Yell Leader. Then came this Alamo Bowl classic.
We understand the lines were lengthy at the Alamodome concession stands, but that's no excuse for digging into an orifice for a snack. One has to wonder what else was on the menu for the evening. And the guy in the lower right, is he offering for a free snack?
Texas A&M lost to Penn State, 24-17, leaving Aggie cheeseburger tailback Jorvorskie Lane in tears. Yes, "Remember the Alamo" has a new meaning. Thanks to TV Tan Line for the images.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Alabama and Clemson are close to a deal to open the 2008 season at the Georgia Dome.

Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee: All-America kick returner A.J. Jefferson was one of eight Fresno State players who have been suspended for Monday's Humanitarian Bowl against Georgia Tech.

Woody Paige, Denver Post: The 1969 Colorado team made its mark on racism, defeating an all-white Alabama team, 47-33, in the Liberty Bowl.

Solvej Schou, Associated Press: Human rights advocates plan to protest a float honoring the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and anti-war activists, including "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan, intend to rally for peace during the Tournament of Roses parade.

Don Markus, Baltimore Sun: Ralph Friedgen after a 6-7 season: "We're going to raise our game to a whole 'nother level. They'd better bring their 'A' game because I'm going to bring mine."

And this tidbit for teams with new, interim or lame duck coaches: UCLA, Southern Mississippi, Texas A&M, Houston and Navy have all lost bowl games. Good luck to Lloyd Carr. Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link.

Neuheisel Is UCLA's Choice

UCLA has its man, and it's Rick Neuheisel.

Neuheisel had been the front-runner after reportedly making several promises to UCLA chancellor Gene Block, including being able to produce four different donors who could produce $1 million each for the Pauley Pavilion makeover.

Neuheisel also racked up over 50 NCAA violations while he was coach at Colorado and Washington. He was fired at Washington after taking part in a high-stakes NCAA basketball betting pool but later received a $4.5 million settlement in a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Going Nuts Over the Emerald Bowl

Maryland and Oregon State squared off Friday night in the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park in San Francisco, and Image of Sport was on hand to chronicle the Beavers' 21-14 victory. You can view the entire gallery by clicking here.

This, ladies and gentlemen, was a heavyweight event. Check out Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, above, whose team finished 6-7, the Terrapins' third losing record in the past four seasons.

Oregon State quarterback Sean Canfield, right, completed only eight of 14 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, but he didn't have to be sharp because he handed the workload to Yvenson Bernard, below, who cut through the Maryland defense for 177 rushing yards.
A small, wet and pro-Oregon State crowd of 32,517 attended the game and watched afterward as Oregon State took home the hardware. That's Gary Cavalli, below left, the co-founder and the only executive director in the Emerald Bowl's six-year history. No wonder Cavalli's smiling. You might recall an earlier story pointing out that his compensation package for running the bowl was $362,018 in 2006. "Frankly, my compensation package is none of your business,” Cavalli said.

Reporters' Notebooks

Alex Abrams, Springdale Morning News: The father of Arkansas running back Darren McFadden said that a TV report claiming an agent helped his son purchase a Cadillac Escalade was "a bold-faced lie."

Brian Dohn, L.A. Daily News: Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach John Harbaugh, the brother of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, has a second interview scheduled with UCLA.

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones wants the Cotton Bowl to become part of the Bowl Championship Series when the game is moved to his new stadium in 2010.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: With college football in no mood for a true playoff system, the best we can hope for is the Plus One model.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: Despite the death of a teammate in a motorcycle accident, many Florida players decline to wear headgear when riding on scooters.

Anna Simon and Julie Howle, Greenville News: Clemson fans are once again flooding a bowl city with $2 bills stamped with a Tiger Paw.

Yell Leader Is Sent Packing

Here's the best video yet of the Texas A&M Yell Leader saying, "Joe Paterno's on his death bed! And someone needs to find him a casket!"

A&M officials sent the unidentified Yell Leader home and spent Friday apologizing profusely for the remarks.

Paterno shrugged it off. "Hey, sticks and stones," the 81-year-old Penn State coach said. "That's what my mom used to say to me when they used to call me a 'wop' [a slur against his Italian heritage] when I was walking down the street."

Thanks to Snead for posting a link to the YouTube video.

Texas' Out-of-Control Sideline

Here is video of Texas' Chris Jessie, a member of the football operations staff, stepping onto the field to touch a live ball during Thursday night's Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The first word that comes to mind is idiot.

Now who in the hell is Chris Jessie? His stepfather is Longhorn coach Mack Brown. And the Sporting Orange claims to have found his MySpace page. Not good, my friends. No good.

The Texas sideline was quite animated throughout the 52-34 victory over Arizona State and received two warnings. Frankly, the Longhorns should have been penalized several times for having coaches and players step onto the field during live plays. But as they say, it's only cheating if you get caught.

Onto the game. Our friends at Image of Sport were on the scene and turned in another top-notch effort. Image of Sport is a one-stop sports photography wire service and digital archive to meet the demands of daily newspapers and editorial publications. You can view the complete gallery from the Holiday Bowl by clicking here.
Check this out: A rare shot of Brown and his staff legally staying off the playing field during a live play.
Jamal Charles ran around, through and over Arizona State defenders on his way to 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Texas had plenty to cheer about, including quarterback Colt McCoy winning offensive player of the game honors despite a severe case of fumbleitis. Defensive end Brian Orakpo was defensive player of the game.ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters and ESPN radio reporter Todd Harris were kept busy throughout the Longhorns' inspired victory, which will forever be remembered by Jessie's blunder.

Update: Below are three images that have already been located online of Jessie. The first is from his reported MySpace page. The second, well, we're not sure about that one, but he certainly seems a tad old for that form of activity. This kid is really lucky that Texas won. Otherwise all hell would have broke loose in the Longhorn State.

The third image is of the play in question. Note how many other Texas players and coaches are on the field during a live play. Like we said, this was the case throughout the game and the Longhorns received only two warnings in addition to the penalty on Jessie, which didn't come until after a lengthy review. It certainly seems like something strange happens every time the Longhorns play in California, doesn't it? Thanks to Deadspin.

Yell Leader: Find Paterno a Casket

A Texas A&M Yell Leader, one of the uniformed male cheerleaders who organize the regimented cheers, reportedly has been sent home after a tasteless remark at an Alamo Bowl pep rally Thursday night on the Riverwalk at San Antonio.

"Joe Paterno's on his death bed! And someone needs to find him a casket!" the unidentified yell leader screamed over a microphone, first to gasps and then thunderous boos from the Penn State fans.

According to David Jones of the Patriot-News, the yell leader had been "telling a lengthy and convoluted fantasy story that was falling flat. Finally, PSU fans began booing and chanting 'We are!...' At that point, the flustered yell leader fired back with his insult."

The man and other yell leaders then left the stage and Penn State cheerleaders replaced them. A male Nittany Lion cheerleader took the mike and remarked, "I'm not sure what just happened here."

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Update: KSAT has video of the incident.

Reporters' Notebooks

Sports By Brooks: Arkansas' Darren McFadden was spotted driving a new Cadillac Escalade and there may be questions surrounding his eligibility.

Greg Moore, Charleston Gazette: West Virginia has filed a lawsuit against its former coach, Rich Rodriguez, in an effort to secure a $4 million buyout from Rodriguez for breaking his contract with the school.

Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman has requested a release from his scholarship, according to multiple sources.

Chadd Cripe and Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: About 24,000 tickets have been sold for Monday's Humanitarian Bowl in Boise.

Greg Johnson, Los Angeles Times: Money talks, playoff walks in the Bowl Championship Series.

Randy King, Roanoke Times: Virginia Tech will be without the services of leading rusher Branden Ore for at least 15 minutes of the Orange Bowl. He showed up 45 minutes late for practice and is being disciplined.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida, preparing for the Sun Bowl at El Paso's Canutillo High, practiced in 44-degree weather, with wind gusts to 44 mph that dropped the wind chill to 33 degrees.

Here is today's mystery link. Stick with it. ...

Coaches Telling Lies

You may have heard Ryan Parker's work on a sportstalk station, but two recent songs he composed caught our attention. The top offering is titled "Coaches Telling Lies" and should swing to the top of the charts the next time Alabama and Arkansas play.

The offering below is titled "Michigan Steals Coaches (From WVU)." At last count, Parker has 43 videos on YouTube. He also has a website, Ryan Parker Songs. Check it out.

Body of Work

Not sure what is going on or what to make of it, but the day we post a photo of a painted Alabama supermodel, another pops up on the redesigned Sports By Brooks.

Somebody, please explain ... is this a Southeastern Conference thing that's going around?

Anyway, we certainly give the edge to Louisiana State in this battle of the painted SEC supermodels. If there are more of these floating around, send them our way.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii's June Jones says he has no interest in the opening at Southern Methodist. "I'm just interested in the University of Georgia," he said.

Kevin Tatum, Philadelphia Inquirer: Temple coach Al Golden announced he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the vacant job at UCLA.

Carter Strickland, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia's Mark Richt has barred his 21-year-old players from the Harrah's Casino in New Orleans, site of the Sugar Bowl.

Jeff D'Alessio, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Here are five things Erin Andrews can't live without.

Zach Silka, Toledo Blade: Michigan freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett, who doesn't seem like a fit to new coach Rich Rodriguez's offense, said he would like to remain a Wolverine.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: Interesting Holiday Bowl news conference, with Arizona State's Dennis Erickson trying to joke with Texas' Mack Brown about Colt McCoy's 18 interceptions: "And don't give me the color-blind deal with the quarterback as to why he throws so many interceptions. Please."

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma's Bob Stoops confirmed that defensive back Lendy Holmes is academically ineligible for the Fiesta Bowl.

Mel Bracht, Oklahoman: As Pat Haden prepares to broadcast the Fiesta Bowl, he thinks college football would be better off without the Bowl Championship Series.

Berry Tramel, Oklahoma: In an odd arrangement, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma will spend the week sharing a city — Phoenix — while awaiting bowl games.

Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press: Michigan's Mike Hart, whose "little brother" comment riled up Michigan State, had a face-to-face encounter with Spartan players during a Day for Kids Festival for the Orlando bowl participants.

Tom Kensler, Denver Post: Colorado's charter flight from Denver to Shreveport was delayed by mechanical troubles and the team missed an Independence Bowl welcoming party. Darn!

Tom Kubat, Lafayette Journal & Courier: If you had over 100 in the Motor City Bowl, you lost. Purdue beat Central Michigan, 51-48.

Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Five defensive players, including one starter, will miss Penn State's Alamo Bowl game against Texas A&M.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli blew off the media and went to Sea World in San Antonio.

Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News: Texas A&M sophomore tailback Mike Goodson said he has no intention to transfer to Louisiana State.

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: The Cotton Bowl-bound Missouri Tigers noticed an upgrade from the slightly less grand accommodations at the Sun Bowl and the Independence Bowl.

Lee Hermiston, Iowa City Press-Citizen: Suspended Iowa player Anthony Bowman, charged with unauthorized use of a credit card, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's excellent mystery link. Thanks to Houston.

A Big Cigar Is Critical of West Virginia

Chances are you don't recognize the gentleman above, but that's Ken Kendrick, an executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He's also a 1965 graduate of West Virginia and a big booster of Mountaineer athletics.

After John Pruett of the Huntsville Times wrote a piece last Friday that was critical of West Virginia boosters who were in a tizzy over Rich Rodriguez's departure to Michigan, the columnist got a call from Kendrick.

"I grew up in that state,'' Kendrick said. "My heart is still in those mountains, even though I live 2,000 miles away.''

Kendrick told Pruett that Rodriguez was "signed, sealed and delivered" to be Alabama's coach last year and in the middle of the night he received a call from a university official asking if he would intercede.

"They said we know you know how to negotiate,'' Kendrick said, "and we know that you know Rich and we know you support the program. Can you help? I said, 'Well, I'll try.' ''

Kendrick spoke with Rodriguez and asked what it would take to keep the coach in Morgantown. "He wanted more money for his assistants, some improvements in facilities, an improved locker room, and some modest things — like waiving an old policy so that high school coaches could attend games free, and hiring another graduate assistant.''

Kendrick said he was "among a group of individuals who were willing to fund the whole thing,'' that "it wouldn't have cost the university a penny,'' and that "none of it would've come from taxpayers' money.''

Rodriguez agreed to stay, but in the subsequent months, Kendrick said West Virginia officials began to "stonewall" on promises made to Rodriguez. When Michigan called, Rodriguez was fed up.

"Rich Rodriguez is not the traitor he has been made out to be by some people in West Virginia,'' Kendrick said. "In his heart, I know he wanted to stay. But this time, he felt he had no choice but to leave.''

Then Kendrick let it fly: "We have a poorly run athletic department and an incompetent AD and assistant AD. This is a $50 million business — and it is a business — and they don't have a strategic plan. They still run the place like it was a business the size of a dry-cleaning store.''

Kendrick said it's not his place to say who should be the next coach, but he's clearly worried what is ahead for the Mountaineers.

"I do believe our next coach will have at least momentary successes, based on what Rich has left behind,'' he said. "But I'm worried that our moment in time has passed. I'm afraid our chances of returning to mediocrity are pretty damn high.''

Roll Tide

Citizens of Shreveport, consider this your final warning. Alabama fans are preparing to descend on your city for Sunday's Independence Bowl matchup against Colorado and creatures such as the one above will soon be roaming the streets.

We're not sure where blogging buddy Erik comes up with this material — come to think of it, we really don't want to know. But he has more painted supermodels at Deep South Sports.

Mac vs. PC Becomes Hokie vs. Jayhawk

You've no doubt seen the successful Mac vs. PC commercials by Apple Computer. This spoof of that advertising campaign deals with the Orange Bowl matchup between Virginia Tech and Kansas. There are three of these videos at the moment on YouTube, and the one we've posted discusses Kansas' schedule.

Reporters' Notebooks

Candace Buckner, Kansas City Star: U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri has a point when talking about the Tigers and the Bowl Championship Series. “Now let me see if I get this straight. We beat Illinois, they’re going to the BCS. We beat KU, they’re going to the BCS. What is wrong with this picture?”

Terrance Harris, Houston Chronicle: Has the Western Athletic Conference passed the Mountain West as the second-best league in the West behind the Pacific 10?

Joseph Person, Houston Chronicle: Move over Emeril. Linebacker Robert Killebrew is tempting the taste buds of Texas fans with a series of cooking shows on the team's website.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: Among the items drawing considerable interest in the upcoming Orange Bowl auction are the stadium urinals.

Tom Kubat, Lafayette Journal & Courier: If Purdue is going to beat Central Michigan for the second time this season and snap a three-game bowl losing streak, it will have to figure out a way to contain quarterback Dan LeFevour.

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: The father of Oklahoma junior defensive back Lendy Holmes said that his son is academically ineligible and won't play in the Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: OK, being in a few bowl pools online and at work increases the interest. Football without gambling is, after all, soccer.

Phil Steele: It says here that Washington played the toughest schedule, Hawaii the easiest. Thanks to Get the Picture.

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One of the Calls in Question

If you had money riding on the Illinois-Ohio State game on Nov. 10, you've probably read about the checkered past of Big Ten referee Stephen Pamon that was outlined in a Yahoo! Sports story by Josh Peter. Pamon, a crew chief who has worked for the conference since 1988, has a checkered history of bankruptcy, casino gambling, child abuse and allegations of sexual harassment.

Here is video of one of the calls Pamon and his crew missed during the Fighting Illini-Buckeye game, won by Illinois, 28-21, The crew is also being criticized for its work in the Penn State-Purdue game on Nov. 3.

Pamon and his then-wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after amassing $429,409 in debt, an amount that Pamon's sister-in-law told Yahoo! Sports was in part because of gambling losses. Two of the creditors were casinos.

Reporters' Notebooks

Tuscaloosa News: Alabama's Nick Saban and his wife, Terry, were not injured when Saban’s car hit a downed tree.

Joe Rexrode, Lansing State Journal: Five Michigan State players will not play in the Champs Sports Bowl on Friday because of academic ineligibility or a violation of team rules.

James Staley, Albuquerque Tribune: Now that New Mexico has ended a bowl skid dating to 1961, is a Mountain West title the next item on the menu for the Lobos?

Mike Knobler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: For coaches, there's an incentive to win, with bonuses for bowl victories written into contracts.

Brian Davis, Dallas Morning News: Texas A&M and Arkansas will each be guaranteed $5 million annually when they begin a nonconference series at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium in 2009.

San Antonio Express-News: Texas A&M defensive end Michael Bennett and fullback Jodie Richardson were ruled academically ineligible for the Alamo Bowl.

Don Williams, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech backup defensive tackle Brian Jones plans to skip the Gator Bowl and won't return for his senior season because he earned a degree in three years.

Kalani Takase, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii will take a party of 542 to the Sugar Bowl, but still expects to turn a profit of $2 million from its trip.

Brett Dawson, Louisville Courier-Journal: A Kentucky student by the name of Rich Brooks gets a lot of email addressed to the school's football coach.

SportsBusiness Journal: A look at what players will receive in bowl gifts.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link (contains nudity).

Did Slick Rick Pull a Fast One?

Dick Harmon of the Deseret Morning News reports that Tennessee Titan offensive coordinator Norm Chow called UCLA quarterback Ben Olson a minimum of two times last week.

During the calls, Chow told Olson he was looking forward to working with Olson as the UCLA head coach next season. Harmon says the basis of his report comes from sources close to Olson, a former Brigham Young quarterback who transferred to UCLA.

It's not clear what happened next, but Chow suddenly took himself out of the running last Thursday. The suspicion is that Rick Neuheisel — one of the finalists for the job — promised UCLA chancellor Gene Block the earth, moon, sun and stars, including saying "he could produce four different donors, each giving $1 million for the Pauley Pavilion makeover," according to T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times.

SMU Expresses Interest in Jones

Southern Methodist is interested in Hawaii's June Jones as its new football coach, the Dallas Morning News reports.

The Mustangs have been looking for a coach since firing Phil Bennett on Oct. 28.

Jones' five-year, $4-million deal with Hawaii ends in July, and no new deal has been reached. SMU athletic director Steve Orsini has raised around $10 million for the new coach and staff.

Frankly, we put the odds of Jones leaving Hawaii for SMU at slightly less than 10,000-to-1.

Other coaches in the mix at SMU include former Miami coach Larry Coker and former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione.

East Carolina's Hawaiian Vacation

Here's amateur home video of the last play from Sunday night's Hawaii Bowl, with East Carolina kicker Ben Hartman kicking a 34-yard field goal as time expires, then racing to the other end of the field. He was finally chased down by teammates. The Pirates returned home Monday and some fans called the 41-38 victory over Boise State the biggest in team history. The trip left quite an impression on Nathan Summers, a reporter for the Greenville Daily Reflector.

Notre Dame Football Was Bad Theater

If Crewcut Charlie Weis wasn't under pressure in 2007, he certainly will be in 2008.

A stumbling and bumbling 3-9 season had a huge impact on NBC's ratings of Notre Dame telecasts.

All told, numbers were off 40% from last year and are now half of their 2005 levels. In fact, ratings for NBC's telecasts were half those of ABC's college football games.

The network pays $9 million a year to broadcast this nonsense and, according to Business Week, the downturn could affect the Fighting Irish's next TV deal. The current agreement ends in 2010. In other words, Weis needs to start winning and winning fast.

As Notre Dame losses piled up this fall, the network had to adjust its advertising pricing strategy, giving loads of free ads (known as make-goods) to companies like Allstate and Procter & Gamble to justify the $55,000-to-$80,000 rates for a 30-second ad it negotiated before the season started.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

The Complete Look at Nonconference Travel

Here's the complete breakdown of Map Game Day's Travel Maps, which examined nonconference travel of teams from 1998-2007.

Below you will find charts listing miles traveled by conference, a list of the top and bottom 10 teams and conference-by-conference breakdowns, including independents. We wanted to put all of this information on one post for future reference.

As stated earlier, Richard recalibrated his data to reflect conference alignments as they were each year the games were played. It was determined that this was the proper way to treat the data, and we apologize for any errors this created.

This adjustment made for some notable changes in the top 10 list, with Hawaii falling completely out of the rankings. Under the new parameters, the Rainbows took only six nonconference trips from 1998-2007, totaling 19,834 miles. Hawaii is still the most-traveled team overall, covering 138,082 miles in the past 10 years. We hope to examine this data closely in a future post.

Click an image for a closer look.

Erin Andrews — Need We Say More?

She's doing something for EA Sports. Doesn't really matter, does it?

The Bachelor Is Thrown for a Loss

When asked by John Saunders for his opinion on the Texas-Texas A&M game last month, Jesse Palmer endorses the Longhorns and refers to Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as Colt Brennan. Saunders catches the mistake and corrects the Bachelor. The Longhorns lost, 38-30.

Maintaining the Integrity of the Bowl System

There are bowl games. Then there is the Pizza Bowl, which quickly became a Wiz favorite when ESPN told fans of South Florida and East Carolina — the participants from last year's inaugural event — to sit on the side facing the main game camera to add to the illusion that somebody actually cared to trudge down to Birmingham's Legion Field to watch this.

There were other issues, namely the fact that the title sponsor could not work out a deal with the vendor to sell pizza inside the stadium. And vendors ran out of beer long before the game was over. There must have been only one keg because hardly anybody attended this event. Put it this way: dogs wandering outside the stadium attracted more fleas than the Pizza Bowl did fans.

To top it off, some analyst from ESPN later talked about how important it was to "maintain the integrity of the bowl system." What ESPN didn't tell you is that the Pizza Bowl is one of five games it sponsors, the others being the Las Vegas, New Mexico, Hawaii and Armed Forces games. Integrity here is code for selling out to make money for ESPN.
So imagine the joy when an email arrived Saturday from our man Greg. "For the second consecutive year, I find myself in Birmingham on a December afternoon at Legion Field watching the PapaJohns.com Bowl."

Then the photos started rolling in. Version 2.0 of the Pizza Bowl, as you will see, remains full of problems. Check out the spelling of "Cincinnatti" on an official game T-shirt above.

We also received an email saying that the vendor ran out of pizza during the first quarter.
So, how well attended was the Pizza Bowl? Last year's crowd was an "announced 32,023." On Saturday, officials "announced 35,258" attended the game, won by Cincinnati, 31-21.

But fans of the Bearcats and Golden Eagles were once again sitting on the same side of the stadium, the one facing the main camera. That's clear from the top photo. Click it to enlarge the image.

The bottom shot shows the local turnout. Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News wrote, "Did you know you could leave your house 30 miles away from Legion Field 90 minutes before kickoff and be in a parking lot at Legion Field 60 minutes before kickoff?"
Now what type of fan attended the Pizza Bowl? Certainly an adventurous type, some even patrons of the arts. "We went to Sammy's," Nick Brown, of Hamilton, Ohio, said of the strip club on Valley Avenue. "We also went to Hooters. Good food."
There were fans wearing Wiz-like hats and Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News chronicled this moment: "Best introduction to the South — Cincinnati fans watched incredulously before the game as a man preached on a megaphone outside the stadium. 'We're Catholics!' a Cincinnati fan shouted. One Cincinnati fan posed for a photo behind the preacher while holding a beer."
If you're headed to a bowl, send us images and comments about your experience. The address: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

The South Beach Diet

We're not sure where this came from or when it was taken, but we wanted to run it to show the sheer enormity of the situation at Kansas. While other coaches are getting fat contracts playing one team off another, our man Mark Mangino is loved by no one. He's the coach of the year and nobody wants him because he's fat. It's called discrimination.

Up next for Mangino: South Beach and a dinner date in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech.

Get Richigan Quick Scheme

The spirit of capitalism is going strong, even in economically challenged Michigan.

Rich Rodriguez Michigan T-shirts are all the rage on eBay, with a twist — Richigan.

Of course, the person really cashing in on all of this is Rodriguez, who is expected to make $2.75 million a season as the Wolverine coach.

BYU-UCLA: The Final Play

So what was it like sitting in the stands Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium, watching your Brigham Young Cougars on the verge of defeat, only to block a 28-yard field goal attempt by UCLA's Kai Forbath as time expired to secure a 17-16 win? Here's a look. Thanks to Alan!

Happy Holidays

We'd like to say thanks to our loyal readers and those men and women in uniform serving America overseas with this jazzy rendition of that timeless Spinal Tap classic "Christmas With the Devil" done by Judith Owen. And yes, that's Spinal Tap bassist Harry Shearer. He wrote this.

Reporters' Notebooks

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher has issued a statement saying he won't be the next coach at West Virginia.

Bob Keefe, Austin American-Statesman: Of all the sporting events held at Qualcomm Stadium, the Holiday Bowl is the biggest money-maker for the stadium and the city of San Diego.

Baltimore Sun: James Franklin, who has spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Kansas State, is the new offensive coordinator at Maryland.

Brian Davis, Dallas Morning News: Arkansas interim head coach Reggie Herring won't be out of work after the Cotton Bowl. Herring has agreed to become the new defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle: Texas Christian and Houston, who battle in the Texas Bowl, have something else in common: hopes of one day being part of a conference with ties to the Bowl Championship Series.

Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Louisiana State coach Les Miles didn't take the Michigan job, but he called the man who did.

Oklahoman: Winners and losers of the bowl season. Nike outfits nine of the 10 BCS teams, meaning all but one will be wearing the Nike swoosh logo on their jersey (Kansas is with Adidas).

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: Missouri's Gary Pinkel is now the third-highest paid coach in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Texas' Mack Brown.

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida might fill an opening in its 2008 schedule with a game at Rutgers.

Jeff Call, Deseret Morning News: The 2008 rallying cry in Provo, home of Brigham Young, just might be "Bowl Championship Series or bust." It will be a quest for perfection.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. About that iPhone — will it blend? Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Ken.

Department of Bad Coaching

That's a picture of UCLA interim head coach DeWayne Walker. His players spent a good part of the week preparing for the Las Vegas Bowl at the craps table in the Venetian, giving their money away and trying to drink back their losses. For this, he might be the next Bruin coach.

Why? Because Bronco Mendenhall is coach of Brigham Young. Mendenhall brought back memories of Joe Pisarcik during Saturday night's Las Vegas Bowl. Instead of having his quarterback take a knee and head to the halftime with a 17-6 lead, the Cougar coach decided to try a running play that resulted in a fumble, giving UCLA life and, moments later a touchdown and 17-12 deficit.

Walker had a chance at that point to show he had what it takes to be a head coach. But instead of going for two, he kicked the extra point and went to the break trailing, 17-13. That would prove to be decisive, as the offensively challenged Bruins lost, 17-16.

And we're playing coaches millions of dollars to make these boneheaded decisions? Where does one sign up?

That brings us back to UCLA's search for a coach. T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times has this one nailed. Bruin athletic director Dan Guerrero hasn't a clue, folks, and the bumbling Bruins will likely name either Walker, Rick Neuheisel or Al Golden as coach. The smart money is on Neuheisel, according to Simers:

"The way the story is told, Neuheisel met with the UCLA chancellor and told him he would keep Walker, hire Norm Chow and he would have one of his former fraternity brothers, who is rich now, pay for their salaries.

"He also said he could produce four different donors, each giving $1 million for the Pauley Pavilion makeover, and no question, 'Slick Rick' still has it."

So there you have it. It has come to this. The UCLA coaching search.

More Evidence of SEC Fraud

Alabama fans driving to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport along Interstate 20 might want to consider a detour. Hixson Ford of Monroe has put up this billboard at a cost of $12,000 to celebrate Louisiana Monroe's 21-14 victory over the Crimson Tide on Nov. 17.

That game, of course, was played in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa because as we all know, Southeastern Conference teams don't like to play nonconference road games. The league schedule is just too damn demanding to allow it.

Oh, before we forget, the Crimson Tide got rolled by a so-so Florida State team in their only nonleague appearance on the road. Do we see a pattern here? SEC team plays nonconference game on the road. SEC team loses.

We thank Erik over at one of our favorite sites, Deep South Sports, for finding this billboard. And remember to look at our Billboard's Best contest from last offseason.

Even the Prez Had Poinsettia Bowl Fever

The bowl season kicked off Thursday night in San Diego and our friends from Image of Sport were on hand to chronicle all the action. Also in attendance was President Bush, or at least a cardboard cutout of him, which was paraded among the Midshipmen.
Utah linebacker Joe Jiannoni celebrated after a fumble recovery in the first quarter of the Utes' 35-32 victory. There was a rather controversial call late in this game that went against Navy and afterward officials conceded the call was incorrect.
That's Utah coach Kyle Whittingham holding the hardware after his team won its seventh bowl in a row. Navy fullback Eric Kettani rumbles for a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Utah defensive end Alex Puccinelli is ready to strike up the band after the game. Offensive lineman Zane Beadles, below, accepts congratulations from fans. You can view all of Image of Sports gallery from the Poinsettia Bowl by clicking here. You'll be seeing more of their outstanding work during the bowl season.
And it wouldn't be complete without the front pages from the Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune, sent to us by Adam!

A New Conference Breakdown

Richard of Map Game Day has finished the gargantuan task of recalibrating his Travel Map to show conference alignments as they were each year the games were played. Richard decided to do this after an anonymous poster to the Wiz pointed out that his original parameters only took into account the teams that are currently in their respective conferences and not the conference alignments from 1998-2005.

For example, Marshall played for the years 1998-2004 in the Mid-American and joined Conference USA in 2005. Marshall's road games from 1998 through 2004 now show in the MAC map, while the road games from 2006 through 2007 will still show up in the Conference USA map. In other words, we now have a true representation of the data, minus a few games considered to be played at neutral sites (Red River Shootout, for example).

So the chart at the top is now considered the gold standard, a true reflection of travel by each of the conferences for nonconference games from 1998-2007. As you can see, the Pacific 10 is now the distance leader. None of the adjustments impacted the Southeastern Conference, which has a stranglehold on keeping the travel costs to a minimum.

Hawaii has also been bumped off the top of the list of distance leader. It appears independent Notre Dame will become the travel leader, but we are still going through all of this data to make certain we have this correct. Our apology for the delay, but we are working as fast as we can.

Today we will provide breakdowns of the Atlantic Coast and Big East travel numbers. We're hoping to get to as many of the non-Bowl Championship Series leagues on Sunday and, if needed, the rest on Monday. On Christmas Day, we will put all of this on one easy-to-read post showing all of the conferences and teams for future reference.
The ACC numbers are dragged down by Clemson and Maryland, teams that are in the bottom 10 when it comes to miles traveled. On the other end we have Boston College and Miami. In the case of the Eagles, two trips have helped put them in the lead: a game at Stanford in 2001 and a game at Brigham Young in 2005. Miami also has two lengthy trips: a game at Washington in 2000 and a game at Oklahoma in 2007.
Although the Big East ranks near the bottom in the new breakdown of conference rankings, we are going to cut the league some slack because it has only eight teams. Other leagues have at least 10 teams and therefore rack up more total mileage. Connecticut currently has an edge over South Florida because it has played 28 nonconference road games to only 16 for the Bulls (several reasons for this, including South Florida joining the league a year later than Connecticut). Cincinnati's total is inflated because of a trip to Hawaii in 2002, which accounts for over 4,400 of its total. Likewise for Rutgers, whose total is boosted by a trip to California in 1999 that accounts for over 2,500 of its miles.

Reporters' Notebooks

Brian Dohn, Los Angeles Daily News: After a 24-hour romance with Oregon's Mike Bellotti proved to be nothing more than a one-night fling, UCLA took a deep breath to refocus its coaching search, and Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel moved back to the forefront, according to sources.

Matthew Thompson, Charleston Daily Mail: A morning radio host who was suspended for playing the Michigan fight song over and over has returned to work, and he let upset West Virginia fans pelt him with eggs as penance.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free Press: Rich Rodriguez has retained only one member of Lloyd Carr's staff, running backs coach Fred Jackson.

Howard Burns: More on how the Lawrence Journal-World & News became the victim of a hoax when a man claiming to be the agent for Mark Mangino said the Kansas coach was "in contract negotiations" with West Virginia.

Jesse James Deconto, Raleigh News & Observer: Police are looking into what role alcohol may have played in a bizarre alleged sexual assault against three North Carolina players, one of whom is not yet 21.

Associated Press: Bobby Reid, the backup quarterback defended by Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy during a now-famous rant, may not play for the Cowboys next season, according to the coach.

Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Birmingham is trying to get the locals fired up for today's Pizza Bowl. Thanks to Wayne!

Paul Strelow, Columbia State: Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence appears to be at the top of the list to take the vacant offensive coordinator's post at Tennessee.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Six Tennessee players, including three starters, have been ruled academically ineligible to participate in the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

Joseph Goodman, Miami Herald: Florida Atlantic's 44-27 victory in the New Orleans Bowl was the last hurrah, perhaps, in the extraordinary career of 73-year-old Howard Schnellenberger.

Pete Bosak, Centre Daily Times: The Centre County District Attorney's Office refiled felony aggravated assault charges against two Penn State players, arguing that a district judge made legal errors when he dismissed the counts at a preliminary hearing earlier in the month.

Bob Thomas, Florida Times-Union: Florida State said it doesn't have a deal in place to play its Sept. 27, 2008 game against Colorado at Jacksonville, but it hopes to work out details soon.

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Central Florida is trying to solidify its nonconference schedules and move away from the two-for-one and "buy game" situations.

Is UCLA Job Bellotti's for the Taking?

Oregon's Mike Bellotti is now at the top of UCLA's list after a day of dramatic turns in the Bruins' search to find a successor for the fired Karl Dorrell.

The Oregon coach is expected to decide by Sunday if he wants the UCLA gig. Surprisingly, he is paid only $1,055,000 at Oregon and has a $350,000 buyout, pocket change by today's standards. UCLA is said to be dangling an offer of at least $1.8 million for 57-year-old coach, who has a 105-52 record in 13 seasons in Eugene.

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow took himself out of the running on Thursday and Baltimore Raven offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel expressed his continued interest in returning to Westwood.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Breaking Down BCS League Travel

We begin our second day of examining how many miles teams have traveled for nonconference games with a look at four Bowl Championship Series conferences. This is all part of an extensive study taken on by Richard of Map Game Day, who has agreed to share his results with us.

After releasing the initial results on Thursday, an anonymous poster suggested that we rerun the data to reflect conference alignments from 1998-2005. Richard thought this was a terrific idea and has been busy recalculating the data, which was based on current conference alignments. Without getting technical (read the end of this post for more), we're going to post the updated data on Saturday. Those numbers, along with breakdowns of the Atlantic Coast and Big East conferences, will be posted then. On Sunday, the non-BCS conferences will be posted and reviewed.

Let's jump into the four BCS conferences we have posted today. At the top is the Big Ten, which is led by Northwestern, having traveled nearly 20,000 miles in the past 10 years to nonconference games. At the bottom is Penn State, which is No. 10 overall in ranking of teams having traveled the fewest miles. Ohio State's nonleague schedule this season was a joke: Youngstown State, Akron, at Washington and Kent State. Come on Buckeyes, you can do better. Ohio State does start a home-and-home with USC in 2008.
Let's take a look at the Big 12. It's a tightly packed group, but that might be somewhat expected given that this league is located in the heart of the country and going east or west doesn't involve the mileage that would be involved in other leagues. Kansas is at the bottom and the Jayhawks got fat this season on a diet of Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo and Florida International, all at home. In fact, Kansas didn't have to leave the state for a game until Oct. 20 and now has a ticket to the Orange Bowl. This is a prime example of what creative scheduling can do for a program and something we'd like to see come to an end.
Love them or hate them, USC will travel to play quality opponents. Look at that mileage. Although this season included road games at lousy Nebraska and Notre Dame, the Trojans scheduled those games believing the quality of the opposition would be better. In 2008, USC opens at Virginia and plays host to Ohio State and Notre Dame. Give USC a big thumbs up for seeking out quality nonleague opponents. Even Arizona State, which ranks at the bottom, has a 2008 home game against Georgia. Overall, the Pac-10 is the best of the BCS leagues when it comes to scheduling quality nonconference opponents home and away. Teams only get three nonconference games because of a round-robin league schedule.
Bring it on, SEC. We don't care how difficult the league schedule is. Your nonconference schedules are a joke. Two notable road tests in the past three years: In 2005, Arkansas played at USC and lost, 70-17. In 2007, Tennessee played at California and lost, 45-31. Seven of the top eight spots nationally for teams having traveled the fewest miles belong to teams from the SEC. Georgia does appear to see the error of its ways. The Bulldogs have games at Arizona State in 2008, at Oklahoma State in 2009 and at Colorado in 2010. Maybe there is hope.

Who Travels, Who Doesn't

When the NCAA Board of Directors voted to add a 12th regular season game in major college football starting in 2006, the hope among fans was that it would rekindle intersectional rivalries.

Who could forget USC-Alabama of the 1970s or Notre Dame-Miami of the 1980s?

Instead, the 12th game merely exacerbated a disturbing trend of big-time teams scheduling home victories against lesser opponents. Nowhere is this more the case than in the Southeastern Conference, whose teams have traveled the fewest number of miles in the past 10 years. Check out the above chart.

Today, in the first of three parts, we are going to provide you a look at who travels and who doesn't.

This is made possible by Richard of Map Game Day. All of this data is available through a new section on his site titled the Travel Map. The site contains road game data for regular season games from the 1998 through the 2007 seasons. Bowl games and games at neutral sites are not included and the mileages are direct distances calculated from the home team stadium to the away team stadium.

This is one incredible piece of work. You'll be able to access any conference or team from drop-down menus on the left-hand side of any page and an info box will give you percentages as to how a conference or team have fared in road games.

On the right-hand side of any page, you'll be able to access all the scores by season. And if you click the dots on a Google Map, it will provide you with how the conference or team fared at that venue. The data reflects current conference alignments.
Here are some of our findings:

• Georgia has traveled a total of 358 miles for nonconference road games since 1998. By comparison, Hawaii has traveled 72,918 miles.
• Teams from the Southeastern Conference hold down seven of the top eight spots for teams having traveled the fewest miles. This includes Florida, which last played a nonconference road game outside of the Sunshine State on Sept. 21, 1991, at Syracuse (a 38-21 Gator loss).
  
• The Western Athletic Conference is the most traveled conference, having covered 327,521 miles. The SEC is last at 42,141.

On Friday, we will break down we each of the BCS conferences. On Saturday, we will display data for the non-BCS conferences. Dive in and let us know what you think.

Update: Just to remind everybody, all of this data reflects current conference alignments. An anonymous poster to the site has made a great point, one that is likely to bring Hawaii's distance down dramatically. Richard is going to rerun the data Thursday night and the Wiz is going to repost any corrections on Saturday. Here is the post that I am referring to:

"This is actually pretty misleading. It only takes into account the teams that are currently in their respective conferences and not the conference alignments from 1998-2005. If you look closely at Hawaii, they have only played 6 non-conference road games over that span (BYU '02, USC '03, UNLV '03, Mich. St. '05, Bama '06 and UNLV '07), so they should be much farther down the list. All those games against Tulsa, SMU, Rice, etc., were conference games in the years they were played. Good idea to do a list like this, but what he's done is inaccurate as far as conference/non-conference travel."

With the recalculated figures, WAC, Conference USA, ACC and Big East numbers will change slightly. Hawaii will feel the biggest impact. In the interest of fairness and doing what we believe is the right thing, this is the only way to go to protect the purity of the information.

Erin's Back

Congratulations! You've just survived 19 days without college football. Bowl season starts tonight, and think of all the wonderful things you have to look forward to, like the return of Erin Andrews.

Reporters' Notebooks

Justin D. Anderson, Charleston Daily Mail: A Charleston radio personality was suspended from his job for refusing to tone down his on-air excitement over Rich Rodriguez's decision to take the Michigan job. After playing the Wolverines' fight song for a fourth time, Coach Kidd, a Michigan native, was yanked off the air.

Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times: Temple coach Al Golden, 38, was at UCLA to interview with Chancellor Gene Block about the Bruins' coaching job on Wednesday, sources familiar with the search said.

Tim Griffin, San Antonio Express-News: Despite a struggling economy, several non-Bowl Championship Series games are reporting brisk business as the postseason begins.

Justin Lawson, Reno Gazette-Journal: Get this: As of earlier this week, Nevada had sold only 95 of its 6,000 allotted tickets to Saturday's New Mexico Bowl.

Andy Staples, Tampa Tribune: Misdemeanor battery charges against Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham were dismissed after investigators determined the sophomore had no part in an alleged altercation with a Gainesville sandwich-shop employee.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Interim no more. Tom Osborne is now Nebraska's athletic director, period.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Trooper Taylor, Tennessee's receivers and assistant head coach, accepted a co-offensive coordinator position at Oklahoma State.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Steve Spurrier hired Atlanta Falcons linebackers coach Brian VanGorder to be South Carolina's new defensive coordinator. Tight ends coach Fred Chatham was fired.

Doug Crise, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Paul Petrino's hiring as Arkansas' offensive coordinator does not clash with state and university nepotism policies, officials said.

Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World: A back-and-forth conversation between the Journal-World and a man claiming to be Neil Cornrich, the agent for Kansas' Mark Mangino, was a hoax and the paper has issued an apology for misleading any readers.

Robert Patrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! have agreed to pay millions in fines, cooperate with investigators and stop accepting ads for online gambling, part of a $31.5 million settlement.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Houston!

Is Hiring Neuheisel a Desperation Play?

Maybe this Rick Neuheisel-to-UCLA thing is going to happen, but T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times says Bruin athletic director Dan Guerrero is in over his head again:

"He interviews Norm Chow, as if you have to talk to Norm Chow to know he can't talk, and as if you have to see for yourself why he's never gotten a shot at being a head coach.

"He interviews DeWayne Walker, as if Walker has any shot of becoming UCLA's next head coach, a guy with no previous experience as head coach replacing a guy who had no previous experience as a head coach, and failed. ... Guerrero interviews Neuheisel, the current back-up plan if everyone else in the world rejects the UCLA job.

"The UCLA alumni are calling for Neuheisel's hire, and as I recall, a group of former players was also calling for [Karl] Dorrell's hire five years ago."

In other coaching-related news:

Southern Methodist: Former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione is talking with the Mustangs, according to the Dallas Morning News. Franchione has been out of work since resigning from A&M on Nov. 23.

West Virginia: Florida State offensive line coach Rick Trickett, who has spent two stints as an assistant with the Mountaineers, interviewed on Tuesday. Update: The Parkersburg News & Sentinel reports that Florida associate head coach John "Doc" Holliday is at the top of the West Virginia list. Thanks to Aldo at State of Miami.

Rodriguez's Odds at Getting Out of Buyout

Now comes word that Rich Rodriguez plans to sue in an attempt to get out of the $4 million buyout clause in his contract he signed last Aug. 31 with West Virginia. It's a tactic used in April by former Mountaineer basketball coach John Beilein, who also bolted for Michigan. Beilein successfully got his $2.5 million buyout cut to $1.5 million.

So can Rodriguez win? The Wiz went to the smartest man in the legal profession to find out. Attorney Tom Kirkendall, whose site Houston's Clear Thinkers is a must-read, gave us his opinion:

"This is really pretty straightforward stuff from a legal standpoint, although one has to overlay West Virginia state law on the contract issues.

"Whether Rodriguez has a valid fraudulent inducement claim largely depends on the terms of the contract. In most cases of a contract of this magnitude, it will contain a merger clause that will provide something to the following effect:

"The parties confirm that, in entering into this contract, they have relied only on the representations and warranties included in this contract and that all prior representations made between the parties — whether oral or written — are null and void and of no force and effect. This contract is the sole agreement between the parties and cannot be modified except in writing approved by both parties."

"If such a provision is contained in the contract, Rodriguez's fraudulent inducement claim would be dismissed on summary judgment in most jurisdictions.

"My sense is that this is much ado about nothing. If Rodriguez pursues the claim, he better hope that things work out at Michigan because he will never get another offer in big-time college football.

"The current market conditions for these coaches is dispositive proof that big-time college football should be reformed into AAA minor league professional football."

One More Day — Don't Blow It!

You've come this far, so hold on just a little longer. One more day and the bowl season begins!

Reporters' Notebooks

Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: Utah running back Darrell Mack has overcome daunting odds. His mother was murdered with a lug wrench when he was 8. His father killed a woman by stabbing her 43 times and is in prison for life. On Thursday, he leads the Utes against Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. Thanks to Mike!

Josh Peter, Yahoo! Sports: A Big Ten officiating team that came under scrutiny for its performance in two conference games last month was led by a crew chief with a history of bankruptcy, casino gambling, child abuse and allegations of sexual harassment. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: The coaching profession is starting to look a lot like the oldest profession. For the right direct deposit, coaches will take any job and say anything in the process.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina's Steve Spurrier hired a special teams coach and still needs to hire a defensive coordinator, meaning one of the current Gamecock assistants is likely leaving or about to get fired.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: The fallout from an academic misconduct case involving Florida State athletes is expected to include game suspensions for 23 football players. That group, which includes 11 players with starting experience, will miss the Music City Bowl, according to sources.

Kyle Hightower, Orlando Sentinel: Kevin Smith, the nation's leading rusher, says he plans to return for his senior season at Central Florida.

Michael Gisick, Albuquerque Tribune: The controversial instructor at the center of an NCAA academic fraud investigation targeting the New Mexico football team continues to work at several other higher-profile schools in Southern California.

James Staley, Albuquerque Tribune: New Mexico won't have bruising running back Rodney Ferguson for Saturday's New Mexico Bowl against Nevada. He has been declared academically ineligible.

Paul Strelow, Columbia State: Clemson announced that three senior starters have been ruled academically ineligible for the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Auburn.

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Jeremy Childs, who set a team record for the most receptions in a season, is among three Broncos suspended for Sunday's Sheraton Hawaii Bowl duel with East Carolina. Thanks to Matt of Statue Left.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Air Force and Troy Calhoun are finalizing details of a revised contract that will include a raise for the coach.

Greg Pearson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Bacardi, Salad, Raisin, Garden State, Great Lakes and Gotham bowls. How soon they forget.

Marcus R. Fuller, Poineer Press: Minnesota's Tim Brewster, whose team finished 1-11, remains obsessed with getting the Golden Gophers to the Rose Bowl.

Jeffrey Lutz, Wichita Eagle: Linebacker Arthur Brown, at one point regarded as the nation's No. 1 prep recruit, announced plans to become a member of the Miami Hurricanes.

Neuheisel Is Frontrunner at UCLA

Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel is being interviewed for a second time by UCLA, the L.A. Times reports.

Neuheisel, 46, is a former Bruin quarterback who guided the team to a 45-9 victory over Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl. He was a UCLA assistant from 1986-93 under Terry Donahue.

He eventually became an assistant and then head coach at Colorado and later Washington. Neuheisel has a 66-30 record during eight seasons as a head coach but rang up 52 NCAA violations.

Coker in the Mix at Southern Methodist

Larry Coker, who was fired from Miami after the 2006 season despite a 60-15 record in six seasons at the helm, is reportedly a candidate to become coach at Southern Methodist, a job that has been open for eight weeks.

Coker, 59, has been an analyst for ESPNU since his firing. ESPN's "College Football Live" first reported that Coker had interviewed for the job.

SMU athletic director Steve Orsini declined comment when contacted by the Dallas Morning News.

In other coaching-related news:

Michigan: Lloyd Carr, the man who did his best to keep Les Miles from getting the job, gave his blessing to the hiring of Rich Rodriguez. "His teams are going to run the football as well as anybody. I think Bo would like what he's going to do."

What does Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, who had his highly publicized "pride comes before the fall" warning, think of the hire? Dantonio told the Detroit News: "As far as my reaction to that job, we are Michigan State. So that's my reaction."

Meanwhile, Miles was getting a good laugh out of the developments, cracking jokes and saying he's not interested in the West Virginia job.

With Michigan now having hired West Virginia's football and basketball coaches in the past year, what's next? Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail reports the Wolverines, in the market for a women's soccer coach, have already interviewed West Virginia's Nikki Izzo-Brown.

West Virginia: The Patriot-News reports that Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has been contacted by an intermediary at West Virginia. Other names being tossed about include Florida associate head coach John "Doc" Holliday, former Auburn coach Terry Bowden, Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster and — possibly — Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher. The blog Cakes Rocks the Party does a nice job of breaking down all of the possible candidates, including Tulsa's Todd Graham.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

R U Ready?

Fat City. Bowl season starts in two days. You've been warned.

Reporters' Notebooks

Stewart Mandel, SI.com: Is the Bowl Championship Series giving us the best matchups? It appears not. How a proposed Orange Bowl matchup between Oklahoma and Virginia Tech was busted by the BCS.

Barry Saunders, Raleigh News & Observer: What a crock. Duke had a chance to do the right thing last week, but instead it did the white thing.

Carl DuBois, Baton Rouge Advocate: Because Michigan’s search for a coach is over and won’t drag on through Louisiana State’s preparations, there is nothing to prevent the Tigers from handing Ohio State a second consecutive defeat at the hands of a Southeastern Conference team in a BCS title game.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: A look at how interim coaches have fared in bowl games after the head coach leaves.

Brent Zwerneman, San Antonio Express-News: Did Dennis Franchione keep his hands off the play-calling in Texas A&M's victory over Texas? The evidence suggests that might have been the case.

Sports By Brooks: High-definition television sales in Hawaii have hit the roof thanks to the Warriors' 12-0 season and upcoming appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

Dave Matter, Columbia Tribune: Missouri senior receiver Greg Bracey was suspended for the Cotton Bowl after after an arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana and failure to signal a turn.

Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington's Tyrone Willingham fired defensive coordinator Kent Baer and tight ends/special teams coach Bob Simmons. Baer spent 13 seasons working under Willingham, including the past three at Washington.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: One team that plans to be in tip-top shape for its bowl game is Air Force.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: It now appears Wisconsin will have its top tailback, P.J. Hill, available for the Outback Bowl against Tennessee.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: The uncertain future of Tennessee's offensive coaches has at least one player saying there are doubts concerning the focus of the staff entering the Outback Bowl.

Paul Strelow, Columbia State: Senior linebacker Tramaine Billie and senior right tackle Christian Capote have been all but ruled out by Clemson coaches as academic casualties in the run-up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl against Auburn.

Jeff Shain, Miami Herald: Bobby Bowden has a $1 million bonus waiting when he decides to no longer coach Florida State.

Manny Navarro, Barry Jackson and Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: Miami's Randy Shannon fired his defensive coordinator, Tim Walton.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Brian Kelly reached agreement on a new contract at Cincinnati.

Michael DiRocco, Florida Times-Union: Florida linebacker Ryan Stamper will have a new role for the Capital One Bowl: part-time fullback.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: Three Iowa players, including receiver Dominique Douglas, are leaving the team.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Joe.

Ink Stains

Our semi-regular look at front pages. Topics covered: Rich Rodriguez's departure and arrival; David Cutcliffe's new headache; Larry Fedora tries on a Southern Mississippi hat; Bobby Petrino is a Hog. As always, click an image for a closer look.

Rodriguez's Disappearing Act

Check out these images of Rich Rodriguez and his party (including wife Rita) slipping out of Morgantown early last Friday for a flight to Toledo and his thought-to-be-secret meeting with Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman and athletic director Bill Martin. Our friends at Losers With Socks have more images, somewhat poor in quality because they were shot with a cameraphone.

As you know by now, Rodriguez is Michigan's new coach, and everybody in West Virginia is pissed off, starting with Governor Joe Manchin, a former Mountaineer quarterback who has his own parking spot outside of Mountaineer Field. Manchin is also a close friend of Nick Saban.

And check out this newly created MySpace page for the "Traitor."

This breakup had the ugliest of endings. According to Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Gazette, West Virginia officials first received word of Rodriguez's departure when graduate assistant Mike Parrish handed athletic director Ed Pastilong a short letter of resignation from the coach. A grad assistant. Quite manly of you, Rich!

In addition, Rodriguez told quarterback recruit Terrelle Pryor about his decision before he told anybody at West Virginia. Pryor, of course, has just added Michigan to his list of schools.

Rodriguez will be introduced Monday at 9 a.m. Eastern, and you can watch a live video stream of the news conference by clicking here.

Poinsettia Bowl Fever Is at an All-Time High

Take a deep breath because we are only three days from the start of bowl season. It starts Thursday night in San Diego, site of the Poinsettia Bowl, and things are already getting out of hand in America's Finest City.

Navy and Utah, which lead off the parade of 32 games in 19 days, have already arrived on the scene. Now before you go off an say bowl games are meaningless, consider this: Minnesota blew a 31-point third-quarter lead against Texas Tech and lost last year's Insight Bowl. Two days later, Glen Mason was fired.

Now look at the Golden Gophers. Tim Brewster is the coach and they just finished a 1-11 season.

June Jones' Remarkable Story

On Feb. 22, 2001, June Jones nearly left his life in the rubble of a black Lincoln Town Car. The Hawaii coach apparently fell asleep at the wheel, and his car veered toward a concrete pillar adjacent to the H-1 Freeway.

"They thought I was dead until I moaned," Jones said.

Jones was critically injured and only a week later did he awaken from a coma. "I didn't have that near-death experience that everybody talks about. I didn't see or hear anything," he said.

Jones recovered and his wacky four-receiver sets are now the rage. The former Hawaii quarterback, pictured bottom left in 1974, is preparing his 12-0 team for a Sugar Bowl matchup against Georgia. It's all part of the remarkable story of Hawaii football, a team that survived on a $50,000 recruiting budget and a coach whose salary is $800,016, half of which is raised through donations.

Reporters' Notebooks

Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News: Auburn is installing the spread offense of new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin during practices for the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Doug Doughty, Roanoke Times: Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage is defending his school's honoring of rival Virginia Tech during the teams' game on Nov. 24.

Wally Hall, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: ESPN, the worldwide leader, continues to pile on Bobby Petrino.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Phillip Fulmer may lose another assistant. Receivers coach Trooper Taylor has been offered the offensive coordinator position at Baylor.

Kyle Veazey, Clarion-Ledger: Mississippi State defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson could be in the running for the defensive coordinator opening at South Carolina.

Brian McInnis, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Hawaii won't be able to wear its favored all-black uniforms in the Sugar Bowl. Georgia got the first pick of a uniform color and selected an all-black scheme, putting the Warriors in their road whites.

Rodriguez Accepts Michigan Job

Rich Rodriguez is leaving West Virginia to become coach at Michigan, ending a nearly month-long search by the Wolverines. Rodriguez informed his Mountaineer team on Sunday afternoon and he will be introduced at a news conference Monday in Ann Arbor.

Former West Virginia coach Don Nehlen, who coached at Michigan under Bo Schembechler from 1977-1979, told the Detroit News: "When you coach at West Virginia you walk on water in West Virginia, but when you coach at Michigan, you walk on water, period. There's a difference. Some people around here don't want to believe that."

Rodriguez Playing the Money Game?

Quite a performance by West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez on Saturday, a day after meeting for six hours in Toledo with Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman and athletic director Bill Martin.

Rodriguez appeared at a scheduled news conference to discuss the Mountaineers' trip to the Fiesta Bowl and was peppered with questions about his interest in Michigan.

"It may be disappointing to you, but I am not going to talk about any rumors or innuendo or jobs or what else is floating out there," Rodriguez said. Nonetheless, the questions continued.

"You all have not understood what I just said. One more question and this conference, unfortunately, and you all have been super, but if the questions persist outside of that then this thing will be over," he said.

A reporter then asked whether Rodriguez would coach the team in the Fiesta Bowl. "You're a tricky guy," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez played footsie last year with Alabama, then agreed to stay in Morgantown after officials bent over backward to keep the coach. Some are getting tired of his act.

Writes Mitch Vingle of Sunday Gazette-Mail:

"Loads of people in the Mountain State were recalling Rodriguez’s words when he turned down the Crimson Tide. 'When the details [of the new contract with WVU] come out, you’ll see that I’m committed to West Virginia University for a very, very long time,' said the coach at the time. Yet last Friday he was in Toledo, Ohio, discussing an offer with UM."

Things could get resolved rather quickly, especially if West Virginia puts more money on the table. Rodriguez made $1.8 million this season, which is a bargain these days. David Cutcliffe, for example, just got a deal worth $1.5 million at Duke, considered to be the bottom of the barrel in college football. Michigan is expecting to pay up to $2.5 million for a coach and would have to cover a buyout of $4 million to secure Rodriguez.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Spreading the Wealth

In 1999, Texas Tech hired a consultant, Barry Terranova, to help in its search for a coach. The Red Raiders lacked the resources of Big 12 brethren Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma and the campus is a four-hour drive to the nearest big city.

Terranova knew there was a way to overcome disadvantages in resources and recruiting. The key was a spread offense.

"It's something you'll continue to see proliferate because people have found it incredibly difficult to stop," Terranova said. "With some teams that otherwise should have problems being competitive, it made them competitive."

He sold Texas Tech officials on the idea and identified Mike Leach, an Oklahoma assistant, and Rich Rodriguez, then the offensive coordinator at Clemson, as top candidates. Leach got the job.

Texas Tech has since gone to eight bowl games in a row and the popularity of the spread offense — or variations of it — have enabled once struggling programs like Texas Tech to thrive.

Thanks to Mike!

A Day in the Life of an Officiating Crew

The Southeastern Conference allowed Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News to spend a day with an officiating crew before, during and after Tennessee and Vanderbilt played on Nov. 17. The Volunteers won, 25-24, but that didn't stop a Tennessee fan from saluting the officials with a middle finger as they made their way out of Neyland Stadium.

Two officials hurt their hamstrings. One correctly made a difficult call that was confirmed by instant replay. And one made a controversial pass-interference call against Tennessee that, had Vanderbilt not missed a subsequent field goal, could have yielded more than a middle finger from angry Volunteer fans.

Solomon also gets an inside look at how SEC supervisor of officials Rogers Redding helps officials fine-tune their skills.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Reporters' Notebooks

Luciana Chavez and Caulton Tudor, Raleigh News & Observer: New Duke coach David Cutcliffe says "we have to win this coming year." And a look at what Cutcliffe plans to do to turn around college football's great wasteland.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Phillip Fulmer says Cutcliffe will "do a great job at Duke." Cutcliffe is more than quadrupling his salary. He made $340,000 at Tennessee this year, but will have an annual salary of approximately $1.5 million in Durham.

Rob Keys, Northwest Arkansas Times: Bobby Petrino's agent had some reassuring words for Arkansas fans. "Arkansas has its guy, and he's happy. His family is happy. Brighter days are ahead." Plus, Petrino named his brother, Paul, the Razorback offensive coordinator.

Scott Rabalais, Baton Rouge Advocate: Chances are Petrino's stay at Arkansas won't last.

Kyle Tucker, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot: Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster turned down an offer to become defensive coordinator at South Carolina.

Newy Scruggs, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Texas Christian would be wise to get cracking on improvements to Gary Patterson's contract or risk losing the coach in 2008.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Tommy Bowden said he wasn't sure if he'd have his three starting linebackers for Clemson's bowl game with Auburn, and was awaiting word on the status of one starting offensive lineman.

Blaine Newnham, Seattle Times: Washington's Jake Locker has a chance to be better than Heisman winner Tim Tebow.

Brett Vito, Denton Record-Chronicle: North Texas will receive a $250,000 buyout from Air Force, which backed out of a contract to play the Mean Green in 2009. The Falcons will face Minnesota in its first game at TCF Bank Stadium.

Holy Toledo! Rodriguez, Michigan Huddle

It's not known if Rich Rodriguez has been offered the Michigan coaching job, but it's clear the West Virginia coach is the new front-runner for the position.

Rodriguez met with Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman and athletic director Bill Martin for six hours on Friday in Toledo.

Rodriguez, 60-26 in seven seasons at West Virginia, has a $4 million buyout clause in his contract. Michigan hired basketball coach John Beilein from West Virginia last spring.

"I know nothing," Beilein said, smiling.

In other coaching-related news:

UCLA: Slick Rick Neuheisel, John Harbaugh, Norm Chow and DeWayne Walker are on the Bruins' list. A list of finalists could be presented to Chancellor Gene Block by the end of next week.

Duke: As expected, David Cutcliffe is the Blue Devils' new coach.

TV Broadcasting Going to the Dogs

Craig O'Neill, an anchor for Little Rock's KTHV, is interviewing some guy about Bobby Petrino. The gentleman mentions that one of his sons was mauled by a dog a few years ago and how Petrino showed his compassionate side during the ordeal. Then the conversation turns to officiating and O'Neill remarks: "[Petrino] mauls the refs like the dog did your kid." Thanks to Christopher!

Air Game

Horizon Air plans to paint four 70-seat CRJ-700 jets in university colors and marks to honor the four largest public universities in Oregon and Washington. The craft will be painted one at a time starting in late December in the following sequence: Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington. Thanks to T.F. Brown's Beavers Blog.

Reporters' Notebooks

Brian Bennett, Louisville Courier-Journal: Sophomore running back Anthony Allen, who broke Louisville's single-game rushing record early this season, was granted his release from the school and will transfer.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Josh Heupel, Oklahoma's quarterback coach, is the leading candidate to replace offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin, who is leaving to become Houston's coach.

Sarah Talalay, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: A sports memorabilia company is planning to sell off everything from seats to lockers before the Orange Bowl is demolished.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Texas Christian's Gary Patterson was a candidate late into the selection process at Arkansas.

Michael DiRocco, Florida Times-Union: Sports memorabilia experts say now that Tim Tebow has won the Heisman, the value of his signature has more than doubled. Tebow also received a hand-written letter from President Bush.

Ken Robison, Fresno Bee: Fresno State football revenues are $343,000 short of projections, but that is expected to be offset by revenue from the Western Athletic Conference after Hawaii's appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

TV Tan Line: There were plenty of shenanigans going on during Friday night's Division I-AA title game.

Cutcliffe Reportedly Is Duke's Choice

Phil Fulmer is losing his right-hand man. Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe has been offered and is expected to accept the coaching position at Duke, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports.

Cutcliffe got the nod over Karl Dorrell because of concerns over the former UCLA coach's ability to assemble a staff with adequate recruiting connections along the Eastern seaboard.

Cutcliffe previously was Mississippi's coach and compiled a 44-29 record that included four bowl victories. He will take over a Duke program that has won only 22 games in 13 seasons.

In other coaching-related news:

UCLA: Former Rose Bowl-winning quarterback Slick Rick Neuheisel and Philadelphia Eagles assistant John Harbaugh, the brother of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, reportedly will interview, the L.A. Daily News reports. Neuheisel ran up 52 NCAA violations while coaching at Washington and Colorado. Brigham Young's Bronco Mendenhall issued a statement saying he's "not interested" in the job.

Michigan: Wake Forest's Jim Grobe was asked if he had been contacted by anyone associated with Michigan. "It's gone on with Nebraska. It's gone on with Arkansas. Now it's going on with Michigan," he said. "I've just got to get out of all that stuff. There's no comment I can make that helps the situation."

Houston: Oklahoma assistant Kevin Sumlin is the new Cougars' coach. He replaces Art Briles, who resigned Nov. 28 to take the Baylor job.

Northern Illinois: Jerry Kill is the Huskies' new coach, replacing Joe Novak. Kill, 46, turned down an offer of a lifetime contract at Southern Illinois to take the job.

Reporters' Notebooks

Fred Girard, Detroit News: Andy Moeller, offensive line coach for Michigan and son of former Wolverine coach Gary Moeller, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after a non-injury car crash.

Ken Gordon, Columbus Dispatch: Bowling Green, which has sold only 1,300 of its allotted 7,500 tickets to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, is appealing to Ohio State fans to help boost sales.

George M. Thomas, Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio State's Jim Tressel said that 13 of his players would be getting evaluations from the NFL to see in which round they might land in the draft next spring.

John Henderson, Denver Post: Add Bobby Petrino to the growing list of liars.

Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Joe Paterno, 80, who enters the final year of his contract in 2008, hasn't given much thought to his successor.

Bernard Fernandez, Philadelphia Daily News: Is Paterno simply trying to coach longer than Bobby Bowden so he can retire as the all-time winningest coach?

Scott D. Pierce, Deseret Morning News: ESPN's Jesse Palmer thinks Mountain West Conference football stinks.

Berry Tramel, Oklahoman: Barry Sanders' NCAA rushing record is threatened by Central Florida's Kevin Smith, but it shouldn't even be a possibility.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State begins preparation for the Music City Bowl not knowing exactly which of their players will be available for the Dec. 31 game.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Starting middle linebacker Cortney Vincent will continue to practice for Clemson's bowl game despite a pending DUI charge.

Howie Stalwich, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Eastern Washington quarterback Matt Nichols won't be following coach Paul Wulff to Washington State.

John Pruett, Huntsville Times: The only mildly surprising aspect of Al Borges' dismissal as Auburn's offensive coordinator was the timing of it.

Bowling for Dollars

Think coaching salaries are out of line? Some bowl executives are laughing all the way to the bank, Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

In 2002, Gary Cavalli earned $90,000 as executive of a new postseason game in San Francisco. In 2006, his compensation package was $362,018 for the game now called the Emerald Bowl.

“Frankly, my compensation package is none of your business,” Cavalli said.

Cavalli is not alone. From 2001-05, compensation packages for bowl game executives have increased about 70%, with many of them more than doubling, according to an examination of the bowls' Internal Revenue Service records. The Outback Bowl's Jim McVay earns about $490,000, more than double the salary for the CEO of the oldest bowl, the Rose Bowl ($239,807).

Eleven years ago, there were 18 bowl games. Today there are 32, some operated by ESPN. No wonder the opposition to a playoff by the bowl system.

Thanks to Mike.

Chow to Be Interviewed by UCLA

Norm Chow, offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans and a former USC assistant, is expected to be interviewed for the Bruins' opening by the end of the week, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Chow, 61, has also been offensive coordinator at Brigham Young and North Carolina State. He has been with the Titans since 2005 and worked with DeWayne Walker, who is currently serving as UCLA's interim coach. Walker, the team's defensive coordinator, reportedly interviewed for the job on Tuesday.

Another possible candidate is Brigham Young coach Bronco Mendenhall, whose team will play UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.

In other coaching-related news:

Michigan: One would think that with Les Miles now on the search committee, this gig would get filled rather quickly. It's getting borderline ridiculous. The latest name is K.C. Keeler, the Delaware coach. Keeler said Wednesday he has not had any contact with Michigan. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State for his help.

Duke: Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, 53, interviewed on Wednesday. Karl Dorrell remains in the mix, as does Grambling State coach Rod Broadway.

Houston: Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin is back in the picture, but Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood has been eliminated, according to the Houston Chronicle. Jack Pardee is still in the running. Update: Sporting News reports that Sumlin will be named coach.

Colorado State: Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild, 49, is the Rams' new coach.

Southern Mississippi: Larry Fedora, 45, the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, was named coach.

Reporters' Notebooks

Dick Weiss, New York Daily News: A six-word warning for Arkansas after the school's hiring of Bobby Petrino as its new coach. Be careful what you wish for.

Tony Barnhart and Ronnie Ramos, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Some shady back-door maneuvers led to Petrino's exit. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a big hand in all of this.

Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News: Petrino's contract includes an agreement that he will not leave to accept a job with another Southeastern Conference West school (Auburn).

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Should players have the same freedom of movement and be able to transfer to a different school when a coaching staff leaves?

Susan Kantor, Daily Illini: A group of Illinois students is planning to purchase a 72-seat bus they found on eBay, paint it Illini and drive it to the Rose Bowl. Thanks to UWire.

Ferd Lewis, Honolulu Advertiser: Tickets for the Sugar Bowl are among the most coveted of this season's bowl lineup, selling online at prices behind only the Bowl Championship Series title game and the Rose Bowl.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: The Atlantic Coast Conference title game is leaving Jacksonville. It will be played in 2008 and 2009 at Tampa and in 2010 and 2011 at Charlotte.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina is going to have to pay to replace defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix. The average salary for Southeastern Conference coordinators was $282,500 and Nix was paid $195,000.

Doug Doughty, Roanoke Times: Virginia has sold only 8,451 of its allotted 13,500 tickets to the Gator Bowl.

Tom Kubat, Lafayette Journal and Courier: Purdue has sold only 4,000 tickets to the Motor City Bowl, but that includes an estimated 1,500 complimentary tickets for players and guests, band members and those in the official traveling party.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: The Pacific 10 made several adjustments to its 2008 schedule, including moving the USC-Oregon State game at Corvallis from Sept. 27 to Sept. 25, a Thursday night. Oregon State also added a game at Penn State on Sept. 6.

Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News: New Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin is expected to bring a no-huddle spread offense to the Tigers.

Oklahoman: A $12.5 million plan to make renovations and improvements to Oklahoma's Memorial Stadium has been approved.

A Call to Citizen Journalists

We're a week from the start of bowl season and if you're planning to go bowling, the Wiz is making a call to the citizen journalists in our audience. Send us photos and comments about your trip!

Bowl games are about having fun we'd like nothing better than to hear what went right and what went wrong. There are 32 bowl games, and frankly, not every destination is paradise. In fact, we really want to hear about the bad part because frankly, negativity sells. Would you go back? How were you treated by the locals? Did your group enjoy the experience? Find any good bars, after-hour parties? Anything is in play and we're more than happy to plug a website in return. The address: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Clearing Up the Tebow Girlfriend Mess

A striking resemblance, but no, the woman pictured above left with Tim Tebow is not his girlfriend. We're told by several readers that it's Erin Drewes, a senior at Florida. Her Facebook photo, top right, was sent to us by Greg.

The woman whose image we ran with the original post, shown below the Facebook shot, is of English model Lucy Pinder. In an attempt to clear things up, we've included another shot of Pinder to the left. And no, she's not signaling touchdown Florida.

Credit goes to With Leather for first figuring all of this out.

Bad Influence of an Alabama Fan

The parents of this young lady are trying to teach her that Auburn is in her future, not Alabama. Unfortunately, a relative taught her otherwise. First spotted on the blog of Donnie Webb of the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Arkansas Finally Gets Its Man

In the end, Bobby Petrino didn't leave any friends behind in Atlanta. After 13 games as Falcon coach and less than a year after accepting what he called his "dream job," he resigned. Hours later he was in Fayetteville being announced as Arkansas' coach, doing the "Woo Pig Suey," which you can see in the second video.

He's being ripped a new one in Atlanta. Falcon cornerback DeAngelo Hall said: "If I saw him in the street I wouldn't have anything to say to him. I don't have any respect for him. He turned his back on the organization." Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Jeff Schultz said Petrino was overmatched in the NFL.

Petrino signed a five-year contract for $2.8 million a year with Arkansas and everybody in the Razorback state appears to be elated over the selection. This is obviously going to make for some interesting games in 2008 and beyond against Mississippi, where Houston Nutt resides, and Auburn, where Petrino nearly became the Tiger coach in 2004.

And even more proof how bundled the reporting was from Arkansas during this search (Tuberville, Bowden, Grobe). Here's a report from earlier Tuesday stating that Petrino was no longer in the mix.

In other coaching-related news:

Michigan: Les Miles confirms he talked with Michigan officials last Friday, but now says he was merely trying to help the Wolverines with their search. You would think a coach whose team is getting ready to play in the Bowl Championship Series title game would have more important issues to deal with, but ...

So, now what? Glen Mason told the Detroit News: "Needless to say, I'd be interested. I would have a great interest." The problem is, he hasn't been contacted. Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press says Michigan needs to hire a search firm.

Duke: Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson told the Blue Devils he's not interested, leaving former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell and Grambling State coach Rob Broadway as candidates who are known to have interviewed. According to ACC Now, a petition has been started to hire Rick Neuheisel.

Houston: Former Cougar and NFL coach Jack Pardee and Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood reportedly are the finalists.

Southern Mississippi: Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora, 45, will be introduced Wednesday as coach, replacing Jeff Bower.

Southern Methodist: It's day 44 of the search. Bower has been mentioned as a possibility, but that's about it.

The Ballad of Nick Saban

We have Losers With Socks to thank for this. Oh, how we thank them.

Tim Tebow's Girlfriend?

If Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow isn't kept busy by the Michigan defense in the Capital One Bowl, there might be something else to occupy his time.

M Zone has posted this image of a woman who has been described as Tebow's girlfriend.

Even though there is no confirmation of this, we considered the overall body of work and thought that our readers might want examine this closely to see if it's the same woman whose photo we posted Saturday after Tebow won the Heisman. If not, the similarities are rather striking.

Update: Turns out, as With Leather discovered and several readers have pointed out, this is not Tebow's girlfriend. We've been busy collecting more "evidence" to post on this rather larger matter Thursday, but if you have something to add, please send it our way. We're always happy to examine such material.

Reporters' Notebooks

Rick Scoppe, Greenville News: South Carolina defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix is leaving to join Houston Nutt's staff at Mississippi. And former Mississippi coach Madman Ed Orgeron said he would be interested in replacing Nix.

Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: A group of Hawaii business leaders and Warrior supporters have pledged more than $100,000 as a gesture to thank and support June Jones, who says he plans to give the entire donation to his assistants.

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy and Indiana's Bill Lynch will preside Wednesday over the NASDAQ opening bell. Link to webcast.

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Boise State junior running back Ian Johnson has submitted paperwork to the NFL College Advisory Committee, typically a precursor to declaring for the NFL draft.

Herb Gould, Chicago Sun-Times: Consenting to the pleas of several conference coaches, the Big Ten will move to a 13-week schedule beginning in 2009 to allow teams to have a bye week.

Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington athletic director Todd Turner resigned, but it's clear he was forced out. The surprise move came less than a week after Turner and university president Mark Emmert announced Tyrone Willingham would return as coach.

Ken Tysiac, Charlotte Observer: Charlotte and Tampa could be future sites for Atlantic Coast Conference championship games.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link.

Crunching Hit

A nasty helmet-to-helmet hit by Oregon State's Al Afalava on Oregon's Jeffrey Maehl, who somehow hangs on to the ball. Afalava was penalized for the hit.

Miles Back in the Running at Michigan?

Those pesky Les Miles-to-Michigan rumors won't die. Now comes word that the Louisiana State coach was on the phone last Friday with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and university president Mary Sue Coleman.

The amended contract that Miles just signed with LSU is adding to the speculation that he might bolt. It includes the same buyout — $1.25 million — if Miles leaves the Bayou for Ann Arbor.

But LSU athletic director Skip Bertman says Wolverine fans need a reality check.

"They're frustrated because they didn't get what they want," he said. "You can't get Les Miles — the guy signed his contract. It's over."

In other coaching-related moves:
Washington State: The Cougars will introduce Paul Wulff on Tuesday as their new coach. Wulff, left, comes to Pullman from 70 miles up the road in Cheney, where he has been the Eastern Washington coach for the past eight seasons and had a 53-40 record.

The hiring of Wulff, 40, is drawing praise. Jim Moore of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer likes the move, as does Bud Withers of the Seattle Times. Wulff knows hardship. His mother disappeared when he was 12, perhaps killed by his dad, and he lost his first wife to brain cancer.

Duke: Things are heating up. Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson and former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell were on campus Monday. Dorrell's visit was called a "fact-finding mission," according to the Herald-Sun. He was spotted in the passenger seat of a convertible near Cameron Indoor Stadium and, according to ACC Now, registered as himself at a Triangle hotel. Rick Neuheisel is begging for the job and reportedly told athletic director Joe Alleva, "I want the job, and I will make you proud." Neuheisel has a 66-30 record as coach at Colorado and Washington. He also rang up 52 NCAA infractions.

Houston: Oklahoma assistant Kevin Sumlin had a second interview with athletic director Dave Maggard. Sumlin has also drawn interest from Washington State.

Southern Methodist: The first job to open might be the last filled. The search enters week 7 and a representative for Terry Bowden and Jeff Bower said he hasn't been contacted. Former Minnesota and Kansas coach Glen Mason hasn't been contacted, either.

Southern Mississippi: The Oklahoman reports that the job is Larry Fedora's if he wants it. There is one hurdle before the Oklahoma State offensive coordinator takes the job. He wants Southern Mississippi to commit $1.2 million combined for his assistant coaches. Jeff Bower's staff made $800,000 this season.

UCLA: Hawaii's June Jones calls a report labeling him as a candidate for the job "an absolute lie. That's all I've got to say." A report that Texas Tech's Mike Leach will interview Tuesday was shot down by Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News, who talked with Red Raider athletic director Gerald Myers.

Purdue: Is Joe Tiller, right, on the hot seat? Boilermaker fans are grumbling over the way the season is ending, including the upcoming trip to the Motor City Bowl, a lower-level and unglamorous postseason outing in Detroit. And, of course, we have the website, Fire Coach Tiller.

Tiller was 33-16 his first four seasons, only 49-38 the past seven. He is signed through 2010, but after a 27-24 loss at Indiana ended the regular season, he was asked if he would be the Boilermaker coach next season.

"I don't know why I wouldn't be," he said. "Absolutely. Absolutely."

Alberts Won't Be Joining Cornhuskers

Wiz favorite Trev Alberts, a former All-American linebacker at Nebraska, won't be returning to Lincoln to help rebuild the Cornhuskers' fortunes.

Alberts had conversations with new coach Bo Pelini about possibly working for the team in a non-coaching role. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, speculation pointed to Alberts perhaps replacing Tim Cassidy as associate athletic director for football.

Alberts told the paper that family considerations played the lead roll in his decision to remain in Marietta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. He currently works as an analyst for CSTV and the NFL on Westwood One.

Florida State: A Program Held Hostage

Officially, Bobby Bowden will coach Florida State as long as he wants to continue in that role. But Monday's appointment of Jimbo Fisher as Bowden's eventual replacement feels like another bad Bowden bungle, writes Paul Finebaum of Mobile Press-Register:

"I bought the argument several years ago that Bowden had earned the right to set the terms of his retirement. But that's when he was barely 70. Now, he's knocking on the door of 80 and this once proud program can't be identified even with DNA samples."

Finebaum was just getting started:

"However, Bowden is hanging on for dear life, not because he really wants to, according to friends. He simply does not want Joe Paterno to end his career with more wins. Right now, Bowden has 373 wins, two more than the 80-year-old Paterno.

"So the beat goes on for the FSU program, apparently being held hostage while Bowden and Paterno battle in college football's home version of 'Grumpy Old Men.' "

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Reporters' Notebooks

Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News: Al Borges is out as Auburn's offensive coordinator and his replacement is expected to be in place before the Tigers begin practice Friday for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Thanks to Get The Picture.

John McGrath, Tacoma News Tribune: Beware of conventional thinking. He explains why Tim Tebow wasn't included on his Heisman ballot.

Jason Smith, Memphis Commercial Appeal: Joe Lee Dunn, formerly of Memphis and Mississippi State — among other places — will be the new defensive coordinator at New Mexico State, replacing Woody Widenhofer.

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: Four Pacific 10 Conference coaches were on the hot seat when the season began. Two were fired. Breaking down each situation.

David Thomas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: A look at the five teams that made dramatic turnarounds in 2007.

Bob Condotta, Seattle Times: Washington and Oregon are expecting to change the date of their 2008 game at Eugene from Sept. 13 to Aug. 30. The Huskies also want to change the date of their game against Oklahoma at Seattle from Sept. 20 to Sept. 13 and the Oct. 11 game at California to Dec. 6.

Nathan Reed, Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing is upset because he won't be able to catch the Orange Bowl halftime performance of ZZ Top, his favorite band.

Dick Harmon, Deseret Morning News: Brigham Young has found legal loopholes that have allowed for some Cougar sporting events to be broadcast outside of The Mtn., the Mountain West Conference's TV network.

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Large, Inflatable Penis Spotted in Madtown

Michigan's coaching search continues to drag on and on and the process is starting to wear on our friends at M Zone. They just posted a YouTube video of a six-foot inflatable punching penis that was being batted around at the Michigan-Wisconsin game on Nov. 10 in Madison.

The Front Pages

Catching up on some front pages from the past two weeks. Topics covered: Tim Tebow's Heisman; Hawaii getting a bid to the Sugar Bowl; Joe Paterno's entry into the College Football Hall of Fame; Tommy Bowden's decision to stay at Clemson; Bo Pelini being introduced as Nebraska coach.

Gator Country

Chances are you're not a Florida Gator fan, but we were quite impressed by this site. Planet Gator has cataloged video of Florida games from the past two seasons and has broken each game into quarters. We'd love to see more sites cataloging video like this.

Part of the site's mission statement reads: "Planet Gator was created because we wanted reference points for discussion. ... Nothing bothers us more than for someone to talk out of their ass, and with this site we can prove our points, and allow others to back up theirs."

Price Out of Running at Washington State

The man everybody thought was going to get the Washington State job has decided he'd rather stay El Paso. Mike Price said he "wouldn't feel good about leaving" Texas El Paso, which rescued him from the coaching scrapheap after his firing at Alabama.

"I really like it here," Price, 61, told the Seattle Times. "And they are good to me. They took me when no one wanted me."

Reportedly, three candidates have been interviewed for Washington State's opening: Eastern Washington's Paul Wulf, Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin and former Michigan State, Louisville, Utah State and Idaho coach John L. Smith.

Michigan: Nothing of substance to report outside of New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton saying he has no interest in moving to Ann Arbor, making the Wolverines 0-2 in trying to secure a coach from Louisiana. Terry Foster of the Detroit News says Michigan's clumsy search threatens to damage the program's reputation. Jim Carty of the Ann Arbor News says it's time to push the restart button.

Arkansas: The school has brought in Chuck Neinas to help find the successor to Houston Nutt.

Colorado State: The Coloradoan, under state open-records laws, obtained emails sent to athletic director Paul Kowalczyk from fans urging that Sonny Lubick be fired. One fan wrote: "I could not even get my daughter to go to CSU because she wanted to go to a school that had a decent football team and the potential of a bowl game. She chose Nebraska even though both of her parents graduated from CSU."

Duke: Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson is expected to interview Monday, according to the Durham Herald-Sun. Former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell has also been mentioned as a possible candidate, but Air Force's Troy Calhoun is no longer in the mix.

Navy: No high-profile search at Navy. Offensive line coach Ken Niumatalolo was named to replace Paul Johnson. Niumatalolo becomes the first head coach of Polynesian heritage in NCAA football history.

Southern Mississippi: Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora is considered to be the front-runner, according to the Oklahoman.

UCLA: Interviews could begin this week, but little progress has been made in finding Dorrell's replacement.

Reporters' Notebooks

Dana Beyerle, Tuscaloosa News: Alabama president Robert Witt said he's satisfied with Nick Saban's 6-6 regular season record. "He's done a very good job," Witt said.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina defensive end Jordin Lindsey was released from the hospital after the senior was stabbed in the neck with a broken beer bottle during a fight.

Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Beginning next season, Big Ten teams will be allowed to incorporate an extra bye week into their 12-game regular schedule and play games after Thanksgiving. Plus, it's looking more and more like Wisconsin tailback P.J. Hill will not play in the Outback Bowl.

Scott Rabalais, Baton Rouge Advocate: Ohio State will have 51 days between games and Louisiana State 36. Who will benefit more from the long layoff?

Jordan Blum, Baton Rouge Advocate: If you're an LSU fan, get ready to pay higher prices for tickets to help pay for Les Miles' fat, new contract.

Israel Gutierrez, Miami Herald: Tim Tebow's award for winning the Heisman: more hits.

Marcus Nelson, Palm Beach Post: Florida Atlantic and Memphis will be lucky to break even after expenses are covered for their appearance in the New Orleans Bowl.

Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee, who missed two field goals in the Mountaineers' devastating 13-9 loss to Pittsburgh, received a death threat on his Facebook page.

Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times: Oregon State players are elated they are not going back to El Paso and the Sun Bowl. Instead they are headed to San Francisco for the Emerald Bowl.

Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal: It's difficult to call Nevada's season a success.

Jake Schaller, Colorado Springs Gazette: Air Force hasn't had a player drafted since 1999, but coach Troy Calhoun said a few members of his team have NFL talent.

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How the BCS Top 25 Did Against the Spread

Here is a look at how the top 25 teams in the Bowl Championship Series standings finished against the spread, according to Covers. Some of the teams — Hawaii, for example — do not have 12 games against the number. This is because the of the ever-popular I-A strategy of scheduling I-AA teams to pad the victory column. You can get drugs, guns or booze in Las Vegas, but you can't get a line on a game between I-A and I-AA teams in sportsbooks.

What does all this mean and why is this worthy of a post? Pointspreads are actually a barometer of how the betting public perceives a team. As money rolls in for/against a team, the pointspread is adjusted. The aim of a sportsbook is to have a 50-50 split of wagers for/against a team because it eliminates risk and guarantees a profit from the 10% commission charged by a sportsbook for its services.

That said, a couple of conclusions can be made from this list. First, Kansas finished a national-best 10-1 against the spread. The Jayhawks clearly received little or no respect from bettors throughout the season and as a result, were able to cover the pointspread 90.9% of the time.

On the other end we have Louisiana State, Hawaii, Wisconsin and Virginia — teams that failed to cover the pointspread 50% of the time. In other words, bettors were too often on the wrong side with these teams, resulting in inflated pointspreads that the teams generally failed to cover. The breakdown:

1. Ohio State 7-4
2. Louisiana State 5-7-1
3. Virginia Tech 7-5
4. Oklahoma 7-6
5. Georgia 7-4
6. Missouri 9-3
7. USC 6-6
8. Kansas 10-1
9. West Virginia 6-6
10. Hawaii 4-6
11. Arizona State 6-6
12. Florida 8-3
13. Illinois 7-4
14. Boston College 6-6
15. Clemson 6-5
16. Tennessee 8-4-1
17. Brigham Young 6-5
18. Wisconsin 4-7
19. Texas 6-6
20. Virginia 5-7
21. South Florida 7-4
22. Cincinnati 8-2-1
23. Auburn 6-5
24. Boise State 6-5
25. Connecticut 7-3

Nut Case

You want protection, we've got protection. This is a demonstration of some kind of titanium nut cup. Be warned, this product is being tested by some wimpy baseball players and frankly, we're not sure if it would stand up to the rigors of a matchup between Bowl Championship Series teams. Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent.

Your Heisman Winner

Tim Tebow, who was sacked six times in Florida's 42-30 loss to Georgia, is your Heisman winner. Congratulations to those who wagered on Tebow at 14-1 odds to win this trophy. You may now cash your tickets. For those of you who had Darren McFadden (7-1), Colt Brennan (8-1) or Chase Daniel (22-1), you're out of luck.

Tebow isn't even listed among the favorites to win the award in 2008, according to Heisman Pundit. Among those listed: Ohio State's Chris Wells, West Virginia's Pat White, Florida's Percy Harvin, Texas' Jamaal Charles and Colt McCoy, Clemson's C.J. Spiller and Daniel.

Biggest Salary Is Off Federal Books

The highest-paid employee in the federal government announced Friday that he was leaving his job. Paul Johnson, who was paid $1.1 million a year to coach football at Navy, is now calling the shots at Georgia Tech.

Talk about Commander in Chief. President George W. Bush is paid $400,000 a year.

Johnson worked miracles at Navy. His beat Army six years in a row and teams led the nation in rushing for the past three seasons. He took a bunch of scrappy linemen who were giving up 40-50 pounds a man and beat Crewcut Charlie Weis and his roster of blue-chip talent at Notre Dame. Imagine the success Navy would have had with a defense.

Georgia Tech made a helluva hire, and Johnson comes at a rock-bottom price of $11 million over seven seasons — a bargain considering the obscene salaries being tossed around this offseason. We ask, could Nick Saban or Les Miles accomplish what Johnson did at Navy? Seriously.

Take it from somebody who knows. Bobby Ross won a national championship at Georgia Tech and coached three years at Army.

"He's just a sharp football coach," Ross said. "He knows the game well and he knows what it takes to win."

In other coaching-related news:

Washington State: Athletic director Jim Sterk and close aides are believed to be out of state interviewing candidates. John L. Smith, late of Michigan State, is believed to have been interviewed Thursday, according to the Seattle Times. Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin was interviewed Friday, according to the Spokesman-Review.

Michigan: Regrouping after Greg Schiano reportedly turned down a $2.2 million a year offer, despite the fact that Rutgers' Board of Governors just declined to vote on a proposed $102 million expansion to Rutgers' 44,000-seat stadium. Maybe it's all good for the Wolverines. Ian O'Conner of the Hackensack Record says Schiano is just another bad Jersey joke and the coach wanted to show Governor John Corzine that Bruce Springsteen isn't the only boss in the Garden State.

Southern Mississippi: Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee has withdrawn from consideration.

Vegas: The BCS Goofed Again

If Las Vegas called the shots, the third- and fourth-best teams in the land would not be playing in the scam known as the Bowl Championship Series title game.

Oddsmakers say Ohio State and Louisiana State — a combined 2-2 in their last four games — don't deserve to be anywhere near New Orleans.

"It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen this year," MGM Mirage sportsbook director Robert Walker told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We won't know who the best team in the country is, and we certainly won't know after Ohio State and LSU play.

"If [the Tigers] beat Ohio State, there's no way you can say they're the best team in the country, not with a straight face."

Oddsmakers say the teams that deserve a title shot are USC and Oklahoma. Walker would make the Trojans a 1.5-point favorite over the Sooners.

"I still think USC would be favored over any team on a neutral field," he said.

Schiano Says No; What's Up Michigan?

What is going on at Michigan? Gregg Schiano has told the Wolverines to forget it, becoming the second high-profile coach to tell Michigan no. But back to candidate No. 1, Louisiana State's Les Miles. Our friends at the Palestra break down what transpired to end Michigan's hopes in this one. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Michigan Focus Squarely on Schiano

Michigan has targeted Rutgers' Greg Schiano to be its coach, according to reports.

The East Brunswick Home News Tribune reports that Schiano could be offered the job Friday.

Schiano’s pedigree fits many of the criteria Michigan athletic director Bill Martin has outlined for Lloyd Carr’s successor, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Schiano has experience as a head coach, has Midwest recruiting ties (he was a Penn State assistant in 1990-95) and at age 41, could stay on the job for 10 to 15 years.

He also has NFL experience (Chicago Bears assistant in 1996-98) and a manageable buyout of $750,000. Michigan could offer Schiano a significant bump in salary from his current $1.73 million a year.

Schiano, as we posted Thursday, has become frustrated over promised facility upgrades that have been tabled because of the ongoing fiscal crisis in New Jersey.

In other coaching-related news:

Arkansas: Two words sum it up: a mess. Jim Grobe's decision to back out came in the 11th hour and right now several names are being tossed around with nobody in the picture. Should we be surprised by this? No, especially when you consider the madness that started about a year ago sparked by the transfer of quarterback Mitch Mustain. Any coach is going to have to take a hard look at the situation.

Southern Methodist: Officials were granted permission to talk with Air Force's Troy Calhoun, but the first-year Falcon coach told the Mustangs he wasn't interested.

Houston: Former Cougar quarterback David Klingler is pushing for Jack Pardee to get the job, but Klingler also acknowledges that he has something riding on the outcome: a job on Pardee's staff as offensive coordinator.

Clemson: We found this amusing. Tommy Bowden says he didn't use Arkansas as leverage for a new contract and "I could not be happier than where I am. To me this is the Mecca." Yeah, right coach.

Louisiana State: How much will a victory over Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series mean to Les Miles? About $600,000.

The High Cost of Losing at Minnesota

Year One of the Tim Brewster Experiment has been nothing short of a disaster at Minnesota. The Golden Gophers won one game — in overtime against Miami (Ohio) — and finished by losing their last 10, including a loss at home to North Dakota State.

USA Today published a spread this week on coaches salaries for 2007. The paper divided the salary of each coach by the number of victories to get a cost-per-win for each Division I-A team.

You guessed it, Minnesota's topped the list at $1 million a victory, which is Brewster's 2007 salary.

Second was Alabama's Nick Saban at $583,867, followed by Duke's Ted Roof ($544,286), Syracuse's Greg Robinson ($527,086), Southern Methodist's Phil Bennett ($517,857), Iowa's Kirk Ferentz ($505,000) and Baylor's Guy Morriss ($401,606). Of this group, Roof, Bennett and Morriss were fired.

Let's check the bargain bin. Here we find Bowling Green's Gregg Brandon. Each of the Falcons' eight victories cost $22,989. Next was Shane Montgomery of Miami (Ohio) at $24,038 and Brady Hoke of Ball State at $24,233.

This Has Nothing to Do With Football

Really now, you have to be kidding. They've taken weather to a new level in Italy. A couple of amazing bodies of work.

Reporters' Notebooks

Allison Sherry, Denver Post: Former Colorado coach Gary Barnett, in a statement on his website, said that former Colorado student Lisa Simpson's allegations of gang rape held a wonderful and well-respected university hostage and that the university endured an "unfair act of injustice" in settling the Title IX lawsuit for $2.85 million.

Jake Curtis, San Francisco Chronicle: There are too many awards in college football. The NCAA, for example, recognizes five All-American teams — Associated Press, Sporting News, Football Writers, American Football Coaches Association and Walter Camp — with membership in three of them earning the recipient the title of "consensus" All-American. Being named to all five makes the player a "unanimous consensus" All-American, to the chagrin of wordsmiths.

Rick Plumlee, Wichita Eagle: A claim that Kansas is being investigated by the Big 12 for promising to sell tickets above the 17,500 allotted for the Orange Bowl was denied by Kansas and league officials. A Kansas City talk-show host made the allegation, saying that Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins persuaded the Orange Bowl to select Kansas over Missouri by offering to buy tickets beyond the required allotment.

Joe Meyer, Columbia Tribune: University of Missouri police are investigating the theft of between $10,000 and $20,000 collected by the university’s athletic department for parking before the Tigers' Oct. 6 home game against Nebraska.

Woody Paige, Denver Post: Picking the national champion of college football for 1901 was relatively simple. Undefeated Michigan was invited to play Stanford in the inaugural "Rose Bowl" in Pasadena. In the third quarter, with Michigan ahead, 49-0, Stanford quit.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Real life is CEOs of Standard & Poor's 500 companies making an average of $14.78 million in total compensation in 2006, while many of their employees hoped to stay afloat. You could substitute "CEOs'' for "major-college football coaches.''

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma cornerback Reggie Smith, fourth on the team with 78 tackles, will miss the Fiesta Bowl because of a fractured bone in the big toe of his right foot.

Here is today's mystery link. (Lute Olson getting a divorce!?!)

Grobe Has Change of Heart, Will Stay

Arkansas is a dream job, but not if you're at a football factory like Wake Forest. Jim Grobe has backed out of the Arkansas job, becoming the second candidate in three days to do so.

If you have experience coaching any level of football — Pop Warner on up — you're urged to give the Arkansas search firm a call. The number is 867-5309, or something like that.

It was widely reported that Grobe had taken the job, but according to the Springdale Morning News, he had a change of heart after talking with his team during an emotional meeting. And as it turns out, an expensive meeting. He left an extra $1.1 million a year behind (who couldn't use that?), but you have to admire Grobe for having the guts to follow his heart.

Grobe in Hog Heaven With Fat Raise

Jim Grobe did quite well for himself. By leaving Wake Forest for Arkansas, he will double his annual salary from $1.1 million to $2.2 million, according to the Springdale Morning News.

Grobe, 55, is expected to address Demon Deacon players Thursday morning, then fly to Arkansas for the official introduction.

This deal came together rather quickly, according to the Northwest Arkansas Times. Incoming Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long talked with Grobe on Tuesday and Wednesday in Winston-Salem after a deal with Clemson's Tommy Bowden fell through.

As for who might be targeted by Wake Forest, the perfect fit would appear to be Navy's Paul Johnson, who has been shopping around. But the Deacs will have to act fast. Johnson was interviewing a second time with Georgia Tech after earlier stops at Duke and Southern Methodist, and he appears to be at the top of the Yellow Jacket list.

In other coaching-related news:

Michigan: Athletic director Bill Martin has his principles, but Louisiana State has Les Miles. Asked if he has a backup plan, Martin said: "I don't have a backup plan. I have a plan." There are rumblings that Rutgers' Greg Schiano might become a player. He reportedly is upset over promised facility upgrades that have been tabled because of the ongoing fiscal crisis in New Jersey. And before we forget about Miles, this gem of story from the Daily Reveille, detailing email correspondence between LSU athletic director Skip Bertman and Chancellor Sean O'Keefe. We thank our friends at UWire.

Washington: Tyrone Willingham will be given at least one more year to turn around the Huskies. It appears Willingham has agreed to make changes in his staff, particularly on the defensive side. Washington allowed 446.4 yards a game in 2007. Ted Miller of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interesting read on the atmosphere at the presser announcing Willingham's return.

Washington State: Eastern Washington's Paul Wulff is believed to be among the leading candidates to succeed Bill Doba, hasn't heard yet from the Cougars. "Obviously, it's a job I'm very interested in," Wulff told the Seattle Times.

Southern Mississippi: Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee reportedly has been interviewed. And former Alabama coach Mike DuBose is reportedly in the mix. DuBose is coach at Millsaps, which was victimized by Trinity's 15-lateral play, i.e. the Mississippi Miracle. South Carolina defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix has withdrawn his name from consideration.

Houston: Jack Pardee met with athletic director Dave Maggard on Pardee's ranch near College Station. Maggard will meet Thursday with Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin.

Everything Comes Up Roses for USC

Turns out there was more than a Rose Bowl bid and L.A. bragging rights riding on the outcome of last Saturday's UCLA-USC game. Karl Dorrell's job was also in play, and after the Bruins lost, 24-7, Dorrell was fired.

Image of Sport, which has provided us with quality shots throughout the season, was on the scene at the L.A. Coliseum. Image of Sport is photography wire service and digital archive to meet the demands of daily newspapers and editorial publications. Remember to check the Image of Sport Gallery.

The top photo is USC's Stafon Johnson, who ran for 73 yards in 15 carries. The inset photo is of Trojan fullback Stanley Havili leaping over Bruin cornerback Alterraun Verner.
A tuba player for the UCLA marching band performs at halftime and USC's Chauncey Washington muscles his way for yardage. Below: The Bruins' Micah Reed has his hands full blocking the Trojans' hard-charging Fili Moala.

Reporters' Notebooks

Chadd Cripe, Idaho Statesman: Boise State, which sold more than 20,000 tickets to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, has sold fewer than 200 tickets to the Hawaii Bowl.

Matt Markey, Toledo Blade: The first great storyline of the Bowl Championship Series title game. Ohio State's coaching staff flew to Baton Rouge last spring and was the guest of Louisiana State coach Les Miles as his team went through workouts.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State president T.K. Wetherell said that the bowl eligibility of some players could be affected by the academic misconduct case that has already involved 23 athletes.

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: California's Jeff Tedford calls the writer after he posted a headline on his blog that said, "Cal lied."

Andy Staples, Tampa Tribune: A food fight landed Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, a former teammate and a world-class sprinter who played receiver at Louisiana State in jail early Wednesday morning.

Joey Johnston, Tampa Tribune: Tim Tebow for Heisman? There appears to be a backlash against the Florida quarterback because his team lost three games.

Brittany Anas, Boulder Daily Camera: Colorado will pay two alleged rape victims $2.85 million to settle their Title IX lawsuit against the school. The women claim the university fostered an environment that led to their rapes by football players and recruits during an alcohol-fueled off-campus party in December 2001.

Mick McGrane, San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego coach Chuck Long contends his 4-8 team made progress, but inexperience and huge holes in the lineup portend more tough times in 2008.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Results have been mixed for NFL coaches who return to the college game.

Brian Davis, Dallas Morning News: Two Texas A&M players were arrested in connection with an alleged armed robbery that occurred at an off-campus apartment complex Nov. 29.

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn State defensive tackle Chris Baker and linebacker Navorro Bowman were bound over for trial in connection with an on-campus fight in October.

Tom Witosky, Des Moines Register: How much does a coaching search cost? Iowa State spent about $80,000 last year before it selected Gene Chizik.

Scott Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette: After Kirk Ferentz's name was floated as a candidate at Michigan, rival coaches started contacting Iowa recruits.

Stiff Arm Trophy: The site, which has correctly picked the Heisman winner the past five years, says Tim Tebow wins easily.

Heisman Pundit: It's never too early to look ahead. Who has the best chance of winning the 2008 Heisman? Tim Tebow is not on the list.

Charlie Cunningham, Kellen Henry and Ry Rivard, The Daily Athenaeum: Tough weekend all around for West Virginia. The student body president resigned after being arrested for driving under the influence. Thanks to UWire.

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Grobe to Be Named Arkansas Coach

The search is over at Arkansas. Jim Grobe of Wake Forest is the Razorbacks' new coach, replacing Houston Nutt. Grobe is expected to be introduced Thursday.

The Razorback Foundation met Wednesday evening and approved a salary supplement for Grobe, who just completed his seventh season at Wake Forest.

Grobe has a 45-39 record at Wake Forest, including an 11-3 mark last season. Last winter, he signed an extension through 2016 for what was believed to be about $1.1 million a year.

A Blast From the Past for Houston

Houston's new coach could be an old one. The Houston Chronicle reports that athletic director Dave Maggard is mulling a plan that would bring former Cougar coach Jack Pardee out of retirement.

Pardee, 71, coached at Houston from 1987-89 and had a record of 22-11-1 before leaving for the NFL's Houston Oilers. He has been retired since 1995.

"I certainly wasn't looking for a job, but when Dave called I was willing to listen," Pardee said. "There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but if they need me, I'd be happy to do it.

"The University of Houston is a special school. I'm sure Dave is doing his homework, and whatever decision he makes will be the right one, even if I'm not the coach."

In other coaching-related news:

Arkansas: Tommy Bowden's flirtation with the Razorbacks earned the Clemson coach a nice raise and left Arkansas with a headache. The latest name is East Carolina's Skip Holtz, a graduate of Fayetteville High.

Duke: Grambling State's Rod Broadway interviewed Tuesday. Navy's Paul Johnson interviewed Monday.

Michigan: The Wolverines are still talking about how the big one got away. As the story goes, Les Miles' agent called Michigan athletic director Bill Martin, and when Martin didn't return the agent's call, Miles decided to take Louisiana State's big money offer. Nearly 500 emails reportedly have been sent from former players and alums to Martin and Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, pledging support for Miles.

Northern Illinois: South Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney, who was Iowa State's coach for 12 seasons, has interviewed.

Southern Methodist: Navy's Johnson spent Tuesday on campus. SMU fired coach Phil Bennett on Oct. 28 and still hasn't figured it out.

Southern Mississippi: Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora interviewed Tuesday.

Washington: The status of Tyrone Willingham remains unclear. Although athletic director Todd Turner is staunchly behind Willingham, speculation continues that university president Mark Emmert could step in and make a decision without Turner's approval.

Florida State: Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher is close to an agreement in writing that will make him the Seminoles coach when Bobby Bowden retires, according to Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News. Florida State will have to pay Fisher if it doesn't promote him to head coach when Bowden retires, and Fisher will have to pay Florida State if he leaves for another job before Bowden retires.

Auburn: Tommy Tuberville has agreed to a two-year contract extension. His deal will now be through 2013 and Tuberville will average $3.3 million annually, starting with a $2.8 million salary in 2008 and climbing by $200,000 each year.

More Stink About the Pink

The pink visitors' locker room in Kinnick Stadium could land Iowa officials in trouble. Jill Gauldin got in a snit two years ago over the locker room when she was an associate professor of law at the university.

According to the Daily Iowan, Gauldin now plans to file a Title IX complaint against the university because of the inappropriateness of the university's action in rebuilding the pink locker room during stadium renovations. Some have complained that the pink color is derogatory toward women, intending to make visiting teams feel like "sissies."

Given Iowa's 6-6 record, one has to wonder if the Hawkeyes were using the wrong locker room this season.

Thanks to Steroid Nation and UWire.

Latest Cheap Shot Entry

How low can you go? This is Georgia Tech offensive lineman Trey Dunmon with a flagrant clip against Georgia's Brandon Miller. Keep an eye on the right-hand side of the screen, near the referee. Dunmon was ejected and Georgia Tech was penalized 15 yards.

We're told that Dunmon's dad is a message board denizen and defended his son's play in this post. Thanks to James and Blake, who spotted the clip on Georgia Sports Blog, for sending it along.

It's June in December

Here are the comments from Hawaii's June Jones taking a swipe at Florida's Tim Tebow during ESPN's bowl selection show. ESPN's Jim Donnan and Jesse Palmer then offer their "analysis" on the issue in the video below, but remember that Donnan is a former Georgia coach and Palmer is a former Florida quarterback. Hawaii opens the 2008 season at Florida.

Reporters' Notebooks

Mike DeArmond, Kansas City Star: We know one of the Heisman finalists. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel leaked the secret, saying quarterback Chase Daniel had been invited to New York.

The Warriors Will Throw: And we know another Heisman finalist. Hawaii's Colt Brennan is headed to the ceremony, according to June Jones.

Ryan Gorcey, Daily Cal: California quarterback Nate Longshore suffered a chipped bone in an ankle in a midseason game against Oregon State and continued to play. The injury was kept secret by Jeff Tedford. Thanks to Rob!

Fan Blogs: How Western Athletic Conference coaches pimped their votes for bowl money.

Moisekapenda Bower, Houston Chronicle: Players make coaches, so it doesn't seem right that the real losers in the coaching carousel often are the athletes.

Greg Hansen, Arizona Daily Star: The good news for Arizona's Mike Stoops is that he didn't get fired. The bad news is that he needs to put a winner on the field in 2008 or he will be fired.

Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star: Could the Big 12 have protected Missouri in the Bowl Championship Series selection process, mandating that a major bowl take the second-highest-rated league team if there was to be an at-large selection? The answer is no.

Matt Gamewell and Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World: Kansas is not about to apologize for its schedule. And why should it? The Jayhawks are playing in the Orange Bowl.

Brad Rock, Deseret Morning News: Does Brigham Young join the movement and schedule creampuffs to enhance its chances of playing in a BCS game?

Donnie Webb, Syracuse Post-Standard: Syracuse offensive coordinator Brian White was fired, according to sources.

Tom Witosky, Des Moines Register: Iowa receiver Dominique Douglas pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, but a separate charge and a judge's decision stand in the way of him avoiding jail time.

Lincoln Journal Star: Nebraska "interim" athletic director Tom Osborne has cleared Bo Pelini to coach Louisiana State in the BCS title game.

Adam Rose, All Things Trojan: A look at the best hits of the season, USC style.

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Tebow Tops Pundit's Final Straw Poll

The Heisman Trophy, to be presented Saturday, would appear to be headed to the hands of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who would become the first sophomore to win the award.

In the final straw poll by the Heisman Pundit, Tebow edged Arkansas junior running back Darren McFadden. Third was Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan and fourth was Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel.

If the poll's results hold, McFadden would become the first two-time runner up since Charlie Justice of North Carolina in the late 1940s.

Bowden Set to Become Arkansas Coach?

Indications are that Arkansas has found its man, and that man appears to be Tommy Bowden.

The board of the Razorback Foundation is expected to meet Tuesday morning and approve a compensation package for Bowden, who barring a late snag, is expected to say yes, according to a report.

The compensation package being drawn up for Bowden is believed to be in the $2.5 million a year range. He reportedly has a $2.5 million buyout from Clemson.

The Springdale Morning News also reports Clemson made a counter-offer Monday night, but that a high-ranking Clemson official said he doesn't believe the offer will be enough to keep Bowden from making the jump.

Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English and — you guessed it — Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn also interviewed in recent days.

Update: Another swing and a miss for the Razorbacks, as Bowden has now agreed to stay on at Clemson, agreeing to a contract extension.

In other coaching-related news:

UCLA: As expected, the Bruins fired Karl Dorrell. Boise State's Chris Petersen was reportedly at the top of UCLA's list, but he said, "I'm not interested in that place." Former Detroit Lion, San Francisco 49er and California Golden Bear coach Steve Mariucci, also said to be a man of interest, declined comment on the job when contacted by the L.A. Times.

Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who will coach the team in the Las Vegas Bowl, might be a candidate. Walker has been contacted by Washington State about its opening. Texas Tech's Mike Leach, who was born in California, is also being mentioned, as is Tennessee Titan assistant Norm Chow.

Michigan: The Wolverines aren't used to hiring coaches and it shows. Ball State's Brady Hoke said he has spoken to Wolverine athletic director Bill Martin about the opening. Kirk Ferentz's name keeps popping up, but there is no indication from Iowa reporters that this is going to happen. Clearly regrouping after Les Miles said no.

In a related story, ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit on his inaccurate Miles-to-Michigan report: "I will never gather news and report again."

Duke: The Blue Devils appear to have Navy's Paul Johnson at the top of their list. Johnson is also getting interest from Southern Methodist and Georgia Tech.

How the Coaches Voted

Time for the annual look at how the coaches voted in the final USA Today poll. You can examine the ballot yourself by clicking here. But if you want the crib notes Southern style, Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the best breakdown we've seen. Here are a few of the highlights:

Bob Stoops, above left, voted Oklahoma No. 1. He happens to coach the Sooners. Stoops had three Big 12 teams in his top four and Louisiana State at No. 6.

Wyoming's Joe Glenn, above right, had Georgia at No. 10.

The seven Southeastern Conference coaches who vote all had Georgia in the top five. Les Miles voted LSU No. 1. He happens to coach the Tigers. Eleven coaches overall voted LSU No. 1.

The seven Big Ten coaches who vote had Ohio State No. 1.

Hal Mumme of New Mexico State voted Hawaii No. 1.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News has this interesting tidbit: Oregon's Mike Bellotti, Florida Atlantic's Howard Schnellenberger, Clemson's Tommy Bowden and Florida State's Bobby Bowden voted Missouri ahead of Oklahoma, even though the Tigers lost twice to the Sooners.

Reporters' Notebooks

Andy Staples, Tampa Tribune: Florida's Tim Tebow, expected to win the Heisman, traded barbs with Hawaii coach June Jones, who said: "My quarterback [Colt Brennan] is the best college football player in America. I did not add Tebow's team has three loses or is not in a BCS game. … The bottom line is I irritated them because they knew I was right. But I did get a whole bunch of emails and calls from Florida State people that said, 'Thanks for finally saying that.' " Plus, a look at how Tebow might do if he were Hawaii's quarterback.

Brian McInnis, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Bowl Championship Series dollars should make life easier for Hawaii, which hopes to increase its recruiting plateau, previously limited to an amazingly low $50,000.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Ranking the bowls. The Sugar is tasty. The Independence is unbearable.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Bowl game? Alabama should quit while it's behind.

M Zone: The dumbest stat in college football: A team's record against ranked opponents.

Scott Cacciola, Memphis Commercial Appeal: Mississippi's Houston Nutt won retain any of Madman Ed Orgeron's assistants.

Boi From Troy: When Arizona State was passed over for a berth in a BCS game, it cost California taxpayers a bundle.

Pete Alfano, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: During the past two decades, it has become evident that Army has fallen significantly behind Navy and Air Force in football.

Dick Harmon, Deseret Morning News: The Las Vegas Bowl had no choice but to arrange a rematch between Brigham Young and UCLA.

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame's Crewcut Charlie Weis says he's too busy with recruiting to address issues within his program.

J.P. Giglio and Lorenzo Perez, Raleigh News & Observer: A look at the ups and downs from the regular season.

Darren Sabedra, San Jose Mercury News: Jim Harbaugh, who vowed to attack his job with "enthusiasm unknown to mankind," has made substantial progress in his first season at Stanford.

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: Is California doomed in 2008? The Golden Bears have serious questions at skill positions.

Stack Magazine: The magazine dedicated to high school athletes ranks the leading Division I sports programs based on academics, athletic opportunity and overall performance. Top five: 1. North Carolina; 2. Stanford; 3. Texas; 4. UCLA; 5. Duke. Thanks to Donnie Webb of the Syracuse Post-Standard.

SportsBusiness Journal: A list of the bowl gifts to be given to players.

Ryan Autullo, Toledo Blade: ESPN anchor John Buccigross: "ESPN focuses on ratings. That’s its job. More people care about the Yankees and Red Sox than every other team combined. It’s just the sheer numbers. Greater New York City has 20 million people."

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The Bowl Odds

The bowl odds have been trickling in and there have been several line swings already, reflected at Vegas Insider. Let's start with the biggie, the Bowl Championship Series title game. Louisiana State opened a 4.5-point favorite but has been bid up to 6 at some sportsbooks.

In the Sugar, Georgia opened an 8-point favorite against Hawaii and is now at 10.

In the Fiesta, Oklahoma opened a 4.5-point favorite against West Virginia and is now 7.

In the Rose, USC opened a 14-point favorite against Illinois and that number is steady. This is the biggest spread on the board.

In the Orange, Virginia Tech opened a 1-point favorite against Kansas and has been pushed to 4 at some sportsbooks.

The GMAC Bowl between Bowling Green and Tulsa is expected to be the highest scoring with an over/under of 75.5. It opened at 73 but has been bid up.

The Las Vegas Bowl between Brigham Young and UCLA is expected to be the lowest scoring with an over/under of 46.5. It opened at 47 but has been bid down.

BCS Talk Leaves Us in a Hayes

The Bowl Championship Series is nothing more than a beauty contest, one Woody Hayes would be proud of.

In 1973, Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes were selected to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. League athletic directors voted, 6-4, in favor of sending Ohio State to Pasadena over Michigan after the teams tied, 10-10, in the game to decide the Rose Bowl participant.

There was controversy then and there is controversy now. The BCS has spoken, and it's Ohio State and Louisiana State in the title game.

This decision has been greeted by boos in many corners, cheers in others. A sampling from around the country:

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times: After the final whistle of the regular season, nobody should have a gripe — nobody.

Thayer Evans, New York Times: Was LSU the best two-loss team in the land? Many, including Georgia's Mark Richt, say no.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: The BCS dirt doesn't come out in the wash.

Terry Frei, Denver Post: The BCS computers got it right. Ohio State vs. LSU was the best of all possible choices.

Stewart Mandel, SI.com: An unappealing BCS slate should prompt change.

Bart Wright, Greenville News: If you want drama, unseen turns in the road, emotional intersections and triumph and tragedy, the BCS provides that and more.

Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com: Chaos doesn't legitimize ignorance or stupidity.

Charles Elmore, Palm Beach Post: The BCS can't adjust to ways the game has changed.

John Henderson, Denver Post: Make it five out of eight seasons the BCS has left people screaming for change.

Philadelphia Inquirer: Three staffers analyze the BCS.

National Championship Issue: Even different versions of the BCS bring about the same result.

The Rain Game

Without losers, there would be no winners, so today we give a glimpse at what life is like for the less fortunate in college football. On Friday night in a driving rainstorm in Las Cruces, New Mexico State played its final game of 2007. These Aggies won't be headed to a bowl. A 30-23 loss to Fresno State completed a 4-9 campaign.

Our man Greg, perhaps the biggest college football fan around, braved the elements to see what this made-for-TV event was all about.

Also among the dozens in attendance (mor