5 Job Openings in 2009 (and who should be hired)

Arizona
Current Coach: Mike Stoops
Who the Wildcats should hire: Chris Petersen (Boise State)

Stoops can save his job by getting into a bowl game this season. But a 36-28 loss to a weak New Mexico is not a good sign. Arizona is 3-1 right now and securing four more wins is not out of the question. However, I see Petersen taking over in Tucson. He has become one of the top young coaches in the nation. Boise is 26-3 in two-plus seasons under Petersen, including a 15-1 mark in Western Athletic Conference play.

Syracuse
Current Coach: Greg Robinson
Who the Orange should hire: Turner Gill (Buffalo)

I know everyone thinks (or wants) former USC assistant and former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, but Gill has done an amazing job at Buffalo. The Bulls wisely gave Gill a contract extension through 2012 after guiding Buffalo to a 5-7 record. Buffalo is just 2-3 this season, but this is a program that was a doormat before his arrival. There have been rumors that former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr is considering the job. Just seems like a very odd fit.

Tennessee
Current Coach: Phil Fulmer
Who the Volunteers should hire: Skip Holtz (East Carolina)

The buzz about Holtz has dimmed a bit following consecutive losses by his Pirates, but he would be a great fit at Tennessee. He’d be talking in that Tennessee drawl about 30 seconds into the press conference announcing his hiring. Skip learned how to be a head coach during five seasons at UConn (38-23) and now in his fourth season at ECU, where he guided the Pirates to back-to-back bowl games. He was considered a favorite to get the West Virginia job last winter before Bill Stewart led the Mountaineers to a big win in the Fiesta Bowl. He would get the Vols back on top in the SEC.

Virginia
Current Coach: Al Groh
Who the Cavaliers should hire: Jerry Moore (Appalachian State)

OK, maybe this is a bit of a stretch and wouldn’t make too much since for the long haul since Moore will be 70 in July. But he’s a great coach. What he has accomplished for the Mountaineers is amazing. He is 169-72 with three consecutive Football Championship Series titles. Moore has BCS experience as he coached Texas Tech from 1981-85.

Washington
Current Coach: Tyrone Willingham
Who the Huskies should hire: Jim Mora Jr. (Seattle Seahawks)

I still believe Willingham should be given another year, but with a new AD (Scott Woodward) his time in Seattle is probably coming to an end. Now my suggestion may not be realistic since he is expected to be promoted to the Seahawks head coach next year. But the former walk-on linebacker is an intense competitor and should be an excellent recruiter. He could rebuild Washington into a national contender again very quickly. Remember, one of the reasons he was run out as the Atlanta Falcons head coach was because of a radio interview he did in Seattle where he said he’d leave the NFL to return to his alma mater.

Coaching arrogance

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Many newspapers in Florida have indicated a new coach has taken over the Florida Gators. His name is Arrogant Meyer. The Gator fans were booing them or him at the game Saturday. This hasn't happened since Charley Pell was there. A lot of people think the team has adopted Coach Arrogant's attitude.

Every year there are a few coaches who start believing they are the best thing to ever happen to coaching. Richie Rod, Arrogant Meyer and Charlie "King" Weis will be joined soon by Nick Satan.

He is next. It is in his makeup. Always has been.

Our Top 25 (Sept. 29)

1. Oklahoma (3)
2. LSU (6)
3. Missouri (5)
4. Alabama (7)
5. Texas (9)
6. Penn State (12)
7. South Florida (11)
8. BYU (13)
9. Southern Cal (1)
10. Texas Tech (15)
11. Georgia (2)
12. Ohio State (10)
13. Utah (16)
14. Florida (4)
15. Auburn (21)
16. Boise State (18)
17. Kansas (20)
18. Vanderbilt (19)
19. Wisconsin (8)
20. Connecticut (NR)
21. Oklahoma State (NR)
22. Fresno State (NR)
23. Michigan State (NR)
24. Ball State (NR)
25. Oregon (NR)

Others receiving votes: Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Illinois, Maryland, TCU, Duke

ACC Report 3

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Florida State, North Carolina and Maryland each had good showings Saturday.

This week Miami and FSU do battle in the ACC's marquee game. The winner is in the mix for the ACC championship game. Wake Forest will no longer be seen. Virginia Tech beat an average Nebraska team. Big deal. Maryland is in the picture. Clemson is trying to eliminate itself. North Carolina State had a big win.

Duke is doing a great job. Just think how close they are to going to a bowl game. I would want them in my bowl game. Every Duke graduate in the world would be trying to buy a ticket. All graduates could add to their wardrobe. New shirts with something other than basketball on the front of them. I want the concession for that.

This is just odd

Sure, it's just September. But these conference standings are just odd, especially the teams on top. I know it won't hold, but still interesting.

SEC East
Vanderbilt (4-0, 2-0)
Georgia (4-1, 1-1)
Florida (3-1, 1-1)
Kentucky (4-0, 0-0)
South Carolina (3-2, 0-2)
Tennessee (1-3, 0-2)

Big Ten
Northwestern (5-0, 1-0)
Penn State (5-0, 1-0)
Ohio State (4-1, 1-0)
Michigan State (4-1, 1-0)
Michigan (2-2, 1-0)
Purdue (2-2, 0-0)
Minnesota (4-1, 0-1)
Wisconsin (3-1, 0-1)
Iowa (3-2, 0-1)
Illinois (2-2, 0-1)
Indiana (2-2, 0-1)

Big East
Connecticut (5-0, 1-0)
Pittsburgh (3-1, 1-0)
South Florida (5-0, 0-0)
Cincinnati (3-1, 0-0)
West Virginia (2-2, 0-0)
Rutgers (1-3, 0-0)
Louisville (2-2, 0-1)
Syracuse (1-4, 0-1)

Those at the Top ... BEWARE

What happened this weekend should not be such a surprise. After what happened last year to the national championship picture, the upsets yesterday are more proof of how balanced college football is these days.

So don't think anyone is a lock to play for it all right now. New No. 1 Oklahoma may look like a world beater today, but let's see how they do against Texas, Kansas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Then there's No. 2 Alabama, who dominated Georgia for a half. Nick Saban's boys are playing as well as anyone in the nation. But Bama must get past Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn.

Others have crept into the conversation. Penn State, Missouri, Texas, LSU, BYU and South Florida are all in the mix now. What I realized even more after Saturday is that the usual favorites are still in the mix. Don't be surprised when USC, Florida or Georgia finds its way back into the BCS Championship hunt in November ... because championships aren't won in September.

USC is in the best shape of the one-loss teams. They have the easiest schedule and dropped to No. 9. There are few teams in front of them that will lose just because they play other Top 10 teams.

What's very interesting about the Top 10 is that only two SEC teams are in, but four Big 12 boys are among the elite this week.

Here's a look at the AP Top 10

1. Oklahoma (4-0)
2. Alabama (5-0)
3. LSU (4-0)
4. Missouri (4-0)
5. Texas (4-0)
6. Penn State (5-0)
7. Texas Tech (4-0)
8. Brigham Young (4-0)
9. USC (2-1)
10. South Florida (5-0)

Check out our Top 25 tomorrow night.

The return of the Zooker

- here's the situation: it's the first drive of the second half, you're down 7 and you're defense stinks. You've made it to midfield and it's fourth and short.

YOU PUNT THE FOOTBALL. YOU MAKE PENN STATE DRIVE THE LENGTH OF THE FIELD.

not the Zooker. He goes for it despite all reasoned people screaming at the TV.

And now you're down two scores.

nice one, Zooker. You just gave away three points that might cost you this game.

Other stuff:

- Mark May's hindsight is 10/10
ESPN yapping mouth Mark May suggested that the Florida 4th and 1 play where Tim Tebow was stuff against Ole Miss was stupid because "if he just pitches it, it's a first down. If he throws it his receiver is wide open and it's a TD!"

Thanks, Mayday. I genuflect at your ability to say anything, no matter how mentally disabled it makes you seem. Have you watched Florida play in the last three years? They run Tebow on short yardage because it works. Over and over and over - it freaking works. They got beat on it today. But give me a break with the hindsight playcalling.


- Georgia is trying to creep back into this game, but Bama just kicked a FG to go back up three scores.

- It stinks that there's no 10 p.m. game worth watching tonight. I don't think Stanford-Washington is going to cut it.

- has Zombie Nation become Penn State's fight song? It's catchy and all, but this has gone too far. cheeseball 90s techno should never be anyone's goal for a "tradition."

Big de-cleaters

Observations from Saturday's Games (Sept. 27)

Good Saturday for watching games (many thanks to the wife for taking our daughter shopping for most of the day). Spent the early part of the day watching North Carolina-Miami and Michigan State-Indiana, then focused mainly on Marshall-WVU (while flipping occasionally to Wisconsin-Michigan). Here are some interesting observations I made (not even getting into the 'Bama whipping of UGA that I'm watching right now).

1. ESPN's Andre Ware is clueless. Ware spent 3 1/2 quarters talking about how Miami has its swagger back, only to watch the Butch Davis' coached Tar Heels steal a big ACC win at Dolphins Stadium. Ware's like George W. Bush. Give him a few talking points and he won't stray from it all game. When the plan doesn't stay on script he struggles big time.

2. There are no elite teams this year. Just like last year anyone can lose any week. When Florida loses to Ole Miss, Clemson loses to Maryland, Wisconsin loses to Michigan, Wake Forest loses to Navy, I don't want to hear about conference superiority or a team is destined to win it all. Who benefitted most from Saturday? USC. The Trojans are right back in the mix again.

3. Duke's David Cutcliffe is Coach of the Year. Give him the award now. Under his leadership the Dookies are 3-1 and 1-0 in ACC play. The Blue Devils ended a 25-game conference losing skid against UVA. Not like we didn't know this before Saturday, but THE University is in trouble. Duke hits a tough stretch over the next four weeks (at Georgia Tech, Miami, at Vanderbilt and at Wake Forest).

4. WVU may have won, but ... I'm pleased with the 27-3 victory over Marshall, but the offense was still sporadic at best and the defense allowed the Herd to reel off two drives of more than 18 plays. Pat White was more in synch before leaving the game with a hand injury, and TB Noel Devine had his best outing of the season. The Mountaineers still have a lot to work on and it's looking more and more like Bill Stewart is simply too nice to be a coach in Division I.

5. Injuries have killed East Carolina. The Pirates were playing as good as any team in the country through the first three weeks of the season. Coach Skip Holtz isn't making excuses, but the Pirates have had to play without linebacker Quentin Cotton and left tackle Stanley Bryant (both out the rest of the season with knee injuries), as well as wideout T.J. Lee (foot injury) and DL Khalif Mitchell (turf toe). ECU won't sniff the Top 25 again this season, especially after Houston dismembered the Pirates 41-24 in Greenville.

6. No-talent Michigan is in great shape. If you watched Rich Rod's boys come back from a 19-0 deficit you could tell that they were in way better condition. Credit strength coach Mike Barwis, whose unique conditioning programs have become legendary. Michigan's offense still sucks, but they will get better under Rich.

7. Who's No. 1? Oklahoma will be on top of both polls on Sunday, but Alabama is playing better than anyone in the country. The performance against Clemson was amazing, but through one half in Athens, Ga., Bama's dismantling Georgia. What an impressive coaching job by Nick Saban. That hurts.

8. Clausen getting better. Jimmy Clausen's hair-do is still alien, but the former Blue Chipper played his best game since arriving in South Bend. He completed 57 percent of his passes for a 275 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Purdue. "Yeah, I played good out there," Clausen said. "I felt comfortable. I was reading the coverage's pretty good. I felt like I knew what to do coming into the game, and the coaches helped me and got me ready to go."

9. Don't listen to me. After going 4-1 in my inaugural picks last week, I'll be lucky to win one this week. I took some chances this week, but the most disappointing loss what Colorado's poor defensive showing against a Florida State offense with an identity crisis.

10. Didn't even see it. ESPN should cancel Dr. Lou and then fire Holtz. He's an embarrassment.

God Love It

Of course, I mean college football.

First, let's make it clear, there is no team that is either in or out of the national championship race. There just isn't. Well, except maybe Louisville. (Seriously, you're up 1 with 2:30 left and you're throwing the ball?)

Today has been one of those days that makes college football great, infuriating and completely unpredictable:

- Ole Miss beats #4 Florida AT The Swamp. Blocked extra point. Stopping the unstoppable force, Tim Tebow, on a fourth and one.

- Navy, NAVY, beats Wake Forest.

- Auburn wins despite never having the ball on the Tennessee side of the 50 in the second half.

- A Michigan team that looked completely incompetent in the first half and trailed Wisconsin 19-0, scores 27 unanswered points and holds on to win their Big Ten opener.

- It's still the first half, but Bama is completely dismantling Georgia, 31-0.

Picks of the Week

Colorado (+5 1/2) over Florida State
This game is technically at a neutral site (Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville), but FSU will have the clear home-field advantage. However, the Noles offense is sputtering with its two-QB system (Christian Ponder and D'Vontrey Richardson). Let's also note that Jimbo Fisher is the most overrated offensive coordinator/future head coach in the country. Colorado is 4-0 and very confident following the upset win over West Virginia last week. I like Buffs QB Cody Hawkins to find a way to beat FSU. He's not the most consistent thrower, but he's gutsy.
Pick: Colorado 27, FSU 17

Georgia (-7) over Alabama
The Bulldogs don't need a "Black Out" to lower the Tide on Saturday night. Georgia is simply better than Nick Saban's boys. Alabama is better and will continue to improve under sad-sack Saban, but the Tide won't roll this week. Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno will shine inside the hedges in Athens.
Pick: Georgia 28, Alabama 20

Purdue (+1) over Notre Dame
Both teams are 2-1 and this match up has had some memorable games. This game could very easily come down to which quarterback plays better--Purdue's Curtis Painter or Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen. Clausen has improved from last year and he's getting a little more protection, but Painter will win this battle. I hate to take Purdue on the road, but the Boilermakers will make fewer mistakes and pull out the mini-upset.
Pick: Purdue 22, Notre Dame 14

Nebraska (-7) over Virginia Tech
This is a gut pick. I haven't seen enough of the Cornhuskers to pick this one on facts. Here's what I know. Nebraska is more disciplined under Bo Pelini and the Huskers are playing at home. Virginia Tech is young and have struggled each week. Beamer Ball is highly overrated. Frank's a good coach, but his team will cave in Lincoln.
Pick: Nebraska 34, Virginia Tech 17

Upset special

Illinois (+15 1/2) over Penn State
Ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you I think Penn State is the most overrated team coming into every season. Despite Jo-Pa enjoying a 4-0 start, the Nittany Lions victories are against weak teams. Ron Zook, on the other hand, is developing something with the Fighting Illini. Following a wild 52-42 loss in the season opener against Missouri, Illinois has righted itself against weaker competition. QB Juice Williams has been tough to stop the past two weeks running and throwing. He humbles the PSU defense, which the heads at ESPN are giving way too much credit.
Pick: Illinois 30, Penn State 27

Last week: 4-1
Season: 4-1

I shouldn't be surprised.

It's just that usually USC waits until the middle of the Pac-10 season to blow a game against a clearly inferior opponent. of course, this means practically nothing in the national championship picture. USC will still be a top 10 team next week. (Okay, homerish bitch coming: Ohio State goes to #1 and gets thumped and drops to #14. Let's see how far USC drops after what is clearly a very poor loss. I'll say #7.)

Oregon State will likely finish as a 6-6 team. USC will be beating everyone 70-0 by the end of November and will once again live up to their annual mantle of "playing the best at the end of the year." We'll see if this game really means much.

USC-Oregon State Live!

1:19 4th - that was quick. TD USC. 27-21. Big kickoff return and four passes from Sanchez and now SC has to onside kick. Oregon State recovers the onside kick. SC only has one TO left.

2:39 4th - TD Oregon State. It's 27-14 with 2:39 left. SC will need a minor miracle now. A quick TD and an onside kick. 186 yards for Jacquizz Rogers.

Side note: the eye black where the players get to write their own messages should be against the rules. Just cause I find them annoying.

2:43 4th - Sanchez overthows a WR and gets picked off. Returned all the way to the 2.

3:15 4th - Gotta love college football. Oregon State's punter is terrible. His last two punts have also been terrible. And both ahve somehow ended up inside the USC 5. Amazing, really.

4:01 4th - interesting strategy by USC to take its timeouts now instead of waiting until the last two minutes. third and 6 for the Beavers, and they run the ball. not a bad call. USC will get the ball back with about 3:30 to go.

4:48 4th - who in the FREAKING HELL is Jacquizz Rogers??? this kid's gotta have 170 yards rushing and he is the size of my ring finger. USC is taking timeouts. This is the part of the game that is greatly affected by the clock changes. the period from 5 minutes down to 2 minutes left. You can really take time off the clock now.

6:52 4th - Beavers waste a great drive with a blocked FG. Shockingly, I find myself agreeing with Craig James about running the fooball on third down. You take another minute off the clock with that and that RB has looked awfully slippery tonight.

12:51 4th - Oregon State finally holds. Gotta wonder if the Beavers can manage another score or if they're just going to have to hold on and run as much clock as possible.

2:56 3rd - and it's 21-14 as Sanchez hits Damian Williams for a TD. OSU has to take a shot downtown. SC is just going to continue to stack the box. It's not looking good for the Beavers though. SC seems to have found a little offensive rhythm.

7:21 3rd - Here comes SC. Sanchez hits a long TD pass after it appeared a penalty would push the Trojans out of range. Oregon State managed one first down, but had to punt. Big series coming up for the OSU defense.

Half - OSU 21, USC 0. Okay, I'm excited. But how in holy hades does USC run a direct snap to Joe McKnight on 3rd and 7? Poor play call. Nice call by Mike Riley to go ahead and go for the TD instead of settling for the FG right before the half. You've got #1 at home and you're up, you've GOT to be aggressive there. Sure, they got lucky. But, what the heck.
Actually, I should be angry, this game has now completely ruined my sleep plans.

7:38 2nd - I am STILL not getting excited, even though it's 14-0 Beavers. Great playcalling by OSU. This tiny, tiny RB of OSU is hard for USC's defense to even find much less to tackle. It looks like a bunch of giants chasing a jackrabbit. Looks like OSU's jet sweep motion is throwing off SC's defensive front. The Trojans look very tentative up front.

start of 2nd qtr: THIS is the somewhat shaky, inexperienced USC offense I was hoping to see two weeks ago in the Coliseum. Crap.

8:24 1st - I will not get excited about OSU's 7-0 lead.
I will not get excited about OSU's 7-0 lead.
I will not get excited about OSU's 7-0 lead.
I will not get excited about OSU's 7-0 lead.

(And forgive me if this isn't totally live. I gotta clean for a visit from my Dad.)

Looking over Bo's shoulder

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini is saying all of the right things. He's not stupid. He knows who's really in charge in Lincoln. But you know he just hates having Husker legend Tom Osborne looking over his shoulder.

According to an Associated Press story, Pelini says Osborne is welcome at any meeting, practice or team function. Tom may be calling plays from the press box by the end of the season. This is what Pelini said, "Let's face it, no matter how long you're around, you never have it all figured out. Everybody has a different perspective, another set of eyes. The more input you take, the more you can learn, the better you become."

Nice BS coach.

Does he respect Osborne? Of course. Does he want to be second guessed on every play or every decision he makes about his program? I doubt it.

If Osborne wanted to coach so much he should have just hired himself. If not, hire a coach who can handle the job. This relationship could wear thin real quick. We'll keep an eye on this one.

Episode 5

Blame game in Mo-Town

What's going on in Morgantown these days is straight from a Coen Brothers' movie. Starring as the clueless, but always smiling football coach Simple Bill Stewart. Co-starring as the brain-dead boss One-step-out-the-door Eddie Pastilong.

Anyone who wants to blame Simple Bill for the disaster taking place at WVU is just looking at the surface. The real problem is Eddie.

Blame him for the emotional, late-night hire of Stewart following the Mountaineers Fiesta Bowl victory in January.

Blame him for not being smart enough to realize that WVU had become big-time football and could attract a much-more talented stable of potential coaches (no that doesn't include Terry Bowden).

Blame him for caving to the pressure of the players and probably from Gov. Manchin.

Because WVU officials allowed him to remain in Morgantown for about 20 years longer than he should have no one should be surprised by the story in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. At least the PG doesn't cow tow to WVU and they go after stories. Read this and you'll see a lot of good ol' Mountaineers aren't too happy.

One thing is crystal clear about Stewart and Pastilong: "You two're just dumber'n a bag of hammers."

ACC Report 2

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Clemson and Miami did exactly what I thought. North Carolina was a disappointment but the Tar Heels had the hardest test of any ACC team. Playing Virginia Tech on the road did not help Butch Davis' young team. They gave VT a battle for their money. They are still very young. They will get it going again. I don't think their next game is where they will do it. UM is ahead of them in the maturity race.

Florida State stunk up the field. Maybe some of these so called "Great Coordinators" aren't as brilliant as their press clippings or agents make them out to be. FSU has the most overrated offensive coordinator in the country. Bobby needs to get involved more. He needs to get his river boat gambler attitude back. He is starting to be too conservative. He is starting to coach like Papa Joe. The only difference is he will play anyone. Papa Joe likes to play schools like William & Mary, without William.

Clemson will win the ACC championship. An easy pick. VT is average at best. North Carolina S tate did a great job against East Carolina.

Our Top 25 (Sept. 22)

Back by popular demand, the weekly rankings by the cast and crew of An 'Eye and an 'Eer. How did Ohio State get back in the Top 10?

1. USC (2-0)
2. Georgia (4-0)
3. Oklahoma (3-0)
4. Florida (3-0)
5. Missouri (4-0)
6. LSU (3-0)
7. Alabama (4-0)
8. Wisconsin (3-0)
9. Texas (3-0)
10. Ohio State (3-1)
11. South Florida (4-0)
12. Penn State (4-0)
13. BYU (4-0)
14. Wake Forest (3-0)
15. Texas Tech (4-0)
16. Utah (4-0)
17. Illinois (2-1)
18. Boise State (3-0)
19. Vanderbilt (4-0)
20. Kansas (3-1)
21. Auburn (3-1)
22. Colorado (3-0)
23. Clemson (3-1)
24. TCU (4-0)
25. Nebraska (3-0)

Others receiving votes: Miami (Fla.), Ball State, Fresno State, East Carolina, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech.

Syracuse school spirit

Syracuse fans have an interesting way of showing school spirit these days. Three students have created "Greg Robinson Farewell Tour" T-shirts that they are selling before games. Where do I get mine?

Coaching concerns

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Charlie Weiss has coached Notre Dame right back to his ability. Talk about overrated coaches. This is a man that didn’t play college football. He was a gofer for years. His title may have been offensive coordinator but I bet real coaches were making the plans. They could pay him less than anyone else and get away with it. Notre Dame will beat schools like The Sister Of The Poor, all of the academies including the Salvation Army and the Ray Charles School of the Blind (probably in overtime).

Bill Stewart of WVU needs to take his nap before the game. Not during it. Why did the backup quarterback have gloves on when he knew he was going to throw a long pass? Coach bring Doc Holliday out of the press box and let him run the game. He has already coached on teams that played for and won National Championships. Don't hide him out in the press box. Put him out there. I will bet you, he won't have trouble with his phones.

Rumble in Piscataway

Since when did QBs start taking cheap shots at defensive players ... on his own team? I guess Rutgers' Mike Teel is a bad ass. Looks like Greg Schiano thinks this type of behavior is OK.

"In my eyes, it could be a great teaching opportunity, as what not to do when frustration sets in and bubbles over," Schiano said. "But Mike has apologized for what he did. There's no excuse for what Mike did. It was inappropriate behavior and not something I or my coaching staff condones. But to make that the reason [to suspend Teel] doesn't make sense. We're a close-knit group and it was just an event that bubbled over. There is no reason to make any change."

Opening 0-3 makes the folks in New Jersey a little crazy.

This is why the SEC is the best

When LSU and Auburn slugged it out last night in a classic SEC slug-fest at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it included a little of everything that makes the conference the best in the country (watch the video for proof). I was pulling for Auburn for no real apparent reason other than Les Miles creeps me out for some reason. I also like Auburn's defense.

But when Jarrett Lee and Brandon LaFell connected on an 18-yard TD pass in the final minute LSU pulled out another exciting win over Auburn, 26-21. What was even more impressive was the exciting momentum swings and the crazy talent on the field Saturday night.

Saturday early game notes

As I was at the Ohio State game, I missed some of the early games, but here's some thoughts:

- Why is Urban Meyer playing Tim Tebow up by 24 points with 3 minutes left in the Tennessee game? This is utter stupidity and arrogance. They're lucky UT had packed up its bags midway through the second quarter or somebody is going to take a cheap shot at Tebow. And while I don't think Tebow deserves it, I'm starting to wonder if UF does.

- Javon Ringer had another huge day for Michigan State with 201 yards in the win over Notre Dame. Which is great until you realize it was on 39 carries. Well, sure, that's not that bad except it comes after last week's 43 FREAKING CARRIES. Mark D'Antonio is going to Mike Hart this kid into the ground. Ringer is nails, but that's a lot of carries for anybody much less a small back.

- Terrelle Pryor is now the unquestioned starter for Ohio State and looked pretty decent against a Troy team that's better than people think. the Buckeyes still have problems, though, starting with a shocking lack of playing speed. They just don't seem excited about playing football.

- Will Pitt's last-minute win over Iowa spark the Panthers to become the team people thought they would be this year?

- Boise State has a freshman quarterback who threw for nearly 400 yards AT Oregon. Watch out for the Broncos who play nobody until they face Fresno State at the end of the year.

Saturday night games

Georgia at Arizona State - It's 14-3 and ASU is looking a little out of their element. The Devils can't run the ball at all. I'm not saying give up on the run, but I sure wouldn't run on any down that means anything like they just did on a third and one. One more UGA score and this one's over.

Wake Forest at Florida State - How long does Jimbo Fisher get to try and fix whatever is broken with the FSU offense? Looks like the same old, same old to me. Dumb penalties, turnovers, poor QB play, etc. Wake should be up more than 9-3 at this point, but has made some mistakes in the red zone.

LSU at Auburn - Auburn is playing inspired football and LSU has QB problems. Neither of these guys look real comfortable. Not sure LSU can score enough to overcome the 14-3 halftime deficit. Fun game to watch though as these teams are beating the crap out of each other.

Observations from Saturday's games (Sept. 20)

Game watching was even more sporadic today as my daughter decided at 31 months she doesn't need a nap in the afternoon (but I do). Still, I managed to watch much of the Pitt-Iowa, Florida-Tennessee and East Carolina-N.C. State games (and am currently watching Auburn-LSU, while flipping over to Georgia-Arizona State). Like every Saturday evening, here are some interesting observations I made (sorry it's later than expected, but when an old friend calls you stop what you're doing to talk ... great hearing from you Randy).

1. Will Todd Boeckman see the field again at Ohio State? Yes, but not too much. Many of the Buckeye faithful put most of the blame for OSU's big-game difficulties, including last week's humiliating 35-3 loss to USC on Boeckman. On Saturday, when the game began against Troy Coach Jim Tressel started heralded freshman Terrelle Pryor. He proceeded to complete 10-of-16 passes for 139 yards and four scores. Umm, Todd. I'd get the clipboard and enjoy the rest of your senior season.

2. How many more weeks until Tennessee's Phil Fulmer announces his retirement? I'm guessing right before the Vols play Kentucky in the season finale. But it could come earlier if the embarrassing losses continue to mount. Falling to UCLA in the opener was disappointing, but the Rocky Toppers we're willing to chalk it up to bad luck and the West Coast. Lose to 30-6 at home and Rocky Top becomes Rocky Chop. Don't fret Phil. You just face Auburn on the road next Saturday.

3. Is the Heisman race already over? Not yet, but I believe it is just a three-man race. All due respect to Missouri's Chase Daniel, I think Florida's Tim Tebow, USC's Mark Sanchez and Missouri's Jeremy Maclin are going to finish 1-3 in the final balloting. The darkhorse is probably Maclin, but he's the most talented. Watch him pull down Daniel's passes and then outrun everyone else on the field and you realize he's the most exciting receiver since Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald.

4. Is Michigan State's Javon Ringer the nation's best running back? Not a fair question, but man he's impressive. In Saturday's win against Notre Dame he rushed for more than 200 yards and two scores in a pretty easy 23-7 win. He doesn't get the respect of say Georgia's Knowshawn Moreno, Pitt's LeSean McCoy or Ohio State's Beanie Wells. But watch him run and you'll see he resembles a stronger Tony Dorsett.

5. Will Ball State crash the BCS party? Probably not, but after the Cardinals 42-20 victory at Indiana the Mid-American Conference team could be 13-0 after winning the conference championship game. Led by athletic quarterback Nate Davis, Ball State should be 10-0 when it faces the season's final two challenges in Central Michigan and Western Michigan. I'm keeping an eye on this team the rest of the way.

6. How overrated is the Pac-10? If last week wasn't bad enough, the conference was flipped upside down again when Oregon lost at home to Boise State. It really is USC and everyone else.

7. How tough is the SEC? To truly understand all you had to do was watch LSU at Auburn. The speed. The hits. The fans. I'm actually jealous that my sister and brother-in-law live in Tuscaloosa. I'd love to go to more of these games.

8. When will everyone realize that Florida State is not an elite program any longer? Three consecutive losses to Wake Forest is all you need to know.

9. Is West Virginia in trouble when it faces Marshall? Yes. The Herd are playing better this year and are 3-1 following a good road win at Southern Miss. Pat White is still great, but this team is one bad series from turning on good ol' boy Bill Stewart. Morgantown will be burning Saturday, but it could be Stewart in effigy.

10. Dr. Lou? Still hate it.

WVU - Colorado Live Blog

Colorado FG is good and the Buffs win 17-14. WVU missed a lot of chances in this game with penalties, poor clock management, drops and missing a wide open player on a trick play. And WVU really outplayed Colorado in the second half.

Very good win for Colorado. I still don't think the Buffs are going to be consistent enough to do much in the Big 12, but one upset and you're in the thick of it in the Big 12 North.

Wow has WVU been bad on short yardage tonight. They lined up in the I finally, but still looked confused. Going for the FG is the right call here. WOW and it's off the upright. Devastating blow to WVU. Should have been up 7 and are now in trouble.

Going to OT. Neither team was particularly impressive on their final drive. WVU's clock management was a head scratcher.

- 7:59 Potentially huge turn as WVU blows the wipe open WR pass, when the WR (third-string QB) chucks a duck about 10 yards short. That's just unlucky. I'm sure that kid has made that throw 20 times in practice. Follow that up with a chop block and WVU's back to midfield. WVU gets backed up too far and has to punt. Does anybody else think WVU gives away their playcall with their line splits? Maybe it's my imagination.

Is Craig James, um, mentally disabled? Between him laughing and Jesse Palmer going "Woooo! Wooot! Woo!" Chris Fowler must be going insane.

- 4:49 3rd quarter: Great run by White to tie it at 14-14. If WVU can mount any kind of passing threat, man they're going to be difficult to stop. How screwed was that safety at about the 15-yard line? He was in no man's land with White.

- 9:33 3rd quarter: nice job by WVU to keep the Buffs pinned and get good field position. Looks like WVU could tie it up here. wow. never mind. stopped on 4th and 1. Who taught pat White how to run the sneak? Get your butt down and drive!


- If you had asked before the game, who will be the best vastly undersized, incredibly quick running back on the field, of course you would have answered Noel Devine. Instead, it's been Colorado freshman Rodney Stewart. A native of scenic Columbus, Ohio, where he played at City League power Brookhaven. Stewart's got 75 yards on about 12 carries and is outplaying last year's recruiting ranking sensation and fellow freshman Durel Scott. Scott was the top-ranked back in the country. Stewart couldn't get offers from anybody. but this is why little backs are so great in the spread. In the I-formation, most defenders know approximately where a back is headed. in the spread, a real short guy can be hard to find.

Well, live second half blogging as I just got home.

From what I saw in the second quarter, looks like the Buffs have moved the ball pretty easily while WVU is killing itself with drops and penalties.

Episode 4

Picks of the Week

West Virginia (-2 1/2) over Colorado
Maybe this is more heart than logic. West Virginia is too talented to open 1-2, but the Mountaineers were out of synch against East Carolina and if the same happens in Boulder the Buffaloes will win. But I’m going with Pat White and a re-energized defense.
Pick: WVU 35, Colorado 24

Miami (-4) over Texas A&M
I’m not a big fan of rotating quarterbacks. It may work at Miami, but I like Robert Marve just a smidgen more than Jacory Harris. Marve should come into his own at College Station when the Hurricanes try to make it two in a row over the Aggies. Mike Sherman could use this win to get the vocal A&M fans on his side. The Aggies defense, which is ranked 11^th in the Big 12, will have its hands full.
Pick: Miami 40, Texas A&M 10

Troy (+21 1/2) over Ohio State
I admit it, I don’t know too much about Troy State. This isn’t an upset pick. I’m taking Troy and the points. The Buckeyes have been sluggish the past two weeks, including an embarrassing whipping at USC. OSU will still be in a funk Saturday and find a way to pull out a close win over the Trojans in the Horseshoe.
Pick: OSU 27, Troy 7

Florida (-7) over Tennessee
This shouldn’t be a very shocking pick, but these two teams always seem to beat the other when they are the underdog. Not this year. The Gators learned a lot in the tough victory over Miami and they are getting better each week. Urban Meyer needs to gain some confidence in a running game and use Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, etc. Tennessee learned something from its season-opening loss to UCLA—that it really sucks and Phil Fulmer could announce his retirement soon.
Pick: Florida 34, Tennessee 14

Upset special

Ball State (+3 1/2) over Indiana
Indiana is 2-0 with those impressive wins over Western Kentucky (31-13) and Murray State (45-3). Junior Kellen Lewis is solid at quarterback, but I like Ball State junior Nate Davis. The Bellaire, Ohio, native is more agile and has a better arm. Davis will lead the Cardinals at Memorial Stadium. Ball State blows this game if the defense can’t cause any turnovers.
Pick: Ball State 30, Indiana 28

Coaching changes

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Am I the only person in the country who thinks Lou Holtz is laying the groundwork for his return to college coaching? I think he wants the job at Ohio State. Every time he is on TV, he tells us how dumb he thinks Jim Tressel is for not throwing the freshman backup quarterback into the fire now.
The announcers on the USC-OSU game were talking about it.

Herbstreit works with "Dr." Lou on ESPN, so who knows.

I also wonder how much groundwork was laid at Notre Dame concerning Skip Holtz taking over next year. I think Coach Weis will retire because of the knee injury he suffered Saturday. You can't coach if you are worried about your injury. You can't think with a bad knee.

Don't be surprised.

Ugh.

As an Ohio State fan, there doesn't seem much to say about Saturday night's blowout. USC is that good. Not only are they talented, but they're aggressive and confident.

It's the last two items there that this Buckeye team seems to lack. The confidence went away as soon as OSU had to settle for another field goal. (That's EIGHT in three games with TWO misses.)

The confidence with this Buckeye team was on a pretty thin string anyway after last year's LSU game. And it dissipated pretty quickly Saturday night.

Aggression is lacking in both the offensive and defensive schemes. As soon as this group somehow reached the top of the polls last year it began playing unfailingly tight and, almost to a man, just doesn't have much fun out there. While the Trojans played loose and fast, OSU has been playing not to make a mistake since the middle of 2007. Todd Boeckman is completely shell-shocked right now. Boeckman needs great protection to be an effective QB. He ain't getting it.

I blame everyone.

Okay, okay - it wasn't MY fault.

OSU's talent is adequate, but lacks difference makers at key spots along the lines. This is magnified by offensive and defensive schemes that rely almost exclusively on execution and very little on deception. Not sure what, if anything will change this year. At this rate, I don't see Ohio State winning the Big Ten with Wisconsin, Penn State and Illinois at least AS good if not better than OSU right now.

Oh yeah, and watch out for Troy this Saturday. Hard to tell where OSU's collective heads will be this week. Troy will certainly be smelling blood.

OUR Top 25 (Sept. 15)

The guys from An 'Eye and an 'Eer are at it again with their Top 25 rankings. And yes, we believe it is more representative than any media or coaches poll. Not only do Phil and I vote, but our SEC and ACC correspondents have chipped in this week. Hopefully soon we'll have correspondents from other conferences.

1. USC (4)
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Missouri
6. LSU
7. Wisconsin
8. Texas
9. Alabama
10. Ohio State
11. East Carolina
12. Penn State
13. Oregon
14. South Florida
15. BYU
16. Auburn
17. Wake Forest
18. Florida State
19. Illinois
20. Utah
21. Texas Tech
22. West Virginia
23. North Carolina
24. Kansas
25. Clemson

Others receiving votes: Connecticut, Ball State, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Fresno State, TCU

ACC Report 1

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC correspondent

Clemson is still the best team in the conference. Tommy Bowden, like his daddy, seems to lose a game every year he should not have lost. He will win one he shouldn't win.

North Carolina, Miami and Florida State are the future of the ACC. They have the best young players in the conference. They will determine which teams play in the conference championship. Virginia Tech and Boston College are done. They will be big wins for everyone. Georgia Tech can surprise but not enough to make a difference. Duke just hopes to be good enough to qualify for a bowl game. Any bowl game.

I was hoping North Carolina State would be better. I really like coach Tom O'Brien. He is one of the better coaches in college football. I just don't think it is a good mix. The alumni does not have the patience to build a winner. They look for instant gratification in all sports.

UNC, UM, FSU and Clemson hold the future of ACC football in their hands.

No more Pre-Game meals

I think Cal's Jahvid Best will skip the pre-game meal from now on. Can anyone tell me what he had before the Maryland game?

Win one for the Gimper

Holy domination

Sorry Phil, but it's time to switch to Wisconsin and Fresno State. That's the last time I pick the Buckeyes against a "real" opponent. The Tressel magic is wearing off. At least there is the weak Big 10 to whip up on now. Hope you had enough alcohol.

Observations from Saturday's games

Between diaper changes and playing in my daughter's kitchen, I managed to take in some college football action Saturday. I wish I could have taken in more games, but here are some interesting observations I made.

1. Georgia did exactly what it had to in Columbia, S.C. If the Bulldogs are to have any chance of playing for a national title this season, escaping with a narrow 14-7 road SEC victory won't hurt a bit. I don't care what the analysts say. This is one big victory down and only nine more to go. Up next? Ouch. A jaunt across the country to play an athletic Arizona State squad.

2. The Gamecocks (1-2, 0-2) showed plenty of grit against the No. 2 Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0). The Ol' Ball Coach still hasn't found any offense, but still a gallant effort after last week's shocking loss to Vandy.

3. With Lou Holtz in South Bend giving pep talks, kissing up to the Notre Dame faithful and unveiling a statue, watching halftime on ESPN games was bearable. Can someone else bring him to their campus next week?

4. Syracuse's Greg Robinson looks like a dead-man walking on the sidelines. He tries to pretend like he's still coaching, and that any of the players are actually listening. His assistants are networking with the opposing coaches for potential employment next year. 0-12 is looking like a reality.

5. I didn't see any of the East Carolina-Tulane game, but I was not shocked to see that they barely escaped New Orleans with a 28-24 victory. Following consecutive upsets of the ACC favorite (Virginia Tech) and Big East favorite (West Virginia), the No. 14 Pirates (3-0, 1-0) almost became the upset victim. Coach Skip Holtz' team needed a late TD pass in their Conference USA opener. Hey guys, I would get used to it. The rest of the conference is going to give you their best each week.

6. The Pac-10 just helped the Big East and ACC with their conference inferiority complexes (barring USC's performance against Ohio State). It took Cal about 2 1/2 hours to wake up at Maryland and didn't have enough magic and lost 35-27. Other embarrassing losses were Baylor over Washington State, BYU humiliating UCLA, and TCU over Stanford. Luckily Oregon rallied against Purdue and won on the road in OT.

7. Buffalo's Turner Gill will be coaching somewhere else next year. This former Nebraska standout has done an amazing job with the Bulls, who are now 2-1 after a 30-28 win over Temple. The last time Buffalo was over .500 and it not be Week 1 as a Division I-A team was back in 1969, when the Bulls finished 6-3.

8. This isn't the first time I have mentioned Ball State's Nate Davis, but many outside of the Mid-American Conference don't know who he is. He's easily the best quarterback that no one knows. He was lights out again on Saturday, completing 24-of-36 for two scores in a 41-24 win against Akron.

9. Could it be that David Cutcliffe has Duke fans not looking forward to basketball season already? The Dookies improved to 2-1 with a 41-31 victory over Navy at Wallace Wade Stadium. All right that's a stretch, but he's doing one impressive job. Probably the best since Spurrier roamed the sidelines back in the late 1980s.

10. Note to self (pick Missouri to score the most points each week in my College Picks league).

Is Notre Dame really that much better?

I'm still trying to figure out if Notre Dame is that much better from Week 1 to Week 2 after a 35-17 victory over rival Michigan Saturday. I think so.

I would argue that Michigan may be more talented, but I was impressed with how the Fighting Irish played in front of the home crowd. They played inspired. The took advantage of Michigan miscues. And for the first time since Jimmy Clausen arrived in South Bend I saw him live up to all of the Blue Chip hype.

OK, he finished just 10-of-21 passing, but he played with confidence and a little bit of arrogance. This win could be a springboard for Notre Dame and how they play the rest of the season. A few weeks ago I would have bet anyone that the Irish would lose this coming week at Michigan State. I'm not so sure now. I'm looking forward to that game.

As for Michigan, the Wolverines beat themselves early with all of the mistakes. But they did execute much better than they did in the first two games under first-year coach Rich Rodriguez' spread offense. Sam McGuffie was impressive running the ball (131 yards on 25 carries).

Now Michigan must figure out how to hold onto the ball. The Rich Rods have two weeks to work on that before hosting No. 10 Wisconsin.

Sorry Michigan fans. This is going to be a long season.

Early Games

What the??
- Cal's 35-27 loss to Maryland once again shows that it's very difficult for West teams to go East. The Terps had been awful the first two weeks and dominated this game until a late Cal run. Of course, they can also thank Jeff Tedford for a terrible decision. After scoring to make it a 15-point game with 7 minutes left, Tedford opted for the onside kick. Maryland recovered and scored less than a minute later. Cal still rallied but ran out of time.

- The Iowa-Iowa State game should be discontinued due to ugliness. (I mean ugly football, not ugly fan bases.)

- What?!?!? South Carolina plays during the day?!?!

- While other OSU fans get mad at Kirk Herbstreit for being what they consider a traitor and all other fans get mad at Herbie for being an OSU homer, I get mad for another reason. This is Herbie's offensive analysis of every game: "They must throw the ball to open up the running game."
Every. single. game. he says this. Or, if things are going well for a team, it's because they passed to set up the run. Sometimes listening to Herbstreit's analysis is like reading "Football for Dummies."

- Somehow, and I'm not sure how, being in a Big Ten market I get stuck with the Penn State-Syracuse massacre instead of Purdue-Oregon.

- Javon Ringer of MSU is a damn good running back. But they still have massive QB problems.

Real Life

Sometimes reality and passion don't mix.

I had planned to watch North Carolina-Rutgers last night. Really. Then something called child-induced exhaustion set in. So instead of watching Butch Davis and the Tar Heels embarrass Rutgers (and continue the embarrassing start for the Big East), I went to bed early.

My extended slumber was a personal bonus, but I feel an obligation not to miss games. I'll do my best in the future, but if someone knows how to convince two little ones not to make up at 5:30 every morning I'm listening.

Notes

Bye Bye, Beanie
- The ESPN ticker just told me that Beanie Wells is out for Saturday's USC game. Interesting as about a million rumors flooded Ohio State web sites this week, but most ended with "he'll play." Obviously, this greatly reduces OSU's chances which were looking slim. My take is that the Buckeyes go empty backfield, five wide and throw short passes or bring in Terrelle Pryor and run the ball.

Butch Almighty
- I missed last night's North Carolina-Rutgers game. Is UNC for real or is Rutgers just back to being, uh, Rutgers?

We Will Not Regret This Whatsoever
- WVU signs Bill Stewart to a six-year contract. That's nice. It's two years for every point they scored last week!

Kansas- South Florida Live!

37-34. Reesing throws a bad INT. long return and the freshman kicker who missed earlier makes it. Great game.

5:32 4th quarter: And it just gets better. KU scored again. 34-34. this is an example of two exhausted defenses trying to play on nothing but emotion.

9:51 4th quarter: This is turning into a hell of a game. KU QB Todd Reesing somehow escapes pressure again and throws a TD pass. 34-27 USF leads.

4th quarter: Another TD pass for Grothe and 23 unanswered points for USF. Not sure why KU refuses to blitz. Grothe is just sitting in the pocket, picking that zone apart.

1:09 3rd quarter: wow. what a momentum swing. now it's the KU defense that's completely exhausted. Grothe is making the right decision on every snap. If they play zone, he finds the seam. When they played man, he runs with it. At some point, KU has to blitz right? it wouldn't hurt if they could keep the ball for more than a minute at a time.

4:22 3rd quarter: Great catch by the USF receiver for a TD after the overturn of the original call. Grothe is doing a nice job picking KU's zone apart and USF is running the ball well. Not sure if KU can regain the momentum here. 20-20.

9:30 3rd quarter: Nice drive by USF after holding KU to a 3 and out. But not getting a TD there hurts. 20-13. Observation - KU gets great field position off a penalty on the opening kick and proceeds to throw three incompletions. Total time off the clock? 16 seconds. Why not run the ball? You have a 10-point lead. Shorten the game. One run takes almost a minute off the clock.

2:14 2nd quarter: Wow. Great run by USF QB Matt Grothe to make it 20-10. After missing a wide open tight end, Grothe just kind of ran around until he found a way in. Maybe USF will show a little life now.

3:25 2nd quarter: KU just scored again to make it 20-3 and this is looking like a complete mismatch. USF looks dead tired on defense, not to mentioned very confused in their coverages. KU went hurry up and it only accentuated USF's problems. It didn't help that USF went three and out on the prior posession so the defense went right back on the field.

7:45 2nd quarter: Kansas has looked very solid so far. USF missed a field goal, but the Jayhawks have moved the ball very well with a number of screen and short passes and eventually setting up a long ball. Have to say though, Kansas runs a boatload of pick plays that don't get called.

Episode 3

Charlie: SHUT UP.

I kind of like Charlie Weis.

How can you not like a guy who's coached one of the premier college football programs into the ground and then just can't keep his mouth shut.

I've known enough college coaches to know that Charlie just says what most of them are thinking. Whoever is on the other sideline is an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing, cheats like hell and wouldn't know talent if it ran a reverse up his ass.

God Bless Charlie for saying it. Although God forbid they ever win again or he'll be unbearable. While they're losing, it's just kind of cute.

And it does make him look incredibly arrogant and stupid. And it leaves you open for beauties like this one from the LA Times:

"Independents (Notre Dame). The Irish own, perhaps, the worst three-game winning streak in history.

Notre Dame won its last two games last year against Duke and Stanford and opened Saturday with an act-of-God comeback against San Diego State.

"I'll take an ugly win any day of the week," fourth-year Coach Charlie Weis said.

Eight more "uglies" and Notre Dame might be in the Orange Bowl.

How bad is it?

San Diego State lost its season opener to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, prompting this postgame question to Aztecs Coach Chuck Long.

You've played two games now. Who is better, Cal Poly or Notre Dame?

"That's a tough question," Long said.

Wow."

All Trojans, All Buckeyes, All The Bleeping Time

No surprise that Beanie Wells will be back for Saturday's game with USC. How healthy Wells is remains to be seen, although if you look at the accompanying picture, then you have to question how "hurt" Beanie was in the first place.

Meanwhile, USC might be without starting wide receiver Vidal Hazelton, who's nursing a sprained ankle.

Of course, this being USC, they will pull one of their 87 5-star, Super Duper, Top 10, Four Clovers, Top 150 wideouts off the practice squad and not miss a beat.

CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd, an always angry man, says Ohio State will pull out a secret weapon Saturday night in LA in the form of freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

An interesting sentiment, but it completely disregards Jim Tressel's obsession with his seniors. Todd Boeckman is a senior, by the way. Pryor will likely play more than he has, but I sincerely doubt he'll be starting by the second quarter and he'll be running with the ball.
People can claim Tressel is "saving" Pryor for this game but the facts remain: he's a freshman QB with throwing mechanic issues who has never thrown the ball further than eight yards down the field in two games.
Terrelle - meet the QB draw, the speed option and the read option.
And run like hell.

Kind of like this:

OUR Top 25 (Sept. 8)

You'll be glad to see that we have added a few more voters to OUR Top 25 poll this week. It strays a little from the "experts", but we believe it has some real value. So compare and let us know what you think. Our two new voters are from SEC land. They have special knowledge of Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Southern Mississippi. Phil and I are working on gaining a few more bloggers and podcasters who would like to be part of this poll.

Here are this week's rankings:

1. USC (3)
2. Georgia (1)
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma
5. Missouri
6. Ohio State
7. LSU
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Alabama
11. East Carolina
11. Arizona State
12. Kansas
13. Texas Tech
14. Auburn
15. Penn State
16. Oregon
17. South Florida
18. California
19. Wake Forest
20. BYU
21. UCLA
22. WVU
23. Utah
24. Illinois
25. Clemson

Others receiving votes: Fresno State, Kentucky, Arizona

No love for Urban Meyer

It's too bad Miami and Florida don't meet again on the football field until 2013, because it looks like Randy Shannon doesn't really admire Florida coach Urban Meyer.

Shannon basically called Meyer a punk after the Gators' 26-3 victory in the swamp on Saturday. Shannon wasn't upset over the loss or even the way his team played. Heck, the Canes were huge dogs and played pretty solid defense.

What has the Hurricanes coach ticked is Meyers decision to kick a when he decided to kick a field goal with 25 seconds remaining. This single kick has certainly added another controversial episode in this rivalry.

"Sometimes when you do things and people see what kind of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off," Shannon said Sunday in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "Take from that what you want. It helped us more than you will ever know."

Shannon is referring to the heated Florida recruiting battle that seems to be favoring Miami and Florida more than Florida State these days. Many of those outstanding recruits from a year ago were on display for Miami. Florida's experience was a little too much, but the future is bright in Coral Gables.

The 'Canes may be closer to returning to the top than many analysts thought just a few weeks ago. One thing is certain, the rest of the ACC took notice of that defense.

Why do I believe?

I will not drink the Kool-Aid.
I will not drink the Kool-Aid.
I will not drink the Kool-Aid.

WVU ... why do I believe each year?


Miami is gaining confidence. Tim Tebow doesn't like the pressure. This game could get real interesting.

Saturday musings

I will not overreact to today's Ohio State game.
I will not overreact to today's Ohio State game
I will not overreact to today's Ohio State game.
Serenity Now.
Serenity Now.
Serenity Now.

- WVU is getting pushed around by East Carolina. Just physically beaten up.

- Washington was absolutely jobbed by the officials. Jake Locker scored with 2 seconds left, jumped up and throw the ball backwards over his head into the ground. He was flagged for a celebration penalty and BYU blocked the extra point attempt from 35 yards. Not saying UW wins in OT, but that was a horrific call.

- Maybe we were wrong about Notre Dame not possibly being worse. They're down 13-7 to San Diego State and the Aztecs are at the ND 19. Claussen has been bad - again.

Upset Alert: Ohio at OSU

2:30 PM
Buckeyes scored. 19-14 lead. This one should be over now. Nice effort Bobcats and Frank Solich.

2:18 PM
OK. Ohio State scored (but missed the PAT) and now trail 14-12.

Ohio U. just muffed a punt and the Buckeyes recovered (probably will be reviewed).

Looks like they'll keep the ball. (More OSU luck). Did this officiating crew do the 2002 Fiesta Bowl?

1:45 PM
I'm not in Columbus right now, but I can tell you what Phil's thinking and saying right now. However, our goal is to keep this family friendly so I'll have to let him tell you. However, let's just say he's pissed that Ohio is up 14-6 midway through the third quarter. I'm sure Ohio State will find a way to win this game, but there are 100,000 furious Buckeye fans right now.

Meanwhile, Bobcat fans are starting to believe. They just watched their team recover a fumble in the end zone to increase their lead.

There may not be enough Jack and Coke in Buckeye land to help Phil survive a loss to Ohio U. He'll be bitchin' this week on the podcast and on this blog later no matter the outcome.

Is it Terrelle Pryor time?

I'm thinking of you Phil (but laughing at the possibilities).

Navy-Ball State game

In case you aren't watching Navy at Ball State right now let's make one thing clear -- Ball State quarterback Nate Davis can really play. You don't hear about him in the national media quite so much, but I think this guy has NFL potential. He's extremely athletic and has the ability to play on BSU's basketball team. He was stud hoopster and football player at Bellaire High School in Ohio.

How did so many bigger school's miss on this guy?

Episode 2

Beanie!, Beanee!, Beaney!

Beanie Wells won't play for Ohio State's game against Ohio University Saturday.

Of course, this shouldn't mean much against OU, even with Frank Solich. The real question remains about the next game against a little-known squad from Los Angeles. Wells' injury remains a bit mysterious with a number of possibilities floating around the internet.

If Wells doesn't play, I think OSU runs plenty of empty backfield and dinks the ball down the field against USC. While the RBs behind Wells have some talent, none have the package that Wells has and the ability to run from the I.

Big East roundup

Here’s a quick look at the latest news involving Big East teams according to each university’s student newspaper.

Pitt fans none too pleased: I have defended Dave Wannstedt in the past. Thought he was pushed out of Chicago and that given more time he could have been successful in Miami. Maybe I was wrong. He allegedly gets great recruits every year and then loses too many games. Adam Littman of The Pitt News says Panther fans are running out of patience also.

When your team sucks … You talk about former great players who have returned to the sidelines. Hello Syracuse’s Dan Conley.

USF plays final game against UCF: Joe Rienzi, Sports Editor at The Oracle, says South Florida’s players are going to miss beating up on Central Florida. The two schools, despite their campuses being within 100 miles of each other, are not scheduled to play again in the foreseeable future. The 17^th-ranked Bulls and Golden Knights play at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Empty seats: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium could be empty on Saturday when Louisville takes on Tennessee Tech. According to The Louisville Cardinal, students aren’t too excited about this week’s game. Especially after the embarrassing loss to Kentucky. Click here for Ashlea Hellman’s story.

No underestimating the Pirates: West Virginia’s folksy football coach Bill Stewart said his Mounties won’t be caught off guard by Lou Holtz’ boy and his East Carolina squad, according to Brian Gawthrop, Associate Sports Editor of the Daily Anthenaeum in Morgantown. To read more click here.

Rutgers 'O' fails to live up to lofty expectations: Mike Vorkunov, Associate Sports Editor at the Daily Targum, expresses a touch of frustration after watching the Scarlett Knights manage just seven points against Fresno State. To read more click here.

No hometown love in Connecticut: Let’s see if I have this right. There are Blue Chip football recruits in Connecticut and they prefer playing for Urban Meyer at Florida instead of Randy Edsall at UConn. Hey, UConn … have you ever seen all the hot chicks in Gainesville? Someone needs to tell Kevin Duffy of The Daily Campus. Read more

Mauk’s hopes postponed: I feel bad for Ben Mauk and his desire to play football one more year at Cincinnati. But few folks get the better of the archaic NCAA. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer his hearing has been postponed.

South Carolina at Vandy - Live!

FINAL- Vandy 24-17. Wow. How bad is NC State? No way Carolina was a ranked team. (Please do not look at our poll below.)

7:39 Fourth quarter: And of course, it takes less than two minutes for Carolina to score. 24-17 Vandy. Great scramble from Smelley earlier in the drive.

9:28 Fourth quarter 24-10 Vandy. Holy Crap! Vandy scored 24 points??? unreal if you watched the first half. South Carolina got frustrated and let it get to their heads. Hard to see USC scoring twice in 9 minutes, but ya never know...

10:29 Fourth quarter: Jesse Palmer has been borderline incoherent through this entire game, but he did make a salient point about Carolina seeming to lose its poise. And somehow that was not a facemask/horse collar??? What??? And the refs make up for it with a slightly questionable pass interference. not looking good for the Cocks right now.

3:53 3rd quarter: And Vandy takes the lead after a series of playcalling that finally put USC back on its heels. USC looks a little worn down on defense.

6:5- Third quarter: South Carolina responds with a nice drive, but it ends with a questions draw call on third and 8 that nets nothing and new Vandy blocks the field goal attempt. If Vandy can block anyone up front, the Dores have a chance.

10:00 third quarter: Vandy takes advantage with an ugly, but still 6-points TD. Now this is a game.

10:21 3rd quarter: Muffed punt recovery is a big break for Vandy which has continued to be unable to block Carolina up front. Carolina continues to just give Vandy chances to stay in the game.

Halftime: 10-3 South Carolina leads after a late field goal. nice play by the SC quarterback Smelley at the end of the half to feel the pressure and stay in field goal range. in this game, that might be a huge play.

Can someone tell me why Jesse Palmer is continually whooping in the background?

10:26 2nd: Ok. This game is going nowhere. Vandy cannot handle Carolina up front and as quick as the Vandy QB is, he basically has no chance to do anything. I'm calling a 13-0 final.

2:33 1st quarter: big pick for Vandy. Getting down two TDs would be bad news for the Dores. Sweet crackback block too!

6:00 nice catch on the fade route by SC. 7-0 Gamecocks.
I'm debating whether live blogging can survive four quarters of Craig James.

7:04 1st quarter: Sorry for the slow start, was eating a very messy dinner which hampers the blogging. Should be an exciting matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Under Armour University!

Fun with the 5-0

UPDATE: Looks like three players will be suspended for Saturday's Oregon State game including PSU's best pass rusher, Maurice Evans. That makes this a curious matchup.

It's probably nothing, but hey, who doesn't like to see more Penn State players in trouble with Johnny Law?

As an Ohio State fan who's been through the arrest-public relations-your team is full of thugs rumor mill, it's always nice to see it happen to someone else. Anyone else.
And, in a bit of schadenfreude, it's especially nice to see it happen to Penn State, which has fans who are slightly self-righteous. Much in the way the Pope is Catholic.

Too bad they just missed the Fulmer Cup cutoff or perhaps the Nittany Lions could have moved up the list.

ESPN has jumped the shark

Dear ESPN executives:

We are passionate viewers of college football. We love College Game Day. The insight and humor of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and, sometimes, Lee Corso, are worth tuning into each Saturday.

But you have reached our tipping point. The creation of Dr. Lou (that lisping old coot) should cost someone their job (including Holtz). Please stop this joke.

If you need proof? Watch ...


Your friends at An 'Eye and an 'Eer.

Podcast: Episode 2 (now available)

Anyone interested in listening to Phil and Tom pontificate on their weekly podcast should go to:

http://eyeandeer.podOmatic.com

Phil and Tom are at it again. Who had the worst coaching debut of 2008? Can Miami really go up to the Swamp and challenge the Golden Boy Tim Tebow? How long until Nick Saban has a statue of him in Tuscaloosa? God we love college football.

OUR Top 25

Who says the media or coaches (we all know it's the SIDs who vote) know any more about ranking the best teams in college football than us. Phil and Tom watched way too many games this past week (but I love watching the games in HD). Starting with South Carolina-NC State and finishing late into the OT evening with UCLA-Tennessee, we now give you our first rankings of 2008.

An 'Eye and an 'Eer rankings

1. USC (2)
2. Ohio State
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma
5. Georgia
6. Missouri
7. LSU
8. West Virginia
9. Alabama
10. Wisconsin
11. Auburn
12. Texas
13. BYU
14. Oregon
15. South Florida
16. Wake Forest
17. Arizona State
18. Texas Tech
19. Penn State
20. Kansas
21. California
22. Utah
23. Fresno State
24. South Carolina
25. East Carolina

Others receiving votes: UCLA, Florida State, Kentucky

(We hope to get a few of our podcasting and blogging friends to join us in the future to bolster our rankings)