12 Heismans in one day

That's right. I met 12 Heisman Trophy winners today. OK, I actually paid to get their autographs, but it was a great day. I recall watching each play (except two) and for a mere four bills I added each one to a full-size Heisman helmet I've had for about eight years.

Today's haul:

1. Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, 1972
2. Eric Crouch, Nebraska, 2001
3. George Rogers, South Carolina, 1980
4. Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, 1999
5. Mike Rozier, Nebraska, 1983
6. Tim Brown, Notre Dame, 1987
7. Billy Sims, Oklahoma, 1978
8. Steve Owens, Oklahoma, 1969
9. Chris Weinke, Florida State, 2000
10. John Cappelletti, Penn State, 1973
11. Jason White, Oklahoma, 2003
12. Gino Torretta, Miami, 1992

All 12 were friendly and enjoyed meeting their fans. But of the group I met today, there were three that really stood out. First, was George Rogers. He laughed, told stories and posed for photos with anyone and everyone. Next was Billy Sims. He never sat down and enjoyed mixing it up with the fans. And then there was Steve Owens. He covered all kinds of topics. He chatted with a man from Detroit about the Red Wings. He talked with another man about Penn State and JoPa. With me, he talked about WVU's pasting of his alma mater at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl and how much he loved Owen Schmitt.

So all in all, it was a great day.

UM recruit got kicked out of camp for this?

Maybe it was a bit disrespectful, but the Florida Gators coaching staff couldn't overlook this simple salute (OK, maybe he did it twice) by Miami Hurricane-commit Tavadis Glenn to the U while participating in the Friday Night Lights camp at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium?

It seems kind of minor considering all of the noise and activity going on at what appears to be a busy evening. And does the UF coaches really think every kid at the camp is going to be a Gator one day? What if the Austin Peay commit paid tribute to the Governors, would they show him the door?

(Hat Tip: The Seventh Floor)

Podcast: Episode 35

As much as we would like to be talking about anything else, we couldn't avoid talking about Tim Tebow. From his preseason All-SEC snub by Steve Spurrier to the microscope he'll be under all season, we give you our take on Superman. Phil and Tom don't bore you to death with Tebow. We also discuss the future of the ACC, the SEC's television deal with ESPN, and the pressure that faces the preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Terrelle Pryor.

Media Days galore

With all of the hoopla at last week's SEC Media Days I thought it might be interesting to see what's happening at other conference media days. Here's what I found at the Big 12. Nebraska is a good pick (even though Phil picked them third) to win the North Division. However, the Cornhuskers would be lucky to finish fifth in the South.

I wonder if Bill Snyder has hooked up the Glenn Dorsey Orchestra for this year.

Sure, we're two years behind the times, but hey, this week was the first time I saw this video.

No wonder Ron Prince got fired. Nobody could overcome this.

Oh, COME ON...

Gotta love SEC Media Day and Tim Tebow.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- You no longer need to wonder if the devoutly spiritual Tim Tebow is a virgin.

Now you know.

Responding to a question from radio reporters at SEC Media Days Thursday about whether he is saving himself for marriage, Tebow laughed initially and then said seriously, "Yes, I am."

Don't overlook Arkansas with Mallett at QB

It felt like I was at the SEC Media Day today. Following a number of outlets on Twitter I learned some valuable insight into the conference. But nothing was more clear than this simple fact:

SEC coaches love Tim Tebow (except one unidentified coach who didn't vote for him as the preseason SEC quarterback). Did you see new Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen wants his daughter to marry Tebow (who doesn't?).

However, the most interesting nugget I gleaned from this annual slap on the back for being the greatest conference in college football was the status of Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett.

Mallett, who sat out last season after transferring from Michigan and Rich Rodriguez' spread offense, has impressed many folks with his arm strength. He's a big dude at 6-foot-6, 240-pounds, and Razorback fans are hoping he has broad shoulders as he tries to lift Arkansas up from a down 5-7 season.

According to a quote in the Orlando Sentinel, Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams said, "He has the strongest arm in college football. I'd have to take my gloves off because he ripped off the sticky stuff."

Put Mallett's unquestionable talent with coach Bobby Petrino's knack for devising tough-to-stop offensive schemes could mean a breakout season for the quarterback.

It also means one more talented SEC team, and a dangerous game for anyone in the conference.

2009's worst non-conference matchups

About two weeks ago I gave you my picks for best non-conference matchups for 2009. Now I'm taking a look at the worst non-conference games. Selecting the best was so easy because there are so few good ones and they are games most college football fans would want to see.

In selecting the worst matchups, my criteria was a bit different. Simply I was looking at how embarrassed the BCS team should be for making its home fans sit through this game. So here we go.

1. Charleston Southern at Florida (Sept. 5): I get it SEC fans. Really I do. The SEC schedule is so tough that you can't expect teams like Florida to schedule tough non-conference games. But this one will be ugly so fast that even the pre-game drunk won't make this one fun. Hope it's easy to sneak the Jack Daniels (or is that not SEC enough) into The Swamp.

2. Eastern Illinois at Penn State (Oct. 10): If the Nittany Lions want anyone to seriously consider them a BCS title contender they must stop schedule weak games like this one to pad Joe Paterno's victory total (we all know Tom Bradley should be getting credit for these wins). Eastern Illinois, who went 5-7 last year, will enly the pay day and start getting ready for the Ohio Valley Conference schedule. Hope the PSU fans have plenty of frozen marshmallows for this one.

3. Idaho State at Oklahoma (Sept. 12): Count on the Sooners having one Idaho State on the schedule every year. How ugly will this one be? Consider the fact that WAC cellar dwellar Idaho beat the Bengals by 15 last year. Will someone tell me why Oklahoma is considered a premiere program?

4. Eastern Kentucky at Indiana (Sept. 3): The Hoosiers need all the victories it can schedule. What happens when you lose? That could happen in this one.

5. Indiana State at Louisville (Sept. 5): It's amazing how far and fast Louisville has fallen. The Cardinals should open the season 1-0 under third-year coach Steve Kragthorpe. When and where he'll get the second win of 2009 remains to be seen.

6. Elon at Wake Forest (Sept. 19): Maybe this will develop into a great North Carolina rival. OK, probably not. Heck, I didn't even know Elon had a football team. The Phoenix actually play in the extremely competitive Southern Conference and are ranked in the FCS preseason polls.

7. Idaho State at Arizona State (Sept. 5): Not trying pick on Idaho State, but when BCS schools are tripping over themselves to schedule you there's a problem. The $1 million or more its receiving to play ASU and Oklahoma is probably worth two embarrassing losses.

8. Jacksonville State at Florida State (Sept. 12): The only thing of interest in this game is to watch former LSU star Ryan Perrilloux start at QB for the Gamecocks. Perrilloux started all 11 games last season and threw for more than 2,300 yards. Does he have enough magic in him to pull the upset?

9. Southeastern Louisiana at Ole Miss (Sept. 19): Isn't SE Louisiana where Bobby Boucher was the waterboy? The Lions could use him in this contest. Ole Miss should be moritified by its non-conference schedule.

10. Eastern Washington at California (Sept. 12): In fairness to Cal, the Golden Bears play home against Maryland and on the road in Minnesota's new stadium. So Jeff Tedford's boys have a tough start to the season. Lucky for them they cushioned it with Eastern Washington.

RichRod hates family values

So before Rich Rodriguez arrived in Ann Arbor, Michigan's football players and the coaching staff held hands and sang Kumbaya before practice and games. Or is that RichRod is a card-carrying liberal, who drives teenage girls to abortion clinics on the weekend and has never read the Bible.

Something isn't right up north.

It seems outcast Justin Boren, a former Michigan offensive lineman, may not have been so off base when he accused RichRod of stripping the Wolverines of their close-knit, family values that the team enjoyed under former coach Lloyd Carr.

Now OL Kurt Wermers, who redshirted last season, is transferring to Ball State. Wermers commented about RichRod on the news site nwi.com and said: "I really didn't get along with the new coaches. They were bringing in a lot of different kids that were not my kind of crowd. Coach Carr's staff was a whole different ballgame. It was like a family. But when Rodriguez came in it was a whole different feeling. It was more of a business. I figured I'd get out while I could."

Wermers' comments are almost identical to those Boren made when he bolted Michigan to join bitter rival Ohio State. Boren said then: "Michigan football was a family, built on mutual respect and support for each other from (former) Coach (Lloyd) Carr on down. We knew it took the entire family, a team effort, and we all worked together.

"I have great trouble accepting that those family values have eroded in just a few months. " ... That I am unable to perform under these circumstances at the level I expect of myself, and my teammates and Michigan fans deserve, is why I have made the decision to leave."

Wermers is no Boren. But this is starting to become a trend at Michigan. There were rumors about RichRod's "values" when he was at WVU. But the players and fans seemed to tolerate him because the man won games. His games could wear thin in Ann Arbor if he doesn't win this season.

If it doesn't work out, at least he'll have more time for his family.

Podcast: Episode 34

Phil and Tom put down their Xbox wireless controllers long enough to give you 30-plus minutes of College Football banter. We both believe Urban Meyer wants to stay at Florida, but what if Notre Dame comes calling with $8 million a year? It would be tough for the good Catholic boy to pass up the "Dream Job." It's not a shock that Joe Paterno is on Bobby Bowden's side and thinks the NCAA is wrong to strip the FSU coach of 14 victories. Our question is when was the last time Paterno or Bowden actually earned a victory. Shouldn't most of those wins the past few years go to an assistant coach? We also unveil our top three college games we attended in person. Enjoy the show.

NCAA Football 10

I just bought my copy for XBOX 360. Can't wait to play tonight and get our own league set up soon. If you're interested in joining our online league leave us a comment and we'll add you.

Plan your Thursday nights

College football and Saturdays go together so well. But I have to admit I love the Thursday night games. ESPN recently released its Thursday night schedule so you can plan accordingly.

Sept. 3: South Carolina at N.C. State (7 p.m.); Oregon at Boise State (10:15 p.m.)
Sept. 10: Clemson at Georgia Tech (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 17: Georgia Tech at Miami (7:30 p.m.)
Sept. 24: Mississippi at South Carolina (7:30 p.m.)
Oct 1: Colorado at West Virginia (7:30 p.m.)
Oct 8: Nebraska at Missouri (9 p.m.)
Oct. 15: Cincinnati at South Florida (7:30 p.m.)
Oct. 22: Florida State at North Carolina (8 p.m.)
Oct. 29: North Carolina at Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 5: Virginia Tech at East Carolina (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 12: South Florida at Rutgers (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 19: Colorado at Oklahoma State (7:30 p.m.)
Nov. 26: Texas at Texas A&M (8 p.m.)
Dec. 3: Oregon State at Oregon (9 p.m.)

Urban sounds like Saban

OK. So Urban Meyer is doing his best Nick Saban impression. He says he's staying at Florida and will never coach at Notre Dame. Really. Do you believe him? I think I do. If he wanted to coach the Irish he would have taken the job instead of Florida. How did that work out for him?

Talking Heads take their posts

The ABC/ESPN college football monster announced its TV commentating pairings and a few changes stand out.

- Former General Managing travesty Matt Millen is now a college football guy, as well as his work for the NFL Network on the occasional Thursday night game.

- Mike Patrick (Holee Cow! and a general constant stream of overstatement) gets bumped from Saturday night games and is replaced by Brad Nessler, who will now team with Todd Blackledge.

- The nightmare of giggling Craig James and pretty-boy bachelor Jesse Palmer (rose optional) continues to suck the fun out of Thursday nights.

- James will then team with Patrick for a good ol' boy fest on Saturdays.

- Bob Griese (Bob, can we finish a sentence this year?) will team up with the slightly insane Chris Spielman for the noon ESPN game along with Dave Pasch.

There's other stuff, but frankly, until they put Nessler back with the now SEC-loving Gary Danielson back together, the best announcing team out there will not exist.

Meyer leaving UF after 2009

Gotta love the SEC. Wait until you hear this one.

It seems University of Florida commit Matt Elam, a stud linebacker from West Palm Beach, Fla., is ready to look around after a coach at another school told him Urban Meyer is leaving the Gators after Tim Tebow's final season in 2009.

Elam, who committed to UF in October, told Rivals.com that he will now take visits to other schools—most likely Alabama, Georgia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Since Elam is a five-star recruit I'm sure rival coaches would do almost anything to get him on their campus instead of Gainesville.

According to the Miami Herald, Elam claims he never told Rivals.com about the Meyer rumor.

But let's say it's true. Which coach has the most to gain? And where does Meyer go after 2009? It sounds like something Our Boy at Tennessee would do. However, I'm leaning toward Mark Richt. He hates Meyer and figures he has nothing to lose in this relationship. Meyer's most likely destination is a no-brainer ... Notre Dame.

So the recruiting of Matt Elam continues. Sorry Gator fans, but this is simply old-fashioned SEC recruiting.

2009's best non-conference matchups

With all of the talk about teams trying to make their non-conference schedules as easy as possible I decided it was time to look at the 2009 schedule and give you the 10 best non-conference match ups.

Here are my picks.

1. USC at Ohio State (8 p.m. EST, Sept. 12, ESPN): Buckeyes hope to end their big-game struggles at the Horseshoe against the Trojans. USC crushed OSU last year 35-3, but the Buckeyes are 23-1 under Jim Tressel in non-conference home games.

2. Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (8 p.m. EST, Sept. 5, ABC): Alabama is back in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Last year the Tide shocked Clemson en route to a perfect regular season. The Hokies hope to represent the ACC in a much better light than Clemson. This game features two of the nation's best defenses and the crowd will be electric.

3. Oregon at Boise State (10:15 p.m. EST, Sept. 3, ESPN): I almost picked this as the top game because the Ducks are traveling to a non-BCS school putting their whole season on the line. The Ducks will also have a new coach and uniforms that will undoubtedly clash with the blue turf. Great game, though, with two Top 15 teams getting the season started on a Thursday night. This is a must watch. If the Broncos win they're probably 12-0 in 2009.

4. Georgia at Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m. EST, Sept. 5, ABC): Georgia didn't play well in big games last season, and Mark Richt could use a win in this game in a serious way. However, when the Bulldogs agreed to this road game Oklahoma State was a middle of the pack Big 12 program. Things are different now and I won't be suprised a bit to see the Cowboys win this game easily.

5. West Virginia at Auburn (7:45 p.m. EST, Sept. 19, ESPN): This was a great game last year in Morgantown. But this year WVU is without Pat White, doesn't have the homefield edge and the Tigers will want to exact a bit of revenge. Think Morgantown is crazy on a Thursday night? Wait until the Mountaineers see Jordan-Hare Stadium. Crazy.

6. Oklahoma at Miami (TBA, Oct. 3, TBA): This matchup brings back memories of Brian Bosworth and Barry Switzer vs. Vinny Testaverde and Jimmy Johnson. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes they aren't quite talented enough to hang with the Sooners. Sam Bradford and the Sooners should have a better outcome this time in Miami.

7. Florida State at Florida (TBA, Nov. 28, TBA): Great rivalry that has been dominated by the Gators of late. The Seminoles are getting better, but Tim Tebow and UF will get another win in 2009.

8. Nebraska at Virginia Tech (3:30 p.m., Sept. 19, ABC): Big 12 vs. ACC. This is another opportunity for the ACC to gain a bit of respect nationally. The Cornhuskers could do the same with a win in front of a hostile crowd at Lane Stadium. Winner of this one gains a lot of traction.

9. Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (TBA, Nov. 14, TBA): Do you remember last year's overtime thriller? I do. I was sitting in a bar in Columbus waiting for a Blue Jackets game to get underway. This game always seems to have a number of twists and turns to keep it exciting. I expect more of the same this year as Pitt believes it can win the Big East and the Irish try to remain relevant. Now if we could just get Penn State to play Pitt or WVU again.

10. Illinois at Cincinnati (TBA, Nov. 27, TBA): The timing isn't the best for Cincinnati as this game is sandwiched between West Virginia and at Pitt. The Bearcats are good enough to repeat as Big East champs, and Illinois is experienced. The winner here could position itself for a solid bowl game.

College presidents are so cute

University of Florida president J. Bernard Machen (that J. better stand for JimBob) thinks he can cut down the drinking that goes on at an event nicknamed "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."

If I were a cynic, Bernie, I would suggest you concern yourself more with the binge drinking that goes on four nights a week on your campus then worrying about the once-a-year event that provides much more bad publicity.

Besides, not serving shots at a few bars or cutting down the number of places fans can get beer will have almost zero effect on the amount of alcohol consumed before and at the game. To do that, you might want to shut down every place in Florida and Georgia that sells alcohol. Good luck.

More summer filler

The Orlando Sentinel recently completed a look at the top teams from the past decade--just more summer filler for the sports section.

While I agree their choice of No. 1 (2001 Miami Hurricanes) is a solid selection, I was shocked to see the Florida Gators with Mr. Wonderful not ranked higher. The 2008 Gators were picked sixth.

I guess the one loss to Ole Miss kept the Gators out of the top spot. Even so, I'd definitely pick the 2008 Gators ahead of the 2000 Oklahoma Sooners (No. 5) and 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 4).

It is interesting to note that the SEC teams were dissed a bit as they occupied the final four spots in the rankings with 2007 LSU Tigers in ninth, 2003 Tigers at eighth and the Chris Leak-led Gators of 2006 at No. 7.

While I like the Hurricanes in the top spot I probably wouldn't put them there. I would actually put the Canes at No. 3, then the 2005 Texas Longhorns in second and crown the 2004 USC Trojans as the best of the decade.

Those three teams are a toss up as it would be easy to go with Vince Young and the Longhorns, who knocked off USC in one of the most exciting BCS title games ever. But there was just something unbeatable about Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll in 2004, especially when you consider the 2003 USC was co-champs and much more talented than LSU that season.

Guess it really doesn't matter. I'm just trying to fill some blog space on a Friday night.

Podcast: Episode 33

While Tom can't wait for the start of the football season, Phil admits he could use a little more time to save up his energy (and money) for another season of Buckeyes football. However, both of our fearless podcasters have already identified a game during the first week that neither will miss (can you say Oregon at Boise State and Georgia at Okie State?). The guys differ on their opinion about a 13-year-old who has committed to play at Tennessee, while both understand Air Force's Troy Calhoun's complaint about the BCS. Oh yea, Tom gets his digs in on Rich Rodriguez and Bob Stoops again. Enjoy the show.