Marve headed to the Big TEleven?

According to the Indianapolis Star, former Miami, Fla. quarterback Robert Marve has Purdue in the lead for his now transfer-ready services.

This seems like a shockingly good fit for Marve. A decent football program with a new coach. He's not overshooting his ability like Mitch Mustain's ill-fated USC transfer and he's getting out of the South and away from all the SEC/Miami/Florida badmouthing that was going on before. Might do Marve some good to get out of the Sunshine state.

Other quarterback transfer news, former Michigan QB Steven Threet is now at Arizona State.

This is Threet's third school. He started at Georgia Tech, went to UM and now ASU. Whoopty-doo. Hey Sun Devils, if this kid ever sees any meaningful playing time, that's not good news.

Late-Night bowl links

While watching Utah shock 'Bama, thought I'd do some random scanning of blogs around the nation. Here are some interesting posts that I have found this evening.

• Tom Kirkendall at Houston's Clear Thinkers hits on something that both Phil and I have been saying all season about Texas Tech's Mike Leach. Kirkendall says Leach is more PR genius than coaching savant.
• Is Houston Nutt a better coach than everyone has given him credit for? That's the question Matt Hinton at Dr. Saturday asks after watching Ole Miss take down Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. He also has a very funny post about Pat Summerall broadcasting the Cotton Bowl.
• Larry Brown Sports stops just short of calling LSU's Les Miles a douchebag for running a fake punt in the fourth quarter of the Tigers blowout win over Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-a Bowl. I've been looking for video of this since I saw it, but haven't had any luck.
• Tony Barnhart at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Matt Stafford will probably leave for the NFL and Knowshon Moreno will return to Athens for another year with Georgia.
• Iowa could have easily fallen apart this year, but according to Mike Hlas over at The Hlog Coach Kirk Ferentz stuck to his "old-school" values and that's why Iowa rebounded after a 3-3 start. In case you missed it, the Hawkeyes totally schooled South Carolina and Steve Spurrier
• It appears Randy Shannon has a heart after all. According to the Miami Herald's Manny Navarro, the U has partially lifted the SEC ban on former quarterback Robert Marve.

Good night.

We hardly knew ye

Robert Marve, another all-everything quarterback coming out of high school, may be done at the University Miami. It's been rumored that Marve, from Tampa, was transferring to South Florida.

On Thursday, he told the Associated Press that he won't be playing in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27 when the Hurricanes (7-5) play California (8-4) because he violated "team academic rules." That's a nice way of saying he didn't go to class.

Marve's career was derailed when he was seriously hurt in a car accident before his first practice. After sitting out last season, Marve earned the starting job over true freshman Jacory Harris. However, Randy Shannon may not be that upset to see Marve fade away as Harris performed better this season and he may have favored him over Marve next fall.

While Marve started the final 11 games, Harris played in all 12 games. Marve completed nearly 55 percent of his passes for 1,293 yards and nine touchdowns. Harris, who threw about 50 fewer passes, completed 61 percent for 1,001 yards and 10 scores.

While I've been a big Marve fan, he didn't show signs of improving at all this season. Harris, on the other hand, got better each week and played like a champion. This is the best scenario for Miami.

It could also work out well for Marve if he truly goes to USF, where he could sit out next season as Matt Grothe plays his final season as the Bulls quarterback. Not the storybook career Marve was looking for, but there's still time for a few good chapters.

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