Big East expansion?

This may sound far-fetched and considering it came from the New York Post it just may be, but is the Big East in a position of strength when considering future expansion to 9 or 10 teams?

According to the Post, two sources say the Big East would like to expand to nine teams if it can get ... wait for it ... an ACC team to bolt. The likely schools? Maryland or Boston College. This is a big step up from others who have been mentioned (East Carolina, Memphis, Central Florida, Army, Navy) as likely Big East expansion partners.

The Terrapins and Eagles seem a bit of a stretch for the Big East, especially when you consider the money the ACC is making these days and the academic profile that comes with being in that conference.

Look a little deeper and you can see the logic.

Maryland has always played Big East teams in non-conference tilts and Gary Williams would add another big-name coach to the best basketball conference in the country. Boston College has learned that the jump to the ACC may have been a bit shortsighted. In the down economy the Eagles have learned that traveling up and down the East Coast for soccer and softball aren't fiscally responsible. BC also has many more natural rivals in the Big East.

So is this a pipe dream or realistic in the near future?

"I think we've proven ourselves over the last three or four years," said new commissioner John Marinatto. "I think we are in a much better position."

Maybe this isn't so far-fetched.

Bowl Preview: Humanitarian Bowl

Humanitarian Bowl
Bronco Stadium, Boise, Id.
Maryland vs. Nevada
Date: Dec. 30
Time: 4:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: Nevada –2.5

About Nevada: The Wolfpack hails from Reno and have wins over tremendous programs such as Grambling and Utah State. They managed to hold Missouri to 69 points. They’re already 1-0 in the state of Idaho, beating the Vandals, 49-14. I guess their best win is over Fresno State. Except that win isn’t that big of a deal.


Intangibles:
Casinos in Reno: +3
Rest of Reno: -5
Near Lake Tahoe: +6
Near rest of Nevada: -4

About Maryland: This team was so inconsistent, they should be on meds for bipolar disorder. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde would be offended to be compared to these loonies. Just when you thought they were going to be awful, they’d win a few. Then you’d think they were going to win, they’d lose to some suckass team. It was enough to drive Ralph Friedgen to eat … even more, I mean.

Intangibles:
Coach nicknamed “Fridge’: +2
Six fans traveling to Idaho: -1
Must protect their house: -3
School colors are red, yellow, black, white, green and blue: -2


Impact Player: Either Maryland QB Jordan Steffy or Maryland QB Chris Turner. I’m not sure which one starts any more. Whichever one it is – he should not suck if the Terps want to win. Or it could be WAC Offensive Player of the Year Nevada QB Colin Pumpernickle, er Copperhead, er.. Kamameajingleheimerschmidt. That guy. He’s pretty good.

Bowl slogan: “We didn’t expect you to come, either.”

Little known fact: That blue field annoys the crap out of me.

Watchability (1-5): 2.3

The Pick: Nevada 24, Maryland 23

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

The youngsters on some of the ACC's best teams let their inexperience dominate them this past weekend. Maybe the mature coaches at Florida State helped pull them through. Maryland did its impersonation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde again.

I saw Boston College's backup QB play in high school and he is going to be a good one, but let's hope they don't make it to the championship. He is not ready. A Florida State-Georgia Tech rematch would be good. I thought Tech was very lucky last time.

FSU, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Maryland deserve to be in bowl games this year. If the SEC, Big 12, Pac-10 or Fat 10 had the same type of inter-league records everyone would be saying what great conferences, while the ACC is mocked. Do you think there might be some unknowledgable reporters out there?

It is nice to watch a conference where the final week counts. The biggest disappointment of course is Clemson. The biggest surprise is Miami. It is a conference with a lot of great young talent and they will keep beating each other for a couple of more years. In two years, watch out one of the ACC teams will be in the BCS championship game.

Rome was not built in a day.

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Maryland is at it again. Win one they shouldn't. Win two they should and lose one they shouldn't. Miami is the beneficiary. They could now be in the ACC championship game now that North Carolina has three league losses.

The winner of the Florida State/Maryland game this week will represent the Atlantic Division. As long as it is not Wake Forest. Miami has to take care of business. The 'Canes close the season with back-to-back road games. First they face nemesis Georgia Tech on Thursday and then go to North Carolina State the following Saturday.

A Florida State vs. Miami championship game could be big. The game is in Tampa and when they played each other earlier in Miami it was a shoot out.

The next couple of weeks will provide a lot of minor bowls a choice of bowl starved alumni out of the ACC the chance to spend their money on a nice trip to warm weather before basketball kicks in. I think two of the ACC bowl recipients will pull major upsets in their bowl games.

There are two potentially great games this week. FSU vs. Maryland and the Miami vs. Tech. I think one of them will be a blow out. I am not saying which one. All other teams are watching these two games.

Observations from Saturday's Games (Nov. 15)

Don't tell me the Big 12 is better than the SEC. Watch Florida for a quarter, or Alabama play defense and it's clear where the best talent is in 2008. Saturday's lame schedule proved to be a pretty good day. Here are some observations from Saturday's action:

1. Heckuva a team. The Florida Gators have amazing talent. I'm still trying to figure out how they lost to Ole Miss at home. With the Ol' Ball Coach returning for just the second time at South Carolina, the Gators put a good ol' fashioned butt-whipping on the Gamecocks, 56-6. That's impressive considering, South Carolina had won six of seven and its defense ranked third in the nation. That defense held strong for a little while, but Spurrier's inept offense put them in so many holes it was impossible to compete with the Gators.

2. Wacky ACC. Where do you start? North Carolina State is like the Pittsburgh Pirates in September. The games don't mean much, but you can play a spoiler role. The Wolfpack did just that with a win over Wake Forest. Then there is Maryland. One week after getting manhandled by Virginia Tech, the Terps squeak by ACC favorite North Carolina 17-15. And right now Florida State is losing to Boston College at home.

3. USF Bulls(hit). Would someone tell South Florida that the season is 12 games, not six. After reaching the lofty status as a Top 10 team earlier this season, Jim Leavitt's boys have imploded again. Don't tell me Rutgers is that good. I picked the upset, but the Scarlet Knights pummeled USF 49-16 in Tampa.

4. Reality check for Tommy. Doesn't it look like Auburn's Tommy Tuberville is coaching like a guy who knows he's about to be fired? He got a little whiny on Saturday as his Tigers fell to Georgia 17-13 (which is also sad that UGA is so inept on offense). So who tops Auburn's wish list right now?

5. Rose Bowl rematch? If Oregon State gets two more wins it could happen. If Penn State downs Michigan State next week it could happen also. If those two possibilities happen, the Beavers and Nittany Lions will play in the Rose Bowl -- an unlikely rematch. In the first meeting Penn State rolled 45-14 in State College. This odd rematch remains alive because Oregon State defeated Cal 34-21 Saturday, while PSU rolled past Indiana 34-7.

6. First 8-loss season. Hey Michigan, you're just one week away from your first 9-loss season. Think Ryan Mallett could have helped a little this season?

7. Not your father's A&M. Remember when Texas A&M was a legitimate Top 10 team and when the Aggies played Texas it was usually a good game and A&M could be favored? Mike Sherman's first year in College Station has been a disaster and nothing makes that point any clearer than a 41-21 loss to Baylor.

8. Best backfield? Maybe many of you would choose Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. But Ohio State's Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor are as good as any tandem in the country right now. The Buckeye duo combined for more than 250 rushing yards and two scores in a 30-20 victory at Illinois.

9. Bayou trouble. Not watching the game, but it seems every Score Update on Troy at LSU is another score by the Trojans. Last check it was 31-10 in the third quarter.

10. Better than expected. All week and all day everyone kept talking about the weak slate of football games today. Of course, there weren't the great matchups of ranked teams that we'd like to see. Just look at the primetime game of Boston College and Florida State. But it was still a great day of games. Stop complaining and just enjoy each week.

Thursday night

Currently, I'm splitting time between TCU-Utah and the Browns-Broncos (neither of which is in HD. Sob!)

- TCU-Utah has been a solid defensive game with the Horned Frogs holding a 10-6 lead at half. TCU should probably be up more but penalties have slowed them. Utah finally got a little offense going towards the end of the half.

UPDATE: Good win for Utah, which was helped immensely by TCU missing two easy field goals in the fourth quarter. The Utes put together one good drive late in the game and then picked off a TCU pass to end it.

- The evil Maryland has shown up tonight on the WorldWide Leader, where Va. Tech is pounding the Terps 20-3 in the third quarter. Haven't seen much, but Maryland does not appear to be threatening to make a game of it.

UPDATE: The Terps made a game of it, but just didn't have enough offense.

OFF-TOPIC UPDATE: Everyone associated with the Cleveland Browns should be fired. The players, the coaches, the GM and the owner. Can you fire an owner? I hope so.

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

The race for the championship became a crap-shoot after this weekend.

Florida State and Georgia Tech played a great game. If FSU beats Maryland and Tech finishes strong we could have a Florida State/Georgia Tech replay in Tampa.

Wake Forest pulled one out against Duke. Miami with their two quarterback system won in OT against Virginia. Virginia is in their third season. The first third they were horrible. In the middle third they beat everyone. The final third is going to be one of mixed success.

Maryland needs to start their final swing hot. The FSU and Maryland game looks like the best game in the future. Wake, Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina State, Duke and Virginia Tech are all relegated to playing the role of spoiler this month.

North Carolina is hoping for a miracle.

The ACC could end up with as many as six teams being a part of the bowl makeup this year. Georgia Tech has been the biggest surprise to me. The Seminoles, Hurricanes, Tar Heels and Terrapins will rule the conference over the next five years.

Georgia Tech has to show me more than a new coach and a new system. The good coaches will catch up to what they are doing.

Other thoughts: Could Skip Holtz be in line for the Clemson job? How close is Frank Beamer to retiring. Will Duke's coach stay one more year then head to Tennessee? If Fulmer doesn't leave the Vols at the end of this year then there may be a deal in the year for next year.

ACC Report

Special Report

Retired Coach Rick
ACC Correspondent

Miami and Florida State lived up to my prediction. North Carolina was a disappointment, but not real big. They had won a big one the week before and Coach Butch hasn't had the chance to teach them how to get ready for a game after a big win. Next year they will be ready. The UM quarterbacks are handling their situation very well.

Virginia Tech and Wake Forest are definitely overrated. Maryland did exactly what I thought they would-- WIN-- becausethey are one of the better coached teams in the ACC.

Boston College has been the biggest surprise. They are starting to get in my vision. The new coach at Clemson is a Tommy Bowden look-a-like on the sidelines. I don't care who the next coach is they will be the same. All potential and no substance.

The Duke story was fun while it lasted, but a little reality is hitting now. Georgia Tech is better than I thought they would be. The Jackets could be in the conference championship game. The University of Virgina might be the best college team in the state of Virginia. Sorry VT fans.

North Carolina State will always be the tough luck team in this conference. I am picking Georgia Tech to win the Coastal Division and Maryland to win the Atlantic Division. Maryland will win the championship. FSU is my sleeper.

The ACC has the best collection of head coaches in the country. They will win the BCS within the next five years.

Clemson at Wake Forest

Okay, I've been sort of paying attention to this game. A few points:

- Clemson is really poor at tackling in space. They've got big, athletic kids who get to the right spot at the right time and then miss the tackle. It's no secret they were better in the red zone. Less chance to miss. Wake only has 12 points, but they moved the ball up and down the field with out much problem.

- With 4:26 left, trailing 12-7 and out of timeouts, Tommy Bowden went for a 4th and 17 on their own 25 and got it. ESPN's announcer Chris Fowler questioned the call, but color analyst Craig James gave some spiel about the season being on the line, blah, blah, blah. of course they failed to mention that Wake's backup kicker has already missed twice and even if he does make a field goal, Clemson is only down eight points. Certainly giving up a TD would put the game out of reach, but so would have punting the ball and giving up two first downs. Clemson didn't make it's second attempt at a long fourth down.

- Wake's offense is fun to watch with all the misdirection. I'm not sure why this doesn't work better at WVU with Pat White. Seems to be a fairly complex blocking scheme, maybe WVU just hasn't picked it up yet.

- That's three losses for Clemson after beginning the year ranked #9. What does Tommy Bowden have to do to get fired? I think a couple more losses might do it.

- Final score: Wake Forest 12, Clemson 7. That's the second win this year where Wake scored 12 points.

- the ACC is just a weird conference. one game we haven't talked about was Virginia's 31-0 win over Maryland last week. How in the hell did that happen? Virginia is God-awful and Maryland has been rolling. The ACC may not be good football this year, but it's interesting.

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.

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?

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.