MAC making history

With today's hiring of Mike Haywood at Miami of Ohio there are now six African American head coaches out of 119 NCAA Division I-FCS schools. Amazingly three of them are now employed in the Mid-American Conference. The other two are Turner Gill at Buffalo and the recently hired Ron English at Eastern Michigan.

So let's do the math.

That's three out of 13 head coaches in the MAC, or 23.1 percent. That's three out of 106 coaches outside of the MAC, or 2.8 percent. It's better than yesterday.

Let's be honest here. Haywood is getting a pretty sweet gig. Miami of Ohio has produced some of the greatest coaches in college football history. Any of these names ring a bell? Red Blaik, Sid Gillman, Ara Parseghian, Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. Thought you might have heard of them.

Haywood's reputation took a minor hit this season also, after Charlie Weis took over play calling duties the final three weeks of the season at Notre Dame. But the Irish offense didn't do any better with Weis, so Haywood was somewhat redeemed.

The former Lou Holtz player at Notre Dame interviewed for the Washington job earlier this winter, but Miami is a better fit and better place to begin his head coaching career. There is a lot of work to do, though.

Shane Montgomery, who took over for another successful Miami coach, Terry Hoeppner, isn't returning in 2009 after leading the RedHawks two 2-10 seasons in three years. But Miami is a program where a young coach can win and build an even stronger resume for the next move.

Right now, it looks like a good move by Miami.

Picks of the Week

Call me Mr. Inconsistency. One week my picks are locks. The next week it looks like I've never watched a game in my life. After going 1-4 last week (OK, Penn State I'm a believer now) my overall mark for the season is .500. Now it's time to prove test my mettle. Here are this week's picks.

Penn State (-24) over Michigan
Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions are riding a nine-game losing skid to the Wolverines. That will end Saturday and in a big way. As Phil mentioned during this week's podcast, when JoePa has an opportunity to run it up he does (despite popular belief). According to Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News, "JoePa has had it in for Michigan since former Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler tried to exert his influence to keep Penn State out of the Big Ten Conference in the early 1990s." I also think the coaches in the Big 10 can't stand Rich Rodriguez. So Penn State will score early and often in a blow out in State College. That stupid Nittany Lion growl will be blared over the speakers a lot on Saturday.
Pick: Penn State 48, Michigan 9

Utah (-22) over Colorado State
There's a lot on the line for the undefeated and 13th-ranked Utes (7-0). They'll be in position to win the Mountain West Conference (don't forget TCU after its big win over BYU on Thursday) and become the new BCS buster. Utah's win over Michigan to start the season doesn't look so impressive now, but don't underestimate the Utes' talent. They have a balanced rushing attack led by Matt Asiata (410 yards and seven TDs) and Darrell Mack (378 yards and two TDs). Colorado State enters Saturday's game off a respectable 13-7 loss to TCU.
Pick: Utah 45, Colorado State 21

North Carolina (-5) over Virginia
Give Al Groh credit for keeping the Cavaliers focused after a horrendous start to 2008. But UVA's schedule stiffens again as it hosts No. 18 North Carolina. History may be on Virginia's side. UNC hasn't won at Scott Stadium in its last 13 trips to Charlottesville. Butch Davis' team must also find a way to replace explosive receiver/kick returner Brandon Tate, who is out for the season. The Tar Heels have been impressive this fall. Wins over Miami and Notre Dame last week stand out and proved this team can win tough battles.
Pick: North Carolina 27, Virginia 14

Stanford (-2) over UCLA
Yes, I'm picking the upset here. I'm surprised UCLA is favored so I wasn't expecting to be picking an upset here. Stanford is controlling the ball with a physical running attack led by Toby Gerhart and a strong, physical offensive line. What should make this game interesting is that UCLA has one of the Pac-10's best defensive lines. The difference in this game, though, is the ineffective and inconsistent Bruins offense. The Cardinal will no doubt put eight players in the box and force QB Kevin Craft to beat them. He did it against Tennesse, but he won't against Stanford.
Pick: Stanford 24, UCLA 21

Upset of the Week
Mississippi State (+8) over Tennessee
It has been said that the Tennessee players are unified behind embattled Coach Phil Fulmer. The Volunteers have played great defense this year and you'd think that would be enough against Mississippi State. I'm bucking the trend and taking the Bulldogs after a good win over Vanderbilt last week. I know this game is in Knoxville, but Tennessee's offense may be worse than the Mississippi State's. How bad of an offensive game will this probably be? Just look at the facts. The Bulldogs are ranked 103rd nationally in total offense and the Vols 104th. In scoring offense, UT is tied for 108th and MSU is tied for 113th. UT Athletic Director Mike Hamilton, who this week told a reporter that a change at the top could be what Tennessee needs to get back on track. A loss here could mean the end of Fulmer, whose Vols are 0-3 in the SEC.
Pick: Mississippi State 9, Tennessee 7

Last Week: 1-4
Season: 10-10