Bowl Preview: Brut Sun Bowl

Brut Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl, El Paso, Tx.
Stanford vs. Oklahoma
Date: Dec 31
Time: 2 p.m.
TV: CBS (NOT ESPN, HOLY CRAP)
Line: Oklahoma -9.5

About Stanford (8-4): The Cardinal haven't seen this kind of postseason glory since Ty Willingham was at the helm. But now, it's former (ugh.) Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh whose overbearing arrogance is a perfect fit for a school filled with students and faculty who are overbearingly arrogant. And they've got this Toby Gerhart kid who's like Tommy Vardell but with talent.

Intangibles:
Tiger Woods: -4
Michelle Wie: -1
The Buddy Tevens Era: -6

About Oklahoma (7-5): Taking the positive on this sucky season for the Sooners, at least Bob Stoops can't lose a big bowl game! Am I right, Sooners? So Sam Bradford got hurt and Oklahoma fell apart like a house of cards in front of Beano Cook. It was like Gary Gibbs was back in charge of the Sooners. Crap were they bad.

Intangibles:
Sooner schooner: +2
Anything else in Oklahoma: -3
The Boz: -2
Jamelle Holieway; +2

Impact player: Gerhart. This dude just ran over Pac 10 defenses like they weren't there - and for the most part, they weren't. OU has some serious studs up front.

Bowl Slogan: "Mmmm. You smell like Brut."

Little known fact: I like El Paso salsa. Bet you didn't know.

Watchability (1-5): 4.3

The pick: Stanford 31, Oklahoma 30

You can relax now

With Urban Meyer's change of heart today that he'll just take a leave of absence as head man at UF, there are fans at many other places who are much more at ease today than just the Gator Nation.

These are the programs who can breathe a sigh of relief that their coach won't be shopping for a new home in Gainesville.

1. Dan Mullen, Mississippi State. Mullen may have only went 5-7 in his first year in Starkville, but he's Meyer bred, has a great offensive mind and could complete a near seamless transition. The Bulldogs can relax for now that Mullen will be back in 2010.

2. Kyle Whittingham, Utah. This would likely be Meyer's choice to replace him, but AD Jeremy Foley knows this is his call. Still, Whittingham would be a great pick and he's proven he can beat Alabama.

3. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas. This just feels like a horrible fit, but Petrino can flat out coach. He's slimy and no one can trust him (just ask the fans at Louisville). Just imagine what he could do with the talent in Gainesville. It's kind of scary.

4. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma. I don't really think he'd leave Norman for this job, but he'd have to give it some serious consideration. Sooner fans just have to get tired of hearing his name come up so often. The funny thing about this one is some ESPN talking head (I think it was Dr. Lou Holtz) who said they should consider his brother Mike at Arizona. That could possibly be the worst suggestion ever (surprised he didn't suggest Skip Holtz from East Carolina).

5. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford. I still think he's waiting to take over at Michigan after next year, but it would be hard for someone as competitive as Harbaugh to not consider going to Florida. Stanford fans want to remind everyone that Harbaugh just signed an extension, but what does that really mean today? The Gators would love this guy's moxie.

6. Kevin Sumlin, Houston. If this had happened there would have been a lot of surprised Florida fans. But Sumlin is well respected and many think he'll get a big-time job in the next year or two. His offensive mind may be better than Meyer's and Mullen's. Houston knows it can't keep Sumlin forever.

7. Chris Petersen, Boise State. Rumor is Petersen is not looking to upgrade from his gig in Idaho, but could he really turn down a choice job like UF? I think not. If you can win the way he has in Boise imagine what he'd do with the talent you can attract in Florida? However, Boise fans can relax because Petersen loves right where he is.

8. Gary Patterson, TCU. Both the 'Eye and the 'Eer are big Patterson fans, so we think this would have been one of the top three options for Foley. The Horned Frogs have been highly competitive during Patterson's tenure, and they play some of the best defense in the nation. He'd also be a great fit in the SEC.

9. Charlie Strong, Louisville. There's probably no one more pleased to hear Meyer will probably be back for 2010. Strong, who has taken the Louisville job, has remained in Gainesville to coach the defense in the Sugar Bowl. If not for the new job, Strong could have been a legitimate inside candidate. Now Strong doesn't have to consider reneging on Louisville.

10. Bill Stewart, West Virginia. I can dream right? He would give the Gators a chance to see what it would be like to have Bobby Bowden coach at UF. Stewart would also coach the superbly talented Gators to a second- or third-place finish and confuse the fans with random, unintelligible post-game comments.

Podcast: Episode 53

Episode 53

An Eye and an Eer: College Football Podcast

Tom may be on vacation, but he wouldn't let his buddy Phil down and not show up for this week's show. Hey, there's way too much to discuss.

We start with coaching hires (Brian Kelly, Turner Gill, Butch Jones and Doc Holliday) as well as coaches signing extensions (Jim Harbaugh). We also discuss the pros and cons of the potential growth of the Big 10 to 12 teams (what will we call the conference then?), as well as talk about the first week of the bowl season (really, are any of you going to watch the New Mexico Bowl?).

Phil also tackles some big topics in our weekly Quick Hitters, including if Mark Ingram was a deserving Heisman Trophy winner and the decision of Jake Locker to return to Washington for another year of apprenticeship under Steve Sarkisian. Tom questions why Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster is never considered a top candidate for head coaching jobs and the strength of Big East coaches.

Another week, another show.

Fire Turner Gill already?

So Turner Gill was the new Kansas Jayhawks coach for like 30 minutes when some idiot or a group of idiots created FireTurnerGill.com. Why?

Check out this logic:

Typically when a program fires a two-time Coach of the Year, a big name hire can be expected. Typically if a coach can't win in the MAC, they won't succeed in the BigXII. Well, the Jayhawks thought otherwise. How about a coach with a 20-30 overall record?

With all the great names out there for hire, Lew(ser) Perkins settled for a cheap, easy pick. This was a lazy attempt at a national head coaching search. If this administration wants to become a national program, make a national hire!

You can't predict failure, but anyone can see this train-wreck coming.

To actually consider Gill a failure at Buffalo shows this person's or group's lack of knowledge about college football. What Gill accomplished with the Bulls is one of the more impressive coaching jobs of the past few decades.

When he took over the Bulls in 2006, Buffalo a combined record of 16-85 since 1997. After a tough 2-10 first year, Gill lead UB to an 18-20 mark. It may not be a winning season, but it's much more impressive than what Mark Mangino did in 2007 when KU went 12-1.

Buffalo was the worst Division I program in the nation when Turner Gill arrived. That's right, worse than Temple.

As he leaves, the Bulls have won a Mid-American Conference championship and you have to go back to the 1960s to find a time UB was this competitive.

This is a great hire Kansas. Jim Harbaugh wasn't leaving Stanford for Lawrence, Kan. He's waiting for Michigan to dump Rich Rod next year. Harbaugh was using KU for leverage in Palo Alto.

Odds favor Meyer, Kelly to be next at ND

So who should I put my cash on to be Notre Dame's next coach?

Urban Meyer or Brian Kelly? There's not much upside to either one as offshor betting service Bodog.com is giving 3:2 odds on either one to be the next Irish coach. Jim Harbaugh is 3:1 but that doesn't look too good as he's about to sign an extension at Stanford.

How about Oregon's Chip Kelly at 5:1? Kirk Ferentz at 10:1? Or Bob Stoops at 20:1? Le't's not forget Jon Gruden at 30:1.

What no odds on Charlie Weis being retained? Hey Charlie who you putting your money on? Maybe I should ask Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick and we could split the winnings.

Is there a good sushi place around here?

As much as I loathe Jim Harbaugh (I'm not saying that every snap he took in the NFL I prayed for some sort of career-ending, Theisman-like ankle injury, but it was close.) it was kind of nice to see somebody rub it in Pete Carroll's face a little. The Cardinal went up 48-21 with seven minutes left in yesterday's whipping of 'SC, then decided to go for two.

The postgame handshake was a classic according to San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ray Ratto:

"What's your deal? What's your deal?" Carroll said, according to two sources near enough to hear.

"What's your deal?" Harbaugh retorted, and that was that.

Obviously a meeting of minds.

Not sure the rest of the Pac-10 wanted to see a rejuvenated, motivated Pete Carroll. But hey, it was still kind of fun to see.

Video: Stanford mocks USC fans

Something is totally amiss in the college football universe. Stanford players Drew Terrell and Ekom Udofia are actually taunting USC's fans with a sarcastic version of "Fight On."

We're the first to admit that USC is much worse than we expected this season, but don't think for long that USC will be down. This is a blip. The Trojans are starting a true freshman QB (even though we like Andrew Luck much better than Matt Barclay) and the defense has been much more porous than even Pete Carroll could have dreamed.

The Cardinal are supposed to be among the classiest teams and players in the Pac-10, so this seems out of character (except for maybe coach Jim Harbaugh). But Pete and the Trojans won't forget this. Just wait until next year.

Oh yea, heck of a game by RB Toby Gerhart. This guy is a stud.

Stanford's Gerhart tries hand at other sports

Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart is arguably the best two-sport athlete in college athletics. He leads the nation in rushing TDs and is a standout for the Cardinal baseball team.

Leave it to those brainiacs at Stanford to produce this entertaining video of Gerhart giving a few other sports a shot. I love the synchronized swimming bit. Nice job Stanford.

(Hat Tip: The Wiz of Odds)