Wild, crazy first day of offseason

There's enough college football news packed into the first day of the offseason than we'll probably get in the next three months (recruiting news doesn't county).

There's the rumors/credible information concerning Pete Carroll bolting for SoCal to give it another shot in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks.

Naturally, no one at USC is sitting around waiting for Pete to make a decision. It appears to some influential Trojans have already reached out to Oregon State's Mike Riley, a former USC assistant, to see if he's interested in coming back to the Pac-10 mecca.

Of course the news at USC doesn't end there. Like rats jumping from a sinking ship, Trojan underclassmen are leaving for the NFL. WR Joe McKnight and WR Damian Williams.

The big news in Florida ... no, it has nothing to do with Urban Meyer or Tim Tebow ... is South Florida firing its one and only coach Jim Leavitt for lying and being a miserable human being.

Of course, Mike Leach doesn't want to be left out of the big day. Leach has fired back at Texas Tech administrators and accused them of making "slanderous and libelous" statements about him.

Now that's a way to start the offseason. Let's hope we get some more days like this.

Bowl Preview: Emerald Bowl

Emerald Bowl
PacBell Field, San Francisco
USC vs. Boston College
Date: Dec. 26
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: USC -7.5

About Boston College (8-4): The Eagles fired their somewhat successful coach last year because he interviewed for another job. That's what happens when you work for the clergy. They don't F around. So BC hired some other guy and they're fine like they always are. Frankly, they could have hired some patio furniture to be the coach and they'd finish 8-4. It's just what they do.

Intangibles:
Doug F*in Flutie: -2
Doug F*in Flutie's hair: +2
In the ACC despite being in BOSTON: -5

About USC (8-4): A plucky, upstart program from a well-regarded program in Los Angeles, USC showed plenty of promise for the future by finishing fifth in the Pac 10. I would like to say I did predict USC would lose three games this year. I also predicted one of them would be to Ohio State. Mother#@@$##$%W$%#@!!#@@!@ Anyway, about time these jokers had a crappy year.

Intangibles:
Pete Carroll: -1
Not Rick Neuheisel: +3
Joe McKnight's Land Rover that's not his: +0
USC in the Emerald Bowl: +45

Impact Player: USC wide receiver Ronald Johnson will catch many passes for many yards and many touchdowns.

Bowl slogan: "Old school football! And by that we mean playing the game in a facility ill-suited for football, like they used to do in the 1890s."

Little known fact: USC losing a couple starters to academic ineligibility won't matter much because they're playing Boston College.

Watchability (1-5): 3

The pick: Men of Troy 34, Eagles 14

Podcast: Episode 54

We're in the thick of the bowl season and we couldn't be any more pleased. Listen to today's show to hear which conferences we think have the most to gain and lose in bowl games, and which conference we think will be the biggest surprise.

We also propose a possible change for the NCAA to consider on coaching changes (OK, Phil doesn't like the idea), and give you are best picks for the next week of bowl games. Phil spends a little time evaluating the USC program, while Tom looks at Virginia Tech's chances of ending its drought against the SEC in the Chick-fil-a Bowl. Both of us also talk about the most memorable college football moment of the past decade. Enjoy.