Will Florida notice loss of Strong?

When Charlie Strong officially cuts ties with the Florida Gators following the Sugar Bowl should Urban Meyer start worrying about his future success?

Look, Meyer is a great coach with a slew of talent in a four-mile radius that should equate to unparalleled success by most in the SEC and in the nation. But with Strong's exit to be head coach at Louisville, Meyer loses his second consecutive coordinator in as many seasons. Meyer has actually had seven former assistants go on the be head coaches.

Dan Mullen, the Gators OC in 2008, did an admirable job with Mississippi State this past season and the Bulldogs might just challenge Alabama and LSU in SEC West. Strong will likely be even more successful at Louisville as the Cardinals can become competitive in the Big East in a few years.

But what does this all mean for Gator Nation?

It's going to hurt recruiting ... even for Florida. Many of the outstanding players on Florida's top-ranked defense were recruited directly by Strong, who is considered by many as one of the best recruiters in the country.

So last weekend's dismantling by Alabama may become more familiar than Florida is accustomed to under Meyer.

Why? Call it the Pete Carroll effect. USC had dominated the Pac-10 for nearly a decade and was among the nation's elite. But after losing coordinators to become head coaches (Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, DeWayne Walker, Ed Orgeron, etc.).

It didn't happen overnight in SoCal, but Meyer will lose a level of comfort he had with these guys. So will the players. It may not be noticeable next season, but a dip is certain to occur.

Just watch.

Podcast: Episode 52

OK, we all saw Tim Tebow crying. Let it go. It's not that big a deal.

What's making us cry are these BCS bowl match ups. Really? TCU vs. Boise State. That's not what anyone wants to see. Give the little guys a chance. Now one of them will end up undefeated and their congressman will run to Capitol Hill begging and pleading for a playoff.

And who out there doesn't think the Gators won't put a beat down on Cincinnati? Bearcats coach Brian Kelly may not even be around to see it happen as he's interviewing at Notre Dame and wants nothing more than to get out of The Queen City by Saturday so he can start recruiting for the Fighting Irish.

We applaud the Mike London hiring at Virginia and also think Charlie Strong to Louisville is a good call.

With the five Heisman finalists announced we think Alabama's Mark Ingram is the best bet to win, but we like Nebraska long shot Ndamukong Suh. Phil believes the bowl schedule bodes well for the Big 10 this year, while Tom is confident the Big East will hold its own (except Cincinnati).

The first one falls...

Louisville mercifully ended the Steve Kragthorpe era today, letting the formerly hot coaching name go after three years of really bad football.

He wasn't alone as Akron ditched J.D. Brookhart, who never seemed to transfer his recruiting prowess from Pitt to NE Ohio.


While driving I heard ESPN's Pat Forde, a Louisville resident, give the preliminary list of potential replacements being discussed by the Cardinal brass. Houston coach Kevin Sumlin and Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong were mentioned. Then the list went into typical Louisville "we think way more of our football program than anyone else does" with Gary Patterson at TCU, Bronco Mendenhall of BYU and Kyle Whittingham of Utah.

Okay guys, sure. Too bad Jon Gruden signed that MNF contract or he'd be dying to coach at Papa Johns Stadium.

Picks of the Week: No. 10

Next year I’ll flip a coin on each pick. Not sure I could do much worse than I am this season. I feel good about this week. Calling it now ... This is my first 5-0 week (you see how well my predictions have been all season).

Louisville (+20.0) over West Virginia
Anyone who has followed this Big East rivalry over the years realizes the Cardinals and Mountaineers always play close games ... No matter how much a team is favored. The Mountaineers have more talent and have home-field advantage, but lame-duck Steve Kragthorpe will pull a few magical tricks and keep this much closer than 20 points. Expect Noel Devine to have a monster game against a Louisville defense that struggled with Utah, Pitt and UConn.
Pick: West Virginia 34, Louisville 21

Notre Dame (-11.0) over Navy
The Irish defense will have its full with Navy’s triple-option, but No. 22 Notre Dame is at home and has plenty of momentum and one of the best rushing defenses in the nation. QB Jimmy Clausen has played like the top prospect from a few years ago, including a three-touchdown performance in last week’s 40-14 victory over Washington State. The Irish also get Michael Floyd back at receiver after a five-game absence. This one should never be in doubt.
Pick: Notre Dame 31, Navy 18

Fresno State (-8.0) over Idaho
After a rough start to the season, Pat Hill’s Bulldogs went 4-0 in October to improve to 5-3 and 4-1 in the WAC. The Vandals have been one of the biggest surprises of 2009 sitting at 7-2 and bowl-eligible. This one will be at the Kibbie Dome, where Idaho is 4-0. As much as I’d like to go with Robb Akey’s Vandals, Fresno is more accustomed to playing in big games so the Bulldogs get the edge this week.
Pick: Fresno State 44, Idaho 33

TCU (-24.5) over San Diego State
The Aztecs under first-year coach Brady Hoke are 4-4, but all four victories are against weak competition. Enter the No. 6 Horned Frogs, arguably the best non-BCS team in the nation and probably one of the top eight teams in the country. TCU senior DE Jerry Hughes will harass San Diego State QB Ryan Lindley all afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium.
Pick: TCU 48, San Diego State 10

Upset of the Week
Florida State (+8.5) over Clemson
Since I struggle to pick ACC games why not try one out for the upset of the week. If Clemson’s defense can apply plenty of pressure to Christian Ponder the Tigers will win this game easily. However, FSU seems rejuvenated and with only one Bowden in the stadium and on the heels of DC Mickey Andrews announcing his retirement, the Seminoles are going to find a way to slow C.J. Spiller and Clemson. The ‘Noles will put pressure on freshman QB Kyle Parker to win the game and force him into a crucial turnover late in the game.
Pick: Florida State 36, Clemson 31

Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 23-22

Memories of WVU-Louisville

Whenever the 'Eer thinks about WVU playing Louisville all he can muster is images of 2005. It was one of the greatest comebacks in Mountaineer history and it was when the nation was truly introduced to Pat White and Steve Slaton.

Hopefully this weekend's game in Morgantown will be much easier for WVU. Thanks to Steve Kragthorpe the Mountaineers should improve to 7-2 on the season. It is nice to see Krags hasn't lost his sense of humor, though.



As much as the 'Eer loves Noel Devine and the spark he provides for the Mountaineers, it's just not the same as watching Slaton.

Picks of the Week: No. 7

Don't ask me why, but the 'Eer has decided to venture back to the ACC to pick games. That can't be good. The 'Eer also had another winning week, but he still wants that perfect week. Maybe this is it.

Connecticut (-13.0) over Louisville
UConn is so close to being 5-0 right now. The Huskies outplayed Pitt last week, but fell 24-21 at Heinz Field. Nothing helps you avoid a losing skid than seeing Louisville on the schedule. The Cardinals did pull out a 25-23 win over Southern Miss last week, but the Steve Kragthorpe watch is such a distraction and UConn's defense is stingy, so Louisville will struggle in the cold at Rentschler Field.
Pick: Connecticut 28, Louisville 13

Miami (-14.5) over Central Florida
There's always a concern the Hurricanes will let up a bit after that treacherous four-game stretch to start the season. Last week, Miami handled Florida A&M 48-16. This week Randy Shannon is putting his players on charter buses and traveling four hours up the Florida Turnpike to face UCF. Jacory Harris will remain is cool self and lead Miami to an easy win in Orlando.
Pick: Miami 36, Central Florida 10

Ohio State (-13.5) over Purdue
Only 13.5 points? Sure the game is at Ross-Ade Stadium, but the Boilermakers are no match for Ohio State. There are a lot of concerns about the Buckeyes offense, especially the lack of consistency and improvement by sophomore QB Terrelle Pryor. But this is a perfect opportunity to let Pryor work out of his rut, plus the Ohio State defense should pitch another shut out.
Pick: Ohio State 34, Purdue 3

Temple (-9.5) over Army
I couldn't pass up this game. When's the last time Temple and Army were both .500 or better this late in the season? The Owls are 3-2, but lead the Mid-American Conference East Division at 3-0. Temple is also riding a three-game winning streak after falling to FCS-opponent Villanova in the opener and then it was thumped by Penn State. Freshman RB Bernard Pierce is the offensive catalyst. The Black Knights are coming off a huge 16-13 overtime victory against Vanderbilt. Expect QB Brent Steelman to run the ball about three more times than he passes.
Pick: Temple 31, Army 21

Upset of the Week
Wake Forest (+7.0) over Clemson
This pick is based strictly on the two coaches. Wake's Jim Grobe is among the nation's best, while Clemson's Dabo Swinney hasn't impressed many with his preparation (he sure does run around yelling and does a good job of playing a cheerleader). What scares me about this pick? The Tigers are more talented and the game is at Clemson. RB C.J. Spiller is the best player on the field. But don't pick against Grobe in this one.
Pick: Wake Forest 22, Clemson 21

Last Week: 3-2
Season Record: 16-14

2009's worst non-conference matchups

About two weeks ago I gave you my picks for best non-conference matchups for 2009. Now I'm taking a look at the worst non-conference games. Selecting the best was so easy because there are so few good ones and they are games most college football fans would want to see.

In selecting the worst matchups, my criteria was a bit different. Simply I was looking at how embarrassed the BCS team should be for making its home fans sit through this game. So here we go.

1. Charleston Southern at Florida (Sept. 5): I get it SEC fans. Really I do. The SEC schedule is so tough that you can't expect teams like Florida to schedule tough non-conference games. But this one will be ugly so fast that even the pre-game drunk won't make this one fun. Hope it's easy to sneak the Jack Daniels (or is that not SEC enough) into The Swamp.

2. Eastern Illinois at Penn State (Oct. 10): If the Nittany Lions want anyone to seriously consider them a BCS title contender they must stop schedule weak games like this one to pad Joe Paterno's victory total (we all know Tom Bradley should be getting credit for these wins). Eastern Illinois, who went 5-7 last year, will enly the pay day and start getting ready for the Ohio Valley Conference schedule. Hope the PSU fans have plenty of frozen marshmallows for this one.

3. Idaho State at Oklahoma (Sept. 12): Count on the Sooners having one Idaho State on the schedule every year. How ugly will this one be? Consider the fact that WAC cellar dwellar Idaho beat the Bengals by 15 last year. Will someone tell me why Oklahoma is considered a premiere program?

4. Eastern Kentucky at Indiana (Sept. 3): The Hoosiers need all the victories it can schedule. What happens when you lose? That could happen in this one.

5. Indiana State at Louisville (Sept. 5): It's amazing how far and fast Louisville has fallen. The Cardinals should open the season 1-0 under third-year coach Steve Kragthorpe. When and where he'll get the second win of 2009 remains to be seen.

6. Elon at Wake Forest (Sept. 19): Maybe this will develop into a great North Carolina rival. OK, probably not. Heck, I didn't even know Elon had a football team. The Phoenix actually play in the extremely competitive Southern Conference and are ranked in the FCS preseason polls.

7. Idaho State at Arizona State (Sept. 5): Not trying pick on Idaho State, but when BCS schools are tripping over themselves to schedule you there's a problem. The $1 million or more its receiving to play ASU and Oklahoma is probably worth two embarrassing losses.

8. Jacksonville State at Florida State (Sept. 12): The only thing of interest in this game is to watch former LSU star Ryan Perrilloux start at QB for the Gamecocks. Perrilloux started all 11 games last season and threw for more than 2,300 yards. Does he have enough magic in him to pull the upset?

9. Southeastern Louisiana at Ole Miss (Sept. 19): Isn't SE Louisiana where Bobby Boucher was the waterboy? The Lions could use him in this contest. Ole Miss should be moritified by its non-conference schedule.

10. Eastern Washington at California (Sept. 12): In fairness to Cal, the Golden Bears play home against Maryland and on the road in Minnesota's new stadium. So Jeff Tedford's boys have a tough start to the season. Lucky for them they cushioned it with Eastern Washington.

Preseason: Big East rankings

Ugh. The Big East: sucking the fun out of football for the past 10 years! Just kidding, just kidding. Mostly.
Okay, enough pestering. Prediction time. It should be a competitive race this year as I don’t see any team dominating.

1. Cincinnati
Key returners: QB Tony Pike, WR Marcus Gilyard, WR Dominic Goodman, DT John Hughes
Predicted record: 8-4
While I think UC ends up with a worse overall record than WVU, I think they take the conference, as long they can win the season finale at Pitt. Big losses on defense will hold the Bearcats down a bit early in the year, but Brian Kelly knows how to get his offenses to score points. Tony Pike is back at QB and Marcus Gilyard at WR. UC has a new defensive coordinator and is supposedly switching to a 3-4 look.

2. West Virginia
Key returners: QB Jarrett Brown, RB Noel Devine, RB Jock Sanders, OG Josh Jenkins, DT Scooter Berry, LB Pat Lazear
Predicted record: 9-3
While the ‘Eers wll miss Pat White, Jarrett Brown is a talented backup who might be a better fit in WVU’s post-Rodriguez offense. Noel Devine is a home run threat at running back, but should get a few more carries per game. Replacing four starters on the offensive line could hinder WVU’s offense. The defense has some experienced players back and should be solid. The book is still out on Bill Stewart, though.

3. Pitt
Key returners: QB Bill Stull, QB Pat Bostick, WR Jonathan Baldwin, OT Jason Pinkston, TE Nate Byham
Predicted record: 8-4
The Panthers could win the Big East, but not just yet. I know Pitt fans were celebrating the departure of OC Matt Cavanaugh back to the NFL, and for good reason, but the questions at quarterback are still there. With a good offensive line, good receivers and solid backs, there’s no reason Pitt’s offense shouldn’t excel regardless. But I’ve heard that before.

4. Rutgers
Key returners: OT Anthony Davis, LB Ryan D’Imperio, LB Damaso Munoz, RB Kordell Young
Predicted record: 7-5
Mike Teel is gone, leaving a big hole at quarterback that could be difficult to fill. That’s the bad news. The good news is eight players are back on offense including four starters on a good offensive line and RB Young. Rutgers also has a cake non-conference schedule with the exception of Maryland. I just don’t quite see the talent there for the Knights who are a year away from being back at the top of the league.

5. Connecticut
Key returners: RB Jordan Todman, DE Marcus Campbell, DE Lindsey Witten, LB Greg Lloyd
Predicted record: 7-5
Notre Dame transfer Zach Fraser was anointed the No. 1 quarterback in the spring, which unfortunately doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence for one of the worst passing offenses in college football last year. Donald Brown is also gone. Questions abound on offense and defense, but it’s tough to question Randy Edsall’s ability to at least get this team back to a bowl game.

6. South Florida
Key returners: QB Matt Grothe, WR A.J. Love, DE George Selvie
Predicted record: 5-7
Offseason coaching turmoil is rarely a good thing and Jim Leavitt brought plenty of that on himself with dissension among the assistants and a couple firings. The Bulls will once again start the year hot, but there is a tough non-conference schedule with FSU and Miami and too many trips north late in the year.

7. Syracuse
Key returners: QB Ryan Nassib, CB Dorian Graham, S Kevyn Scott
Predicted record: 4-8
Don’t get me wrong, the ‘Cuse is still bad. Despite the record, the ‘Cuse will tie Louisville for the bottom. New coach Doug Marrone isn’t a miracle worker. Rob Spence’s spread, short-passing offense could help the Orange be more efficient on offense. But this is another rebuilding year for Syracuse. Marrone might want to skip the games to recruit.

8. Louisville
Key returners: DE Greg Scruggs, WR Josh Chichester, RB Victor Anderson, S Richard Raglin
Predicted recorded: 3-9
I like Steve Kragthorpe. I think he’s a good football coach. But this whole Louisville thing has been a nightmare scenario from the start. It won’t get better this season, mostly due to the brutal early schedule. After opening with Indiana State, Louisville faces Kentucky, Utah, Pitt, Southern Miss and Connecticut. That’s a potential 1-5 start, a lame duck Kragthorpe and a serious bottoming out in the pizza place.

5 out of 119 ... still appalling

This won't quiet the Floyd Keith and the Black Coaches and Administrators, but the timing is interesting. Just one day after announcing it was building a case to potentially bring litigation against colleges and universities who appear to keep passing on black coaches in favor of white coaches, Eastern Michigan is set to announce Ron English as its next head coach.

By hiring English, the number of black head coaches is still an appalling five out of 119 at Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

This is a great move by the Eagles. English, who is 40, was an outstanding defensive coordinator under Lloyd Carr at the University of Michigan, before spending this past season at Louisville. He did well at first with the Cardinals, but injuries ravaged his defensive unit down the stretch and UL was torched by West Virginia (35-21) and Rutgers (63-14).

Eastern Michigan gets a hard-working coach who should be able to recruit the state well and get EMU to a competitive level in the Mid-American Conference. As I mentioned yesterday, this is a great opportunity for English to build the program and enhance his reputation before looking for the big-time job.

Now it's time for others institutions to recognize other qualified black candidates and give them a chance.

Another WVU fan

Guess I'm not the only one who appreciated Pat White's performance today, and the WVU win at Louisville Saturday.

Cincy-Louisville explanation

I missed the beginning of the Louisville-Cincinnati game Friday night, so I was in the dark about the controversy/argument involving Brian Kelly and Steve Kragthorpe. There's a decent explanation at the Lot D blog.

If you watched the end it appeared that Kelly dissed Kragthorpe following the Bearcats 28-20 victory. But ESPN's Brian Bennett says that's not true.

Picks of the Week

I did it again. Said I would pick an ACC game. So I thought it was smart to take an SEC team to defeat Duke. Thanks a lot Vanderbilt and that lovely three-game skid your on now. I'm determined to get back on track this week. So here we go again.

Brigham Young (-14) over Colorado State
This is the type of game that BYU excels in usually. The 17th-ranked Cougars are still in the running for the Mountain West Conference title, so this game is important. Colorado State has improved this year under first-year coach Steve Fairchild. The Rams are 4-4 following a gutsy win over San Diego State last week, and they still have bowl aspirations.
Pick: Brigham Young 42, Colorado State 17

Southern Cal (-46) over Washington
Never thought I'd pick a team that was already down 46-0 before the opening kickoff. This one just feels right. The Trojans offense struggled a bit last week against Arizona, but still won. QB Mark Sanchez will go crazy against the Huskies and USC will roll up a big win similar to the one it had against Washington State a few weeks ago.
Pick: Southern Cal 54, Washington 3

Louisville (-13) over Syracuse
Syracuse's lone Big East victory came at the expense of Louisville last season in Kentucky. The Cardinals are primed for revenge against an overmatched Orange. Louisville enters Saturday's game on a three-game winning streak and Steve Kragthorpe's defense should be up to the challenge.
Pick: Louisville 34, Syracuse 14

Central Michigan (+2.5) over Indiana
How is Indiana favored in this game? I know it's in Bloomington, but I'm not even considering this pick an upset win. Central Michigan runs the spread under former Rich Rodriguez disciple Butch Jones. The numbers aren't on the Chippewas side as they are 0-5 against BCS opposition, including dropping two games in 2008 to Georgia (56-17) and Purdue (32-25).
Pick: Central Michigan 27, Indiana 24

Upset of the Week
Miami (+2) over Virginia
Seems odd to think that UVA is favored in this game. After watching Al Groh's boys get totally dominated in the season opener against Southern Cal, it looked like the Cavaliers were headed for disaster and Groh was going to be ushered out of town. Instead, Virginia has rebounded and has a shot at winning the ACC. Miami is more athletic and the Hurricanes are due for this type of win (underdog on the road).
Pick: Miami 20, Virginia 14

Last Week: 2-3
Season: 14-16

Big East woes

All of the college football experts are ripping on the ACC (and I usually do the same). However, after Rutgers' 24-7 loss to Fresno State Monday the Big East isn't looking too strong this season.

Sure, most of you will say the conference has never been that good. But not true. WVU, South Florida, Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati (and even UConn) have been solid, competitive teams. Heck, the Big East has won three consecutive BCS bowl games.

But this weekend exposed the Big East as being very top heavy. WVU and USF may be all the conference has in 2008.

Even more embarrassing was the offensive performance of Louisville against in-state rival Kentucky on Sunday. Hunter Cantwell is supposed to be a future NFL quarterback. For who? Columbus Destroyers?

Pitt is Pitt. Dave Wannstedt is Dave Wannstedt. I wasn't that shocked that the Panthers were dumped by Bowling Green. I won't be surprised when they lose to Turner Gill's Buffalo Bulls this week.

Syracuse is supposed to suck, so losing at Northwestern wasn't a shock. However, the Orange actually had their opportunities. It's almost like they want to lose so the Greg Robinson experiment can just come to an end.

If WVU or South Florida can run the table or only lose one game, the conference will be cut some slack. But the Mountaineers could get bumped by a very interesting East Carolina squad this Saturday. Bill Stewart's squad must also travel to Colorado and host Auburn this fall. Three or four losses are a real possibility.