Urban sounds like Saban

OK. So Urban Meyer is doing his best Nick Saban impression. He says he's staying at Florida and will never coach at Notre Dame. Really. Do you believe him? I think I do. If he wanted to coach the Irish he would have taken the job instead of Florida. How did that work out for him?

Talking Heads take their posts

The ABC/ESPN college football monster announced its TV commentating pairings and a few changes stand out.

- Former General Managing travesty Matt Millen is now a college football guy, as well as his work for the NFL Network on the occasional Thursday night game.

- Mike Patrick (Holee Cow! and a general constant stream of overstatement) gets bumped from Saturday night games and is replaced by Brad Nessler, who will now team with Todd Blackledge.

- The nightmare of giggling Craig James and pretty-boy bachelor Jesse Palmer (rose optional) continues to suck the fun out of Thursday nights.

- James will then team with Patrick for a good ol' boy fest on Saturdays.

- Bob Griese (Bob, can we finish a sentence this year?) will team up with the slightly insane Chris Spielman for the noon ESPN game along with Dave Pasch.

There's other stuff, but frankly, until they put Nessler back with the now SEC-loving Gary Danielson back together, the best announcing team out there will not exist.

Meyer leaving UF after 2009

Gotta love the SEC. Wait until you hear this one.

It seems University of Florida commit Matt Elam, a stud linebacker from West Palm Beach, Fla., is ready to look around after a coach at another school told him Urban Meyer is leaving the Gators after Tim Tebow's final season in 2009.

Elam, who committed to UF in October, told Rivals.com that he will now take visits to other schools—most likely Alabama, Georgia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Since Elam is a five-star recruit I'm sure rival coaches would do almost anything to get him on their campus instead of Gainesville.

According to the Miami Herald, Elam claims he never told Rivals.com about the Meyer rumor.

But let's say it's true. Which coach has the most to gain? And where does Meyer go after 2009? It sounds like something Our Boy at Tennessee would do. However, I'm leaning toward Mark Richt. He hates Meyer and figures he has nothing to lose in this relationship. Meyer's most likely destination is a no-brainer ... Notre Dame.

So the recruiting of Matt Elam continues. Sorry Gator fans, but this is simply old-fashioned SEC recruiting.

2009's best non-conference matchups

With all of the talk about teams trying to make their non-conference schedules as easy as possible I decided it was time to look at the 2009 schedule and give you the 10 best non-conference match ups.

Here are my picks.

1. USC at Ohio State (8 p.m. EST, Sept. 12, ESPN): Buckeyes hope to end their big-game struggles at the Horseshoe against the Trojans. USC crushed OSU last year 35-3, but the Buckeyes are 23-1 under Jim Tressel in non-conference home games.

2. Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (8 p.m. EST, Sept. 5, ABC): Alabama is back in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Last year the Tide shocked Clemson en route to a perfect regular season. The Hokies hope to represent the ACC in a much better light than Clemson. This game features two of the nation's best defenses and the crowd will be electric.

3. Oregon at Boise State (10:15 p.m. EST, Sept. 3, ESPN): I almost picked this as the top game because the Ducks are traveling to a non-BCS school putting their whole season on the line. The Ducks will also have a new coach and uniforms that will undoubtedly clash with the blue turf. Great game, though, with two Top 15 teams getting the season started on a Thursday night. This is a must watch. If the Broncos win they're probably 12-0 in 2009.

4. Georgia at Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m. EST, Sept. 5, ABC): Georgia didn't play well in big games last season, and Mark Richt could use a win in this game in a serious way. However, when the Bulldogs agreed to this road game Oklahoma State was a middle of the pack Big 12 program. Things are different now and I won't be suprised a bit to see the Cowboys win this game easily.

5. West Virginia at Auburn (7:45 p.m. EST, Sept. 19, ESPN): This was a great game last year in Morgantown. But this year WVU is without Pat White, doesn't have the homefield edge and the Tigers will want to exact a bit of revenge. Think Morgantown is crazy on a Thursday night? Wait until the Mountaineers see Jordan-Hare Stadium. Crazy.

6. Oklahoma at Miami (TBA, Oct. 3, TBA): This matchup brings back memories of Brian Bosworth and Barry Switzer vs. Vinny Testaverde and Jimmy Johnson. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes they aren't quite talented enough to hang with the Sooners. Sam Bradford and the Sooners should have a better outcome this time in Miami.

7. Florida State at Florida (TBA, Nov. 28, TBA): Great rivalry that has been dominated by the Gators of late. The Seminoles are getting better, but Tim Tebow and UF will get another win in 2009.

8. Nebraska at Virginia Tech (3:30 p.m., Sept. 19, ABC): Big 12 vs. ACC. This is another opportunity for the ACC to gain a bit of respect nationally. The Cornhuskers could do the same with a win in front of a hostile crowd at Lane Stadium. Winner of this one gains a lot of traction.

9. Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (TBA, Nov. 14, TBA): Do you remember last year's overtime thriller? I do. I was sitting in a bar in Columbus waiting for a Blue Jackets game to get underway. This game always seems to have a number of twists and turns to keep it exciting. I expect more of the same this year as Pitt believes it can win the Big East and the Irish try to remain relevant. Now if we could just get Penn State to play Pitt or WVU again.

10. Illinois at Cincinnati (TBA, Nov. 27, TBA): The timing isn't the best for Cincinnati as this game is sandwiched between West Virginia and at Pitt. The Bearcats are good enough to repeat as Big East champs, and Illinois is experienced. The winner here could position itself for a solid bowl game.

College presidents are so cute

University of Florida president J. Bernard Machen (that J. better stand for JimBob) thinks he can cut down the drinking that goes on at an event nicknamed "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."

If I were a cynic, Bernie, I would suggest you concern yourself more with the binge drinking that goes on four nights a week on your campus then worrying about the once-a-year event that provides much more bad publicity.

Besides, not serving shots at a few bars or cutting down the number of places fans can get beer will have almost zero effect on the amount of alcohol consumed before and at the game. To do that, you might want to shut down every place in Florida and Georgia that sells alcohol. Good luck.

More summer filler

The Orlando Sentinel recently completed a look at the top teams from the past decade--just more summer filler for the sports section.

While I agree their choice of No. 1 (2001 Miami Hurricanes) is a solid selection, I was shocked to see the Florida Gators with Mr. Wonderful not ranked higher. The 2008 Gators were picked sixth.

I guess the one loss to Ole Miss kept the Gators out of the top spot. Even so, I'd definitely pick the 2008 Gators ahead of the 2000 Oklahoma Sooners (No. 5) and 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 4).

It is interesting to note that the SEC teams were dissed a bit as they occupied the final four spots in the rankings with 2007 LSU Tigers in ninth, 2003 Tigers at eighth and the Chris Leak-led Gators of 2006 at No. 7.

While I like the Hurricanes in the top spot I probably wouldn't put them there. I would actually put the Canes at No. 3, then the 2005 Texas Longhorns in second and crown the 2004 USC Trojans as the best of the decade.

Those three teams are a toss up as it would be easy to go with Vince Young and the Longhorns, who knocked off USC in one of the most exciting BCS title games ever. But there was just something unbeatable about Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Pete Carroll in 2004, especially when you consider the 2003 USC was co-champs and much more talented than LSU that season.

Guess it really doesn't matter. I'm just trying to fill some blog space on a Friday night.

Podcast: Episode 33

While Tom can't wait for the start of the football season, Phil admits he could use a little more time to save up his energy (and money) for another season of Buckeyes football. However, both of our fearless podcasters have already identified a game during the first week that neither will miss (can you say Oregon at Boise State and Georgia at Okie State?). The guys differ on their opinion about a 13-year-old who has committed to play at Tennessee, while both understand Air Force's Troy Calhoun's complaint about the BCS. Oh yea, Tom gets his digs in on Rich Rodriguez and Bob Stoops again. Enjoy the show.