T-Day Weekend Stuff

So I have another hour or so to burn, why not throw something out on the old Football Challenge site. Also, can you believe there are no games tonight? WTF!?!?! This is the first day in the last 3+ weeks without a football game of some kind...I think that's a record.

It's going to be random...here we go:


1. DickRod is back! It's been a tough year without him, so he's back at Arizona for next season. I actually think this might be a good hire for the Cats. He failed in MICH because he tried to change a team that was successful at playing regular B10 football, and his defenses were some of the worst in recent memory. He won at WV because his offense was unique and dominated against slower, poorer defenses in the Big East. He also put out a bunch of very good defenses while at WV. For me, AZ is much more similar to the WV spot than the MICH spot. They are not a national power and they don't have a great legacy. I think there's plenty of speed and talent there, but obviously what they've been doing is not working. In a league like the Pac-12 where defense is optional in most every game, I like how his offense fits in. If he can find a competant DC to bring all that speed back to the D like it had in the mid-90's, then they could be in business. I still don't really care for the guy, but I think it's the right fit this time around. They'll win more games next year, even in a transition year, than the 3 or 4 they've won this year.

2. Another deal that is basically done is Urban Meyer to OHIOST and Luke Fickell back to UFC. I love this and hate this for different reasons. First, I love it because Meyer rocks as a coach and will bring OHIOST back in a hurry and put the Vadgers back into their spot in the Leaders division (not winning). Not that I'm an OHIOST fan by any means, but having them as a good team every year brings credibility to the B10 and keeps the Vadgers down, so it's a good thing. I hate this move because Urban basically just lied to everyone when he quit for the 2nd time at FLA last year. He just wanted to be done with that job and wanted to be a big-time free agent that would be brought up for every major opening in the country. It's easy to tell that he has a huge ego if you listen/watch him on ESPN on Saturdays. The old excuse of "taking time to watch my daughter's college games and hanging out with the fam" are such BS. Maybe he really felt that way for about 2 days, then he got it out of his system and realized he doesn't want to do anything but coach. That's the way all these guys are - once they get out of it they want back in. I'm sure he didn't see the Tressel scandal coming, but it's a perfect fit for him to get back in at a power school and dominate once again, and he will.

3. Another coach topic, and this one is great. Tulane is looking for a coach, and there is mutual interest with them and the legendary TE coach himself, current sideline reporter extraordinaire...TE Timmy Brew. How any school could look at the mess he left in MN and think, "yeah, this is the guy we want to turn our program around," is beyond me. I don't get what the draw to TE Timmy could be. Clearly Tulane didn't see that nobody even sniffed at him this offseason while he was unemployed, so why would you do that? It would be great to follow, I know I'd enjoy it. I tried and wanted to believe in his BS for about 4 years, but there comes a point where you realize it just isn't going to happen like he preaches. I'm not going to go on another Brew rant, god knows we've all had enough of those, but with all the other possibilities out there why would this guy even come close to being on the list? Good luck Tulane - for comedy I hope it happens, but for the fate of your program I hope it doesn't.

4. One final coaching note, I promise it's the last one. Ole Miss has an opening since they fired the Rev. Houston Nutt. Names I'm seeing linked to that job include SOMISS's Larry Fedora (also once rumored to be a candidate here) and HOU Kevin Sumlin (also a candidate here). It's crazy, but OLE MISS is actually a very similar situation to my beloved Gophers. They are in the SEC West and deal with ALA, LSU, ARK, and AUB every single year. This is by far the toughest division in the toughest conference in football. So it's not likely that you'll be seeing any SEC titles any time soon. But there is the rich football tradition at OLE MISS that has everyone believing that they will one day be able to compete again with the big dogs and should be able to but they just have to find the right guy to do it. Does this sound familiar? Their coaching hires and fires have been bizarre to say the least. They had David Cutcliffe, current DUKE HC, who did nothing but win 8-9 games per year and take them to bowl after bowl. Well, that wasn't good enough so they canned him after another bowl season...(MASE?). Then they decided they could only win be bringing in the best players, so they hired recruiting guru Ed Orgeron. He couldn't coach at all, but recruiting was better...and the team sucked for his entire tenure. They had a few close calls and minor upsets, but overall it was a disaster and the program was in worse shape when he left...(BREW?). After Cajun Ed they went to the Reverend Houston Nutt. He had a nice run at ARK, and is all in all a good football coach. But he's as slimy as they come - even for College Football in the South he's considered a slimeball...and that's saying something. He over-recruits like nobody, accepting 30-45 players each class and then deciding on signing day which ones will actually be accepted and get the scholarships. Anyway, he came in and won with the big-time recruits that Orgeron had left him, but since then has failed in a big way. So where does this program go from here? For Fedora and Sumlin, my question is why would you want this job? With the uncertain alignment and bowl/playoff system that will be here once all the super-conferences are formed, does it make sense to leave your current cake job where you'll win 9-11 games per year and be considered a genius and the next big thing? What happens when you go to OLE MISS and go 2-10 next year, then 4-8 and everyone is calling for your head. This thing will not be turned around fast when you have 5-6 automatic L's on your slate every year. I think the best they can do is to try and take a chance on a big-time coordinator that can spark the club...a la James Franklin at VANDY. Wow, didn't plan on 500 words about OLE MISS, but whatever.

5. Hawaii - ruh-roh Raggy. Point shaving scandal in full effect in the tropical paradise of Hawaii. It's still very foggy at this point, but there is an investigation going on, the Tulane game this week has been pulled off the board, and people sound very nervous. From what I've read, it goes back to the Colt Brennan days and may have continued up through this current season. Players shaving points, coaches?, administration? Too early to tell, but this looks bad right now. Anybody all of a sudden like Brew's future Tulane team this week at +20 - no games get pulled off of our board!!

5 topics - I think that's my limit. Enjoy the games - don't forget to send me your picks.