Akron

Brian Kelly, Image: Newscom

• Fired: J.D. Brookhart
• Hired: Rob Ianello (assistant coach at Notre Dame)

Buffalo

• Leaving for Kansas: Turner Gill
• Hired: TBD

Cincinnati

• Leaving for Notre Dame: Brian Kelly
• Hired: TBD

Florida State

• Retiring: Bobby Bowden
• Hired: Jimbo Fisher (assistant coach at Florida State)

Kansas

• Fired: Mark Mangino
• Hired: Turner Gill (head coach at Buffalo)

Louisville

• Fired: Steve Kragthorpe
• Hired: Charlie Strong (assistant coach at Florida)

Louisiana-Monroe

• Fired: Charlie Weatherbie
• Hired: TBD

Marshall

• Fired: Mark Snyder
• Hired: TBD

Memphis

• Fired: Tommy West
• Hired: Larry Porter (assistant coach at LSU)

Notre Dame

• Fired: Charlie Weis
• Hired: Brian Kelly (head coach at Cincinnati)

San Jose State

• Retiring: Dick Tomey
• Hired: TBD

UNLV

• Fired: Mike Sanford
• Hired: TBD

Virginia

• Fired: Al Groh
• Hired: Mike London (Richmond coach)

Western Illinois

• Leaving for health reasons: Don Patterson
• Hired: TBD

Western Kentucky

• Fired: David Elson
• Hired: Willie Taggart (assistant coach at Stanford)

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Coaching Update, 12/14/09

Few of us would have guessed at the beginning of the season that he’d be the winner. It was called “The Year of the Quarterback,” yet we’ve mainly been let down by the talent that returned for another year of college football. Last year’s Heisman winner, Sam Bradford, had a tragic season marred by injury, so he wasn’t even a contender. Colt McCoy of Texas finished third, and Tim Tebow finished fifth in the voting. I’m not saying that they aren’t great players, but neither of them has blown me away this season.

Mark Ingram and head coach Nick Saban hold the Heisman Trophy together. Image: Newcom

The race for the Heisman this year was a close one, and I think that’s because no player truly stood out on the field. My vote would have went to Ingram as well, so I think he deserves the honor, but looking over the season, it wasn’t filled with superstars. Here’s the breakdown of the voting:

• Mark Ingram, Alabama: 1304 points
• Toby Gerhart, Standford: 1276 points
• Colt McCoy, Texas: 1145 points

Three things are really interesting with this year’s voting:

1. It was the closest race in the history of the Heisman, with Ingram winning by just 28 points.
2. This is Alabama’s very first Heisman, even though the Alabama is third in the BCS with National Championship wins.
3. Ndamukong Suh, a defensive player from Nebraska, finished fourth.

Although the Heisman is an award for the best player overall, defensive players usually aren’t seriously considered as top contenders. They simply don’t have as much room to shine. This year, a number of experts and fans were calling fro Suh to win the Heisman, saying that no offensive player has done enough to stand out and be the winner.

Whether you think that’s true or not, Ingram has been the backbone of the Alabama program, rushing for a Crimson Tide record of 1,542 yards so far this year and scoring 18 touchdowns. Against Florida in the SEC Championship game, he ran all over their top-ranked defense, adding three touchdowns and over 100 yards to his total.

Mark Ingram, in the SEC Championship game, Image: Newscom

Since he’s just a sophomore, people are already starting to ask: could he be a repeat Heisman winner? Could Alabama be a driving force in the SEC again next year, with Ingram leading the way? Time will tell – for now, they have a championship on their minds, and it’s going to be quite a battle against Texas next month.

Post from: EveryJoe

Mark Ingram wins the Heisman

1. Pervis Atkins, New Mexico State halfback
2. Tim Brown, Notre Dame
3. Chuck Cecil, Arizona defensive back
4. Ed Dyas, Auburn fullback
5. Major Harris, West Virginia quarterback
6. Gordon Hudson, BYU tight end
7. William Lewis, Harvard center
8. Woodrow Lowe, Alabama linebacker
9. Ken Margerum, Stanford wide receiver
10. Steve McMichael, Texas defensive lineman
11. Chris Spielman, Ohio State linebacker
12. Larry Station, Iowa linebacker
13. Pat Swilling, Gerogia Tech defensive end
14. Gino Torretta, Miami
15. Curt Warner, Penn State running back
16. Grant Wistrom, Nebraska defensive end
17. Dick MacPherson, coach
18. John Robinson, coach

Most of the players who were inducted played in college in the 1970s and 1980s, though the honor was long overdue for William Lewis of Harvard, who played from 1892 – 93. Player Ed Dyas, who was at Auburn from 1958 – 1960 and was a finalist for the Heisman his senior year had given up hope to ever be inducted and was “shocked” to receive the notice from the HOF that this was his year.

Also honored at the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame award banquet was Tim Tebow, who won the William V. Campbell Trophy for the top senior scholar-athlete. Colt McCoy was also among the finalists for this award.

Tim Tebow was also honored as this year's top player and student, and he will likely be a HOF inductee in the future. Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Eighteen Inducted into the NCAA-F HOF

I didn’t.

I voted for and hopefully helped to elect representatives to think about running this country in a way that keeps the running of it out of the way of living in it as much as possible.

Texas Republican Joe Barton is pushing through a bill that would get Congress involved in whether or not there should be a college playoff structure to their football season. Ummm, don’t you have FAR more important things to worry about?

Barton’s argument is that college football is a multi-million dollar industry and since they’re tasked with congressional oversight of other large industries, then why wouldn’t they get their hands dirty on the college gridiron?

Here are some quotes from the article:

“With everything going on in the country, I can’t believe that Congress is wasting time and spending taxpayers’ money on football,” Bill Hancock, the BCS executive director, said in a phone interview. “We feel strongly that managing of college sports is best left to the people in higher education.”

and

“We just can’t imagine that the members of Congress will think it’s their job to dictate how college football should be played,” Hancock said.

and from our President

“I’m going to throw my weight around a little bit,” Obama said at the time. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

I’m very interested in hearing everyone else’s opinions on this matter. I think similar to the steroids issue in baseball, this is not what I want my government worrying about instead of other things. At least not until they’re all sitting in their congressional chambers twiddling their thumbs with nothing else to do.

Image: Source images from sxc.hu

Post from: EveryJoe

Congress Should Get Out of College Football

By Date:

12/19:

• New Mexico Bowl, 2:30 PM on ESPN: Wyoming vs. Fresno State
• St. Petersburg Bowl, 8:00 PM on ESPN: Rutgers vs. Central Florida

12/20:

• New Orleans Bowl, 8:00 PM on ESPN: Middle Tennessee vs. Southern Miss

12/21:

• No games

12/22:

• Maaco Bowl, 8 PM on ESPN: Oregon State vs. BYU

12/23:

• Poinsettia Bowl, 8:00 PM on ESPN: Utah vs. California

12/24:

• Hawaii Bowl, 8:00 PM on ESPN: SMU vs. Nevada

12/25:

• No games

12/26:

• Pizza Bowl, 1:00 PM on ESPN: Ohio vs. Marshall
• Meineke Car Care Bowl, 4:30 PM on ESPN: UNC vs. Pittsburgh
• Emerald Bowl, 8:30 PM on ESPN: Boston College vs. USC

12/27:

• Music City Bowl, 8:15 PM on ESPN: Kentucky vs. Clemson

12/28:

• Independence Bowl, 5:00 PM on ESPN2: Texas A&M vs. Georgia

12/29:

• EagleBank Bowl, 4:30 PM on ESPN: TBD (either Army or UCLA) vs. Temple
• Champs Sports Bowl, 8:00 PM on ESPN: Miami (FL) vs. Wisconsin

12/30:

• Humanitarian Bowl, 4:30 PM on ESPN: Bowling Green vs. Idaho
• Holiday Bowl, 8:00 PM on ESPN: Arizona vs. Nebraska

12/31:

• Armed Forces Bowl, Noon on ESPN: Air Force vs. Houston
• Sun Bowl, 2:00 PM on CBS: Stanford vs. Oklahoma
• Texas Bowl, 3:30 PM on ESPN: Missouri vs. Navy
• Insight Bowl, 7:00 PM on NFL Network: Minnesota vs. Iowa State
• Chick-fil-A Bowl, 7:30 PM on ESPN: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

1/1:

• Outback Bowl, 11:00 AM on ESPN: Northwestern vs. Auburn
• Gator Bowl, 1:00 PM on CBS: Florida State vs. West Virginia
• Capital One Bowl, 1:00 PM on ABC: Penn State vs. LSU
• ROSE BOWL, 5:00 PM on ABC: Ohio State vs. Oregon
• SUGAR BOWL, 8:30 PM on Fox: Florida vs. Cincinnati

1/2:

• International Bowl, Noon on ESPN2: South Florida vs. Northern Illinois
• Papajohns.com Bowl, 2:00 PM on ESPN: Connecticut vs. South Carolina
• Cotton Bowl, 2:00 PM on Fox: Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
• Liberty Bowl, 5:30 PM on ESPN: East Carolina vs. Arkansas
• Alamo Bowl, 9:00 PM on ESPN: Michigan State vs. Texas Tech

1/3:

• No games

1/4:

• FIESTA BOWL, 8:00 PM on Fox: Boise State vs. TCU

1/5:

• ORANGE BOWL, 8:oo PM on Fox: Iowa vs. Georgia Tech

1/6:

• GMAC Bowl, 7:00 PM on ESPN: Troy vs. Central Michigan

1/7:

• NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, 8:00 PM on ABC: Alabama vs. Texas

By Team:

• Air Force: Armed Forces Bowl, 12/31
• Akron: no bowl
• Alabama: National Championship Game, 1/7
• Arizona: Holiday Bowl, 12/30
• Arizona State: no bowl
• Arkansas: Liberty Bowl, 1/2
• Army: TBD
• Auburn: Outback Bowl, 1/1
• Ball State: no bowl
• Baylor: no bowl
• Boise State: Fiesta Bowl, 1/4
• Boston College: Emerald Bowl, 12/26
• Bowling Green: Humanitarian Bowl, 12/30
• Buffalo: no bowl
• BYU: Maaco Bowl, 12/22
• California: Poinsettia Bowl, 12/23
• Central Michigan: GMAC Bowl, 1/6
• Cincinnati: Sugar Bowl, 1/1
• Clemson: Music City Bowl, 12/27
• Colorado: no bowl
• Colorado State: no bowl
• Connecticut: Papajohns.com Bowl, 1/2
• Duke: no bowl
• East Carolina: Liberty Bowl, 1/2
• Eastern Michigan: no bowl
• Florida International: no bowl
• Florida: Sugar Bowl, 1/1
• Florida Atlantic: no bowl
• Florida State: Gator Bowl, 1/1
• Fresno State: New Mexico Bowl, 12/19
• Georgia: Independence Bowl, 12/28
• Georgia Tech: Orange Bowl, 1/5
• Hawaii: no bowl
• Houston: Armed Forces Bowl, 12/30
• Idaho: Humanitarian Bowl, 12/30
• Illinois: no bowl
• Indiana: no bowl
• Iowa: Orange Bowl, 1/5
• Iowa State: Insight Bowl, 12/31
• Kansas: no bowl
• Kansas State: no bowl
• Kent State: no bowl
• Kentucky: Music City Bowl, 12/27
• Louisiana Tech: no bowl
• Louisiana-Lafayette: no bowl
• Louisiana-Monroe: no bowl
• Louisville: no bowl
• LSU: Capital One Bowl, 1/1
• Marshall: Pizza Bowl, 12/26
• Maryland: no bowl
• Memphis: no bowl
• Miami (FL): Champs Sports Bowl, 12/29
• Miami (OH): no bowl
• Michigan: no bowl
• Michigan State: Alamo Bowl, 1/2
• Middle Tennessee: New Orleans Bowl, 12/20
• Minnesota: Insight Bowl, 12/31
• Mississippi: Cotton Bowl, 1/2
• Mississippi State: no bowl
• Missouri: Texas Bowl, 12/31
• Navy: Texas Bowl, 12/31
• Nebraska: Holiday Bowl, 12/30
• Nevada: Hawaii Bowl, 12/24
• New Mexico: no bowl
• New Mexico State: no bowl
• North Carolina: Meineke Car Care Bowl, 12/26
• North Carolina State: no bowl
• North Texas: no bowl
• Northern Illinois: International Bowl, 1/2
• Northwestern: Outback Bowl, 1/1
• Notre Dame: no bowl
• Ohio: Pizza Bowl, 12/26
• Ohio State: Rose Bowl, 1/1
• Oklahoma: Sun Bowl, 12/31
• Oklahoma State: Cotton Bowl, 1/2
• Oregon: Rose Bowl, 1/1
• Oregon State: Maaco Bowl, 12/22
• Penn State: Capital One Bowl, 1/1
• Pittsburgh: Meineke Car Care Bowl, 12/26
• Purdue: no bowl
• Rice: no bowl
• Rutgers: St. Petersburg Bowl, 12/19
• San Diego State: no bowl
• San Jose State: no bowl
• SMU: Hawaii Bowl, 12/24
• South Carolina: Papajohns.com Bowl, 1/2
• South Florida: International Bowl, 1/2
• Southern Mississippi: New Orleans Bowl, 12/20
• Stanford: Sun Bowl, 12/31
• Syracuse: no bowl
• TCU: Fiesta Bowl, 1/4
• Temple: EagleBank Bowl, 12/29
• Tennessee: Chick-fil-A Bowl, 12/31
• Texas: National Championship Game, 1/7
• Texas A&M: Independence Bowl, 12/28
• Texas Tech: Alamo Bowl, 1/2
• Toledo: no bowl
• Troy: GMAC Bowl, 1/6
• Tulane: no bowl
• Tulsa: no bowl
• UAB: no bowl
• UCF: St. Petersburg Bowl, 12/19
• UCLA: TBD
• UNLV: no bowl
• USC: Emerald Bowl, 12/26
• Utah: Poinsettia Bowl, 12/23
• Utah State: no bowl
• UTEP: no bowl
• Vanderbilt: no bowl
• Virginia: no bowl
• Virginia Tech: Chick-fil-A Bowl, 12/31
• Wake Forest: no bowl
• Washington: no bowl
• Washington State: no bowl
• West Virginia: Gator Bowl, 1/1
• Western Kentucky: no bowl
• Western Michigan: no bowl
• Wisconsin: Champs Sports Bowl, 12/29
• Wyoming: New Mexico Bowl, 12/19

Post from: EveryJoe

2009 – 2010 Bowl Schedule

It was a tragic picture as the clock was winding down at the end of the 2009 SEC Championship game. Tim Tebow watched the clock hit zero, tears running down his cheeks, as Alabama players and coaches began to celebrate. The Crimson Tide outplayed the Gators today to a final score of 32 – 13.

Image: Newscom

Not only does this mean that Alabama is officially the SEC Championship team, but they’ll also be heading to the BCS National Championship Game. Florida, who was #1 going into today’s game, will likely still play in a BCS Bowl (probably the Sugar Bowl), but this was a disappointing loss for Tebow and the entire team.

It also sets the stage for Mark Ingram, Alabama’s star running back, to receive the Heisman over Tebow, who was also a top contender. Of course, there’s nothing guaranteed for the award, but in today’s showdown, Ingram and the Alabama defense outplayed Tebow and the Florida offense in ever way. It’ll be a hard case for the Florida superstar to receive the Heisman over Ingram.

Mark Ingram, Image: Newscom

In today’s game, Alabama didn’t just get lucky. They dominated the game from the start, although in the first half, the game was fairly close. Florida went to the locker room trailing 19 – 13. Early in the third quarter, the Gators missed a chance to turn the game around, and Ingram and Greg McElroy decided that it was time to stop playing around. Florida gave up over 250 rushing yards, which is the most ever under coach Urban Meyer. McElroy had a near perfect game, and although Tebow didn’t play poorly, his one interception was yet another nail in the Florida coffin.

I think Alabama receiver summed up Tebow perfect when asked about the quarterback after the game:

“He’s a great player, but man, we’re tired of him.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Florida Denied SEC Championship

So of the following coaches, who will you miss the most?

Will you vote for Bowden because he’s a living legend? For Tomey or Patterson because they are all around good guys who have schools that are sad to see them go? Or for Magino or Weis because at least they made college football more interesting?

Image: Newscom

Of course, these aren’t the only football coaches leaving, and like I said, there will be more to come. Check back every Monday to see who’s in and who’s out.

Post from: EveryJoe

Coach You’ll Miss the Most

• Auburn: Outback Bowl
• Central Florida: St. Petersburg Bowl
• Kentucky: Music City Bowl
• Mississippi: Cotton Bowl (against Oklahoma State)
• Navy: Texas Bowl
• Ohio State: Rose Bowl
• Oklahoma State: Cotton Bowl (against Ole Miss)
• Southern Methodist: Hawaii Bowl
• Tennessee: Chick-fil-A Bowl
• Troy: New Orleans Bowl

These bowl announcements are up-to-date as of today (12/2/09), but new bowl teams are being announced every day, and like I said, after Saturday’s games, we’ll know a lot more. Right now, there are still a number of teams who haven’t finished their seasons, and until they do, we won’t know for sure who is eligible and who is ranked where within their conferences. Check back this weekend for a much more comprehensive list of bowls and the teams that will be playing in them!

Post from: EveryJoe

Bowl Season Matchups 2010, An Early Look

Charlie Strong, Image: Newscom

• Charlie Strong, Florida defensive coordinator
• Kirby Smart, Alabama defensive coordinator
• Bryan Harsin, Boise State offensive coordinator
• Jeff Quinn, Cincinnati offensive coordinator
• Dick Bumpas, TCU defensive coordinator

The top winner will be announced on December 8. Last year, Kevin Wilson of Oklahoma was the winner. Both Strong and Bumpas were also in the running.

Regardless of who is named the award winner, all of these men are wonderful football coaches, and it is extremely likely that we’ll see even bigger and better things from many of these coaches. A number of past award winners have gone on to become head coaches, and I could see that happening to all of the assistant

Post from: EveryJoe

Broyles Award Finalists Announced

There aren’t many coaches in the same class a Bobby Bowden. Joe Paterno of Penn State comes to mind immediately, but few other coaches have spent so long with a single school, and regardless of good or bad seasons, this dedication has created a following and network of support for the school unlike what you’ll find at most other programs.

Image: Newscom

According to sources who have remained anonymous, Bowden was given two choices by FSU president TK Wetherell: retire after bowl season or come back next year in a very limited role as an ambassador to the football program. Jimbo Fisher, who was named Bowden’s successor in 2007, has already agreed to a contract, according to reports.

It was coming down to the wire, as the school would have owed Fisher $5 million if he wasn’t named head coach by 2011. While I don’t think the school should force Bowden out, I do think that it’s time for FSU to have some fresh ideas. The past few years haven’t been great for the Seminoles, with Bowden really peaking in the early 90s.

Post from: EveryJoe

Bobby Bowden to Retire on Friday