How to Alienate and Influence People in Year 1, by Brady Hoke

Imagine my surprise when I open my Google reader this morning, expecting most of my news to be about the exceptionally high amount of sports figures leaving this world far too soon, when I see none other than our once proud head coach, Brady Hoke, staring back at me from my screen.

Like many BSU fans, when HokeManBeast left for the sunnier pastures of San Diego State, he stopped being relevant to me. He was just any other coach. I didn't feel the need anymore to defend him, praise him, celebrate him, or make excuses as to why transient hobos just kept disappearing whenever Hoke was around.

However, this morning's piece on the ManBeast by Jay Christensen, otherwise known as the Wiz of Odds, leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. The Wiz infers, through his opinion and others', that Hoke is simply going about it all wrong out in SDSU. He isn't playing nice with the media, shutting them out of practice, and generally running his program the way he wants, without a lot of outside consulting and influence from those who may, or may not, matter.

There are some statements made regarding the floundering economy, the "value hire" of Hoke, and the fact that were it not for a general craptacular financial situation right now, Hoke wouldn't have even been considered.

What The Wiz, and others fail to realize, is that the fact that Hoke was a "value hire" is totally coincidence and an end result of a piss poor approach and funding from Ball State. Even though his annual salary is only 7th out of 9 in the Mountain West Conference, that would put him in the upper third of the MAC. Additionally, in real dollars and cents, you're looking at several hundred thousand dollars in his pocket.

SDSU got a slam dunk grand slam homerun insert other cliche here hire when it comes to Hoke. The guy built a winner in Muncie. IN MUNCIE. In post-Lynch Muncie to boot, which is somewhere akin to building the Empire State building out of a box of half shredded lincoln logs. And newsflash to the SoCal beat writers and people who think they are in the know in San Diego... the one thing your team is going to have with Hoke at the helm is toughness. It's heart. It's his ability to demand excellence on the field and off, because there is only one king in a castle occupied by the ManBeast, and that's the ManBeast himself. And no amount of open practices is going to help foster that image.

So yes, beat writers, time to actually dig for stories. Sorry alums who hang out and get feel goods from hearing the whistles and the contact. Your time is done. It's time for something new. Something different. For the last dozen years, SDSU has been on a backslide from mediocrity to general irrelevance and failure. Maybe it's time for change.

Hoke Confirms What Everyone Knew

Normally, coaches are fairly mum on the circumstances which necessitate their removal as an institution's football leader. Sometimes it is by the University's choice, and others, like in the case of Brady Hoke, it is the choice of the coach himself. Nearly a month after that choice was made, and Hoke has began the task of compiling a staff at San Diego State, he spoke with Doug Zaleski of the MSP last week. You can read the full article here.

What is surprising in this particular interview is that Hoke basically confirms that the assistants and their pay rate was the sticking point for his contract negotiations that eventually led to his resignation. Hoke said, "Taking care of guys who are doggone good people and work hard and do a great job of teaching life lessons to kids, that was a little bit of a sticking point. If I had an (issue), that would have been it."

Hoke seems like a genuine guy, so I'll take him at his word. However, I don't think it's a long stretch to think regardless of the offer made by BSU Hoke would have been tempted to leave. Though SDSU is a shitheap, the Mountain West Conference is markedly better on a national stage than the the MidAmerican Conference, and he would be recruiting in state that is rich beyond belief in prep talent.

Hoke did a good job at Ball State, and I'm sorry to see him leave. But he had a couple of decent years and one really good year. Let's remember that he has a career sub-.500 record and zero conference titles. Not to mention that it's easy to look smart when you have talent. We call that the Spurrier Effect around these parts.

One thing I do want to point out is Hoke's closing comment in the article. Hoke said, "I can promise you I'll always be looking on Sunday mornings or whenever so see how Ball State did. I'm proud to be a graduate of that school, proud to have been the head coach there, and I look forward to the guys there doing a tremendous job."

Humpday Quickies

It's the first postseason edition of Humpday Quickies, and it isn't even humpday anymore. This does not bode well for the future. Regardless, here's what's happening in the football universe...

Ball State Quickies

• We hope coaches Jeff Hecklinski, Darrel Funk, and Mark Smith don't let the door hit them on the ass on their way out of it. The three will join Brady Hoke in San Diego for similar positions at SDSU. So long. Funk does get the award for creepiest bio picture, as it falls somewhere between axe murderer and psychopath. Oh well, he's SDSU's psychopath now.
• Scuttlebutt is that strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman will also join Hoke at SDSU. There has also been no official announcement on coaches joining the fold for Stan Parrish, but rumors say we are close to an Offensive Coordinator and Defensive Coordinator. Offense? Not so important with Stan there. Defense? Exceptionally important.
• ESPN midmajor blogger Graham Watson has the Cardinals #7 in her final non-BCS power poll.
• Sean Baker? Freshman All American. Congrats, Eater-O-Souls.
• Fellow BSU blogger TheSixthBallBrother is hanging it up. Godspeed Cardinal fan... Godspeed.
  

Kentucky Quickies

• Who has two thumbs and will be on the sideline next year for Kentucky instead of the NFL? Michah Johnson, Jeremy Jarmon, and Trevard Lindley. The third more surprising than the first two. This defense is shaping up to be some ass kickers next year.
  
• A feature about Mike Hartline being hard to oust as UK's starting QB. If that's true, and our QB next year still has Hartline on his jersey I will be pissed. Tremendously, uproariously pissed.
  
• The recruiting keeps getting better as UK signs DT Mark Crawford. 6' 1" and 290 will go a long way to some penetration. (insert penetration joke here)
  
• Two Wildcats will make appearances in the Shrine Game. Congrats to Myron Pryor and Johnny Williams.
  

Everyone Else Quickies

• Sam Bradford? Coming back. Collective, "Fuck you, man" from Colt McCoy residence.
  
• O/S at EDSBS wonders what it would be like if Tebow were a Muslim.
• BlackHeartGoldPants offers some layoff advice.
• Joel at RockyTopTalk points out the power of the eye black.
• Doc Saturday on the wager for the title game between legislators.
• Lane Kiffin is a daddy. Again. Wife still hot. Son not named Asskick Jones.
• We close today with a video some of you have already seen. It is a celebratory pole dance for the Florida Gators. There really isn't anything of note, as the chick doesn't get 1.) naked 2.) off, but it's a chick on a brass pole. You stay classy, Gainesville.

Hoke Tells Team He's Done

According to multiple sources at today's quickly called team meeting, Coach Hoke confirmed what everyone already thought... that he has accepted the position at San Diego State University. Sources at the meeting said Hoke was very straightforward in the brief meeting with the standard "best for me and my family" sort of sentiment. Hoke is leaving his alma mater, the program that he built from the ground up, and a 12-1 record this season to take over a 2-10 steaming turd in the Mountain West Conference. A strange move, for sure, but one that comes down to money, the leadership above him, and the commitment from the institution to build a winning program.

It's a sad day for Cardinal nation, and I'll have some more on this in a bit, but for now, it's a sense of thanks for the job he did, but a general quizzical look in his direction for the move.

Weekend Carnage Report

This was one of the more ho-hum weekends in college football, as evidenced by the lack of change in the Top 15 of the BCS. The season is winding down, and some teams are beginning to believe again while others are realizing that their season or in some cases, their career, might be over. Some good finishes were there for the finding for the truly dedicated, but this may have been a nice weekend to step outside, get some fresh air, and remind your loved ones that you do indeed care about more than an oblong ball and a set of uprights. (Of course, this isn't true, but loved ones are usually foolish, blinded by their feelings and emotions. This goodwill should last you at least through the conference championships, then you can buy enough Christmas gifts to allow you uninterrupted Bowl watching. Thank me later.) On to the weekend...

The Good

• Florida. As in really really good. I think most thought the South Carolina-Florida game would at least be fun to watch. Not so much. Florida jumped on the Gamecocks early, often, and impressively in route to a 56-6 shellacking. I said it in June, and I'll say it again here... this Florida team is the best in the country. And the National Championship is their's to lose.
• Utah. The Utes had to be hearing the whispers after an ugly win over TCU that they were a tad bit overrated. Coupled with the other non-BCS undefeateds and the Utes needed a statement win. They got it in the form of a 63-14 pounding of hapless San Diego State. Granted, SDSU is 1-10, but good teams blow bad teams out. A lesson some of the big boys and a few of the mid-majors would do well to remember.
• Maryland. In defeating 16th ranked North Carolina on Saturday, the Terps not only made their claim for the ACC Championship, but also defeated their 6th straight ranked opponent. If Ralph Friedgen could ever figure out how to beat the Middle Tennessee's of the world, the Terps would be amazing.
• Ball State. The Cards defeated Miami on Tuesday last for their first 10-0 start in school history. They drop three spots in the BCS, leapfrogged by TCU and BYU in the process as their reward. Up next for the Cardinals will be Central Michigan on Wednesday, a game that should they win, will get the Cardinals some respect in the minds of the computers and the pollsters.
  

The Bad

• Syracuse/Greg Robinson. Alas, the love affair between Greg Robinson and Syracuse has come to a bitter bloody end after a 39-14 beating by UConn in the final home game of the 08 season. Robinson was 9-36 in his career and 3-25 in the Big East. In trying to find at least a little humor in this otherwise awful situation for Syracuse fans, Robinson won 2 of his 3 games against Louisville. Proving yet again that Louisville sucks.
• Washington. Remaining the only winless team in FBS, the Huskies now close the season against 1-10 Washington State and 6-4 Cal. If Ty is going to go out with a win, he would do well to beat Wazzu. At least they kept it semi-close against UCLA.
• Tulsa. Just a few short weeks ago, Tulsa was everyone's darling with thier glitzy high powered offense and head coach Todd Graham appearing on many short lists for vacancies. Looks like the Golden Hurricanes are petering out to be a minor rain storm as they get violated by Houston 70-30.
• Michigan. One of the most storied programs in history has its first 8-loss season after the 21-14 loss to Northwestern. Deep breaths, M fans... with Coach Rod it only gets better after the first season.
  

The Ugly

• LSU. The Tigers needed a 30-point fourth quarter to defeat the Troy Trojans 40-31. If you're good at math, that means they were trailing 31-10 when the 4th quarter began. That's simply inexcusable. It was a night game in Tiger Stadium for Christ's sake. A lot of folks are talking about how overrated the SEC is, and LSU is one of the many reasons why.
• Wake Forest/Florida State/North Carolina. Apparently, no one wants to win the ACC as all of the ranked teams in the conference got beat this weekend. At least Wake and UNC were on the road. The ACC Title and the accompanying BCS Bowl and $17 million payday is like a bad penny that no one wants. Do everyone a favor and just forfeit your auto-bid.
• The BCS. I know I'm biased. But Ball State wins their game, they are undefeated, and ahead of them in the BCS standings are a bunch of two-loss teams and right behind them is LSU. They were jumped by TCU and BYU, effectively ending their hopes of a BCS game. It's complete and utter bullshit, and I for one, am pissed. The major conferences created a shitty little sandbox and refuse to let anyone else in. There will be a post forthcoming about this, but I'm not happy right now.
  

OTP Helmet Stickers
From Alan:

• Shonn Greene, RB, Iowa: Greene gashed Purdue for 211 yards and 2 scores in the Hawkeyes victory over the Boilers. Javon Ringer gets a ton of press, but Greene is just as good if not better.
• Percy Harvin, WR, Florida: In a game ripe for stat building, Harvin took advantage of the South Carolina defense for 167 rushing yards and 2 TDs.
• MiQuale Lewis, RB, Ball State: In the win over Miami, Lewis hung 165 yards and 2 TDs on the Red Hawks while helping BSU to its firsts 10-0 start in school history. Lewis has quietly amassed some impressive stats this season, moving to 7th in the nation in yards per game.
  

Weekend Carnage Report

Well, well, well. Quite the little weekend in this little sport known as college football. Epic finishes in the Big 10, Notre Dame going down in 4 OTs to Pitt, and maybe the best game in recent memory as Texas Tech said "Yarrrr!!!" to Texas' number one ranking. Not 72 hours after the weekend kicked off, two coaches have announced they are saying goodbye at seasons' end... one Tom Amstutz at Toledo, and the biggest one... Phil Fulmer at Tennessee. The breaking news about Fulmer says that he and UT officials reached a "mutual agreement" about his future at the school. I'm skeptical. But it's Monday and time for the week that was in college football.

The Good

• Texas Tech. In a win over Texas, the Red Raiders announced they were not only offensively minded as Harrel and co. threw the ball all over the field, but they also played defense when it counted, didn't fold under a mounting Texas resurgence, and were able to exorcise some demons that came with their neighbors from Austin. Mike Leach has always been known as an eccentric coach. Now he can be known as a great coach as well.
• Florida. Lovefest from ESPN aside, this is a damn good football team. After pasting Kentucky last week 63-5, the Gators took 6th ranked Georgia behind the woodshed to the tune of 49-10. This Florida team is a missed extra point away from being undefeated and the number one team in the country.
• West Virginia/Pitt. Two schools that have quietly come back from early season shockers to post their claim for the Big East's conference title along side Cincinnati. Who would have thought after the first few weeks that these would be the two teams battling it out for a BCS berth.
  

The Bad

• Indiana. In what has become habit for the Hoosiers, they give a MAC school their first win over a BCS conference school. Following in Ball State's footsteps, Central Michigan goes to Bloomington and takes out IU. Bill Lynch strikes again and wrecks another football program.
• Tulsa. The Golden Hurricanes fell from the nation's unbeatens, as Arkansas handed them loss number one in Fayetteville. Tulsa's offense flew high, to the sound of 528 yards, but three costly turnovers sealed their fate against the Hogs.
• Washington/Washington St. It's hard living if you're a football fan in the Apple State. The two state schools are a combined 1-16 this season and were outscored Saturday 114-0. That's mind-numbingly awful, the likes of which are hard to recover from.
  

The Ugly

• Kentucky. Anytime you can walk out of Starkville with a win, it's a good thing, but Kentucky wins no style points for their 14-13 victory. The win got Kentucky to 6-3, which makes them bowl-eligible and heading to their third straight postseason. An epic feat, but an ugly win.
  
• Utah. A 13-10 win over New Mexico keeps the Utes in the hunt for the BCS and undefeated on the season, but with pivotal game against TCU and BYU upcoming, the Utes will need to have a much better effort than Saturday.
• Missouri. The Tigers won Saturday against Baylor, but needed a late field goal for a 3-point win. This is the same team that many were lauding as a potential threat to win the Big 12 title just a few weeks ago. Perhaps Gary Pinkel is looking over his resume rather than prepping his team for games against cupcakes like Baylor.

OTP Helmet Stickers
From RV:

• LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh: 169 rush yards and a TD in Pitt's 4 OT win against Notre Dame in South Bend.
  
• Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: 10 catches for 127 yards and a game-winning touchdown in the upset of No. 1 Texas in Lubbock.
  
• Brian Brunner, QB, Central Michigan: Replacing starter Dan Lefevour and throws for a school-record 485 yards passing with 4 TDs. He also ran one in too. Impressive.
  

From Alan:

• Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech: 36-53, 474 yards, 2 TD in win over Texas.
• Justin Siller, QB, Purdue: 343 total yards and 4 TDs against the Michigan Wolverines in Purdue's victory. Orchestrated a hook-and-lateral to perfection.
• Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: 10-13 154 yards and 2 TD through the air, rushes for 3 scores as well, breaking Emmitt Smith's school record for rushing TDs in the process.

Weekend Carnage Report

So the weekend wasn't the normal football infused bonanza that the folks here at OTP normally have, as since most of our key teams were idle, Edge, RV, and myself decided to make the significant others happy and crawl out from our Saturday football rocks. On a scale of Hugh Grant to Jack Bauer, there were varying degrees of awesome. Edge brought up the rear with his daughter's 2nd birthday party, RV spent the weekend with his family, and Alan saw some live football action at the Naval Academy vs. Pitt. But the football world didn't stop spinning. Here's what we, and perhaps you, missed along the way...

The Good:

• Texas being Texas. After a win against Oklahoma last week, the world declared Texas as good. After completely dominating Missouri, this team looks really good. The BCS this year is Texas' to lose. There. I said it.
• Penn State. Having said that about Texas, Penn State can make the case that they are just as talented and just as ready to blow your ass away. The table is set nicely for a Penn State waltz into the BCS championship game, but there's a rather large team of angry Buckeyes standing right in the middle of that stroll.
• USC. Yes, it was Washington State (see below) but this is the one-loss team that could very easily go the distance. USC-Texas would be a fabulous way to end the season.
• TCU. Completely dominated BYU, everyone's favorite Non-BCS team, on Thursday night. The 19 people watching on Versus were impressed.
  

The Bad:

• Alabama. Another week brings a confusing final from the Crimson Tide. A 4-point victory over Ole Miss is better than a loss, and even with the Houston Nutt phenomenon of making games close that shouldn't be, this is a disturbing trend shaking out about the Tide. After a near shocker against Kentucky, and now this, it makes me wonder if Bama is ready.
• Wake Forest/Virginia Tech. Just when it looks like two teams are ready to step up and be their conference's flag bearer in the national polls, both take the L. Wake drops one at Maryland (which given the Terps this season isn't surprising) and VA Tech drops one against BC.
• More injuries. It seems like every game I watch nowadays has something major happen. The lead stories on the ticker or the recaps are the alarming injuries to players across the country. Has the game's speed surpassed the available safety?
  

The Ugly:

• Washington State's psyche. 69-0. That's a ton of points. The Cougs have been outscored 137-13 in their last two games (Oregon State/USC) and they've given up 60+ 4 times this season. Saturday marked the first time in 280 games that the Cougars failed to score. Times are tough in Pullman, and it's only getting worse.
• Indiana. Saturday's loss to Illinois marked the Hoosiers' fifth straight loss this season. A team that many thought was an absolute lock for a bowl now sit at 2-5. The Hoosiers basically have to win them all to make a bowl, which would mean an upset of Penn State at Happy Valley.
• Cal. Once again the Bears get themselves ranked, then lose to a severely undermanned opponent. Underachieving is the flavor of the day for some teams out there, and this Cal team is one of them.

Helmet Stickers:
From RV:

• Michael Smith, RB, Arkansas - You get a much deserved helmet sticker for what has been called 'shredding' or 'beating the rat piss out' of the Kentucky defense. Much appreciated. Maybe if your head coach wasn't such a raging 'doosh' than there would've been more than 20 points scored in that game. But, 'dooshiness' won out.
• LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh - You seem to be finding your groove, proving that the 149 yards against Syracuse (108th) and 142 yards against South Florida (6th??) weren't just total anomalies. 156 yards against Navy (64th) was just enough for everyone to start believing that Pitt is coached by a different team.
• Jeshua Anderson, WR, Washington State - USC's vaunted defense didn't stop you from having 57 total yards on 7 touches. Paul Wulff, why aren't you getting the ball in this kid's hands more?
• Derek Anderson, QB, Cleveland - Normally we don't talk about the NFL here at OTP, but this bastard needs to be mentioned. Derek Anderson, you sir deserve a helmet sticker, applied directly to your dome by a nail gun. How can you be this horrible at a game you are paid to play professionally? This guy makes Rex Grossman look like Peyton Manning pre-snap. It's that bad...14-37 for 136 yards, 1 TD? 56 of those yards coming with 5 minutes left in the game? Two 1st quarter three and outs from the inside the Wash 46? You sir, are the ultimate 'doosh'.
  

From Alan:

• Colt McCoy, QB, Texas - In a nationally televised game, McCoy laid his claim to the Heisman, shredding Missouri to the tune of 29-32, 337 yards, 4 total TDs.
• Brian Brunner, QB, Central Michigan - Stepping in for the injured Dan Lefevour, Brunner guided the Chips to a much-needed victory over unbeaten in MAC play Western Michigan. Brunner's line? 20-28, 346 yards, TD. With Brunner and Lefevour at their disposal, CMU is a very dangerous team.
• Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky - The true freshman that's so gifted athletically, he created a firestorm of controversy over whether or not he should be playing QB went for 5 catches, 73 yards, and 2 scores, both with under 6 minutes to go in the game. Also wore #12 in tribute to Dicky Lyons, Jr. who's football career ended last week with a knee injury.
  

Weekend Carnage Report

7 days ago in this very space, I wrote about how my bloodlust wasn't quite satiated after a weekend that saw no marquee teams defecate the bed. Ask and ye shall receive from the football Gods, as the Top 3 teams in last week's OTP Blogpoll took the L. Capped off with a Ball State win, putting the Cardinals at 7-0, and aside from Kentucky's loss to South Carolina, the weekend turned out just like I hoped it would: bloody, exciting, bloody, thrilling, bloody, and bloody. Giddy up...

The Good:

• Texas has, for the moment, silenced the critics of Mack Brown. This blog pointed out in August that is was ridiculous that Brown was always mentioned as an underachieving coach, and he showed why it was ridiculous this weekend in the Red River Rivalry. Incidentally, when did it stop being called the Red River Shootout?
• Florida has, for the moment, made everyone forget about their missed extra point induced loss at the hands of Ole Miss. They took LSU to the woodshed, and the Tigers looked overmatched, outgunned, and outplayed. Big win for Florida, bigger win for Tebow's Heisman chances, as a loss would have meant near disaster.
• The midmajors just keep on keepin' on. BYU, Ball State, Boise State, Utah all got the win as they continue their surprising seasons.
  

The Bad:

• Idle seems to be the only way to get ahead. Teams like Alabama, Virginia Tech, South Florida, and Cal all were able to benefit by their idle status. The difference between winning and simply not losing is razor thin.
• The smart schools got knocked down a peg this weekend, as Northwestern and Vanderbilt both took their first losses of the season. A great storyline, still, but there is an uphill road in front of both of them for any chance at a conference title.

The Ugly:

• Notre Dame's loss at North Carolina this weekend marked the first time a UNC team has beaten Notre Dame since 1960. While part of me understands this is a rebuilding process for Charlie Weis and co. in South Bend, other programs seem to be turning it around significantly quicker. On a scale of 1-10 of worry, I'm about a 5.
  
• Clemson gets beat by Wake Forest 12-7. Though ugly on the scoreboard, uglier in the sense that Clemson's season has hit rock bottom. A team thought to have national title hopes at the beginning of the year will have to battle to get to a bowl.
• Toledo does it's best App State impression and knocks off Michigan. The one Michigan fan I know didn't return my text message, but I can only imagine the love affair with Rich Rod might be coming to an end.
  

Helmet Stickers:
From RV:

• SEC Speed - wait, what's that? SEC speed strikes again! Florida just looked that much faster than their opponent that was from...wait...the SEC? Hmm, maybe it really is mythical.
• Juice Williams - 503 total yards of offense...ridiculous. Granted, it was all in a losing effort. To Minnesota, but this Juice is loose.
• Cam Sexton - While putting up below average stats against the Irish, he put together drives when he needed to and didn't make mistakes. Big win for NC, and hopefully a little shot in the arm for Cam. If Juice can do it, anyone can
  

From Alan:

• Nick Moore, WR, Toledo: 20 catches. 20. 162 yards also in the upset over Michigan. 20.
• Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas: 112 yards on 11 catches and one gigantic 96-yard return for a score in the upset of Oklahoma.
• Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida: 2 INTs, one of which was returned 52-yards for the score in win versus LSU.
  

Weekend Carnage Report

Frankly, a weekend where several Top 10 teams don't lose leaves me feeling a bit unsatisfied. Last weekend, the bloodlust meter was satiated beyond belief, but this Monday, something's missing... namely a Top 10 team to mock and chide for shatting all over the bed. The weekend ahead gives us hope, and a hunger. For sweet tasty upset blood. As for the weekend that was...

The Good

• The Big 12. These guys are good. Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Missouri are 4 fine football teams who simply go out and win. Don't miss the Red River Shootout next weekend. It's gonna be a doozy.
• USC. Proving again that losses of the puzzling variety are the anomaly and not the norm in SoCal. Carrol and company came out and laid the wood to a depleted Oregon team and staked their early claim to a one-loss championship game berth.
• Notre Dame. Finally got the passing game going. Clausen cuts his hair, Irish win two straight. Coincidence? I don't think so.
• Syracuse didn't lose this weekend! They had an off week... and beat the hell out of it.
  

The Bad

• Wins without style points. Vandy, Kansas, Utah, Alabama, and to a lesser extent Ohio State. OSU and Vandy get passes simply because of playing fellow Top 25 teams, but the others were expected to win and win big.
• UConn's special teams was absolutely horrendous in their loss to North Carolina. Tar Heel Bruce Carter blocked three punts... by himself. I'm no football coach, but putting a body or two on him may have been the right course of action.
  

The Ugly

• It was good while it lasted, South Florida. I admire the progress you've made as a program, admire the passion that Jim Leavitt coaches with, I admire the fact that you're competing against FSU, Miami, and Florida for recruits and getting it done. I do not admire a loss to Pitt on national tv. That loss may have saved the Wannstache, and for that, there is no excuse.
• Fresno State. Take your place back in the mid-major pack. An overtime loss against Hawaii is nothing to be extremely upset about, but it does render any sort of BCS busting from Fresno impossible.
• Maryland. This Terps team continues to confuse everyone. Wins against Cal and Clemson, losses against MTSU and Virginia. Ralph Friedgen's extra large seat is extra hot.
  

Helmet Stickers:
From RV:

• Notre Dame's Passing Attack: Everyone gets a non-existent sticker here. The OLine had another great game, the WRs are playing amazing and Jimmy has full command of the offense.
• Juice Williams: Just for the fact that you embarrassed Rich Rodriguez. Wonder if he realizes that no one in the NFL is going to want to try the spread offense? Take that back...maybe Al Davis.
• Smart Schools: Northwestern, Duke, ND, Stanford, Vanderbilt, etc. all are performing like real student-athletes. Well done
  

From Alan:

• Glen Coffee, RB, Alabama: 25 carries, 218 yds, TD in a win over Kentucky
• LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh: 28 carries, 142 yds, 2 TDs in Pitt's Thursday night upset special over #10 South Florida.
• Chris Crane, QB, Boston College: 34-51, 428 yards, 5 total TDs in their win over NC State.
  

Ball State... Ranked and Bowl Eligible

To borrow a cheer from the Florida faithful... "It's great... to be... a Ball State Cardinal!". And it certainly is on this Monday morn.

What do Ball State fans wake up to?

• Ball State, for the first time in the program's history, is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. This is mega-important, as the AP Poll is the standard for football rankings, though doesn't figure into the BCS Standings.
  
• BSU becomes the first team (along with Utah) to gain bowl eligibility. More good news.

Rankings, in general, are a waste of time at this point in the season, and to be quite an honest, an exercise in futility. The fact that the writers of the Associated Press feel there are 24 teams better than an undefeated Ball State team is an absolute joke. Who's ranked ahead of these Cards?

• Pittsburgh. Their 4-1 record comes on a combined margin of victory of 27 points. Loss at home to open the season against Bowling Green. Coached by the Wannstache. Level of Tragedy: Epic.
• Auburn. Their 4-2 record is paced by a 2-2 stretch over the last 4 games, a 3-2 victory over Mississippi State, a loss to Vandy, and a two-point nailbiter against Tennessee that made me want to start watching soccer. Level of Tragedy: Huge.

The Cardinals are 29th in the Coaches' Poll, and that is absurd. They are the lowest ranked undefeated team, and are ranked lower than the aforementioned Auburn Tigers, but also lower than two-loss Wisconsin, and California. I understand it's Ball State. I understand we were a punchline for a number of years. But I would take a guess that an overwhelming majority of these coaches who don't rank Ball State would hate playing them. Tragedy aside, kudos to Coach Hoke and the team for a great accomplishment.

Weekend Carnage Report

We're running a bit behind schedule this morning, but full recaps about BSU's and Kentucky's wins are upcoming. The Game of the Century turned out to be a snoozer, as most expected, but Pete Carrol was jacked you were watching anyway. Beanie didn't play, Ohio State got gassed, and to go all Les Miles on you, USC looks "damn strong".

The Good

• The aforementioned Trojans laid the wood to Ohio State on Saturday night. USC is a mighty fine football team, and may very well be one of the best Pete Carrol has. My one concern was QB Mark Sanchez, and he does just fine, thankyouverymuch.
• Kudos to Notre Dame for finally beating someone noteworthy and silencing the critics for at least a week. Sure, Michigan is down, but a W is a W and I'll take it.
• As good as USC is, Mizzou and Oklahoma continue to put up monster numbers and dominate the teams they're playing. Winning, and winning big, counts for something, and they're both excelling at it.
• All three of the teams I follow with some regularity (Ball State/Kentucky/ND) are undefeated. I cannot remember the last time this has happened this late in the season. Congrats fellas.
  

The Bad

• Hey, UCLA, you get ranked in the OTP poll and promptly defecate all over the bed. Nice work, gents. This bed-shitting was epic, as BYU beat you from pillar to post. Are you that bad? Is BYU that good? What the hell happened against Tennessee? What does Rick Neuheisel do to that hair?
  
• California. Really? You lost to a team that got beat at Middle Tennessee State? Far out man.
• Charlie Weis took a nasty fall on Saturday during the Michigan game. No, he didn't slip on some errantly placed pastrami. Punt coverage meets a distracted coach and hilarity ensues for all non-ND fans.
  

The Ugly

• A win is a win no matter how you slice it, but Kentucky and Auburn should be worried. The Tigers take a 3-2 nailbiter over Mississippi State, and the Wilcats tried their best to give the game away to Middle Tennessee State.
• The Pac-10 goes 0-4 against the Mountain West, Cal loses to Maryland, and Washington State loses to Baylor. Yes, that Baylor. Take USC out of the equation and the Pac-10 is competing for the worst BCS conference with the Big East.
  

Weekend Carnage Report

Another Monday comes, and another day where we scour the Web for college football news and review rather than, I don't know, working. An interesting weekend, as there were virtually no games on paper that should have been close, but several went to the wire and provided dramatics of the highest order on a weekend devoid of any games of the sexy variety. Off we go...

Kentucky Report: A short little shout-out to the Wildcats, who beat the overmatched and undertalented Norfolk State Spartans 38-3. Another stand-out performance by the Kentucky defense, holding the Spartans to 165 total yards offensively, but also 1-13 on third downs. The Cats committed 2 turnovers and the offense again looked anemic (save for Randall Cobb), and that's a bit worrisome, but there are many more positives than negatives. It's Norfolk State, I get it, but a win is a win. And it's a nice little encore to the Louisville game. Believe in blue!

The rest of the country...

The Good:

• Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri... TCB: As in, takin' care of business. Big wins by all of these Top 6 schools when others didn't put up quite as impressive numbers. With USC idle, and Florida and Ohio State not looking dominant, these schools may have gained some favor with the folks voting in the polls.
• Cal: After last Week 1's win against Michigan State, a good majority of the folks in the know gave Cal props, but tempered it with the idea that it was flukey and/or MSU wasn't that great. To silence the voices of discontent, Cal drops 66 on Washington State. Bully for you, Jeff Tedford.
• Penn State: Oregon State comes to town, the blogosphere, College Gameday, et al predict a possibility of upset, Penn State pummels the Beavers 45-14. It doesn't silence the critics of the off-field drama, but it certainly shuts up the folks bitching about the on-field performances.
  

The Bad:

• West Virginia: Was WVU a little overpriced? Sure. ECU underranked? Probably. But the bottom line is the talent at WVU is significantly better than ECU, and that's a game they need to win. It won't be long before WVU begins its backslide into mediocrity and ruins the only argument that Big East fans have that their conference isn't complete trash.
• Ohio State: Sure, Beanie was hurt. Sure, you're probably looking forward to USC. But Ohio State let a MAC team hang around long enough to actually have a shot at winning this thing. This is more of a game where Ohio lost more than Ohio State winning. If OSU shows up like that this week against USC, it's going to be a bloodbath of the highest order.
  
• Pittsburgh: Continuing the Big East's demolition, the Pitt Panthers, reeling after Week 1's upset from Bowling Green, took on another MAC school in Buffalo. Instead of laying the wood to UB, the Panthers only win by 11. This is a team in trouble. Serious, deep, mustached trouble.
  
• Notre Dame: Could have been looking forward to Michigan, could have just been rust as it was game one. Whatever the reason, the Irish needed late game heroics to beat San Diego State. At home. Sigh...
  

The Ugly:

• Officiating. Games are being decided by a 7-man crew wearing stripes as opposed to an 11-man crew wearing helmets and jerseys. The most egregious error comes in the BYU-Washington game, where a celebration penalty pushes UW back 15 yards for the PAT that is subsequently blocked. Mistakes will happen, sure. But to have games decided by the officials is simply unacceptable. To have them decided on penalties that are ridiculous to begin with is an absolute tragedy and completely counter to what the NCAA and college football is all about.
  

Prelude to a Season... #18

#18.) BYU

What You Need to Know: Most teams who lose 9 starters from a conference leading defensive unit would shy away from guaranteeing anything, much less crashing the BCS dance. But BYU isn't most teams. Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall did just that, labeling 2008 a "Quest for Perfection". There is reason to believe, though. While the defense is greatly depleted, the offense returns a solid line and star power at the skill positions. The same offense that led the conference in scoring, passing, and total offense last season.

Mendenhall has never had a losing season since taking over in Provo in 2005. His first year was his worst year, going 6-6. What followed that was two 11-win seasons and two final Top 20 rankings. The Cougars have established themselves as head-and-shoulders above their Mountain West Conference brethren. The bad news for them is that the Mountain West does not receive an automatic berth to the Bowl Championship Series.

It makes for interesting dramatics in Utah, and makes their out of conference games that much more important. For a program that will have to rely on not only their on the field success but also the losses of teams in front of them, word of mouth, and media coverage for poll votes in the BCS equation, the Cougars must make the most of games people will see to have any shot of being this year's Boise State or Hawaii.

Who You Need to Know and Their 07 Stats:
QB Max Hall: 3848 yds, 26 TD
RB Harvey Unga: 1840 all purpose yds, 17 total TD
WR Austin Collie: 946 yds, 7 TD

Game To Watch: The schedule for the Cougars is challenging without being brutal. Looming large on the agenda is back-to-back Pac10 foes Washington (9/6) on the road and UCLA (9/13) at home. Winning both those games could mean serious possibilities of the Cougars attracting even more national attention as a potential BCS crasher than they currently are receiving. October 16th is a road game against TCU, but the Cougs season may very will rest on the season finale against and at conference rival Utah on November 22.

They'll Do Well If...: Offensively, BYU is dominant. They return their leading passer, rusher, receiver, and 4 offensive line starters. The question is whether this is a rebuilding year or a reloading year on a defense which returns only 3 starters from a conference best defense in 2007. They have only one "warm-up" game (vs. Northern Iowa) before the aforementioned games against Washington and UCLA, so the learning curve will be steep. If the defense steps up early against UW and UCLA, it takes pressure off the offense to have to just outscore everyone, a daunting task week in and week out.

Season Outlook: Folks in Provo expect a Mountain West title, but most expect much more than that. Coming off the heels of Hawaii and Boise State contributing fireworks as a BCS outsider, many expect BYU in a BCS bowl game and potentially competing for a national championship. A national championship will be challenging, simply because of the number of good teams in front of them that will have to stumble at least once, but the Cougars are in a much better position at the start of the season than Boise State or Hawaii were to move up the rankings. Not having a marquee game against a Top 10 opponent hurts their chances for the big hardware, so expect a 10-2 record and an outside shot at a BCS bowl.