Domino theory

I was out riding around this afternoon helping my dad with something when I heard Chris Mortenson on the radio discussing the job opening in Seattle and the perception that Pete Carroll is the leading candidate for the hire.

That move, in turn, would open up one of the plum coaching jobs in college football.

Being the kind of person I am, I immediately started thinking about potential candidates for the Southern Cal position – not in terms of what might be best for USC, but what would be the most fun to blog about.

It’s good to see that great minds think alike.

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It’s Fabulous Friday Follow Up!

Here are a few stories that update some things I touched on earlier in the week:

Utah AG fights for fairness. He wants that BCS thing “to stop immediately”.  But here’s the telling quote from the story:

“And if those millions of dollars aren’t going to those universities, guess who’s picking up the tab? We are.”

In other words, if the programs in the WAC can’t generate enough fan interest to cover their athletic expenses, it’s up to the SEC and the Big Ten to make them whole.  Hey, I’ve got a suggestion – if you’re so worried about sticking taxpayers with the bill, why not just shut down unprofitable athletic programs?

Kirby Smart what? Contrary to what Brent Musburger told you (you’re listening to him about that?), Kirby Smart isn’t being interviewed for the Texas Tech head coaching job.

… Tech athletic director Gerald Myers denied reports Thursday afternoon and again Thursday evening that Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart had joined the mix. Citing unnamed sources, Dallas ESPN radio affiliate 103.3 FM reported Tech planned to talk to Smart after Alabama’s season ended with Thursday night’s BCS national championship game.

“That’s something that I’m not aware of,’’ Myers said Thursday afternoon. “I know he’s a good young coach and a good young prospective coach, but at this point we haven’t made any plans to contact him.’’

Myers reiterated that position hours later and said he had not sought permission from Alabama to speak with the 34-year-old Smart, who won the Broyles Award this year as the nation’s top assistant coach.

But we heard it on television, so it must be true, right?

Guess who’s not coming to the bowl game? Color me not so surprised.

While total attendance for the first 33 of the season’s 34 bowl games was down just 1% in a struggling national economy, the FedEx Orange Bowl matchup of Iowa and Georgia Tech on Tuesday sold 66,131 tickets, down 7,471 from the 2009 game and 9,443 fewer than the bowl’s previous five-year average.

Maybe Yellow Jacket fans are at the forefront of that long-promised BCS boycott.

Guns and athletes. The legacy of Moe Brown continues to grow.

Marcy Girton has not seen the final agenda for next week’s meeting of USC’s athletics department management team, but she is certain the topic of guns and athletes will be discussed.

A day after news broke that Gamecocks football player and team captain Moe Brown had been arrested last summer on a gun charge that was later dropped, Girton said USC officials would study the gun issue after several recent incidents involving college and pro athletes.

Maybe the school can honor Brown by naming the new policy after him.

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UPDATE: This is as appropriate a place to drop some additional Georgia Tech news as any, I suppose.

First, BeBe’s decided to try his luck at dropping NFL passes.

Also, Johnson’s decided to try his luck by dropping Dave Wommack.  You can bet that no matter whomever Tech hires as a replacement, we’ll be assured of hearing at the Jacket message boards that he’s demonstrably better than Richt’s hire.

Friday morning buffet

I know it’s hard getting out this morning, so here’s something to hold you over.

• “We’re proud of Moe Brown,” Spurrier said.
• Two early enrollees in Athens.
• Mike Leach is in a hurry to get Texas Tech into court.
• And Craig James has bigger fish to fry now.
• Jim Leavitt’s been fired, evidently for being too hands on with a player.
• Kevin Scarbinsky makes his play for the Hack Hall of Fame.  Mark it down, indeed.
• Corch Meyers may be banned from the office, but he’s still working the phones.
• And the man rumored to be the Gators’ new defensive coordinator has a Georgia connection.  (No, it’s not Joe Kines.)

My final Mumme Poll ballot

No controversy at number one for me this season…

NUMERO UNO

• Alabama

NEXT FOUR

• Boise State
• Florida
• TCU
• Texas

BEST OF THE REST

• BYU
• Cincinnati
• Georgia Tech
• Iowa
• Ohio State
• Oregon
• Penn State

COMMENTS:

• The last two spots were the tough calls for me.  When the dust settled from the postseason, it seemed fairly clear that I had overrated the top of the Big East and the ACC earlier this year and had somewhat underrated the top of the Big Ten.  That made for a rugby scrum of teams to consider for those slots.
• Believe me, I wasn’t looking to leave Georgia Tech in my top twelve.  But what school has a better resume at this point?  The Jackets beat Virginia Tech head to head, have fewer losses than LSU and Nebraska (which played a much weaker schedule) and played a tougher schedule than Pitt (which had to stretch to beat a middle of the pack ACC team, by the way).
• I wasn’t particularly thrilled about leaving Cinci in my top twelve, for that matter, as there were mediocre SEC teams that put up more resistance to Florida than the Bearcats managed.  But I chalked some of that up to Kelly’s departure and gave them the benefit of the doubt.
• Like many, I suspect that if Ricky Stanzi hadn’t gotten hurt, Iowa would have finished in my top five.
• It’s pretty weird compiling a season’s end top twelve list without Southern Cal on it.
• Eight of the twelve teams on my ballot from week six managed to appear on my last ballot.

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UPDATE: Ballot access at the site is up and running.

BCS title game ruminations

• First and most obvious:  congrats to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Coach Nick Saban.  You go 14-0 with your last two wins against the second-ranked teams in the land, you’ve earned the right to be called national champs.
• That being said, my respect for Mack Brown’s head coaching skills increased considerably last night.  His star quarterback gone for the night, replaced by a talented true freshman who played like a talented true freshman, no running game, a shaky offensive line, half his receiving corps unable to hold onto the ball and a defense that couldn’t stop the run when it needed to in the first half – all of that topped off by a disastrous turnover at the end of the first half that put ‘Bama up by eighteen – it would have been easy for his troops to have completely imploded.  Yet, with about three minutes to go, the ‘Horns found themselves in a position to drive for the tie or the lead.  That’s one helluva coaching job.
• I say this as someone who’s got a serious appreciation for A.J. Green, but if you want to insist that Jordan Shipley was the best wide receiver in college football this season, I’m not going to argue with you.
• I don’t know which surprised me more, that Saban called for the fake punt early in the game or that Texas had it defended.
• That ricochet off the ‘Bama player was one of the coolest onside kicks I’ve ever seen.
• Groundhog Day in the broadcast booth:  Once more, Musburger gushes about a quarterback “growing up before our eyes” and Herbie continues in his half-shout that sounds like an 80-year old man in need of a hearing aid.  The sad thing is that it was still better than most of what Fox inflicted on us.
• Is it really that hard to figure out what pass interference looks like?  It didn’t have an ultimate impact on the game, but that stretch where the officials blew call after call after call was brutal.
• Julio Jones may not have had that great a night as a receiver, but he was hell on wheels as a blocker.
• Any way you want to look at it, four MNCs in a row for one conference is an impressive feat – especially since it was accomplished by three different schools.
• I always hate it when the season ends.  When did you say spring practice starts?