During the 2008 college football season, the Auburn Tigers posted a dismal 5-7 record. Worse, they were 2-6 in the SEC. In other words, this was a terrible year for a rather talented club, and the blame for such a thing must always fall on the head football coach first.
That coach is Tommy Tuberville.
“I’m committed to getting this thing turned around. I have total confidence we can get this .

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was given the Broyles Award on Tuesday as the nation’s top assistant coach. The Sooners will play Florida in the BCS title game thanks to an offense that has scored at least 60 points in five straight games. Led by quarterback Sam Bradford, Oklahoma has scored an NCAA-record 702 points this season.

CategoryAlabama Crimson Tide football seasons – Wikipedia, the .Pages in category “Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons”. The following 22 pages are in this category, out of 22 total. This list may sometimes be .

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Well this little over-share on the part of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham will certainly add a little more spice to the renewed Florida-Alabama rivalry.

“We talk at least weekly throughout the course of the season, and it will be a situation where the familiarity they have with Alabama will obviously work to our favor, we hope. It will give us a head start on our game-planning and what we plan on doing. We share ideas all the time, so that’s not new to us.”

Think Saban’s going to let that one just slide by? Yeah. me neither.

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View the original post or comment on Utes getting help against Bama from Urban Meyer.

Everyone, even President Elect Obama, wants a playoff, and I guess now is about the time to allow some room for these pressures to vent.

“Take the top 8 teams, have a playoff.”

Plan A:
- Seed teams using BCS Standings.
- Use the BCS Bowls and, starting with the game with #1, assign games to the Bowl with conference tie ins for that team, if it is still available.
-If any games are not assigned after all eight teams are examined by this process let the top team not assigned pick from the remaining BCS Bowls)

1) Oklahoma vs Penn State (Fiesta Bowl)
4) Alabama vs 5) USC (Rose Bowl)

2) Florida vs 7) Texas Tech (Sugar Bowl)
3) Texas vs 6) Utah (Orange Bowl)

Plan B:
- Take any conference champions in the top 8 and place them in the contracted BCS Bowls.
- Place the remaining teams to make the Bowls and brackets as close to even as possible.

1) Oklahoma vs 4) Alabama (Fiesta Bowl)
5) USC vs Penn State (Rose Bowl)

2) Florida vs 7) Texas Tech (Sugar Bowl)
3) Texas vs 6) Utah (Orange Bowl)

Add a play in game
Wait, not everyone advocates for a straight playoff. Take BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall.

What he put forward is the plus one format with a new wrinkle that is independent of the plus one format, a play in game. Allow the 2 conference champions, undefeated then highest BCS ranking, without an automatic qualification to play in a bowl game for a BCS slot. It would make sense to add undefeated conference champions to the list of teams eligible for the play game, regardless of BCS ranking, for the play in game. If two such teams are not BCS eligible they would be replaced by an at large qualifier (maybe even a third team from a BCS conference) . This adds one slot to the BCS system.

He used the Las Vegas Bowl but I would argue the Liberty Bowl is a better choice for the job. The MWC vs C-USA history, that was ended when the WAC champions was substituted for the MWC champion in 2004, is the basis of this statement.

And about the opposition to a playoff anyways? Aren’t the SEC, ACC and Big 12 championship games already play in games for the BCS?

#2 vs #3
But adding a play in allows more flexibility as well. This game could be used to occasionally determine between two closely ranked teams at #2 and #3. This adds flexibility to the championship system for close cases at the boundary, without pushing the boarder problem down to whatever line is drawn.

If the #3 team is within 0.04 BCS points of #2, the #2 and #3 teams participate in the play in game and the two non BCS teams would participate in BCS bowls instead.

Play in games since 2004, using this system: (Additional team in italics)
2008: Florida vs Texas (Utah and Boise State in BCS Bowls)
2007: Hawaii vs At Large
2006: Florida vs Michigan (an extra At Large spot would have been available)
2005: TCU vs At Large ( no 2nd non AQ conference champion eligible )
2004: Auburn vs Oklahoma (Utah and Boise State in BCS Bowls)

Pay Outs:
Currently the first BCS outsider gets 9 million and the second would get 4.5 million (this is actually in print, page 10). 4.5 million is also the amount a second team from a BCS AQ conference gets.

With the play in, the non BCS teams would each get 4.5 million for participation in the play in, plus an additional 4.5 million if they qualify for a BCS bowl. If the play in game is used for the #2 and 3 teams they would get the normal BCS payout, less 2.25 million, for their BCS slot, plus 4.5 million if they go to the championship game. The non BCS teams would get 6.75 million each for their BCS slots. No net change in payout is experienced if the usage of the game is changed.

Either way, the Play-in game would pay out an additional 1.1 million, or 0.65 million per team, over the current 1.7 million per team Liberty Bowl Payout. This is a reasonable value for the quality of team they would be getting.

In concert with a plus one
In a plus one, the top two teams would maintain their traditional bowl ties. #3 would then play #2 and the play in winner would play #1. The winner of these games would meet in a follow up game. The remaining BCS slots would be filled using current selection processes.

If a second BCS non AQ team is not available the #4 team would play in the Play In game. If no teams without an automatic qualification are available the #4 and #5 teams would play. (These rankings use BCS eligibility rather than actual standings. A third team from a conference in the top 5 would not count.)

If two teams are selected to participate with a contract with the same bowl the pairings could be arranged to facilitate this arrangement. Only the Rose Bowl has agreements with two conferences. For Example, If USC were #2 and Penn State were #4, and no second team without an AQ is eligible, #1 would be paired with #3 that year and USC would be paired with the play In winner in the Rose Bowl.

That sure looks a lot less likely to screw up than what we have. I certainly can’t imagine 2 teams ending up undefeated with such a system.

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View the original post or comment on A BCS Proposal.

After interviewing several top assistants and hot head coaches, the NFL Network (of all places) is reporting that Syracuse will introduce ECU head coach Skip Holtz as the next head coach of the Orange.

The News & Observer has attempted to confirm the report, but could not reach Holtz, ECU athletics director Terry Holland or Syracuse AD Daryl Gross as of noon Sunday.

According to the reports, Holtz will be introduced at a press conference on Monday, and will then attend the College Football Hall of Fame dinner in New York city that evening.

Holtz is 29-21 in three years at East Carolina, where he inherited a team that had three wins in the preceding two seasons.

As far as hires go, this is really about the best that Syracuse could have done. Holtz is a fiery competitor who brought the Pirates to the top of C-USA, knocking off several BCS opponents in getting there. If he can recruit within New York, then he should be able to bring Syracuse back to the top of the Big East in short order.

The News & Observer is reporting that Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster is at the top of the Pirates list if the Holtz reports are indeed correct.

Update 12/7/08 6:30pm

Holtz confirmed his interest in Syracuse and would not deny that he may be the next coach, but told ESPN that no deal is in place.

Holtz said Sunday he has had no formal meetings with Syracuse and called an NFL Network report that he was to be introduced as the new coach Monday “inaccurate.” Holtz, however, didn’t rule out replacing the fired Greg Robinson.

“I would like to have the opportunity to talk to [Syracuse AD] Daryl Gross,” Holtz said. “But at this point, no, I’m not going through an interview process. I’ve made that very clear.”

As far as denials go, this one sounds kinda fishy to me. Perhaps NFL Network (again WTF?) jumped the gun on the story, but it certainly seems like there is mutual interest, at the very least.

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NCAA Football Blog Headlines

BOSTON(AP) Damier Pitts scored five of his career-high 20 points from the foul line in the final 41 seconds Saturday, helping Marshall beat Boston University, 84-80. Shaquille Johnson and Tyler Wilkerson added 15 points apiece as the Thundering Herd placed five players in double figures and won by going 12-for-14 from the foul line over the 1:41. Chris Lutz had 12 points and Markel Humphrey 11 points and six rebounds for Marshall (3-4)

Audio: After a 92-52 pounding of Texas A&M-Int on Friday night, SMU Head Coach Matt Doherty was more than excited to see his team play their best game of the year. It was an uplifted Doherty, along with two other players, during the postgame press conference. Listen to their interviews, now

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Here is a breakdown of the bowl situation for each conference.

Tie Breakers are listed if ties remain after head to head.

ACC: 8 Bowl Slots, Plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 8 – Florida State, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, North Carolina, Virgina Tech, Miami (FL), Georgia Tech
Needs 1 win: 2 – Clemson, Virginia, NC State
Eliminated: 1 – Duke

Projected: +0. Any number from 8-11 is possible. They will likely have 9 eligible teams.

Coastal:
If Virginia Tech beats Virginia they will go to the championship game, otherwise Georgia Tech will go.

Atlantic:
If Boston College beats Maryland they will go to the championship game, otherwise FSU will go.

Big 10: 6 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot
Eligible: 7 – Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin
Eliminated: 4 – Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois

Projected: 0. They will likely have 7 eligible teams, but could place a second team in a BCS bowl.

Penn State will be in the Rose Bowl, unless they manage to earn a spot in the championship game.
Ohio State will be eligible for a BCS at large spot.

Big 12: 7 Slots, plus 2 BCS slots

Eligible: 7 – Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Needs 1 win: 1 – Colorado
Eliminated: 4 – Kansas State, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Baylor

Projected: -2. Any number from 7-8 is possible. Colorado would be fortunate to get the win. They will likely have 7-8 eligible teams, leaving them short two slots if they are able to send two teams to a BCS bowl.

Missouri will be in the Big 12 championship game.

The south depends on three game, the favored teams listed first:
A) Texas Tech vs Baylor
B) Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State
C) Texas vs Texas A&M

If all three favored teams teams win the highest ranked team in the BCS standings will go to the championship game.
If A only is an upset, Texas will go to the championship
If B only is an upset, Texas Tech will go to the championship
If C only is an upset, Oklahoma will go the championship
If two are an upset, the winner of the third will go to the championship
If all three are an upset, Texas Tech will go to the championship, as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be eliminated after the first round of head to head.

Big East + Notre Dame: 5 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 7 – Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Connecticut, South Florida, Notre Dame, Rutgers
Needs 1 win: 1 – Louisville
Eliminated: 1 – Syracuse

Projected: +1. Any number from 7-8 is possible. They will likely have 7-8 teams eligible, giving them an extra bowl eligible team or two.

[edited to fix WV's chances ]

If Cincinnati beats Syracuse they will win the Big East.

If Cincinnati loses to Louisville and West Virginia beats Pittsburgh and USF, West Virginia will win the Big East.

If Syracuse beats Cincinnati, WV loses to Pittsburgh and USF, Louisville beats Rutgers and Connecticut beats USF and Pittsburgh, then Connecticut would win the Big East.

If Connecticut beats USF and Pittsburgh, Cincinnati loses to Syracuse and exactly one of: WV beats Pittsburgh, WV beats USF, Rutgers beats Lousiville, then a three way tie with Cincinnati, Connecticut and either WV or Rutgers would occur.

Cincinnati wins all other cases.

In the event of a three way tie, the tie breaker would be BCS standings. If Cincinnati loses to Syracuse, WV loses to USF or Rutgers, and Connecticut beats Pittsburgh it might be interesting to see if any Big East teams even appears in the BCS standings. Connecticut would likely be the highest.

C-USA: 6 Slots

Eligible: 4 – East Carolina, Tulsa, Rice, Houston
Needs 1 win: 3 – Memphis, S. Miss, UTEP
Eliminated: 5 – UAB, UCF, Tulane, SMU, Marshall

Projected: +0. Any number from 4-7 is possible. They will likely have 5-6 teams eligible, possibly leaving them short a slot.

East Carolina will be in the C-USA championship game.

If Houston beats Rice they will win the C-USA West
If Rice wins and Tulsa beats Marshall, Tulsa wins the west
If Rice wins and Tulsa loses to Marshall, Rice wins the west

MAC: 3 Slots

Eligible: 5 – Ball State, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, Buffalo, N. Illinois
Needs 1 win: 2 – Akron, Bowling Green
Eliminated: 6 – Temple, Miami (OH), Kent State, Ohio, Toledo, E. Michigan

Projected: +3. Any number from 5-7 is possible. They will likely have 6 teams eligible leaving them an extra 3 eligible teams. Ball State may become eligible for a BCS at large bid, but would be an unlikely pick.

Buffalo will be in the MAC championship game.

If Ball State beats Western Michigan they win the MAC West.
If Western Michigan beats Ball State and Central Michigan loses to Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan wins the MAC West.
If Western Michigan and Central Michigan win a three way tie occurs.

The tie breaker would be conference record of cross over games. Central Michigan and Western Michigan played the same schedule and would beat Ball State. Central Michigan would then win head to head.

MWC: 4 Slots

Eligible: 5 – Utah, TCU, BYU, Air Force, Colorado State
Eliminated: 4 – Wyoming, New Mexico, SDSU, UNLV

Projected: +0. The MWC will have 5 teams eligible and will almost certainly send Utah to the BCS. TCU may also be eligible for a BCS at large, but stands no chance of being selected.

Utah wins the MWC outright with a win over BYU.
Utah and BYU would share the title if BYU beats Utah, along with TCU if TCU beats Air Force.

Navy / Independent: 1 Slot

Eligible: 1 – Navy

Projected: +0.

PAC 10: 6 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 5 – USC, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona, California
Needs 2 wins: 2 – UCLA, Arizona State
Eliminated: 2 – Washington, Washington State, Stanford

Projected: -3. Any number from 5 to 6 is possible. They will likely get 5 teams eligible and could qualify a second BCS team leaving them 2 short. If Oregon State wins the PAC 10 and USC remains BCS eligible, USC would likely gain a BCS bid.

Oregon State wins the PAC 10 with a win over Oregon.
If Oregon beats Oregon State, and USC defeats UCLA the team highest in the BCS standings would go to the Rose Bowl. This would be USC, unless they lose to Notre Dame.

SEC: 8 Slots, plus 2 BCS slots

Eligible: 8 – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, Mississippi, Vanderbilt
Needs 1 win: 1 – Auburn
Eliminated: 3 – Mississippi State, Tennessee, Arkansas

Projected: -2. Any number from 8-10 is possible. They will likely get 8 teams eligible, leaving them two teams short. If Georgia loses to Georgia Tech and Florida or Alabama lose their two remaining games they may not place a second team in the BCS.

Alabama will play Florida in the SEC championship game.

Sun Belt: 1 Slot

Eligible: 1 – Troy
Needs 1 win: 3 – LA-Lafayette, Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee State, Florida Atlantic
Needs 2 wins: 1 – Florida International
Eliminated: 2 – LA-Monroe, North Texas

Projected: +2. Any number from 2 to 4 teams is possible. They will likely have 2-3 eligible teams.

The Sun Belt has no tie breakers (as indicated by last years split championship with two teams) (at least the MWC publishes an official statement that they don’t use any tiebreakers)

Troy has clinched a share of the Sun Belt championship.
Arkansas State can claim a share of the title by defeating Troy and North Texas.
If Arkansas State beats Troy, Louisiana Lafayette can claim a share of the title with a win over Middle Tennessee State.

WAC: 3 Slots

Eligible: 5 – Boise State, San Jose State, LA Tech, Nevada, Fresno State
Needs 1 win: 1 – Hawaii
Eliminated: 3 – New Mexico State, Utah State, Idaho

Projected: +3. Any number from 5-6 is possible. They will likely have 6 eligible teams. Boise State will likely be eligible for a BCS at large spot, but are not likely to get selected.

Boise State has clinched the WAC championship.

Total
Although the PAC 10, SEC and Big 12 could be lacking a total of 7 teams, the Big East, WAC, MAC and Sun Belt should have 9 extra teams available to fill the gaps. Perhaps we need another bowl for those final 2 teams.

The recent moves by the Sun Belt and WAC to position themselves as alternates in several bowl games may well pay off this year. Perhaps the MAC should take notes.

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The season may have started for the Oregon State basketball team, but recruiting remains a high priority. The coaching staff has kept a close eye on Anthony Brown, a lanky wing from Huntington Beach, CA. He has hosted quite a few college programs at open gym this fall and he’s hoping a big season will continue to elevate his recruitmen

Matthew Bryan-Amaning came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points as Washington coasted to an 88-52 victory over winless Texas Southern on Saturday night

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Conference Bowl discussion, TAKE TWO Also see this page, for dates and times. Lets keep it clean, and don’t feed the trolls, no matter which bridge they have crawled out from under.

ACC: 8 Bowl Slots, Plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 8 – Florida State, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, North Carolina, Virgina Tech, Miami (FL), Georgia Tech
Needs 1 win: 1 – Virginia
Needs 2 wins: 2- Clemson, Duke
Needs 3 wins: 1- North Carolina State
Eliminated: NONE

Projected: +1. Any number from 8-12 is possible. They will likely have 9 or 10 eligible teams, possibly giving them and extra eligible team.

Big 10: 6 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot
Eligible: 6- Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa
Needs 1 win: 2- Wisconsin, Illinois
Eliminated: 3- Michigan, Indiana, Purdue

Projected: -1. Any number from 6-8 is possible. They will likely have 7 or 8 eligible teams, but could place a second team in a BCS bowl.

Big 12: 7 Slots, plus 2 BCS slots

Eligible: 7 – Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Needs 1 win: 1 – Colorado
Needs 2 wins: 2 – Kansas State and Texas A&M
Eliminated: 2 – Iowa State, Baylor

Projected: -2. Any number from 7-10 is possible. Colorado would be fortunate to get the win. They will likely have 7-8 eligible teams, leaving them short two slots if they are able to send two teams to a BCS bowl.

Big East + Notre Dame: 5 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 5 – Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Connecticut, South Florida
Needs 1 win: 2 – Notre Dame, Louisville
Needs 2 wins: 1 – Rutgers
Eliminated: 1 – Syrause

Projected: +1. Any number from 5-8 is possible. They will likely have 7-8 teams eligible, giving them an extra bowl eligible team or two.

C-USA: 6 Slots

Eligible: 3 – East Carolina, Tulsa, Rice
Needs 1 win: 2 – Memphis, Houston
Needs 2 wins: 3 – Marshall, S. Miss, UTEP
Eliminated: 4 – UAB, UCF, Tulane, SMU

Projected: -1. Any number from 3-8 is possible. They will likely have 5-6 teams eligible, possibly leaving them short a slot.

MAC: 3 Slots

Eligible: 3 – Ball State, C. Michigan, W. Michigan
Needs 1 win: 4 – Akron, Buffalo, Bowling Green, N. Illinois
Needs 3 wins: 1 – Temple
Eliminated: 5 – Miami (OH), Kent State, Ohio, Toledo, E. Michigan

Projected: +4. Any number from 4-7 is possible. They will likely have 6-7 teams eligible leaving them an extra 3 or 4 eligible teams.

MWC: 4 Slots

Eligible: 4- Utah, TCU, BYU, Air Force
Needs 2 wins: 3 – Colorado State, UNLV, Wyoming
Eliminated: 2 – New Mexico, SDSU

Projected: +0. Any number from 4-6 is possible. They will likely have 4-5 teams eligible and could send one to the BCS, leaving them anywhere from one short to one over.

Navy / Independent: 1 Slot

Eligible: 1 – Navy

Projected: +0.

PAC 10: 6 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 5 – USC, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona, California
Needs 1 win: 1 – Stanford
Needs 3 wins: 2 – UCLA, Arizona State
Eliminated: 2 – Washington, Washington State

Projected: -2.

SEC: 8 Slots, plus 2 BCS slots

Eligible: 6 – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU
Needs 1 win: 3 – Vanderbilt, Mississippi, Auburn
Needs 2 wins: 1- Arkansas
Needs 3 wins: 1- Mississippi State
Eliminated: 1 – Tennessee

Projected: -2. Any number from 6-10 is possible. They will likely get 8 teams eligible, leaving them two teams short.

Sun Belt: 1 Slot

Eligible: 1 – Troy
Needs 1 win: 1 – LA-Lafayette
Needs 2 wins: 3 – Florida International, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic
Needs 3 wins: Middle Tennessee State
Eliminated: LA-Monroe, North Texas

Projected: +2. Any number from 1 to 5 teams. They will likely have 2-3 eligible teams.

WAC: 3 Slots

Eligible: 2 – Boise State, San Jose State
Needs 1 win: 4 – LA Tech, Nevada, Hawaii, Fresno State
Needs 3 wins: 1 – New Mexico State
Eliminated: 2 – Utah State, Idaho

Projected: +2. Any number from 3-7 is possible. They will likely have 5-6 eligible teams and have an outside shot at a BCS bowl.

Total
Although the PAC 10, SEC, Big 12, C-USA and Big 10 could be lacking a total of 8 teams, the ACC, Big East, WAC, MAC and Sun Belt should have 10 extra teams available to fill the gaps. Perhaps we need another bowl for those final 2.

The recent moves by the Sun Belt and WAC to position themselves as alternates in several bowl games may well pay off this year.

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Comment on Which Conferences will fill their Bowl slots?…

Semaj Inge led Temple with 19 points, six assists and four steals in a 65-59 win at Penn State Saturday night

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Chris Nwoke received interest from Wyoming before the dismissal of Joe Glenn and his staff. The young running back from Highlands Ranch (Colo.) ThunderRidge could even get a closer look from Dave Christense

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Since officially taking the reins of the Tennessee program on Monday, new head coach Lane Kiffin has been at the center of a whirlwind of recruiting activity. Kiffin has been busy trying to attract new talent to Knoxville, while also trying to keep much of an already impressive class intact, such as receiver Je’ron Stokes

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Dominique Archie isn’t pleased with it. When the shots just aren’t going through, no basketball player would be. But he’s not letting it hurt him, or his team. One of the quietest guys on the team chooses to speak on the court. Even if it’s not on the scoring char

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell said he thinks there’s a “great chance” his coach will leave.

The Friday Morning Briefing finds the football team headed to the New Mexico Bowl, women’s basketball wins over No. 22 TCU, coach Hill is officially staying put at Fresno and swimming heads to Cal Poly as RedWaveReport.com takes a look at Fresno State athletics for Friday, December 5

The Thursday Morning Briefing finds Pat Hill telling recruits he is staying in Fresno, the football team may be ready to announce the New Mexico Bowl and men’s basketball falls short against UNLV as RedWaveReport.com takes a look at Fresno State athletics for Thursday, December 4

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Now that we are well into the midst of the conference schedules, it’s time to take an updated look atJeff’s Sagarin’s Conference ratings .

The following are updated through October 27, 2008:

1 BIG 12 (78.18)
2 BIG TEN (77.24)
3 ATLANTIC COAST (76.97)
4 SOUTHEASTERN (76.54)
5 PAC-10 (74.33)
6 BIG EAST (73.44)
7 MOUNTAIN WEST (70.27)
8 I-A INDEPENDENTS (67.33)
9 WESTERN ATHLETIC (65.57)
10 MID-AMERICAN (65.18)
11 CONFERENCE USA (63.31)
12 SUN BELT (61.11)

A find a couple facets of the current rankings rather fascinating:

- The SEC is the fourth best conference, top-to-bottom? Seriously? The SEC is 20-7 out-of-conference against DI-A teams this year. Granted, three of those seven losses are to the ACC, but… the ACC returned the favor in losing three to the SEC. Sagarin has three SEC teams in his top ten, but the ACC gets the slight nod when you contrast the middle and bottom of each conference, which makes sense when you consider that there are… like… forty-seven teams tied for first in the ACC.

- Is another non-BCS blowout in the offing? Cinderella teams from the WAC (Boise State), Mountain West (Utah, TCU), MAC (Ball State), and C-USA (Tulsa) are all looking to qualify into a BCS bowl this year. Sagarin’s ratings would seem to indicate that their resumes might be lacking if and when they get to the big stage.

- The BCS conferences are head-and-shoulders above the non-BCS conferences. The separation between the Big East and Mountain West is statically significant, and I don’t think we’ve seen any rankings that dispute that designation in the last four years.

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Citingreports from Rivals site Soonerscoop.com ,The Stateis reporting thatOklahoma DC Brent Venables has interviewed for the vacant Clemson head football position .

According to reports by a pair of Rivals.com team sites, Phillips met with Venables about the Tigers’ coaching vacancy on Tuesday. Phillips was spotted arriving at an Oklahoma City airport after 5 p.m., and flight records indicated Clemsons plane was scheduled to leave Oklahoma City later in Monday night.

Venables was on Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips’s radar last season when it was unclear if former coach Tommy Bowden may be leaving for the Arkansas opening. Venables is a K-State alum and thought to be very high on the list to replace Ron Prince, which may have prompted Clemson to reach out to the Sooners DC before the end of the season.

While he would be a key loss for OU, Venables has Bob Stoops support to interview.

“I’d put my guys in front of anybody,” Stoops said. “My guys are open to everybody in the country. I think that’s pretty obvious. I’ve had quite a few go on (to become coaches).”

And Venables might not be the only Sooner in the mix. Oklahoma OC Kevin Wilson has told the Normon newspapers that he would like to interview at Clemson, as well.

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Comment on Tigers interview Oklahoma DC Brent Venables…