Former Lions DT Taylor starts fresh at Baylor

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
My colleague Tim Griffin has an interesting piece over at the Big 12 blog about Phil Taylor, the former Penn State defensive tackle who transferred to Baylor after being dismissed from the program last summer. 
Taylor was among the swell of Penn State players involved in off-field incidents in 2007 and early 2008. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor…
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Upsets, near misses and more

The second day of the NCAA Tournament ended about five minutes til midnight. Baylor, the two seed in the Raleigh Regional, survived an overtime scare from Texas-San Antonio 87-83 in Lubbock, Texas. The Bears were playing without coach Kim Mulkey….
Continue reading at Ohio State women’s basketball

MTEN: No. 3 Buckeyes Face No. 10 Baylor Sunday in Columbus

Ohio State looks to improve home win streak to 80-consecutive matches
Continue reading at Ohio State Women’s Basketball Headline News

Purdue hires Jackson to coach running backs

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Cornell Jackson has been hired as Purdue's running backs coach, the team announced Sunday night.

Jackson coached linebackers at Kansas State in 2008, but the majority of his career has been spent with running backs. He tutored backs at Baylor (2007), New Mexico (2005-06), Washington (2004) and Arizona State (1996-99). Former New Mexico stars Rodney Ferguson and DonTrell Moore are among the players Jackson coached.

"Cornell is a great addition to our staff," Purdue head coach Danny Hope said in a statement. "He comes highly recommended and has coached in some big-time conferences. He's an aggressive coach and an excellent recruiter. He preaches ball security, physical running and finishing each play. We really hit the jackpot with him."

Jackson replaces Joel Thomas, who recently left to become running backs coach at Washington. The 48-year-old takes over a group that loses top rusher Kory Sheets but returns Jaycen Taylor, a key contributor in 2006 and 2007 who tore his ACL in preseason camp in August.

Hope is still looking for a defensive coordinator to round out his coaching staff after Brock Spack left to become Illinois State's head coach.

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Texas’ Gideon moves on after crucial drop

Posted by ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Blake Gideon can joke about it now, and that’s a very good thing.

If there ever was a moment that could scar a college football player for the rest of his career, especially a freshman, Gideon experienced it Nov. 1 in Lubbock, Texas. With Texas leading Texas Tech, 33-32, in the final minute, Gideon dropped a game-clinching interception, one that, as it turned out, would have put the Longhorns in the BCS title game.

Should No. 3 Texas takes care of business Monday in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against No. 10 Ohio State, the what-if machine will start again for Longhorn Nation, and Gideon’s drop is sure to be rehashed time and again.

But the Texas safety refuses to wallow in what might have been. 

“I’ll think about that whenever there’s no more games for me to play,” Gideon said. “It’s selfish for me to dwell on that play and think about what I could have done differently. That’s not fair to my teammates and my coaches, so I’m not going to think about it any longer than I have to.”

Like the rest of his teammates, Gideon went through a “24-hour mourning period” after the game before turning his focus to Baylor. The play still comes up among Longhorns players and jokes are made about it, but Gideon laughs along with the others. 

“All these other guys in here wearing jerseys are close enough,” Gideon said. “We pride ourselves on being a family. So it doesn’t bother me.”

Longhorns senior defensive end Henry Melton still sees Gideon getting a hard time for the crucial drop, but the freshman has come a long way from that night in Lubbock. Melton made a point to seek out Gideon the day after the drop, saying he had no ill will toward him. 

“He was real down on himself,” Melton said. “I mean, who wouldn’t be? That’s a play you see yourself making since you’re a kid, winning the game for everybody. It was hard on him. He’s really worked his way through it. 

“He’s laughing it off now. He’s picking his head up. He’s working his way back.”

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The Wrong Teams Are Playing for the National Championship…Again

Well, here we go again.  Another year of college football madness, and another year settled by the BCS system.  Ah…the BCS system!  Every year college football gets more complicated at the end of the season, and every year the BCS continues to show us more and more of its flaws.

Last year, if you remember, Ohio State was the only one-loss team left in the major conferences.  There were a number of deserving two-loss teams that could have gone to the National Championship, including Kansas, Georgia, USC, and LSU.  We all know that Ohio State and LSU got in, but who really should have gotten in?

Let’s see what happened.  Georgia demolished Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and were ranked No. 4 before the BCS selections were made.  USC obliterated Illinois in the Rose Bowl.  Kansas beat a very good Virginia Tech team.  LSU beat overrated Ohio State by two touchdowns and were ranked No. 7 before the BCS selections came out.

USC and Georgia were the two most deserving teams, and the two best teams.  Even if Ohio State had to stay in, USC and Georgia were both better than LSU and had more of a claim to the title than LSU.

The National Championship should have been Ohio State (and that’s only because they had one loss) against either Georgia or USC.  Georgia was ranked higher than LSU, and they really did deserve the National Championship that year.  After what USC did in the Rose Bowl, they proved that they also deserved the National Championship.

Now to this year.

What a mess this year was!  There were many one-loss major conference teams who had a fair claim to the National Title.  Let’s take this step by step.

First, we’ll look at the National Championship.  Florida lost at home to a good, unranked Ole Miss team.  Oklahoma lost by 10 on a neutral field to…No. 3 Texas…ouch.

Now, let’s look at the Fiesta Bowl.  No. 3 Texas lost on the road to No. 7 Texas Tech in the final seconds…but they beat Oklahoma.  Ohio State…lost to the two good teams they played, so they don’t get a say.

Next, we have the Sugar Bowl.  No. 4 Alabama lost to Florida in the SEC Championship game, but they’re still 12-1.  Utah played a weak schedule, and they wouldn’t get in anyway because they’re in a bad conference, so they don’t get a say.

Now we have the Orange Bowl.  The Orange Bowl will now be possibly the worst BCS bowl in history, pitting 9-4 Virginia Tech against 11-2 Cincinnati.  What a snoozer.

Now it’s the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl.  This features No. 8 Penn State against No. 5 USC.  Penn State lost to a very underrated Iowa team, on the road, in harsh conditions, and they were not supplied heaters.  Did I mention they lost on a last-second field goal?  It was a traditional upset that happens to even the best teams in the nation.

USC, on the other hand, lost to Oregon State.  Oregon State dominated them the entire game, even though the final score was close.  Also, just for your information, both USC and Penn State played Ohio State and Oregon State.  Penn State and USC both beat Ohio State, and USC lost to Oregon State while Penn State beat them by 31.

Now let’s look at No. 7 Texas Tech, who got left out of a BCS bowl because only two teams per conference are allowed in a BCS bowl.  They beat No. 3 Texas, but lost to No. 1 Oklahoma, who No. 3 Texas beat…see what I’m getting at?  Correct!  The Big 12 mess will start everything off.

Now here’s how it goes.  Earlier in the season, Texas and Oklahoma played on a neutral field.  Texas won by a score of 45-35.

Texas then went on to play games against four tough teams in a row.  On the final game of that stretch, they faced Texas Tech on the road.  Texas Tech beat them on a last-second touchdown throw, 39-33.

Texas Tech then went on to play a couple of tough games.  Texas Tech then played Oklahoma on the road.  They got demolished…completely demolished.  Texas Tech was held to 21 points, while Oklahoma put over 60 on the scoreboard, which they ended up doing for five games in a row, a new NCAA record.

The Big 12 mess gives three teams the claim to the Big 12 Championship and the National Title.  Let’s put it this way: Texas won on a neutral field and lost on the road, Oklahoma won at home and lost on a neutral field, and Texas Tech won at home and lost on the road.

Texas Tech ended up being down in the rankings and almost losing to Baylor, so they really shouldn’t have expected a National Championship bid.  Texas and Oklahoma, however, both have great claim to the National Championship.

I think head to head does matter, and the tiebreaker says not, but since OU jumped Texas in the rankings when they didn’t play, the Big 12 tiebreaker puts them in the Big 12 Championship.

I think that Texas, honestly, is more deserving to go to the National Championship.  Texas won on a neutral field and lost on the road on a last second play.  Oklahoma won at home and lost on a neutral field.  Therefore, Texas should be in the National Championship over Oklahoma.

Now for the next part.  Alabama, Penn State, and USC all feel that they have a claim to the National Championship as well.  Let’s see what Florida’s loss was like compared to theirs.

Alabama lost to Florida, and although they are a great team, they are eliminated for that reason.

Penn State lost in horrible conditions on the road.  Yes, the horrible conditions affected Iowa too, but it affected PSU more.  Penn State is a balanced offense, and Iowa is a running offense.  In harsh winds and cold, it is much easier to run than pass, so Iowa was given another advantage, along with being at home, for this game.  Iowa pulled a classic upset by kicking a field goal in the final second.

Florida lost to a good Ole Miss team (who are not as good as a very underrated Iowa team).  Florida was at home, and it was a clear and warm day.  They lost because they missed an extra point and instead of attempting a field goal with 30 seconds left to win it, they went for it on fourth down and failed.

The last time I checked, a loss at home in perfect conditions is not as respectable as a loss in a hostile road environment in bad conditions.  But oh…that’s right, we can just forget about Florida’s loss and say that Penn State’s loss was horrible and they don’t deserve a shot at the National Championship.

USC lost to Oregon State on the road (who Penn State crushed).  USC has a fair say in the National Championship, except that they only proved themselves by beating Ohio State at home (who Penn State beat on the road, where Ohio State has lost only four times in the past eight years).  USC has a case for the Championship, but it’s not as strong as Penn State’s.

Therefore, from the arguments given, Penn State should be in the National Championship over Florida.

Now I know that all you fans will start complaining, but based on the arguments, these are the deserving teams.  The National Championship should be Penn State vs. Texas.  However, even if that was not the case, other good National Championship matchups could be Penn State vs. Florida, Florida vs. Texas, and Penn State vs. Oklahoma.

Although the National Championship should be an entertaining matchup, the BCS got it wrong, again.  Due to severe blindness and bias by voters, and due to the computers’ lack of ability to grade performances, the BCS continues to show more and more flaws.

Either we need a playoff, or the BCS needs to be fixed.  As for this year, the winner of the “National Championship” should have to share it with the winner of the Rose Bowl (most likely Penn State) and with Texas if they win.

Every year the BCS causes more and more controversy and gets worse and worse, yet nothing is being done to fix it.  It is a shame that these teams that deserve the National Championship don’t get it.  Hopefully the teams I mentioned will get a share of the National Championship if they win convincingly, but if not, it’s even a bigger disgrace for the BCS.

Many fans may attack me for saying that I’m just mad, but so are so many other fans.  The other teams that I mentioned have just as much of a case to go to the National Championship as those who are in it.

In conclusion, the BCS got it wrong again, and it will continue to get things wrong until it is eliminated or fixed.

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OSU men back in top 25

Ohio State’s mens basketball team, coming off back-to-back road upsets of ranked Miami and Notre Dame, moved into both major polls this week at No. 21.

The Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls were both released Monday.

The full AP story is below.

<b>North Carolina is unanimous No. 1</b>

(AP) North Carolina’s 35-point romp over a ranked team kept the Tar Heels a unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll Monday. Ohio State joined the Top 25 following a pair of five-point victories over ranked teams.
The Tar Heels (8-0) dismantled Michigan State 98-63 at Ford Field last week as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and again received all 72 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Connecticut and Pittsburgh held the second and third spots, while Gonzaga and Oklahoma both moved up one place to fourth and fifth. Texas, Duke, Tennessee, Louisville and Xavier rounded out the top 10.
Ohio State (5-0), which beat Miami and Notre Dame last week, moved in at No. 21, the Buckeyes’ first ranking since being No. 1 in the final poll of 2006-07.
Defending national champion Kansas (7-1) moved back into the poll at No. 25.
Miami (5-2) and Florida dropped out of the rankings. Miami bounced back from the loss to Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with a victory at Kentucky on Saturday. Florida lost to intrastate rival Florida State for the third straight year on Sunday.
Texas (6-1) moved up one spot after beating UCLA 68-64 last week. Duke, which lost 81-73 at Michigan on Saturday after winning 76-60 at Purdue on Tuesday, fell from fourth to seventh.
Wake Forest was 11th and was followed by Notre Dame, Syracuse, Purdue, Villanova, UCLA, Memphis, Michigan State, Georgetown and Arizona State.
The last five ranked teams were Ohio State, Baylor, Davidson, Marquette and Kansas.
Kansas, the defending national champion, returned to the poll after being out for one week following its loss to Syracuse. The Jayhawks beat Kent State, New Mexico State and Jackson State last week, all by at least 21 points.
The last time Ohio State was ranked it had a roster full of freshmen who all headed for the NBA after the title-game loss to Florida. Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook were first-round picks after that one season.
The current group of Buckeyes is about as young, with sophomores Evan Turner and Jon Diebler and freshmen B.J. Mullens and William Buford joining junior David Lighty to lead the way this season.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect,” coach Thad Matta said Monday. “I think the big thing is we’re pleased with the start we’re off to, but we know we have to work to get where we want to be. But it beats the alternative.
“The guys have done a very good job of working hard and from that standpoint we’re very pleased. We sit down after every game and show them things we have to improve to get to where we want to be.”
Ohio State trailed by 14 points at halftime at Miami, and the win over then-No. 7 Notre Dame came at Lucas Oil Stadium, hardly a neutral site with the Fighting Irish having a homestate advantage.
“No question as we went into last week we knew we were going to have play very good basketball to have a chance to win,” Matta said. “The come-from-behind victory at Miami was big with the way we did it, only turned the ball over one time, what we had been preaching, to take care of the ball. We knew defensively we had to be very sound in both games. We hope the guys are learning the system and staying focused on what we need to do.”
The Big East had a record eight teams in the Top 25 for a second straight week: Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown and Marquette . The Big 12 was second this week with four teams, while the ACC and Big Ten had three each.
There are two games between ranked teams this week, with Villanova facing Texas on Tuesday at the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, and Memphis at Georgetown on Saturday.
 

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Ten Top 10s After Week 15 in College Football

Top Ten Teams

1) Utah: Undefeated, undisputed.

2) Boise: Proves it doesn’t matter what happens on the field—only matters how much your fanbase spends on road trips.

3) Texas: May be the best team in the country right now.

4) Oklahoma: When they win, they do it with style.

5) Penn State: Another fine job on and off the field by Joe Paterno.

6) USC: A defense that’s just fun to watch

7) Texas Tech: The odd man out.

Florida: A nice year, with one of the worst losses.

9) Alabama: Overachieved all year—just a great effort to get this far.

10) Cincinnati: It really came together for the Bearcats this year.

 

Worst Ten Teams

1) Washington: Pathetic.

2) Western Kentucky: Thanks for playing—we have some great parting gifts.

3) Notre Dame: How embarrassing does it really have to get?

4) North Texas: The Mean Green weren’t too mean.

5) Washington State: Horrible.

6) SMU: Wasn’t an instant turnaround for June Jones.

7) San Diego State: No, we didn’t forget the loss to Cal Poly.

Michigan: The worst season I can remember for this proud program.

9) Miami (OH): Preseason conference favorites finish dead last.

10) Tulane: Holy (Bob) Toledo, this team stinks.

 

Top Ten Most Improved This Season

1) Alabama: The pride is back in the Tide.

2) Cincinnati: Nice job all the way around.

3) Buffalo: Two words: Turner Gil.

4) Rice: Understated but overperformed.

5) Oklahoma State: If anyone wants to argue that they should be No. 1 on this list, I have no comeback.

6) Nebraska: Not over the hump, but at least to the hump—a big step forward.

7) Florida State: Respectable again.

NC State: Tom O’Brien’s finest job ever.

9) Miami: Showed signs of youth but a bright future as well.

10) Temple: 5-7 is a great season for these guys, and it could have been 7-5 or better with some luck.

 

Top Ten Underachievers

1) Notre Dame: “Soft” schedule just showed how soft they are.

2) Clemson: Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid.

3) Miami (OH): Not ready to let these guys off the hook.

4) Illinois: From Rose Bowl to no bowl.

5) West Virginia: They were thinking title game.

6) Michigan: The long bowl streak ends.

7) Wisconsin: Many had them winning the Big Ten.

Arizona State: Ouch.

9) Georgia: Not what they had in mind.

10) Auburn: Nothing short of a disaster.

 

Ten Who Are “In”

1) Manny Pacquiao: The pound for pound king is still the king.

2) Tim Tebow: Heisman hunt and National Title game—not a bad year.

3) Turner Gill: Who doesn’t want to be his agent?

4) Julio Jones: It’s official—Bama fans are the only ones not waiting for this guy to go pro. Awesome.

5) Oklahoma: Not sure how the math works, but either way they are in.

6) Brian Kelly: In style.

7) Virginia Tech: In another BCS Bowl game.

Utah: In the BCS against the big boys this time.

9) Gator Assistant Coaches: In the running for Head Coach jobs.

10) Skip Holtz: Syracuse?

 

Ten Who Are “Out”

1) O.J. Simpson: Out of favor but “in” prison.

2) Plaxico Burress: Out of the Giants and not in Mensa either.

3) Texas: Out of the title game.

4) Boise State: Out of the BCS.

5) Michigan: Out of a bowl game.

6) Charlie Weis: In a job but out of style.

7) Percy Harvin, DeMarco Murray, and Dominic Goodman: We’ll be hearing this names a lot in the next few weeks.

Tommy Tuberville: Say what?

9) Jimbo Fisher: Maybe not the next Head Coach of the Noles?

10) Chop Blocking: This needs to be even more out than it already is.

 

Top Ten Things I’ll Do Between Now and the Bowls

1) Holiday Parties: After a while they all blend together.

2) Work on improving my websites: Hopefully The College Football Place has some bothers and sisters shortly.

3) Home Improvement: My prized Orchids aren’t looking too good these days.

4) Work on my Book: You all will see this first as a series of articles.

5) Chat it up in the Forums:  How fun has this been?

6) Holiday Shopping: Anyone surprised I’m not done yet?

7) Improve my videos: Long overdue.

Start my NFL Draft preview: No rest for the weary.

9) Preview the games: Most on the site, others in the free newsletter.

10) Relax: Time to catch my breath—it’s been a fun but exhausting season.

 

Ten Things We All Can Do This Holiday Season

1) Give: Better than receiving.

2) Help someone: Same as giving.

3) Be thankful: Give thanks.

4) Get in touch with someone you haven’t talked to in a while: Tell them thanks for being part of your life.

5) Smile: It can be infectious.

6) Laugh: One of my personal favorites.

7) Don’t take life so seriously: See No. 6.

Pick a charity: There is always someone less fortunate than you.

9) Enjoy them: If the holidays stress you out, you aren’t doing them right.

10) Tell someone you care: They might have started to think you didn’t.

 

Ten Best Teams to Not Make a Bowl Game

1) Auburn: Better than some that are going.

2) Duke: Maybe next year?

3) Illinois: If someone can figure this team out, give Zook a call.

4) Virginia: Had their chances.

5) Stanford: I thought they had a chance.

6) Tennessee: Too much talent to not make it.

7) UCLA: My guess is we don’t see them on this list for a very long time.

Arizona State: This season was a bust—we’ll see if they recover.

9) Arkansas: Having Texas, Alabama, Florida, and others on the schedule isn’t always a great thing.

10) Baylor: Going to be fun to watch next year.

 

Top Ten Bowl Matchups

1) Oklahoma Vs. Florida: Not sure they got the teams right, but love the matchup.

2) Boise Vs. TCU: If you don’t think this is a great game, you didn’t watch enough College Football this year.

3) Alabama Vs. Utah: Going to be a better game than people think.

4) Penn State Vs. USC: Joe Paterno started the game plan two weeks ago.

5) Georgia Vs. Michigan State: Two teams you wouldn’t think of as playing one another.

6) Texas Tech Vs. Ole Miss: Both of these teams beat top three teams this year.

7) Georgia Tech Vs. LSU: The ACC has done a nice job against the SEC so far this season. Does it continue?

Western Michigan Vs. Rice: Under the radar choice as most exciting game.

9) Oregon Vs. Oklahoma State: The Holiday Bowl is usually a pretty good one.

10) West Virginia Vs. North Carolina: Toss a coin as to who will win.

Visit Mitch anytime at his site: The College Football Place

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2008 Blogpoll Ballot, Week #14

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	—
2	Oklahoma	—
3	Florida	—
4	Texas	—
5	Penn State	—
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Utah	1
8	Texas Tech	1
9	Ohio State	1
10	Boise State	1
11	Ball State	3
12	Oklahoma State	1
13	TCU	2
14	Cincinnati	2
15	Georgia Tech	3
16	Boston College	3
17	Oregon	6
18	Brigham Young	3
19	Michigan State	3
20	Georgia	8
21	Mississippi	4
22	Pittsburgh	4
23	Northwestern	1
24	Missouri	11
25	Tulsa	1

Utah and Texas Tech flip-flop after a weak Texas Tech showing, where they needed three straight touchdowns to beat Baylor and Ohio State and Boise State flip-flop because I love the Buckeyes and I hate the Smurf Turf. A top-15 that includes Ball State, Cincinnati and TCU feels wrong.

Big thanks to Oregon for making it a lot more realistic for the Buckeyes making a BCS game this season. If it comes down to OSU or Boise or Utah, I’m guessing the bowl committee will make the right decision.

Comments, suggestions and poo-flinging are welcome in the comments, as this is preliminary ballot.

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Why Shonn Greene, Not Graham Harrell, Should Be a Heisman Finalist

Before I start getting hate mail from all those Red Raider fans, yes, I know he’s had a record-breaking season and all that good stuff, and I’ve seen his stats numerous times. Harrell did complete 408 passes on 568 attempts for 4,747 yards with 41 touchdowns, though he did have more yards and touchdowns last year, by the way.

He’ll probably win team MVP. Actually, I’d give that to Michael Crabtree. (Sorry, Longhorn fans! Had to bring him up.)

You are probably wondering how someone could replace one of the heads of the three-headed monster of the Big 12: Harrell, Bradford, and McCoy. Well, that would be the only running back in Division 1 football who has rushed for 100 yards in every single game this year. (His season-low was actually 103 yards.)

He is Shonn Greene of Iowa, the team who upset previously-undefeated Penn State. He also played in a conference where they decided to play defense. I cannot say the same for the Big 12.

The Big 12 had 12 quarterbacks throw for more touchdowns than interceptions—that’s every starting quarterback in the conference. No other conference can claim such a thing, with five of the 12 quarterbacks throwing for more than 28 touchdowns. That is just too much for one conference, and it must indicate that the Big 12 recruits great quarterbacks (some are) and that their defenses simply are not very good.

In addition, nine teams in the Big 12 average over 30 points a game, including 4-8 Baylor. Catch my drift? Each team was beating each other up during those high-scoring Big 12 conference games, with Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Texas going 1-1 against each other.

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