It's being reported that Michigan head coach Rich Rodriquez is out today, the drubbing by Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl being the final nail in his three -year tenure at the Big House. Once the hottest coaching commodity out there after almost landing West Virginia in the BCS title game in 2007, Rich Rod had teased Alabama after the 2006 season before spurning them and working himself a big raise with the Mountaineers. The next season he was lured away by Michigan to take over for the retired/fired Lloyd Carr and was mostly noted for the subsequent lawsuit by WVU over his bonuses as he hit the country roads of West Virginia for another place he belonged. 

Under Rodriguez's helm, the Maize and Blue suffered their worst season ever (2008) and their worst bowl loss ever (2010), among other underwhelming accomplishments.

But early word is that Stanford's Jim Harbaugh, a Michigan alum and  the hottest dual threat NFL/CFB coaching prospect in the land, is not interested in the job, which is probably a nice way of saying that he is clamoring for a NFL job. Could that leave fellow Ann Arbor alumnus Leslie Miles a candidate once again? Once bitten, twice shy, baby?

If you recall, Miles was a leading candidate in early 2008 after winning the BCS title at LSU and clearly considered answering the call to come home, but decided his fortunes were better down on the Bayou--either that or time expired on the clock before he could make up his mind.

I respected Miles for that decision as it showed him to be a consummate professional by sticking with a good thing, but it also didn't hurt that Baton Rouge threw a ton of cash at him and inked in a big buyout clause that is reportedly still huge--cue Fanblogs LSU-bureau reporter TE to fill in what that amount may be. TE?

This opening is certainly to be the biggest of the year and coaching voids this size always have major repercussions and aftermaths in the CFB world as other teams adjust or are forced to fill holes in their staff--that on top of the endless speculation.

And Auburn family, I think I'm pretty safe in going ahead and saying that Gus Malzahn IS NOT going to be on the short list of candidates for Michigan. Thank you.

ESPN is reporting that after Auburn QB Cameron Newton came out of junior college last year that his services were allegedly shopped by a former Mississippi State player named named Kenny Rogers, who is a Chicago based sports agent. His company, Elite Football Preparation, puts on various football camps in Chicago, Mississippi and Alabama. The story was told by John Bond, a former QB at Mississippi State and one of Rogers' teammates.

Rogers allegedly told Bond after Newton's official visit to Starkville that it "would take some cash to get Cam". Bond promptly told the school, which promptly reported it to the SEC. This occured back in September, when an investigation was conducted.

Bond was told that other schools had offered $200,000 for his procurement, but since State HC Dan Mullen had an existing relationship with Newton, that they could pay only $180,000.

Cam Newton's father, Cecil, was interviewed by ESPN.com and denied any involvement, commenting that if Rogers attempted to solicit money, "he did it on his own, without our knowledge". The elder Newton admitted talking with Rogers a few times back in 2008 when Cam left Florida, but didn't actually meet him until Cam's official visit to State.

Cecil Newton acknowledged that he received a request from the NCAA in September asking him to provide bank statements both for himself and for the church for which he is a pastor, the Holy Zion Center of Deliverance, in Newnan, GA. He complied with the request.

In the meantime, it is the NCAA's policy to neither confirm nor deny any investigation it is conducting.

As far as Rogers and his company, both the NCAA and the NFL Player's Association have launched investigations into their practices.

Auburn assistant athletic director and media relations Kirk Sampson said "We have been made aware of the allegation. Unfortunately, we cannot comment at this time." "However, Cam Newton is eligible to play football at Auburn."

More to come.

Those in the SEC are in the football beniss, and cousin, beniss is booming! With the recently concluded SEC spring meetings, it looks like the total take of the conference in revenue was $209 million last year and pay czar Mike Slive got to dole out $17.42M per school. As you may know, the SEC distributes it's revenue equally per school, which has served it well over the years. The status quo is good, but the recent shakeup in the Big 12 may have repercussions even in stable conferences like the SEC. In FBS, where the move is to close the gap between the haves (BCS teams) and the have nots (mid-majors), a new brand of social injustice for CFB has apparently reared it's head across the land--in the concept of the heavy-hitters of a conference now taking more of the lion's share of the TV money. Oh, if we only had some form of ACORN for college football to right these wrongs.

We all know now that some think Austin seemingly analgous to the Chicken Ranch in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and used fully it's weight to secure an unprecedented share of the upcoming new Big 12 agreement. Although details have yet to be given, many think that the Longhorns pulled out their Peacemakers and held up and robbed the rest of the existing members. But maybe that's what you get when a conference is too top heavy with too few stars. Under the old revenue -sharing agreement, half the money was split equally among the member schools, but the other half was given out based on TV appearances. Seems pretty fair on the surface. There has to be some incentive for the higher-achievers to earn more while protecting the rest of the conference herd. Kind of like college football capitalism--with some social security, disability and a good dental plan thrown in.

So is it pure socialism if the SEC splits their pie in twelve equal shares regardless of merit or achievement? Relax, it's not an apt comparison. Schools join conferences because they have common interests. They're neighbors, and they look out for each other even while they compete. Or at least that's how they used to do it when conferences were still regional entities. But now that the stakes are getting higher, could a change be in the foreseeable future? Well, maybe, but probably not in the next 14 years, which will be when the SEC's $2.25B TV contract with ESPN and the almost $1B contract with CBS run out. But in an age where a contract means little, don't think that the SEC might not have attempted to renegotiate if the conference expanded or contracted. Yes, I said contracted.

If the SEC would have added a couple of teams, especially one from Texas, it's natural to think that TV contracts would suddenly be worth a whole lot more, and any mega contract like those signed by the conference will have provisions for dealing with such contingencies. But what if the conference actually shrunk, and not only that, but shrunk the deadwood from it's roster? Not only would the resulting product be more valuable to the networks--without the affirmative action scheduling of the light-weights, but there would be far fewer mouths to feed. Imagine the $209 earned split among 10 teams, just like the Big 12 just experienced. You'd be looking at a 20% increase for the remaining SEC teams. Cousin, that's BOOM'in!

But who's going to start cutting teams from the SEC? Mike Bianchi over at the Orlando Sentinel recently proposed that, saying that the conference would be better off dropping both Mississippi teams from the conference (but leaving Vanderbilt for GPA-boosting purposes). He argues that no one out side of the Magnolia state would care and it sure wouldn't diminish any TV revenues. Silly Yankees. They move down and live here for years but they'll never understand the culture of the south. We just don't treat our kin that way. And besides, he's obviously never heard the phrase thank God for Mississippi. They may red-shirt Miss Americas, but someone has to be 50th place in just about everything else.

But he does make a good  underlying point--that the conference has it's top crust and it's lower half, and save for the occasional superlative season, little changes for the lower tier teams. The top six--Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, LSU and Auburn--get most of the exposure and glamor, especially in the BCS era. So what good are the lower half, except for ballast? More over, is there a better disbursement system than the current one to reward the higher achieving teams? Certainly a pay plan like the old Big 12 agreement sounds plausible, where half the money gets split evenly among the members and the other half by merit. Could the top half force the bottom half into such a scenario when TV contracts are renegotiated? Would resentment be rampant from just such a forced agreement? What could the bottom six do in protest, secede to form another conference? Certainly wouldn't be unheard of from SEC types. That's kind of been our thing, historically.

Or what about a future farther-fetched scenario: one of two top teams, say Alabama and Florida, enjoy so much success that they become the two-horse team that drive the rest of the league stagecoach. Sounds improbable, given the parity in the conference, but hear me out. Could they one day threaten defection much in the way Texas seemingly did to hold hostage the rest of the conference, to everyone's eventual detriment? I certainly hope not. I don't think that's ingrained in our SEC culture, but after seeing how Texas A&M acted in defiance to Texas's price shopping, even the oldest of rivals may decide to go their separate ways one day, and I don't think that the game could sustain such a blow if many others followed suit.

The money has gotten so large and the power bases have gotten so concentrated that revenue sharing might be the biggest threat to our beloved sport in the next decade or so. Not a playoff. Not conference expansions or defections. Not the Golden-Domed stepchild Notre Dame. But pure old-fashioned greed--of money and power. The last two decades have seen college football transition from past time to being a major industry unto itself. I hope that somehow as our sport continues to grow that we don't forget the simple love of the game that got us this far in the first place.

Here's a quick what we know, what we can surmise....

- Colorado is officially joining the Pac10. It's unclear as to whether the Pac10 intends to hold at 11 teams, but we should expect the Pac10 to seek to add at least one additional member. For years the argument against expansion centered around the round-robin schedule format and - with 11 schools - that format is officially out the window for college football. Adding one more school would give the conference the option to conduct a CFB championship game in some of the largest television markets in the country. Does the Pac10 stop at 12 (Texas??) or expand further with Big12/MWC/WAC teams???

- The Big10 will have 12 teams with the addition of Nebraska. Will they stand pat at 12 teams or expand to 16 as had been rumored?

- The SEC has said that they will not sit idly by if the Big10 expands. Sports Illustrated has confirmed that the SEC has held discussions with Texas A&M. Is that prelude to further SEC expansion? Who, in addition to the Aggies, are on the SEC radar?

- The ACC & Big East seem to be awfully quiet. Are they targets or could a merger be on the table for the two conferences?

- The MWC will not offer membership to Boise State at this time, setting themselves up to be the home of any Big12 refugees. Is the MWC destined to become a BCS conference by default?

DISCUSS!!!

"I'm aware of all the interest and all that's being written, but given the success that we have experienced over the past decade, we're comfortable with the position in which we find ourselves," Slive told FLORIDA TODAY on Wednesday. "Now having said that, if there's going to be a significant shift in the conference paradigm, the SEC will be strategic and thoughtful in order to maintain its position as one of the nation's premier conferences. We are watching carefully what's going on and keeping our antenna up and our eyes open as to what's going on around us."

The Wiz, who's antenna is always up, caught this piece that says Slive is doing more than just watching. It's reported that the SEC has held talks with executives from CBS Sports and outlined the conferences plan to target six teams for conference expansion.

According to Hyams, Slive told CBS executives in a recent meeting that the league’s goal would be to keep pace with a 16-team Big Ten by pursuing Texas, Texas A&M, Florida State and Clemson.

If Texas and Texas A&M cannot be lured in, then Miami and Georgia Tech will join Florida State and Clemson on the SEC’s wish list.

The post is based upon the reporting of Jimmy Hyams of WNML-AM 990 in Knoxville. Hyams, who's covered SEC sports for more than 30 years, cites anonymous sources close to CBS. Given Hyams's stature in the broadcast community, I would tend to agree that this story has some legs to it.

In looking at the "plan", the discussion around Texas and Texas A&M wouldn't be shocking to anyone. Texas represents the premiere "get" in the country and the 'Horns won't be permitted to go anywhere by the Texas Legislature unless their take perennial rival with them. The Aggies may be the little brother in the mix, but they're the lynchpin to the entire deal.

The move to bring in Texas would cement the SEC's footprint into two of the country's top ten television markets: Dallas (#5) and Houston (#10). It's unclear to me if the conference would be able to go back to ESPN and ask for more television money right away, but the long-term benefit of adding the two schools would be substantial.

As far as adding Florida State and Clemson, I get the sense that the SEC is merely the SEC keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak. The Noles and Tigers add a little more color to the conference, but don't necessarily represent a blockbuster addition in terms of potential revenue. If anything, it would be a move against the ACC to limit the conferences marketability and - in turn - keep more money on the table for the SEC. Ditto for what appears to be the backup plan of pursuing Georgia Tech and Miami.

On the flip side of the equation, I'm not convinced that the SEC would be able to land all four ACC teams, especially given the extra $7.5 million per year that the teams will now be earning from the new ACC television agreement. The ACC teams still earn less than the SEC teams, but it's no longer such a wide margin.

For it's part, the SEC is denying that any meeting has taken place; however, Hyams is standing by his reporting.

Under the new rules, teams are only allowed to have two coaches visit a prospect's school on a recruiting day.

Auburn gained national recruiting buzz when the "Tiger Prowl" first rolled onto the scene. Instead of sending just a couple of coaches to schools, seven members of the Tigers coaching staff all jumped into a stretch limo and made the rounds from school-to-school.

The high-roller approach didn't go over with other coaches or the NCAA, who specifically mentioned the visits in the statement accompanying the rule.

Although during an evaluation period no in-person, off-campus recruiting contact may occur with a prospective student-athlete, it has become commonplace for institutions to send numerous coaches to a prospective student-athlete’s educational institution. Oftentimes arriving in limousines and extravagant buses, these multiple coaches are appearing at the high schools of the prospective student-athletes just as much to be seen as to actually conduct an evaluation. Many institutions are unnecessarily expending resources in order to have multiple assistant coaches attend these evaluations as a result of the perceived recruiting benefit. By permitting only two football coaches per institution to visit a prospective student-athlete’s school on any given evaluation day, it would preclude institutions from sending a large number of assistant coaches to a school just for perception purposes.

(emphasis added)

Knowing the rule has been coming, at least two schools - Auburn and Georgia - have been using the Prowl in the last few weeks to maximize attention before the NCAA could put a stop to it.

I think this should be taking as a compliment to the Auburn Tigers. They did it and it worked. Auburn finished with the Rivals #4 recruiting class, besting SEC rivals Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia and 10 other conference foes.

And since no good deed goes unpunished, the Tiger Prowl concept is banned, just as Urban Meyer's texting thumbs were summarily silenced by the NCAA.

It's hard to predict what the next big thing will be in the recruiting arms race, but you can pretty much count on the SEC to dream it up. Les Miles in a jetpack? The Kentucky coaches in a YouTube lipdub? The Vandy "V" being shown like Batman's bat-signal high over Atlanta?

Don't laugh - it could happen.

At first glance, it would seem to reward teams that played a tougher schedule rather than padding their record with cupcakes. The change would also give bowls more flexibility to create the most interesting matchup, potentially boosting revenues for struggling bowl committees.

Matt Sanderson, co-founder of Playoff PAC, told the San Diego Union Times that the rule could allow bowls with open slots for at-large teams to select power-conference teams with 6-6 records over smaller-conference teams with winning records.

Sanderson points to this season's GMAC Bowl, which took 9-3 Troy as an at-large team. Under the revised rules, the GMAC Bowl could have offered the at-large slot to 6-6 Notre Dame.

While the new provision still needs an OK by the greater NCAA, most rule revisions that make it out of committee are approved.

Suffice to say... no one wants to see a bad 6-6 team stink it up in a marquee bowl game. The reality is that - with new bowls coming on in Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl - there are going to be 70 teams in bowl games this year. If a bowl needs to dig deep and get an at-large team, I would prefer them to create the most interesting game they can.

No disrespect intended, but I would *much* rather see a hypothetical 6-6 Southern Cal as an at-large against Alabama, for example, over a 7-5 Louisiana Monroe.

Just sayin.

The Big Ten is looking at three plans: Stand pat with 11 teams, add one team (hopefully Notre Dame) or make a blockbuster move and go to 16.

"If they go to 16 and one of them is Notre Dame then we've got an entirely new ball game," a conference commissioner told me confidentially.

According to Barnhart, the Big 10 would potentially add Notre Dame and four other Big East teams. It's hard to distinguish if he has any leads on who those teams could be, but Barnhart theorizes that the target list may include Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers, and UConn.

Of course this opens a whole host of other possibilities....

Where do the other Big East football schools go?

Would some mish-mash of Big East / Conference USA start a new conference?

Would the ACC expand to 16 as well by taking in the Big East leftovers?

Would the SEC expand to 16 to ensure that the conference doesn't lose its considerable negotiating advantage to the new Big 16? And, as Barnhart ponders, who would the SEC invite?

Does the SEC get aggressive and pick up the phone call Texas? That's the one school that would move the financial needle to improve the great deal the SEC already has. And if you take Texas, you have to take Texas A&M because of the politics. Does the SEC take another look at Florida State and Miami and see if those schools would be interested in leaving the ACC for a better financial deal?

It's hard to even imagine an SEC that adds the collective football prominence of Texas, Texas A&M, FSU and Miami. Not to mention its gains in Title IX sports and spring sports such as baseball, track, and golf.

A 16-team Big 10 would definitely be a behemoth, but the ripple effects... *that's* where superconference expansion would get interesting.

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Date/Time/TV Bowl Site Matchup Saturday Dec. 19 2 :30 pm ET ESPN New Mexico Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Albuquerque, NM University Stadium Wyoming vs. Fresno State Saturday Dec. 19 8:00 pm ET ESPN St. Petersburg Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks St. Petersburg, FL Tropicana Field Rutgers vs. Central Florida Sunday Dec. 20 8:00 pm ET ESPN R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks New Orleans, LA Louisiana Superdome Southern Miss vs. Middle Tenn St Tuesday Dec. 22 8:00 pm ET ESPN MAACO Bowl Las Vegas Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Las Vegas, NV Sam Boyd Stadium BYU vs. Oregon State Wednesday Dec. 23 8:00 pm ET ESPN San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium Utah vs. Cal Thursday Dec. 24 8:00 pm ET ESPN Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Honolulu, HI Aloha Stadium SMU vs. Nevada Saturday Dec. 26 4:30 pm ET ESPN Meineke Car Care Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium North Carolina vs. Pitt Saturday Dec. 26 5 :00 pm ET ESPN Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Detroit, MI Ford Field Ohio U vs. Marshall Saturday Dec. 26 8:00 pm ET ESPN Emerald Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Francisco, CA AT&T Park Boston College vs. USC Sunday Dec. 27 8:15 pm ET ESPN Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Nashville, TN LP Field Clemson vs. Kentucky Monday Dec. 28 5:00 pm ET ESPN AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Shreveport, LA Independence Stadium Texas A&M vs. Georgia Tuesday Dec. 29 4:30 pm ET ESPN EagleBank Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Washington, DC RFK Stadium Temple vs. UCLA Tuesday Dec. 29 8:00 pm ET ESPN Champs Sports Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Miami vs. Wisconsin Wednesday Dec. 30 4:30 pm ET ESPN Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Boise, ID Bronco Stadium Bowling Green vs. Idaho Wednesday Dec. 30 8:00 pm ET ESPN Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Diego, CA Qualcomm Stadium Nebraska vs. Arizona Thursday Dec. 31 2:00 pm ET NFL Network Texas Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Houston, TX Reliant Stadium Missouri vs. Navy Thursday Dec. 31 Time TBA ESPN Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Fort Worth, TX Amon G. Carter Stadium Air Force vs. Houston Thursday Dec. 31 12:00 pm ET CBS Brut Sun Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks El Paso, TX Sun Bowl Stadium Stanford vs. Oklahoma Thursday Dec. 31 5:30 pm ET NFL Network Insight Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Tempe, AZ Sun Devil Stadium Minnesota vs. Iowa State Thursday Dec. 31 7:30 pm ET ESPN Chick-fil-A Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Atlanta, GA Georgia Dome Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee Friday Jan. 1 11:00 am ET ESPN Outback Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium Auburn vs. Northwestern Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET CBS Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Municipal Stadium FSU vs. West Virginia Friday Jan. 1 1:00 pm ET ABC Capital One Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Orlando, FL Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Penn State vs. LSU Friday Jan. 1 5:00 pm ET ABC Rose Bowl presented by Citi Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. Oregon Friday Jan. 1 8:30 pm ET FOX Allstate Sugar Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks New Orleans, LA Superdome Florida vs. Cincinnati Saturday Jan. 2 12:00 pm ET ESPN2 International Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Toronto, Canada Rogers Centre South Florida vs. Northern Illinois Saturday Jan. 2 2 :00 pm ET ESPN PapaJohns.com Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Birmingham, AL Legion Field Connecticut vs. South Carolina Saturday Jan. 2 2:00 pm ET FOX AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Arlington, TX Cowboys Stadium Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss Saturday Jan. 2 5:30 pm ET ESPN AutoZone Liberty Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium East Carolina vs. Arkansas Saturday Jan. 2 9 :00 pm ET ESPN Valero Alamo Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks San Antonio, TX Alamodome Michigan State vs. Texas Tech Monday Jan. 4 8:00 pm ET FOX Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Glendale, AZ University of Phoenix Stadium TCU vs. Boise State Tuesday Jan. 5 8:00 pm ET FOX FedEx Orange Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Miami, FL Dolphin Stadium Georgia Tech vs. Iowa Wednesday Jan. 6 7 :00 pm ET ESPN GMAC Bowl Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Mobile, AL Ladd Peebles Stadium Troy vs. Central Michigan Thursday Jan. 7 8:00 pm ET ABC BCS National Championship Game Bowl Tickets Flights + Hotels Odds & Picks Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl Alabama vs. Texas

The 2009 college football season will be capped by exciting college football bowl games, including the 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the 2009 Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the 2009 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the 2009 BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, CA.

The best college football teams from the major conferences, including the Big10 conference, Big 12 conference, Pac 10 conference, ACC conference, Big East conference, SEC conference, and Mountain West conference will face off in college football bowl games throughout December and into January.

If you're looking for updated matchups, odds, insights, betting lines and online wagering for the college football bowl games, please be sure to try BangTheBook.com.

Officials from both schools said Wednesday they are discussing the possibility of playing their state rival in a neutral-site game in Atlanta to kick off the 2011 season.

Georgia Tech, which is scheduled to host the Bulldogs that year under the normal home-and-home format, would not give up a game at Bobby Dodd Stadium, said athletic director Dan Radakovich.

Instead, the talks involve taking a one-year break in the schools' season-ending routine for the chance to face each other in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the 70,000-seat Georgia Dome.

The biggest sticking point could be the makeup of Georgia's 2011 schedule. If the Bulldogs have their season-ending home game with the Yellow Jackets shifted to the first game of the season, the team would finish their season with three straight road games.

Let me say this... I love the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic and the ACC-SEC matchups, but... I really don't like the idea of moving a rivalry game to a neutral field if the tradition is home-and-home. It would suck to move Clemson-South Carolina or Florida-Florida State to a neutral field, so... don't.

I also don't agree with taking regular matchups and moving them. I'd much rather see the game continue to pair matchups that we don't normally see, such as FSU-Georgia, Clemson-Auburn, Florida-Virginia Tech, Alabama-Miami, Tennessee-North Carolina or other interesting possibilities.

Officials from the SEC have already confirmed their participation to The Birmingham News. Under the terms, the Gator will get "at least" the sixth pick of bowl-eligible SEC teams. The pick position could vary on a year-to-year basis, but more details would be announced once the Big 10 announces its bowl agreements next week.

The Gator Bowl is also in final talks to become part of a broadcast deal with ESPN, leaving CBS, in a move that could signal the end of the exclusive broadcast window that has been previously negotiated for the Capital One Bowl.

With the Cotton Bowl moving to January 2nd, the result of the Gator Bowl agreement means that all three non-BCS games on New Years Day will feature SEC vs Big 10 matchups.

With the end of the ACC / Big East relationship in the Gator Bowl, the ACC and Big East have signed an agreement with the Champs Bowl which will essentially recreates the conferences past Gator relationship in Orlando.

Under the terms to begin with the 2010 season, the ACC will send its #3 selection to the Champs Bowl to face the Big East's #2 selection or Notre Dame. The Champs can select Notre Dame once over the four year agreement if the Irish have seven wins and are within two wins of the #2 Big East school.

With the Gator Bowl now aligned with SEC, the Independence Bowl finds itself as odd-man out in the SEC bowl mix after 15 years with the conference. Instead, the Independence Bowl will look to sign a new bowl matchup between the ACC and Mountain West.

Say what you will about the Tigers strength of schedule so far -- which has featured two impressive home wins against Louisiana Tech (W 37-13) and Mississippi State (W 49-24) -- but no one can dispute that Auburn is seriously moving the football.

In two games, the Tigers have 1,145 yards of total offense under new head coach Gene Chizick. Yes, you read that right - one thousand one hundred forty five... in two games.

Where's all that offense coming from?

Quite simply, the big boys in the trenches are getting it done. The Tigers have rushed for 691 yards in two games. At school long known for outstanding running backs, Auburn set a new rushing mark this week with two running backs going over 100 yards each for two consecutive weeks. Against SEC West division competition this past weekend, the Tigers AVERAGED 6.6 yards per rushing attempt. Are you kidding me? That's sick. That's vulgar. That's just nasty. This O-line is seriously pushing and clearly believe in this offensive system.

The defense? Not great, but pretty salty. The Tigers are getting it done - creating some turnovers and putting their offense in a position to win... even when the offense isn't needing a lot of help. I'm not certain you can measure this defense against LaTech and the Bulldogs just yet, but.... there could be something happening here.

But the question remains... how good is Auburn? The honest answer is nobody knows.

Auburn plays host to West Virginia this weekend in a nationally televised game for ESPN. While WVU represents another BCS test for the Tigers, the early lines have Auburn at nearly a touchdown favorite, with that number expected to trend up. After WVU, Auburn gets an over-matched MAC conference opponent Ball State at home. In other words, it's quite likely that the Plainsmen will finish September at 4-0.

And what will all that mean? Expect Auburn to get a big boost in the polls by the first of October and the hype machine to be in full effect. Pundits will begin repeating the observation that the Tigers miss Florida in the SEC East rotation this season... ramping up expectations that could place Auburn in the SEC championship game.

But the million (or in the SEC's case, multi-million) dollar question remains.... how good is Auburn?

MISSISSIPPI STATE - For the first time since 2003, the Bulldogs will sport maroon helmet shells. For connoisseurs, the maroon face masks in 2009 are the first time - at least in the modern era - that Mississippi State will use a tone-tone scheme. The block "M State" logo design first introduced in 2004 remains with an updated inverse color scheme.

BOISE STATE - The slightly redesigned 2009 edition of the Broncos helmet completes the "touch of gray" motif introduced with this season's new Boise State uniforms. Unlike the Grateful Dead staple, the touch of grey for BSU amounts to uniform accents and a new grey face mask. Time will tell if this iteration will survive.

NEW MEXICO STATE - In the most disappointing change of the 2009 season, New Mexico State has shelved the white shells with crimson script "Aggies" in favor of this... boring... white block print "NM State" outlined in black on crimson shells. Yawn.

TOLEDO - The 2009 Rockets helmet redesign is a subtle but well-executed change. Toledo has dumped the bright yellow face masks in favor of a black face. Bravo!

All images credit to their respective copyright holders.

PS - I think I deserve *huge* props for not inundating you with uniform posts this summer, so indulge me a little. HA! Let's play some football!!!

119th meeting
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin, October 3, 59-51-8, Minnesota by 0.72

This storied rivalry, dating back to 1890, has been celebrated with two trophies, the slab of bacon and the current Paul Bunyan's Axe.

Minnesota's glory days are far in the past but Wisconsin has struggled of late. Wisconsin has been gaining on Minnesota and likely will have a better season again this year. The gap does not overcome the home field advantage in Sagarin's rankings, giving Minnesota a very slight edge.

118th meeting
Kansas at Missouri, November 28, 55-53-9 or 54-54-9, Missouri by 6.12

This rivalry dates back before the football game to an intense rift dating back to Civil War era disputes. The Border War started on Halloween in 1891. It is not even agreed who deserves the win in 1960. The controversy revolves around the fact that Kansas won 23-7 but was found to have used an ineligible player. The Big 8 officially declared a forfeit, which the NCAA was no part of. The Big 12 lists the series as 54-54-9.

Missouri has the slight edge in Sagarin's rankings and the home field. Both teams should be in the running for the Big 12 north and this game should be expected to have major implications for the Big 12 championship game.

116th game
Texas at Texas A&M, November 26th, 74-36-5, Texas by 15.22

Texas dominates the Lone Star Showdown in football in recent years, but Texas A&M holds their own in other sports and currently holds the crown.

Texas is a strong favorite this year despite being on the road.

Nebraska at. Kansas, November 14st, 89-23-3, Kansas by 3.78

Due to Nebraska's dominance this is not viewed as much of a rivalry.

Kansas has a slight edge in Sagarin's to start the season and a home field. If they can get a few wins at this low point in Nebraska history this old traditional game may begin to thaw.

114th games
North Carolina at Virginia, October 3rd, 57-52-4, Virginia by 5.27

The South's Oldest Rivalry started in 1892. North Carolina leads the series but Virginia has been dominant for the past 2 decades.

This game is expected to be close as North Carolina is beginning to restore some of their old glory. The home field and a slightly better ranking give Virginia the edge to close the gap further.

Miami(OH) vs. Cincinnati, October 3rd, 59-47-7, Cincinnati by 15.83

The victory bell is the oldest non conference rivalry in college football, with the first meeting in 1888. Miami (OH) has a deep and undervalued history, arguably better than Miami (FL)'s flash in the pan success in the late 80's and early 90's. Cincinnati has been the lead for recent history.

This is likely to continue as Cincinnati is strong road favorites to close the historic gap further.

113th game
Auburn at Georgia, November 14th, 53-51-8, Georgia by 9.13

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry has been played very closely since 1892, with breaks for the 2 world wars.

Georgia has a slightly better ranking and a home field for a moderate edge. This has a history of being meaningless in the outcome of this game.

Oregon vs. Oregon State, December 3rd, 56-46-10, Oregon by 4.89

Somehow the Ducks vs. the Beavers in the Civil War for the Platypus Trophy could make one suspect Oregon does not take football as seriously as other parts of the country.

Last year's game cost Oregon State a Rose Bowl berth and if either team can beat USC again this year this game might have Rose Bowl implications again this year. Oregon's home field and slight ranking advantage give them the edge to expand their lead.

112th game
Purdue vs. Indiana, November 21st, 69-36-6, Purdue by 12.25

In games played for the Old Oaken Bucket Purdue leads 55-26-3. No change is expected this year.

110th game
Navy vs. Army, December 12th, 53-49-7, Navy by 16.81

This rivalry that needs no other discussion will be played after the BCS bowl selections in 2009. Army is still looking to find a way to become significant in the commander in chiefs trophy again, and this should not change this year.

109th game
Utah vs. Utah State, September 3rd, 76-28-4, Utah by 30.40

This rivalry, first played in 1892, looked to be thawing a few years back as Utah State pulled of a couple of upsets. It has refroze to the point that it will not be played in 2010 and 2011, without much objection from the alumni of either school. With Utah favored by 9.56 points more than any other game on this list it is not hard to see why.

107th game
Clemson at South Carolina, November 28th, 65-37-4, South Carolina by 0.24

This rivalry is steeped in political state infighting as much as football tradition. Interestingly a player, Cary Cox, managed to become a team captain for both teams thanks to World War 2 politics. This is one of several premier SEC vs. ACC rivalries that end the regular season each year.

This game should be close, with South Carolina's home field making up for Clemsons slightly better ranking.

Kansas at Kansas State, November 7th, 65-36-5 or 64-37-5, Kansas by 3.76

Once again Kansas has a dispute involving a forfeit due to an ineligible player, this time in 1980. Kansas State is in troubled times but their home field should make the game interesting.

106th game
Michigan vs. Ohio State, November 21st, 57-42-6, Ohio State by 8.49

This game is one of the most legendary rivalries in college football. Usually Big 10 title implications are at play and often this game is for the conference title. Usually at least one team has an opportunity at the BCS national championship game, if not both (2006-almost.)

While Ohio State might be able to run with the potential champions, Michigan is not ready for the big time yet. Look for Ohio State to gain on the all time record in this one.

Mississippi at Mississippi State, November 28th, 60-39-6, Mississippi by 5.53

The Egg Bowl has the distinction of traditionally playing at a neutral field that is now inferior to the fields of both teams. Often both teams have been far from being in the running for the SEC title picture, so this game has been a major goal for both teams.

Ole' Miss is expected to be in the SEC chase this year and Mississippi State is not. Look for Mississippi to extend the lead in 2009, over the objections of many cow bells.

Texas A&M vs. Baylor, November 21st, 65-31-9, Texas A&M by 8.63

The Battle of the Brazos has the dubious distinction of a fatality attributed to a half time brawl in 1926. This lead to the schools ending competition in all sports for 4 years and in football until 1931.

I really don't know on this one. This should be a close game and might be for a bowl berth.

105 games
TCU vs. Baylor, Next game in 2010, 49-49-7, N/A

This series has been tied since 2007.

105th game
Tennessee at Kentucky, November 28th, 72-23-9, Tennessee by 1.01

This rivalry features domination by Tennessee in football, and the other team in another sport I can not bring myself to mention (As a Utah fan). An annual blood drive aimed to see which school can donate the most is the most competitive aspects of this rivalry.

Tennessee is in transition at head coach and is coming off one of their worst seasons in the history of the program. This should be a year for Kentucky to make some headway at evening the score.

104th game
Texas vs. Oklahoma at Dallas, October 17th, 58-40-5, Oklahoma by 1.67

The Red River Shootout has become one of the most anticipated annual games in college football. This game often decides the Big 12 South and the winner usually has a clear chance at the national championship game.

this year should be no exception, except the Big 12 south will not be as much of a given for the winner as they have previously experienced.

Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, November 28th, 59-39-5, Georgia by 12.8

This game is another quality season ending SEC vs. ACC game with deep roots and Clean, Old-fashioned Hate. The Nats and U(sic)GA fans simply despise each other.

This game should be very high quality and has the potential to be for a BCS at large spot for at least one of these teams this year. It is certainly a strong contender for a top 25 games to watch.

Michigan at Michigan State, October 3rd, 69-29-5, Michigan State by 1.84

Apparently the Big 10 is a Paul Bunyan fan, with his axe awarded for Minnesota and Wisconsin and a trophy awarded here.

Michigan is still adjusting to their new coach and Michigan State is coming off a successful year with confidence and has the home field. I look for this lopsided battle to get one step closer to even.

Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, November 28th, 79-17-7, Oklahoma by 15.25

This rivalry (though in track and field) features a trophy that was retired, stolen, reclaimed and buried, found in an excavation and put on display.

Oklahoma State should be tougher than years past, but not enough to vault them over the Sooners.

Nebraska vs. Iowa State, October 24th, 85-16-2, Nebraska by 17.22

This game might be close only because Nebraska is not anything like the team they once were.

103 games
North Carolina vs. Wake Forest, Next meeting in 2010, 67-34-2, N/A

This game is one of the unfortunate casualties of the current ACC alignment in 2009.

103rd game
Illinois vs. Northwestern, November 14th, 52-45-5, Illinois by 2.77

This year will break in the Land of Lincoln Trophy for this contest, replacing the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk used since 1945. The home field gives Illinois the edge over a recently improved Northwestern team.

Stanford vs. California, November 21st, 50-42-10, California by 8.82

The Big Game was christened in 1900, a game that also tragically demonstrated that if you are watching the game from the roof of an industrial site that overlooks the stadium, make sure it is rated to hold the weight. The 1982 game featured a final kickoff with 5 laterals ending with a TD scored through the opposing teams band, which began marching onto the field a few seconds early.

California expects to make a bid for USC's PAC 20 crown and should extend their lead again. Please keep the bands off the field until the end of the game.

Minnesota at Iowa, November 21st, 59-41-2, Iowa by 12.7

The trophy for this game was formed in an attempt by the governors of Minnesota and Iowa attempting to diffuse hostilities caused by extremely rough treatment of a black Iowa running back by Minnesota in 1934. The live pig exchanged died a few years latter and was replaced with a bronze replica.

I am not sure I am biting into the Iowa hype. That said, Minnesota is far from their legendary tradition. Iowa should close the gap, but I suspect it will be closer than the line above.

NC State at Wake Forest, October 3rd, 61-35-6, Wake Forest by 9.05

If I were talking Basketball I'd be talking about something called "The Chair." I'm not, and their is not much to talk about.

Apparently NC State was once the dominant team. This has not recently been the case, though both could be a dark horse for the wide open ACC.

Nebraska at Missouri, October 8th, 63-36-3, Missouri by 6.76

This series started with a forfeit in 1892 because Missouri had a policy prohibiting playing a team that allowed black players. It was close until the mid 70's when Nebraska began to dominate.

Nebraska has fallen on hard times and Missouri has found a solid footing. Look for this series to begin to become relevant again, with Missouri closing the gap over the next few years.

LSU at Mississippi State, September 26th, 66-33-3, LSU by 17.53

Nothing new here. LSU wins again, and again.

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, November 21st, 70-27-5, Tennessee by 9.04

Nothing like piling on a team when they are down. Tennessee will be playing down to Vanderbilt's level again in 2009.
Bowl game anyone? This game might put one team over the 6 wins needed.

102nd game
Washington vs. Oregon, October 24th, 58-38-5, Oregon by 14.60

This heated rivalry features one team lobbying with conference member, Montana, for the 1948 PCC Rose Bowl berth.

Will Washington win a game in 2009? Not this one.

Missouri vs. Iowa State, November 14th, 58-34-9, Missouri by 20.84

Apparently in 1959 it was possible to accidentally wire up the coaches boxes so that both sides could hear the other, and this was discovered to have been done for this game. The problem was fixed, but no one told the coaches. The Telephone Trophy commemorates this event.

Missouri looks to extend their lead again with little difficulty.

Pittsburgh at West Virginia, November 27th, 61-37-3, West Virginia by 10.70

The first ever radio college football broadcast covered this "Backyard Brawl" in 1921. Pittsburgh has lead this series since taking a 6-5-1 lead in 1910, though West Virginia has had the edge recently. Who can forget the 2007 game where Pittsburgh came out and beat West Virginia and the refs?

Both teams should be in the race for the wide open Big East title and this game will have implications in that race and its automatic BCS slot.

Washington vs. WSU, November 28th, 64-31-6, Washington by 3.89

Sorry. The fact that last year these teams combined to win a single game, the one they both played, is distracting me from the history of this rivalry.

It should be close this year for the same reasons.

101st game
CSU vs. Wyoming, November 27th, 55-40-5, CSU by 7.22

This is one of two games the mtn. has contractual guarantees to cover (Utah vs. BYU being the other), all other games may be selected by the MWC's other TV sponsors prior to selections by the mtn.

Both teams are rebuilding and experiencing recent coaching changes. Both are looking to becoming relevant in the top heavy MWC. This game could go either way and might be for a bowl berth.

100th game
New Mexico vs. New Mexico State, September 26th, 66-28-5, New Mexico by 18.82
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This series was played 6 times prior to New Mexico gaining statehood in 1912, the first time in 1894. This rivalry is far more heated than the record would suggest.

New Mexico is in an upswing and should win the only series to be having its 100th meeting this season.

1. Florida (53)
2. Texas (4)
3. Oklahoma (1)
4. Southern California (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Penn State
9. LSU
10. Mississippi
11. Oklahoma State
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Oregon
15. Georgia Tech
16. Boise State
17. TCU
18. Utah
19. Florida State
20. North Carolina
21. Iowa
22. Nebraska
23. Notre Dame
24. Brigham Young
25. Oregon State

Others receiving votes (with 2008 records):
Kansas (8-5) 138; Michigan State (9-4) 136; Texas Tech (11-2) 114; Cincinnati (11-3) 90; Pittsburgh (9-4) 64; West Virginia (9-4) 55; Rutgers (8-5) 51; Miami (Fla.) (7-6) 46; Missouri (10-4) 44; Illinois (5-7) 38; Clemson (7-6) 30; South Carolina (7-6) 18; UCLA (4-8) 14; Auburn (5-7) 12; Nevada (7-6) 11; South Florida (8-5) 11; Kentucky (7-6) 9; North Carolina State (6-7) 7; Arkansas (5-7) 6; Wisconsin (7-6) 6; Northwestern (9-4) 5; Southern Mississippi (7-6) 4; Wake Forest (8-5) 4; Arizona (8-5) 3; Boston College (9-5) 3; Central Michigan (8-5) 3; East Carolina (9-5) 3; Colorado (5-7) 2; Maryland (8-5) 2; Navy (8-5) 2; Tennessee (5-7) 2; Houston (8-5) 1; Michigan (3-9) 1; Minnesota (7-6) 1; Troy (8-5) 1.

I know what you're thinking? Where's the ritual preseason vote for Duke? I have no idea. Although South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is voting this year in the coaches poll, he did not cast his annual vote for the Blue Devils. Perhaps the uproar of blaming his assistant for snubbing Tim Tebow hit a little too close to home.

And not to beat a dead horse, but I *hate* preseason polls. They are *not* accurate indicators of success. Case in point? Last year's preseason coaches poll failed to rank 14 of the 25 teams in final season coaches poll. That's right. The 2008 preseason coaches poll failed to rank 56% of the teams in the 2008 final poll.

So... if you like you're football indicators with a 44% accuracy, then - by all means - go nuts over this one.