College Football Week – Preseason and the livin’ is easy
The unappealing off-season
that culminated with appeals
As the sun set on the 2011 college football season, Florida Gator fans were chanting “Urban Liar! Urban Liar!”  Georgia coach Mark Richt bragged that the Dawgs would be knocking on heaven’s door…..I mean…..the championship door in 2012.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer was scratching his head, thinking, “How did we ever lose that Sugar Bowl?”  Yeah, how did the Hokies lose that game?  They dominated the statistics and totally controlled the contest.  And to top it off, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson was terrible.  Beamer still might be scratching his head today.

Penn State was trying to find a coach, while the school’s recently fired coach was trying to find an excuse for not putting a stop to the monster that was Jerry Sandusky.  “I didn’t know which way to go.  I didn’t know exactly how to handle it,” muttered Joe Paterno.

Sandusky, Paterno, Penn State and the whole scandalous mess in State College seemed to dominate the picture at the close of the 2011 season.   And, sadly, it continued to dominate the scene throughout the off-season.  It was all very unappealing – unappealing to college football fans, and most of all, unappealing to Penn State fans.

Just two months earlier, Paterno said he was “shocked” when the charges were levied against Sandusky.  Then in January he acknowledged that he didn’t know what to do and didn’t know how to handle it.  So he really wasn’t shocked.  He knew all along, for 14-15 years or more, what Sandusky was up to.  And yet, he failed to stop it.

Not only did Paterno fail to stop it, but also quarterback coach Mike McQueary, athletic director Tim Curley, vice-president Gary Schultz and president Graham Spanier failed to put a stop to Sandusky.  And McQueary and Curley had been mentored by Paterno.  What does that say?

I think it says that power corrupts.  After 62 years at Penn State, 46 as head coach, Paterno had become the most powerful man at the school.  When Paterno said, “jump,” everyone else at Penn State, including Spanier, said, “How high?”  It was an unhealthy situation.  It was a situation that, sadly, corrupted Paterno.  He became a cold-hearted, self-centered dictator.  And a lot of little boys suffered as a result.

But, if nothing else, it is important that we understand one thing from this disturbing scandal.  What happened at Penn State could have happened just as easily at any big-time sports school – Alabama, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, USC, etc.  It didn’t, but it could have.

And let’s keep something else in mind too.  We should never erect statues of people until they are dead – long after they are dead.

The Sandusky-Paterno-Penn State mess remained with us throughout the spring and summer, with new developments surfacing on a weekly basis.  In late June, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts against him.

By mid-July former FBI Director Louis Freeh released the results of his investigation.  Freeh concluded that Paterno, Curley, Shultz and Spanier were complicit in concealing Sandusky’s activities, saying the four men failed to protect children from the harm of a sexual predator for 10 years or more.

Later in July, the NCAA announced sanctions against Penn State, which, among other things, put the school on five years’ probation, banned the school from bowl games for four years, vacated Paterno’s wins from 1998 to 2011, fined Penn State $60 million and reduced the number of scholarships until 2017.
   
By August, what had been unappealing for so long spawned a ration of appeals against the NCAA.  Paterno’s family, a Penn State trustee and former Penn State football players filed appeals against the sanctions.  The NCAA responded, “The sanctions are not subject to appeal.”

Stores in State College were selling T-shirts with messages attacking the NCAA, calling the NCAA communist, etc.  And now, there are reports that Sandusky was involved in a much larger child pornography ring.  What a mess.   

Penn State wasn’t the only news during the off-season.  And all the news wasn’t unappealing.  Next week, we’ll review some of the other things related to college football and more that caught our attention during the off-season.

Meanwhile, I can report that as we come to the end of the off-season, Rockledge Gator is no longer on kitchen appliance probation at his home – something to do with a tea bag catching fire in the microwave.  Bootsie had placed him on probation, banning him from the use of appliances in the kitchen.  Of course that was about like a coach banning a player from reading the books in the library.  The microwave may be the only kitchen appliance Rockledge Gator knows how to operate.

And then there’s Swamp Mama.  She woke up the other morning with this pain in her hip.  She could hardly get out of bed.  She said it must have happened during the night, while she was sleeping.  I told her she had to stop playing beach volleyball with Ryan Lochte in her dreams. 

Touchdown Tom
August 13, 2012


The Quarterbacks – 2012

As a rule, there is never a shortage of good quality quarterbacks in college football and this year is no exception.  Among the slew of talented signal callers, five clearly stand out at preseason – and they are all seniors.  They include Matt Barkley (6-2, 230) of USC, Geno Smith (6-3, 214) of West Virginia, Landry Jones (6-4, 229) of Oklahoma, Tyler Wilson (6-3, 220) of Arkansas and Denard Robinson (6-0, 195) of Michigan.

Of the five, Barkley is the highest rated and well he should be.  Last year, he threw for 3,528 yards and 39 touchdowns, completing 69 percent of his passes.  Barkley led the Trojans to a 10-2 season.  Right behind Barkley is West Virginia’s Smith.  In 2011, the Mountaineer quarterback passed for 4,385 yards and 31 touchdowns, while completing 66 percent of his tosses.  Smith guided WVU to a 10-3 season, culminating with the 70-33 Orange Bowl win over Clemson.

The Sooners’ Jones was no slouch in 2011.  The OU signal caller threw for 4,463 yards and 29 touchdowns.  Jones completed 63 percent of his lobs.  He led Oklahoma to a 10-3 season, including a 31-14 win over Iowa in the Insight Bowl.  Arkansas’ Wilson is the No. 1 returning quarterback in the SEC.  Last season, he passed for 3,638 yards and 24 touchdowns, competing 63 percent of his tosses.  The Razorbacks finished the season at 11-2, including a 29-16 Cotton Bowl win over Kansas State.

And finally, among the Top-5 quarterbacks, Michigan’s Robinson is as big a threat as a runner as he is a passer.  In 2011, Robinson threw for 2,173 yards and rushed for 1,176 yards.  He was responsible for 36 touchdowns – 16 rushing and 20 passing.  Robinson guided the Wolverines to an 11-2 season, which ended in a 23-20 (OT) win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. 

Looking at the conferences around the country, the ACC may be loaded with the best group of quarterbacks from top to bottom.  Heading the list in the ACC is Clemson’s Tajh Boyd (6-1, 225, junior).  In 2011, Boyd passed for 3,828 yards and 33 touchdowns, leading the Tigers to the ACC championship.  Challenging Boyd for ACC honors will be Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas (6-6, 262, junior).  Thomas was responsible for 3,482 yards total offense last season – 3013 passing and 469 rushing.

NC State is loaded at the quarterback position with Mike Glennon (6-6, 232, senior) returning.  Bryn Renner (6-3, 215, junior) of North Carolina, the most efficient passer in the ACC in 2011, makes the Tar Heels dangerous.  E.J. Manuel (6-5, 238, senior) is one of the reasons Florida State is favored to win the ACC in 2012.  Backing up Manuel at FSU is another top signal caller in Clint Trickett (6-2, 180, sophomore).

Five more quarterbacks to be reckoned with in the ACC are Tanner Price (6-2, 205, junior) of Wake Forest, Sean Renfree (6-5, 230, senior) of Duke, Tevin Washington (6-1, 205, senior) of Georgia Tech, Stephen Morris (6-2, 214, junior) of Miami and Mike Rocco (6-3, 225, junior) of Virginia.  Any of those five are capable of guiding their team to an upset or two in 2012. 

Next to the ACC, the SEC may have the best overall array of quarterbacks, led of course by Tyler Wilson of Arkansas.  Wilson will be challenged for conference honors by Georgia’s Aaron Murray (6-1, 211, junior).  Last year, Murray passed for 3,149 yards and 35 touchdowns.  Another good signal caller, if he can stay focused and out of trouble, is Tyler Bray (6-6, 213, junior) of Tennessee.

Missouri has a strong quarterback in James Franklin (6-2, 225, junior), as does Alabama with A.J. McCarron (6-4, 210, junior). Connor Shaw (6-1, 207, junior) is capable of having a great season at South Carolina.  Vanderbilt is hoping for good things from Jordan Rodgers (6-1, 205, senior) in 2012.  Florida had two potentially good quarterbacks in Jacoby Brissett (6-3, 229, sophomore) and Jeff Driskel (6-4, 232, sophomore).  The problem for the Gators is deciding which one should start.  Brissett and Driskel could end up being platooned.               

The Big Ten will not be short of good quarterbacks in 2012, led by the already mentioned Denard Robinson of Michigan.  Pacing Robinson for conference laurels could be Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez (6-1, 200, junior).  Like Robinson, Martinez can run as well as he passes.  Another quality quarterback is Nathan Scheelhaase (6-3, 195, junior) of Illinois.  The problem for Scheelhaase is he is a good quarterback on a so-so team.

Watch for Ohio State’s Braxton Miller (6-2, 210, sophomore) to have a breakout season.  He’s capable of delivering the marbles.  James Vandenberg (6-3, 212, senior) of Iowa was just behind Michigan’s Robinson in passing efficiency and total offense in the Big Ten in 2011.  Three other returning signal callers to watch for in the Big Ten are Purdue’s Celeb TerBush (6-5, 225, senior), Minnesota’s MarQueis Gray (6-4, 245, senior) and Penn State’s Matt McGloin (6-1, 199, senior).

  
In addition to Geno Smith (West Virginia) and Landry Jones (Oklahoma), the Big 12 has several quarterbacks who could be setting some records in 2012.  Two of those are Collin Klein (6-5, 226, senior) of Kansas State and Seth Doege (6-1, 205, senior) of Texas Tech.  Klein can run and pass.  He scored 27 touchdowns rushing for 1,141 yards in 2011.  Doege passed for 4,004 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 68.5 percent of his throws last year.

TCU’s Casey Pachall (6-5, 226, junior) is capable of making some noise in the Big 12.  Texas has two promising quarterbacks.  One or both signal callers could come through for the Longhorns.  They are David Ash (6-3, 222, sophomore) and Case McCoy (6-2, 200, junior).   

The Pac-12 has some good talent at quarterback in addition to Matt Barkley (USC).  Two of the best are Keith Price (6-1, 195 junior) of Washington and Jeff Tuel (6-3, 223, senior) of Washington State.  Price was second to Stanford’s Andrew Luck in passing efficiency in the Pac-12 last year.  He threw for 3,063 yards and 33 touchdowns, completing 67 percent of his tosses.   

Utah and California have capable quarterbacks in Jordan Wynn (6-2, 207, junior) and Zach Maynard (6-2, 185, senior).  The Utes’ Wynn has a solid team to back him up.  Cal’s Maynard may or may not have that luxury.

The most experienced, and possibly the best, quarterback in the Big East is South Florida’s B.J. Daniels (6-0, 215, senior).  Daniels has been starting for the Bulls since his freshman season.  Last year, he was second in total offense in the Big East behind WVU’s Geno Smith.  Challenging Daniels for quarterback honors in the conference this year could be Teddy Bridgewater (6-3, 208, sophomore) of Louisville.  As a freshman, Bridgewater came on strong last year, finishing second in the Big East in passing efficiency.  

Three other quarterbacks to keep an eye on in the Big East are Pitt’s Tino Sunseri (6-2, 215, senior), Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib (6-2, 229, senior) and Cincinnati’s Munchie Legaux (6-4, 203, junior).  Nassib has the best credentials of the three.

Conference USA has four quarterbacks of note, led by Marshall’s Rakeem Cato (6-1, 180, sophomore).  Cato had a solid season last year as a freshman.  The remaining quarterbacks of note in C-USA are David Piland (6-3, 200, sophomore) of Houston, Nick Lamaison (6-1, 215, senior) of UTEP and Ryan Griffin (6-5, 218, senior) of Tulane.

Six quarterbacks lead the pack in the MAC, led by Ohio’s Tyler Tettleton (5-11, 210, junior).  Last year, Tettleton passed for 3,302 yards and 28 touchdowns, completing 64 percent of his tosses.  Three of the remaining top five quarterbacks in the MAC are Alex Carder (6-2, 224, senior) of Western Michigan, Matt Schilz (6-2, 211, junior) of Bowling Green and Zac Dysert (6-4, 219, senior) of Miami.  Toledo comes with the double threat of Terrance Owens (6-4, 180, junior) and Austin Dantin (6-2, 200, senior).  Both will see action.  

The MWC has three notable quarterbacks, led by Derek Carr (6-3, 205, junior) of Fresno State.  Last year Carr threw for 3,544 yards and 26 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his lobs.  Competing for conference honors with Carr will be Wyoming’s Brett Smith (6-3, 195, sophomore) and Nevada’s Cody Fajardo (6-2, 205, sophomore).  

The Sun Belt Conference has three of the most exciting quarterbacks in the country.  They are Ryan Aplin (6-1, 205, senior) of Arkansas State, Blaine Gautier (6-0, 212, senior) of Louisiana-Lafayette and Corey Robinson (6-2, 209, junior) of Troy.  Combined, those three signal callers accounted for 9,957 yards through the air last season.  And Aplin and Gautier are as dangerous running as they are passing.

There are not a bountiful number of good quarterbacks in the WAC at preseason, but two worth noting are Louisiana Tech’s Colby Cameron (6-2, 205, senior) and Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton (6-2, 198, sophomore).

And finally, among the Independents, two quarterbacks deserving mention are Riley Nelson (6-0, 196, senior) of BYU and Trent Steelman (6-0, 207, senior) of Army. 

TT’s Top Ten Favorite Quarterbacks at Preseason:

1. Matt Barkley – USC
2. Geno Smith – West Virginia
3. Landry Jones – Oklahoma
4. Tyler Wilson – Arkansas
5. Denard Robinson – Michigan
6. Colin Klein – Kansas State
7. Aaron Murray – Georgia
8. Tajh Boyd – Clemson
9. Logan Thomas – Virginia Tech
10. Keith Price – Washington 

And keep an eye on:

Taylor Martinez – Nebraska; Seth Doege – Texas Tech; Derek Carr – Fresno State; Mike Glennon – NC State; Bryn Renner – North Carolina; Ryan Aplin – Arkansas State; Jeff Tuel – Washington State; James Franklin – Missouri; Nathan Scheelhaase – Illinois; E.J. Manuel – Florida State; B.J. Daniels – South Florida, and Rakeem Cato – Marshall.


The New Coaches – 2012

There are no less than 28 new head coaches in FBS college football this season.  That’s almost 25 percent of the schools in the FBS.  Seven of the new coaches are “blasts from the past,” rejoining the head coaching ranks in FBS after a year or more absence.  And believe me each one is a blast from the past.

The biggest blast, or the one who has been gone the longest, is Terry Bowden.  Remember him?  We haven’t seen the likes of Terry on the sidelines of FBS football since he stepped down at Auburn during the midst of the 1998 season.  Bowden has been gone for 13 seasons.  Well, he is back in FBS football – the head coach at Akron.  Bowden most recently was the coach of North Alabama, a Division II school.

The next longest case of AWOL is 10 seasons.  That would be Bob Davie, the new coach of New Mexico.  Davie was last seen on the sidelines at Notre Dame where he was fired after the 2001 season.  Since then, Davie has been a college football analyst and commentator for ESPN.   

Another blast from the past fell into his new position.  John L. Smith was named the new coach of Arkansas just a couple months ago after Bobby Petrino took his mistress on a Steve McQueen motorcycle ride and ended up getting fired.  Smith, who has been a head coach at Idaho, Utah State and Louisville, was last the coach at Michigan State where he was fired following the 2006 season.  Smith was on Petrino’s staff at Arkansas last season, but had left to take the head coaching position at FCS Weber State, his alma mater.  He quickly returned to the Razorbacks when the opportunity arose.

Two new coaches have been gone for two seasons each and both are blasts in their own right – Mike Leach and Charlie Weis.  Leach, the former coach of Texas Tech is the new head man at Washington State.  Weis, a former head coach at Notre Dame is the new coach of Kansas.  Weis spent two seasons as an offensive coordinator – first for the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL and last season in Gainesville at Florida.

And that brings us to Rich Rodriguez and Urban Meyer, each out of action for a season.  Rodriguez, the former head coach at West Virginia and Michigan, is the new coach of Arizona.  Meyer, a former head coach at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, is the new head man at Ohio State.  Both Rodriguez and Meyer spent the past season as college football analysts and commentators at CBS and ESPN respectively. 

The rest of the new coaches are basically head coaches who moved up from one school to another or coordinators and position coaches who became head coaches for the first time.   

Hugh Freeze is the new coach of Ole Miss.  Last year, Freeze was the head coach at Arkansas State.  Larry Fedora, previously the coach of Southern Miss, is the new coach of North Carolina.  Todd Beckman left the head coaching job at Toledo to become the coach of Illinois.  Likewise, Todd Graham left the top job at Pitt to become the head coach at Arizona State.  And finally, Kevin Sumlin, the head coach at Houston last season, is the new coach of Texas A&M.

Nine offensive coordinators last year are head coaches this season.  Bill O’Brien, the OC of the New England Patriots, takes over as the new head man at Penn State.  Garrick McGee ran the offense at Arkansas last season.  This season, McGee is the coach of UAB.  Justin Fuente gave up the OC position at TCU to become the head coach at Memphis.

Jim McElwain is the new coach of Colorado State.  Last year he was the OC at Alabama.  Long-time offensive coordinator Norm Chow is the new head coach at Hawaii.  Chow was Utah’s OC last year.  Matt Campbell remains at Toledo, moving up from OC to head coach.

Gus Malzahn, previously the OC at Auburn, is the new coach of Arkansas State.  Paul Chryst makes the move from Wisconsin OC to Pitt head coach.  And finally, Charley Molnar is the new coach of Massachusetts.  Last year, Molnar was the OC at Notre Dame.

Three defensive coordinators have become head coaches.  Carl Pelini leaves his brother’s staff at Nebraska to become the coach of Florida Atlantic.  Tim DeRuyter, the DC at Texas A&M last season is the new coach of Fresno State.  And finally, Ellis Johnson, a long-time defensive coordinator in the South, is the new head man at Southern Miss.  Johnson was most recently the DC at South Carolina.

The new coach of Tulane is Curtis Johnson.  Last season, Johnson was the wide receivers coach for the New Orleans Saints.  Jim Mora, who was retired from coaching (or taking a sabbatical), is the new coach of UCLA.  Previously, Mora has been the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL.   

Tony Levine moves up the ladder at Houston, from special teams coach to head coach.  Likewise, Kyle Flood moves up at Rutgers to be the Scarlet Knights coach.  Last season, Flood was the offensive line coach at Rutgers.

Ten of the 11 conferences have new coaches this season.  Only the WAC returns all of its head coaches in tack.  C-USA has the most new coaches with five (Houston, Memphis, Southern Miss, Tulane and UAB).  The Pac-12 (Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington State) and the MWC (Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii and New Mexico) each have four new coaches.

Three conferences each have three new head coaches – the Big Ten (Illinois, Ohio State and Penn State); the SEC (Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas A&M), and the MAC (Akron, Massachusetts and Toledo). The Big East (Pitt and Rutgers) and the Sun Belt (Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic) each have two new head coaches.  And two conferences each have one new coach – the ACC (North Carolina) and the Big 12 (Kansas). 
   
Coaches on the Hot Seat – 2012

Year-in and year-out, the Hot Seat Coaches is always an interesting and sizeable list.  But there is barely anyone on the hot seat this year, especially compared to recent years.

That is partly, if not entirely, due to the large number of new coaches who have been hired the past two or three years – 28 new coaches this year, 24 last year and 23 the year before.  That’s 75 new coaches.  That doesn’t leave many FBS schools that have not hired a new coach in three years. 

If you want to know where the hottest seat in the country is, look no further than Knoxville, Tennessee.  After two years at the helm of the Vols, Derek Dooley is feeling the heat on Rocky Top.  With an 11-14 record, no bowl game last year and a loss to Kentucky last season, Dooley is hurtin’ – big time.  Not even Mama can save Derek’s hide if Tennessee is disappointing in 2012.  But believe me, she’ll try.

If Kentucky’s Joker Phillips were at any other school, he would be feeling the heat.  Like Dooley, Phillips is 11-14 after two seasons.  But Kentucky really doesn’t care about football.  In Lexington, a bad record would get a basketball coach fired after only one season.  But a football coach can generally hang on for eight or more years with a poor record. 

In Gainesville, Will Mustake….I mean….Muschamp is on the hot seat.  But it’s not the termination hot seat – not yet.  Muschamp finished his first season with the Gators at 7-6.  Even a poor season in 2012 won’t get him fired – not yet.  Florida won’t fire Muschamp after only two seasons.  But his seat is pretty warm.

The only coach on the hot seat in the ACC is Frank Spaziani of Boston College.  The Eagles’ coach is 20-19 after three years.  If Spaziani has a losing record in 2012, it will be his swan song season in Chestnut Hill.  Texas Tech’s Tommy Tuberville, 13-12 after two seasons, stands to be the only coach on the hot seat in the Big 12.  The former Auburn coach has tumbled like the weeds in Lubbock.  If the Red Raiders aren’t productive this year, you may see Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes coaching Texas Tech next season.

In the Pac-12, Mike Riley of Oregon State is the only coach on the serious hot seat.  Riley, 72-63 after 11 seasons in Corvallis, has not produced in recent years.  This could be his last one with the Beavers.  Cal coach Jeff Tedford is mildly on the hot seat.  Tedford, 79-48 after 10 years, started off hot in Berkeley.  But the Bears have been only fair to midland in recent seasons.

The only conference with more than one coach on the serious hot seat is C-USA, where Rice’s David Bailiff and UTEP’s Mike Price are feeling the heat.  Bailiff is 23-38 after five years with the Owls.  He needs a winning season to save his job.  Meanwhile, Price is 45-52 after eight seasons in El Paso.  He had a good thing going early in his tenure with UTEP, but has been on the downward slide in recent years.

In the MAC, Bowling Green’s Dave Clawson is on the hot seat.  Clawson is 14-23 after three years with the Falcons.  Dave Enos may be in trouble at Central Michigan.  Enos is 6-18 after two seasons.  The Chippewas enjoyed several years of success under Brian Kelly and Butch Jones before Enos arrived.  But CMU may give Enos a fourth season if he shows improvement in 2012.

Rick Stockstill of Middle Tennessee could be seeing a pink slip if the Blue Raiders falter in 2012.  Stockstill is 35-40 after six years coaching in Murfreesboro.  This could be his last one.  Ever since Rich Ellerson arrived at West Point in 2009, he has been a popular coach at Army.  He took the Cadets to a bowl game after the 2010 season.  But Ellerson is only 15-22 after three years.  Even worse, he is 0-3 against Navy and 0-3 against Air Force.  Another season without a win against either Navy or Air Force won’t be good.                             

Four conferences have no coaches on the hot seat – the Big East, Big Ten, MWC and WAC.


Quotes of the Off Season

“I was savaged by many in November when I suggested Penn State should decline a bowl bid.  Turns out I may have been right as the lead-up to the Ticket City Bowl included a locker-room fight involving the starting quarterback and the game was a lackluster defeat in front of a bunch of empty seats,” Los Angeles Times columnist Chris Dufresne.

“Every adult has a responsibility for every other child in our community.  We have a responsibility for ensuring that we can take every effort that’s within our power not only to prevent further harm to that child, but to every other child,” Penn State trustee Kenneth Frazier, on Joe Paterno failing to act as he should have.

“Yes, he coached Penn State for nearly half a century and won 409 games.  Yes, he donated millions of dollars of his salary back to the university.  But Paterno will be remembered for overseeing perhaps the biggest scandal in college football history more than he will for all of his goodwill and great victories,” Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi.

“All those big-name guys usually don’t make it anyway.  If you go back and look at it, all those four- and five-star guys are working somewhere at McDonalds,” UCF coach George O’Leary on not recruiting any four-star and five-star players.

“Ohio State has a new coach and it’s different.  I would say it’s pretty unethical,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, accusing Urban Meyer of dirty recruiting.

“They have prettier girls, the air is fresher and the toilet paper is thicker,” Missouri wide receiver T.J. Moe, on the benefits of the SEC over the Big 12.

“The SEC Media Days have turned into an absurd 72-hour circus,” SI.com blogger Lars Anderson.

“Penn State should donate Joe Paterno’s statue to the Vatican,” TheSkunk.org.

“As to the Penn State students seen crying as the news was announced, I would like to offer some motherly advice: Don’t pick your college on the basis of its football team,” Susie Madrak of Orange County, Florida.

“Now the world knows that lovable ol’ JoePa wasn’t the only cold-blooded Paterno.  Turns out, it runs in the family,” CBSSports.com writer Gregg Doyel.

“I mean, we don’t have murders one block off our campus,” UCLA coach Jim Mora, knocking cross-town rival USC.

“I really don’t think that’s something to joke about,” USC coach Lane Kiffin, responding to Jim Mora’s comment.

“It’s time to stop the dour attitude.  It’s a new beginning.  It’s time to start anew.  It’s time to move forward,” new Penn State coach Bill O’Brien.


In the Huddle

Elsewhere around college football . . . Former Miami (Florida) coach Randy Shannon is the new linebackers coach at TCU…. Phil Neel, the artist who created Auburn’s tiger mascot Aubie passed away recently.  Neel, a former artist for the Birmingham Post-Herald, was 84…. Bud Riley, the father of Oregon State coach Mike Riley, has died.  He was 86…. Clemson announced the retirement of athletic director Terry Don Phillips, effective July 1, 2013. 


Extra Points

Duke rocks! – Hud Mellencamp, the son of rocker John Mellencamp, is on the football team at Duke.  Hud is a walk-on.  The 5-11, 165-pound freshman is a defensive back. 

On the Internet – College Football Week now has a Website and can be found at www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com.

Touchdown Tom


P.S.

Not directly college football related, but as the summer was winding down and college football fans were anticipating the start of another exciting season, the number one song in the country…

…70 years ago this week in 1942 was “Jingle Jangle Jingle” by Kay Keyser

…65 years ago this week in 1947 was “Peg o’ My Heart” by The Harmonicats

…60 years ago this week in 1952 was “Auf Wiedersehn Sweetheart” by Vera Lynn

…55 years ago this week in 1957 was “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” by Elvis Presley

…50 years ago this week in 1962 was “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” by Neil Sedaka

…45 years ago this week in 1967 was “Light My Fire” by The Doors

…40 years ago this week in 1972 was “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan

…35 years ago this week in 1977 was “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” by Andy Gibb

…30 years ago this week in 1982 was “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor

…25 years ago this week in 1987 was “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

…20 years ago this week in 1992 was “This Used To Be My Playground” by Madonna


Not directly college football related, but on a sad comment, there were two passings of note last week – Marvin Hamlisch and Judith Crist.

Marvin Hamlisch, a decorated music composer of Broadway plays and movies, died.  He was 68.  Hamlisch, a 12-time Academy Award nominee, won four Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards and one Tony Award.

Judith Crist, one of America’s most widely-read film critics for more than three decades and a presence in millions of homes as a regular reviewer on the “Today” show, died last week at her home in New York City.  She was 90.  She was a morning fixture on the “Today” show from 1963 to 1973.  She also wrote for TV Guide, Saturday Review and Ladies Home Journal, among other publications.