College Football Thread -- What will we do in the offseason?

[DanS]

Out of more than a dozen kids who were offered by both ND and Michigan, ND won all of them except one. Normally, you don't see this (I don't expect to see it in the future), so it was something of a surprise. In hindsight, it was probably a good indication that Lloyd was done. That is, if we needed any more indications.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Dammit! I didn't want to see Rich-Rod leave.

[Guynemer]

He just moved, that's all. You'll just be a Michigan fan, along with Snoopy and Avalon and me.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Nope... I dislike programs that steal Big East coaches .

[Imran Siddiqui]

Rumor from WVU is that they may try to convince Saban to come up . Though more likely the Florida Offensive Coordinator, because they still like the spread option.

Though it looks like Terry Bowden is in the driver's seat right now.

[-Jrabbit]

So you're saying someone's going to move to West Virginia, voluntarily?

[Imran Siddiqui]

It actually appears that Terry Bowden is STRONGLY campaigning for the job. As is Bud Foster, of VTech (interestingly enough).

For Terry:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3158563

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia needs a coach and Terry Bowden likes the idea of making a return to coaching in his hometown.

Bowden, who grew up in Morgantown when his father, Bobby, was the Mountaineers' coach and played at West Virginia, has been out of coaching since 1998. Not long after Rich Rodriguez left the Mountaineers to take the Michigan job, Bowden, the former Auburn coach, let it be known he's interested in the West Virginia vacancy.

"I made a full commitment to get back into coaching almost two years ago. Coming home to West Virginia would obviously be the dream job for me," Bowden, a college football analyst on radio and for Yahoo! Sports, said in a statement released by his publicist.

[DanS]

Looks like ND fans on about a 2:1 or 3:1 basis think RR is a good hire for Michigan.

Caveats include that RR says he will continue with a 3:3:5 D, which creates some puzzlement, given the Big 10 teams' ability to power run. Also, many think that the transition may be tough, as he gets his style of guys in place. Lastly, RR won't be able to recruit kids like Devine at Michigan.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think the 3-3-5 is more of a speed emphasis defense (RR loves speed on both sides of the ball). I think I've read that he likes giving teams fits on both sides of the ball... ie, they have to plan for an unfamiliar offense AND defense.

[DanS]

Following conventional wisdom, Irish fans are salivating at having Hughes run straight over a 3-3-5 D. A good statement was "just think how ND's 3-4 D had trouble against the run this year -- now remove a linebacker."

Of course, that's just conventional wisdom. For most teams, the 3-3-5 is used only as a nickel package.

I'm guessing that RR uses lots of run blitzes? BYU used the 3-3-5 with a lot of run blitzes and ND threw the ball almost exclusively against them. Weis said at half time "if they continue to blitz every down, then we'll continue to throw it every down." At the end of the day, Quinn went 32 for 41, for 467 yards.

All in all, it should be an interesting D to watch as it adapts to Big 10 play (which differs substantially from Big East play).

[Imran Siddiqui]

I think it is yet to be decided if he brings the 3-3-5, but I think one of the reasons RR used it at WVU is because the Big East tends to be more pass friendly (Louisville in particular). However, RR used it more like a zone blitz type of defense. So you'll usually have 4 rush the passer/runner, IIRC.

[DanS]

RR is bringing his D coordinator, right?

I don't know too much about the Big East, to be honest. That said, whenever I saw WVU play, lots of points were being scored both for and against them.

[Lord Avalon]

FSU to suspend up to 20 football players:

Source: Multiple suspensions likely for Music City Bowl, plus 3 games in 2008

As many as 20 Florida State football players will be suspended from playing against Kentucky in the Dec. 31 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, as well as the first three games of the 2008 season, for their roles in an alleged cheating scandal involving an Internet-based course, a source with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday morning.

Florida State officials are expected to announce the results of the investigation this week. The source said university officials determined Monday night the exact number of football players who will be suspended. The university isn't expected to immediately reveal the identities of the student-athletes involved in the alleged cheating.

"If the players fight the suspensions, they'll risk losing all of their eligibility," a source with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday morning.

The source said student-athletes in several other sports also were implicated in the cheating scandal.

The investigation already has led to the resignations of two academic assistance employees who worked with FSU student-athletes. The school revealed in September that as many as 23 student-athletes were given answers before taking tests over the Internet.

Further investigations revealed additional student-athletes were involved in the cheating, according to the source.

The school's investigation found that a tutor gave students answers while they were taking tests and filled in answers on quizzes and typed papers for students.

Florida State president T.K. Wetherell, a former Seminoles football player, reported the initial findings in a letter to the NCAA in September.

Wetherell ordered an investigation by the university's Office of Audit Services in May after receiving information an athletics department tutor had directed one athlete to take an online quiz for another athlete and then provided the answers.

The tutor implicated in the audit told investigators he had been providing students with answers for the test since the fall of 2006, according to a university report.

The school announced in October that athletics director Dave Hart Jr. will resign Dec. 31. Wetherell appointed State Rep. William "Bill" Proctor interim athletics director. Proctor also is a former FSU football player.

The school announced last week that longtime football coach Bobby Bowden had agreed to a one-year contract extension through the 2008 season that will pay him at least $1.98 million. Bowden, who is in his 32nd season at the school, is major college football's all-time winningest coach with 373 career victories.

Florida State also designated offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher as Bowden's eventual successor. Fisher's new contract calls for him to replace Bowden by the end of the 2010 season. If Fisher isn't named FSU's new coach by then, the school's booster organization would owe him $2.5 million. Under the terms of the new contract, Fisher would owe Seminoles boosters $2.5 million if he leaves the school before the end of the 2010 season.

The Seminoles struggled for the fourth consecutive season in 2007, finishing 7-5 overall, 4-4 in ACC play. It is the fourth consecutive season they failed to win 10 games, after winning at least 10 games in 14 consecutive seasons, from 1987 to 2000.

Mark Schlabach is a college football reporter for ESPN.com. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3159534

[snoopy369]

Wait, you're saying that FSU athletics had academic problems? Well, I'd never imagine that possible...

[DanS]

The AD is being fired, but nary a word of criticism for Bowden.

Amazing. At many colleges, they'd be packing their stuff.