Category: College Football (Page 201 of 296)

      Report: Lane Kiffin to be the next head coach at Tennessee

      November 28, 2008 /

      ESPN.com is reporting that former Oakland Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin is heading to the University of Tennessee.

      Kiffin, 33, will be making his college head coaching debut in succeeding Phillip Fulmer, who will coach his last game for the Vols on Saturday.

      Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton denied reports on Wednesday that Kiffin had been offered a contract. But Kiffin has been at the forefront of the Vols’ search for some time.

      Part of the holdup is that Tennessee didn’t want to do anything officially this week that would take away from Fulmer’s final game Saturday against Kentucky. Fulmer was fired by Hamilton on Nov. 2 and allowed to finish out the season. He’s been at Tennessee as a player, assistant coach and head coach for 35 years.

      The university has dubbed Saturday’s game “Phillip Fulmer Appreciation Day” at Neyland Stadium in celebration of his 17-year tenure.

      One of the big draws with Kiffin was the staff that he’ll potentially be able to put together. He’s talked with his father, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, about joining him at Tennessee. The elder Kiffin is considered one of the foremost defensive minds in football.

      Outside of drawing recruits with his NFL resume, I’m not sure Kiffin is a great fit at Tennessee. But the Vols are in major need of an offensive facelift, which is supposed to be (read: supposed to be) Kiffin’s specialty.

      How huge would it be if Lane could convince papa Monte to come up from Tampa and join him? Monte Kiffin’s defenses are always so underrated and he’s easily one of the best schemers in the NFL. It’s doubtful he would leave the Bucs, but one would have to imagine that the temptation to join his son would be strong.

      College Football

      The bottom line to the BCS/playoff debate

      November 28, 2008 /

      I’m not afraid to say that I am a casual college football fan.

      During the regular season, I will watch a handful of games, usually those that feature matchups between two top 10 schools. I don’t get too invested in the college football regular season because I know that it’s probably going to come to a disappointing conclusion. There will be a BCS Championship Game that will pit the top two teams in the country against each other, but there is always a debate about who truly belongs in that game.

      That’s the only postseason game I’ll watch. At that point in the season, I only really care about teams that still have a shot to win the national championship, and that late in the game, it’s down to two teams. I couldn’t care less about the other BCS bowls because they have absolutely no impact on who will be the national champion.

      College football purists probably look down their nose at guys like me, but I don’t really care. Fans like me are the ones that could take the sport of college football to the next level.

      If there were an eight-team playoff, I would sit down and watch every single one of those seven games. If the BCS-playoff debate is about money, then I don’t see how doubling the number of games that the casual fan watches can do anything but increase ratings (and ad revenue).

      Also, knowing that the college football season would come to a solid, undisputed conclusion, I would find these late season play-in games a lot more interesting. Under the current system, I’m not going to watch #12 Oklahoma State try to knock off #3 Oklahoma. But if the Cowboys were to have a shot to make it the playoffs (and to knock the Sooners out), then I might tune in. The same goes for the Florida/Florida St. matchup.

      Suddenly, a casual fan that used to watch 5-10 games a year is now watching 20 or more. How is this bad for college football?

      College Football, Television

      Couch Potato Alert: 11/28

      November 28, 2008 /

      All times ET…

      College Basketball

      Friday, 3:30 PM: NIT Season Tip-Off Championship – #13 Oklahoma vs. #9 Purdue, ESPN2
      Friday, 5:30 PM: Old Spice Classic Semifinal – Maryland vs. #10 Gonzaga, ESPN
      Friday, 8 PM: California vs. UNLV

      College Football

      Saturday, 3:30 PM: Auburn vs. #1 Alabama, CBS
      Saturday, 3:30 PM: #4 Florida vs. #20 Florida State, ABC
      Saturday, 7 PM: #23 Oregon vs. #17 Oregon State, Versus
      Saturday, 8 PM: #3 Oklahoma vs. #12 Oklahoma State, ABC

      NBA

      Friday, 8 PM: Miami Heat vs. Phoenix Suns, ESPN
      Friday, 10:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN
      Friday, 10 PM: New Orleans Hornets vs. Portland Trail Blazers
      Saturday, 8:30 PM: San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets
      Sunday, 9:30 PM: Toronto Raptors vs. Los Angeles Lakers
      Sunday, 8 PM: Houston Rockets vs. Denver Nuggets

      NFL

      Sunday, 1 PM: New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins, Fox
      Sunday, 4:15 PM: Denver Broncos vs. New York Jets, CBS
      Sunday, 4:15 PM: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots, CBS

      NHL

      Friday, 7 PM: Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
      Saturday, 7 PM: Detroit Red Wings vs. Boston Bruins
      Saturday, 7:30 PM: New Jersey Devils vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

      College Basketball, College Football, NBA, NFL, NHL, Television

      Top 10 College Football TV Personalities

      November 28, 2008 /

      Lee CorsoThe Love of Sports ranks the top 10 NCAA College Football TV personalities.

      1. Rece Davis
      ESPN’s lead studio guy is the ultimate college football television personality. More than anybody else, he truly “gets it.” When he speaks about the game, he sounds like a fan, from referring to Houston Nutt as “The Right Reverend” to jumping all over Lou Holtz when Holtz starts (literally) spewing indefensible garbage all over the place…

      2. Uncle Verne Lundquist
      Clearly, Verne has fun broadcasting the primary SEC game on CBS. Though he’s been around for a long time, he continues to be amused by the game, which is an endearing trait for a broadcaster to have. He’s jolly, in a “play tricks on the grandkids” kind of way, and he has a cool catch phrase — “How. Do. You. Do!”

      6. Lee Corso
      Corso’s our Dick Vitale, only imminently more palatable. He’s also completely nuts…

      8. Chris Fowler
      Sure, Fowler can be smarmy, and he can take himself way too seriously at times, but it would be unfair to have a list like this without acknowledging the host of the most influential show in college football. Fowler runs a tight ship, and he’s become so much a part of football Saturday, it’s very difficult to picture anybody else occupying his seat…

      I love Corso. Sure he’s a bit off the reservation, but he has become Saturday morning college football over the past couple years. And he’s completely harmless.

      College Football

      Is Colt McCoy the best quarterback in the Big 12?

      November 28, 2008 /

      Here’s a fluffy conversation to start everyone’s day-after Thanksgiving recovery: Who’s the best quarterback in the Big 12? Jimmy Burch of the Star-Telegram writes that Texas’ signal caller Colt McCoy holds the honors, even if the Heisman voters don’t eventually think so.

      Colt McCoyIn short, McCoy is the league’s MVP. He is more valuable to the Longhorns as a rusher, passer and leader than any player on any other roster in the Big 12.

      McCoy drove home that point against A&M. He threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 49 yards and two scores. He picked up his 31st career victory as a starting quarterback, passing Vince Young for most in Longhorns’ history.

      Most important, McCoy jump-started the Texas offense — time and again — on a night when the Longhorns (11-1, 7-1 in Big 12) struggled early to rack up the style points they needed to blow away BCS voters.

      Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford? He hands off to three players who could start ahead of any member of the Longhorns’ current tailback tandem. He is protected by a huge, veteran offensive line.

      Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell? He throws to Michael Crabtree, the nation’s best receiver and a certifiable first-round NFL draft pick.

      McCoy keeps the wheels spinning behind an offensive line that is good but not as dominant as others in the league. Most of McCoy’s most telling tosses wind up in the hands of Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, two undersized and underappreciated guys who won’t wow any NFL scouts with their measurable qualities.

      McCoy has my vote, too. I loved him as a freshman, believed last year was just a small setback and think he’s currently having the best season of any quarterback in the nation. Bradford is an absolute stud and Harrell executes Tech’s offense better than any quarterback before him. But McCoy does so much for the Longhorn offense in terms of passing and running that he deserves (at this point) to be the frontrunner for the Heisman. But I think we should wait to see how this year plays out before drawing any conclusions. What if he struggles in the Big 12 Championship Game or stumbles in the title game if UT makes an appearance? Those games ultimately should decide the value of a player – not the ones at home against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. (Although it’s also fair to judge a player’s entire body of work throughout the season, not just one game.)

      Comment starter: Who do you think is the best quarterback in the Big 12?

      College Football

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