RECRUITMENT

Today marked the start of a day of a surprises as Penn State receives two verbals from offensive linemen. Frank Figueroa began the day when he announced that he would become the 7th Nittany Lion for the Class of 2009.

There isn’t much out there on Frank Figueroa, but as a 2 year starter for Thomas Edison High School in Alexandria, VA, he obviously has the skill for the Lions coaching staff to extend a scholarship offer after Figueroa and his head coach, Steve Deck sent in game film of the offensive lineman.

“His best asset is that he’s smart, and he has really physically emerged since last year. Two years ago, he was only about 240 pounds, but he really matured since the end of last season physically, and came in this spring at 275, and now he’s just over 280 pounds.”

He is projected to play at the offensive guard or center position at the collegiate level. And with 3 other OL commitments for the 2009 class, he will most likely be moved to another position to balance our depth.

COLLEGE CHOICES	INTEREST	OFFER	VISIT	RECRUITED BY
Penn State (solid verbal)	COMMITTED (5/10/2008)		None
William and Mary	None		None
North Carolina	None		None
Syracuse	None		None
Michigan State	None		None
Virginia	None		None
Temple	None		None

Umm.. Who? Anytime we get verbals from recruits, its cause to celebrate, but the Lion faithful must be scratching their heads at this one. Figueroa’s has the starting weight to help solidify our offensive line in the near future as long as he gains weight in college. Remember that four-star recruit, Eric Shrive that just verbaled to the Lion today is only 3 pounds heavier and 3 feet taller than this kid.

Penn State has had great success molding unheralded high school athletes into consistent players. Think Tony Hunt, Paul Poz, Levi Brown, etc.

As ‘Chohany’ points out, Penn State has had success back in the 70s churning out offensive linemen. And with Levi Brown, and our depth at the line this year, it’s should not come as a surprise as Penn State goes back to their roots of dominating linemen.

“Mike Munchak (Hall of Fame), Keith Dorney (pro bowler), Sean Farrell (I think a pro bowler), Charlie Getty (long-time NFL vet), Tom Rafferty (13 year starter for the Cowboys), Irv Pankey (long-time NFL veteran), Steve Wisnewski (7 time pro-bowler and on the 90’s all decade team), Jeff Hartings (pro-bowler), Marco Rivera (pro-bowler)”

So this staff obviously knows what they are getting when they offered this relatively unknown recruit a scholarship. Already holding offers from Butch’s North Carolina, and with more from Dantonio’s Michigan State and Virginia on the way, this kid will help provide depth at the offensive line position for the years to come.

If there was ever a time for the death penalty to be reconsidered, the time is now.

It is just shocking how the situation with USC has deteriorated. We’re no longer talking about players failing classes, or getting into fights on the weekends. As much as we like to berate college athletes, it is actually quite common. I’ve failed a class or two during my collegiate career. I’ve sure seen many kids get into fights at the bar as well. Its fun to laugh at athletes when they get into the same trouble that befalls most college kids, but as I’ve said before, these things are bound to happen.

But what is going on at USC is on a whole different level. And what’s even more absurd is that the OJ Mayo scandal comes less than a year after the Reggie Bush scandal was blown wide open by Yahoo! Sports. Not only did USC not cooperate by discouraging Reggie Bush to talk to investigators, they now have a full blown case with OJ Mayo on their hands. USC played the ignorance card the first time around with Reggie Bush, it’ll be interesting to see what they pull this time around.

I made the case earlier this year about how USC got lucky with the Reggie Bush fiasco. They deserved sanctions back then, imagine what I think they deserve now. But this isn’t about what I think. Rules are rules. Reggie Bush broke the rules when he was provided with perks that most (and notice how I used ‘most’) players aren’t allowed to receive. Think USC did not benefit when Bush was enticed to head to Southern Cal?

Now it is clear the problem has spread to their basketball program as well. ESPN’s Outside the Lines broke open the news when Louis Johnson decided to spill the beans. Among the allegations by Johnson:

• Over the course of roughly three years prior to the start of Mayo’s freshman season at USC, BDA Sports provided Guillory with about $200,000, some of it through an account set up at Citibank. Johnson said Guillory told him details about how the account was set up through an intermediary and how it worked: Each month, Guillory told a BDA official what the anticipated “expenses” would be, and that amount would be put into the account to take care of Guillory and Mayo’s needs. Guillory, Johnson said, had a card to make withdrawals from the account. Johnson said he was sometimes with Guillory when he made those withdrawals, and Johnson provided “Outside the Lines” with a receipt from one $200 withdrawal that he said occurred in his presence.

• BDA helped Guillory purchase an Infiniti QX56 that Guillory drives. California registration records show Guillory’s vehicle came from a dealership co-owned by former USC and NFL player Ronnie Lott, a longtime friend of Duffy, BDA Sports’ chairman and CEO. According to Consumer Guide Automotive, the car was valued at around $50,000 when it was first purchased in 2005.

• Guillory has been giving money to Mayo for years, according to Johnson, who provided Western Union receipts that illustrate how Johnson and Guillory wired hundreds of dollars to friends of Mayo while he was in high school to avoid a paper trail leading to Mayo.

• Hotel receipts and airline itineraries show multiple trips made by Johnson and Guillory. The destinations correspond with where Mayo played in high school and at tournaments around the country.

• Guillory paid for Mayo’s cell phone service, which T-Mobile billed to a nonprofit foundation run by Guillory that, according to California state records, is designed to serve “the educational, health, recreational and social needs of youths and elderly citizens residing in inner-city communities.” Johnson provided “Outside the Lines” with the service agreement for four separate lines on the account, set up on March 13, 2007. Johnson said the phone lines were for Guillory, Mayo, a Mayo relative and Johnson. T-Mobile sent a bill to Guillory’s foundation for $558.56 for the September charges for the four lines. Of that amount, $171.17 was for Mayo’s phone service and another $192.33 was for the phone service of Mayo’s relative, according to the invoice and Johnson.

• In addition to several shopping sprees at the two Men’s Land stores in the Los Angeles area, Johnson said Guillory provided Mayo with a flat-screen television, a hotel room and meals — items all paid for with a credit card that belongs to another nonprofit organization, The National Organization of Sickle Cell Prevention and Awareness Foundation. The organization has never registered as a charitable trust with the California Attorney General’s Office and is unknown in the Los Angeles sickle-cell charitable community.

• Guillory purchased airline tickets for a member of Mayo’s family and another Mayo friend to visit Mayo at USC, said Johnson, who provided “Outside the Lines” with a plane itinerary and a receipt for those trips.

In 1989, Oklahoma State received a 2 year TV ban, 3 year bowl ban and loss of 5 new scholarships because 1 player received cash payments and a sports car at no cost during his 2 years with the team. And here we have USC, with 2 known offenders who received vastly more money and perks than the Oklahoma State offender and we are still unsure whether the NCAA will even slap them on the wrist.

It is time for the hammer to fall on the Trojan program. Not only are the violations clear and severe, this is a repeat violation by a program that has enjoyed athletic success on the backs of the two offenders in question. Like Paris Hilton’s rampant misbehavior, it’s time for the NCAA to make an example of USC.

And to think Indiana is still worried about their ex-coach making a few phone calls. Doesn’t this put things in perspective?

In his ‘State of the Union’ speech in 2002, George W Bush famously grouped Iraq, Iran and North Korea into the ‘Axis of Evil’, eerily familiar to the Axis powers of the second World War. Always on the lookout for catchy phrases, the mainstream media led by ESPN have cleverly modified the term to dub the Big Ten and the Pac 10 as the ‘Axis of Obstruction’.

Aren’t we getting a bit too dramatic here? Despite what most fans want (and I am clearly not in that majority) any idea of a playoff system involving college football is not and has never been in the best interest of any of the powerhouse conferences, INCLUDING the SEC despite what Mike Slive wants you to believe.

I shall first allow the commissioners to explain then I will elaborate,

“After a very thorough, very good discussion among the group, we have decided that because we feel at this time the BCS is in an unprecedented state of health, we feel it’s never been healthier during its first decade, we have made a decision to move forward in the next cycle with the current format,” ACC Commissioner John Swofford

“If it isn’t broke,” “don’t fix it.” Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White

“The system is under a lot of scrutiny that can result in pressure to add games. Our league is not favorable to a playoff system as a whole, and viewed this as the first step in that direction.” Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe

“very pleased with the current system.” WAC commissioner Karl Benson also representing C-USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.

So let me get this right. Every single Div-I football conference major AND mid-major are opposed to any sort of a playoff idea except the SEC and yet the finger is only pointed at the Big Ten and Pac 10? If it looks like a scapegoat, and smells like a scapegoat, then it probably is a scapegoat. The reason why people love to hate the Rose Bowl alliance between these two Northern and Western conferences is also the reason why people love to hate Notre Dame.

While this is extremely tough for me to admit, but the nation’s hatred with Notre Dame is less about their performance on the field, their fans, tradition or even their impressively long waiting list for season tickets, but it is solely because of their privileged relationship with NBC and the BCS system in general. Did you see any other athletic directors representing just 1 school sitting at the ocean-front resort this past weekend?

Jim Delany, John Swofford, Dan Beebe and even Mike Slive represent a collection of multiple football powerhouses ranging from Ohio State and Michigan to Texas and Oklahoma to Florida and Miami. They are each obligated to represent multiple athletic directors, differing opinions and massive fan bases. And Kevin White? Well he sits among these godfathers representing just 1 school, Notre Dame. Not because Notre Dame is an independent. If that were the case, we’d see Army, Navy and Western Kentucky represented. Kevin White is an equal among these men of influence simply because of what Notre Dame means to college football.

Now we’ve all done analogies before. Notre Dame to college football is what the Rose Bowl is to the college post season. The Rose Bowl is the oldest bowl game still in existence and the pageantry, history and tradition surrounding the game only makes it the premier destinations for most teams. To make the Rose Bowl game is an entitlement in itself. And this is why the Big Ten and the Pac 10 hold on so dearly to their commitment to the Rose Bowl. Why wouldn’t they? Like Notre Dame’s independent contract with NBC, both the Big Ten and the Pac 10 have a good thing going for them. Before the days of the BCS, the Rose Bowl stood tall alongside its Cotton, Orange and Sugar peers. Now the Cotton has been replaced with the Fiesta, yet the Rose Bowl is still going strong.

Many believe that it is actually feasible for all the conferences to move forward without the Big Ten, Pac 10 and their Rose Bowl. But remember the Bowl Alliance prior to the BCS? Well that was a post season system that excluded the Big Ten, Pac 10 and the Rose Bowl and look how well that turned out. The other conferences can only hope to have a tie in with the Rose Bowl that is currently already occupied. And as Big Ten fans we should recognize the special status our historic tie-in affords us in the college football landscape.

But don’t we want a true ‘fair’ national champion crowned each year? What about college football is fair? Even within the Big Ten conference itself, there are teams that don’t have to play Ohio State and Michigan in some seasons while other teams are stuck with playing both powerhouses annually. Is that fair? Notre Dame gets to pick and choose their entire schedule on an annual basis. If a playoff system were to be instituted why wouldn’t teams want to pick and choose an entire schedule of cupcakes in addition to 2 or 3 games against the big boys. Hell, a 9-3 record would solidify Notre Dame as a regular participant in any playoff scenario.

People are too short sighted to actually appreciate what the current BCS system has afforded us. Yes, there is lots of contraversy, but isn’t it exactly that contraversy that sends thousands of fans to the forums, blogs and world wide web to further talk about college football? Isn’t the fact that a single loss whether it be to #1 Ohio State late in the year or to Division I-AA Appalachian State to start off the season devastating, the reason why fans pack the stadium for both matchups? Fan attendance is in record figures, television ratings are through the roof, schools are raking in record revenues, can someone remind me what exactly is wrong with the system we have now again?

Oh, the fair thing. Auburn still has a grudge, apparently so does Georgia and Boise State. But what about USC in 2007 after being upset by UCLA in their last game? Or Penn State in 2005 who lost in a controversial game to Michigan in the last second? Don’t you think they would have benefited from a playoff? Sure. But that is exactly why a playoff is not good for college football. It is because we answered in the affirmative to the last question that would render such momentous upsets that would be scribed into history books into mere formalities.

The 2006 Ohio State - Michigan game with both team’s undefeated records would have simply been a battle between two teams that had already punched their ticket into any sort of playoff system. What’s to stop them from resting their best players? The NFL already does it because they know the ultimate prize lies in the post season. There is absolutely no reason why Jim Tressel would want to risk injury to Ted Ginn, Gonzales or even Troy Smith in a game that has no bearing on making the postseason had there been a playoff system. But it is because we didn’t, that we were treated to an all out, epic battle between two teams who knew, despite all the politicking that the loser of the game face little to no chance of participating in the national title game.

In 2006 after the classic matchup between #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan, SEC commissioner Mike Slive denounced any possibilities of a repeat matchup between the two Big Ten powers in the championship game. Now he is proposing a plus-one playoff format which would have ensured that both Ohio State and Michigan would have had another shot at a repeat matchup. The likely matchup that year had we moved to a plus-one playoff system would have been #1 Ohio State v #4 USC and #2 Florida v #3 Michigan. The only difference would be that Florida from the SEC and USC from the Pac 10 would have had a shot as well. Just a tad self-serving when it comes to proposing ideas aren’t we Slive?

So how exactly does rendering the regular season into a ‘win-enough-games-to-make-the-postseason’ system better than the current system. It isn’t and never will be. You can miss a couple NFL games and still be content with your favorite pro football team come playoff time as long as they make the playoffs. Do you honestly want to render college football into what men’s basketball has become? Where losing a few games is acceptable. I personally think that would be devastating for this sport we all love and cherish.

Shockingly not everything revolves around money. There is just so much more money potentially for the NCAA and its members if they switched to a playoff format, but at the expense of reducing the value of the regular season? The benefit becomes negligible.

Do not for a second even fool yourselves into thinking Auburn, Boise State and Georgia are the only victims in our wacky postseason format. Penn State was robbed of 2 national championship appearances once by Nixon when he prematurely awarded the title to Texas and once to Nebraska despite the 1994 team still widely regarded as one of the best ever in college football. So trust me when I say that I am still a little ticked off. But my rage has not blinded me to the bigger picture. Our national championship system is not perfect, but it works for college football.

So why exactly is Mike Slive the commissioner of possibly the second highest profile conference in the nation advocating an idea so absurd to the institution of college football that it is doomed to fail from day one? Ever hear of the Ralph Nadar tactic? Well when you know that an idea or a candidate stands very little chance of winning, the idea/candidate is still proposed simply to earn favor with the fans or electorate. Nadar will propose legalizing marijuana. He knows that is extremely popular with the younger generation. He will also propose lowering the drinking age. That is even more popular with college bound voters. But he also knows all too well he will never, ever win. So proposing it makes him look like the forward thinking candidate, the innovator and earn some good will despite the fact that he has no intention or ability to ever make good on his promise.

In walks Mike Slive. His conference has just won back to back national titles through a system that he now proposes scrapping. The mere fact that he is even thinking about a proposed playoff has all the fans, blogs and forums up in arms supporting him. But wait, he knows there is no chance such a system will ever come to fruition. How can I claim that? Well scroll back up and read the almost unanimous rejection of any sort of playoff or plus-one idea by every commissioner including the one representing mid-majors who as of the current system has no shot in hell of ever earning a title spot.

So why would Mike Slive still go through the trouble of bringing it up? Well isn’t the media and fans berating the Big Ten, Pac 10 and Rose Bowl and giving Slive and the SEC a standing ovation? Don’t you think he has already accomplished his goal? Those who can’t see through the game Slive is playing here want to award him with the medal of honor. And unfortunately that describes that mass majority of college football fans. Slive knows all too well his idea is bogus and will never gain traction, yet he runs his propaganda machine perfectly.

Each and every year there is contraversy, it adds to the lore that defines the sport of college football. We have to remember that this is a sport where teams and fan bases battle and hate each other over bronzed pigs, wooden buckets and in Notre Dame and USC’s case, a stupid looking Irish stick. Logic has little place in a sport so immersed in passion and tradition. Where else can you find two differing win records between teams from Missouri and Kansas simply because they can’t agree on the results of their historic rivalry? Do we honestly want to risk these rivalry games, passion for our teams even against inferior non conference opponents and the tradition that is the bowl game tie-ins (and I’m not talking about Joe’s Toilet bowl that was just introduced last year) just to give two more teams that couldn’t make a good enough case to be a national title participant lock in the first place another shot at the title? It sure isn’t worth it to me.

The only difference between commissioners Jim Delany and Mike Slive is not in their post season systems. They both know and believe that the current bowl tie-in system is what is best for the sport. The only difference between the two is that Jim Delany actually possesses a backbone. He is blatantly and at times too painfully honest about his commitment to the Rose Bowl and the current system. Slive on the other hand will squeeze as much good will from the majority of passionate college football fans as he can. How else will he ever get Missouri, Kansas, USC and even West Virginian fans on his side otherwise?

The mainstream media can dub the Big Ten, Pac 10 Rose Bowl alliance as the ‘Axis of Obstruction’ all they want. But in all honesty, the Rose Curtain (thats right ESPN, I can make smart, creative references too) is here to stay and for the good of college football as a sport, lets hope they never tear down this wall.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

	School	Number 1	Number 2	Voted his own school
Frank Beamer	Virginia Tech	LSU	Virginia Tech	2 / 5
Mike Bellotti	Oregon	Ohio State	LSU	25 / NR
Bret Bielema	Wisconsin	Ohio State	Oklahoma	13 / 15
Larry Blakeney	Troy	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Bobby Bowden	Florida State	LSU	Ohio State	- / NR
Tommy Bowden	Clemson	Ohio State	LSU	14 / 16
Jeff Bower	S. Mississippi	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Art Brines	Houston	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Mack Brown	Texas	Ohio State	LSU	17 / 17
Bill Callahan	Nebraska	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Neil Callaway	Alabama at Birmingham	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Lloyd Carr	Michigan	Ohio State	LSU	21 / NR
Mario Cristobal	Florida Int.	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Mark Dantonio	Michigan St.	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Butch Davis	North Carolina	LSU	USC	- / NR
Bill Doba	Washington St	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Randy Edsall	U Conn	Ohio State	Georgia	23 / NR
Dennis Franchione	Texas A&M	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Phillip Fulmer	Tennessee	Ohio State	LSU	14 / 18
Jeff Genyk	E. Michigan	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Joe Glenn	Wyoming	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Jim Grobe	Wake Forest	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Dan Hawkins	Colorado	LSU	Oklahoma	- / NR
Pat Hill	Fresno State	LSU	USC	- / NR
Steve Kranthorpe	Louisville	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Mike Leach	Texas Tech	Ohio State	Georgia	22 / NR
Rocky Long	New Mexico	LSU	Ohio State	- / NR
Sonny Lubrick	Colorado State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Bill Lynch	Indiana	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Doug Martin	Kent State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Les Miles	LSU	LSU	Ohio State	1 / 2
Shane Montgomery	Miami (Ohio)	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Hal Mumme	New Mexico State	Hawaii	Ohio State	- / NR
Joe Novak	Northern Illinois	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Houston Nutt	Arkansas	Ohio State	LSU	17 / 24
Tom O’Brien	North Carolina State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
George O’Leary	Central Florida	Ohio State	LSU	17 / NR
Gary Patterson	TCU	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Chris Peterson	Boise State	Ohio State	LSU	14 / 22
Mark Richt	Georgia	Ohio State	Georgia	2 / 4
Mike Riley	Oregon State	Ohio State	LSU	24 / NR
Rich Rodriguez	W. Virginia	Ohio State	LSU	8 / 9
Greg Schiano	Rutgers	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Howard Schnellenberger	Florida Atlantic	Ohio State	Kansas	- / NR
Mark Snyder	Marshall	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Frank Solich	Ohio	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Steve Spurrier	South Carolina	Oklahoma	LSU	- / NR
Rick Stockstill	Middle Tennessee	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Bob Stoops	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Ohio State	1 / 3
Jeff Tedford	California	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Joe Tiller	Purdue	Ohio State	Oklahoma	- / NR
Bob Toledo	Tulane	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Dick Tomey	San Jose State	Ohio State	LSU	- / NR
Jim Tressel	Ohio State	Ohio State	LSU	1 / 1
Tommy Tubberville	Auburn	LSU	Oklahoma	19 / 21
Charlie Weis	Notre Dame	Ohio State	Georgia	- / NR
Tyrone Willingham	Washington	Ohio State	USC	- / NR
Ron Zook	Illinois	Ohio State	LSU	9 / 13

The final ballot of the coaches poll is made public and that is how things should be. There should be no secrecy with the coaches ballot in my opinion. If you’re part of the 60 voters of the coaches’ poll that can eventually affect teams on the other side of the country, your ballot should be public throughout the year. There’s only really one reason why the ballots would be kept secret. To save the coaches from humiliation. Think Ohio State’s Jim Tressel wouldn’t want to keep his final ballot for last year secret when he voted Florida ahead of Michigan?

The lone coach who voted for Hawaii was Hal Mumme of New Mexico State. Who gave HIM a ballot? Other than that, the votes weren’t really all that surprising. Coaches tended to vote along conference lines: SEC coaches placed Georgia or LSU in their top two, sometimes both, Pac 10 coaches supported USC and Big 10 coaches didn’t really have much of a choice with Ohio State awarding the buckeyes the top spot and LSU second. Then there was Frank Beamer who felt he deserved a shot at the buckeyes despite having lost horribly to LSU earlier in the season.

On the Ball reward
	Delta
Jim Tressel (Ohio State)	0	voted the Buckeyes #1 and they were ranked #1 in the BCS
Mack Brown (Texas)	0	voted his Longhorns #17 with a delta of 0 from the actual BCS poll.

Drank a little too much kool aid award
	Delta
Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech)	+3	Thinks he deserves to leapfrog the LSU Tigers that dismantled them earlier in the season by voting himself #2 when in fact he was #5.
Mike Bellotti (Oregon)		This one is even funnier, the Ducks that fell apart with the loss of their star quarterback getting shutout by UCLA (that lost to Notre Dame) and in overtime to Oregon State, still thinks he should be ranked #25 despite not making it in the top 25 of the BCS poll.
Houston Nutt (Arkansas)	+7	That was a nice win against LSU Nutt, but that doesn’t make you #17 in the nation. BCS believes you are #24 and thats more reasonable.
Chris Peterson (Boise State)	+8	“Oh oh Livin’ on a Prayer” A win against Oklahoma last year doesn’t make you #14, 8 spots higher than your actual BCS ranking. Nice try for BCS eligibility (need to be in the top 14 to be eligible), but maybe next year.
Ron Zook (Illinois)	+4	Hey buddy, nobody and I mean NOBODY in the top 10 should lose to Iowa. The Ohio State win was nice, but so was Appalachian State’s win against Michigan but you don’t see them in the top 25, let alone the top 10. So nice try for #9 Ron, but try #13.

Tried for the brass ring but fell on my ass award (need to be in the top 14 to be BCS eligible)
	Delta
Bret Bielma (Wisconsin)	+2	maybe you’re new, or just trying to skirt the rules again. But getting dismantled by Illinois and Penn State means you shouldn’t be BCS eligible. Try #15 instead Bret.
Tommy Bowden (Clemson)	+2	It might not be your father’s year, but doesn’t mean its yours either. Nice win against South Carolina though.
Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee)	+4	“I would like to go to the Rose Bowl. How about that?” Fulmer responded after being asked if there was a bowl he preferred. Well, you might not be going to the rose bowl, but losing the SEC championship shouldn’t make you BCS eligible either, try #18 instead. Welcome back to the Outback bowl.
Bob Stoops (Oklahoma)	+2	Playoff this, playoff that, you didn’t get the job done against Colorado or Texas Tech (far worse losses than LSU’s), so enjoy yet another BCS bowl and try again next year.
Mark Richt (Georgia)	+2	Mark might have the most valid case of any coach to vote his team higher than the BCS standings indicate. There is no hotter team other than USC than Georgia at the moment, but doesn’t that Tennessee loss sure sting now? Nice attempt at getting into the big game, but a bowl berth against W Virginia can be another statement for what could have been.
Les Miles	+1	Lucky things turned out the way they did Les. After this season, there might be no luckier coach in the nation than the one pacing the sidelines at LSU. A miracle catch to win against Auburn, 4 fourth-down conversions in one drive to win against Florida. To be able to reach the big dance after losing the number 1 spot TWICE in a season. Boy, you remember to take that rabbit’s foot with you down to New Orleans. Or you could just have your wife drive it down to you the day of.