Tidbits From the College Gridiron @ SOX & Dawgs

This will be the second-to-last Tidbits From the College Gridiron post until the 2008 season starts. The last one will come in February when the recruits send in their letter-of-intent to the schools they plan to call home in the fall.

If you were under a rock last night, you missed LSU rallying from a 10-0 deficit to win the BCS National Championship 38-24 over The Ohio State Buckeyes. LSU became the first team in the BCS era to take home the title two times. They are also the first school with two losses to win it.

As my brother said in a previous comment, the Hawai’i Warriors will be looking for a new coach next season as June Jones has decided to comeback to the mainland to coach the SMU Mustangs. He was offered a 5-year deal that is worth $10 million. The main reason for Jones leaving due to the poor facilities at Hawai’i and the lack of a big recruiting budget. Most of their recruiting is done by word-of-mouth and the players actually coming to visit them. Hawai’i did make a last ditch effort to keep Jones and even offered him a contract that would have doubled his salary to $1.6 million. In the end, Jones wanted a new challenge and settled on the SMU job and hopes to bring them back to the national scene.


The BCS will take a look at a possible plus one game for the 2011 bowl season. Their TV contract is up after the 2010 bowl season. Personally, I favor the plan by University of Georgia president Michael Adams about an 8-team playoff using the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls as quarterfinals. He then proposes the semifinals one week later and the finals two weeks later.

Rutgers running back Ray Rice has decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2008 NFL Draft. This decision comes on the heels of his 280 yard 4 touchdown performance in the International Bowl.

Central Florida running back Kevin Smith recently had said he would be back for his senior season. Well, now he has changed his mind and has decided to enter the 2008 NFL Draft. Smith led the nation with 2,567 yards rushing.

I haven’t heard anything in the mainstream media about this but I noticed as I was going through the AP others receiving votes that Appalachian State received 5 votes from the AP media voters. They got the same amount of votes as Rutgers, and more votes than Tulsa, UConn, Air Force and Rutgers.

USA Today Coaches Poll PV AP Top 25 PV
1. LSU (60) 12-2 1500 2 1. LSU (60) 12-2 1620 2
2. USC 11-2 1380 6 2. Georgia (3) 11-2 1515 4
3. Georgia 11-2 1370 4 3. USC (1) 11-2 1500 6
4. Ohio State 11-2 1287 1 4. Missouri 12-2 1347 7
5. Missouri 12-2 1241 7 5. Ohio State 11-2 1346 1
6. West Virginia 11-2 1239 9 6. West Virginia 11-2 1342 11
7. Kansas 12-1 1217 8 7. Kansas (1) 12-1 1303 8
8. Oklahoma 11-3 1016 3 8. Oklahoma 11-3 1139 3
9. Virginia Tech 11-3 979 5 9. Virginia Tech 11-3 1096 5
10. Texas 10-3 924 17 10. Texas 10-3 962 17
11. Boston College 11-3 898 14 10. Boston College 11-3 962 14
12. Tennessee 10-4 826 18 12. Tennessee 10-4 904 16
13. Arizona State 10-3 635 11 13. Florida 9-4 685 9
14. Auburn 9-4 624 21 14. Brigham Young 11-2 654 19
14. Brigham Young 11-2 624 19 15. Auburn 9-4 648 22
16. Florida 9-4 567 12 16. Arizona State 10-3 587 12
17. Hawaii 12-1 427 10 17. Cincinnati 10-3 566 20
18. Illinois 9-4 416 13 18. Michigan 9-4 508 NR
19. Michigan 9-4 413 NR 19. Hawaii 12-1 460 10
20. Cincinnati 10-3 376 23 20. Illinois 9-4 443 13
21. Wisconsin 9-4 333 15 21. Clemson 9-4 353 15
22. Clemson 9-4 319 16 22. Texas Tech 9-4 308 NR
23. Texas Tech 9-4 242 NR 23. Oregon 9-4 253 NR
24. Oregon 9-4 192 NR 24. Wisconsin 9-4 202 18
25. Penn State 9-4 127 NR 25. Oregon State 9-4 110 NR
Others Receiving Votes Others Receiving Votes
Oregon State 108, Virginia 71, Wake Forest 53, Boise State 33, Fresno State 11, Kentucky 11, California 8, Connecticut 8, Mississippi State 7, South Florida 6, Tulsa 5, UCF 4, Utah 2, Arkansas 1. Virginia 66, Penn State 61, Kentucky 57, Wake Forest 53, Boise State 25, Arkansas 13, Utah 9, Mississippi State 7, Appalachian State 5, South Florida 5, Tulsa 4, Connecticut 3, Air Force 2, Rutgers 2.
Dropped From Rankings Dropped From Rankings
Virginia 20, Boise State 22, Arkansas 24, South Florida 25. Virginia 21, South Florida 23, Boise State 24, Arkansas 25.