Larry Smith was many things to many people at his many jobs.

At Arizona (1980-86), he was a savior rescuing the program from the shadow of NCAA violations.

At USC (1987-92), he is remembered as the guy who allowed the mighty Trojans to lose to Fresno State in the 1992 Freedom Bowl.

At Missouri (1994-2000), he was Moses, leading the program out of a bowl-less wilderness that had stretched over 13 seasons.

Now he's gone -- a dedicated coach, a dignified man and a fine father.

We should all be so accomplished. Smith died Monday at 68 after fighting a long battle with lymphoma.

I saw him for the last time two months ago. The Tucson resident had dragged himself to the Oregon-Arizona game. We exchanged pleasantries and talked briefly in the press box about how well Missouri was doing.

That's how I'll remember Larry Smith, as the tight-lipped, straight-talking coach who finally got Missouri back on track. I was covering the Tigers in the mid-1990s. Still bitten with the coaching bug, Smith had decided to take on the task of rebuilding Missouri after a depressing departure from USC.

Missouri doesn't have the access to the recruits USC does. Smith quickly found that out. In his first three seasons at Troy, he went to Rose Bowls. His first three teams at Missouri were a combined 11-22-1. The coach wanted to build the program on defense and toughness. For long stretches it looked anything but.

In 1997, though, 16 starters returned. At the time, dual-threat Corby Jones looked like the best quarterback the program had ever seen. Suddenly, Missouri was tough. During one memorable November afternoon, it lost to No. 1 Nebraska in overtime. Missouri played so hard that day that Nebraska fell from the No. 1 spot in the AP poll after winning. The loser, Missouri, actually moved into the poll.

The Tigers finished a modest 7-5 that season getting to the same Holiday Bowl that had been the jumping off point for the program's decline in 1983. But to long-suffering fans it seemed like an undefeated season.

That was the team of Jones who ran circles around Nebraska; Brock Olivo probably the toughest Tiger of all time; an offensive line almost exclusively made up of rural Missouri farm boys; the hardest-running fullback in school history, Ron Janes; the incredibly talented Ernest Blackwell.

To the average football fan, those are anonymous names. To Smith, they were his warriors.

Things got better in 1998, when Missouri beat Marc Bulger and West Virginia in the Insight.com Bowl to finish 8-4. It seemed like Mizzou had turned the corner. Maybe Smith and staff overestimated. Recruiting dropped off and Smith was gone after the 2000 season.

His legacy is of being one tough S.O.B. Ask one of his favorite people, Ricky Hunley, who played for Smith at Arizona then later was an assistant for him.

"Blocking and tackling, blocking and tackling. It ain't hard," Hunley told the Tucson Citizen. "He said it over and over. He didn't just want us to win, he wanted us to beat people."

Smith also had a Vermeil-like soft side. He would be moved to tears after both big wins and tough losses.

He came to Missouri at a time when cyberspace was still an unfamiliar term to some. Smith hadn't quite grasped the concept.

"I don't have an Internet," Smith once told reporters.

Larry will live on. I know that because he didn't suffer fools well. Every time I see St. Louis Associated Press writer R.B. Fallstrom he reminds me of a long, rambling question I once asked Smith back in the 90s.

"What's your question?" Smith finally said.

I still don't know. But I know I'll miss Larry Smith for the straight-shooting person and coach he was.

• If you're a Washington, UCLA or college football fan drop what you're doing right now. This week's Seattle Times series on Rick Neuheisel's 2000 U-Dub team is maddening, frightening and heart-breaking.

It is a must read. There is no good timing for a series like this but it will be interesting to see if it impacts UCLA's recruiting.

The stories don't necessarily blame Neuheisel. Everybody is responsible -- players, police, prosecutors and former AD Barbara Hedges.

Great job by the Times.

Were you as surprised as I was? Wow, Zarah Yisrael, the first overall pick in the All-American Football League Draft. What was Arkansas thinking?

It could have had Rodney Wormley or Gerome Castleberry.

Yeah, those household names.

If it seems like the AAFL Draft was just yesterday, it was. Saturday to be exact. In the middle of college basketball, the Senior Bowl and growing Super Bowl hype you hardly noticed. And you are excused.

The newest pro league debuts in April with six franchises -- Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Michigan and Alabama. If the names at the top of the league's first draft board are any indication, there are going to be a lot more folks not noticing. One of the AAFL's selling points was its recognizable names in college football hotbeds like Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Michigan.

Welcome, then, Team Arkansas to the legend that is Zarah Yisrael. The former Troy offensive lineman graduated two years ago, kicked around an NFL camp or two and ended up in the AAFL as the equivalent of JaMarcus Russell, Mario Williams and any other NFL No. 1 you can name.

Except for one thing:

"It's been about a year, a year and a half to two years since I've put on a helmet, and I'm well rested and I'm ready to play," Yisrael was quoted as saying.

The AAFL is the latest pro football league attempting to occupy our minds between spring and fall. It's a college hybrid that requires players have their degree. Further college spirit is expected to be stirred up with teams playing in college stadiums.

It will never happen but if the AAFL really wanted to drum up interest it would have Team Tennessee play the University of Tennessee. Who wouldn't want to see current Vols against washed up Vols?

To give you some idea of the talent level (if you haven't figured it out yet) the next four players taken in the draft were quarterbacks -- Bryan Randall (Virginia Tech), Eric Crouch (Nebraska), Eric Kresser (Florida) and David Koral (UCLA).

At least a couple of those names are recognizable. Not so of the majority of names. We threw Wormley in there because the former Temple defensive end is the forgettable second-round choice of Michigan. East Central University's Castleberry (Michigan, third round) will go down as the first running back taken.

Great for him, bad for Chris Leak, the former Florida quarterback who wasn't taken until the sixth round. By Florida.

There's a genuine chance there for Leak to be booed by Gator fans all over again -- as a backup quarterback in the AAFL.

•  Saturday didn't pass so quietly for those who loved and admired Bear Bryant. The day marked the 25th anniversary of Bear's death in 1983.

Obviously, his contributions and inspiration live on. I never met the man but after visiting the Bear Bryant Museum a few years ago, I feel like I did. There's a display of Bear's office right down to the houndstooth hat. It looked like the great man was returning from lunch any minute.

•  College hoops: As if Wednesday's Kansas-Kansas State mega-match needed any more hype, K-State's Michael Beasley has guaranteed a win. Kansas State hasn't beaten KU in Manhattan since 1983.

• The hype is building for the nation's No. 1 recruit.

Terrelle Pryor told me Friday that he is not visiting Oregon just yet. There was a report out there that the Jeannette, Pa., High quarterback might take a trip out to Eugene this weekend. Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has been doggedly pursuing him to run Oregon's spread option.

Michigan and Ohio State are still the only schools Pryor has officially visited.

Pryor didn't exactly "tell" me he wasn't visiting Oregon. We exchanged text messages. It struck me that I've got better access to the kid than any recruiter, because of restrictive NCAA rules.

Wednesday was apparently a big day in Jeannette with coaches visiting from Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.

"This is like a circus right now," said Jeannette coach Ray Reitz.

"He's had some guys befriend him along the way that shouldn't have befriended him. There's this 80-year-old guy. If I'm 80 years old, I'm worried about getting up the next day."

There's a chance Pryor might not announce his intentions on signing day (Feb. 6). The current plan is for Pryor to take the drama down to the last minute with a noon announcement at his school on Feb. 6. Reitz said Pryor might take his time and wait.

• The Detroit News published this Jan. 10 letter from Rich Rodriguez to West Virginia that seems to support his claim that certain promises from the administration were not being met.

(Mike Garrison in the West Virginia president. Craig Walker is Garrison's chief of staff. Larry Ashebrook is the executive director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club.)

Mr. Ed Pastilong
Athletic Director
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 0877
Morgantown, WV 26502

Mr. Pastilong:

On my resignation letter dated December 18, 2007, I did not list some of the reasons for my resignation. It was not until I read that lawsuit against me by the West Virginia University Board of Governors did I realize that I needed to put in writing my reasons that I felt that West Virginia University has material and substantial breaches in our Agreement.

On Page 6 of the lawsuit (Article 17) it mentions that the University and I mutually understood and agreed on all the terms, conditions and understandings either oral and or written. It also mentioned that any further modification or amendment was effective only if made in writing and signed by both parties. This is not true -- several issues were promised and discussed and were oral agreements that I thought would be upheld. Verbal promises and statements made by Mike Garrison, Craig Walker and several Board of Governor members were a factor in my agreeing to sign the second amendment. They include:

a) Mike Garrison stated that he did not believe in buyouts and that if I wanted to leave that "the buyout would be reduced to 2 million or eliminated altogether." He knew I did not want to sign it with the large buyout but assured me that as soon as he took office he would address it. I told him the four million buyout was unfair and Garrison agreed but said the Board of Governors would not change it at the time due to publicity concerns (the University leaked the term sheet information to the press in violation of the Agreement. I was also misled when I was told when I originally agreed to sign the term sheet in December that the boosters who paid my salary "insisted" that I have the four million dollar buyout clause. I have found out that this was not true).

b) I told Garrison that I knew everyone was under pressure to get me to sign the contract (I was getting calls by Board Members, the President and the Governor). I told him I was not comfortable signing it with the buyout clause and other issues but Garrison said it would be a personal favor for him and several Board Members and said I needed to do it to help Garrison's start as the new President.

c) I raised specific issues regarding football operations and was verbally promised by Garrison and Board Members that these would be taken care of as soon as Garrison took office in September. These included:

1. Student-Athlete textbooks

2. Control over funds given to the football program (specifically 1100 club funds which were misappropriated several times.)

3. Assistant coaches salaries and the urgency to get this done by November.

4. A $5.00 fee paid by high school coaches for each home game (other schools do not charge high school coaches).

5. How we could utilize strength graduate assistant coaches for our development program like other institutions. Both Craig Walker and Mike Garrison said the "operational issues" described above were "philosophical and no-brainers."

d. I was promised by several Board Members that my request for a football website that I wanted would happen once the new President took office. It was clearly stated I wanted this by November to help assistant salaries and that I wanted to be pro-active rather than reactive in December or January. They said if the money did not come from the website it would come from other sources.

e. The second contract amendment includes language for starting the Puskar Center Locker Room. During the fall, you came to my office in the middle of the season and said that project was off because of a lack of funds. No alternative plan or resolution was presented -- just the fact it would not be built as promised unless "all the checks were in." Later, Larry Ashebrook personally solicited pledges for the funds you said we needed on his own accord.

f. As a means to create future revenue, I was promised that a request for proposal regarding our TV/Radio/Marketing would be out by October and it was yet to be submitted -- to my knowledge.

g. Prior to my resignation, I met with Craig Walker, Mike Garrison and you on these issues. I spoke of the verbal agreements made in August 2007 and the handshake that was intended to get me to sign the contract. Each of you stated that everything has been done already and gave me a "No-No-No-No" response (not a maybe or we'll discuss) to the issues. My last meeting with Mike Garrison on Saturday night, December 15th was even more direct and he reiterated that he had done "all he could" at this point. There was an obvious lack of communication and discontent between the Athletic Department and President's Office last year. I was promised this would all change and the "environment" would be "much better" according to President Garrison. Unfortunately, the working environment became much worse.

It is very unfortunate that the University and Governor have escalated this situation through the media with the filing of a lawsuit rather than having better efforts at a resolution. This action by the West Virginia officials has caused threats to be made to my family and damage and destruction of some of my family's property. The University apparently wants more details as to its breaches and bad faith, so I felt I had to respond. Many of these situations were in the presence of others who can verify the truthfulness of these statements and events.

Sincerely,
Rich Rodriguez

cc: Mike Garrison
Craig Walker

As I wrote last year, recruiting rankings do mean something, especially when you're at the top. Check out the top 10 classes of 2003 and what schools did four years later (source: rivals.com):

1. USC: 2007 standouts Fred Davis (tight end), Chilo Rachal (offensive line), Keith Rivers (linebacker) were in this class. The only quarterback in the class, Rocky Hinds, transferred to UNLV. There was enough talent here for USC to go 11-2 and win the Rose Bowl four years later.

2. LSU: A mother lode: At least eight starters (and two All-Americans) emerged from this class. Oh yeah, four years later this class was the foundation for a national championship.

3. Florida State: An indictment of the program, the coaching staff and my recruiting theory. The 'Noles got worse in subsequent years with the talent from this class.

4. Miami: Ditto.

5. Michigan: Henne, Hart, Arrington. (DL Alan Branch left after his junior year in 2006.) Too bad Ohio State lapped Michigan during this period and came to rule the Big Ten.

6. Georgia: Four years later the Bulldogs won the Sugar Bowl and made a claim for the national championship.

7. Florida: Brandon Siler, Tate Casey, Derrick Harvey and Tony Joiner met up with new coach Urban Meyer and won the '06 national championship.

8. Oklahoma: A relatively small class (17 counting the loss of Rhett Bomar) produced the foundation for back-to-back Big 12 titles. Thanks for your short stay, Adrian Peterson.

9. Ohio State: At least eight starters and a handful of future NFL draftees came from this class; 2003 was Ted Ginn Jr.'s year.

10. Texas: Mack Brown won a bitterly fought recruiting battle for the only five-star player in the class, DL Frank Okam. The seniors from this class who are graduating this year went 44-7 in their careers and won a national championship.

• It was news to me and some Michigan students that they aren't allowed to use the name of a recruit while planning an all-campus party.

While boosters and school administrators are bound by the NCAA recruiting rule, I'd like to see the Double-A put Michigan on probation for its students' role for a kegger saluting Terrelle Pryor.

Frankly, I'm kind of upset that the students backed down. Show some sack, kids. Where in the student handbook does it say anything about the NCAA Manual?

• Speaking of Pryor. Word is that Pittsburgh is pulling out all the stops trying to get the nation's No. 1 recruit to stay home for an official visit this weekend. Pryor still has Oregon, Florida and LSU on his list but has visited only Michigan and Ohio State.

• Leftovers from the Michael Beasley story that was posted on Tuesday.

Beasley is the freshman forward who leads the country in rebounding and the Big 12 in scoring.

On speculation that he will be the first player taken in the NBA Draft after this season:

"I would rather win every game and not score any points than lose every game and get every honor in the world. I don't really care about (being) No. 1 in the draft or Big 12 Player of the Year or NCAA Player of the Year, I want to win more than anything."

On close friend Kevin Durant (now in the NBA with the Seattle Sonics):

"We talk every couple of days. The only basketball we talk about is my next game. He tells me what I need to do. I talked to him the day before the Oklahoma game. He said, 'You know I had 32 on them last year in my first game.' I was like, 'All right, I'm going to go for 32.'" (Beasley had 32 in the Jan. 12 game.)

On his shooting confidence:

"I feel great players make great shots. If you consider yourself a great player and you don't want the ball and you don't want to take the last shot, I wouldn't call myself even a good player.

"That means I can miss a million of them and I still want the last shot. I wouldn't call myself a good player if I didn't want the ball for the last shot. I want the fate of the team in my hands at all times."

On who is game is patterned after:

"I like Derrick Coleman a lot. I told other reporters, the only Derrick Coleman I remember is his last couple of years with the Sixers. That wasn't a pretty Derrick Coleman. He wasn't really consistent.

"Right now I try to pattern my game after Carmelo Anthony, a little bit of Kevin Durant. They both have the face-up game, every time they touch the ball you're at their mercy. They can shoot, they can drive, and they can see the whole floor. You can't double team them.

"I shoot the 3 just like Carmelo. I bang a little more than Carmelo."

How hard is the game for you?:

"Anybody can throw the ball in the bucket but can you do it over a 7-foot, 320- pound defender consistently? It's hard work, not just on the court but off. Like me before every game, I look up the stats of my opponents. Who did really good in that game? I looked up (Oklahoma's) Blake Griffin and one of their losses was to USC. USC had a decent big man, Taj Gibson. I just compared. I look all that stuff up. I visualize. I get a million stats off the page in my head."

The following are leftover quotes and observations from the sources I talked to for Monday's West Virginia column.

West Virginia's position is well known. I'm trying to understand why a school would go to these lengths to discredit its former coach. Rich Rodriguez fired back last week saying he was the victim of a "smear campaign." The sniping has not died down. Rodriguez's side is expected to file a response this week to the West Virginia lawsuit regarding the coach's $4 million buyout.

Ken Kendrick, West Virginia alum and influential booster

On the current animosity between West Virginia and Rodriguez: "It's little bit like you're in the jilted lover syndrome. It's like neither side can let go. Everybody, really, inside probably understands that letting go is in their best interest.

"I've never been through this personally but I've had people tell me that in a divorce environment it's never really one person who's at fault. Often there are many ... circumstances. I think that's what happened here.

On Rodriguez taking the Michigan job: They are the kind of program that almost any coach in the America would listen to if they were calling. I know that Rich's heart is so much that of a West Virginian that his motivational reason when they did call was built around a frustration.

"The circumstances of Rich leaving are almost like a perfect storm. ...

On the hiring of assistant Bill Stewart: "They had a great victory (in the Fiesta Bowl) and in the middle of the night and in an emotionally charged atmosphere (made the hire) ... Bill's a fine guy and will give it a great effort. I will hope like heck that he succeeds.

On the search that included the hiring of noted coaching head hunter Chuck Neinas: "They had evolved in their approach to the search to hire an expert to help them from the outside and they were beginning to look at a much broader list of candidates than they first were. I thought there was a chance that they would find a coach that would be a really good replacement for Rich. They just kind of abandoned all that.

"I'm pretty sure I know this, Bill wasn't even interviewed. If he had been they were being incredibly secretive about it. They frankly weren't being secretive about other folks.

"Of course he's very popular with the players. (But) we don't go to the Diamondback players to ask them about the next manager. If we ever did the rest of baseball would really question our approach.

"I wouldn't say Bill shouldn't have been a candidate. They should have vetted him out just like they did candidates that weren't associated with the program.

On the governor's involvement in the search: He was a football scholarship player ... Part of the problem here is some people don't have the background or ability to make the right judgment ... Go find yourself a true expert to be the lead for you in helping bring this committee together. They went down the road and I think it was Chuck Neinas. At the end I doubt he was even consulted when they made the decision.

"I was told by the president of the university that once he (Neinas) was engaged, he very quickly had provided a window into potential candidates they had not thought about. That was on that meeting of Dec. 31st. They really couldn't do much on New Year's Day and of course the next day is the (Fiesta Bowl) game. They were going to get to work immediately after the bowl game and of course they did."

Did you ask Rich if there was anything that could be done to keep him at Virginia? (Kendrick had helped secure facilities improvements after Alabama came calling for Rodriguez in 2006):

"We had talked the previous evening and asked him to sleep on things. Had a meeting with the president that did not go well .... I know Rich came away very down and the president was feeling he shouldn't feel that way.

In other words, "Be glad for what you've got"?

"One guy felt he was forced to move on. One guy felt he shouldn't have concluded that.

"I said, 'Rich, go think about it overnight.' A year ago that happened. A year ago he stayed. In his mind nothing had really changed in a year. Certain circumstances were never going to change. My last kind of (statement) to him was, 'Why don't let those of us who you know care about you, do some more with the administration?'

His issue with me was -- and a fully respect it -- was, 'I need to feel I'm respected by the people I work for. For others to step in in my place is not something I want to do.'

"Then what happened afterward is more than what anybody bargained for. I told him I knew there would be a very adverse reaction, that he would have to be the bad guy because life is simple in West Virginia.

"The people in West Virginia had given him unconditional love. (The perception was) he was deserting them so therefore he was a bad guy and a lot of the facts weren't going to matter and they don't.

Where is the program headed?

"I think Bill (Stewart) is working hard to put a good staff together. Some of the success, or lack thereof, will depend on how good that staff is.

"For example they recruited (Florida assistant) Doc Holliday and he is reputed to have great recruiting skills. I don't know any of these people at all. The potential is there. I think it's problematic. I know West Virginia is not an easy recruiting ground. There are very few Division I athletes there. You are always recruiting against some other program ... whether you're in Pennsylvania, Florida or Ohio or now New Jersey with Rutgers."

Are you still going to be a contributor to the program?:

"I'm a fan. I'm a big supporter of the university as you probably read. My biggest concern for the university is the lack of quality of leadership in the athletic department. I believe that getting better leadership in the athletic department is going to help any new coach be successful.

"I would hope they have great success in the immediate future. How they make decisions in all the areas, leadership, head coach, and assistants, over time, will tell.

"I don't know if I have any influence. I probably have little to none because of some of the things I said because public consciousness has to be raised on some of the issues in the athletic department. I don't have any problem with speaking out because frankly those people in West Virginia can't speak out. It's not been fun for me because I've taken on a lot of bullets for my comments.

Rodriguez's agent Mike Brown on the situation:

"They wouldn't let it go. The governor and president put the fuel under the fire to begin with. The governor calls Rich on Christmas Eve and apologizes for the remarks he made. What does he do, two or three days later? They file a lawsuit ...

Can the program recover?

"That's what Bill Stewart is trying to plead with everybody right now, can we get past this?

"Have you ever seen a program where the governor gets involved so much?"

• Brown also mentioned that Rodriguez' 2005 offensive playbook has shown up on the Internet. I checked it out and found it on something called fastandfuriousfootball.com.

I'm not saying the playbook was stolen by an angry West Virginia fan because I don't know how long the playbook has been up. It is interesting to see what kind of stuff is on the site. I'd love to know who runs this site and how he/she got hold of this information.

Is there any doubt where Norm Chow is headed? It certainly isn't another job in the NFL. Jeff Fisher unceremoniously fired his respected offensive coordinator this week, letting loose the dogs of speculation.

Alabama could use an offensive coordinator after losing Major Applewhite to Texas.

The real juicy one is UCLA. Rick Neuheisel still hasn't hired an O.C. Wouldn't it be great if Chow went head-to-head against his old USC boss, Pete Carroll?

• Kansas had the best record against the spread this past season.

• What programs were hurt most by early departures? My take:

1. Oklahoma: Bob Stoops lost his best receiver (Malcolm Kelly), an all-conference defensive back (Reggie Smith) and an All-America linebacker (Curtis Lofton). Losing three starters off a talented defense has to have an impact. Wait a minute, what are we doing ranking Oklahoma No. 2?

2. Arkansas: Darren McFadden was a given, but couldn't Felix Jones have been a centerpiece of Bobby Petrino's offense?

3. West Virginia: Bill Stewart can use all the assistance he can get as a rookie head coach. Losing receiver Darius Reynaud and running back Steve Slaton doesn't help.

4. Kansas: The minute I saw Aqib Talib return that pick against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, I knew he was leaving early. Still, Talib could use another year. He got thrown over a few times this season. Left tackle Anthony Collins was an Outland finalist.

5. Rutgers: Talk about sucking the life out of a program. Ray Rice quietly ran for 2,000 yards as a junior and left as the leading rusher in the school's history. It will be hard to find a back or leader to replace him. Rice could be the best player in the school's history.

• Tulsa has backed out of a deal to open the season against Texas Tech. There goes a four-hour meeting of the top two teams in total offense in 2007.

• If Michigan doesn't get No. 1 recruit Terrelle Pryor, Rich Rodriguez's safety net might be Star Jackson, a dual-threat quarterback who has committed to Alabama. Jackson is a four-star kid out of Florida who is rated the No. 5 quarterback.

Committed to Alabama? Who cares? Michigan needs a quarterback.

• What to do with your money? Have T. Boone Pickens invest it.

One mole told me that the $165 million gift the Oklahoma State sugar daddy gave to the school a few years ago is estimated to be worth $300 million now.

Transfer that to basketball, where Pickens is said to be soured on Sean Sutton. It's no secret that Oklahoma State would be interested in getting Kansas' Bill Self if Sutton bites the big one. Self played there.

Final selling point through this imaginary conversation:

Pickens: Bill, we're going to pay you $2.5 million a year. But I suggest you take only as much as you need to live on and let me invest the rest.

Self: Great idea, Boone.

Self could set up his grandchildren's grandchildren with Pickens watching his money.

Last month Jim Tressel announced that a staggering 13 Ohio State juniors put in paperwork to the NFL for possible early entry into the NFL Draft. A month later only one Buckeye has announced he was leaving (defensive lineman Vernon Gholston).

Most amazing was the non-change of address of linebacker James Laurinaitis. The two-time All-American looked like a slam dunk to be selected in the top 10 and be the first linebacker taken.

"I still love this place, and I wanted to experience my senior year," Laurinaitis said.

This is jaw-dropping stuff along the lines of Peyton Manning and Matt Leinart staying for their senior seasons. Laurinaitis already is one of the all-time best linebackers in school history. He gave up between $12 million-$15 million in guaranteed money by staying.

You're probably getting tired of hearing this but Ohio State is going to be loaded. Tressel will have 10 senior starters back, six in their fifth year. Laurinaitis is coming off back-to-back 100-tackle seasons which included a BCS Championship Game record 18 against LSU.

•  At the other end of the spectrum, who didn't expect Florida State quarterback Xavier Lee to take his many talents to the NFL? Well, a lot of us. Lee, a redshirt junior, was a clinical example of a bust going 2-4 in six career starts.

•  Oklahoma's chances took a hit when linebacker Curtis Lofton announced this week he was leaving early. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year could have vastly improved his draft status by staying. He had started only one season and Lofton's draft projection came back second round.

•  As of Tuesday afternoon 50 players had declared for the draft.

•  Players have until midnight Tuesday to declare for the draft. They have until Friday to change their minds.

•  Random recruiting question: Who is the most successful No. 1-rated high school quarterback of the last five years? Answer below.

•  Gosh, was it only a week ago that Michael Adams shook the foundations of the sport with his playoff proposal? Well, it's dead.

That's the only way to describe Adam's Folly after the NCAA board of directors basically failed to take action on the proposal on Monday. After a closed-door meeting this week the board said that the BCS presidential oversight committee already deals with postseason issues.

"I don't think there's a desire on the part of the board to do anything other than what the current structure would yield," Clemson president James Barker told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The NCAA Management Council devoted "not one second" to playoff discussion, according to David Berst, NCAA vice president.

Gee, and Adams told us that playoff sentiment among president was split 50-50.

We're still waiting, Dr. A. Can we now go back to our BCS lives?

•  Mark down the date. It took until Jan. 14, 2007 for the NCAA to get out of the dark ages. The association decided this week that pregnant women or persons with medical conditions cannot lose their scholarships. How noble of the NCAA.

•  It looks like Major Applewhite is the offensive coordinator-in-waiting at Texas. It was reported Tuesday that Applewhite, Alabama's offensive coordinator, was being seriously considered by Texas to be its running backs coach.

Applewhite is one of the most sought after assistants in the country (his name even came up as head coach at SMU). It makes sense for him to go back home to Austin where he starred at quarterback, to continue his coaching career. While running backs coach is a step down, Applewhite could be there to take over Greg Davis if and when the veteran OC leaves or retires.

•  Random recruiting question answer: Georgia's Matthew Stafford, who has thrown for more than 4,200 yards and 26 touchdowns in his first two seasons.

Stafford, though, didn't have to go that far to be the most successful. Kyle Wright (2003 No. 1) threw 38 touchdowns and 31 interceptions in an average four-year career at Miami.

Rhett Bomar (2004) was kicked out of Oklahoma and is currently at Sam Houston State.

Mark Sanchez (2005) has played behind John David Booty the past two seasons. He will compete for the starting job with Mitch Mustain in the spring.

Jimmy Clausen (2007) had an up and down freshman season at Notre Dame throwing seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

The research comes from the Detroit Free Press.

It's more than a bit troubling that boosters have recently had a significant say in business, or at least tried to, at SMU and Washington.

SMU boosters have ponied up (pun intended) the $10 million needed to pay June Jones over the next five years. A Washington booster offered president Mark Emmert $100,000 if he fired Tyrone Willingham.

Does SMU not remember how it got into its current predicament (no bowls since 1984)? The reason the program got the death penalty 20 years ago is because boosters were paying players.

"You allowed us to compete at a Top 25 level," current AD Steve Orsini told the group he nicknamed "The Circle of Champions."

The Washington thing doesn't bother me as much. I'm sure boosters have offered ADs and presidents money, previously, if they would fire a coach. What's the difference between that and in helping pay off a coach who is fired?

The increasing booster influence, though, should be a concern. T. Boone Pickens basically runs the athletic department (and the school) at Oklahoma State. That's what you get when you contribute approximately $200 million to the school.

Football coach Mike Gundy is a favorite of Pickens. The billionaire basically hired him. It has been speculated that basketball coach Sean Sutton isn't a Pickens favorite. To be fair, Sutton hasn't done himself any favors with a 9-5 record (tied for second-worst in the Big 12).

Phil Knight withheld his funding for a while when Oregon joined the Worker Rights Consortium, a sweatshop monitoring group. To Oregon's credit it didn't roll over to Knight's wishes.

And to Washington's credit, it didn't fire Willingham, although AD Todd Turner did get fired. But not because of the booster's "bribe."

SMU is asking for another scandal, or at least more losing football. What happens if SMU keeps circling the drain? Suppose one of those big boosters wants Jones fired after next season? Who is making the call, the boosters who paid the money or Orsini?

It being SMU, let's hope the booster payments are limited to just the coach.

My top bowl stars/moments

Tony Temple, Missouri: The Tigers' tailback didn't quite rise to chicken soup legend status (see Joe Montana) but Temple did make history with a Cotton Bowl-record 281 yards against Arkansas. D-Mac, we hardly knew ya.

Chris Johnson, East Carolina: In high school this Orlando product ran the anchor leg on the fastest 4x100 group in the country. Against favored Boise in the Hawaii Bowl, he put up 408 all-purpose yards; he led the nation in that category. How did this guy get out of Florida?

Oregon's offensive line: Against one of the best defensive units in the country (at one time, at least) the bulked-up Ducks paved the way for 353 rushing yards against South Florida in the Sun Bowl.

Marcus Howard, Georgia: There was no better defensive performance in the postseason. Colt Brennan was looking for a temporary restraining order after Howard sacked him three times, forced two fumbles and recovered one in the Sugar Bowl.

Florida Atlantic and the fighting Schnellenbergers: In their seventh year of existence, third in I-A, the Owls won the Sun Belt then beat Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl. If the 73-year-old Schnellie lives long enough, FAU could become his next Miami or Louisville.

Bill Stewart, West Virginia: If you ever wanted to see a coach smile throughout an entire game, you got your wish in the Fiesta Bowl. Stewart seemed to be having the time of his life in what could have been his only game as the Mountaineers head coach. After West Virginia upset Oklahoma, Stewart got a battle-field promotion from ... someone. The governor, AD Ed Pastilong, whomever.

Now Stewart must prove it over the long term.

Texas Tech: It has rallied from a combined 48-point deficit in its last two bowl games. It beat Minnesota in 2006, then came back from 14 down against Virginia to win 31-28 in the Gator Bowl.

The Ha'a dance: It was the best thing Hawaii did all night in losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Ha'a dance is a toned-down version of the Haka dance the Warriors had been doing before games as a way to get fired up. After officials flagged Hawaii at Louisiana Tech because of a throat-slashing gesture incorporated into the dance, the Warriors adjusted. They couldn't adjust to anything against the Bulldogs in a 41-10 loss.

BCS blowouts

• If most of those BCS games seemed boring, they were. The average winning margin of 20 points in the five games is the largest in BCS history. The previous highest average margin was 17.5 points in 2001. The closest set of games was in 2006, when the four games were decided by an average of less than six points.

• Want to know what kept Michigan out of the Rose Bowl? This might explain it.

Couple more things

• More poop is being heaped on USC and Reggie Bush, it seems, with the release of Tarnished Heisman. The book details how Bush and his parents took money from an agent and potential agents.

The authors, though, have admitted that one of the main sources for the book, wannabe agent Lloyd Lake, was paid.

That stains the book's veracity as much as the original and excellent reporting from the website that broke the story stained Bush's rep.

• Ohio State's new logo.

I was going to take the day off but couldn't get over this.

Apparently the OOhi flag squad had too many Hurricanes.

• As long as we're piling on, here are some suggestions from a friend on what to name Ohio State's book on its (almost) championship season:

• SEC's Bitch
• Welcome to the Woodshed 2
• Avis University
• Big Ten Bleauxs
• THE Buffalo Bills
• O-H-O-9 (vs. SEC in bowl games)
• Champions of Northern Ohio (beat Akron, Kent and Youngstown State)
• Idiot's Guide to Yielding 79 Points in Consecutive BCS Title Games
• Bleauxouts for Dummies

How bad do things have to be at Hawaii? June Jones leaving for more money is one thing. But June Jones leaving for more money at SMU? There wouldn't be enough money on earth to make me leave the islands for a program that is like Generalissimo Francisco Franco on the old Saturday Night Live.

Still dead.

The facilities must really suck at UH for Jones to bolt paradise. Quarterback Colt Brennan spoke about the lack of soap in showers. I could stink from here to high heaven and still want to play in Hawaii.

It's friggin' Hawaii.

Dallas is hotter, even if you don't count the countless boob jobs traveling down the North Dallas Tollway.

It's also tougher, way tougher.

The thinking since the beginning has been whoever took the job had a fighting chance of getting the Mustangs to 7-5 and some minor bowl. That way the coach could punch his ticket. Think of the selling point: I'm the guy who got SMU to its first bowl since the death penalty.

Jones probably will be able to do that. His offense makes up for a lot of physical deficiencies. SMU will have to loosen its academic standards. There is word that former coach Phil Bennett (and his predecessors) couldn't invite recruits for a visit unless they were already qualified. On his way out the door, Bennett basically said the school also needed to add some football-friendly majors.

You wonder about the future of Hawaii football. The program was nothing when Jones got there. AD Herman Frazier incredibly let Jones play out the last year of his contract without signing him up to an extension. That's an incredible lack of vision.

•  In case you're interested SMU (1-11 in '07) plays three non-conferences roadies (Arkansas State, Navy, Texas Tech) and a lone homie against TCU. That's a possible 0-4 start. Meanwhile, Hawaii opens at Florida. Its other non-cons are against Weber State, Washington State (both home) and at Oregon State.

•  Never thought I'd ever see the initials "BCS" become a source of street commerce. One bar near the media hotel was selling "BCS punch" for $5. With a BCS label attached it should be overpriced, watered down and not quite satisfying.

Interesting tidbits gathered throughout the week:

•  Colorado is in the running for the nation's No. 1 tailback, Darrell Scott, a 6-foot, 200-pounder from Ventura, Calif. It seems that Scott's uncle, Josh Smith, plays for the Buffaloes.

•  Florida State played with something like 43 scholarship players against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. The difficulty Kentucky had in putting way FSU (35-28) was one of the more surprising developments of the bowl season.

•  More reasons why we won't see a plus-one anytime soon: Neither the Pac-10 or Big Ten commissioners have to take a turn as BCS coordinator. The two-terms are split up between the Big 12, SEC, Big East and ACC commissioners. Also, the Rose is required to take a non-BCS school (i.e. Boise State, Hawaii) for its double-hosting game only once in an eight-year span. The other bowls are required to take any team that qualifies. The Orange Bowl is on the hook next season.

•  I'm not a Creole, jambalaya, New Orleans foodie type guy but I did have fried catfish as my last meal as a free man on Tuesday (free before heading to the Superdome for the game). The best meal of the week was Friday at Dickie Brennan's just off Bourbon Street.

NEW ORLEANS -- A.J. Trapasso is on a riser. This is news at Saturday's BCS title game media day because A.J. Trapasso is Ohio State's punter. The stars on each team get risers (a small stage with a chair) so it's easier for the media hordes to interview them.

Trapasso is not a star. He could walk down Poydras Street and someone would ask him to park their car. Trapasso does not know why he is on a riser. We don't either, especially when a real star, linebacker James Laurinaitis, is late for his meeting with the media.

So we must solider on. Here's the skinny on "Trap," a junior from Columbus.

Is Coach Tressel as buttoned-down as he seems to be? Even in team meetings it seems like someone is writing his speeches because of how well thought they are. As deliberate as he is around you, he is around us. I think it's motivating and inspiring to have a leader on our team like that. He knows what he wants, when he wants it and how to get it out of you.

What's the best movie you've seen lately?: I saw American Gangster. It was a good movie. I'm more of a comedy guy … Super Bad, Knocked Up, those are my favorites.

Who was your sports idol growing up: When I was still running the ball it was Mike Alstott. I liked how hard he ran and the fact that he was a big guy but still ran the ball a lot.

As far as a kicking approach when I got to college, I like the guys like (Brad) Maynard, the punter for the Bears and (Oakland's Sebastian) Janikowski.

Who is your fantasy date? My fantasy date is Jessica Biel.

Because… Because she's perfect.

What's the best food you've had since you've been down here? All the food we've had down here has been great.

Who are you backing for president? I haven't really narrowed my opinions down. I'll see what happens in the New Hampshire primaries.

Those were not my questions, by the way. Poaching in an interview is a wonderful thing when you have to file a blog. However, I did ask Trapasso his favorite color.

Now to me:

Why are you on the riser? I don't know. The last couple of years I've been used to hanging back with my friends and the occasional local reporters will come by to say hi.

You think you've earned your way up here? I'd like to think so, there are so many players on this team that could be doing this, I feel like it's an honor.

You talked about running the ball, what did you do in high school? I was a tailback in high school and did all the kicking and punting.

Wake up! There's more to this blog:

• Given a chance to call one of the wackiest plays of the season, LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton didn't hesitate. He had been there before almost three years to the day.

Crowton still wishes he had called a late pass against Boise State as head coach at BYU in 2004. Instead, trailing 28-27, Crowton put the game on the usually reliable leg of kicker Matt Payne. Naturally Payne missed, BYU lost by a point, the Cougars finished 5-6 and Crowton was out of a job at the end of the season.

"If I had won that game at BYU I'd probably still be there," he said.

On Oct. 20, Crowton was faced with almost the same situation in his first year as LSU's OC. Trailing Auburn by a point, LSU faced third-and-7 from Auburn's 22. Payne missed a 38-yarder. LSU kicker Colt David would have had to kick a 39-yarder.

"To myself I said, 'We should give this a shot,'" Crowton said.

Instead of BYU's Todd Watkins it was LSU's Demetrius Byrd lined up on the same left side of the field. Byrd actually signaled up to Crowton in the press box. Crowton didn't hesitate, although the rest of the offense did a bit too long. Matt Flynn tossed the game-winning touchdown pass to Byrd with one second remaining.

"As soon as I called it, Matt knew what to do," Crowton said. "Byrd had really done well, he was playing with confidence. It was either going to be incomplete (or a touchdown). In my head, I said if I get in that situation again I'm going to do that."

Crowton has quietly become one of the game's best play callers. Before LSU, he spent two years as the Chicago Bears' coordinator, three years as BYU's coach and two seasons at Oregon as OC helping develop Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart.

• Crowton on BYU, which fell back this decade only to rebound under Bronco Mendenhall. The Cougars have won 11 each of the past two seasons: "BYU when I took over, Lavell (Edwards) was going to leave and there was a gap in recruiting.

"The problem with BYU is most of those kids go on missions. After my first year there we only had six scholarships. The second year we had 13. The rest of the scholarships were all given to kids who were coming off missions. The recruiting job was not as good as it had been. It was a transition.

On Dixon, who was leading Oregon to a possible national title berth before he was injured: "Dixon was really getting better all the time … I think he's got an (NFL) future. He's got to get a little stronger but he can throw it. He's skinny, he's really skinny.

• Who is Andrew Hatch? LSU's third-string sophomore quarterback, a former Harvard walk-on.

"We've always kept him as an emergency guy," Crowton said. "He's 6-4, 222 pounds and actually hurt his shoulder in camp. He'll probably need surgery when the season is over."

Hatch actually got onto the field at a key point in the season, as the No. 2 against Alabama when Flynn was shaken up. But before Hatch could take a snap, coach Les Miles called a timeout so Flynn could gather himself and go back in the game. Regular backup Ryan Perrilloux missed that game because of a suspension.

Before that, Hatch threw two passes against Middle Tennessee and completed one for nine yards.

NEW ORLEANS -- Congrats to Kansas coach Mark Mangino who won one of our highest honors Friday night.

By "our", I mean the Football Writers Association of America. Mangino now has won almost every major coach of the year award. We assembled at the trendy River Gallery for a nice ceremony that concluded when one the presenters cell phone rang. His ring tone is the Missouri fight song. Talk about awkward.

By the way, if Ohio State loses on Monday, Kansas will have the best record of any BCS conference school, 12-1.

• Texas is becoming the steppingstone for young, upscale defensive coordinators. Auburn's Will Muschamp took the defensive coordinator's job in Austin on Friday following in the footsteps of Greg Robinson (Syracuse) and Gene Chizik (Iowa State) who used their success at Texas to get their first head-coaching job.

Muschamp most likely will make in the $500,000 range. Not a bad place to jump off from.

• Quote of the week here in NOLA is from Ohio State offensive tackle Kirk Barton. When asked what it was like to land in LSU territory he put it this way: "I mean, it was kind of like Rocky IV when he goes to Russia, gets off the plane and the KGB is with him. My favorite scene in that movie is when he's running down the road and they get in the car and try to follow him and then he goes off the road and they crash.

"As far as my running laps around the city, I'll probably have some people chasing after me with their flags and stuff. But that's kind of what it's like. I mean, I know it's funny I say that. But you know where you stand when you're in Louisiana, because they have a lot of -- they love their Tigers down there. It's very evident."

NEW ORLEANS -- Did West Virginia just spend 17 days before finally deciding to hire its tight ends/special teams coach?

And did that hire come only because West Virginia beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl?

Talk about your convoluted searches and knee-jerk reactions.

You wonder what would have happened if newly crowned West Virginia coach Bill Stewart wouldn't have beaten Oklahoma. Would the governor had revoked Stewart's citizenship?

This is nothing against Stewart, who seems to be a fine and jolly man, but he isn't even a coordinator, usually the jumping-off point to become a college head coach. Excuse me, Stewart was a coordinator -- in 1999 in the Canadian Football League.

He fit all the criteria, though, as WVU's search reached desperation stage. He came cheap ($800,000), he was a native West Virginian and he was available. So was Terry Bowden, who was tanned, rested, ready and waiting in the wings, a better, more experienced native son than Stewart. But for whatever reason, the West Virginia folks went with a great guy but an unproven coach.

Stewart won the press conference for sure Thursday morning with references about not showering last night, (!) TPing a house (!!) and thanking all his "friends" in the media (yikes, does this guy need to be filled in or what?).

But now he has to produce. West Virginia still doesn't know what it had in Rich Rodriguez, a guy who won at least a share of four of the past five Big East titles. Let's see if Stewart can lure players like Patrick White, Steve Slaton and Noel Devine.

And what about the administration's continued sniping at Rodriguez? AD Ed Pastilong said Stewart " ... led us to our biggest football victory in the school's history against Oklahoma." Uh, not quite Ed. The biggest victory was two years ago in the Sugar in Atlanta against Georgia. That was virtually a home game for the Bulldogs, who were heavy favorites.

WVU president Mike Garrison piled on too: "At this university, loyalty and trust are important. We know we now have a coach who truly values the opportunity to work as the head football coach at West Virginia University."

Note to grudge-holding Mountaineers: You do realize you are West Virginia, don't you? Richie Rich didn't exactly leave for Cleveland State. It was Michigan. Rich Rod took you to unprecedented heights, and it wasn't like he snuck out in the middle of the night. Seven years is a long time at one school.

Let's see where you head from here.

• By the way, Bowden didn't get the courtesy of a call from West Virginia until after Stewart's press conference on Thursday. That's bush.

Bowden released this statement:

"As a West Virginia alum and football letterman, I was thrilled to see my Mountaineers perform so well against a great Oklahoma team in the Fiesta Bowl last night. It was a storybook ending for the 2007 season. How can you be disappointed when a West Virginian, great man and great coach like Bill Stewart gets the chance to be the head coach of WVU? I wish Coach Stewart, his whole staff and the team the very best for the future.”

• This just in from the Ohio State camp: Watch for little-known quarterback Antonio Henton to get "10 to 15 percent" of the snaps against LSU in the BCS title game. The Ohio State coaches apparently like Henton's dual purpose ability. The redshirt freshman played in four games, threw six passes (one for a touchdown) and rushed nine times for 41 yards.

• It's great getting to a BCS bowl, but what if you lose four of them in a row?

That's what Oklahoma is contemplating today after its fourth consecutive big time bowl loss, this one to West Virginia. When you're the Sooners, the word "embarrassing" starts to come into play.

OU gave up 525 yards to the Mountaineers while being penalized 13 times for 113 yards. West Virginia's four second-half touchdown drives covered 263 yards in only 12 plays. That, folks, is a lack of concentration.

During the four-game losing streak Oklahoma has:

• been outscored 41.8-25.8.
• been penalized 33 times for 248 yards (8.25 penalties per game)
• been outgained 432-338.

OU was a preseason top five candidate before the Fiesta Bowl, possibly a preseason No. 1. Now, you've got to wonder.

• Sometimes it's just fun to listen to Ohio State offensive tackle Kirk Barton talk about anything. The "smart-ass" (as Sports Illustrated described him) talked Thursday about going through the high school camp circuit with five-star recruits.

"Some of these guys are all-world," he said. "But some of them, if they're all-world, they're, like, all-Pluto and Pluto's not a world anymore."

Thanks to "Vengeance" for the best bowl story I've read this postseason (except mine, of course).

This about sums up the Sugar Bowl.