Returning to some core competencies

OK. Here are the BCS standings and accompanying mystic numerology going into this weekend’s action with the Top 10 below:

1. Alabama .9814
2. Texas Tech .9715
3. Texas .8798
4. Florida . 8640
5. Oklahoma .8444
6. USC .7896
7. Utah .7692
8. Penn St. .6839
9. Boise St. .6783
10. Georgia .6156

At this point, ‘Bama, Texas Tech and Florida control their own destiny, everybody else is going to need some help. Potential regular “trip-ups” prior to the SEC and Big 12 championship games are Alabama at home to Miss. St. on Saturday, Florida at home Saturday to the Gators’ ol’ ball coach Steve Spurrier and South Carolina and then on the road Nov. 29 vs. a resurgent 19th-ranked Florida State. Texas Tech will play its own elimination game against Oklahoma on Nov. 22 at Oklahoma. BCS honchos are indeed praying for a “win out” scenario as it’s the least chaotic, although we know that’s not going to happen.

Some other thoughts:

At what point does the BCS start introducing some conflicts of interest? Take this weekend’s matchup of #7-ranked Utah vs. lowly San Diego State where State stands to lose $500,000 if they beat Utah. Utah, if it beats State and then No. 17 BYU next Saturday stands to play in a BCS bowl game which will result in a $9 million windfall for the Mountain West Conference of which $ 4 mil would be Utah’s take with the balance split between the other conference schools of which State is a member. Of course, we’re not suggesting anything untoward, but $ 500 large is not chump change to a struggling program like San Diego St and…. what’s one win against Utah in an already completely dismal 1-9 season? Stop it… stop it, right there.

Its faint, its quiet but for the first time you hear it. In the wake of Notre Dame’s “actually, could’ve been a lot worse” 17-0 loss at the hands of the hated little Catholics of Boston College, the mumblings regarding the fate of Charlie Weis’s coaching tenure at Notre Dame can be heard. Notre Dame is currently 5-4 with games remaining against at Navy, Syracuse and then out here on the coast against USC… so let’s just pencil them in for a bowl-eligible 7-5 (we’re being optimistic with that “win” against the mighty Midshipmen on Saturday). Upside: Weis could point to “progress” as their win total increased from 3 wins last season to 7 this season plus a bowl appearance. Downside: this season’s schedule was very manageable and many pre-season prognostications had them finishing with 9 wins. Bottom line: He is in year 3 of a 10-year contract. Our guess is that he is not going anywhere for a while.

Still not convinced that anyone plays any “D” in the Big 12. Take a look at some of these scores from last week. Half the conferences participants rang up scores of 35 points or more. Sorry, this shouldn’t be happening in the “best conference in the nation”.

Philip Fulmer is out at Tennessee after this season. Speculation is rampant on who will get the job. But is Tennessee a “good” job? Were not sure if Tennessee is a good job or not but it certainly is a strange job, at least in terms of its own conference. Tennessee is a football-crazy university in a state that is not necessarily football crazy. This puts it at odds with the other traditional powers in the SEC like Georgia, Florida and Alabama that are football-crazy institutions that also reside in football-crazy states that generate scads of Div. I-caliber talent that those respective schools do not have to cross state lines to recruit. As a result, Tennessee has always had to pursue a national recruiting strategy much like other schools that are in the same boat like Oklahoma, Nebraska and Notre Dame (actually, much of Oklahoma’s “national” recruiting strategy over the years has been the state of Texas). Former Raider head coach and USC offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin is supposedly in the running and with his ties to the West Coast and particularly the fertile prep recruiting grounds of Southern California, Tennessee’s inherent recruiting strategy makes Kiffin an intriguing pick.

Enjoy the games tomorrow!