Making Tuesday Fun Since 2006!
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A "weekly must-read"
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--- ESPN's Ivan Maisel opens up his mailbag.  There's the expected reaction to his "The 100" feature from several weeks back.  Something about too much Alabama/Notre Dame talk (huh?!), not enough friendliness to the west coast, and a generational bias.

Inside: Rehashing the Ohio State/Miami game and what should be remembered from it (the bogus pass interference, of course!), an interesting wartime show of sportsmanship between the Army and Navy, the exclusion of college football's first game (Rutgers vs. Princeton), an argument over the quality of the game in the past (segregation, lack of the forward pass, etc.), "The Play" coming in at number two on the list, no "Earthquake Game", grousing over Maisel's exclusion of the "Bluegrass Miracle" play (overrated), 1931 USC/Notre Dame, Dan Marino to John Brown 1982 Sugar Bowl, recollections of "Bang the Drum Slowly" and "The Southpaw" and the rapidly aging discussion on his reference to "Rovian" tactics used to submarine Arkansas coach Houston Nutt.

--- ESPN's Pat Forde ranks the D-IA programs from top to bottom in an ESPN special: "Ladder 119".  First up?  Teams 101 to 119 with the rest to be published throughout this week. 

--- Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel answers his Mailbag.

Inside: Husker fans cranked up about Mandel nearly including coach Bill Callahan on his list of the nation's worst coaches (a spirited defense!), some (relatively speaking) "hidden gems" to watch for this year (DeMarco Murray, Patrick Turner, Matt Flynn, Everette Brown and Noel Devine), lots more USC/Reggie Bush scandal talk, Georgia Tech headed towards 10 wins? college fantasy football picks, the unthinkable thought of SEC teams hitting the road in November to challenging locales, Vanderbilt's SEC title chances and a Nebraska fan asking for respect.

Finally -- and this doesn't apply just to Callahan but to nearly all the NFL-bred coaches in the collegiate ranks today -- you do not win championships in college anymore by playing not to lose (as they often do in the pros). It's a huge pet peeve of mine and a common theme among the worst coaches nominees (see Dorrell, Karl; Gailey, Chan). The strange thing is, Callahan has shown he's more than willing to break out the flea flickers and other trick plays, but in last year's USC and Oklahoma games, and when the game was on the line against Auburn, he retreated to all-out, run-it-into-the-line-three-straight-times-and-play-defense mode. I can't emphasize this enough. I hate that.

Also: Louisville enters the Steve Kragthorpe era.

"I was blown away by what Steve did at Tulsa," said South Florida coach Jim Leavitt. "If Louisville could even be stronger, with him they are."

At Tulsa, Kragthorpe earned notoriety for running much the same type of creative, wide-open offense for which Louisville has become synonymous. Kragthorpe's Tulsa offense was similar enough to Petrino's that he and the Cardinals' returning assistants (including offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm, Brian's brother) were able to merge the two fairly smoothly and simply change some terminology.

"It's interesting," Kragthorpe noted this week at Big East Media Days. "I worked for Kevin Gilbride in 2002 [with the Bills]. He had worked for Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville. Bobby [Petrino] subsequently came to Jacksonville and picked up a lot of the same things I brought from Buffalo to Tulsa."

In Mandel's blog this week: the unlikely excitement surrounding Big East Media Days, Steve Slaton and Pat White unplugged and Missouri: the makings of a champ?

It turns out Slaton and White are also YouTube fiends, and they’ve seen practically all of the fan-produced highlight reels out there. Asked if he’s seen a certain other YouTube clip – the one of incoming teammate Noel Devine’s high-school exploits – White giddily replies, “Have I?”

--- Sports Illustrated's Cory McCartney publishes his ACC Media Day notebook.

Also: The ACC's new coaches all face unique challenges.

Strange quote award goes to DeMario Pressley speaking about North Carolina State coach Tom O'Brien:

"It's intimidation on purpose," said senior defensive tackle DeMario Pressley. "He's just quiet and he gets straight to the point. He's like an arrow: there's no messing around. 'This is what I want and this is how it's going to be.'"

--- CBS SportsLine's Dennis Dodd says the Big East is the home of the hottest, most comfortable coaches.

"I just sat there one day and laughed," said commissioner Mike Tranghese, giddy about his sudden fortune. "Could this have happened three years ago?"

No. In fact, the Big East wasn't happening three years ago. Stripped to the bone by ACC expansion, Tranghese put on a brave face and hoped. The league inched along until West Virginia beat Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. Then three teams went into last November undefeated. Louisville won the league, then the Orange Bowl. Rutgers won its first bowl game. West Virginia won 11, losing only to Louisville and South Florida, possibly the next power to rise in the Big East.

Predictably, Big East coaches became hot commodities. Bobby Petrino broke promises, but not many hearts, in Louisville by going to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Michigan State snatched up Cincinnati's Mark Dantonio.

However, Rutgers' Greg Schiano could have taken the Miami job without interviewing but stayed, signing a long extension through 2016 that will pay him $1.6 million per year. Leavitt had signed a long-term extension in November 2005. Despite that, he had to stamp out offseason fires after his name came up at Alabama (again) and Miami.

Read on to learn about South Florida coach Jim Leavitt's various and many contract offers at big-time schools.

Also: Offseason Top 25

--- The Sporting News' Matt Hayes writes the Big East is good, but not national title good.

Matt needs a fact-checker ...

Let me run some numbers by you. In this decade, no BCS champion has finished worse than eighth in the nation in scoring defense. That was Texas in 2002, when the Longhorns gave up all of 16.4 ppg.

Wasn't that Ohio State?

Also: Is damage irrevocable for Miami's offense?

"People would come up to me in school and say, 'You guys are too predictable on offense,'" [Miami center] Morse said. "If they can see that, what do you think defensive coordinators can see?"

Also: Deacon doubters, this is your wakeup call.

Also: Inside Dish.  Ben Mauk's status at Cincinnati, Urban Meyer's strategy with redshirts and the Big 12's commissioner search continues.

--- The Sporting News' Tom Dienhart says Big East media days are as fun as football.

Schiano has lots to say about his 2007 Scarlet Knights.

"Do I think (QB) Mike Teel will be better?" Schiano says. "No doubt. We'll have a good line, strong backs and a fast receiving corps. I really like Kenny Britt. He reminds me of a faster Michael Irvin."

And I have to ask about the helicopters Schiano takes to some recruiting visits.

"Yeah, it's kind of neat," he says. "There's a lot of helicopter traffic in the New York area, and we have a trade out with a company. It helps me get around quickly."

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez looks casual and cool -- as always. I like Coach Rod a lot. Maybe it's because we share a similar hairstyle!

"Have you met my guys?" Coach Rod asks. "This is Pat White, Steve Slaton, Keilen Dykes"

When I tell Coach Rod that I tabbed his Mountaineers to play USC for the BCS title, he chuckles and rolls his head.

"Why did you do that?" he says. "Well, we'll see. No doubt, we should be pretty good on offense. We always are trying to get better. I love how my guys always fight back, no matter how far down we get in games."

Also: Eight most-watched quarterback battles.

Also: Scouting the Big East including an interview with Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese.

SN: How much longer will you be commish?

Tranghese: I have three years remaining on my deal, and I'll look at it each year. But I don't see myself working beyond the end of my current deal. And I would expect turnover at many of the BCS commissioner positions in the next five years as many of us are aging.

Also: Heck yes, the Big East can win the national title.

West Virginia's offense would give a lot of established powers absolute fits.  Now about that defense ...

--- The Sporting News'/Rivals.com's Mike Farrell says texting is a viable recruiting tool.

In talking to many prospects over the last few years, text messaging simply isn't a big issue to them. Some like texting better than receiving phone calls because the athletes have time to consider their answers or to formulate a list of questions before they respond. Also, they don't have to respond to a text message. They can cancel text messaging on their cell phones altogether if it becomes too invasive.

The fact is most high school students today use this method of communication. They like it. As a high school athlete, there are worse things in the world than being recruited by numerous college football programs. I know players who would love to receive one or two text messages a month.

Here's hoping that the NCAA Board of Directors decides to embrace technology rather than run from it come August 9.

--- CSTV's Trev Alberts answers some more questions this week.

Inside: Nebraska being overlooked? Michigan or Wisconsin in the Big Ten and talk about the Cover Two defense.

Let me tell you, as someone who's been out there, that Cover 2 is not always the best coverage, period. If that was the case, that's the only coverage you would ever see. The fact is there's no one coverage that's going to be the end-all. Football is too sophisticated. Cover 2 is an important, but small part of coverage. So much of what you do depends on your personnel. If you don't have a good middle linebacker who has ability to get some depth in pass coverage, Cover 2 is worthless. If you don't have safeties who can show you range of motion or stand in the box when needed, you have no coverage. And if you have great lock-down corners, Cover 2 nullifies their talents. If you're going to play Cover 2 for four quarters, you're going to get beat in the college game. Cover 2 has weaknesses. That's why good defensive coordinators run a whole lot of different coverages.

--- CSTV's Adam Caparell writes the Big East is smiling wide this summer after a successful 2006.

As proof, coaches and media members were invited to go to town on lobster and stay at a posh Rhode Island resort for Big East Media Week.  Kudos, as those rubber chicken dinners get tiresome for the pundits and writers.

Also: 2007 Schedule Planner, Week Nine.

--- Rivals.com's writers went crazy this week as there's way too much content to possibly link.  Check this link and scan for your favorites from July 17 to July 24.

--- USA Today's Kelly Whiteside writes the football field is canvas for Rutgers runningback Ray Rice.

Rutgers will introduce a SeeRayRun.com site to promote Rice for the Heisman. But in a way, his girlfriend, Scarlet Knights point guard Matee Ajavon, launched his campaign in March. During her postgame TV interview after the Big East title game, Ajavon, the tournament MVP, shouted into the camera: "Ray Rice for the Heisman!"

--- The Dallas/Ft. Worth Star-Telegram's Wendell Barnhouse checks in with a "College Football Insider"

Also: Blue Devils have optimistic outlook despite years and years of losing.

--- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Tony Barnhart has plenty more updates in his blog.  Extensive ACC and SEC offseason list-making to enjoy.

--- The Birmingham (AL) News' Ray Melick writes that Ohio State has an outspoken president in Gordon Gee.

And for his own reasons, Gee opposes a playoff.

--- The Mobile Register's Paul Finebaum says give the Iron Bowl edge to Auburn, for now.

USA Today oddsman Danny Sheridan reveals some early lines for big SEC and national games if that's your thing. 

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