Get the Welcome Wagon Ready:
These programs are coming back to the party:
-Washington: Steve Sarkisian looks like the perfect fit. The Huskies played with LSU, upset USC win, Jake Locker is a true leader, and Husky Stadium still a great atmosphere.
-Texas A&M: QB Jerrod Johnson quietly leads the nation’s #1 Offense. We’ll know more this weekend when the Aggies take on the Hogs in Dallas.
-Nebraska: Bo Pelini has the Huskers believing.
-Tennessee: Lane Kiffin is like a shot of adrenaline. Kiffin and Coach O will recruit.
-Houston: Kevin Sumlin reviving a once-proud program
Start the Coaching Search
-CU: Looks like Dan Hawkins just a bad fit.
-UVA: Al Groh needs to start packing up his desk now; save recruiting visits for the next guy
Big 12, Briefly
OU wasn’t prepared for a QB not named Bradford. OSU had the season’s worse hangover after the party of all parties. Baylor couldn’t handle the media hype against Connecticut.
Mizzou appears to have maintained a solid club despite huge losses. A&M’s True Freshmen young guns seem to be primed for marked improvement in Aggieland. Texas keeps rollin’ with sharp-shooter Colt McCoy and a cast of immense talent.
Tech, Leach’s Stock Falling
With the rise of OSU, and Texas A&M showing signs of waking up from its decade-long slumber, Texas Tech hangs on another year or two as a spoiler until self-proclaimed pirate Mike Leach’s peg leg gives way.
Notre Dame
The Irish are stockpiled with talent but Charlie Weis is hanging on by a thread. UW’s Sarkisian and Locker might be carrying hammers this weekend to drive a few more nails in Weis’ coffin. Will the University of Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly the next in line to be tasked with waking up the echoes?
BYU
An example of why Non-BCS schools don’t belong. The ‘BCS Busters’ would cease to exist if they played more than 1 away game every year against a team with more than 15,000 people cheering against them. Utah’s Sugar Bowl win is an example of a team getting up for one game; play 4 of those in un-friendly territory every year, and the concept of the ‘BCS Buster’ wouldn’t exist.
Observations / Questions
Ole Miss / Houston Nutt: Is Nutt living on Coach O’s recruits?
LSU: looks like a slow deterioration on the bayou. The Tigers are at a point where they can either rise back to the nation’s elite, or head down the path back to the Capital One Bowl, or worse.
Florida State: Looked great vs. BYU; a sign of things to come?
Miami: will the blue-chip depth come of age & return the “U” to dominance? In the words of our favorite analyst Lee Corso, “Not so fast!” VT proved the “U” isn’t quite back yet.
Michigan: will Rodriguez’ year 2 and 3 trend continue?
USC will win out; the UW loss will be a blip on the screen.
-The PAC-10 is underrated.
This week, Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer signed a six-year, $24 million contract. He will be the highest paid coach in the SEC in 2009. When Alabama lured Nick Saban out of the NFL with an enormous compensation package, the nation sighed in disbelief—aghast at the total package. Well, that’s the going rate for a sure thing these days. And if a coaching hire reaches the lofty expectations of a perennial national title contender, it’s a good idea to make sure he’ll be sticking around. $24 Million over six years for Meyer–worth every penny.
In the late 80s and 90s, the Texas A&M was a fixture in the Top 20, on its way to the Top 10, widely known for its speedy, hard-hitting ‘Wrecking Crew’ defenses. But this is a program that has yet to recover from the arrival of Mack Brown, Bob Stoops and the resurgence of LSU. Second-year coach Mike Sherman’s challenge is to break that cycle and return A&M to a serious player in the Big 12 and on the national scene.
Autzen Stadium, home of the Oregon Ducks. Likely the most under-appreciated college football venue in the country. With just over 41,000 fans and a single-level bowl (kind of a ‘mini-me’ to the old Sombrero in Tampa), it was easily the loudest stadium I’ve visited; a list to include monolith’s like LSU’s Tiger Stadium Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium and Texas A&M’s Kyle Field. As a Southern boy with loyalties Big 12 and SEC teams, it’s difficult to admit. 
In 2008, the Big 12 scored points and put quarterbacks in New York for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. With obscene offensive numbers, the media jumped on the bandwagon as the Big 12 barked at the heels of the SEC as the dominant conference in college football. How can the Big 12 shake its reputation as the second-most dominant conference? The answer lies in two places: College Station, TX and Lincoln, NE. The Big 12 needs Black Shirts and a Wrecking Crew. The Big 12 needs Nebraska and Texas A&M to be good again. 
Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M–4th Round, Dallas Cowboys. McGee comes to Dallas as a raw talent but will develop quickly under Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett and with the guidance of Tony Romo and Jon Kitna. He graduated before his junior season and will earn his MBA in May. The prediction here is that McGee will make his presence known well in advance of expectations. McGee will turn out to be the best pick the Cowboys made and could be the consummate leader this team sorely needs. While Romo is jet-setting with Jessica Simpson, McGee will be in the film room.
With most of college football’s spring practices coming to a close, it’s time to look ahead to the 2009 College Football Season. The only issue is that fall practice doesn’t begin for another four months. In the meantime, we’ve got the NFL Draft, NBA Playoffs and Major League Baseball to keep us occupied until the sport that matters kicks it into high gear. The problem is, the NBA and MLB are just boring. (I usually enjoy the NFL Draft, but only because I am interested to see which round the college players I’ve watched the past few years go, and I get a few college highlights mixed in.)
