The end of the year brings lots of reasons to celebrate, including what used to be the best holiday of the year, New Year’s Eve, until that crappy movie came out and ruined it for everyone. With that magical stroke of midnight now tainted forever, it means top 10 lists are the best thing we […]

Every year, coaches and coordinators play musical chairs in the nether-period between the end of college football’s regular season and the bowl games. The shakeout normally leaves teams in the awkward position of playing for an interim placeholder – usually a coordinator who’s also looking for work – in place of the departed coach. Occasionally, […]

Missouri Tigers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Dec. 26, 5:00 pm ET Independence Stadium (Shreveport, La.) Website: http://independencebowl.org/ TV: ESPN2 Line: Missouri -5 On the excitement meter, this match-up of 7-5 squads barely registers. Although there will be a decent number of talented players on the field, both teams underachieved this season. Bet that’s a […]

Randy Edsall is either very secure in his standing at Maryland, or he believes the gamble on hiring the embattled Mike Locksley as the Terps new offensive coordinator is going to pay off. Locksley joined the Maryland staff on Thursday, approximately three months after he was fired at New Mexico. Locksley’s firing was not a […]

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Purdue Boilermakers vs Western Michigan Broncos Dec. 27, 4:30 pm Ford Field (Detroit, Michigan) Website: http://www.littlecaesarspizzabowl.com TV: ESPN Line: Purdue -2 1/2 The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl matches up the Purdue Boilermakers – from the Big Ten – opposite the Western Michigan Broncos – from the Mid-American Conference. Emanating live from […]

I first met Dennis Erickson 20 years ago this month. Erickson was in his third season at Miami and he was preparing the Hurricanes for Nebraska and the 1991 Orange Bowl. It was Christmas Day and I was asked to cover for the beat writer on the holiday. After writing my story, an editor had […]

Terry Bowden’s slow, difficult climb back up the coaching ranks took on another twist Thursday. Bowden will take over at Akron after leading North Alabama to the playoffs in his three seasons at the NCA Division II program. He’ll be officially introduced on Dec. 28. Bowden, the son of legendary coach Bobby Bowden, has not […]

Since we started up Crystal Ball Run six or so months ago, I’m not quite sure we’ve cover a more divisive personality in college football than former Florida offensive coordinator and current Kansas head man Charlie Weis. To a man, you can’t find a single person who likes him; not in the media, not in […]

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Nevada Wolfpack vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium (Honolulu, HI) Website: www.sheratonhawaiibowl.com TV: ESPN Line: Southern Miss -6 ½ Two teams and programs that are in a bit of a state of flux match up in this one. For Nevada, it was a somewhat disappointing 7-5 campaign, […]

Casey Pachall’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Skye Dawson with 4:26 remaining gave TCU their second straight bowl victory on the west coast as the TCU Horned Frogs found a way to win against an upset-minded Louisiana Tech, 31-24. TCU started off slowly and Louisiana Tech took advantage. Louisiana Tech out-gained TCU in the first half, […]

Newsflash: Football makes us stupid! OK, that’s not entirely accurate. However, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Oregon found that when the Ducks win, male students lose… points off of their grade point averages, that is. The conclusion drawn by the study’s authors is simple. When a team wins, students are more […]