Spurrier says hold on, Bronco talks about "a brutal fact"

Spurrier makes a good point: “It’s always interesting that after eight games, everybody in the country almost halfway assumes, ‘Well, this is the kind of year they’ve had.’ And it’s really only two-thirds over with. The final third really determines what kind of year you’ve had.”

Bud Foster visited with the Iowa staff in the off-season to help prepare against GA Tech: "We've just got to minimize those big plays against us. That's what hurt us last year. And that's probably why it sticks like a knife in my back."

Jimbo wants FSU wide receivers to step up: “It’s hard to zip a ball when you’re not sure where somebody’s going to be and throw with confidence. You all keep pointing at (Ponder). If everybody practiced like (No.) 7 and played like 7, we wouldn’t have any issues. The rest of them guys need to take his lead.”

Chizik addresses talk about assistants and other jobs: “When you hire great assistants, they’re going to be talked about.  There’ll be some deliberations on these guys for this job or that job.  I want the best for our guys.  I have a great staff.  Whoever’s name comes up, and whoever is being sought after, we’re going to do everything to help them, providing it’s the right situation.  We’re looking out for the best difference for all our guys.”
 

Oregon State offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh (on his offensive line): "I'm not happy about it. We've gotta have some tough guys, guys who are grinders," Cavanaugh said."I look at some of the guys we've had -- Gregg Peat, Adam Speer -- these guys could be as good as those guys, it's just how they approach the game. ... "We've got a lot of nice guys. I'd like to see the nastiness."

Bronco Mendenhall talks about “a brutal fact” : "Any offense, other than possibly the bone or triple option... you have to have some semblance of balance, because it makes your team and your schemes much more difficult to defend.”

"(Balance) hasn't been to the level that we want yet, but we targeted that during the bye week, knowing that we have to be able to throw and catch the football, specifically to our wide receivers and tight ends, at a higher level."

"The run game is taking more burden because simply that's what we do best currently. Yet, if the play-action can't come off of that at a higher level, and the drop-back game, and the quick game can't come off of that, then the point production will stay flat, and we all know that without points you don't win football games."

"It's a brutal fact, and our team knows that, and they're working as hard as they can to correct it.”

Banged up Sark now throwing curls, more from Les, Tubs, Richt, Kelly

Washington coach Steve Sarkisian ran scout team QB again on Tuesday to help UW prepare for Oregon: "Little sore, back was a little sore. But all in all it's been fun, it's been good. It's gotten practice pretty spirited. Sometimes this late in the year, sometimes, especially during that service period it can get a little mundane and with me at quarterback it keeps it pretty spirited.''

"Our guys are going to go play. I think we have played the last couple of weeks with a little pressure on us, like I have touched on. I think we pressed the last couple of weeks, played a little tense, trying a little too hard. We've made it a point, let's just go play and let the plays work and go play and have run and make our plays when we are supposed to make them and support one another if we make a mistake and be there for one another and also high-fiving and chest bumping one another when we make great plays and just go play the game. I think that our guys have really adopted that mentality and it's showing in practice right now.''

Note: A source told us Sark was 11 of 17, 1 TD / 1 INT, but took 2 sacks and needed an IV after period 9 

Les Miles says passing game improving in practice: "Our passing game looks like we're throwing the football better in practice on a regular basis. ... I'm pretty confident we'll be able to throw it and catch it, and I've felt that way before, and I suspect it will come to fruition Saturday," 

Army coach Rich Ellerson talks about challenge of defeating Air Force: "My point to the guys is that it's not going to take some super-human effort. That's how I sum it up. Try to do your job and not someone else's.''

"Obviously, Navy and Air Force have been consistently good and occasionally great for years, especially Air Force. We're trying to get to that. We've made some great progress, but there is an awful lot of football to be played, especially this week, before we can say that we belong.''

Tommy Tuberville concerned about winning as many as Leach did? : “This season’s not over with. We can win as many as they won the last couple of years if we can start winning some games, if we can get a little luck.”

Mark Richt likes Todd Granthan’s intensity on the sidelines: “He had a lot of fire about him, and I think that’s important for a D coordinator, especially at Georgia, with me as the head coach. You want your defensive coordinator to be a lot of things. He’s in charge of that side of the ball, and he’s not going to get micromanaged from me. And I’m going to spend a lot of time on the offensive side of the field when practices are going on, so he’s got to be the one really generating the enthusiasm and the tempo. I thought that was important.”

$30 million hit for Notre Dame? Plus, great news for Rich Rod

Forbes reporter Patrick Rishe writes Declan Sullivan tragedy could cost Notre Dame $30 million: If found guilty of negligent behavior and if the degree of fault rests predominantly in the university’s lap, Notre Dame could face compensatory damages in the $15M to $20M range in the aftermath of Declan Sullivan’s tragic death.  And if punitive damages are also levied upon the university, the price tag associated with Mr. Sullivan’s passing could increase by an additional $45M-$60M if penalized to the maximum allowable amount under Indiana law.

Joe Schad’s latest tweet (Good news for Rich Rod): "Filed to ESPN: NCAA concluded RichRod did not fail to promote atmosphere of compliance."

NCAA review will be released on Thursday.  Word is...great news for Michigan and Rich Rod.

Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix says the Rebels have taken on all possible adversity this year: “It’s a tremendous challenge. It tests everything about you, this football game, and this defense knows every aspect of adversity because we’ve been attacked at every angle. The thing that we have to do is continue to show the character and the courage to continue to compete, because I know it’s a long season left and we’re going to start this Saturday in the right direction. I think these guys really have the right attitude. … We’re going to continue to see an improved defense, a defense that’s going to help carry us through the rest of this season and be an impact for this team.”

Do you think this guy has confidence?  This is priceless:

{youtube}xFoq2PFig7I{/youtube}

Poor facilities hurting Big Ten program, Depth hurting a number of programs

Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez shocked by how nice facilities are at Michigan State, says Wisconsin is trying to catch up: “The thing that struck me the most was how efficient it was for their student-athletes. Everything was right there – meeting rooms, weight room, training table, practice fields.’’

“Our people would be shocked to know that UW-Whitewater and La Crosse have state-built facilities that are probably better than ours.’’

“We’re trying to update and upgrade.’’

“I know Bret has lost a couple of in-state kids this year. When he asked them why they were committing somewhere else, they talked about the facilities being better at the place that they chose.’’ 

Butch Davis compliments William & Mary team: “The other part of it was the nature of which William & Mary was really, really -- and we recognized this before the game, that they were very, very fundamentally sound. They weren't going to beat themselves. They were going to make you go the long, hard way. They weren't going to give up big, explosive plays, which certainly even maximizes more the opportunities. We only got four possessions in the first half, and one of those I think we fumbled on a kickoff.”

(depth really catching up to the Tar Heels) “Very few people can understand how that impacts you during the course of the week as far as your preparation, that when your freshmen and red-shirt freshmen become either starters or significant contributors, they no longer are able to perform and help you on scout teams and give you looks during the course of the week.”

“And so the quality of your practices sometimes can diminish. That's one of the things that we've totally changed our entire practice format this week, and we'll do it for the remainder of the season just because of that, to where we're going to practice more against ourselves so that it doesn't -- last week we learned a little bit of a lesson to be honest with you, that the first full-speed, the first live things that some of our defensive kids and some of our offensive kids saw all last week was at a speed and a level that you're going to have to play at on Saturday didn't come until Saturday. So we've kind of changed our format a little bit, and we're practicing a little bit different for the remainder of the season.”

Importance of walk-ons: Over the last few weeks, we’ve read comments from numerous coaches about depth having a major impact on the time of practices that coaches are being able to organize.  Recruiting walk-ons is seemingly becoming a much more important emphasis.  Coaches at Akron, USC, UNC, Tulane, Memphis, San Jose State, Syracuse, Wazzu have all mentioned lack of depth affecting practice. 

Ralph Friedgen talks about the difference between 2-10 (2009) and 6-2: “Some of our kids just grew up.  We learned from last year.  We’ve also cut down on our turnovers.” 

Quoting San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke: “What we’re doing right now is not good enough (up front offensively).  We got some movement, so I’m not going to put it all on them.  We need to him some holes, also.”

{youtube}v=rjaU_0_qVJA{/youtube}

Contract news, Sumlin's interesting stat, Moss' remix, and UAB's new stadium?

You don't sneak a clause into a coach's contract, but Auburn wants something quite interesting in basketball coach Tony Barbee's contract: According to the Birmingham News, "The clause stated that, should the NCAA launch an investigation into the basketball program, Barbee's salary would be reduced by a significant amount during the investigation itself. That means before the NCAA determined whether the program was guilty of anything." 

UAB head coach Neil Callaway reacts to news that UAB could start moving forward on an on-campus stadium: "I'm am very excited about that possibility.  We desperately need that.  I think it is something that would help put us over the top as far as not only being on campus, which is great for our student body and alumni, but it shows the commitment that needs to be made.  I think our players and recruiting would benefit from it."

Quoting Mike Leach: "I need a place that believes in me and my body of work and not a place that's going to let a bunch of politics get involved."

Dennis Erickson hoping not to hear “Fight On” too often on Saturday night: “I was trying to memorize the words [of “Fight On”]. I have heard that a lot of times. A couple times I have been in that stadium [as coach of other teams] where that thing just kept going. The [Trojan] Horse almost dropped. We just wanted to get used to it.”

Kevin Sumlin says 75-78 programs recruit the city of Houston: “We did a study and out of the 120 division ones schools in the country, between 75-78 were recruiting not just the state of Texas, but Houston. There is tremendous competition because people know there are players here.”

Jimbo thinking about using some no-huddle: “We’re thin at wide out, so it could be an issue there. We’re also thin at tight end. (But) probably, when you get right down to it. … could do it. May do it.”

“We could do it if we wanted to, but also you have to remember that you go three and out that’s also another shot at the defense. We didn’t do it early because we wanted our defense to get our feet on the ground. If we had done it the other day, we might have scored more or we might have gotten a couple three and outs and gotten them the ball more. … We have to look at it.”

In case you missed NFL Countdown on Sunday, here is DJ Steve Porter's remix featuring Randy Moss.  Pretty funny and worth watching, so check it out, already 980,000 views:

{youtube}tmJcUlrkMNg{/youtube}

12 crazy stats

Oregon State: has not lost a fumble this year.

Army: has not thrown an interception this year.

Net Punting:  Florida leads the nation with 43.8 net punt average.  Boise State is dead last at 29.8 yards per net punt.

Sacks: FSU has 33 on the season, which leads the nation.  Minnesota has 3, which is dead last.

Allowing less than 4 yards per play: Boise State (3.78) and Kent State (3.96)

7 teams are allowing more than 6.5 yards per play:  Minnesota, Wazzu, Eastern Michigan, Memphis, New Mexico State, UNLV, and Akron.

10 teams are averaging over 7 yards per play: Boise State, Hawaii, Auburn, Michigan, Oregon, Nebraska, Arkansas, Nevada, Baylor, and Alabama.

Oregon has scored 58 touchdowns this season:  11 other teams have scored 40+ touchdowns.  San Jose State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Memphis, Akron, and BYU have scored less than 15 touchdowns this season.

Turnovers lost : Oregon State only has 4 turnovers this season.  Iowa has only 5.  Central Michigan has 24.

Turnovers gained: Oregon (28), Hawaii (26), Toledo (26).  Kansas has only 5.  BYU has just 6.

3^rd down offense: Nevada is converting 59% of third-down opportunities.  Stanford and Houston are converting over 55%.  Vandy is converting just 22%.  San Jose State just 23%.

Sacks allowed: Marshall has allowed just 2 sacks all season.  Wazzu is dead last with 36 sacks allowed.

Fulmer on Minnesota, Zook praises coordinators, Temple's plan

Fulmer talks about Minnesota: “Minnesota has great potential, and with its new facilities it’s a place you could recruit to. I believe it’s a place where you can compete.’’

Ron Zook compliments his coordinators Vic Koenning and Paul Petrino: “It’s unbelievable, they’ve done a great job. Two things: No. 1, they have done a great job, there’s no question. No. 2, it shows you the type of players we have because there are some things we’ve changed and they were asked to change and asked to learn and do it in a very fast rate and with a very high level of consistency, and those guys have done that and should be commended as well. ... Everybody’s gotten on the same page in a very quick manner.”

“The coaches have been very unselfish and try to do the things the players do and haven’t come in and said, this is the way we do it. They’ve come in and evaluated the talent and done things our players feel comfortable doing. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to have a little bit of success.”

Arizona quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo doesn’t like the Wildcats turnovers in the red zone against UCLA: "That's what you can't do. We've really been pretty good taking care of the football, but when you get an eight, 10, 12-play drive down the field and then you turn it over, that's the mistakes you've got to stay away from."

"We've got to maximize the chances that we get when we're down there. We've got to take advantage of them. We can't just say ‘ah we'll just take a shot and let a guy go get it.' It's got to be calculated when you do it."

Kent State coach Doug Martin says Temple set the model, has unlimited recruiting budget: "Temple has set the model if you want to have a football program in this conference, then financially you got to step up and provide the means to have it. They have an unlimited recruiting budget, they're going all over the country. I've talked to Al (Golden, Temple head coach) quite a bit. He's got whatever he needs to do to get it done."

"What we need is a huge crowd. We need some help with this one. They're bigger than we are. They will out-man us on both sides of the ball. We need a homefield advantage."

NC State head coach Tom O’Brien says team building exercises have helped this year’s team: "I don't know, because of the kids we had the first three years here and their lack of character and everything else, that it would have made any difference [in past years]. But this team, certainly, coming out of spring was a much different football team ... and there was really a want to be good."

Turner Gill disappointed with special teams: “I don’t think scheme’s an issue at this point in time. We’ve tinkered with that in all different areas, but right now we’re set in our schemes. It’s just a matter of, when you have an opportunity to make a play, you gotta make it.”

Kiffin critical of own performance, Bud Foster to play just one defense?

Lane Kiffin very critical of his own performance against Oregon: "I don't think I managed the game with the quarterback as well as I could have. I got a little too aggressive there. We were feeling like we needed to go score because of the pressure that they had just scored as opposed to just giving (Barkley) some four- and five-yard completions and just staying within rhythm."

"What I'm saying is that they score so fast and all of sudden you feel like 'Boy, if we don't answer right now, we could fall behind really quick and ... that's really not the right thing. I had said it all week, but I didn't necessarily follow it. It's not about how fast you score, whether you take one minute or seven minutes, it's about making sure you score."

"If you're going to be a national champion ... you've got to be able to do that. You'll be tested two to three times a season, and the champs respond to that. If you look at the three weeks before that, the No. 1 teams in the country were faced with adversity and lost. These guys ... they answered the call. That was a test for them and that's probably why they'll keep on rolling and win this whole thing."

Rick Stockstill calls Tuesday night’s 51-24 loss at Arky State “utterly disgusting – completely embarrassing and disgusting”:  “Turnovers were the story of the game again. We fought our way back into it. But then we gave it away. It’s utterly disgusting — completely embarrassing and disgusting.”

Will Bud Foster play just one defense the entire game against Georgia Tech? : "These guys don't need any reading material. They're backed against the wall and they've got to win to stay in the hunt in the ACC. I'm not going to give any fuel for the fire."

"This is not one of those games where you go in and play a bunch of different schemes. You go in there and you play about two or three. When we played Air Force (in the 2002 San Francisco Bowl), we played one defense. We played it well, but we had a month to prepare." 

Huh? Saban says, “That’s what we aspire to try to be” : "They've really had probably as good of a run as anybody in the last eight to 10 years. Les has done a fantastic job there. His record speaks for itself in terms of what he's been able to accomplish. They continue to recruit well. They've got good players. They've got a great staff. They do a really good job of developing their players, and this is one of the premier programs in our league. That's what we aspire to try to be." 

Hawaii coach Greg McMackin is 7-2: “We were supposed to be fifth to eighth in the conference from the people who did know us. It really isn’t that big a deal. I’ve been on top-ranked teams -- it’s where you end up at the end. A lot of guys out there really don’t know your team and their hearts and what they do and how hard they work and that type of thing. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

Jim Harbaugh talks about defensive coordinator "Lord Fangio":

{youtube}6LR28ufBwO0{/youtube}