During my four years at the University of Arkansas, I had a chance to witness some great games thanks to a lanky and elusive quarterback named Matt Jones. Jones, who moonlighted as a basketball forward with the Razorbacks and now is a wide receiver for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, participated in three of the longest games in college football history -- seven-overtime affairs against Kentucky and Ole Miss and one six-overtime marathon against Tennessee (I wasn't there for the first two but I was in Knoxville for the last one -- Jones' only loss in the four overtime games he played). The man liked to run around and sixty minutes of football apparently didn't sate his appetite.

 'I've got it.'

But as much as Jones is remembered for his ability to improvise and make plays with his feet, his most memorable moment (and my personal favorite) with the Hogs was a 31-yard touchdown pass to DeCori Birmingham with nine seconds left that gave Arkansas a 21-20 win over LSU and the opportunity to go to the 2002 Southeastern Conference championship game. It was the most electrifying conclusion to a sporting event I witnessed in person and I was fortunate enough to see the play on the sidelines. At the time, I was working for The Arkansas Traveler, the campus newspaper for the university. I was well aware that Jones had a flair for the dramatic. He rescued Arkansas time and time again. For instance, Jones came off the bench in the fourth quarter in the seven-overtime thriller wth Ole Miss in 2001 and amassed 171 yards of total offense. But in that game he led the Hogs to a win mostly by using his legs.

This time he had no time to outrun LSU's defense. There were 34 seconds left on the clock and the Razorbacks were 81 yards away from the endzone with no timeouts in hand. Before that drive, Jones was having a horrible day. He was 2-of-13 passing and the Tigers' defense was giving Arkansas fits. LSU led 17-7 at with 5:34 to go in the third quarter and there was no sign that the Razorbacks were going to break out of their offensive malaise. But with less than seven minutes left in regulation, Arkansas' diminutive tailback Fred Talley burst through a seam and scampered 56 yards for a touchdown to cut LSU's lead to three, 17-14. By that point, however, some fans had left Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium. They would end up being sorry. After LSU drove down and kicked a field goal to increase its advantage to six points, the Razorbacks retrieved the ensuing kickoff and returned the ball to the 19-yard-line with less than 35 seconds on the clock.

That is when the so-called "Miracle on Markham" took place. Jones, whose throwing mechanics were somewhat unorthodox, was going to have to start chucking the ball. After completing only two of the thirteen passes he attempted, this did not seem like an ideal scenario. But he didn't seem to mind. Arkansas coach Houston Nutt later recalled that the 6-6 quarterback with blazing speed was whistling when Nutt told him the plays Arkansas was going to run with little time left. Jones, displaying an attitude more befitting of Joe Namath, simply said, "I've got it."

Sure enough, he did. On the first play of the drive, Jones connected with wide receiver Richard Smith for a 50-yard completion. Smith found a hole in LSU's porous prevent defense and caught Jones' spiral while the Tigers' defensive backs were asleep. The crowd climbed to its feet and 55,000 spectators were yelling in unison. The Razorbacks charged to the line of scrimmage. A play after Jones was unable to hook up with wide receiver Carlos Ousley, Jones dropped back and heaved a pass that would have made Peyton Manning do a double-take.

Meanwhile, Birmingham, who played running back and flanker, was in the slot and ran a post play to the endzone. By the time he arrived there, he was greeted by two defenders that sandwiched him. It appeared there was no way the ball was going to arrive at its intended destination. And then it did. As Birmingham dove and crashed into the turf, it landed in his gut. The game was tied 20-20, and mass hysteria broke out at War Memorial Stadium, where the fans were ready to celebrate. So were the players, and moments after Birmingham scored the touchdown, they spilled onto the field to embrace the heroes. The referees took note and assessed the Razorbacks a 15-yard celebration penalty.

With kicker David Carlton's sure-thing extra point attempt now a 35-yard try, every Arkansas fan was suddenly overcome by nervousness. Carlton didn't do much to ease their worries when he uncurled his leg. After he made contact, the ball spun like a boomerang and barely snuck inside the left post.

When the two referees raised their arms high in the air to indicate the kick was good, the fans went into pandemonium and Arkansas had a 21-20 lead. With less than 10 seconds left, LSU's quarterback Marcus Randall needed to pull off his own miracle. But it didn't happen. He was sacked to end the game, and Arkansas was ready to pack its bags for Atlanta, while Jones had etched his name in Razorback history...yet again.

On the same day that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots saw their 10-game playoff winning streak disappear in Denver's thin air, another man who once coached a team that dominated the AFC denied rumors that he would be returning to the sidelines. Marv Levy, the 80-year-old general manager of the Buffalo Bills, said he would not replace Mike Mularkey, the 44-year-old who unexpectedly resigned last week after calling the shots for two years in Orchard Park. And that's too bad. Levy has a more impressive resume than all of the former NFL coaches looking for a job. After all, not many of them have taken their teams to four consecutive Super Bowls.

 He has skills.

But, then again, Levy is old. He qualifies for Social Security and was born before the Great Depression. Many people wouldn't think he could succeed in the pressure-packed NFL, despite the fact that he was coaching the Bills only nine years ago. How can a man his age be expected to make a reasonable decision and choose whether to punt or go for it on fourth-and one?

Unfortunately, Levy probably sensed that would be the reaction, so he clearly stated he would not pull a Joe Gibbs and return to the team he once coached. The same people who vociferously blamed Joe Paterno's age for Penn State's woes in recent years would inevitably criticize Levy if he decided he was the best man to lead the Bills on the field. Age discrimination, unfortunately, is alive and well in the United States.

But it is hard to understand why the younger generation doubts the abilities of its elders. Paterno, who is 79, was one play away from possibly leading the Nittany Lions to the national championship game this season. His team went 11-1 and won the Orange Bowl in triple-overtime by overcoming Florida State, a team that is coached by another septuagenarian, Bobby Bowden. Bowden, of course, has also been ripped by fans and media in recent years because the Seminoles have not won a national championship in six seasons. Man, things must be bad when your team only makes the Orange Bowl. Of course, the same group grousing seems to forget that before Bowden arrived Florida State won just four games in the three previous years and considered junking its football program after years of futility. 

None of that apparently matters because Bowden is old. In some people's eyes, all of the losses the Seminoles have incurred recently are the direct result of Bowden's age. He has wrinkles, gray hair and was alive when football was played with leather helmets, so they think he is over the hill.

In the coaching profession, they say, longevity is dependent on the number of wins and losses you accumulate. But, in the public's eyes, it also appears that the number of years you live on this planet should be just as important a factor in both your survival and ability to get a job. And that is ridiculous. Paterno and Bowden's resumes continue to get more impressive with each passing year, while Levy should not feel afraid to add a few lines to his. 

It didn't take long for Arkansas fans to call for Stan Heath's ouster. Fourteen games into the season and the Razorbacks basketball coach is already being excoriated for his perceived failures. Tempers flared after the Hogs lost their conference opener Saturday to Mississippi State, a team that many thought would be a pushover this season after several players graduated and its point guard, Gary Ervin, transferred to Arkansas during a tumultuous offseason.

  Three's Company

For a team that started the season with a promising 11-2 nonconference record, the 69-67 loss to the Bulldogs is still cause for worry. We have seen here before, after all. Last year, Arkansas jumped out of the gates with a 12-1 record, before going 6-10 in conference play and declining an invitation to the N.I.T. because the players were "tired." Fans were angry, and many said that Heath would be fired after this season if he didn't steer the Razorbacks to March's NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

But there is reason to believe that won't happen. And that has a lot to do with two people: Heath's predecessor Nolan Richardson and Arkansas football coach Houston Nutt. Richardson, of course, was fired in 2002 and claimed that the university racially discriminated against him and infringed on his free-speech rights during the dismissal process.

He then brought his case to federal court in a lawsuit that was dismissed in July 2004 by U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson Jr. He has since appealed the decision and asked his arguments be reinstated by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis and those presiding over the case have yet to uphold or overturn the ruling. So what does this have to do with Nutt or Heath?

Among the claims Richardson made was that Nutt was treated better than him when both were coaching at Arkansas. If you compared just the individual accomplishments of both men, it's hard to argue with Richardson, who won a national championship and took his teams to three Final Fours. He was given a seven-year, $7.21 million contract. Nutt, meanwhile, has never won ten games in a season or come close to leading Arkansas to a BCS Bowl berth. But after his flirtations with Nebraska in 2003 he was able to leverage a $1.05-million contract with incentives. To his credit, Nutt does graduate players and has never publicly asked the university to buy him out (Richardson didn't do the former, but did the latter).

Apparently, that means a lot to the athletic director Frank Broyles, who has tolerated Nutt's back-to-back losing seasons in 2004 and 2005. Broyles didn't even ask Nutt to provide a written evaluation of the program after the football team went 4-7 this season. Of course, Heath was subjected to this embarrassing exercise after his team compiled a winning record last season.

In fact, Heath's teams have improved each year, whereas it can be argued that Nutt's best season was his first in 1998. That year, Arkansas went 9-3 and reached the Citrus Bowl. The Razorbacks have shown flashes of brilliance since, but have given fans little to cheer about the last two years.

As a result, even if Heath somehow botched this season and could only qualify his team for the NIT, the university would have a hard time getting rid of him. How can Broyles fire one coach who has produced better results each of the last three seasons when he didn't remove the other coach who has seen his program deteriorate during the same period of time?

He can't, not unless he wants to give Richardson's claims more legitimacy. Broyles has been backed into a corner and he only has himself to blame, while Richardson has inadvertently helped his replacement and at the same time stuck it to his former boss. The result? Heath can now sit back and relax -- no matter how bad things get.

It's not that surprising that Texas took home the national championship this season. The Longhorns were a great team. What is amazing is that 35 years went by since Texas last climbed to the top of the college football mountain. At last, the biggest school in a state that s more crazy about football than any other will be ranked first in the final polls after such a long hiatus. It's been long overdue.

 Too hot to handle.

The Longhorns proved they were the better team, but a major error by the referees helped them secure the title. On the drive following USC's last score, a Texas receiver caught a pass and went out-of-bounds with approximately 6:20 left in the game. The clock continued to run, and 30 seconds elapsed. At the time, it appeared that the Longhorns would suffer as they tried to make a comeback. But, when Young strolled into the end zone to give the Texas a 41-38 lead with 19 seconds left in regulation, USC ended up paying the price for the clock error.

With no timeouts, Trojans' quarterback Matt Leinart had to get his team in position for a field goal with minimal time left. It did not happen and the Trojans were denied their third consecutive national title. Still, Texas deserved to win the game, despite being the beneficiary of some bad calls by the officials and some questionable decisions by both the USC coaches and players. The Longhorns had Young, after all.  And that is all they really needed. The Trojans had never seen a quarterback like the one they saw last night. They never defended a passer that was so mobile, and it showed.

USC's linebackers were a step slow and could not contain Young, who accumulated 467 yards of total offense. In the Pac-10, USC's defense regularly lines up against pocket passers who work within more traditional offenses. Texas coach Mack Brown and his offensive coordinator Greg Davis have structured their attack in such a way that it allows Young to improvise and turn what appear to be passing plays into big runs. The Trojans were caught off guard.     

But as much as Texas grabbed the game from USC's grasp, the Trojans let a victory slip through their fingers. Perhaps hubris caused the fall of their dynasty. Running back Reggie Bush may have started to believe all the hype about his near superhuman ability until he made that ill-fated lateral attempt in the first half. Pete Carroll may have been too confident in his offense's capabilities when he foregoed a field goal attempt to go for it on fourth down in the first quarter. Leinart was then stuffed on a quarterback sneak.

Flash forward three quarters and Carroll tried to kill Texas' chance for a comeback by going for it again on fourth down. This time he elected to do so inside Texas' 45-yard line, but LenDale White was stopped short of the first down with 2:04 left in the game and no Reggie Bush on the field to make Texas think about how it should align its defense.

Two scoring opportunities and a big chunk of field position were the cumulative losses of these aggressive and perhaps unwise decisions. The same risky calls that gave Carroll a victory over Notre Dame in South Bend earlier this season backfired against Texas in Pasadena on Wednesday night.

That is one of the reasons why Texas was standing on the podium and absorbing the confetti that fell from above when the game was over. In the end, they got the breaks and made USC pay for their mistakes. After 35 years, the Longhorns were glad to win a national championship any way they could. And when it was all said and done the Trojans were happy to help Texas' cause.

For the last few weeks Wednesday's Rose Bowl matchup between USC and Texas has been hyped as one of the most intriguing games of the last 25 years. That has a lot to do with the players involved. Two Heisman Trophy winners and one finalist for the coveted award will be on the field Wednesday, and much has been said about the impact Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Vince Young have each made on their teams. But lost amidst all the stars in this battle for the national championship are the two opposing head coaches -- Pete Carroll and Mack Brown, who have both rebuilt national powers that were struggling mightily before they took over.

 The Real Stars

When Brown took over in Austin after the 1997 season, the Longhorns were a long way from contending for a national championship. Texas finished with a 4-7 record that year and hadn't been ranked in the Top 10 at the end of the season since 1990, when David McWilliams was coach and the Longhorns were still in the now-defunct Southwest Conference. USC, meanwhile, wasn't doing much better under the direction of John Robinson and Paul Hackett in the late-1990s. In fact, the Trojans were having greater struggles. During that period, USC had morphed into a mediocre program and never finished with a record better than 8-5 between 1996 and 2001.

Flash forward to 2006 and both Brown and Carroll have transformed Texas and USC into juggernauts. Both coaches have aggressively recruited in their fertile backyards and restored the winning tradition their programs once had by surrounding themselves with capable assistants, putting the ball in the hands of their most talented athletes and making the right calls in crucial situations.

In a game that features so many impact players, coaching decisions will likely prove to be the difference. What defense will Carroll choose to contain Young, who runs the nation's highest scoring offense (51 points per game)? How will Brown focus on stopping USC, which leads the country in total offense by racking up 580 yards per game? Will he focus on Bush and tailback LenDale White or try to limit the effectiveness of Leinart and wide receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith? 

Two years ago, it would have been easy to give the edge to Pete Carroll. Carroll, after all, is  a gambler who is confident in his talent. He trusted Leinart to throw a perfect fade pass to Jarrett from the Trojans' 26-yard-line in USC's memorable 34-31 win over Notre Dame earlier this season. And like so many times before, he proved he could win the big game. Mack Brown, on the other hand, had trouble beating ranked teams and rivals before this year, and his conservative game-planning hurt him time and time again.

Between 2000 and 2004, Bob Stoops and Oklahoma repeatedly got the better of Brown and his Longhorns in the Red River Shootout. The Sooners had won five straight games in the rivalry and ruined so many promising seasons for Texas that many Longhorns fans wondered if they would ever see Brown beat Oklahoma again. This year, Texas finally got its revenge and rolled over the Sooners 45-12, allowing Brown to peel the #### off his back. But even by that point, the Texas coach had shown he could get his teams to show up when it counted and began using Young in a way that made Texas nearly impossible to deal with when on offense. It all started at the last Rose Bowl, when the Longhorns outlasted Michigan 38-37 behind Young's remarkable five-touchdown performance. Brown not only got his team to a BCS bowl; he won it. And he did it by opening up his playbook and taking chances, something that both Stoops and Carroll do with great efficacy. 

Coincidentally, those two coaches were in last year's national championship game at the Orange Bowl -- one that USC won 55-19 to claim its second straight national title. Now, 12 months later, Brown and Carroll, who have constructed two of the best offenses in college football history and brought back the winning traditions to their schools, will go toe-to-toe. They may be the forgotten men in this showdown, but ultimately they are the reasons why this national championship game is being played in the first place. Brown has his work cut out for him, but if he follows the lead of Carroll and takes risks during the game Texas could very well be holding the ADT National Champion Trophy by the end of the night.

Usually when Maurice Clarett makes the news now, it is not because of something wonderful he did on a football field. He hasn't played on one in months. Instead, on Sunday, fans were once again reminded of Clarett because of the poor decisions he makes off the gridiron. Clarett, who reprised his role as the wayward running back with a once promising future, was accused of two counts of aggravated robbery after allegedly holding two people up at the bar. It was hard to not to find the irony that the incident occurred on the same day that most pro football games are played.

  Too much, too soon.

Of course, at one point it was believed that Clarett was a lock to be a star on Sundays in the NFL after he put together a scintillating freshman campaign at Ohio State during which he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002. But almost as quickly as he became the toast of college football, his world came crashing down. He filed a false police report and was suspended from the school when he lied to an NCAA investigators about receiving improper benefits from a friend. Clarett then tried to drag the university down with him when he made allegations that he took cash from boosters and worked a bogus summer job.

As his college career was quickly coming to a close after one season, he tried desperately to gain eligibility for the NFL Draft before he was allowed to enter it. An appellate court denied his request. When he finally did qualify, Clarett turned in a horrible performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this year, running a sluggish 4.67-second 40-yard dash. Many thought he wouldn't be picked after such a terrible workout, but Denver took a gamble on him and selected the embattled running back. Not long after going to training camp, he hurt his groin and was cut in August. Teammates questioned his commitment in rehabilitating the injury, and even Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who has turned average running backs into great rushers, gave up on him. It appeared to be the last chapter that would be written in a story that would have no happy ending.

But then Sunday came along, and the tale of Clarett's fall from grace became darker. For an athlete who once seemed to have such a promising career aheads of him, it is sad to see it come to this. But like Roy Tarpley and Len Bias, who threw their futures away in another sport, Clarett couldn't handle so much success so soon. And that is why when Clarett makes headlines these days we are no longer surprised that he is in an alley instead of on a football field. 

In a city that is still recovering from the devastating blow delivered by Hurricane Katrina, few things are certain anymore. Will New Orleans retain the same character that made it so interesting? Will its population ever return to its pre-disaster level? Is New Orleans going to be ready for the next big storm? These questions still have open-ended answers. But for the time being residents of the Big Easy have been assured that they won't have to wonder if their pro football team is leaving them.

The NFL announced Friday that the New Orleans Saints will remain in Louisiana for the 2006 season and will play games at both the Superdome and Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. It's a smart move by the league and Saints owner Tom Benson, who appeared anxious to relocate his franchise to either San Antonio or sunny Los Angeles both before and after Katrina's wrath.

 Is he sincere?

Courtesy WWLTV

The Saints certainly would not have engendered any good will in New Orleans or elsewhere had they left when times were rough. Such a move would have been deemed selfish and inappropriate while making the NFL guilty by association. League commissioner Paul Tagliabue realized this and made clear he wanted the Saints to stay put. 

But it seems unlikely that the city's marriage with the Saints will last beyond next year. In the last three decades, New Orleans fans have not been exactly come out in droves to support a franchise that has won one playoff game since being founded 38 years ago. This season, the Saints averaged only 42,897 fans in their first three games in Baton Rouge. Even a Times-Picayune editorial suggested that more games should be played at the Saints' other temporary home -- San Antonio. That way, the NFL could see that when the novelty of having a professional football team wears off fans will stop coming and empty seats will become common there because no one is willing to support a loser. It's a fair argument, but not one usually made by a city looking to hold onto its favorite franchise.

In reality, by making the Saints play in New Orleans the NFL is actually giving Benson an opportunity to make his case for moving his team. Fan attendance will likely suffer next year for several reasons. If games are played in the Superdome, some people will not go there for the simple fact that it is common knowledge that unspeakable acts were committed there after residents were evacuated during the hurricane. Too many bad memories are associated with the Superdome. Fans will also not make the two-hour drive to Baton Rouge next season if they didn't this year. They would rather watch LSU, the most popular team in the state and one that has experienced a resurgency in recent years at the same time the Saints have struggled mightily.

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said that while he would welcome the return of the Saints, he said he was only "somewhat encouraged" by the decision, according to an AP article. “We are happy that New Orleanians who have lost so much will have an NFL team next season to call their own, "he said. "...We look forward to the day when the Saints organization will fully commit to this community and be a vital part of our recovery for many years to come.”

Don't hold your breath, Mr. Nagin. Benson doesn't want his team in your city and the fans don't seem overly happy that the Saints are coming back. This latest decision to stay for the time being just appears to be a prelude to an end. 

Bill Snyder knew the inevitable. The coach who transformed Kansas State from a perennial loser into a national power could see the signs. The Big 12 was changing, the recruiting well he tapped was drying up and Manhattan wasn't becoming any more attractive to young college kids. So he announced his retirement. There was no sense sticking around when the ship was sinking, especially after navigating the Wildcats through uncharted territory in the wake of so many abominable years.

 Got out in time.

Courtesy Kstatefootball.com

The Wildcats, who used to play regularly in late December or early January, have been con####uously absent from the postseason the last two years. And that is not likely to change in the coming seasons. Kansas State, which mined the state's junior colleges for talent during its golden years, has been forced  to compete with other schools for prospects that they once had exclusives on. In recent years, more and more coaches have been dipping into community colleges around Kansas and stealing the junior college players away. Recruiters from Nebraska, Kansas and even schools like Arkansas and Michigan State have been lurking at community colleges in the area, hoping to land prospects who can pay immediate dividends.

The Michael Bishops, Darnell McDonalds and Jeff Kellys, who once served as a foundation for Kansas State's winning squads, no longer are destined to go to Manhattan after apprenticing at local community colleges. The Wildcats, understandably, have suffered. In 2005, the once-powerful ground game Kansas State featured for years accumulated only 279 yards in a span of five games. This time there was no Darren Sproles or Ell Roberson to save them -- a sobering reality that is becoming all too familiar in Manhattan.

At a time when the Big 12 is changing, Kansas State has become stagnant. Nebraska and Texas Tech have junked their running games in favor of spread attacks that make it difficult for teams with strong rushing offenses to compete, especially if their defenses surrender early touchdowns. Even Colorado, which hired former Boise State coach Dan Hawkins, will likely pitch it around the field.  Meanwhile, in-state rival Kansas has emerged as the top football team in the state under head coach Mike Mangino. The Jayhawks just won their first bowl since 1995 and some believe that they will be one of the favorites in the now weakened Big 12 North division. This does not bode well for Kansas State.

It is rare in college football to see such a rapid rise and fall, unless NCAA sanctions precipitate a program's decline. Usually, it takes decades for the whole story to play out. But the school that was mired in a 27-game losing streak when Snyder took over in 1989 has seen the Wildcats both climb their way to the top of the rankings and slide back down in a matter of 15 years. The Fiesta Bowl appearance just two seasons ago seems like such a distant memory. The expanded stadium is now just a reminder of what once was and what seems so hard to hold on to. Now, Ron Prince has been left to pick up the pieces like Snyder once did. But another "Miracle in Manhattan" doesn't seem as likely to happen this time around.

It's late December and they tell us it's the most wonderful time of the year. But not on the college football gridiron. Get prepared for another two-week binge of lackluster matchups, rife with players you never have heard of and teams you have never seen on national television.

It all kicks off tonight with the New Orleans Bowl, which has relocated to Lafayette, La. after Hurricane Katrina caused significant damage to the Superdome, the previous site of the game. Two 6-5 teams, Arkansas State and Southern Mississippi, will play in a stadium a Sun Belt school calls home. Nothing grabs ratings like two mediocre squads battling it out in a facility half the size of a Southeastern Conference stadium. But ESPN will carry the game, even though it would never sign on to televise a nonconference matchup between these two schools.

Courtesy Honolulu Advertiser

And that is the problem college football during bowl week. Games that would never attract any interest during the season are featured as must-see television in late December.  In reality, however, nobody outside of the participating schools' fan bases wants to see North Carolina State face off against South Florida or Colorado State play Navy. There are so may bad matchups that only the most die-hard fan could tell you which team is playing in which bowl, if they actually had heard of the bowl in the first place.  

After all, the names, locations and sponsors of these lackluster postseason affairs seem to change every year. Who knew there was a Meineke Bowl? Does the winner get a trophy molded in the shape of a muffler? If they do, will anybody be there to see the presentation?

Everyone knows that the number of postseason games in college football has proliferated because the schools want money and the smaller conferences want the exposure their big brothers are getting. But the bowl landscape has become inundated with matchups that will likely turn away fans. While it's a nice to see a team like Arkansas State make its first bowl appearance in 35 years, no one is interested enough in the Indians to really care. The only games that anybody wants to watch are the four BCS bowls. Otherwise, 'tis the season to be bored by college football.

While a majority of fans and pundits have called for the overhauling of the BCS system in the past, few have expressed outrage with the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll. But after the final poll of the regular season was released and the public was given the opportunity to see how each of 62 participating coaches filled out their Top 25, there should have been more pleas to reform a ranking system that is rife with voters who are careless, uninformed and biased.

 What was he thinking?

Courtesy MSNBC

Frank Solich, the head coach at Ohio, ranked LSU ten spots ahead of Georgia a day after the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers in the Southeastern Conference Championship game. What was he thinking? Arkansas coach Houston Nutt left a 10-1 West Virginia team out of the polls and included a 7-4 South Carolina squad in his Top 25 while elevating the rankings of SEC teams. Oregon coach Mike Belotti and Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, whose schools were each battling for a spot in a major bowl, ranked their teams high and one of their BCS rivals significantly lower than it should have been. Tyrone Willingham, who was ousted as Notre Dame coach last year, stuck it to the Fighting Irish by listing them ninth in his poll.

Coaches have an agenda and some of them probably don't like each other. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier and Tennesee field general Phillip Fulmer probably don't have tea together. They also can exercise some sweet revenge on each other when they are voting in the poll. That is why it is ridiculous that a group of men are allowed to bear influence on the status of not only their teams but also their competitors. If the poll was treated like a court case, all 62 coaches would have to recuse themselves because of their conflicts of interest.

It seems the best way to correct this problem is to transfer the voting power from the coaches to each of the Division I-A conference commissioners. Since they oversee their leagues, they would have more of an objective viewpoint of the teams both in their conferences and outside them. They also would not be involved in any personal rivalries and would have time to pay attention to the games. Coaches often ask their school's sports information director to fill out the poll because they can't follow all of the action when they are busy concentrating on Saturday's game.

But what happens come late November, when the stakes are raised and the BCS game matchups are being determined? Won't the commissioners favor the teams in their leagues so their conferences get the big payout? This problem can be solved by penalizing a commissioner who ranks a team five spots lower or higher than the cumulative poll by preventing him or her from voting in the following week's poll. In essence, stick them where it hurts, because in the dog-eat-dog world of college football that is all anybody understands anymore. And at least in this scenario Kevin Weiberg and Mike Slive, as opposed to Steve Spurrier, will be able to determine where South Carolina and Tennessee will be ranked. After all, the Ole' Ball Coach is too busy drawing up plays and getting under the skin of his team's opponent that week.

If the news is true about Dan Hawkins, then it appears all but certain he will become the latest coach from Boise State to make the leap to a major Division I school -- and perhaps the best to do so. Hawkins is likely headed to Colorado -- a program that has endured numerous setbacks both on and off the field in recent years under the stewardship of Gary Barnett. Maybe it is the blue turf the Broncos trample each home game or the Idaho sky, but the Gem State's capital has been home to a few diamonds in the rough when it comes to field generals.

 Courtesy Honolulu Star-Bulletin

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt and Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter have made stops in Boise, building up their resumes in the West and earning respect Napoleon Dynamite would only dream about. In the process, Boise State's football program has improved dramatically since it was elevated by the NCAA to Division I-A status in 1996. That has a lot to do with the fact that each coach has built on what his predecessor left behind. Nutt took over in 1997 and spent one season with the Broncos, steering Boise State to a 5-6 record before impressing a committee at Arkansas when he interviewed for the Razorbacks' head coaching position. Koetter then brought Boise State to new heights, instituting an efficient passing attack, leading the Broncos to two 10-win seasons and their first two bowl appearances before bolting for the desert after the 2000 campaign.

Hawkins, who looks like he still could play football, turned Boise State into one of the best non-BCS programs in the country. Between 2002 and 2004, the Broncos won 35 of 38 games and finished ranked in the Top 15 each year. This season, Boise State is going bowling again. Colorado obviously has been watching Hawkins, while taking note of the fact that Nutt and Koetter are still walking the sidelines at the schools they landed at after their stints in Boise.

Other big programs are also aware of Boise State's penchant for finding strong leaders. And that is why coaches, who want to move up in the ranks, better start sending in their resumes for the Broncos' expected vacancy. They may have to suffer through some cold winters, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Just ask Nutt, Koetter and Hawkins.