The last couple seasons there were four teams in the ranks of the independents of FBS football. With Western Kentucky officially playing in the Sun Belt starting in 2009 that number drops to three.

What does this mean for Notre Dame, Army and Navy? Nothing. I just thought you should know.

Notre Dame took a step toward regaining some national respect with a season that more than doubled the wins from 2007.

Coach Charlie Weis has retaken over the play calling duties that he turned over to offensive coordinator Mike Haywood for the 2008 season. At the end of the season, Haywood took the head coaching job at Miami OH. Instead of finding a new coordinator, Weis decided he would again try being both head coach and offensive coordinator.

I find the move kind of interesting considering that in 2007, when Notre Dame 3-9, Weis was the offensive coordinator. Some of the speculation was that he could not do both successfully. Come 2009, I guess we will find out.

For me the schedule is a toss up. There are no teams on the schedule that I wouldn't think Notre Dame has no chance against except USC. On the other hand, I think there are only a couple games that I think are very likely to be wins. That leaves eight games that I wouldn't put money on either way.

The Navy enters their second year under head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Year one was an 8-5 winning season that ended in a win over rival Army, sealing up the Commander in Chief's Trophy, but a loss in the Eagle Bank Bowl to Wake Forest.

While the coaching part looks like they are in good hands, the players side of it is a question mark.

On offense, the quarterback, Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, two leading rushers, Shun White and Eric Kettani, and leading receiver, Tyree Barnes, were all seniors. They also lose many offensive lineman.

I think the defense stays pretty well in tact, losing less than half the starters. The defense may have to help carry the team through the early season.

After looking at the schedule I have to make the prediction that Navy will likely be in contention for a bowl game again, so long as they can overcome the losses of all the offensive skill players.

After just two seasons, Army fired head coach Stan Brock. Brock went 6-18 in his two seasons and 3-9 in 2008. He was fired less than a week after the Black Knights were shut out by rival Navy, 34-0.

Army went across the country to hire a new coach. Cal Poly coach Rich Ellerson, was named the Army head coach in late December.

Ellerson runs a triple option offense that took Cal Poly to FCS playoffs. Cal Poly finished number one in the FCS in total offense 487.5 yards per game) and scoring offense (44.36 points per game). With these numbers Cal Poly would have finished seventh in total offense and fifth in scoring offense.

I am sure the Army would have been happy just to crack the top 25 in either category. Or the top 50 for that matter.

The schedule sets up nicely for the Army to increase their win total from 2008. There is even a small chance that they could get to six wins. But I would still be surprised if they actually did it.

Whenever we hear about a player getting suspended without being given a reason, most of us jump to conclusions. Usually it is the worst of conclusions.

It is easy to say a student athlete is having academic problems. To say that the reason for a suspension was that they weren't making the grade in the classroom. With no proof, that is what many assumed about LeGarrette Blount.

Missing workouts, not academics, was the reason Blount was suspended. According to reports, Blount arrived late to Eugene for the winter quarter at the University of Oregon. Due to his late arrival he missed some workouts.

After all this he reportedly fell ill. I know I for one don't feel like working out when I am just coming down with something let alone actually being sick.

Blount has gone on record to say he understands and accepts the suspension. He also says that the accusations that he was academically in trouble don't bother him.

Even if you say it doesn't bother you Mr. Blount, I think all the people that listened to the rumors and accepted them without question owe you an apology.

Let's let this be a lesson that maybe we should bite our tongues until we actually know something is a little more certain that just letting rumors fly unchecked.

Everyone is focusing on Lane Kiffin right now for the violation after violation he has committed at Tennessee. I don't think Kiffin is to blame though.

Kiffin's most recent violation of was talking about a recruit, by name, and his skills before he has signed with the team. Prior to this Kiffin and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, were admonished by Tennessee for violations which were described as simulating game day experiences while recruits were on campus.

Now jump back a couple weeks and all the way to far Northwest corner of the country to another campus and and another new coach, Steve Sarkisian and the University of Washington.

At the end of January, the University of Washington reported violations which were described as simulating game day situations while recruits were on campus.

More recently, University of Washington self reported violations by Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Nick Holt. The coaches met with a couple of recruits, their coach, a junior team mate all in the presence of a reporter. The presence of a junior off campus and media were both violations.

Like I said I don't blame Kiffin for the things he has done and I don't really blame Sarkisian either.

Anyone want to guess who I am pointing a finger at?

The constant between Kiffin, Sarkisian, Orgeron, and Holt is that all were coaches at the University of Southern California.

When a person teaches something and the student goes on to teach someone else they are likely to teach it the same way.

I have a feeling these coaches are recruiting much the way they had been taught to recruit previously. New schools but old habits.

I find it more than a coincidence that both simulations of game day experiences were described as using smoke while recruits came on to the field.

Maybe instead of blaming these coaches we should look at where they are learning these things.

Air Force: 17-9 over two seasons =contract extension for Calhoun. Good call.

Akron: Zips turned in one of the top recruiting classes in the MAC. Good news, eventually.

Alabama: We could see another good season and this time a more humble team that will NOT take any team to lightly.

Arizona: Loss of Tuitama and Thomas is big. Return of good core on defense could be bigger.

Arizona State: Bad season, good news Erickson is still your coach and he is pretty good at turning things around.

Arkansas: Year 2 of Petrino in Arkansas. Still looking for success.

Arkansas State: Close to the Sun Belt title in 2008. Looking to turn close to trophy.

Army: The three wins in 2008 were an improvement from the three wins in 2007 due to no FCS teams in 08. I hope they wear the camouflage uniforms more.

Auburn: Chizik?? Are you serious??

Ball State: 12-2 but no more Hoke.

Baylor: Briles still fighting out of the basement of the Big 12 but there was progress in year one.

Boise State: Once again the usual suspect to be a BCS buster. First test, Oregon at home. Wait, that might be the only test.

Boston College: Turnover is the word. Pretty much an all new coaching staff.

Bowling Green: Clawson off to a slow start as the new head coach. BG recruiting class was rated near the bottom of the MAC.

Buffalo: Another season like the last one and we'll see where Gill ends up.

BYU: Up in the air here. Hall and Unga are back, Collie is out, I think Pitta is coming back. O line needs to be replaced.

Cal: Best really is one of the best running backs in the country. Can he and Riley lead the bears to success?

Central Michigan: They may not have won the MAC again like expected but LeFevour's senior year could see the Chippewas return to the championship game.

Cincinnati: Is there any reason to believe the bearcats won't contend for the Big East title in 09?

Clemson: Interim out the door. Dabo is the coach. I don't really understand hiring a guy that was part of a losing staff but whatever.

Colorado: Some good news for the Buffs on the O line as a couple guys were granted another year after being injured.

Colorado State: Since when is Colorado State national? Six Texas recruits and five from Florida. They also got some out of Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, California, Utah and at home in Colorado.

Connecticut: Brown is gone so that sucks. Not really sure what the depth looks like at RB because Brown pretty much did it all.

Duke: Year one for Cutcliffe showed some improvement. Here's hoping for more in year two.

East Carolina: There was a time in there where it seemed like Skip Holtz was going to be moving on to bigger and better things. He is still at East Carolina, for now. Big group of returning starters should have the pirates as the frontrunner for the Conference USA championship.

Eastern Michigan: New head coach Ron English. Seems like when black coaches get a chance it is a slim one.

Florida: Tebow is back. Say hello to the preseason #1.

Florida Atlantic: A bit of offensive staff restructuring. Jeff Brohm is now an assistant coach and Darryl Jackson is the new offensive coordinator. We'll see if it makes a difference.

Florida International: Surprisingly for a team that finishes near the bottom of the conference every year, FIU pulled in the second rated class of the Sun Belt.

Florida State: Bobby Bowden playing it one year at a time. Good season, another year?

Fresno State: Brandstater is done here. Seems like he has been here a while. Hill usually does ok with reloading the QB spot.

Georgia: No Stafford, no Moreno. Cox, and King will try to fill in. Having WR Green will help.

Georgia Tech: Despite the blow out loss in the Chick-fil-A, Paul Johnson's offense did work in the ACC. Just gotta make sure it works again.

Hawaii: A nice large class of 32 and only 12 are actually from Hawaii. Hitting that recruiting trail nicely.

Houston: Sumlin's debut season was an 8-5 record capped by a bowl win. Time for an encore. Case Keenum returning will keep the offense moving.

Idaho: Hey it's the same coach for a 3rd year in a row. When is the last time that happened at Idaho?

Illinois: From Rose Bowl to no bowl. Let's see if they can rebound. Juice Williams back is a good place to start.

Indiana: The Hoosiers need to find that "Play 13" motivation again. They went from playing in a bowl to only winning three.

Iowa: Greene is gone. Leaning on the defense in 09? Ferentz gets an extension.

Iowa State: Auburn hires the Cyclones coach so Iowa State hires a Tiger coordinator to be the head coach.

Kansas: Heavy on offensive skill players returning is a good thing for the jay hawks. Solid defensive starters return too.

Kansas State: How do you get a program back up to winning the Big 12? Apparently you rehire the retired coach that got you there last time to give it a try.

Kent State: The MAC's #1 recruiting class for 2009.

Kentucky: How many more years is Brooks gonna be around. I still want to see him coach one more game at Autzen Stadium on the field that is named for him.

Louisville: Kragthorpe retaking the offense. I suppose it couldn't get worse than what it was.

Louisiana Lafayette: Lafayette has been bowl eligible 3 of the last 4 seasons without a bowl to show for it. Maybe 1 more win and they could get a bid.

Louisiana Monroe: Losing a senior QB can be tough. Especially when that team only went 4-8 last season.

LSU: QB Jefferson's play in their bowl should make tiger fans hopeful. Defense looked too but the middle is changing.

Louisiana Tech: Strong finish for the WAC east team winning six of the last eight including a bowl win. Could they challenge for the WAC title?

Marshall: I would think that with the lack of success Snyder is on a bit of a hot seat.

Maryland: Friedgen isn't coaching forever. OC James Franklin named head coach in waiting. Nice schedule next season missing NC, Miami and GT.

Memphis: Starting QB, leading rusher and leading receivers all returning, good news for Tigers.

Miami FL: Hurricane Whipple bringing the offense. Busses bringing the team, to a few games anyway.

Miami OH: So Ben Roethlisberger wins the Super Bowl again. Got anything else or just the one guy?

Michigan: Season two for Rich Rod, with more time he may have filled what he needs for his offense.

Michigan State: No more Ringer now we get to see how Dantonio will reload his program.

Middle Tennessee: The return of Tony Franklin to the Sun Belt, but here at Middle Tennessee, not Troy like he was before.

Minnesota: Hope Gophers like cold weather. A new outdoor stadium will now be their house.

Mississippi: From the bottom of the SEC west to west contender in three seasons. Good hire on Nutt.

Mississippi State: Dan Mullen is the new head coach. Makes sense get a guy that helped win championships at Florida.

Missouri: Managed to hang on to Pinkle after talks of him taking another job circulated. The did lose offensive coordinator as well as offensive weapons Daniel and Maclin among others.

Navy: Is it just me or does Navy always just seem content to make it to a bowl?

Nebraska: Pelini looks like the right guy for the job of returning Nebraska to prominence. Year one was a step up.

Nevada: Offense is gonna roll with Kaepernick running it. Taua running with him will be big too. 1000 yard season from both of them in 2008.

New Mexico: Mike Locksley taking over here, I guess New Mexico isn't that bad a place to start a coaching career. Mid tier Mountain West school in a place with nice weather.

New Mexico State: I would think with DeWayne Walker taking over as coach, New Mexico State should have a pretty decent defense.

North Carolina: The good: looks like North Carolina is on the up and should compete for the ACC. The bad: two FCS schools on the schedule. No respect from me for that.

North Carolina State: Winning four in a row to finish the regular season and edge into a bowl was huge. Losing the bowl by six pretty much sucked though.

North Texas: Dodge is still building here. He has only won a couple games so far but going into year three things should start looking up. If they don't the seat gets hot.

Northern Illinois: Kill takes them to a bowl in his first year. Barely. And they lost. Still good hope for next season.

Northwestern: My opinion of their bowl, Northwestern lost it themselves just as much as Missouri won it.

Notre Dame: If Clausen can live up to his recruitment hype and continue what he started in the Hawaii Bowl then Notre Dame could be pretty good.

Ohio: Solich had Ohio up and in the MAC championship just a couple years ago. Now they miss bowl season. Let's see what they do next season.

Ohio State: Terrelle Pryor all season instead of just part of it is a good thing. Loss of some key defensive player. tOSU reloads pretty well though.

Oklahoma: Bradford back to lead the offense. Could return to the title game.

Oklahoma State: Zac Robinson, Kendal Hunter and Dez Bryant means lots of points for the cowboys.

Oregon: Bellotti or Kelly? Either way lookout for the offense.

Oregon State: Both Rogers brothers are back. Good news for Beavers.

Penn State: Joe Paterno is still going. Reloading or rebuilding is the question with quite a few starters gone.

Pittsburgh: Losing 3-0 to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl is not an ideal finish to a season. Losing McCoy to the NFL makes it a bit worse.

Purdue: All the clich

Rewarding Mediocrity

34.

That's how many bowls were played this year. That means that out of 119 teams, 68 were rewarded with a bowl invite. Rewarded for having a non losing season. Note I did not say having a winning one.

If we eliminated the teams that went to bowls with a 6-6 record, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina State, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Southern Miss and Vanderbilt would not have played in a bowl game. We could eliminate at least 4 games.

While it didn't happen this year, there is also the scenario of teams with winning records being left out of a bowl in favor of a team that went 6-6. In 2007 Troy was did not go to a bowl with an 8-4 record while 8 teams with 6-6 records went to bowls. One of these teams was an Oklahoma State team the Troy beat earlier in the season.

Yeah, I know about the conference contracts and agreements with the bowls but does that make it right?

Teams without winning record get a bowl just because they happen to be from a conference that has a bigger name? That is in the BCS auto qualifying club instead of a conference that gets two bowls in a year on a good one.

If this is now the bar, get to 6-6, then I suppose we need more bowls. This year there were still three 6-6 teams that did not go to a bowl while 2007 had six teams of 6-6 or better not go to bowls and 2006 had eight.

The Prestige Is Gone

For years and years reaching a bowl played on New Years or in January in general was a goal. People still hold it to a certain amount of prestige, I am sorry to be the one who has to say it but the prestige is gone. Games like the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl were highly regarded January bowls played by highly ranked teams. Now there are a dozen bowls in January and the teams playing in them are not all highly ranked or elite teams.

First the addition of a couple bowls in January took away some luster. The International Bowl and the GMAC Bowl are both played in January. This season had the MAC champions Buffalo playing the University of Connecticut, a team that finished fifth in the Big East playing in the 3 year old International . Neither team was ranked. The GMAC Bowl is about 10 years old and was moved to January in 2007. The teams playing in the 2009 were the Conference USA runner up Tulsa and MAC runner up Ball State. Ball State was ranked just inside the top 25.

As for some of the other games played in January, the Outback Bowl had 7-5South Carolina and 8-4 Iowa. The Gator Bowl matched up 8-4 Nebraska and 7-5 Clemson. The Liberty Bowl had 6-6 Kentucky and 9-5 East Carolina. East Carolina did win the Conference USA but none of the other teams finished better than fourth in their conference. None of these teams were ranked.

If the prestige of January were still there, and there were no bowl, conference contracts, then some of the teams in other bowls not played in January such as the Holiday Bowl, the Sun Bowl, and the Poinsettia Bowl could all argue their deservedness to be playing in January. .