Liberty Bowl

1. Central Florida 10 – Georgia 6.  Bulldogs finish at 6-7, first losing record for Georgia since 1996.

2. David Ching: “This was an uninspired effort from everyone involved.”

3. Georgia kicker Blair Walsh: “Our attitude needs to change.”

4. A.J. Green will wait a few days before making a decision on the NFL.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl

5. Florida State 26 – South Carolina 17.  Steve Spurrier now 1-4 in bowl games at South Carolina.

6. Backup QB burns the Gamecocks.

7. Spurrier: “We didn’t give ourselves much of a chance to win the game.”

Outback Bowl

8. Last hurrah for Urban Meyer and Florida’ seniors.

9. A new life awaits Meyer while a new assistant coach is coming to Florida.  Will Muschamp is targeting Charlie Weis as the next offfensive coordinator for the Gators.

10.  Is this the last game in a Florida uniform for QB John Brantley?

Capital One Bowl

11. Sunshine State or a state of disappointment for the Tide?

12. SEC vs. the Big 10 in bowl games the last 10 years – 14-12 with four more this year, including three today.

13. Jon Solomon: “The pressure is on the Big Ten.”

14. Nick Saban on the two conferences: “If there’s any difference at all, it’s probably the passion of the fans.”

Gator Bowl

15. It’s Chris Relf’s time to shine.

16. Dan Mullen: You watch Denard Robinson and the first thing that does not come to mind is slow.”

17.  With Tate Forcier sent home, the options behind Robinson at QB for Michigan are slim.

Just a few headlines from around the conference today as we prepare to ring in the New Year.

May yours — and your favorite team’s — be happy, safe and blessed.

All the best!


1.  Alabama’s coordinators are prepping for their own days as head coaches.

2.  Bama’s quarterback situation is surprisingly murky heading into 2011.

3.  Oregon’s blitzes remind one Auburn player of Mississippi State’s schemes.

4.  The Ducks’ running backs get the edge over the Tigers’ linebackers.

5.  Arkansas is knocking the rust off in preparation for next week’s Sugar Bowl.

6.  UA and Ohio State spent a lot of money to reach a BCS game.

7.  LSU’s Derek Helton will be tempted to try to punt a ball into the giant video board hanging in Cowboys Stadium.

8.  Freshman Matt Derenbecker is showing off a sweet shooting touch for Trent Johnson’s team.

9.  Mississippi State wants to stop giving up big plays on defense.

10.  Michigan respects MSU’s offense.

11.  Ole Miss blew out Alcorn State 100-62 last night…

12.  And they landed a transfer from Memphis for the future, too.

13.  Excitement is building in Gainesville as the Will Muschamp Era nears.

14.  Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin says he won’t entertain other offers unless he’s let go by Florida.  (Meaning either that he’s lying or dozens of reports of him talking to Texas were completely false.)

15.  Controlling the line of scrimmage will be key in the Outback Bowl.

16.  Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray could break several school records in the Liberty Bowl today.

17.  UGA will be trying to avoid its first losing season in 14 years.

18.  The Dawgs will also be playing for pride.

19.  The intensity of today’s Kentucky-Louisville basketball game will be unmatched.

20.  Here’s how the two teams match up.

21.  The pressure on UK and U of L players — from their fans — is palpable.

22.  South Carolina will be playing for just the second 10-win season in school history tonight…

23.  But this writer says the Chick-fil-A Bowl means more to Florida State.

24.  This head-to-head breakdown gives the edge to FSU.

25.  Tennessee’s basketball team will likely get a tough challenge at home from College of Charleston tonight.

Sorry, no news on Vandy.  What else is new? 

Will Muschamp has been off the grid since his introductory press conference in Gainesville on December 14th.  He does have plans to attend the Outback Bowl and the guess here is that he’ll be safely tucked away in a press box alongside athletic director Jeremy Foley.

Foley told The Palm Beach Post yesterday that his new coach has been back home in Austin, Texas trying to work on recruiting and putting his staff together.

According to The Post: “Most or all of the new coaches will be in place by Tuesday, which is the first day they can travel to visit high school prospects in person.”

Foley told the paper, “Some pieces are falling into place; still, there’s other pieces that have to fall into place.  I think he’s making a lot of good progress there and will be in position next week to hit the ground running and go recruit.”

In other notes, a source told the paper that Teryl Austin will definitely not be retained as UF’s defensive coordinator… and Foley said that Muschamp is consulting Urban Meyer about potential hires.

Urban Meyer is happy with the way he’s going out and Will Muschamp is coming in at Florida.  He told an Outback Bowl press gathering as much this week.

“The guy we hired is fantastic,” Meyer said.  “I think that eased a lot of the burden because the first priority is the players and the coaches.  I’ve really enjoyed these last two weeks.”

“If there’s ever a good time (to resign) — obviously I don’t know that there ever is — but this kind of worked out very well.”

According to the coach, Meyer’s resignation was not a sudden reaction to a bad season.

“I have a great family, as close as you can imagine.  … At one point in a five-year period we lived in four different states bouncing kids in and out of school, not by choice, but just with that in mind that we’re going to go as hard as we can and then at some point pull away.”

Meyer also said, “I think last December was kind of a frontal blow and let’s evaluate this whole thing for a minute, and we did.”

The coach and his family spent the holidays in New York.  ESPN gave him a ring and asked him to drive up.  He did.  And there was a spark.

“What I found out, what a place, what great people,” the coach said.  “I’ll have to do something.” 

For Muschamp’s sake, Meyer doing something in Bristol, Connecticut would be an enormous plus.  For all the talk of keeping Meyer involved, no new coach needs his players being able to drop in and talk with their old coach. 

1.  Florida’s offense in the Outback Bowl is expected to look a lot like the system the Gators used down the stretch — up-tempo, multiple quarterbacks.  In other words, Urban Meyer and crew still have no answers for this year’s offensive woes.

2.  John Brantley says a transfer is still a possibility.

3.  Ever-injured running back Jeff Demps hopes to be ready for the Outback Bowl.

4.  If Georgia loses in the Liberty Bowl it will result in Mark Richt’s first losing season since his days as a high school coach a quarter-century ago.

5.  UGA seniors aren’t going out the way they had hoped.

6.  The Bulldogs will move its spring game in order to avoid a conflict with the third round of The Masters.

7.  The UGA basketball team is closing out its non-conference slate this week.

8.  Kentucky faces Coppin State tonight… then Louisville on Friday.

9.  From the looks of his tweets, Terrence Jones wasn’t felling well last night.

10.  Doron Lamb is making a case for more minutes.

11.  Florida State folks still love to hate Steve Spurrier.

12.  Some of Spurrier’s assistants could be targeted by other schools.

13.  The Gamecocks are hoping to fix their secondary woes in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

14.  The Music City Bowl between Tennessee and North Carolina is bringing in record crowds.

15.  UNC has lost yet another starter… this time to academics.  (Butch Davis may need to suit up against Tennessee.)

16.  While Carolina’s starting tailback is out, Tauren Poole will be looking for six yards to join UT’s 1,000-yard rusher club.

17.  Bruce Pearl says falling from the Top 10 to out of the polls altogether has been a “reality check” for his Vols.

In case you’re wondering, Vanderbilt is in a sports lull right now.  No anti-Vandy bias… just nothing much to report.

Heading into this weekend’s Outback Bowl against Florida, rumors have popped up on the internet that Joe Paterno might retire after the game due to his failing health.

Not so, says his wife.

“Who started the crazy rumors?” Sue Paterno asked.  “He’s fine.  No one has to identify who starts it.  We don’t even know where it starts.  It’s just lies.  I mean, he’s (supposedly) in the hospital when he’s sitting at the table for dinner.  He wasn’t even near the hospital.”

His daughter also said that the Outback Bowl is not her father’s planned final game.

If the Paterno family is being truthful, the game will mark just one coach’s retirement — the 46-year-old Urban Meyer’s… not the 84-year-old Paterno’s.

Oregon won’t be the only school decked out in new uniforms during the bowl season.  Nike will be handing new duds to the Ducks, TCU, Boise State and… Florida.

In the Outback Bowl the Gators will be wearing an all-white uniform that — to be perfectly honest — doesn’t look all that different from their regular uniforms.

Come to think of it… that’s a good thing.

1. Has Florida AD Jeremy Foley talked to Boise State football coach Chris Peterson about the Gators job?

2. What Foley is looking for.

3. Gene Frenette: “Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops skipping his media session after practice Friday night figures to ratchet up speculation about his interest in the Florida Gators job.”

4. With Urban Meyer’s resignation, the Florida-Penn State story line at the Outback Bowl is even better.

5. Mike Bianchi: “These coaches have plenty of opportunities — many more than most of us working stiffs do — to spend time with their families. If they don’t do it, it’s their own fault.”

6. “Meyer didn’t rule out coaching again someday, and many believe he will.”

7. On the day of the Heisman Trophy ceremony, the Cam Newton alleged laptop theft story reemerges.

8. One year after his Auburn visit, the spotlight shines on Cam Newon in the Big Apple.

9. Jason Whitlock: “Cam Newton is the perfect player to win the Heisman Trophy.”

10. Gus Malzahn is Vandy’s top choice.

11. Jon Solomon: “Gus Malzahn possesses multiple options.”

12.  Sorry, Auburn students.  You will have class on the day of the BCS Championship Game.

Yesterday afternoon, Edward Aschoff of The Gainesville Sun tweeted that Jeremy Foley and Urban Meyer were seen talking to Jon Gruden during an Outback Bowl function in Tampa.

And the earth shook.

The former NFL coach who’s currently an ESPN broadcaster — and a pretty good one, too — just flirted with and then cold-shouldered University of Miami officials last week.

Gruden is a “name” guy.  He’d be able to open a lot of doors on the recruiting trail.  But people close to “Chucky” say he’s way too impatient to deal with immature players, players’ parents and late night bed checks.

It’s also likely that he’s ticketed for a better-paying NFL gig when one to his liking opens up.  Just last week, Gruden’s son suggested that his dad wants to let him finish high school in Cleveland (“So he’ll take the Browns job?!?!”) though he has also talked about moving to San Francisco (“So he’ll take the 49ers job?!?!”).  I’m sure Eric Mangini and Mike Singletary appreciate Gruden family gossip causing them further headaches.

Never say never… but a Gruden to Florida move would be mighty surprising.  So it’s probably a safe bet that Foley and Meyer weren’t pitching Gruden the UF job in plain sight of reporters at yesterday’s Outback Bowl function.

Urban Meyer's final game as Florida's head coach will be the Outback Bowl in Tampa on New Year's Day. Meyer will face legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno – major college football's all-time winningest coach – for the first time.
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