Posted by Chip Patterson

Todd Graham has faced a good amount of criticism for his brief stint in Pittsburgh before jetting away to his "dream job" at Arizona State. In what was likely an attempt to display his commitment to the school, Graham joined the Sun Devils' student section for the season finale against Arizona.

The 10-20 Sun Devils were not fighting for an NCAA tournament bid, but got to play spoiler to the 21-10 Wildcats with an 87-80 victory. The television cameras caught Graham in the student section, and @bubbaprog caught the clip in all its high-octane goodness.

Former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl is probably wondering why Graham is wearing a shirt at all, especially two. [.GIF via Gifulmination.com]



Arizona State starts spring practice March 13, with the spring game scheduled for April 21. For the full list of Spring Practice dates and previews, check out our Spring Practice Home.

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Posted by Chip Patterson

Pittsburgh head coach Paul Chryst announced a realignment of his offensive staff on Saturday, naming former Wisconsin tight end's coach Joe Rudolph offensive coordinator.

Chryst announced that former offensive coordinator Bob Bostad has accepted a job with Greg Schiano and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bostad also was set to coach the offensive line for the Panthers in 2012, a job that will be filled by tight ends coach Jim Hueber.

“Joe Rudolph and Jim Hueber will be tremendous assets in their new assignments,” Chryst said in a prepared statement. “Joe and I worked closely on the offensive side of the ball at Wisconsin. He has a thorough knowledge of our systems and what we want to achieve offensively.

“Jim has coached some of the finest linemen in the game, pro and college. He is tremendously accomplished as a teacher of offensive line play, and his overall experience as a coach benefits our entire staff and program.”

In addition to serving as offensive coordinator, Rudolph will once again coach the tight ends for Chryst - sliding in after Hueber's move to the offensive line. Chryst still has two positions left to fill on his staff: quarterbacks coach and running backs coach. Former Wisconsin linebackers coach Dave Huxtable will coach the Panthers' defense in the upcoming season.

Pittsburgh is set to open Spring Practice on March 15. Catch up on your favorite team by checking out all the Spring Practice Dates.

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Posted by Bryan Fischer

Hard to believe but it is indeed time for Spring Practice to begin. It was not too long ago that Alabama hoisted up the crystal ball in New Orleans but as of now, all 120 FBS teams are equal with a 0-0 record and only themselves to face. Here's a list of notable dates for every school this spring and, as they become available on the blog, links to Spring Practice Primers (click here to see them all). Be sure and check out Dennis Dodd's preseason top 25 as well.

Spring Practice Dates
ACC		First Practice	Spring Game
	Boston College	February 18 Spring Primer	March 31
	Clemson	March 7 Spring Primer	April 14
	Duke	February 22 Spring Primer	March 31
	Florida State	March 19 Spring Primer	April 14
	Georgia Tech	March 26	April 20
	Maryland	March 10 Spring Primer	April 21
	Miami	March 3 Spring Primer	April 14
	North Carolina	March 14 Spring Primer	April 14
	N.C. State	March 23	April 21
	Virginia	March 19 Spring Primer	April 14
	Virginia Tech	March 28	April 21
	Wake Forest	March 1 Spring Primer	April 14
Big East		First Practice	Spring Game
	Cincinnati	March 1 Spring Primer	April 14
	Louisville	March 21	April 14
	Pittsburgh	March 15 Spring Primer	April 14
	Rutgers	March 27	April 28
	Syracuse	March 20 Spring Primer	April 21
	Connecticut	March 20 Spring Primer	April 21
	South Florida	March 21	April 2, April 9
Big Ten		First Practice	Spring Game
	Illinois	March 7 Spring Primer	April 14
	Indiana	March 3 Spring Primer	April 14
	Iowa	March 24	April 14
	Michigan	March 17	April 14
	Michigan State	March 27	April 28
	Minnesota	March 24	April 21
	Nebraska	March 10 Spring Primer	April 14
	Northwestern	March 3 Spring Primer	April 14
	Ohio State	March 28	April 21
	Penn State	March 26	April 21
	Purdue	March 7 Spring Primer	April 14
	Wisconsin	March 22	April 28
Big 12		First Practice	Spring Game
	Baylor	March 19	April 14
	Iowa State	March 20	April 14
	Kansas	March 27	April 28
	Kansas State	April 4	April 28
	Oklahoma	March 5 Spring Primer	April 14
	Oklahoma State	March 12	April 21
	TCU	February 25 Spring Primer	April 5
	Texas	February 23 Spring Primer	April 1
	Texas Tech	February 17 Spring Primer	March 24
	West Virginia	March 11	April 21
Pac-12		First Practice	Spring Game
	Arizona	March 5 Spring Primer	April 14
	Arizona State	March 13	April 21
	California	March 13	None
	Colorado	March 10 Spring Primer	April 14
	Oregon	April 3	April 28
	Oregon State	April 3	April 28
	Stanford	March 27 Spring Primer	April 14
	UCLA	April 3	May 5
	USC	March 6	April 14
	Utah	March 21	April 21
	Washington	April 2	April 28
	Washington State	March 22	April 21
SEC		First Practice	Spring Game
	Alabama	March 9 Spring Primer	April 14
	Arkansas	March 14	April 21
	Auburn	March 21	April 14
	Florida	March 14	April 7
	Georgia	March 20	April 14
	Kentucky	March 21	April 21
	LSU	March 1 Spring Primer	March 31
	Mississippi State	March 21	April 20
	Ole Miss	March 23	April 21
	Missouri	March 6 Spring Primer	April 14
	South Carolina	March 12	April 14
	Tennessee	March 26	April 21
	Texas A&M	March 31	April 28
	Vanderbilt	March 16	April 14
Others		First Practice	Spring Game
	Notre Dame	March 21	April 21
	Boise State	March 12 Spring Primer	April 14
	BYU	March 5	March 30
	Air Force	February 24	None
	Army	February 13	March 9
	Navy	March 19	April 14

Posted by Eye on College Football



Occasionally the Eye on CFB team convenes Voltron-style to answer a pressing question in the world of college football. Today's query:

It's Valentine's Day, so pick someone or something from college football--person, team, conference, whatever. Who should they be sending a valentine to today, and what does that valentine say?

Bryan Fischer: I think the athletic directors at Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Washington and Washington State should be sending a Valentine to Larry Scott this year. The Pac-12 commissioner unveiled his Pac-12 Network studios just yesterday, and that's appropriate considering the media deals he negotiated were the biggest reason those schools were able to off the sweetheart deals that landed their new coaches. Do you think the Bruins or Huskies could have afforded the assistant salaries before that money started flowing? Or that Wazzu was able to land a coach like Mike Leach? I don't think they do.

I'm guessing their valentine says something to the affect of, "Thank$ Larry for everything, hope you'll be our Valentine for several more years."

Tom Fornelli:  I'm going to say TCU and West Virginia owe Missouri and Texas A&M a valentine this year, one with some expensively-licensed cartoon character saying "Thanks for the sloppy seconds!" If not for those two leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, then both TCU and WVU are stuck in the Big East for 2012 at least--a Big East that's without a clear future at the moment, and seems en route to becoming Conference USA version 2.0.

Instead the Frogs and Mountaineers have joined the Big 12, which is in much better shape than the Big East and will provide far more money for both schools in the long run.

Jerry Hinnen: If I'm Mike Slive, I'm sending out a valentine to Dana Holgorsen -- or maybe Gus Malzahn, or Mike Leach, or Todd Monken -- saying "WILL YOU BE MINE?" festooned with as many hearts (and dollar signs) as it takes to convince them to try their hand (again, in Malzahn's case) in the SEC. There's no doubting the SEC's dominance on the defensive side of the ball or its overall array of talent, but the 2011 season also showed a league in dire need of an infusion of offensive ingenuity, preferably (for variety's sake) out of the spread school. Alabama's yawn-inducing strangulation of LSU in the BCS title game is Exhibit A for the conference's current cloud-of-dust tendencies, but the overall statistical picture is even more damning: six different SEC teams finished in the bottom 25 in the FBS in total offense, with zero finishing in the FBS top 25. (Arkansas ranked highest at 29th.) 

Some of that is good defense; an awful lot of it is terrible offense, too. And it may get worse before it gets better--look at the likes of former offensive juggernauts Florida and Auburn, currently undergoing dramatic offensive regime changes after regressing badly in 2011.

Defense may win championships, but offense often wins TV ratings, as the BCS championship Nielsens will tell you. The SEC's current regular season ratings are fine, of course, but Slive is about to go back to the negotiating table to try and keep his TV contract up with the Joneses of the Big Ten and Pac-12, a table to which he'll want to bring every single positive for his league he can gets his hands on. The SEC will be a-OK with or without the Big 12's reputation for high-flying offensive theatrics, but that doesn't mean Slive -- and a league full of fans likely tiring of watching Tennessee and South Carolina combine for 17 points and barely more than 500 yards in nationally televised prime-time -- wouldn't welcome someone who could shake up the conference's burgeoning reputation for Slugfest-with-a-capital-S football. Kevin Sumlin gets first crack, but we're guessing Slive would prefer he had some high-profile help sooner rather than later.

Chip Patterson: If I'm Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, I'm sending roses, candy, banners, and thankful notes to new head coach Urban Meyer.  Even with an ill-timed bowl ban from the NCAA Committee on Infractions, Meyer has cooled much of the heat on Smith after the fallout surrounding Jim Tressel's departure.  Winning cures all, but hiring a two-time national champion to supposedly guide your program out of the darkness will certainly hold the Buckeye fans over until the bowl ban is lifted.  Meyer hit the recruiting trail hard after his hire, pulling in a top-5 recruiting class despite the sanctions from the NCAA.  

If Smith had whiffed on his hire to replace Tressel, he would find himself under further scrutiny with the additional sanctions.  Meyer is exactly the home run hire Ohio State -- and Gene Smith -- needed.  In fact, a valentine might not be enough.  Maybe Smith should get a tattoo. 

What? Too soon? 

Posted by Tom Fornelli

The offseason, that wonderful time of year when college football players find themselves with a whole lot of free time, and decide to spend that free time by acting like college kids. Also known as doing dumb stuff and sometimes getting in trouble for it.

The latest player to find himself in this situation would be Washington State long snapper Zach Koepp. According to The Spokesman-Review, Koepp was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with obstructing a public servant.

What exactly does that mean?

Well, it means police were called to the Pi Kappa Alpha frat house at 12:31 am Sunday morning after a complaint that somebody was throwing rocks at the house. When police showed up on the scene, Koepp was there and fled. Unfortunately for Koepp, he's a long snapper and not a more agile wide receiver. Which could explain why he slipped in the mud and hit his head on a metal grate covering a gas meter.

Though police did say that any injuries he suffered weren't believed to be serious. However, it should be pointed out that Koepp suffered a concussion in Washington State's game against Arizona State last season and missed the last two games of the season because of it.

So whether the injury happened in a comical fashion while evading police or not, it is somewhat concerning when a person with a concussion history hits their head on anything.

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Posted by Bryan Fischer

It didn't take long for Larry Porter to land on his feet. The former Memphis head coach was brought on board Todd Graham's staff at Arizona State, the school announced Friday.

Porter, 39, comes to Tempe after going 3-21 over two years at his alma mater. There was no announced position for him but it is expected that he will coach running backs.

This is Porter's sixth coaching stop and first at a Pac-12 school. He is well-regarded from his five-year stint at LSU, where he was known not only for his on the field coaching job but his prowess on the recruiting trail. He also held the title of assistant head coach during his time in Baton Rouge and sent multiple players to the NFL.

Porter inherits a talented group of running backs, including senior Cameron Marshall, sophomore Deantre Lewis, incoming transfer Marion Grice and five-star freshman D.J. Foster.

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Posted by Jerry Hinnen

Boise State isn't going to return much in the way of experience in 2012. But thanks to a Tuesday ruling from the NCAA, they'll have a little more at the running back position than they would have had otherwise.

Per the Idaho Statesman, senior tailback D.J. Harper has been granted a waiver for a sixth year of eligibility. Harper ran for a career-high 557 yards in 2011, placing him second on the Broncos behind fellow senior Doug Martin. With Martin moving onto the NFL and Harper both eligible and healthy, Harper should finally have his first shot at serving as the Broncos' every-down back. 

Harper looked well on his way towards becoming a major contributor for the Boise offense in 2009, his first junior year, when he ran 44 times for an average of 6.5 yards per-carry over the Broncos' first three games. But a torn ACL suffered in that third game put Harper on ice for the rest of that season, and a second torn ACL in the same knee limited his impact in 2010, when he again appeared in only three games.

Despite the NCAA's occasional stinginess in granting the waivers -- Arizona State wideout T.J. Simpson was denied a sixth year Tuesday after missing all of 2011 with a knee injury -- the Broncos were highly confident in Harper's application following the pair of ACL tears, holding him out of the traditional Senior Day festivities.

Originally a lightly-regarded running back recruit out of Cypress, Texas, Harper has 1,642 career rushing yards and 25 touchdowns.

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Posted by Bryan Fischer

INDIANAPOLIS -- The move toward a BCS plus-one has been gaining support following a commissioners meeting in New Orleans this week and was given a further shot in the arm with the support of NCAA president Mark Emmert on Thursday.

Still, roadblocks remain among the presidents controlling and ultimately the discussion about college football's postseason.

"I think that our position is we like the way the current system works," Oregon State president Ed Ray said. "The Rose Bowl is pretty damn special so we're pretty protective of that. I'm sure Larry (Scott) hasn't gone into considerations that there is an imperative to change. I understand the public feels that way but I don't. I think the most realistic change, if any, is the plus-one because the structure exists."

Representatives from the 11 BCS conferences met in New Orleans following the national title game to begin the process of re-working the system ahead of negotiations for a new contract that will start with the 2014 season. Although the general consensus amongst presidents and athletic directors at the annual NCAA convention is that there is likely a move to a plus-one with the new deal, there are plenty of skeptics of changing a system that, in their eyes, is working fine.

"I'm still not enamored with expanding the number of BCS games," said Nebraska channcellor Harvey Perlman. "I'm not in favor of a playoff, I have yet to hear a good reason why we would want one. I've spent a lot of time over the last several years as to why a playoff is bad. I'd like to hear one why it would be good and what it would accomplish. The only one I ever hear is that it would give us an undisputed national champion."

Arizona State president Michael Crow told CBSSports.com on Wednesday that he is supportive of an 8-team playoff run by the NCAA. While the position has not been formally proposed, it does appear to be on one extreme of the Spectrum where no two people are on the same page.

"I think (a playoff) would undermine the regular season or add games or undermine the bowls," Perlman said. "We don't need it. We have a regular season that is as much of a playoff as anything that could be constructed artificially. Why would you want it? Football isn't basketball."

"if there is a change, I think it will occur incrementally," Ray added. "The next incremental change would then be to make the plus-one structure to where you have two semifinals and a final. Beyond that I don't know but sometimes you get surprised."

There has been talk that the Cotton Bowl, thanks to Jerry Jones' money and the largess of Cowboys Stadium, would be in play as a fifth BCS bowl come 2014. Perlman doesn't believe that will be the case, with a more likely scenario of the BCS evolving into a #1 vs. #2 matchup and the rest of the bowls reverting back to conference tie-ins. That scenario is one that many think Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany would be supportive of.

"I don't think (Delany) is convinced yet," Perlman said of a plus-one. "We're all in conversations and I think we're going to have a teleconference soon. We'll have to see how it goes."

From the sounds of it, there could be a bumpy road to BCS change.