Weekend Watch List: A&M-Nebraska looked good in August
Gentlemen, start your wallets. Weekend Watch List is talking to you, Mr. Fat Cat Cigar-Chomping Booster. You're about to make it rain for two of the most embattled coaches in the country. Saturday's game in Lincoln is already being called The Buyout Bowl, a loser-leave-town match between Texas A&M and Nebraska.
QB Sam Keller hasn't been able to give Nebraska an offensive identity.
It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Bill Callahan and Dennis Franchione. Nebraska's Callahan is on his second athletic director since Monday. Coach Fran has been dragged through the public square of humiliation and is basically coaching for his job.
The game is clearly a case of who wants it more: The millions buried in the fine print of their contracts, of course.
They are not alone. As we begin the second half of the season, at least seven conferences can identify potential short timers this weekend. It's that time of year. Great for speculation, bad for the guys who are being speculated about.
It's not as if Callahan and Franchione haven't won. They just haven't won enough. Both got caught chasing legacies left by former coaches. R.C. Slocum was considered lacking after a 6-6 season in 2002. The same for Frank Solich, who went 9-3 in 2003.
Both those coaches look pretty strong right about now. Through 55 games Franchione is 30-25. Slocum went 34-21 in his first 55. Solich was five games better through 44 games (31-13) than Callahan (26-18).
A&M-Nebraska looked like one of the better matchups of the year in August. Now the agents are lining up on the sideline ready to start talking buyout. A source told WWL this week that Franchione is well down that road, having already opened talks about how to get the best compensation for the remaining five years left on his contract.
Callahan was one step ahead of the posse on Tuesday, stating he had done an "excellent" job. (Huh?) His wardrobe, though, spoke volumes. No red, no Big Red logos anywhere. The guy seemed like he was dressing for the unemployment line.
The guy who hired him, Steve Pederson, was fired on Monday. There was an unconfirmed report that an Omaha liquor store ran out of champagne. Yes, they were partying in Husker Nation like it was 1997. That was Tom Osborne's last season during which he produced a national championship.
That was one small reason the other T.O. was hired as interim AD. These Nebraskans don't mess around. Osborne wasn't hired to oversee the volleyball team's budget. He's there to "evaluate" the football program. That evaluation will last until about Nov. 24, the day after Nebraska's final regular-season game.
What's a coach to do when everything around him hints of a winter with no recruiting to worry about? Win, for starters. In the middle of the tumult, the Aggies (5-2) are locked in a three-way tie for the Big 12 South lead. Sure, they have Texas and Oklahoma to go, but the players seem fiercely loyal to Fran. They sure showed it in that come-from-ahead 35-7 loss at Texas Tech.
A final slap of the Huskers (4-3) awaits them in this lost season. Ten Big 12 teams are on pace for bowl eligibility (six wins or better). The league has tie-ups with eight bowls. Is it possible Nebraska could be left out at 6-6?
More important, would the school want to play in a bowl, a no-count bowl with a coaching search coming up?
Scouting the Nation
WWL is really intrigued which teams will show up in Lexington. Both have issues.
Florida was off last week but spent the last week mourning the loss of walk-on Michael Guilford. The woman who was riding with Giulford was also killed. She reportedly was the girlfriend of cornerback Joe Haden.
Will the Gators come out fired up, distracted, relaxed?
The same goes for Kentucky. Human nature would suggest that the Wildcats can't reach the same emotional pitch that it did for LSU. That said, if Kentucky wins, how do you not vote it at least No. 2?
• That didn't take long did it? LSU is right back in the national championship hunt after South Florida's loss. With a victory the Tigers (No. 4 in the BCS) should move up to at least No. 3. So is Boston College (No. 3) which should move up to No. 2, at least, while sitting on the couch this week.
Don't forget No. 5 Oklahoma (at Iowa State).
Some in Tiger Country are clamoring for more Ryan Perrilloux after the Kentucky loss. Perrilloux is averaging more than 10 yards per pass while giving the Tigers a more Tebow-like running threat.
Matt Flynn is 93rd nationally in pass efficiency. The NCAA only ranks 100 passers.
The Joy of Six (oops, five undefeateds):
• Ohio State (vs. Michigan State). Spartans coach Mark Dantonio left Jim Tressel in 2003 to take over Cincinnati. Four years later he still knows the Buckeyes. "It gives us a feeling of knowledge," Dantonio said. "We know a lot of their players. We know them by name, we have knowledge of the inner workings of the program."
• Kansas (at Colorado). Jayhawks defensive coordinator Bill Young has been around longer than Memorial Stadium. That's saying something since a young John Wooden worked on the construction crew. The nation's No. 2 scoring defense will hold the Jayhawks in it. Watch out for CU's Hugh Charles, who has surpassed 100 yards in the last four games.
• Hawaii, Boston College and Arizona State are idle.
• The lawnmowers no doubt have been stowed this week in South Bend. Two years ago, Charlie Weis allowed the Notre Dame Stadium turf to turn into the South Bend Jungle Experience. It almost worked and was responsible for shredding the knee of USC's Desmond Reed.
Weis' gimmick this year is throwback green jerseys, similar to those worn in 1977 during the 49-19 upset of then-No. 5 USC. ND was on its way to the national championship that year. It would settle for a second victory this season.
• The ND quarterback situation continues to puzzle. Evan Sharpley has backed up Brady Quinn, Demetrius Jones and Jimmy Clausen. Now he gets his shot to start against USC. It might be his only shot.
"Evan Sharpley is the quarterback for USC," Weis said. "That's all we're talking about. How would I know if it's permanent?"
Yeah? Well, here's how messed up it looks. Jones busted his hump all year to get the starting job. He had it for a half before Weis yanked him in the season opener against Georgia Tech. Next thing we know, Jones is transferring to Cincinnati.
Jimmy Clausen has been largely unimpressive (one touchdown, five interceptions) and has to be beaten up after 23 sacks. What is this yo-yo stuff? If I'm Jimmy Clausen and the next ray of light won't shine on Notre Dame until 2009, then I'm looking around. Jimmy Clausen would be a junior in '09, before the Irish can even hope to go bowling, never mind competing for a national championship.
Right now, Notre Dame has no quarterback it can rely on. If Sharpley ends up being the guy, that might push Jimmy Clausen to transfer. If Notre Dame's rebuilding becomes a long-term project, Sharpley might do the same thing.
• Wow, these Trojans are banged up. As of Thursday these major contributors were hurting: Quarterback John David Booty (broken finger), offensive linemen Chilo Rachal (knee) and Sam Baker (hamstring), linebacker Rey Maualuga (hip) and tailback Stafon Johnson (foot).
• And Notre Dame still doesn't have a chance.
• Miami-Florida State has dropped to second-tier status with both teams 1-2 in the ACC.
Twenty years ago, 67 players played in this game who were drafted or signed NFL deals. Just for old times sake Bobby, how about one more Wide Right?
• Darren McFadden's Heisman hopes are on life support. He'll play at Ole Miss after battling injuries all season, but there isn't much buzz. The Hogs are 0-3 in the SEC and only 3-3 overall.
"You'll see more creativity (from the offense)," said Houston Nutt whose team barely missed being shut out last week against Auburn.
• Meanwhile, Chase Daniel's Heisman chances should improve in a shootout game against Texas Tech. Missouri did nothing to disgrace itself last week against Oklahoma. Saturday's little secret is that the Tigers actually have better offensive players than the Red Raiders. Jump on Missouri giving 3 1/2 points and jump on the over at 75 points.
• The top 10 teams in AP's preseason poll have 16 combined losses.
• South Florida losing made it four consecutive weeks a top five team has been beaten. So we've got that covered heading into the weekend.
• The cutoff is at No. 12 Cal in the BCS. No team has come from further down in the standings to reach the championship game. LSU came from No. 12 in 2003. The other 11 still considered "in it" (in ascending order): Virginia Tech, Oregon, West Virginia, Arizona State, Kentucky, South Carolina, Oklahoma, LSU, South Florida, and Ohio State.
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