Another Clausen

Found this at http://michiganzone.blogspot.com/

As most college football fans know, Jimmy Clausen, the top-rated high school quarterback in the country, has already made a verbal committment to Charlie Weis and Notre Dame. Much has been made of fact that Clausen showed up at the press conference to announce his college decision in a limosine.How can a high school kid can afford such things?Well, in an MZone exclusive, we have obtained the shocking photo below showing Clausen taking money from a Notre Dame booster.

Cap clash: TCU vs. Air Force

Coach Woody closes out the FP season at 2:30 on Saturday as his TCU Horned Frogs (9-2) host the Air Force Falcons (4-7) in Fort Worth.

This tilt should set the stage for the FP finale later in the day when Coach Bando's West Virignia Mountaineers take the field. After scaring Woody to death in early October, the Frogs have reeled off six straight wins and are coming off two straight blowouts (combined margin: 94-14). They are enforcing their will on Mountain West opponents and should continue the trend on Saturday.

Air Force has gone decidedly south since terrifying the Vols in September. The Falcons have lost three in a row, including last week's 42-39 collapse against a terrible UNLV team. Air Force can't wait for the season to end, and the only question is whether they've already decided it's over.

TCU comes into the game as a 14-point favorite and should whip the Falcons. If the Frogs combine with the Cards to help Woody close out the season 2-0, all the marbles come down to Bando's last game. Both coaches will be on pins and needles come game time if that turns out to be the case.

Cap clash preview: UConn at Louisville

The season-long FP struggle all boils down to three games this weekend as Coach Bando and Coach Woody each seek to avoid the dreaded hat. Leading up to the action on the field this weekend, Coach Rob will take a look at all three of these critical matchups in the order that they will take place.

Coach Bando (43-16) currently has a half-game lead on Coach Woody (42-16) in the FP standings because he has played one more game. Bando holds both tiebreakers (best record and ranking among #1 teams in Ohio State and best record and ranking among bonus teams in Purdue), so Woody must finish with a better overall record to escape the hated headgear.

Magic numbers: Bando (1) needs either to win his last game or have Woody lose one of his final two games. Woody (3) needs to win his final two games and have Bando lose his last game.

The first matchup to kick off Saturday will be Woody's Louisville Cardinals (10-1) hosting the Connecticut Huskies (4-7) at 11 a.m. on ESPN. UConn is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Cincinnati and has only one once in its last five games, a 46-45 win over Woody's bonus Pitt Panthers that came in double OT.

The Huskies are a rush-heavy team that has been on the losing end of a few blowouts this season. The Cardinals are thinking BCS bowl (if they get a little help from West Virginia, help that Woody hopes they don't receive) and they are currently a 27-point favorite. It's safe to say that we won't learn much about next year's hat bearer from this one as Louisville is likely to coast and help Woody land dead even with Bando at 43-16.

Stay tuned for previews tomorrow and Friday as the drama continues to build.

The wrath of the FP

The FP has wreaked havoc on college football coaches this season. All but one of the following recently fired coaches received at least one loss at the hands of an FP coach's team:

• Alabama -- Fired Mike Shula (GQ, Rob, Bando)
  
• Arizona State -- Fired Dirk Koetter (GQ, Rob)*
  
• Cincinnati -- Mark Dantonio left for Michigan State (Woody and Bando twice, Rob once)
  
• Florida International -- Fired Don Strock (Bando)
  
• Iowa State -- Dan McCarney Resigned (Rob, GQ and Bando)
  
• Miami -- Fired Larry Coker (Woody twice, Rob)
  
• Michigan State -- Fired John L. Smith (GQ, Woody and Bando)
  
• North Carolina -- Fired John Bunting (Rob, Bando and Woody)
  
• North Texas -- Fired Darrell Dickey (Rob)
  

Which coach and team are missing from this list? Chuck Amato and N.C. State, who downed Woody's woeful Florida State Seminoles 24-20 in October. (Ouch.) By the way, did Arizona State fire Dirk Koetter, or did Woody?

Coach Woody's Future

South Florida gave Coach Woody a good tease but with FSU and Notre Dame going down, Woody's future is in clear view. It will take a miracle going into the final weekend of the season for him to avoid the hat.

Gators edge Noles

Coach Rob's Florida Gators just edged Coach Woody's Florida State Seminoles 21-14 following a wild fourth quarter. With the win, Coach Rob joins Coach GQ as hat-free for the 2007 season. With the loss, Coach Bando breathes a sigh of relief while Coach Woody knows that he needs wins in a hurry tonight.

Rant from Rob

Coach Rob will briefly stand on his soapbox today. Don't worry, no politics here. Why do networks announce the player of the game before the game is over? ABC just did that for the Florida-Florida State game, but what if FSU drives down, scores a touchdown and a two-point conversion? Who's the say who the player of the game is if that happens?

This is a moot point today because Florida just downed a punt on FSU's one-yard line, but it still irks me. The answer to my original question is because corporate sponsors want exposure before people stop watching the game, but it's still wrong.

No bull!

The South Florida Bulls have decided to weigh in in the FP this season, just as they did last year. The Bulls knocked off Coach Bando's West Virginia Mountaineers--in Morgantown, no less--by a score of 24-19 in a shocker. The FP standings continue to stay painfully close, and there's no relief in sight.

Dallas Baker...

is still really good. Coach Rob's Florida Gators have a slight lead over Coach Woody's Florida State Seminoles (21-14) in the early fourth quarter.

Tigers tame Hogs, tighten FP standings

Coach Bando's LSU Tigers downed Coach Rob's bonus Arkansas Razorbacks 31-26 after surviving a wild fourth quarter. Bando's victory keeps the race to avoid the dreaded hat extremely tight heading into a day full of games tomorrow. Only the hat knows its future destination at this point, but it's fate may be revealed in the next 24 hours. We'll see...