Yes, it's still July. It's a great month to catch up on stupid movie watching, read some books, take the kids fishing, or endlessly complain about LSU head coach Les Miles.
Funny thing about Les Miles. We complain when we get nothing but coach-speak from a guy, then we complain and howl like hell when we don't get coach-speak from Les Miles. If that ain't proof there's an off-season, what is?
Is there anyone out there who seriously believes that Pac-10 football is anywhere close to the level of football being played in the SEC? Anyone but Pac-10 supporters? Do you guys believe that Big 12 football is close to the SEC? Year in, year out, the SEC is the best conference in college football and until the Big 12 North radically improves that's how it's going to stay.
I like Les Miles. I thought he was a good coach at Oklahoma State. With Bo Pelini as his defensive coordinator, it's only a matter of time before LSU is in a title game.
Oklahoma had to vacate their wins for 2005. Rather than me talk about it, read this excellent commentary from Crimson and Cream Machine about how the 'punishment' from the NCAA isn't much worse than what Oklahoma had already done to themselves.
Not to be outdone, the guys at USC are disgusted with the idea that Oklahoma's sanctions should apply to them and the Reggie Bush debacle scandal hullabaloo.
Bill Callahan just missed Stewart Mandel's list of the five worst coaches in college football.
Whenever I think about Billy C, I think about Charlie W. Charlie W has a Super Bowl ring. Billy C does not although he got a team to the big game. Billy C's best showing to date has been winning the Big 12 North last season and getting into the Big 12 Championship game - not exactly huge but a step in the right direction. Charlie W's biggest accomplishment has been getting into a BCS bowl game that Notre Dame didn't deserve last season and getting utterly destroyed by LSU, continuing a bowl losing streak that extends back to 1994.
Why is it that Charlie W gets hailed as an offensive genius and Billy C barely misses the list of the five worst coaches in the nation? Notre Dame is set to have a bad season in 2007 and tons of excuses will be made for Charlie W about how he's starting a new quarterback. Nebraska will have a decent season, and if we don't, Billy C will be blamed even though we're starting a new quarterback.
These two coaches are not that far apart and the gap is narrowing year by year. I say this with a certain amount of confidence:
When that gap closes Bill Callahan will last much longer at Nebraska than Charlie Weiss will at Notre Dame.
When the time comes, I expect no retraction from Stewie Mandel. You shouldn't either.