Coaches poll

December 03, 2007

Drew Champlin

Here’s an AJC story on the coaches poll.

Scroll down and you’ll find a graphic as to how each coach voted.

Larry Blakeney had Hawaii in his top 10. If he and every other coach had followed Dennis Franchione’s model and had Hawaii at 22, they might not be in the BCS because this poll has a lot to do with it.

Personally, I think Hawaii’s not at all a BCS-caliber team, so we’ll just leave it at that. At least last year Boise State beat an Oregon State team with a lot of wins and a win over USC.

Monday links

Drew Champlin

Found out that my Monday material was on the web before I go to bed.

Here’s a column and here’s a gamer.

Well not really a gamer, but the story that has Troy left out of the bowls.

See you guys later in the week. 1,711 hits on the blog today as of 8:30 p.m. more than triples the previous high for a day, so thanks for coming. I’m missing out on about 5-6,000 Marriott points by not going to a bowl, so I feel you guys’ disappointment, just in a slightly different way. 

An end to a long 24 hours

December 02, 2007

Drew Champlin

I think I’ve spent more time on the computer and phone the last 24 hours than I have since I took this job.

Troy isn’t going to a bowl. It’s not ideal but it’s not a fair world. The Trojans should have won Saturday and that’s the bottom line, though there are several teams out there that are going bowling that probably do not deserve it.

I spoke with Larry Blakeney. He was disappointed, obviously. He also said he doesn’t see himself going anywhere else to be a head coach, but is hoping to get more money for his assistants. I wouldn’t worry much about Tony Franklin going anywhere because no one else in the country will give him the freedom that Blakeney gives him to run the offense the way he wants to, recruit the way he wants to and run his camps.

Believe in that duo, because it will take Troy a long way. A few assistants could leave for better offers if they come, because this is a talented staff.

I’ve got a column coming tomorrow and in the middle it says “Troy took a step back.” I believe that to be true. Troy had a chance to become the conference’s dominant team, but with the loss, it’s not that. It’s still a great Sun Belt team, but still has a ways to go to prove it deserves the recognition that people affiliated with the program strive for. I also said the Sun Belt took a step forward with FAU’s win, because it proves the conference has balance at the top.

Don’t worry, though, I did sneak in a jab at UAB.

I talked again with Sun Belt commish Wright Waters. He mentioned Troy’s attendance yesterday as something that should have been better, and I agree. He said the conference is in talks for a second bowl bid and are hoping to work something out.

It’s been a fun 24 hours when I’ve been awake following the situation and I appreciate the blog hits, comments and questions. Monday around lunch time I’m heading to Destin for a couple of nights with my wife, so I won’t have access to a computer. If something breaks relating to Troy, our fine staff at the Eagle will handle it. Last year when I was in Destin, I got the call that Mike Pelton was taking a coaching job at Iowa State.

College athletics is a year-long, wild ride. I hope you’ll continue to follow through basketball, spring practice and baseball seasons.

Some more talk

Drew Champlin

It looks like all the bowl pictures are filling up. I did speak with Sun Belt commish Wright Waters, who at about 6:15 CST said “there was still one more option” for Troy, but wouldn’t tell me what it was. He said they were looking to hear from someone out on the west coast, but I imagine that ship has sailed now. So it looked like he tried to find a place for Troy, but tie-ins dictated otherwise.

I couldn’t figure out what it was, and it looks like all of the spots are filling up. I suppose teams could still drop out, but it looks like an 8-4 team in Troy will be home for the holidays while 20 teams with 7 wins or less will get some extra practice time.

I’ll be trying to get back on the phone with him soon for tomorrow’s stories.

7:23 p.m. - The only thing I can think of is if he convinced the New Mexico people not to take 6-6 Nevada. Don’t know how that works or if it can happen, but I’ve yet to see anyone accept bowl bids to the New Mexico Bowl.

8:04 p.m. - Looks like it’s official, according to this ESPN site. Time to make some more calls.

Just talked to Tim Simmons with the Armed Forces Bowl

Drew Champlin

He’s the media rep for the Armed Forces Bowl.

Before you read any further, he said nothing was finalized, but this is how it is as of 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

He said he talked to the bowl chairman of the Armed Forced Bowl and they feel like they’re going to have enough Pac 10 teams to fill it out, with likely California or UCLA taking that spot.

What it means is they heard Arizona State didn’t get a BCS bowl berth. These are announced at 7 p.m. CST on FOX, but you can be sure they’ve already been selected and committees have been notified, etc.

Again, it isn’t final, but it is what I was told. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s looking more and more like you better hope some other team turns down a bid somewhere.

He’ll let me know if things change, so it’s not over yet, but it’s getting close.

5:43 p.m. - Now it’s official that Arizona State is going to the Holiday Bowl, not a BCS game.

Teams just don’t turn down bowl games anymore because of the money. Should Georgia Tech turn down a trip to the Humanitarian Bowl since it’s looking for a coach and won’t bring 50 fans?

5:52 p.m. - The BCS lineup has been leaked.