Notre Dame, USC take opposite coaching angles

A month ago when Brian Kelly was introduced as the next football coach at Notre Dame, a sent a clear message out of South Bend: The Fighting Irish want a proven winner running their program.

Kelly has won plenty. The former Grand Valley State head coach won two national championships at the Division I-AA level, then turned Central Michigan and Cincinnati into elite programs in their respective conferences.

Four weeks after Kelly took the job as head man at Notre Dame, USC lost theirs. Pete Carroll, the man who won two national championships and seven consecutive Pac-10 titles, decided that like Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles, his work there was done. Carroll dashed from Hollywood to Seattle and the NFL’s Seahawks over the weekend, leaving a gaping hole at the top of one of the nation’s most visible programs.

As the Trojans scrambled to find Carroll’s replacement, names were peppered around about who they would go after. Nowhere in the mainstream media was Lane Kiffin’s name even mentioned. Then all of a sudden, Kiffin, 33, spurned an entire state when he accepted the USC job just one year after being hired at Tennessee.

Notre Dame zigged. USC zagged.

In Kiffin, the Trojans are going with the former assistant, young fireball route with their coaching hire. Kiffin’s year at Tennessee was his first as a college head coach. His name was made famous more by his father, Monte, who was a hall-of-fame caliber defensive coordinator for years in the NFL. Lane spent six seasons on coach Carroll’s staff, the last two of which as an offensive coordinator.

Kiffin was also the recruiting coordinator before he left USC, and was responsible for bringing in top-five recruiting classes every season. The Trojans clearly felt that in hiring Kiffin to be the head guy, they were getting a coach who could continue the unmatched recruiting success at USC. What he lacks in experience, he makes up for in salesman-like poise.

After a decade that saw Notre Dame beat USC exactly two times (never since 2001), the Irish suffered numerous embarrassing losses at the hands of the Trojans. While USC was on cruise control as an established giant with a successful head coach, Notre Dame fishtailed under coaches who had never proven they could succeed at that level as a head coach.

Bob Davie was a hot assistant under Lou Holtz, Tyrone Willingham was an up-and-coming head coach from Stanford, and Charlie Weis was an offensive genius from the NFL but had never been a head coach before anywhere. Finally, the administration got it right in hiring a coach who has won at every level so far as a head coach.

Now USC goes another direction with its coaching decision. Kiffin brings little experience but a lot of “street cred” to a job where the expectations are to bring home national championship trophies, and lots of them. Kiffin’s familiarity with the USC program and his knack for bringing in future superstars make him a good bet to win plenty of football games in Los Angeles.

The problem is nobody knows just how good Kiffin can be; he is not a sure thing. Kelly is as close to a sure thing as Notre Dame could have ever dreamed of landing. The microscope is on these two tradition-rich cross-country rivals, because they are now as interconnected as ever.

For the coming years, it will be with great interest that the landscape of college football watches the evolution of Notre Dame and USC. Who made the right hire, Jack Swarbrick or Mike Garrett? Swarbrick hired Kelly while Garrett brought in Kiffin. Both athletic directors are about to be put to the ultimate test of who made the bigger coup.

With the two teams standing in opposite ends of this generation’s college football hierarchy, both schools have opened new chapters for their football program. Where the two programs will go from here is anybody’s guess, but it’s clear the approaches the schools are taking are as opposite as fire and ice.

This article can also be found at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/326009-notre-dame-and-usc-take-opposite-coaching-approaches

Virginia Tech trounces Miami 81-66

Coming off only its second loss of the season, the Virginia Tech basketball team wasted no time in disposing of the Miami Hurricanes Wednesday night in Blacksburg.

Thanks to a 50-23 lead at halftime, the Hokies (13-2, 1-1) cruised past Miami in Cassell Colisieum, winning by a score of 81-66.

Tech made seven three-pointers in the first half, including three from Terrell Bell. The Hokies shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half; the first time Miami (15-2, 1-2) had allowed a team to shoot that well in a half since the Hokies shot 61.5 percent in Miami last season.

The early offensive onslaught was somewhat surprising, considering the Hurricanes entered the game with the ACC’s best scoring defense, allowing an average of 58 points per game.

“Miami is a really good basketball team,” Tech coach Seth Greenberg said, “they are going to beat a lot of teams in the ACC.”

As well as the Hokies shot the ball from the floor, Miami shot that poorly. The Hurricanes were 7-of-26 from the field in the first half.

Miami started the game defensively in a 2-3 zone, against which Tech would take a 20-5 lead before coach Frank Haith switched to a man defense.

“Tonight, our defense let us down,” Haith said.

As easy as the Hokies made the game look in the first 20 minutes, Miami gave Tech all it could handle to close the deal. Trailing 62-34 with 14:03 to play, the Hurricanes went on a 15-2 run to come within 15 points with eight minutes to play, their smallest deficit since the 10:48 mark of the first half.

“It’s human nature to get a little passive (with such a big lead),” Greenberg said, “it was probably my fault.”

Following a media timeout with 7:38 remaining, the Hokies inbounded the ball from behind their own basket. Advancing the ball quickly up the floor, Jeff Allen caught a pass just below the foul line and, without hesitation, crafted a perfectly placed behind-the-back pass to an open J.T. Thompson, who finished the play with a two-handed dunk.

“I told the guys in the huddle (during the timeout) to attack and be confident. I didn’t draw up the behind the back pass though,” Greenberg said, hinting at a grin.

After that play, which brought the Tech faithful to their feet again, Miami never came within less than 14 points of the lead.

For the first time in over a month, the Hokies played in front of a nearly packed home crowd. The energy created by the electric crowd aided the Hokies in shutting down a Miami team that entered the game ranked 72^nd in the country according to realtimerpi.com.

Malcolm Delaney lit up the Miami defense for 28 points. It was the eighth time this season he has topped 20 points in a game.

The Hokies shooting percentage dropped to 29.2 percent in the second half, and they failed to make another three-point shot.

It was the second straight game where Tech struggled to make shots in the second half. On Sunday, the Hokies surrendered a 38-34 halftime lead to 13^th-ranked North Carolina on the road, losing 78-64.

The 27-point lead at the break over a conference foe was the largest in the Hokies six seasons as a member of the ACC.

Miami freshman guard Durand Scott finished the game with eight points and two assists. Scott entered the game leading all ACC freshmen with 4.4 assists per game. He made several plays in the second half that the crowd, and Greenberg, argued that he committed a traveling violation.

Instead of contemplating the situation with the officials, he turned to an unusual source for advice. His wife, unable to attend the game due to illness, gave her husband a troll doll to keep in his pocket during the game.

After a particularly questionable call in the coach’s eyes, he took the troll out of his pocket. He even named the purple-haired doll.

“I asked ‘Mike’ if he could tell me why there was no foul,” Greenberg said.

While the three-inch tall cartoon figure may not be able to help Greenberg get more calls, maybe he has found a new good luck charm?

“It’s a little big for my pocket,” he said.

Why Lane Kiffin was USC's best choice

Lane Kiffin registered a perfect 10.0 on college football’s Richter scale Tuesday night when he accepted the head coaching job at USC.

The move comes less than two weeks after he completed his first season as the head coach at the University of Tennessee. During his only year in Knoxville, the Volunteers went 7-6, ending with a 37-14 loss to Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

There are so many different ways to dissect and analyze this stunning news that it will be hard to cover it all in one fell swoop.

When the news first broke on Friday night that Pete Carroll had agreed in principle to leave USC for the Seattle Seahawks, my mind immediately jumped to Kiffin as the natural replacement. It made more sense than anyone else, I thought.

Just like Carroll, Kiffin is the cocky, smooth-talking bottle of energy and enthusiasm that is required to be the Trojans’ head coach. They both are dynamite recruiters (Kiffin served as recruiting coordinator under Carroll at USC), making signing five-star recruits seem easier than inviting freshman girls to a frat party.

Kffin’s first full-time assistant coaching job was the tight end coach under Carroll in 2001. For the first six years of his career, he learned the tricks of the trade in the midst of the longest-running dynasty the sport has seen in decades.

Coaching college football and coaching at USC are two entirely different animals. Nowhere else can players go and party with B-list celebrities on a weekly basis. There is not another school in the country where Snoop Dogg makes routine appearances on your practice field.

Kiffin learned how to coach at USC, not anywhere else. Even when he took the job at Tennessee last December, it was clear he was taking a Carrollesque approach to the job. It worked in the short term as the Vols’ landed a consensus top-five recruiting class two months after he was hired.

That approach injected vigor into a program that was quickly losing its luster. In hindsight, it is now easy to see that Kiffin clearly had his eye in other places. Of course he did. To say that Los Angeles and Knoxville have anything in common is like saying William Chung is this generation’s Elvis.

He knew what he was doing. While he may not have expected to be in Hollywood so quickly, Tennessee was not a long-term solution for Kiffin. He was lucky to even be offered the Volunteers job in the first place at age 33 and with only a 5-15 record with the Oakland Raiders to claim as head coaching experience. He didn’t pick Tennessee; instead it fell into his lap.

And for everyone who calls this move Bobby Petrino-esque, think a little deeper. Petrino was at a second or third-tier school (Louisville) when he entertained an offer by a first-tier school (Auburn), although he was much too underhanded during the process. He then took an NFL job in Atlanta, and quickly realized it was not the place for him, when he left in the wee hours of the night to head to back to the college game at Arkansas.

The Petrino Way is widely known as one that moves from job to job all too frequently, just looking for the next big splash rather than establishing a solid program. Like Petrino, Kiffin left the NFL with a sour taste in his mouth and found a prime job in the SEC.

Unlike Petrino, Kiffin just landed the job of a lifetime. In other words, do not expect Kiffin to find a job any better suited for him any time soon. He’s not a vagabond; he is simply a guy who ingeniously crafted a career path that put him on the fast track to his dream.

If Kiffin had taken an assistant job with an NFL team, or even a big-time FBS program, it’s extremely unlikely he would be on his way to LA Wednesday night. The 2009 season served as a yearlong interview for the controversial young coach.

It’s a funny thing about controversy and coach Kiffin. The pair is never too distant. After challenging Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier on the recruiting trail in unprecedented and immoral fashion, several minor NCAA violations have been reported under Kiffin’s watch.

This leads to the biggest question surrounding this hire. Carroll left USC in a state of uncertainty and flux. Reggie Bush’s ongoing lawsuit is cause for concern for the Trojan program, which seems to be on the verge of NCAA sanctions. They are also in the midst of dealing with legal issues surrounding Joe McKnight, the running back whom last week declared for the NFL draft.

Reports say the McKnight situation won’t lead to any penalties from the NCAA, but the Bush issue could wreck the program for a significant amount of time. Postseason bans are possible while unlikely; the biggest hit will come in loss of scholarships.

Kiffin’s track record as a head coach clearly shows he is susceptible to run-ins with the NCAA. Looking back now, Bush was in fact recruited under Kiffin’s watch, and what’s to say he did not play a role in the cash benefit scandal involving the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner? At the very least, it’s not a stretch to assume he could have turned a blind eye to the situation.

Kiffin clearly values winning at all costs. He is willing to bend the rules enough to keep his team safe from punishment, while bringing in blue-chippers by the bushel.

It looks like he will be treading in deep water from the moment he sets foot in Heritage Hall on campus. The rumors are the seemingly inevitable sanctions could be laid down very soon, and it will be Kiffin’s mess to sort out.

If he is able to soldier through the era of probation, this will be a match made in Heaven.

He is assembling an all-star coaching staff already. He will bring his father Monte, one of the most innovative defensive minds in the history of the sport, to the staff from Tennessee. Also accompanying him from Knoxville will be Ed Orgeron, who coached the offensive line at USC in the early 2000s and is one of the most highly regarded recruiters in college football.

The biggest coup to Kiffin’s staff could be Norm Chow, also a one-time Trojans assistant. Kiffin actually replaced Chow as offensive coordinator in 2005 at USC when Chow left to take the same post with the Tennessee Titans. He is now back at cross-town rival UCLA, but ESPN’s Shelley Smith reports USC is working on a deal to bring him back to run the Trojans’ offense once again.

Chow has mentored some of the finest quarterbacks the college game has ever seen. He oversaw the Heisman-winning seasons from Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, as well as Ty Detmer at BYU. His reputation as the Yoda of college quarterbacks is infamous, and Kiffin is smart in bringing him back to Dagobah, and giving him Luke Sywalker, er…Matt Barkley as his first pupil.

Barkley was one of the most decorated prep quarterbacks since John Elway, and came to USC in 2009 with sky-high expectations. If he can be taken under Chow’s wing for the next two, maybe three years, there’s your 2012 or 2013 first overall draft pick.

Barkley is the epicenter of what can help Kiffin save USC. Assuming the Trojans evade any postseason ban, Barkley can help lead a reeling program back to the top of the Pac-10, salvaging the program’s reputation as one the best in the country. If he can win one Pac-10 championship before leaving for the NFL, it should be enough to let Kiffin do the rest of the work, as the sanctions would soon be lifted.

For reason to believe that the right coach can succeed soon after being taken off NCAA probation, go take a look at that shiny new crystal football in Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban inherited a program that had been riddled with trouble and had just been freed from the NCAA’s grasp.

In three seasons, Saban restored the Tide and all its glory with the school’s 13^th national championship. Saban was the right fit in Alabama (though he could probably win a load of games at Alabama-Birmingham), and Kiffin seems to fit the USC mold the same way.

Given the circumstances, USC made the best move they could in the long run. By hiring a Carroll disciple, one who clearly was willing to undergo intense criticism in order to take the job, the Trojans retain continuity to a program that really only knows a certain way of life.

Kiffin knows that way of life. It’s by rocking the world at any given time.

Snyder needs specific to-do list to turn ‘Skins around

To all the Redskins fans in the world, I know what you were thinking last weekend. As you watched the Wild Card Playoffs unfold, all you wanted was to be a part of it.

Dan Snyder was thinking the same thing. The Redskins owner is widely known as one of the biggest reasons the team has not made the playoffs very often during his tenure. It is not for a lack of trying, though. Snyder simply has made several failed attempts at building a dominant franchise.

And that’s the problem: he’s too impatient. Building a Super Bowl-caliber team takes more than one season. Several pieces have to come together to craft that perfect mold that leads to a winning atmosphere.

His first mistake was hiring Mike Shanahan. He brought in the former Super Bowl-winning coach for a hefty price, $35 million over five years. That’s championship money. Unfortunately, the Redskins are not a championship team right now.

A smarter idea would have been to bring in a veteran coach at a cheaper cost for fewer years. Someone like Marty Schottenheimer, who coached in Washington before, or Herm Edwards, would have been great coaches to run a disciplined program while the franchise rebuilds.

Those coaches would have been on the three-year plan at most, but would have been under less pressure to win immediately. With Shanahan, the expectations are as unrealistic as ever in Washington, and that’s saying something.

The first thing Washington needs to do in the offseason is retain Jason Campbell. The much-maligned quarterback has thrived in catastrophic conditions for an NFL quarterback. Playing for his fifth offensive coordinator in six seasons, Campbell finished just above the middle of the pack in passing efficiency, yards, and completion percentage.

He also dealt with an offensive line decimated by injuries. Stephon Heyer, Mike Williams, and Chris Samuels made up a MASH unit at tackle during the season, making life tough on Campbell.

He also was one of the most affected victims of the turmoil with coach Jim Zorn’s relationship with the franchise. After he was stripped of play-calling duties in week two, the Redskins season was virtually written off as a failed one, leaving Campbell in a no-win situation as a quarterback with an expiring contract.

If a younger, healthier line is acquired this off-season, Campbell can provide everything the Redskins need from the quarterback position at this time.

The rumors that the front office is enamored with Sam Bradford could be dynamite for the franchise. The former Oklahoma quarterback is coming off a serious shoulder injury for one, and is a big risk for any team that is willing to take him in the early first round. Washington would be setting its franchise back at least two years if they took Bradford at quarterback, or any other player at that position in the first round.

If they want to develop a young player to eventually replace Campbell, Colt McCoy could still be available in the second round. Sean Canfield from Oregon State or Max Hall from BYU would be great third-round pickups.

The offensive line is the biggest concern, and signing a couple young but experienced tackles would be the best thing for the team. Donald Penn is an unrestricted free agent from Tampa Bay. He is 26 years old and has been starting at left tackle for three years. He would come at a reasonable cost and could provide stability at that position for the next five years at least.

Logan Mankins of the New England Patriots has been rumored to be too pricey to stay in town. He would have to be the biggest coup of the off-season for Washington, and would immediately be locked in as the right guard for years to come. However, if the price is too high, Snyder needs to keep his wallet shut and look elsewhere.

In the draft, the fourth pick could be used to pick up an offensive or defensive tackle. Cornelius Griffin is 33, and while still effective, a player like Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma could come in and be a difference maker at that position.

Another option would be Eric Berry at safety; though it is highly unlikely he’ll be around at the fourth spot. A defensive back extraordinaire in the Ed Reed mold, he is as close to a surefire superstar as there is in this draft.

Clinton Portis needs to be shipped out of town as well. Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright have been strong backups and have been more effective as tandem when Portis is out than what he does alone when healthy. The problem is the very openly close relationship he has with Snyder, which would make it seem unlikely the owner would let him go.

If he did find a suitor for Portis via trade, it would not only help the offense take a step forward, but it would show to Redskin fans that Snyder is doing whatever it takes to build a respected successful football team.

Teams that could use Portis include the Seahawks, who own the sixth pick and fourteenth pick in the draft. Washington could try to package the fourth pick plus Portis for one of those two selections (preferably the sixth, of course) and a fourth-round selection. That would clear some money, as well as give Washington another choice at young player to help rebuild the franchise with.

If it becomes apparent that Berry would still be available at the fourth pick, all bets should be off on any deals being made to ship that selection, because passing up Berry would be an immortal sin.

There is not as much wrong with the Redskins as it may appear, personnel-wise at least. The biggest problem with the franchise is to adjust its mentality and quite simply just be patient.

You might have to bind Snyder down to his cushy seat in the FedEx Field luxury suite to make that happen, though.

College Football 2010 Top 10 – earliest look

There is no time like the second week of January to begin looking ahead to the next college football season. The memory of Alabama's victory over Texas in an unusually thrilling national championship game is still fresh in everyone's minds, but that is no reason to start taking a look at who could lift the trophy a year from now.

1. Alabama

Virtually the entire offense returns for the Crimson Tide, including Heisman-winning running back Mark Ingram.

Greg McElroy had his ups and downs in his first season as the starting quarterback, but he should be more consistent as a senior.

Trent Richardson will spell Ingram at tailback, and it’s not too crazy to say he may be more talented than Ingram. In fact, Ingram himself has said before that Richardson has more natural ability.

Julio Jones figures to have his best season ever with such a loaded backfield, which will force opposing defenses to play a lot of man coverage while loading the box to stop the run. He is easily one of the early favorites for the 2010 Fred Biletnikoff award.

On defense, many pieces will need to be replaced, including Terrance Cody, Javier Arenas, and Rolando McClain. D’onta Hightower figures to replace McClain at linebacker; McClain is probably the biggest loss from this year’s national championship team.

A tough departure for Alabama will be kicker Leigh Tiffin, the program’s all-time leading scorer.

As long as there is experience on offense and Nick Saban on the sidelines, any team with that situation is in great shape.

2. Ohio State

Terrelle Pryor finally validated himself with a two touchdown, 266-yard performance in the Buckeyes’ Rose Bowl victory over Oregon. After all of the criticism that, fair or not, came his way in his first two seasons in Columbus, Pryor put out most of that fire with the stellar game in Pasadena.

Brandon Saine and Daniel Herron, who rushed for 739 and 600 yards, respectively in 2009 both return next season, giving Ohio State one of the most feared backfields in the country. Inexperience plagued that unit this season, but next year it will turn into the team’s strongest link.

The Buckeyes return six starters on defense, including Cameron Heyward at defensive end. He will be the star of that side of the ball in 2010.

3. Oregon

Ducks’ coach Chip Kelly is quickly becoming one of the most innovative offensive minds in the game. His Oregon team broke through this season with the first Pac-10 championship in eight years by a team not named USC. He returns rising sophomore phenom LaMichael James at running back, and thick-skinned Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback.

Oregon suffered a disappointing loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, but leave it to Kelly to let that defeat serve as the driving force behind his team’s off-season preparation for 2010.

4. Boise State

Poor Kyle Wilson. The Broncos’ star cornerback in 2009 will be the only starter from this past year’s team not to do it again in 2010. Every other starter is back, including rising junior quarterback Kellen Moore, who finished second in the nation in passing efficiency behind only Tim Tebow.

Boise State faces Oregon State and Virginia Tech in the first month of the season, giving it all the opportunity it needs to prove to the country that it belongs in the national championship game once and for all should they go unbeaten.

5. Nebraska

This may surprise some folks, but make no mistake about it: Nebraska is back. Starting quarterback Zac Lee returns, continuing the trend set by the first four teams in this list. After nearly being benched during a midseason cold streak, Lee bounced back to finish the year strong in 2009.

A 33-0 drubbing of Pac-10 runner-up Arizona in the Holiday Bowl was proof enough that Nebraska was a force to be reckoned with. The Huskers were literally seconds away from beating two top-10 teams in 2009. They lost to Virginia Tech on the road in the final minute 16-15, then allowed a last-second field goal by Texas to lose 13-12 in the Big 12 Championship Game.

They lose all-world defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who is likely to be the first player taken in April’s NFL Draft. Jared Crick will fill his shoes. Crick is a rising junior who has high expectations within the Husker community. While nobody can fill the gargantuan shoes of Suh, Crick could eventually help the memory of Suh fade if he lives up to his potential.

6. Virginia Tech

The Hokies return every skill player on offense, and they also will receive the services of running back Darren Evans, who in 2008 set the school record for rushing yards in a season by a freshman. He suffered a torn ACL in fall practice, though, setting up Ryan Williams to shatter record after record, including the mark set by Evans.

Tyrod Taylor has come a long way from the freshman scrambler whose confidence throwing the ball was comparable to the high school science fair champion asking the prom queen for a date. In 2009 he made great strides with his patience in the pocket, as well as his accuracy, and he should have his best year yet in 2010.

The defense replaces seven players with starting experience, but leave it to Bud Foster, one of the most well respected coordinators in America, to have his bunch ready to go come September.

7. LSU

The Tigers better live up to this projection, or there will be Bedlam in Baton Rouge. Ironically, Bedlam is the nickname given to the rivalry game at head coach Les Miles’ former school, Oklahoma State. Since arriving at LSU, Miles has won a national championship, but lost nine games in the following two seasons.

Jordan Jefferson must improve at quarterback; he was much too error-prone and never seemed to have command of the team like a starting quarterback should. That is a problem that can be solved with off-season development, but how committed Jefferson is to improving is anyone’s guess.

Russell Sheppard was a highly touted athlete in the Percy Harvin mold, but never saw significant action in 2009. The coaching staff said he was having trouble adjusting to the speed of the game mentally, and he was not ready to handle the schemes the Tigers implored. Scary note for the rest of the SEC: the Virginia Tech staff said the exact same thing about Ryan Williams during his redshirt year in 2008. You see how that turned out.

8. TCU

Gary Patterson has developed a mini-dynasty in Fort Worth, mostly because of great defense. Next year, however, it will be his experienced offense that will be his strongest unit. Andy Dalton will be a senior at quarterback, and for most of 2009, he was everything the Horned Frogs needed him to be: a leader and an efficient passer. Next season, his role will take a big leap, as he will be called upon to make more plays.

The defense will be solid, despite losing end Jerry Hughes, arguably the best player to come through the program since LaDanian Tomlinson. Patterson always has a respectable unit on the field, and 2010 will be no different. It could be scary to think how good they could be given the experience returning on offense.

9. North Carolina

Sleeper Alert: North Carolina may have the best defense on paper coming into next season. Quann Sturdivant, Robert Quinn, Marvin Austin, Kendrick Burney and Deunta Williams are all back for another season to play for what was already the best defense in the ACC in 2009.

They allowed an average of 15.5 points per game last season, and with most of the players returning, they should shut down most of the teams in a conference that does not lack for meek offensive attacks.

T.J. Yates will be in his fourth season as the starting quarterback after a rough 2009. He showed promise during his sophomore season before being lost to injury, then this past season he threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (14).

With Greg Little back at receiver and Ryan Houston back at running back, he will have plenty of help and set up for a surprisingly strong farewell campaign in Chapel Hill.

10. Texas

Garrett Gilbert’s performance in the second half of the BCS National Championship Game told everyone all they needed to know about the fate of the Longhorns’ program. He shredded the nation’s best defense in Alabama for back-to-back touchdowns, nearly leading one of the most memorable comebacks in college football history.

Although Texas would have traded nothing to have had Colt McCoy healthy for the game and taken home the national title, the experience Gilbert gained from that game was invaluable.

The running game should be a strong point next season in offensive coordinator Greg Davis’ zone-read attack, and with Gilbert they will have the best pure passer the Longhorns may have ever seen. Colt McCoy was an accurate short to mid-level passer, but Gilbert’s arm is twice as strong and is a much more polished quarterback at the same stages in their careers.

Beamerball or Fosterball? Hokies' identity slowly changing

In the 1990s, Virginia Tech established a reputation on the football field for its unmatched success with special teams. Blocked kicks, punts, and touchdown returns became the trademark of the program, and soon became known as “Beamerball”, after its head coach Frank Beamer, who oversees the special teams himself.

During the 90’s, Tech averaged more than six blocked kicks per season, easily the best in the country.

Since then, the block party has become more of a casual gathering. From 2003 until 2005, the Hokies blocked only 11 kicks, half of the season average from the previous decade.

In 2009, the Hokies came up with a single blocked kick, when Jacob Sykes blocked Matt Bosher’s punt against Miami, leading to Matt Reidy’s recovery in the end zone for a touchdown.

It was well publicized for the longest time about the Hokies dedication to special teams, more specifically coach Beamer’s contributions to the success.

However, a few changes in recent years have led to the Beamerball demise.

First of all, virtually every Tech opponent began developing unique schemes in their alignment to confuse the Hokies.

In a 2002 game against Temple, the Owls spread all ten men besides the punter from one sideline to the other, forcing the Tech defense to spread their men out as well. That was one of the first games in which the Hokies’ opponent clearly made an effort to not succumb to the Tech trademark.

Since that point, many other formations and adaptations to the typical special teams strategies have kept the Hokies from blocking so many kicks.

Another reason the blocks are fewer and farther between now is coach Beamer isn’t the only man paying special attention to that area of the game, no pun intended. Many head coaches, including Urban Meyer at Florida, take care of the special teams themselves, or if they don’t they hire a very strong special teams coordinator to do the job.

Before this shift in emphasis to the kicking game, Beamer was one of the few guys on the block (man, I’m getting carried away with the play on words here) that spent a significant amount of time practicing special teams. He’s simply not on his own anymore.

The other part of the Hokies’ games that fell under the “Beamerball” classification was the team’s knack for opportunistic defensive play. Forced fumbles and interceptions are the mark of a great football team, but no team scored as many points on defense as the Hokies did during the 90’s, and that tradition continues today.

For those of you still following along, that means that the special teams, coached by Beamer, has seen a dip in productivity in recent years, while the defense, coached by Bud Foster, remains on top of its game.

Maybe it’s time to shed the Beamerball image and adopt Fosterball instead.

Let’s face it; the Hokies won back-to-back ACC championships in 2007 and 2008 thanks to a defense that was ranked in the top five nationally. Neither year was the offense very productive, ranking in the bottom 30 in total yards both seasons.

2009 saw a spike in offensive productivity, and a slight statistical dip from the defense, thanks in large part to an inexperienced front seven. Despite the early season struggles from Foster’s unit, they responded in the final five games of the season to allow exactly zero points in the second half of all those games.

Foster has been sought after by other programs year after year. Two years ago, West Virginia courted Foster for its head-coaching job. In 2008 it was Clemson doing the same thing. Just last month, Georgia head coach Mark Richt offered Foster the defensive coordinator job with his program.

In each instance, Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver tossed a sizable raise Foster’s way to keep him in town. This year, he signed Foster to a five-year deal worth over $2 million, making him one of highest paid at his post in the country.

The one item that stands above all in the Tech program is the lunch pail, a Foster establishment representing the hard work that goes into every practice, workout, and game for his defense.

It has come to be the adornment of Hokie Nation, and it will forever remain a symbol of what the program stands for.

How much clearer could it be that Foster has become the heart and soul of this program?

If he wanted to leave for a head-coaching gig, he would have done it by now.

Beamer has told me before that he will stick around as the Hokies’ coach until “the time is right,” but logical thinking says that won’t be too awfully long. Foster, 50, seems primed to hold tight in Blacksburg for another five years or so before taking over for Beamer.

The defense in 2010 will undergo a major overhaul; replacing seven players with starting experience will be no small task. But anyone who’s been around the Tech program, namely Foster, knows he will stop at nothing to have the lunch pail tradition upheld with honor.

There is not a Hokie fan on the planet that has any doubt in Foster, and that’s the mark of a program linchpin.

Rodgers' patience paying off

Packers at Cardinals, Sunday, 4:00 p.m., FOX

If you’re a Packers fan, you know the story by now. In the 2005 NFL Draft, Aaron Rodgers waited for over four hours backstage before being selected by Green Bay with the 24^th pick.

It was a tumultuous start to a career that made Rodgers the heir apparent to a living legend. The moniker “Brett Favre’s successor” became inescapable for the next three seasons as Rodgers became the highest paid backup quarterback in the NFL.

In 2007, his third season in the league, Rodgers had his first encounter with the spotlight, when Favre was injured in the first quarter of a week 13 Thursday night game in Dallas.

Playing for the right to stay atop the NFC standings, Rodgers’ play was remarkable. Despite losing to the Cowboys 37-27, the Packers’ second-string quarterback threw for 201 yards and a touchdown, without an interception.

It was the kind of performance that rose more than a few eyebrows within the Packers’ organization. There was no longer any question of whether Rodgers could be a starting quarterback once Favre finally departed.

So what did the Packers do? After coming within seconds of an NFC Championship, which was lost after a costly Favre interception, he finally decided to retire. The Packers forced his hand, though, making him come to a decision much earlier than the typically undecided Favre would have liked.

It was clear that Green Bay was ready to open the Aaron Rodgers chapter of the franchise, and they were going to stop at nothing to make that happen.

In his first season with the keys to the offense all to himself, Rodgers lived up to most expectations. He was sixth in the league in passing efficiency and completed 63.6 percent of his passes. His 28 touchdown passes were fourth most in the NFL.

But that is not why Packers’ brass left the fate of the team in his hands, though. They expected Rodgers to win games, and he did not do a whole lot of that. A year removed from that NFC Championship appearance, the Packers finished 6-10.

Rodgers play in and of itself was better than expected, and quite frankly it was a defense that couldn’t keep teams out of the end zone enough that lost many of those ten games. Still, with success comes the glory, and with failure comes the blame for NFL quarterbacks, and Rodgers was feeling the heat.

In the offseason, management brought in respected defensive coordinator Dom Capers to fix the team’s woes and implore a 3-4 defense.

They also drafted B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews, two of the best defensive players available in the 2009 draft. It was clear that the Packers were committed to bringing the defense up to speed with Rodgers and the offense.

This season started out very ho-hum, going 4-4 in the first eight games. The offense was averaging 26.8 points per game, while the defense was allowing 21.5. The switch to the 3-4 defense was a work in progress, and the adjustment period was long.

The Packers figured it out finally, and proceeded to win seven of their final eight games. During that stretch, Rodgers threw for over 300 yards three times, and the defense allowed only 15.6 points per game.

With the strong finish down the stretch, Rodgers finally vindicated himself and evaded the Wisconsin-sized shadow Brett Favre had cast over his career.

He finished the season with 4,434 yards, 30 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. His numbers were good enough to be the fourth highest rated passes in 2009, and earned him his first Pro Bowl selection.

That’s all well and good, but Brett Favre set a standard on this team that includes more than Pro Bowl berths. Super Bowls are the standard against which all success is measured in Green Bay. It’s been a long five years before Rodgers could even taste the playoffs as a starter.

He’s used to waiting though.

Alabama wins 13th championship in unruly fashion

It has been almost nine years, and Greg McElroy still has not lost a football game. The Alabama quarterback led his team to the 2010 BCS national championship, beating the Texas Longhorns 37-21 Thursday night, and he did it the hard way.

McElroy was sacked five times against the Longhorns while completing only 6-of-11 passes.

Though it was a tough night for the McElroy in the passing game, he left the dirty work up to his running game. Powered by a 116-yard, two-touchdown performance from Mark Ingram, Alabama dominated the Texas on the ground for 205 total rushing yards.

As far as normality goes, don’t look to this game for a good example of such. On the game’s first possession, Alabama faked a punt from its own 20-yard line. Punter P.J. Fitzgerald lofted an underthrown pass towards an open receiver, and Blake Gideon intercepted it at the Alabama 37-yard line.

It was a bit of ironic redemption for Gideon, whose dropped interception in the Longhorns’ loss to Texas Tech in 2008 eventually cost them a chance to play in last year’s title game.

Fans barely had a chance to discuss one of the most questionable play calls in BCS history before the biggest play of the night would take place. Colt McCoy kept the ball on an option play, but was stopped for no gain. At the end of the play, McCoy took a hit to the right shoulder from Tide defensive linemen Marcell Dareus.

McCoy, who has been the face of Texas football for the last four seasons, left the field in apparent pain. In one of the most unceremonious ends to a star quarterback’s career ever, McCoy would never return to the game.

In came Garrett Gilbert, a true freshman who was ranked the second-best quarterback recruit in the country in 2009. Despite all of the high regard, he had attempted just 26 passes all season.

How’s this for a welcome-to-college-football moment? Gilbert took over the reigns for a living legend in Texas lore, not to mention facing the task of beating the nation’s top-ranked defense in the national championship game.

Alabama seized its golden opportunity. With the Texas offense flustering, the Tide grabbed a 17-6 lead with less than a minute to play in the second quarter. Texas faced a second down with half a minute remaining, when Mack Brown outcoached Saban in a bad way, topping the questionable fake punt call with a risky shovel pass.

Gilbert’s shovel bounced off of several players in a cluttered play, when Dareus eventually grabbed the ball in midair and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown. All of a sudden, a 17-6 deficit that still seemed to have a breath of hope turned into a 24-6 nightmare. The rout was on.

At least that’s what the Tide seemed to believe. In an uninspired third quarter for the Tide, Gilbert slowly gained the confidence of his coaches and of himself, leading a touchdown drive late in the quarter to draw the ‘Horns within 11 points.

It’s never easy for a team that feels comfortable with a sizable lead to revitalize itself if the lead shrinks. Alabama spent the beginning of the fourth quarter adjusting to the idea that the game was once again competitive.

Texas recovered an onside kick following the touchdown, but was held to a three-and-out. Alabama held strong, but failed to deliver on the following drive. Thanks to two 15-yard penalties by the Texas defense, Alabama drove to the Texas 35-yard line before being held to a fourth down.

With a two-possession lead and facing an unproven quarterback, Saban could have very easily elected to try to punt the ball and pin Texas deep in its own territory. Instead, he turned to the program’s all-time leading scorer Leigh Tiffin for a 52-yard field goal. He narrowly missed the kick wide left, opening the door for another Texas scoring drive.

Gilbert delivered just that. In a nine-play succession, he instantly went from overwhelmed rookie to Tom Brady in a burnt orange uniform. Texas never took the ball out of Gilbert’s hands on the drive in which he completed 7-of-8 passes for 64 yards, culminated by a 28-yard touchdown strike to Jordan Shipley.

He wasn’t quite done, either. Trailing 24-19, Gilbert stepped back on the field for a two-point conversion. He delivered a laser to a smothered Dan Buckner in the back of the end zone to draw Texas within a field goal of the lead.

With six minutes and some change left to play, a game that at one point looked to be a snoozefest all of a sudden had the chance to be an all-time great.

Texas’ defense, led by end Sergio Kindle’s fierce pass rush, allowed the Tide only one first down before forcing a punt.

Fitzgerald, who played a great game when he was left to his normal punting duties, pinned Texas back at its own 7-yard line.

The stage was then set for potentially the most memorable drive in college football history. On the same field just four years earlier Vince Young led Texas back from certain defeat to win one of the most memorable championship games in history.

Garrett Gilbert had a chance to out-Vince Young Vince Young. The odds were against him, but it’s not like he’d been playing with house money to that point in the game. He took the snap on the first play and came up with an incomplete pass, but before the ball hit the turf, a yellow flag beat it to the punch.

Defensive holding against Alabama gave the Longhorns some breathing room out to their own 17-yard line.

On the following play, Gilbert returned to earth when he held onto the ball in the pocket one second too long. Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart came with a blitz from Gilbert’s blind side and rocked the young quarterback, knocking the ball loose. The ball rolled free before Alab Courtney Upshaw at the three-yard line for the Tide.

That’s as close as Gilbert came to college football immortality. The Tide took three plays to punch the ball into the end zone and seal their 13^th national championship in program history.

11 of the 25 incomplete passes Gilbert threw were dropped by his receivers, including two of his interceptions. The final interception came on a deflected pass down field that bounced off his receivers’ chest, which was not the quarterback’s fault.

Alabama was given the biggest break they ever could have received with the loss of McCoy, and they still had to work hard for the victory.

What they did instead was nearly commit the most monumental collapse in championship game history, before reawakening at the last possible moment to claim the victory.

McElroy, meanwhile, curiously represented the team he led to the win Thursday night. He was not spectacular, and he left the door for a Texas comeback wide open, but in the end, he just doesn’t lose.