College Football Capsules: A&M drops one game, adds two to 2012 schedule
COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Texas A&M has revamped its 2012 football schedule, dropping McNeese State and adding Louisiana Tech and South Carolina State.
The Aggies, moving from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference for next season, still need one more game. Athletic director Bill Byrne says their options for scheduling were limited because of the move, but that they expect to have a game for Nov. 17 lined up soon.
Texas A&M was scheduled to host McNeese State on Sept. 1, but replaced that game with Louisiana Tech on Aug. 30 in Shreveport, La.
They'll play South Carolina State at home on Sept. 22.
Byrne says the location of their Sept. 29 game against Arkansas still hasn't been determined, but that it will be soon. It has recently been played at Cowboys Stadium.
Big 12
Okla. players to sign autographs after spring game
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — University of Oklahoma football fans will get an added treat following the Sooners' annual Spring Football Game. Officials announced Wednesday that players will be available about 45 minutes for a post-game autograph session.
The session will be available only to those who attend the game and no post-game only access will be permitted. The game is set for April 14 at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, and has a tentative starting time of 2 p.m.
Conference Capsules
Commentary: A real chance for change in the BCS
LSU fans had all but disappeared into the New Orleans night by the final minutes of last month's dreary BCS title game, leaving en masse when they figured out a team that couldn't get past the 50-yard-line wasn't going to magically find a way to cross the goal line. They weren't alone, with people across the nation abandoning their TVs in hope of finding something even remotely more interesting.
The cartel that runs the BCS got what it deserved in a rematch no one outside of Alabama wanted. A lopsided game with horrible television ratings seemed an appropriate way to cap an awful bowl season that generated less buzz than rapper M.I.A.'s extended middle finger at the Super Bowl.
How bad was it? So bad that it woke up some people who matter.
College football may finally get a playoff system of sorts, if the rumblings out of the Big Ten this week are any indication of the current thought process. The conference that helped spike the idea of teams actually earning their spots in the national title game when it was proposed four years ago, seems to be warming up to it now.
The four-team playoff proposal isn't perfect, and will invariably still leave some qualified teams out. But it's the first real step toward reform since the major conferences first banded together to anoint their national champion 14 years ago.
Back then it was all about money and television ratings. Still is, because the more the ratings go south the better a playoff looks.
"The reason for the sagging ratings is the fans are recognizing what these games actually are," said Matthew Sanderson, co-founder of Playoff PAC, a Washington, D.C., organization in favor of playoffs in college football. "They realize that these aren't anything other than glorified exhibition games that have little legitimacy."
BCS officials would surely disagree. They like to think they've gotten it right every year, using computer programs no one can explain and polls that defy explanation to pick the two most worthy teams in the country to play for the title.
It's a system laden with so many flaws that it can't be trusted. Even when the BCS does get it right, there's always a school that feels its been wronged.
The four-team playoff wouldn't eliminate that totally. But it's a lot easier to pick four qualified teams than just two, even if No. 5 if left fuming on the sidelines.
The format isn't terribly complicated. The No. 1 team in the rankings would play at home against the No. 4 team. The No. 2 team would host the No. 3 team, and the winners would meet, say, two weeks later on a neutral site.
Had the system been in place this past season, LSU would have hosted Stanford and Oklahoma State would have traveled to Alabama for a semifinal game. Those games would not only have sparked more interest in the title game, but could have changed the complexion of it entirely.
BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said Tuesday there will be meetings later this month on a possible format change, with a goal of a final decision by summer, when negotiations are expected to begin on a new television deal with ESPN to replace the current one that runs through the 2013 season.
"The tricky part is our 11 conference commissioners and the Notre Dame AD may have 12 different opinions about the direction we should go over the next six to eight months," Hancock said.
Complicating the issue is how to deal with the major bowls, which now host the title game on a rotating basis. Other than the Rose Bowl, though, they've been so co-opted by corporate greed and the demands of television that they've become increasingly marginalized. Does the Orange Bowl really deserve the BCS title game next year after the West Virginia blowout of Clemson was the least-watched Orange Bowl in nearly two decades?
Sanderson said he is skeptical the BCS will follow through and actually implement a playoff system. If it does, he said, it likely will be a hybrid of the existing system, and not something that brings meaningful reform to the postseason.
"I'm not encouraged by talk, though I would be encouraged by them actually following through," he said. "For umpteen reasons, I doubt their motives for even engaging in this discussion."
With good reason, because the BCS was never about giving fans something they wanted. It was — and still is — all about big schools maintaining control of college football and reaping the profits that come with it.
That's worked well over the years for members of the cartel. They foisted a system on college football that no fan likes, excluded schools they didn't like and happily collected hundreds of millions of dollars from the TV networks.
Until they actually do change the model, it really is nothing more than talk.
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org.
Slive: Changes to BCS at least couple years away
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mike Slive helped propose the plus-one plan to find a national champion in football and says actual change remains a couple years away even if everyone can agree on changes to the Bowl Championship Series.
The Southeastern Conference commissioner said Wednesday a decision could be made later this year but cautioned it's premature to speculate on what changes might be made. He says they need time to sit down and analyze plans with discussions needed among the conferences.
"Really a lot of this discussion is premature, and I want to respect the process that we're in," Slive told members of the Nashville Sports Council during a question-and-answer session. "We've had four-year formats since we started. We've done it on the basis of four years, so each four-year period you have to sit down and decide what format is going to be going forward. So we have decided to sit down and talk about this from every different side."
Slive said they started discussions the day after Alabama beat LSU for the SEC's sixth consecutive national championship in January with another meeting scheduled later this month. He said there will be several meetings on the topic after he saw no interest from his colleagues or other conferences in pursuing a four-team playoff to decide the BCS champ back in 2008.
The format of pairing four teams playing two semifinals plus the title game was proposed by Slive and the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference only to be shot down by leaders of the Big Ten, Pac-10, Big East, Big 12 and Notre Dame.
Now the Big Ten is expressing interest in changes.
"What would it look like and whether it's actually going to happen, all of that is premature," Slive said. "I think we need the time to sit down and analyze it. We need time to take ideas back to our respective conferences and ... a decision to be made sometime later this year as we begin to talk about the ... next format."
The SEC commissioner said they also need to look very carefully at how any changes affect traditions like bowl games. Before the session, he said they have two years left in the current format, leaving plenty of time to work through any changes.
He's also not sure what prompted the current interest in the plus-one plan.
"It's been an enormous success for us to have four different teams win the national championship over the last six years has been incredible and unusual. It's a record that'll never be broken," Slive said. "Whatever it is that brings people to the table, I'm glad they're coming."
Slive shot down talk of any further expansion. The SEC added Texas A&M and Missouri as the league's 13th and 14th members with the 2012 football schedules released only a few weeks ago, and conference officials have many more details to handle.
"We're at 14," the commissioner said. "It's going to take us time to absorb. I don't know if you realize how difficult it is to take two institutions and move them into 12 other institutions whether it's scheduling or the way we're working together. So we have our hands full for now."
Slive's appearance came in part to help promote the SEC's women's basketball tournament in Nashville starting March 1. Slive noted between 2001 and 2019 the league will wind up playing 11 basketball tournaments in Nashville with the men's tournament coming to town in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2019.
-- Teresa M. Walker
Major College News & Notes
Vols coaches want to make defense more multiple
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sal Sunseri and John Palermo have seen plenty of different defensive schemes in their combined 64 years of coaching. That should come in handy as they try to transform the Tennessee defense into a more multiple unit capable of competing with the top Southeastern Conference teams.
"In this day and age you have to be multiple," said Palermo, who is the Volunteers' new defensive line coach. "You can't line up in one thing. The offenses are too good. The development from what (the Vols coaches have) done so far and looking at what Sal has done (in the past), it's going to be pretty multiple."
As Tennessee's new defensive coordinator, Sunseri has plans to install a 3-4 defensive style. Sunseri said Wednesday in his first appearance at Tennessee that he wants to form a defense that plays tough no matter what kind of defensive scheme they're in.
Sunseri and Palermo are among six new coaches on Derek Dooley's staff heading into the 2012 season. The final addition came Friday when Dooley added Derrick Ansley as cornerbacks coach.
The group has just over six weeks to mesh as a staff before Tennessee's spring practice session begins on March 26.
Though the process of transforming the defense may take time, Sunseri feels the Vols can do a lot with eight starters returning. Sunseri, who spent the past three seasons as Alabama linebackers coach and previously was an assistant with the NFL Carolina Panthers, replaced Justin Wilcox, who left in January to become the defensive coordinator at Washington.
"I'm watching tape and we just looked at a game this morning," Sunseri said. "If they clean up their techniques and do what they're supposed to do, they have a chance to be pretty darn good. I put a lot of faith in my coaching ability. I put a lot of faith in the rest of the coaches that are here right now. Derek did a great job of getting the guys here."
Dooley was tasked with rebuilding Tennessee after back-to-back coaching turnovers left the program in shambles. After a disappointing 2011 season that saw the Vols finish 5-7 and lose to Kentucky for the first time in 26 seasons.
Tennessee underwent a brutal schedule that included consecutive games against BCS national champion contenders Alabama and LSU.
"It's the closest thing to the National Football League, being in the SEC, than any other conference in the country," Sunseri said. "In my mind, any week you can get beat in the SEC. Any week in the NFL, you can get beat. My whole thing is every week to get them ready to go psychologically, get them in that disposition that we're not going to be denied and then go out there and play big-time college football."
Palermo has two years of experience coaching the NFL Washington Redskins' defensive line and has coached at 11 other college programs.
"This is going to be my 38th year of coaching here coming up," he said. "I've been around the block a few times. I've always thought of myself as a fundamental football coach, a teacher, not necessarily the guy who was worried about how many sacks we had and that sort of thing, but are we playing good football? I think I can bring that to the players."
-- Beth Rucker
Washington's new coaches finally settling in
SEATTLE (AP) — Justin Wilcox was first contacted about leaving Tennessee to become the new defensive coordinator at Washington on a Saturday evening, was in Seattle by Monday and on the road recruiting on behalf of the Huskies by Tuesday night. It's been a whirlwind month for Wilcox and he's just now coming out of the fog of the last few weeks.
"It's been hectic for sure. Once signing day hit, that next two days was decompression mode," Wilcox said.
Wilcox and the rest of Washington's remodeled coaching staff was formally introduced on Wednesday, nearly a month after most were hired in the midst of the final recruiting pushes leading up to last week's national signing day. Wilcox joked that earlier this week was the first time his defensive staff could sit down and actually talk football and wasn't either evaluating recruits or on the road making pitches.
Wilcox was the centerpiece of Washington's coaching remodel following a 7-6 season that was capped by a 67-56 loss to Baylor in the Alamo Bowl that cemented the worst defensive season statistically in Washington history. Following the bowl loss, Washington coach Steve Sarkisian fired defensive coordinator Nick Holt, linebackers coach Mike Cox and safeties coach Jeff Mills.
That trio was replaced by Wilcox, Peter Sirmon, Keith Heyward and Tosh Lupoi. The Huskies also had to find a new offensive coordinator in Eric Kiesau after Doug Nussmeier took the same job at Alabama.
"Not only just a football coach standpoint, but a recruiting standpoint, a personality standpoint, a character standpoint and I think with all five of these guys they all fit that role really, really well," Sarkisian said.
The timing for Wilcox agreeing to come to Seattle was swift. Holt was fired on a Friday, two days after the Huskies were blitzed by Baylor, allowing then the most points ever in a bowl game — a total that was later surpassed by Clemson, which gave up 70 to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. Wilcox quickly reached an agreement with Sarkisian and Sirmon was almost immediately brought into the fold. Simon has northwest ties, having grown up in Walla Walla, Wash., played at Oregon and having spent one year working as a volunteer coach at Division II Central Washington.
In less than 72 hours, they were headed out on the recruiting trail as representatives for Washington. For Sirmon, coming to Washington has special meaning. He grew up a Washington fan, but wasn't on the Huskies recruiting radar coming out of high school. Sirmon played with Wilcox at Oregon before spending his NFL career in Tennessee.
"I'm glad I finally made it here. It took me a long time to be a Husky," Sirmon said.
Aside from hiring Wilcox, the luring of Lupoi from California to Washington was among the most talked about coaching moves on the West Coast. Regarded as one of the top recruiters, Lupoi shook his head when asked if he ever thought his name would be tossed around on message boards and among fans with so much attention.
Lupoi will receive $350,000 per year as part of a three-year deal. He'll also get a $100,000 one-time payment and another $100,000 if he remains on staff all three years. He was recruited by Sarkisian and Wilcox, whom Lupoi played for at California when Wilcox was getting his first coaching break, and finally succumbed to the consistent offers to join the Huskies staff.
There has been chatter on fan boards that Lupoi received a boat as part of his agreement, a detail Lupoi chuckled about when asked about it on Wednesday.
"Yeah, I haven't been on that boat. Maybe it's a canoe or something," Lupoi said.
Kiesau jumped at the chance to again be a coordinator even though he will not be calling plays, a game day task that will remain under Sarkisian's control. Kiesau worked as the offensive coordinator at Colorado under Dan Hawkins until the end of the 2010 season when Hawkins was let go. Kiesau returned to California last season as the Bears' passing game coordinator.
Kiesau said he was highly involved in game planning last year at Cal, but said his familiarity with many coaches on Washington's staff plus a chance to work with Sarkisian were a lure.
"Doing it at Colorado and then at Cal and then coming here, it was just kind of the natural progression. The big thing for me was the people that were here," Kiesau said.
Heyward will be responsible for the defensive backs and is coming to Washington after four seasons coaching at his alma mater, Oregon State. Sarkisian noted Heyward's strong recruiting ties to Southern California as well.
-- Tim Booth
Iowa's Ferentz introduces defensive coordinator
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Phil Parker had the opportunity to leave Iowa for a defensive coordinator's job at another major program more than once, yet chose to stay with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz certainly appreciated Parker's loyalty to the program. But Ferentz said Wednesday that he promoted Parker from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator after 13 seasons simply because Parker was, in his eyes, the best man for the job.
The Hawkeyes announced Tuesday that Parker would take over for Norm Parker (no relation), who ran Iowa's defense from 1999 until last season.
"Certainly Phil's proven himself through the years, 13 years here," Ferentz said. "He'll do an outstanding job in that role. It's about as simple as that."
The 48-year-old Parker has been with Ferentz since Ferentz took over for Hayden Fry before the 1999 season. Parker wasn't able to share his ideas for Iowa's defense on Wednesday because he wasn't available to reporters, but it's unlikely he'll depart much from the philosophy that made Norm Parker so successful.
Iowa finished in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense from 2008-10, playing with a traditional four-man front and relying more on fundamentals that schemes.
"I just think he's a really respected, outstanding coach. He's got a vision for what he wants to do, and he'll communicate that to our staff and to our players," Ferentz said.
Phil Parker's promotion answered one major offseason question mark for Iowa, which finished just 7-6 and 4-4 in the Big Ten a year ago.
But the Hawkeyes still have to find a new offensive coordinator after Ken O'Keefe's departure for a job with the Miami Dolphins.
Ferentz said he wasn't all that surprised that O'Keefe would leave for Miami given his relationship with new Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, who worked with O'Keefe under Ferentz at Iowa from 1999-2002.
"It was a great opportunity. It was a tough decision for Ken," Ferentz said. "That's going to be a tough seat to fill."
Iowa's offense, much like its defense, was relatively conservative during O'Keefe's tenure. Though Ferentz said he's going to be open-minded in who he considers to replace O'Keefe, it's safe to assume the Hawkeyes will stick largely to the basics in the future.
"The big thing is, we'll try to fit the personnel we have and that changes year-to-year," Ferentz said. "We've got to block, we've to make the makeable plays and make sure we're doing a good job in turnover ratio," Ferentz said.
The Hawkeyes also have coaching holes to fill at linebacker and offensive line, though former NFL player and current assistant LeVar Woods appears to be a favorite for the linebackers position.
"We've got three spots to fill right now," Ferentz said. "The key thing is getting the right people. The calendar is important to some degree, but what's more important is getting the right people in place for this program, for this team — and the good news is we're not playing until Sept. 1."
-- Luke Meredith
Hawaii offensive coordinator Rolovich to Nevada
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nick Rolovich, who orchestrated one of the top passing attacks in the NCAA as offensive coordinator at Hawaii the past two seasons, has been hired for the same job at Nevada.
Coach Chris Ault announced Wednesday Rolovich will serve as both coordinator and quarterback coach for the Wolf Pack. Ault says he watched the 32-year-old Novato, Calif., native develop first as a quarterback and then as part of the Warriors' coaching staff the last four years.
Last year, Rolovich implemented Ault's Pistol offense, which makes running a priority out of a spread formation. Rolovich led the Rainbows to an 8-1 record as a starter in 2001. He played five years in the Arena Football League. He was quarterback coach at City College in San Francisco before joining Hawaii in 2009
OL Dworaczyk gets another season at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU offensive lineman Josh Dworaczyk has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and says he plans to play for the Tigers in 2012.
Dworaczyk, who started every game at guard in 2009 and 2010, missed all of the 2011 season because of a right knee injury that required surgery. LSU coach Les Miles calls the NCAA's decision on Dworaczyk "great news" and adds that "it's nice to see that he's going to get a chance to finish out his LSU career on the field."
Dworaczyk says he feels like he has some "unfinished business" at LSU. The lineman is expected to join his teammates for the opening of spring practice on March 1.
Marshall hires two assistant football coaches
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Marshall has hired a pair of assistant football coaches. Head coach Doc Holliday announced Wednesday that Lytrel Pollard will coach the Thundering Herd's cornerbacks, while Geep Wade will coach the offensive guards and centers. Wade's hiring means offensive coordinator Bill Legg will now coach the tackles and tight ends.
Pollard was the defensive coordinator at Tennessee-Martin last season. He held the same job at Mississippi College in 2010. He spent nine seasons at Southern Miss.
Wade spent the past two seasons coaching the offensive line at Chattanooga, where he also was the recruiting coordinator. He spent four seasons before that at Tennessee-Martin.
Elsewhere
Oklahoma Baptist hires assistant football coach
SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma Baptist University is continuing to build on its reinstated football program.
Officials announced Wednesday that former Southmoore High School assistant Jason Melot will be an assistant coach under new head coach Chris Jensen, who also worked at Southmoore. Melot will work with inside linebackers and help coordinate recruiting.
Melot earned his bachelor's degree in biology education from East Central University and was hired out of school at Wynnewood, where he was defensive coordinator for three years in football and coached in basketball.
Oklahoma Baptist decided last year to offer football as a varsity sport for the first time since 1940. In January, school officials hired Jensen and signed its first player, linebacker Taylor Bayless. OBU, an NAIA school, plans to begin varsity action in the fall of 2013.
Carroll football to play at FCS Portland State
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Carroll College's 2012 football schedule includes its first-ever game against a Football Championship Subdivision school. Athletics director Bruce Parker says the Fighting Saints will play at Portland State of the Big Sky Conference on Sept. 1.
Coach Mike Van Diest says his team looks forward to the challenge of playing Portland State and to the challenge of defending its league title in the newly expanded Frontier Conference.
Beginning this fall, the Frontier will have eight teams in two divisions. The East Division will include Carroll, Montana State-Northern, Rocky Mountain and newcomer Dickinson State. The West will include Montana Tech, Montana Western, Eastern Oregon and newcomer Southern Oregon. The teams will play home-and-home games against the teams in their division and will play one game against the other teams in the conference.
Ohio Wesleyan hires Tom Watts as football coach
DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Wesleyan hired Baldwin-Wallace assistant Tom Watts as its head football coach Wednesday. Watts spent the past three seasons at Baldwin-Wallace as special teams coordinator, defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator.
Before coaching at Baldwin-Wallace, Watts was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania.
Watts, a 2002 graduate of Hanover College in Indiana, is a Westfield Center native who played at Lodi Cloverleaf High School. His great-grandfather, Ray, coached football and basketball and served as athletic director at Baldwin-Wallace. His grandfather, Wade, and father, Tom Sr., coached at the high school level.
