Thinking back to the beginning of the year, there was really one coach that we all knew was a dead man walking. That coach was and for some reason still is Greg Robinson. Robinson has handled it well if you ignore the whole wins-losses thing. Just a couple weeks ago he was talking about making a bowl game. No, really!
But with the rash of "resignations" recently at Clemson, Tennessee, Kansas St., etc., I have to ask why Robinson's fate hasn't been publicly announced? If there's one team in the country that needs to be out ahead of everyone else, it's Syracuse. Schools like Tennessee and Clemson are going to be able to pick basically anyone they want for their next coach. It might take a little extra money, but they have it and I'm sure they're willing to spend it to get the coach they want.
Syracuse on the other hand is a little harder to sell. If we learned anything from Robinson, it's that you need a coach that can recruit the northeast. You need a coach that is known as a program builder, and then there's that whole thing of if that guy wants to come to Syracuse. That I even have to type that is wrong. I grew up knowing a Syracuse program that was always in the top 25 and contended for a national championship from time to time. Now, the Orange are facing one of the most important hires in school history. At the very least, recruits need to know that there will be a change next season. They need to hear the names being mentioned to replace Robinson. Being a West Virginia fan, I know the tough times that caused us when we heard our coach's name being mentioned. But it's absolutely necessary that a new course start to take shape as soon as possible.
Blame it on Bob Stoops. If you don't want to blame it on Stoops, blame it on Jim Tressel. If not Tressel, then Urban Meyer. All three of those guys took over high-profile programs. All three won national titles in their second seasons. Now any school thinks it can do the same thing. If you're a coach and you can't get your program turned around by the middle of the third season, there will be a fire(yournamehere).com website. And you can look forward to a variety of stock arguments as to why you should be unemployed.
The problem, of course, is that most of these arguments are completely worthless. Don't believe me? Let's investigate. "We can't let this program sink any further into mediocrity!" Yeah, that's what Steve Pedersen said when he fired Frank Solich and brought in Bill Callahan. I suppose you could argue that Pedersen was correct; instead of sliding into mediocrity, he let the program degenerate into irrelevance. Unless your team just went 0-12, "up" isn't the only possible direction a new coach can take your program.
Yes, Bill that is a football. When you have it you should try to move it forward.
West Virginia came into today's game with Syracuse as a 24 point favorite. But somehow managed to keep the game much closer. The Mountaineers pulled away late thanks to a 92 yard run by Noel Devine to win 17-6. However, for most of the game, Bill Stewart willed his offense to three and out after three and out.
Coming into the season, Stewart was quick to poke fun at former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez and his love of the bubble screen. A play that drew the ire of Mountaineer fans for it's lack of production. But today, with Jarrett Brown filling in for the injured Pat White, West Virginia threw more bubble screens than I can count. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, the results were the same. Mostly with little or no gain. On top of his love of a play that should be used as a change of pace rather than a staple, slow developing sweeps dominated the play calling.
Ever since Greg Robinson took over the program at Syracuse back in 2005, the Orange haven't exactly been tearing the college football landscape apart. To be blunt, they suck. Hard. After starting out this season with two 20-point losses to powerhouses Northwestern and Akron, Syracuse's record under Robinson has fallen to 7-28.
With a game scheduled at home against Penn State this weekend, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Orange will be 7-29 under Robinson by Sunday. So it's no surprise that Syracuse AD Nancy Cantor didn't exactly give Greg a vote of confidence when talking about the state of the football program. She didn't say she was going to fire him, but she didn't say she wasn't going to can him either.
Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor dodged questions from the local media on Tuesday about the fate of head football coach Greg Robinson, saying right now the university is focused on Friday's world premiere of "The Express" movie in Syracuse.
But, Cantor did admit the team's 0-2 record heading into Saturday's matchup against No. 17 Penn State is below expectations. "We are very committed to a winning football team. We know how much it means to our student-athletes, how much it means to the institution, how much it means to the community," Cantor said.
And I'm pretty sure that Cantor realizes at this point she isn't going to have a winning football team under Robinson. Sure, the program wasn't in great shape when Robinson took over (coming off of two consecutive 6-6 seasons), but at least they were competitive. The program has only accelerated its descent since Greg came to town.
Prop Bets for the College Football Junkie is a weekly post that cares not for your silly point spreads. If you have the money and the gumption, we'll lay down a weekly gauntlet of propositions that'll take you from the penthouse to the outhouse faster than you can guess the number of times Lee Corso will say "not so fast my friend." As always, this is for entertainment purposes only.
- We kid because we care, and if Notre Dame is able to win this weekend against San Diego State you can expect Lou Holtz to remind the world that he predicted the Irish to win 11 games this year. We put the over/under for this at five, provided Notre Dame wins. Also, we put the over/under at three for the number of times Mark May will remind Holtz that it was San Diego State. We would say five, but we're sure at least a couple of those times there will be a producer on the set with a look on his face that says "just let him enjoy this moment."
- The punt block that sealed East Carolina's victory over Virginia Tech was poetic justice for all the times the Hokies have won games like that. We're sure it will be replayed multiple times during the game with West Virginia this weekend. But that's now what we're looking at. No, the over/under for this one will be the number of Tech fans actually cheering for West Virginia, and we put that number at five. If you don't know, the catch is that Tech and West Virginia were hated rivals in the Big East days. Being a West Virginia fan, I find it comforting that any Hokie would stoop so low as to cheer for the Mountaineers. Even funnier is that I know of at least one already. Unfortunately, I had to delete his comments on this because he had some derogatory phrases about the Pirates in his comments. I guess it must be my picture.
As FanHouse previews each BCS conference, the college football songbook will cast an unflattering light on each conference in the only way we know how. It's getting hot for Big East coaches.
Yummy! The sweet dairy goodness of tasty cupcakes. To an extent everyone schedules at least one gimme on their schedule. So we'll overlook that 1-AA warm up game at the beginning of the season and move on to more important things. Seeing as how this is the Big East we'll just say that everyone will play two quality opponents in West Virginia and South Florida, three potentially good teams in Pitt, Cincinnati, and Rutgers, and three teams that shouldn't make anyone's top 25.
1. Connecticut- Starting off with the fat dough boys that got way too much credit for their record last year and look to do the same this year. Did I say that I wasn't going to mention the 1-AA teams? I'm sorry, because the Flying Dutchmen of Hofstra has to be one of the best names in all of college football. Unfortunately, they're not one of the best teams in college football. And that's who UConn starts their season off with. Oh, but it doesn't get much harder from there. The next three weeks they play @ Temple, and then get Virginia and Baylor at home. Any team worth their salt should easily be 4-0 at this point. Aside from having an easy schedule last year, UConn also got every break including a rather nice no call on a fake fair catch that helped them beat their fifth opponent in 2008, Louisville. Circle that game if you want to savor the sweet smell of revenge. UConn closes out their non-conference schedule with what should be a much improved North Carolina team. I don't know that they will crack the top 25, but for the sake of argument we'll count this one as a quality opponent. So that's one up and four down for UConn. Remember this at the end of the year when you look at their record. It will be deceiving.
2. Cincinnati- But they play @ Oklahoma! Yeah, well that's about it. Let's not forget that Oklahoma has proven themselves susceptible to Big East speed. All kidding aside, Cincinnati starts out the season hosting Eastern Kentucky, then travels to Oklahoma. In their next three games they host Miami (OH) and play @ Akron and @ Marshall. Ha! Marshall? They shouldn't be scheduling two 1-AA teams in one year. Cincinnati then plays their conference schedule and ends the year @ Hawaii. That might have been a tough game last year, but this year it shouldn't take a lot of effort. To be honest, I had to think long and hard about Cincinnati being number one on this list, but the Oklahoma game saved them in the end.
If you find yourself in this position it's probably at least partly your fault. Whether you're the coach of one of the most storied programs in college football or you inherit the head job at one of the nouveau rich schools, your fans expect you to win now. You had high hopes of continuing the tradition when you took over, but now you could turn a lump of coal into a diamond if inserted into the proper body cavity.
Greg Robinson - Hot Seat
If you took over a team that fired the last coach because he went 6-6 and it took you three years to get seven wins, you might be in trouble. If you took over the 14th winningest program in college football history and you are about to give up that distinction to a conference foe, you really need to produce. If any of this sounds like you, Greg Robinson, come on down. You're our first choice for coaches on the hot seat.
Syracuse was a team that had already fallen on hard times when Greg Robinson arrived. But still, this is Syracuse. You should be able to roll your helmet out there and get six wins. Right? Syracuse has gone 1-11, 4-8, and 2-10 under Robinson, and the prospect of that changing anytime soon are not good. Syracuse bloggers, for their part, are making the best of the situation. Robinson's attitude has been mostly positive through the whole ordeal. If not, at least a little cryptic. I hope he has that same attitude when this season is over. Because the world needs ditch diggers too.
Attention KMart shoppers: We have a blue light special in Columbus, where right now we're offering 22% off of national championship winning coaches. So says Forbes, which is out with a list it calls The Best (And Worst) College Football Coaches For The Buck (slideshow warning). According to their algorithm, Jim Tressel's $2.6 million annual salary is under the market rate for coaches with similar achievements. The Buckeye boss should be making just under $3.2 million a year.
That sounds like a lot of money, mostly because it is. Yet Forbes says that even Pete Carroll (2007 compensation estimated at $4.4 million) is underpaid. They say Southern Cal's coach should be making about a Chevy Cobalt more than $5 million a year, based on his two national titles. (No word on how the Stanford loss affected his overall value, alas.)
So cheer up, Buckeye fans; you may have lost two straight BCS Title Games, but (a) you actually made it to two straight BCS Title Games, and (b) you didn't overpay for the privilege.
Of course, if somebody's underpaid, somebody's overpaid too. Who's the most overpaid coach in college football, according to Forbes? Hint: his name rhymes with "irk parents."
Syracuse had a good run. Donovan McNabb, Jim Brown, the #44, a stadium named after air conditioning: all good stuff. But they've been teetering on the edge of oblivion for going on ten years now, and I'm sad to say that Syracuse football has just ceased to be:
Darrick Scott, the Orange's top recruit for the class of 2009, announced tonight he is de-commiting from SU in favor of Central Michigan, according to a report on Scout.com.
He wasn't even that much of a "top recruit": Scott's a four-star recruit to Scout but garners only two from Rivals and gets a bleah 72/100 from ESPN, which looks more like one overly enthusiastic Darrick Scott fan hacking into the Scout database than anything else. And yet: he's headed to Central Michigan.
So we are clear, this kid looked at Syracuse, then looked at Central Michigan, looked back at Syracuse, looked again at Central Michigan and then decided he was better off at the MAC school. ...
All Syracuse fans have been advised to stay away from sharp objects and anything that could be fashioned into a weapon. If you know a Syracuse fan, please keep a close watch on them and alert the authorities at the first sign of trouble.
I think we're well beyond the "first signs of trouble." What are the odds Greg Robinson gets fired after this year? 9000 percent?
Thinking back to the beginning of the year, there was really one coach that we all knew was a dead man walking. That coach was and for some reason still is Greg Robinson. Robinson has handled it well if you ignore the whole wins-losses thing. Just a couple weeks ago he was talking about making a bowl game. No, really!
Blame it on 
Yes, Bill that is a football. When you have it you should try to move it forward. 
Ever since 
Yummy! The sweet dairy goodness of tasty cupcakes. To an extent everyone schedules at least one gimme on their schedule. So we'll overlook that 
If you took over a team that fired the last coach because he went 6-6 and it took you three years to get seven wins, you might be in trouble. If you took over the 14th winningest program in college football history and you are about to give up that distinction to a conference foe, you really need to produce. If any of this sounds like you, Greg Robinson, come on down. You're our first choice for coaches on the hot seat. 
Syracuse had a good run. Donovan McNabb, Jim Brown, the #44, a stadium named after air conditioning: all good stuff. But they've been teetering on the edge of oblivion for going on ten years now, and I'm sad to say that Syracuse football has 
