FanHouse Tyrone Willingham

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Charlie Weis' weekly Tuesday noon press conference this week, a Seattle-based scribe had the temerity to go somewhere no Notre Dame-based writer ever does. The writer asked, in an indirect fashion, for Weis to evaluate the man who is both his predecessor in South Bend and that of Steve Sarkisian at Washington as a recruiter.

The question was a phone-in, but I imagine the inquisitor could still feel Charlie's stare. Weis' reply was to the effect that, "I would never say anything derogatory about a former head coach at Notre Dame ... or Washington."

Which is curious, because just by introducing the term "derogatory," I believe Weis made his point.

The entire college football world remembers Notre Dame's 3-9 effort in the 2007 season, but in South Bend, Ind., it never happened. Fort Wayne's Journal Gazette discovered the omission when perusing the Irish's spring prospectus and 2008 media guide.

The Notre Dame athletic department scrubbed all losing seasons both at Notre Dame and elsewhere from Weis' bio in both publications. This is the stuff made for conspiracy and intrigue in the slow death march of the offseason, but fear not, there's an explanation. Sort of.

On Tuesday we noted a report that former Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham had accepted a new job as an assistant coach in the upstart United Football League. But now it appears that Willingham won't be a UFL assistant after all.

Former Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham has reportedly found a new job, as an assistant coach in the upstart United Football League.

The Seattle Times, citing the web site FootballScoop.com, reports that Willingham will be the special teams and running backs coach for the UFL's San Francisco franchise. It will be Willingham's first job as an assistant -- and first job coaching professional players -- since he was the running backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 1994.

As the coaching carousel keeps turning, the newly-available Ty Willingham might be expected to be bitter. After all, his record at Notre Dame was essentially the same as Charlie Weis' after three seasons. Yet Willingham got the gate from the Domers, while Weis got the dreaded vote of confidence from his athletic director this week. You wouldn't blame Willingham if all of a sudden he started talking like Yosemite Sam with a habanero seed stuck in his throat. Gibbering, barely coherent anger would seem to be an appropriate response to such a regrettable circumstance.

Whatever you may think of Willingham as a coach, he said the right thing about Weis, and about coaches in general.

"It's not just my issue, it's a college football issue - we have to give coaches a chance to do their job," Willingham said Thursday from Seattle, where he recently was fired as the University of Washington's coach after four seasons, the last of them winless.

"Because now we have coaches ... especially some of the minority coaches ... they are losing their jobs after 2 1/2 years. That's not right."

Indeed, it's not right, as I said earlier this year. The situation hasn't gotten better. Who's to blame?

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.

$ With the celebration that you all know is coming in the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party Florida vs. Georgia game this weekend, we give you a multiple choice wager. Over/under on the following dances being performed:

-Funky Chickens +/-1. You know that's how Urban Rolls...
-Solja Boys +/-20.
-Worms +/-2. Come on, you know one or two guys that break this out at the worst possible moment.
-Sprinklers +/-1, because some things just can't end soon enough.

$ Number of employed cart drivers if they leave their cart in the back of the end zone, +/-0. It seems like an easy bet, but I want to remind you that the house gets all pushes.

$ Phil Fulmer is most definitely on the hot seat, and heading to South Carolina this weekend to face off with his old pal Steve Spurrier. This is probably the first prop bet I've done that is most likely alive and kicking somewhere in Vegas. But we give you the straight up bet that Fulmer will be fired after this weekend.

I guess you could file this under "breaking news that makes total sense." Head football coach Tyrone Willingham of Washington announced that he will step down at the end of the 2008, pending a bowl game berth*.

The Huskies have struggled this season, dropping to 0-7 after the 33-7 slaughtering at the hands of Notre Dame on Saturday. Willingham has dropped to 11-32 in his four year stint with Washington after coming over from the Irish. The Associated Press report lays out the struggle fairly blatantly.

Willingham has been under fire for being unable to turn around the Washington program....Washington currently has a nine-game losing streak dating back to last season, tied with North Texas for the longest in the country.

The numbers get worse for the Huskies. Washington is currently ranked 108th in the country in total offense and 116th in total defense.

God bless you, Week 3. Finally, it's time for football with outcomes less predictable than Al Davis' wardrobe or what happens when you leave PJ Hill alone with a Twinkie. Here's 10 games to watch other than Ohio State-USC.

Kansas vs. South Florida, Friday 8PM

Why We're Watching: Velour. Please, Mark Mangino, bring back the velour. We'll plant a velour tree, write velour ballads and pray to a velour god who wears gold chains and sleeps on a circular bed (Which is probably James Caan).

Then there's the football, as two previously not-ready-for-primetime teams meet on national television in a game that's as much about this season as a dipstick on the state of two climbing programs. Quarterbacks Matt Grothe andTodd Reesing are the constants from last year's teams, but both the Bulls and Jayhawks have to prove that they've successfully rebuilt key areas of their teams. South Florida lost two four-year starters at cornerback to the NFL draft and replaced them with Jerome Murphy and Tyller Roberts, two players with two career starts entering the season. Kansas lost its leading rusher and its leading receiver, but seems to have no problem filling the holes with Brandon Anderson-styled powerback Angus Quigley and an array of receivers (Reesing has completed passes to 11 different players).

But the matchup of the game will be South Florida's George Selvie against red-shirt freshman lineman Jeff Spikes. Selvie led the nation in sacks last year, but hasn't had the chance to so much as touch a quarterback inappropriately this season. He's due, which should alone send a shiver down Bulls' fans like they just hired Isiah Thomas to run the team. And if that doesn't strike enough fear, consider this: When he was a kid, George Selvie had a Buick fall on his head. If you think that doesn't make you an unstoppable badass, ponder it some more with the entire Wisconsin offensive line sitting on your head to add to the realism.

If South Florida wins, they likely won't play another ranked team this season until they meet West Virginia in December. [ Ed. Note -- The Bulls edged out Kansas on a dramatic last-second field goal. ]

It is still early August, and optimism usually runs high early in training camp. But UW fans have reason to fret over breaking news this afternoon, as super-soph QB Jake Locker has suffered a hamstring injury. Details are still sketchy, as Tyrone Willingham has initially termed the injury as a strain of the left hamstring. The injury occurred during practice Thursday afternoon. An MRI was taken on Locker's hammy Friday morning, but the results are not yet known.

As usual, Willingham was less-than-direct in regards to the injury, offering vague answers to the severity of the injury or a timetable on Locker's return. But to be fair, it is hard to know what to say right now, other than the kid is injured and we will know more once the MRI results are back. But the good news for Husky fans is that while Willingham was a bit reserved in his answers, he did let on that he wasn't all that worried about the injury. Per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times:

"I'm not that concerned about the results [of the MRI]," he said. "I saw the injury when it happened. Obviously everybody responds differently, so his body's response will be a little bit different from another's. But one thing I think and believe is he's a pretty quick healer."

We'll see. Willingham said they would err on the side of caution, as anyone who's dealt with hamstring injuries know how they can nag on a player. But a bum wheel on a gifted runner like Locker, where so much of his effectiveness is based on what he can with his legs, well, you can imagine the angst running through Husky Nation right about now. Locker is one of the most talented QB's in the west. If they have to get a couple of redshirts to carry Locker around campus this fall, then let it be so. But they absolutely cannot risk losing their best hope of a successful 2008 season to a sore hamstring. Stay tuned.

First it was an unusual injury, a broken arm suffered during an arm wrestling competition shortly after spring football. Now, grades appear to have taken down the top returning tackler for UW. Per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, linebacker E.J. Savannah is no longer on the Husky football roster.

Tyrone Willingham broke the news today at his fall opening press conference. Willingham stayed in his usual character, offering very little details other than to say Savannah is academically ineligible. If and when he gets things straightened out, he will be able to return to the football program. That's pretty much it.

But that wasn't the only bad news on Montlake. Some of UW's key incoming freshmen will be missing from the team. Touted defensive line prospects Craig Noble and Senio Kelemete didn't make it for this fall. Noble and Kelemete were four-star recruits, and looked upon as having a real shot to get into the defensive line rotation. QB Dominique Blackman, RB Demetrius Bronson, and safety Vince Taylor, all of the three-star variety, also failed to qualify.