Colorado coach got short end of deal
Take Ten
embrace Cotton. A possible matchup against an SEC team like LSU or a showdown against Texas A&M would give the Horns a chance to salvage what’s been a mediocre finish to the season. Texas may feel better after a win over a weak Pac-12 team, but a Cotton win over an SEC program would mean much more.
3. If Mack Brown does decide to step down, who should be Texas’ top three coaching targets?
Bohls: I’d put LSU’s Les Miles at the top of the list because he’s won a national title, his teams play rugged defense and he’s a good person. After him, I’d say DeLoss Dodds would chase TCU’s Gary Patterson and Stanford’s David Shaw. (See, I don’t mention Paul Rhoads in every column. Oh, sorry.)
Golden: It would be tough to pry Patterson away, but he’s a winner who could do great things with the huge football budget at Texas. Suspended New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton would be an intriguing hire if he decides on a change of scenery. Art Briles brought a Heisman Trophy to Waco of all places and returned Baylor to respectability. Plus, he has a great history with developing quarterbacks.
4. Who’s your national coach of the year?
Bohls: With all due respect to Kevin Sumlin’s terrific job in transforming Texas A&M into a winner, he does have the best player in college football. I’d put him second behind Bill O’Brien, who somehow restored the luster to Penn State football and led the Nittany Lions to an impressive 8-4 record despite the cloud of a four-year bowl ban and the transfer of 15 players, including Oklahoma receiver Justin Brown, USC tailback Silas Redd and Texas kicker Anthony Fera.
Golden: Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, who went into Columbus and convinced his players that this season could be something special despite a postseason ban. The Buckeyes went 12-0 and did so knowing that there wasn’t going to be a BCS bowl game at the end of the rainbow. Masterful coaching job by one of the best.
5. How would this season be different if Ohio State was eligible?
Bohls: Radically different. We’d be preparing for a Notre Dame-Ohio State national championship game between college football’s only two unbeatens and praising the return from the ashes of the Big Ten. As it is now, the Big Ten is still in the dumps and forced to scavage around Dumpsters for teams like Rutgers and Maryland, while the SEC may be on the precipice of an outlandish seventh straight BCS championship.
Golden: The Buckeyes would be my favorite to beat Notre Dame in the national championship game, instead of preparing for yet another national title win by Alabama.
6. Who would you love to see in a fourteam playoff this year?
Bohls: I’d love to see fast-paced Oregon versus defensive-minded Alabama, and explosive Texas A&M against tenacious Notre Dame with the top two Heisman finishers. That’d make for a tasty semifinals.
Golden: I would love to see Will Muschamp’s Florida Gators square off against the explosive Oregon Ducks in one game, while watching Johnny Manziel lead Texas A&M against Alabama in what would be a great rematch. You know Nick Saban would love another shot at Johnny Football.
7. Who’ll be Texas’ starting quarterback for the 2013 opener?
Bohls: David Ash. Texas’ head coach, whether it’s Mack or a successor, will want as much experience as he can get.
Golden: Mack and cooffensive coordinator Bryan Harsin want no part of a freshman quarterback after this roller coaster season. Ash will “win” the quarterback competition in the summer and open the season as the starter.
8. What was college football’s best nickname before Johnny Football came along?
Bohls: Always partial to Red “The Galloping Ghost” Grange from Illinois for its distinctiveness, but I’ve got to go with Washington State quarterback Jack “The Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson — because of my love of poetry.
Golden: For our younger readers, please allow me to go old school for a second. While I’m partial to Earl Campbell’s “the Tyler Rose” because of my East Texas upbringing, I always loved Gale Sayers’ moniker — “the Kansas Comet.”
9. Was two years long enough for Colorado’s Jon Embree to prove himself?
Bohls: Absolutely not, even with a 4-21 two-year mark. Mack, remember, was only 18-8 after his first two seasons here. It’s not exactly coincidental that African-Americans like Embree and Kansas’ Turner Gill get only two seasons at places where it’s exceedingly difficult to win.
Golden: No, it was not. Embree was bad (four wins in two seasons), but still deserved at least another year. His predecessor Dan Hawkins was given five years (all losing seasons) before he was fired. And history suggests you won’t hear from Embree again; of the 41 black head coaches in Division I-A since 1979, only one — Tyrone Willingham — received a second head coaching opportunity at an FBS school.
10. Did the Big 12 make a mistake by letting Louisville slip away to the ACC?
Bohls: No. Personally, I think Louisville, and maybe Georgia Tech if you couldn’t get Florida State or Clemson, would have made a lot of sense, but the Big 12 has stability with the 13-year grant of television rights that locks in Texas and Oklahoma, and should not be forced into expansion. I do not believe the Pac-12 will expand further at this time, and neither will the Big 12.
Golden: I don’t think so. Louisville would have been a nice addition if the Big 12 could have persuaded Notre Dame or Florida State to join its ranks. As long as the Big 12 believes that it is strong with its 10 members — especially with Oklahoma and Texas leading the way in the board room — then expansion should not be considered a priority at this time. because we were shorthanded there and he took the job by the throat. He’s had a great two years here.”
Sharing the wealth: Fifteen players have caught passes for the Bobcats this season, and nine have caught at least 12 passes each. Andy Erickson, who injured a knee against UTSA and will miss the season ender, is the team’s leading receiver. 10-5 146-49 .748 1 Kansas St. Oklahoma Okla. St. W. Virginia Alabama Nebraska Florida St. Boise St. Tulsa Cinc. Pitt Hawaii Lou. Laf. Ark. St. Texas State Kansas St. Oklahoma Okla. St. W. Virginia Alabama Nebraska Florida St. Boise St. Tulsa Cinc. Pitt Hawaii Lou. Laf. Ark. St. Texas State