A recap of what went down and what you should take away from the week in college football.

We made it. We have successfully made it through the first full week without a college football game this offseason. But it wasn't dull by any means. With the NFL Playoffs dominating headlines and airtime, coaching changes and underclassmen declarations were still given their fair share of exposure. In fact, it was the college football world that delivered one of the biggest and most surprising headlines of the week.

Recapping the week in 500 words or less, this is what we learned:

• Bam! Lane Kiffin says goodbye to Tennessee! Out of nowhere, reports began surfacing that Kiffin had taken the USC job. We were even denied a lead up or any rumors (I didn't hear any) that would have softened the initial shock. I was in the middle of writing about Pete Carroll's new job in Seattle when I got the news. It about floored me.

• Should we blame the guy for taking a 'better job'? And remember, Kiffin was the Trojans' offensive coordinator up until 2006. This is like an executive going from CEO of Kohl's to CEO of Wal-Mart, especially if the executive had been a vice president at Wal-Mart not too long ago. But then again, doesn't loyalty mean anything anymore?

• Surprise! Kiffin's first Pac-10 feud may already be brewing. UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel declared Los Angeles up for grabs after the Trojans dominated the city for the past decade. "Until the new regime proves itself, we believe we have every right to claim this city," said Neuheisel. No telling where this could lead.

• After we accepted that Kiffin was headed back to La-La Land, the focus shifted to his replacement in Rocky Top. The answer, after a rollercoaster of reports, sources and rumors, turned out to be Derek Dooley, the now former head coach at Louisiana Tech. Dooley comes from good coaching blood (his dad was Georgia head coach Vince Dooley), but will receive his first shot at coaching a major program.

• More coaching moves came with the firing of (former) South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt. Leavitt had been accused of slapping a player in the locker room at halftime of a game against Louisville on November 21. After their investigation, USF officials decided Leavitt had to go. I won't get into the whole player abuse debate because I've already done that, but will report what most of you already know: East Carolina head coach Skip Holtz is now USF head coach Skip Holtz. This is big news for the Bulls, who get an experienced head coach who is coming off two consecutive Conference USA championships with ECU.

• Von Miller, the nation's sack leader, announced via Facebook on Wednesday that he is staying at Texas A&M for his senior season. Miller recorded 17 sacks in 2009 and was one of the only, if not the only, bright spots on an Aggies defense that failed to keep par with their explosive offense.

• Aggies fans are thrilled to have Miller returning, but fans of other programs have not been so lucky. Toby Gerhart had the option of returning for a second senior season because of an injury suffered his sophomore season, but elected to enter the draft. Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski sat out all of 2009 with a back injury, but has decided to leave early. The champs are losing both Rolando McClain and Kareem Jackson, while only one Pouncey twin is leaving Gainesville a season early (Maurkice).

The deadline for underclassmen to declare their eligibility for the NFL Draft has come and gone so the draft pool is set. I've begun profiling some of the more interesting prospects in this year's draft (check out: Dexter McCluster and Terrence Cody) and will continue to do so until the draft begins just over 90 days from now on April 22 at 7:30 P.M. If you want to see your favorite player profiled just shoot us an email. - Danny Hobrock

Danny is a sports journalist who primarily covers college football and professional baseball. He is a contributor for several sports related blogs and is the former editor of a political and current events website.

If you haven't voted in our poll on the site yet please do so. We are trying to get a feel for how our readers are looking at the game of NCAA Football so we can write about things they want to hear. The poll question is, "Do you think the NCAA should have a Playoff to determine the National Champion rather than the BCS / Bowl System?" - Please vote.

Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment