The talk last year about teams from conferences like the WAC and MWC needing to soften their schedule to Hawaii like levels to improve their chances of an undefeated season and a BCS berth are silenced. Two undefeated teams, Boise State and Ball State, are likely to miss the BCS this year because a team with a more difficult schedule sits above them.

TCU will become the first team from outside the big 6 to qualify for an at large spot with a loss, and they did it with two losses. They would certainly have been ahead of Ball State with another win, showing even in these conferences differences in schedule can count for more than a single loss in the BCS.

Utah will be higher than Boise State in the BCS and earn the single guaranteed spot. The SEC champion will be in the NCG, and the loser of that game will be in the Sugar Bowl. Either Texas or Oklahoma will play Missouri next week for a chance at the NCG while the other waits to see if they will get an upgrade from the Fiesta Bowl, which would then go to Missouri. Virginia Tech will play Boston College for an Orange Bowl spot where they will play Cincinnati.

With a win over UCLA, USC would earn a Rose Bowl berth against Penn State. With a loss Oregon State would win the tie breaker (Oregon would be eliminated when record vs teams with as many conference wins as California are examined, and Oregon State wins the two way tie with USC), but USC's perception would be greatly tarnished with the loss. For now lets assume they win.

Utah looks set for the Fiesta Bowl. This leaves the Sugar Bowl with a choice between Boise State and Ohio State. A precedent will be set.

Never before had a BCS Bowl been forced to choose to select between a team outside the Big 6 and a lower ranked historical power. Every time a lower ranked team has been selected it has involved a historical tie in for a bowl or Notre Dame. Neither of those would be in play this time, though the assumption has always been that the outsider would draw the short lot. This year the BCS will be forced to make that choice.

Make up your mind. Is the BCS system good enough to use as a conference tie breaker and seed the National Championship game, or is it an arbitrary ranking imposed on college football that should be ignored? If the BCS ignores it in this case, what signal does that send?

Perhaps Boise State did not play the likes of USC. One could argue, neither did Ohio State. I would like to see Penn State vs Oregon.

And before you try to use Hawaii against them, remember Boise State has been here before and won. Boise State sold their tickets to the Fiesta Bowl, and would sell their share again. They travel VERY well, often setting attendance records at opponents stadiums in their conference games. And that is for the regular season. Does anyone question whether the 2007 Fiesta Bowl (after 2006) got higher TV ratings than this years Orange Bowl will get?

Does anyone outside of the Buckeye State want to see Ohio State play a third SEC team in as many years? Isn't it time to let someone else take a shot? Isn't it time Boise State learned what SEC football was like? Or maybe it is time for the East coast to learn what Boise State football is all about.

And if USC loses to UCLA, and it is a three way tie for an at large spot? Does that not diminish both USC and Ohio State? If USC can't beat a team thats not going to a Bowl, do they deserve a spot in a premier bowl? How do you let Oregon State, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech or Boston college in and leave out a top ten undefeated conference champion?

If a conference champion as low as #20 (Pittsbugh in 2004) can get into one of the four premier bowls, certainly a conference champion in the top 10 should get into one of the five premier bowls.

Boise State should be in a BCS bowl this year.

The NCAA, however, has rules that limit the bowl placement of 6-6- teams. A conference must place its teams with a winning record (7-5 or 6-5 and a non qualifying game) into its contracted bowls before placing a 6-6 team into a contracted bowl.

If Notre Dame beats USC or Rutgers loses to Louisville Notre Dame looks to be headed to the Sun Bowl. If Notre Dame loses to USC and Rutgers beats Louisville then the Bowls with contracts with the Big East must take winning Big East teams.

Where then would Notre Dame go?

Notre Dame at 6-6 would be the most contested at large ever. I could even imagine some bowls allowing their conference bids fall to other bowls, if those conferences don't have enough teams to fill there slots, to get their hands on Notre Dame.

The conferences that look to be the most short are the PAC 10, SEC and Big 12. The SEC and Big 12 have enough competitive teams to field their bowls, but the PAC 10 was way down this year. The situation would be exasperated if Oregon State beats Oregon to earn a Rose Bowl berth and USC qualifies for the Fiesta Bowl.

PAC 10: USC, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona and California are all Bowl Eligible. UCLA and and ASU are on a very tenuous bubble, each needing to win their last two games.

Rose Bowl: Oregon State
Fiesta Bowl: USC
Holiday: Oregon
Sun: NOTRE DAME???
Las Vegas: Arizona
Emerald: California
Poinsettia: Boise State
Hawaii: ???

The Sun Bowl has been hedging on its statements about taking Notre Dame, stating it would be interested in a 6-6 Notre Dame. Could the Sun Bowl be Notre Dame vs Big East? If the Sun Bowl is able to defer a PAC 10 team for Notre Dame, the Poinsettia Bowl will likely try to defer one to Hawaii as well, should another become available.

But... the past is the past. THIS time, I think I got it right. (And I don't have any teams playing in more than one bowl!)

So... without further ado... my updated bowl game projections for games played through November 22, 2008.

Click here for the complete 2008-2009 College Football Bowl Game Schedule

BCS National Championship Game - Florida vs Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl - Texas vs USC
Rose Bowl - Oregon State vs Penn State
Sugar Bowl - Alabama vs Utah
Orange Bowl - Boston College vs Cincinnati

New Mexico - Colorado State vs. Nevada
St. Petersburg - Rutgers vs. Memphis
Las Vegas - BYU vs. Arizona
EagleBank - Clemson vs Navy
New Orleans - Southern Miss vs Troy
Poinsettia - TCU vs Fresno State*
Hawaii - Hawaii vs Western Michigan*
Motor City - Ball State vs Minnesota
Meineke Car Care - UNC vs West Virginia
Champs Sports - Miami vs Iowa
Emerald - Maryland vs San Jose State*
Independence - LaTech* vs U La-La*
Papajohns.com - Pitt vs Arkansas State*
Alamo - Northwestern vs Oklahoma State
Humanitarian - Boise State vs Wake Forest
Texas - Northern Illinois* vs Rice
Holiday - Cal vs Missouri
Armed Forces - Air Force vs Tulsa
Sun - Oregon vs Notre Dame**
Music City - Kentucky vs VaTech
Insight - Wisconsin vs Kansas
Peach/Chick-fil-A - LSU vs Georgia Tech
Outback - Michigan State vs South Carolina
Capital One - Ohio State vs Georgia
Gator - Florida State vs Nebraska
Cotton - Texas Tech vs Ole Miss
Liberty - Houston vs Vandy
International - UConn vs Buffalo
GMAC - ECU vs Central Michigan

* At large teams shown with asterisk when partner conference aren't projected to have enough eligible teams.
** Yeah, I know. I said ND was a lock for the Gator. They suck and so do I.

The full list of college football bowl games is online.

Bowl slots available: 64
Teams eligible: 63
Teams on the bubble: 19
Teams not eligible: 38

BOWL ELIGIBLE
Air Force (8-4)
Alabama (11-0)
Arizona (6-5)
Ball State (11-0)
Boise State (11-0)
Boston College (8-3)
Buffalo (7-4)
BYU (10-2)
California (7-4)
Central Michigan (8-3)
x-Cincinnati (9-2)
Colorado State (6-6)
Connecticut (7-3)
East Carolina (7-4)
Florida (10-1)
y-Florida State (8-3)
Fresno State (6-5)
Georgia (9-2)
Georgia Tech (8-3)
Houston (7-4)
Iowa (8-4)
Kansas (6-5)
Kentucky (6-5)
LSU (7-4)
Louisiana Tech (7-4)
Maryland (7-4)
Miami, Fla. (7-4)
Michigan State (9-3)
Minnesota (7-5)
Mississippi (7-4)
Missouri (9-2)
Navy (6-4)
Nebraska (7-4)
Nevada (6-5)
North Carolina (7-4)
Northern Illinois (6-5)
Northwestern (9-3)
Notre Dame (6-5)
Ohio State (10-2)
Oklahoma (10-1)
Oklahoma State (9-2)
Oregon (8-3)
Oregon State (8-3)
Penn State (11-1)
Pittsburgh (7-3)
Rice (8-3)
Rutgers (6-5)
San Jose State (6-6)
South Carolina (7-4)
South Florida (6-4)
USC (9-1)
Texas (10-1)
Texas Tech (10-1)
TCU (10-2)
Troy (6-4)
Tulsa (9-2)
Utah (12-0)
Vanderbilt (6-5)
Virginia Tech (7-4)
Wake Forest (6-5)
West Virginia (7-3)
Western Michigan (9-2)
Wisconsin (7-5)

ON THE BUBBLE
Akron (5-6)
Arizona State (4-6)
Arkansas State (5-5)
Auburn (5-6)
Bowling Green (5-6)
y-Clemson (6-5)
Colorado (5-6)
Florida Atlantic (5-6)
Florida International (4-6)
x-Hawaii (6-5)
Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5)
Louisville (5-6)
Memphis (5-6)
Middle Tennessee (5-6)
North Carolina State (5-6)
Southern Miss (5-6)
UCLA (4-6)
UTEP (5-6)
Virginia (5-6)

NOT ELIGIBLE
Arkansas (4-7)
Army (3-8)
Baylor (4-7)
Central Florida (4-7)
Duke (4-7)
Eastern Michigan (2-9)
Idaho (2-10)
Illinois (5-7)
Indiana (3-9)
Iowa State (2-10)
Kansas State (5-7)
Kent State (3-8)
Louisiana-Monroe (4-8)
Marshall (4-7)
Miami of Ohio (2-9)
Michigan (3-9)
Mississippi State (4-7)
New Mexico (4-8)
New Mexico State (3-8)
North Texas (1-10)
Ohio (3-8)
Purdue (4-8)
San Diego State (2-10)
SMU (1-10)
Stanford (5-7)
Syracuse (2-9)
Temple (4-7)
Tennessee (4-7)
Texas A&M (4-7)
Toledo (3-8)
Tulane (2-9)
UAB (3-8)
UNLV (5-7)
Utah State (2-9)
Washington (0-11)
x-Washington State (2-10)
y-Western Kentucky (2-9)
Wyoming (4-8)

x-play 13-game regular season
y-won 2 games against FCS schools, must win 7 total games.

Note: A 6-6 team may be selected for participation in a bowl game if that team is a member of a conference with which the bowl organization has a contractual affiliation, and there is no other team in that conference with a winning record. If the conference with which the bowl is affiliated has no bowl eligible team, the bowl may invite a team with a 6-6 record from another conference only if there is no other team with a winning record available in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Any team playing 13 games, must win at least seven games to be bowl eligible.

Fans at first threw snow in the air, but then quickly switched to tossing snowballs toward the Notre Dame sideline. Defensive lineman Ian Williams got hit in the helmet, defensive end Ethan Johnson was struck on the left cheek and a St. Joseph County police officer on the sideline looking into the crowd got hit in the chest. An NBC camera man also was a frequent target and several snowballs reached the field, although none landed near where play was occurring.

Listen - it's never OK to throw anything at players, coaches, or anyone. Period.

Besides... the Notre Dame guys probably couldn't catch 'em, anyway.

Tie Breakers are listed if ties remain after head to head.

ACC: 8 Bowl Slots, Plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 8 - Florida State, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, North Carolina, Virgina Tech, Miami (FL), Georgia Tech
Needs 1 win: 2 - Clemson, Virginia, NC State
Eliminated: 1 - Duke

Projected: +0. Any number from 8-11 is possible. They will likely have 9 eligible teams.

Coastal:
If Virginia Tech beats Virginia they will go to the championship game, otherwise Georgia Tech will go.

Atlantic:
If Boston College beats Maryland they will go to the championship game, otherwise FSU will go.

Big 10: 6 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot
Eligible: 7 - Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa, Wisconsin
Eliminated: 4 - Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois

Projected: 0. They will likely have 7 eligible teams, but could place a second team in a BCS bowl.

Penn State will be in the Rose Bowl, unless they manage to earn a spot in the championship game.
Ohio State will be eligible for a BCS at large spot.

Big 12: 7 Slots, plus 2 BCS slots

Eligible: 7 - Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Needs 1 win: 1 - Colorado
Eliminated: 4 - Kansas State, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Baylor

Projected: -2. Any number from 7-8 is possible. Colorado would be fortunate to get the win. They will likely have 7-8 eligible teams, leaving them short two slots if they are able to send two teams to a BCS bowl.

Missouri will be in the Big 12 championship game.

The south depends on three game, the favored teams listed first:
A) Texas Tech vs Baylor
B) Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State
C) Texas vs Texas A&M

If all three favored teams teams win the highest ranked team in the BCS standings will go to the championship game.
If A only is an upset, Texas will go to the championship
If B only is an upset, Texas Tech will go to the championship
If C only is an upset, Oklahoma will go the championship
If two are an upset, the winner of the third will go to the championship
If all three are an upset, Texas Tech will go to the championship, as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be eliminated after the first round of head to head.

Big East + Notre Dame: 5 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 7 - Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Connecticut, South Florida, Notre Dame, Rutgers
Needs 1 win: 1 - Louisville
Eliminated: 1 - Syracuse

Projected: +1. Any number from 7-8 is possible. They will likely have 7-8 teams eligible, giving them an extra bowl eligible team or two.

[edited to fix WV's chances ]

If Cincinnati beats Syracuse they will win the Big East.

If Cincinnati loses to Louisville and West Virginia beats Pittsburgh and USF, West Virginia will win the Big East.

If Syracuse beats Cincinnati, WV loses to Pittsburgh and USF, Louisville beats Rutgers and Connecticut beats USF and Pittsburgh, then Connecticut would win the Big East.

If Connecticut beats USF and Pittsburgh, Cincinnati loses to Syracuse and exactly one of: WV beats Pittsburgh, WV beats USF, Rutgers beats Lousiville, then a three way tie with Cincinnati, Connecticut and either WV or Rutgers would occur.

Cincinnati wins all other cases.

In the event of a three way tie, the tie breaker would be BCS standings. If Cincinnati loses to Syracuse, WV loses to USF or Rutgers, and Connecticut beats Pittsburgh it might be interesting to see if any Big East teams even appears in the BCS standings. Connecticut would likely be the highest.

C-USA: 6 Slots

Eligible: 4 - East Carolina, Tulsa, Rice, Houston
Needs 1 win: 3 - Memphis, S. Miss, UTEP
Eliminated: 5 - UAB, UCF, Tulane, SMU, Marshall

Projected: +0. Any number from 4-7 is possible. They will likely have 5-6 teams eligible, possibly leaving them short a slot.

East Carolina will be in the C-USA championship game.

If Houston beats Rice they will win the C-USA West
If Rice wins and Tulsa beats Marshall, Tulsa wins the west
If Rice wins and Tulsa loses to Marshall, Rice wins the west

MAC: 3 Slots

Eligible: 5 - Ball State, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, Buffalo, N. Illinois
Needs 1 win: 2 - Akron, Bowling Green
Eliminated: 6 - Temple, Miami (OH), Kent State, Ohio, Toledo, E. Michigan

Projected: +3. Any number from 5-7 is possible. They will likely have 6 teams eligible leaving them an extra 3 eligible teams. Ball State may become eligible for a BCS at large bid, but would be an unlikely pick.

Buffalo will be in the MAC championship game.

If Ball State beats Western Michigan they win the MAC West.
If Western Michigan beats Ball State and Central Michigan loses to Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan wins the MAC West.
If Western Michigan and Central Michigan win a three way tie occurs.

The tie breaker would be conference record of cross over games. Central Michigan and Western Michigan played the same schedule and would beat Ball State. Central Michigan would then win head to head.

MWC: 4 Slots

Eligible: 5 - Utah, TCU, BYU, Air Force, Colorado State
Eliminated: 4 - Wyoming, New Mexico, SDSU, UNLV

Projected: +0. The MWC will have 5 teams eligible and will almost certainly send Utah to the BCS. TCU may also be eligible for a BCS at large, but stands no chance of being selected.

Utah wins the MWC outright with a win over BYU.
Utah and BYU would share the title if BYU beats Utah, along with TCU if TCU beats Air Force.

Navy / Independent: 1 Slot

Eligible: 1 - Navy

Projected: +0.

PAC 10: 6 Slots, plus 1 BCS slot

Eligible: 5 - USC, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona, California
Needs 2 wins: 2 - UCLA, Arizona State
Eliminated: 2 - Washington, Washington State, Stanford

Projected: -3. Any number from 5 to 6 is possible. They will likely get 5 teams eligible and could qualify a second BCS team leaving them 2 short. If Oregon State wins the PAC 10 and USC remains BCS eligible, USC would likely gain a BCS bid.

Oregon State wins the PAC 10 with a win over Oregon.
If Oregon beats Oregon State, and USC defeats UCLA the team highest in the BCS standings would go to the Rose Bowl. This would be USC, unless they lose to Notre Dame.

SEC: 8 Slots, plus 2 BCS slots

Eligible: 8 - Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, Mississippi, Vanderbilt
Needs 1 win: 1 - Auburn
Eliminated: 3 - Mississippi State, Tennessee, Arkansas

Projected: -2. Any number from 8-10 is possible. They will likely get 8 teams eligible, leaving them two teams short. If Georgia loses to Georgia Tech and Florida or Alabama lose their two remaining games they may not place a second team in the BCS.

Alabama will play Florida in the SEC championship game.

Sun Belt: 1 Slot

Eligible: 1 - Troy
Needs 1 win: 3 - LA-Lafayette, Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee State, Florida Atlantic
Needs 2 wins: 1 - Florida International
Eliminated: 2 - LA-Monroe, North Texas

Projected: +2. Any number from 2 to 4 teams is possible. They will likely have 2-3 eligible teams.

The Sun Belt has no tie breakers (as indicated by last years split championship with two teams) (at least the MWC publishes an official statement that they don't use any tiebreakers)

Troy has clinched a share of the Sun Belt championship.
Arkansas State can claim a share of the title by defeating Troy and North Texas.
If Arkansas State beats Troy, Louisiana Lafayette can claim a share of the title with a win over Middle Tennessee State.

WAC: 3 Slots

Eligible: 5 - Boise State, San Jose State, LA Tech, Nevada, Fresno State
Needs 1 win: 1 - Hawaii
Eliminated: 3 - New Mexico State, Utah State, Idaho

Projected: +3. Any number from 5-6 is possible. They will likely have 6 eligible teams. Boise State will likely be eligible for a BCS at large spot, but are not likely to get selected.

Boise State has clinched the WAC championship.

Total
Although the PAC 10, SEC and Big 12 could be lacking a total of 7 teams, the Big East, WAC, MAC and Sun Belt should have 9 extra teams available to fill the gaps. Perhaps we need another bowl for those final 2 teams.

The recent moves by the Sun Belt and WAC to position themselves as alternates in several bowl games may well pay off this year. Perhaps the MAC should take notes.

And the weird thing is... Kerasotis makes a damn fine case for Meyer leaving Florida for Notre Dame.

A common contention in my e-mail in-box is that in 2004, Meyer turned down Notre Dame in favor of becoming Florida's coach. Why, then, would he leave a school he once chose over Notre Dame to go to Notre Dame?

Why?

Because things change.

After winning the 1996 National Championship, Spurrier went to bed prepared to wake up the next morning and take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' job. He didn't. But five years later, he did jump to the NFL. Things change.

In his authorized biography "Urban's Way," written with former FLORIDA TODAY sports editor Buddy Martin, Meyer refers to his Big Three coaching jobs, the only three his wife Shelley has no veto power to block him from taking a job at. They are Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan.

Of those three, Meyer's self-proclaimed "dream job" -- his quote, not mine -- is Notre Dame, where he was once an assistant under Lou Holtz, spending five years with the Golden Domers.

OK. Things change, people change. For everything there is a season. Turn, turn, turn... and all that.

But what things?

Kerasotis explains that Shelley Meyer talked Urban into the Florida job because he go out recruiting and be home within a couple hours. Notre Dame, as Irish fans will remind you, recruits nationally. The Meyers' young family won out. Urban consented and the rest is Gator football history.

"I wanted to go to Notre Dame," Meyer admitted, "but my family wanted to talk about going to Florida."

Shelley knew how tough the decision was for her husband because "he left his heart at Notre Dame when we left there last time -- he really, really, really loved Notre Dame."

That's "really" loved three times, if you're scoring at home.

...

Oldest daughter Nicole is 18, getting ready to leave the nest and head to Georgia Tech on a volleyball scholarship. Next oldest is Gigi, 15, a high school sophomore. Then there's Nathan, who turns 10 Monday. Soon, he'll only have one child at home, which makes it much easier for him to balance his professional and personal life -- i.e. the rigors of coaching the Fighting Irish.

All of this is relevant, of course, because Charlie Weis continues to struggle at Notre Dame. You just know that if Notre Dame could trade Weis for Meyer, they'd do it in a heartbeat.

If you're the Fighting Irish, you must have a short list of candidates in mind if you do make a coaching change. And if you're the Fighting Irish, Urban Meyer absolutely has to top that list.

Without question... you take Urban Meyer over Charlie Weis seven days a week and twice on Sunday. There's no comparison in what the two have accomplished. Meyer's cabinet was arguably more full than Weis's; however, you can never question the talent level at Notre Dame. It's Notre freakin' Dame.

And make no mistake... it still is Notre freakin' Dame -- the #1 coaching job in college football, period. Meyer could win 5 national championships in Gainesville... and UF will never be Notre Dame, ever.

Kerasotis explains that Notre Dame's dream coach -- Meyer -- longs for his dream job -- Notre Dame. Can a move be far off?

For what it's worth, I discussed the topic yesterday with Buddy Martin, author of "Urban's Way." Buddy's gotten closer to Meyer than any journalist I know, and he reiterated to me that "Notre Dame is Urban's first love."

Will it be his last love?

Martin said he doesn't see Meyer coaching the Gators beyond the length of his current contract, which has five years remaining.

Me?

I don't see him lasting that long.

One word of advise to Notre Dame: Take that big truck full of money and back it up at Meyer's doorstep. Give him the keys to the castle. Let him thrown down green uniforms any time he wants.

Whatever it takes... he's worth it.

The reason I can be so certain, even though I have no affiliation (real or imaginary) with the Gator Bowl and/or Notre Dame? It's two-fold.

#1 - The Gator Bowl had it's 39th best (read: 24th worst) attendance last year for the Virginia - Texas Tech game. The announced crowd was more than 17,000 short of capacity... and that was the ANNOUNCED attendance. The bowl, with just two games remaining on existing contracts, needs to guarantee some attendance & viewership and -- in college football -- that means Notre Dame.

On a side note, this is also why the Gator Bowl may make any deal necessary to ensure Florida State or Miami ends up in Jacksonville, as well. Remember, the bowl committee still harbors some issues with the ACC for moving the championship game. There's an undercurrent there and the ACC needs to make nice with the Gator Bowl committee. A deal will get done for the Noles or Canes. I'm almost certain of it.

#2 - The Gator Bowl's crazy love-triangle conference affiliations (Big East, Big 12, & Notre Dame) provide for the Gator Bowl to take a Big 12 team and a Big East/Notre Dame in the two remaining years of its contract. Since the Big 2 of the Big 12 aren't available this season, the Gator Bowl would take a bowl-eligible Notre Dame over any team from the Big East, as per reason #1 above. There's no doubt that the Gator Bowl would love to get a Texas or Oklahoma in the game, but they can roll the dice this year and hope to get lucky in 2009.

So... while nothing is official until... it's official, I'm here to tell you it's official, for all intents and purposes.

For the complete 2008-2009 college football bowl schedule, see our bowl games page.

I found out about Jason while reading ESPN.com's Page 2 writers, where at any given time, you've been able to find such literary giants as Doctor Hunter S. Thompson, Whitlock, and...Scoop Jackson? Well, I guess 2 out of 3 ain't bad, as Meatloaf once sang...

This article is dead on. I have a soft spot in my heart for the recently defamed and-at least at this point-current Fighting Irish Offensive Coordinator Mike Haywood, as he was the running backs coach at LSU during the days when the Tigers had Alan Faneca & Todd McClure up front blocking for a backfield that-at any one time-included Kevin Faulk, Rondell Mealey, & Cecil "The Diesel's Off The Track" Collins...Easily the most talented collegiate backfield since Oklahoma State had Barry Sanders & Thurman "Where's my helmet?" Thomas tearing it up for the Cowboys.

He's a good man, and beyond that, I shared a few beers with him during his time in Baton Rouge at Ivar's Sports Bar...

Notre Dame should take a long look at Weis' performance the last two years. In his 4th season, and still listing from the "Post Tyrone Willingham Recruits"....err..."Post Brady Quinn Era"...What Weis has done is nothing short of underwhelming.

But, to be honest, I really just wanted to point out how hilarious "Pear Bryant" is as far as nicknames go...

"The long and short of it is, the administration and I are completely and firmly committed to building a championship football program at North Carolina," he told reporters a week ago. "My family and I are very happy in Chapel Hill."

Just my two cents: You can go ahead and add the words "today" and "for now" to the end of each sentence.

Davis's comments haven't gone unnoticed in ACC country, either.

J.P. Giglio from the News & Observer says Davis's future is "brighter than Tennessee" and runs down the potential moves for Butch, who can almost write his own ticket for any opening in the country.

Let's be clear, Davis can coach. UNC was one of the 10 worst programs in the BCS era before Davis arrived. In less than two seasons, Davis has the Heels 7-2 and ranked in the top 20.

...

With Davis' original intent in mind, there are few jobs he would leave UNC for. Save for Florida, and that would be awkward given his Miami background - although not impossible based on Rick Pitino's precedent in college basketball - there likely isn't a job in the SEC that Davis would take.

That leaves, in order:

1) University of Texas

Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas have all made noise in the past two seasons but the Big 12 is essentially the Big 2 - Texas and Oklahoma.

Given Davis' past at Oklahoma State, I'm going to rule out Oklahoma - which also fired Davis' right-hand man, John Blake, so I don't think the two would be eager to run to Norman.

Davis recruiting at Texas is a frightening proposition. The 2001 Miami team, that won the national title the year after Davis left, was, from No. 1 through No. 85, the most-talented team in the history of the game.

He could give that roster a run for its money with Texas' recruiting resources and rich talent base.

Of course, Mack Brown is the coach at Texas. But Brown, after 11 seasons and a national title in Austin, could take another job or leave coaching to get an AD or commissioner job.

The pressure would be greater to deliver at Texas than at Chapel Hill, but Brown handled the transition and so could Davis.

2) Dallas Cowboys
...

3) Penn State

It's a longshot but it would at least be worth a conversation. Like the ACC, the Big Ten is ripe for domination. There's Ohio State and not exactly.

On the verge of another Big Ten title, Joe Paterno has reconfirmed that his successor will be his call and Davis won't be his choice.

But replacing a legend never works - like Frank Solich, like Ray Perkins - so the PSU search committee would have to cast a wider net in 2010.

Interestingly enough, Paterno almost took the Miami job when Davis was ultimately hired in 1995.

4) USC

Talk about owning a conference, please, Carroll owns everything west of Austin.

Los Angeles might be a little out of Davis' comfort zone, but it's an unbelievable recruiting base and you're guaranteed an annual crack at the national title.

Plus, at USC, there's no NFL team in LA and no one really cares about the basketball program.

I know what you're thinking... why in the world would Texas ever hire a Tarheels football coach? Oh... wait.

I'm just being honest here when I say that I can't think of too many people other than Butch Davis who could even step into Mack Brown's shoes at Texas. Can you?

And -- despite the prominent shadow -- I don't think its much of a stretch to see Davis taking over for JoPa. The field of really strong, viable candidates has definitely dwindled. (You don't hear Greg Schiano's name much these days, do ya?)

Could Davis take over at Notre Dame? I think Davis could coach circles around Charlie Weis. And he already has, now that I think about it. Think the Irish faithful want some Butch? You betchya!

What do yall think? Butch in 2009 - Carolina Blue or something new?

And that fact hasn't escaped Charlie Weis. Before this weekend's games, Weis told reporters that he hammered the team for folding against Pitt in the second half. It was clear that - before the Boston College game - Weis felt his team was ready to get up off the mat and take it to Boston College.

The result? A debacle of a 17-0 shutout loss to little brother Boston College.

But now Charlie Weis is putting all his chips into the pot and betting that the answer to Notre Dame's problems is... more Charlie Weis.

"I've been trying to do the head-coach stuff where you kind of delegate. But when there's a problem and an area where you believe you can be part of the answer, you'd better go fix it."

In other words... if the ship is going down, he's going to make sure he's steering. Weis has abandoned the CEO position and is back to holding the clipboard... for better or for worse. (Remember, it was his clipboard last season, too, and we all know how that worked out.

Notre Dame has been in a free fall since Jimmy Clausen threw an INT that cost them the North Carolina game. Make a note of that one play... it may be the one that ends up costing Weis his job.

Still... some Irish fans are faintly supporting Weis:

This is the question every Notre Dame fan calling for Weis’s head right now should be asking themselves. Does anyone else remember the last two embarassing coaching searches? After contucting two poorly managed coaching searches in the last 7 years, any future search must be handled much, much better. With first year athletic director Jack Swarbrick still settling into the positon is now really a good time to be thinking about making a change? No, it’s not.

There simply isn’t anyone out there right now that would jump at the Notre Dame job who wouldbe an obvious improvement from Weis. Knowing this is just another reason why I’m still on the Weis bandwagon and still holding out hope that Weis can right the ship.

Wow. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Notre Dame is still one of the premiere (if not THE premiere) head coaching positions in college football. With the insane resources at their disposal, if the Irish can't find a coach that can win... they aren't trying hard enough.

So... without further ado... my updated bowl game projections for games played through November 8, 2008.

Click here for the complete 2008-2009 College Football Bowl Game Schedule

New Mexico Bowl - San Jose State vs Colorado State

St. Petersburg Bowl - South Florida vs Houston

Pioneer Las Vegas - TCU vs Oregon

Eagle Bank Bowl - Virginia vs Navy

R+L Carriers New Orleans - Memphis vs Troy

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia - BYU vs Nevada

Sheraton Hawaii - Hawaii vs Stanford

Motor City - Central Michigan vs Illinois

Meineke Car Care - Cincinnati vs Maryland

Champs Sports - Virginia Tech vs Wisconsin

Emerald - Arizona vs Miami

Independence - Akron vs Florida International

PapaJohns.com - West Virginia vs. Florida Atlantic

Valero Alamo - Minnesota vs. Oklahoma State

Roady's Humanitarian - Boise State vs Boston College

Texas - Rutgers vs. Louisiana Tech

Pacific Life Holiday - Cal vs. Missouri

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces - Air Force vs Rice

Brut Sun - Oregon State vs. Nebraska

Gaylord Hotels Music City - Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky

Insight - Kansas vs. Northwestern

Chick-fil-A - Ole Miss vs North Carolina

Outback - Iowa vs South Carolina

Capital One - Georgia vs. Michigan State

Konica Minolta Gator - Wake Forest vs Notre Dame

AT&T Cotton - Oklahoma vs LSU

AutoZone Liberty - Tulsa vs. Vanderbilt

International - Connecticut vs. Western Michigan

GMAC - East Carolina vs. Ball State

Rose Bowl - Penn State vs. USC

FedEx Orange - Florida State vs. Utah

Allstate Sugar - Alabama vs. Pittsburgh

Tostitos Fiesta - Texas vs. Ohio State

BCS National Championship Game - Texas Tech vs. Florida

The Graduation Success Rate measures how many players earned a four-year degree within a six-year window, accounting for both transfers into the footabll program as well as transfers out of the football program.

So how do the BCS schools stack up against one another? I'm glad you asked.

2008 NCAA Graduation Success Rate for BCS Football Programs

1. Notre Dame 94%
2. Stanford 93
T3. BC 92
T3. Duke 92
T3. Northwestern 92
6. Vanderbilt 91
7. Wake Forest 83
8. Texas Tech 79
T9. Baylor 78
T9. Nebraska 78
T9. UNC 78
T9. Penn State 78
T13. UConn 77
T13. Indiana 77
T15. Colorado 75
T15. Iowa 75
T15. Syracuse 75
T15. Virginia Tech 75
19. Cincinnati 73
T20. Illinois 70
T20. Michigan 70
T20. Miami 70
T20. Rutgers 70
24. Florida State 69
T25. Clemson 68
T25. Florida 68
T25. Maryland 68
T25. Wash State 68
.........................................
T29. Kansas State 67
T29. Pitt 67
31. Virginia 66
T32. South Carolina 65
T32. Washington 65
T34. Oregon State 64
T34. Ole Miss 63
T34. Miss State 63
T34. Purdue 63
T34. West Virginia 63
T34. Wisconsin 63
T40. Okla State 62
T40. UCLA 62
42. Arizona State 60
T43. N.C. State 59
T43. Missouri 59
45. Louisville 58
46. Auburn 57
T47. Kentucky 56
T47. Texas A&M 56
T47. South Florida 56
T50. Alabama 55
T50. Iowa State 55
T52. LSU 54
T52. Tennessee 54
T52. USC 54
T55. Cal 53
T55. Oregon 53
T55. Kansas 53
58. Ohio State 52
T58. Arkansas 52
T60. Minnesota 51
T60. Michigan State 51
62. Texas 50
T63. Georgia 48
T63. Georgia Tech 48
65. Oklahoma 46
66. Arizona 41

I wasn't surprised to see some of the finest academic institutions grabbing the top spots, but I was SHOCKED to see Texas Tech at #8. Kudos to the Red Raiders!

The average GSR scores of the six BCS conferences:

1. ACC........72.3
2. Big East...67.4
3. Big Ten....66
4. Big 12.....63.2
5. Pac-10.....61.3
6. SEC.........60.5

For all the blustering about the Pac10's high academic standards, I would have expected one of those standards to be.... graduation.

Are the Fighting Irish BCS-bound?

North Carolina will finish no worse than 9-3.

Has the Pac10 missed the boat on expansion?

Arizona (ARIZONA?!?!?!?!) sits atop the Pac10, but the real test lies ahead.

The Razorbacks lack the heart they had when HDN was on the sidelines.

Georgia had better be ready for Tennessee.

Your next SEC East Champs? Vandy.

Where does Auburn turn now that they have lost to Vandy? Maybe it's time for a trip to Cracker Barrel.

The Heisman may come down to an Oklahoma - Missouri matchup. (And if it does, put me in the Bradford camp.)

It's Texas - OU week, and both teams are ranked in the top five. Historically, that has not been a good sign for the Longhorns.

Rumors are spreading at Penn State after JoPa spent another game in the press box and appeared to have trouble with his balance in his press conference. Showing up in unmatched shoes didn't help his case, either.

FSU has three sophomores and two true freshman starting on the offensive line - and they won the game for the Noles against Miami.

Finally, Army no longer holds the nation's longest losing streak.

Every other season in which the Fighting Irish were either 4-1 or 3-1-1, they were ranked. The Irish were rated as high as No. 4 in 1942 and 1965, as low as No. 18 in 1998, and had an average ranking of No. 10 during those seasons.

On Sunday, Regis Philbin's alma mater got six votes in The Associated Press poll, 91 votes fewer than No. 25 Ball State, the fellow Indiana school best known for being David Letterman's alma mater.

This season's turnaround - 4-1 in five games versus 0-5 last year - is all part of Coach Weis's master plan, or so it would seem.

"I think this year one of the big things is we want to put Notre Dame back on the map in a positive vein, not in a negative vein," he said. "I think that would be one message that you earned your way back into the picture."

And speaking of earning their way back into the picture, Dennis Dodd sees the Irish as being in the driver's seat for a BCS bowl this year.

Notre Dame? I'm getting this feeling in the pit of my keyboard that it's headed for the Fiesta Bowl. As long as Oklahoma remains No. 1, that's the bowl that would get the first pick after the BCS title game teams are slotted.

Sure, the Irish are unranked but 11 ranked teams ahead of them in the AP poll play at least three currently ranked teams the rest of the way; Notre Dame plays two (North Carolina, USC). Why wouldn't the Fiesta folks pick Notre Dame to match up against a Big 12 rep like Missouri? Actually, scratch that. Notre Dame against anyone would be good for TV and ticket sales.

I'm not saying it's right, it just is. Notre Dame is about as off the radar right now as Vanderbilt is on. It has cobbled together that 4-1 record beating unranked teams. But God's Program has special dispensation every year. Finish in the top eight of the BCS and it goes major bowling; Top 14 and it is eligible for an at-large berth.

Translated, "at-large" means bowl executives would be pulling shivs on each other to get a shot at the Irish. A couple of years ago the rules were changed to make it harder for Notre Dame to get in.

Wow. Notre Dame as an at-large in a BCS bowl. Man.

The Irish (4-1) play at North Carolina (loss?) and at Washington (win?) before returning home to play Pitt (win?). Then it's at Boston College (loss?), at Navy (loss?) and home against Syracuse (win?). Notre Dame wraps the season at USC (loss?).

I can't argue with Dodd's position on the Irish as the single most bankable guarantee a bowl game can put in play, but... do we really want to watch a six or seven win Notre Dame team in a BCS bowl against... anybody?