Let me start off by apologizing for not providing a preview on last night’s Las Vegas Bowl game between BYU and Oregon. Not only did I slip up and not write a preview, but I also didn’t get up my bet of the day to let all my peeps know BYU was going to cover. All the Christmas parties this week caught up with me so last night it was definitely time to rest.

The New Orleans Bowl pits 7-5 Rice versus 7-5 Troy. These two teams are very evenly matched and both have explosive offenses. Rice rolls into this bowl on a six game winning streak and just a year ago were 1-10. Troy won six of their last seven games and almost beat FSU in Tallahassee earlier this year. All things lead to a very close game with one of these teams pulling out the victory at some point in the fourth quarter. Please stop by later to see who I pick to win the game.

Player to watch: You probably haven’t heard about Jarrett Dillard yet, but remember this name. Dillard is a phenomenal wide receiver for TCU and has caught a touchdown pass in 14 straight games and caught 20 on the year.

Fans in Tuscaloosa have to wonder what has happened to their beloved football program. Alabama reportedly has already been turned down by Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban for the open head coach slot after the recent firing of Mike Shula. Yesterday came the news that Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia also has turned down the Tide. This news was extremely shocking because everyone including Alabama athletic director Mal Moore felt it was a done deal. Rodriguez has guided the Mountaineers to three straight Big East titles and four straight New Year’s day bowl games. My gut tells me Rodriguez went through this process to get a raise in West Virginia and solidify him as the coach there for many years to come. The question is what is Alabama going to do next? Where do they turn and how do they right this ship? The names being tossed around are Paul Johnson (Navy), Jim Grobe (Wake Forest), and Jeff Tedford (California). I think they should just bring back Mike Shula since they are paying him a ridiculouos amount of money til the end of the time anyway, but that would just be silly or would it?  Stay tuned for more because I think the shenanigans are far from over.