Lots to catch up on from college football's busy spring

Too much has happened since Texas started spring practice on Feb. 23, a mere 55 days after its Alamo Bowl victory over Iowa.

Tim Tebow became a rock star four months before his first career start. Boise State signed a film deal. Its tailback set a date with his fiancée cheerleader. South Carolina's quarterback of the future was arrested -- twice. Penn State tried to see that bet and raise it. Florida State replaced nepotism with the Fisher king.

The NCAA outlawed text messaging but not its schools' borderline racist hiring practices.

Someone said something about an NFL Draft. We're still trying to get reports confirming it took place. College football is the latest sport with year-round implications.

Here are 25 things you need to know at the end of spring practice (for most teams) a mere 64 days after Texas started.

Spring football's a revenue sport?

We might look back on March and April as the months spring football started to make money -- if administrators were smart enough to charge admission.

It seemed like there were record crowds everywhere to watch these glorified scrimmages. Are our lives that boring? Is not American Idol Rewind enough to keep us occupied?

Maybe it's part of the explosion of the sport. As we have noted several times, attendance (for real games) and television ratings have never been higher. One website unofficially compiled the top spring attendances in the country. Not surprisingly, five of the top 15 were SEC schools. Twelve of the 15 were SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 schools.

Here is the top 10:

1. Alabama, 92,138
2. Ohio State, 75,310
3. Penn State, 71,000
4. Nebraska, 54,288
5. Notre Dame, 51,852
6. Florida, 47,500
7. Texas, 42,500
8. South Carolina, 35,153
9. Auburn, 31,757
10. Louisville, 28,000

A referendum on all the Alabama tourist attractions

'Bama led the way by packing Bryant-Denny Stadium for Nick Saban's first spring game.

Saban hasn't been the friendliest guy since his arrival in town, but this revenue faux pas is inexcusable. Had the school charged, say, $2 a head it could have endowed a scholarship. Or accounted for Saban's bowl bonus.

Oh wait, that's assuming a lot this year.

So that's what happened to Stableford scoring

Now that The International is dead, the sports world needed something to replace that golf tournament's complicated scoring rules. Remember The International? You got five points for an eagle, two points for a birdie, nothing for par and a dead squirrel thrown in your face for a bogey.

More and more college coaches have decided on a similar system to award defense points in spring games. Louisville's defense beat its offense 51-45 mostly because a modified scoring system awarded the D for stops and turnovers.

There were others and you'd need a U.N. interpreter to figure how the defenses scored.

Carroll to leave 'SC, according to source inside staff

It was a throwaway comment in an innocent blog (mine), but Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh caused a minor stir by claiming to have the skinny on the future of Southern California coach Pete Carroll.

Pete Carroll says he's staying at USC, no matter what Jim Harbaugh says. (Getty Images)

"Perhaps the reason it's been up and down here [Stanford] is that no one has stayed here 20 years ... " Harbaugh told CBS SportsLine.com in March. "Charlie Weis is going to do that at Notre Dame. [Jim] Tressel at Ohio State. Pete's doing it. He's only got one more year, though. He'll be there one more year. That's what I've heard. I heard it inside the staff."

Oh, really? When the Los Angeles Times ran that back to Carroll, the Trojans coach replied: "If he's going to make statements like that, he ought to get his information right. And if he has any questions about it he should call me."

Best part about it: When Harbaugh was asked if he was quoted correctly he stood behind his statement. Jim Harbaugh is my new favorite coach for not throwing your correspondent under the bus.

I had it all on tape anyway but you've still got to like a guy who rides his bike to work in his old Indianapolis Colts warmup jacket.

College football's playoff messiah

In another spring stir facilitated by SportsLine.com, Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen expanded on his call for a college football playoff during the Final Four.

Machen suggested a third party run a playoff (a limited liability company, LLC). A meeting with a high-level NCAA official regarding a playoff was imminent, except that he wouldn't reveal who his meeting was with. He ripped Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, calling him a "homer" for comparing his league to the SEC.

"I was at Michigan (as provost and dean of the school of dentistry)," Machen said. "I know how they get in at Michigan. Don't talk to me about the Nobel laureates at Michigan.

"Just look at Greg Oden's class schedule this semester."

Good stuff. No, great stuff. No president had been more strident in his support of a playoff. The next event on your social calendar should be the SEC meetings in early June. That's where Machen supposedly will make his pitch to conference CEOs.

Meet the players. Get stitches

Try to find The mtn., the Mountain West's network that apparently is available to a few ham radio operators in central Utah. What the MWC couldn't do (get exposure) little Caden Thomas accomplished by walking the Colorado State sideline.

The four-year-old and his parents appeared on the Today Show and set the family up for a nice cash settlement. Has your kid gotten smashed on the sidelines at a spring game? Call the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem and Howe at 1-800-CFB-SUIT.

Caden was "wandering along the sideline" (according to the wire story) with his father when CSU receiver George Hill smashed into the kid trying to lay out for a pass.

Little Caden's head required 30 stitches and attention from a plastic surgeon. If that's not a lawsuit, I've never read a Grisham book. Especially when you consider the kid's heart-breaking description: "It kind of hurted."

While little Caden is set for life (if his parents play it smart), Rams fans said it was the best hit they'd seen by a Colorado State player in years.

Why Florida won't repeat

The offense will be better, much better, with Tebow and a cast of playmakers. The defense has to replace nine starters. There is a lot of revenge waiting out there in the SEC.

That's nothing to be ashamed of. Florida is still good enough to win the SEC East and get a BCS at-large berth.

Why Charlie Strong can't get a head coaching job

The only logical conclusion is more institutional racism.

Strong is the African-American 46-year-old defensive coordinator at Florida who developed and coached the ravenous Gators defense that helped win a national championship.

His other stops include Notre Dame and South Carolina. He is one of the most respected coaches in the business. This year's challenge is replacing those nine starters. But he shouldn't have to worry about that. Strong should be somewhere else by now.

Why he doesn't have his own job by now is a mortal sin.

Post-spring BCS pairings

BCS national championship: USC vs. LSU
Rose: Michigan vs. Cal
Sugar: Florida vs. Louisville
Orange: West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech
Fiesta: Texas vs. Wisconsin

Reshuffled Heisman race

1. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
2. Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers
3. Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
4. Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia
5. Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State
6. John David Booty, QB, USC
7. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

Spring stars

Boise State quarterback Bush Hamdan -- The Kuwait native is running even with senior Taylor Tharp in the race to replace Jared Zabransky.

Florida receiver Louis Murphy -- Eight catches for 129 yards in the spring game.

LSU tailback Richard Murphy -- Eighty-five yards rushing. The Tigers are suddenly very deep at running back.

Oklahoma tailback DeMarco Murray -- Rushed for 327 yards in three scrimmages.

Louisville receiver Harry Douglas -- The budding All-American caught eight balls for 137 yards in the spring game.

UCLA quarterback Ben Olson -- Won the starting job in a somewhat controversial decision over Patrick Cowan, who beat USC last season.

Will Ferrell -- He raced Pete Carroll in the USC pool for charity after the last scrimmage. He also masqueraded as mysterious strength coach "Chuck Berry" in getting center Ryan Kalil ready for the draft. Check it out on YouTube.

Divine intervention

According to anyone who recruited him, that's what West Virginia's Noel Devine will need to qualify for the Mountaineers in the fall.

The talented but troubled tailback from Fort Myers, Fla., signed in late March. However, a trip to a prep school is a very real possibility.

Devine comes packaged in controversy. He has two children by two different women and has reportedly had altercations with his own teammates. Fort Myers native Deion Sanders tried to take in Devine. But the kid took the keys to the SUV of Sanders' wife, drove to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport and flew home to Florida a couple of summers ago.

Texas robs the cradle

How else do you describe Mack Brown having 18 commitments before May 1? That's 18 of an estimated 22 scholarship openings filled for 2008.

The always-hustling Brown usually has that many commits before Jan. 1. May is usually a heavy recruiting month. Brown can be excused if he takes it off and tools around Europe with his wife Sally.

The best offense in the country is ...

With apologies to Florida and Louisville, it just might be Oklahoma State.

Call it a spring knee jerk, but to the naked eye, no team had more talent than Oklahoma State at the end of last season (No. 7 overall, 35.2 points per game). Give me quarterback Bobby Reid (29 total touchdowns), tailback Dantrell Savage (6.5 yards per carry), tight end Brandon Pettigrew and receiver Adarius Bowman and I'll take my chances.

Jimbo needs time, and players

The same old problems plagued Florida State in new offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher's first spring game. Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee each threw a pair of interceptions. One of Lee's picks was returned for a touchdown.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not totally disgusted," Fisher said.

For a team that got shut out by Wake Forest at home last season, that has to be interpreted as progress.

Save the date

July 28. That's when Fiesta Bowl engagees Ian Johnson and cheerleader Chrissy Popadics are scheduled to be married.

Boise State has gotten a little carried away with itself in the offseason. At least one movie (documentary) is being made about last season. The wedding of the season is so celebrated that Boise State assistant coaches have been briefed so that their wedding gifts aren't considered "extra benefits" by the NCAA.

Another reminder that the SEC rules our lives

The SEC currently claims national championships in football, men's basketball, women's basketball. Arkansas was the 2006 men's indoor track champion, but the crown now belongs to Wisconsin. The conference had a record 11 first-round draft choices over the weekend.

Is the SEC best? Yes, but it didn't become official until it became absurd. Vanderbilt won the national bowling championship in mid-April.

Was this kid raised by wolves?

Former offensive lineman J.D. Quinn still doesn't get it. Quinn was kicked off Oklahoma's team in August for being paid for work he didn't perform at now-legendary Big Red Imports.

"All I did was take cash," Quinn, now at Montana, told the Tulsa World during the spring.

Either Quinn is totally without a clue or he represents a large portion of our misguided youth.

Scary.

Much ado about Clausen, er, nothing

God's quarterback finally made his way to the field at Notre Dame. What we know for sure: nada.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis shot down reports that Jimmy Clausen had a sore shoulder. In the spring game, who would know? Clausen completed 3 of 7 passes and was largely unimpressive.

Officially, the quarterback job is wide open. Unofficially, Clausen would have to get into an off-campus fight not to get the starting job.

Funny you should mention that ...

The biggest news this spring out of State College was yet more off-field knuckle-headedness. Six Penn State players were charged over the weekend for their alleged part in barging into an apartment and getting into a violent altercation. All six are charged with at least one felony count of criminal trespass.

To put it in perspective: Pacman Jones is suspended for the year after 10 "incidents." The six Penn State players accused of felonies were not even so much as suspended as of Sunday.

Your move, JoePa. You're the boss. This begs some kind of action before the case is played out in court.

What do you think this is, Penn State?

South Carolina freshman Stephen Garcia had an eventful spring. None of it on the field. Garcia was reinstated in mid-April after being arrested twice in a two-week span. Not a good thing for a quarterback trying to make an impression with Steve Spurrier.

Garcia was charged with drunkenness and failure to stop on Feb. 17. On March 3, he was arrested for "keying" a visiting professor's car.

Reinstated six weeks later? At this rate, he'll be starting the season opener.

Keep fighting, Terry

Best wishes to Indiana's Terry Hoeppner, who missed spring drills due to "personal health matters." Hoeppner has undergone two brain surgeries since December 2005.

The school would not specify the reason for the absence.

Keep fighting, Butch

A cancerous growth in Butch Davis' mouth hasn't dampened enthusiasm at North Carolina.

The growth was found during a routine exam. The offensive line shaved their heads in support while their coach underwent treatment. Despite the setback, North Carolina could be an emerging ACC power.

Davis is solid, proven and Carolina was lucky to get him after years of post-Mack Brown neglect.

No one's talking about ...

BYU.

Bronco Mendenhall revived the Cougars last year with an 11-2 record that included a Mountain West title, a Las Vegas Bowl win and -- as the spring guide states -- a state championship (beating Utah).

If you want a Boise State for '07, this might be it. Only 13 starters return but the schedule is such that you could envision the Cougars going 11-1. Games against Arizona, TCU and Utah are at home.

Second-round draft choice John Beck turned out to be the second-most productive BYU quarterback in history (11,021 yards). Arizona State transfer Max Hall won the job in the spring. Hall hasn't taken a snap in a game since 2003 but is Danny White's nephew and hails from Beck's high school.

That leads to the obvious conclusion:

Arizona State is this year's quarterback factory

Dennis Erickson inherits Rudy Carpenter, who caused the transfer of Sam Keller, who is the favorite to start this fall at Nebraska. That's three starting quarterbacks at three schools in three conferences from one program.

Thank you Dirk Koetter, now the Jaguars offensive coordinator.