Seven things we learned on Tsunami Sunday:
Spit or get off the pot: He's going to Michigan. He's not going to Michigan. He's leaving to join a boy band that just signed a major-label record deal.
| Dodd's Final Power Poll |
| 1. Oklahoma |
| 2. USC |
| 3. Ohio State |
| 4. LSU |
| 5. Georgia |
| 6. Virginia Tech |
| 7. Hawaii |
| 8. Missouri |
| 9. Kansas |
| 10. Florida |
| 11. Illinois |
| 12. Arizona State |
| 13. West Virginia |
| 14. BYU |
| 15. Clemson |
| 16. Texas |
| 17. Auburn |
| 18. Boston College |
| 19. Virginia |
| 20. Tennessee |
| 21. Oregon State |
| 22. South Florida |
| 23. Central Florida |
| 24. Cincinnati |
| 25. Texas Tech |
For the love of Bo, Les, please do something because that I'll-be-back-next-year speech still leaves us a little queasy in the pit of our Sabans, er, stomachs.
To keep his guys focused for the SEC Championship Game LSU-coach-for-now Les Miles called a press conference Saturday afternoon to rebut suddenly guerilla journalista Kirk Herbstreit. The final, impassioned, lead pipe lock dropped when Miles told CBS television that he will be back as LSU's coach next season.
But he hasn't signed his new contract yet!
That still leaves the door open just a crack. Don't be surprised that about Tuesday Miles has reconsidered and has decided to talk to Michigan. He owes it to himself and his family ... blah, blah, blah.
"I certainly love Michigan," Miles said after the game. "I love Michigan. I will always be a Michigan man."
What does that tell you?
If this was a labor union they'd call it skimming: The BCS top two has never been decided this late by this many. One-hundred and fourteen "civilians" in the Harris poll and 60 coaches in the coaches poll spent Sunday awarding millions of dollars in bowl money to schools.
In other words, voting.
The journalists in the Harris poll were trying to objectively cover a process they had a direct hand in. Meanwhile, coaches shamelessly called in to ESPN late Saturday knowing they'd be put on the air to make their case.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops spoke openly about calling his buddies in the poll to make a pitch. Early returns: He probably has at least one other No. 1 vote -- his old boss, Steve Spurrier.
Does this strike anyone else as unseemly with these guys lining their pockets with their own votes?
If you were up late enough, you saw history made in Hawaii: There's Pearl Harbor, statehood and Hawaii getting to a BCS bowl.
A case can be made for those events being the three most important in the state's history. At 3:17 a.m. ET, the clock ticked to zero in Aloha Stadium as Hawaii clinched a BCS bowl (probably the Sugar) and finished as the only undefeated I-A team.
Coach June Jones has lifted the spirits of paradise and given it a sense of pride that exists in places like Ann Arbor, Tallahassee and Lincoln. Colt Brennan gave Hawaii its own huggable Heisman candidate.
In this crazy season, the Warriors deserve everything they get, which includes a chance to do the haka dance in New Orleans. Get ready, brudda.
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| No one talks about Kevin Smith (top) but he's racking up historic numbers. (AP) |
Smith, with 2,448 yards, is within 180 of Barry Sanders' 19-year-old record for most yards in a single season. That's with the Liberty Bowl still to go. While Sanders established the record in 11 games (Smith will be playing his 14th), the Miami senior's season has been amazing.
In his past four games, he has rushed for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. Saturday, Smith passed Marcus Allen for the second-best rushing season in history.
He likely will jump directly from the Orlando campus to the NFL after the bowl, and millions still won't know him.
How did Miami, Florida and Florida State all miss on this guy?
The only variable is time: That has been Howard Schnellenberger's mantra in referring to championships everywhere he has been, from Miami to Florida Atlantic. Make that Florida freakin' Atlantic, which is going to its first bowl game. Schnellenberger worked his magic again when the Owls beat Troy to win the Sun Belt.
The 70-something coach basically created the program out of nothing in 2001. Six years later, it will be playing in New Orleans. Not in the BCS title game, not in the Sugar Bowl, but at least in the same building -- the Superdome. Baby steps, people, baby steps.
With seven Division I-A programs, the state of Florida produced two unlikely conference champions -- Florida Atlantic and Central Florida.
That metronome in the Big 12 is crimson and crème: Stoops won his fifth Big 12 title, all since 2000, with his fifth different quarterback.
Saturday's win over Missouri might have officially made Oklahoma the conference's dominant program since the league began in 1996. Stoops also has a budding superstar in redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Bradford. "Sam has been fabulous," Stoops said. "His numbers are every bit as good as anybody who they are bragging about."
Heisman voting is closed: Well, not until Wednesday officially, but you might as well pencil in Florida's Tim Tebow as the first sophomore to win the statue.
Missouri's Chase Daniel blew his chance after being gobbled up by the Oklahoma defense. Darren McFadden is ... where is he from again?
Those three, plus Brennan, will get a trip to New York. This "race," though, is beginning to look like a landslide.

