In what may be the last absolute fluff piece of the off-season (hey... I said of the OFF-season!), the Seattle Times completed a survey of 29 FBS coaches to find out what they *really* think.

A few highlights:

Most Admired Coach:
Mack Brown of Texas, followed by Ohio State's Jim Tressel, and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Penn State's Joe Paterno. (What?! No Urban Meyer!)

Least Admired Coach:
Although most politely deferred on this question, USC's Lane Kiffin got the most mentions, followed by Brian Kelly of Notre Dame, Nick Saban of Alabama and Mike Locksley of New Mexico. (What?! No Urban Meyer!)

What does the NCAA need to change?
Playoffs got a few mentions, but I was more than a little surprised to see some others, like adding a fifth year of eligibility, adding more spring practice times, allowing early ...

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In the wake of the rumored announcement that BYU is leaving the Mountain West Conference comes speculation from Salt Lake City that BYU may be trying to line up a Big 12 Conference invitation.

BYU's best-case scenario is for the Big 12 to expand and call the Cougars. But even then, BYU would need the fit to be right (no Sunday play, use of BYU-TV). BYU's mission, the bigger picture demanded by its sponsoring religion, dictates the facilities on campus receive significant usage. The Big 12 is an ESPN conference and it understands the need for a presence in the West since ESPN's WAC is now injured, Colorado is gone, and competitively the Pac-10 might be headed for a renewal with rival Fox.

With only ...

And the conference shakeups continue....

Reports claim that BYU is leaving the Mountain West Conference and will become a football independent, starting in the 2011 season. The expected announcement, which is said to be pending the approval of the LDS Church, might (might!) make the Cougars "the Notre Dame of the west." MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson is pretty much speechless.

In a pre-emptive move to keep Boise State committed to join the MWC, the Mountain West will expand to include Fresno State and Nevada, both from the WAC.

With the departure ...

2010 2010 USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll

Rank Team (first-place votes) 2009 record Points Final 2009 rank

1. Alabama (55) 14-0 1,469 1
2. Ohio State (4) 11-2 1,392 5
3. Florida 13-1 1,245 3
4. Texas 13-1 1,240 2
5. Boise State 14-0 1,215 4
6. Virginia Tech 10-3 1,052 10
7. TCU 12-1 1,051 6
8. Oklahoma 8-5 1,035 NR
9. Nebraska 10-4 1,001 14
10. Iowa 11-2 952 7
11. Oregon 10-3 940 11
12. Wisconsin 10-3 778 16
13. Miami (Fla.) 9-4 728 19
14. Penn State 11-2 508 8
15. Pittsburgh 10-3 492 15
16. LSU 9-4 476 17
17. Georgia Tech 11-3 455 13
18. North Carolina 8-5 445 NR
19. Arkansas 8-5 438 NR
20. Florida State 7-6 374 NR
21. Georgia 8-5 312 NR
22. Oregon State 8-5 263 NR
23. Auburn 8-5 260 NR
24t. Utah 10-3 169 18 ...

With today's official announcement of Colorado to the Pac10 conference and the expected announcement of Nebraska to the Big10 conference (which officially makes it a Big12, don't you think?)... it would seem that the summer realignment-ageddon has officially begun.

Here's a quick what we know, what we can surmise....

- Colorado is officially joining the Pac10. It's unclear as to whether the Pac10 intends to hold at 11 teams, but we should expect the Pac10 to seek to add at least one additional member. For years the argument against expansion centered around the round-robin schedule format and - with 11 schools - that format is officially out the window for college football. Adding one more school would ...