Posts by Ryan Ferguson at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Bobby Bowden is close to last on the list of people to know what's going on with his football team.

The last: his staff. Which obviously includes "Head Coach In Waiting" Jimbo Fisher.

And that doesn't particularly bother him.

As long as he doesn't know about it, and didn't have anything to do with it, the actions of his players are apparently of no concern to him.

Sound incredible? If you find it hard to believe that a head coach of a national football power could say such a thing, you're not alone. But you can easily imagine Bowden's familiar southern drawl as he speaks on FSU's academic cheating scandal:

Q: There was an academic cheating scandal at Florida State that involved a significant number of football players. As the head coach how did that affect you and did you feel responsible?

A: It didn't bother me because I knew there was no involvement by me or my staff. But I didn't know about it until the president told me. My staff didn't know about it until I told them. I know some people will say 'you're the head coach' but there are a number of things like this that the head coach does not know.

So many levels... so many layers. Where to begin?

High school All-American offensive lineman Matt Patchan was shot at a Tampa-area park Friday night, but should be okay.

"Matt Patchan was a gunshot victim Friday night at a Tampa-area park," Meyer said in the statement. "He was a bystander and shot in the left shoulder and is expected to fully recover in three weeks."

Patchan's injuries are described as "non-lifethreatening" (obviously) and doctors chose to leave the bullet lodged in "soft tissue." As the old saying goes, bullet goes in, bullet stays in.*

The true freshman has been a standout in spring practice, even considered by some local beat writers to be among the most impressive players on the Gators' defensive roster. (Patchan was moved to defensive line by coaches after his arrival and is currently expected to remain with the defense.) Patchan is 6'6" and listed at 265 lbs., but an injury sustained during his senior year of high school caused him to report in to Florida underweight at 238 lbs.

Gator fans are leery of bad news after Jamar Hornsby's felonious use of a dead woman's credit card, leading to his dismissal from the team last week. Meyer's quick support of Patchan makes it seem likely that Patchan was an unfortunate victim in the wrong place at the wrong time.

*Actually not an old saying, but a dumb saying that was just invented. By me.

(Former?) Florida safety Jamar Hornsby is in trouble. Trouble with the law, yeah. But you have to wonder about the soul of this guy -- this is pretty disturbing stuff.

Florida football players wear a black circle on their helmets with the word "Sunshine" on them. Purpose: honor the memory of fallen teammate Michael Guilford, who died in a motorcycle accident last October. That accident also claimed the life of his passenger, Ashley Slonina, who was reportedly the girlfriend of cornerback Joe Haden.

Somehow, in the aftermath of the accident, Slonina's credit card found its way into Hornsby's hands. EDSBS claims Hornsby stole the card when he was helping Haden clean out Slonina's apartment shortly after she died. Precisely however or whenever Hornsby managed to pilfer the plastic is not officially known, but what we do know is that Hornsby used the card 70 times, the first being the day after Slonina's death, and racked up $3,000 worth of debt for Slonina's grieving parents over the course of the past six months.

When a judge issued a warrant for his arrest, Hornsby surrendered himself, was briefly jailed, and subsequently released "own his own recognizance." His status with the football team is uncertain at this point.

"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.

Step back in time with me, college football fans, to an earlier era. Here we have the Seminoles of Florida State taking on the Florida Gators in 1973.



This is pre-Ben Hill Griffin stadium stuff, so that's just Florida Field. Note that the Swamp is highly recognizable. Back then the stadium was painted blue rather than orange but "This is... Gator Country!" is still scribed on those trademark vertical walls rising out of the east and west stands. The press box was a tad smaller back then, too, as you might notice.

Florida's mascot was in a woeful state in those days. "Albert E. Gator" looked like an inflatable green jalapeno with teeth and a tail.

As for the game itself? Florida routed the Seminoles 49-0. For the rivalry, it was an era which favored the Gators, who won 9 straight from 1968-1976. Today, Florida leads the overall series, 30-19-2, but FSU is 17-15-1 against the Gators under Bobby Bowden.

LSU's fantastic quarterback talent, Ryan Perilloux, has finally been dismissed from the team:

Head coach Les Miles says that Perrilloux "didn't fulfill his obligation as an LSU student-athlete." He is declining additional comment.

LSU said Friday that Perrilloux is expected to finish out the spring semester at the school.

Thus ends a tumultuous, occasionally brilliant, and often frustrating tour in the bayou for Perilloux, who led LSU to a victory over Tennessee in last year's SEC title game. Perilloux was slated to start in 2008.

What did Perrilloux in? Simply put, it was his nose for trouble. Perrilloux was suspended no less than three times in the past 12 months, and was becoming a major distraction for the team even in the off-season when he was late for team practice, suspended, and then reinstated.

Despite his talent, Perrilloux would have been a poor senior leader for LSU. FanHouse is pleased with Les Miles' decision: despite forcing Tiger fans to endure a season without one of their key playmakers, Miles is sending a signal that LSU football is more important than one player.

As for Perrilloux? He will probably land on his feet. Any number of college programs will be anxious to acquire the dual-threat quarterback's services despite his off-field transgressions. After transferring and sitting out a year, expect to see Perilloux pop up at another Div-IA (excuse me, FBS) program.

With so many changes afoot in the Tennessee football program, FanHouse decided it was best to go to the horse's mouth of Vol blogdom. We caught up with Joel at RockyTopTalk.com for a few words about the '08 Tennessee Volunteers.

FanHouse: You've got Erik Ainge and others in the NFL draft. How's it looking for those guys?

Joel: Jerod Mayo is most likely the head of the class, with some draft gurus saying he could go as high as 15th overall. He's a prototypical John Chavis linebacker and should do well. David Cutcliffe, the Manning Maker, says that whoever drafts Erik Ainge is going to get a bargain, a statement that essentially acknowledges that he's not going to go as high as he should. It's a shame, because he's very, very good. After that, tight end Brad Cottam seems to be getting the most interest. He was injured most of his senior season, but stellar days at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine improved his draft stock significantly.

Very encouraging is the apparent fact that coach Fulmer is indeed letting new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson run his own offense. The simple fact of change is refreshing, and Clawson's insistence on getting the ball to playmakers in space has Vol fans breathing heavy. The spring game proved that he's not only saying the things Tennessee fans want to hear, he's actually doing them. The offense looked shiny and new, and they had a great deal of success last Saturday.

Usually spring is the season of unbridled (and in many cases, unrealistic) optimism for college football fans. Not so in Columbia, South Carolina.

An unspectacular recruiting season combined with disarray at the quarterback position (redshirt frosh Stephen Garcia was cited for underage drinking last month, his fourth offense in his short tenure at South Carolina) set the stage for the Gamecocks' spring scrimmage. After Spurrier's last spring game put fans to sleep (it was a low-scoring, 14-7 affair) the Ol' Ball Coach enacted new rules for '08: no pass rushing, no blitzing, and the defense was forced to play one of three base coverages.

Sounds like a recipe for an offensive extravaganza, right? Nope: QBs Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher combined for 8 interceptions versus the declawed 'Cock defense.

Add to this the fact that Spurrier has designated his son, Steve Spurrier Jr., as the new playcaller. And, yes, Junior was calling the plays. For both offenses.

Does Spurrier have one foot out the door already at South Carolina? If Spurrier fails to produce a competitive team in this, his fourth year in Columbia, you've just gotta wonder. The OBC is grooming his son for the head coaching job, hasn't been lighting it up on the recruiting trail, and has already been in public scrapes with the university over admissions issues. Gamecock fans are nervous about what ROI might come from their pricey head coach in his remaining time in the Palmetto State, and rightfully so.

Just stop in your local Hooters establishment and you might stumble across a Heisman Trophy Winner, his offensive line, and some of his speedy receivers:



This photo was taken at the Hooters in Gainesville, Florida -- as evidenced by the Gator helmet and Gator-head table -- and comes to us courtesy of our friends at SportsByBrooks.com. No word on whether Tebow likes 'em mild, hot, or super-spicy.

The wings, that is.

Tennessee was the SEC's brightest hope for the conference's fourth Final Four berth in three years. Those hopes were dashed for good by the Louisville Cardinals, whose strong play was the counterpoint to the Vols' terrible performance in their Sweet 16 matchup.

What went right for Pearl's Volunteers? Not much. When the Vols weren't missing layups or fruitlessly challenging the Cardinals' talented big man, senior David Padgett, they were turning the ball over or missing treys. UT finished .25 from beyond the arc, were outrebounded 42-24, and couldn't come up with a way to deactivate the force-field which was apparently installed above their rim.

Factoid: the University of Tennessee men's basketball team has never advanced past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, while the women's basketball team has roughly 2 gazillion national titles and Final Four appearances.

But give Bruce Pearl time. In his short 3-year tenure, he's taken a moribund program and made them a perennial contender. Tennessee will be back... but it'll have to be next year instead of next weekend.

Tennessee has been in a lot of close games this season... and they've won most of them. Their win over Butler in the Round of 32 was no different.

After jumping out to an 11 point lead to start the game, Butler settled in and closed to within two points, ultimately finding themselves down 38-34 at the half. Tennessee once again jumped out to a good start in the second period, leading by as much as 10 points. Mike Green's missed floater was put back by Willie Veasley to make it a tie game with 35 seconds remaining -- and the Bulldogs held on to take the Vols to OT.

A.J. Graves made a lay-in to make it a two-point lead, 68-66 with 1:46 remaining, but it was to be Butler's only lead of the afternoon. Jujuan Smith iced the game with four straight free throws to end Butler's tourney hopes, 76-71.

As a 2-seed, Tennessee is "expected" to make it past the first weekend of the tournament. But Bruce Pearls' Vols can, at this point, say their season has been a success regardless of what transpires next.

The Vols' men's basketball team has never advanced past the Elite Eight. Their goal this year is to go all the way, and this team has the depth and horsepower for that to happen.