NCAA Football News

ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski just wrote up his interview with USC head coach Lane Kiffin and the content should have come with a warning to Trojan fans:

Please read this without any sharp objects lying nearby.

Some of the admissions Kiffin made were not shocking: Kiffin takes the blame for USC's 7-6 season and admits he's a polarizing figurehead.

"You're going to pay for mistakes you make along the way, whether you did them on purpose or not," Kiffin told Wojciechowski.

While some Trojan fans may nod their heads in sympathy, others will point out that most fans don't care that his mistakes were unintentional. Aren't most human mistakes a result of plans not being well thought out? We all make mistakes, but then again, we all don't make seven figures a year—that kind of dough usually carries a heftier burden. 

Kiffin waxes poetic about how he's college football's pariah and that may be in part to focusing too much "into X's and O's and what it takes to win, that I hadn't grown up enough to understand the other stuff that matters."

Kiffin, for what it's worth, is 37 years old, which is the same age as some of this country's forefathers. Why is he still talking about growing up when he's the guy in charge of mentoring student-athletes and impressionable teens?

Aside from all of that minutia, the real problem at USC was highlighted two-thirds of the way through Wojciechowski's story:

A few weeks [after the Hyundai Sun Bowl loss], one Trojans player told me that Kiffin had "lost" the USC locker room. He described the defeat to Georgia Tech as, "getting boat-raced by a high school football team."

So I asked the player, "Can Kiffin win at USC?"

"Yes, he can win," said the player, who spoke under the condition of anonymity. "Do I think he is the coach of the future for the Trojans? I don't know. I do know that Pat Haden didn't hire Coach Kiffin. At SC, it's all about winning. When you start off the preseason ranked No. 1 and you're the first team in college football to lose six games, there's a lot of pressure that following year."

Welp.

It's a week before national signing day and a current player just called out his head coach. In his opinion, Kiffin "lost" the locker room. Even more damning is that this player knew USC athletic director Pat Haden didn't hire Kiffin. 

How many football players know stuff like that? Either he's done his homework or someone else told him that. And why would someone tell him that? You can fill in the blanks from here, but the inference is there—the players know their coach's boss didn't hire him and that his boss doesn't have to issue a personal "mea culpa" if their coach is dismissed.

Kiffin was not Haden's choice—he was then-athletic director Mike Garrett's choice—but he has been steadfast in his support of Kiffin. 

There's also the undeniable fact that, at least for one player, USC football's future with head coach Lane Kiffin is a question mark—it's one thing when fans start questioning the future; it's another when a player does it.

This could hurt USC in so many ways, but let's start out with the "there's a traitor among us" analogy. For the players in the pro-Kiffin camp, this latest tidbit is going to cause some discord with those players who they believe are in the anti-Kiffin camp. This could fracture the locker room. Instead of standing united, divided they fall.

More importantly, if a player feels dubious about Lane Kiffin's future, how will that affect the recruiting? There could be at least one prospect—or even worse, a commit—who is now seeing red flags. Kiffin has already lost six commits in the Class of 2013, and if another one decommits before Feb. 6, the domino effect could commence.

Can Kiffin win back the locker room? Yes, especially if this is an isolated case of a reporter talking with a player fresh off of a humiliating loss to Georgia Tech, albeit a month after the fact isn't exactly "fresh." Maybe the player has done some deep reflecting since he made those statements and doesn't feel the same way as he did at the time of the interview.

Maybe.

What Kiffin needs to do is get the team involved in some bonding activities (within NCAA guidelines, of course) that appeal to all of the players. Or maybe he needs to call a team meeting and hold a Festivus Airing of Grievances—the players can speak freely about what's bothering them without any repercussions. 

But Kiffin has to do something now because one player's thoughts and feelings may be indicative of a widespread problem.  

It could be that just this one player feels unsure about Kiffin's leadership, but locker rooms tend to breed disharmony like mold in a carpeted floor's corner. Players talk. 

And recruits are listening.

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Alabama players have done well for themselves lately in past NFL drafts and the upcoming draft in 2013 should be no different. With three players declaring early and a handful entering due to graduation, the Crimson Tide should once again be well represented come April.

Several of these former Alabama players won't have to wait long to hear their name called, as they are locks to go within the first two rounds. There are some guys that will have to wait, but majority of the players that played college ball in Tuscaloosa will be picked up at some point within the first seven rounds.

These players have been on NFL draft boards for months and we will soon find out which team they will play for professionally.

Here are the predictions for all of the Crimson Tide players who will turn pro in the 2013 NFL draft.

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Notre Dame 4-star running back commitment Tarean Folson does not seem to be 100 percent sold on the Fighting Irish just yet.

Considering the proximity of this news to national signing day (Feb. 6), this is not good news for Brian Kelly and his 2013 class.

Cory Long of ESPN.com is reporting that a recent visit to Auburn is really making Folson think about his commitment:

ESPN 150 athlete Tarean Folston (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa) will make his decision next Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET in a school signing day ceremony. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior is still committed to Notre Dame, but things have become complicated. 

Folston, who took an official visit to Auburn last weekend, is struggling with his decision, according to head coach John Wilkinson. 

“He’s definitely going through everything in his mind,” Wilkinson said. “The Auburn visit went well and they gave him a lot to think about. 

The Fighting Irish have been stellar on the recruiting trail this cycle, but there's no doubt that Auburn is experiencing somewhat of a resurgence on the recruiting trail now that new head coach Gus Malzahn has settled in and put together his staff.

Notre Dame should consider Auburn a serious threat to flip Folson, and the fact that he's announcing on signing day has to be unsettling for the Fighting Irish.

That said—there's nothing to fear for Notre Dame.

If Folson does indeed flip, the Fighting Irish will still be just fine.

He's a very talented recruit, but the depth chart would still look good from a running back perspective. Remember, Notre Dame was able to land 5-star running back Greg Bryant, who has superstar potential, and the current roster still boasts a few very capable backs.

George Atkinson, William Mahone, Cam McDaniel and Amir Carlisle are all good options in the backfield, and Bryant is going to earn more than a few carries for himself as well.

Losing a talented recruit on national signing day is never good, but the impact of Folson flipping to Auburn wouldn't be that devastating for Notre Dame.

Kelly's squad still boasts a plethora of good backs, and Bryant will eventually rise to the top of that list. In reality, if Folson decides to stay with Notre Dame, he projects to be a good No. 2 behind Bryant when all is said and done anyhow.

Second-string running backs are replaceable through recruiting, even very good ones.

Notre Dame should be concerned about the potential of losing Folson because he is a talented running back, but there's certainly nothing to fear in the long run.

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We have discussed the coming realignment of the Big Ten for a while now, and one of the points we've tried to establish is that the split should be more geographic. But while that's a popular stance among Big Ten fans, "popular" doesn't automatically equal "correct." So let's talk about the "why" behind this, and establish what it is about a geographic split that makes the most sense for the Big Ten.

First of all, the Big Ten is the most historically stable conference in America aside from the Ivy League. Per Wikipedia's timeline, of the 10 members that gave the Big Ten its name, only one (Michigan State, a 1953 inductee) has been affiliated with the conference for less than 100 years total. Michigan only joined for good in 1916, but had been a member for over a decade prior to a (relatively) brief hiatus.

That stability is important because it gave rise to multiple regional rivalries for each school. Minnesota and Wisconsin have one of the longest-standing rivalries in football, but both plausibly claim Iowa as a rival as well. Minnesota has a trophy game with Michigan—who has bitter rivalries with both Michigan State and Ohio State. Speaking of the Buckeyes, their focus in football is more singular, but in basketball the rivalry with Indiana has been fantastic. Indiana-Illinois is a great basketball rivalry as well. And so on and so on.

These regional rivalries—even the newer ones like Ohio State-Penn State and Nebraska-Iowa—are not sacrosanct, but they are important, especially when conference expansion is going to start taking conference opponents off the schedule for a while. The old saying goes that you can't please everybody all the time, but if you break up regional foes for the sake of putting the likes of Rutgers or Maryland in the regular rotation, you're not going to please many people, period.

Moreover, if the Big Ten keeps rolling to 16 members (and especially if it goes past that), it's going to have a significant bloc of new members with the distinct possibility that some of those schools are historically familiar with each other.

Maryland-Virginia isn't the bitterest of rivalries, but it is a border game that would be silly for the Big Ten to break up (if the rumors of Virginia being a candidate for expansion are true, anyway). Penn State and Maryland played each other dozens of times before Penn State joined the Big Ten. If Georgia Tech joins the gang, you'd want it playing other former ACC and eastern independent teams more than, say, Illinois, right?

And if we're to take E. Gordon Gee at his word that “there are opportunities to move further south in the (E)ast and possibly a couple of Midwest universities,” that bloc of new Big Ten members is going to be geographically concentrated enough that it makes the most sense to keep them close to each other in the new division.

The Big Ten seems to be well aware of this. ESPN.com reported on Tuesday that geography would drive the divisional split, and Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner drove that point home recently (via CBSSports.com):

So really, the question's been answered as far as why a geographic alignment works best for the Big Ten. There's always going to be a question of competitive balance, but there's just no way to make that a perfect fit year after year with the same programs staying in the same conference. Success is cyclical and unpredictable in college football, even for schools like Michigan and Ohio State.

Accepting that and taking care of the regional affiliations and rivalries first and foremost will be beneficial for the Big Ten, its schools and its fans in the long run.

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The Michigan Wolverines are putting together one of the country’s best recruiting classes for the 2013 recruiting year. Brady Hoke currently has the Wolverines sitting at the No. 4 position in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.

Selling the Wolverines program is easy for Hoke, as he has at least five keys to point to on the recruiting trail. When the Wolverines head coach sits in living rooms before signing day, his school provides him with all of the tools to bring in every recruit in the country.  

This is a look at how the Wolverines will continue to load up on top talent in the future. Brady Hoke has one of the best programs in the country to sell, and here is why.

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The Auburn Tigers are in a great position to pick up a commitment from 4-star running back, and now former Vanderbilt commitment, Johnathan Ford.

Ford is an extremely talented running back and he'd represent a huge acquisition for Auburn if the Tigers are indeed able to get him to sign. He is 5'11'', 190 pounds and runs a 4.50 40-yard dash time, according to 247Sports. He's also ranked as the No. 20 overall running back recruit.

Charles Goldberg of AL.com reported on Ford's decommitment, and Auburn's standing with the 4-star back:

Running back Johnathan Ford visited Auburn over the weekend… and decommitted from Vanderbilt today.

The running back from New Hope said Sunday he had a "great" visit with Auburn coach Gus Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.

Goldberg also reports Ford's thoughts on Auburn:

Ford said Sunday that Auburn made an impression."They talked about how they see me in the offense. They just laid everything out there for me. It was a great experience," he said.

It seems as if Auburn has made an impact on Ford, but should they be considered a lock to land his commitment?

We should know better than to call anything a lock in the world of college football recruiting, but Auburn certainly appears to be close to "lock status" with Ford.

With only a week until National Signing Day, everything is intensified, and even the smallest advantage can be all it takes to win on the recruiting trail. For now, Auburn seems to have that advantage with Ford, considering the impact that the Tigers made on his visit, and the timing of his decommitment.

Keep in mind that Goldberg also said in the same report that Georgia and Florida State are making a push for Ford as well, and he just recently received offers from both programs. Tennessee is also another program that is in the running, as is Mississippi State.

All that said, it's hard not to feel that Auburn has the unofficial edge here, and the Tigers are setting themselves up to finish the 2013 recruiting cycle strong.

Auburn took quite a hit when Gene Chizik was fired, but Gus Malzahn is turning things around, and Auburn is gaining recruiting momentum at just the right time. The Tigers still boast the commitment of 5-star defensive end Carl Lawson (although that commitment could change) and Auburn is still in a good position to win back the commitment of 5-star inside linebacker Reuben Foster.

Malzahn has put together a top-notch staff, and that seems to be helping on the recruiting trail for the Tigers. They've gone from one of the coldest programs in college football recruiting to a school that's popping up on many interest lists as the 2013 cycle draws nearer to its close.

Their momentum is building at the right time, and they seem to have made a great impression with Ford at the right time as well.

The Tigers may not be a lock just yet, but they certainly have an edge with Ford.

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Yesterday, my colleague Adam Jacobi over at the Big Ten Blog discussed the nine-game Big Ten schedule and how that could start to lead us down the road to an expanded regular season schedule.

The mere idea of putting more games into the schedule made me shudder. Change seems to have become the lone constant on the college landscape. Change in conferences. Change in postseason. Change in coaches.

However, one thing that certainly should not change is the length of the college football regular season. Especially if that change is to increase the amount of games played by these athletes. Decreasing games? That's worth a discussion, but the idea of putting more on their already-crowded plate should not even be an option for the future of the season.

As Jacobi lays it out, a dilemma exists between teams needing at least seven home games and conferences looking to put an extra game on the schedule. They have to make that money somehow, as he explains it:

Back to the point at hand. There are only two ways to get around declining numbers of guaranteed home games. That's for either every single school to raise ticket prices and other fees by a substantial margin—one large enough to cover a ~15 percent decline in home games—or to make more home games happen.

In other words, if the schools are going to get what they want, it'll come from hitting your wallet harder or hitting its athletes harder.

Attendance is already down across the board in college football. Raising prices would only serve to give folks more reason to stay at home with their satellite, cable and HD televisions. So, raising prices on an already-strained facet of the system certainly doesn't look to be the answer—which brings us back to increasing the amount of games.

College football, courtesy of conference expansion and the push to grab more television money, has already seen the schedule grow in recent decades. Eleven games became 12, that 12 grew into 13 with the addition of conference championship games. Throw in the bowl games, and that becomes 14 brutal battles for teams.

Now we are moving to a four-team playoff, which stands to add another game to some teams' schedules. The champion will likely end up 15-0 or 14-1. Or, in other words, one game shy of the NFL's regular season.

College football's not a hobby. It's a time-consuming, physical, toll-exacting grinder that sucks every bit of marrow out of these kids that it can in its current scheduling form. Putting more on their plate would merely be the power brokers squeezing more out of their prize cash cows in an effort to grow their own bank accounts.

Squeezing more out of the players is a time-honored tradition in college football. What used to be a fall sport has turned in a year-round game. Voluntary conditioning sessions are anything but the players' choice. These 17-23-year-old kids are giving the system every ounce of what they have to give. At this point, adding games to their regular season in an obvious profit play is where the line ought to be drawn.

This move would not be a game played by four teams in the postseason. It wouldn't be a conference title move to put the best couple teams on a national stage the first week of December. Rather, the move to a 13-game regular season would be a pure cash grab in an effort to ensure a body-bag opponent for a home game. A move so that teams could grow the money they are going to be pulling in.

Don't fall into the fray, here. Don't gobble up the "we need an extra game to make our nut," rhetoric. We are a season away from the start of the four-team playoff event and the huge payouts that have been negotiated with its existence. Cash for the contract bowls. Cash for the host bowls. Cash for semifinal participants. Cash for the final game.

Teams will find a way to make it work in the odd years where they have just six home games. The cash from the playoff will certainly help to make that a palatable experience.

The sport, and these players, don't need an extra game on the front end—especially not an extra game that's sole purpose is to help athletic departments stuff a little extra cash in their pockets.

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The Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies are back in the news and it's for all the wrong reasons. After a one year separation, the potential for a permanent divorce was looking good. The Texas-Texas A&M marriage, one of college football's oldest, would end. 

Why, it would take an act of congress to save this rivalry series.

And that's kind of what is happening right now.

State Rep. (TX) Ryan Guillen has filed House Bill 778 which would require the two schools to play each other every year—refusal by one school to participate in the game would result in loss of athletic scholarships.  

The Texas Tribune's Reeve Hamilton notes Guillen's reasoning for introducing the bill.

"This game is as much a Texas tradition as cowboy boots and barbeque [sic]," Guillen, an A&M graduate, said. "The purpose of the bill is to put the eyes of Texas upon our two greatest universities to restore this sacred Texas tradition." 

"I think the people of Texas want a game, and we're trying to get them one," Guillen said.

Nothing spells t-r-a-d-i-t-i-o-n better than the government forcing two teams to play each other under threat of losing precious scholarships.

Why, it's like an arranged marriage. And Guillen is the matchmaker. Hooray for tradition. 

Play or suffer the consequences is a great way to enhance school relationships. Can't you just feel the love brewing?

The NCAA has always had the power to strip athletic scholarships from programs and how is that working out on the love meter?

Punishing a school with athletic scholarship reductions is really punishing student-athletes who want to play at a school. What's going to happen if Texas decides not to play Texas A&M and the program loses a couple of scholarships while it's maxed out on 85 scholarship athletes? 

The student-athlete loses out, and Guillen is okay with that?

What this really spells out is grown-ups (once again) putting their own self-serving interests ahead of the student-athletes' interests. They're throwing a tantrum because a rivalry that they care deeply about is getting dumped and they just can't handle the fact that their Thanksgiving may have to include some actual dinner conversation. 

Guillen ostensibly wants this rivalry to continue because A&M still considers Texas its main rival. Meanwhile, Texas usually looks to Oklahoma as its biggest rival—the Red River Rivalry series usually has national significance.  

With Heisman winner Johnny Manziel under center, Texas A&M may have an advantage over Texas in the next few years. However, the Aggies aren't going to be catching up to the Longhorns anytime soon; Texas leads the all-timeseries  76–37–5.

But here's the thing; even if Texas A&M were to beat up Texas over the next couple of years, it's meaningless if A&M doesn't win the SEC South. It's still a non-conference game. 

Sorry Aunt Tilly, Texas A&M class of '40, but nobody in SEC country is going to care if your Aggies beat the Longhorns. 

They will, however, care if Texas A&M beats LSU or Alabama. And therein lies the problem with Guillen—he's hanging on to the past and not looking forward.

Texas A&M left the Big 12 to break free of what it perceived to be Texas' bondage. Fine, it's done, you got your way, Aggies. But why ask for a state-enforced rivalry game with a school that induced you to leave the Big 12 in the first place? It's akin to supporting PETA by showing up at a protest march while wearing a mink coat.

As long as Texas A&M doesn't completely cut ties with Texas, it will never lose that "little brother" status. And as long as Texas A&M "needs" Texas to validate its importance in college football, Texas will always be its big brother.

So go ahead, A&M, cut the cord.

Yes, college football will be missing a great rivalry game, but we'll get over it.

Keep beating Alabama and that could be your new rivalry game.

Tradition!

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It's hard to believe that South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is entering his ninth season as the head coach of the Gamecocks. It seems like only yesterday that the head ball coach was roaming the sidelines in the Swamp, leading the Gators to the the SEC Championship Game on seemingly an annual basis.

It took a little longer than he initially envisioned, but he's got the South Carolina program cooking at a level unlike any other time during the program's history.

The Gamecocks have won 11 games in each of the last two seasons—the first two 11-wins seasons in program history—and took home their first SEC East crown in 2010.

After finishing in the Top 10 in each of the last two seasons, the SEC championship and the BCS National Championship games aren't as far-fetched as they were a decade ago.

But just how much does Spurrier have left?

The head ball coach received a two-year contract extension on Dec. 3, 2012 that will run though the 2017 season. At that time, Spurrier mentioned one of his primary goals.

"We have achieved a lot of goals but have not yet won the SEC Championship," he said. "Hopefully, we can do that within the next couple of years."

Whenever he decides to hang up the visor, he can rest assured that he will go down as one of the most successful coaches in college football history.

He led the Florida Gators to a period of sustained success that was unmatched in program history. In the 1990s, the Gators won seven SEC East division titles, six SEC championships and the 1996 national title. 

You could make the argument that his accomplishments at Florida were certainly enough to solidify his legacy and earn him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach (he was inducted as a player in 1986).

But he wasn't done. 

It's clear that the goal for the 67-year-old Spurrier is to lead South Carolina to its first ever SEC championship. While his contract has been extended through the 2017 season, an SEC title might be enough to ride off into the sunset. 

After what we've seen over the last three years, that SEC championship could come in 2013.

Despite returning only four starters on defense, the Gamecocks return a solid core with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles and defensive backs Jimmy Legree and Victor Hampton.

The loss of running back Marcus Lattimore and wide receiver Ace Sanders will hurt; but when you have four offensive linemen returning, two quality quarterbacks in Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson and Bruce Ellington at wide receiver, there's still plenty of firepower. 

Plus, the schedule steps up for a run.

The Gamecocks draw Mississippi State and Arkansas out of the West this year, both of which aren't in the upper-tier of the division. They do have to travel to Georgia, but that game is back in Week 2—right when Spurrier wants it. They close out the SEC season at home on Nov. 16 against the Florida Gators in what could be the de facto SEC East title game.

If South Carolina wins the SEC title this year—or at any point between now and the time his contract runs out—it wouldn't surprise me in the least bit to see Spurrier ride off in the sunset and spend his days putting a peg in the ground at various golf courses around the country.

I doubt he stays past 2017 no matter what happens. But even if he doesn't win the big game under the big top at the Georgia Dome, his legacy will be sealed as the most decorated coach for two SEC programs.

Follow @BarrettSallee

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Defensive end Jason Hatcher is reportedly once again a member of the USC Trojans' 2013 recruiting class.

Michael Castillo of ReignOfTroy.com reports on what certainly appears to be a change of heart from the talented 4-star defensive lineman:

A week after de-committing from USC, four-star defensive end Jason Hatcher is back on the wagon a member of the Trojans’ Class of 2013. According to Gerard Martinez of  USCFootball.com, the Louisville, KY native had an in-home visit with USC coaches Lane Kiffin, Clancy Pendergast, Tee Martin and Ed Orgeron. Tonight, Hatcher is listed as a committed recruit on Rivals’ full manifest of USC commitments.

For all intents and purposes, it seems as if Hatcher has re-committed to the Trojans. To clarify, Gerard Martinez of USCFootball.com cites Hatcher's mother on the matter:

Orgeron met with Hatcher and his mother, Donna, last Thursday, and after the visit, decided to re-commit to USC.

Monday night, Hatcher tweeted "Fight On World" in symbolic fashion.

"He's going to go to USC, and we don't want to make it more drama than it already is," said his mother. "We've told people he is waiting until signing day, but he is sticking with USC."

Here's the tweet from Hatcher that Martinez is referencing:

This is a big boost of momentum for USC, especially considering all of the struggles the Trojans have had on the recruiting trail in the past few months.

Hatcher is an extremely talented defensive end recruit, and he has great potential. He's ranked as the No. 6 weak-side defensive end in the 2013 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and checks in at 6'2.5'', 240 pounds and runs a 4.70 40-yard dash (247Sports).

Hopefully for USC, this re-commitment represents a change in the tide. The Trojans have experienced a number of decommitments as of late, and USC football is severely lacking momentum on the recruiting trail. With national signing day just a week away, Hatcher's re-commitment could end up sparking a late push for the Trojans.

They're still in the running for a few former commitments in 5-star defensive tackle Eddie Vanderdoes and 4-star defensive end Kylie Fitts—perhaps Kiffin can use Hatcher's re-commitment as a pitch on the recruiting trail with those two.

That momentum is also huge for USC in regards to being able to hold on to the elite recruits that are still committed to Kiffin's 2013 class. Overall, this is a big recruiting win for the Trojans.

Read more College Football news on BleacherReport.com

There will likely be no quarterback controversy for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the offseason, as Everett Golson is the unquestioned man for the job heading into 2013. As a redshirt freshman last season, the young signal-caller performed well enough to give Irish fans positive vibes heading into spring practice and, eventually, the 2012 season.

But like every young player, Golson has a lot of things that he can improve upon to help give his team the best chance to win. Being the starting quarterback of a team that reached the national championship is good and all, but there are a lot of things that need to be tweaked in his game in order for him to become a better overall player.

Due to Golson not being named the starter until late in fall camp last year, he wasn't able to benefit from an entire offseason of working with the starting offense. Now that he will see increased reps in practice, here are the main things that he should be working on to improve his game in 2013.

Don't Be Afraid to Take Chances

No, I don't mean play like Tommy Rees and force the ball into triple-coverage when your team is five yards away from scoring a touchdown. Interceptions are never a good thing, and if you throw a lot of them, there is a chance that you won't be the starter for very much longer.

However, a quarterback can't be afraid to make a mistake and, sometimes, playing a little loose is a good thing.

Now, a lot of this lack of confidence has to do with the poor decisions that the coaching staff made last season (we will get to that later), but Golson can certainty help himself by not being afraid to take more chances. There were too many times when Golson was hesitant about throwing into a tight window. He would pump fake a couple times, look off the receiver and then place the ball out of bounds, giving his teammate almost no shot to make a play on the ball. He needs to stop doing that.

If you are the quarterback of the team, you shouldn't be afraid to make a mistake, and you should have the confidence to throw a jump ball inbounds so that your receiver can go up and get it. Don't shy away from making those tough throws across the middle when the linebacker is quickly creeping from behind. You're the quarterback, go out there and lead the team to victory.

Hesitant and weak throws aren't going to get the job done. Decision making like that will land you on the sidelines quickly, and it will force the coaching staff to go elsewhere and name a new starting signal-caller. But at the same time, Golson can't be worried about making a mistake. There is a thin line between confidence and consistently poor decision making.

We have seen what Golson is capable of when he gets a rhythm going and the confidence is dripping off of his jersey. All of the great quarterbacks aren't afraid of taking chances, and it is the supreme confidence that they have in every throw that makes them great.

Golson needs to stop thinking so much with each and every throw and sometimes just believe that he can deliver on his next pass attempt.

Improve the Field Vision

This may tie into the lack of risks that Golson feels comfortable taking. He struggles to see the field properly.

According to his scouting report, provided by Scout.com, field vision was an issue with Golson when he was coming out of high school. He was accused of often locking onto his receivers and would end up missing some of the easier throws that quarterbacks would kill to have.

In the game against Stanford, Golson showed that this is still an area that he desperately needs to work on.

In the first quarter, Golson didn't just have one receiver running down field wide open; he had two he could have hit for a touchdown. There was no safety help over the top and either one of those Irish receivers could have walked into the end-zone. In the second quarter, while Golson had a nice run that coaches would be proud of, he also had a lonely DaVaris Daniels sprinting down field that would have also resulted in a touchdown.

If Golson would have done a better job of scanning the field and finding the open man a lot sooner, the game against the Cardinal wouldn't have been as close as it was and there would have been no controversial finish.

The Irish quarterback must do a better job of reading coverage’s and recognizing mismatches down the field. If he can improve in this department, he will be a much better player than he was during the 2012 season. 

Get His Team on the Same Page

Let's get back to the confidence thing for a second. It is easy for everybody to critique his play and breakdown the numbers to say that Golson was not effective last season. However, the play calling and the coaching staff certainly didn't help matters whatsoever. The Notre Dame quarterback could drastically improve just by the guys around him making better decisions.

For one, Golson needs to remain in the game at all times if he is truly going to be the future of this football team. He shouldn't be pulled after every bad read he makes and after every turnover that takes place. Confidence with quarterbacks is about as fragile as a newborn baby and it is important that this nonsense of pulling him out of the game comes to a stop. You can't expect somebody to improve when there is no consistency to the game plan or his minutes on the field.

Another thing that the coaching stuff must do is design more plays for Golson to be effective with his legs. Let's be honest, no matter what Golson does to become better during the offseason, he will remain a dual-threat quarterback and is probably a better runner than passer at this point in his career. Running the football only 94 times is simply not enough, and the team simply isn't taking full advantage of his abilities.

Before the national championship matchup against Alabama, Crimson Tide cornerback Dee Milliner compared Golson to Texas A&M Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, according to Dan Wolken of USA Today.

They're two different teams, and they do different things. Cornerback Dee Milliner said. But Manziel and Everett are two scrambling quarterbacks that can make plays with their feet, so that's a good comparison.

Now Manziel has a lot more athletic ability than Golson has ever dreamed of having, but the Notre Dame quarterback is not being used properly. With him being more of a threat to run the football, it will open up the pass and make everything easier when attempting to throw the ball. We should see more zone-reads next year, more quarterback options and more triple-options in order to get the most out of this dual-threat quarterback.

While other offenses are thriving because they are letting the quarterback make plays with his legs, Notre Dame struggled mightily to produce points because Golson was handcuffed.

Golson is more than a quarterback with a bunch of upside because he can also hurt defenses with his legs. With a year under his belt, it is time that the coaching staff starts taking advantage of his abilities, as it will only make him more effective next season.

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Well, at least we know Katherine Webb still remembers the name of her boyfriend, A.J. McCarron. 

The lovely lady who shot out of the cannon of obscurity and landed comfortably into a netting of fame was featured on On Air with Ryan Seacrest. 

A tip of the hat to Yardbarker for catching the segment, including the doozy of an expectation coming from the Alabama lovely, who was at the Super Bowl's Media Day for Inside Edition recently. 

During the radio segment, she delved into much of what we already know: She will feature in a new reality TV show and pretty much passed on Dancing with the Stars because of her commitment to Splash. 

Speaking of commitment, Webb pretty much let it all out there with Ryan Seacrest when Ellen K. asked her about marriage:

Yeah absolutely. It’s kind of funny because I’ve dated in LA and I’ve kind of like seen how Hollywood works. But when you find yourself with someone that you really can see yourself with, like, you know it. I knew in the first two weeks that we were going to be together for a long time. Love kind of takes over and you start talking about the future. So yeah, it’s definitely something that I want. I don’t see all of this fame — or whatever it is — kind of affecting how I feel toward AJ.

Yikes, A.J., it seems like we have a Stage 3 clinger on our hands. 

In all honesty, Webb answered how one might when posed with the very blunt question, especially considering all the rumors that McCarron is jealous of her fame—rumors she continues to dispel. 

Still, this is a rather remarkable statement considering the two have only been dating since December, per the report. 

She really could have gone with the oft-used, "We are just going to take our relationship day-by-day and...blah, blah." Instead, she pretty much has McCarron back home doing one of two things: pacing the house, drenched in sweat and looking for a rock to hide under; or pacing the house, drenched in sweat and looking for a ring to buy. 

Oh, Webb also managed to bring to light some other startling news in that her appearance on TV at the BCS Championship Game was hardly an improvised decision:

AJ knows Brent Musburger personally. AJ told me not even a week ago — like freaking three weeks after it happened — that Brent Musburger had actually come up to AJ and was like, "So, is your girlfriend going to be here? Because I think we’re probably going to show her on television." (McCarron said) "She’ll probably be sitting with my mom." I was like, "AJ, why are you just now telling me this?"

If Mussy-Mus already knew he would be bantering on about Webb, surely he could have thought about something more clever than what was the verbal equivalent of kissy noises. 

Now, someone please give McCarron a hug, because he may be freaking out at the moment, as his girlfriend of a couple months is already talking about marriage. 

Lock it down, big man. 

Hit me up on Twitter for more pop in your culture. 

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