Ralph Friedgen finds himself on a short leash

Jesse Palmer is one of the top college football analysts in the business, and we talked about Friedgen and the ACC. Palmer on Friedgen » There are a handful of major-program coaches on the hot seat as the 2010 season begins, and we know that Ralph is under pressure to win. They really need either Jamarr Robinson or Danny O’Brien to become the team’s leader and take advantage of a weaker Atlantic Division — where the clear favorite is FSU. Of course, it would not hurt to pull a couple great upsets, and beating Navy and West Virginia could be a great step forward to the program and to job security. If Maryland can get to six wins and a bowl, I really think that will be enough for Ralph to keep his job. – Washington Examiner

South Carolina ties to hotel go back to 2009

The ties between South Carolina football players and the Whitney Hotel date to at least 2009, multiple sources close to the program said Thursday. Tight end Weslye Saunders, who is at the center of the NCAA’s investigation of USC, is among the players who lived at the Shandon-area hotel last year. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier asked at least 10 current players to move out of the hotel last week and pay their bills. Saunders, a senior from Durham, N.C., is one of several players who owe the hotel thousands of dollars after receiving a discounted monthly rate of $450. Players have been told to re-pay the difference between what they paid and a rate that officials determined to be fair market value. Another source said Saunders must re-pay more than $5,000 to the hotel, where he still had a room as of Wednesday night. At least two players had not made any payments to the hotel for several months, according to a source. USC is working cooperatively with the NCAA on the investigation. Spurrier said this week players could miss games as a result of the Whitney investigation, based on the NCAA’s history with players who received extra benefits. – The State

Mike Gundy on the hot seat at Oklahoma State

Mike Gundy coached the Oklahoma State program to consecutive nine-win seasons. He has a long-term contract and collects nearly $2 million this year. His team has been bolstered by a dynamic new offensive coordinator (Dana Holgorsen) and an apparently excellent group of freshmen, and the 2011 recruiting class has a chance to be the best in school history.  After five years as OSU’s head football coach, Gundy’s report card includes an unprecedented run of four bowl appearances. Because he fielded competitive, compelling teams at a time when the university executed a $283 million renovation and expansion of Boone Pickens Stadium, the business of Cowboy football has never been better. Last season, OSU set school records for attendance, season-ticket sales and student season-ticket sales.  Gundy has never seemed more comfortable in his role as the head man. He has never seemed more relaxed during the countdown to the start of any season, and perhaps it’s because of a belief in the OSU camp that the Cowboys will be better – and perhaps a lot better – than expected. At 40, Gundy was the star of one of the more spectacular news-conference rants in recent sports history. At 43, he seems to manage stress much more effectively, and he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by a national publication’s prediction of his demise.  “Anyone can express an opinion or write what they want to write,” Gundy said. “Everyone is free to predict whatever they want. That’s what makes the world go around, you know. – Tulsa World

BYU likely to remain in Mountain West

The Mountain West Conference-BYU impasse could be resolved as soon as today, numerous sources said Wednesday, with all indications that the Cougars will remain in the MWC. The Provo, Utah, school doesn’t have many alternatives since the Mountain West pulled the rug from under the Western Athletic Conference by raiding Fresno State and Nevada. BYU was contemplating going to the WAC in all sports except football and becoming an independent in football but playing a handful of WAC opponents. BYU has made no secret it wants greater freedom to broadcast its games over its network, BYU-TV. Unlike the proposed University of Texas network, BYU-TV isn’t a cash cow but a vehicle for spreading the Mormon faith. – Denver Post

South Carolina players received reduced hotel rates

Some South Carolina football players owed the Whitney Hotel several thousand dollars after receiving reduced room rates during extended stays at the hotel that have come under NCAA scrutiny, a source close to the situation told The State on Wednesday. Multiple sources said some players had been living at the Whitney since the spring while paying a rate of $450 per month. But officials determined players should have been paying about $1,200 a month, and players were told by school officials to pay the difference to the hotel. For at least two players who had not made any payments, the resolution meant they owed the hotel close to $5,000, according to one of the sources. USC coach Steve Spurrier would not comment Wednesday when asked about players owing thousands to the hotel, located in the Devine Street shopping district. Jamie Blevins, general manager of the Whitney, has referred all questions to the NCAA. –

The State

Delany: OSU-UM process nearly complete

Walking uphill and going nowhere at the same time, Jim Delany addressed how close the world was to a midseason Michigan-Ohio State game. [Big Ten] honchos appear poised to place the teams in opposite divisions. That would allow the schools to meet in the Big Ten title game but likely would move their rivalry game to October to avoid the threat for a late-season rematch. Delany cautioned that no final decision has been made, saying the process is “80 percent” complete after university presidents and athletic directors have analyzed a dozen models. … “If Duke and North Carolina were historically the two strongest programs and only one could play for the right to be in the NCAA tournament, would you want them playing in the season-ending game so one is in and one is out?” he asked. – Chicago Tribune

With USC in purgatory, Oregon takes command

Without USC as the conference bear, are the Ducks next in line? Oregon returns 17 starters and is hard to ignore as the favorite in the Pac-10. USC is about to be removed from the conversation for the next few years because of crippling NCAA penalties. It can “win” the Pac-10 this season but won’t be able to play in a bowl game for the next two seasons. Don’t tell Chip Kelly this, but he can finish second in the next two seasons and still go to the Rose Bowl. … “It’s ‘what have you done for me lately?’” Kelly said. “Now it’s almost like what did you do last weekend? People told us we were done after our first game of the season. Then we battled our way back in.” – CBSSports.com

Bowden rips FSU

The icon is not going quietly. Bobby Bowden, in a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Sporting News, details his final days at Florida State and how he was “fired” from the program he built. Among the revelations from Bowden, who on Tuesday begins a nationwide tour to promote his book, “Called to Coach: Reflections on Life, Faith and Football”: Bowden was fired — he didn’t resign or retire — after FSU’s loss to Florida in the regular-season finale. … Bowden says former FSU president T.K. Wetherell, who played for Bowden when he was a Florida State assistant in the 1960s and repeatedly proclaimed Bowden had a “lifetime contract,” reneged on an agreement to allow Bowden to coach through the end of the 2010 season. – Sporting News

Big Ten selling out tradition

A rivalry that began more than 100 years ago is about to take a bath. Beating Michigan or beating Ohio State is what the teams work toward. It represents seeing the season through, either for their own glory or to ruin their rivals. … Ohio State and Michigan should be placed in the same division and meet in the final game of the regular season. It works for Auburn- Alabama, Texas-Texas A&M and a host of other great rivalries that have survived the super conference era. It’s a nod to the concept that these are more than just games, that they aren’t just a product to package for television, that in college football, tradition should be honored, not reworked in the hope of a ratings bump. – Rivals.com

Michigan-Ohio State first victim of Big Ten expansion?

Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon on Friday, a day after published quotes from Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith appeared in which he suggested the Michigan-Ohio State game could possibly move from its traditional date as the last game of their seasons, essentially said this: Expect Michigan and Ohio State to be in separate divisions in the newly expanded Big Ten, and their annual meeting probably won’t be played on its traditional late November weekend. – Detroit News

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