The Wiz of Odds

Mangino's Anger Management Issues

Could Mark Mangino be on the verge of losing his job?

The Kansas coach's rough-edged approach is being called into question after linebacker Arist Wright complained to athletic director Lew Perkins about a recent incident where Mangino poked him in the chest.

Perkins then made the matter public by announcing an investigation into Mangino's behavior to see if it had become an ongoing theme within the program.

Several players — past and present — have since come forward to discuss Mangino's tough-love approach. Some have gone on the record, others have chosen to remain anonymous. Nearly all say Mangino has been out of line.

Dexton Fields, a receiver for the Jayhawks from 2004-08, called the complaints legitimate.

"It's been a long time that stuff has been happening and it had to surface," Fields told the Daily Kansan. "Of all the talent that KU has there, it had to be some other reason that KU isn't producing out on the field. It's been long overdue."

The Jayhawks have lost five in a row after winning their first five.

So What Did Carroll and Harbaugh Talk About?

USC had won 28 consecutive November games under Pete Carroll since he became coach in 2001, many of them by huge margins.

Then came Saturday's 55-21 bludgeoning to the hands of Stanford, the most points ever given up by a Trojan team.

Make no mistake: Jim Harbaugh was intent on running up the score. After Toby Gerhart steamrolled his way to the Cardinal's seventh touchdown and 48-21 lead with 6:47 to play, Harbaugh decided to go for two — probably because he couldn't go for three.

The attempt failed, but Stanford tacked on one more score with its second-team offense against the Trojan first-team defense.

Tommy West Is a Bitter Man

Tommy West, fired earlier Monday as Memphis' coach, wasted no time ripping the fans and the athletic department for a lack of support.

Zook Fires Back at Meyer

Illinois' Ron Zook initially brushed off comments made by Florida's Urban Meyer that suggested Gator freshmen under Zook were treated as "non-people." That changed Saturday.

Zook, after having a night to sleep on Meyer's comments, issued a terse statement:

"I was surprised to see that, once again, five years later, we're blamed for something else at Florida," Zook said. "But by now I guess I shouldn't be. This one was most disappointing because it implies we didn't look out for our players. From someone who wasn't there at the time.

"I can assure you I've never, ever been accused of that. I thought I was too much of a players' coach. The implication is incorrect — there is no place for hazing in college football and we've put a stop to that if we've ever seen it.

"I applaud Florida for fostering what they say is a wonderful family atmosphere. I would invite anyone to talk to any of our players here at Illinois and, although we don't look for media opportunities to brag about it, it is a wonderful family atmosphere.''

Meyer Wasn't Taking a Shot at Zook, Was He?*

*Updated: Meyer now says he never intended to criticize Zook.

Urban Meyer has had little to complain about since becoming Florida's coach in 2005. He has won two Bowl Championship Series titles, including one with a roster stacked with veteran players recruited by his predecessor, Ron Zook.

But on Friday, Meyer — without mentioning Zook by name — appeared to take a shot at the Illinois coach.

David Jones of Florida Today writes that Meyer was asked a question about how he handles players having arguments on the field and in the locker room.

"When we first got here five years ago, they had freshmen in a separate locker room and it was a bunch of tin lockers over there and they weren't allowed to walk [into the regular locker room]. Think about this for a minute: this is a big-time college football program and we had some fights because they treat their freshman like they were non-people," Meyer said.

" 'Don't walk through here, we'll kick your tail, we'll shave your eyebrows.' It took us awhile to break that great culture we had here. That was tremendous. You don't win many games, but you beat up freshmen and shave eyebrows. Absolutely unbelievable."

Coaches Considering Covering Their Tracks

Who could forget Texas' Mack Brown leaving Missouri off his final regular season USA Today coaches ballot last season? Or how about Texas Tech's Mike Leach voting the Longhorns fifth and the Red Raiders No. 2?

Then there is this quote from Grant Teaff on Wednesday about that very poll: "The perception is that there's a huge bias, and we've never really found that."

Oh really?

Then again, what do you expect when there's a gathering of the old boy's club?

The American Football Coaches Association, meeting this week in Phoenix, is considering several changes to the poll, including making not only the voting a secret, but the identity of the 61 voting coaches as well.