The Wiz of Odds

McCartney's Coaching Candidacy Is Hit by Boulder

Bill McCartney's past could hurt his future.

McCartney, 70, has openly lobbied to become Colorado's coach, replacing Dan Hawkins, who was fired earlier this month. It's a job McCartney held from 1982-94.

Although he was wildly successful as a coach — his Buffaloes won a share of the 1990 national championship and three consecutive Big Eight Conference titles — critics say used his position to push anti-gay and sexist agendas.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano has received 15 to 20 letters from members of the campus community who have expressed "deep concerns about Coach McCartney's candidacy," according to the Boulder Daily Camera. An email is also circulating that raises questions about McCartney's off-the-field remarks on abortion and gay rights, as well as the criminal records of his players.

"McCartney has every right to have his own beliefs," said Glenda Russell, who works as a psychologist on campus. "But he stepped over the line on a number of occasions when he used his position at the university to promulgate those beliefs and insist that other people join him in behaviors that were associated with those beliefs."

Political Football

How big was Nevada's 34-31 overtime victory against Boise State on Friday night? Harry Reid (D-NV) spent over 6 minutes talking about it on the Senate floor Monday. Here's a snippet of what he had to say. Watch the full video by clicking here. Thanks to Tom!

Notre Dame's Victory Formation Had Something Extra

Notre Dame had 12 men on the field for two of its last three plays against USC on Saturday night at the L.A. Coliseum. Click the image to enlarge. The officiating crew missed both calls. It would not have mattered because the Fighting Irish were merely running out the clock to secure their 20-16 victory. Thanks to John Walters of FanHouse.

Snapshots of Week 13

A look at the week that was. Thanks to 30fps. Click an image to enlarge.

Week 14

Nineteen precious games. That's all that is left in the 2010 regular season.

The week starts on Thursday with Arizona State traveling to Tucson to play rival Arizona. The Wildcats opened as 5.5-point favorites.

On Friday, Northern Illinois plays Miami (Ohio) in the Mid-American Conference title game at Ford Field in Detroit. The Huskies opened as 14.5-point favorites. In the late game, Illinois plays at Fresno State. The Fighting Illini opened as 4-point favorites but the line has already moved to 6.5 at Wynn Las Vegas.

Here are the lines for Saturday's league title games:

Atlantic Coast — Florida State vs. Virginia Tech (-4) at Charlotte.

Big 12 — Nebraska vs. Oklahoma (-4.5) at Arlington.

Conference USA: Southern Methodist at Central Florida (-9).

Southeastern: Auburn (-7) vs. South Carolina at Atlanta. The line has already dropped to -5 at several sportsbooks.

Saturday's other games of note: Pittsburgh (-1) at Cincinnati; Rutgers at West Virginia (-21); Connecticut at South Florida (-2.5); Utah State at Boise State (-43); Nevada (-14) at Louisiana Tech; Oregon (-16) at Oregon State; USC (-7) at UCLA; Washington (-10, line has dropped to -7) at Washington State and Nevada Las Vegas at Hawaii (-30).

For the latest numbers on all games, click here.

For the Week 14 broadcast schedule, visit Matt Sarzyniak's site.

For statistical breakdowns, visit cfbstats.com.

Follow the Wiz on Twitter for streaming updates.

Old Media

A look at how college football news was played on front pages of newspapers this past weekend. Click an image for an enlarged view.