The Wiz of Odds

Could San Diego State (8-4) Be Left Out of Bowl Party?

From the Department of Nobody Said Life Was Fair.

UCLA, which received a waiver this week to play in a bowl with a 6-7 record, could nudge out San Diego State, which might finish 8-4.

The Bruins play Friday at Oregon in the Pacific 12 title game. Given that the team is a 31-point underdog, it's likely UCLA will finish 6-7.

San Diego State is 7-4 and finishes Saturday with a home game against Fresno State. Three of the team's losses have come against teams ranked in the top 25 (at Michigan, Texas Christian and Boise State). The most damaging loss came at home to Wyoming, which put the Cowboys a notch up on the pecking order for bowl-eligible teams from the Mountain West.

The league has only four contracted bowl games for five eligible teams. As it stands, San Diego State is the odd team out.

San Diego State

The results were disastrous the last time San Diego State hired a coach named Long, but the Aztecs think they got it right this time. Rocky Long is the new coach, taking over for Brady Hoke, who departed for Michigan. Hoke rebuilt a program left in ashes by Chuck Long, who won only nine games in three seasons. San Diego State won that many games in 2010. There is plenty to build on for Hoke's successor, starting with running back Ronnie Hillman, who rushed for 1,532 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman. He'll run behind an offensive line that returns four starters. The biggest game of 2011? That's easy — a Sept. 24 matchup against Michigan and Hoke.

Thanks to Chris. Click the image to enlarge.

Chuck Long Unloads California Home for $518,000 Loss

Former San Diego State coach and current Kansas offensive coordinator Chuck Long got out from under the auctioneer's gavel last week when he unloaded his dwelling in Poway, Calif., for $850,000.

Long quit making payments in August on the four-bedroom home that he purchased in 2007 for $1.368 million. On Nov. 23, a notice of default was filed in San Diego County and the property was to be auctioned in a trustee's sale on Wednesday.

But the lender accepted a short sale and the auction was canceled, according to Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

San Diego State Had Bowl Profit of About $11,000

Update: San Diego State's profit was $146,706, but the San Diego Union-Tribune story linked in this post is a big picture piece, taking into account bowl bonuses paid to coaches and other staffers. Thus the lower figure.

Teams looking to profit on the postseason might want to follow the lead of San Diego State.

The Aztecs turned a profit of about $11,000 on their trip to the Poinsettia Bowl, played only a few miles from campus in Qualcomm Stadium.

The combination of revenue from tickets sales and low transportation costs helped San Diego State finish on the plus side. The team was required to purchase 5,000 tickets, but exceeded that number by 3,184, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The game drew a record crowd of 48,049.

Transportation costs were only $21,000, including $2,500 for an escort from the California Highway Patrol.

Former San Diego St. Coach Long Is Facing Foreclosure

Rich people have problems, too.

Chuck Long, the former San Diego State coach who earned more than $700,000 annually at the school from 2006-09, is facing foreclosure on his Poway, Calif., home next month, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Long, 48, is now the offensive coordinator at Kansas. He bought the four-bedroom house in 2007 for $1.38 million, but it was recently assessed at $893,000.

Long told the newspaper that the foreclosure situation was "news to me" and said he's in escrow with a potential buyer. A real estate agent said a short sale was being attempted before a scheduled March 23 auction.

Long had a 9-27 record in three seasons as Aztec coach before he was reassigned in November 2008. He still had two years left on his contract and after settlement talks went nowhere, the university paid him $715,000 in 2009 to do "projects and analysis."

San Diego State's financial burden was lessened in December 2009 when Long was hired by Kansas' Turner Gill. Kansas paid Long $350,000 in 2010 and San Diego State picked up $365,900 to complete terms of its five-year deal.

Long, a former Iowa quarterback and Heisman Trophy runnerup in 1985, defaulted on his payments last August. On Nov. 23, a notice of default was filed in San Diego County.

Is This Michigan's Man?

Back in 2008, Brady Hoke was coach of the Ball State Cardinals and appeared on "The Late Show With David Letterman" to read the top ten list. (FYI: Letterman is a Ball State graduate.) A few weeks later, Hoke was off to San Diego State. Now he could be days from being named coach at Michigan.

Thanks to The M Zone.