The Sports Monitor

Bill O'Brien did a heck of a job under the circumstances at Penn State. He had to convince a lot of players to commit to the football program through some tough times. Now, he's bolting for the NFL. O'Brien is free to do what he wants in his profession. But I can't help but think O'Brien didn't follow his own advice. I think abandoning the program is too strong, but he didn't hold himself to the same standard that he pressured college students into staying.

College football recruiting can be cutthroat. I get it. I also think it's a bit absurd for Alabama -- or any school -- to be offering an eighth-grader a scholarship. Dylan Moses got the offer from the Crimson Tide. But 'Bama wasn't the first. LSU offered the kid a scholarship last summer. This is just out of control.

It's been a long college football bowl season, with games starting Dec. 15, but things really get interesting with a trifecta today: the Independence Bowl, the Russell Athletic Bowl and the Meineke Car Care Bowl. The Independence Bowl features Ohio against Louisiana-Monroe, with ULM favored by 6, according to Sportsbetting.ag . Don't let the names fool you, ULM beat then-No. 8 Arkansas and earned a bowl trip. Ohio has a 1,500-yard rusher in Beau Blankenship. Saturday, my favorite game out of the five scheduled is the Pinstripe Bowl, featuring high-powered West Virginia. We get an off day for NFL on Sunday, but the bowl games get better on Monday. New Year's Eve has four prime games, including LSU vs. Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. On New Year's Day, there are six games to watch, the perfect way to nurse a hangover from partying your way into 2013. I'm looking forward to the Orange Bowl to see if Northern Illinois can hang with Florida State. I also w...

A headline on ESPN.com said it all: Family says no Paterno coverup for Sandusky. You can read the story here . My question: What else would Joe Paterno's family say about the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State? If reports are true, Thursday is the day we'll hear about the Sandusky scandal.

The Penn State football coaching search can't be going very well. If you're considering hiring former Browns and Jets coach Eric Mangini, well, you're in trouble. Browns fans probably would like to forget about the Mangini years. Jets fans probably have the same thoughts. Why would Penn State want Mangini? Maybe they're desperate. Maybe the program isn't what they thought. Maybe candidates are scared off by what might happen down the road. Maybe they just don't know. After all, when was the last time Penn State had to look for a coach? Mike Munchak, Tony Dungy and Chris Peterson (Boise State) all have denied any interest. Meanwhile, many schools, including Pitt, have filled their vacancies. Whenever Penn State names a coach, that person will be behind on the recruiting trail. Nittany Lions fans should just hope that person isn't Eric Mangini.

I've lost my appetite for hating the BCS system. For years now, we've been told it's great by the people who created it. We've been told how it matches the two best teams in the country for college football's national championship. Instead, we're usually left without the two best teams playing for the title. We complain, gripe and do everything we can to slam the system. Ideas are tossed around, but they never gain traction. Five of six weeks later, everyone turns on their television after the new year to watch college football again and the slime that run the BCS and the bowls smile while counting their dollars. Yeah, college football is grand. Sunday night was another reminder of how bad the system is. For this year's version of the national championship, we're left with a rematch of LSU and Alabama. The two team's played earlier in a battle of field goals -- yawn! -- with LSU beating 'Bama 9-6. We're left to believe that a syst...

My friend from high school e-mailed me two weeks ago with free tickets to the Pitt-Connecticut football game at Heinz Field. Nah, I thought. I wasn't ready to see Pitt this season. I wanted to wait. I wasn't convinced the team was as good as its record was at that point. Then there was the team's struggles against UConn, and my mind was made up. At halftime, I still was pretty sure I made the right decision on that game. Pitt proved me wrong that week with a strong second half and a win over the Huskies. On Saturday, they got the attention of the national media with a win over Rutgers that vaulted the program into the Top 25 this season. There still are tough tests ahead, with South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati still on the schedule, but this team looks special, largely because of running back Dion Lewis. This kid has the goods. He finished that Connecticut game with 158 yards rushing. He followed it up with a 180-yard, two-touchdown performance against Rutgers. Le...

Last week there were a few howls when the Pittsburgh Panthers college football team was left out of the Top 25. They were 27th in the Associated Press poll after winning their first two games, and a win against Buffalo seemed to be enough to vault the Panthers into the Top 25. The Panthers did their part, beating the Bulls. However, the pollsters didn't agree. They actuallly dropped the Panthers a couple spots. So, armed with a potential chip on their shoulder, the Panthers traveled to N.C. State on Saturday and naturally lost. Pitt was in control of the game, leading 31-17 late into the third quarter. N.C. State scored three straight touchdowns and the Panthers missed out on a first-and-goal at the end of the game to tie it. So much for being a nationally ranked team. Going into the season, the Panthers didn't have many questions on defense. The offense was the unit that was up in the air. How would quarterback Bill Stull be? Who would be the running back? Well, we know those ...

College football returned Thursday night with a bang, but it wasn't a good one. Last night featured a Top 25-battle between Oregon and Boise State at Boise's famous blue turf stadium. It was cool to see a battle between ranked teams so early in the season. And it's always neat to see the blue turf on the TV screen. The end of the game, however, wasn't a disgrace. After the game -- a 19-8 win by Boise State -- Oregon star running back LeGarrette Blount landed a punch to Boise linebacker Bryon Hout that dropped Hout. Correct that. Call it a sucker punch. Blount said he got frustrated as the game went on, was taunted by fans and players and reacted. "I should have handled that situation a lot better than I did," Blount told reported after the game. "I apologize. We will never have a game like this again." That's too little, too late. Blount already had been disciplined by coach Chip Kelly for poor attendance at meetings and workouts. Now, the choice...