Update on Various Topics

I haven't been able to post at all this week, and we've had a lot going on.  I'm going to try and play catch up and provide some decent Friday morning reading material in doing so. 

LSU's win over Arkansas seems to have quieted the intense criticism of Les Miles and the coaching staff, at least a little bit.  It was a big win for this team, especially considering the way they lost the Ole Miss game the week prior.  LSU can now take a month to get healthy, and they have the chance to secure a ten-win season and a possible top ten finish.  Les Miles has performed exceptionally well in bowl games during his tenure at LSU.  

In terms of that bowl game, it's all but official that LSU will play in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, FL.  The Tigers' opponent is still a topic of debate however.  It all depends on the Fiesta Bowl, who gets the first pick of BCS at-large teams after the Sugar Bowl selects the SEC Championship Game loser.  Assuming Texas wins the Big-12 Championship game, the Fiesta bowl will select either Iowa or Penn State who have identical 10-2 records.  Penn State is probably the more attractive choice, but Iowa won the head to head match up and is ranked a couple spots ahead in the BCS rankings.  The word on the street is that the Fiesta is leaning towards Iowa.   LSU will play whoever the Fiesta Bowl does not pick, and that's looking like Penn State right now. 

While nothing is official, here's my latest guess at how the SEC bowl picture is shaping up:

BCS Championship Game - SEC Championship Game winner
Sugar Bowl - SEC Championship Game loser
Capital One Bowl - LSU vs. Penn State
Cotton Bowl - Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma State
Outback Bowl - Auburn vs. Wisconsin
Chick-Fil-A Bowl - Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
Liberty Bowl - Arkansas vs. Houston
Music City Bowl - South Carolina vs. North Carolina
Independence Bowl - Georgia vs. Texas A&M
PapaJohns.com Bowl - Kentucky vs. South Florida

All of the bowl games should be officially announced on Sunday. 

In case you missed it, LSU running backs coach and ace recruiter Larry Porter was named as the next head coach at Memphis.  That means that LSU has a void on their coaching staff....and in their recruiting efforts.  LSU has targeted Tennessee wide receivers coach Frank Wilson to fill that void.  Wilson used to be the head coach at O.Perry Walker high school in New Orleans.  He was then running backs coach at Ole Miss under Ed Orgeron.  He spent last season as running backs coach at Southern Miss before being hired by Tennessee.  Wilson has proven himself as a top notch recruiter, and he has incredible pull in the New Orleans area.  Known as a recruiter first, he's also had good results as a position coach too.  It was reported by several sites on Thursday night that Wilson was offered the position by LSU.  I think he'd be a great hire for LSU, and I hope he accepts the offer. 

An interesting side note is that the top high school junior in the state of Louisiana, in my opinion, is defensive tackle Anthony Johnson who just happens to play at O. Perry Walker high school.  He is number one on my very early Top five list for the Class of 2011.  Johnson is currently an early verbal commitment to Tennessee, and the primary reason for that is Frank Wilson.  If Wilson ends up at LSU, then Johnson will surely consider switching to the Tigers. 

Among much speculation, the fate of the rest of LSU's offensive coaching staff remains unknown.  At the conclusion of the 2008 recular season, LSU waited until after the bowl game before shipping out the defensive staff.  We may have to wait until after the bowl game this year to know whether Gary Crowton, Greg Studrawa, or DJ McCarthy will return.  With the performance of the offense this season, I'm guessing that they'll all be replaced when the time is right.  If it were up to me, all of those guys would be looking for jobs next year.  With DJ McCarthy being at the center of potential NCAA violations,  I think it's safe to say he won't be back.  In my next update, I'll try to give a rundown of possible replacements for McCarthy at WR coach.