Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

It's five minutes before the College Football Awards Show kicks off in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. and I'm pumped. I just went down and got a Pineapple Orange Banana flavored Nantucket Nectar.

We'll get to the coaching rumors later. But, it's about to begin.

7:01: Who is Matthew Fox? He did the intro for the show. I asked Coach Rob and he tells me he's Jack from "Lost," he plays an assistant coach in "We Are Marshall" and played WR at Columbia. I'm okay with that.

7:02: Coach Rob: "They probably couldn't afford Matthew McConaughey."
Adam: "He sucks."

7:03: Is it me or is Chris Fowler fumbling through the intro? The Urban line was a decent save. But that intro was pretty poor. Rob: "SNL won't be calling."

7:05: Davey O'Brien award to the nation's top QB. Rob predicts Quinn, I predict Brennan.

7:07: Okay, we're both wrong. But, I'm okay with Troy Smith. He's getting all the big boy awards this week.

7:09: Two things: One, Smith is extremely polished. Two, Rob informed me the girl next to Colt Brennan is smoking hot. Of course I missed it. No TiVo in the office.

7:12: Dick Butkus is such a bruiser. After the commercial break Rob brought up a point: "I've never seen a car commercial that's made me want to buy one." I think the Silverado commercials where the truck just owns stuff makes me want one.

7:15: I don't know if I've told this story on here...but Chris Fowler is completely jacked. I saw him when Gameday came to Blacksburg...I was walking around the set when the crew showed up on Friday. He's a beast, I kid you not.

7:16: Fact: Dick Butkus was in three episodes of MacGyver....I'm not surprised. Rob also brought up another good point: "Why did they talk about the death of [Patrick Willis'] younger brother. Probably not what he wanted to talk about after winning the award."

7:20: Did anyone else see that Nick Saban was offered a 10-year, $57 million dollar contract by Alabama, which he turned down? That amount of money is INSANE.

7:21: If Calvin Johnson doesn't win this. I'll probably stop blogging.

7:23: Good. Fowler asked a great question...whether Johnson thinks HE gets the ball enough...of course he answered it as he should when on national TV. You know he's pissed though. GT should be in a BCS bowl.

7:27: Whoever dressed Reggie Nelson should be slapped...that suit is the complete opposite of good. SILVER SHIRT?

7:29: So far ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach hasn't predicted a winner correctly.

7:30: My buddy Matt just IMed me "'that suit is the complete opposite of good'? 27 minutes in and you're falling apart" ...yeah..

7:31: I'm assuming that was Charlie Weis' wife sitting next to him...if so, he's gotta be at least 3-4 times bigger than her.

7:33: Seeing the cue cards with the big Sharpie handwriting just cheapened that whole interview...I know Lee's up there in years, but come on...someone hold some cards behind Tressel or something.

7:34: Rob picks Joe Thomas. I pick Dan Mozes.

7:35: I don't care that I'm wrong. If Joe Thomas didn't win, then I would have seen his gorgeous escort.

7:37: So they're getting married and he's the best interior lineman in the country. Does that make him better than me?

7:40: The Doak Walker Award is interesting...all (Mike Hart, Darren McFadden and Steve Slaton) are very deserving. None really more than the rest. I'll go with Mike Hart because he's a Wolverine.

7:42: I guess that makes sense. He is a Heisman finalist. However, I don't he could have been in more of a hurry to get off that stage.

7:45: Why did they show the Miami fight in that montage? Also, that hit on the UCLA QB along the sideline last weekend was insanity.

7:50: "There are 44 steps at Steps Beach on Nantucket." It was in the bottle top.

7:53: This is a good story. SI's Rick Reilly wrote about it a while back. That home video is incredible. Stories like Patrick's always get to me...I can watch 100 sad movies and not be really moved. But these stories always touch me. I was once told I don't have a heart because I'm not an animal lover, but I disagree.

8:00: Nick just dropped me a line: "charlie weis' wife weighs 3 times less than him" ...Clearly shows he hasn't been reading. But great minds do think alike.

8:01: Louisville has never lost an event he's performed at..? Valuable betting information.

8:03: How do you choose between Ross, Nelson and Hall? All are money. Rob: "It's a toss up." I'll go with Leon Hall, but all are very deserving.

8:05: Rob brings up a good point: "The Jim Thorpe Award should be for the best all-around player." He's picking Ross. What does Leon Hall being a native of California have to do with anything, by the way?

8:07: I guess that's why he's Coach Rob.

8:09: Of course she's good looking and of course she runs a 48.7 400...what a catch.

8:11: I know I'm a VT guy...but Tech kicker Brandon Pace connected on like 23 in a row (dating back to last season)....he should be a finalist.

8:12: I could beat up Art Carmody. Guaranteed.

8:14: By the way, Pace was 17-18...automatic from inside the 40. And that 8-play stand by Iowa was by far the best.

8:15: Rocky Balboa. My boy Joe Fernandez, who sits next to me here in the office, was on set while they were filming it. He read the whole script and says it's beyond amazing.

8:16: Coach Rob isn't as pumped: "I don't think I will be able to bring myself to watch the new Rocky movie. Rocky should have ended his career after he ended the Cold War."

8:18: 94 career punts over 50 yards? First two-time winner? Draft this kid. Coach's take: " 'The most accomplished punter in college football history.' The sad thing is that is only good for a trivia question." He has to go work the phones with his recruits. So I'm flying solo from here on out. Thanks Rob.

8:24: This piece makes me think of "Dream Job." Man, Mike Hall lucked out and got an inside track at ESPN. That kid better use it to his full advantage...

8:26: The best part about that report was the Troy Smith/Chris Wells play fake and the ball Smith threw to Ginn for the touchdown. That play was so money.

8:28: COME ON CORSO. THE CARDS ARE KILLING ME. But the playoff statement is bold. How long can the BCS hold up? Something's gotta happen. I think you can fuse the bowl system with the BCS. Take the Top 6, give a first-round bye to the top 2 ranked teams in the BCS. 3 plays 6 in the Rose, 4 plays 5 in the Sugar. The lowest remaining seed plays No. 1 in the Fiesta, the other plays No. 2 in the Orange and the two meet in the national title game (the specific bowls can switch every year, of course).

8:31: Chris Fowler's joke about the coaches just bombed. I mean BOMBED.

8:35: LaMarr Woodley should win this award. He made a big play every time Michigan needed one this season. But I think Posluszny will take it.

8:35: Dan Connor will likely win this award next year if he doesn't crank call people and get suspended again. Connor is a bruiser.

8:42: I'm glad Schiano is staying at Rutgers. It's a good move on his part, he has the entire school behind him and he can really build a powerhouse in the metro NY area.

8:45: Nick: "Did you realize there was an NFL game tonight?" Is this NFL Network stuff taking?? I mean, I knew Pittsburgh-Cleveland was playing, but I didn't really care...NFL is on Sundays.

8:48: I feel like the crowd down there has been tough. They're not laughing at stuff they should be...not even courtesy laughs. And it's not like the mood is that unfunny. Schiano and Corso tried to get light for a minute...nada.

8:49: What is Chris Fowler talking about?

8:50: I'm okay with any of the three winning this award. All of them are outstanding.

8:51: Check that...Quinn was outstanding but Smith should have won that award. And no mention of Ray Rice? He was the key in pretty much every Rutgers win this year.

8:54: Alright all, I wish I could go on a little longer, but the site is stagnant without me and we have early deadlines, so I gotta run back. Thanks for checking in. I'll do a quick post tomorrow, but check in Saturday night because I'll be LIVE from the Heisman Trophy ceremony posting every 30 minutes.