Urban Meyer

I am remembering Urban Meyer before he was Urban Meyer , sitting in the dark in his office one early Sunday morning three games into the 2004 season. He was the coach at Utah, it was September, and Meyer seemed on the verge of something special. It was the reason I was sitting in his office. Meyer was playing a snippet from Saturday's game film, a 48-6 rout over Utah State. He was reviewing a punt formation in which he had overloaded one side of the line of scrimmage.

Ohio State introduced Urban Meyer as its new coach Monday about three hours after UCLA showed Rick Neuheisel its revolving door. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero wanted to make the move now on Neuheisel to get the jump on his coaching search. Too late for that if Meyer was on your short list. And scratch off Al Golden, who re-upped at Miami through the end of civilization and/or NCAA probation. And if Boise State's Chris Petersen says no, well, then what? It's a bad time for UCLA to be entering the head-coaching market right now. Things are crazy.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he called Urban Meyer after the Florida football coach, citing health concerns, resigned abruptly in December. Meyer ultimately changed his mind and took a leave of absence and returned for spring practice. Krzyzewski took a leave in 1995 following the stress caused by back surgery. Duke finished 13-18 that season. "I think the main thing we talked about is that he wasn't the only guy, who, you know, that kind of stuff can happen to," Krzyzewski said.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Wednesday. Justin Bieber talks paternity suit with David Letterman: "I could smell a weasel. " ( TMZ ) This year's "Dancing With the Stars" winner is... ( Los Angeles Times ) "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston is appearing with Annette Bening in a special stage presentation of "It's a Wonderful Life. " Merry Christmas, meth lab! Merry Christmas, drug den! ( Los Angeles Times ) They may be forgotten to a lot of people, but downtown L.A.'s movie palaces are still important to the film industry.

If you want Pete Carroll to stay at USC, the latest Super Bowl coaching matchup -- Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin versus Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt -- was right up your alley. Think Urban Meyer belongs at Florida? Then you have to love pro football's latest hiring trend: an inexperienced and relatively inexpensive coach who can relate to his players is better than the high-profile leader with the whopping price tag, especially in this down economy.

Ohio State introduced Urban Meyer as its new coach Monday about three hours after UCLA showed Rick Neuheisel its revolving door. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero wanted to make the move now on Neuheisel to get the jump on his coaching search. Too late for that if Meyer was on your short list. And scratch off Al Golden, who re-upped at Miami through the end of civilization and/or NCAA probation. And if Boise State's Chris Petersen says no, well, then what? It's a bad time for UCLA to be entering the head-coaching market right now. Things are crazy.

He might have been any coach eating a taco during lunch after practice on a summer day so drippy swamp-hot you could understand why Gatorade was invented here. Then Urban Meyer leaned forward and peered up from his office couch. His eyes fixed on the questioner as he conveyed the intensity that has made him, at 41, the hottest young coach in college football. "I cannot wait until [Saturday]," he said, almost in a frightening way, of Florida's opener against Wyoming. "I can ... not ... wait."

Saturday's USC football game once again confirms Notre Dame's biggest defeat in the history of Irish football was to the University of Florida. Florida, Urban Meyer, Notre Dame, zero. Barry Smith Thousand Oaks -- Seems to me that Charlie Weis was much more of an offensive genius at New England when he knew the opposing team's signals. Mark S. Roth Los Angeles -- The biggest problem with college football isn't the lack of a playoff system, it's the bowls that are drooling at the opportunity to offer a pathetic Notre Dame team a bid. Larry Yells Hermosa Beach

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Wednesday. Justin Bieber talks paternity suit with David Letterman: "I could smell a weasel. " ( TMZ ) This year's "Dancing With the Stars" winner is... ( Los Angeles Times ) "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston is appearing with Annette Bening in a special stage presentation of "It's a Wonderful Life. " Merry Christmas, meth lab! Merry Christmas, drug den! ( Los Angeles Times ) They may be forgotten to a lot of people, but downtown L.A.'s movie palaces are still important to the film industry.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is back home after spending the night in the hospital with a concussion. How long before he plays again is now the big question facing the Gators. Tebow was released from a Lexington, Ky., hospital Sunday morning, about 12 hours after sustaining a concussion in the Gators' 41-7 victory at Kentucky. He was held for precautionary reasons and tests. "Tim is doing fine this morning," said Coach Urban Meyer , who stayed behind with Tebow. "His CT scans came back and indicated that Tim suffered a concussion."

Jay Paterno has a plan to place his father's name back on the Big Ten Conference football championship trophy. Asked his reaction to the conference announcing this week that it was removing Joe Paterno's name from what had been called the Stagg-Paterno Trophy, Jay Paterno, Penn State's quarterbacks coach, said: "The only reaction I had was, let's get there and win it and put it back on. We'll bring it on a Post-it note … we'll stick...

Lane Kiffin and USC wouldn't mind seeing Jim Harbaugh or Chip Kelly replace Urban Meyer at Florida.? Nor would UCLA fans mind seeing Meyer resurface in Westwood as a successor to Rick Neuheisel, presuming that the Bruins continue to spin their wheels under Neuheisel.? Could UCLA afford him? ? USC could, if Kiffin doesn't pan out.? Tom Brady and Mark Sanchez are NFL quarterbacks, but at this stage in their careers they've got little else in common.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he called Urban Meyer after the Florida football coach, citing health concerns, resigned abruptly in December. Meyer ultimately changed his mind and took a leave of absence and returned for spring practice. Krzyzewski took a leave in 1995 following the stress caused by back surgery. Duke finished 13-18 that season. "I think the main thing we talked about is that he wasn't the only guy, who, you know, that kind of stuff can happen to," Krzyzewski said.

I am remembering Urban Meyer before he was Urban Meyer , sitting in the dark in his office one early Sunday morning three games into the 2004 season. He was the coach at Utah, it was September, and Meyer seemed on the verge of something special. It was the reason I was sitting in his office. Meyer was playing a snippet from Saturday's game film, a 48-6 rout over Utah State. He was reviewing a punt formation in which he had overloaded one side of the line of scrimmage.

Matt Szczur caught two touchdown passes, ran for 159 yards and had 68 yards receiving, leading Villanova to its first Football Championship Subdivision title with a 23-21 victory over Montana on Friday night at Chattanooga, Tenn. No. 2 Villanova (14-1) won the title in its first championship game appearance. Top-seeded Montana (14-1) was making a record 17th consecutive appearance in the playoffs. Andrew Selle threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jabin Sambrano to pull Montana to within 23-21 with 1 minute 7 seconds left, but the onside kick attempt went out of bounds and Villanova made a first down before running out the clock.

Kellen Moore threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Boise State survived a brief scare on the road with a 45-35 victory over upstart Louisiana Tech on Friday night at Ruston, La. Louisiana Tech had pulled to within 30-28 early in the fourth quarter on Dennis Morris ' leaping catch in the corner of the end zone. The Broncos' defense buckled down after that for Boise State (9-0, 4-0 Western Athletic Conference) to pull away with touchdowns on consecutive drives, the second score coming on Jeremy Avery's 44-yard touchdown run. Bryant leaving Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant is headed to the NFL. Bryant told ESPN.

Football season has arrived, and let's hope nobody's feelings get hurt. The NCAA has done away with the terms Division I-A and I-AA football, lest some schools be considered second class. Now the major-college teams formerly known as I-A who are eligible for the Bowl Championship Series are the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham will sit out the rest of the season after having surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. Coach Bob Stoops said doctors determined during an arthroscopic surgery Tuesday that they needed to stitch together the cartilage in Gresham's knee. Stoops said Gresham will need five months to recover. The 13th-ranked Sooners are already reeling from the loss of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford , who sprained his shoulder in a 14-13 loss to Brigham Young and will be out at least two weeks.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is back home after spending the night in the hospital with a concussion. How long before he plays again is now the big question facing the Gators. Tebow was released from a Lexington, Ky., hospital Sunday morning, about 12 hours after sustaining a concussion in the Gators' 41-7 victory at Kentucky. He was held for precautionary reasons and tests. "Tim is doing fine this morning," said Coach Urban Meyer , who stayed behind with Tebow. "His CT scans came back and indicated that Tim suffered a concussion."

Notre Dame probably will be without receiver Michael Floyd for the rest of the regular season and quarterback Jimmy Clausen might not be 100% when the Fighting Irish play at Purdue on Saturday. Floyd underwent surgery Sunday for a broken left collarbone. Coach Charlie Weis said he hasn't been told how long Floyd will be out, but he expects to be without him the rest of the way. Floyd might be available for a bowl game. The sophomore went into the Michigan State game second in the nation in receiving yards at 160 a game.