Keith Nichol flips his decision...and Spartan Nation flips out

Wow...pretty crazy 48 hours for me.

First off, I trip into one of the biggest stories in Michigan while innocently covering the Lowell girls basketball game for FOX 17. I get a tip that Nichol is there rooting on the girls squad, and I somehow get a one-on-one with him in the hallway after the game. He blows me away by telling me that he is fully committed to MSU and is taking the OU visit more as a fact-finding courtesy visit. FOX 17 takes off with this story, and Bakita plays my full interview w/ Keith Wednesday morning "On The Bench", which is the morning sports-talk show that I produce.

Then the egg comes flying onto my face. Dantonio announces that he will not retain Dave Enos as the quarterbacks coach as MSU. Nichol gets blown away by the OU pitch. And just like they have all season, Spartan fans are left scratching their heads, wondering what the hell happened.

Well this morning I got Paul Konyndyk, who broke the story for Spartan Mag, and Noel Dean (who accompanied Keith Nichol to OU), to come on to the show with Bakita and shed some light on the subject. Here is a summary of what they had to say:

First up was Paul, who is extremely close to the Nichol family and Keith. He got the call from Gary Nichol last night when the news broke of Keith's decomitment. Paul said the decision was based on a couple components-

1.) The announcement that Dan Enos would not be retained was a serious blow, since he was the coach that Keith was closest too on the current staff and was really the last recognizable face left around town since Dantonio moved in. It was thought that Mark D. would keep Enos on staff b/c of their previous relationship at Cincinnati, but that has proved not to be the case.

2.) The loss of Enos was a kicker especially since Keith had already lost the man who originally recruited him, current St. Louis Rams quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier. Paul said that when Coach Nuss left that it "ripped Keith's heart out". Fortunately for State, Enos (who recruited Keith to come to Cincy) showed up and gained the kid's trust. Now Nichol lost his second quarterbacks coach since his recruitment, and has no connection with anyone on Dantonio's staff.

3.) The Oklahoma situation is far superior to that of MSU, and Bob Stoops and his crew were able to convince Keith of this. Paul said that even the most diehard of State fans can realize that especially right now, OU is head and shoulders above them as a program. Also, with Rhett Bomar being kicked off the team, there is a distinct possibility for Keith to contribute right away. At MSU he'd be probably be sitting two years behind Hoyer, suffering through a reclamation project. OU is a program that is expected to be a part of the BCS mix every year. When you stack the two schools against each other, the OU situation is better for a variety of reasons.


I was also able to catch up with Keith's high school football coach, Noel Dean, as he was stuck in the Oklahoma City airport waiting for a flight that could get them back to snowy West Michigan. When he came on the show Coach was candid about the trip and made a couple of interesting points-

1.) Coach Dean reiterated that the loss of both quarterback coaches was a big factor. He also said State fans should give thanks for Tom Izzo. He said that Izzo's visit to the Lowell-Muskegon game and his contact with Keith was the real reason that Nichol was still hanging on to MSU.

2.) Coach also talked a little more in-depth about the pitch OU made. The opportunity is just plain better. He said quote: "...right now there is not a better opportunity in the nation for a true freshmen quarterback".

3.) One thing that Coach Dean brought up that Paul didn't touch too much on was the administration's contact with Keith. After John L. was fired, Coach said there really wasn't anyone looking out for Keith at MSU (and he admitted that it was b/c they are a big institution and didn't have to time), but that during that time period of a coaching search, doubts about his future with the program started to creep into Keith's head. And then came OU knocking at the door. Coach went on to say that if MSU wasn't currently concerned with Nichol, then "...so why shouldn't Keith take some consideration for himself?" He made the point that Keith was not actively looking to get out of his commitment, but he had to listen to Stoops and take the OU visit.


Both Paul and Coach Dean stated that when Keith got on the plane, he considered himself a solid MSU verbal and had no intention of flipping his position. Most of us have no idea what it's like to be recruited to play a sport in college, let alone by one of the top programs in the country. Keith Nichol is just a 17-year old kid trying to make the best choice for himself. The choice wasn't easy, but you have to give the guy credit for having the courage to make a switch to a situation that he feels will be the best for him and his future; no matter what that means for Sparty.

The great debate: Bout time for a Playoff?

The BCS is on the chopping block for sure.

Today on the show, every single call we got was either about the Michigan-OSU matchup; debating the merits of a rematch, and each call also included the mandatory whining over the failure of the BCS to satisfy fan's desires for an undisputed National Champion.

I'll tackle the idea of whether Michigan deserves a rematch once we see how USC-Notre Dame shakes down. That game will probably serve as the turning point to what team will head to Glendale to take on the Buckeyes. I hate even considering Arkansas and Florida right now, mostly because I don't believe Florida can hang with either Big Ten team or USC...and I can't really stomach the idea of Arkansas playing for the title when they got rolled in Week 1 against USC. Granted, I know USC is a solid club...but I don't think any team should be allowed to play for the title after getting smoked by 36 points (50-14 for those of you who missed the game or pushed it from your selective memory). Honestly, if you lose by more than 21 you shouldn't be allowed to play for the title (you hear me Notre Dame fans???) championship-quality teams don't get beat down like that.

Which brings us to the major discussion at hand. Why not a playoff? I'm not gonna get into the guts of the bowl system, and we're gonna have to ignore for a moment the fact that the BCS is really a way for the major universities to make piles of money on their supposed "postseason".

Truth be told, I like the bowls. Teams that have winning seasons should be rewarded with a postseason game. But I also believe that every year there are about 3-4 very deserving teams that should get an opportunity to play for a title. So here are my thoughts:

1.) We start things off with an 8-team playoff, utilizing the major bowls as neutral playoff sites. Most major BCS schools travel really well, and the committee can make a concerted effort to ensure that LSU isn't playing in the Superdome every year for its opening round game. Bowls like the Rose Bowl, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange can rotate as quarter and semi-finals matchup sites. By going with 8 teams to begin with, the winner of the title plays 3 total postseason games, and if we could just stick to a 12-game regular season with no conference championships (or then force everyone to play 13) then the "toll" on the athletes would not be that great. Plus you can start in mid-December and finish up as scheduled in January.

2.) I like 8 teams because if you move to 16 then there will too many 2-loss squads sneaking in who don't really deserve a shot at the title. People complain that a playoff removes some of the meaningfulness of the regular season, but I don't think so. Not only will there be ferocious debate over those #6-8 spots, but any regular season loss can still make the difference of whether or not a team will get a chance to play for the championship. Plus if you're gonna sell this thing, you need a name like basketball's "Final Four" to become synonymous with your playoff system (like the "BCS Big Eight" or something...you can see why I didn't do so well in marketing class...)

3.) People argue that it will more or less be the same 8 teams every year...not so. College football's parity is just fine. Yeah, there will always be the dominant programs, but an 8-team playoff allows the Boise States of the world to at least attend the party before getting thrown through a window by a BCS bully. Here's how this year's playoff would look if it started today (and might still look after this weekend barring major upsets) (ranked by current BCS):

(1)Ohio State vs. (8)Wisconsin (who didn't play this year by the way)
(4) Florida vs. (5) Notre Dame

(2)Michigan vs. (7)West Virginia
(3)USC vs. (6)Arkansas

Some sexy matchups there, eh? Yeah, you get a USC-Arkansas rematch, but there's still room for a team like LSU (9-2) to sneak in...and you want controversy? Here's a short list of teams on the outside looking in: Boise State (11-0), Texas (9-2), Louisville (9-1), Auburn (10-2). Think one of those teams might make some noise?

I just wish we would get a chance to see this. Not gonna happen anytime soon, unless all hell breaks loose and Michigan barely ousts OSU in Glendale and the USA today votes for the Buckeyes as their champ. Another co-championship might be enough for the current system to be dumped. So now you have no choice to agree with me when I say LETS GO BLUE!!!