Was Bob Stoops dishing out secrets to beat Texas?::AP

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - It was big news in Austin when word leaked that Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and several assistants visited an Alabama practice Dec. 23. Was the archrival of Texas huddling with the Longhorns' BCS title game opponent to design a blueprint to beat Texas?

To beat Bama, McCoy and the Longhorns have to run. ::AP

In an SI.com column, I hypothesized that for Texas to move the ball effectively against Alabama, the Longhorns will have to keep running the ball - even if the run seems ineffective.

I came to that conclusion after examining every Texas rush and every rushing play run against Alabama using Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis' metric for efficient rushes. Here are all those numbers...

Florida coach Urban Meyer::Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Florida has taken its first direct recruiting hit since Coach Urban Meyer's weekend flip-flop.

Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. ::Eric Gay/AP

The story that has slimed everyone it has touched continues to get nastier. Wednesday night, former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach released a statement in response to his firing. Here is the full text:

Taylor Mays and the other top recruits at USC are slumming in the Emerald Bowl this year. ::Robert Beck/SI

I got a little excited this week when I read that the Wall Street Journal had tackled the topic of football recruiting rankings. So what if that makes me a geek? As the esteemed Dave Curtis of The Sporting News often says, join the club. We have jackets.