College football notebook: Petersen bats away links to coaching jobs
BY Associated Press
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
11/27/12 at 3:57 AM
Chris Petersen is taking a different approach to the series of annual questions and speculation linking him to nearly every available head coaching job in college football.
This year, at least at the outset, Boise State's head coach is resorting to humor.
When asked Monday about his name being mentioned in the search for the bevy of new coaching vacancies, Petersen simply looked at his watch, noted the time and chided reporters for taking so long to once again bring up the subject.
"Twenty-two minutes, that's better than I thought," Petersen said. "It's just rumors. That's all I really want to say about this, and I say it every year."
No. 13 Seminoles look to rebound: Jimbo Fisher goes after his first Atlantic Coast Conference championship Saturday when 13th-ranked Florida State takes on unranked Georgia Tech.
Both will need to shake off disappointing losses to state rivals.
The Seminoles (10-2, 7-1 ACC) opened the week as a two-touchdown favorite against the Yellow Jackets (6-6, 5-3), who were shellacked by archrival Georgia 42-10 last weekend. Florida State was beaten 37-26 by fifth-ranked Florida.
Fisher, who is 29-10 in his three seasons at Florida State, led the Seminoles to the 2010 ACC title game where they lost to Virginia Tech.
A win in Fisher's second try this weekend would net the 47-year-old coach his first ACC title and BCS bowl berth. The winner of Saturday's ACC title game advances to the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day, possibly against the Big East champion.
"We still have a great opportunity to do some things," Fisher said Monday. "We can win a conference championship."
BYU will face San Diego State in Poinsettia Bowl: Brigham Young knows it will be facing San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl next month after the Aztecs accepted a bid Monday. The bigger question is who should start at quarterback for the Cougars.
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said after Saturday's 50-14 road victory over New Mexico State that Riley Nelson would likely remain his starter. But he wanted time to take in the performance of senior James Lark in his first start.
The Poinsettia Bowl is Dec. 20 in San Diego.
Sun Devils get leg up on Wildcats in rivalry: The fast start to the season was great. So was ending a losing streak and sending the seniors off in style in their final home game. Becoming bowl eligible checked off one of the top goals for the season.
But of all that Arizona State (7-5, 5-4 Pac-12) accomplished this season, beating rival Arizona was the one thing coach Todd Graham, the former TU head coach, wanted most in his first season. It was about bragging rights, getting a leg up on in-state recruiting, giving a boost to the fans and alumni.
