Making the morning rounds.• We were looking for more gratuitous band shots. The inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game will be broadcast by Fox in December, which is reportedly paying the conference $25 million for rights to this year's championship game and additional games that come with the conference's upcoming expansion from ten teams to twelve. Fox already has the new Big Ten Championship in the fold for the next six years, giving it a championship Saturday doubleheader on Dec. 3 with the Pac-10 game slated for the afternoon time slot – directly opposite the SEC Championship on CBS. [Sports Business Daily]
• The Broyles is back in town. Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles, a consensus All-American in 2010 after leading the nation with 131 receptions, is returning to OU for his senior season, further solidifying the Sooners as preseason frontrunners in the BCS title race this summer. With Broyles and All-Big 12 linebacker Travis Lewis spurning the NFL, productive quarterback Landry Jones going into his third season as a starter and 13 other Fiesta Bowl starters coming back, the only thing that can keep Oklahoma out of No. 1 to start the season is probably Cam Newton's unexpected return to Auburn. [The Oklahoman]
• We hardly knew ye. Virginia Tech running back Darren Evans is forgoing his senior season in Blacksburg to enter the draft after leading the Hokies' three-deep rotation with 850 yards and 11 touchdowns – not quite on the level of his breakout, 1,265-yard campaign as a redshirt freshman in 2008, but a solid return from the ACL injury that cost him all of 2009. [Associated Press]
The NFL is also getting a pair of potential first-rounders in the secondary: Florida cornerback Janoris Jenkins, a three-year starter, second-team All-SEC pick and part-time superhero, UCLA safety Rahim Moore, a two-time All-Pac-10 pick who led the nation with 10 interceptions in 2009. [ESPN]
• This is a lot less fun when you take it in stride. Yeah, that's right, Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas called Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley a "dirty" player: "Oh yeah, we've seen he's got a lot of dirty plays, throwing people around after the play and things like that," Thomas said Thursday, on day two of the media roundup for Monday's BCS Championship Game. "But that's just football. I don't worry about it because it's a physical game." And you know what? Nick Fairley doesn't really care. [ESPN]
In other BCS Championship news: Auburn tries to match Oregon's offensive tempo in practice. … Ryan Pugh has a few laughs behind Cam Newton's back. … The Oregonian has a serious discussion about Duck uniforms. … And Trooper Taylor's just keepin' it lose, baby.
• Make it count. Interim head coach Lance Guidry only had one chance to lead Miami (Ohio) before yielding the reins to incoming boss Don Treadwell, but he made the most of it before Thursday night's GoDaddy.com Bowl date with Middle Tennessee:
Duly inspired, the RedHawks took out the Blue Raiders, 35-21, to become the first team ever to rally from double-digit losses (1-11 in 2009) to double-digit wins (10-4) in back-to-back seasons. They even got a little action, too. That's a good speech. [Mocksession.com]
Quickly… Mike Leach, alleged frontrunner for the Maryland job, thinks the Terps were never serious about hiring him. … Texas poaches Tennessee's strength coach. … New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz wants to put the Longhorn D in a bad mood (preferably one that doesn't stem from being screwed by one of the nation's most turnover-prone offenses). … Tennessee's statues of Peyton Manning and Tee Martin aren't coming out of storage any time soon. … Brennan Carroll is working overtime to salvage Miami's recruiting class. … What's with this "Michigan Man" junk, anyway? … And God is sending Alabama fans a sign.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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