A Little Rocky

Petrino's injuries were evident in his news
conference last week.

Bobby Petrino's time card at Arkansas has expired.

Just days after announcing he would be taking an indefinite, but paid leave of absence, Petrino was fired Tuesday by the University's athletic director Jeff Long. This is just the aftermath of irresponsible relationship.

Petrino, 51, was involved in a motorcycle accident back on April 1, suffering numerous injuries that caused him to be hospitalized. However, he wasn't riding alone that Sunday evening on Highway 16.

Former Arkansas All-SEC volleyball player Jennifer Dorrell was also involved in the crash, but Petrino tired to hide her presence in what Long called "knowingly misleading" the university. Dorrell, 25, had been hired by Petrino just days earlier to be the student-athlete development coordinator, but was also engaging in an inapporiate relationship with the now-former Arkansas head football coach.

At one point, Petrino also gave Dorrell $20,000, but it hasn't been disclosed what exactly it was for. Her job status has yet to be addressed.

As for Petrino, his coaching career begin in 1983 as a graduate assistant at Carroll College in Montana. He spent 15 years in college football before Tom Coughlin hired him to the his quarterback coach in the NFL, joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999.

After serving as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons, Coughlin promoted Petrino to the team's offensive coordinator, calling him an "offensive mastermind". But after the team finished last in the AFC Central at 6-10, Petrino headed back to the college game. He spent one year as the offensive coordinator at Auburn until he landed his first head coaching job at Louisville.

In his four seasons as a Cardinal, Petrino accumulated a 41-9 record, but was offered a job to return to the NFL, this time as a head coach, and ran with it.

On Jan. 7, 2007, the Atlanta Falcons made Petrino their 13th head coach in franchise, bringing him in to add to then-quarterback Michael Vick's already electric and dynamic ability. However, that failed before it even got started.

Prior to the start of the 2007-08 season, Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league's conduct policy for his involvement in a dog fighting scandal.

Petrino was doomed from the start.

With the team floundering in the NFC South at 3-10 through the team's first 13 games of the season, Petrino abruptly resigned and took the head coaching job at Arkansas.

Considering the Razorbacks lost all three of their running backs (Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis) to the 2008 NFL Draft and prior to his arrival, Petrino's career at Arkansas was pretty good, continuing to win and live up this "offensive mastermind" nickname. He watched quarterback Ryan Mallett break school records, made Tyler Wilson a first-team All-SEC quarterback and the main reason why Arkasnas' offense has had the top passing attack in the SEC the last three seasons.

Petrino won 34 games during his four year stay in Fayetteville, including a 21-5 record the last two seasons.

This last season, Arkansas finished the year 11-2 after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2012 Cotton Bowl. Both of Petrino's two losses this season came at the hands of conference rivals and teams that played in this year's BCS National Championship Game, Alabama and LSU.

Those accomplishments have now been wiped way and find Petrino without a job -- a job he thought he'd have for long time after he signed a seven-year extension in Dec. 2010.

Long has said Petrino was fired "with cause", making his departure not a costly one. In other words, the University will not need to give Petrino a multimillion dollar buyout.

In the end, this is just another black eye of the NCAA.

Newborn Colt

Taking his first career head coaching job,
Pagano will no longer be with the great
Ray Lewis.

Just a day after interviewing for the head coaching vacancy for the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano has landed the gig.

Pagano was given permission to interview for the job following Baltimore's heartbreaking 23-20 loss in the AFC Championship Game Sunday, coming at the hands of the New England Patriots. Indianapolis has said Pagano will be officially introduced in a press conference on Thursday.

He is the fourth Raven defensive coordinator to receive a head coaching job, joining Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Mike Nolan (49ers) and Rex Ryan (Jets).

The 51-year-old Pagano first came to the Ravens in 2008 when then-first year head coach John Harbaugh hired him to be the team's secondary coach. He served in that position for three years before being promoted prior to the start of this season as the defensive coordinator, succeeding Greg Mattison.

Mattison left to return to the University of Michigan, taking the defensive coordinator job, a position he previously held at the university.

In his first (and now only) season as Baltimore's defensive coordinator, Pagano put together the third ranked defense in the National Football League and saw four of his starters be selected to the Pro Bowl. The list consists of Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs.

Prior to making the move to the NFL, Pagano had spent his first 16 seasons coaching in college football. Known only only as an assistant throughout his career, Pagano got his first taste of the NFL in 2001 when he was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their secondary coach.

In his first season in Cleveland, Pagano's secondary were responsible for 28 of the Brown' league-best 33 interceptions. Two years later, Pagano was a major contributor to the Cleveland defense tying a franchise record.

The Browns only allowed 13 passing touchdowns that season.

After only one more season in Ohio, he left to become the defensive backs coach for the Oakland Raiders, a position he would hold for two seasons before jumping back to the NCAA. In 2007, Pagano served as the defensive coordinator for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

A man that has never been the top dog anywhere he's been is now in charge in turning around a team in turmoil.

The Colts finished the 2011-12 season with the worst record in the league at 2-14. And while that has handed them the first overall pick in April's draft, it has caused many to lose their jobs. Jim Caldwell, who had been the team's head coach for the last three seasons that included a trip to the Super Bowl, was fired to kick off the New Year.

That was after vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, who served as the team's vice president and general manager since 2009, were part of the firing frenzy that owner Jim Irsay has been on.

Irsay has since hired 39-year-old Ryan Grigson to be the team's GM moving forward, but he won't have anything to do with the fate of Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning.

Manning never took a snap this season after recovering from neck surgery. Irsay has already stated that the team will take Stanford's Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick, posing an interesting situation for Manning and the Colts.

It's not as if both Manning and Luck cannot coexist because history shows it's possible. Steve Young sat behind Joe Montana in San Francisco before getting his team to the Super Bowl and eventually being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Most recent, Aaron Rodgers has won a Super Bowl and could receive his first MVP Award this season after spending the first three years of his career sitting behind the iconic Brett Favre.

It's not if they can, it's will they?

Manning is due a $28 million bonus in early March, a bonus that could decide his future in Indianapolis.

Whomever is under center for the Colts next season, Pagano will be happy to have them, but be more focused on playing with his new defensive toys, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Which is contingent upon the team resigning Mathis, who is soon-to-be a unrestricted free agent.

Either way, it looks to be an end of an era in Colts football.

A Legend In His Own Time

The death of Paterno clearly marks an end of
an era in college football.

They took his life away and now, he's gone.

Legendary and former Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno passed away Sunday due to complications in his brief battle with lung cancer.

Fired by University Trustees on Nov. 9 amid the child sex abuse scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, Paterno was diagnosed with the life threatening disease just days later. It was first reported Paterno's cancer was curable and that he would make a full recovery.

Obviously that would not be the case.

The 85-year-old Paterno had been in the hospital since Jan. 13 with health complications. But it was reported late Saturday night that he was in serious condition and fighting for his life.

Surrounded by his family and friends, Paterno died peacefully.

Just like Alabama's Bear Bryant, who died just months after retiring from coaching in 1983, Paterno couldn't live without the game he loved.

While many can't help to think of his recent fall from the top and what he didn't do, it's time to look back on one of the most celebrated, influential and remarkable lives in recent memory.

Born in Brooklyn, Paterno served a year in the Army before joining the Ivy League, attending Brown University. In 1950, following his graduation, at age 23, Paterno followed his college football coach Rip Engle to the place he would call home for more than half a century.

There, Paterno was Penn State's assistant coach until Engle's retirement following the 1965 season.

In 1966, Paterno was hired as the Nittany Lion head coach, the beginning of numerous immeasurable contributions and an unfillable legacy. That year, on Sept. 17, Paterno recorded his first of many Division I wins, beating Maryland 15-7.

In only his third and fourth seasons at the helm, Paterno led Penn State to back-to-back undefeated seasons, but both weren't good enough to gain a National Championship.

1973 would be the next time the Paterno-led Nittany Lions would go undefeated. Groomed by the Brooklyn native, running back John Cappelleti became the first and only player in school history to capture college football's most prestigious award, the Heisman Trophy.

Under Paterno's watch, Cappelleti rushed for 1,522 yards that season and finding the end zone 17 times.

Despite not going undefeated in 1982, Paterno claimed his first National Championship in their thrilling 27-23 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs.

In 1986, Paterno capped off his fourth undefeated season with his second National Championship in five years, beating the Jimmy Johnson-led Miami Hurricanes, 14-10, in the battle of good versus evil. Sandusky's defensive schemes confused Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde, causing him to throw five interceptions.

To go along with his two National Championships, Paterno finished the '94 season with his fifth and final undefeated season. One of Paterno's most sigificant victories came in 2006, when his Nittany Lions were opposed by fellow college football legend Bobby Bowden and his Florida State Seminoles in the Orange Bowl.

The game went into a third overtime, where Penn State finally outlasted Bowden and Co. on a Kevin Kelly 29-yard field goal, 26-23.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you
are with me; your rod and your staff,
they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

In his 46 seasons at State College, Paterno, much like his traditional gameday uniform, with his thick-rimmed glasses, highwater pants, that by his own admission were used to save on cleaning bills and white socks, became not only a fixture in college football, but an American icon.

He recorded 10-plus victories in 21 seasons. Only six schools in NCAA history have more than Paterno, alone. Those six programs consist of Oklahoma (32), Alabama (31), Nebraska (27), Michigan (25), USC (24) and Texas (22).

Paterno holds the FBS records for the most wins (409), bowl appearances (37) and bowl victories (24). He is also the only coach with to win all four of the current major bowl games - Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar.

The now-late Paterno saw 244 of his players be selected in the NFL Draft, including 33 in the first-round.

Quickly building a reputation for excellence, Paterno single handedly put Penn State on the map and not only built a one of the most recognizable football programs in the country, but an academic juggernaut. There continue to be many words to describe Paterno, ambassador, educator and class to name a few.

However one wants to remember the life of this iconic yet, now controversial figure, at least remember this. There will never be another JoePa and in light of his passing Happy Valley is and will be anything but happy for a long time.

What Can Brown Do For You?

O'Brien is reportedly the new head coach of
Penn State football.

Filling the shoes of the legendary NCAA head coach Joe Paterno will be a daunting task, but New England Patriots' offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is up for the challenge.

It is being said that O'Brien has been officially hired as the next and first head coach of the Penn State football program in nearly a half-century, leaving interim head coach Tom Bradley's future with the university uncertain. A proper introduction for O'Brien's arrival to State College is set to come on Saturday.

O'Brien, 42, has never been a head coach, but is no stranger to college football.

Prior to being hired by Bill Belichick in 2007, O'Brien had only coached at the colligate level, making stops at Georgia Tech, Maryland and Duke before jumping at the opportunity to join a NFL coaching staff.

Hired as an offensive assistant in '07, O'Brien was apart of a Patriot team that won their first 18 games of the season before eventually being upset by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The following year, O'Brien was promoted to wide receivers coach and helped wideouts Wes Welker, who was second in the NFL in receptions in 2008, and Randy Moss flourish without the services of quarterback Tom Brady, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1.

Following the departure of Josh McDaniels to Denver in 2009, O'Brien got his second promotion in as many years with New England, becoming the quarterbacks coach and offensive play-caller the next two seasons.

Prior to his season, O'Brien was promoted to the team's offensive coordinator. Under his watch the offense shined, leading the AFC in scoring, averaging 32.1 point per game, and scoring a total of 513 points. Brady passed for 5,235 yards, the second most in history, while Rob Gronkowski set the single-season records for receiving touchdowns (17) and yards (1,327) for a tight end.

Many know O'Brien for his sideline scuffle with Brady in New England's 34-27 victory over the Washington Redskins on Dec. 11. The incident occurred after the 2-time Super Bowl MVP threw an interception in the end zone when O'Brien didn't think the receiver was open.

While the event was highly publicized by the media, it showed O'Brien can hold his own with anybody, making him the right man for the job.

O'Brien is now one of the many Belichick-hired coordinators choosing to venture out on their own. Hopefully he is more successful.

Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel were both coordinators on Belichick's staff for all three of New England's Super Bowl victories at the turn of the century, but both also chose to leave after the 2004 season for head coach vacancies.

Weis signed on to become the head coach at Notre Dame, where he accumulated a 35-27 record in five seasons at South Bend, but was fired in Nov. of '09 after the Fightin' Irish finished 16-21 in his last three years at the helm. Weis headed back to the NFL and was hired as the Chief's offensive coordinator for the 2010-11 season. That didn't last long, as Weis made the transition back to the NCAA, being named the offensive coordinator for Florida.

Most recently Weis was named the head football coach of University of Kansas.

As for Crennel, he stayed in the NFL following his '04 departure from New England, taking over as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. In four seasons, Crennel saw his team go 24-40, never making the postseason.

After not coaching in '09, Crennel was hired by the Chiefs on Jan. 13, 2010, where for the time being he was reunited with Weis. This season, Kansas City head coach Todd Haley was fired with three games left in the regular season and Crennel was named the interim head coach. The team went 2-1 under Crennel, including ending the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers' 19-game winning streak and aspirations of a perfect season. Many believe Crennel is the front-runner to land the job for next season.

Eric Mangini, who is currently an NFL analyst for ESPN, had been Crennel's replacement in New England, but after just one season as defensive coordinator, he left. In 2006, Mangini was hired by the division rival New York Jets as the sixteenth head coach in franchise history.

Mangini helped lead the Jets to a playoff berth in his first season, but would not make the postseason each of his next two seasons, ulimatley leading to his termination one day after the '08 season concluded. He would then be Crennel's successor once again, being hired by the Cleveland Browns in '09 only to have see the Browns finish 5-11 back-to-back years and was fired prior to the 2011-012 season.

His head coaching resume stands with a 33-47 record over five years in the NFL.

Most recently, McDaniels bolted to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos, where he failed miserable.  Not even getting through two full season in Mile High, McDaniels was fired after posting a 11-17 record in his first 28 games.

Not to mention the fact he traded away running back Peyton Hillis prior to his first 1,000-yard rushing season and talented receiver Brandon Marshall. McDaniels is currently the offensive coordinator in St. Louis, but with now a door opening in New England, maybe he'll come knocking.

Belichick's coordinators have gone 103-131 without him, causing many to realize, some coordinators are just that.

Hand picked by Penn State's interim athletic director Dave Joyner, O'Brien may not be many people's first, but he is a Brown graduate. The same alma mater of none other than Paterno himself, causing many to ask, what can Brown do for you?

Keeping The Ball Rolling

NCAA defenses never found an answer to the
lethal legs of Montee Ball in 2011.

After being told by many draft experts that he was a third-round grade, Wisconsin Badgers' running back Montee Ball has decide to return for his senior season and forgo the 2012 NFL Draft.

Coming off the best season of his collegiate career, Ball was named the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year and a Heisman Trophy finalist. As a junior, Ball led the nation in rushing yards with 1,923, the seventh-highest total in Big Ten history, and tied Barry Sanders, who set 24 other NCCA records in 1988, for the most touchdowns (39) in FBS history for a single season.

Despite Ball playing in three more games than Sanders did while attending Oklahoma State, he touched the ball sixty-one fewer times than the 2004 Hall of Fame inductee, making a case that his recording-tying season was as impressive as Sanders' '88 Heisman campaign.

Ball finished the year with 2,229 all-purpose yards, the second in team history. Playing for then-Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez, running back Ron Dayne set the Badgers' team record in 1996 when he accumulated 2,242 yards, putting Ball's name in the same sentence with yet another Heisman Trophy winner.

Dayne captured college football's most prestigious award in 1999.

Scoring 57 total touchdowns the last two seasons, many attribute Ball's recent success to his commitment of losing weight. Shedding more than 25 pounds prior to the start of the season, the 5' 11", 210-pounder was in great shape, but plans to put on weight his offseason in hopes of getting stronger, something NFL scouts believe he must do to raise his draft stock.

A consensus All-American, Ball helped lead the No. 10 ranked Badgers to a Conference title and earned them their second consecutive Rose Bowl bid.

Facing the Michigan State Spartans, a team that beaten Ball and Co. earlier in the year, in the inaugural Big Ten title game on Dec. 3, Ball got his revenge. He scored a season-high 4 TDs, with his last coming with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, sealing the win, 42-39.

And while Ball was on the losing end of the highest scoring Rose Bowl in history, 45-38, he enjoyed another fantastic game to close out his season, rushing for 164 and a score while catching 4 passes for 51 yards.

Showing once again why Madison will be happy to keep the ball rolling and hit the ground running in 2012.

Leach-ing On In Washington

Neuheisel Out In UCLA

Paterno Fired

Paterno leaves behind an unfillable legacy,
but a tainted one at that.

Just hours after releasing a statement that he would make his retirement effective at the end of the NCAA football season, legendary head coach Joe Paterno, along with university president Graham Spanier, has been fired.

The decision comes from Penn State University's Board of Trustees amid the child sexual abuse scandal that has circled the campus for nearly a week, all thanks to former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Over the weekend Sandusky was charged on 40 criminal counts of sexual abuse, putting a dark cloud over Happy Valley.

This decision closes a chapter in one of the greatest coaching in sports history. Paterno leaves Penn States as the NCAA's all-time leader in wins (409), bowl appearances (37), bowl victories (24) and would have coached the most games in Division I history Saturday, but instead will remain in a tie for the all-time lead with Amos Alonzo Stagg, coaching 548 games in his career.

He remains the only coach in Division I history to total more than 400-plus victories in a career.

Paterno has been the face of the university for over six decades and coached the Nittany Lions for 46 years. 31 of the current coaches in the FBS had yet to be born when the 84-year-old coach begin his tenure in State College. As for Spanier, his 16-year run as university president has come to an end and, just like Paterno, will have to forever live with the information he did nothing with.

Tom Bradley, who oddly enough replaced Sandusky as the team's defensive coordinator following his retirement, was named Penn State's interim head coach.

For a man that has a statue and preached morals, ethics and integrity for more than half of a century, ultimately fell short of his own principles. For Paterno, it's not just an end of an era, but the end of a lifestyle.

Sad Day In Happy Valley

Paterno has been the face of
Penn State for the last 61
years.

Say it ain't so, Joe.

After six decades of achievement and grace, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has said he will retire at season's end amid the sexual abuse scandal surrounding a university he has dedicated his life work to.

Paterno first came to Penn State as a 23-year-old kid, being hired as an assistant in 1950. He would serve at that post until 1966, where he was promoted as the head football coach, beginning a 46-year run as the most successful coach in NCAA Division I history.

The 84-year-old coach is the living identify of not only the football program at Penn State, but the university itself, putting State College on the map.

Nearly two week ago, Paterno recorded his 409th win in his illustrious career when his team pulled out an ugly 10-7 victory over conference rival Illinois. The win gave Paterno the most wins in Division I history, surpassing Grambling State legend Eddie Robinson for the all-time mark. Winning the only two national championships in school history in 1982 and '86, Paterno also holds the record for most bowl victories with 24 in his 37 appearances, also a FBS record.

However, all Paterno's victories didn't come on the gridiron.

Penn State has seen 49 academic All-Americans in their history, 47 whom have come under Paterno's tenure, good enough for third all-time among FBS institutions. In 2010, Paterno saw an astonishing 84 percent team graduation rate, second only to Northwestern's 95.

There are so many words to describe Paterno, mentor, educator and pinoeer, but it's what he didn't do that may forever define his legacy in Happy Valley.

Paterno was notified by then-graduate assistant and current receivers coach, Mike McQueary, on an incident he witnessed in the team's football complex in 2002. McQueary saw former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 criminal counts of sexual child abuse through his charitable foundation, sodomizing a 10-year-old boy in the shower.

It is unclear what exactly Paterno knew and when he knew it, but nonetheless he failed to follow up on an incident he reportedly discussed with university president Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley nearly a decade ago.

Curley, along with vice president Gary Schultz, have stepped down from their respective positions and since have been released on bail after being charged with perjury and failure to report abuse. Curley at one point was Penn State's ball boy, one of the many administrators that have ties to Paterno.

On the other hand, Spanier still remains at his post, but will reportedly resign or be voted out sometime Wednesday, ending his 16 years at the helm.

The Board of Trustees have a meeting scheduled later this week to discuss the future of the university and it's football program. And while Paterno has said he will make his retirement effective at the end of the 2011 football season, the board might not have written the same final chapter in Paterno's tenure.

Paterno addressed his team Wednesday morning in a meeting that saw the iconic coach break into tears and leave the room to a standing ovation after announcing his future plans.

Sandusky was arrested over the weekend after
reportedly abusing 8 boys in a 15-year span.

No. 12 Penn State is scheduled to take on No. 19 Nebraska Saturday in their final home game of the season with all eyes not on the Nittany Lions seniors, but their fatherly head coach know as "JoePa".

If in fact Paterno is allowed to coach Saturday, he will surpass Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most games coached in Division I history with 549. His team is currently in first place in the Big Ten Conference at 8-1 and hope to play in their conference title game, for a shot to play in the Rose Bowl.

Paterno may have fulfilled his legal requirements, but his moral obligation was not. A legendary coaching career that should be celebrated is now forever tainted.

Defense Tells The Story In Tuscalossa

Broyles Out For The Year

Broyles, right, is one of the greatest
receivers in NCAA history.

A week after losing Dominique Whaley for the rest of the season to a fractured ankle, the Oklahoma Sooners and quarterback Landry Jones have lost another key offensive component.

All-American wideout Ryan Broyles suffered a torn ACL Saturday in the Sooners' 41-25 victory over Texas A&M , following a 30-yard third quarter completion from Jones, ending his season and well decorated collegiate career.

Despite the severity of the injury not being immediately disclosed, Broyles face on the sideline told a somber story, breaking out in tears.

Broyles, 23, finishes the season with 83 catches, 1,157 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had been leading the nation in yards per game, averaging 133.8 and second in receptions (10.1). The hometown kid caught 349 passes in his four-year career at Oklahoma, while racking up 4,586 yards and 45 touchdowns. Just three weeks ago Broyles was surpassing former Purdue standout, Taylor Stubblefield's, 316 career receptions, making his 349 a Football Bowl Subdivison record, but now his future is in doubt.

Broyles also finds his name third on the all-time list for receiving yards in NCAA history. It didn't hurt that the 5-foot-10 receiver had the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and last year's NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Sam Bradford, tossing passes his way each of his first two seasons at Oklahoma and another Heisman hopeful in Jones the last two years.

A Bilenitkoff finalist a year ago, arguably the best wide receiver in college football and the 2012 NFL Draft class, Broyles has a long road ahead of him.

As for his team, the Sooners came into the game as ranked as the sixth best team in the nation. With the win, Bob Stoops team's improve to 5-1 in the Big 12 Conference and 8-1 overall.

If Oklahoma is to appear in their fourth BCS title game in the last nine years, Jones and Co. will need to overcome the injuries to Whaley, who had been their leading rusher, and Broyles and continue to play Sooners football.

Garcia Dismissed From His Duties With Gamecocks

Garcia's colligate career will be remembered
for the all the wrong reasons.

It took five different suspensions and numerous off the field issues, but the South Carolina Gamecocks finally decided to dismiss quarterback Stephen Garcia Tuesday, putting an end to quite an era.


Reportedly failing a drug and alcohol test, was the last straw for the fifth-year senior and now will no longer take another snap for the No. 15 ranked Gamecocks.

After suffering his fifth suspension last spring, Garcia agreed to frequently undergo those tests, but has failed to meet the guidelines the team put into place for him, which they believed was the best opportunity for he and the program to succeed.

Garcia was recently benched in favor of sophomore signal caller Connor Shaw, who is coming off a spectacular game in the team's 54-2 thrashing of the Kentucky Wildcats. Shaw threw for 311 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks, who are currently leading the SEC East with a 5-1 record, will need their young sophomore to continue to shine with some quality opponents still on their schedule.

South Carolina's next game is at Mississippi State with a trip to the No. 10 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks two weeks after. They will then be visited by the newly unranked, but speedy Florida Gators and will host No. 8 Clemson the final week of the season.

As for Garcia, his legacy at South Carolina unfortunately will always be a kid with a big arm, who was given every opportunity to succeed by the "old ball coach", but could never quite shake his off the field demons.

Garcia's on the field career for the Gamecocks was much different.

His best season came in 2010, when he threw for 3,059 yards, 20 TD, 14 INT and completed 64.2 percent of his passes.

In 34 career games at South Carolina, Garcia threw for 7,597 yards, 47 TD and 41 INT, but his inability to perform under pressure will overshadow his success under Spurrier.

In maybe the biggest game of his career, the 6-foot-2 quarterback saw him team get obliterated in last years SEC Championship game against the eventual National Champion Auburn Tigers, 56-17. In the game, Garcia was outplayed in every facet of game by the Tigers former QB, Cam Newton.

Newton accumulated 408 yards of total offense alone and accounted for 6 TD, 4 passing and 2 rushing, without surrendering a turnover. On the other hand, Garcia only totaled 188 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT.

Following the loss, the Gamecocks would still punch a ticket to a the Chick-fil-A Bowl, setting up a matchup with the underdog Florida State Seminoles. Despite sustaining an injury to their former starting quarterback, Christian Ponder, the Seminoles were able to hold off the turnover-prone Gamecocks, 26-17 and stunned Garcia.

In the game, Garcia with three interceptions and no touchdowns, proving once again he would never be a big time QB.

It is interesting though after Garcia was longer No. 1 on the depth chart to have him cut now, in his senior season, after so many chances. You have to wonder if he was still their starting quarterback, would this move have been made?

South Carolina, whose only lose of the season came Oct. 1 against Auburn, 16-13, will now look to the future and hope Shaw can lead them to where they are capable of going.

Still No. 1

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