Two BCS Programs Holiday in Sunny San Diego

Late December. San Diego, California. A holiday visit for the University of Minnesota football team to the Holiday Bowl.

And for the Gophers football team, it's neither sunny, merry or festive. An 8-4 record and competitive B1G season seems like a distant memory.

Nearly 1,300 people have signed an online petition at MoveOn.org calling on the University of Minnesota President to fire football coach Tracy Claeys.

Ten players are suspended, with five facing expulsion after an alleged September sexual assault. You know the details.

From the Star Tribune's Chip Scoggins:

The Gophers football team will play a game here Tuesday night, which can be viewed as either a relief or a meaningless diversion given all that has transpired the past 14 days.

From the Star Tribune's Joe Christensen:

Coach Tracy Claeys spoke openly about his uncertain job status last week. Athletic director Mark Coyle has remained mum. About 2,600 fans purchased Holiday Bowl tickets through the Gophers’ ticket office, compared with about 7,800 for Washington State.

“This feels like it could be a step back to 10 years ago, when they hired [Tim] Brewster,” Stepnick said. “We’re going to lose recruits. We’re going to lose everything. I don’t think we look very good on a national scale, but this is our team. What are we going to do?”

Over at The Daily Gopher, there are approaching 200 comments on an excellent post explaining the Title IX process.

Two weeks ago Governor Mark Dayton called this tragic episode a "black eye" on the state of Minnesota.

And the warmth and festivities of a holiday trip to San Diego hasn't reduced the swelling.

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Late December. San Diego, California. A holiday visit for the Washington State University football team to the Holiday Bowl.

And for the Cougars football team, their 8-4 record is reason for sunny outlook on the season that was.

Coverage in Pullman and across the state of Washington tells the story of a program looking not for diversion, but for the final act in a positive season.

The Seattle Times writes about wide receiver C.J. Dimry fulfilling a childhood dream.

Some speculation surrounds whether today will be the last game as for Washington State's QB Luke Falk, perhaps the most heralded Cougar QB since Drew Bledsoe.

In the Pullman-Review, columnist Vince Grippi believes the Cougars' good season will continue today in sunny San Diego.

The warmth and festivities of a holiday trip to San Diego is a sign in Pullman that Coach Mike Leach has the Cougars and their Air Raid offense headed in the right direction.