Fond Fiesta Bowl memories; more Designated Reads

Really, John Junker’s compensation was quite reasonable when you take into account all those yellow blazers he had to wear. (AP)

• As our commenters will surely attest, we are in the wrong line of work. The Outback Bowl CEO made $400,000 in 2002 and more than $750,000 in 2010. If you weren’t sure that you’re doing your career wrong when former Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker’s spending habits were publicized, you’re really sure now. (Again: Can we get a bowl going? The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is listed here as a “second-tier bowl”; the Papajohns.com Bowl was a thing for multiple seasons. Scratching our way into some as-yet unimagined fifth tier of postseason action can’t be that hard. Gather up any Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee State players and coaches you can find and meet us on a municipal field in Florida to be named later.)

• Pine box? More like takeout box! Amirite? [crickets] So here’s this story about Tommy Tuberville literally and actually ditching Texas Tech recruits at a restaurant the night he accepted the Cincinnati job, and one of them got downright poetical about it: ”We still had a good time at night, but it was crazy how he just got up and left out of nowhere and left people in the dark and in the shadow.”

• Speaking of gobs and gobs of money. Brett “Sources” McMurphy on the playoff pie: “During the 12-year contract for college football’s new playoff format, the nation’s five power conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC) will earn an average of nearly $75 million more per year than the smaller leagues known as the ‘group of five.’”

• Coach-firin’-and-hirin’ follies, cont’d. Wisconsin defensive coordinator Chris Ash will follow Bret Bielema to Arkansas, but he is remaining with the Badgers through the Rose Bowl … San Jose State defensive coordinator Kent Baer will serve as interim head coach for the Spartans’ appearance in the Military Bowl … and Barry Alvarez will collect a decent day’s wages while valiantly striding the sidelines in Pasadena.

• Roster blotter. All-ACC edition! Clemson’s Martavis Bryant will miss the Chick-fil-A Bowl due to academic concerns … Miami’s Thomas Finnie has been arrested on theft charges and is suspended indefinitely … and Duke’s Chris Tavarez would rather be a Wizard of Waverly Place than a Blue Devil.

• Schedule matters. Behold the 2013 Big East schedule, all official and everything, at least until the next team abandons ship.

• Tweet of the day. Real talk: This happens to us all the time, mostly when we are wearing Fighting Okra gear.

If you are wearing a shirt from a D-1 school, strangers will speak to you as if you are the AD of that school. #southeastcustoms

— The Gurgling Cod (@TheGurglingCod) December 12, 2012

• Misc. Stewart Mandel ponders Bryan Harsin’s legacy … click through for Les Miles in a singlet … ranking FBS mascots in ascending order of tastiness.