Ex-FSU quarterback Clint Trickett will reportedly take an official visit to WVU this weekend. (Mark Goldman/Icon SMI)

By Zac Ellis

The Florida State quarterback situation appeared to be taking shape following backup Clint Trickett’s Wednesday transfer announcement. Now, the former Seminole could be close to clarifying his own future.

Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia reports the Mountaineers could be at the top of Trickett’s list of preferred schools, alongside South Florida. Vingle said the former Seminole is likely to choose between the two programs, but will visit West Virginia and could be on campus in time for the team’s spring game on Saturday. CBS’ Bruce Feldman has since reported that Trickett will in fact be on campus this weekend for an official visit. Trickett would compete with returnees Paul Millard and Ford Childress to replace departed starter Geno Smith. According to Vingle, Trickett’s father Rick is a West Virginia native and coached with the Mountaineers.

Trickett threw for 947 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions in his FSU career, including 272 yards in eight appearances last season while backing up starter E.J. Manuel. But redshirt freshman Jameis Winston has impressed in Tallahassee this spring and is the clubhouse leader for the starting job, even though coach Jimbo Fisher won’t make anything official.

The Cardinal applauds the possibility of a Louisville-Notre Dame game in 2014. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Right on the heels of Thursday’s news that Notre Dame and NBC have extended their television partnership through the 2025 season, reports have surfaced surrounding a potential big-time opponent for the Fighting Irish in 2014.

According to Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune, Notre Dame is set to face off against Louisville during the 2014 season.

And, talking down-the-line schedules, #NBC exec Jon Miller mentioned that #NotreDame will play #Louisville in yet-to-be-released 2014 slate.

— Brian Hamilton (@ChiTribHamilton) April 18, 2013

Louisville and Notre Dame are each coming off successful 2012 campaigns. The Irish reached the BCS national championship game for the first time since 1988, while the Cardinals upset heavily favored Florida in the Sugar Bowl. If both programs stay the course, their reported 2014 meeting could shape up as a Top 25 clash.

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Michigan led the nation last season by averaging 112,252 fans per home game. (Scott W. Grau/Icon SMI)

By Zac Ellis

Michigan’s home-field advantage was the best in college football in 2012, according to at least one list of rankings. Michigan Stadium, also known as “The Big House,” topped StadiumJourney.com’s rundown of the best college stadiums from last season. The Wolverines led the nation in average attendance with an astounding 112,252 fans per game while finishing 6-0 and outscoring visiting opponents 231-96 at home.

The outlet determined its rankings based on several factors, including a team’s win/loss record, average attendance, attendance as a percentage of capacity and points scored/allowed at home. Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium finished second, while Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium, Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium and South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium rounded out the top five.

You can find the complete rankings here, but here is the rest of the top 10:

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By Zac Ellis

The rivalry between Clemson and South Carolina has bumped up a few notches over the last few seasons. The competitiveness is back, with the Gamecocks claiming the last four victories in a series historically dominated by the Tigers, and the war of words between Dabo Swinney and Steve Spurrier serving as a recipe for great pregame sparring.

Even though the two schools won’t match up until November, the next chapter of the in-state saga appears to have been written overnight. South Carolina staffers came to work Wednesday morning and found an orange tiger paw painted on one of the Gamecocks’ train cars. The vehicle, known as the Cockabooses, was parked next to the stadium.

Enough is Enough! @clem_sux #CockabooseVandalism twitter.com/cookescott/sta…

— Scott Cooke (@cookescott) April 16, 2013

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The good news for ASU: Todd Graham is well-versed in the art of dumping teams. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

On Tuesday, news broke that Notre Dame was adding Florida State to its upcoming ACC schedule for 2014. The Irish are joining the ACC in every sport except football, but will still play five football games against ACC teams in their inaugural season.

Alongside that news came word that Notre Dame might be dropping Arizona State from its 2014 slate. According to Fox Sports Arizona, neither team has made anything official, so as of now the two programs are still slated to face off in Tempe on Oct. 25, 2014. But Sun Devils athletic director Steve Patterson didn’t let that stop him from opening up on Notre Dame’s apparent disinterest in keeping his program on its schedule.

In an interview with Phoenix radio station XTRA Sports 910 AM, Patterson went after Notre Dame’s manner of handling business:

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Notre Dame last played FSU in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, an 18-14 ‘Noles’ win. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Notre Dame’s schedule for the 2014 season — its first as a partial member of the ACC — just got a little bit tougher. WarChant.com is reporting that Notre Dame has added Florida State to its 2014 slate. The Irish will play five ACC members that season, and they have already locked in three opponents: Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Florida State. To date, there is no plan for the Seminoles to visit the Irish in South Bend in 2015. Notre Dame and Florida State last played in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, an 18-14 Seminoles’ victory.

Pining for the chance to eat airport ceviche? Sure, we all are, and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport is here to help. It’s partnering with the Atlantic Coast Conference to create a real place called the “ACC American Café.”

ACC restaurant: Plenty of seats available the first Saturday in December.—
Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) February 22, 2013

The Big East #ACCMenuItems—
Mark Ennis (@Mengus22) February 21, 2013

"We have an unusual item on the menu." RT @BLeez17: Ron Cherry pie #ACCMenuItems—
  (@edsbs) February 21, 2013

Jason Kirk and Martin Rickman ran about as far with this as it should be humanly possible to go. We assume the whole list is excellent, but passed out from sheer mirth at some point around “Raycomdiments.” We look forward to making a weekend of it on our next visit to the Tar Heel State with a dining tour that stops here and the Charlotte airport’s Stock Car Café.

Five-star defensive end recruit Dee Liner has made a beeline away from Auburn. (Icon SMI)

• IMPORTANT DEE LINER, D-LINER NEWS. We did promise you at the end of the season that we wouldn’t get mired too deep in recruiting antics, not being super interested in prospects until they actually take the field in August, but exceptions will always be made for defensive ends named Dee Liner. Liner, a five-star prospect from Muscle Shoals who’s ranked by Rivals as the second-best overall recruit at his position, has decommitted from Auburn, citing the loss of his relationships with Gene Chizik and Trooper Taylor. This has been a public service announcement to remind you all that there is a defensive prospect out there named Dee Liner. Thank you.

• Coach-hirin’ follies! Coordinators snapped up by new schools since we last typed in this here box: Bill Cubit (OC) at Illinois, Josh Conklin (DC) at FIU, David Gibbs (DC) at Houston and — reportedly — Scot Loeffler at Virginia Tech.

• Roster blotter. Roster moves and non-moves since we last typed in this here box: Notre Dame’s Cierre Wood intends to turn pro; Oklahoma’s Aaron Colvin will return; Houston’s Charles Sims is staying a Cougar for one more year; and Nebraska’s Sean Fisher is forgoing a possible sixth season of eligibility in favor of medical school, the little scamp.

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If Brian Kelly takes the Eagles job, maybe there will be an NFL team that Alabama could beat

— Brandon (@TeamSpeedKills) January 10, 2013

• Eagles to turn next to R. Kelly. There are folks getting awfully het up at Brian Kelly (subscription required) for his dalliances with the Philadelphia Eagles, who are just trying to live frugally after printing up all those WE <3 COACH KELLY cocktail napkins for Chip.

Elsewhere in coach-hirin’ follies: Obvious international superspy Bob Toledo will rejoin Rocky Long as offensive coordinator at San Diego State … Chuck Bresnahan will coordinate Willie Taggart’s defense at South Florida … Bill Young is out and Glenn Spencer is in as Oklahoma State’s defensive coordinator … Texas A&M swipes West Virginia’s quarterbacks coach to serve as co-offensive coordinator in College Station … and from Regular Virginia, Kevin Sumlin snags an assistant who’d been with the Cavaliers for just over a week.

• Roster blotter. Eddie Lacy, Dee Milliner and D.J. Fluker will all leave Alabama early to enter the NFL draft … Clint Moseley has left Auburn football, though not Auburn … also draft-bound, Clemson’s Nuke Hopkins, Washington State’s Marquess Wilson and Georgia’s Kwame Geathers … Joseph Randle to turn pro, per Joseph Randle … LSU has, at last count, 11 early departures … notable non-departures include Texas A&M’s Jake Matthews and Texas’ Mike Davis … and spare some healing vibes for Notre Dame’s Kapron Lewis-Moore, whose BCS title game injury has been confirmed as an ACL tear.

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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.’”

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