Here you can see Gunner Kiel beginning his run from South Bend to Cincinnati. (Robin Alam/Icon SMI)

By Zac Ellis

The Gunner Kiel saga took its latest turn on Wednesday, when ESPN’s Joe Schad reported that the ex-Notre Dame quarterback is set to enroll at Cincinnati. Kiel will sit out the 2013 season before looking to compete for the starting job in 2014.

Kiel has been tied to a number of high-profile programs since the Indiana native first committed to his home-state Hoosiers in 2011. He flipped to LSU during his senior year, then changed his mind again only days before the enrollment deadline, when he signed with Notre Dame.

Once Kiel announced his intention to transfer earlier this year, he considered Kansas State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, among others. Ultimately, he bonded with new Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville and his staff.

Kiel’s decision comes on the heels of Everett Golson winning Notre Dame’s starting quarterback job and leading the team to a berth in the BCS title game last season. This may have also played a role: Cincinnati is only a short drive (93 miles) from Kiel’s hometown of Columbus, Ind.

Broncos fans, you know you want some of this.

Many, many scheduling moves announced today, including our favorite type of football, Road Trip To Louisiana Football:

• UConn vs. Boise State. Continuing their efforts to shake off the terrifying ghosts of western trips past, the Huskies have scheduled a home-and-home with the Broncos to be played in Connecticut in 2014 and on the blue turf in 2018.

• Cincinnati at Michigan. In addition to a just-announced basketball series, the football Bearcats will travel to Ann Arbor for a Sept. 9, 2017 game, marking the first meeting between the two programs.

• Louisiana vs. Boise State. The Ragin’ Cajuns will host the Broncos in 2014 and make a return trip to Boise for the 2016 season opener. (Attention, people of Boise: Go to this game.)

We’re taking this Nielsen research to its logically irrational extent and crowning the 2012 Belk Bowl the hit of the postseason. (AP)

Impressive science-doing by the folks at Nielsen, who’ve determined that the more people are talking about a television show, the more people might tend to be watching that show:

By analyzing Tweets about live TV, the study confirmed a relationship between Twitter and TV ratings. It also identified Twitter as one of three statistically significant variables (in addition to prior-year rating and advertising spend) to align with TV ratings.

Honestly, we could’ve told them as much by pointing them to our Twitter feed during the Belk Bowl:

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DeWayne Walker set the coaching carousel spinning once more with his late departure from New Mexico State. (AP)

Tommy Tuberville’s sitting by the phone* and Jimmy Sexton’s got that particular sparkle in his eye. It can mean only one thing: The coach firin’ season is upon us once more. We’ll be tracking the carousel of progress, right here, for as long as it takes to stop spinning. Raise a glass to times past, won’t you? * Well, not anymore, but never tell us we don’t have the gift of very specific prophecy through throwaway jokes.

New Mexico State [updated 02.01.2013]

• Who’s out: DeWayne Walker, who jumps to the NFL with less than two weeks remaining between now and Signing Day. And not even for a coordinating gig: Walker will coach defensive backs for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Walker released the following statement through the athletic department: “I really appreciate the opportunity that Dr. Boston and New Mexico State gave me to be a Division I head football coach. Unfortunately, I did not get the program as far as I would have liked from a wins and losses standpoint. But, we do have a better locker room, better kids and a better foundation for the program moving forward. There are a lot of people that I want to thank for their support and will be reaching out to those individuals in the coming days. They have helped me in moving the program forward. I am excited about starting a new chapter in my coaching career, as is my family. I wish New Mexico State great success in the future and wish everyone the best. Go Aggies!” • Who’s in: Doug Martin — the one who played at Kentucky, not the one who played at Boise State. Although if Martin The Younger is really so opposed to his excellent nickname, we’re gonna refer to Martin The Elder as coach Muscle Hamster instead. It’s been a whirlwind courtship for Martin and the Aggies: He was announced as offensive coordinator on January 17, temporarily promoted to interim head coach on January 24 and will be officially announced as DeWayne Walker’s successor on Monday, February 4. Martin’s previous head coaching experience consists of a seven-year stint at Kent State, from 2004-2010. Read More…

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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The story of one postseason college football contest, as told through the magic social media.

Duke in a bowl game! It’s here! Duke in a bowl game!

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 27, 2012

“Hell yes it’s Duke Football.” Just felt like repeating it because we may never hear this again in our lifetimes.

— Amanda Rykoff (@amandarykoff) December 27, 2012

For saying “Duke football” and “hell yes” in the same sentence, we ride for David Cutcliffe this evening.

— Holly Anderson (@SIHolly) December 27, 2012

Phone autocorrects Cutcliffe to cut life, which he should get tatted across his stomach #CutLife

— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) December 27, 2012

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Is the creature on the left the elusive “Belk”? Probably, right?

The 2012 Belk Bowl is just hours away. We’re sure you have so many questions. We’re here to help. (For an X’s and O’s breakdown, click through to Mallory Rubin’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? The 2012 game will mark the second Belk Bowl, abandoning close to a decade of automotive-related title sponsors. And what is a Belk? A department store.

• Where will this game be played? Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. ET, with Mike Patrick, Ed Cunningham and Jeannine Edwards bringing you the action.

• Whom does it feature? ACC versus Big East.

• What about this year? 9-3 Cincinnati versus 6-6 Duke. Duke’s goin’ bowling!! Please. The term is “Belking.”

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Our continued best wishes to Tulane’s Devon Walker for a complete recovery. (AP Photo/Tulane University)

• Actual good news, actually. Devon Walker is getting out of rehab and will spend the winter holidays continuing his recovery at home with his family. Here’s his statement: ”I am so happy to be going home where I can reunite with my family and friends. My family and I are very grateful for the support we continue to receive. Some days, when I think that I just can’t do this anymore, remembering my many friends and supporters (both old and new) who are praying for me gives me the strength to go on. I know that my fight is just beginning. Please continue to pray for my recovery. Thank you very much.”

• And now, humans in plush cow suits playing drums in the general direction of Dabo Swinney. The Chick-fil-A Bowl is your one-stop destination for events of this kind.

• Coach-firin’ follies. Are increasingly giving way to coach-hirin’ follies: Missouri offensive line coach Josh Henson will replace the departed Dave Yost as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.

• Roster blotter. Stedman Bailey will pass on his senior season at West Virginia in favor of the NFL draft … also turning pro: Tennessee’s Justin Hunter, per Justin Hunter … Louis Nix will return to Notre Dame, with the intent of taking a little Senior Day stroll with his mom … Cincinnati’s Brendon Kay has been granted a sixth year of eligibility … and stop us if you’ve heard this before, but a Montana player is transferring. No, again. No, again again.

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• With a Champoline, bien sûr. Shutdown Fullback welcomes the 2012 postseason by drinking on  trampoline and discussing (sort of) the impending New Mexico Bowl:

A felicitous bowl season to all.

• Oh, you wanted football. Bill Connelly breaks down this weekend’s bowl action in New Mexico and Potato previews that contain maths.

• “Actual division names TBD.” Time to dredge up all those Ro-Tel-infested, be-Barbasoled threads concerning the infinite list of possibilites that would have made better division names than Leaders and Legends, for redistricting time in the Big Ten is upon us. This will in no way end with heartbreak and nationwide derision, particularly not if they go with that Hunger Games-inspired “inner-outer” arrangement.

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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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