Josh Nunes (6) was likely going to serve as Stanford’ backup quarterback in 2013. (Jed Jacobsohn/SI)

By Zac Ellis

One year after winning the starting quarterback job at Stanford, Josh Nunes’ football career is over.

The Cardinal announced Monday that Nunes will take a medical retirement and wrap his career with the program.

The decision most likely resulted from a bicep injury Nunes suffered in the weight room after the season, which kept him out of spring practice.

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• Hail to whoever can focus a camera that early. Michigan State is in the thick of winter conditioning, and Michigan State’s social media team is soldiering through with the Spartans, providing photos of a quality too rarely found in team Twitter feeds:

Mylan Hicks, Jairus Jones and Isaiah Lewis participate in Monday's 5:30 a.m. winter conditioning workout. #Spartans http://t.co/OMqSa3zf—
Spartan Football (@MSU_Football) February 11, 2013

Eschewing blurry iPhone shots really drives home the point that you are not up and working out at 5:30 a.m. in East Lansing. Bless you, boys.

• And bless you, Black Knights. Just remember who dragged you out of The Nothing and into spring ball: As we’re typing this, Army’s already been at practice for half an hour.

• Solved that thing. Will Katherine Webb in an Auburn/Alabama combo jersey bring about peace in the Yellowhammer State? Probably not, but it was worth a shot, right?

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When no appealing photos present themselves to accompany daily top stories, we add our own. Today: Ralphie! (AP)

• “Plaintiffs in the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit claimed what their lawyer described as a significant victory today when a California federal judge denied the NCAA’s early attempt to prevent the case from becoming a class action.” This is not so much a victory in and of itself as it is one more sudden-death pitfall avoided. Think of this kind of action as playing Super Mario Bros. 2 as Toad, with no mushrooms in sight and only one extra life remaining. That’s where this case is at, in fancy legal terms.

• “And it’s highly questionable whether other college presidents would allow such a settlement when no other schools were afforded the same opportunity for a case involving recruiting violations.” Think the NCAA-ward howling from Miami and USC is bad now? Imagine the cacophony of victory and rage if the ‘Canes were able to cut a deal.

• “According to the report, when the officer asked the men for their tickets, Carey said, ‘Get the (expletive) out of my face! Don’t you know who I am? I am an All-American.’” Always wonder what the endgame is here, in the heads of anyone who tries this kind of thing. “My sincerest apologies, sir. Your NCAA rushing prowess affords you lordship over campus police. Carry on.”

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We have at least three weeks’ worth of Sebastian photos on hand, in case this Miami story keeps dragging on. (AP)

Assorted newsy bits — of varying degrees of importance — you might have missed over the long weekend:

• Didn’t we already do this headline a week ago? ”Imminent” can mean a lot of things! In the cosmic sense, the NCAA’s investigation of Miami has spanned less than a fraction of an eyeblink, but here we are, riding on a human-speed space-time wave, just twiddling our bloggy thumbs until the ‘Canes’ notice of allegations drops. The latest rumblings, per Bruce Feldman, involve a very large book being thrown at ex-Miami and current Louisville assistant Clint Hurtt and other former ‘Canes colleagues. We’ll have more on this when we actually see the notice of allegations, unless we don’t see this notice of allegations, in which case we’ll be right back here next Monday writing a third variation on this same headline.

• And speaking of the NCAA: On the final day of the annual NCAA convention, the latest raft of changes — touted as an effort to streamline NCAA regulations — were unveiled. Your friendly neighborhood Bylaw Blogger takes a look at one proposal, regarding recruiting start dates, that was left out of the bundle.

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The story of one college football postseason game, as told through social media:

A full, sunny panoramic Rose Bowl. twitter.com/slmandel/statu…

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 1, 2013

Sounds like someone who hasn’t eaten carne asada on a golf course before CFB paradise. MT @38godfrey: […] to hell with the Rose Bowl.

— Dan Rubenstein (@DanRubenstein) January 1, 2013

There are people in the stands crying because of this wedding. Probably because they thought they were gonna see a Kermit balloon.

— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) January 1, 2013

I miss the days when the Tournament of Roses was to the death.

— Chris Marcil (@ChrisMarcil) January 1, 2013

Brent just hit the “you’re looking live at the Rose Bowl.” I feel like we’ve been given clearance to land.

— edsbs (@edsbs) January 1, 2013

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You can’t see the Utah student section in this photo, but you KNOW they’re lurking somewhere just off camera, waiting to triple-rush the field and swipe this trophy. (AP)

The 2013 Rose 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 Stewart Mandel’s game preview.)

• What’s all this, then? This is the Rose Bowl. This is like the one game all year that doesn’t need this question. You know what the Rose Bowl is. The fact that you all know what the Rose Bowl is is central to the mythology of the Rose Bowl. This is the Rose Bowl. It is played in the Rose Bowl. Why is it called the Rose Bowl? STOP THAT.

• When is it on television? Coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN, featuring the vocal stylings of Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi. The game will also air on ESPN Deportes and stream on WatchESPN.

• Whom does it feature? Any champions of the Pac-12 and Big Ten not playing in the BCS title game.

• What about this year? With the national championship game slots going to an SEC team and an independent, Big Ten champ Wisconsin and Pac-12 champ Stanford will travel to Pasadena.

• Does the bowl have a social media presence? It does, albeit a steadfastly dignified one:
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And we’re back! Items of interest you may have missed whilst holidaying:

• Start ‘em early. The Palm Beach Post‘s Jason Lieser works to instill a proper reverence for prep work in our nation’s youth:

We made some flashcards to teach our 1-year-old about our upcoming trip to the Sugar Bowl. twitter.com/PBPjasonlieser…

— Jason Lieser (@PBPjasonlieser) December 24, 2012

• Roster blotter. And now, a whole bunch of players who are being held out of bowl games for assorted reasons: Stanford’s Terrence Stephens (secondary NCAA violation), Oregon’s Nick Cody and Axel McQuaw (academics), Minnesota’s Andre McDonald (the ever-popular-and-mysterious Violation Of Team Rules), Texas Tech’s Cornelius Douglas, Chris Payne and Leon Mackey (VOTR), UCLA’s Tevin McDonald (VOTR), Syracuse’s Adonis Ameen-Moore and Max Beaulieu (VOTR) and Marquis Spruill and Steven Rene (partial suspensions only) … Illinois’ Akeem Spence has declared for the draft …  Duron Carter has dropped out of FAU … Cody Vaz will start at quarterback in the Alamo Bowl … Oklahoma’s Stacy McGee was arrested Monday.

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Stefphon Jefferson has clearly just caught a look at the New Mexico Bowl scoreboard here. (AP)

• My god, it’s full of stats. Just for funsies, and maybe also because we’re football-free until Thursday, here is a list of NCAA bowl records broken by Nevada and Arizona in the 2012 New Mexico Bowl, via Wolf Pack sports info:

-Most plays (combined, both teams): Nevada-Arizona, 188 (Previous, 187, by Auburn-Northwestern in 2010 Outback Bowl).

-Most first downs: Nevada, 39 (Previous, 36—Oklahoma (48) vs. Virginia (14) (Gator, Dec. 29, 1991) (16 rush, 18 pass, 2 penalty); Marshall (64) vs. East Carolina (61) (2 ot) (GMAC, 2001) (9 rush, 25 pass, 2 penalty).

-Most first downs, both teams: Nevada-Arizona, 70 (Previous: 62—North Carolina St. (56) [34] vs. Kansas (26) [28] (Tangerine, 2003).

-Most first downs rushing: Nevada, 28 (Previous: 26—Oklahoma (40) vs. Auburn (22) (Sugar, Jan. 1, 1972); Navy (51) vs. Colorado St. (30) (Poinsettia, 2005).

-Most first downs rushing, both teams: Nevada-Arizona, 38 (Previous: 36—Colorado (47) [24] & Alabama (33) [12] (Liberty, 1969); Miami (FL) (46) [16] & Texas (3) [20] (Cotton, 1991).

An auspicious beginning to the postseason, no?

• Further bowltyme antics. In case you missed it last week, follow along with Stewart Mandel’s Bowl Pickoff right over here.

• Actual playoff happenings. Mount Union continues to do Mount Union things, gaining another D-III championship on Friday night … Valdosta State wrecked Winston-Salem State in the Division II title game … Sam Houston State and North Dakota State will face off for the FCS championship.

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It’s unlikely that Jordan Lynch and NIU can slide into a BCS bowl, but when have we ever liked sure things? (AP)

Quick hits from Friday night’s college football conference championship games. For more on Week 14, check out our Championship Saturday Snaps, coverage of Louisville-Rutgers, Oklahoma-TCU and the epic clash between Alabama and Georgia, plus our complete Top 25 review.

• No. 19 Northern Illinois 44, No. 18 Kent State 37 (2OT). Jordan Lynch put on a show in Detroit, and NIU’s defense played the part of showstoppers in the 2012 MAC championship game. The Huskies won their second consecutive conference title, in their third consecutive conference title game appearance, but this is MACtion, dahling. And MACtion would never, ever wind up without a flourish.

Down 10-0 late in the first quarter and looking slightly discombobulated, the Huskies executed a bit of gridiron theater we might have expected out of the early-season Golden Flashes, back when they were returning fumbled punts the wrong way down the field and tackling their own teammates for safeties: They attempted a fake field goal attempt that was interrupted by their own timeout call, effectively icing their own kicker, who wasn’t even planning to kick. Problem? Not for a team with Lynch, who returned to the field after the break, converted fourth-and-three on his own two feet, then continued running for 14 additional yards. Viva MACtion!

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Dri Archer and Kent State could be playing for a possible BCS berth. (Diamond Images/Getty Images)

Sports fans, you have two conference championship games to savor on the eve of the last college football-filled Saturday of the regular season. We’re sure you have so many questions. 

No. 18 Kent State vs. No. 19 Northern Illinois

Shouldn't the MAC Championship be played on Tuesday or Wednesday? Wouldn't that be keeping it real?

—
Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 26, 2012

• What information do I, the discerning sports fan, require in order to consume this game? The Huskies and Golden Flashes are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. ET at Ford Field in Detroit. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed on WatchESPN.

• What’s at stake here? A possible BCS bowl trip, though as ever with teams from non-AQ leagues, the shot is an outside one. Stewart Mandel has the Golden Flashes in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in his latest projections (oh, the ad campaign they’ll make for that one) and the Huskies returning to Detroit for the Little Caesars Bowl.

But there’s victory in this already, for one side: Wherever Kent State goes, it’ll be the program’s first bowl game in 40 years.

• For whom are we to be watching? The Golden Flashes have a nasty running threat, particularly in the return game, in Dri Archer and another back, Trayion Durham, who cannot be left unattended. Archer is the nation’s top kick return threat, averaging more than 38 yards an attempt. He also leads the MAC in scoring and is the FBS’ fifth-ranked all-purpose runner heading into Week 14.

The Huskies have Jordan Lynch, and a bunch of other guys, and not to diminish their efforts at blocking for him or catching his passes, but Jordan Lynch is sort of overshadowing everything else at the moment. Right now, NIU’s quarterback is averaging more than 134 rushing yards per game, and he needs to gain just 92 tonight to set a new NCAA record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. Racking up 250 passing yards at Ford Field would also make him the first 3,000-1,500 player in FBS history. Friday MACtion, don’t let us down.

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