Five-Step Drop: That's Excessive?

FanHouse's college football staff provides you with a personal quarterback. We do the primary and secondary reads for you so you can properly start your day.

1. It's New Years Eve, time to ring out the old, and if there's anything old that needs to go, it's the excessive celebration rule. Kansas State's Adrian Hilburn got a 15-yard penalty for saluting the crowd at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl Thursday after he scored a touchdown to bring the Wildcats within two points of Syracuse. The foul forced K-State to try a two-point conversion from the 17-yard line. Surprisingly, it didn't work. If Hilburn's celebration deserved a flag, the meathead with 11 items in the express lane deserves a public flogging. The game was officiated by a Big Ten crew and the head of that crew, referee Todd Geerlings, attempted to justify the flag. "Two officials threw the flag, both judged it to be drawing attention to themselves, and that's what the flag was for. These kind of excessive celebrations have been a priority in the rulebook the past couple of seasons." No, sir, this kind of celebration has been a priority, because that actually is excessive. What Hilburn did was innocuous. Throwing a flag for it was the epitome of rinky-dink smallmindedness.

2. While my blood's still boiling, let's head over to PlayoffPAC's website, for details about an Orange Bowl-sponsored event it calls a "junket." The PAC has added this event to a complaint it has filed with the IRS, questioning the Orange Bowl's tax-exempt status. It then goes on to detail how much money Virginia Tech and Stanford stand to lose by playing in this year's Orange Bowl. I'd write more about this but my hands are already shaking.

3. Georgia will be without a team member for the Liberty Bowl. Uga VIII, the team's new mascot, is a bit under the weather and won't make the trip. Russ, the bulldog who filled in between the death of Uga VII and the selection of Uga VIII, will step in to ... do whatever it is Uga VIII would have done.

4. While the pundits have all but given the Maryland job to Mike Leach, the university says it hasn't offered the job to anyone yet and Leach is one of many candidates. Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is rumored to be in the mix, as is former Terrapin linebacker Bobby DePaul, currently a consultant with the Philadelphia Eagles. Maryland would like to have its new coach by Jan. 4 at the latest, so expect an announcement soon.

5. Unless you're a hardcore Division II fan, you may not know who Mel Tjeerdsma is. Tjeerdsma has been the coach at Northwest Missouri State for the past 17 seasons, leading the Bearcats to 12 conference titles and three national titles. He retired on Wednesday, leaving with a 183-43 record at NWMSU and a 242-82-4 overall record. He was a great coach and they're going to miss him in Maryville, Mo.