Super Bowl Update

***No press conference today for the end of the season. Didn't really check on injured guys after the game, because there are no more games and no one looked to be seriously injured like Kanorris Davis was at WKU. Corey Robinson hurt his shoulder on a sack early in the game and, like the warrior on the field he was all season, he battled through it. I think Robinson played more hurt than most people realize, and with the exception of a couple of games during the middle of the season where the offense as a whole struggled, I thought he had a decent year, and will be better again next year with more playmakers. People say that a coach is as good as his assistants, but a QB is as good as his playmakers. Unless said QB is a playmaker himself like RGIII of Baylor.

***I had a Harris Poll vote. Feel free to rank me as a "bad" voter HERE. It's public, so you have a right to see it and no reason for me to hide from it. In hindsight, are there some rankings I'd like to switch? Sure, but if you're not playing in the BCS title game, it really doesn't matter, and I didn't keep Boise State out of the Sugar Bowl, your kicker did. (5 coaches voted Boise State 11th, including Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier and Mark Hudspeth and ULM's Todd Berry rated BSU 13th).

***All-conference picks come out either Tuesday or Wednesday. Troy won't be very highly represented like in years past. Eric Thomas, who led the SBC in touchdown catches, should be at least a second-teamer. James Brown should be on there somewhere. I'd like to see Kyle Wilborn - another warrior on the field - get on there, because he didn't allow a sack. Jonathan Massaquoi will probably land on there. His numbers weren't as dominant as last year, but all tallied up, were still pretty good. Troy will also have an honorable mention offense and defense (or special teams) player. Usually, the higher-up teams are more heavily represented and that's how it should be.

***Arkansas State might be the best Sun Belt team I've seen since covering the league beginning in 2005. Troy in 2009 had more talent, but gave up more yards - however, that schedule included QBs such as NFLers Ryan Mallett, Tim Tebow and Dan LeFevour, and teams piled up yards in the second half against Troy's backups as the Trojans got off to big leads in conference play. Troy 2009 vs. ASU 2011 would be one heck of a matchup.

***However, ASU is looking for a new head coach as Hugh Freeze bolted for Ole Miss after one successful season. Well-deserved, and I think he'll do a good job there. Freeze is the first Sun Belt head coach to leave for a better gig.

***Bowl matchups are as follows: UL-Lafayette vs. San Diego State in the New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 17, 8 p.m., ESPN); FIU vs. Marshall in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl (Dec. 20, 7 p.m., ESPN) and Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy.com Bowl (Jan. 8, 8 p.m., ESPN). Full bowl schedule HERE.

***I'll post a very early look at the 2012 offense and defense on the blog over the next couple of days. I don't know how different the coaching staff or roster will look. Pretty much every school has turnover on the staff or roster after every season, so who knows what will happen. When I look at Troy's 2012 roster, I see a lot of guys who played a lot of football during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The 2012 team should be one of the more experienced Troy teams, and if the holes can be filled through recruiting and a bunch of guys don't get ineligible or hurt, I look for a better record than 3-9. Really, only one way to go from here.