• Lo, as the prophets foretold. And verily, on the second day, did the Tebow Child descend among the people, and lay his hands on them, and speaketh unto them the good news:

Excluding Percy Harvin, who we still assume is NFL-bound, the Gators will return 18 of 22 players from Thursday's starting lineup, including all 11 on defense (pending pro decisions by Brandon Spikes and possibly Jermaine Cunningham), where eight first-teamers were freshmen or sophomores. They are your No. 1 to open 2009, period (sorry, Texas).

• All signs point to Coach Spaz. Boston College has taken a look at a few outside guys about its sudden vacancy -- Richmond coach Mike London, just-promoted Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio and possibly (or possibly not) Skip Holtz -- but by all accounts the Eagles will go internal to replace Jeff Jagodzinski, and all of those accounts agree that longtime defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani is the runaway favorite. BC also interviewed Steve Logan and Jack Bicknell Jr. late last week, but the undercurrent in the Boston papers and blogs suggests Spaziani could be announced any day now: It's only logical.

Whoever assumes the role can count on the defense for another year, at least: ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mark Herzlich (right) will be back for his senior season to "complete his college experience." Translation: Welcome to campus, freshman coeds. Was your high school boyfriend fifth in Butkus Award voting?

• Mark Shurtleff has a blog. It's on blogspot -- UtahAG.blogspot.com (not to mention his Twitter feed) -- and the Utah attorney general used the site Saturday to lay out six reasons his legal campaign against the BCS is legitimate, and not a complete waste of precious taxpayer dollars. The Salt Lake Tribune does not exactly agree:

We agree with Shurtleff that the BCS system is bogus; that a true tournament-style playoff system is the only legitimate way to determine a national champion. But Shurtleff and his underlings are wasting their time and your money by pursuing this investigation.
[...]
Our economy is imploding. Utahns are losing their jobs and homes. Budget cuts will be required. And our state's top lawyer is preoccupied with scoring a political touchdown with Utah football fans. Shurtleff needs to rethink his priorities.

I tend to fall in the same camp re: politicians on a football crusade. Then again, the same editorial actually thinks "Any of the 119 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision can earn a berth by finishing the regular season ranked first or second in the BCS standings," which immediately throws its judgment on the question.

Quickly ... Off a huge Sugar Bowl, Utah defensive end Paul Kruger declared for the draft Sunday, and Ute cornerback Sean Smith may soon follow. ... Iowa quarterback Jake Christensen, apparently having lost a seesaw battle to Ricky Stanzi, plans to transfer. ... Oklahoma stars Sam Bradford, Jermaine Gresham, Trent Williams and Gerald McCoy will decide to stay or go on Thursday. Either way, at least, uh, Bob Stoops will be back. ... Onetime mega-recruit Sergio Kindle began to blossom this year under Will Muschamp and will return for his final year at Texas. ... Louisville loses another defensive coordinator. ... 2009 will be Joe Cox's time to shine after four years on the Georgia bench. ... Steve Spurrier is no longer welcome at an Atlanta high school after pulling a scholarship offer from a linebacker. ... The Robert Marve saga is a perfect example of everything that's wrong with Miami football under Randy Shannon. Or, the Marves are crybabies. Take your pick. Despite all the talk about staying close to home, the quarterback is considering transferring to Oklahoma State or Purdue as well as Florida schools. ... Minnesota is targeting Oklahoma assistant Josh Heupel for its offensive coordinator spot. ... Nebraska might become more run-oriented in 2009. ... And I'm sure Steve Sarkisian is a great recruiter and all, but this does not seem like a battle he can win. Although, if he does, look out, Space.