Tommy Tuberville, 2005:

"ESPN, I'll tell you, I don't have much to do with them anymore."

Tommy Tuberville, 2009: Out of a job at Auburn and now an analyst for ESPNU's "Inside the Polls."

Thank you, Jon Solomon for this column/post.

I encourage you to read Solomon's entire piece, which speaks of how ESPN will get behind the SEC more than ever with the new 15-year, $2.25 billion deal between the too.

The Steve Spurrier and Mark Richt anecdotes in there are solid, but the irony of the Tuberville situation is brilliant.

Let's go to the full Tuberville quote from 2005:

"ESPN has gotten so much power lately, it's kinda scary," Tuberville said in 2005. "And most of their analysts are coaches who haven't won games. That's why they're there. I think you know who I'm talking about. And Lou Holtz gets on there and talks about what a team has to do to win that game, and the guy couldn't beat anybody in our conference. ... ESPN, I'll tell you, I don't have much to do with them anymore."

Like Holtz, Tuberville couldn't beat anybody in the SEC last year either, going 2-6 in the league -- remember one of those two wins? Now, he's on an ESPNU show called "Inside the Polls," analyzing the same polls that kept him out of the national title game in 2004 despite going undefeated.

You can't make this stuff up.

But none of it is surprising at all. Bob Knight has always criticized the media, and now he's on ESPN. Same goes for Bill Parcells before he went to the Miami Dolphins.

ESPN pretty much owns he world at this point. Well, if doesn't already, soon it will.

The SEC has discussed creating a TV network in the mold of the Big Ten Network in the past. At this point, would it surprise anyone to see an ESPN-SEC Network? I can see it now... the SEC Network powered by ESPN, featuring lead analyst Tommy Tuberville.

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Quick hits:
-Before his CBS Evening News days, Walter Cronkite had a strong tie to college football as the first radio play-by-play man for Oklahoma football.

-Last week, I posted about the eroding family values saga at Michigan, this time with the transfer of offensive lineman Kurt Wermers. But according to "sources with knowledge of the situation", Wermers was ruled academically ineligible before he announced his transfer. Hopefully this will be addressed by Rich Rodriguez at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago next week.

-Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz received a contract extension through 2015, although his salary will remain at the low price of $3.02 million per year.

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Video of the Day:
I'll continue with memorable Penn State moments, this from just before halftime at the '06 Orange Bowl:

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-Matt Brown