ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett

Skip Holtz was asking his East Carolina assistants if they wanted to follow him to Morgantown on the day of the Fiesta Bowl, Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Of course, Holtz never got a formal interview as Bill Stewart earned his battlefield promotion later that night. Now Holtz will coach against West Virginia on Saturday, but he says there are no hard feelings.

"The morning after the bowl game, we were done with that," Holtz chortled over the telephone Tuesday. "About an hour after the game, that selection committee was done with their issues.

"They made a great hire in Bill Stewart. I'm excited for him. He's been there a long time. It's in his blood. He's been very loyal to that program. You could just see, as the game went on, that was the best hire for West Virginia. And I'm excited for them."

• Jim Leavitt tells the St. Petersburg Times it will take a "minor miracle" for running back Mike Ford to make the trip to UCF. Ford is dealing with an ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Tampa Tribune columnist Joe Henderson says Central Florida is the one who "doesn't get it."
• New starting cornerback Jasper Howard is making an impact for UConn, Desmond Conner writes in the Hartford Courant.
• Is next Thursday's game against North Carolina a must-win for 0-1 Rutgers? Not quite, the Scarlet Knights tell Tom Luicci of the Star-Ledger.
• Cincinnati has its defensive line back intact with the return of Terrill Byrd from suspension and Adam Hoppel recovering from a calf injury, Bill Koch writes in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Bearcats will need a huge performance out of those guys against Oklahoma's massive offensive line.
• New Louisville starting linebacker Jon Dempsey is all business, The Courier-Journal's C.L. Brown writes.
• Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett says Pittsburgh did some good things against Bowling Green, just not enough, Paul Zeise reports in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. One thing Bennett (great name) wanted to see more of: turnovers. Also, the Panthers will seek an extra year for linebacker Adam Gunn, who broke a bone in his neck after a frightening collision.
• Syracuse's passing game still has a long way to go, Dave Rahme writes in the Syracuse Post-Standard.