Look at the conference as a whole, and I don't think it's any question it's the strongest conference in the country.

I think it's great, ... I tell everybody that this is the best job in the world.

I asked the Marines when they were defending our country if they think about sports, ... They said they love sports. When you hear guys say sports doesn't provide an escape, well that's not according to guys on the front lines. [Football] isn't life or death but it's part of our society, and I don't think we should apologize for it.

We're highly underrated as a conference, I don't think there's any question about that, ... The variety is unbelievable. Coaching in our conference, you're going to see the spectrum, and that's part of what makes it fun.

[Oregon State-Louisville: I love (ESPN analyst) Chris Spielman . After Louisville calls a pass play that goes for a touchdown (making the score 56-13), he chides Oregon State for playing man coverage.] I know this is an unpopular opinion, ... but it's not Louisville's job to stop themselves.

If A.J. flies off the board and a couple of other linebackers fly off the board, then, (Carpenter has) a shot to get picked in the first round. If they don't, then he's certainly going to be a second-rounder. But after draft day, it doesn't really matter. All that's thrown out the window, and he's going to have the opportunity to play and be a contributor somewhere.