Headlinin’: LSU ditched BCS plan for ‘stuff that we never did all year’

Making the morning rounds.

• Well, sure, it's easy to say "Get the ball to our best players" now. Dominant as Alabama's defense was on the other side, it was painfully obvious to everyone watching the BCS Championship Game that something was a little… off with LSU's offense, which gained 91 total yards, didn't cross midfield until the midway point of the fourth quarter and generally appeared indifferent to the concept of "scoring points" in a 21-0 rout. Turns out, it was painfully obvious to LSU players, too, according to tight end DeAngelo Peterson, who told the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register Tuesday that the "plan" we saw on Jan. 9 bore no resemblance to the plan the Tigers had been practicing going into the game.

"The play-calling bothered the whole offense," Peterson said during Senior Bowl practice. "We felt like we had a good game plan that would work, that would help us do things, and I feel like the coaches didn't use the game plan. They were doing stuff that we never did all year.

"The game plan was to spread the ball out, get the ball to me, get the ball to Rueben [Randle], let Russell [Shepard] run the ball every now and then, give the ball to our running backs. In that game, Russell played like two plays, Rueben had like one ball, I had one ball. I think they went away from the game plan. ... I feel like if they had went to the game plan and given the playmakers the ball, they would have done something with the ball." [Mobile Press-Register]

• Go West, young man. Surprising most prognostications, Colorado picked up a verbal commitment Tuesday from blue-chip cornerback Yuri Wright, hot on the heels of his official visit to Rutgers. The decision also came less than week after Wright — rated by Rivals as the No. 7 cornerback and No. 85 player overall in the 2012 recruiting class after starring for one of the top high school teams in the country, Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. — was expelled from Don Bosco and had an offer from Michigan pulled for posting excessively vulgar messages on Twitter.

With the Wolverines (and possibly Notre Dame) out of the picture, Wright seemed like a lock for Rutgers, which already has a commitment from one of his high school teammates and is very much in the hunt for another, five-star defensive end Darius Hamilton. Instead, he chose to follow another former Don Bosco grad, running back Tony Jones, to Boulder. "I am proud to be a Buff and I am just happy that I made the decision," Wright told Rivals.com. "What sold me was just the great relationship I have with the coaches, the people out there in Colorado and just everything about the school." [Boulder Daily Camera, Rivals]

• Very bad Badger. An athletic department official at Wisconsin was forced to resign earlier this month after being accused of sexual harassment by a male student during a pre-Rose Bowl party in Los Angeles on Dec. 31. According to an independent report released Tuesday night, the student — identified only as "John Doe" — said he was "shocked and frightened" when senior associate athletic director John Chadima put his hand down the front of his (the student's) pants at the end of a party in Chadima's suite. Chadima was put on administrative leave a week later, on Jan. 6, and resigned on the same day.

"I make no excuses and have come to the realization that over the past few months, alcohol had controlled and consumed my life," Chadima said in a statement issued through his attorney. "I am taking steps to correct that problem in my life at this time. I will take full responsibility for my lack of judgment and actions that evening." [Associated Press]

•Imma get my secondary violation on, dawg. Ole Miss is the latest school investigating a potential NCAA violation after one of its players showed up on a promotional flier for a party, potentially violating the ban on student-athletes being used to promote commercial activity, etc. In this case, the offender is freshman receiver Nick Brassell — aka "SNOOP," aka "DA CHAMP" — whose mug surfaced on a poster promoting a Jan. 6 birthday party in Oxford hosted by "Snoop & his Ole Miss Rebel teammates." Any subsequent violation would likely be classified as a secondary offense, at worst, and a stupid one even by the very low standards of secondary offenses. [Memphis Commercial Appeal]

• Barner hits the books. Oregon has already lost its star running back and starting quarterback to the NFL, and very nearly lost its head coach. But it could be worse: According to blazing running back/return man Kenjon Barner, the Ducks were "extremely close" to losing him to the draft, too. "I was very close — I was extremely close [to leaving]," Barner told the Eugene Register-Guard. "I made a promise to my mom when I first came to school. I promised her that before I left here that I would finish out my degree.

"The opportunity presented itself to go to the next level, and obviously that's something I want to do. I had a great conversation with coach Kelly and coach [Gary] Campbell, and I was just praying about it ... and ultimately making the right decision in coming back to finish my senior year." [Eugene Register-Guard]

Quickly… Oklahoma gets Mike Stoops at bargain basement rates, and hires one of his old assistants, too. … SMU signs a new deal with Nike. … A familiar face joins Alabama's coaching staff. … Robert Woods expects to be ready to go for spring practice. … Joe Posnanski on the last days of Joe Paterno. … And Chuck Klosterman on counterfactual Chip Kelly.

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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.