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Go ahead, admit it.  When you play a game on EA Sport’s NCAA Football, you run a high octane, pass happy kind of offense.  You employ a four, five receiver shot gun formation and sling the ball around a like a laser.  You probably don’t use a huddle.  You pretend your the “Mad Scientist” playing mind games with the opposing team’s coach.  And your final scores are 82-35.  It’s a rush.  Your QB probably passed for 650 yards, and you had two receivers with over 150 yards receiving.  Don’t you just love video games?

Well, the original “Mad Scientist” has arrived in Dallas, and he didn’t just bring his A-Game.  June Jones, the mastermind behind the University of Hawaii’s advance to the BCS Sugar Bowl was hired in January by SMU.  The Mustang alumni Ponied up the cash to hire Jones away from the Warriors.  And, Jones’ system is similar to playing a video game.  At least, that is what Mustang receiver Emmanuel Sanders thought.

June Jones played for “Mouse” Davis in the early 70’s, the coach who took the Run and Shoot offense and turned it into a offensive phenomenon.  Then Jones took the offense with him when he began coaching.  The Run and Shoot, which employs a spread the field type of formation, is an offense which uses a series of reads and “hot reads” to exploit the defenses weakness or tendencies.  The offense was used at the University of Houston in the 80’s where Andre Ware became a Heisman Trophy winner.  In short, the Run and Shoot is the type of offense we use when we play EA Sports’ NCAA Football.

In Dallas, Jones should have the ability to recruit better talent to play in his system, which is scary.  Jones doesn’t have to convince a young man, and even more, his mom, to come across the ocean to play football.  While in Hawaii, players only played on the mainland a few times a year.  In Dallas, players will be playing close to home almost every game.  And, Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, has some good fares as Coach Mangino reminded us.

Furthermore,  Texas is a gold mine for college football talent.  Other teams already come to North Texas to recruit top notch talent.  With Jones in Dallas, players like Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree might not leave to play football.  Crabtree was a stand out player for Dallas’ Carter High School.  Add to the mix that Jones has a BCS Bowl on his resume, and he should see his share of big time recruit signings.  Mike Leach, the coach of Texas’ only other Run and Shoot type of offense (Air Raid), does not have that BCS Bowl on his resume.  All of these variables, I think, should make for a success at SMU with Jones as the head Pony for the fist time since returning from the “death penalty.”

I wrote in a previous post that I would reveal my top ten coaches list. Here is my list. Of course, I know it is a subjective exercise. Most will not agree with me. That’s fine. But I’ll give you my list, and I will also try to explain why. As before, this list is not in ascending or descending order.

1. Jim Tressel, Ohio State University–It’s hard to argue with Tressel’s success at Ohio State. However, he won four national titles in Division I-AA before jumping to Division I-A (now the Bowl Championship Division) to coach Ohio State. In 21 years as a head coach Tressel has 11 Ten Win seasons. Four titles in Division I-AA and one in Division I-A while at Ohio State. His accomplishments should not be diminished by the Buckeye losses in two straight national title games. The Buckeyes will be an early favorite to make a third straight appearance in 2009, and this time they might win the game. Tressel’s ability to lure prize recruit Terrelle Pryor may have been the advantage he needed to win the title.

2. Urban Meyer, University of Florida– Coach Meyer has been head coaching for 7 years, and 3 of those seasons were Ten Win seasons. Remarkably, Meyer has not finished a year as a head coach with less than 8 wins. Meyer is the hot new young coach for most. His Gators expect to be a major contender both in the SEC and nationally during the 2008-09 season behind returning QB and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

3. Pete Carroll, University of Southern California– Few could argue with Carroll’s inclusion on a Top Ten Coaches list. USC had an astounding 10 players taken in the 2008 NFL draft. Carroll was 6-6 in his first season at USC, but then he won at least 11 games in each of his next six seasons. Carroll led USC to 2 BCS National title game appearances, 2 AP and 1 BCS National Championships, and six straight top 4 finishes. Carroll’s Trojans have either won or tied for the Pac 10 Championship for six straight seasons. In the last three years, USC has been an early season favorite to play in the BCS National Championship Game. Carroll’s resume is impressive.

4. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State University–In 21 seasons as head coach, Erickson has 7 10 win seasons and 2 National Championships. Erickson has coached six different college football teams and is prone to jumping around a bit. Nevertheless, when Erickson takes over a program, he usually makes it a winner. His first year at Arizona State, Erickson led the Devils to 10-3 record and a share of the Pac 10 Championship. Erickson is leading a Devil Storm in the Desert.

5. Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma–Stoops had a fast start in Norman. In just his second year, the Sooners won the National Championship. Rarely does Stoops lose the annual Red River Rivalry against Texas. Stoops has seven 11 win seasons in 9 years as the head Sooner coach. Stoops’ teams have reached a BCS Bowl 6 different times, winning the first 2.

6. Mac Brown, University of Texas–Brown’s resume was punctuated by a National Championship in 2005 with a thrilling win over USC in one of the greatest 1 vs. 2 and National Championship Games ever. Led by QB Vince Young, Brown’s Longhorns answered every challenge during the year by several teams to make it to the Rose Bowl for the National Title. USC did not have answer for UT’s Young as he scrambled and passed his way to a second consecutive Rose Bowl title and the BCS National Championship. Brown has ten 10 win seasons in 20 years of coaching.

7. Phillip Fulmer, University of Tennessee–Fulmer has nine 10 win seasons in 16 years as head coach of the Volunteers. Fulmer has six SEC East Division Titles (1 shared) and 2 SEC Championships. Fulmer’s Vols have been to two BCS Bowl games and won one National title. Fulmer has a 76.6% winning percentage. All he has done at Tennessee is win. In Knoxville, there are 109,000 screaming fans singing Rocky Talk.

8. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech University–Beamer has been a head coach for 27 years, yet he still produces good teams. Beamer has nine 10 win seasons including four straight. Bearmer’s teams are usually among the best in special teams, and players regularly compete for a lunch pail.

9. Mark Richt, University of Georgia–Richt has five 10 win seasons in 7 years as a head coach, all at Georgia. Richt’s teams have been to three BCS Bowls and has two SEC Championships. Richt’s ‘Dawgs are many people’s pre-season favorite to win the 2008-2009 BCS National Championship. Georgia rallied last year after two early season losses to finish number 2 in the final polls. The Bulldogs were widely considered the hottest team at the end of the 2007-2008 season.

10. Gary Patterson, Texas Christian University–Patterson’s Horned Frogs have four 10 win seasons in his 7 years as head Frog. Patterson’s teams have finished ranked four times. The Frogs have accomplished all of this during the Patterson era while competing in three different conferences and knocking off teams from BCS conferences. Twice in the Patterson era TCU knocked at the BCS Bowl party door. The Frogs under Patterson have upsets against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Iowa State. The Frogs recently knocked off Stanford in 2007 the week after the Cardinals upset USC at the Coliseum. The Frogs return a lot of talent to make another run at the Mountain West Conference Title.