Morning Six Pack: January 4, 2013

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me… Six cold, clear college football stories from around the country.

Claims To Glory

Alabama claims 14 college football national championships; Notre Dame claims 11. But how many titles does each school really deserve to have? Andy Staples breaks it all down.

Time is right for Chip Kelly to make NFL move

After elevating Ducks to unprecedented heights, is NFL next?

FIU hires former Illinois coach Ron Turner

Slightly less than one month to the day after firing head coach Mario Cristobal, FIU has found its new guy.

BCS title game - Mark Edwards: McCarron deals well with pressure to win

As Alabama practiced in the warm South Florida sun Thursday afternoon, no player on the field seemed to have as much fun as AJ McCarron. The Crimson Tide is preparing to play for a national championship, and that's serious business.

Agent: Bill O'Brien staying at Penn State

Agent said the "heartstrings" of O'Brien's experience from Penn State's 8-4 season in his first year outweighed the potentially big raise he could have received as an NFL head coach.

Quotable:

"Danny Spond is, to me, one of the players of the year," Diaco said.

"To watch him battle and fight and stay positive and become the player that he has become for his teammates in 2012, he is a stalwart out there to the field. It's very hard to get a play on him in the pass game or the run game. It's just really been inspirational for me to watch and be a part of. So I'm so thankful for Danny Spond specifically in my life."

Spond said the six-week wait for this has been easier than some might think, since it's allowed the Irish to prepare and heal.

In short, he knows his team will be ready for whatever Nick Saban and Alabama can throw Notre Dame's way on Monday night.

"They are a great team," Spond said. "They are obviously in this game for a reason and they have proved that in the past couple of years. Coach Saban has built a very strong program over there, so we're preparing for their best. They'll give us their best."

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