Auburn finally fired Bryan Harsin. It was a tough situation for Harsin, but he wasn’t the right man for the job. It just wasn’t a good fit.

As for the next coach, Lane Kiffin, Hugh Freeze and Matt Rhule are the major names being talked about for now. Lane, if he wants to leave Ole Miss and his $7 million a year salary, would be a very good hire. He’s done terrifically at Ole Miss and Auburn could offer him as much if not more and give him the recruiting hotbed of Georgia, Alabama and Florida with some Mississippi. He could very well take it. Not big on the Freeze idea. He wouldn’t be my first choice, and I hope Auburn still cares about the integrity factor. I know plenty still do. Some might not care and want to win hire him anyway, but I hope not. He’s got serious baggage and seems to be a pretty big thug at Liberty now that he’s gotten his redemption. However, he is an excellent football coach and may be too good to pass up. I like Rhule as a possibility. He’s a very good college coach. He’s not cut out for the pros. Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier weren’t either. The college game worked for them and still works for Saban. Rhule seems to flourish in the college ranks. He’s a possibility.

Deion Sanders, who knows? That’s a real wild card. He’s done well at Jackson State, no doubt, and he’s probably a superb recruiter, but can he coach against Coach Saban, Coach Smart, Josh Huepel, guys like that? That seems to be a reach. Kevin Steele is another name, but he seems a little past his prime.

Kiffin and Rhule would be my top choices for the Tigers. Will be interesting to see if other names emerge soon. Should be the case. Sonny Dykes at TCU would be an interesting choice. He’s a superb coach, and while my daughter and I like him in Fort Worth, and he can win big out there, Auburn could look at him. He may not take the job the way things are going out in Texas, but he could be a name that emerges. His offenses are prolific, and his defenses create a lot of turnovers, which is winning defense these days along with sacks, tackles for loss and red zone defense. His defensive coordinator is impressive looking on the sideline. So Dykes is another possibility.

Those are my candidates for today. If I think of more on Thursday, I’ll pass those along. The Tiger faithful needs a good coach. They always have the ability to win big at Auburn, so new Athletic Director John Cohen, who comes from Mississippi State where he was the baseball coach and then the athletic director, will make a critical hire. He hired Mike Leach, and that is still to be determined on whether that was a good hire, but it looks like a pretty solid hire for now. That could change any week though with how fluid people’s opinions of their coaches are. A lot of knee jerk reactions these days. I like Leach in the SEC and he’s doing a solid job in Starkville. He’s safe right now. Cohen hired Joe Moorhead before Leach, and that didn’t work out well. So, interesting times on the Plains. Will keep you apprised of developments in the search.

World Series

The Fall Classic has been excellent so far with the Phillies coming back from a 5-0 deficit against Justin Verlander no less to take game 1, 6-5,. Amazingly, Verlander is 0-6 all time in World Series performances. His ERA is over 5. Shocking that that’s the case. The Astros came back and tied it 1-1 in Minute Maid Park in Houston on Saturday, winning 5-2.

Now it’s 1-1 as the series moves to Philly for games 3,4 and 5. Game 3 was rained out last night, but the weather in Philly looks good the rest of the week. Here’s the schedule for the rest of the series.

Today, Game 3, at Citizens Ball Park, Philly, 7:03 PM CT, FOX

Game 4, Wednesday, Philly, 7:03 PM CT, FOX

Game 5 Thursday, Philly, 7:03 PM CT, FOX

Game 6, if necessary, Minute Maid Park, Houston, 7:03 PM CT, FOX

Game 7, if necessary, Sunday, Houston, 7:03 PM CT, FOX

Broadcasters, Joe Davis, doing an awesome job in place of Joe Buck, who’s now at ESPN calling Monday Night Football with Troy.

Smoltzie

Field Reporters, Ken Rosenthall and Tom Verducci

Pregame Show, Kevin Burkhardt, Big Papi, A Roid, the Big Hurt (all three may have been roiders, we know A Roid was), Dontrelle Willis. Matt Vasgersian, when Burkhardt is calling NFL games.

Prediction

I like the fact that the Phillies could play a red hot Braves team and win in 4, then defeat a hot Padres team in 5 to reach the Fall Classic. It’s hard to defeat Jose Altuve and that superb cast of players in Houston along with some stellar starting arms, but I like Bryce Harper and the Phillies to do just that. The starting pitching favors the Astros slightly and the bats are a wash. But I like the home field for the Phillies allowing them to take 2 of 3 at Citizens Ball Park. Philly has passionate fans and they’re going to do everything they can to help their team be successful. I like the Phils to win game 6 in Houston as well. My older daughter dates a guy from Philly as they both live in the Big Apple, but this is not a heart pick. Believe in this team.

Phillies in 6

MVP, Bryce Harper

Thursday

College Football Week 10 Previews/Predictions

The No.6 Crimson Tide travels to Baton Rouge to face a hot No.15 LSU team Saturday Night at 6 on ESPN. The Crimson Tide is not used to being No.6, and can prove a lot this Saturday in a very hostile environment. The Playoff Selection Show comes out today at 6 PM CT on ESPN and it will be very interesting to see where the Crimson Tide, among others, stacks up. I’m looking at 5 or 6 for the Tide. I’ll take No.1 Georgia, No.2 Ohio State, No.3 Tennessee, No.4 Michigan and No.5 Alabama. or Clemson. One or the other. I’d have to say Clemson at 5 right now and the Tide at 6 with TCU at No.7. But this is such a fluid situation that will change after every Saturday most likely. Still fun to get a gauge of where the teams stand in the first rankings.

And a huge contest in the SEC East as No.3 Tennessee goes to Athens to face No.1 Georgia at 2:30 PM CT on CBS. Will be a marquee Saturday in the SEC with some other excellent matchups and some solid national games. I’m interested in Arkansas hosting No. 23 Liberty at 3 PM CT on the SEC Network. The Hogs have had a couple of solid victories lately and stand at 5-3. Liberty is 7-1 with their only loss coming to Wake Forest @ Wake, 37-36. Hugh Freeze went for 2 to try and win the game at the end, but the Flames didn’t convert. But he’s an excellent coach despite the baggage and they’ve got a very good football team. So, should be a tremendous day of college football. Carnell Williams will be coaching Auburn for their game @Mississippi State at 6:30 PM CT Saturday on ESPN2. Maybe Carnell can do much better than Harsin did. He was a superb running back at Auburn on the 13-0 team in 2004 coached by Tommy Tubvervile, who did some good things on the Plains, and is an excellent recruiter and the running backs have been the best part of the team. Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter are stellar, so maybe Carnell can get the Tigers over the top in Starkville on Saturday.