West Virginia coach mum about Michigan

Rich Rodriguez discussed taking West Virginia to its second BCS game in three seasons and the challenge of facing Oklahoma's offense.

What the Mountaineers' coach didn't want to talk about Saturday was Michigan's vacant head coaching job.

Rodriguez said at the opening of a previously scheduled news conference on No. 11 West Virginia's trip to the Fiesta Bowl that he was only going to focus on preparations to face the third-ranked Sooners.

"It may be disappointing to you, but I am not going to talk about any rumors or innuendo or jobs or what else is floating out there," Rodriguez said.

The questions about Michigan persisted, and Rodriguez fired back, warning he might end the conference early.

"You all have not understood what I just said. One more question and this conference, unfortunately, and you all have been super, but if the questions persist outside of that then this thing will be over," he said.

A reporter then asked whether Rodriguez would coach the team in the Fiesta Bowl.

"You're a tricky guy," Rodriguez said.

Some players indicated Rodriguez hadn't spoken to them about Michigan and that they were under orders to keep quiet.

"I'm not supposed to talk about that. I'm sorry," offensive lineman Ryan Stanchek said Saturday.

West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong spoke with Rodriguez on Saturday.

"We talked about general issues within the football program," Pastilong told The Charleston Gazette, declining to be more specific.

CUTCLIFFE READY TO REBUILD: David Cutcliffe molded quarterback after quarterback into Heisman Trophy contenders and prized NFL draft picks. Now comes an even tougher construction project: Transforming downtrodden Duke into a winner.

The Tennessee offensive coordinator and mentor to the Manning family of quarterbacks was introduced as the Blue Devils' head coach Saturday. And while the coach with deep Southeastern Conference ties promised no quick fixes, he pledged to propel the Duke program back to relevance.

"There are no magic dusts, there are no ways that are easy to get this done," Cutcliffe said. "But we'll be on a fast track to get it done."

PINKEL ISN'T MOVING: Scratch Gary Pinkel's name off other schools' wish lists. Missouri's coach has become a bit of a hot commodity in his seventh season, leading the Tigers to No. 1 before losing in the Big 12 championship game. But on Saturday, as the team returned to practice for the Cotton Bowl, Pinkel said he was staying put.

"I'm going to stay at Missouri," Pinkel told The Associated Press. "I'm very committed here. We've made a lot of gains this year and I'm just going to try to keep working hard and keep building the program."

Pinkel, 55, said he'd like to end his career at Missouri.