Time restriction's demand that tonight's edition of Last Call be delivered on a diet. Still, I've opted to pour a small glass of Amontillado Sherry, rather than stomach something truly slim -- like one of those awful, metallic, diluted 64 calarie corn beers. When it comes to a night cap, there simply is no compromising. Shall we?
Ask and you shall receive. In response to my blurb on fertile recruiting someone asked whether the rankings accounted for the per capita populations of various states. They do. In assigning the pecking order Sports Illustrated broke down the metrics for all fifty states. Here are a few majors, and minors:
| School | Rank | State Citizens per Recruit |
| Florida | 1st | 18,683 |
| Ohio | 5th | 31,729 |
| Iowa | 29th | 49,222 |
| Wisconsin | 30th | 102,327 |
Still, what you really want to know is whether big states have a big advantage? A loose look at the data suggests they don't. Georgia, Alabama, New Jersey, and North Carolina all landed in the Top 10, despite having state populations of less than 10 million. Compare that with Third Ranked California's booming 36 million domiciliaries, and comparably large gap of 44,500 citizens per recruit and you start to see how quality sacks quantity any day.
And yes, Iowa's 3,002,555 inhabitants aren't really that much fewer than Seventh-Ranked Alabama's 4,661,900, yet Saban's state turned out 245 recruits, and Ferentz's just 61.
Even if their populations were the same, the Hawkeye state would still underperform by 38.65 percent. Not that anyone's counting.
Can't Michigan beat Ohio State at anything? While it's the first -- and likely last time you'll hear me mention hoops on the site (although if you're dying for basketball coverage Eleven Warriors is sublime), I couldn't help but notice the men in blue got railed again by the scarlet, 72-54, this time in the flourscent sanctuary that is Value City Arena. In case any of you diehards care, the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines on January 17th also. It's been 1895 days since Michigan's last victory over OSU in football. So, what does a Wolverine have to hang on to? The UM hockey team did notch back-to-back victories on ice over the Buckeyes in late October/early November. Every little bit helps, I guess.