Gee: I need to keep my mouth closed

Last week, E. Gordon Gee, president of the Ohio State University said he didn't think teams like Boise State and TCU should be considered for the BCS Championship in college football, saying they play "the little sisters of the poor."

Naturally, that prompted responses from those schools and their supporters.

Now Gee says he's learned his lesson.

Here's the story, from espn.com

Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee says in the future, he will stick to running the university and leave comments about college football to the experts.

"What do I know about college football? I look like Orville Redenbacher. I have no business talking about college football," he said Wednesday, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

More than a week ago, Gee said teams in the major conferences such as the Big Ten and SEC are more deserving to play for the BCS national championship because they play tougher competition every week. "We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor," he said.

That didn't go over very well at TCU and Boise State, both of which at the time were hoping to turn undefeated seasons into a case for inclusion in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game.

Boise State (10-1) lost to Nevada (No. 17 BCS, No. AP) last weekend, and is No. 11 BCS, No. 9 AP.

TCU is 12-0, and No. 3 in both standings.

Observers said Gee's comments fueled the perception that the so-called power conferences suffer from arrogance. It also was noted that according to Jeff Sagarin's computer ratings, Ohio State's strength of schedule, rated No. 64 in college football's top level, was comparable to Boise State (62) and TCU (76).

Gee told the Dispatch he has since decided, "I need to keep my mouth closed."

"I'm very blessed to have the best athletic director and best football coach in the country," Gee said, the newspaper reported. "They run the athletic program and I run the university, and I should have stayed out of there. What I should do is go over to the surgical suites and get my foot extricated from my mouth."

As for the real Little Sisters of the Poor -- a Roman Catholic women's religious order serving the elderly -- Gee said he had reached out to one of the order's homes in Ohio.

"I sent a [personal] check to the Mother Superior up there and invited her to a ballgame," he said, according to the report.