NCAA Football FanHouse

Boise? Not Blown Away

Chris Tomasson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:33:00 EST

TULSA, Okla. -- As Chris Petersen left the field and walked through a portal at H.A. Chapman Stadium, a loud-mouthed Tulsa fan yelled, "You guys lucked out.'' The Boise State coach just looked up and smiled.

After all, the Broncos are counting on a lot more luck the rest of this season than anything they got Wednesday night in a 28-21 win over the Golden Hurricane.

How much the pollsters were impressed by the latest win by Boise State (6-0), fifth in the AP poll and sixth in the more important coaches' poll, will be learned Sunday. The next poll will be more important than the last ones since Sunday is the day the first BCS rankings come out.

Despite their lofty ranking, conventional wisdom is that it doesn't look good for the Broncos when it comes to playing in the national championship game. The thinking is all of the top one-loss teams from the big conferences will be able to trump the Broncos at the end of the regular season.

"It's usually never good enough,'' Petersen cracked after the game about whether his team's win was impressive enough.

You'd think college football was Olympic diving the way style points begin to count when the BCS standings have come into play. And did the Broncos get enough of them with the eyes of the nation upon them in an ESPN nationally televised weekday game?

Probably not.

The Broncos took a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter, but the lead should have been bigger since they had to twice settle for short field goals. Then the Golden Hurricane stunned the Broncos with a 55-yard touchdown pass from G.J. Kinne to the wonderfully named Slick Shelly with 9:29 left in the game to cut the deficit to 28-21.

The Broncos might have been sweating had Kinne not underthrown a pass to a wide open Charles Clay at the Boise State 40 on fourth-and-six with the clock ticking under 40 seconds for the game. It's no wonder there was a feeling on the Boise State side this one should have been wrapped up much earlier.

"That's a good football team and they're going to respond and not give up and keep fighting,'' said Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, who completed 22-of-32 passes for 187 yards and threw three touchdowns, two to tight end Tommy Gallarda. "But certainly something we're looking at improving on is to be able to finish those games at the end of the game and ending it right there.''

The Broncos better finish games early and often down the stretch to have any chance of playing for the national title. Their last seven games include only one against a team that currently has a winning record.

And what is that one remaining powerhouse?

Idaho.

Yep, a win over the Vandals is really going to impress the pollsters.

Petersen and most of his players shrug off questions about the polls and whether an undefeated Boise State would deserve to play for the national title if the six major conferences can't come up with two undefeated teams to battle for the crown. But that's where Karl Benson comes in.

Benson is the commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference. He banged the conference drum for Boise State in the 2006 season, when it defeated Oklahoma in that dramatic Fiesta Bowl to finish undefeated. He banged it when WAC champion Hawaii went undefeated in the 2007 regular season before getting wiped out by Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Now, though, the stakes are even bigger. If the Broncos finish undefeated, they are all but certain to finish in the top 12 in the BCS Standings. That would clinch a BCS bowl bid unless Texas Christian of the Mountain West Conference also goes undefeated and passes the Broncos.

But Benson wants the Broncos to get a fair shake when it comes to possibly playing in the National Championship Game. And right now he's not too pleased to see Virginia Tech and USC, both with one loss, having moved ahead of the Broncos in the polls in recent weeks.

"I don't think anybody has come up with a system that is close to being perfect in terms of how teams are ranked,'' Benson said. "There's a human element... So now it's a situation, is a one-loss team more deserving? Right now, the system is saying yes, with a one-loss Virginia Tech team (fourth in the coaches poll) and a one-loss Southern California team (fifth) ahead [of the Broncos].

"All Boise State can do is win. Do they have to win convincingly? Is [Wednesday's game] a convincing win? You win on the road against a decent opponent, but, unfortunately the expectations are that Boise State has to win convincingly but Virginia Tech can squeak by Duke and be rewarded (winning 34-26 at Duke on Oct. 3 and then passing Boise State in the polls). One of my commissioner colleagues several years ago said, 'We don't need bowl reform. We need poll reform.'''

So what if a one-loss team is playing in the title game and an undefeated Boise State team is left out?

"We'd be disappointed, but it also would continue to create controversy that the system isn't fair,'' Benson said. "The best thing that can happen is for Boise State to play in the National Championship Game. Then everyone can say, 'The system works if an undefeated Boise State plays for the national championship.'''

Well, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson might not say that if his team, TCU (5-0), ranked eighth in the coaches' poll and 12th by AP, finishes undefeated and doesn't play for the national crown.

At least the Broncos own a 19-8 season-opening win over Oregon, which since has turned its season around with five straight wins. Other than that, it's hard to do too many handstands about their wins over Miami University, Fresno State, Bowling Green and California-Davis. And while Tulsa (4-2) is a solid team, the Golden Hurricane was crushed earlier this season 45-0 at Oklahoma.

"The bottom line is we need to worry about ourselves way more than worry about the rankings,'' said Petersen, who got a gritty 112 yards rushing from Doug Martin.

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Boise State's Austin Pettis pulls down a long pass reception as Tulsa's James Lockett defends during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/David Crenshaw)

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Boise State's Shea McClellin knocks down a pass against Tulsa during a college football game in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October, 14, 2009. (Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman/MCT)

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Boise State's Tyler Shoemaker runs the ball against Tulsa in the first half of a college football game in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October, 14, 2009. (Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman/MCT)

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Boise State's Austin Pettis runs the ball against Tulsa during first-half action in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October, 14, 2009. (Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman/MCT)

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Boise State's Doug Martin gets tripped up against Tulsa during an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October, 14, 2009. (Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman/MCT)

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Boise State's Doug Martin gets tripped up against Tulsa during an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October, 14, 2009. (Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman/MCT)

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Boise State's Austin Pettis runs the ball against Tulsa during first-half action in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October, 14, 2009. (Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman/MCT)

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Boise State's Titus Young turns the corner past Tulsa defender Tanner Antle during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/David Crenshaw)

Tulsa's Jamad Williams runs between Boise State defenders Winston Venable (17) and George Iloka during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/David Crenshaw)

Boise State wide receiver Austin Pettis has a word with Tulsa linebacker Curnelius Arnick just after Pettis scored on a touchdown pass during an NCAA college football game in Tulsa, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. Boise State center Thomas Byrd congratulates Pettis. (AP Photo/David Crenshaw)

If the Broncos, who actually did trail for the first time this season when they fell behind 7-0 and 14-8 in the first quarter, can continue to win, players are confident they can match up with anybody.

Florida? Alabama? Those schools don't scare defensive end Ryan Winterswyk.

"We're competitors,'' Winterswyk said. "We think we can play with anybody. That's kind of our deal. Alabama. Florida. It would be a great opportunity to play one of those teams.''

Winterswyk, a junior, was redshirting as a freshman when the Broncos beat Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime in that legendary Jan. 1, 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

Boise State only has four seniors, and just two were with the team three years ago and played in that Fiesta Bowl. Petersen was then in his first year as the team's head coach, and he knows that game got the Broncos to be known for more than just their quirky blue field.

"It probably all helps,'' Petersen said about pollsters giving the Broncos more respect due to that game. "What Utah did last year (a non-BCS conference team going undefeated and upsetting Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to finish ranked No. 2) and what we did (by winning the Fiesta Bowl). It's all a cumulative effect to let others know that good football is played in other conferences.''

The amazing win over the Sooners featured several dramatic Boise State plays, including a fourth-down hook-and-lateral pass for a last-second game tying touchdown in regulation and a fourth-down halfback pass in overtime that was followed by a statue-of-liberty play for a two-point conversion to win the game.

That fan yelling at Petersen on Wednesday was three years late. That night against another team from Oklahoma was when Petersen used up what would seem to be enough luck for one lifetime.

Nevertheless, Petersen now could use some more.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com

Boise? Not Blown Away originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sooners Suffer Another Major Injury

Terrance Harris — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:57:00 EST

Filed under: Oklahoma, BCS, Big 12, Injuries

The news just seems to keep getting worse for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Coach Bob Stoops confirmed Monday that leading receiver Ryan Broyles (right) will miss the next four to six weeks with a broken left shoulder. Broyles, who has caught 23 passes for 346 yards and seven touchdowns, broke his shoulder during Saturday's 21-20 loss at Miami.

The Sooners are still awaiting word on when Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford can return to action. He has been out since suffering a shoulder sprain during the season-opening loss to BYU. Stoops acknowledged Bradford's progress last week when he began working with the team for the first time, but it was determined he wasn't healthy enough to return to the lineup against the Hurricanes.

There is a chance he could be back this week for the Sooners' Big 12 opener against Baylor. But Stoops says he hasn't made that determination and declined to speculate about his chances of playing this week during Monday's Big 12 Coaches Conference Call.

"The plans are the same as last week," Stoops said. "Until he's capable and fully capable, that's what we will do."

Additionally, OU lost All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham for the year before the season began due to a knee injury.

Now, throw in the fact that the 19th-Sooners (2-2) have lost two non-conference games, which has all but put them out of contention for the BCS national title chase before they can even begin Big 12 play.

It's obviously been a rough start to the season for a team that has won the last three Big 12 championships, and entered the year as the co-preseason favorite to win the Big 12 South with Texas. The Sooners came in to 2009 as the preseason No.3-ranked team in the country.

"They've hung in there pretty well," Stoops said of his team. "In the end you deal with the circumstances and the hand you are dealt and they understand that.

"We won't make excuses. Other guys have to step in and step up and make plays."

Sooners Suffer Another Major Injury originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Florida State Stomps BYU

Brian Grummell — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:35:00 EST

Filed under: Brigham Young, Florida State, BCS

Thus killing the dreams of at least one non-BCS upstart. Give the Cougars credit for taking on both Oklahoma and Florida State in the same season, and a year with national title aspirations to boot. That said, welcome to the world of every other major conference program that must deal with several heavyweights each and every year. No need to run to Congress for help after this one.

The Seminoles pulled the upset by taking it to the No. 7 Cougars in their home stadium early and often, surging to leads of 20-7 and 27-14 in the first half before blowing the doors off in the third quarter at one point reaching leads of 44-14 and 54-21 before closing out with the 54-28 victory. BYU is still very much in the BCS picture especially if they can claim the Mountain West crown over TCU and Utah, but their title shot's likely dashed.

Both quarterbacks -- Christian Ponder and Max Hall -- were efficient but the Noles' run game starred, racking up 311 total yards as six ballcarriers totaled at least 14 yards led by Ty Jones' 109 and Ponder's 76. BYU was strikingly efficient on offense as Hall averaged 10 yards an attempt, but tossed three costly interceptions, one of which was returned by freshman cornerback Greg Reid 63 yards for a touchdown that effectively ended the game in the third quarter as Florida State sailed ahead 37-14.

Meanwhile, BYU welcomed back powerback Harvey Unga who had 97 yards and a nearly 10 yard average after missing the Oklahoma game and totaling just four touches against Tulane.

Ponder completed a ridiculous 21 of his 25 passes for 195 yards, but did a lot of damage on the ground in adding those 76 yards and a rush touchdown.

It was a dramatic turnaround for Florida State, losing to Miami on the last play on a Monday night in week one and then nearly blowing a home game against tomato can Jacksonville State before correcting on the way to a 19-9 victory. Suddenly, the 'Noles are looking like ACC Atlantic Division favorites if they can overcome Clemson in November. Maybe Bobby Bowden wasn't so crazy after all saying he was sticking around in hopes of winning a championship in the near future.

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BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 19: Terrance Toliver #80 of the Louisiana State University Tigers is tackled by Dwight Bentley #5 of the University of Louisiana-Lafatette Ragin' Cajuns at Tiger Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Terrance Toliver;Dwight Bentley

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Oklahoma State tight end Justin Horton, right, fights Rice defensive back Jarrett Ben, center, to get to Rice safety Andrew Sendejo, left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Brody Schmidt)

Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy, left, gets past Mississippi State cornerback Zach Smith (42) in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

TCU tailback Joseph Turner (24) celebrates his touchdown against Texas St. in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. In back is teammate Evan Frosch (84). (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Cincinnati tight end Kazeem Alli, top, celebrates with teammate Isiah Pead after Pead's touchdown during the first-half of their NCAA college football game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Mississippi State kicker Sean Brauchle (37) kicks a 44-yard field goal against Vanderbilt in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. Holding is Allen Tolbert (47). (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 19: Brandon LaFell #1 of the Louisiana State University Tigers bobbles a ball over defender Orkeys Auriene #2 of the University of Louisiana-Lafatette Ragin' Cajuns at Tiger Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brandon LaFell;Orkeys Auriene

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BATON ROUGE, LA - SEPTEMBER 19: Fans watch during the game between the Louisiana State University Tigers and the University of Louisiana-Lafatette Ragin' Cajuns at Tiger Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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South Florida wide receiver Dontavia Bogan (81) celebrates with teammate Mistral Raymond (16) after catchingt a first-quarter touchdown pass during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Big 12 Notebook: Overrated?

Terrance Harris — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, BCS, Big 12

Every college football season there seems to be at least one major conference that's projected to be among the best , only to find out it's all just hype.

Could this season be the Big 12's turn?

Projected to be one of the top two conferences in the country, along with the SEC, there is now a small mountain of evidence indicating the Big 12 isn't the conference we thought it would be. The league has already suffered more than it share of stunning upsets in non-conference play, starting at the top.

Oklahoma, the preseason favorite with Texas to win the Big 12 South and the nation's third-ranked team to start the year, had its hopes of another BCS national championship berth jolted after an opening week loss to BYU. This past weekend, Oklahoma State, ranked fifth in the nation (their highest ranking in 24 years, following a win over Georgia) came falling back to reality when Houston strolled out of Stillwater with a convincing upset.

Just like that, the Big 12 lost two of its three Top 10 team preseason teams, leaving No.2 Texas carrying the weight of the Big 12 by itself. But even the Longhorns struggled at Wyoming in the first half last week before pulling away from the Cowboys, as did Missouri against Bowling Green.

It certainly seems as though the Big 12's quest for a third BCS national championship appearance in five years is already in jeopardy. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, whose team moved back up to No.12 in this week's AP poll, believes it's too early to make such assertions.

"There is a ton of football to go," Stoops said. "I've never tried to project in the first or second week where you are going to be for a Big 12 or national title. It's a long road, so you have to keep working and try to improve as you go."

But early evidence says the league has a lot of work to do to make up for the perception-altering performances of its top teams. In addition to the Oklahoma State loss last weekend, Kansas State also went to Louisiana-Lafayette and suffered a stunning defeat to the Ragin Cajuns of the Sun Belt Conference. And then there is Colorado, which doesn't seem capable of beating anyone after falling apart against Mid-American Conference foe Toledo on Friday night to fall to 0-2 on the season.

So far this season, the Big 12 has suffered defeats to the Mountain West, Conference USA, Sun Belt and Mid-American Conference. None of the other major conference can make that claim to this point.

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In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo, Northwestern's Stefan Demos celebrates after kicking the game-winning 49-yard field goal against Eastern Michigan in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Evanston, Ill. Northwestern won 27-24. (AP Photo/David Banks)

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In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, left, walks away after sacking Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus, right, during the second half of their NCAA college football game in State College, Pa. Lee was so active against Syracuse, it seemed like the Penn State linebacker spent all day leveling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Any lingering doubts about the health of his surgically-repaired right knee were erased in a dominating performance against the Orange. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, photo, Penn State linebacker Sean Lee (45) stands with assistant coach Tom Bradley on the sideline during the second half of their college football game against Syracuse in State College, Pa. Lee was so active against Syracuse, it seemed like the Penn State linebacker spent all day leveling opponents behind the line of scrimmage. Any lingering doubts about the health of his surgically-repaired right knee were erased in a dominating performance against the Orange. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers rushes for a key fourth quarter gain on the wiining drive of the Beavers 23-21 win over UNLV in an NCAA college football game on Saturday Sept. 12, 2009 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Daniel Gluskoter)

COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Stafon Johnson #13 of the USC Trojans celebrates in the end zone with teammate Jarvis Jones #10 after scoring a two yard touchdown in the fourth quarter over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 12, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. USC won the game 18-15. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Stafon Johnson; Jarvis Jones

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COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Stafon Johnson #13 of the USC Trojans celebrates in the end zone after scoring a two yard touchdown in the fourth quarter over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 12, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. USC won the game 18-15. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Stafon Johnson

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Purdue head coach Danny Hope, left, confers with referees on a call that kept the Boilermakers from tying the game with just seconds left during the second half of their NCAA college football game against Oregon in Eugene, Ore., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Oregon beat Purdue 38-36.(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Utah players celebrate a 24-14 win over San Jose State in an NCAA college football game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Utah running back Sausan Shakerin (22) breaks through for a long run late in the fourth quarter against San Jose State in an NCAA college football game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. Utah won 24-14. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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"It's a 12-game season. It's a grind," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said to FanHouse. "I wouldn't judge the Big 12 on the first couple weeks. I really think you have to look at the body of work throughout the season. Those kind of discussions arise at the end of the year.

"Sure there has been some games where we've gotten beat when we were favored, but I think you have to look at the whole body of work and wait until the season is over because this is a pretty doggone good conference."

Stoops seems to think what we've seen so far in the Big 12 early is just a symptom of parity created by the scholarship limits. So far we've seen Boise State dominate Oregon and Central Michigan delivered a blow to Michigan State to name a few other upsets outside of the Big 12.

"In the end there are a lot of good teams and if you are not at your best anybody can beat you," Stoops said. "I don't know that that's like any other year or unlike any other conference. I think you see it around the country with everybody every year.

"Every week you see different people with upsets around the country. I don't know any year that hasn't been the case."

Fast-Break Offenses

The Big 12 season kicks off Saturday when No. 2 Texas hosts Texas Tech in what should be a fast-paced, high scoring affair based on what both teams have showed so far.

Through the first two games, both teams lead the Big 12 in scoring offense. The Longhorns, behind the proven arm of Colt McCoy, are averaging 50 points per game and have scored 13 touchdowns combined against Louisiana-Monroe and Wyoming.

Mike Leach's Red Raiders, who seemed to have invented fast-break offense in college football, are second in the conference in scoring offense with first-year starting quarterback Taylor Potts after averaging 46.5 points and having scored a total of 13 touchdowns against North Dakota and Rice.

Both teams also rank around the middle of the pack in the Big 12 in scoring defense.

"This will be a great fan game," said UT coach Mack Brown. "There is going to be balls flying all over the place. People come to see offense. Both defenses are improved, they're playing well but I'm going to tell you there will be some sparks flying in this game on offense because we're more uptempo than we've ever been and Tech has been that way from the beginning. So I think it will be a great game to watch."

It will be interesting to see how both offenses handle the obvious elevation in competition.

Snyder staying the course

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said he doesn't anticipate making a change at either quarterback or placekicker, despite some obvious struggles in both areas in the first two games.

Quarterbacks Carson Coffman and Grant Gregory have combined to complete just 49.1 percent of their passes. The Wildcats struggled early against Louisiana-Lafayette before scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter prior to falling to a late field goal.

But Snyder says he doesn't anticipate a change heading into Saturday's game at UCLA.

"We have what we have," he said. "I don't know that we could go any further than we are right now."

The same goes for junior placekicker Josh Cherry, who has missed all three of his field goal attempts through the first two games. Cherry missed two field goals in the loss to ULL and also missed on an extra point attempt.

"The major thing right now is to re-establish his confidence," Snyder said. "He's a very intent young guy, he really cares, he's very genuine. He's pained by it, as well, and I certainly understand it and appreciate that. I have great confidence in him and will continue to work with him. I think he will continue to move forward and eventually become the kicker I'm quite confident he's capable of becoming."

But most glaring right now is the play of Snyder's quarterbacks. Both went into fall camp in a tight race for the job, but Coffman emerged as the starter.

So far Coffman has struggle, completing just 27 of 52 passes for 360 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Gregory has been worse after not completing a pass in four attempts.

"It's quite obvious that we need to have substantial improvement at that position," Snyder said. "We have to make better decisions, we have to throw the ball more accurately. Those are the two main situations and get us in the right plays we can get into and not put us jeopardy. It's just a matter of trying to make improvement and that's true of the entirety of our football team.

"We are trying to make improvements at every position we have but the quarterback position stands out dramatically for any football team and it's quite obvious we need those improvements."

Tech not missing a beat at QB

Taylor Potts is just two games into his first year as a starter and already he seems on the way to being another record-setting Red Raiders quarterback.

Potts was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after completing 36 of 57 passes for 456 yards and seven touchdowns in the 55-10 win over Rice on Saturday. Potts became the first Raiders quarterback to throw for at least seven touchdowns in a game since B.J. Symons tossed eight touchdowns against Texas A&M in 2003.

After two games, Potts leads the Big 12 in passing with 430.5 yards per game to go along with nine touchdowns and just three interceptions. He has also completed 70 of 105 attempts for 861 yards.

"He's playing and is getting better every game out there," Leach said. "He's thrown for a bunch of yards both games and he's getting sharper and sharper."

Cowboys hope to recover

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy compares the uphill battle his Cowboys face in trying to recover from Saturday's stunning loss to University of Houston to challenges of recovering from failure in everyday life.

"The only difference in college football than any other aspect of life is we are in the public eye.," Gundy said. "Everything we do, every weekend people see it and there is a lot of talk about it. There are great lessons to be learned here."

The Cowboys, who went from No.5 in the country to No.16 this week, begin their recovery process Saturday when Rice pays a visit to Boone Pickens Stadium.

Cody Hawkins expected to play for Buffaloes

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said he expects his son, quarterback Cody Hawkins, to play Saturday when Wyoming comes into Boulder.

Hawkins suffered a mild concussion at the end of Friday's loss to Toledo.

Big 12 Notebook: Overrated? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big East Coaches Say Absence From Top 25 Is Only Temporary

Brett McMurphy — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:31:00 EST

Filed under: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia, BCS, Big East

There they are -- what are considered the 25 best teams in college football. From No. 1 Florida down to No. 25 Kansas. The best of the best, at least in the minds of the 60 voters in the Associated Press' preseason poll.

In all, there are five teams each from the Big 12 and SEC, four from the ACC, three each from the Pac-10, Big Ten and, yes, even the Mountain West. Also ranked in the Top 25 is a WAC team and Notre Dame.

Basically every conference in America is represented except for a few of the so-called mid-majors (Conference USA, the Mid-American, Sun Belt). And one other league is notably absent: the Big East. The same Big East that automatically receives a BCS bowl bid as one of the "Big Six" BCS leagues.

"I can guarantee at the end of the year there will be a Big East team ranked in the Top 25," Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly said.

When the Big East was blanked in this year's AP preseason poll, it marked only the third time since the football league began in 1991 that the Big East did not have a team in the AP rankings. And unless the winner of Monday's Cincinnati at Rutgers nationally televised contest emerges with a dominating victory, the Big East's Top 25 exclusion may stretch a couple more weeks.

That's because among the teams receiving votes in the AP Poll (No. 28 Pittsburgh, No. 30 Rutgers, No. 32 West Virginia, No. 33 Cincinnati and No. 45 USF), there aren't many marquee non-conference opponents on their schedules in the opening month that could propel them into the Top 25. The exceptions would be on Sept. 19 when Cincinnati visits Oregon State and West Virginia visits Auburn; and Sept. 26 when Pitt visits N.C. State and USF visits Florida State.

Kelly, whose club has finished each of the past two seasons ranked No. 17, said he wasn't shocked by the Big East's snub because the polls are "based on name recognition and what you've done in the past" - i.e. a popularity/beauty contest.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and a lot of folks don't necessarily think the eight-team Big East is that attractive.

"A lot of it has to do with perception and traditions of programs," Kelly said "We're establishing our program. It's not like we can harken back to our national championship days. A lot of it is, there are new teams that are really blazing a trail for their own kind of identity, so we're still a work in progress on that part of it."

West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has been very vocal about the strength of the Big East. "I have pounded the table," he said.

Stewart then rattled off the league's record in BCS bowl games (3-1 in last four), record in bowl games (12-4 in last 16) and record in non-conference games (winning 75 percent of the time).

"I can't tell you why we get hammered," Stewart said. "I guess everyone thinks we're a basketball league. They're full of baloney."

One stat Stewart conveniently forgot was the league's 6-14 record in non-conference games against AP ranked opponents since Cincinnati, Louisville and USF joined the Big East in 2005. However, toss out the Big East's 1-7 record in 2005 and the league is a much-more respectable 5-7 vs. AP ranked teams in the past three years.

Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt, whose club was the media's preseason pick to win the league, and USF coach Jim Leavitt said they are not really concerned with the preseason rankings.

"I would," Wannstedt said, "be concerned if it was the end of the season, maybe."

UConn's Randy Edsall had a similar viewpoint.

"I think the Big East will show its merit at the end of the season, when it really matters," he said.

Despite the Big East missing from the preseason AP and USA Today/coaches' polls, Kelly said the league has earned the respect of some other individuals who are known to have a pretty good eye at judging the talent of college football teams.

"NFL scouts know they'd better come in and watch Big East teams because we've got a lot of good NFL players," said Kelly, who had six players selected in the 2009 NFL Draft. "So if we have the respect of NFL teams out there and we've got the respect of other teams and other conferences we play against, then to me, at the end of the day, that's probably more important than what other people think about us."

Big East Coaches Say Absence From Top 25 Is Only Temporary originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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College Football Guru Phil Steele Agrees With Florida Love

Bruce Ciskie — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: BCS, Fans

Usually, you can count on Phil Steele to think outside the proverbial box. When his annual college football preview is released in June, there are interesting picks made, some of which will make you scratch your head. Of course, Steele's ability to buck conventional wisdom and make accurate picks has won him quite the audience, so you don't normally scratch your head for very long.

Recently, the man behind what is unquestionably the biggest and most detailed college preview on the market took time to answer a few questions for FanHouse.

How did you get started doing this magazine?

I have been writing a football newsletter since 1982. The preseason magazines never had enough information for me so 18 years ago, as my staff grew larger, we started complying the information ourselves and put it into a book form and 15 years ago put out the first magazine.

This is the magazine I use as my quick, easy reference tool throughout the entire season and I have all of the information on the same spot on every page for every team.

Talk about the insane amount of research that goes into this publication every year.

I have a staff of 30 people who work on nothing but college football year-round. You'll find the stats in my magazine are 99.9% accurate. Not only do we log our own stats during the course of the season, but we then compare them to the school's stats, conference stats and NCAA stats. When there are discrepancies (and surprisingly there are quite a few) we go on a game-by-game basis to find which are the correct numbers and those are the ones that get published.

Each page of the magazine goes through 6-10 proof readings. I personally log about 80-100 hour work weeks during football and magazine time and have a setup with 12 TVs in front of me. I watch 12 college games all day long each Saturday while members of the staff are in other offices charting the games. I then go through the play-by-play of every FBS team for that week, even if a Sun Belt team plays an FCS team, I go though every play.

I have different members of my staff assigned to different conferences and their responsibility is to read the local papers and underline important information all year. I write each of the 120 team previews myself and from December 1st through mid-May I go through what was underlined during the course of the season and read that before writing the team as it gives me a day-by-day assessment of the team.

That's generally about 200-250 pages that I read through on each team before even starting to write the magazine. My staff and I are researching for the magazine right up until the page is sent to press, making sure we have the most up-to-date information.

How tough is it to put your predictions together?

I find the predictions the fun part of the magazine. I go out of the box on many of my forecasts and have had many surprise teams that have done just that. I always look for factors other than the final score of the game which then deems games over or under rated.

What is the hardest part about doing the magazine?

The hours and the never ending deadlines.

Why did you decide to start doing regional magazines?

I feel that the Phil Steele National Magazine has more information than any other college football preview, probably 3-4 times the amount with two full pages on each FBS team. With that said, I wanted even MORE in-depth coverage available to the fans, so I published the Regionals, devoting SIX full pages to the BCS conference teams (four to the non-BCS). Other publications have regional coverage but that does not come close to the SIX full pages that I offer in my Regionals, which even blows my own National Magazine away with amount of individualized information on those six pages.

My FCS coverage (in the ACC/Big East Regional) is really a quick, easy reference tool to the FCS and has probably ten times the amount of information than any other magazine on the market!

Has the explosion of information sites and blogs helped or hurt your business? Why?

I think it helps. Theoretically you could go online and visit 240 different sites (two sites per team) and try to compile all of the information on the internet yourself or you could just have my magazine which has already done the work for you on hand and it's a flip of the page away. That's something you can take with you anywhere. The amount of information sites and blogs provide have helped me get information, especially on smaller teams like the Sun Belt or WKU which just joined the NCAA and last year did not even come out with a spring prospectus until June or July when our magazine was already on the newsstands.

What do you have planned for your Web site during the season?

I have huge things planned for the website during the season. Just like last year, we will update starts lost to injury on a weekly basis, I will have my own personal forecasts on each of the Top 25 teams and perhaps my forecast of every game for the college season. We have individual team bloggers and I will have a daily blog.
We will update the special teams ratings, pass efficiency ratings during the season and I will post a couple of sets of power ratings which grade individual teams for the upcoming year on a weekly basis. Every day something else comes up that I will add to the site and the team pages give you the last 20 years results at the click of a button.

Also on the team pages on PhilSteele.com, if you click on their opponent for that week, you will get the last 12 years' results at your fingertips including stats. There is a Future Schedules tab where we list the 2010, 2011 and 2012 matchups and if the game is not being played in '09 but they face off in '10, you get the last 13 years' results with the click of a mouse. You can go back and get the past history (post game write-up) for each team for this decade and the individual player stats for each of the last 3 years. We keep adding to the team pages and bowl pages weekly. In the magazine I am limited to 328 pages, but they tell me I have unlimited space to use on the website and I plan to test that with PhilSteele.com.

Every year, there seem to be at least one or two teams you're bullish on that no one else is. Would you please tell us about one of your top surprise teams for the 2009 season?

One of my top surprise teams is Rutgers. Rutgers is not going to even be in the top 30 or 40 in the rankings at the start of the year but I feel that they have a shot at going 12-0 partially due to their schedule. I have not seen a BCS team take on a No. 106 schedule but the Knights do that this year with non-conf games vs Howard, FIU and Texas Southern. Rutgers has my No. 8 rated O-line and No. 23 set of LB¹s. There are five main contenders in the Big East. Along with Rutgers they are Cincinnati, Pitt, USF, and West Virginia. Rutgers not only gets the other four teams all at home but gets them in solid situations. They face a Cincy team that is inexperienced the first week of the season (just when you want to play an inexperienced team). Pitt has to play Connecticut then travel on a short week and play Rutgers on a Friday. Rutgers is off a bye, another great situation. USF does not play well in cold weather yet Rutgers hosts them on Nov. 12 in New Jersey and odds are it will be cold. Finally when they face West Virginia, the Mountaineers will be coming off their Backyard Brawl game against Pitt.

Another surprise team will be Illinois this year. In 2007 I called Illinois my No. 2 Most Improved Team in the country. Part of the reason was that Illinois had finished 2-10 the previous year but had actually outgained foes by 35 ypg which is more indicative of a 7-5 team. Illinois did not disappoint me in 2007 as they finished the regular season No. 13 in the country and played in the Rose Bowl. Last year I had Illinois ranked lower than most publications and they finished just 5-7. Interesting they were +86.5 ypg in conference play which was the second best mark in the Big Ten and 30 yards better than Ohio St. When a team is +86.5 ypg in conf play they generally go 7-1 but Illinois was just 3-5. Looking at the Illini¹s road schedule this year I only have them an underdog in one road game (Ohio St) and that's a team they outgained 455-354 last year with a 25-16 first down edge. They have 95.3 percent of their offensive yards returning which is fifth most in the NCAA.

You're on the spot, Phil. Who plays in Pasadena for the BCS title?

My pick for Pasadena this year is Florida versus Texas and ironically the last time a team came into the season as big a preseason favorite as Florida is this year, was USC in 2005. As you recall in 2005 USC was dominant during the regular season outscoring foes by an avg of 49.1-22.8 and ESPN did a piece prior to their Championship Game versus Texas asking if USC was the greatest team of all-time. They seemed to come to the conclusion that, yes they were, but ironically in Pasadena, Texas upset the Trojans. Will lightning strike twice?

Phil Steele's 2009 national and regional college football previews can be picked up in your local bookstore, or at his Web site.

College Football Guru Phil Steele Agrees With Florida Love originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sports Illustrated to Demand Coaches' Ballots

Chas Rich — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:33:00 EST

Filed under: ACC, BCS, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, SEC, Campus, Coaching, Media Watch

When college football coaches decided that their little shred of transparency -- making each coach's final ballot public -- was just too much sharing, there was some outcry over the decision to go back to anonymous balloting in 2010. All accountability and openness of the votes appeared to be out the window.

Sports Illustrated has decided that it will go to court to force the ballots to be opened to public scrutiny. Starting this week, they intend to file state-level Freedom of Information Act requests at each public institution where there is a participating coach.
Sports Illustrated's reason for this action according to Andy Staples:

Why are we doing this? Because, as South Carolina coach -- and public school poll voter -- Steve Spurrier so eloquently put it to CBSSports.com after learning the 2010 results would remain cloaked, the looming secrecy allows "a chance for some real hanky-panky." If the AFCA [American Football Coaches Association] learns through this exercise it can't keep the ballots secret, it might choose instead to embrace transparency rather than risk damaging the integrity of the poll.

The basis for the filings are that at each state institution, the coaches are essentially public employees. Many are and do participate in public employee pension systems. The state institutions are generally subject to each states' version of the Freedom of Information Act, and this includes the athletic departments. This will not apply to participating coaches at schools that are private institutions like Duke's David Cutcliffe and Charlie Weis at Notre Dame.

As the article points out, the door to this opened when news organizations in Florida took Florida State and the NCAA to court this year over a records request concerning the NCAA's investigation into the FSU academic fraud case. FSU, while a defendant, actually supported the open records, as did the Florida state attorney general.

The NCAA lost, though they are all appealing. It will be interesting to see how FSU differentiates this view when they get the request for Bobby Bowden's preseason ballot this year.

There's a little bit of turning the tables on institutions here. Again, the article points this out.

In May, the Columbus Dispatch's fantastic investigation into athletic departments' sometimes fraudulent use of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to hide records provided a wake-up call to schools in every state.

Programs shadily employed a federal law to hide when players get in trouble from getting out to the public. Now they appear to be on the other end of the public records law.

Clearly the reason to file the requests now, is to get this into court this year. Get the court challenges out of the way as soon as possible. At a minimum, force the AFCA to repeal their decision for 2010 rather than continually go through this

While this does seem a little silly and not the intent for public records laws, there is a valid claim to be made on making the records public, beyond claims of public interest in the ballots themselves. The Coaches Poll is one-third of the formula used to determine the BCS rankings. Those rankings determine the teams playing for the national championship and in BCS bowls. All of which involve a lot of money that go back to the athletic departments.

Whether or not those various athletic departments receive state monies or are financially self-sufficient is irrelevant. They are still part of the state institution. In other words, the ballots have a financial impact on the state institution. Something for which public records laws were intended.

Sports Illustrated to Demand Coaches' Ballots originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fan Goes Homeless to Protest BCS

Mark Hasty — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:05:00 EST

Filed under: BCS, Fans, General CFB Insanity, Bowl Games

So it has come to this: Brandon Kennedy, a 21-year-old former college football player, is currently living on the streets of Washington, DC in support of a cause dear to his heart. Health care reform? Foreign policy? Third World debt relief?

Of course not. He's agitating for playoffs in college football.

Kennedy played football at Central Washington, which is a Division II school. They have playoffs in Division II. The very highest level of college football does not. Few people are happy with this. None have gone so far as to live on the streets so they can be closer to the seats of power.

Brandon Kennedy has a plan, and he wants it to get a fair hearing.

This, then, is Kennedy's plan (full text is available here):

"The Kennedy Proposal" calls for six champions from the current BCS conferences and four at-large bids to be seeded in a playoff bracket. The eight teams that are eliminated from the playoff before the national championship game are routed to the four BCS bowl games. It is a playoff for those who want it, he reasoned, while keeping intact the BCS for the teams that do not make the national championship from that 10-team playoff.

Anybody see the flaws already? Just wait, there's more:

The paper touches on certain issues regarding the BCS -- the conflicts that could arise with academic schedules, the traditional relationship with the bowls and the value of the regular season -- but does not specifically address the economic concerns tied into the discussion.

First of all, any playoff system which does not include all conference champions is not a true playoff. Don't believe me? Try to imagine, say, the NFL deciding that the AFC West isn't a strong enough division for its champion to deserve a shot at the playoffs. Oh no, that wouldn't be controversial at all. Try to imagine the 9-7 Dallas Cowboys getting a bid over the 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs, champions of the AFC West. The stated reason? "The NFC East is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL." The real reason? The Cowboys will get a better TV rating.

That's what results from a system that excludes any conference champions, even the Sun Belt's. You don't think those non-BCS teams have a shot at beating the big boys? You haven't been paying attention lately. Besides, systematically excluding the underdogs so the privileged (and their fans) can benefit is a form of fascism, which we generally regard as un-American.

Second of all, failing to address the economic issues surrounding the BCS is sort of like saying "It should be 80 degrees and sunny every day." Everybody agrees that would be great. Everybody knows that's not happening. There is just no incentive for the people who can make the change to actually do so unless there's more money for everyone.

In the end, while I admire the strength of Brandon Kennedy's convictions, he needs to take his plan through a few more drafts. He needs to realize, as all playoff advocates do, that you can't replicate March Madness in December. You can't get fans to go to neutral sites for these playoff games. Few fans, and even fewer teams, can afford to travel for that many consecutive weekends on short notice.

Playoffs work in the lower divisions because, except for the championships. the games are played on campus. This means any plan which uses the currently existing bowls in any form simply won't work. Once you take the bowls off the table, or take the very best teams out of the bowl system, you've just removed vast quantities of budget-balancing, Title IX-complying money. You've also reduced the total TV ad revenue significantly because you're playing fewer games, even if the games you're playing would almost certainly draw higher ratings. If you can't at least replace that money, your plan is a non-starter.

Hat tip: @darrenrovell1, @farksport

Fan Goes Homeless to Protest BCS originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse's Rename the BCS Contest

Clay Travis — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: BCS, Media Watch, General CFB Insanity, Bowl Games

Last week, we learned that the BCS doesn't exist as a legal entity. Most of us found that shocking. At least those of us who can define the word "entity." (Sorry, Ohio State fans. As much as we all might wish the word involves the female breast, sigh, it doesn't. If it did the drafting of legal documents would be an awfully lot more interesting.)

What we're left with is a void, an eternal gaping chasm in our existence. We know the BCS exists, otherwise how can we hate it so? But, for legal purposes it doesn't. That's why we're renaming the BCS. Now.

The rules are simple. You have to make me aware of your suggestion. Via e-mail, via FaceBook, via Twitter @NCAAFanHouse, via posting at the bottom of the page, via African swallow ... basically you have to get your idea to me. And then with a team of brilliant marketing experts (such as the people who came up with Stanford's We Work slogan), we'll select a group of six finalists to combine with my four suggestions below. Those six finalists will be given a paragraph to make their argument in the column. And then y'all vote for your favorite. There will be prizes, world renown, and the satisfaction of a job well done.

Because let's be honest, if you had to make college football a metaphorical meal (and why wouldn't you?), the season would be a nice juicy steak. Tender, rare, after each bite (or week), you tip back in your seat and reflect upon what a magnificent feeling it is. This continues for the length of the meal, your stomach is full, you've never been more sated. And then, just as you're leaving the restaurant after the final bite, you realize there's a piece of food wedged up against your gum that you can't get rid of. That piece of meat is the BCS.

Eventually, you become obsessed with that piece of meat. You can't think about anything else. You use your tongue, you use your fingers, you use a toothpick, you stand in front of the mirror with your mouth held open staring at the reflection of your teeth.

Eventually, it happens.

You start to wish you'd never eaten the steak to begin with.

Except the BCS is even worse. Because some part of you can't even enjoy the steak, because you know there's a strong likelihood that a piece of meat is going to end up stuck in your teeth.

Now that you've got that feeling in mind, we need your help. You need to do better than me. And I'm only giving you four suggestions that will advance as part of the final ten. Y'all pick the other six. To the victor goes the spoils.

1. The Null Set: Ø

In ninth grade geometry, we once had a teacher give a geometry test where null set was the answer for five consecutive questions. You talk about a war of wills, a diabolical form of instruction if there ever was one. Making someone believe that a teacher would design five consecutive questions with the null set as an answer was like being the only boy in a pink shirt one day. Not that I would know anything about that.

Not one single person in the class was willing to pick null set all five times. Later, she cackled at us when she revealed her duplicity. (The next year she left teaching. I like to think she now works in a yearbook factory gluing the back page to the cardboard all day long.)

I'm no mathematical expert, but the final BCS equation that determines who plays for the championship always makes me think of the null set

2. B+S

I like the simplicity of this redesign. It's sleek, modern, and it removes the C that stands for Championship. It also sums up the BCS in a more cogent fashion by commingling it with cow dung.

3. Lorenzo White

True fans of Tecmo Super Bowl will know that Houston Oiler Lorenzo White was the worst starting running back in the game. He was awful. In fact, continuing the analogy, if college football, the greatest sport on earth is the sports' equivalent of Tecmo Super Bowl, the greatest video game ever, then one might even deduce that Lorenzo White, the worst starting running back of the game, was the BCS of Tecmo Super Bowl.

See, it works.

4. CUBA!

The only thing in the western hemisphere less American than the BCS is Cuba. But to Cuba's credit Raul Castro has been faster to modernize during his tenure than the BCS has been.

In terms of the new name, you merely add one letter and an exclamation point. So you don't lose much in terms of shortness. But you gain so much in spelling out how un-American our selection of a college football "champ" actually is.

These are my four, all we're waiting for is your six. Then we'll vote. Even if one of these four wins, whoever comes in highest of the top six wins. And if you beat me outright? Well, the prize will be even more sterling.

FanHouse's Rename the BCS Contest originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MVC, WAC Reluctantly Agree to Stay With The BCS system

Gary Washburn — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:30:00 EST

Filed under: Utah, BCS, Mountain West, WAC, Bowl Games

The Mountain West Conference has been dissatisfied with the Bowl Championship Series system for years and their disdain hit the pinnacle when Utah finished the 2008 regular season undefeated and did not rank in the top 2, preventing the Utes from playing in the BCS National Championship Game.

Utah soundly beat Alabama and finished as the lone undefeated team in America, and the MVC lobbied for an automatic bid in the BCS system. But negotiations with the MVC and the Western Athletic Conference never advanced, and both conferences signed an agreement to retain their same role in the BCS -- reluctantly.

"Today, the Mountain West Conference has executed the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) agreement and the attendant rights agreement with ESPN," the conference said in a statement on their Web site. "While the Mountain West has expressed serious concerns with the various fundamental flaws in the current BCS system, our various good faith initiatives to generate reform have thus far not been accepted."

The MVC admitted that negotiations with BCS officials weren't progressing. The current system invites a non-BCS conference team -- which includes the MVC and WAC -- into the bowl system if it finishes in the Top 12 in the BCS rankings. Utah finished in the Top 12 and therefore was invited to play Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

The rankings are based on strength of schedule and how opponents fare during the season. Given that MVC and WAC schools play lesser schedules, the possibility of a conference member being in the BCS title game is highly unlikely under the current system. MVC officials proposed an eight-team playoff system that would allow non-BCS teams a better opportunity for a national title, but it was shot down by the BCS conferences.

"The Mountain West believes it has no choice at this time but to sign the agreements," the statement said. "If a conference wishes to compete at the highest levels of college football, and the only postseason system in place for that is the BCS, no one conference can afford to drop out and penalize its football programs and student-athletes."

The current system expires in 2013, but the MVC made it clear it wasn't satisfied with the system.

"The Mountain West will continue its efforts for change," the statement concluded, "including a request for dialogue with representatives of the BCS. Our goal is to ensure the eventual outcome of these endeavors is what our universities and student-athletes need, what the vast majority of American sports fans want, and what is long overdue: an equitable system."

MVC, WAC Reluctantly Agree to Stay With The BCS system originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lawyers Encircle College Football

Brian Grummell — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Florida State, Missouri, USC, Utah, BCS, Pac 10, Bowl Games

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

There's an unnerving, repetitive theme to the first four items in this week's FanHouse Walk -- lawyers. Maybe its just the offseason or an odd week, but they seem to be everywhere related to college football right now. Today's headliner finds Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum threatening the NCAA and its president Myles Brand with a $1,000 fine or even jail time if it doesn't make public documents related to its confidential investigation into Florida State athletics.

McCollum is leaning on Florida law that appears to force sunlight into otherwise confidential processes involving public entities like Florida State University. Florida State has so far declined requests for documents citing NCAA policy asking member institutions not to release confidential details related to investigations. To which McCollum answers thusly:

A lack of physical custody of a document does not excuse Florida State University from its obligations under Florida law.

Any lawyers in the house care to assess the NCAA and Florida State's chances of keeping matters private here? Seems like a slam dunk victory for the state of Florida if they take this to court. I'm big on privacy but McCollum's got a point that when matters involve an entity like Florida State University serving at the behest of the public, some of that privacy is necessarily thrown out the window.

Good Attorney General, Bad Attorney General -- At the moment I'm sympathetic towards Florida AG Bill McCollum, but Utah's AG Mark Shurtleff (who claims to be a "true fiscal conservative" on his Twitter page) is just plain annoying. Whatever you think of the BCS, its clear he's overreached the bounds of his office in taking on the dominant presence in college football's postseason structure.

His latest antics include calling on the Department of Justice to waste its time and further taxpayer dollars investigating the BCS.

In an interview with KSL NewsRadio, Shurtleff said he plans to make a pitch to the Justice Department to bring the weight of its antitrust division into the probe. "Because they have the resources that Utah does not have," Shurtleff said. "Taking on the BCS is a huge undertaking financially."

Here's an idea, if its a huge financial undertaking, not really of high public priority and you're a fiscal conservative, don't bother. Anyone created one of those recall petitions yet for Mr. Shurtleff? I'll sign it.

Preventative Medicine -- Missouri will now test all athletes for sickle cell trait, which is linked to exercise-related fatalities. This move is seemingly related to the settlement of a lawsuit after the death of football player Aaron O'Neal.

While the official cause of death was listed as viral meningitis, several experts - including the chairman of Missouri's pathology department - suggested that a sickle cell trait O'Neal possessed was a contributing factor in his death.

Briefly reading up on the condition it seems extremely rare and not quite fully linked to exercise death, but it sounds like a worthwhile test if it can prevent death. Hopefully more universities follow Missouri's example here although perhaps the costs for such testing are generally prohibitive?

Florida's Get Out Of Jail Card -- Florida's point man when it comes to athlete legal troubles is one Huntley Johnson.

... Sentinel research shows that of the 23 cases handled by Johnson, 21 resulted in dropped charges, a plea deal or pre-trial deferment plans that help first-time offenders avoid charges after fulfilling court-ordered stipulations.

The remaining two cases are unresolved, including sophomore cornerback Janoris Jenkins' arrest two weeks ago on charges of affray and resisting an officer. Eight felony cases have been reduced to misdemeanors or thrown out of court.

"As far as the legal aspect, he's the [team's] MVP," said Cecil Newton, the father of former Gators quarterback Cam Newton.

He sounds a lot like Carmen Trutanich, who has been vilified by UCLA fans as something of a Houdini helping USC football players get out of trouble. Trutanich, by the way, is the newly elected Los Angeles City Attorney.

Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- The Rose Bowl will now be televised by ESPN starting in 2011, meaning all the major BCS bowl games are under contract with The Worldwide Leader through 2014.

-- Meanwhile, the Pac-10 is looking into negotiations with the Alamo Bowl. Hopefully that works out as the Pac-10 could use a shakeup in their bowl arrangements and a chance to play some bigger teams out east.

-- Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer a star in race relations?

-- Priorities. The NCAA blog wonders if candy is good for athletes.

Lawyers Encircle College Football originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barbarians at the Rose Bowl Gates

Brian Grummell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: Colorado, USC, BCS, Big 10, Pac 10, Bowl Games

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Rap, Rap, Rapping At The Door -- Bad news is best delivered on Friday, so no surprise when it was discovered that in the new BCS contract the Rose Bowl must fill one of its slots to a non-BCS team (think Boise State or Utah) if it loses either the Big 10 or Pac-10 champion to the BCS championship game.

There are the Rose Bowl haters out there snarking away on this, but I think its another sad day for college football. Everyone bemoans the USC/Illinois type matchups in Pasadena, but I still find it fresh and what the Rose Bowl is all about. The various Miami/Nebraka, Texas/Michigan, USC/Texas type matchups were all enjoyable, but something has never felt right about them.

Game Theory At Work -- Several years ago, college football added a 12th regular season game. The obvious dilemma for conferences was whether to sneak in another conference matchup or add another non-conference opponent of the pushover variety. Everyone but the Pac-10 opted for the second option while the Pac-10 did the right thing in working out a round-robin format to better determine its champion.

Problem is, others have benefited from that decision using the Pac-10's modest perception against it even though they've added an automatic game against a major conference opponent in doing so. Naturally, some out west are unhappy about the turn of events and are looking to reverse the move. Score one for the heavy costs of doing the right thing being turned against you.

The sad truth is that the greed and power grab that was the SEC's move to a 12-team conference (and later followed by the Big 12 and ACC) has been terrible in many ways for college football. Its made certain powers more wealthy but has also cynically manipulated scheduling to where the actual good guys who tried to do things right and piece together conferences that weren't bigger in number than actual possible game dates have suffered most.

Think about it, what kind of conference championship involves not playing all the actual members of your confernce? Sure you can split a conference into divisions and have division winners play in a "championship" game but come on, that's flimsy cover for what is essentially an incomplete championship.

Appropriate Silence? -- Much hay has been made about the Los Angeles Times' two-part broadside directed towards USC's public stonewalling in regards to the Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo investigations. The argument boils down to what is essentially heavy whining about USC's silence without advancing any actual news in the story.

As a USC alum, I'm frustrated with the program's silence but its ridiculous to attach much meaning to it other than that's how USC's going to play things. In case the Times didn't notice, the NCAA hasn't exactly been very public with its thoughts on the situation either. Evenhandedness requires applying an even hand, something that's entirely missing from the twin critiques.

Christmas In June -- Rejoice! The Phile Steele 2009 College Football Preview magazine has arrived. This thing is like the Bible for many college football fans. I was introduced to it several years ago and have enjoyed it ever since, as it goes with me nearly everywhere.

Some folks get wrapped up in the various predictions that don't always pan out but the real meat of the publication is in its various methodology and trend-watching hidden between its pages. Its VHT (very highly touted in Steele speak), be sure to pick up a copy.

Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- The stretches of games that could topple non-BCS contenders like TCU, BYU and Utah

-- Receiver Josh Smith is leaving Colorado to pursue a music career, something not available among the majors in Boulder

-- The costs continue to rise for BCS conference programs looking for non-conference fodder in home games. Pssssssst, find someone your own size, going undefeated isn't everything

-- Heisman Pundit offers up the fastest players in college football for 2009

Barbarians at the Rose Bowl Gates originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mack Brown Cheers as Coaches' Poll Votes No Longer Public

Terrance Harris — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:12:00 EST

Filed under: Texas, BCS, Big 12

Texas coach Mack Brown understandably fumed last season after Big 12 tiebreaker guidelines eliminated his team from the BCS championship mix.

He even threatened to vote his team No.1 in the final USA Today Coaches' poll, which counts for one-third of the voting to determine the BCS national championship. That's a AFCA no-no, as coaches are obligated to vote for the BCS championship game winner , so Brown backed off his threats and voted Florida No. 1.

For a while it looked like Brown was prepared to get real ugly with his peers.

But now the veteran UT coach is all smiles after word leaked out Wednesday that the AFCA has decided to no longer make the coaches' final poll votes public beginning in 2010. So the era of transparency the coaches had been so proud of and confined by is over.

"I appreciate Grant Teaff and the AFCA taking such a serious and thorough look at improving the coaches poll," Brown said in a released statement. "The Gallup Poll provided valuable insight and the AFCA put a great deal of thought into it. Since it is such a key factor in our national championship game, the goal is to continue to make the poll as fair and accurate as possible. I like the changes that are taking place this year and am excited about the recommendations for the future."

Brown at one point had indicated he might no longer be a voter in the USA Today poll. And even as recently as late last month, Brown still wasn't sure if he would vote next season if asked by the AFCA.

The wound of being left out of the BCS championship mix was still fresh. Brown's Longhorns had defeated Oklahoma during the regular season and on a neutral field in a year in which South Division members UT, OU and Texas Tech all finished 7-1 in league play after taking turns beating up each other. Yet, the Sooners were able to break the three-way tie in the South by virtue of a better BCS poll ranking. Head-to-head competition went the way of the window.

"I just think all of us in college football need to continue to look at what's best for trying to crown a champion," Brown said during a teleconference call last month when asked would he participate in voting in the USA Today poll this upcoming season. "I was concerned after some of things I've seen for the last six years and they popped up again last year.

"As a voter, I just want to make sure I know all the rules because I thought I did and I got confused a little bit last year on some things that popped up and I want to make sure that I feel like the system is such that I would want to be part of it. If it's not then it's no big deal to anybody other than me and the University of Texas. But it's a decision I will have to make based on the direction I feel we are going."

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Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, center, smiles as he greets people before the "Evening With Joe" event Wednesday, May 27, 2009, in Fogelsville, Pa. Paterno said he'd like to see either Rutgers, Pittsburgh or Syracuse join the Big Ten. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno speaks with media in Fogelsville, Pa., before the "Evening With Joe" event on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, center, drops into a three-point stance with Matthew Rauscher, left, and Frankie Rauscher, right, before the "Evening With Joe" event Wednesday, May 27, 2009, in Fogelsville, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno speaks with media in Fogelsville, Pa., before the "Evening With Joe" event on Wednesday, May 27, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In this undated photo released by the University of Kentucky, Jeremy Jarmon is shown. Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon has been ruled ineligible for his senior season by the NCAA because of a failed drug test. He said at a news conference Saturday, May 23, 2009, he had inadvertently taken a banned substance that turned up positive during a random NCAA test in February. An appeal was denied, in effect ending his college football career. (AP Photo/University of Kentucky)

In this Dec. 27, 2008, photo, Florida State's Corey Surrency signs autographs following the Champs Sports Bowl college football game in Orlando, Fla., against Wisconsin. The NCAA has denied Surrency's final appeal to play another year. The decision Tuesday, May 19, 2009, upheld an April ruling. It means the senior, who played just one year at Florida State, has used up his eligibility. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

In this Nov. 1, 2008, photo, Boston College's Mark Herzlich plays against Clemson in an NCAA college football game in Boston. Herzlich, the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year, has cancer. Herzlich said Thursday, May 14, 2009, he was diagnosed earlier this week with Ewing's Sarcoma after feeling pain in his leg and will undergo more tests in his home state of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Josh Halter is swarmed by family and friends after being named the drum major for The Ohio State University Marching Band in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (Jeff Hinckley/Columbus Dispatch/MCT)

MCT

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Mack Brown Cheers as Coaches' Poll Votes No Longer Public originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 28 May 2009 10:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jim Delany: Big Ten's Lord Voldemort

Mark Hasty — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:27:00 EST

Filed under: BCS, Big 10, General CFB Insanity, Bowl Games

Every sport needs a bad guy to keep the fans interested. Just ask Vince McMahon. Wait, don't. He can't hear you, he's on top of a 238-foot-high pile of $100 bills. So take my word for it. Sports are as much about who to root against as who to root for.

College football used to have a plethora of villains. When Steve Spurrier was at the height of his powers he had the two qualities most valued in a villain. He was arrogant and he was right. You never knew what he was going to say next, but you knew it was going to be a slam of one of his rivals. We won't even discuss some of his final scores.

Nowadays, however, everybody's just so doggone nice. (Okay, everybody outside the SEC.) There's one man, though, who might make a good hate sink for football fans. That's him in the picture.

That would be Jim Delany, commissioner of the Big Ten. In the past couple days, while the league held its spring meetings, Delany has shot down Joe Paterno's suggestion that the league would benefit from a 12th team and a championship game. In an interview with ESPN, Delany declared expansion a "back-burner issue" and said it was "not a decision made by football coaches."

Right. What would they know about what's best for Big Ten football?

You shoot down a legend like Paterno at your own risk, but Delany's Lord Voldemort-like powers are such that JoePa quickly retreated from his words, citing Delany's long experience as Big Ten commissioner compared to Paterno's own short-term experience as a conference member. Delany has been the Big Ten commissioner since 1989. Penn State has competed in Big Ten football since 1993. Must've been quite a four-year stretch, hey?

Dissing Paterno is one thing. Dissing the nominal leader of the free world is something else. It's not, however, something Delany is unwilling to do. When asked about President Obama's advocacy of a college football playoff, Delany replied, "He's a scholar and a lawyer and a great politician, but I don't think he really understands the complexity of the issue."

Yes, no matter what is in the President's daily intelligence briefing, and no matter what gets discussed at cabinet meetings, rest easy, my fellow Americans, it's not as complicated as the BCS. The Troubled Asset Relief Program? Less complicated than, say, the Orange Bowl. The Kyoto Treaty? A mere sudoku puzzle next to the BCS Poll formula. Negotiating peace in the Middle East? That's nothing like negotiating a new BCS TV contract. Heck, Delany will probably run for the presidency in 2012 just so he can have a vacation!

The BCS is not complicated at all. Here's everything you need to know about it:

1. The big bowls have money.
2. The big conferences want that money.
3. Neener-neener-neener.

It's that simple.

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MCT

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno speaks to reporters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Taylor Stokes wears his letter jacket on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 1, 2009. Stokes was the first black scholarship football player at Vanderbilt, and has returned 40 years later to finish his degree. He will graduate on May 8. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Taylor Stokes wears his letter jacket on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 1, 2009, in front of a statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the founder of the university. Stokes was the first black scholarship football player at Vanderbilt, and has returned 40 years later to finish his degree. He will graduate on May 8. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, and West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, right, are sworn in before giving their testimony before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. Also testifying on the panel are, from left, West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, President and CEO of Valero Alamo Bowl Derrick Fox and Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

I am and always will be a fan of Big Ten football, but I'm starting to hope somebody changes the calendar in Delany's office so he realizes it's not 1973 any more. The college football world has turned and left the Big Ten behind, and I'm sick of it. I'm more sick, though, of the fact that I can no longer argue that the Big Ten isn't trailing most of the rest of the BCS conferences. I'm all about second chances, so I hope Delany has some advisers who can tell him he's wrong.

But why should you care? You should care because he's probably the one person most in the way of a college football playoff. He doesn't want one. He doesn't care what you think. He knows no playoff happens unless he agrees to it.

Take heart, though. Voldemort thought he had the upper hand too.

Jim Delany: Big Ten's Lord Voldemort originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 21 May 2009 15:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BCS Bowls Pay $0 to Players, but Lobbyist J.C. Watts Gets $620,000

Michael David Smith — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: BCS

The hypocrisy of the NCAA's celebration of "amateur" athletics is hardest to stomach when we're reminded just how much money is paid to everyone other than the players. The latest example? Former Congressman (and Oklahoma quarterback) J.C. Watts was paid $620,000 to work as a lobbyist in Washington on behalf of the BCS.

The Politico quotes Watts explaining what he does to earn that kind of cash:

"My responsibilities are just to try to help the BCS navigate through this," Watts says. ...

"I'm a paid consultant," he says. "I'm in government affairs for [the BCS], no question, but if I wasn't, I'd like to think I would be responsible enough and equitable enough to say, 'OK, what works if this system wasn't in place?'"

Obviously, the only reason the BCS is willing to spend a whole lot of money to protect the current system of crowning a college football champion is that the people who run the BCS are making a whole lot of money under the current system. I personally prefer a playoff, but if we're stuck with the BCS, I wish the folks who run it could just be honest about that, and stop pretending they care about things like how a playoff schedule would affect final exams. The BCS fight is a fight over money, and Watts is just one of the many players who's getting a slice of the pie.

More at The Wiz of Odds.

BCS Bowls Pay $0 to Players, but Lobbyist J.C. Watts Gets $620,000 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 08 May 2009 13:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Utah Attorney General Vows to Sue BCS

Michael David Smith — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:34:00 EST

Filed under: Utah, BCS

The federal government's opposition to the Bowl Championship Series is well established: President Obama favors a college football playoff, and last week a member of Congress compared the BCS to Communism. And now the attorney general of Utah is saying that if the feds don't go after the BCS, he will.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says that he plans to take the BCS to court. Utah television station KUTV reports:

"It doesn't matter what Congress does, we're going forward, and we will sue," Shurtleff said. ... The next step is to talk to the Department of Justice, and see if they will lead on this suit."

Obviously, Shurtleff is motivated by the fact that Utah was shut out of the BCS championship game after finishing the 2008 season undefeated. And obviously, he's hoping to curry favor with his Ute fan constituents.

But I have a feeling quite a few of those constituents won't be so favorably inclined toward Shurtleff when they realize that Shurtleff is planning to spend a whole lot of their money on this issue. Shurtleff says he is willing to spend millions of dollars on this lawsuit if the Justice Department doesn't, claiming that a college football playoff is valuable enough to the state of Utah that it would be worth it in the long run.

I'm with Shurtleff in his calls for a playoff. I just think figuring out how to run the college football postseason is up to the NCAA and the individual schools, and not up to the attorney general of Utah.

More at College Football Talk.

Utah Attorney General Vows to Sue BCS originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 07 May 2009 16:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BCS Hearings Are About the Money

Brian Grummell — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:09:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, BCS, Mountain West

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Mr. BCS Goes To Washington -- Except I have a feeling Jimmy Stewart would find some way to rail against the BCS, however wrongheadedly. You see, the big word in the halls of Congress on Friday was "fair" but don't let that confuse you. While the Mountain West and certain members of Congress are using the fairness term to stoke public support, their real concern is about money.

There's a big pot at the end of the year and thanks largely to their own revenue success through their ability to draw fans and sponsors, the BCS conference programs end up getting a large share of it. This is what the real fight is about, as much as us fans banter on about fairness or "winning it on the field".

The BCS institutions are in the right on this, they've created and nurtured a product that can create these kinds of revenues, something most of those now sitting on the outside, can't. They're going to continue to protect their access to the majority share of what they've created especially since you won't see ABC and ESPN and CBS sniffing around Utah State anytime soon, at least not until they find a way to create a more compelling football product.

Thats how this system works and its bizarre to witness people distracted by the illusion of fairness side with what would amount to legally sanctioned theft in their frustration with the system in place.

Target Practice -- The football teams may not be their early 90's selves right now, but the fans are carrying on that old time spirit. Colorado's golf team has a new home course with an interesting twist: the vehicle charged with scooping up range balls is colored red and white with a Nebraska helmet design on the roof. Oh, and a big Nebraska N on the hood. Football coach Dan Hawkins was the brainchild behind the idea. (via The Wiz)

The Prom Is For High Schoolers -- So apparently Auburn is using stretch limos adorned with school logos and imagery to transport recruits around the state. This practice amusingly meets NCAA sanction (so far), but obviously has some rival coaches peeved. Take it away, Urban Meyer:

"We're trying to sell graduation rates and academics and [they're] trying the sing and dance routine. "The Florida coaching staff will not be riding around in limos or ripping off our shirts."

This is silly stuff from Meyer, even with the amusing gratuitous dig at Tennessee. Its even more silly coming from Auburn but we've grown to expect that. Remember their non-championship championship parade? (Via GTP, Dr. Saturday)

Its Getting Biblical Up In Here -- Apparently feeling perky from his public relations victory that helped seal a contract extension on his terms, Mike Leach has been dropping bombs with the NFL and Texas A&M the last few weeks.

He attracted additional Aggie hate after alleging the Dallas Cowboys' coaching staff liked quarterback Stephen McGee -- taken in the fourth round of the draft -- more than his own coaches at Texas A&M. Aggie coach Mike Sherman got testy in response, followed by a more subtle, Biblical response out of McGee.

"There is a verse in Proverbs that says don't respond to a fool by its folly," McGee told the Dallas Morning News. "I believe that in all my heart."

(Via Tim Griffin)

Overtime, Ball On The 25

-- Tim . Tebow . Thong .

-- That Darn APR. Minnesota is out three football scholarships after a poor APR performance.

-- Ohio State has never been to the Rose Bowl under coach Jim Tressel. Arizona has never been to the Rose Bowl, period.

-- No Alabama player arrests in the last 10 months. Gold star.

-- The Quad Countdown Has Begun

-- The death rattle. Washington drops swimming and Hawaii's athletics department is cash-strapped.

BCS Hearings Are About the Money originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 04 May 2009 15:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rick Neuheisel Passes On The Spread

Brian Grummell — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Illinois, Notre Dame, UCLA, USC, BCS, Mountain West, Pac 10

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Zed's Dead, But Not The Spread -- Great find from Smart Football of UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel discussing in great detail the spread offense and UCLA's decision not to run it. Smart Football has his response as well, synthesizing Neuheisel's main arguments and where he gets confused before making the conclusion that the term has "quickly lost all use as a meaningful and descriptive term".

Such is the lexicon though, especially given the complicated nature of football formations and concepts. Times will eventually change but the evidence is there with the last four BCS champions all having run some form of spread offense.

Hope Springs Eternal -- We probably have to go back 15 years, to 1993, to find a true powerhouse Notre Dame football team. But like with all fans, there's always next year. This time around the Irish are very unlikely to field a powerhouse but fans will almost certainly settle for 'much improved' especially against what appears to be a downy soft schedule.

Spring games are often the lone, extremely limited peek into a team's progress in evading last year's demons and the 247 rush yards produced by the Irish offense provide tremendous hope that some corner has been turned.

Are Defending Champions Always This Grumpy? -- We forgive Urban Meyer for his testy reaction to Lane Kiffin's behavior this spring, but its like Coach Meyer won't surrender his Angry Face anytime soon. Asked by the New York Times about what has changed in football since he began coaching, Meyer cited the 'NFL approach to football'.

I don't want to say anti-team, but the individualism is something that I don't believe in, but you do see it. It takes us a while to get that out of here. That's the biggest generation gap difference I see is that stuff's acceptable at the so-called highest level of sports and then you get down to college and every coach in college is trying not to have that

I'm a NFL critic but its hard to consider what he describes as strictly an NFL phenomena.

Couldn't Be More Symbolic -- This week's BCS meetings begin today in idyllic Pasadena, home of the ever-controversial Rose Bowl. Kudos to the organizers' bit of defiance.

Amusingly, the Mountain West still has not signed onto the next BCS television deal, but USA Today calls their delay largely symbolic. Outgoing Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen told USA Today 'we could proceed without them' if they don't sign.

Technically true but the whole running to Congress thing is more than an idle threat, if ridiculously impetuous.

You May Hate Them, But This Is Cool

Alabama's new promotional video (via The Wiz)

Overtime, Ball On The 25

-- Here's your 2009 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

-- Illinois sophomore defensive tackle Corey Liuget ended up with the Illini in part because they had basements. Oregon laws prevent you from filling up your own gas tank but you won't see me moving there anytime soon.

-- Alabama has changed the paint and logo scheme for its end zones. Looks nice.

-- USC's offense threw in a new wrinkle at a recent scrimmage and defensive end Everson Griffen is finally flashing some of his immense raw ability.

-- Speaking of USC, Charles White's Heisman Trophy went on the auction block and found no takers. How depressing for all parties.

Rick Neuheisel Passes On The Spread originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orrin Hatch: Senate Republican, College Football Democrat

Brian Grummell — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Utah, BCS, General CFB Insanity

In several decades of public service, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch has been reliably conservative. However, when it comes to discussing matters of college football the Senator walks and talks like a member of the other party. Since 2003 Hatch has been complaining about the BCS and its unfairness, accusing the major conference commissioners of being 'elitists' and threatening to haul the entire show before Congress.

In an interview with CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, Orrin Hatch Senate Republican appears to be playing a hand from the Democratic playbook railing against unfairness, threatening congressional intervention into a private entity and a radical change in how wealth is earned and distributed among the involved parties.

Take this excerpt:

But, in general, I think the funds should be allocated in a way that is based on the teams' performance on the field. Right now, the money may as well be handed out at the beginning of the season because, in the end, we all know which schools and conferences will be getting the money. That, more than anything, is the problem with the BCS.

Conveniently ignoring that the other conferences are securing those spoils because they are vastly more popular and lucrative and whose members have, over time, created far more wealth and had more success than their peers. That's kind of how our system works and theoretically a framework Hatch supports given his political leanings. As the great Get The Picture notes:

Look, like it or not, what Hatch is proposing would radically restructure the sport of college football. The fact is that right now, the money flows where the interest is. As a general rule of thumb, the BCS conferences are better draws and generate better TV ratings than do the non-BCS conferences and that's why they get the lion's share of the money. Hatch would do away with that.

Need more?

At the same time, nearly half the teams in college football share a much smaller pot, even if they are fortunate enough to play their way into a BCS game. This creates an inherent disadvantage, not just on the field, but with regard to recruiting, facilities, and funding for other athletic programs. Given the amount of money involved here, which is unprecedented in the history of collegiate sports, I think these inequities warrant the attention of Congress.

See above. There are ways to address unfairness in college football's upper division (FBS) but in my mind that involves redirecting a great many teams into lower divisions where they could be more consistently competitive. They'd all balk at the idea, of course, realizing just how much benefit they gain from simply being in the FBS with the actual revenue machines in college football. The best mechanism by which Utah will gain access to that bigger pot is to find a way to become lucrative themselves. It isn't a lack of BCS money holding them back, but their own fan base.

Not many years ago there were a great many successful independent football teams, but now only Notre Dame remains. The rest were scooped up by the various conferences. Even within the conferences, realignment occasionally happens such as when the ACC was able to lure Miami from the Big East. So, too, can Utah be pried from the Mountain West and into say, the Pac-10 or Big 12 if they were attractive enough to the more lucrative conferences.

When we attack the BCS we ignore that the power conferences and college football's power brokers have in fact voluntarily opened up the process, inviting increasing numbers of schools to join college football's upper division, creating the BCS and rejecting the old contractual major bowl system, expanding the number of bowl games, expanded coverage to where lesser programs have far greater exposure than before.

All of that and more either directly or indirectly addresses fairness without threatening a large share of the rightful take the most powerful in the game have earned.

All of that has opened up the game and its spoils to more and more participants, but at the end of the day the game has its winners and losers. This isn't the NFL with just 32 teams, a salary cap, a rigged draft that allocates talent more heavily to the less-successful, and so on. Nor should it be, it's college football. At the end of the day SEC fans are going to spend more money on their schools than Big 10 fans who will spend more money on their schools than Mountain West fans. With those spoils come greater facilities, television coverage, potential to recruit better talent, adoration, you name it. As fans we either accept this and watch the various programs compete as they can in that environment or reject it wholesale.

I accept it. I smile knowing that Florida State was once a women's college and Miami nearly on its death bed as a football program. The little guy still finds a way in this game, often becoming quite the giant. Give it time and some very surprising things happen, and things aren't really as unfair as they once seemed. If Utah does the right things, it will have its day and then some.

So, about that intervention part.

Exhibit A: "As far as the current agreement is concerned, it is my understanding that the current BCS agreement expires next year and that there is a proposal on the table to extend it through 2014. The deal is not yet in place and a number of the conferences, particularly the Mountain West, have expressed serious concerns about the proposed extension. Frankly, I think this proposal is the reason for Congress to get involved right now"

Exhibit B: "The NCAA is clearly not involved in the college football postseason, and that may be part of the problem".

Yes, the same NCAA hypocritically cashing multimillion dollar checks from CBS for the NCAA Tournament while denying an extra year of eligibility to an athlete who played for a year on a tiny semi-pro team while trying to put his troubled life back together.

Senator's lost his mind.

(Several massive tips of the hat to Get The Picture)

Orrin Hatch: Senate Republican, College Football Democrat originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The FanHouse Walk: FOX May Walk Away From BCS a Year Early

Brian Grummell — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Connecticut, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, BCS

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Rejoice! Er, potentially rejoice -- Last week the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported speculation that FOX might extricate itself a year early from its BCS coverage commitments. Besides the rarely disputed notion that FOX's BCS coverage is woeful -- thank you, Thom Brennaman and endless band shots -- the network seems to realize they've been dealt a weak hand for their 2010 games.

ABC/ESPN retains control of Rose Bowl rights and with this year's BCS championship game in the Rose Bowl, FOX is already out the two most compelling and lucrative BCS properties. Throw in another potentially uninspiring ACC/Big East matchup in the Orange Bowl and things are looking bleak. Observers fear the increasingly monopolized presence of ESPN/ABC in college football but FOX has been sufficiently incompetent enough for me to not care in this particular situation.

It Isn't College Football Without Notre Dame -- I'm not sure which is more annoying for college football fans, the constant drama and attention around Notre Dame when they're not successful and have a universally disliked coach, or when they are successful and have a universally disliked coach. We'll have to debate that at some later point.

Anyway. The Irish are back to playing football, hitting the field this week to begin spring practice. As reported nearly everywhere, aforementioned hated coach Charlie Weis will return to coaching on the field. After knee surgery last year he directed several games from the press box. We're again left to ponder between two bad choices, televised shots of Weis' irritated self on the field or behind plexiglass.

Oh, and coach Weis has made public his four main objectives for the spring. They are 1) meshing the newly revised coaching staff, 2) self scouting, 3) outright competition and 4) finishing games -- remember ~~The Alamo~~ North Carolina!

Thats Fine, For Now -- Virginia begins spring with defensive back Vic Hall listed as its No. 1 quarterback. He was actually quite successful in limited duty last year. Mind you he didn't throw many passes, but made their offense dangerous with his running skill and speed.

He's unlikely to remain there with the return of former castoff Jameel Sewell, but at least Virginia knows it has an interesting fallback when it settles on an actual quarterback trusted to throw the ball.

Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- Hilarious lampoon of the NCAA Tournament's never-ending desire to expand

-- Statistically Speaking puts Mike Bellotti's career at Oregon into proper and impressive perspective.

-- Connecticut's going to a more fast-break style of offense (Via College Football Talk)

-- Rich Rodriguez needs to work on his Twitter skills (Via Get The Picture)

-- New Washington coach Steve Sarkisian has a website to go with that Twitter account. Now about that whole football thing ... (via The Wiz of Odds)

The FanHouse Walk: FOX May Walk Away From BCS a Year Early originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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