Three members of Congress want the Justice Department to investigate whether the Bowl Championship Series is an illegal enterprise.

Representatives Neil Abercrombie, Democrat of Hawaii; Lynn Westmoreland, Republican of Georgia; and Mike Simpson, Republican of Idaho, introduced a resolution saying the B.C.S. restricts trade because only the largest universities compete in its games. The resolution would require the Justice Department's antitrust division to investigate if the B.C.S. violates federal law.

The measure, if it passes, would put Congress on record as supporting a postseason playoff.

Hawaii? Check. Idaho? Check. Georgia? Check. No pandering going on here! Hilariously stupid quote of the month goes to Hawaii Democrat Neil Abercrombie:

"Who elected these N.C.A.A. people?" Abercrombie said at a news conference Thursday on Capitol Hill while gripping a souvenir University of Hawaii football. "Who are they to decide who competes for the championship?"

Never let facts get in the way of a good time folks! Imagine, private - not public like Congress - interests such as the NCAA determining how their own organizations are run? This is apparently scary stuff for the closet fascist the great people of Hawaii have elected. Best of all Abercrombie doesn't appear to realize that "those NCAA people" aren't deciding who competes for college football's championship, nor should they. It's in the hands of the institutions and the conferences themselves.

Exit question: What, no co-signature from any of Alabama's representatives?

Members Of Congress to Department of Justice: Investigate the BCS originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hawaii's Facilities Are a Joke originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Petersen Takes Pass on UCLA Job originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Three Make UCLA Short List originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hawaii Is The WAC Champion originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 24 Nov 2007 01:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTubesDay: Highest Scoring Football Game in NCAA History originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Half Live Blog: Southern Miss @ Boise State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Half Live Blog: Southern Miss @ Boise State originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday College Football Hangover is a (hopefully) regular feature from a groggy FanHouse writer recovering from 16+ hours of watching as much college football as humanly possible.

Florida State escaped UAB (the same team Michigan State pounded last week). The game was tied at 24-all in the third quarter before the Seminoles scored 21 in the quarter and 24 in the second half to pull away 34 to 24.

Pretty Pictures

FanHouse Best

First Half LiveBlog: Can Michigan Rebound?
Oklahoma Looks Like a Contender
Boise State's Win Streak is Over
Michigan is Really, Really, Really Bad
Brandon Cox is Trying to Kill the Auburn WR's
Conservative Play Backfires on Auburn
In Person: Washington vs. Boise State
LSU Holds Scepter of Power in SEC

Beatdown of the Week

Oklahoma 51, Miami 13

The same Sunday Hangover Beatdown winner two weeks in a row. What are the odds Oklahoma makes this list at least once more this year?

Oregon Uniform Watch

Dot Dot Dot ...

... West Virginia suffered the same defensive meltdown that plagued Louisville Thursday night, allowing 24 points in three quarters to offensively challenged Marshall. That's going to keep both teams out of the top three until they prove they can stop foes big and small ... Jimmy Clausen didn't fare so well in his first start, but he's for real. He won't get much better than he already is, but it's enough to be one of the most polished quarterbacks to come out of high school in the last 20 or so years. He's annoying, but that doesn't mean we can't acknowledge that he'll be a good one ... Moreso than last week, hot weather affected early afternoon games ... Kyle Wright looked like Miami's most effective quarterback. What a mess they're in with their passers ... Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford looks like the real deal. After barely beating two rivals for the starting job, he's been fantastic against both an awful defense (North Texas) and a great one (Miami) He's incredibly accurate ... According to FanHouse's Bruce Ciskie, inclement weather delays helped produce the longest halftime in college football history (Purdue/Eastern Illinois game) ... Penn State's PA guy tradition is chumpy ... LSU fans don't realize it's only September. Anyone else notice the FUSC sign at GameDay? Obsess much? ... Nebraska cornerback Zach Bowman got some sweet redemption after snagging the game-saving endzone interception against Wake Forest. He has missed the last two seasons with serious knee injuries and it's miraculous he's even on the field this early in the 2007 season ... Oklahoma fans are talking redemption for the 1980's losses to Miami, but let's be honest here: these teams weren't on the level yesterday. They were in the 80's and Miami won when both were on top of the world. This wasn't redemption, but it was nice just the same ... Boston College won the O'Brien Bowl, besting their former coach 37-17 ... Don't look now but there's another athletic tight end in the Big Ten worth watching who isn't named Travis Beckum: Iowa's Tony Moeaki. He hauled in 8 passes for 112 yards (52 long) and three touchdowns Saturday ... Notre Dame and Michigan are both 0-2 ... Poor Mike Hart. It's almost like he plays better in defeat than victory, making like Atlas trying to carry the entire Michigan program on his back in tough times ... Jorvorskie Lane had similar heroics in Texas A&M's triple overtime victory over Fresno State. Dude was absolutely exhausted but refused to go down in entirely predictable run situations. Take a load off, big fella. You earned it ...

Looking Ahead

Thursday: West Virginia @ Maryland (I'll be Live Blogging that, be sure and stop by)

Friday: Oklahoma State @ Troy

Saturday: Pittsburgh @ Michigan State, Iowa @ Iowa State (always close rivalry game), Tennessee @ Florida, Texas @ UCF (home opener in a new stadium for UCF), Notre Dame @ Michigan (combined 0-4 records!), FIU @ Miami (Fight Night II), Ohio State @ Washington (upset alert?), UCLA @ Utah, Southern Miss @ East Carolina, Louisiana Tech @ California (hey, they slowed down Hawaii!), Arkansas @ Alabama, Fresno State @ Oregon, Louisville @ Kentucky (it was a wild affair last year), USC @ Nebraska, Boston College @ Georgia Tech (rare quality ACC game), BYU @ Tulsa, Hawaii @ UNLV (UNLV pretty much shut down Wisconsin and Hawaii is back on mainland where they're vulnerable), San Jose State @ Stanford (combined 0-3, someone's gotta win), Florida State @ Colorado (this would have been awesome in ohhhh, 1991).

Parting Shots

Michigan is not really, really, really bad. They're a good football team with its confidence shaken. They've also gone up against a perfect storm of chippy underdogs running spread offenses with mobile quarterbacks. It's now crystal clear Michigan cannot defend the spread, but they should continue to be able to mash conventional attacks which are aplenty throughout college football. Give Oregon and Appalachian State some credit. Oregon does that all the time in Pac-10 play, and they've handled Michigan before. Appalachian State just didn't know they were supposed to lose. Michigan will recover, and they're a good to very good football team if they can get their heads straight.

I'm reading a book right now about Bo Schembechler. There are a lot of positives about him, but I can see the seeds of Michigan's fall in his enduring philosophy. He harped incessantly on execution and its ability to overpower "fancy" schemes. That is true sometimes, but not all the time.

Michigan has been so arrogant and inflexible and wedded to its style of defense they have not humbled themselves enough to learn how to defend that style of play. It's clearly cost them and unless they shake some of that Schembechler stubbornness and get with the times a little more, that will continue to happen. But his philosophy is also what keeps that program at the top, so there's competing demands here and coach Lloyd Carr hasn't figured out how to harmonize them.

Finally ... My friend Victor mentioned something interesting to me yesterday. He was talking about bandwagon fans and how people jump in for the ride of a good team. Well, that can also work with failing teams. He thinks a lot of people are jumping on Michigan's "bandwagon" and watching their games. It isn't so much out of hate (unless you're a Buckeye or Notre Dame fan), but rather amusement. "It's hilarious" he says. And as much as I admire the Michigan program, he's right - it's hilarious.

At the same time I think they've endured enough. Hopefully they can win some games and get people off their back and their bandwagon and get around to resurrecting the pride and prestige of one of college football's great programs.

Sunday College Football Hangover: Week Two originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 09 Sep 2007 16:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boise State's Win Streak Is Over originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:51:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It was one of the wildest BCS bowl games in recent memory. One of those games where, if you didn't give up on it, you still remember where you were or what you were doing when things finally ended. Boise State shook up the establishment by toppling BCS power Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, the epitome' of David slaying Goliath. What a magic carpet ride it's been for the Broncos of Boise State, and what do you know, they bring the nation's longest winning streak of 14 into Husky Stadium tomorrow. But is this amazing run from a relative newcomer on the national scene about to end?

The Broncos still have All-American running back Ian Johnson as the focal point of the offense, and he didn't disappoint in the opener last week, tearing through hapless Weber State for 128 yards on only 18 carries. The offensive line is absolutely loaded, with four out of five starters back from 2006. Junior tackle Ryan Clady is regarded as one of the top NFL offensive line prospects in the nation. But this year, it's hard to ignore the loss of so many key players from last year's amazing run. Even with Johnson and the bulk of the offensive line back, they still lost six offensive starters from '06, including QB Jared Zabransky and his top four receivers. Senior Taylor Tharp is Zabransky's replacement, and he had a good debut last week, completing over 70% of his passes as the Broncos played it close to the vest against a much weaker opponent.

On defense, they return six starters, but two of their top three tacklers are gone in LB's Korey Hall and Colt Brooks. That senior duo "only" combined for 167 tackles, 10 sacks and eight interceptions last year. Those are some big shoes to fill off a pretty good defense. All-WAC safety Marty Tadman, the defensive MVP from last year's Fiesta Bowl, is the leading returning tackler with 67 and was tops on the team with six interceptions in '06. The best defensive player on Boise State's roster, he's sliding down to strong safety from his normal spot at free safety.

Where UW is going to have an advantage tomorrow is the running game. As good as Ian Johnson was for Boise State last week, UW's Louis Rankin was even better, going for 147 yards on an impressive 8.6 yards per carry. Overall the Huskies drilled the Orange to the tune of 302 yards rushing last week, and that spells bad news for Boise State's defense.

Finally, UW's defense rose to the occasion last week, completely shutting down Syracuse's offense and making the debut of QB Andrew Robinson a very long night. The Husky front-seven was physical, quick, and brought the heat, limiting Syracuse to just eight rushing yards, 199 yards of total offense and only 12 points.

All week long, the Seattle media has been heaping praise on Boise State. One columnist even goes as far as to call them "The Gonzaga of College Football". The Boise State faithful have reportedly been buying up available tickets for the game tomorrow, and are said to be traveling in large numbers to Seattle. They are hardly an overwhelming favorite at 3 1/2 points, but still, they are the favorite. But when you combine the fact that they've never beaten a BCS team on the road, and Tharp is making his first road start with a very green group of WR's in noisy Husky Stadium? It's starting to feel like Boise State is walking into a trap.

While it's hard to say that UW has moved back on the plus side of the NCAA football relevance meter, they did look awfully impressive last week. More than just the stats or the points or whatever else, you could see UW's confidence is at another level compared to year's past. I don't know if it's Jake Locker and the confidence the young kid brings to the rest of the team, or the fact that they are tired of three straight losing seasons, but things are very different this year.

It's been a fun ride, and they made a lot of fans and earned a ton of respect last year, but it all should end tomorrow for Boise State. Not that it will be a blowout, but I believe UW will wear down BSU's undersized defensive front-seven and run away from the Broncos in the second half. Defensively UW will focus all their energy on slowing down Ian Johnson and putting Tharp in obvious passing situations. In the end, that will be enough. UW will ride the running game and emotional home crowd to a 27-23 victory.

Is Boise State's Magical Run About to End? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oregon officials are exploring the possibility of playing Boise State there in 2009. It would be the first American college football game in China. [snip]

Oregon must complete many steps before the matchup is a done deal. The Ducks have no contract with Boise State to play the game in China. No permission from the Chinese government. No funding.

To pay for the trip, the team probably would need to secure a corporate sponsorship or raise money by selling the game's TV rights, [Oregon Director of Football Operations Jeff] Hawkins said.

"Right now, we're exploring the feasibility of this," Hawkins said. "But to make this happen would be historic."

Oregon already has secured the NCAA's permission to pursue scheduling a game in China.

If it happens, the game would be one year after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Oregon is scheduled to play at Boise State on Sept.5, 2009, which is why the Ducks thought of the Broncos first as potential travel partners.

Gene Bleymaier, athletic director at Boise State, declined comment.

Insert following terms in lieu of commentary: Darfur, human rights, one-party state, Tibet, Taiwan. We'd offend the censors, but we're already blocked. Yup.

College Football Coming to China? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johnson said he's received phone calls, 30 letters and, in some instances, personal threats from people who objected to his plans to marry Popadics.

"You take it for what it is -- the less educated, the less willing to change," Johnson told the Statesman. "But we're not acting like we're naive to all the stuff that's going on. We know what's been said. We're going to make sure we're safe at all times. It's an amazing day for us, and we'd hate to have it ruined by someone."

Ian Johnson's Wedding: Great. Racists and Haters: Not So Great. originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hawaii Fans Want a College GameDay Visit originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCAA '08 Has Boise State's Trick Plays originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube Awesomeness: Boise State/Oklahoma Game Spoofs The Sopranos Series Finale originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 23:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[O]ne of the things that we kind of pride ourselves on going into a game is not having a big playbook. We do a good job of game planning and narrowing things down and not having too much overage so these kids have to learn so many things that we're not even going to call in the game. And so I know a lot of people kind of pride themselves on having this humongous playbook, having all these plays going into a game. We don't - we narrow it down so these kids can manage it and learn it and execute it.

Gasp! Boise State's Playbook Can Be Easily Consumed originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 17 Jun 2007 01:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jerry Rice Can Still Take Kids to School originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 23 May 2007 11:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JARED Zabransky, the quarterback who led the Boise State Broncos to overtime victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl - one of the greatest college football games ever played - is in town for the NFL draft. Friends of his at Zocalo said Zabransky, the son of a potato farmer, used to throw potatoes and could hurl them 80 yards.

Zabransky Throws Potatoes 80 Yards originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NFL scouts think they know him, but they're wrong ...

College Eye for the NFL Guy: Jared Zabransky originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 21:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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