NCAA Football FanHouse

No Football Camp for 'U' Men

Brian Grummell — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, University of Miami, Sun Belt, Tennessee, Texas, Conference USA, Heisman

Every week 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.

U've Been Bad -- It seemed dormant for a while with the mediocrity coming from Tallahassee and Coral Gables, but perhaps rivalry football in Florida is back. A University of Miami commit was kicked out of a Florida-run football camp last week for supposedly flashing Miami's famous "The U" hand signal after several drills. Its unraveled into a he-said he-said drama concerning Florida's handling of his alleged actions, and his right as a paying participant.

If you're looking for an opinion we strangely don't have one, feeling rather stupid defending either side. The easy way out here is to blame who started it and move on. In this situation its alleged perp lineman Tavadis Glenn (edit -- of Terry Parker High). Sorry, big fella, you've been bad but here's to us seeing you on Saturdays stoking the flames between those two programs.

Nevada of the East -- Delaware wants it some sports gambling, something to which the entire apparatus of organized sport is opposed. Apparently several of those bodies jointly filed a lawsuit last week to put the brakes on tiny Delaware's cash grab.

I understand the opposition to this and their arguments make sense, but at the same time we can't ignore that Nevada still has sanction for sports betting. And, personally, although sports gambling doesn't really interest me outside of the occasional day at the track, America is a big country and Nevada isn't what we would call easily accessible to a huge chunk of the population. Perhaps we should reconsider the various prohibitions and let slip another state or two.

More NCAA Worries -- Lets be clear, amateurism is dead. The NCAA has managed to effectively restrain most athletes from capitalizing on their own personal brand in the open market, but those days are dwindling. Dr. Saturday points out several pending lawsuits against the NCAA concerning their licensing of athletes' likenesses and other matters.

They may or may not win these and similar challenges, but they can't hold out forever. A reckoning is a long time coming and I hope for the organization's sake and that of collegiate athletics, they recognize it at some point in the near future and work effectively towards a new future that protects the athletes and preserves academic integrity but no longer pretends it can enforce amateurism.

2009 Is Great And All, But Lets Talk Next Year Already -- In a bit of a repeat of the 2004 "neutral" site meeting between USC and Virginia Tech, Boise State will travel east next year to open their season against Virginia Tech in the hornet's nest that will be FedEx field in Washington. If they thought Georgia fans were tough between the Hedges, wait till they experience the Hokie road show.

Meanwhile, LSU will challenge North Carolina in an SEC-ACC match for Chick-fil-A's College Kickoff.

He's Not 40, But He's a Man

The Lane Kiffin Show's taken a break from the animation ...

Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- The authority speaks, and doth proclaim Colt McCoy the early Heisman Trophy favorite.

-- Texas will honor former coach Darrell Royal by donning a special throwback uniform against rival Texas A&M.

Nike has designed a uniform that will be a special version of the traditional Longhorn white road uniform, including a patch honoring Royal and helmets in the style of Texas' first national championship team in 1963. The patch, featuring Royal's initials "DKR" will be on the players hips while the helmets will include each player's number above the Longhorn logo. The size of the word "Texas" on the front of the jersey also has been adjusted slightly to reflect the eras where the jersey numbers were larger and the school's name was not featured on the front

Amusingly, in its advanced stage of perpetual insecurity the program seeks to remind people unrelatedly of their 2005 championship in these releases, noting at the bottom:

Texas captured its fourth national title in 2005 when the No. 2 Longhorns knocked off No. 1 and two-time defending National Champion USC, 41-38, in the Rose Bowl.

That's great, and in the interval Florida, LSU and Florida again have won their own crowns.

-- USC folks are taking their digs at Lane Kiffin. Buyer beware.

-- Smart, if under the radar: The Sun Belt and Conference USA are offering full-color preview magazines. College football is a game of banter and discussion, conferences and programs need to be willing to fight in the PR game to get attention (without being over the top Kiffin at Tennessee level) and get notice or get left out.

No Football Camp for 'U' Men originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tony Franklin Unloads on Auburn, SEC

Bruce Ciskie — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Auburn, Middle Tennessee State, Sun Belt, SEC, Coaching

In all honesty, this story shouldn't be viewed as one of sadness, anger, bitterness, or back-stabbing.

Instead, it should serve as a cautionary tale. After all, the pressures and rigors involved with big-time college football aren't for anyone. As offensive coordinator Tony Franklin learned last year at Auburn, it certainly isn't for him.

Franklin, you may remember, didn't even spend a full season as Auburn's offensive coordinator. After a terrible start to the season for his spread offense, head coach Tommy Tuberville fired Franklin after six games. Of course, Tuberville famously followed Franklin out the door upon season's end.

Now the offensive coordinator for Middle Tennessee, Franklin pulled no punches in an interview with the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser. It's clear that Auburn wasn't a good place for him, and he admits that.

"It was the most unusual place I've ever been," Franklin said of the Auburn program. "No one liked anybody else. There was this deep distrust of everybody. The coaches didn't trust the administration, the administration didn't trust each other or the coaches. It was very strange and very unnerving. You would walk down the halls and there would be tension you could just feel.

"No one would speak to you or even look at you. The coaches were all paranoid and didn't trust anyone in the administration. They all felt like the administration was out to get them and they stressed out over everything that happened. "

From the sound of it, one would think there was never really a chance for Franklin to be successful. For that matter, Franklin saw the writing on the wall when Tuberville let him go at midseason.

During his final meeting with Tuberville, Franklin said Tuberville told him that "it just wasn't working," but never gave a reason for changing his mind.

Also, during that meeting, Franklin said he told Tuberville that the Auburn administration was going to fire Tuberville at the end of the year.

Part of the reason for that prediction -- in addition to the rift within the athletic department -- was a general feeling among the staff and others around the AU program that football within the state was changing with the hiring of Nick Saban at Alabama.

Franklin made it clear in the interview that he's happy with his career path, even though it took him back to a "lesser" conference (the Sun Belt).

"I've been here a few months now and I don't think I've been recognized once," said Franklin, who was hired as the Blue Raiders' offensive coordinator in February. "I can go out and have a beer somewhere and not worry about winding up on the Internet the next day.

"I don't have to worry about all the crap you face in the SEC with its ridiculous, nit-picky rules and regulations on everything you do. I'm a guy who likes to walk down the street and not have to worry all the time about people watching me, waiting on me to screw up. I have that here."

This should absolutely be a story young coaches around the country read. Just because someone has big-time coaching aspirations doesn't mean they have to work in an environment like the SEC. There are knives flying at people's backs all over the place, and nobody knows that better than Tuberville himself after the legendary attempt by Auburn's administration to hire Bobby Petrino in 2003.

Some coaches can thrive in this high-pressure workplace. Others flame out and are never the same again.

For Tony Franklin, his firing may have been the best thing that could have happened. He got off the ship before it took on too much water. You might not think he's better off, but it's obvious he does.

Tony Franklin Unloads on Auburn, SEC originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lane Kiffin Kiss and Make Up Week

Brian Grummell — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:14:00 EST

Filed under: Florida State, New Mexico State, Sun Belt, Tennessee, Conference USA, 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.

You Can't Be Bad All of the Time -- First-year Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin has built up a tremendous amount of antagonism this offseason. There's nobody to blame but himself, of course, but sometimes you have to give the Devil his due. For all his transgressions, try not to read too much into the story that Tennessee has been witness to 11 player departures. Wherever possible in college athletics, you want to look out for the best interest of the athletes but healthy, successful coaching transitions at big-time football programs almost require a good dose of roster turnover. Whether he's handled it right is up for debate but the raw numbers themselves should not be an indictment of Kiffin.

I would actually be more worried for Kiffin if after spring ball there was little player movement to be found. Any time you change from one executive to another, the remaining personnel aren't always going to be a good fit for the program, either athletically or temperamentally. The more unhappy folk that walk away, the less division there is later on as a roster is built with people who are willing to buy in. That is a good thing and gives the folks who wouldn't have a shot or might cause trouble a chance at peace elsewhere.

We Apologize In Advance -- Anyway, that's my modest peace offering, but if you're the Knoxville News, you put together a story about the Kiffin family, the struggles of their move, and put a video on the internet for all to see what a nice couple they are. Smooch smooch, please don't get mad at us when you get spanked by Florida and our columnists are up in arms criticizing you a few months from now coach, in other words. (Via Dr. Saturday)

Oh No, A Poll! -- BCS bashers everywhere, cover your eyes, its the attack of polls, ohmygodsoscary how dare those things invade our game, must defend self with ridiculous snark and over the top bashing. Right?

ESPN's Tim Griffin found a cool composite of preseason polls with a 'heavy Southern bent' at LSUFootball.net. The top three's fairly predictable with Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. Alabama's recovered from that beatdown against Utah to a healthy five spot and Oklahoma State is all the way up there at No. 6. Personally I think Ole Miss is vastly overrated at No. 10, that is fool's gold right there.

Progress -- USA Today digs into college football coaching data to find a rise in the number of minority head coaches and coordinators but is still unimpressed. The Black Coaches Association also has its say. Telling quote from first-year New Mexico State coach DeWayne Walker:

Having seen both sides, Walker says NFL teams are "more proactive and more open-minded" about minority head coaches and the hiring process is straightforward - "if the GM and the owner like you, they hire you." Colleges, he says, have more "political" concerns - "it's not just the AD and the president at the BCS schools, there are other factors."

Nevertheless, he says, coaches "almost have to be in the game from the college standpoint to get a college head coaching position."

And that's unlikely to ever change given how the money structure works in college athletics.

University presidents and athletic directors are charged not only with hiring someone who will put butts in the seats like an NFL owner or general manager, but hiring someone who can connect with big dollar donors who provide the major funds that help fund new facilities, stadium expansions, and so on. Hopefully that is something those interested in improving the lot of minority coaches are considering and working on, finding ways to systematically connect with what is most likely a largely white, wealthy, older group of people who have tremendous financial power at these programs.

As I've said repeatedly I think the most efficient and most rewarding path for minority coaches will be to flood the coordinator ranks which is something that appears to be accelerating the last few years. The vast majority of college head coaches are hired after stints as either offensive or defensive coordinators in the college ranks. The more we see minority names pop up as hotshot coordinators, the more difficult it is to ignore them in the hiring process as fans debate their merits and put pressure on a university to hire their favorite before a rival program scoops them up.

Overtime, Ball on the 25

-- A second bowl game is set for Las Vegas this year, the Maaco Bowl to be played on December 22nd. The Mountain West champion or first choice will be pitted against the fourth or fifth selection from the Pac-10. This is a horrible arrangement for the Pac-10 but should shut up the Mountain West fairness brigade if they find themselves regularly losing this thing. (Via CollegeFootballTalk)

-- Florida State President T.K. Wetherell is never at a loss for words. This week he's done the unusual in criticizing the disciplinary skills of receiver coach Lawrence Dawsey. Wow. (Via The Wiz of Odds)

-- Georgia is bringing the hammer down on two players, suspending them for multiple games for team rule violations.

-- ESPN's Graham Watson is fighting the good fight, publishing in-depth post spring breakdowns of Sun Belt and Conference USA programs. Do dig into those if you have the time.

Lane Kiffin Kiss and Make Up Week originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 11 May 2009 14:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bowl Season '08: Central Michigan Drops Virtual Home Game

Brian Grummell — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EST

Filed under: Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Sun Belt, MAC, Bowl Games

You have to hand it to Howard Schnellenberger -- he may be really, really old but he also is really, really good at winning bowl games. We're talking historic good. In defeating Central Michigan to capture the bailout-free Motor City Bowl, the wannabe Captain Kangaroo pushed his bowl record to 6-0.

No, it didn't come with a national championship as happened with Miami in the 1983 Orange Bowl, a 31-30 classic over Nebraska. However, it did come with the sweet feeling of restoration as this moustachioed legend guided awkward sounding football novice Florida Atlantic to its second bowl victory in four years of D-I play. For reference, Notre Dame's second most recent bowl victory prior to this week's triumph over Hawaii was in January 1993.

Last night's victory came about with a little good luck and some questionable decisions by CMU.

An evenly played game turned FAU's way early in the third quarter. After taking the ball at their two yard line, FAU worked its way towards midfield. After a personal foul penalty negated what would have been a stalled third down play and likely punt, FAU quarterback Rusty Smith scrambled and found a streaking Chris Bonner deep downfield. Bonner was not the intended target, rather a sliding teammate but he was in the right place and the right time and the teammate helped create traffic that helped free Bonner for the final few yards of the score.

Central Michigan never really recovered after the shocking 98-yard drive. They did inch back at 17-13, but FAU then put together a coldly efficient drive early in the fourth quarter capped by an 18-yard pass to receiver Cortez Gent to go ahead 24-13.

From there they let CMU create their own undoing. On a too-long five-minute drive, CMU found itself inside the red zone and facing fourth down and about seven minutes to go. Ditching a gimme field goal that would have made it a one-score game at 24-16, the Chippewas failed to make a first down and wasted a great deal of time. Their defense managed to make a stop and a bad FAU punt gave them the ball inside midfield. This time they found the end zone and converted the two point try to get to within three at 24-21 with 3:09 left.

FAU woke up after that, recovering the onside kick and converting several first downs with their run game to kill the clock and game deep in CMU territory, never requiring a field goal attempt or punt. It was an impressive showing of late-game confidence and dominance against a desperate foe.

For his success, Schnellenberger was doused with a water bath and was briefly carried by his players.

Bowl Season '08: Central Michigan Drops Virtual Home Game originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Turkey Legs to Go: New Orleans Bowl Travel Guide, Southern Miss vs. Troy

Will Brinson — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:29:00 EST

Filed under: Southern Miss, Sun Belt, Troy, Conference USA, Campus, Fans, Bowl Games

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana), which pits Troy against Southern Miss.

Overview / Matchup: Southern Mississippi, Brett Favre's alma mater, will have a short drive to the game; Troy, which won the Sun Belt with a win over Arkansas State in the league's championship game, won't have much further to go from in its campus in southern Alabama. The two teams meet down in the Byaou on Christmas Eve.

Hotels: The stadium is close enough to the center of New Orleans that you could stay anywhere in the French Quarter or central downtown and only be a short cab ride away. The Omni Royal Orleans Hotel features a rooftop pool that's open year round. Even if you're not much of a swimmer, the views are worth a trip topside. The Hilton New Orleans Riverside is located just across from the Harrah's and the Riverwalk Festival Marketplace. It offers the best all around value for bowl travelers. Budget-minded fans should consider the Chateau Dupre French Quarter. The Chateau has nice accommodations for the price and is adjacent to the House of Blues.

Restaurants: Our only advice about visiting New Orleans... eat, eat and eat some more. New Orleans is one of the only cities in America with a truly unique blend of cultures and cuisines you can't find anywhere else in the world. Bon Ton Café serves great Creole food, specifically crab, crawfish, redfish and bread pudding.

Brennan's Restaurant is a New Orleans landmark. The trout Almandine and shrimp Sardou are particularly superb. For dessert the Bananas foster is a must. For lunch, try a muffuletta at Central Grocery. They're spectacular and a half sandwich is more than enough for one person.

Nightlife: As for drinking, if you want a little southern decadence enjoy a cool cocktail on the porch at Columns Hotel. If it's a rowdier time you're after, head straight for Pat O'Brien's. Supposedly the New Orleans landmark sells more rum than any other bar in the world. Other than that, you shouldn't have much trouble going out in NOLA -- simply head for Bourbon Street and indulge in the general disarray and public excitement.

Turkey Legs to Go: New Orleans Bowl Travel Guide, Southern Miss vs. Troy originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LSU Has More Than a Post-Loss Hangover Going With Troy

Chas Rich — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:54:00 EST

Filed under: LSU, Sun Belt, Troy, SEC

My colleague, Chris Burke, noted Penn State's struggles in the first half against Indiana coming off their loss to Iowa. If LSU was merely struggling with Troy after last week's gut-wrenching loss to Alabama it would be a similar hangover.

It is nothing like that. At halftime, Troy has a 24-3 lead over LSU in Tiger Stadium. This game was originally supposed to be played back in September but was postponed because of Hurricane Gustav. Apparently the Tigers weren't told of the new day because LSU has simply been a no-show for this game.

The Tiger offense has 63 yards and the defense has allowed Troy to throw for over 200 yards in the first half. The Trojans also intercepted a Jarrett Lee pass (who hasn't this season) and returned it for a touchdown.

LSU still has a whole 30 minutes to pull out a win. They have the far superior talent. The questions are: did they dig too big a hole and do they have those cliched intangibles to actually do it?

LSU Has More Than a Post-Loss Hangover Going With Troy originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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North Texas is Doing All the Wrong Drugs

John Radcliff — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: North Texas, Sun Belt, Police Blotter

With North Texas off to their worst start in school history, 0-8, one thing is very clear. No one on that team is taking steroids. However, the Mean Green (HA!) are taking drugs at what seems to be an alarming rate.

North Texas coach Todd Dodge has acknowledged that 15 of his players tested positive for "street drugs" this season...The 15 players have apparently not been suspended, but they have been placed on university probation for one year and forced to attend drug and alcohol counseling. The players will continue to be tested, and additional positive tests could cause a player to be placed in a rehabilitation program. The players would reportedly not be kicked out of school or off the team until a fourth violation, in accordance with university policy.

"The NCAA tests for performance enhancing drugs," Dodge said. "We test for performance 'de-hancing' drugs. The stuff that we tested for is not performance or life enhancing. ... As long as I am the head coach here, we will continue to test."

There is a serious lack of commitment at North Texas. They've adapted to the rock star lifestyle without, you know, actually being rock stars. It's real easy, guys. You've got it all backwards. You take the performance enhancing drugs now, impress people, THEN the mind altering drugs later. That way you can draw on the sympathy of the American public when you tell them you needed the illegal drugs to numb the pain from taking the performance enhancing drugs.

North Texas is Doing All the Wrong Drugs originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Expect Even More 1-AA Teams to Be Scheduled in the Future

Chas Rich — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:42:00 EST

Filed under: Florida Atlantic, Sun Belt, General CFB Insanity

The price will keep going up for guarantee games as the Sun Belt Conference starts pulling teams off the market.

Florida Atlantic received $900,000 to open the season at Texas, its biggest payday ever.

Florida International turned down an offer of $1.2 million to play at an SEC team next year.

And Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters told the conference's athletic directors not to even consider an offer to play a road game against a BCS conference team for less than $1 million.

"A million is cheap to those guys," Waters said. "They ought to be paying us $2 million."

Increasingly, the only way to get a couple home games with a 1-A patsy at an affordable price is to either cut a full conference deal like the Big Ten did with the MAC or teams are going to have to swallow hard and accept a 2-for-1 deal.

In an ideal world, this would encourage more teams to actually schedule more games against better teams and do home-and-homes. Sadly, the reality will be even more 1-AA opponents put on the schedule since they are cheaper.

Well at least UNC-Charlotte will join the patsy ranks. Perhaps sometime in 2013.

Expect Even More 1-AA Teams to Be Scheduled in the Future originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ark. State Is Putting Fans Out of Business

Tom Fornelli — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:21:00 EST

Filed under: Arkansas State, Sun Belt, General CFB Insanity

The Arkansas State Red Wolves are off to a pretty good start. In their season opener they upset Texas A&M at Kyle Field, and they routed Texas Southern last weekend to improve to 2-0 on the season. It's because of this that Red Wolves fever is breaking out all over the state of Arkansas (may not actually be true, could just be the clap), but that fever could put one man out of business.

Hoppy Hoffman, who has one of the greatest names ever, also owns a store called The Design Shoppe in Jonesboro Arkansas, and he was running a promotion this season. For every Red Wolves victory in a home game, Hoffman would take 1% off of the price for Arkansas State apparel for every point the team won by on the following Monday. If they win by 10 points, fans get 10% off.

Unfortunately for Hoffman, he had no idea that Arkansas State was going to be beating Texas Southern by 73 points on Saturday.

"It got crazy. We opened at 9:30. The people who probably got in line by 10 checked out about 1:30," he said. "When the door opened at 9:30, I know at least 200 people filed in. It was hilarious. ... It looked like they were waiting to buy rock concert tickets.

"I think I'm going to go to practice one day and have a chat with my team," Hoffman said. "Beat 'em, but don't run it up on me that bad any more."

Hoppy then asked the reporter for $20 so he could afford dinner and a cab ride home. No news on whether the reporter gave it to him.

Ark. State Is Putting Fans Out of Business originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oklahoma Says Player Kicked Off the Football Team Is Actually a Transfer

Chas Rich — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:16:00 EST

Filed under: Oklahoma, Sun Belt, Troy, Big 12, General CFB Insanity

When last we heard from rap impresario Josh Jarboe, he was being dismissed from the Oklahoma football team for having bad timing, questionable rapping skills, and a moron of a friend who posted the rap video on YouTube. Fine, Oklahoma felt they took a chance on the kid after an arrest for having a firearm. He showed more bad judgment in rapping about more firearms and using foul language, embarrassing the school and football program. Okay, time for everyone to move on.

Well, Jarboe did. He decided to go play for Troy in the Sun Belt Conference. Closer to home. Less attention. In a way, it makes sense as Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops in the announcement that Jarboe was dismissed from the football team said, "We hope he can move forward in a positive manner."

Probably not a bad idea. Of course, Oklahoma isn't making it that easy.

According to Troy coach Larry Blakeney, Trojans wide receiver Josh Jarboe currently is not eligible to play this season after transferring from Oklahoma earlier this week.

Because OU told Troy officials that they didn't refuse him admission for the fall, Blakeney said, Jarboe is now being treated as a transfer student by the NCAA, with this season being his sit-out year.

Nice. Technically the NCAA rules are the problem, and Troy is appealing to the NCAA. After all,the NCAA is so reasonable about these things.

Still Oklahoma doesn't seem too interested in making it easy for Jarboe to "move forward in a positive manner." They dismissed him from the team -- which means losing the scholarship -- but also says since he was admitted, he is a transfer.

Again, he was dismissed from the football team. He didn't quit the team. No scholarship. Left Oklahoma before the fall semester as expected. So, now he's a transfer. Kafka sends his regards.

Oklahoma Says Player Kicked Off the Football Team Is Actually a Transfer originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oklahoma The Latest to 'Suffer' the Slings and Arrows of Scheduling Woes

Charles Rich — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:06:00 EST

Filed under: Oklahoma Football, Big 12, NCAA FB Campus, Middle Tenn. State Football, Sun Belt

Poor Oklahoma. They had an unsigned agreement to have Middle Tennessee State come to Norman for a guarantee game, but instead MTSU took a better offer. The Blue Raiders got a home-and-home with Mississippi State -- the first time an SEC team will play MTSU on the road. Mississippi State agreed to this only because Central Michigan reneged on its visit to Starkville.

Since MTSU pulled out late, Oklahoma was forced to scramble and could only find 1-AA Tennessee-Chattanooga to fill the gap. Something that pissed off Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione when people then questioned why Oklahoma would play such a game.

Several factors go into making a schedule work, including corresponding dates, availability and the exorbitant amount of money BCS powers like OU are forced to pay I-A teams to play in Norman.

"Let's face it," Castiglione said. "There are some (I-A) schools that just don't want to play you regardless of the opportunity or the offer."

Yes, the opportunity to travel for a road beating with no reciprocal game. Of course, those same BCS teams helped create the market that they then decry. The BCS schools were happy to support the addition of the 12th game that increased the demand. They seek only guarantee home games whenever possible and only against teams they can handle. They happily poach opponents with the increased bids.
Ohio State, for example, will pay Navy $1.4 million for a single game in 2009.

Ohio State's Gene Smith calls the Navy payout a "special situation" and says he doesn't plan to pay that much at least until after 2014 because his schedule is set till then. The Navy payout came because another school pulled out of a contract with Ohio State, leaving the Buckeyes with a hole in their schedule. But Navy had to buy its way out of a contract in order to come. Ohio State's guarantee will in effect cover Navy's buyout as well.

In other words Ohio State got "jammed" by one school on their schedule, so they "jammed" another school to buy Navy.

It's hard to feel too much sympathy for Oklahoma, or any of the BCS schools that "have" to pay huge money for the guarantee games. It's the one time the non-BCS teams actually have any leverage and a position of strength over the BCS schools. Too many of the BCS schools want the extra home games rather than schedule more home-and-home series or even a few two-for-one series. Plus, if the BCS schools still weren't turning a profit on the guarantee games, they wouldn't keep paying the rising prices.

Oklahoma The Latest to 'Suffer' the Slings and Arrows of Scheduling Woes originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alabama Just Lost To A Nobody

Brian Grummell — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:53:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama Football, SEC, The Word, LA Monroe Football, Sun Belt

And nobody saw it.

Louisiana Monroe 21 - Alabama 14

Say what ? !

I didn't see it, so I'll leave it to Tide fans to tell us what happened. But as I scroll down the box score I see an Alabama tailback with nearly 100 rushing yards (not bad). I see John Parker Wilson with almost 70% completions (not bad). I see a ULM tailback with 33 carries netting only 2.8 yards/carry.

Typical SEC blowout, right? Apparently not.

It took a while, but one of those cupcakes finally caught up to an SEC team, and boy what a team - Alabama! The Tide are one of the three to five biggest names throughout college football history. And they lost to what amounts to a directional school. I mean, there are probably plenty of people in Louisiana who have no idea where Monroe is, and yet their football program took down mighty Alabama.

Well done.

Alabama Just Lost To A Nobody originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USF Gets Past the Letdown

Charles Rich — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:38:00 EST

Filed under: Big East, Florida Atlantic Football, South Florida Football, Sun Belt

It was a lot closer than even the 35-23 score, but USF fought off a game Florida Atlantic team on the road. This was clearly a trap/letdown game for South Florida and it showed as the Bulls committed 4 turnovers in the game. Looking sloppy and a bit distracted for most of the game.

FAU's defense was solid against the pass. Playing solid fundamentals and not allowing the USF receivers much in the way of yards after the catch. It rendered the Bulls one-dimensional. The problem was that USF likes being one-dimensional on offense when that dimension is running the ball.

Mike Ford had been the leading rusher going into the game, but his struggles in holding onto the ball led to him not playing this game. Instead the former walk-on and last year's starter, Ben Williams tore through the Owls to the tune of 185 yards on 25 carries with 4 touchdowns. QB Matt Grothe had only 3 less yards running than passing (120 versus 123) to pile over 300 rushing yards in the game.

USF Gets Past the Letdown originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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