NCAAF: BCS Headed for 4-Team Playoff System
By Ryan Hellmich
Over the past month or so, some of the hottest news on the street corners all around the nation has been that BCS officials met in Florida to discuss the future of college football and the most frustrating system in all of sports, the BCS. After all meetings were finished, it seems as though these officials who may have helped castrate college football leaving rankings up to a computer, may just be making a giant step forward in fixing college football by seeming to agree to implement a 4-team playoff system as early as the 2014 season.
One of the remaining issues until this gets passed is the issue of semifinal and final game sites. Right now the old geezers who run the BCS are looking into rotating the four major bowl games (Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, and Rose Bowl) as the holders of the playoff games, similar to how they rotate the BCS National Championship game between venues.
This is all fun and dandy, but that still puts too much power in the hands of the computer and leaves out a whole boat load of teams that could really make the college football playoffs exciting. I mean, I am not a huge fan of Boise State and that ugly smurf-turf they play on, but I do feel bad for them when they get shafted from a chance to play in the national championship game because they lose one game and drop like 8 spots in the rankings.
Remember when those Utah Utes ran train on Alabama not so many years ago? We may never get to see something like that again, even with this 4-team playoff system, or as they originally called it, the plus-one system. Here is what I think should happen:
With all these teams changing conferences, I believe the NCAA should just consolidate all the teams into 8 super conferences and have a 16 team playoff. I feel that instead of having a conference championship game, you have the top two teams from each conference (the two that would naturally play in their respective championship game), and then place them into the 16-team bracket. Or hell, just have them play the championship game, and then make it an 8-team playoff. That way, the teams control their own destiny by just winning, rather than having a computer compare a bunch of unnecessary numbers like strength of schedule or whatever.
As for the major bowl venues, they can be used as the sites of the playoff games. Now I'm just spitballing here, but maybe use the same rotation that they are currently using to select the championship game site, and the use the other three major bowl sites for the other rounds of the playoffs. Or maybe the BCS people select a new site for the championship game, like the Dallas Cowboys Mega-Dome. Either way, I do not really care as long as they get to a 16-team playoff system because I guarantee the college football playoffs would become the most exciting event in sports.
Let me leave you with one more thing. Why couldn't this have been done last year? Because I just have a feeling that Lane "I Look Like I Have To Poop Everytime I Talk" Kiffin is going to somehow do something stupid to cost USC a loss this upcoming season and knock them out of BCS title game contention.
NCAAF: Bobby Petrino Firing-Bad Move for the Arkansas Razorbacks?
By Mele Mosqueda
Was the firing of Bobby Petrino by the University of Arkansas a wise move to make? In my opinion, I would say not. Yes, what he did was wrong. It was wrong to continue an inappropriate relationship with his mistress and hired-aide (Bobby’s recruiting development-coordinator) Jessica Dorrell, whom his wife knew of and Petrino had promised to discontinue.
Also, he failed to disclose the relationship (and her wrongful hiring) to athletic director Jeff Long. Petrino attempted to hide the circumstances of her hiring and the accident from the authorities and the school, in which himself and Dorrell were involved in.
However, you now have a team that was on the brink of being at least a game away of possibly playing in the National Championship last year and now currently a favorite to make a legitimate run this year—in limbo. The football program’s future is now up in the air with no legitimate Head Coach in position.
I can honestly say that even though Bobby Petrino was not an honest man and an individual of bad character, but he did win games. That is the reason why he was hired at the University of Arkansas. It was to win games and take the program to the next level—a National Championship. Don’t get me wrong, I am not an advocate of the man himself and what he stands for through his actions. However, they did hire him with the known bad history he had.
One of which he abandoned a team (2007 Atlanta Falcons) towards the end of the season with a four-sentence laminated note (left in each player’s locker). The university knew what they were getting into and that is their own fault. As a result, they put themselves in this current situation, which has brought a plethora of bad attention through the circumstances of Coach Petrino and now a vacant head coach position.
This has almost immediately hurt Arkansas in the next couple of years to come. You have lost your leader of the team and the face of the football program. A coach that wins is the reason why 5-star recruits commit to schools like Arkansas. They now have lost potential star players and have tremendously affected the current players in the program. I cannot see a run at the National Championship this year or in the next years to come. They should have kept him and suspended him at least 5-6 games and been able to salvage and save this season and figure out a better fix head coach for them.
Athletic director Jeff Long has made an honorable statement with the firing of Bobby Petrino and through it has backed what himself and what the school stands for. However, I just cannot agree with the firing this late in the year and with a potential Conference Championship and National Championship in the balance.
Honestly, all that matters in sports is wins. Players want to play for coaches and programs that win and could care less of what type of person they play for as long as they can fulfill their intentions of committing to a program like Arkansas Football.
NCAAF: A VERY Pre-Season AP Top 25
By Ryan Hellmich
It’s the middle of April, and do you know what that means? It means its time to start analyzing the preseason rankings for the upcoming college football season. Yep. Until the NFL Draft at the end of April, all people talk about during the month of April is college football preseason rankings. Okay maybe not. But I do. Why? Because I am just filled with excitement. Like one of those dogs who goes absolutely nuts when their owners come home from Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever it is we are occupying now. And why am I so excited? Take a look at the VERY Pre-season rankings by ESPN:
1. USC Trojans
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. LSU Tigers
4. Oklahoma Sooners
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Oregon Duckies
7. West Virginia Mountaineers
8. Florida State Seminoles
9. Michigan State Spartans
10. South Carolina Gamecocks
11. Arkansas Razorbacks
12. Kansas State Wildcats
13. Stanford Cardinal
14. Michigan Wolverines
15. TCU Horned Frogs
16. Ohio State Buckeyes
17. Nebraska Cornhuskers
18. Wisconsin Badgers
19. Oklahoma State Cowboys
20. Virginia Tech Hokies
21. Boise State Mustangs
22. Texas Longhorns
23. Clemson Tigers
24. Notre Dame Alter Boys
25. Florida Gators
As you can see, my boys, the USC Trojans, are number one baby! We goin’ to the ship! We goin’ to the ship! Nothing but scrubs behind the Trojans. And I don’t want no scrubs passing the Trojans. (Not a TLC reference). But in all seriousness, this year is going to be crazy and this list is probably going to change a bazillion more times before the start of the actual season. This ranking is pretty pointless and basically reflects the decisions of the players who are leaving for the NFL or staying in college to play some more pigskin. Because the Trojans have just about everyone returning and are super young, they are ranked numero uno at the moment. In case you don’t speak Spanish, that means number one.
As for the other teams, I would leave Alabama at two but switch LSU and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma has much less to replace on defense and have a much more powerful offense returning with QB Landry Jones sticking around.
Filling out the rest of the top ten, I would drop the Duckies from Oregon a bit more to number 8 because if they do not find a decent quarterback to look to the sideline at large pictures being held up by the team physicist, then their spread offense is in trouble. With their defense not being able to stop anyone for the past couple years, the offense is really all they got. So moving up to replace them is West Virginia and the always over-hyped Seminoles. Behind the Oregon Ducks are the Michigan State Spartans (which is a major shock with the loss of QB Kirk Cousins and his top 4 receivers), and the South Carolina Gamecocks which is also a shock because they lost I believe 4 coaches from this past season in addition to all their big play players on the both the offensive and defensive side.
After the top ten, I don’t really care, but I would appreciate it if the Notre Dame Fighting Leprechauns would just drop off the list because they showed no improvement last year. They also lost their best player in receiver Michael Floyd, and have a very difficult schedule next year. Oh and I almost forgot. They still don’t have a solid quarterback. The curse of Brady Quinn continues.
Teams that could possibly move up as the season gets closer and closer:
Kansas State and Michigan Wolverines
Teams that could possibly drop as the season gets closer and closer:
Arkansas and Michigan State
Teams that could possibly make the list later:
Miami Hurricanes and Auburn Tigers
NCAAF: 2001 Miami Hurricanes Best College Football Team of All Time
By Ryan Hellmich
The debate over the best college teams of all time has been going on for very long time. But believe it or not, there is in fact a clear-cut winner: the 2001 Miami Hurricanes.
Sure there were other great teams to win the national championship (teams that didn’t win shouldn’t even be brought up in the argument) like the ’95 Cornhuskers, ’99 Seminoles, ’72 Trojans, and ’56 Sooners but none, in my opinion, would beat the 2001 Canes. They were just unstoppable.
The 2001 Hurricanes had the number one defense, offense, and special teams in the country. I think the stats for defense were close to only allowing 9 PPG and averaging something like 42 PPG on offense. If you are good at math (or if you are not just use a calculator or marbles or something) you can figure out that their average margin of victory was 33 PPG. They just simply blew teams out. Except for the last game of the season when they narrowly beat Virginia Tech 26-24.
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Now for some of the more knowledgeable people out there, you may argue, “Oh well if you are going off stats, the ’95 Cornhuskers averaged more points per game and a greater margin of victory.” Quoting the great Brennan Huff, all I have to say is, “Shut your mouth. Sh-sh-shut your mouth…you are just coming off stupid.” Let me tell you why. Can you tell me how many players from ’95 Nebraska team got drafted in the 1st round? I’ll give you a hint: it’s the same number for how many times I’ve watched the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Two...and yes, I do wish that number were lower for both.
As for the 2001 Canes, they had 11 players from that team drafted in the 1st round. Game. Set. Match. You cannot compete with that. Like how can you beat that? You can’t. Mainly because I already said game, set, match.
But sticking with the Miami Hurricanes, college football needs the Hurricanes to be great again. Although I hate to admit it, college football is always more exciting when the Notre Dame Catholic School Girls and Miami Hurricanes have national contending teams. When those two teams are good, college football just has a different atmosphere. Maybe it is because those two teams are probably the top two teams to root against. If not that, then they are definitely in the top 3. Having two teams that people like to root against doing well, just adds liquor to the jungle juice…and we all know what happens when that happens. People get all antsy in their pantsy, which just adds to the excitement of every weekend in college football.
However, with Notre Dame seemingly going nowhere and the Miami Hurricanes about to be hit with a crazy penalty for that munchkin Nevin Shapiro, it seems that those days are not going to be here anytime soon.
PS- I want John Gruden to coach the University of Miami and Lou Holtz to come back from the dead and coach Notre Dame.
PPS- Yes I know he is not dead, but every time he goes off on a little rant on College Football Final, you know his heart could go at any minute.
NCAAF: Sanctions, a Joke?
By Mele Mosqueda
I think so. Ever since the USC (Trojans) got hammered by the NCAA back in the 2010 summer, it seems as though every sanction the NCAA has declared against big time programs has lost its severity. We now see violations popping up left and right and everything else being downplayed.
When the “Bush” Scandal broke out, everyone was quick to jump on USC for running a dirty program. Most people thought that Reggie Bush and his family should get the worst of all the punishments and not USC. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
I will always keep to my view in that USC should never have been punished to the severity that they were. The NCAA made this case, and they took no false step in making sure they could make it look like they were running a “tight ship”. However, ever since, each violation and the sanctions the NCAA has put on each program have been a joke.
You could first see it with the two most monumental violations (this past summer) that we have seen since SMU received the death penalty. On one hand, we had Coach Jim Tressel and his knowledge about how his players had taken part in improper player sales. This included memorabilia, players receiving payment by a booster for attending a charity event, and others for hours they received payment in which they did not work for.
Coach Tressel did not report any of this knowledge and allowed ineligible players to participate during the 2010 season.
This unethical conduct seen in Tressel and the program led to failure to fully monitor their boosters.
This only landed the program with the stripping of 4 more football scholarships during the next three seasons (in addition to the forfeiture of 5 scholarships – 82 total) and a total of three years probation.
In addition, Coach Tressel was handed the “five-year show-cause penalty”, which is handed out to serious offenders and consists of him having to sit out the first 5 games and any possible post-season games in his next appearance at the NCAA level.
The second involved the Miami Hurricanes and 12 of its players. These players accepted extra benefits from a former booster named Nevin Shapiro. The sanctions ranked from missing one to six games; in addition to having to repay restitution. The biggest violator of the group was Olivier Vernon (DL), who has to sit out those six games.
The benefits these players received varied from recruiting gifts (hotel suites, drinks ,and cover charges at nightclubs), to other players who received some of the same gifts during their play at Miami like athletic equipment and meals, which Shapiro paid for.
Shapiro claimed to have given an estimate $2 million in benefits to more than 100 players (football and basketball) throughout 2002-2010. This was the biggest scandal in college football since The Death Penalty. At the time of this scandals height, the media during the investigation made it seem as though the U was close to receiving it. I was almost sure of it as well and a multitude of others were at the time. I was shocked to hear the final verdict placed upon the program.
I look at all of this as a joke. Why do we even have NCAA investigations on whether programs are violating rules if they cannot punish the real violators? Or how about the programs who commit the severest of violations?
In USC’s case, you had a program allegedly not having any knowledge of the benefits Reggie Bush received . USC was hit with the harshest of sanctions and made a tremendous example of the program.
However, OSU and The U literally got a slap on the wrist. The whole system is a joke. There are a multitude of programs that are involved and have knowledge of what is going on and they are never caught; and if they are, they receive the smallest of punishments—as can be seen with Oregon. However, I can fully agree with the Georgia-Tech punishment (loss of 2009 ACC Championship and its’ return, $100,000 fine and 4 year probation) for allowing ineligible Demaryius Thomas to play. This is first time we actually saw a proper punishment being handed out, but G-Tech is not a big time program.
Do we really need to see another SMU (big programs) type of scandal to try to put an end to this array of inconsistencies in the NCAA? They need to fix their joke of a governing-body and put a real effort in handing out the proper punishments and not hand out petty ones to the biggest violators.
NCAAF: USC Trojans Head Coach Lane Kiffin-It’s a Love/Hate Thing.
By Ryan Hellmich
My relationship with Lane Kiffin (I feel like we have a relationship because of the emotional rollercoaster I have had with him these past couple of years) is one of the most stressful/exciting/aggravating/cheerful/ridiculously-stupid/most fun things I have ever been a part of.
Starting back in 2005 when he took over the reins of offensive coordinator for USC for my boy Norm Chow, I thought he was an absolute genius. Just letting Matt “Mother Effin Dancing Boy” Leinhart toss balls up to Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett all day long, and letting my favorite running back tandem in college football history Reggie Bush-Kardashian and LenDale “Tequila Diet” White run train on every defense they faced. Pure genius.
Then you got “Big Balls” Pete Carroll controlling the defense. That combination was unbeatable. Demolishing everyone in the 2004-2005 season, including an absolute shellacking of Oklahoma in the 2005 Orange Bowl. Then some crazy athletic, not very intelligent, horrible throwing motion Vince Young person decided to go H.A.M. on us in 2006 Rose Bowl while Reggie Bush just decided to suck on his Heisman Trophy for most of the game. Oh and USC still should have won if they would have gotten that 4th and 2 late in the fourth quarter, but LenDale decided to only get 1.5 yards instead of 2.
But I digress, let’s get back to Lane. I loved him while he was at USC until John David “I cannot throw a pass to anyone but the other team” Booty took over at quarterback. I feel bad, but as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, John “hates his receivers” Booty should have been able to lead that team to glory. So, at this point in our relationship, the Love/Hate scale was at about 45/55.
The worst thing that Lane Kiffin could have done happened in 2007. He became the head coach for the most disgusting team in the NFL. The Oakland “Owned by a Zombie” Raiders. (Too soon to make fun of Al Davis? Eh, whatever.) As soon as that happened I just despised him. Love/Hate scale dropped to an all-time low of 10/90. Just couldn’t stand the look of the man.
Fast-forward to the end of 2008. Lane Kiffin became the new head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers and led them to a 7-6 record. After leaving the Raiders and sticking it to The Man (Al Davis), my Love/Hate scale changed slightly to about 20/80. (I know this scale is a bit of a joke, but it really helps illustrate the type of relationship we have and if you have a girlfriend or are married, you know what I am talking about)
When Lane Kiffin came back to USC, I was a little disappointed. Not because he came back but because he was not John Gruden, Jeff Fisher, Jack Del Rio, or some of the other, more qualified people being mentioned to take over the USC head coaching job. But Lane got it and my love and respect (mainly respect) returned because he had come back to his favorite school obviously (he might have even said that at some point, or I had a messed up dream). His first season was a bit of a disappointment. Kiffin led the Trojans to an 8-5 record with a team that should have easily gone 10-3. Don’t even get me started on that loss to Notre Dame, I was fuming!
But then in the offseason he used some form of witchcraft or something because there was no way USC should have landed the #4 recruiting class. Then again he does have the best recruiter in the nation in Ed Orgeron. The dude is a genius. This past year Lane Kiffin blew me away except I still cannot stand that stupid extra point/2-point conversion/fumblerooski nonsense we do after every touchdown we score. Like seriously Lane? Just put in our kicker and let him do his thing.
Going into this season, I feel this is the season where I decided whether I will love or hate Lane Kiffin. It was one or the other. Pure hate or pure love. He has the best offense coming back this season since the Leinhart and Bush days. If he messes this whole thing up, you can probably find me sometime in December in a bathtub filled with my own tears just throwing darts at a picture of Lane Kiffin. Case in point, National Championship or bust.
NCAAF: Big Hits Further Enforced in College Football?
By Mele Mosqueda
This past season in the NFL we saw changes in the rules regarding which hits are deemed clean or dirty. James Harrison, Ndamukong Suh, and Brandon Meriweather suffered the most during the 2011 football season. This was due to hits being classified as violations by the League (with the intent to harm an opposing player). Each one has been fined a huge chunk of change from a multitude of hits throughout the year.
Within a year and a half into his professional career, Suh had been fined a total of $42,500 (for only three “violations”) and was the poster boy of illegal hits, those of which made him the second-overall pick of the 2010 Draft. This is now the norm in the NFL and players are being punished for playing the game the way they have (and have been praised for) since they first put on a pair of pads and strapped a helmet.
Not many changes have been made in college football, other than a player “must see what he hits”. And even then, sometimes players are called for unsportsmanlike conduct due to making contact with their facemask on an opposing player’s helmet, or even a simple bad call from a ref. However, the big hits are never reviewed after games by the NCAA (as they are in the NFL) and players are not punished further than by a flag during the game. Shouldn’t a further stand be made by the NFL if they want to put a stop to these “hits”? You can’t expect a guy who has played a specific way for most of their life to change the way they hit. Everyone plays this game a hundred miles per hour and with so much ferocity that will hopefully earn them one day a professional contract. Thinking during a play is a huge No-No. As a football player you are taught to react and (as a defensive player) to stop the guy with the ball at all costs; no matter if it is with a hit that is deemed illegal (in the League) or with a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct in collegiate football. Players and coaches live and die with the thought of that perfect hit you can get in a game.
From personal experience, I have never heard a coach ever tell me to watch or alter the way I hit or tackle. I have only been told to make big plays and big plays relate to either interceptions or a huge hit as a defensive back. I can honestly say that I have loved laying the wood and I have played each play for those big hits. I have pride in doing so and this is what is seen in all levels of football from high school to the pros.
This issue is more evident now with the current issue regarding bounties in the NFL. I’m not saying that this has just risen suddenly, but has existed for years. In ESPN’s 30 for 30: The U, they chronicle how they had bounties for big hits or big plays. This was big for players back in the day in college and even more now when the NCAA is faulty. No one should be surprised at the presence of these rewards for big hits. If anything, they still exist at the big schools in Division-1 football and even at the high school level where some boosters (and coaches) will do anything to win.
If the NFL wants to put a stop to this mess that is linked together, they must converge with the NCAA to put a stop to this. Should the NCAA start suspending players for a certain amount of games, football will change and the sport we grew up loving to play and watch will evidently die; however, they must practice what they preach and not put players who are big hitters in college and even down to the high school ranks on a pedestal. Players should be taught to play the game the way the NFL “wants” it to be played and not let their game and livelihood suffer down the road when the average player is only in the league a couple of years and usually ends up bankrupt.
NCAAF: Andrew Luck versus Robert Griffin III, QB Controversy?
By Sammy Cemo
The two most hyped players coming out of this years NFL Draft are Quarterbacks Andrew Luck of Stanford and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III. As of now, it is pretty clear that Luck will be the first overall pick in this year’s draft, but should there be any controversy with respect to RG3? The attention that RG3 has been getting since the combine has
been somewhat ridiculous and in my opinion undeserved.
Do not get me wrong; I am a huge Griffin III fan. As a fellow athlete who has torn an ACL, the athleticism he has shown post surgery is unheard of and was really an inspiration for my recovery. But when it comes to judging quarterbacks, athleticism should not have much to any influence on the capability of the position. Tom Brady, 3-time Superbowl champ, ran a 5.28 40-yard dash in 2000 at the combine. Eli Manning, 2-time Superbowl champ, ran a .90.
Is RG3’s 40-yard dash time of 4.41 really that impressive? When I breakdown Andrew Luck and RG3 as college quarterbacks and as future NFL qb’s, the upper hand obviously goes to Luck. He ran a pro-style offense at Stanford where he excelled at taking snaps under center. Luck has the physical characteristics of a NFL quarterback at 6’4’’ and 235 lbs, and as much as I feel it doesn’t matter, he ran a 4.67 40. We hear it all the time in respect to college quarterbacks, is he NFL ready? In my years of following college football I do not think I have seen a college qb more NFL ready than Andrew Luck. I believe he has the ability to win games immediately in the NFL because of the experience he gained from Stanford.
RG3 on the other hand played in a spread offense against
Big 12 defenses which I feel are some of the worst defenses in college football. He is 6’2’’ and apparently 220 lbs soaking wet. Yes he can run, but can we compare his scrambling ability in college against undersized linebackers and d-lineman to the freaks he is going to have
to get outside the hash marks against in the NFL? He throws a pretty football but can he hit a consistent fifteen-yard post off a 3-step drop? Unlike Luck, RG3’s success in college will not directly relate to his success as a pro.
As a quarterback connoisseur, I refuse to believe there is any controversy or debate between who is and who will be the best quarterback out of this year’s college class. Troy Smith won the Heisman trophy in 2006 on an Ohio State team that was more pro-style and much better than Baylor. Just look at the success he has had. Besides the couple starts Smith had with the 49ers in 2010, he has done nothing in the NFL. I am not saying RG3 will be a bust in the NFL and never amount to anything, but when comparing Luck to Griffin III, there should be absolutely no comparison. Luck was an amazing quarterback at Stanford and will be a star in the NFL. RG3 was one of the most fun qbs to watch during his college career but will need to improve drastically if he wants to be a consistent starter in the NFL.
NCAAF: Recruiting Scandals All Over the Place…Big Disgrace?
By Ryan Hellmich
Recruiting and other rule violations seem to be the main focus for the NCAA over the past couple of years, and being a USC fan, I know a thing or two about breaking some rules. Reggie Bush and “Big Balls” Pete Carroll pretty much got the ball rolling again for NCAA officials to look into football program violations. Michigan got in trouble for practicing too long or using more than the maximum number of practice hours in a week. Sorry for trying to get better? North Carolina and Miami are some of the others who were recently hit with violations, and I will get into detail about their cases in a bit. However, if there was a competition for “The Biggest Cheater” the crown would, without a doubt, go to SMU and their boosters. No question about it. Paying ridiculous amounts of money to land recruits like Erik Dickerson, Craig James, and many others. I guess it is true that everything is bigger in Texas, even cheaters. In the end, they got hit with the “death penalty” or a complete cancellation of the football program for the 1987 season, and SMU has never been the same.
NCAA football has been overshadowed with rules and regulations violations. Take the Reggie Bush situation for starters. Some of the more recent situations that caught the attention of the NCAA include the University of Miami, North Carolina Tarheels, and the Oregon Duckies.
Miami Hurricanes: This may be the biggest recruiting violation since the SMU Mustangs set records with their over-the-top payments to boosters and players. The only thing that makes me mad about this situation (besides the fact that the Miami Hurricanes from 2001-2003 really got me interested in college football) is the fact that the guy who was making the payments, snitched on the program. The idiot’s name is Nevin Shapiro.
This unathletic, munchkin of a man (I think he is like 5’ 2”) reported that he provided 72 players with money, jewelry, cars, yacht trips, nightclub outings, and even prostitutes. All of this was supposedly known by coaches and members of the athletic department. If all of this is true, even if only half of it is true, I would not be surprised if the NCAA made the Miami Hurricanes the second program to be given the “death penalty”. But then again, like every college football analyst says, college football is always better when the Miami Hurricanes are a force in college football. But if it does happen and the people of the NCAA decide to be the nincompoops that they are, Ray Lewis will probably get away with murder one more time.
North Carolina Tarheels: Chapel Hill was recently given a very soft penalty of a 1-year postseason ban by the NCAA for their violations of the rules and regulations. UNC was found guilty of receiving improper benefits including cash benefits, paid trips by a former player (deemed an agent by the NCAA), and academic fraud. A tutor at the university, who failed to cooperate with the NCAA, wrote papers for the players and provided free tutoring for some players. After watching Blue Mountain State, I always assumed that the whole free tutoring and paper writing thing was a natural thing but I guess not. And if the whole free tutoring thing is true then you may as well just write up a report for every single college athletic program in the nation. Aside from the 1-year bowl ban, some players were decided to be ineligible for a complete season, including 1st round draft pick Robert Quinn. The one thing that really busts my balls about this scandal is how do they only get a 1-year bowl ban? I mean USC got a 2-year ban for a player and his family receiving benefits from an outside source. At UNC, school faculty members were providing the benefits. This just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Oregon Duckies: This is the most recent scandal to hit the news in regards to NCAA rules and regulations. The Duckies are accused of making payments to outside recruiting services. This violation, in my opinion, can result in a very heavy penalty. This Houston-based recruiting service that brought attention to the NCAA is responsible for recruiting Heisman Trophy finalist LaMichael James. Oregon was reportedly paying the recruiting service $25,000 annually for the past 4 years, along with two other scouting services but lied about what the money was really used for. The NCAA investigation has decided that the Oregon Duckies had exceeded the amount of coaches allowed for recruiting. In my opinion, I would not be surprised if the NCAA took away a large amount of scholarships in the future.
If the NCAA really wants to eliminate all the cheating going on, then the NCAA needs to change some of its rules to help calm the storm of recruiting violations. I can guarantee that every major football program in the nation is violating some rule, especially when a current violation of the rules is players receiving bagels and cream cheese from coaches during team meals. Not kidding. Look it up. Players are allowed to receive parts of a meal aka bagels, but not the cream cheese, jelly, etc. to complete the meal. Easy solution: just pay the players. They bring in ginormous amounts of money for their respective schools. The least the NCAA and the schools can do is reward the players for their services. Being a college athlete myself (although not to the extent of a D1 football player), I know how much time you have to put in every week. And giving these kids a small amount of money each month (maybe $500 a month) obviously isn’t enough, especially when they have to pay nerds to do their homework and take tests for them.
PS – NCAA making big moves! I guess they are eliminating the no cream cheese rule in 2012-I guess that’s a start?
NCAAF: All-Hail the SEC
By Sammy Cemo
As was proved by last years National Championship Game, the SEC breads football. For the first time in the BCS thirteen-year history, two schools from the same conference played each other in the National Championship. Unfortunately for everyone else, SEC football is only getting better and better while the competition seems stagnate.
With the addition of Mizzou and Texas A&M, things are only going to get more competitive and better for the SEC. The addition of these two former Big 12 schools will increase recruiting possibilities and in turn can affect the quality of other conferences recruits. Specifically with Texas A&M, Texas born recruits now have the opportunity to play for an SEC school and stay in their home state. Recruits that were usually a lock for University of Texas now have options and the advantages of the SEC are obvious and persuasive. The benefits of choosing a SEC school for a recruit are incomparable to any other conference. Not only has a SEC school won eight of the thirteen BCS title games; they have won the last six. In the 2011 NFL Draft, the SEC produced ten first round draft picks, and has had at least five players in the top twenty for five straight years now. The SEC has the richest National television contract in the country, and every year SEC schools are the most televised and visible conference. How could a recruit turn down an SEC school?
The SEC this season is going to be ridiculous. As college football folk, we love talking about the necessity of a playoff system to replace the BCS. I strongly believe if there was a 4-team playoff that many have been pleading for this season, the SEC would represent at least three, maybe all four teams. Besides USC, possibly Oregon, and maybe an Oklahoma or Florida State, I do not see any school outside the SEC beating the top five schools in the SEC. That is how good the SEC is going to be this year, and most likely for many years to come.
LSU and Alabama are hands down my number 1 and 2 ranked teams going into the season. I cannot decide who is my unanimous number 1 because they both are going to be unstoppable this year. Let’s just leave it at they are the two best teams in college football.
I really like Aaron Murray as the quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs, and as much of a disappointment they have been for so long, they are just too athletic to not make a splash this season. Everyone’s favorite pigs, The Razorbacks of Arkansas University, are another school that has the potential and ability to be in the top 5 by the end of the season. They have so many athletes on offense from Knile Davis to Cobi Hamilton. QB Tyler Wilson should have no problem moving the chains.
Finally, and this is going to be a real wildcard, I think the Florida Gators will finally have a season worth talking about and crack that top 10 by the end of the season. The Gator’s defense has the potential to be one of the best defenses of all time. They return 10 of 11 starters from last years 8th ranked D, and have added an insane amount of depth. They are too fast and too big to run the ball on, and their DB’s are freaks so good luck passing, that is if you can get a decent ball off before their pressure gets you. If their offense can produce anything this season, they will win ball games and regain the dominance from four years ago. But watch out for South Carolina and Missouri as well. Both teams could be better than Florida if the Gators can’t produce any points.
I think my overall thesis for my message today is the SEC is on a completely separate level than any other college football conference. Every conference game is going to be a battle and every out-of-conference game will most likely be a blowout. The SEC is college football, and I would not be surprised, and neither should you, if we see another all SEC National championship game come 2013.