2012 College Football Offseason - Only two more weeks left of this thread!

[Logan]

Sad news.

Brett McMurphy ‏@McMurphyCBS

West Virginia announces former football coach Bill Stewart has died this afternoon from an apparent heart attack

[Atocep]

[Swaggs]

Really sad news.

Had a high school-aged son still at home, too.

[ISiddiqui]

[miami_fan]

Through an anonymous donation, Stanford has ensured that former quarterback Andrew Luck's legacy will live on at the university by endowing Luck's name to the offensive coordinator position.

The position will now be formally known as the Andrew Luck Director of Offense.

"It is a huge tribute," Luck said in a statement issued by Stanford. "To have anything endowed in my name is a complete honor. I feel very fortunate to have come to Stanford, and I have always enjoyed representing the university. The offensive coordinators I've had here helped me not only in football, but also to grow so much as a person. To be a part of that leadership and position is a very proud legacy for me."

Pep Hamilton is Stanford's offensive coordinator. He replaced David Shaw, who was named coach following Jim Harbaugh's departure to the NFL.

"It is a tremendous honor to hold this position and to be associated with an outstanding young man like Andrew Luck, who means so much to Stanford football and the Stanford community," Hamilton said. "I will do everything in my power to proudly continue the tradition of creative and exciting offensive football at Stanford."

Most head coaching positions at private schools are endowed. For example, at Stanford, Shaw's position is endowed and is known as the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. Also, all 85 Stanford football scholarships are endowed.

Luck, the No. 1 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts in last month's NFL draft, helped turn around a Stanford program that had recorded seven straight losing seasons before he took over the offense in 2009. He quarterbacked the Cardinal to a 31-7 record in his 38 career starts, missing only the 2009 Sun Bowl due to injury. He also helped the Cardinal to a 24-5 conference record and an 8-3 mark against Top 25 opponents.

Luck has twice been runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and twice been named the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Year. As a fourth-year junior, Luck earned Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year honors, the Maxwell Trophy as the nation's top player and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Trophy. As a third-year sophomore, he received the Archie Griffin Award as college football's Most Valuable Player and was named the Orange Bowl MVP.

"I am very pleased that Andrew Luck's name will be perpetually tied to the Director of Offense position at Stanford," said Shaw. "Because of his great play on the field, his intellect and his great relationships with the coaching staff, Andrew allowed us to do so much on offense the last three years at Stanford. He set the bar high for himself, for every quarterback who comes to Stanford, and for our performance on offense."

So any ideas who the anonymous donor was and are they saying that Luck was the OC while he was there?

[CU Tiger]

There is smoke in Clemson.
BOT meeting held last night, that no one will talk about what was discussed. SO much so that my friend texted me and said, "dont call. I cant. not until 6/1. Remember though where TDP was before he came here"

No clue what to make of that.
But TDP=Terry Don Phillips - the AD at Clemson and former AD at OkSt.

[Ksyrup]

I'd feel more confident this was going to happen from the FSU PoV if I had any confidence that the AD wasn't in over his head. Or the President, for that matter. Not much leadership there. But maybe these issues are so obvious that it doesn't matter and gets done.

[CU Tiger]

FWIW Id say FSU's odds of playing in a football conference other than the ACC in 2014 is 80+% from what I'm hearing.

Id put Clemson's closer to 65-70%

[gstelmack]

I still say that if FSU hadn't let Bobby Bowden hang on too long and take the program down a step, the ACC would be a much hotter football property and they'd have the TV contract they all seem to wanted.

Or if Clemson hadn't lost key games every time they looked on the verge of breaking into the upper echelon.

Or if Miami's program hadn't decided to take a nosedive.

But mostly I love FSU whining about stuff that they had a hand in preventing. I still don't see how moving over to be second-fiddle to Texas is any better than what they have now in the ACC.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I still say that if FSU hadn't let Bobby Bowden hang on too long and take the program down a step, the ACC would be a much hotter football property and they'd have the TV contract they all seem to wanted.

Or if Clemson hadn't lost key games every time they looked on the verge of breaking into the upper echelon.

Or if Miami's program hadn't decided to take a nosedive.

But mostly I love FSU whining about stuff that they had a hand in preventing. I still don't see how moving over to be second-fiddle to Texas is any better than what they have now in the ACC.

At least Texas has a fiddle.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I still say that if FSU hadn't let Bobby Bowden hang on too long and take the program down a step, the ACC would be a much hotter football property and they'd have the TV contract they all seem to wanted.

Or if Clemson hadn't lost key games every time they looked on the verge of breaking into the upper echelon.

Or if Miami's program hadn't decided to take a nosedive.

But mostly I love FSU whining about stuff that they had a hand in preventing. I still don't see how moving over to be second-fiddle to Texas is any better than what they have now in the ACC.

Since 2000, Alabama has won 3 games once, 4 games once, 6 games twice, 7 games once and 8 games once. Tennessee has gone 5,7,6 and 5 wins in the last four years. The SEC survived. Even prospered. Obviously the ACC can't handle a lesser fate from Florida State.

Schools have downturns in football. Part of the reason for being in a conference along with scheduling is to level the money out in your down years. If FSU was somehow able to guarantee being a top 10 team every year, they'd be an independent because there's no reason to share the money with Duke and BC. If that's what they have to do for the ACC to get a competitive football TV contract, they're better off playing "second fiddle" in a conference that has teams step up and play on a national level when they can't for whatever reason.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Matthean

At least Texas has a fiddle.

It's also their tune, their dance, etc. FSU may want that second fiddle for now, but Texas will let them and every other Big 12 member know it. Texas knows full well that they are the Big 12 and that won't change if FSU or Clemson came over.

Originally Posted by bronconick

Since 2000, Alabama has won 3 games once, 4 games once, 6 games twice, 7 games once and 8 games once. Tennessee has gone 5,7,6 and 5 wins in the last four years. The SEC survived. Even prospered. Obviously the ACC can't handle a lesser fate from Florida State.

Schools have downturns in football. Part of the reason for being in a conference along with scheduling is to level the money out in your down years. If FSU was somehow able to guarantee being a top 10 team every year, they'd be an independent because there's no reason to share the money with Duke and BC. If that's what they have to do for the ACC to get a competitive football TV contract, they're better off playing "second fiddle" in a conference that has teams step up and play on a national level when they can't for whatever reason.

The rest of the ACC never could break through the perception that it was FSU and the eight dwarves, even after FSU started declining and getting beat on a regular basis. With that consideration, it was rare that any other member other than FSU could start out with a high enough ranking to be in a position to contend for a national championship should they stay unbeaten. It was hoped that Miami and VT would change that and finally increase the odds of a national championship contender from the ACC. Well, that didn't pan out, either, and so here we are.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

The rest of the ACC never could break through the perception that it was FSU and the eight dwarves, even after FSU started declining and getting beat on a regular basis. With that consideration, it was rare that any other member other than FSU could start out with a high enough ranking to be in a position to contend for a national championship should they stay unbeaten. It was hoped that Miami and VT would change that and finally increase the odds of a national championship contender from the ACC. Well, that didn't pan out, either, and so here we are.

Yup, in 1997 UNC went 10-1, with their only loss to #2 FSU, and got stuck in the Gator Bowl against 7-4 Virginia Tech who they blasted 42-3. This year Alabama went 11-1, losing to LSU, who they then got a rematch with for the National Championship. If any ACC team slips even once (Clemson, I'm looking at you), they slide way back down the rankings, while teams like Nebraska get to lose their conference championship game and still play for the national title.

That's one reason I'm excited about the talk about a conference champion playoff, if they can get rid of rankings that are so dependent on pre-season perceptions of teams that have turned over 20-25% of their roster from the prior year (graduation mostly) and haven't played yet.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Yup, in 1997 UNC went 10-1, with their only loss to #2 FSU, and got stuck in the Gator Bowl against 7-4 Virginia Tech who they blasted 42-3. This year Alabama went 11-1, losing to LSU, who they then got a rematch with for the National Championship. If any ACC team slips even once (Clemson, I'm looking at you), they slide way back down the rankings, while teams like Nebraska get to lose their conference championship game and still play for the national title.

Are we talking the 1997 season that didn't include the BCS and included two undefeated teams splitting the title? Before the bowl game, the only team that NC beat which was ranked was an eventual lackluster Stanford team. Even if there was a BCS, NC wasn't going to the title game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good pic of the new field at Mizzou. Black and gold in the end zones with the new Nike font on the yard lines.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Yup, in 1997 UNC went 10-1, with their only loss to #2 FSU, and got stuck in the Gator Bowl against 7-4 Virginia Tech who they blasted 42-3. This year Alabama went 11-1, losing to LSU, who they then got a rematch with for the National Championship. If any ACC team slips even once (Clemson, I'm looking at you), they slide way back down the rankings, while teams like Nebraska get to lose their conference championship game and still play for the national title.

That's one reason I'm excited about the talk about a conference champion playoff, if they can get rid of rankings that are so dependent on pre-season perceptions of teams that have turned over 20-25% of their roster from the prior year (graduation mostly) and haven't played yet.

It's a flaw in the system that's never getting fixed. The AP is never going to stop having preseason polls (Heck, they still do a post-March Madness poll that no one pays attention to) and 2010 Auburn at 22 and 2000 OU at 19 are the lowest preseason teams to play for a title in recent years. If you're not a team with some history, you're likely looking at two great years or 3 in 4 to play for a title.

The Harris poll doesn't even start until week 5, but they're all influenced by the AP (and coaches poll, I'd guess), so there's no way to get rid of that bias because any ranking system will include human polls. It works both ways, though. UNC started the next season ranked 10th.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I still say that if FSU hadn't let Bobby Bowden hang on too long and take the program down a step, the ACC would be a much hotter football property and they'd have the TV contract they all seem to wanted.

Or if Clemson hadn't lost key games every time they looked on the verge of breaking into the upper echelon.

Or if Miami's program hadn't decided to take a nosedive.

But mostly I love FSU whining about stuff that they had a hand in preventing. I still don't see how moving over to be second-fiddle to Texas is any better than what they have now in the ACC.

So much nonsense in one post.

[Ksyrup]

2% behind Undecided. Ha!

[tarcone]

James would be a perfect senator. He takes money to perform, when he shouldnt. He lies about it. Then gets holier-than-thou when someone else does it.
I cant believe he isnt dominating that race.

[Chief Rum]

I am confused. What are you guys talking about?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I am confused. What are you guys talking about?

That's Craig James (ESPN, SMU, general asshat)

[Ksyrup]

Craig James' attempt to save face from his impending ouster as an ESPN commentator (and one of the most universally disliked sports personalities at ESPN - and that's saying something) was to run for Senator. And he's even less popular doing that.

[Ksyrup]

A look back at the most ridiculous moments in Craig James' Senate run | May

[Easy Mac]

The margin of error is +/- 4.5 percent, so he may actually have -1.5% support.

[flounder]

I wouldn't put it past ESPN to hire him back on after his campaign craters.

[Ksyrup]

I think it cratered in time for them to hire him for some of the late December 2011 games.

[I. J. Reilly]

I don't know why you guys are making fun of James, I've never had so much fun voting for a canidate before. I can't stop smiling it was so much fun.

I would guess that the entire 3% of the vote he will get will be from people who were laughing their asses off when they voted.

[flounder]

From the poll.

Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Craig James?
Favorable........................................................ 14%
Unfavorable .................................................... 32%
Not sure .......................................................... 54%

[tarcone]

Q6 Are you a fan of Baylor, Houston, Southern
Methodist, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas
Tech, UTEP, or another school?
Baylor..................... . 9%
Houston ................. . 3%
Southern Methodist . 2%
Texas ..................... .19%
Texas A & M........... .20%
TCU ....................... . 3%
Texas Tech............. . 9%
UTEP..................... . 1%
Another school/Not
a fan........................33%


This got my attention more then anything. This poll says there are more Texas A&M fans then Texas fans. Could that be true?

Or is this poll so skewed, that maybe James will win.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by wikipedia

He also received 4% of the vote in a Dallas Morning News poll asking who people would vote for in a hypothetical Senate race between him and Mike Leach. Leach received 96% of the vote

That is hilarious.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by flounder

I wouldn't put it past ESPN to hire him back on after his campaign craters.

Craig James' Senate Run Now Pretty Much All In - From Our Editors - SBNation.com

[tarcone]

Well, the curse of Iowa running backs continues.
Greg Garmon, an incoming freashmen, gets arrested for drug possession. He was a possible starter. With the problems Iowa has at that position, he was a probable starter.
Next man in.

[Matthean]

You guys are growing more than corn down there.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Good pic of the new field at Mizzou. Black and gold in the end zones with the new Nike font on the yard lines.

Not sure how the big boy SEC teams are going to react to having to play in a high school stadium.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by digamma

Not sure how the big boy SEC teams are going to react to having to play in a high school stadium.

Nothing new, they've been to Vandy.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Nothing new, they've been to Vandy.

Vandy has academic standards.

[tarcone]

Rumors of a new field at Maryland. This is a possibility



Here is the article

Maryland Football's Black Field Rumors May Have Terrifying, Nightmarish Legs - From Our Editors - SBNation.com

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by digamma

Not sure how the big boy SEC teams are going to react to having to play in a high school stadium.

The same way every other team that loses in our stadium reacts.

[tarcone]

So you will be getting one SEC reaction next year. Thats a start.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by tarcone

So you will be getting one SEC reaction next year. Thats a start.

MU wins one SEC game in their home stadium??? I'll take that bet. $50 in Steam credit to the winner?

[tarcone]

I just looked at the schedule. You will be getting 2 SEC reactions.
Unless Kentucky or Vandy are playing well. Which is doubtful.
If the bet were an over/under of 2.5 wins, I would consider it.

[Logan]

I agree. Although I don't think either of those schools constitute "big boy SEC reactions".

[Ksyrup]

The only reaction coming out of Lexington will be for Joker Phillips' head. And even then it will only be half-hearted.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Rumors of a new field at Maryland. This is a possibility



Here is the article

Maryland Football's Black Field Rumors May Have Terrifying, Nightmarish Legs - From Our Editors - SBNation.com

Just seems like schools are trying to out-ugly one another.

[Ksyrup]

It's pretty smart. Ugly uniforms and now, I guess, ugly fields are the "pants hanging off the butt" attraction to young athletes. There's no conceivable reason why low-hanging pants has lasted as long as it has, other than the ongoing reaction of adults to the practice. We keep talking about what an abomination Boise State's field and Oregon's uni's and now Maryland's... everything... is, and in about 5 years, ESPN will have to warn epileptics against the dangers of viewing college football.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some early spreads for the coming season. I'd be shocked if some of these haven't moved quite a bit since they were posted.

111 College Football Point Spreads Courtesy of the Golden Nugget | Kegs 'n Eggs Blog

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Some early spreads for the coming season. I'd be shocked if some of these haven't moved quite a bit since they were posted.

111 College Football Point Spreads Courtesy of the Golden Nugget | Kegs 'n Eggs Blog

I'll take Clemson +8 at Tallahassee right now.
I'd also jump all over SC +2.5 at home against Arky.
Au +18 against Bama I'm a little more nervous about, but Id lay money on right now as well.
Doing this off a phone, so Im not sure can I actually get action on those numbers at that site?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I'll take Clemson +8 at Tallahassee right now.
I'd also jump all over SC +2.5 at home against Arky.
Au +18 against Bama I'm a little more nervous about, but Id lay money on right now as well.
Doing this off a phone, so Im not sure can I actually get action on those numbers at that site?

Those numbers are from the Golden Nugget Casino in Vegas.

[Logan]

Eric LeGrand to receive Valvano award at ESPYs - Yahoo! Sports

[RomaGoth]

I wonder which of these guys ate more ribs.