2011 College Football Offseason News

[Noop]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Trust me, that dysfunction isn't going away as long as you've stopped paying players. 2-2 over the next four is well within the realm of possibility, if for nothing else than the karmic meltdown the handling of the Bowden situation earned for FSU.

LOL! Everyone pays for players do not think for one second Georgia Tech does not. 2-2 will not happen period.

[Noop]

I don't think Florida State will win the National Title next season but I do see a 10-2/9-3 type season with mean leaning more toward 10-2. Clemson despite their gawd awful record is still talented and has Kevin Steele running their defense. I expect the Atlantic to come down to FSU and CU with the Coastal being VT, Miami, or (Not GT)

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't know if it speaks to the talent that Clemson has under-utilized, the crapfest that is the ACC, or a little of both, but FSU and Clemson are widely considered to be the division's top 2 teams next year. I gues you can throw NC St in there, but I think the consensus is the other 2 first.

And hey, like I said, I'm not sure I buy them as contenders next year, but their ranking will determine that. I see a 3 loss season, probably. With Manuel a senior and two full years under Jimbo, I think 2012 should be a legit year.

Don't know, I've seen Boston College in a lot of top 2's. They always seem to be there in mid-November.

But, if that is the case, then I think there is logic to the ACC schedule in frontloading your tough games to try to get a second BCS berth. The ACC has tried this before, but the thought to be big teams have crapped out.

[bronconick]

The dumbest things I saw in the ACC scheduling is Virginia at Miami and FSU at BC on Thursday nights after all 4 teams play Saturday games. Those are going to be ugly games with tired teams and one team in each traveling 1000+ miles on top of it. If you're going to do short weeks, wouldn't it be better to aim toward teams that are at least within a couple hundred miles?

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by digamma

Your opening game in the ACC is with a team that went 6-7 last year and is replacing its starting QB and starting RB, not to mention a top 5 draft pick on the D line. That should be a walk for a "contender."

Starting RB is back....2nd team RB left early for the NFL.

An we only have like 5 new coaches so it is a cohesion affinity love fest around here these days.

[JonInMiddleGA]

‘Air of sadness' hangs over Toomer's Corner *| ajc.com

A retired Texas state trooper? Who the hell had that suspect in the betting pool? I can do rivalry hatred with the best of 'em but I hope this guy ends up with a 400 pound lifer roommate named WarEagle Jackson Cribbs.

[DeToxRox]

Michigan is paying new DC Greg Mattison 750K, with a bonus for winning the Big Ten that can push his salary up to 900K.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution CFB columnist Tony Barnhart moves full-time to CBSSports.com starting April 4th. He'd been with the AJC for 27 years.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Auburn jumps out to an early Fulmer Cup lead, with a starting safety & three backups kicked off the team after being arrested & charged robbing a house.

Four Auburn players dismissed from team after robbery arrest - College Football News | FOX Sports on MSN

[MJ4H]

Is it wrong if I have a little smug good feeling at seeing Dakota Mosley's name as one of the 4?

Screw it. I love it.

Spoiler

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Auburn jumps out to an early Fulmer Cup lead, with a starting safety & three backups kicked off the team after being arrested & charged robbing a house.

Four Auburn players dismissed from team after robbery arrest - College Football News | FOX Sports on MSN

That's like hitting a grand slam in the top of the first inning.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Is it wrong if I have a little smug good feeling at seeing Dakota Mosley's name as one of the 4?

Screw it. I love it.

Spoiler

I honestly don't know what goes through somebody's head when they take this type of picture and then post it online.

[Matthean]

Since MSU's men's and women's BB programs are dominating the news right now, this story is getting little press, but two MSU football players got arrested. Both are considered to be starters so it will be interesting to see what MSU does with them. MSU tends to be on the forgiving side.

Article

[Swaggs]

Anyone else hearing that LSU is in similar trouble to Oregon for paying for a "scouting service" that delivered a player?

I wonder if those are some of the "big stories" that were supposed to be breaking soon (as discussed by the guy who supposedly unearthed some of the Ohio State stuff).

[Tigercat]

Even in the worse scenario, it doesn't sound like this "scouting service" had anything BAD to do with the player in the current stories. The player was a mid level recruit (with top level talent, IMO, but not recruited as such because he was a tweener who committed to LSU early.) The Oregon player that started this news was a big name prospect who swapped to a school previously not in the picture until late in the game. Quite a different situation.

Now, LSU supposedly worked with this guy and his scouting service in previous years, just as Oregon did. Did this guy fully steer previous Texas prospects to LSU and thus LSU get some scrutiny and punishments? Possibly. But if something serious did happened, I don't think it involves the 2011 recruit in question.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Tigercat

Even in the worse scenario, it doesn't sound like this "scouting service" had anything BAD to do with the player in the current stories. The player was a mid level recruit (with top level talent, IMO, but not recruited as such because he was a tweener who committed to LSU early.) The Oregon player that started this news was a big name prospect who swapped to a school previously not in the picture until late in the game. Quite a different situation.

Now, LSU supposedly worked with this guy and his scouting service in previous years, just as Oregon did. Did this guy fully steer previous Texas prospects to LSU and thus LSU get some scrutiny and punishments? Possibly. But if something serious did happened, I don't think it involves the 2011 recruit in question.

Yeah. I'm not sure it is going to be much of a big deal. Particularly with the precedent already in place that a person's father can receive money without the player (or school, to the best of my knowledge) being punished.

I am more just wondering if these are the so-called big time stories that were supposed to come out in the next few months. I can't recall the exact details, but the guy said that he was working on breaking a handful of other NCAA violation-type stories and there was one that was bigger than the Ohio State story. If the Oregon and LSU stuff is as juicy as it gets, I'm thinking he overestimated their impact.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I think Auburn has already built a nearly insurmountable lead for the Fulmer Cup but Notre Dame isn't going down without a fight apparently.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish WR Michael Floyd arrested on DUI charge - ESPN

[Swaggs]

Looks like the Auburn players got their postseason bonuses:

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/4-arme...he-signs-29571

[JPhillips]

I still think Auburn's a dirty program, but those looked Photoshopped to me.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I think Auburn has already built a nearly insurmountable lead for the Fulmer Cup but Notre Dame isn't going down without a fight apparently.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish WR Michael Floyd arrested on DUI charge - ESPN

Apparently he failed 3 sobriety tests and blew a .19. All of it happened after he ran a stop sign on campus.

[Matthean]

The Onion needs to run an article that talks about how Auburn finally runs out of money and can't afford to pay it's players anymore.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I still think Auburn's a dirty program, but those looked Photoshopped to me.

I dunno, those website graphics look real.

[RainMaker]

HBO has a rather damning piece coming out tonight. SportsByBrooks has a lot of info on it. In a nutshell, 4 players talking about how they received money from Auburn and other schools. Sort of makes you wonder what the point in pretending its amateur athletics anymore.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

In a nutshell, 4 players talking about how they received money from Auburn and other schools. Sort of makes you wonder what the point in pretending its amateur athletics anymore.

Thought it was from boosters, not the program itself.

If that's the case, the booster handshake I've read the players describing has existed since before I was born & probably before even Bucc was born, so the word I'd quibble with in your post is "anymore".

[CU Tiger]

What I understand is that in at least one case a former coach purportedly Tubberville handed an envelope full o cash to a player....

[Ksyrup]

From Bruce Feldman's blog:

• An attorney who has represented coaches and schools in hearings before the NCAA Committee on Infractions believes that the Ohio State Buckeyes and head coach Jim Tressel will have difficulty avoiding stiffer penalties than those already self-imposed for Tressel's admitted NCAA violations, writes Bruce Hooley.

"If I was representing a coach in that similar situation, I would advise my client to expect not only a show-cause order assessed against him or her, but also significant individual penalties that may cause their employer, which is the university, to either terminate their employment or some other significant employment action," said Michael L. Buckner, of Pompano Beach, Fla., whose law firm specializes in representing schools and individuals before the NCAA. "I'd tell them they should be prepared for that."

A show-cause order is the harshest penalty the NCAA can impose against a coach. It requires any school that wants to employ the coach to petition the NCAA Committee on Infractions for permission to hire them until the duration of the penalty expires.

That school risks the imposition of sanctions for hiring the coach, which is why no coach with a show-cause order has ever been hired until its expiration. Coaches who have received such penalties include Ohio State's Jim O'Brien, Minnesota's Clem Haskins, California's Todd Bozeman, Baylor's Dave Bliss and Indiana's Kelvin Sampson.

[molson]

A show-cause order would be pretty shocking, I'll believe that when I see it. I don't think the NCAA has the balls to do that with a coach of that stature.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by molson

A show-cause order would be pretty shocking, I'll believe that when I see it. I don't think the NCAA has the balls to do that with a coach of that stature.

People said the same thing about whether USC would get severe penalties or not.

Granted, the NCAA has been spotty with their enforcement, but the public momentum sure seems to point towards the NCAA laying down a show-cause penalty on Tressel.

[molson]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

People said the same thing about whether USC would get severe penalties or not.

Granted, the NCAA has been spotty with their enforcement, but the public momentum sure seems to point towards the NCAA laying down a show-cause penalty on Tressel.

Pete Carroll didn't a show cause order - that would be the part that would be shocking. I can't recall the NCAA ever directly forcing out a high-profile coach that wouldn't resign.

And USC's penalties were more serious than what the NCAA usually gives out - but after the bowl ban they'll be back in business like nothing happened (as they continue to stock pile talent in the meantime.)

[Ksyrup]

I don't recall there being any evidence of direct wrongdoing by Pete Carroll. That's what sets this apart.

That said, from the list of coaches in the article I cited, it's obvious what the common denominator is - none is a football coach.

[cartman]

The Fiesta Bowl might be at risk of losing BCS status after the bowl CEO was ousted due to corruption charges.

Fiesta Bowl fires CEO amid scandal, now must justify place in BCS - San Jose Mercury News

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by molson

Pete Carroll didn't a show cause order - that would be the part that would be shocking. I can't recall the NCAA ever directly forcing out a high-profile coach that wouldn't resign.

There was never any proof that Carroll broke any rules, unlike Tressel.

And USC's penalties were more serious than what the NCAA usually gives out - but after the bowl ban they'll be back in business like nothing happened (as they continue to stock pile talent in the meantime.)

You are severely underestimating the effect the scholarship limitations will have on them. They were smart in appealing the decision and using that appeal to stockpile as much as they could for this most recent class, but unless their penalties are reduced, they will still face an overall roster limit of 75 and individual class size limits of 15 over the next 3 years, and that's going to have a major impact.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by cartman

The Fiesta Bowl might be at risk of losing BCS status after the bowl CEO was ousted due to corruption charges.

Fiesta Bowl fires CEO amid scandal, now must justify place in BCS - San Jose Mercury News

Say hello to an excuse for Jerry World to get a BCS game.

[Ksyrup]

Uh...wow.

A grand jury in Pennsylvania is investigating former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on allegations of indecent assault against a teenage boy, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg (Pa.) reported Thursday.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Decent short column about how the latest arrest will put Muschamp to the test. It'll be interesting to see what "the Florida Way" really means anything or not.

Janoris Jenkins testing the 'Florida Way' - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN

[Young Drachma]

The College Athletics Programs Most Reliant On Student Activity Fees - SportsMoney - news on the business of sports - Forbes

This led me to wonder which schools rely on institutional support the most, in particular student activity fees. Here are the top ten:

1 University of South Florida $13,026,289.00 33.24%
2 University of Virginia $12,160,103.00 14.86%
3 University of Connecticut $8,626,506.00 14.74%
4 Rutgers University $8,441,092.00 13.15%
5 Florida State University $6,919,449.00 9.30%
6 University of North Carolina $6,859,868.00 9.42%
7 Virginia Tech $6,533,756.00 10.27%
8 Auburn University $5,261,604.00 5.68%
9 Georgia Tech $4,643,368.00 8.39%
10 North Carolina State University $4,200,610.00 8.49%

[DeToxRox]

Muschamp isn't fucking around at UF. He just dismissed Janoris Jenkins from the team.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Muschamp isn't fucking around at UF. He just dismissed Janoris Jenkins from the team.

Good for him. Not a Gator fan, but as a fan of CFB, this is the kind of leadership more coaches ought to show.

[digamma]

Not sure he had much of a choice here. Wasn't it Jenkins's third arrest?

(Well, I'm sure CMR could have made a case for a fourth chance.)

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by digamma

Not sure he had much of a choice here. Wasn't it Jenkins's third arrest?

(Well, I'm sure CMR could have made a case for a fourth chance.)

Yeah, good for him for making that call, but it was an obvious call to make.

[DeToxRox]

He also kicked Chris Dunkley off of the team last week.

Seems like he is putting his foot down early, though I agree Jenkins was a no brainer. Still, a lot of coaches don't always have the foresight.

[Logan]

Ugh. Rutgers brings in a solid JUCO center to help stabilize the offensive line, expected to start from Day 1...and he tears up his knee in one of the last spring practices and is done for the year.

[digamma]

NC State grants QB Russell Wilson a release allowing him to pursue other football options. Wilson is also a minor league baseball player, so I guess the NCSU coaching staff didn't think he was able to fully commit to another season at QB. Interesting move, as I think Wilson is a fantastic QB. I will be happy not to see him this fall.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by digamma

NC State grants QB Russell Wilson a release allowing him to pursue other football options. Wilson is also a minor league baseball player, so I guess the NCSU coaching staff didn't think he was able to fully commit to another season at QB. Interesting move, as I think Wilson is a fantastic QB. I will be happy not to see him this fall.

Predictably, the internet fans are in an uproar over it. Some view it as the sky falling (this is the position of those who aren't sure that the new QB Glennon is going to be any good or else those who are so beaten down by how lousy State athletics has been that this is just piling on), while others it as O'Brien being forced into a bad situation because Wilson wouldn't make an obvious commitment (the position of those who think Wilson coming back may have caused Glennon--who was a highly prized recruit--to decide to transfer and thus screwing State out of any decent QB after this year). I'm more in the latter camp than the former, though I don't know whether Glennon would have transferred or not. Ultimately, the program must go forward without Wilson at some point anyway, so you might as well start now when you can be sure that the QB position has a somewhat known quantity in it. The whole thing was becoming a Favre-esque sideshow the way it's been the last couple of offseasons.

[Swaggs]

Did Wilson graduate so that he can play somewhere else immediately?

If he was on the fence whether or not he was going to play this season, wouldn't he almost certainly NOT want to redshirt next year and just go for the baseball career?

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Did Wilson graduate so that he can play somewhere else immediately?

If he was on the fence whether or not he was going to play this season, wouldn't he almost certainly NOT want to redshirt next year and just go for the baseball career?

Yes, he graduated, so he'd be eligible for that special transfer to play at another school immediately if they offered classes State doesn't have.

As to question two, there was an article in the local paper today that Wilson didn't want to leave State, but O'Brien wasn't going to let him compete to get the job back from Glennon in fall practice (whether Glennon said he'd transfer if he wasn't going to start is unknown, but a lot of State fans think it to be the case). Naturally, this had lead the fanbase to begin looking for the nearest bridge to jump off.

Admittedly, things are different for Wilson this year as opposed to last year. He participated in spring drills last year and played in short-season A ball in Washington state during the summer months before coming back for the football season. This year, Wilson started out in Asheville, Colorado's high-A affiliate, so he was there at the start of baseball season and thus couldn't participate in spring football this year, leaving O'Brien trying to decide how or whether he wanted Wilson back and whether that would cause issues with Glennon.

Wilson still harbors aspirations of being able to play both pro football and pro baseball. However, he's not got the prototypical size to play in the NFL. He's got a decent arm, good athleticism, and good intangibles like leadership, but he won't be confused for Michael Vick or even Cam Newton when he drops back in the pocket. I have a hard time picturing him making it in the NFL.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ealey transferring from Georgia | DogBytes Online

[Easy Mac]

Fiesta Bowl can stay in BCS, must pay $1M fine over spending - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com

The Fiesta Bowl gets to stay in the BCS after paying a bribe fine.

[DeToxRox]

A lot of twitter buzz about OU player Austin Box being found unresponsive and rushed to the ER. A few ex OU guys like DeMarco Murray have posted about keeping him in your prayers so it seems pretty legit but who knows?

[DeToxRox]

And now reports are saying the ME Office confirmed Box has died. Rumored to be an Oxy OD.