College Football Thread -- The Fun Never Ends

[DanS]

Even during the offseason...

Lots of coaching changes. Coming down the stretch for recruiting to National Signing Day. Lots of speculation on the NFL draft. And Arkansas continues eating its own.

Continued from...

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160217

[Lord Avalon]

Report: Tapes could confirm Bush received gifts
SAN DIEGO -- The existence of taped conversations between Reggie Bush or members of his family and an investor in a failed sports marketing agency could confirm the New Orleans Saints running back received cash and gifts while playing for Southern California, Yahoo.com reported Wednesday.

A federal investigation into extortion claims by Bush and his family revealed the existence of the taped conversations, according to the Yahoo.com report.

The U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego has issued grand jury subpoenas to multiple witnesses in the probe, Yahoo.com reported. According to a copy of a subpoena obtained by Yahoo, at least one of the witnesses was asked to hand over "any recordings in your possession of conversations between Lloyd Lake and Reggie Bush, Denise Griffin or LaMar Griffin."

Lake, who founded a sports marketing agency in hopes of landing Bush as its first client, is the subject of a grand jury probe into the extortion claims. Denise Griffin is Bush's mother, and LaMar Griffin is Bush's stepfather.

Yahoo.com, citing unidentified sources, reported LaMar Griffin spoke with federal investigators in the spring of 2006 and acknowledged the existence of the tapes.

"We're aware of an investigation into possible criminal conduct by Lake and others associated with him," Bush attorney David Cornwell told ESPN's Joe Schad on Wednesday. "We have and will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice."

When asked in the past about the allegations of receiving inappropriate extra benefits, Bush has insisted that he and his family did nothing wrong.

Multiple sources told Yahoo.com that Lake made the tapes in late 2005 to protect his financial investment if Bush backed out of a deal to sign with New Era Sports & Entertainment, founded by Lake and San Diego businessman Michael Michaels. In January 2006, Bush signed with agent Joel Segal and marketing agent Mike Ornstein.

On Jan. 12, 2007, Lake's mother, Barbara Gunner, testified before a grand jury, according to the Yahoo.com report, that she had heard portions of tapes made by her son, in which LaMar Griffin states Bush intended to repay New Era Sports "their money," as well as for a car purchased for him.

Lake told Yahoo in August 2006 that he contributed a portion of the cash and gifts allegedly given to Bush and his family as part of an agreement to represent the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner when he signed an NFL contract. In September, Yahoo.com reported Ornstein also supplied Bush and his family with gifts while he was still at USC.

According to Yahoo.com, nearly $280,000 in cash, rent and gifts was allegedly given to Bush and his family.

The Pac-10 Conference and the NCAA are investigating whether Bush or his family broke NCAA rules and compromised his eligibility during the 2004 and '05 seasons by taking extra benefits.

If Bush is found to have violated NCAA rules, USC, which won a national title in 2004 and played for the '05 championship, could be sanctioned.

Meanwhile, the nine members of the Heisman Trust continue to monitor the Bush story. When reached by Schad, a spokesman for the Heisman Trust cautioned Thursday that the members will take no action until the NCAA and Pac-10 complete their investigations.

If at such time it is shown that Bush should not have been eligible at the time of the Heisman voting -- a violation of a requirement printed on the ballot itself -- the fate of Bush as a Heisman winner would likely be decided by majority vote of the nine members.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2741773
If true, bad news for USC.

[DanS]

Yes, this could be bad news, although Yahoo! appears to have run with the story without knowing what is on the tapes, or the extent of the coverage of the tapes.

For the record, I would not wish USC to be taken down a peg in such a manner. Historically, taking USC down a peg on the playing field has been Notre Dame's job. ;)

[mrmitchell]

If the allegations are true, the NCAA needs to bring the hammer down. There's no way USC could not know that Reggie took in $280,000. That is big time dealing.

More Arkansas news...Last week at an alumni gathering in Dallas, Frank Broyles was the main speaker. There were no press at the event but this is most of what he said, verified by several separate attendees:

-Arkansas will always be ranked seventh or eighth in the SEC.
-The infamous parent's meeting was about tutoring and curfew times. Only one parent wanted to talk football. (?)
-Broyles reminisced about playing Texas in the 1960s.
-The turnover of assistant coaching staff (Malzahn for one) is a good thing. When Broyles coached he prided himself on his ability to develop assistants and he said that new faces were good because 10 to 15 percent of your game plan could come from new staff.
-Arkansas could not have joined the Big 12.
-Arkansas is good enough to win the SEC West, the most competitive football league in the nation, once every three years. How much more can you expect?

The most welcome part:
-Arkansas lost its last three games on special teams mistakes and special teams coach Shibest needs to go.

Meanwhile, basketball continues to be topsy-turvy, losing 66-60 at South Carolina. IMHO Stan Heath is lucky the heat is on Houston Nutt this year, noone is noticing what's turning up to be a dismal hoops season. The baseball team is preseason ranked top 10, though. There is hope yet.

[snoopy369]

They need a professional vocational football league... then nobody would care if they took money :nod:

[Guynemer]

If the Bush story is true, this is very bad for college football.

[-Jrabbit]

The Bush stuff has been bubbling just under the surface for over a year now. It was pretty stupid (or arrogant) of Bush to accept so much from this guy and then not hire him as his agent.

It would be awesome if those audio tapes actually exist, and become public.

[Drake Tungsten]

They should pay players anyway or, at the very least, give them their image rights...

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
They should pay players anyway

:eek: Et tu, Drake?

or, at the very least, give them their image rights...

Agreed on that count.

[Drake Tungsten]

I appreciate the ideal of amateur athletics, but it's pretty clear that college football has almost nothing to with that ideal anymore. It's a massive business and the players are being exploited by it...

[DanS]

I don't know that men's college football ever had anything to do with that ideal. That's why it's classified by the NCAA (in addition to basketball) as a revenue sport.

[Lord Avalon]

Stoops: Players 'knowingly' broke employment rules

NORMAN, Okla. -- The NCAA has alleged a third Oklahoma football player received excess pay from the same car dealership where former Sooners Rhett Bomar and J.D. Quinn received similar benefits, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The allegation of a third, unnamed player receiving excess pay was made in the NCAA's report on its investigation into self-reported violations at Oklahoma. The university acknowledged the allegation, the newspaper said, but still says only Bomar, a quarterback, and Quinn, an offensive lineman, accepted excess pay.

The newspaper reported that in the preliminary report Oklahoma submitted to the NCAA in August, the university said only Bomar and Quinn had accepted the excess pay. A third, unidentified player was referenced, but aside from Bomar and Quinn, "all other student-athletes were paid for the number of hours worked," the university said.

The NCAA's findings came in an investigation after Oklahoma self-reported the violations. Oklahoma disclosed Monday that it had received its notice of allegations from the NCAA and is scheduled to appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions on April 14 in Indianapolis.

The NCAA asked athletic director Joe Castiglione and football coach Bob Stoops to attend the meeting, along with compliance officials, general counsel Joseph Harroz and director of football operations Merv Johnson.

Oklahoma also appeared before the committee last April following an investigation into hundreds of improper recruiting phone calls by former basketball coach Kelvin Sampson's staff.

"We are eager to move forward toward the conclusion of this matter," Castiglione said in a statement.

In its notice, the NCAA claims Oklahoma didn't follow its own guidelines when it "did not collect gross earning statements for the 12 football student-athletes who notified the institution of their employment at [the dealership] during the 2005 summer vacation period ... and as a result the institution did not detect the violations" it self-reported.

Oklahoma claims it did not detect the football players' employment because the players did not complete required forms. The university also claims it was transitioning duties at a time when the NCAA alleges that Oklahoma failed to collect some of its monitoring forms in a timely manner.

The NCAA points out that the failure to monitor occured "despite receiving information that at least one student-athlete worked at Big Red during the academic year."

"From our perspective, any allegation related to our monitoring activities, no matter how limited, is not warranted," Castiglione said in the statement. "The NCAA does not appear to be contesting the speed of our response or the action that we took."

"I think any school would agree that monitoring practices can always be improved, and we constantly seek to improve our practices, but we also recognize that it was our staff that originally uncovered and reported the violations that had occurred. Upon completing our investigation, the university took action above and beyond what was required under the NCAA rules."

Bomar and Quinn were both dismissed from the program and transferred to Division I-AA schools -- Bomar to Sam Houston State and Quinn to Montana. Bomar was ordered to pay back more than $7,400 in extra benefits to charity, while Quinn was told to pay back more than $8,100.

Oklahoma has also banned athletes from working at the Norman car dealership where Bomar and Quinn were employed until at least the 2008-09 academic year and has moved to prevent the athletes' supervisor at the dealership from being involved with the university's athletics program. The dealership is now under new ownership.

Oklahoma also will reduce the number of football coaches who are allowed to recruit off campus this fall.

Stoops has said the players "knowingly" broke the rules.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2763389

[DanS]

IT'S DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL!!!

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/1135/460360.wma

(CU coach)

[Drake Tungsten]

Rants! :b:

[DanS]

The icing on the cake would have been slapping himself. :b:

[Drake Tungsten]

He's right, though.

[asleepathewheel]

As much as I hate the 5th downers, I agree completely with Hawkins.

Its the friggin big 12, not your frats flag football or ultimate team.

[gjramsey]

The Arkansas saga continues. Reports from many TV stations in Ark are AD Broyles will retire today, or be canned tomorrow by the Board of Trustees. The board is having a special meeting on Saturday.

Broyles became AD in 1974 and was Arkansas' football coach from 1958-1976.

My only hope is that Nutt and Heath are included in collateral damage from all this....

[Lord Avalon]

Matter of time
Unpopular college clock rules will go away in 2007

There are a whole bunch of smiling faces in coaches offices around the country today. Those widely despised game-clock changes the NCAA instituted last year -- the changes that chopped off an average of 14 plays per game, that Texas Tech coach Mike Leach called "stupid" and Michigan coach Lloyd Carr called "the worst rule in the past 50 years" -- are all but gone.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee, which convened this week in Albuquerque, N.M., announced a proposal Wednesday to revert to 2005 standards: No more starting the clock when a ball is kicked or on a change of possession. No more teams having to burn a timeout in the final minutes before they even run a play. No more intentionally lining up offsides on a kickoff to run the clock out as Wisconsin's Bret Bielema did against Penn State last year.

"The changes we made last year, overall, did not have a positive effect on college football at all levels," said committee chair Michael Clark, the head coach at Division III Bridgewater (Va.) College.

You think?

Last year's clock changes had a most dramatic and visible effect on college football games of any rules since the adoption of overtime in 1996. But while college's overtime format has sometimes drawn criticism, coaches seemed to universally loathe these rules, which unintentionally penalized high-scoring offenses (teams' average scores dropped from 26.9 to 24.4) and made it harder for teams to mount last-minute comebacks. "It's awful," Florida coach Urban Meyer said last October. "It changes the way you call a game; it cheats the fans; it cheats the players; it cheats everyone involved in college football."

Clark's committee, however, has not given up its goal of reducing the length of games (last year's average was 3:07, down from 3:21 in 2005) in what is believed to be a television-driven decision. Wednesday, they announced a new, more reasonable set of changes that, according to their plan (which should be formally adopted March 12), would still shave 11 to 14 minutes off a game's length without affecting the outcome to the extent last year's did.

"We feel with the changes in 2007 we're going to restore plays but at the same time diminish the dead time in games," said Clark. "We're going to work to maintain the game length we achieved in 2006."

Most of the changes seem fairly insignificant -- starting the play clock at :15 coming off a TV timeout (anyone who's sat through enough of them knows teams have more than enough time to get their play ready), reducing teams' timeouts by 30 seconds (again, TV networks usually tack on their own timeouts to these anyway), etc.

There is one proposed change, however, that should have coaches around the country raising an eyebrow -- and devoting a whole lot of practice time this spring to kickoff coverage.

Remember when Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kick of the national championship for a touchdown? That rarest of plays could soon become a whole lot more common as the committee has proposed moving kickoffs back from the 35- to the 30-yard line. The goal: Less touchbacks, resulting in more returns and, in turn, more elapsed time on kicks.

"We're trying to introduce a very exciting play back into football, particularly at the Division I level," said Clark. "We also think it will add more scoring back into the game."

Wednesday's news was music to the ears of Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner, whose team happens to include the nation's top kick returner, rising junior Marcus Thigpen. (Thigpen was the only player in the country last season to return three kickoffs for touchdowns). "Now they just need to add a rule that the kicker can't try to kick a moon ball or squib it," Hoeppner joked Wednesday afternoon. "Because by the end of the season [last year], no one would kick to him."

You don't have to be a coach to see the obvious impact this rule could have next season. Unless every kicker in the country manages to add 5 yards to his distance by the start of September, there are going to be a whole lot more returnable kicks next season, which means a whole lot more drives starting at the 35 of 40 yard line instead of the 20.

"It will put the onus on the kicking team to really be prepared," said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, a member of the rules committee. "And it's going to put a lot of pressure on the defense."

Said Hoeppner: "You're going to see a whole lot more starters on kick coverage."

Several programs had already been moving in that direction prior to this latest change. Virginia Tech and Texas, among others, have long been noted for their emphasis on special teams. Hoeppner, along with Ohio State's Jim Tressel, are among the rare coaches who hold a scrimmage in the spring devoted entirely to kicking plays.

There are plenty of others, however, that either don't place as much emphasis on that area or, for whatever reason, struggle to execute. Arkansas' three straight losses to end last season (vs. LSU, Florida and Wisconsin) all involved special-teams breakdowns. Bowl teams Michigan, Georgia Tech, Southern Miss, Florida State and Iowa all ranked 75th or lower nationally in both kick-return yardage and kick-return yardage allowed.

Under the new rules, it stands to reason that teams that either possess an elite return man or happen to be particularly adept at that aspect of the game may be able to better use it to their advantage.

"It's kind of the hidden yardage in a game," said Hoeppner. "Special teams is an area we emphasize. For a program where we are right now, maybe we can make that next step by being exceptional in an area that's somewhat neglected."

Wednesday's proposed changes resulted in large part from surveys about last year's rules filled out by the nation's coaches -- not that we couldn't have guessed how they felt from some of their public comments last season. "All coaches at all levels of football were against those rules," said Bellotti, who replaced Auburn's Tommy Tuberville this year as the I-A coaches' representative on the committee. "These changes have restored the opportunity for football players to play football. I'm very satisfied as a coach."

Between now and the formal vote by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, coaches and other parties will be afforded an "open comment period" to voice their opinions. This begs an obvious question: If last year's rules changes were so widely unpopular, how did they get adopted in the first place? Many coaches indicated last season they felt blindsided by the changes. "They didn't ask the coaches to vote on it," South Carolina's Steve Spurrier said at the time. "They just said, 'Here is the new rule.' "

Clark said the committee did a poor job last year making coaches aware of the open-comment period. This year there should be no such problem -- not to mention there appears to be little about these changes that would merit opposition.

But coaches are also notorious for remaining largely mum about an issue until it actually affects them. Prediction: The first time a prominent coach loses a game next season due to an opponent's kick return, he'll start railing about the unfairness of the new kickoff line.

Coaches, consider yourself warned this time. Might want to spend some extra time on kick-coverage this spring.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/02/14/new.rules/index.html
WOO HOO!

[reismark]

Rutgers extends Schiano, again (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/02/16/rutgers.schiano.ap/index.html?eref=si_topstories)

Four more years, and another half-million per season on top of the million he already makes, starting now.

Hunker down, Imran. He ain't going anywhere, and you'd do good to start appreciating what he's brought you the past two years. The Scarlet Knights' success is no accident.

[Guynemer]

Kickoffs from the 30 :b:

Removing the new clock rules :b:

Still no playoff :q:

[Drake Tungsten]

Kickoffs from the 30 :b:

Removing the new clock rules :b:

Still no playoff :b: :b:

[Guynemer]

Come on, Drake. I mean MY playoff. Not anything those idiot comissioners would come up with. :)

[Drake Tungsten]

Guy's playoff :b: :q:

[mrmitchell]

So long, Frank.

The best thing he has done is made athletics independent. The Arkansas department is one of few in the country that is self sustaining, and nonrevenue sports are among the top ranks.

The (better) good news is we have no shortage of time to choose a successor.

[mrmitchell]

Stealing this thread for basketball.

Stan Heath should not be fired. Not just saying that because the Razorbacks trounced South Carolina tonight, but a reason that is difficult to say:

Houston Nutt could not recruit and dug a hole where Arkansas lost its best home players to out of state colleges and the University tries to scrape the bottom of the Texas barrel for recruits. This "diamond in the rough" strategy has not worked, and recruiting under Nutt has become like an annoyance to the program, an obligation, one that they don't want to fulfill. As a result, Arkansas football had two losing seasons in a row. Instead of canning him then, Frank Broyles decided to give Nutt the infamous "two-year pass."

Stan Heath's coaching ability is debatable. My jury is still out on whether he is out of his league or not; I like how he talks plainly and flatly but maybe that is just because it's a joyous respite from Nutt's "they played with heart"s. Either way, Heath is clearly a decent recruiter. Arkansas has some honest-to-goodness talent that Heath brought here. More importantly, our basketball team is young and getting better. I think that our window on the NCAA tournament is still very possible if we don't put any of our own bumps in the road.

They have proven that they can win against good teams, the biggest problem has been inconsistency. That can be grown out of. Next year there can be no doubt about our opportunity, given the performance of the young team this year.

Now, to the point: if Houston Nutt got a two-year pass, Stan Heath deserves a one year pass even if Arkansas does not make the tournament. He has not adequately proven his dismalness like Nutt has, and he still has the window to prove his quality as an SEC coach.

[DanS]

No let's not steal this thread for basketball. :rant:

[Drake Tungsten]

Agreed. It's not our fault that the NCAA tournament makes the college basketball regular season so pointless and boring that you can't even maintain a single thread on the subject until March Madness starts...

[DanS]

A 48-page fan-prepared dossier on Houston Nutt and the other nuts at Arkansas based on FOIA'd phone records...

http://www.shannews.com/

Executive Summary

The following document provides detailed analysis of source documents obtained from the University of Arkansas under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) including the cell phone records of Houston and Danny Nutt. These records were requested and subsequently analyzed by Razorback football fans concerned about incidents that have taken place in the program during the past year. The topics covered include:

*Communications between Teresa Prewett and Houston and Danny Nutt – cell phone records show there were frequent phone calls and text messages immediately before and after disturbing emails that were sent to Mitch Mustain and Wally Hall in December, despite Nutt’s statements that he had no knowledge of the emails until January.

* The David Lee hiring – records show communications between Lee and Nutt that contradict Nutt’s public statements regarding the timeline in Lee’s hiring.

* Houston Nutt’s connection to other head coaching vacancies – the records obtained contradict Nutt’s previous public statements regarding his lack of interest in other head coaching jobs.

* Houston Nutt’s connection to Donna Bragg – the records show voluminous phone calls and text messages between Nutt and Bragg, a Northwest Arkansas news anchor, during November and December, including a text message 19 minutes before kickoff in the Capital One Bowl.

* Use of text-messaging in recruiting – text-messaging has become a popular recruiting tool due the lack of restrictions by the NCAA on this type of communication. Despite the volume of text message sent to/from Houston and Danny Nutt, Teresa Prewett, and Donna Bragg, there were no messages to two of the state’s top recruits: Kodi Burns and Lee Ziemba.

* Emails and threatened legal action by Houston Nutt – the Razorback fan who requested the records under the FOIA subsequently emailed the UA Board of Trustees, Chancellor White, and Dr. Sugg regarding what he found in the requested records. He subsequently received a letter from Houston Nutt’s personal attorney threatening legal action (copy of letter included).

[mrmitchell]

I was going to post this but I figured it would hit national news as fast as I could post it anyway. I can only describe myself as "shocked" that it hasn't. The whole charade is going to come down in days, you guys. Count on it.

PS. Dunno if I did it on this forum, but I apologize for defending Houston Nutt at the start of the football season. The facts were not fully out.

EDIT: I mean, house will be cleaned. I would not be surprised if fallout hit everything short of track.

[mrmitchell]

nvm. Fox said it. but ESPN is still jerks.

[mrmitchell]

Walking on campus today, Houston Nutt had a TV news cameraman in his path, so he bypassed him saying "I'm not resigning and I'm not fired. Spread the word," referring to the infamous Internet forums that are abuzz with rumors. Pretty funny guy! Gotta say I give him a +1 for that.

[DanS]

By now, I wouldn't be surprised to see him hang in there.

[mrmitchell]

SUPPOSEDLY, the Board of Trustees has dug in behind Nutt and more than just giving him a public support, they are actively trying to discredit the internet forums where most of the anti-Nutt activity goes on.

If that's the case, I would say we are dead in the water. Nutt gets to love the helmet for at least another winning season.

I think not so much as pro-Nutt they are, as the idea of having independent communities in the fanbase is bad news to them. A lot of things in Arkansas have always been affairs for the upper crust; running UA athletics might just stay in that list. What I'm saying is, they want to squelch the independent discussions going on in the community - guaranteed, without the Internet, there would only be a murmur of discontent in northwest AR, and not the national attention we have now.

[DanS]

This is great. Mustain himself filed the FOIA request for Nutt's phone records.

:lol:

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/?p=3327

[Imran Siddiqui]

That's one way to get him :b:

[mrmitchell]

Mustain is one smart kid. IIRC he had a 26 ACT.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It was probably his parents/lawyers who told him to do that ;).

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by mrmitchell
Mustain is one smart kid. IIRC he had a 26 ACT.

Meh.

[DanS]

Brady Quinn: 'I'm Going To Be A Bust'

April 19, 2007 | Issue 43•16

DUBLIN, OH—Top draft prospect Brady Quinn, a strong-armed quarterback out of Notre Dame who is expected to be taken with one of the first five picks in the draft, told scouts interviewing him at his family home Monday that he would in all likelihood be a huge NFL bust. "While it's true I have impressive arm strength, and that I'm willing to stand up in the pocket against the rush, the fact remains that my lack of downfield accuracy gets me in trouble on the deep throws and my field vision is suspect," Quinn told draft evaluators from the Raiders, Browns, and Cardinals."Combine that with the enormous starting bonus I'll receive and the tendency for teams to try and develop quarterbacks long after they should give up, and I really just have 'bust' written all over me." While Quinn recommended teams look to solid prospects such as quarterback Jamarcus Russell, tackle Joe Thomas, and running back Adrian Peterson, Raiders owner Al Davis is reportedly more interested than ever in signing Quinn.

http://tinyurl.com/38oqkr

[DanS]

Oklahoma forfeits all 2005 games and loses 2 scholarships for 2 seasons.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2933008

[PLATO]

Originally posted by DanS
Oklahoma forfeits all 2005 games and loses 2 scholarships for 2 seasons.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2933008

Quinn is a class act:rolleyes:

When reached on his cell phone, Quinn said he did not pay any attention to the infractions committee's ruling on Oklahoma, calling it "dumb" and referring to it with an expletive.

"I have no idea," Quinn said. "I don't care."

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by DanS
Oklahoma forfeits all 2005 games and loses 2 scholarships for 2 seasons.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2933008

No they don't forfeit games.

They vacate all 2005 wins. The teams they beat do not get a win.

They (Oklahoma) also do not lose the money for playing in the Holiday bowl.

:p ACK!

[DanS]

OK, good clarification, if so.

[Lord Avalon]

Slightly aged news, but I didn't get around to posting it earlier this week:
U-M partners with Adidas

Bye, bye, swoosh.

Michigan, which signed a landmark shoe and apparel deal with Nike in 1994 at $1 million per year, is going to partner with Adidas.

U-M announced the eight-year agreement Tuesday. The deal is worth $7.5 million per year and is to begin with the 2008-09 season.

The contract is believed to be Adidas' largest with a public university.

U-M's current Nike contract, signed in 2001, earns the school nearly $3 million per year. Just like Nike, Adidas will outfit all 25 of the Wolverines' varsity teams.

"We are excited and proud of our new collaboration with Adidas," U-M athletic director Bill Martin said in a news release. "Adidas will outfit our student-athletes and teams from head to toe, while providing additional resources for our athletic department."

There is a "most favored nation" clause in the contract that will keep Michigan as Adidas' top college deal. :D :b:

Adidas already has deals with Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee, Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin, as well as an exclusive deal with the NBA.

Michigan said the contract has provisions dealing with labor and human rights issues. The subject was often a target of criticism for Nike and a point of contention between U-M and the company during the last negotiations in 2000.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070711/SPORTS18/707110406/1054/SPORTS

Mark Snyder's Blog

More on the Michigan-Adidas deal
July 11, 2007

This moment -- when Michigan would leave Nike -- was years in the making.

It just took a challenger to take on the giant and Adidas was more than willing.

Michigan and Nike publicly battled years ago over the last contract, so that may have made this separation more palatable on both sides.

In 2000, talks between Nike and U-M became heated and it took nearly a year to find a suitable contract.

While many issues were on the table then, including labor standards, money was the most significant factor.

It’s probably unfair to say that acrimony seven years ago dealt directly with this decision, as money remained the overriding factor, but the bumpy history probably didn’t help.

To get a suitable deal in 2000, Michigan and new athletic director Bill Martin bought their gear from Nike for a year before the current contract -- which expires after this season -- was completed.

http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/news/pressrelease.jhtml?year=2000&month=05&letter=I

This time, the negotiating flowed much smoother for the eight-year, $60 million deal, making it Adidas’ largest deal with a university, topping Notre Dame’s reported 10-year, $60 million connection from 2005.

Nike had an exclusive negotiating period and the sides began talking about a renewal nearly a year ago. Michigan’s stance was similar to previous years but the feeling emerged early in 2007 that Adidas wanted to make a run at U-M.

Though Michigan officials said they know only about their negotiations, the climate between Nike and Adidas dramatically changed last January when Nike stole the German national soccer team from Adidas, ending a 50-year relationship between the German company and the national team. :eek: [I didn't know that!]

It was not just that they snatched the team, it was how, signing an eight-year deal for 500 million Euros (62.5 million per year), blowing away the previous contract of 11 million per year.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1308633.ece

(That equates to a $685 million contract in the current U.S. dollars.)

So, it seems, the German company Adidas went after what is often assumed to be one of Nike’s biggest U.S. college brands, U-M.

At the bargaining table

Those moments hit at nearly the same time, a few months ago, when Adidas came to Michigan with an offer substantially higher than Nike’s standard. Because Nike had the right to match any other offer, Michigan waited for Nike's refusal. But the shoe giant did not match.

With so many schools under its umbrella, Nike might have been concerned about how such a large deal would have affected their other schools and those negotiations.

Though Nike dominates the athletic shoe market --33.2% of the global market share according to a 2005 USA Today report -- Adidas closed the gap significantly two years ago when it purchased Reebok, pushing their combined percentage to 25%.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2005-08-04-adidas-1b-cover-usat_x.htm

While money was the overriding factor, Michigan secured a few more nuggets for itself. For those worried about the football uniforms, those with knowledge of the deal said they expect few changes.

But with the sideline apparel, where Michigan was limited to essentially the same design as all Nike schools, just with different colors, now the Wolverines have more leeway in its appearance.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070711/BLOG14/70711025/1054/SPORTS06

[DanS]

You can bet the folks in South Bend are interested in this! :D

Lots of grumbling on ND boards. On the other hand, apparently there's an escalation clause in Michigan's deal. Because of this, ND still might have the most lucrative deal every year. The articles are worded delicately. If not, then Adidas just screwed themselves when it comes time to renegotiate the ND deal.

[DanS]

One week until camp, gents. :b:

[Guynemer]

First coaches poll is out. Not a whole lot of surprises at the top:

1. USC (45) 1481
2. LSU (4) 1372
3. Florida (9) 1278
4. Texas 1231
5. Michigan (2) 1218
6. West Virginia 1205
7. Wisconsin 1114
8. Oklahoma 1026
9. Virginia Tech 1005
10. Ohio State 919

No, the surprises come at the bottom. The very, very bottom, actually.

There, at the end of all the other Also Receiving Votes, is this:

Duke 1.

:toofunny:

[Lord Avalon]

From Stewart Mandel's College Football Mailbag (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/08/22/cfb.mailbag/index.html)

Redefining the Heisman
True candidates for 'most outstanding player'

...

If I were making a preseason Heisman list for this season, taking into account all classes, positions and schools, here's what it would look like:

1. Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
2. Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
3. Pat White, QB/Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia (as long as we're reinventing the rules ...)
4. Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State
5. Jake Long, T, Michigan
6. DeSean Jackson, WR/PR, Cal
7. Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
8. Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii
9. Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
10. Kenny Phillips, S, Miami

...
I didn't want to post the whole first page, cuz it's kinda long.

The last page (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/08/22/cfb.mailbag/3.html) has a section on the Big Ten Network fiasco.

[DanS]

Originally posted by Guynemer
First coaches poll is out. Not a whole lot of surprises at the top:

1. USC (45) 1481
2. LSU (4) 1372
3. Florida (9) 1278
4. Texas 1231
5. Michigan (2) 1218
6. West Virginia 1205
7. Wisconsin 1114
8. Oklahoma 1026
9. Virginia Tech 1005
10. Ohio State 919

No, the surprises come at the bottom. The very, very bottom, actually.

There, at the end of all the other Also Receiving Votes, is this:

Duke 1.

:toofunny:

Yeh, isn't that the ol' bawl coach's vote?

[DanS]

So it all starts tomorrow, I guess. LSU v. MSU. Not a great matchup, but better than nothing to get my fix in before the weekend build-up. ;)

[Lord Avalon]

Did I :rant: about the Big Ten Network yet? Because of their head-up-buttedness, I'll be missing the opening Michigan game. Yeah, it's only Appalachian State, but I've gotten used to having games available on TV.

I hate Comcast, but they're right on this - BTN should be in the sports tier. But BTN thinks it should be in the expanded basic "for free" - except everyone's bill would be a little higher. So now no one gets to see it. :mad:

Last year, it'd be an ESPN Plus game, and some local channel would pick it up. But BTN games aren't available like that. :angry:

[DanS]

Amazing that they thought they could tack on $1.20 for each cable subscriber each month without it being a big deal. Beyond shameless.

[Lord Avalon]

That's more than the $1.10 I heard, but who knows what price range was actually being negotiated.

Still, I wish there were two cable companies in my area. Then somebody would be offering it. And I'd be paying a lot less than I am now.

[DanS]

Cable prices are outrageous and content should be a la carte. I agree that it's a crime that there is a cable TV monopoly in most places in the US.

In DC, we have a duopoly (Comcast and RCN) -- I'm unhappy with that situation because RCN undercuts Comcast by only 5%. In some of the suburbs there is more competition (Comcast, Verizon FIOS, and RCN).

[snoopy369]

RCN isn't a very good company from what i've seen. They could undercut Comcast by quite a lot more, but they seem to overstretch themselves and then end up doing less than they should.

Comcast has a virtual monopoly in Chicago. RCN and to a lesser extent WoW have some penetration, but RCN is only in certain areas, and between them being on the verge of bankruptcy not long ago and their lack of services, Comcast is the only real choice... for way, way too much money.

I'm just waiting for internet television ... or true a la carte television... or for AT&T to finally win its attempt to get into the cable market here. They're trying to do so through the state government's repealing the cable franchise or something like that, which is fine by me :)

[Lord Avalon]

AT&T wants to deal only with the state, rather than with local governments, which is what cable has to do. Makes sense for them, but not necessarily for the consumer.

[Lord Avalon]

Excerpt from Freep's "The Ticker" in the college football preview section.

This season's rule changes

• Kickoffs: They'll be from the 30-yard line after years of using the 35 as the starting point.

• Penalty yardage: If the kicking team is called for a penalty, the receiving team can add the yardage to a return.

• Game clock: After the NCAA's one-season experiment starting the game clock immediately on a possession change, the clock will again start on the first snap of the new possession.

• TV time-outs: When a TV time-out is over, teams get 15 seconds -- rather than 25 -- to run a play.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/SPORTS08/708290363/0/SPORTS06&theme=COLLEGEFB07

[SlowwHand]

http://www.the-flag-center.com/store/images/Texas%20Longhorns.jpg









http://j.b5z.net/i/u/2103700/i/Texas_Tech.JPG

[pchang]

is Tenessee at Cal

[SlowwHand]

Yeah, right. That's the game I live for.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by pchang
is Tenessee at Cal

QFT :b:

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon
Still, I wish there were two cable companies in my area. Then somebody would be offering it. And I'd be paying a lot less than I am now.

Dude, there are three cable companies in Columbus, and nary a one of them is carrying BTN. I'm NEVER gonna see a Michigan game now, unless it is on ABC or ESPN.

:rant:

[DanS]

Have the viewing opportunities ever been good for you? This is a good opportunity for you to go to a game watch at a local bar. Even the eminently forgettable game versus Appalachian State this weekend is on the BTN.

As for games this weekend, I'm looking forward to ND v. Georgia Tech. Judging from last year's game, this should be a close one. ND lost quite a few players, so it will be fun to see all of the new, young faces. Georgia Tech lost a few key players too.

[Lord Avalon]

A co-worker of mine told me today she had a class with Tom Brady, back when. She also waitressed at a downtown restaurant. So she saw him in there, went over and said, "Hi. What are you doing with the football team?"

:lol:

[Imran Siddiqui]

:lol:

Tom Brady :nage:

[DanS]

It's game day, gents. :b:

[Guynemer]

WTF?!

I get home from work, and Michigan is losing 21-14?

[DanS]

Va. Tech looks like crap too.

[DanS]

Good thing that game's only on the BTN. It would be painful to watch. :lol:

[DanS]

Arrrrrrhhhh!!!!!

[Guynemer]

I wasn't expecting Michigan to blow them out of the water or anything, the Mountaineers are two-time defending I-AA champs after all, but I sure as **** wasn't expecting THIS either.

I'm listening to it over the web, the defense sounds awful. And they're using the back-up RB, Hart must've been injured.

[Imran Siddiqui]

:eek:

Appy State... holy crap! Now, I don't know if they can keep this up (usually what happens is the upstart fades because their depth isn't as good as the highly ranked team), but I hope they can :).

[DanS]

Michigan turns it over on downs. I've got no dog in the fight, but you can't help but be stunned.

[Lord Avalon]

I set my clock radio to wake up to the game. Ended up going back to sleep, dreaming about football. "We" were playing a team so poor, that they didn't have uniforms - they played in dress shirts, ties, slacks and dress shoes. I think they had pads. Anyway, we were winning handily.

When I woke up and turned the radio on, they were saying Michigan was trailing by 11. It took a few times to sink in. I kept thinking, but we were way ahead. :confused:

[Lord Avalon]

Mike Hart 54yd TD run!!! :eek: :dance:

I forgot :relief:

[Lord Avalon]

We got an INT, then missed the FG (partially blocked). :shame:

Defense will have to seal the deal.

Crap, they're not. 30s left and they're at the 5. Going for FG. :scared:

[DanS]

Oh dear.

[Lord Avalon]

OMG!! First pass, inc, 2nd pass to Manningham 46yds! At the 20!

[Lord Avalon]

BLOCKED! :eek: :shame: :idiot: :cry:

[Guynemer]

**** me.

[DanS]

Damn!

[Guynemer]

I'm never going to hear the end of this. Ever.

Not unless I move.

**** me. **** **** ****ity ****.

[Guynemer]

You know, it was the kicking game more than defense that worried me about Big Blue this year.

:shame:

[asleepathewheel]

Good thing MSU v UAB was on the deuce and not this one. :b::b:

[Guynemer]

In retrospect, how huge were those two two-point conversion attempts, neither of them good? Kick the PAT both times, and we're in OT. Connect on the first, kick the PAT the second, and ASU has to go for the TD late.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by DanS
Good thing that game's only on the BTN. It would be painful to watch. :lol:
Perhaps I should write and thank them for not letting me see that fustercluck. :banp:

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Guynemer
In retrospect, how huge were those two two-point conversion attempts, neither of them good? Kick the PAT both times, and we're in OT. Connect on the first, kick the PAT the second, and ASU has to go for the TD late.
I often think coaches go for 2 too early.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Guynemer
I'm never going to hear the end of this. Ever.

Not unless I move.

**** me. **** **** ****ity ****.

After this:

Christ, they've even fell into the lamentable practice of scheduling a I-AA opponent.

You shouldn't ever hear the end of it.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:p ACK!

[Guynemer]

Well it is a lamentable practice. I stand by my earlier statement. Why schedule the best I-AA team, when a good-but-not-great I-A opponent would offer a better test? Appy State was the perfect storm--the best I-AA team two years running, but a I-AA team so there was no urgency in the team. If they had played a decent I-A team (let's say, I dunno, Oklahoma State), they may not have been so complacent.

[DanS]

God, talk about a signature loss for Lllllloyd.

[Lord Avalon]

On the bright side, it's easier to rebound from an early loss.

They better finish out the year well, so Llllloyd can retire on a high note.

[DanS]

There's a bright side for Michigan? Losing to a I-AA is pretty bad...

[asleepathewheel]

I'm sure they'll still be ranked in the top 15.

[Lord Avalon]

Well, it's not bright now, but if it's our only loss at the end of the season? Then it's not so bad.

I'm trying not to think that this could be the harbinger of a crappy year, and Lllloyd doesn't retire because he can't go out like that.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by Guynemer
Well it is a lamentable practice. I stand by my earlier statement. Why schedule the best I-AA team, when a good-but-not-great I-A opponent would offer a better test? Appy State was the perfect storm--the best I-AA team two years running, but a I-AA team so there was no urgency in the team. If they had played a decent I-A team (let's say, I dunno, Oklahoma State), they may not have been so complacent.

Sure it's lamentable, you woulda had a better chance against a Division III school.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Michigan got beaten by the better team today.

:p ACK!

[MRT144]

YES! OH! IO!

MUCK FICHIGAN!

I laughed my ass off for literally 5 minutes when i saw teh score.

btw, go wisconsin.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
I'm sure they'll still be ranked in the top 15.

:toofunny:

Dude, I'd be shocked if they're in the Top 25, and wouldn't be at all surprised if they don't even make ARV.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Tuberski

Michigan got beaten by the better team today.

:p ACK!

You'll never hear me deny that.

[MRT144]

guynemer, are you still on Columbus? if so, you have my condolences.

[Guynemer]

Yes, and thank you.

God, I dread going back to work Wednesday.

[MRT144]

I can't imagine how it will be. perhaps you should record it and put it on youtube.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Woohoo.. this means Rutgers moves up at least 1 spot ;).

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by MRT144
I can't imagine how it will be. perhaps you should record it and put it on youtube.

:lol:



You know what makes me sad?

Drake would have loved this. (Hell, I'm sure he is loving this, but I'd have enjoyed seeing him gloat on here.)

[DanS]

Where is he, anyway?

[Guynemer]

He left in the midst of all the Asher controversy. Shame, really.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Guynemer

You know what makes me sad?

Drake would have loved this. (Hell, I'm sure he is loving this, but I'd have enjoyed seeing him gloat on here.)
Man, you really are a glutton for punishment. I guess that's why you live in Columbus. :shame: :cringe:

[Guynemer]

****, I might as well see someone happy, since I feel so goddamned miserable. My wife, the OSU grad, doesn't give a toss about football anyway.

[Guynemer]

So, LA, do you think Lloyd finishes out the season, or does he leave now?

Do we aggressively pursue Les Miles as a replacement? (I liked the idea of Ron English taking over early last year, but not after these last three games.) Would Miles seriously consider such an offer?

And finally:

Did Bo put a curse on this team when he snuffed it? They're 0-3 since then...

[MRT144]

Originally posted by Guynemer
****, I might as well see someone happy, since I feel so goddamned miserable. My wife, the OSU grad, doesn't give a toss about football anyway.

i'd consider you lucky in this case. a spouse that's a rival and ISNT aware, or at least care about it is lucky. though i suppose you might not have married her if she did gloat, considering the past few years. ;)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Hell, Drake would probably also love the fact that ND looks like such crap against Georgia Tech (whose offense looks like balls).

[DanS]

ND's really laying an egg. Lots of young guys didn't produce.

That said, at least we didn't lose to an I-AA team. :relief:

[PLATO]

I'll bet ASU has a hard time getting a D I game next year. ;)

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Guynemer
So, LA, do you think Lloyd finishes out the season, or does he leave now?

Do we aggressively pursue Les Miles as a replacement? (I liked the idea of Ron English taking over early last year, but not after these last three games.) Would Miles seriously consider such an offer?

And finally:

Did Bo put a curse on this team when he snuffed it? They're 0-3 since then...
At this point I'm thinking he does. I don't think he's one to quit during a season, and though the calls for his head will be starting, and he'll lose some support, it's not enough yet for Bill Martin to pull the trigger. If the team continues to look like crap, and the losses start to mount, we'll have to revisit the issue....

As for Miles, we might. Didn't he vote against U-M in a poll? While that might not have earned him any favor, with Bo dead, and (assuming) Carr in disfavor, we might want to.

Poor Bo - he must be rolling over in his grave. In a weird way perhaps it's a good thing he's dead, because this might have done him in. :frownnod:

[Grandpa Troll]

I am in the ACC, I watched Wake Forest lose to Boston Coll.

Good game, BC looked pretty decent

Earlier, VT went off on ECU, just another reason VT is a much better teaam, hope they continue to do well.

ECU is from Greenville NC, 1.5 hours from here.

They do have a few pretty good players every now and then come out of its football program.

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by DanS
Va. Tech looks like crap too.

But they put together a decent second half:b:

[Donegeal]

On Wisconsin!!!!

1-0!!!

[Guynemer]

MICHAEL ROSENBERG: APPALLING! Wolverines shocked by Division I-AA team
September 1, 2007

Is it me, or is Appalachian State, like, REALLY good?

What? It is me?

Michigan players, fans and alumni all face the same "dastardly fate," as announcer Bob Ufer used to say. Wherever they go, whatever they do, people will say:

You lost to Appalachian State!

Michigan will not get over this for a long, long time. College football, more than any other sport, is a perception game. The championship-game matchup is decided, at least in part, by public opinion. People argue about the relative strength of their conferences long after the bartender asks them to leave.

And the perception is that Michigan just lost to the Washington Generals. There is no response to that. If you're Michigan, you simply cannot lose to Appalachian State.

The Wolverines woke up Saturday morning with dreams of a national championship. Well, dream on. As U-M running back Mike Hart said after the stunning 34-32 finish:

"When you lose to a team like that, a Division I-AA team, how can you win the national championship in Division I?"

You can't. Never mind that Michigan was one play from escaping. Never mind that Appalachian State, which has won two straight Division I-AA championships, has the talent to compete in Division I-A, or whatever the NCAA is calling its divisions these days.

Never mind that this was a good matchup for the Mountaineers, who have speed on offense and a talented, shifty, quarterback, Armanti Edwards, to pick apart Michigan's inexperienced defense. (And Appalachian State knew it! As the Winston-Salem Journal reported last week, the Mountaineers practically begged U-M athletic director Bill Martin for the matchup.)

Never mind that Michigan was foolish to schedule Appalachian State. When you want a cupcake, eat a cupcake. Don't chew on glass and tell yourself it's a cupcake.

Never mind all that because … hold on. I've got someone from East Lansing on the other line.

It's for you, Lloyd.

You lost to Appalachian State!

This is a disaster for the Wolverines, and you know what? They are stuck. They can't shut people up by beating Oregon Saturday, because that's not a great Oregon team. They can't change it by beating Notre Dame, because people will just use that as more evidence that Notre Dame is overrated for the 15 th consecutive year.

And Michigan can't even change the perception by winning the Big Ten, because … wait a second … I think I hear somebody in Tuscaloosa:

Y'all call that a major conference? Your favorite lost to Appalach'n State!

The Wolverines can't do anything about the perception unless they win a BCS game against an elite team. Right now, they have to get over the humiliation of losing to Appalachian State and deal with why they lost.

Michigan's senior quarterback, Chad Henne, did not look like a senior quarterback. He overthrew a few receivers. On one fourth-and-five in the fourth quarter, he forced a pass to tight end Mike Massey instead of hitting an open Adrian Arrington underneath for a first down.

Then there was Henne's biggest mistake: one of those across-the-body passes into coverage with a twist and two lutzes that nobody has completed since John Elway retired. It was intercepted.

I don't know what went wrong for Henne, because h skipped postgame interviews. Quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler insisted, "He wasn't rattled at all."

What happened to Michigan's vaunted offensive talent? The right side of the offensive line, shaky to begin with, is now injury-ravaged, too. Mike Hart, who ran for 188 yards and what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown, missed a chunk of the game with a thigh injury.

Then there is Carr. He had two talk-radio decisions in this game –- the kind that people will debate for days. Both of his choices were defensible, but neither worked.

The first time he went for two when his team pulled within 31-26 in the third quarter. The Wolverines blew the conversion on a bad snap. That forced them to try for two when they scored again, and they blew that when Brandon Minor stumbled.

With two more extra points, the Wolverines would have led 34-31 in the final minutes, and maybe the game ends differently.

The other decision came late in the fourth quarter. Michigan led 32-31 and faced fourth and six on the Appalachian State 26. Carr went for a 44-yard field goal instead of trying to seal the win with a first down. The kick was blocked.

You can blame Carr for making the wrong choices. Personally, I think that's silly. Instead, blame him for a team that blew critical snaps, missed blocking assignments, asked linebackers and safeties to cover speedy receivers and failed to adjust to Appalachian State's attack until the Mountaineers had scored 28 points.

"Losing – that's bad enough," Carr said. "But to play the way we did, that's an even greater disappointment."

How disappointing?

Disappointing enough to bring Carr back in 2008?

It has been widely speculated – by fans, media, and privately by some people at Michigan – that this will be Carr's final season. The speculation has been repeated so often that some people take it as fact. But remember: the speculation is predicated on the fact that Carr has senior offensive talent, especially at quarterback, and Notre Dame and Ohio State teams at home.

People figured he would ride this team into the sunset. Well, if the sun is setting on the Wolverines in Orlando or Tampa or (gasp!) San Antonio at the end of the year, will Carr really retire?

(And no, he won't get fired. He was not in danger of getting fired Saturday morning, after three BCS berths in four years, and Michigan doesn't change its tune based on one loss, even one as humiliating as this.)

That is a question for another day. In the meantime, Michigan is now 0-1 with Oregon , Notre Dame and Penn State looming. The Wolverines can win all those games, and they can still go to the Rose Bowl, but …

Hang on. Appalachian State linebacker Pierre Banks has something to say.

"We should go to the Rose Bowl!" Banks yelled.

Banks added, "I'm just kidding," which was classy but entirely unnecessary. The Mountaineers should crow about this forever.

Everybody else will.

Contact MICHAEL ROSENBERG at 313-222-6052 or mrosenberg@freepress.com.



If I recall correctly, UM didn't originally have ASU on the schedule, but their original opponent backed out. Don't remember who that was. Ooooops.

[SlowwHand]

That's what they get for scheduling a "bye week".

[pchang]

Berkeley wins their opener! On the other hand, Tennessee is no Appalachian State.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by pchang
Berkeley wins their opener! On the other hand, Tennessee is no Appalachian State.

Tennessee's offense looked pretty good. Was hard to tell if their defense was just that bad or if Cal's offense is just that good. I tend to lean toward Cal's offense being that good.

Sad day for The Big Orange, but they got beat by a better football team. :(

[Japher]

Sports Center this morning was showing the Michigan football players the day after, hanging their heads... made me laugh.

[Apocalypse]

Collin Cowheard went a little overboard this morning comparing Ohio State to McDonalds and Michigan to BK. For what seemed like a good hour of commentary.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Colin Cowheard is a waste of space.

[Guynemer]

That analogy is crap, since BK is actually better than McD's.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Guynemer
That analogy is crap, since BK is actually better than McD's.

Oh, that too.

[DanS]

The Appalachian State victory had so many entertaining story lines and Cowherd came up with... Mickey Ds versus BK? :rolleyes:

[Ming]

Originally posted by PLATO
I'll bet ASU has a hard time getting a D I game next year. ;)

While schedules are sometimes made years in advance... I think you are right ;)

That will teach the big schools to schedule "little sisters of the poor" to pad their schedules. You can't take these teams lightly... and make a bunch of errors. It's Michigans own fault they lost. Yeah, ASU played with a lot of heart and were good, but Michigan handed them the game with their inability to execute and far too many mistakes. Suck on that Big Blue.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by DanS
The Appalachian State victory had so many entertaining story lines and Cowherd came up with... Mickey Ds versus BK? :rolleyes:

Like I said, he's a waste of space. Probably the most annoying person ESPN has on their payroll, and that's saying something.

[DanS]

#8 Louisville giving up 35 points to Middle Tennessee State in the first half. :shame:

[Guynemer]

Yikes.



In other news, the AP Poll has decided to allow voters to include I-AA teams on their ballots.

I doubt we'll see App State in the Top 25 next week, but they'll at least be in the ARV.

[DanS]

To be honest, I think that's pretty much a fraud -- albeit a fairly harmless one at this point. It's a way of giving Michigan an excuse for laying an egg by building up App State.

[Imran Siddiqui]

At half time... Ohio State 3, Akron 2. :lol:

[DanS]

Michigan stinking up the joint again. This time against the Ducks. Wow.

Michigan and Notre Dame apparently are competing against each other in suckitude this year.

[Lord Avalon]

What a quackmire! :shame:

Our O, which was supposed to be the strength of this team, is turning the ball over, only scored once.

Our D sucks. Spread offense killing us again. :frownnod:

And the same O is our bane year after year! :angry: Why the hell can't the coaches figure out a way to play against it?!?! :hmmm:

[Tuberski]

Michigan- proof positive that preseason polls are stupid.

:p ACK!

[Donegeal]

Michigan: :toofunny:

[reismark]

Originally posted by DanS
Michigan and Notre Dame apparently are competing against each other in suckitude this year.
1) Notre Dame was supposed to suck this year. Michigan was supposed to compete for a national title.

2) Notre Dame didn't lose to a I-AA team.

Advantage: Irish. At least until next week, anyway.

Meanwhile LSU is looking every bit the title contender it's supposed to be against VaTech. Same for Florida despite much weaker competition. 'Tis a shame that there's probably no way they could play each other for a national title, but remember that the SEC is overrated. :rolleyes:

[SlowwHand]

South Carolina beat Georgia. That's usually a decent game.
Texas thumped TCU, which isn't a bad team by any means.

[reismark]

Looks like there won't be a non-BCS crasher this year. The two most touted candidates (Boise State & TCU) have already lost.

[Donegeal]

On Wisconsin!

Thats 2-0!

[DanS]

Originally posted by reismark
Advantage: Irish. At least until next week, anyway.


Indeed, the question of the week is who will win the Notre Dame v. Michigan game.

Notre Dame is extremely young across-the-board. 31 players last week with first time game experience, and it's showing most acutely in the offensive line. The defense actually looks pretty good to me, despite all the youth. It's tough to play D when your O is going 3-and-out almost exclusively.

A lot was expected of Michigan, but their young defense is proving their undoing. They might be down a quarterback too.

Given that Michigan is at home, and the recent history of this series, Notre Dame will probably win it. :)

By the way, I think the winning percentage title is up for grabs this week.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Haw Haw... Auburn lost to USF! Go Big East!!

[Apocalypse]

AP Top 25
1. USC (40) 1-0 1,594
2. LSU (25) 2-0 1,582
3. Oklahoma 2-0 1,418
4. West Virginia 2-0 1,408
5. Florida 2-0 1,370
6. Texas 2-0 1,290
7. Wisconsin 2-0 1,171
8. California 2-0 1,126
9. Louisville 2-0 1,097
10. Ohio State 2-0 962
11. UCLA 2-0 910
12. Penn State 2-0 896
13. Rutgers 2-0 820
14. Nebraska 2-0 693
15. Georgia Tech 2-0 590
16. Arkansas 1-0 537
17. South Carolina 2-0 477
18. Virginia Tech 1-1 382
19. Oregon 2-0 367
20. Clemson 2-0 349
21. Boston College 2-0 323
22. Tennessee 1-1 284
23. Georgia 1-1 261
24. Hawaii 2-0 247
25. Texas A&M 2-0 243
Others Receiving Votes
South Florida 220, Missouri 144, Alabama 116, Washington 95, TCU 66, Arizona State 28, Auburn 23, Appalachian State 19, Cincinnati 12, Florida State 2, Iowa 1, Kansas 1, Purdue 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Auburn 17, TCU 19, Boise State 22.

USA Today Poll
1. USC (42) 1-0 1,476
2. LSU (11) 2-0 1,437
3. Florida (7) 2-0 1,353
4. West Virginia 2-0 1,269
5. Oklahoma 2-0 1,264
6. Texas 2-0 1,156
7. Wisconsin 2-0 1,141
8. California 2-0 1,038
9. Louisville 2-0 1,020
10. Ohio State 2-0 972
11. UCLA 2-0 837
12. Penn State 2-0 804
13. Rutgers 2-0 699
14. Nebraska 2-0 677
15. Georgia Tech 2-0 582
16. Arkansas 1-0 493
17. Virginia Tech 1-1 371
18. Texas A&M 2-0 325
19. Boston College 2-0 315
20. Clemson 2-0 311
21. Oregon 2-0 309
22. Hawaii 2-0 308
23. South Carolina 2-0 294
24. Tennessee 1-1 237
25. Georgia 1-1 199
Others Receiving Votes
Auburn 131, South Florida 115, Missouri 65, Washington 60, Texas Tech 53, Boise State 47, TCU 41, Alabama 34, Iowa 19, Arizona State 18, Brigham Young 10, Kentucky 9, Miami (FL) 3, Wyoming 3, Maryland 2, Cincinnati 2, Purdue 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Auburn 13, TCU 19, Boise State 20.

[pchang]

What does the SEC think about Pac 10 Football now?

[Imran Siddiqui]

What does the SEC think about Big East Football? ;)

[Donegeal]

Yeah! Wisconsin wins and drops two places in the polls!

:shame:

[DanS]

Looks like Henne is out for a game or the year. That's a huge blow for Michigan, as Henne was a good QB and their backups are pretty far behind..

[Imran Siddiqui]

Not like Michigan was going to do anything this year.

[DanS]

I disagree. Michigan could have turned things around. This is a down year for the Big Ten, so I wouldn't have been surprised to see Michigan go to the Rose Bowl, even after the loss to Oregon and even after a loss to ND this Saturday.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I surmise you may be smoking something ;). Even with a down year... I don't see Michigan beating Wisconsin or Penn State.

[DanS]

A win against one of Wisconsin or Penn State is never out of reach for Michigan. Doesn't matter how bad they are. I've watched these teams my whole life, and I know this to be true. I think it more likely that Michigan will lose to ND this week than to lose to both Wisconsin and Penn State.

[Lord Avalon]

Which of the following is so bad, that it will make the other look good?

a) Notre Dame offense

b) Michigan defense

To be answered Saturday. :scared:

[MRT144]

Originally posted by DanS
A win against one of Wisconsin or Penn State is never out of reach for Michigan. Doesn't matter how bad they are. I've watched these teams my whole life, and I know this to be true. I think it more likely that Michigan will lose to ND this week than to lose to both Wisconsin and Penn State.

of course they will lose to ND this week, they are ,after all, playing one of your favorite teams.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Brings up an interesting point. Who in the world would have expected UM-ND this week to be a contest of 0-2 teams?

[DanS]

Originally posted by MRT144
of course they will lose to ND this week, they are ,after all, playing one of your favorite teams.

It's more than that. The matchup isn't favorable to Michigan this year. ND's interior D line has been surprisingly very stout -- before the season, we had reason to believe it weak. Now that Henne is out, Michigan will want to rely mostly on the interior running game.

[DanS]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Brings up an interesting point. Who in the world would have expected UM-ND this week to be a contest of 0-2 teams?

I expected Michigan to be really good this year, mainly because I thought they could reload on D.

I didn't expect ND's offensive line to be so poor, but thought that ND wouldn't have a great year, due to inexperience.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, but this is the first time that both teams have met while being 0-2 (and I believe they both schedule each other as their 3rd game of the year). Ever.

[DanS]

ND-Michigan normally is the 2nd game of the year and Michigan schedules creampuffs the first game of the year, so there's much less to that stat than meets the eye.

[snoopy369]

If only they had this year :(

[Guynemer]

This week will be telling for Big Blue. Are they really this bad? Or is it just their historic ineptitude against mobile QBs and spread offenses? They won't see any ASU/Oregon style offenses for the rest of the season...

[Lord Avalon]

Imposter priest sneaks into ND game
YouTube removes six-minute video featuring hijinks

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- A man posted on the Internet a video showing how he sneaked into Notre Dame Stadium before the Georgia Tech game by posing as a Roman Catholic priest, prompting the university to re-emphasize its security procedures.

The six-minute video on the Web site YouTube showed the man posing by the team's signature yellow sign reading "Play Like a Champion Today," chatting with a television reporter and greeting the Fighting Irish as they ran onto the field to play Georgia Tech on Sept. 1. The video has since been removed. [Rats!]

University spokesman Dennis Brown said ushers made "an honest mistake" in failing to check the man for credentials, likely fooled by the camera crew that apparently followed him into the stadium.

"A group like that would need to request a credential, a field pass," Brown said. "(But) it looked professional enough that clearly the ushers at the gate were deceived and made a mistake."

Brown said that current security precautions, if followed, are enough to prevent such pranks from happening again.

"We aren't making any radical changes relative to stadium security at the gates," he said. "As much as anything, we'll just be emphasizing the procedures that we already have in place."

He said the university knows the identity of the man because he wrote them seeking permission to use the video. Brown said the university responded that it couldn't give an answer without seeing the video. Brown said the man didn't contact the university again.

The university does not plan to seek a criminal charge against the man, but is discussing what action to take.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/09/12/notredame.imposter.ap/index.html

[DanS]

This just in. Amazing!

Columbus, OH (AP) - A seven-year old boy was at the center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the University of Michigan Wolverines, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Old.

[Donegeal]

Yet fitting.

[Tuberski]

Noel Devine for West Virginia:

2 rushes 107 yards.

No TDs.

:lol:

:p ACK!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, Devine is freaking scary!

Should have had a TD on the 2nd run (70ish yards, I believe?), but didn't dive at the end and was downed at the 1. Slaton though took it in :D.

[Tuberski]

If he hadn't got facemasked right there, he was gone again.

:lol:

:p ACK!

[DanS]

Devine is scary quick. Doesn't have top end speed and he's undersized, but his quickness is great. :b:

[Imran Siddiqui]

White, Slaton, and Devine are going to be crazy to stop! Especially as Devine settles into the offense and college football (as he is a true freshman).

The game against Louisville may end up being the first one to 60 wins ;).

[DanS]

Rumblings that Demetrius Jones transferred from ND today. Speculation is that he's going to Northwestern.

This would be a real shame for the team, even though he laid an egg against Georgia Tech as QB, since he is a great leader. Weis pretty much gave him the "keys to kingdom" with regard to helping ND recruit.

But all the best to him, wherever he lands. There's nothing bad and lots of good that an ND fan could say about him.

[PLATO]

Tennessee vs Florida Tommorow.

Does this game still determine the SEC East? With Georgia already having a loss, is South Carolina now the hurdle for the Gators?

/me shudders

[DanS]

TN has a chance there. Certainly, I wouldn't favor them on the road, though.

I'm looking forward to USC - Nebraska as well as ND - Michigan.

[pchang]

Only ND and Michigan homers are looking forward to a battle of thoroughly beatens....

[SlowwHand]

Oklahoma may be Number 1 this year. You heard it here first. :)

[DanS]

Originally posted by pchang
Only ND and Michigan homers are looking forward to a battle of thoroughly beatens....

Sure, but there are quite a few of us. My boss is a Michigan alum, so there's something to watch for. ;)

Others might be interested in seeing the #1 true freshman QB prospect v. the #2 true freshman QB prospect.

[DanS]

Demetrius Jones to Northern Illinois.

[pchang]

Perhaps the entire Big 10 was overrated.

[DanS]

This is revenge of the creampuffs. :b:

If you schedule creampuffs, you better beat them badly.

[cubbyphan1138]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
White, Slaton, and Devine are going to be crazy to stop! Especially as Devine settles into the offense and college football (as he is a true freshman).

The game against Louisville may end up being the first one to 60 wins ;).

I would be careful with Devine. I put the over/under at 3 months before he is in jail. The kid makes Maurice Clarett look like an intelligent, upstanding citizen.

[DanS]

I have heard he has a supremely screwed up personal life, but don't know the details. The announcers talked about it briefly during the game. Basically said that he is radioactive, since even the Florida teams wouldn't touch him.

[DanS]

Way to spot Michigan 10 points. :b:

[snoopy369]

Don't think we don't appreciate them :)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Haw haw.. Auburn lost to Mississippi State!

[snoopy369]

I think the question of this game is, will Mike Hart set the NCAA record for rushing in one game... because they're certainly not going to throw the ball at all ;)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by cubbyphan1138
I would be careful with Devine. I put the over/under at 3 months before he is in jail. The kid makes Maurice Clarett look like an intelligent, upstanding citizen.

I think the stuff against Devine is a bit overstated. He does have a completely screwed up personal life (his dad died when Devine was 1 and his mom died of AIDS when Devine was 11, and he has two kids already), but, as stated in a Sporting News article:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=121513

Devine has never been arrested, doesn't do drugs or drink and takes care of his kids.

The main problem is the kid doesn't have school smarts, at all... but at a big football factor like WVU, that may not be a problem.

[Imran Siddiqui]

WOW... Michigan schooling ND... 24-0 now. :eek:

Washington just scored before the half, and they lead Ohio State 7-3.

Tebow and UF are looking very good against Tennessee, 21-6.

[Lord Avalon]

Mallett hasn't completed many passes, but two of them were TDs.

[Imran Siddiqui]

31-0 Michigan now... and ND looks horrid.

[DanS]

Indeed, the young guys look horrid. They're beating themselves.

We've just got to take the negatives and work for something better. Especially, the line. :b:

I like this team and have confidence in the young guys for the future, on the other hand. I refuse to be negative about it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Crap, OSU is now up 17-7 on Washington. But Locker, the QB at UW looks like he'll be a great one :b:.

[Lord Avalon]

3rd TD pass for Mallett! :b:

[Lord Avalon]

U-M 38, ND 0

:dance: of :relief:

[Lord Avalon]

UCF scored on 4th & 2, up on TX 24-23 early in 4th.

[Lord Avalon]

I thought the game was over after TX got 2 FGs, then recovered a fumble and got a TD right after, making it 35-24. Then UCF punted after a big sack.

But TX fumbled and UCF scored and made the 2-pt conversion, 35-32. :eek:

Drat, TX recovered the onside kick.

[Donegeal]

On Wisconsin!

That's 3-0!

Iowa: :lol:

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon
U-M 38, ND 0

:dance: of :relief:
Yay, our work is done ... now we can start next season, right? :cute:

[Lord Avalon]

Dang, what happened in the Ark-Bama game? Bama was leading 21-0, now trailing 38-34. :confused:

[DanS]

Man, USC looks dangerous. After it's all said and done, I wouldn't be surprised to see them hang 50 on a very good Nebraska team.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Alabama scores with 8 seconds left! It's 41-38, Bama and John Parker Wilson pulls out a miracle!!!

Wow... looking like a big time upset!

(unfortunately so is Kentucky-Louisville :(, and BC-GT :)).

[DanS]

Or 60? :eek:

[Imran Siddiqui]

Whoa... what the Hell happened to UCLA?! :eek:

11th ranked team in the country gets DESTROYED by unranked Utah, 44-6. This being a team that lost to Oregon State and Air Force so far this year.

Wow!

[Tuberski]

With the backup QB too Imran.

What happened to the great SEC defenses?

:p ACK!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by DanS
Or 60? :eek:

USC scores again... they are totally having their way with the Cornhuskers.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Damn, Louisville loses in the last 30 seconds to Kentucky. You may have seen the top 2 picks in next year's NFL draft in that game in Woodson and Brohm.

[SlowwHand]

Michigan kicked around a young Notre Dame team.
That's good. I hope their balls drop down now. Maybe they won't look so *****.

[Donegeal]

In the last 2 weeks, the Badgers have gone 2-0, but have dropped 4 spots in the AP poll. What a load of crap.

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by Donegeal
In the last 2 weeks, the Badgers have gone 2-0, but have dropped 4 spots in the AP poll. What a load of crap.

did you watch that first half against citadel?

and unfortunately, Michigan's collapse is effecting the rest of the big 10 rankings, I'm afraid.

[pchang]

the Badgers need to crush lowly regarded teams...

like Texas????

[Donegeal]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel


did you watch that first half against citadel?

No. I was getting ready for my own game. (http://www.apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=165869)

Originally posted by pchang
Maybe the Badgers need to crush lowly regarded teams...

Which I feel is a load of crap. They won. They have beaten everybody they were susposed to.

The ranking system is a bunch of crap.

PLAYOFF!!!!

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by pchang
the Badgers need to crush lowly regarded teams...

like Texas????

Just whom are you referring to? TCU was no slouch.

How is Texas worse than others?
Be a little more specific if you're going to flap your lips.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Donegeal
Which I feel is a load of crap. They won. They have beaten everybody they were susposed to.

The ranking system is a bunch of crap.

PLAYOFF!!!!

:zzz:

They struggled against Citidel. Sorry, I just don't think Wisconsin is a good team. At all.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Just whom are you referring to? TCU was no slouch.

How is Texas worse than others?
Be a little more specific if you're going to flap your lips.

I think Cal is better than Texas. In the AP Cal is ranked higher, but not in the Coaches' Poll. I also think Penn State may be better, but who knows in the battle of patsies. I also think that Boston College and South Carolina both have a claim that they are better than Texas at this moment as well.

And to be a total homer, what about Rutgers? :cute:


And don't forget that TCU lost to Air Force this week as well.

[SlowwHand]

South Carolina, as I remember, is usually competitive.

[snoopy369]

Air Force is typically pretty good ;)

[Guynemer]

The poll system is crap. I don't see anyway that can be denied.

However, it is what we are stuck with, since there is no way on god's green earth that we'll ever see a playoff.

[pchang]

players can a team have arrested before it starts to show on the field? I'm talking to you Texas, and you LSU.

[Lord Avalon]

Notre Dame's best play was a QB sneak. It occured before the Michigan game when Demetrius Jones transferred to N. Illinois and didn't show up for the bus trip. :lol:

Now at Northern Illinois, Jones said he was misled by Weis

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Demetrius Jones, the Notre Dame quarterback who lost the starting position after a poor performance in the season opener, expects to play next season at Northern Illinois following his quick decision to transfer.

Jones surprised Notre Dame's coaches by not showing up Friday for the bus trip for the team's game at Michigan.

Jones said he was stung by coach Charlie Weis' comments that freshman Jimmy Clausen had been the team's top quarterback but was not named the opening game starter as he was recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow.

"When I heard Jimmy was the No. 1 all the way through spring and that the only thing that was keeping him out of the lineup was his surgery, well that's not what I was led to believe going into the summer," Jones told the South Bend Tribune for a story Monday. "I thought I was getting a chance because coach Weis believed in me. Then I didn't know what to believe anymore.''

Jones, who is from Chicago, said he attended Northern Illinois' 21-19 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in DeKalb, Ill., but had not yet been in contact with the school's coaching staff and did not know when he would begin practicing with his new team.

"My plan is to practice with them this year and be eligible to play next fall," he said. "I'd then have three years of eligibility. That's how I hope it works out."

Northern Illinois spokeswoman Donna Turner said Monday that she had no word that Jones was yet part of the team.

"Everything so far has taken place outside the athletic department," she said.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3024549

[SlowwHand]

From Notre Dame to Northern Illinois? Isn't that retarding his progress both athletically and academically?

[snoopy369]

NIU is a fine school... and if he was a scholarship football player in a skill position, what are the odds he really was up to Notre Dame standards?

On the other hand, he could end up in the NFL if he gets to NIU and actually starts and such :)

[DanS]

Jones was a fine player and student, who was well up to ND's standards.

That said, he blew his first chance at the QB position, got embarrassed about doing it in front of the weekly national audience that ND enjoys, and heard what he wanted to hear in Weis' comments.

Weis didn't say what Jones thought he did. Rather, Weis said that Clausen was #1 going into the summer, but couldn't win the job in the Fall due to injury. The way Weis set it up, you couldn't win the job in the spring. Jones won the job in the Fall, but played himself out of the job. I can understand why it's tough to take the fact that you had a chance and blew it.

Jones really compounded his screwups. He won't have a hundredth the good will from NIU as he would have being a backup QB all 4 years at ND. And it seems quite possible that he would have had at least one more chance at the starting job at ND.

[Tuberski]

Originally posted by DanS
Jones was a fine player and student, who was well up to ND's standards.


At this point I'm up to ND's standards.

Pathetic.

Isn't Weis supposed to be an offensive guru?

He was good with Willingham's players, but he obviously can't recruit worth a damn.

:p ACK!

[DanS]

That's rancid bait, Tubes. I'll not take it. :)

Suffice it to say, a few minutes of research on your part would prove it otherwise.

[DanS]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon
Notre Dame's best play was a QB sneak. It occured before the Michigan game when Demetrius Jones transferred to N. Illinois and didn't show up for the bus trip. :lol:

If only ND started off the season playing I-AA teams...

Oh wait, you strike me as a Michigan State kind of man, after all.

[Lord Avalon]

With the crappy start to U-M's season, I have to find what enjoyment I can. :frownnod:

And I certainly will enjoy MSU continuing ND's 0-fer season.

[DanS]

You act like a man in the desert, with only the nectar of shadenfreud to nourish you. Ye of little faith. :nono:

I have no doubt that ND will be kicking ass before too long.

[snoopy369]

The question is not if it is before too long to you, but before too long to the ND Board of Trustees (in re: Weis' contract)... ;)

[DanS]

Then there's no question at all, because Weis still has quite a bit of goodwill remaining from ND alumni, BOT, and fans. It's interesting that some people (not among alumni, BOT, or fans) choose not to remember how truly bad the Davieham era was and how much lemonade Weis has made with the lemons.

[snoopy369]

But how long will they be okay with losing? If they go 2-9, that's got to be hard to stomach... and if they go 3-8 or 4-7 the next year, will he survive it?

[DanS]

Let's get one thing straight. Nobody's OK with losing. Most ND fans care about the game of football and ND's prominent place within the history of the modern game. They all hate losing.

That said, the team won't go 2-9 this year, nor 4-7 next year. Barring a plane crash or other catastrophe, of course.

[pchang]

has one of the tougher schedules in college football. I applaud them for that. However, it makes it quite plausible that they could go 2-9 this year. After the USC - Nebraska game, the announcers were joking about scoring records for USC vs. ND.

[DanS]

Speaking of USC, I weep in advance for our D-line.

[DanS]

http://cornnation.com/storyonly/2007/9/18/0122/70108

[snoopy369]

I'd love to see Nebraska play Michigan this year ... even with our down year, there's no way we'd lose to that team. I don't care if it was USC, no quality D1 team should lose that badly (looking, not score wise).

[Imran Siddiqui]

USC definitely opened up holes that a truck could LITERALLY drive through. Hell, if the O Line can do that... why pass? Student Body Left and Student Body Right again? :cute:

[DanS]

It almost makes me forget that USC's line last year wasn't very good.

[pchang]

about Demetrius Jones vs. ND now?

[snoopy369]

Now that... ?

[Lord Avalon]

Irish refuse Jones' release
AD says ex-QB handled transfer inappropriately

Published: September 19, 2007 6:00 a.m.
Notre Dame notebook
By Michael RothsteinThe Journal Gazette

SOUTH BEND – Demetrius Jones will have to pay his own way to Northern Illinois this year.

The former Notre Dame quarterback will not be released from his scholarship, the school announced Tuesday.

“We don’t believe that Demetrius’ departure was handled appropriately,” Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White said.

Jones made his decision known by not traveling with Notre Dame to Michigan. Instead he attended Northern Illinois’ game against Eastern Michigan in DeKalb, Ill., on Saturday.

Jones told the South Bend Tribune he started classes Monday. Jones spoke to Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis late Monday evening.

“It was a cordial conversation,” Weis said. “I wouldn’t say (we) aired it out, but we cleared up what was going on, and he said he’s moved on and that’s about it.”

Weis said he wasn’t involved in whether Jones was released from his scholarship. The decision is usually made between institutions and athletic directors.

According to NCAA transfer rules, Jones will have to wait one year and pay one year’s worth of tuition at Northern Illinois before the Huskies are allowed to place him on scholarship. The school’s Web site lists tuition and room and board at $14,530.

Northern Illinois sports information director Donna Turner said the Huskies are at their scholarship limit for the 2007 season and that Jones hasn’t been cleared to practice as he is going through university processing on his transfer.

“He could still talk to our coaches and participate in practices,” Turner said. “Just as a walk-on.”

As far as Notre Dame’s decision not to release Jones from his scholarship, Turner said that is “between Notre Dame and Demetrius. We have nothing to do with that.”

Jones started Notre Dame’s season-opener against Georgia Tech, but he was pulled after less than a half. He completed 1 of 3 passes for 4 yards and rushed 12 times for 28 yards. He had initially beaten junior Evan Sharpley and freshman Jimmy Clausen for the job. After the Georgia Tech game, Weis named Clausen the starter.

Weis’ decision set Jones’ transfer in motion.

“The way I left was pretty immature,” Jones told the South Bend Tribune. “I’ve heard people say that, and they’re right. I should have handled it better.”

Notre Dame’s decision could lead to struggles in persuading future Chicago Public League recruits to attend the South Bend school.

“The coaches (of the CPL) are a tight-knit group so if one of them feels slighted, it could have an effect down the road,” Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said. “Notre Dame could say that it is our policy and how we do it with all our kids.

“… It’ll be all right but maybe will turn one or two guys off or some coaches off against them, it might. But it is left to be determined what will happen.”

Weis said Jones’ departure will not change how he recruits quarterbacks. He also said if he does look at a second quarterback in a class, he will have it be a person who would also be willing to play another position.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070919/SPORTS0302/709190359

[Ming]

I never knew ND was full of a bunch of petty bastards...

While even Jones admits he wasn't very mature in the way he handled this, he is just a young man. The ND officials on the other hand... :q: :q: :q:

I hope this screws them in future recruiting efforts

[DanS]

While I'll be the first to admit that this has it's negative points, it's not petty. Jones went out in the worst way possible -- practicing at ND for days (or maybe even weeks) while enrolled at another school. ND's sticking up for itself and setting the precedent that you go through normal channels to get this done. If you go through normal channels, there's no problem in transferring.

Perhaps inadvertently, Jones left ND open to NCAA sanctions by going out the way that he did. There are lots more moving parts than Jones took account of.

As for what you hope about ND's recruiting, I seriously doubt you had ND's interests at heart, anyway. ;)

[Lord Avalon]

:confused: Where did you see that Jones was enrolled at N Ill while still practicing at ND?

[DanS]

Reports are that he might have been enrolled at NIU as early as September 4. His last practice at ND was September 13, evening.

He was in NIU's student directory on September 13, before practice ended. Maybe he was in the directory well before that, but September 13 was the first day it was noticed in the blogosphere. The school and team were notified second-hand on September 14 at about 2:00 in the afternoon. He didn't talk with his coaches until September 17.

At a minimum, the Penn State game on September 8 may have been forfeit if Jones had played (and the loss not made the point moot). He made the trip to Penn State with the team and was available.

It goes beyond Jones' immaturity (and mean-spiritedness toward his teammates), I'm afraid.

[DanS]

I don't know whether to think that the AD is a little vacillating pussy or not...

September 20, 2007 -- University of Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White:

"Since learning of the situation surrounding the departure of Demetrius Jones on Friday, Sept. 14, the University of Notre Dame has been gathering facts to better assess his interest in transferring. Today, without formal confirmation of Demetrius' status, we reached out to him to assist him and his family in ascertaining his athletic and academic future plans.

"We are helping Demetrius compile a list of prospective schools that are not on our immediate future football schedules. We will grant him a release to those schools, and we will assist him in settling at another institution as best we can. It's our hope that Demetrius can enroll at an institution at which he might be able to receive a scholarship, possibly be eligible for the 2008 football season and, importantly, continue to make progress toward his degree without interruption.

"We have initiated our normal protocol by identifying a list of institutions to which he has an interest in transferring. While Demetrius did not consult us on his decision, the University and he are now working together in our customary fashion. Our hope is that this process assists him in finding an institution that will enable him to meet his goals both as a student and as an athlete."

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by DanS
I don't know whether to think that the AD is a little vacillating pussy or not...


:lol: Take a stand or be a lvp! :doitnow!:

;)

[snoopy369]

If his concern is future schedule, then they're safe... NIU is not on the 2007 or 2008 schedule ;)

http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=961&CID=468316

I vote for LVP :b:

[Ming]

Yeah... but just more proof that ND is being petty... Reports have it that NIU isn't on the acceptable list that they gave him... even though they don't play NIU.

So, they are "trying" to look like good guys to the press with their bold statements of allowing him to go to a team that doesn't play them, but in reality are saying you can't go to the school you really want to.

What a bunch of jerks... If they want to play hard ball, fine... but don't pull this kind of PR crap. It just makes them look silly.

[snoopy369]

They'll have some interesting explaining to do then if NIU isn't on the list. I suppose it's in their interest to discourage transfers, but ... meh, let him go. Obviously a bad decision on Weis's part to have two freshmen QBs both told they would compete for the starting job... that often does not work out well for whomever loses the competition (or even, for both, often enough)

[DanS]

Originally posted by Ming
Yeah... but just more proof that ND is being petty... Reports have it that NIU isn't on the acceptable list that they gave him... even though they don't play NIU.


NIU's AD is a Kevin White protege and worked at ND before getting the job at NIU. While NIU is not on the schedule yet (and I wouldn't wish them to be), there is a possibility that ND will be playing NIU in the next few years. For all we know, ND & NIU were negotiating for a contract on a game. ND has some open dates. Again, Jones didn't know what he was getting himself and the university into by leaving the way that he did.

That said, there are conflicting reports on whether NIU is on the acceptable list.

[Guynemer]

Think ND can get off the schneid against MSU this week?

Spartans have won five straight(!!!) in South Bend, and Notre Dame looks absolutely awful.

Then again, these are the Spartans we're talking about... they always blow at least one gimme.

I like MSU, but ND makes it close(ish). They will score at least one offensive TD, guaranteed, but will lose by 10.



Another team looking to end a notorious streak is Penn State against Michigan. The Wolverines have won eight straight(!!!) against the Nittany Lions. However, PSU has the speedy WRs to take advantage of the atrocious Michigan defense. Mike Hart is somehow, very quietly, the nation's leading rusher. This ought to be a good game. I think the streak continues in this one as well, Michigan by a TD.