College Football 2012 Season

[Guynemer]

Tressel on borrowed time at Ohio State in wake of NCAA allegations



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...caa/index.html

[Al B. Sure!]

Temple is changing back the football helmets from these from way back in the day (and the recent resurgence)



Back to these worn during the time as Division I-A football's laughingstock:



Why are they going back to the helmet of losers?

[SlowwHand]

The draft is in 3 days, let's talk about it.

Do you really think that Carolina will draft Newton with the #1 pick as most analysts predict? I think they deserve to lose if they do.
I don't know what the Cowboys will do. OL is possible, but I'd rather they address that in the 2nd round. I'd rather they go defense first.
Trading down is a Jones fascination though.

[Al B. Sure!]

The draft is in 3 days, let's talk about it.

Do you really think that Carolina will draft Newton with the #1 pick as most analysts predict? I think they deserve to lose if they do.
I don't know what the Cowboys will do. OL is possible, but I'd rather they address that in the 2nd round. I'd rather they go defense first.
Trading down is a Jones fascination though.

Ron Rivera seemed enamored by Newton a few months ago when I posted an article about it and new coaches always seem to want to draft a QB. Cam Newton first overall to Carolina is just asking for a bust, though. I don't like his prospects if he goes there. Maybe if he were to fall to #10 Washington or something, I would be more optimistic about his future career, but I don't like him #1 to Carolina.

I like Blaine Gabbert. I think he's the real deal but I'll hold off making any predictions about his career til the draft because the team a young QB goes to can often mean more than his own ability. Assuming Newton goes 1st overall, Gabbert's probably going to Buffalo. I would have liked to see what moves the Bills made in free agency but there has been no free agency period... but I think the Bills, if they can address their O-line, and can have faith in Fitzpatrick to hang in there for at least half the season ahead of Gabbert, that Gabbert could become a star.

[SlowwHand]

Washington needs to take a QB for sure. If Washington could get Gabbert that would be ideal. As a Cowboys fan, I'd hate to see it, but still...
Newton hasn't proven himself to me. The NFL is pocket passing. It's a shame that the QB's being funneled to them are playing increasingly more Run and Shoot, all the way to high school level.

[Boris Godunov]

I like Blaine Gabbert. I think he's the real deal but I'll hold off making any predictions about his career til the draft because the team a young QB goes to can often mean more than his own ability. Assuming Newton goes 1st overall, Gabbert's probably going to Buffalo. I would have liked to see what moves the Bills made in free agency but there has been no free agency period... but I think the Bills, if they can address their O-line, and can have faith in Fitzpatrick to hang in there for at least half the season ahead of Gabbert, that Gabbert could become a star.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...s_label_042511

“What does this guy do that anybody likes?” Dave Razzano asks, pressing the rewind button. “Every pass is an underneath curl route! It’s third-and-10 in the red zone – throw a [expletive] touchdown pass. But look at this: A three-yard dump-off. That’s all he does. He threw the ball just about every play, and he had 16 touchdown passes last season.


“This is the guy somebody’s gonna take in the top 10? Based on what? Trust me, they’re guessing.”

Based on the few Missouri games I caught last season, I tend to agree with Razzano. I never saw anything particularly impressive about Gabbert. I think there's a lot of unwarranted hype, but very little evidence he's as good as some people seem to think.

[Tupac Shakur]

Gabbert does indeed suck.

[SlowwHand]

You're entitled to your opinion, but our local draft expert for the Dallas paper, Rick Gosselin who is considered a guru of sorts and traditionally has the most accurate predictions in the nation, agrees with me. He had Gabbert ranked #10.

[PLATO]

Okay SEC fans...Some of you may know that I bleed Orange...The Vols kind of Orange. Most of what I read about the Vols these days is from websites that have some connection to UT. Therefore, I believe my info is biased. My question is: What does everybody out there think of the UT quarterback, Tyler Bray? Seems to have a huge arm and good pocket sense, but I do wear my Orange colored glasses a lot.

[H Tower]

Okay SEC fans...Some of you may know that I bleed Orange...The Vols kind of Orange. Most of what I read about the Vols these days is from websites that have some connection to UT. Therefore, I believe my info is biased. My question is: What does everybody out there think of the UT quarterback, Tyler Bray? Seems to have a huge arm and good pocket sense, but I do wear my Orange colored glasses a lot.

Tenn still has a football program? Seriously though, because Tenn hasn't competed for SEC crown in the past however many years, they aren't being covered nationally. The last Tenn news I remember hearing was Lane Kiffen accusing Urban Meyer of recruiting violations and then hot footing it out to USC.

[SlowwHand]

The Associated Press

2011 NFL Draft by school

9: Southern Cal, North Carolina.

8: Miami.

7: Nebraska.

6: Clemson, Georgia, Iowa, LSU.

5: Alabama, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, TCU, Wisconsin.

4: Auburn, Baylor, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas, West Virginia.

3: Appalachian State, Arkansas, Arizona, Boise State, Florida State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisville, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon State, South Florida, UCLA, Virginia Tech.

2: Fresno State, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, UCF, Utah, Washington.

1: Abilene Christian, Alabama A&M, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Bethel (Tenn.), Boston College, Buffalo, California (Pa.), Central Arkansas, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Eastern Washington, Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M, Florida International, Georgia Tech, Hampton, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lehigh, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri State, Montana, Montana State, Mount Union, New Mexico State, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Portland State, Rice, Richmond, Slippery Rock 1, South Carolina State, Southern Illinois, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Citadel, Troy, Tulsa, Utah State, Villanova, Virginia, Washington State, West Texas A&M, Wyoming, Yale.


2011 NFL Draft by conference
Southeastern 38

Atlantic Coast 35

Pacific-10 31

Big 12 30

Big Ten 29

Big East 22

Western Athletic 16

Mountain West 10

Conference USA 7

Southern 5

Sun Belt 5

Big Sky 4

Mid-American 3

Mid-Eastern Athletic 3

Colonial Athletic Association 2

Lone Star 2

Missouri Valley 2

PSAC 2

Southland 2

Independents 1

Ivy League 1

Mid-South 1

Ohio Athletic 1

Patriot League 1

SWAC 1

[ColdWizard]

Cha-ching

The Pac-10 has agreed to a 12-year television contract with ESPN and Fox that will more than triple its media rights fees and be the most valuable for any conference in college sports.

The contract, which will begin with the 2012-13 season, will be worth more than $225 million per year -- or $2.7 billion over the life of the deal, Sports Business Daily and The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

A formal announcement of the contract is expected in the coming days.

"We are having productive discussions with the conference," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz told Sports Business Daily on Tuesday.

The Pac-10 made less than $60 million in media rights this past season but became the latest conference to take advantage of the escalating market for college sports on television.

The ACC recently signed a deal for $155 million a year and the Big 12 reached a deal with Fox that made its total annual package worth about $130 million. The Pac-10, which will be renamed the Pac-12 in July with the additions of Utah and Colorado, topped those deals, as well as the $205 million the SEC gets and the $220 million paid to the Big Ten.

Under this deal, Fox and ESPN will split the rights to college football games. ESPN will air its games on cable as well as ABC and Fox showing its games on its broadcast network, basic cable network FX and on the Fox Sports Net regional networks.

Men's basketball games will be split mostly between ESPN and Fox Sports Net, with ESPN also getting rights to some Olympic sports that will likely be aired on ESPNU.

The two entities will alternate showing the Pac-12 football championship game and the men's basketball tournament. Fox, which will air the inaugural football title game this season, will have the first football championship under this contract in 2012, with ESPN getting the men's basketball tournament later that season, a person familiar with the deal told the AP.

Rights to some football and men's basketball games have not been given out yet, giving the conference the opportunity to start its own network if it chooses. Along with increasing rights fees and exposure as this deal does, commissioner Larry Scott also went into negotiations looking to start a Pac-12 network to provide an outlet to broadcast non-revenue sports and to help brand the conference.

Finalizing a media rights deal is the latest step in the transformation of the conference under Scott, who took over from Tom Hansen in July 2009.

Scott spearheaded last year's expansion effort and then got the schools to agree to an equal revenue sharing plan and aggregate all of their media rights at the conference level.

That set the stage for the television negotiations, which began in earnest April 1. While Comcast/NBC was an aggressive bidder and Turner Sports also was interested, incumbents Fox and ESPN won out.

This deal means full revenue sharing will kick in as soon as this contract begins. As part of an agreement to give up their historically larger share of television revenues, Southern California and UCLA were each to receive a $2 million premium any year that the media rights did not reach $170 million.

[H Tower]

The Pac10 was only getting 60 million per year before?

[H Tower]

The Associated Press

2011 NFL Draft by school

9: Southern Cal, North Carolina.

8: Miami.

7: Nebraska.

6: Clemson, Georgia, Iowa, LSU.

5: Alabama, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, TCU, Wisconsin.

4: Auburn, Baylor, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas, West Virginia.

3: Appalachian State, Arkansas, Arizona, Boise State, Florida State, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisville, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon State, South Florida, UCLA, Virginia Tech.

2: Fresno State, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, San Diego State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, UCF, Utah, Washington.

1: Abilene Christian, Alabama A&M, Arizona State, Arkansas State, Bethel (Tenn.), Boston College, Buffalo, California (Pa.), Central Arkansas, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Eastern Washington, Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M, Florida International, Georgia Tech, Hampton, Kansas State, Kentucky, Lehigh, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri State, Montana, Montana State, Mount Union, New Mexico State, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Portland State, Rice, Richmond, Slippery Rock 1, South Carolina State, Southern Illinois, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, The Citadel, Troy, Tulsa, Utah State, Villanova, Virginia, Washington State, West Texas A&M, Wyoming, Yale.


2011 NFL Draft by conference
Southeastern 38

Pacific-12 37

Big Ten(+2) 36

Atlantic Coast 35

Big East 22

Big 12(-2) 19

Western Athletic 16

Mountain West 8

Conference USA 7

Southern 5

Sun Belt 5

Big Sky 4

Mid-American 3

Mid-Eastern Athletic 3

Colonial Athletic Association 2

Lone Star 2

Missouri Valley 2

PSAC 2

Southland 2

Independents 1

Ivy League 1

Mid-South 1

Ohio Athletic 1

Patriot League 1

SWAC 1

Fixed

[-Jrabbit]

Irrelevant but interesting; hadn't thought of that.

[H Tower]

Irrelevant but interesting; hadn't thought of that.

I found it interesting how small the "superior" SEC lead was over other conferences when they finally had 12 teams.

[ColdWizard]

Blah blah playoff blah antitrust blah blah blah

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has sent a pointed letter to the NCAA asking why there isn't a playoff system for college football, saying "serious questions" continue to be raised about whether the current Bowl Championship Series complies with federal antitrust laws.

Critics have urged the department to launch an antitrust investigation into the BCS, saying that it unfairly gives some schools preferential access to the national championship game and top-tier bowls.

In a letter this week, the Justice Department's antitrust chief, Christine Varney, asked NCAA president Mark Emmert why college football doesn't use a playoff system to determine its national champion while other NCAA sports do; what steps the NCAA has taken to create one; and whether Emmert thinks there are aspects of the BCS system that don't serve the interest of fans, schools and players.

"Your views would be relevant in helping us to determine the best course of action with regard to the BCS," she wrote.

Varney noted that the attorney general of Utah, Mark Shurtleff, has announced that he plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against the BCS and that 21 professors recently sent the department a letter asking for an antitrust investigation.

Shurtleff, who met with DOJ officials last fall to discuss a possible federal probe, said at the time that such an investigation was critical to the effort to get a playoff system.

"You get the DOJ behind one and the BCS will finally say, 'OK, we'll go to a playoff,'" Shurtleff predicted.

Bill Hancock, the executive director of the BCS, who was copied in on the letter, said he was confident that the BCS complies with the law.

"Goodness gracious, with all that's going on in the world right now and with national and state budgets being what they are, it seems like a waste of taxpayers' money to have the government looking into how college football games are played," he said.

The NCAA had no immediate comment on the letter.

Under the BCS, the champions of six conferences have automatic bids to play in top-tier bowl games, while the other conferences don't. Those six conferences also receive more money than the other conferences.

Attorney general Eric Holder referenced Varney's letter at a Senate hearing Wednesday, in response to a statement from Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and BCS critic. Hatch called the BCS a "mess" and said that "privileged conferences" have tremendous advantages over the unprivileged.

"And I just hope that you'll continue to follow up on that particular issue," he said. "It's an important one, I think."

"I don't disagree with you," Holder responded. "You and I have talked about this issue, and I think I'm free to say that we have sent a letter to the NCAA about this issue and will be following up."

Hatch has also urged the department to begin an antitrust investigation. Last year, the department told him in a letter that the Obama administration was considering several steps that would review the legality of the BCS. The department said then that it was reviewing Hatch's request and other materials to determine whether to open an investigation into whether the BCS violates antitrust laws.

Before he was sworn in as president, Barack Obama said in 2008 that he was going to "to throw my weight around a little bit" to nudge college football toward a playoff system.

[Guynemer]

As much as I want a playoff, this really isn't something the government needs to be involved with.

[H Tower]

Why is the government talking to the NCAA about the BCS? The NCAA doesn't control the BCS, the SEC, Big East, ACC, Big10, Big12, SEC and PAC10 do. I also don't see why Utah is still complaining about the BCS, they're a BCS member now!

[PLATO]

Tenn still has a football program? Seriously though, because Tenn hasn't competed for SEC crown in the past however many years, they aren't being covered nationally. The last Tenn news I remember hearing was Lane Kiffen accusing Urban Meyer of recruiting violations and then hot footing it out to USC.

That's what I was afraid of. Local media can be so distorting...

[Boris Godunov]

We had Tenn in the news more recently than that up here. 48-13.

[MRT144]

Cha-ching

does this mean there is going to be college Cletus?

[H Tower]

That's what I was afraid of. Local media can be so distorting...

That doesn't mean that Tenn is going to be bad, just that they are being covered nationally.

[Imran Siddiqui]

As much as I want a playoff, this really isn't something the government needs to be involved with.

Anti-trust laws are in the federal government's purview, however.

[Guynemer]

Oh my goodness, the news here in Columbus gets better by the day.

[H Tower]

Good news out of SoCal as well. USC's appeal was rejected by the NCAA. 2 more years of minus 10 schollies and another post season ban

[Guynemer]

Good news out of SoCal as well. USC's appeal was rejected by the NCAA. 2 more years of minus 10 schollies and another post season ban

I know it is ignoble to revel in the downfall of others, but... holy shitsnacks, USC getting hammered, and OSU very likely to get hammered worse? Throw in a few of the usual SEC suspects, and this would officially be better than sex.

[Guynemer]

This tastes so good, it just has to be fattening.


TRESSEL RESIGNS http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6606999

[Tupac Shakur]

Michigan's greatest victory in five years?

[Guynemer]

Three years, for sure.

Go back any further than that, though, and you have Lloyd's final game, when we beat Urban Meyer/Tim Tebow in the CapitalOne. It still floors me that in Lloyd's final season, we lost to the defending (and future) I-AA champs, but beat the defending (and future) I-A champs.