Trentonian U

OSBORNE: Praying for the victims at Penn State

2011-11-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

Published: Friday, November 11, 2011

By MATTHEW OSBORNE
mosborne@trentonian.com

I am taking a week off from making excuses about games that didn’t cover the spread for some reason.

Instead, I want to take this time to remind everyone that the Penn State scandal is not about football.

It’s also not about Joe Paterno and all his wins, and it’s not about whether someone will throw a beer bottle at Mike McQueary’s head if he coaches on the sidelines.

It’s not about whether Crisco, Vagisil or whatever sponsor on whatever bowl game will invite the Nittany Lions to play.

This nightmarish situation is about the children who were irreparably harmed.

Click here for full column.

-- Follow Matthew Osborne on Twitter @trentonianozzy

Paterno departure within days or weeks according to New York Times report

2011-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

New York Times is reporting that Penn State is beginning the process of ending Penn State coach Joe Paterno's tenure at the school.

The Times is basing their report on two sources. The removal is on the heels of the Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

Read the NYT column here.

OSBORNE: Triple OT shenanigans are closer than they appear

2011-11-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Published: Thursday, November 03, 2011

By MATTHEW OSBORNE
mosborne@trentonian.com

I can’t begin to count the number of times my father and I have watched a game together while doing the math over and over, only to come up with the same answer.

“You know, Pops,” I would say, “The only way you can cover now is if some triple-overtime shenanigans happen.”

Usually, that moment never comes. When it finally did last weekend, Pops was on the other side — allegedly the safe side — with USC getting eight points.

As the Trojans battled Stanford and led most of the game, it looked impossible for USC not to cover, even if Andrew Luck heroically led the Cardinal back.

But he did, and USC didn’t cover.

Some folks like Pops salvaged a push, but others had the Trojans with 7½ and left with a loss snatched from almost certain victory.

Click here for full column.

-- Follow Matthew Osborne on twitter @trentonianozzy

Basketball AP Top 25 Poll (Week One) Released

2011-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

October 28, 2011
(First place votes in parentheses)

1. North Carolina (62) 1620
2. Kentucky 1501
3. Ohio State (1) 1482
4. Connecticut (2) 1433
5. Syracuse 1338
6. Duke 1301
7. Vanderbilt 1120
8. Florida 1086
9. Louisville 1055
10. Pittsburgh 1027
11. Memphis 997
12. Baylor 892
13. Kansas 755
14. Xavier 747
15. Wisconsin 720
16. Arizona 616
17. UCLA 404
18. Michigan 401
19. Alabama 395
20. Texas A&M 357
21. Cincinnati 353
22. Marquette 335
23. Gonzaga 283
24. California 230
25. Missouri 139

Also receiving votes: Florida State 131, Michigan State 128, Temple 69, Washington 44, New Mexico 33, Butler 25, Texas 21, Villanova 14, Creighton 12, Purdue 10, Drexel 8, Belmont 8, UNLY 7, St. Mary's 6, George Mason 5, West Virginia 4, Miami (FL) 3, Long Beach State 3, Harvard 2, Illinois 2, Minnesota 1, Marshall 1, San Diego State 1

MATTHEW OSBORNE: Miracle covers and a love affair with East Carolina keep me coming back

2011-10-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Published: Thursday, October 27, 2011

By MATTHEW OSBORNE
mosborne@trentonian.com

It is amazing how a college football day can ebb and flow.

Last week, I felt like I was doing great, but as I watched the games unfold in Hooters of St. Petersburg, Fla., I needed a ridiculous over cover from Florida State and Maryland just to have a winning day.

With two minutes left in the FSU-Maryland game – a blowout, mind you – I needed two more touchdowns. The Seminoles got to a first-and-goal but didn’t even have to score. But they did, and they left 48 seconds on the clock.

Somehow in that time, the Terps ran the kickoff back to near midfield, so I figured I had a small chance. Then they ran the ball on first down, leaving me feeling a little ill.

But oddly, they rushed up the line for another play and threw deep, completing a pass to the 15. They scored on the next play with about five seconds left, giving me an improbable cover, one my father called “a gift from the gods.”

Click here for full column.

-- Follow Matthew Osborne on twitter @trentonianozzy

Rider hoops picked fourth in MAAC

2011-10-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

Published: Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Rider men’s basketball coach Tommy Dempsey likes when his team can play the underdog.

He got his wish once again yesterday when the Broncs were picked to finish fourth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason poll.

“I like the position we are in,” said Dempsey during the league’s annual Media Day, held this year at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, Mass. “We always seem to be lying in the weeds a little bit and that’s a position we’re comfortable in, and I think we have enough talent to compete at the top of the league.”

Dempsey has to replace four-year starters Justin Robinson and Mike Ringgold and incorporate five freshmen into the mix.

There is also concern over the health of First-Team All-League selection Novar Gadson. The 6-7 lefty underwent microfracture surgery on his knee in the spring and still isn’t 100 percent. Dempsey said Gadson hasn’t done much at practice yet but expects to get him started today.

Click here for full article.

--For coverage of Rider basketball this season follow Kyle Franko on twitter @kj_franko

MATTHEW OSBORNE: Still trying to get back to .500

2011-10-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

Published: Thursday, October 20, 2011

Last week, I said I was hoping to break even. Incredibly, I did.

But some people had better weeks than I did, like the guy who hit a 15-team parlay at Delaware Park on a $5 bet to win $100,000. He is the first person to hit the parlay since it was introduced at the casino in 2009. The house is ahead since then, though, as $370,000 had been wagered on the 15-teamers with no return prior to last week.

Some people had worse weeks, meanwhile, like those who bet on South Carolina laying three points. Steve Spurrier — as he is wont to do in such situations — took an intentional safety near the end of the game while leading 14-10. You do the math.

Click here for full column.

Rider hoops rocks Midnight Madness

2011-10-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

Published: Saturday, October 15, 2011

By KYLE FRANKO

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Every college basketball team in the country had Friday, Oct. 14 circled on its calendar. The night marked the official start of the season with most schools celebrating by holding a Midnight Madness.

At Rider, it was Midnight MAACness.

And Alumni Gymnasium was rocking early and often.

"This is great," said coach Tommy Demspey. "It's a great way to kick off the year. The place was alive, it was electric. It was a lot of fun, but tomorrow, we get to work."

The program featured a DJ, player introductions for both the men's and women's teams, a slam dunk contest and performances by the cheerleading and dance teams.

Junior guard Jon Thompson won the dunk contest with a nifty between the legs flush.

Click here for full article (with video).

AP source: Big East to invite Boise St, 3 others

2011-10-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—The Big East plans to invite Boise State, Air Force and Navy as football-only members, and Central Florida to compete in all sports, after it doubles the exit fee for current members to $10 million.

An official in the Big East, speaking on condition of anonymity because the conference had not authorized anyone to speak publicly about its plans, told The Associated Press the invites could go out as soon as next week, but could take longer.

The officials also said Commissioner John Marinatto was in Cincinnati on Friday meeting with representatives from UCF.

Conferences do not publicly invite new members unless they are confident those invitations will be accepted.

The New York Post first reported the Big East was expected to invite Boise State, Air Force, Navy and UCF.

The Big East announced earlier this week it wanted to expand to 12 football schools.

Big East officials made protecting the league’s automatic bid to the Bowl Championship Series their expansion priority. That pushed Boise State, which is in its first season in the Mountain West Conference after a decade in the Western Athletic Conference, to the top of the Big East’s most wanted list, along with the service academies.

The Broncos are 71-5 since 2006, finished 10th in the final BCS standing next season and at 5-0 seem on their way to an under-top 10 finish. Big East officials believe putting Boise State’s record on the Big East’s ledger when the BCS reviews which leagues should have automatic bids beyond 2013 should allow the conference to make the cut.

Right now, the Big East has only six schools committed to play football in the league beyond this season.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse have announced they will move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, though Big East rules require them to stay in the league for the next two seasons and Marinatto has said he will hold the Panthers and Orange to that. However, that seems unlikely if the league can grow to 12 teams for next season without them.

TCU was slated to join the Big East in 2012, but the Horned Frogs reneged on that commitment and accepted an invite to the Big 12 last week.

Trying to recruit new members has been tricky for the Big East because its remaining members might also be looking for new conference homes.

Louisville and West Virginia are possible targets for the Big 12 if it needs to replace Missouri, which is pondering a move to the Southeastern Conference, or decides to expand back to 12 teams.

Connecticut has interest in joining the ACC if it expands again, and there has been speculation about Rutgersmoving, too.

By raising the exit fee, the Big East is trying to ensure the schools it is recruiting that the conference will be viable in the long run. Boise State, Air Force, which also competes in the MWC, and Navy, an independent in football, all had reservations about the Big East’s long-term health.

The Big East is still considering adding Temple, and UCF’s Conference USA rivals SMU and Houston. Temple, which was kicked out of the Big East in 2005, plays football in the Mid-American Conference.

The Texas schools would replace the presence in the state the Big East thought it was going to have with TCU, and help make the move to the Big East more palatable to Boise State.

Boise, Idaho, is nearly 1,900 miles away from the closest current Big East member, Louisville. Though the trip to Houston is about as far, having a presence in Texas is alluring to Boise State.

Boise State and Air Force would have to find a conference to house their other sports. A return to the WAC is possible for both.

The Big East also has eight members that do not compete in the league in football: Villanova, Georgetown, St. John’s, Providence, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul and Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s goal is to remain a football independent, but if the Big East crumbles the Fighting Irish could end up with no place for their basketball, baseball and Olympic sports to compete. That could force Notre Dame to finally give up football independence and put its storied program in a conference, because it’s unlikely another league will give the Irish the same deal they have in the Big East.

Oak Harbor (Wash.) standout verbally commits to Princeton

2011-10-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

This is several days late but Oak Harbor (Wash.) standout basketball player Mike Washington, Jr. verbally committed to Princeton recently, according to several outlets.

The Whidbey News Times reports that the Tigers had begun recruiting Washington in May and the 6' 3" senior shooting guard visited the Princeton campus late last month.

He was a second-team, all-Western Conference choice his freshman and sophomore seasons, and a first-team selection in his junior year.

Washington averaged 19 points a game last season. He also has a 3.98 grade-point average.

Washington is said to have also mulled offers from several schools including D.C.'s American University.

OSBORNE: Hoping to break even with this week's college picks

2011-10-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

Published: Thursday, October 13, 2011

Much like the casino industry in New Jersey, I am just happy to (almost) break even.

After a few weeks of just getting torched, I balanced the ship a little last week and at least didn’t bury myself too deep with no hope of return.

I don’t love the spreads this week, as many of the matchups pit untrustworthy favorites against impotent underdogs. So I went heavy on overs in an attempt to steal a win or two on the long road back.

Click here for full column.

Follow Matthew Osborne on Twitter @trentonianozzy

COLLEGE SOCCER: TCNJ women blanked in tight battle with Johns Hopkins

2011-10-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Published: Thursday, October 13, 2011

By NICK PERUFFO
For The Trentonian

EWING – Though the TCNJ women’s soccer team’s 1-0 home loss against Johns Hopkins Wednesday night had all the right ingredients, the game ultimately felt more like an appetizer than a main course.

Both TCNJ and Johns Hopkins are among the cream of the NCAA Division III crop, ranked 11th and 5th in the country, respectively. Both teams are also unbeaten within their respective conferences. For TCNJ, the game, more than anything, seemed to represent an opportunity to gauge itself against top-flight competition before postseason play begins.

“It really prepares you,” Lions coach Joe Russo said. “It’s like an NCAA Tournament game. It gets you ready to play at that level, and I think we are. I liked our mentality tonight and the way we competed for 90 minutes.”

The two teams—which had previously combined to outscore their opposition 78-4—played nearly 67 scoreless minutes before either team was able to find the back of the net. Despite the lack of scoring, the game was extremely competitive throughout, with momentum swinging back and forth.

Click here for full article.

Death of Tulsa's Wilson Holloway touches Clippers' Blake Griffin

2011-02-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

The joy of a Clipper win over Minnesota to end a grueling 2-6 Grammys/All-Star Game road trip was quickly replaced by sadness for Blake Griffin when he received news that a close childhood friend--Wilson Holloway--lost his battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Blake Griffin recently talked about Holloway with ESPN's Colleen Dominguez:

Although the All-Star festivities back in Los Angeles wouldn't allow Griffin to grieve for his friend, upon winning the Slam Dunk title on Saturday night, he stated he would give the trophy to the family of the late Holloway.

Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin holds the trophy after winning the slam dunk contest during the NBA basketball All Star weekend in Los Angeles, February 19, 2011. (Reuters)

Griffin and Holloway--a two-sport athlete--were teammates at Oklahoma Christian School, where they won the basketball state championship in 2006 and 2007. While both had gone their separate paths--Griffin to Oklahoma and Holloway to Tulsa--the two had kept in close touch.

Holloway--an offensive linemen--was experiencing shortness of breath during football workouts in early 2008 and was advised to seek medical attention. That spring, doctors had found a tumor in his chest. Removal of the tumor and subsequent chemotherapy treatments lead to a cancer-free diagnosis in August 2008.

Holloway played in six games in the 2008 season before he was once again diagnosed with cancer in October. He endured more chemotherapy treatments. He continued to battle against the disease, and while he did not play, he was listed in the 2009 and 2010 Golden Hurricane football media guides.

In a strange twist of fate, the Clippers' first game after the All-Star break is on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Upon completion of his All-Star duties on Sunday, Griffin plans to fly to Oklahoma for Holloway's funeral, which is scheduled for Monday.

College Football News and Notes

2011-01-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

We haven't posted anything at Trentonian U in awhile, but here's a look at some news and notes from college football...

Unconfirmed reports began surfacing last week that UCLA was in the process of dismissing offensive coordinator Norm Chow.

Today, unconfirmed reports surfaced that current San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Johnson had reached an agreement with UCLA to join the Bruins in the same capacity.

The Daily Bruin points out that the flux in the school's offensive coordinator position might be so that Chow is allowed time to find a job before the Johnson hire is formally announced.

Regardless, as of right now it looks like Norm Chow is still the offensive coordinator at UCLA.

***
One day after Brady Hoke left for Michigan, San Diego State promoted defensive coordinator Rocky Long to head coach Wednesday.

Long was rumored to be joining Hoke in Ann Arbor before accepting the head coaching job with the Aztecs.

San Diego State football coach Rocky Long speaks during a news conference on campus Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011, in San Diego. Long was named coach Wednesday, taking over after Brady Hoke was hired by Michigan. Long was defensive coordinator under Hoke at San Diego State. (AP)

During his introductory press conference, Long stated that he preferred to stay at San Diego State, because "this is a much better deal...We've got things started here. They've (Michigan) got a lot of work to do there."

Long was given a five-year contract worth $800,000 a year. San Diego State athletic director Jim Sterk also notes that Michigan will be paying $1 million as a buyout for Hoke's contract.

Hoke last month had just signed a two-year extension to his original five-year contract signed in 2008.

Long and Hoke will not have to wait long to see each other, as the Aztecs visit the Wolverines on September 24th.

***
When a renovated Husky Stadium opens in 2013, the first opponent Washington will welcome, will be Boise State.

The Huskies and Broncos agreed to a two-game series. The game in Seattle will be September 7, 2013, while the game in Boise will be September 19, 2015.

Here is a video rendering of a renovated Husky Stadium:

List NCAA Awards Winners

2010-12-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the list of known recipients of the NCAA awards/trophies.

The Heisman Trophy recipient will be named on Saturday.

Campbell Trophy (Scholar-athlete)
Sam Acho (DE-Texas)

Hendricks Award (Defensive end)
Da'Quan Bowers (Clemson)

Guy Award (Punter)
Chas Henry (Florida)

Groza Award (Placekicker)
Dan Bailey (Oklahoma State)

Thorpe Award (Defensive back)
Patrick Peterson (LSU)

Butkus Award (Linebacker)
Von Miller (Texas A&M)

Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player of the Year by FWAA)
Da'Quan Bowers (DE-Clemson)

Bednarik Award (Defensive Player by Maxwell Football Club)
Patrick Peterson (CB-LSU)

Rimington Trophy (Center)
Jake Kirkpatrick (TCU)

Lombardi Award (Lineman)
Nick Fairley (Auburn)

Outland Trophy (Interior lineman)
Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin)

Mackey Award (Tight end)
D.J. Williams (Arkansas)

Biletnikoff Award (Wide receiver)
Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)

Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback)
Scott Tolzien (Wisconsin)

O'Brien Award (Quarterback)
Cam Newton (Auburn)

Walker Award (Running back)
LaMichael James (Oregon)

Home Depot Award (Coach)
Gene CHizik (Auburn)

Camp Award (Player of the Year)
Cam Newton (Auburn)

Maxwell Award (Outstanding Player)
Cam Newton (Auburn)

Heisman Trophy (Outstanding Player)
FINALISTS
LaMichael James (RB-Oregon)
Andrew Luck (QB-Stanford)
Kellen Moore (QB-Boise State)
Cam Newton (QB-Auburn)

AP: UConn redshirt linemen arrested on child porn charges

2010-12-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

The AP reports that Connecticut redshirt linemen Greg McKee has been arrested on child pornography charges.

McKee turned himself in to state authorities this morning.

He was expected to be charged today on charges of obscenity, importing child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance.

The charges are a result of a seizure of McKee's computer equipment from his dorm room last month.

No other UConn football members are believed to be involved, but the investigation is ongoing.

Complete List of Bowl Games

2010-12-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

The list of bowl participants was finalized today after the BCS bowls were announced.

Here are this year's bowl games

New Mexico Bowl
(Dec. 18--University Stadium, Albuquerque, N.M.)
BYU vs. UTEP

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl
(Dec. 18--Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID)
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
(Dec. 18--Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, La.)
Ohio vs. Troy

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl
(Dec. 21--Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Southern Mississippi vs. Louisville

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl
(Dec. 22--Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.)
Utah vs. Boise State

SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl
(Dec. 23--Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.)
Navy vs. San Diego State

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
(Dec. 24--Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI)
Hawaii vs. Tulsa

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
(Dec. 26--Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.)
Florida International vs. Toledo

AdvoCard V100 Independence Bowl
(Dec. 27--Independence Stadium, Shreveport, La.)
Air Force vs. Georgia Tech

Champs Sports Bowl
(Dec. 28--Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.)
West Virginia vs. NC State

Insight Bowl
(Dec. 28--Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Ariz.)
Missouri vs. Iowa

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumann
(Dec. 29--RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.)
East Carolina vs. Maryland

Texas Bowl
(Dec. 29--Reliant Stadium, Houston, Tex.)
Illinois vs. Baylor

Valero Alamo Bowl
(Dec. 29--Alamodome, San Antonio, Tex.)
Oklahoma State vs. Arizona

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
(Dec. 30--Gerald Ford Stadium, Dallas, Tex.)
Army vs. SMU

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
(Dec. 30--Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.)
Kansas State vs. Syracuse

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
(Dec. 30--LP Field, Nashville, Tenn.)
North Carolina vs. Tennessee

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl
(Dec. 30--Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.)
Nebraska vs. Washington

Meineke Car Care Bowl
(Dec. 31--Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.)
South Florida vs. Clemson

Hyundai Sun Bowl
(Dec. 31--Sun Bowl, El Paso, Tex.)
Notre Dame vs. Miami

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
(Dec. 31--Liberty Boel, Memphis, Tenn.)
Georgia vs. UCF

Chick-fil-A Bowl
(Dec. 31--Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.)
South Carolina vs. Florida State

TicketCity Bowl
(Jan. 1--Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Tex.)
Northwestern vs. Texas Tech

Outback Bowl
(Jan. 1--Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.)
Florida vs. Penn State

Capital One Bowl
(Jan. 1--Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.)
Alabama vs. Michigan State

(BCS) Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO
(Jan. 1--Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.)
Wisconsin vs. TCU

(BCS) Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
(Jan. 1--Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.)
Connecticut vs. Oklahoma

(BCS) Discover Orange Bowl
(Jan. 3--Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Fla.)
Stanford vs. Virginia Tech

(BCS) Allstate Sugar Bowl
(Jan. 4--Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, La.)
Ohio State vs. Arkansas

GoDaddy.com Bowl
(Jan. 6--Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.)
Middle Tennessee vs. Miami (OH)

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic
(Jan. 7--Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Tex.)
LSU vs. Texas A&M

BBVA Compass Bowl
(Jan. 8--Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala.)
Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
(Jan. 9--AT&T Park, San Francisco, Calif.)
Nevada vs. Boston College

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game
(Jan. 10--Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.)
Auburn vs. Oregon

Colorado to hire Redskins' Jon Embree as coach

2010-12-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

ESPN is reporting that Washington Redskins Tight Ends coach Jon Embree will be the next coach at the University of Colorado.

The formal announcement is expected on Monday.

Also joining Embree at the school will be former Buffaloes running back Eric Bieniemy, who will be the offensive coordinator.

Sources: Jerry Kill to be next coach at Minnesota

2010-12-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

Sources are reporting that Northern Illinois' Jerry Kill will be the next coach at Minnesota, with the official announcement to be made as early as tomorrow.

Northern Illinois finished this season with a 10-3 record, and is bound for the December 18th uDrove Humanitarian Bowl.

Kill will have ended his Huskies career with a 23-16 record.

Updated list of Confirmed Bowl Bids

2010-12-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

Since a few programs have started to accept bowl bids, here is a recap of confirmed bowl appearances:
(UPDATED: 12/4/10)

New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 18, Albuquerque, N.M.)
BYU vs UTEP
BYU Press Release / UTEP Press Release

Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl (Dec. 21)
Southern Miss vs TBA
Southern Miss Press Release

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 22)
Utah vs TBA
Utah Press Release

SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 23, San Diego, Calif.)
Navy vs San Diego State
Poinsettia Bowl Press Release

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24, Honolulu, HI.)
Hawaii vs Tulsa
Hawaii Press Release / Tulsa Press Release

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl (Dec. 27, Shreveport, La.)
Air Force vs TBA
Air Force Press Release

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumann (Dec. 29, Washington, D.C.)
East Carolina vs TBA
East Carolina Press Release

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 30, Dallas, Tex.)
Army vs SMU
Army Press Release / Armed Forces Bowl Press Release

New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 30, Bronx, N.Y.)
Syracuse vs Kansas State
Syracuse Press Release /Kansas State Press Release

AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31, Memphis, Tenn.)
UCF vs TBA
UCF Press Release

AT&T Cotton Bowl (Jan. 7, Arlington, Tex.)
Texas A&M vs TBA
Texas A&M Press Release

We'll try to update this list as much as possible.

UMass eyeing move from FCS to FBS?

2010-12-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

According to the Boston Herald, several sources have mentioned that UMass is eyeing a move to FBS from FCS. The move to FBS would be provisional in 2011 and 2012, and full FBS status would be as of the 2013 season.

According to the sources, the Minutemen would join the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as a football-only member.

Should UMass join the MAC, they would be the second Atlantic 10 member in the conference. Temple has been a football-only MAC member since 2007.

List of Confirmed Bowl Bids (UPDATED)

2010-12-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Since a few programs have started to accept bowl bids, here is a recap of confirmed bowl appearances:
(UPDATED: 12/2/10 3:50PM PT)

New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 18, Albuquerque, N.M.)
BYU vs TBA
BYU Press Release

Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl (Dec. 21)
Southern Miss vs TBA
Southern Miss Press Release

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 22)
Utah vs TBA
Utah Press Release

SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 23, San Diego, Calif.)
Navy vs San Diego State
Poinsettia Bowl Press Release

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 24, Honolulu, HI.)
Hawaii vs TBA
Hawaii Bowl Press Release

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumann (Dec. 29, Washington, D.C.)
East Carolina vs TBA
East Carolina Press Release

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 30, Dallas, Tex.)
Army vs TBA
Army Press Release

New Era Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 30, Bronx, N.Y.)
Syracuse vs TBA
Syracuse Press Release

AT&T Cotton Bowl (Jan. 7, Arlington, Tex.)
Texas A&M vs TBA
Texas A&M Press Release

We'll try to update this list as much as possible.

It's Official - TCU to join Big East Conference on July 1, 2012 (Part 2)

2010-11-29T11:28:00.001-08:00

Here is the press release from the Big East Conference regarding TCU's admission:

BIG EAST Announces the Addition of Texas Christian University

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Texas Christian University has accepted an invitation for full membership into The BIG EAST Conference, it was announced today. The BIG EAST, by a vote of its Presidents and Chancellors, extended the invitation for membership.

TCU will become the 17th conference member on July 1, 2012. Its athletic teams will begin competing in the BIG EAST in the 2012-13 academic year.

With an enrollment of 9,142 in Fort Worth, Texas, TCU competes in 20 sports. The university’s Chancellor is Dr. Victor J. Boschini, Jr. and the Athletics Director is Chris Del Conte. The university was founded in 1873.

“Our membership is genuinely excited to add an institution of the caliber of TCU to our Conference,” stated BIG EAST Conference Commissioner John Marinatto. “Chancellor Boschini and athletic director Chris Del Conte clearly share the same academic and athletic aspirations of our current members and are similarly committed to sponsoring a very highly competitive athletic program. Located in one of the top five media markets in the country, TCU also enables the BIG EAST to extend its media footprint, which already encompasses more than a quarter of the country.”

“The addition of TCU ensures that the BIG EAST will continue to remain one of the nation’s premier athletic conferences well into the future,” stated John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President of Notre Dame and Chairman of the BIG EAST CEO Executive Committee. “With TCU, the BIG EAST adds an excellent academic institution that combines outstanding athletic achievement with a commitment to NCAA compliance and educational success of its student-athletes.”

The Horned Frogs have enjoyed significant recent success in the athletic arena and in the classroom. The TCU football squad finished the 2010 regular season with a 12-0 record. The Horned Frogs are ranked third in the current Bowl Championship Series standings. A year ago, the football team played in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The baseball team played in the 2010 College World Series.

Additionally, the women’s basketball team was the regular-season conference champion. The men’s and women’s tennis teams were conference tournament champions. The men’s swimming team captured a regular-season league crown. The women’s volleyball team participated in the NCAA Championship.

Overall, the Horned Frogs produced nationally-ranked programs in football, baseball, men’s golf, women’s golf, rifle and equestrian. Individually, 51 Horned Frog student-athletes earned all-America honors.

Academically, TCU student-athletes posted a departmental cumulative grade-point average of 2.98 in the 2010 spring semester, the highest since TCU began reporting scores in 1998. Fifty-three percent of the student-athletes had GPAs over 3.0 for the spring semester.

The BIG EAST Conference, the nation’s largest Division I-A conference, is in its 32nd year of existence. The league is a unique consortium that competes at the highest level with integrity and sportsmanship. The current membership includes the University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, DePaul University, Georgetown University, University of Louisville, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Providence College, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Syracuse University, Villanova University and West Virginia University.

BIG EAST institutions reside in nine of the nation’s 35 largest media markets. TCU will bring the Dallas/Fort Worth market, which is the fifth largest in the country.

The BIG EAST conducts 24 sport championships. The BIG EAST became a reality on May 31, 1979, following a meeting of athletics directors from Providence College, St. John’s, Georgetown and Syracuse universities. Seton Hall, Connecticut and Boston College completed the original seven-school alliance.

More than 575 BIG EAST student-athletes have earned all-America recognition and dozens have won individual NCAA national championships.

The BIG EAST has its headquarters in Providence where the conference administers to more than 5,500 student-athletes.

It's Official - TCU to join Big East Conference on July 1, 2012

2010-11-29T11:23:00.000-08:00

TCU has made the move to the Big East official with this press release.

TCU Accepts Invitation to Big East Conference For All Sports
TCU will become an official member of the Big East July 1, 2012.

Nov. 29, 2010

TCU's Board of Trustees unanimously approved an invitation to join the Big East Conference in all sports beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

TCU will become an official member of the Big East July 1, 2012.

Current Big East members in football are Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia. For sports other than football, the Big East also includes DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova.

By joining the Big East Conference, TCU can continue its goal to build an excellent athletics program. The University has continued to develop its athletics program through the opening of new facilities and programs, including:

• Renovations to the west side and north end zone of Amon G. Carter Stadium
• The Jane and John Justin Field House for women's soccer
• The Dutch Meyer Athletic Complex and Abe Martin Academic Enhancement Center
• The Sam Baugh Indoor Practice Facility
• The Ed and Rae Schollmaier Basketball Complex
• The addition of a women's equestrian program

The Big East also provides TCU's athletics program television exposure through ESPN, CBS Sports and SportsNet New York (SNY). The Big East Conference has the longest standing continuous relationship of any league with CBS Sports.

In adding TCU and the nation's fifth-largest television market, the Big East Conference further strengthens its footprint on the national television scene. Big East markets already contained almost one-fourth of all television households in the United States. Big East institutions currently reside in nine of the nation's top-35 media markets, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Tampa, Pittsburgh, Hartford, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

"Joining the Big East will enhance our student-athlete experience and continue raising TCU's visibility on a national level," said TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. "We have many championship winning teams within our athletics program and student-athletes across the board will now enjoy greater recognition. This move also provides an opportunity for TCU to recruit more students in different areas across the country, which will further diversify our student body."

"The Board of Trustees, along with TCU's administration, thoroughly examined the invitation and came to the conclusion that joining the Big East is the right move to make at this time," said Luther King, chair of TCU's Board of Trustees. "This University has a lot of momentum and joining the Big East will accelerate that momentum."

Headquartered in Providence, R.I., the Big East Conference was formed in 1979. The league has won 28 national championships in six sports with 128 student-athletes capturing individual national titles.

The Big East sponsors all of the sports TCU currently fields in the Mountain West Conference.

"We take tremendous pride in having a nationally-prominent athletics program and joining the Big East Conference will allow us to further grow our brand and increase our visibility and exposure," TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte said. "We are most appreciative of our time in the Mountain West Conference. The league helped elevate us across the board. We treasure the relationships we formed and the outstanding leadership provided by Commissioner Craig Thompson.

"Having BCS automatic-qualifying status was a priority for our football program and a great reward for the success we've had the last decade under Gary Patterson. Keeping all our sports together was also critical. We are very excited to accomplish both these goals and look forward to our new home in the Big East Conference."

Report: TCU to accept offer to join Big East

2010-11-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

AOL Fanhouse is reporting that TCU has accepted an invitation to join the Big East Conference in all sports beginning with the 2012-13 athletic seasons.

The report adds that TCU is expected to make the announcement at a 1:00pm (local time) press conference.

Before the BCS rankings are announced (Nov. 28)

2010-11-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving, and also hope that Black Friday did not turn into a Black and Blue Friday for you and yours.

The new polls are out.

In the AP poll, Oregon gained points from last week (1467 to 1475), but its lead over Auburn has shrunk from 37 to 19 points. The Ducks lost one first-place vote (37 to 36), and Auburn gained ten (13 to 23). TCU has one first-place vote, and is currently ranked third.

In the three-way Big Ten race, Wisconsin is ranked 4th in the AP poll, while Ohio State and Michigan State are sixth and seventh respectively.

Boise State dropped to ninth, below two-loss Arkansas (eighth).

Oregon remains first in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, albeit their cushion against Auburn has dwindled from 61 to 40 points. The Ducks have 36 more first-place votes than the Tigers. TCU, with its three first-place votes, is ranked third.

Arkansas (eighth) and Nebraska (ninth) have both jumped over Boise State, which dropped to tenth.

Oregon, Auburn and TCU also hold the top three slots in the Harris Interactive poll. The Ducks however lead Auburn by only 35 points, with their lead essentially halved from last week (66 points).

Oregon, Auburn and TCU should be the top three in BCS standings to be released later today.

BCSKnowHow.com is predicting that Stanford will remain ahead of Wisconsin and be in fourth place, despite being ranked fifth in all three polls. The Cardinal was .0075 ahead of the Badgers in last week's BCS standings.

LaMichael James' "new" car raising eyebrows

2010-11-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

As reported by the Williamette Week via deadspin.com, LaMichael James was under investigation earlier this month regarding his car he is currently driving.

James had been seen driving a 2003 Range Rover, instead of his 2000 Ford Mustang. Questions have arisen as to whether James had acquired the Range Rover through appropriate channels.

The inquiry centers around Pernell Brown, a gang-outreach worker. Brown has claimed that he and James swapped vehicles as James had been receiving harassment notes on his car.

The paper reports that Brown seems to have purchased the Range Rover through legitimate means. However this car swap has attracted the attention of the NCAA, as it sent to Oregon assistant director for agent, gambling and amateurism activities, Angie Cretors, to investigate.

The Williamette Week also points out that Brown is a former Woodlawn Park Blood gang member.

As of right now the NCAA has no position other than the standard, "It is NCAA policy not to comment on current, pending or potential investigations."

James, a Heisman-candidate, plead guilty earlier this year to one count of physical harassment, stemming from a February 15th domestic violence incident. He is currently serving a 24-month probation sentence.

Before the BCS rankings are announced (Nov. 21)

2010-11-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

The new polls are out.

No significant changes in the AP poll, other than Wisconsin and LSU flipped positions. Nebraska drops seven places after losing to Texas A&M Saturday. Oregon increased its lead over Auburn from 36 to 37 points.

No movement as far as the top eight in the latest coaches' poll, but Oregon gains back two first-place votes from Auburn. The Ducks now lead Auburn by 61 points.

In the Harris Interactive poll, Stanford and Ohio State swap seventh and eighth ranking. Oregon (1st) and Boise State (3rd) each gain three first-place votes, while Auburn (4) and TCU (2) lost first-place votes.

According to BCSknowhow.com, no changes are expected in the top seven of the BCS rankings.

Illinois/Northwestern game to feature only one endzone

2010-11-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

Apparently the friendly confines of Wrigley Field are too...friendly.

The Big Ten announced Friday that Illinois and Northwestern have agreed to play with only one end zone in tomorrow's game at the ballpark.

The game will be played with the one (west) endzone. The original east endzone, first thought to be spaced far enough from a padded wall in right field, was deemed to be too close to the endzone.

The change in the field-design will necessitate all offensive drives to be one-directional. Therefore, when possession changes sides, the players will switch sides as appropriate.

The NCAA has approved these changes.

MWC talking to Hawaii about football-only membership

2010-11-18T21:38:00.000-08:00

Honolulu Star-Advertiser is reporting that the Unviersity of Hawaii is being courted to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member.

Negotiations started today between the two parties.

Hawaii, currently the longest-tenured WAC team, is predicted to join the Big West Conference in all other sports. The Warriors were part of the Big West until joining the WAC in 1979.

The Big West recently lifted a self-imposed moratorium on conference expansion.

The Warriors would probably be admitted to the MWC in time for the 2012-13 season. Hawaii would most likely offer travel subsidies for teams traveling to Honolulu.

TMZ: Cam Newton probe expands to Auburn booster

2010-11-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

TMZ--the usually celebrity-tilted website--is reporting that according to its sources, the FBI is now expanding its probe to cover an Auburn booster recently arrested in a bribery sting.

Dog track owner Milton McGregor was arrested recently for allegedly bribing Alabama state politicians to vote for gambling.

TMZ did report that it is not clear what the relationship is between McGregor and Newton. TMZ did however report that two years ago, McGregor donated $1 million to the athletics department for arena construction.

Ron Zook channels his inner-Jim Mora

2010-11-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

This is a few days old, but thanks to Deadspin for bringing this up.

Ron Zook talks about bowl game potential after losing to Minnesota

AP Source: Southern Miss' Martez Smith paralyzed

2010-11-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

The AP is reporting that Southern Miss linebacker Martez Smith, one of three players shot outside a Hattiesburg night club Sunday morning, is paralyzed from the waist down according to a source close to the situation.

The source says that Smith's spinal cord is severed. Two teammates, Tim Green (neck) and Deddrick Jones (chest) were also hit. All are said to be in fair condition at Hattiesburg's Forrest General Hospital.

Two people were arrested in connection with the shooting, and police are looking for a third man believed to be involved.

30 college presidents pulling down million dollar compensation

2010-11-15T12:18:00.001-08:00

While not a football story, this is certainly eye-popping.

A recent survey released by the Chronicle of Higher Education shows that 30 college presidents earned compensation packages of more than $1 million dollars in 2008.

Southern Methodist's Michael M. Boone earned more than $2.8 million, earning title as highest-paid sitting president. Base compensation was $535,000, but a change in IRS rules in regard to life insurance triggered a $1.6 million payout to Boone.

The late president of Touro College, Bernard Lander, was the highest paid executive in 2008 at $4.8 million. The majority of that total was the result of $4.3 million in deferred compensation.

Before the BCS rankings are announced (Nov. 14)

2010-11-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

The new AP, ESPN/USA Today coaches, and Harris Interactive polls are out.

Oregon remains number one in all three, but lost first-place votes. The Ducks lost 11 votes in the AP, four in the coaches, and 28 in the Harris Interactive. Boise State has jumped TCU to become number three in all three polls.

USC (20) and Miami (24) rejoin the AP poll.

Northwestern (25) is ranked in the coaches' poll for first time since 2008.

Miami (24) and Florida St (25) replace Florida and UCF respectively in the Harris Interactive Poll. Auburn is within 30 first-place votes (65 to 35).

Report: Three football players shot at Hattiesburg nightclub

2010-11-14T09:06:00.001-08:00

NBC affiliate WDAM-TV is reporting that three Southern Miss football players were shot at a Hattiesburg nightclub early Sunday morning.

The shooting took place outside Remington's Hunt Club at around 1:20am local (2:20am ET).

Southern Miss has not released a statement, but is expected to do so today according to a report in the Hattiesburg American.

[UPDATE: 11/14/10, 6:30pm ET] Southern Miss released the following press release this afternoon:

Three Southern Miss Student Athletes Injured in Off-Campus Incident

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi has confirmed three of its student athletes were injured in an off-campus incident shortly before 2 a.m., Sunday, November 14, in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The three student athletes, all members of the Southern Miss football team, are presently hospitalized. They are:

• Martez Smith, 22, a senior interdisciplinary studies major and linebacker from Canton, Miss.

• Tim Green, 21, a junior interdisciplinary studies major and linebacker from Columbia, S. C.

• Deddrick Jones, 23, a junior interdisciplinary studies major and defensive lineman from Bastrop, La.

According to a medical official, each of the student athletes was listed in fair condition as of 1 p.m. today.

"At Southern Miss this afternoon our number one concern is for the health and welfare of these students and for their family members who await their recovery," stated President Martha Saunders. "We will do all we can to assist these young men and their families, as well as assist the Hattiesburg Police Department in its investigation of this event."

Fedora is scheduled to hold his weekly press conference, Monday, Nov. 15, at 11:45 a.m. in the Athletic Center.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour called Saunders this afternoon to express the concerns of both he and his wife, Marsha, for the players and their families. According to Saunders, the governor offered any assistance his office can provide.

According to Lt. Jon Traxler of the Hattiesburg Police Department (HPD) detective division, none of the three Southern Miss student athletes were armed. The HPD is handling the investigation of this incident with the assistance of the University Police Department. The HDP has enlisted the help of the public in asking for information involving the incident. Individuals with information are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 601.582.STOP or 601.582.7867. All information given to Crime Stoppers is confidential.

A previous Hattiesburg American reported that the police have been called to the nightclub 129 times during the first nine months of this year, although the visits had led to zero arrests.

Yankee Stadium striped for Army-Notre Dame

2010-11-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

Per @YankeesPR twitter update, the Yankee Stadium field was striped yesterday in preparation for the November 20th game between Army and Notre Dame.

(Image: @YankeesPR Twitpic)

This comes after goal posts were installed on October 29th.

(Image: @YankeesPR Twitpic)

The November 20th game--the first football game to be played at the new stadium--is scheduled for a 7:00pm ET tipoff on NBC.

It's Official: WAC to add Denver, UTSA and Texas State

2010-11-11T14:36:00.000-08:00

As rumored yesterday, the WAC has officially announced that Denver, UTSA and Texas State will join the conference on July 1, 2012.

The press conference at University of Denver will be streamed online here.

Full WAC release below:

WAC to Add Denver, UTSA and Texas State

DENVER - The Western Athletic Conference today announced that invitations for membership have been issued to and accepted by the University of Denver, the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas State University to join the conference effective July 1, 2012.

The announcement was made by the chair of the WAC Board of Directors and Utah State University President Stan Albrecht and WAC Commissioner Karl Benson after the Board unanimously voted to issue the invitations earlier this week.

"The Board of Directors is extremely dedicated to the long-term stability and growth of the Western Athletic Conference," said Albrecht. "The University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas State University and the University of Denver are three very strong institutions, both in their commitment to building athletic excellence and in their commitment to academics. We believe that all three will help us in our quest to make the WAC one of the outstanding athletic conferences in the country."

"The addition of these three schools clearly sends a message that the WAC and its member schools are prepared to move forward to build a 'new' WAC," said Benson. "And as the WAC prepares to begin its next 50 years as an athletic conference, I am confident that these three new members along with the six other WAC schools will continue to compete at the highest level of the NCAA."

The two Texas schools are currently members of the Southland Conference and will be making the move up from the Football Championship Subdivison (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2012. Denver becomes the first full member in WAC history to join the league without a football program. The additions mean that for the 2012-13 season, the WAC will consist of nine full-time members, eight of which will play football.

Benson added that the WAC will continue to explore the possibility of adding additional members to the league.

Denver, currently a member of the Sun Belt Conference, is a private institution with an enrollment of 11,644 and is located nine miles northwest of the WAC's headquarters. The Pioneers sponsor 17 sports and has won 28 national championships in their history. The men's and women's basketball teams play in the 7,200-seat Magness Arena, part of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center. Last year's men's basketball team won 19 games, its third straight year of improving its number of wins.

UTSA, founded in 1969, has an enrollment of more than 30,000 students on its three campuses (Main, Downtown and Institute of Texan Cultures). The University has grown quickly in its relatively short history and it has plans for $265 million in construction over the next three years. The Roadrunners have won 48 Southland Conference Championships since joining the league in 1991-92 and they won the 2007-08 Commissioner's Cup as the top overall athletics department. The newly-created football program will play its games in the 65,000-seat Alamodome, while the basketball and volleyball teams play in the Convocation Center (4,080).

Texas State, founded in 1899, has an enrollment of 32,586 and is located in San Marcos, Texas, 50 miles northeast of San Antonio. Texas State sponsors 16 men's and women's sports and plays its home basketball games in Strahan Coliseum (7,200) and its home football games in Bobcat Stadium, which will undergo an expansion project next May to increase its seating capacity to nearly 30,000. The Bobcats have won 33 Southland Conference championships since 2000, including the 2005 and 2008 football titles. They advanced to the 2005 FCS semifinals and appeared in the 2008 FCS playoffs, while their volleyball team has averaged 22 wins and made two NCAA appearances the past three seasons.

Montana remaining in FCS

2010-11-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

The University of Montana at Missoula formally announced today that they will remain at the FCS level in football.

Had Montana decided to jump to the FBS, rumors were that the WAC would invite the Grizzlies to join their conference. According to the release, one of the reasons for remaining at the FCS-level was to maintain the current rivalry with Montana State University of Bozeman.

Below is Montana's press release:

Montana remaining in Big Sky Conference

UM President Royce Engstrom announced today that Grizzly Athletics will stay in the Big Sky Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision. University officials had the opportunity to consider a move to the Western Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

“It was a complex issue with many pros and cons,” said Engstrom, who started his new duties as UM’s 17th president Oct. 15 and recently attended his first meeting of Big Sky Conference university presidents in Park City, Utah. “In the end, the better course is to stay with the conference we helped establish in 1963 and to continue building on its solid foundation.”

Engstrom said three principles guided his decision. First, he wanted to maintain the cross-state rivalry between UM and Montana State University-Bozeman, which he regards as essential to the state’s cultural fabric. The two institutions played their first college football rivalry game in 1897. Now nicknamed the Brawl of the Wild, it’s the fourth-oldest active rivalry in the FCS and the oldest west of the Mississippi.

Second, he wanted UM to compete with more mission-similar institutions. He said the recent addition of the University of North Dakota strengthened the Big Sky Conference in that regard.

Finally, he wanted to ensure that UM athletic teams can compete successfully and maintain the prestige and integrity the program has demonstrated over the years.

“At this time, FCS football presents the best overall fit for the University, it provides our student-athletes and fans with a great experience, and it is consistent with the strategic direction of the University,” Engstrom said.

“I agree this is the best course for The University of Montana at this particular time,” UM Athletics Director Jim O’Day said. “Right now, Grizzly Athletics needs to concentrate on building its athletics infrastructure. That should be our No. 1 priority now and where we should be allocating our energy.”

UM will compete in an expanded Big Sky Conference starting in 2012. On Nov. 1, UND and Southern Utah University accepted invitations to become core members of the conference. California Polytechnic State University and the University of California, Davis, also joined the conference in recent months as affiliate members for football.

“I am quite sure that the regents would agree that this is a wise decision by President Engstrom,” said Sheila Stearns, state commissioner of higher education. “He has the full support of the Board of Regents and my office.”

“This was the right move at this time,” said Clayton Christian, Board of Regents chair. “It’s the right decision for the state, The University of Montana and the Big Sky Conference.”

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Nov. 9)

2010-11-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

TCU's 47-7 drubbing of Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday, helped move the Horned Frogs from fourth to second in this week's Trentonian U rankings.

Oregon continues to garner all first-place votes. Florida, Nevada, UCF and Texas A&M join this week's rankings.

Full rankings below:

Trentonian U Top 25 Rankings
(November 9, 2010)
		PTS	LW	HI	LO	BCS	THIS WEEK
1.	Oregon(4)	100	1	1	1	1	at Cal., Sat.
2.	TCU	94	4	2	3	3	SDSU, Sat.
3t.	Boise State	91	3	2	4	4	at Idaho, Fri.
3t.	Auburn	91	2	2	4	2	GEORGIA, Sat.
5.	Stanford	83	9	5	6	6	at Ariz. St., Sat.
6.	Wisconsin	77	7	6	8	7	IND., Sat.
7.	Ohio State	75	8	5	8	9	PENN ST., Sat.
8.	LSU	70	15	7	11	5	UL-MON., Sat.
9.	Nebraska	69	10t	6	12	8	KANSAS, Sat.
10t.	Alabama	60	12	9	12	12	MISS. ST., Sat.
10t.	Arkansas	60	5	10	14	15	UTEP, Sat.
12.	Iowa	54	13	9	16	13	at N'western, Sat.
13.	Oklahoma St	50	19	9	16	10	at Texas, Sat.
14.	Utah	48	6	12	17	14	at ND, Sat.
15.	Michigan St	47	18	11	18	11	Off
16.	Oklahoma	41	10t	13	19	16	TX TECH, Sat.
17.	Virginia Tech	38	20t	13	19	20	at UNC, Sat.
18.	Mississippi St	34	20t	17	19	19	at 'Bama, Sat.
19.	Missouri	23	16	18	24	17	at K-State, Sat.
20.	South Carolina	21	14	18	25	23	at Fla., Sat.
21.	Arizona	19	17	15	NR	18	USC, Sat.
22.	Florida	13	RV	20	NR	22	SO CAR., Sat.
23.	Nevada	9	RV	21	NR	21	at Fresno St., Sat.
24.	UCF	8	NR	23	25	NR	SO MISS., Sat.
25t.	Florida State	5	23	21	NR	NR	CLEMSON, Sat.
25t.	Texas A&M	5	NR	21	NR	25	at Baylor, Sat.

Dropped Out: No. 22 Baylor, No. 24 Hawaii, No. 25 NC State
Also Receiving Votes: Kansas State 4, Northern Illinois 4, Penn State 4,
San Diego State 3
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor), Joey Kulkin (Managing Editor),
Matthew Osborne (Sports Editor), Fred Sakai (Contributor)

ESPN Sources: Denver, UTSA, Texas State to join WAC

2010-11-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

ESPN.com's Andy Katz is reporting through sources that the WAC will announce tomorrow the additions of Denver, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State to the conference. The three would join in 2012-13.

Denver is expected to join the conference in all sports except football, where it will continue to compete at the FCS level. Currently in the Sun Belt conference, Denver is not expected to pay a departure fee.

UTSA and Texas State are expected to join in all sports. Both will be leaving the Southland Conference, and are expected to pay a $250,000 exit fee each. UTSA's move still needs approval from the state board of regents.

Read the full report here.

UW president to AD Woodward: Apologize to Oregon

2010-11-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times has obtained a copy of a letter from interim University of Washington president Phyllis Wise to AD Scott Woodward, asking him to apologize to University of Oregon officials for comments made last week on a radio show appearance.

Full letter is available for viewing at this Seattle Times link. Excerpt of Wise's letter to Woodward is below:

"In your position as our Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, it is particularly unfortunate for you to be critical of the academic reputation of the University of Oregon, a fellow PAC-10 Conference member and AAU university. You exhibited an uncharacteristic lack of judgment in making the remarks."

"I believe an apology is in order. In addition to the statement you issued yesterday, I am requesting that you personally apologize to the president and athletic director at the University of Oregon"

Click here for more on Woodward's radio interview remarks.

BCS Rankings (Nov. 7)

2010-11-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

This week's BCS rankings have been released.

Oregon remains BCS #1, but has seen their cushion shrink considerably. Last week, Oregon lead #2 Auburn, .9777 to .9599. This week Oregon only leads by .0027.

TCU has increased their lead over #4 Boise State, and closed the gap between them and #2 Auburn.

BCS Top 16 is below (change in spot from previous week in parentheses):

1. Oregon .9638
2. Auburn .9611
3. TCU .9259
4. Boise State .8662
5. LSU .8170 (+5)
6. Stanford .7454 (+7)
7. Wisconsin .7349 (+2)
8. Nebraska .7298 (-1)
9. Ohio State .6613 (+2)
10. Oklahoma State .6211 (+7)
11. Michigan State .6180 (+3)
12. Alabama .5490 (-6)
13. Iowa .5223 (+3)
14. Utah .4669 (-9)
15. Arkansas .4569 (+3)
16. Oklahoma .3900 (-8)

Full BCS rankings can be found here.

Before the BCS rankings are announced (Nov. 7)

2010-11-07T12:07:00.001-08:00

The new AP, ESPN/USA Today coaches, and Harris Interactive polls are out.

Oregon remains in first in all polls. In the AP poll, Auburn and TCU both jump over Boise State, but interestingly Oregon (49), Auburn (2), TCU (2) and Boise State (7) retained the same amount of first-place votes.

UCF (25th) is ranked in the AP top 25 for the first time in school history. Texas A&M is ranked for the first time this season (23rd).

In the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, TCU jumps over Boise State for third place. Oregon (50) lost a first-place vote to TCU (2).

TCU also leapfrogs ahead of Boise State in the Harris Interactive poll.

Texas A&M, Florida and Central Florida in some order, make up the last three spots of all three polls.

Jeff Sagarin's ELO-CHESS (BCS) ratings have Auburn first. Oregon, TCU, Stanford and Nebraska round out top five. None of the other computer rankings have been released at time of this post.

BCSKnowhow.com predicts no change in the top four of the BCS rankings, with LSU predicted to be fifth.

College football TV listings (Nov. 6)

2010-11-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

As usual, the 506.com and mattsarzsports.com have compiled college football TV listings for this weekend's slate of games. Select games, stations and announce crews are listed below (Rankings used below are current Trentonian U Top 25 Rankings):

Illinois at Michigan, 12:00pm ET/ESPN
(Bob Wischusen, Brian Griese)

7 Wisconsin at Purdue, 12:00pm ET/select Big Ten Network affiliates
(Eric Collins, Chris Martin, Charissa Thompson)

22 Baylor at 19 Oklahoma State, 12:30pm ET/select FSN, MSG+
(Bill Land, Dave Lapham, Emily Jones)

5 Alabama at 15 LSU, 3:30pm ET/CBS
(Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson)

Washington at 1 Oregon, 3:30pm ET/ABC or ESPN2
(Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard, Mike Belloti, Shelley Smith)

Hawaii at 2 Boise State, 3:30pm ET/ESPNU and ESPN 3D
(Pam Ward, Danny Kanell, Jessica Mendoza)
(ESPN 3D announcers: TBA)

4 TCU at 6 Utah, 3:30pm ET/CBS-CS
(Craig Bolerjack, Aaron Taylor, Brooke Olzendam)

12 Arkansas at 14 South Carolina, 7:00pm ET, ESPN
(Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe)

10 Oklahoma at Texas A&M, 7:00pm ET, select FSN, CSN-Phila, MSG
(Steve Physioc, Joel Klatt, Jim Knox)

17 Arizona at 9 Stanford, 8:00pm ET, ABC Regional
(Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews)

Check out the complete list here.

AP Source: Auburn had no contact with Rogers

2010-11-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

AP's John Zenor has the latest on the Cam Newton allegations from Auburn perspective:

AUBURN, Ala. (AP)—A person familiar with the situation says Auburn has had “no contact whatsoever” with a man who allegedly tried to secure payment from Mississippi State during the recruitment of Tigers quarterback and Heisman hopeful Cam Newton.

The NCAA is reviewing the recruitment of Newton, but Auburn has not received a letter of inquiry from the sport’s governing body, the person told The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to comment publicly.

The person says Newton’s eligibility “has at no point been in jeopardy.” Newton will play Saturday vs. Chattanooga.

Former Mississippi State player John Bond has said his ex-teammate Kenny Rogers was soliciting payment during Newton’s recruitment.

Pac-10: Future Pac-12 football schedules announced

2010-11-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

As expected, the Pac-10 announced next year's football schedule upon expanding to the Pac-12.

FUTURE PAC-12 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL SCHEDULES ANNOUNCED

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--The Pac-10 announced today the 2011 Pac-12 football schedule and the eight-year rotation model used for future scheduling.

The 2011 season begins on Saturday, September 3 and culminates Saturday, December 3, with the first-ever Pac-12 Championship game. That game will be played at the home site of the division champion with the best overall conference record.

The 2012 schedule will include the same set of opponents as the 2011 schedule, with games played at opposite sites. Dates of those games are to be determined.

“We are pleased to follow the announcement of the Pac-12 North-South divisional alignment with the release of our 2011 football schedule, and a future conference football scheduling model that maintains important traditional rivalries, and will create some very exciting match-ups in our new 12-team conference,” stated Commissioner Larry Scott.

Click here for the full release which includes 2011 schedule and the eight-year rotation for each Pac-12 member institution.

Friday Football Links

2010-11-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it is only fitting that the last game between TCU and Utah as conference mates, is the biggest game in the history of the brief BCS-buster rivalry.

Fourth-ranked (third in BCS) TCU plays at sixth-ranked (fifth in BCS) Utah tomorrow at 3:30pm ET. The game has such high implications on the BCS picture that CBS College Sports made sure this matchup was included in the two-week free preview period that began October 25th.

To commemorate the occasion, I dedicate Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday"

***
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff met with US Department of Justice officials this week on a possible probe into possible BCS anti-trust violations.

Several lawmakers have criticized the BCS system and have called for a switch to a playoff system.

While the University of Utah will move to a BCS automatic bid conference next season, Shurtleff states that he is not doing it just for Utah.

"This has never been for me to get the University of Utah bragging rights," he said. He argues that Utah necessitating a move to a BCS conference gives him more credibility to recruit those that may join his anti-BCS argument.

***
Catch up on the ratcheted coverage of college basketball on our companion blog, Full Court Press.

Watch recent videos of MAAC and Princeton media day, and much more.

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Nov. 2)

2010-11-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

After Oregon's convincing victory in Los Angeles last week against USC, our voting panel has now unanimously voted the Ducks as number one.

TCU and Auburn have flipped in our poll. Michigan State dropped 12 spots following their loss last weekend at Iowa.

Here are this week's rankings:

Trentonian U Top 25 Rankings
(November 2, 2010)
		PTS	LW	HI	LO	BCS	THIS WEEK
1.	Oregon (4)	100	1	1	1	1	WASH., Sat.
2.	Boise State	93	2	2	4	4	HAWAII, Sat.
3.	Auburn	92	4	2	4	2	CHATT., Sat.
4.	TCU	90	3	3	5	3	at Utah, Sat.
5.	Alabama	85	5	4	5	6	at LSU, Sat.
6.	Utah	76	7	6	8	5	TCU, Sat.
7.	Wisconsin	74	8t	6	9	9	at Purdue, Sat.
8.	Ohio State	70	10	7	9	11	Off
9.	Stanford	66	12	6	11	13	ARIZ., Sat.
10t.	Nebraska	65	13	7	14	7	at Iowa St., Sat.
10t.	Oklahoma	65	11	7	12	8	at TAMU, Sat.
12.	Arkansas	51	14	12	16	18	at So. Car., Sat.
13.	Iowa	49	19t	12	16	16	at Ind., Sat.
14.	So Carolina	44	17	13	17	19	ARK., Sat.
15.	LSU	40	15	13	20	10	BAMA, Sat.
16.	Missouri	39	8t	11	20	12	at TX. Tech, Sat.
17.	Arizona	38	18	15	18	15	at Stan., Sat.
18.	Michigan St	37	6	14	19	14	MINN., Sat.
19.	Oklahoma St	34	19t	11	21	17	BAYLOR, Sat.
20t.	Mississippi St	22	23	18	NR	20	Off
20t.	Virginia Tech	22	21	17	NR	22	GA. TECH, Thu.
22.	Baylor	15	25	21	24	21	at Okla. St., Sat.
23.	Florida State	13	16	20	NR	24	UNC, Sat.
24.	Hawaii	6	RV	23	NR	NR	at Boise St., Sat.
25.	NC State	5	NR	22	NR	25	at Clem, Sat.

Dropped Out: No. 22 Miami, No. 24 USC
Also Receiving Votes: Northwestern 3, Illinois 2, Nevada 2,
Florida 1, Northern Illinois 1
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor),
Joey Kulkin (Managing Editor), Matthew Osborne
(Sports Editor), Fred Sakai (Contributor)

Mississippi State's Nick Bell passes away

2010-11-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

In all of yesterday's election news, you may have missed news that Mississippi State defensive end Nick Bell lost his battle with cancer.

Here is the Mississippi State release:

Mississippi State's Nick Bell, 20, Passes Away

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State redshirt sophomore defensive end Nick Bell passed away Tuesday afternoon, doctors at UAB Medical Center announced. Bell, 20, battled cancer since a diagnosis earlier this fall.

Bell played in 16 games for the Bulldogs, earning four starts. Bell played in the first four games of the 2010 season, and started against Auburn and Georgia. He recorded 22 total tackles in his career, including seven this season. He was credited with one tackle for loss in the season opener against Memphis and another against LSU.

The Mississippi State football team was informed of Bell’s passing at a team meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Several members of the team had travelled to Birmingham to visit with Bell and his family on Monday evening. Local clergymen and professionals from the university’s Student Counseling Services Office will be brought in to meet with grieving members of the team.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced by the family at this time, but the Mississippi State Athletic Department has established a memorial fund for the Bell family through the Bulldog Club. Donations can be made by calling 662-325-3074 or by submitting a pledge through our Dog Tag system. The department will also deliver messages and cards sent to the family. The Athletic Department mailing address is PO Box 5308, Mississippi State, MS, 39762.

Head Football Coach Dan Mullen

“This is a tragedy for Nick’s family, our football program, our community and everyone who had the privilege to meet and be around Nick Bell. Nick was a son and a brother to our football family and I know he will continue to look over us from heaven. Nick lived his life like a champion and will always be remembered in our hearts that way. During this impossible time, we pray for Nick’s family and all those he has touched.”

Megan Mullen

“There are few people in the world who have the unique ability to light up a room – Nick was one of those extraordinary individuals. Every single one of us in the Bulldog football family is a better person for having Nick in our lives.”

Dr. Mark Keenum, Mississippi State University President

“Rhonda joins with me and Bulldogs everywhere in expressing our sympathies to Nick Bell's family, teammates, and friends during this difficult time. Nick was an outstanding young man, who proudly represented our university with character and enthusiasm in everything he did. He was an exemplary student athlete, always giving the maximum effort on the football field and in the classroom. Nick left us too soon, and we mourn his passing, but we also celebrate the impact he made and fondly recount the many lives he touched in our Bulldog family.”

Scott Stricklin, Director of Athletics

“Words can't express our sadness. Nick was a model student-athlete – special in the classroom, on the field and to those whose lives he touched. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his teammates and his coaches. He will be missed by the entire Mississippi State community and our athletic department family.”

Click here for full release, which includes video.

Before the BCS rankings are announced tonight

2010-10-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

The new AP, Coaches, and Harris Interactive polls are out.

In the AP poll, no real changes at the top, other than Michigan State and Missouri dropping out of the top ten after their losses yesterday. Nebraska and Stanford both jumped above Oklahoma and idle LSU.

In the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, despite beating Louisiana Tech at home last Tuesday to remain undefeated, Auburn has jumped above Boise State into second.

Auburn also leaps above Boise State in the Harris Interactive poll. Boise State has more first-place votes (12), than Auburn (10), but received 48 fewer points than the Tigers.

Oregon remained first in all three polls. NC State rejoins the top 25 in all three polls, while Nevada rejoins in the AP and coaches polls.

BCSKnowhow.com has their early projections for this week's BCS rankings. No change is predicted in the top four slots (Auburn, Oregon, Boise State and TCU). Alabama is predicted to be fifth.

Boise makes the world go round

2010-10-30T07:47:00.001-07:00

Boise State is No. 3 in the BCS standings, right on the cusp of where it needs to be for the title game.
And that's where the BCS establishment wants to keep them.
The BCS was established by the six power conferences and Notre Dame, with no intention of ever including teams outside of that realm.
But Boise State's win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl changed things, and the power mongers have not been able to get the genie back into the bottle.
Then Utah came along and whipped Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Even though the Crimson Tide gave up eight sacks because it was missing both starting tackles, people took notice.
But the red pill was always a little out of reach.
Yes, there are many times when Matrix references are worth making, and this is one of them.

The BCS is like The Architect, and Boise State is Neo. They've made it to the source, or in this case, the top five, but the BCS still maintains its control.
In this case, it's the computer rankings.
The humans are voting Boise State at No. 2, which must mean they think they the Broncos are good enough to play for the title.
This is certainly not surprising in the case of the AP voters, because the consensus media agenda is to create as much bad publicity as possible to force a playoff.
The power mongers in the BCS want the opposite.
One has to assume, though, that if Oregon were to lose, that Boise would be voted the No. 1 team in the country.
If that is so, and the Broncos continued to take care of business with blowout wins, they would almost certainly win the AP national title.
What would make the writers drop them? Only the Broncos can hurt themselves in that regard, and if they won the AP title, the crown would at minimum be split.
That would be if, when it comes to the BCS, Boise is still on the outside looking in.
The Broncos are getting killed by the computers, including Jeff Sagarin's amalagam of crap he calls ratings, where they are 11th.
So this begs the question - IF they ever needed to be, could the BCS computers be manipulated?
This question becomes more important when you realize that ESPN - which runs the coaches' poll - also owns the rights to the BCS.
I am not saying the BCS is fixed, let's be clear. But what if it needed to be? Could it be?
Who among us knows what goes into those computers? A wise man once told me that computers can only do what humans tell them to do.
Doesn't that at least bring into question the integrity of that portion of the system?
I'm not one of these bleeding hearts who thinks Boise State is getting screwed or that there should be a playoff. I am just fascinated by how the entire sport is run by faceless rich guys who no one ever sees.
Everyone is wondering what it will take for Boise to make the BCS title game, and maybe the Broncos still can. But for now, they are being kept just out of reach, just where the BCS wants them.
There's still plenty of time to see this play out to see if Boise falls down the rabbit hole or not.
* * *
Just like his team, Boise quarterback Kellen Moore is running second in the Stiffarm.com poll for the Heisman Trophy.
Auburn's Cameron Newton is the leader for now, as only one of 62 Heisman voters polled left him off their 10-player watch list.
Moore was named on 55 ballots, as was Oregon's LaMichael James, and there is a big drop-off to quarterbacks Andrew Luck (Stanford), Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State) and Denard Robinson (Michigan).
It would seem that Moore is poised to take over the lead if Newton stumbles, and I think all it would take would be one bad game to take him out of the picture as quickly as he got in.

So again, Boise is right on the doorstep of the elite, but do the Broncos have the key?
Again, it's the most fascinating angle in a myriad of college football storylines this year.
* * *
Today's Florida-Georgia game is historic for two reasons. First, it's their first meeting as unranked teams since 1979.
Second, it's the 30th anniversary of "Run, Lindsay, Run!"
That occured the next year in 1980, when Lindsay Scott made his dramatic game-winning touchdown from deep in his own territory to win the game for Georgia. The Bulldogs went on to the national title, and it was regarded as the greatest moment in the school's football history.
Meanwhile, Scott is reviled in Florida even by those too young to remember the play at all.
The two teams are headed in different directions this year, though, as the Bulldogs are improving and the Gators are sinking.
The main problem for the Gators has been offense, and a good friend of mine and prominent Gator supporter Dr. Tom Johnson summed it up best the other day.
"Their offense is like your grandmother playing Tecmo Bowl."
Sadly, that's accurate. If the Gators can't score this week, the organization once dubbed "The Firm" may just mail offensive coordinator Steve Adazzio his clothes.

College Football TV Listings (Oct. 30)

2010-10-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

As usual, the506.com and mattsarzsports.com have compiled college football TV listings for this weekend's slate of games. Select games, stations and announce crews are listed below:

20 Oklahoma State at Kansas State, 12:00pm ET/Select FSN and CSN, MSG+
(Bill Land, Dave Lapham, Emily Jones)

5 Michigan State at 18/19 Iowa, 3:30pm ET/ABC or ESPN depending on region
(Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Heather Cox)

7/8 Missouri at 14/12 Nebraska, 3:30pm ET/ABC or ESPN depending on region
(Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham, Jeannine Edwards)

15/16 Arizona at UCLA, 3:30pm ET/Select FSN and CSN, MSG2+
(Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis, Rebecca Haarlow)

3 Auburn at Ole Miss, 6:00pm ET/ESPN2
(Mark Jones, Bob Davie, Quint Kessenich)

13/14 Stanford at Washington, 7:00pm ET/Versus
(Ron Thulin, Glenn Parker, Lewis Johnson)

8/7 Utah at Air Force, 7:30pm ET/CBS-CS
(Jason Knapp, Aaron Taylor, Brooke Olzendam)

10 Ohio State at Minnesota, 8:00pm ET/ABC-Regional
(Mike Patrick, Craig James, Ray Bentley)

1 Oregon at USC, 8:00pm ET/ABC-Regional
(Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews)

4 TCU at UNLV, 11:00pm ET, CBS-CS
(Roger Twibell, Mike Leach)

Check out the complete list here.

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Oct. 25)

2010-10-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited rankings for this week...

Trentonian U Top 25 Rankings
(October 25, 2010)
		PTS	LW	HI	LO	BCS
1.	Oregon (3)	98	1	1	3	2
2.	Boise State (1)	96	2	1	3	3
3.	TCU	91	3	2	5	4
4.	Auburn	90	4t	2	4	1
5.	Alabama	83	6	4	6	7
6.	Michigan State	77	10	6	7	5
7.	Utah	75	7	5	10	8
8t.	Wisconsin	70	19	7	10	10
8t.	Missouri	70	9	8	10	6
10.	Ohio State	63	11	9	11	11
11.	Oklahoma	58	4t	9	14	9
12.	Stanford	56	12	6	16	13
13.	Nebraska	48	15	11	17	14
14.	Arkansas	45	14	12	20	19
15.	LSU	41	8	14	19	12
16.	Florida State	40	16	12	20	16
17.	Sutho Carolina	36	18	14	21	20
18.	Arizona	34	20	17	18	15
19t.	Iowa	28	17	16	21	18
19t.	Oklahoma State	28	13	13	22	17
21.	Virginia Tech	19	25	16	24	23
22.	Miami (FL)	18	24	19	23	22
23.	Mississippi State	16	21	18	NR	21
24.	USC	6	RV	20	NR	N/A
25.	Baylor	5	NR	23	NR	25

Dropped Out: No. 22 West Virginia, No. 23 Texas
Also Receiving Votes: Troy 3, East Carolina 2,
Georgia 2, Hawaii 2
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor),
Joey Kulkin (Managing Editor), Matthew
Osborne (Sports Editor), Fred Sakai (Contributor)

Binghamton buys out Kevin Broadus' conract

2010-10-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

This report filed by the Associated Press -- finally an end to an ugly saga at a northeastern mid-major that appeared to be on the rise:

Binghamton University has bought out the contract of former men's basketball coach Kevin Broadus, who guided the team to its first NCAA tournament berth and presided over its rapid demise.

In exchange for his resignation and withdrawal of all claims and potential future lawsuits, Broadus will receive a $1.2 million settlement. According to a release from the school, Binghamton University will pay $819,115 and the State University of New York will pay $380,884.

Broadus filed a racial discrimination lawsuit in March and one of his attorneys had asked for his reinstatement after the NCAA announced last week that an investigation found no major violations during Broadus's tenure.

Broadus was hired in 2007 and last year signed a contract extension through the 2013-2014 season on the heels of a season that featured the team's first-ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

The program was hit hard after star guard Emanuel Mayben was arrested just over a year ago on charges of selling crack cocaine. Five other players were dismissed and Broadus was suspended with pay for making illegal contact with recruits.

News and Links for October 28

2010-10-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

This week's Trentonian U Rankings will be released later today.

As a tease, Oregon remains #1, garnering three first-place votes. Boise State remains at #2, receiving one first-place vote.

***
Per WAC press release and ESPN, the conference has settled with Fresno State and Nevada in regards to those two team's exit to the Mountain West.

As part of the settlement, Fresno State and Nevada will remain in the WAC through the 2011-2012 athletic seasons. The conference also reduced the exit fee for each institution from $5 million to $900,000.

***
Amry will honor Rutgers' Eric LeGrand by putting red "52" and "R" stickers on their helmets for the rest of the season. The stickers will make their first appearance in this week's game against VMI.

LeGrand was seriously injured when tackling Army's Malcolm Brown during a kickoff return.
The tackle during the October 16th matchup has left LeGrand paralyzed from the neck down.

News and Links for October 22

2010-10-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

As expected the "new" Pac-10, or Pac-12, will feature a north-south split for football.

The north division will be composed of Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, California and Stanford. The south division will be composed of USC, UCLA, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State.

The California rivalries will be upheld as the northern California teams will play the southern California teams annually.

The Pac-12 also announced that revenues will be split evenly among the member institutions. If revenues fall below a certain level, USC and UCLA are guaranteed to receive $2 million more than the other members.

It was also announced that the Pac-12 championship game would be held at the campus site of the team with the best conference record. This is intended to reward the team with the best record.

The divisional format will only be applied in football. The Pac-10 becomes the Pac-12 for the 2011-2012 season.

***
Saturday's Auburn-LSU matchup will feature the two remaining unbeaten teams in the SEC.

***
Matthew Osborne has this week's picks.

***
Check out the series of updated blog posts from Ben Doody on our companion blog, Full Court Press.

News and Links for October 21

2010-10-21T04:56:00.000-07:00

The future divisional alignment of the "new" Pac-10 is among issues that should be addressed Thursday by Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott.

The Oregonian breaks down the main issues that are not yet resolved.

At issue has been how to divide the 12 teams that will compose the "new" Pac-10. Geographically speaking, a north-south split has been discussed. However in the scenario, the two southern California schools would not be in the same division as the two northern California schools. This has been a sticking point as the California schools seem to prefer being in the same division.

Also, the north-south split does not have quite the support from the four Pacific Northwest schools, as they would not be in the same division as USC and UCLA. This would reduce the recruiting reach the four northern schools would have in recruit-heavy southern California.

A new revenue-sharing plan seems to be in the works as well, with rumors swirling that USC and UCLA would probably receive $2 million dollars more than the other Pac-10 institutions.

***
Kent State will be playing Alabama in Tuscaloosa to open the 2011 season.

Kent State was originally scheduled to start the 2011 season against Purdue. The Golden Flashes are reported to have paid Purdue $425,000 to escape the contract for the September 3, 2011 game.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban's alma mater is Kent State. He was a defensive back for the Golden Flashes from 1970-72.

Mid-Week Peek at the Spreads

2010-10-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Haven't done one of these in awhile, so here is a peek at some interesting spreads movement mid-week:

In Thursday's matchup between AP/Coaches/Harris #1 Oregon and UCLA, the Ducks began as a 21.5 pt favorite, and the line has ballooned up to 24-24.5 pts for Oregon.

According to ESPN Los Angeles, UCLA starting quarterback Kevin Prince (knee) will be a game-time decision. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel has already announced that sophomore Richard Brehaut will start if Prince can't play tomorrow.

As pointed out by Addicted to Quack, the game at Autzen Stadium will be Oregon's first as the AP's number one-ranked team.

As expected, the injury to Eric LeGrand has shifted the lines in Rutgers' matchup at Pittsburgh. Pitt began as an 8 pt favorite, and it is now hovering around 12.5-13 pts.

Texas opened as a 23 pt favorite against Iowa State, but that has dropped to 20.5-21 pts.

Washington State is the current big dog of the week, as they are currently 34.5 pt underdogs against Stanford in their match up in NorCal Saturday.

News and Links for October 19

2010-10-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Penn State defensive end Sean Stanley has been charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession stemming from a police call to his on-campus apartment in September.

Stanley has returned to practice, but his name does not appear in the Nittany Lions' depth chart for their upcoming game at Minnesota.

A preliminary hearing is set for mid-November.

***
Despite Washington's thrilling double-overtime victory over Oregon State last weekend, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer addresses the Huskies' need to find consistency in their game.

When asked about finding consistency, head coach Steve Sarkisian replied, "I don't exactly know that. If I did, I'd probably get paid a lot more money to travel around the country and answer that question for a lot of teams that sometimes don't come out with the same energy that they do week to week to week."

He added, "I think sometimes we put a little too much pressure on ourselves, like 'OK, we won, now we can go win two in a row.' Let's just go play and forget what just happened last week and what might occur if we win or we don't win. Let's just go play the game."

The need for consistency was evident in this past game, as the Huskies took an early 21-0 lead, only to hang on at the end to force overtime. A failed Oregon State two-point conversion after a touchdown in the second overtime, sealed the win for Washington.

***
According to the USC Rips It Blog, USC head coach Lane Kiffin is holding early morning practices during this week's bye week so that he and his staff can hit the recruiting trail heavily.

A 6 a.m. practice was held today, and scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as well.

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Oct. 18)

2010-10-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

We have added (hopefully on a permanent basis) a fourth voter to the Trentonian U panel. Joey Kulkin chimes in this week along with the usual suspects.

We've also added a "Hi-Lo" feature, which has the highest and lowest rankings from the four panel members, as well as the team's current BCS ranking.

Without further delay, the Trentonian U rankings for this week:

- Fred Sakai

Halftime report on BCS, Heisman, etc.

2010-10-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

We're halfway through the season, and much like the parity-filled NFL, I am not sure we've learned all that much yet.

Consider that a team no one is talking about - Oklahoma - is No. 1 in the BCS standings, mainly due to a love affair between computers and the Sooners.

Somehow, LSU is No. 1 in two of the computer rankings, which is strange, but no matter. The Tigers get to face those other Tigers from Auburn this weekend, which will give one of them a huge boost.

Auburn is already third in the computers and still has LSU and Alabama on its schedule, so a 12-0 Auburn team would figure to move up into one of the top two spots.

Or will it?

Would Oklahoma or Oregon be displaced if they both go undefeated? Hard to say, although the computers do not love the Ducks. Oregon plays at USC and at Oregon State still, though, both of which are dangerous - yet valuable - games. If the Ducks win out and keep No. 1 in the polls, it would be a crime not to see them play for the national title.

Stranger things have happened though.

Oregon does have to beware in that game against USC. That game basically stands as the Trojans' bowl game since they are on probation, and Lane Kiffin won't hold anything back.

Lost in all this is Boise State, which I still believe is going to need everyone else to have at least one loss to get to the title game. If Oklahoma, Oregon, Michigan State or Auburn finish undefeated, any of those teams will be ahead of Boise in the rankings when it is all said and done. Same goes for TCU, so any combination of those four finishing with no losses essentially eliminates them from the title game no matter what.

It should be interesting to see how it all plays out. Most years at this time, we are saying "What if all these teams undefeated?" And they almost never do.

* Going back to a year when no one had a perfect record, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the most messed up college football season of all time. Colorado won the AP national title with a record of 11-1-1, while Georgia Tech won the coaches' crown at 11-0-1 as the only unbeaten team.

That season is the ultimate example of how dumb poll voters were, are and always will be. In Colorado's case, the Buffs opened the season with a tie against then No. 8-Tennessee, and they lost to Illinois by one point two weeks later, dropping them from No. 9 to No. 18.

Colorado beat Texas 29-22 the next week, and incredibly, neither team lost another regular season game. Well, not on the books anyway.

On Oct. 6, 1990, Colorado came away with a 33-31 win over Missouri with the aid of a fifth down. Now, I don't care what the scoreboard says, if you know they had a fifth down, why would anyone consider that a win?

Colorado dropped from No. 12 to No. 14 the next week, but was that enough punishment for a team that now had a loss, a tie AND a game that clearly should have been a loss?

On Oct. 29, Miami was No. 8 despite two losses to top 25 teams, and Colorado was No. 9. Then four of the top five teams lost in one shot, including then-No. 1 Virginia, causing chaos.

Colorado had one of those wins over No. 3 Nebraska, a team that was wildly overrated at the time. Miami beat Pitt 45-0, yet found itself at No. 5 the following week, one spot BEHIND Colorado, which essentially had two losses and a tie.

More top five losses moved Colorado and Miami up to No. 2 and No. 3 behind No. 1 Notre Dame, which tne lost to Penn State, crowning the Buffaloes as the No. 1 team in the land.

The Buffs then played Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl and won 10-9 when a phantom clipping call negated Rocket Ismail's would-be game-winning touchdown. So now a team that has what amounts to three losses and a tie is the national champ.

By the way, the real champion should have been two-loss Miami, which destroyed Texas in the Cotton Bowl 46-3 despite racking up 202 yards in penalties, much to the delight of Luther Campbell.

The point of all this? Nothing is as it seems in college football, and logic will never ever apply to who plays for the national title.

* On the Heisman front, I have been participating in the Stiffarm Poll to take the pulse of voters on the Heisman and who is on their minds as the season progresses. It is an interesting poll, as it has taken on a kind of "Survivor" feel to it the last couple of weeks.

They orignally asked for an unlimited number of names that were on your mind, but last week the number was cut to 12 players. This week, someone gets voted off the island as they asked for just my best 11.

I had to go ahead and vote off three guys, though, after some dismal performances.

Nebraska's Taylor Martinez, NC State's Russell Wilson and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick got sent packing from my watch list with awful games in losses for their teams. The list of guys I am watching includes, in no particular order, Alabama's Mark Ingram, Boise State's Kellen Moore, Michigan's Denard Robinson, Ohio State's Terrell Pryor (who also took a hit but stayed in the top 11), Michigan State's Kirk Cousins, Stanford's Andrew Luck, Oregon's LaMichael James (despite his off-field past) and North Carolina's T.J. Yates, the ultimate dark horse. I added Ricky Stanzi of Iowa and Dominique Davis of East Carolina just to give those guys some love, but I suspect they will be the first ones off the island in the next round of cuts.

Oh yeah, that's only 10 guys. I forgot about Auburn's Cameron Newton.

Newton has already been the backup for a Heisman winner when he played behind Tim Tebow in 2007. Then he stole a $1,700 laptop (allegedly) and pulled a Han Solo by dumping the goods out the window then the cops arrived. He ended up getting suspended from the team and he eventually transferred to Blinn Junior College in Texas.

After winning the JC national title, Newton re-emerged at Auburn and became the Heisman frontrunner as of this moment. This is interesting, though, as the University of Florida was raked across the coals earlier this year for having so many arrests, discipline problems etc.

Urban Meyer has kicked a lot of these guys out of school, and yet Florida is called a "dirty program." How dirty are the teams that pick up these "free agents", turn them into Heisman contenders and become top five teams? Funny, I don't hear much of that being said.

It's not like Newton killed someone, but now he's the toast of the country. Somehow if Florida had held onto him and started him this year in the absence of Tebow, there would be something wrong with that, he would be a "trouble kid." On Auburn, though, he's getting a "second chance."

What's wrong with that picture?

While we're on the topic, James strangled his girlfriend (allegedly) and is now right back in the lineup for No. 1 Oregon, and he too appears ticketed for New York City if things stay as they are.

It's a tangled web we weave. Check this space for an update later this week on whether Newton is offically on top of this week's Stiffarm Poll.

News and Links for October 15

2010-10-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

As usual, the506.com and mattsarzsports.com have compiled a list of televised college football games for tomorrow. Some highlights below:

Boston College at 16/17 FSU (12:00pm ET, ESPN; Mike Patrick and Craig James)
21/19 Missouri at Texas A&M (12:00pm ET, FSN; Steve Physioc, Dave Lanham, Jim Knox)
Illinois at 13/11 Michigan St (12:00pm ET, Big Ten Network; Eric Collins, Chris Martin, Charissa Thompson)
12/13 Arkansas at 7 Auburn (3:30pm ET, CBS; Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson)
15/14 Iowa at -/24 Michigan (3:30pm ET, ABC/ESPN; Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham)
Texas at 5/4 Nebraska (3:30pm ET, ABC/ESPN; Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Quint Keesenich)
BYU at 4/5 TCU (4:00pm ET, Versus; Joe Beninati, Kelly Stouffer, Lindsay Soto)
1 Ohio State at 18/16 Wisconsin (7:00pm ET, ESPN; Brent Musberger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews)
23 Air Force at San Diego State (8:00pm ET, CBS-CS; Dave Ryan, Aaron Taylor)
8 Alabama at Ole Miss (9:15pm ET, ESPN2; Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe)

***
Matthew Osborne has run out of excuses. Having said that, he has this week's picks (as always, for entertainment purposes only) here.

- Fred Sakai

News and Links for October 14

2010-10-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

Good bye Colonel Reb, hello Rebel Black Bear.

(Image: University of Mississippi, Student Mascot Selection Committee)

Mississippi has concluded its efforts to come up with a successor to Colonel Reb, seen to many as an unfavorable connection with the "Old South".

More than 13,000 votes were cast and the Rebel Black Bear won around three-fifths of the support to become the next mascot for Ole Miss.

***
In light of recent stories of agents providing college athletes with improper benefits, a legislator in Oregon is planning on addressing this issue.

Oregon state Senate President Peter Courtney revealed that he plans on introducing legislation next year that aims to limit agent contact and influence over college and high school athletes.

The legislation will, broaden the definition of a sports agent to include contract advisers, financial planners, etc., make agents register with the state as well as with each institution where they intend to make contact with athletes; protect athletes down to the elementary school level from these agents, and make it illegal to funnel improper benefits to the athlete via family members or friends.

In a release, the legislation will be introduced next year as he and his staff are working with officials at Oregon's colleges and universities as well as working with the state's attorney general regarding enforcement.

- Fred Sakai

News and Links for October 13

2010-10-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

The Oregon Ducks--having moved up to the number two ranking in the polls--have closed practice to the media and public during their bye week.

Head coach Chip Kelly broke the team's silence, only for the weekly Pac-10 coaches' teleconference. He asserted that the team's silence is not due to the improvement in ranking.

“We don’t shield our team. I think our kids can read whatever they want to read. I don’t talk about that,” Kelly said. “But they also know that it means absolutely nothing. You can just look at Alabama; they were the No. 1 team in the country and they lost. Now they’re the No. 8 team in the country...I know our kids can read the paper, I know our kids can read the Internet. But we don’t need to discuss it. Because it means nothing.”

The statuses of Kenjon Barner and Darron Thomas--both injured in last week's game at Washington State--are not known due to the team's silence.

***
This week's USC-California game will feature a matchup of apprentice and mentor.

Current California head coach Jeff Tedford was the offensive coordinator when Lane Kiffin was a backup quarterback at Fresno State. When it was clear that he would not see major playing time with the Bulldogs, Tedford suggested that Kiffin become a graduate assistant.

Kiffin has parlayed that ultimately into his current gig at USC. He gives a lot of credit to Tedford in his development into a head coach.

"I was very fortunate to be in the meeting room with him all the time," Kiffin said. "He was the coordinator, but he coached the quarterbacks too. I learned a ton from him before I ever got started in coaching."

- Fred Sakai

News and Links for October 12

2010-10-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

The Rose Bowl will undergo a renovation over a three-year period, thanks to a $152-million plan approved by the Pasadena (Calif.) City Council yesterday.

The renovation plan calls for increasing the number of premium seats from 550 to 2,500. The plan also would widen 12 access tunnels at the end zones, as well as increase the number of concession stands and restrooms. The renovation would be done in stages so as to not interrupt any UCLA and Rose Bowl games.

The majority of the funding ($144.5-million) would come from city-issued and federal stimulus bonds, from the city of Pasadena, the Tournament of Roses and Rose Bowl Operating Co.'s profits from past BCS games.

The $7.5-million gap will most likely be covered from favorable construction bids, proceeds from the 2014 BCS championship game, additional bonds, or from philanthropic efforts. If the gap cannot be trimmed, the project would be scaled back accordingly.

Construction is set to begin on January 11, 2011. The renovation should be complete in time for the 100th Rose Bowl and BCS title games in January 2014.

The city yesterday also approved 30-year lease extensions with both UCLA and Tournament of Roses.

***
Oregon State's James Rodgers will miss the rest of the season with the knee injury sustained in Saturday's victory over Arizona.

Detailed MRI results were not released, but coach Mike Riley did announce that the wide receiver would not return this season.

Rodgers was ranked sixth in the nation with almost 177 all-purpose yards per game.

- Fred Sakai

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Oct. 11)

2010-10-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Alabama's loss to South Carolina Saturday opened the path for Ohio State to be ranked number one in the AP, Coaches and Harris Interactive polls.

However continuing last week's trend, Oregon is once again ahead of Ohio State in the Trentonian U poll, and thus the Ducks are our number one-ranked team.

Here are this week's rankings:

- Fred Sakai

News and Links for October 11

2010-10-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

The severity of the injury sustained Saturday by Oregon State wide receiver James Rodgers is not yet known, but it seems likely he will miss at least the next game at Washington.

Rodgers had an MRI late Sunday and the test results are expected sometime today. Some have speculated that the injury may end his season.

If the injury is season-ending, Rodgers would qualify for a medical hardship redshirt as he has not played more than 30 percent of the season. Should he redshirt, James Rodgers would have the chance to end his college football career at the same time as younger brother Jacquizz, currently a junior.

***
In addition to James Rodgers' injury in the game against Arizona, in-state rival Oregon also suffered a serious injury to kick returner Kenjon Barner in their game at Washington State.

While Barner was ultimately able to walk off the field after the injury, he stayed overnight at a Pullman, Wash. hospital as a precaution. He was released Sunday and flew back with the team to Eugene, Ore.

Injuries are standard protocol in football, but as the Oregonian's John Canzano points out, we all need proper perspective when it comes to injuries.

Canzano highlights Oregon linebacker Casey Matthews, and his knack for sportsmanship and empathy.

He first took to Twitter to tweet, "...praying for Kenjon Barner hope everything goes well."

Hours after learning that James Rodgers had suffered a serious injury in his game, Matthews then tweeted, "Also praying for (Rodgers) and hoping everything is alright with his knee...Hell of a player and a person!"

It should be noted that Matthews and Rodgers follow each other on Twitter, and seem to have a respectable repoire, as seen in this recent exchange:

Matthews: "...hard fought physical game we just played...It feels good 2 come out with the W!!!"
Rodgers: "...I didn't catch it but I heard it was a good one!"
Matthews: "thanks man...ASU is better than they have been in awhile...I see you taking punts back to the crib good stuff"

As Canzano opines, we just don't hear much about things like this. Everyone should take note of how well-grounded Casey Matthews is.

***
As reported last week, former University of Washington president Mark Emmert recently took over as president of the NCAA for the late Myles Brand.

Seattle Times reporter Bud Withers caught up with Emmert for a Q&A session, covering a wide-range of topics, including a possible football playoff system, and large institutions such as California dropping sports programs.

***
(UPDATED 10/11/10 4:38PM ET-Combined into one post)
As noted by ESPN.com and confirmed via North Carolina release, Greg Little and Robert Quinn have been ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff.

Both players were under investigation for improper benefits received.

Marvin Austin, also under investigation for improper benefits received, was dismissed from the team per school release.

As Austin was released, his case was not submitted to the NCAA for reinstatement.

- Fred Sakai

College football picks

2010-10-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy week, and Roy Halladay's no-hitter threw me into a whole other universe. But college football marches on, and here we go with the picks for the week.

Navy (minus-3 1/2) over WAKE FOREST - Navy has served me well, and Wake Forest has a pretty terrible defense. This looks like another one of the ACC's many public humiliations.

Utah (minus-6) IOWA STATE - This one worries me because it seems too easy. Utah should be able to handle business here if it is really the No. 14 team in the country. It's that fact I'm not positive on.

FLORIDA (minus-6 1/2) over Louisiana State - This is a bounce-back week for the Gators. I'm not making excuses, but four turnovers in crucial situations handed last week's game to Alabama. Florida is better than it looked in that game.

Army (pick em) over TULANE - Yes, Tulane beat Rutgers up here. No, I am not impressed by that feat. If this pick is a winner, Rutgers better watch out in the Meadowlands next weekend when Army comes to town.

Baylor (minus-1 1/2) over Texas Tech (at Cowboys Stadium) - Baylor is the better team here from what I can see, and on a neutral field, I see no reason the Bears can't continue their rise toward bowl eligibility.

Auburn (minus-6 1/2) over KENTUCKY - I have WAY too many road teams for my taste, but that's the way the cookie crumbles some weeks. I am going with my old elementary school gym teacher Gene Chizik to get the job done against a subpar Wildcats team.

Michigan State at MICHIGAN, Over-64 1/2 - Michigan has no defense, and it also has one of the best players in the country in Denard Robinson. I smell yet another Michigan shootout, but I didn't trust them enough to go against Sparty. A trusted Ann Arbor source told me the Wolverines would not cover, so I am sticking with the over.

Oregon (minus-36) over WASHINGTON STATE - OK, now I am just being reckless. I have five road teams in eight picks, and I am laying more than five touchdowns on this one. But Oregon has something to prove to the BCS voters, and the only way to make that point against teams like Washington State is to kick the holy loving crap out of them.

Last week: 5-3
YTD: 19-19-1

News and Notes for October 7

2010-10-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

Even after Utah and BYU depart the Mountain West Conference next year, the two teams will meet for the next two years, thanks to a contract agreed to by the two schools.

The 2011 matchup will be on September 17th in Provo, and the return game in Salt Lake City will be September 25, 2012.

***
While the athletic directors for Pac-10 member institutions wrapped up their two-day meeting in San Francisco, Calif., there were many questions left unanswered.

Among issues not resolved at the meetings include, revenue sharing, new divisional alignment and conference championship game options upon the Pac-10 becoming the Pac-12 next year.

The Pac-10 board of directors will meet on October 21.

News and Notes for October 6

2010-10-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

As reported a few weeks ago, Playoff PAC has challenged the tax-exempt status of the BCS.

Now, four congressmen have joined the mix, urging the Internal Revenue Service to indeed review the tax status for the BCS. The four are, Joe Barton (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Gene Green (D-TX), and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).

Barton has sponsored a bill in Congress to force a change to a playoff system to determine the national champion. Lummis is the co-sponsor of that bill. Green has asked for an investigation into the BCS system by the justice department. Chaffetz is a former BYU kicker.

***
Investigators with the North Carolina Secretary of State's office recently interviewed NFL agent Gary Wichard into the state's ongoing investigation of the University of North Carolina's football program.

The interview lasted about two hours, though no details have emerged in regard to the interview. Wichard has been a person of interest due to his longtime friendship with former UNC assistant coach John Blake.

***
Mark Emmert, chosen to be the successor to Myles Brand as NCAA president, completed his first day at headquarters. Brand passed away in September 2009 and the NCAA was under the direction of Jim Isch in the interm.

"It's been a long transition, but we in academia don't ever do things quickly," Emmert joked. "I want to see what the opportunities are to expand the interaction of what the organization can do beyond the sports world."

"The first order of business is to meet everyone in the office and to get out there and start listening to the constituents and hearing what their concerns and ideas are," Emmert told the Associated Press. "I've talked a great deal about the need to stay focused on the student-athlete, the academic progress of the student-athlete."

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for October 5

2010-10-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

Idaho's athletic director Rob Spear made news last year when he refused to fly a Horizon Air flight, as the plane he was about to board was painted in rival Boise State's colors.

At the time, he stated that he would not fly Horizon Air, sister-company to Alaska Airlines, until they had a plane in Idaho colors.

Horizon Air announced yesterday that they would paint three Bombardier Q400 turboprops in three new liveries. They are for University of Idaho, University of Montana, and Montana State University.

In a prepared statement, Spear called the action a "bold recognition of Idaho's flagship university."

The rendition of the Idaho-themed plane is below.

(Image courtesy of Horizon Air/Alaska Air Group)

Here are renditions of the Montana and Montana State-theme airplanes. The three new liveries join five other University-themed planes, Boise State, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.

***
Ohio State senior safety-linebacker Tyler Moeller will have season-ending surgery this week to repair a torn pectoral muscle suffered in last week's game at Illinois.

Moeller was already in the process of applying for a sixth-year of NCAA eligibility after sitting out all of last season due to a head injury. He was a victim of an assault in a Florida bar in July 2009.

- Fred Sakai

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Oct. 4)

2010-10-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

AP voters were impressed with Oregon's victory over Stanford Saturday, vaulting the Ducks over Boise State into third place. It seems that the Trentonian U panel was equally impressed with the Ducks victory, as Oregon has jumped over Ohio State to second place in our rankings.

This week's edition of the Trentonian U Top 25 Rankings:
(October 4, 2010)

1. Alabama (3) 75 [1]
2. Oregon 71 [3]
3. Ohio State 70 [2]
4. Boise State 64 [4]
5. TCU 63 [5]
6. Oklahoma 59 [t6]
7. Nebraska 58 [t6]
8. Auburn 52 [t10]
9. Arkansas 44 [12]
10. Arizona 43 [17]
t11. Miami 42 [14]
t11. Utah 42 [15]
13. Stanford 39 [t10]
14. LSU 37 [13]
15. Florida 36 [t6]
16. Michigan 32 [16]
17. Iowa 30 [18]
t18. Wisconsin 25 [9]
t18. Michigan State 25 [22]
20. South Carolina 14 [20]
21. Oklahoma State 13 [NR]
22. Nevada 11 [t23]
t23. Air Force 10 [25]
t23. Florida State 10 [NR]
t25. Kansas State 3 [NR]
t25. Missouri 3 [NR]

Dropped Out: No. 19 NC State, No. 21 USC, No. 23(t) Penn State
Also Receiving Votes: UCLA 2, Northwestern 1, West Virginia 1
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor), Matthew Osborne (Sports Editor), and Fred Sakai (contributor)
First-place votes in (parantheses), last week's rankings in [brackets].

News and Notes for October 4

2010-10-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Many thought Boise State's 59-0 win over New Mexico State combined with Virginia Tech's upset victory over then 23th-ranked NC State would help the Broncos' argument for a BCS championship game berth.

Instead, when the new AP top 25 rankings were released, Boise State dropped to fourth. Oregon jumped over the Broncos into third place.

Oregon's jump can be attributed to their gritty win over Stanford. The battle of two top-ten Pac-10 teams Saturday was won by the Ducks, 52-31, in a game closer than the actual final score. Oregon fell behind 21-3 to Oregon in the first half, but was able to keep the Cardinal by scoring the final 28 points in the game.

Stanford's Andrew Luck threw for two touchdowns and 341 yards, but was matched equally by Oregon's Darron Thomas. Thomas threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for 117 yards and one touchdown.

***
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, hospitalized Thursday after a blood clot was found, has been released.

Dantonio had missed the previous two games due to a heart attack he experienced after the Notre Dame game.

His status for the Spartans' game against Michigan this Saturday has not yet been announced.

- Fred Sakai

What's in store for the Full-Court Press

2010-10-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

While today's soggy, nasty weather isn't exactly a recipe for high spirits across the Northeast, at least we have this:

With the calendar turning to October, Midnight Madness is two weeks away -- and college hoops season is essentially already here.

For a full preview of what's in store at the Full-Court Press blog -- Trentonian U's sister blog -- check out the FCP here.

Football in Oregon, YouTube-style

2010-10-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

As a west coast-based contributor, it is only appropriate to bring you football posts from a left coast perspective.

Per a twitter friend, here is a video showing some Oregon Ducks love. (Joey Harrington makes an appearance, too)

For equal time, here is an Oregon State-themed video. It is their 2010 Reser Stadium entrance video.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for October 1

2010-10-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

With the first full month of the Trentonian U blog in the books, we hope you are enjoying our college football blog, including our weekly rankings.

Please remember to check out our companion college basketball blog, Full Court Press.

Here are today's news and notes:

In what should be a gem of a matchup between two top-ten ranked Pac-10 teams, ninth-ranked Stanford visits Autzen Stadium Saturday to take on fourth-ranked Oregon.

Rivals.com breaks down this matchup.

Going into the game, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh is trying to downplay his team. "To me, [there's] way too nice a stuff being said about us," says Harbaugh.

An interesting element to this game will be at quarterback. Stanford's Andrew Luck and Oregon's Darron Thomas have faced each other before in high school. The Houston natives played against each other twice in their high school days, with Luck's team winning both times.

To highlight the importance of this matchup, tomorrow's ESPN College Football Gameday will be from Eugene, Ore.

***
While not a college football story, this week's announcement that Southwest Airlines is acquiring AirTran Airways, has a football slant to it.

Many were surprised when Southwest announced their intentions to purchase AirTran this past Monday. The surprise factor was not only with the size and scope of the purchase, but also in how there were no leaks of the acquisition prior to its announcement.

Initial talks between the two carriers began in May. During numerous discussions that would subsequently take place, we learn that leaks were non-existent because Southwest CEO Gary Kelly and AirTran CEO Robert Fornaro were using code names to communicate with each other.

Southwest is based in Dallas, Tex., and thus Kelly used code name "Cowboy". While AirTran is based in Orlando, Fla., its largest operations are in Atlanta, Ga., and thus Fornaro used code name "Falcon". These code names were used so that any outsider who may have inadvertently gained access to sensitive documents and emails, would not know be able to identify the companies involved.

AirTran coincidentally has an aircraft, Falcons 1, in Atlanta Falcons colors.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 30

2010-09-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Sports discloses a four-month investigation they held into the financial ties involving NFL agent Gary Wichard, former North Carolina assistant coach John Blake, Tar Heels defensive tackle Marvin Austin and current Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Kentwan Balmer.

Their investigation uncovers a money trail into financial ties between Wichard and Blake as early as 2007. Yahoo Sports also uncovers benefits received by Austin in 2009 that might violate NCAA and NFLPA rules.

The entire article can be read here, with supporting documents shown here.

***
Once Colorado and Nebraska depart the Big XII, it has been announced the conference will adopt a round-robin nine-game conference schedule.

Future conference schedules will be released soon. It looks like the divisional format will be abandoned now that there will only be ten teams in the conference.

***
The Bryan-College Station Eagle breaks down tonight's Big XII matchup between Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, that has become a bigger game than originally anticipated.

Both schools are 3-0, and are in the South division of the conference that has seen Texas stumble against UCLA, and Oklahoma eke out narrow victories in three of its four game thus far.

The matchup is scheduled for tonight at 7:30pm ET in Stillwater, Okla.

- Fred Sakai

FarmVille, Mafia Wars, College Town?

2010-09-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

If you are an avid Facebook user, you probably have heard of social games such as FarmVille, FrontierVille, Mafia Wars and Vampire Wars.

Well ESPN (through Playdom) has joined this arena, creating the new ESPNU College Town social gaming app.

(image courtesy of Playdom through espn.com)

The app is now available through Facebook.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 29

2010-09-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Whether credible or not, the New York Post is reporting that according to two sources, the Big East is considering adding TCU as a member.

TCU is currently in the Mountain West Conference. While the MWC will soon add Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada, it will lose Utah to the Pac-10.

If these rumors are true, the move would be a big step up for the Horned Frogs, as the Big East has an automatic BCS bowl berth.

***
Saturday's matchup in Los Angeles between Washington and USC will pit two coaches that were assistants under current Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

The two coaches involved, UW's Steve Sarkisian and USC's Lane Kiffin, will face each other for the first time. And while Sarkisian states that he has a good relationship with Kiffin, such as bouncing thoughts and ideas at each other, he keeps the relationship in perspective.

"Lane and I aren't going to be blocking or tackling or running or catching or throwing Saturday, so we're all OK there," said the Huskies coach.

- Fred Sakai

The magic of No. 8 and other musings

2010-09-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Florida's Trey Burton swtiched his jersey number to 8 last week, and it paid big dividends.

Burton rushed for a school record six touchdowns and led the Gators to a romp over Kentucky. The young Florida team still seems overmatched going into Alabama this week, but it at least gave Nick Saban something to watch on film.

Previous No. 8s have done well at Florida as well. In the 2000 season, now-ESPN commentator Jesse Palmer and erstwhile NFL scrub Brock Berlin were locked in a classic quarterback controversy as the year starter. As both struggled, an unknown kid from Indiana took over at QB - Rex Grossman - and the Gators won the SEC title. Grossman went on to be runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and was the AP National Player of the Year in 2001.

(Yes, we know him today as Turnoversaurus Rex, but he was terrific in college. Well, almost all the time.)

Percy Harvin also wore No. 8 as a freshman, when he basically carried the Florida offense by himself on the way to the 2006 national title.

Florida-Alabama could be a classic battle of defenses, with turnovers making the difference. It's hard not to like the Tide to pull this one out, but I wouldn't rule out a rematch in the SEC title game.

OK, enough about Florida - for now.

* Stanford is playing some great football right now. I loved the Cardnial giving 4 1/2 points to Notre Dame and if I was a betting man (remember, my picks are for entertainment purposes), I would have gone digging for the old car title on that one.

Now they take on Oregon, a team I have been equally impressed with. I can't wait for this game, and it's a good thing I'm a night owl. It starts at 11:15 eastern time Saturday night.

*Michigan's Denard Robinson got injured last week, causing him to lose ground as the purported Heisman Trophy frontrunner. Right now, the race is led in my mind by a four-headed quarterback - Robinson, Terrelle Pryor of Ohio State, Kellen Moore of Boise State and Andrew Luck of Stanford - and the re-emerging Mark Ingram. I originally thought the two missed games would hurt him a lot in the race, but he has two big games since and he has Florida this week.

If Ingram has another big game in prime time, someone better get Archie Griffin on the phone after all.

Still, I like all the aforementioned quarterbacks as well. Luck has a big chance to make a name for himself at Oregon, while the other three will likely be piling up stats against nobodies, as the Big 10 and WAC are fairly weak.

If I end up voting for Luck when December rolls around, I'll be 2-for-2 in voting for Stanford players after I tapped runner-up Toby Gerhart last year.

* Just asking this, andit's probably a dumb question, but if Nevada beats Boise State and goes undefeated, do the Wolf Pack play for the national title?

They've beaten Brigham Young (on the road) and Cal so far, and those will have to stand for their non-conference quality wins. But are those any weaker than Virginia Tech and Oregon State right now? We'll see how the Beavers do in the Pac-10 when compared to Cal, but I guarantee there is no way on this Earth that Nevada plays for the BCS title.

Boise State might, though, sadly, but it has to get through Reno first.

* The Big East is a disgrace. I am not sure that comment requires any more analysis, but I'll give a little anyway.

Rutgers, even looking pretty mediocre as it as, actually is just as viable a contender as a handful of other teams in there right now. If the Knights can straighten out their offensive woes, who knows? It's wide open. Even Syracuse has BCS wishes and caviar dreams.

* I was 4-4 last week on my picks right after someone called me to tell me, using colorful metaphors, that I was not such a terrific handicapper. That be as it may, I am not ready to give up, even after I was again victimized by a cheap, meaningless touchdown that covered the spread late for my opponent. (Thank you, Northwestern.)

There are a lot of road favorites this week, and I do love teams at home with points, but most of them are terrible, hence the points. Touch choices all, but I will have some picks in a day or two.

News and Notes for September 28

2010-09-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

While no specific reason was given, Georgia and Oregon have mutually agreed to cancel a two-game home-and-home series that was scheduled for 2015 and 2016.

***
Illinois offensive lineman Hugh Thornton was arrested over the weekend following a bar fight, and his status for this weekend's game against Ohio State is questionable.

While he is practicing, coach Ron Zook has not officially declared Thornton's availability for the game against the Buckeyes.

Champaign County State's Attorney has not charged Thornton in the fight. However, since he used someone else's ID to gain entrance into the bar, paperwork has been filed to revoke court supervision of a previous arrest for unlawful alcohol consumption by a minor.

***
Rutgers quarterback Tom Savage insists the rib injury he sustained in the previous game at North Carolina will not hamper him in the upcoming game against Tulane, writes Steven Miller.

***
In our companion Full Court Press blog, Ben Doody writes about Rider embracing lowered expectations for the upcoming season.

- Fred Sakai

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Sept. 27)

2010-09-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

This week's edition of the Trentonian U Top 25 Rankings
(September 27, 2010)

1. Alabama (3) 75 [1]
2. Ohio State 72 [2]
3. Oregon 67 [3]
4. Boise State 65 [5]
5. TCU 64 [4]
t6. Nebraska 55 [7]
t6. Oklahoma 55 [8]
t6. Florida 55 [t11]
9. Wisconsin 47 [10]
t10. Stanford 45 [15]
t10. Auburn 45 [17]
12. Arkansas 43 [9]
13. LSU 39 [t13]
14. Miami 37 [18]
15. Utah 35 [t13]
16. Michigan 31 [19]
17. Arizona 28 [16]
18. Iowa 25 [20]
19. NC State 16 [NR]
20. South Carolina 14 [t11]
21. USC 11 [23]
22. Michigan State 10 [t25]
t23. Penn State 9 [22]
t23. Nevada 9 [NR]
25. Air Force 8 [t25]

Dropped Out: No. 6 Texas, No. 21 West Virginia, No. 24 Oregon State
Also Receiving Votes: Oklahoma State 7, Texas 4, West Virginia 2, Missouri 1, UCLA 1
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor), Matthew Osborne (Sports Editor), and Fred Sakai (contributor)
First-place votes in (parantheses), last week's rankings in [brackets].

News and Notes for September 27

2010-09-27T05:45:00.000-07:00

In the most recent edition of the AP top 25 rankings, some wolf packs made noticeable appearances.

NC State moved into the poll at number 23. It was the first time since 2003 that the Wolfpack appeared in the poll.

Meanwhile, Nevada entered the poll at number 25. The Wolf Pack were in the poll for the first time since 1948.

On Saturday, NC State hosts Virginia Tech, while Nevada will play at in-state rival UNLV.

***
Georgia freshman linebacker Demetre Baker was dismissed by the program yesterday, following a DUI arrest early Sunday in Athens, Ga.

Coach Mark Richt was generally known to only suspend players for first offenses. However, it seems he may be closing in on a zero-tolerance policy for player arrests.

Richt was quoted as saying, "(Baker) was fully aware of the possible consequences that resulted from this type of decision."

Baker is the 10th Bulldog player to be arrested this year.

Through a prepared statement from the school, Richt says that Georgia will help him in "finding a place to continue his education and football career and hope that he's learned a valuable lesson from this mistake."

A spokesman for the school states that Baker is expected to remain enrolled at Georgia through the fall semester.

***
George O'Gorman writes about the key roles Rutgers products Kenny Britt and Jason McCourty played in the Tennessee Titans' victory over the Giants Sunday.

The piece also has video interviews of both players.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 24

2010-09-24T05:55:00.000-07:00

While not formally announced, Alabama coach Nick Saban stated Thursday that his Crimson Tide will play Michigan at Cowboys Stadium in 2012.

Alabama last played Michigan in the 2000 Orange Bowl. The Wolverines won that game in overtime, 35-34.

***
New York Times' Jere Longman writes about the turnaround Al Golden is orchestrating at Temple.

Longman also writes about Temple's transformation from a commuter school, to a school where more than a quarter of the enrollment lives on or near campus.

The Owls face Penn State Saturday in Happy Valley. Temple has not beaten the Nittany Lions since 1941.

***
Considering USC's lackluster success rate of two-point conversions this season, one would think the coaching staff would change their approach.

Trojans special teams coordinator John Baxter is defending the two-point approach. He states, "it's pushing the pace, pushing the envelope and forcing our opponents to prepare for the Trojans in a multifaceted way...even if they (two-point conversions) don't work, they work."

***
Steven Miller writes on Rutgers' defensive end Jonathan Freeny's adjustment to his new role as an every-down player.

***
Matthew Osborne writes about "that week" of his last week, and looks to get back on the winning side of the ledger.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 23

2010-09-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

The AP has an exclusive on a political action committee's challenge to the tax-exempt status of the BCS

According to the AP article, Playoff PAC is planning to file a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service today. The complaint is to be lodged against three of the five BCS bowls, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange. The Rose Bowl was found to be free of irregularities.

Ultimately the PAC aims to change the current BCS system, if the irregularities to be brought up in the complaint, are successful.

***
The Idaho-Statesman has posted some commentary from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel's Pete DiPrimio, who for two consecutive weeks, is the only AP voter to rank Boise State first.

Among DiPrimio's arguments for ranking the Broncos first include, Boise State being in every one's top-5 preseason rankings, and not penalizing them for Virginia Tech's loss to James Madison.

- Fred Sakai

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Sept. 20)

2010-09-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is a tad late, but this week's rankings are below:
(September 20, 2010)

1. Alabama (3) 75 [1]
2. Ohio St 72 [2]
3. Oregon 66 [3]
4. TCU 65 [4]
5. Boise St 61 [5]
6. Texas 60 [6]
7. Nebraska 57 [9]
8. Oklahoma 56 [7]
9. Arkansas 48 [11]
10. Wisconsin 46 [10]
t11. South Carolina 42 [12]
t11. Florida 42 [13]
t13. LSU 35 [t14]
t13. Utah 35 [t14]
15. Stanford 33 [19]
16. Arizona 31 [23]
17. Auburn 29 [16]
18. Miami 25 [t17]
19. Michigan 21 [t17]
20. Iowa 19 [8]
21. West Virginia 17 [t20]
22. Penn State 11 [22]
23. USC 7 [24]
24. Oregon St 6 [t25]
t25. Air Force 5 [NR]
t25. Michigan St 5 [NR]

Also receiving votes: Oklahoma St 4, Pittsburgh 1, Temple 1
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor), Matthew Osborne (Sports Editor), and Fred Sakai (contributor)
First-place votes in (parantheses), last week's rankings in [brackets].

News and Notes for September 22

2010-09-22T05:47:00.000-07:00

Michigan State tight end Dion Sims is among ten men charged in the thefts of over 100 laptop computers from Detroit public schools.

The stolen computers have been tracked coast-to-coast, as well as internationally as far away as the United Arab Emirates. The stolen goods were valued at $158,000.

According to the school, Sims has been suspended. Sims has been charged with receiving and concealing stolen property.

***
In what ends up being an exit fee, Nebraska and the Big XII have settled on a dollar amount for the Cornhuskers departure from the conference.

While the conference was looking for up to $19.4 million, the two parties have settled at $9.255 million. The money will be withheld from scheduled conference distributions instead of the school having to pay an actual fee.

If Nebraska is one of two Big XII teams to play a BCS bowl, the settlement figure drops to $8.755 million.

In related news, Colorado and the Big XII have also settled on a dollar amount for the Buffaloes to depart the conference.

Colorado will have $6.863 million withheld from scheduled conference distributions.

The above withholdings will allow Nebraska and Colorado to join the Big Ten and Pac-10 respectively, undeterred on July 1, 2011.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 21

2010-09-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

When Colorado announced their move to the Pac-10, it seemed like the earliest they could leave the Big XII was 2012.

Sources say that the Buffaloes are now eyeing a move to the Pac-10 for the 2011 season. The exit fee paid to the Big XII had been a sticking point for Colorado's departure to the Pac-10

Utah is scheduled to join the Pac-10 in 2011 as well.

***
Don Treadwell, offensive coordinator for Michigan State, says that head coach Mark Dantonio is "doing better and better" following a heart attack after last Saturday's victory over Notre Dame.

Dantonio's release from the hospital has not yet been set. Treadwell will be coaching the team Saturday when the Spartans host Northern Colorado.

- Fred Sakai

Why no one should ever bet on football

2010-09-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

This past week is a perfecet example of why my college picks are for entertainment purposes only. Come with me as I relive this journey.

About 2:30 p.m., things were looking terrific for my picks. East Carolina (19 1/2 point dogs) had a six-point lead late third quarter over Virginia Tech. Troy had a solid two-score lead on UAB only laying three and things were off to a strong start.

Then it started to unravel.

In order for the Hokies to beat my cover on ECU, they had to score four unanswered touchdowns to finish the game, a feat that would make even the most reckless gambler think twice about betting on. But they did it, and as soon as I saw that score, I knew my day was about to unravel.

And it did. Troy was leading by five points with 1:09 left and UAB had the ball at its own 1-yard line. Somehow, the Blazers got off the 1 and eventually won the game on a Hail Mary.

Hawaii was looking great to cover 11 1/2 points, staying close to Colorado in the fourth quarter before giving up two bad scores.

Then came USC who, thanks to Lane Kiffin's irresponsible and wanton misuse of the two-point conversion, lost the cover against Minnesota when the Gophers scored a meaningless TD with 11 seconds left in the game.

So, if you're keeping track, that's four games that went south in the final plays.

I was 1-1-1 in my other games, all of which ended in fairly predictable fashion. My loss was SMU, a longshot anyway laying 23 points, and Florida managed to push Tennessee. Stanford embarrassed Wake Forest and could have won by 100 if that was its desire.

I am not explaining all this to justify my 1-5-1 week. I am doing it to show that even when things look like a lock, they're not, so the best bet is not to bet at all.

Soapbox tirade over, I WILL continue to make picks and battle back from this humiliating week.

Other notes from this week:
* Alabama is looking awfully good so far, but the Tide get two straight tests coming up against Arkansas and Florida. I still like Bama to win those, but they have their hands full.

* If Ohio State gets beat in the regular season this year, I would be really surprised. Feel free to book that if you need to for throw-it-my-face purposes, but I'll stick by it.

* If Temple beats Penn State this week (you heard me), the Owls might go undefeated too. Would that make them a better BCS title game contender than Boise? (Again, if you think that's a dumb question, you're not paying attention.)
I'm going to make the Owls win first before I start breaking down the possibilities, but if they do, you can count on all the analysis of its ramifications here.

* At this point, I think it's Denard Robinson's Heisman to lose. Or is it Terrelle Pryor's? Well, at least they play each other.

News and Notes for September 20

2010-09-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

In what will surely change the Heisman race, Houston has lost star quarterback Case Keenum for the season. Keenum suffered a torn ACL in the UCLA game Saturday.

To add insult to injury, the Cougars also lost backup quarterback Cotton Turner with a broken collar bone.

Terrance Broadway seems to be the leading candidate to be the next starter at quarterback for Houston.

***
This month's Hemispheres Magazine, United Airlines' inflight magazine, has a feature on Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez.

More specifically, the article goes deep into Rodriguez's disastrous first two years at Michigan, and the high expectations surrounding the coach's third season at the helm.

Rodriguez had a successful seven-year tenure prior to moving on to Michigan.

***
Joe O'Gorman writes on Princeton losing linebacker Steven Cody for the season.

Also check out the College Notebook here.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 17

2010-09-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

The trial for the man charged with the stabbing death last fall of University of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard, will most like not be held this fall.

Howard was fatally stabbed last October 18 during an on-campus fight. John Lomax III of Bloomfield, Conn., charged with the killing, remains held on $2 million bail.

The delay is due to the time it is taking the prosecution to hand over the evidence to the defense.

***
With Chris Rainey's arrest this week, it marked a feat coach Urban Meyer surely is not satisfied with.

Rainey became the 27th student-athlete arrested (30th arrest overall) under Meyer's tenure at Florida.

Understandingly upset at those numbers, Meyer declared Thursday that Florida "is not a dirty program. We follow the rules and some guys make mistakes and we've got to correct those mistakes. We follow the rules. We do it the right way at Florida and we have to do a better job with correcting some of the people making mistakes."

Rainey's status with the team remains in limbo, as coach Meyer has not officially declared what he plans to do with the wide receiver.

***
Joe O'Gorman writes about how TCNJ is looking to improve from last week's performance.

The Lions face FDU-Florham. Read the Gameday here.

***
After a 4-4 week last week, Matthew Osborne is back with more picks of the week.

- Fred Sakai

News and Notes for September 16

2010-09-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

It is looking like Jason Douglas has played his final game with Pittsburgh.

Douglas, 19, faces an assortment of charges stemming from hitting a pedestrian while drunk driving early morning Sunday. Another Pittsburgh player, linebacker Dan Mason, was a passenger in the car. Mason was not charged, but the Panthers did drop him to the second team.

A preliminary hearing is set for today.

The Douglas incident is the second involving a Panther player in the past three months. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard plead guilty to disorderly conduct, after throwing a man through a Pittsburgh art galley's glass door during a July 18 fight.

***
When USC travels to Minnesota this weekend, it will be a homecoming of sorts for Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin.

As a result of his father, Monte Kiffin, and his numerous stops as a coach in the college and pro ranks, Minnesota was home for Lane during his high school days.

Lane Kiffin played three sports at Bloomington Jefferson High.

***
Michigan's Denard Robinson has opened many eyes in the first two weeks, and many now consider him to be the early front-runner for the Heisman.

So who will be the next Denard Robinson? MaxPreps puts the spotlight on four high school athletes who might be the next college football sensation.

Athletes highlighted are from all corners of the country.

***
Steve Miller writes on Rutgers captain Howard Barbieri taking responsibility for early offensive struggles.

- Fred Sakai

No Heisman winner for 2005

2010-09-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

In light of Reggie Bush declaring his intentions to return the 2005 Heisman Trophy, the Heisman Trust has stated that there will be no winner for 2005.

Excerpt of the statement is below:

"As a result of Reggie Bush's decision to forfeit his title as Heisman winner of 2005, the Trustees have determined that there will be no Heisman Trophy winner for the year 2005."

ESPN has the full statement here.

- Fred Sakai

Football News and Notes for September 15

2010-09-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

So how was it to be sitting (or standing) in the James Madison section at Lane Stadium this past Saturday?

YouTube user PatrickWiggins8 posted a video, counting down the seconds to victory.

While YouTube user CollegeYears posted this video of the excitement on campus and at Bridgeforth Stadium after the game.

***
It's time once again to take a peek at the mid-week spreads.

Many games have seen rather substantial changes from their opening lines. Some line changed dramatically within hours of open, but have remained consistent since. Those games are not reflected below.

Despite losing at home to FCS team-James Madison, Virginia Tech continues to be a solid favorite over visiting FBS team-East Carolina. The spread opened at 17 points, but is has now crept up to as much as 20 points.

Nebraska began as a 6 point favorite against Washington, but that has now dropped to 3 points, in their matchup Saturday in the Emerald State.

Oregon State began as a 14 point favorite over visiting Louisville, and that has now ballooned to as high as 20 points.

TCU opened as a 17.5 point favorite over visiting Baylor, and the Horned Frogs are now favored by as much as 22 points.

Marshall and Bowling Green opened as a "Pick 'em" game, but the spread now favors the Thundering Herd, now a 3 point favorite on the road.

Visiting Central Florida began as an 11.5 point favorite over Buffalo, but that has now dropped to as low as 7.5 points.

The Ohio Bobcats are the current big dogs of the week. Ohio State is a 30 point favorite at home, down modestly from the 31 points at open.

***
Steve Miller writes how Tom Savage is only looking forward after Rutgers' slow start.

***
While not a football movie, to cure the mid-week blues and to get over hump day, I dedicate this scene this from "Old School".

Follow me on Twitter @TrenUWest.

- Fred Sakai

Reggie Bush to return 2005 Heisman Trophy

2010-09-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has published a statement from Reggie Bush in regard to the return.

An excerpt is below:

"I have made the difficult decision to forfeit my title as Heisman winner of 2005. The persistent media speculation regarding allegations dating back to my years at USC has been both painful and distracting. In no way should the storm around these allegations reflect in any way on the dignity of this award, nor on any other institutions or individuals. Nor should it distract from outstanding performances and hard-earned achievements either in the past, present or future."

- Fred Sakai

Football News and Notes for September 14

2010-09-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Florida wide receiver Chris Rainey has been charged with aggravated stalking after allegedly sending out a text message that read, "time to die" to a woman he had dated on and off the last three years.

Rainey is scheduled to make an appearance in court Tuesday.

***
A New York Times article address how the suicide of a Penn player in April may have been caused by a trauma-induced disease.

A brain autopsy conducted by doctors at Boston University revealed that Owen Thomas may have been suffering from early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease linked to depression and impulse control issues.

Symptoms of CTE have been found in at least 20 deceased NFL players.

Doctors were quick to point out that CTE may not have been the sole cause of his committing suicide. Thomas had no previous history of depression, but was observed to have had a "sudden and uncharacteristic emotional collapse" prior to taking his life.

Thomas was the second Penn player in five years to commit suicide. Kyle Ambrogi committed suicide in 2005.

***
While LSU coach Les Miles may be displeased with the offensive output from his quarterback, for the time being he is sticking with Jordan Jefferson.

In the win Saturday against Vanderbilt, Jefferson went 8-for-20 for 96 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

The tigers relied heavily on their ground game against the Commodores, collecting 280 rushing yards on route to the win.

***
(ADDED 12:10PM ET) The new FCS Coaches Poll was released yesterday, and Appalachian State is the new No. 1.

James Madison, fresh off the victory at Virginia Tech, jumped eight spots to third.

Rounding out the top five are Villanova, Jacksonville State, and Southern Illinois, ranked second, fourth, and fifth respectively.

- Fred Sakai

Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings (Sept. 13)

2010-09-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

We're adding a new feature to our blog. We hope to bring you a ranking of the Top 25 teams in college football, each week as voted on by Trentonian U writers/contributors.

Here is this week's Trentonian U Football Top 25 Rankings
(September 13, 2010)

1. Alabama (3) 75
2. Ohio State 72
3. Oregon 66
4. TCU 64
5. Boise State 60
6. Texas 59
7. Oklahoma 58
8. Iowa 56
9. Nebraska 54
10. Wisconsin 47
11. Arkansas 42
12. South Carolina 41
13. Florida 39
t14. LSU 30
t14. Utah 30
16. Auburn 28
t17. Miami 27
t17. Michigan 27
19. Stanford 25
t20. Houston 14
t20. West Virginia 14
22. Penn State 11
23. Arizona 9
24. USC 7
t25. Georgia 6
t25. Oregon State 6

Also receiving votes: Air Force 3, East Carolina 2, California 1, North Carolina 1, Pittsburgh 1
PANEL: Ben Doody (Assistant Sports Editor), Matthew Osborne (Sports Editor), and Fred Sakai (contributor)

Football News and Notes for September 13

2010-09-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

In the chaos caused this weekend when four FCS teams beat FBS teams, Boise State on the surface, almost scathed cleanly through their bye week.

The Broncos were seen as vulnerable after then No. 13-Virginia Tech lost Saturday at home to FCS team-James Madison, 21-16.

Boise State retained the number three ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls, albeit the Broncos received only one first-place AP vote after receiving eight last week.

Surprisingly, the lone first-place vote was not from Chadd Cripe of the Idaho Statesman. Rather, the first-place vote came from Pete DiPrimio of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel.

DiPrimio interestingly had Boise State ranked third in his previous week's poll, so in essence the Broncos did lose all eight first-place votes it had last week.

James Madison received 11 points in the AP poll, more than East Carolina, Nevada, NC State, Boston College, Northwestern and Baylor combined.

Amazingly, the Dukes got their 11 points from two voters...in California. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News voted them 19th (7 pts), while Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle voted them 22nd (4 pts).

It will be interesting to see how long James Madison remains in these two voters' rankings as the season progresses.

When Appalachian State shocked then No. 5-Michigan at the Big House on September 1, 2007, FCS teams were not allowed to be voted into the AP poll.

The other FCS winners over FBS teams this past weekend were, Liberty (27-23 at Ball State), Gardner-Webb (38-37 OT at Akron), and South Dakota (41-38 at Minnesota).

***
Perhaps there is a new name in the Heisman picture.

Michigan's Denard Robinson finished with 502 total yards, including the game-winning two-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left, in the Wolverines' 28-24 victory at Notre Dame Saturday.

The quarterback passed for 244 yards (24-for-40), and ran 28 times for 258 yards.

***
Joe O'Gorman highlights Hamilton's Jayson DiManche and his impact with the Salukis of Southern Illinois.

Follow me on Twitter @TrenUWest.

- Fred Sakai

Funeral for the "Big 3" and Rutgers, the worst 2-0 team in the country

2010-09-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm sad to say it's time for a funeral.

It's time for the funeral of the "Big 3."

In Florida, everyone knows what I am talking about, but I'll break it down for the other 49 states.

The Big 3 are Miami, Florida State and Florida, so named for their total dominance of college football for most of the last 30 years.

They combined for 10 of the last 30 national titles, meaning that every third year someone from the Big 3 wins it all over a generation or so.

And in the years they didn't win, they almost did. The three combined to lose six other national title games (not counting the one when FSU and Florida played each other) and Miami was undoubtedly the best team in 1990 but did not win the title.

(Argue it anytime you want. I'll be here.)

The Hurricanes also got hosed on bad calls at Notre Dame in 1988 and against Ohio State in 2002, so if you consider that, the Big 3 could have had 19 of those 30 titles with a break or two.

Not bad.

Anyone my age who grew up in Florida knows this and accepts that football played anywhere else was for nancy boys.

Those days are dead.

Sure, Florida has had a good recent run, but they are showing that even the Mighty Gators have to rebuild. I'd be shocked if they win nine games this season.

Florida State hasn't been nationally relevant in a decade, and Miami has been mostly dormant since the aforementioned PI call against the Buckeyes.

In the old days, these teams never rebuilt. They just kicked your ... well, you get the idea.

Now things have changed.

The talent is more spread out now, and there are too many good athletes to keep dominating for that length of time.

USC took up the mantle of the dominant team in the country for a time, but look what happened to the Trojans.

I am writing this to say one thing - I am moving on. There is no Big 3, not anymore.
Florida, Florida State and Miami, as they were, are no more. They are all strong programs, but never the same again.

And now, for other non-Florida based observations:

* Alabama and Ohio State proved themselves worthy of the top two spots in the country for now. We'll see how their conference seasons go, but I predict at least one of them will fall somewhere. Which leads me to Boise State.

Can the "No. 3" Broncos actually play for a national title now? When their big win over Virginia Tech is stained by James Madison's matching victory?

College poll tradition is to elevate teams behind a squad that loses. If Alabama or Ohio State lose, can they possibly drop below a team that will be whooping up on chumps all season?

This is the central question of the BCS, but despite all the bluster from people like Orrin Hatch, Boise State and Utah do NOT want a playoff.

Seriously, they don't. Not an eight-team playoff anyway.

Boise State's best chance at winning a national title is right here, right now, by winning enough to impress the computers and somehow keep the voters happy.
If there were an eight-team playoff, there is no way Boise is winning three straight against top teams.

No chance in hell.

Boise can pull off one win (see Oklahoma, 2006) over a good team, but not three.
Utah from 2008 would have been in the same boat. The Utes beat a depleted and broken Alabama team that had two freshman offensive tackles who had never played, but they couldn't have won three straight games over elite teams.

No way, Mr. Hatch.

Now a plus-one might be doable for them, but not likely to work either. If Boise or Utah think a true playoff will lead them to a national title, they are fooling themselves.

No, believe it or not, Boise State is probably the BCS system's biggest supporter right now. It's folly is their only chance.

* By the way, same applies for Boise coach Chris Peterson. Stay at Boise, keep doing what you're doing and be the Bobby Bowden of the northwest. Don't pull a Dan Hawkins, who is not long for his Colorado gig after a 52-7 blowout loss to Cal and more defeats on the horizon.

* Houston scored 54 points without Case Keenum throwing a touchdown. What were the odds of that going into the season?

* How does Minnesota lose at home to South Dakota? Either these I-AA teams are getting better or the I-As are getting worse.

You never know what to make of these games, though. Kansas lost 6-3 to North Dakota State, then beat a ranked Georgia Tech team.

* Is Rutgers the worst 2-0 team in the country? From what I can see, yes. At least San Diego State knocked the crap out of two bad opponents.

Maryland comes close here, but Rutgers is the pick. (Maryland beat Navy, albeit in lucky fashion, but Navy would throttle Norfolk State or FIU.)

* My boys from East Carolina came through again last week. Now they tell me Virginia Tech (ahem, JMU) is a 17-point favorite against the Pirates. Want to doubt them again?

I am already checking the spreads for Week 3. It will be another interesting week.