If Cam Newton had nothing to do with his father shopping him around as if he were an item on eBay, then he shouldn’t be punished. That’s only fair. But what exactly is the NCAA saying when it deems Newton eligible and slaps his father on the wrist despite coming to a conclusion that rules had been broken?

In case you haven’t heard, Auburn will have its starting quarterback this Saturday for the SEC title game. And when/if the Tigers beat South Carolina, they’ll have him for the national championship as well.

This was all made possible by the NCAA, which ruled that a violation of Newton’s amateur status had occurred but he had nothing to do with it. He is now cleared to play and more than likely, he’ll win the Heisman because of the NCAA’s “findings.”

Newton’s father, Cecil, got the worst of it from the NCAA. He now only has “limited” access to Auburn’s football program during his son’s stay there. That’s right: he shops his son’s athletic skills to the highest bidder and then is told to lay low when he’s caught. When Reggie Bush and his family got caught accepting free housing, suits and cars, the USC program was dealt a two-year bowl ban and the loss of scholarships. When Dez Bryant had dinner with Deion Sanders (and subsequently lied to the NCAA about it), he was deemed ineligible for the rest of the 2009 season.

But Newton’s father tries to cash in on his son’s athletic talents and the only thing that happens to him is that someone will have to let him in the side door when he goes to the Georgia Dome this Saturday.

Again, I don’t think Cam should be punished if Cecil committed the wrongdoing. But what happens the next time a situation like this occurs? What’s stopping another father from shopping his son to two schools? After all, if he gets caught, he just has to make sure that his son had nothing to do with it and he’ll essentially get off without punishment.

The NCAA botched this one. If it wants to play tough with programs like USC and players like Bush and Bryant, then it should have played tough with the Newton’s, too. If Cam were made ineligible for the SEC title game and Auburn were to have been stripped of all its wins this year, then maybe the next father who tried to cash in would think twice about his actions. Maybe he would consider how Newton lost his chance to play for a national championship and win a Heisman and not taken the risk.

Instead, the NCAA just created a huge loophole for the next father with a gifted son.

Admit it, when Alabama went up 21-0 in the first quarter today against Auburn, you thought it was over. You thought that all of the experts were right, and the Tide were stronger than an Auburn team that was nothing more than a great quarterback.

I know that’s how I felt. But then Cam Newton and Auburn mounted the biggest comeback in the history of the Iron Bowl, and the biggest comeback in school history to pick up a thrilling 28-27 win over the Tide. The win keeps Auburn undefeated, and could possibly be impressive enough that voters choose to move the Tide to No. 1, ahead of Oregon.

It probably also cements the Heisman for Newton, who was near flawless in the second half and finished with three touchdowns through the air and another on the ground. He wasn’t nearly as effective running the ball as he had been in past games, but that doesn’t matter. He already had Heisman stats, now he has a definitive Heisman moment. It will take an NCAA ineligibility ruling in the next two weeks to derail his Heisman campaign, because in order for him to lose it on the field at this point, the Tigers will have to lose to South Carolina and Newton will have to throw seven interceptions, lose three fumbles and slaughter a puppy at midfield.

As good as Newton was, though, the Auburn defense deserves a ton of credit for the way it played. The Tigers allowed just three points in the second half, and that came after a fumble on a punt return that set Alabama up in field goal range. Nick Fairley may be a prick, but he’s damn good, and led quite a charge in the final 30 minutes of the game.

Of course, I should probably mention Alabama helping Auburn out a little bit, too. The Tide choked pretty hard in this one, committing poorly-timed penalties and turning the ball over in the redzone twice. There was also Mark Barron’s “should I go for the pick or the hit” indecision on Newton’s second TD pass to open the third quarter that gave Auburn immediate hope.

I don’t say that to take away from Auburn’s win, I just feel it needs to be addressed.

But as big as this win was for Auburn, it was equally devastating for Boise State and TCU. The two non-AQs had to be ecstatic watching the first half of this one, only to be denied the best remaining opportunity they had to get into the championship game. Now they need Oregon to lose to either Arizona or Oregon State (in Corvallis, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility) or Auburn to lose to South Carolina.

I don’t see any of that happening. Then again, I didn’t see Auburn coming back, either.

Cam Newton’s done a lot of smiling so far this season. He’s the Heisman Trophy front-runner on the undefeated No. 2 team in the country.

A lot of people, including Vegas, don’t believe he’ll be smiling after today’s Iron Bowl, however.

The Tigers come into today’s game (2:30 p.m. ET on CBS) as a 4-point underdog against their biggest rival, Alabama, despite coming into the game with the undefeated record, Newton and two wins against the teams that have given Alabama its two losses.

It’s the game that is supposed to open the door for Boise State, or perhaps TCU to break into the national title game. It’s the game that’s supposed to save the NCAA from being embarrassed down the road if Newton is found to be ineligible after the Tigers have won a national title.

But will it be? Read the rest of this entry »

I know it’s blasphemy in college football to even think it, but what if the conference that has ruled the sport for most of the last decade just isn’t that good this year?

Yes, there are still great athletes all over the field in these games. Yes, some of the best coaches in the country are leading these teams. But what exactly has the SEC done this year to prove that it’s worthy of being called the best conference in the country?

What are the conference’s big nonconference wins? LSU has two wins over other BCS conference teams, but those are against a scandal-ridden North Carolina team (a game the Tigers very nearly lost) and a mostly erratic West Virginia team. Alabama has a win over Penn State, but so what. Not only are the Nittany Lions down this year, but they were playing with a true freshman in his first road start.

The nation’s No. 2 team, Auburn, is even without a signature nonconference win. The Tigers struggled to put away a Clemson team that came into tonight 4-4 in the ACC.

I understand the difficulty of going through conference games, and that the physical play of the SEC is tough to go through week after week. But what, other than past performance, do we have to go on when judging the SEC this year?

If Auburn beats Alabama next week, it will go to the national title game, and that’s fine. I have no problem with that. But all the talk of a one-loss SEC team somehow finding its way into the title game seems based completely on what we’re used to, not what we’re seeing on the field.

If you want to bring past performance into it, how do you overlook Boise State, which hasn’t lost a game since the Poinsettia Bowl in 2008 against TCU? Or how about a TCU team that’s only loss over the last two years is that same Boise team in last year’s Fiesta Bowl?

I think everyone who’s voting should learn a lesson from the 2006 season, when many thought Michigan and Ohio State deserved a rematch in the title game because they had been so dominant all season. The problem was, the perceived tough games they played were all either in conference, or against teams with more tradition than punch (Notre Dame and Texas). Luckily, the voters voted against that and the Big Ten was exposed, oddly enough, by the SEC.

Milton McGregor may become a name that grows synonymous with the Cam Newton pay-for-play scandal involving Auburn and Mississippi State.

The FBI is looking into whether or not McGregor (an Auburn booster) was involved in the recruitment process for Newton last year. Apparently the FBI arrested McGregor last month in a bribery sting over an attempt to buy off politicians in order to pay off gambling debts. Just two years ago, he reportedly gave Auburn one million and is considered to be a major booster for the school.

Those that believe the university didn’t have anything to do with a pay-for-play deal with Newton and that a rouge booster was involved now have a catalyst in McGregor. This doesn’t mean Auburn would be let off the hook, but in the eyes of the NCAA it’s better if a booster acted alone in this situation.

In a related report, ESPN.com says that a Mississippi State booster named Bill Bell told the NCAA that he received a text message from Kenny Rogers outlining a payment plan for Newton to sign with MSU. According to the report, there was a three-way phone conversation between Bell, Rogers and Cam’s father Cecil about how the payments would work ($80,000 the day after Cam signed, $50,000 30 days later and then another $50,000 60 days later).

“When he asked for it, it was like, ‘Bam! He (Rogers) told me this kid’s dad is going to want money and the next day he sent me a text message. He didn’t say anything other than, ‘This is what I want and I want it in three installments.’ ”

“(Cecil Newton) didn’t come out and say, ‘I want $180,000,’ He inferred it and talked about it, but not directly. Kenny would talk about it in front of him, and [Cecil Newton] never corrected him or said, ‘No, that’s not what we’re doing.’ ”

“He said it was going to take more than just a relationship with Dan Mullen and that Cam’s relationship with Mullen wasn’t what Mullen thought it was. That’s when he said, ‘Dan Mullen is going to have to put a smile on my face if he thinks he’s going to get my son.’ “

I’m no Columbo, but if you read between the lines it appears as though Bell told Rogers and Newton to buzz off but McGregor obliged to pay the freight. And thus, that’s why Cam is currently running around on Saturdays in an Auburn Tigers uniform.

But that’s just speculation on my part and I encourage everyone not to jump to conclusions before all the facts come out. There is new information on this scandal everyday and I’m sure mores to come.

Amid rumors swirling about his eligibility and participation in a pay-to-play scandal, Cam Newton went out and did what he does best on Saturday — dominate.

Newton had 148 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and added 151 yards and two more scores on the ground as Auburn remained undefeated with a 49-31 win against Georgia. The win clinches the SEC West Division title for the Tigers, who will enter their annual Iron Bowl showdown with Alabama at 11-0.

What happens between now and Nov. 26 — the day of the Iron Bowl — with Newton is unknown. At the rate news breaks on the subject, I imagine things will be a lot more clear before that.

Apparently Auburn feels safe enough with the information it has about Newton’s eligibility. Or maybe it doesn’t, and just doesn’t care. Why sit him and miss out on a national title without knowing for sure if he’s going to be ruled ineligible? Maybe he goes through the season, wins the Heisman and a national title and nothing happens.

Or maybe they’re stripped of everything after the fact. The only thing I think we can say with any level of certainty is that without Newton on the field, none of that matters, because Auburn isn’t beating Alabama without him. Heck, it might not beat the Tide with him.

I guess the other thing we can be certain of is that this story isn’t going away any time soon.

One of the beauties of getting XM radio is that I get to listen to the Paul Finebaum show on a daily basis. For those that don’t know, Finebaum’s show is technically now a national college football radio show, but it can’t get away from its southeastern roots.

Every four out of five callers is from Alabama or Mississippi, and they’re crazy. The conspiracies they come up with on the officiating and play-calling from week to week would make Glenn Beck proud.

But the Cam Newton scandal has sent these folks into overdrive, and forced me to spend more time inside my car while it was sitting still in my driveway than one person should. People are blaming the press, Mississippi State, the press, Florida, the press, Nike, the press, Florida and the press. One caller, minutes after ESPN’s Joe Schad hung up with Finebaum, basically threatened to beat him up. It was amazing.

I don’t have a conspiracy theory on this, which is sad. But it will be really interesting to see how Auburn and Newton play today after having to listen to all of this over the last week.

I’m not picking the game because I have no idea who’s taking the field, but if Newton doesn’t play, expect the Bulldogs to win. A.J. Green has made them a legit SEC team. If Newton plays, however, the Tigers will roll on. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave it up to Vegas to offer a window as to whether or not Auburn quarterback Cam Newton will be suspended following allegations that he and/or his family asked for money during his recruitment last year prior to agreeing to play for the Tigers.

According to a report by Covers.com, Las Vegas pulled the odds for the Georgia-Auburn game this Saturday following a sharp play from a bettor who allegedly knows Newton’s playing status for this weekend. If Newton were to be suspended, the line could drop from 8.5 to as low as Auburn –3 by kickoff.

That said, it still seems highly unlikely that Newton would be suspended this week. It took the NCAA years to file sanctions against USC following the Reggie Bush fiasco and by the time they did, Bush already had a Heisman Trophy, a Super Bowl ring and Kim Kardashian millions of dollars from the NFL. So it seems far-fetched for Newton to be suspended less than a week after these reports came out.

Plus, it’s not like Auburn is going to suspend him. First and foremost, they’ve stood by their quarterback amidst the allegations and why wouldn’t they? They’re currently ranked No. 2 in the nation and Newton is in line to win the Heisman. They’re not going to do anything to jeopardize Newton or their season – especially when they don’t have to. After all, it’s not like any hard evidence has come to light yet.

Let’s keep in mind that if the report is true, how would the bettor get a hold of that kind of information? Does he have a wiretap into the NCAA headquarters or a relative on staff? How would he know whether or not Newton will be suspended?

We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, although if Vegas is pulling odds off the board then you know they have a good reason to. Those books don’t mess around.

You knew that when the first report came out about Cam Newton and the possibility that money was involved in his transfer from a community college to Auburn that more would eventually come out.

And it has.

A day after reports surfaced that Newton had three instances of academic cheating while attending the University of Florida, ESPN.com is now saying that Newton and his father Cecil admitted in separate phone conversations to a pay-for-play plan while the quarterback was being recruited last year.

Prior to Newton’s commitment to Auburn, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him it would take “more than a scholarship” to bring his son to Mississippi State, a request the source said the school would not meet. Cecil Newton also referred the recruiter to a third person that would provide more specifics, the source said.

After Newton committed to Auburn, another source said an emotional Cam Newton phoned another recruiter to express regret that he wouldn’t be going to Mississippi State, stating that his father Cecil had chosen Auburn for him because “the money was too much.”

The NCAA is investigating allegations surrounding the Newtons in regards to the recruiting process. Cam Newton, who is having a Heisman-caliber season for No. 2 Auburn, declined comment.

Couple things here:

1) Investigations like this take a while to complete, so it’s doubtful that Newton and Auburn’s season will be affected by these reports. Don’t forget that it took many years for the NCAA to file sanctions against USC for the Reggie Bush fiasco, and by that time Bush already had a Heisman, millions of dollars in the NFL and a Super Bowl ring. I doubt this will impact Newton’s Heisman chances or Auburn’s national title hopes…right now.

2) However, this isn’t good for Auburn because this is the first time they’re essentially being accused of any wrongdoing. If Mississippi State couldn’t land Newton, then how did Auburn? Did they pony up for his services or did Newton pick Auburn over Mississippi State the ol’ fashioned way (i.e. hookers. I’m just kidding…sort of.).

3) Is there any hard evidence here? So far there’s a lot of conjecture, but nothing that would allow the NCAA to punish Newton and/or Auburn. Does anyone have tapes of the conversations between Newton, his father and Mississippi State? Because if not, then how is any of this going to get proven? There’s a lot of he said, she said at the moment but zero evidence.

About the only thing that’s for sure is that this isn’t over. More reports and allegations are forthcoming and the water has only begun to boil.

FOXSports.com is reporting that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton had three separate instances of academic cheating while enrolled at Florida in 2007 and 2008.

Newton was arrested for the theft of a laptop from a Florida student’s dorm room in November 2008. He again violated the university’s honor code by putting his name on another student’s paper and turning it in, according to the source. Newton was caught after the instructor asked the real author of the paper why he had not turned in his work, the source said.

According to the source, after the student said he had turned in a paper, he and the instructor went through all the submissions and discovered that Newton had put his name on the paper in question.

Newton subsequently turned in a second paper to the instructor, but it was later found to have been purchased off the Internet, according to the source. The source said Newton was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida’s Student Conduct Committee during the spring semester of 2009 but instead transferred to Blinn College.

This report comes less than a week after ESPN.com report that a man named Kenny Rogers claimed to represent Newton and allegedly sought $180,000 for to attend Mississippi State. Newton and Auburn maintain that the 2010 Heisman candidate has done nothing wrong, but this latest report makes you wonder what else is yet to come out.

Meanwhile, the Tigers currently rank No. 2 in the BCS standings and have a date with Georgia this Saturday. They control their own destiny in the SEC West, although they have to travel to Tuscaloosa in two weeks to take on Alabama so they have a tough road to hoe.