Category: College Football (Page 103 of 296)

      Nebraska heading to the Big Ten – are four more Big 12 teams on the move?

      June 11, 2010 /

      The downfall of the Big 12 is about to be underway, as ESPN.com is reporting that Nebraska has officially accepted an invitation to join the Big Ten.

      Nebraska departs the Big 12 to become the 12th member of the Big Ten. Earlier this week, a source told ESPN.com that no other schools are imminent to accompany the Cornhuskers into the Big Ten.

      The future of the Big 12 is in jeopardy after Colorado agreed Thursday to jump to the Pac-10. The Pac-10 is also reportedly interested in inviting Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to form a 16-team league.

      University of Texas regents will meet next week to decide whether the Longhorns will remain in the Big 12 or switch to another conference.

      The regents announced Friday that they will hold a meeting by telephone Tuesday for “discussion and appropriate action regarding athletic conference membership.”

      Rumor had it that if Nebraska left the Big 12, then the rest of the conference would dissolve. It appears as though the Pac-10 is on its way to being a 16-team conference, although as I wrote yesterday, that doesn’t mean that it’ll implement a championship game. (Which is just a ridiculous notion when you think about it.)

      Joining the Big Ten makes a lot of sense for Nebraska, most notably from a revenue standpoint. Big Ten schools bring in $22 million each year thanks in large part to the Big Ten Network, which can now extend its reach once Nebraska comes aboard. The Huskers now have more security in the Big Ten than they did in the Big 12, which was apparently held together by cheese and crackers.

      Nebraska and Michigan will finally get to settle the 1997 debate. Too bad nothing will be left of the UM program after Rich Rodriguez gets done burning everything in Ann Arbor to the ground.

      College Football, External Sports

      USC juniors and seniors can transfer without having to sit

      June 11, 2010 /

      In what could wind up being a massive blow to USC’s football program, the NCAA has ruled that juniors and seniors to-be can transfer to other FBS programs without having to sit out a season.

      ESPN.com has the details.

      “The second school would have to submit a waiver asking to waive the year in residence, but NCAA rules allow for this waiver to be granted if a student-athlete’s first school has a postseason ban in their sport,” NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said in an e-mail to ESPN’s Joe Schad.

      The rule does not apply to freshman who have signed national letters of intent, however. But schools with an interest in a USC junior or senior are allowed to initiate contact with the player, Osburn said.

      Among juniors and seniors whom the transfer rule applies to are quarterback Mitch Mustain, running backs C.J. Gable and Marc Tyler, receiver David Ausberry, cornerback T.J. Bryant, tight end Blake Ayles, safety Drew McAllister and center Michael Reardon.

      First-year coach Lane Kiffin said Thursday he hadn’t heard from any schools with possible interest in a USC player.

      When asked if he’s concerned about some of his juniors and seniors transferring, Kiffin said, “If someone wants to leave the best place in the country to play football, we won’t stop them.”

      Lane Kiffin has quite the situation on his hands. For the next two seasons, his program won’t be competing for the chance to play in the postseason and he’ll also lose 30 scholarships over the next three years. He also has the daunting task of recruiting players who know that the Trojans won’t be playing in a bowl game until 2012 and now his juniors and seniors can transfer without fear of sitting out a full year.

      It’s unfair to the current Trojans players that because two sports marketers pampered Reggie Bush, they won’t have the opportunity to play in a bowl game over the next two years. I wouldn’t blame any of them for wanting to jump ship and start fresh elsewhere, although I’m sure Kiffin is doing all he can to keep them right where they’re at. If he doesn’t, who knows what kind of a team he’ll be able to field over the next two seasons.

      College Football, External Sports

      History repeats itself when it comes to Jeremiah Masoli

      June 10, 2010 /

      At the risk of sounding like a cynic, it wasn’t hard to see all of this coming.

      The downfall of Jeremiah Masoli, that is.

      The Oregon quarterback was kicked off the team on Wednesday after police cited him earlier in the week for possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license, and failure to stop at a driveway or sidewalk.

      Of course, this citation comes just three months after Masoli pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of second-degree burglary for stealing two laptops and a guitar from a university frat house in late January with teammate Garrett Embry. Ducks head coach Chip Kelly had only suspended him for the 2010 season at that point, but now Masoli’s football career, at least at the University of Oregon, is now over.

      Should anyone be surprised that this was the outcome of his Oregon career? Even before he arrived in Eugene, Masoli was expelled from Serra High in San Mateo, California in 2005 for muscling people for money outside of malls and at bus stops. He spent a stint in a juvenile detention center after pleading guilty to robbery, yet still had the opportunity to play college football.

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      College Football, External Sports

      Even with expansion, Pac-10 could eliminate the need for a title game

      June 10, 2010 /

      Expansion talk in the Pac-10 continues to heat up, as ESPN.com reports that Colorado has accepted an invitation to join the conference. Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech should receive invites as well, while Nebraska is likely heading to the Big Ten.

      Despite adding more teams, the Pac-10 could eliminate the need for a conference championship game by pushing for two automatic bids to the BCS.

      The coach said it’s possible the Pac-16 would push for two automatic bids to the BCS, one for each division champion. That potential bonanza could open the possibility of the two division champs from one league playing for the national title, and it would eliminate the need for a conference championship game.

      “The Pac-10 doesn’t believe in a championship game,” the coach said. “And coaches in the Big 12 don’t like it anyway.”

      Does anyone else think that it’s ridiculous to have 16 teams play in one conference but no championship game? It’s amazing how these schools manage to eliminate playoff-like games at all costs, even though that’s the structure that most fans want.

      Fans want to see the best teams play each other, whether it’s in a conference title game or a playoff format in the postseason. But clearly the BCS and the schools themselves don’t want to breed head-to-head competition. They’re fine with crowning a champion based on record and moving on. As long as they can increase revenue, then who cares about the fans, right? I would be shocked if the Big Ten didn’t try to follow in the footsteps of the Pac-10 and figure out a way to avoid a conference championship game themselves.

      Another interesting takeaway from the article is that expansion might not happen for another two years. So even though Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma would be joining other conferences in 2012, they’d still play in the Big 12 for the next two seasons. How awkward.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football, External Sports

      USC football program gets two-year postseason ban

      June 9, 2010 /

      USC just got gorilla-smacked by the NCAA.

      From ESPN.com:

      The USC football program will receive two-year postseason ban, a reduction in scholarships and a forfeiture of wins from at least the 2004 season when the NCAA releases it sanctions on Thursday, a source told ESPN’s Shelley Smith.

      I’ll have more on this topic when more details are released, but here are some quick-hit thoughts:

      – Looks like Pete Carroll got out of So Cal at the right time. Think he knew the shit storm that was about to come down on the program when he decided to take the Seahawks job in January? Many people thought it was odd timing for Carroll to head back to the NFL when the decision was announced, but something tells me Pistol Pete had an inkling that something was about to go down and decided to hightail it out of town.

      Before Captain Wiseguy points out the obvious, yes, I’m just speculating. But let’s be realistic about the situation: Carroll, who has been courted many, many, many times throughout the years by NFL teams, decides to accept the Seahawks’ head coaching job five months prior to USC getting a two-year postseason ban. Coincidence? I think not.

      – I wonder how Lane Kiffin feels about leaving Tennessee in the dust to take over for Carroll at USC now. If you listen closely enough, you can her Vols fans laughing in the distance.

      – That 2004 USC squad is highly considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time, so the fact that the program will have to forfeit their 13 wins from that season is jarring to say the least. People will still remember how powerful that team was, but from now on, it’ll always be associated with this ban.

      – Soooo, is Oklahoma now the 2004 (or 2005) BCS National Champion? How does that work?

      College Football, External Sports

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