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      House subcommittee approves legislation for college football playoff system

      December 9, 2009 /

      According to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a U.S. House subcommittee has approved a legislation that would force college football to switch to a playoff system to determine a national champion.

      The bill, which faces long odds of becoming law, would ban the promotion of a postseason NCAA Division I football game as a national championship unless that title contest is the result of a playoff. The measure passed by voice vote in a House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee, with one audible “no,” from Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga.

      “With all due respect, I really think we have more important things to spend our time on,” Barrow said before the vote, although he stressed he didn’t like the current Bowl Championship Series, either.

      The bill’s sponsor, GOP Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, said the BCS system is unfair and won’t change unless prompted by Congress.
      The vote came three days after the BCS selections were announced, including the Jan. 7 national title game between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas.

      Something that just occurred to me is what if college football does implement a playoff system and teams like TCU, Boise State, Cincinnati and whomever routinely get knocked out in the first or second round?

      I get that the point of a playoff system is to determine a winner on the field as opposed to leaving the decision up to voters and a computer system. But it would be a tad ironic if all this clamoring for a playoff system eventually leads to the same conferences (SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, etc.) being pitted against each other in the national title game – especially if there has to be a law made in order to force college football to figure out a playoff structure.

      That said, I’m still all for it. I agree that there are probably better things for the congress to be worried about than college football, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to see it happen.

      n

      n

      Would you want to see a law passed to force a playoff system?
      Total Votes: 35 Started: December 9, 2009 Back to Vote Screen


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      College Football

      Did Kelly meet with Notre Dame before the Pittsburgh game?

      December 9, 2009 /

      According to the Chicago Tribune, Brian Kelly didn’t interview with Notre Dame officials yesterday because he had already interview with them last week before Cincinnati’s game against Pittsburgh.

      Kelly had a meeting last week about the opening with representatives of Notre Dame before Cincinnati’s Big East championship game against Pittsburgh, the Tribune has learned.

      Talks progressed well enough that the official announcement Kelly will be Charlie Weis’ replacement could come as early as Friday — any time after Cincinnati’s football banquet Thursday night.

      It also was important to Kelly to delay any possible announcement until after he had a chance to talk to his Bearcats in person at Thursday’s season-ending banquet. He informed his players at a team meeting Monday before leaving for New York that he planned to speak with Notre Dame.

      None of this should surprise anyone given how college coaches (Bobby Petrino, Rich Rodriguez, Nick Saban, etc.) are always looking for the next big job/payday. Kelly himself ditched Central Michigan right before its bowl game a couple years ago to coach at Cincinnati.

      Was it immoral for Kelly to talk to Notre Dame days before Cincinnati’s biggest game of the season? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Personally, I’m so numb to the way college coaches job hop that I could care less at this point. There’s no loyalty anymore and it doesn’t appear that things are going to change anytime soon.

      We’ll just have to wait and see if the Tribune’s report is right that Kelly is bound for South Bend. But all signs point to him being Notre Dame’s next head coach.


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      College Football

      Are the Patriots imploding?

      December 9, 2009 /

      Usually when a perennial Super Bowl contender loses two in a row, the players on said team rally together and forge ahead – especially when there are only four games left in the season.

      The Patriots are in the midst of a two game losing streak, find themselves only one game up on the Dolphins and Jets in the division and can’t win on the road. Instead of showing signs of sticking together, the team seems to be falling apart.

      Earlier this week, Tom Brady called out his team for not being tough enough. Today, ESPN.com is reporting that four Patriots – Randy Moss, Derrick Burgess, Adalius Thomas and Gary Guyton – were all sent home from Gillette Stadium for being late for an 8 a.m. meeting. None of the players will be able to participate in meetings or practices on Wednesday.

      Granted, the report also states that the players were delayed by weather and nobody can confirm how late the four actually were. But does that really matter? There are 53 players on New England’s roster and 49 of them were able to get to the meeting on time. I don’t live in the area, but I’m pretty sure New England broadcasts potential weather delays, so Moss and company don’t have a legitimate excuse for being late. They should have planned accordingly.

      In their last four games, the Pats host the Panthers, are at the Bills, are home against the Jaguars and are at the Texans. Those are four winnable games for a New England team that ranks second in the NFL in total offense and is scoring close to 30 points a game. But the Patriots are just 1-5 on the road this season and 5-4 in conference. They also have the makings of an average defense and they’ve gone from a team that excels in crunch time to one that flounders in it.

      Given that Burgess and Thomas haven’t shown up on Sundays this season anyway, it’s surprising that anyone knew they were missing in the first place. But the bottom line is that Bill Belichick had to send four of his players home today because they couldn’t show up on time for a meeting. What happens next is key. Will the Patriots rally together and forge ahead or will they repeat the same mistakes that have haunted them this season and stumble into the playoffs (or miss them altogether)?

      Will the Patriots miss the playoffs?
      View Results


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      NFL

      2009 NFL Week 14 Point Spreads & Odds

      December 9, 2009 /

      Here’s a look at this weekend’s action in the NFL.

      Steelers (6-6) at Browns (1-11), 8:20PM ET Thursday
      The defending champs have lost four in a row and now face a must-win against division rival Cleveland on the road. The Browns have only won one game this season, but Brady Quinn has thrown seven touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last three outings. If the Steelers overlook the Browns like they overlooked the Raiders last week, then they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.
      Odds: Steelers -10.

      Saints (12-0) at Falcons (6-6), 1:00PM ET
      The Falcons’ postseason hopes are on life support thanks to a shoddy defense and a slew of injuries on the offensive side of the ball. The Saints have set their eyes on perfection, so if Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are unable to go, things could get ugly inside the Georgia Dome this Sunday.
      Odds: Saints -10.5.

      Packers (8-4) at Bears (5-7), 1:00PM ET
      All the Packers have to do is avoid a late-season collapse and they’ll make the playoffs. Green Bay must avoid having a letdown after beating Baltimore on Monday night. Chicago is never an easy place to play in December, even when the Bears are struggling like they are now.
      Odds: Packers -3.

      Broncos (8-4) at Colts (12-0), 1:00PM ET
      A trip to Indianapolis is the last thing the Broncos need right now while chasing the Chargers in the AFC West. But if they can knock off the undefeated Colts, they should be able to carry that momentum the rest of he season and at least clinch a Wild Card berth.
      Odds: Colts -7.5.

      Bengals (9-3) at Vikings (10-2), 1:00PM ET
      The game of the week is in Minnesota this Sunday, as the Vikings host the best surprise in 2009, the Bengals. The Vikings will be looking to rebound from their loss to the Cardinals last Sunday, while the Bengals have their eyes set on clinching the division. Carson Palmer vs. Brett Favre should be incredibly entertaining.
      Odds: Vikings -6.5.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Tennessee being investigated for use of hostesses

      December 9, 2009 /

      According to a report by ESPN.com, Tennessee is under investigation for using recruiting “hostesses” to help lure high school football prospects to come to the university.

      The NCAA appears to be strongly interested in Tennessee’s use of hostesses — students who are part of a university group that hosts prospective students on campus visits, including athletes. It was not clear whether the university sent the hostesses to visit the football players, the newspaper reported.

      In one case, hostesses traveled nearly 200 miles to attend a football game at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C., one of the nation’s best high school football programs, where at least three potential Tennessee recruits were playing, according to the report.
      Two of Lattimore’s high school teammates, Brandon Willis and Corey Miller, have orally committed to Tennessee. Lattimore said the hostesses were “real pretty, real nice and just real cool” and thinks they had “a lot” of influence in his teammates making oral commitments, according to the report.

      “I haven’t seen no other schools do that,” Lattimore said, according to the report. “It’s crazy.”

      According to the article, Tennessee has committed at least six secondary NCAA violations since Lane Kiffin took over as head coach.

      It might be hard to gather evidence in this situation outside of talking to the young recruits, but considering Tennessee has committed six violations one would assume that the NCAA is going to take their time investigating these “hostess” allegations.

      Not a good start for Kiffin at UT.

      College Football

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