Separated at Birth?

The Resemblance is Uncanny.

It's Official. The ACC Sucks.

Every year the pre-season hype is the same. Virginia Tech is going to be great! FSU is back! Then reality sets in. It's week two of the college football season and all four of the ACC's ranked teams (Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, FSU, and Miami) managed to lose in the same week. That's impressive. Among this week's lowlights were:

FSU's former Heisman candidate QB Christian Ponder throwing for just over 100 yards and two picks in the team's loss to Oklahoma.

Miami's Jacory Harris throwing four interceptions in their loss to Ohio State. Jacory Harris was so bad he made Terrelle Pryor's 12 for 27 passing performance look impressive.

Virginia Tech losing to James Madison! Holy crap the Hokies are terrible. Virginia Tech came into the season with national championship aspirations. Now they find themselves 0-2 with one of those losses coming to a school not even in their division.

Oh well, I bet all these teams will be great next year! (I'm not sure if I can effectively convey my sarcasm online.)

You know it's bad...

when you agent is also throwing you under the bus for your yearly retire from or return to the NFL saga. Check out this quote from a Men's Journal Interview of both Favre and his agent, Bus Cook.

“Brett talked to goddamned Ed Werder at ESPN, says he needs ankle surgery. Now why did he do that? I’ve got Childress calling. I’ve got reporters calling all damn morning. Goddammit, why does he have to be such a goddamned drama queen? Play, don’t play, goddamn, people are getting sick of it. I’m getting sick of it! Why does he have to talk to these people? What good does it do? Ed Werder at ESPN! What’s he ever done for anybody other than say, ‘Look, look, Mommy, I got this first, ain’t I special?’ You got problems with surgery, talk to your wife. Why talk to goddamned Ed Werder?”

The rest of the article seems to touch on a lot of stuff that you hear about Favre every offseason (retiring, Mississipi stuff, etc.). In my opinion, Favre totally redeemed himself in the interview when he told Stephen Rodrick of the Men's Journal that earlier in the day he shot two possums on his Mississipi property because they had been "acting weird" and may have had rabies. For those of you who haven't seen one in person before, just Google image "possum." They are basically gigantic rats.


Photo by Jim Wright, Men's Journal

The NCAA's High Horse

For once, don't blame Facebook. The Orlando Sentinel reported today that the University of Florida football program faces secondary sanctions because coaches posted messages on a recruit's Facebook wall. According to Orlando Sentinel, Facebook walls are considered "open forums" in which coaches cannot send messages to their prospective recruits. If, however, the coach wanted to send a private message via Facebook, this would be permitted because it's similar enough to the private nature of an email.

In an attempt to defend the policy, the NCAA's associate director of communications, Cameron Schuh, claimed that "NCAA member institutions maintain concern over the level of intrusiveness the recruiting process can create for a high school student who is a prospective student-athlete."

Reducing the level of intrusiveness? Really? Can NCAA officials really say that is something they are really concerned about? I'm sorry, is this the same NCAA that has and continues to increase the number of bowl games almost every season? Didn't they also just increase the number of teams and games in the NCAA basketball tournament? The NCAA isn't really concerned about the instrusiveness that bowl games and NCCA tournament games have on student-athletes' education when they are bringing in sweet cash.

Lastly, if private communications between coach and prospective athlete are permitted, then why is text messaging banned? That's a private form of communication. The NCAA just arbitrarily makes disciplinary decisions and pretends to care about their "student-athletes." I'm guessing they believe that if they crack down on minor improprieties it helps prop up their image as an organization that promotes higher education and intercollegiate athletes. If you believe that though, you also probably think the horse in the picture is real. Also, best of luck to the NCAA if they want to try to keep up with the privacy policies of most social networking sites. It'll be tons of fun to adjust their rules against the rapidly changing nature of social networking.

Replacing Riley

Replacing QB Riley Skinner will be no small challenge for redshirt junior QB Skylar Jones. Cutting to the chase, there really isn't any way that Jones could possibly be a better passing quarterback than Skinner. Skinner, who is now competing to be Eli Manning's back-up on the Giants, left Wake Forest with 17 school records and 31 career victories. Last year Skinner threw for over 3,100 yards and passed for 25 tds while throwing just 12 ints.

In my opinion, the best case scenario is that Jim Grobe returns to a misdirection run-based offense that could take advantage of both Skylar Jones's athletic ability as well as Wake's veteran backfield. While Jones might not be the passer that Skinner was, he is certainly more athletic. According to the Wake Forest website, Jones has run a 4.33 40 yard dash and has a 35-inch vertical leap. Did anyone else notice Skinner's 40 yard dash time (5.07) at the NFL combine? Yikes that's slow. Jones's ability to run may give the Deacons a refreshing change of pace at the QB position. If Jones can throw on the run, then they could really give some ACC defenses fits.

In my opinion, this year's Wake team will look a lot more like Jim Grobe's teams from early on in his tenure at Wake. I expect to see a more run-based offense with lots of misdirection. I think Wake will finish the year around .500 with the possibility of sneaking into one of the smaller bowl games.

Sound Advice

Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans resigned following a very public DUI charge in which police noted that Evans had a pair of red panties on his lap when he was pulled over.

Evans should have totally listened to this guy's advice:



In other DUI news, Arkansas freshman offensive tackle Anthony Oden, who, at 6'8'' 328lbs, was expected to compete for a starting position, was recently charged with driving while intoxicated and without a license. Seriously! Why is it so hard for good athletes to have their driver's licenses on them??? Of note, Anthony is the brother of NBA player Greg Oden.

What the Faulk did he just say?

Just read an interesting article by Jim Moore in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. While the article mainly focuses on recently fired Seattle Seahawks head coach Jim Mora, there is an extremely interesting section at the end of the article concerning Marshall Faulk. Faulk, who was attending a celebrity golf tournament hosted by Jim Mora, took a few minutes to answer some of Jim Moore's questions. Typically, athletes are second only to politicians in their ability to provide illogical non-answers to an interviewer's questions. Faulk, however, does not fall into this category.

When asked by Moore how Faulk thought the Seahawks would fare under new head coach Pete Carroll, Faulk admitted that he really did not know how the Seahawks would perform, but noted he was disappointed that coaches such as Pete Carroll could leave college programs like USC behind when they faced sanctions. Oddly though, Faulk did not seem to have a problem with the fact that Pete Carroll and USC were cheating, he only objected that the players were the only ones being punished. Interestingly, Faulk even lauded some of the finer aspects of cheating:

"Here's my thing -- it's well-documented that if you're not cheating, you're not trying in sports. Some of the best things that are done in sports are illegal. You work around the rules and try to get things done."

Later, when asked whether he was offered money during his time at San Diego State, Faulk offered this gem:

 "Nah, I went to San Diego State, other than good weather, they didn't have much to offer me, unfortunately. I wish I'd gone to a bigger program and had them slide me some cash to take care of my family, but that wasn't the case."

Overall, I don't view the NCAA as some holy institution that operates to best to serve the interests of their "student-athletes," as they certainly don't. However, I highly disagree with Marshall Faulk's statements. He's a made man. He dominated in the NFL and is a lock for induction into the Hall of Fame. He basically has nothing to lose. College players taking money today risk their college career and any future pro-career by accepting illegal money from boosters. For example, the only sin former Oklahoma State University stud WR Dez Bryant committed was failing to disclose that he had hung out with Deion Sanders and had him pay for his lunch. What did that get Bryant? How about a season-long suspension from Oklahoma State. Granted, NFL teams were so enamored with Bryant that the Cowboys still took him 24th pick in the first round of this year's NFL draft. Even though Bryant's situation has worked out well for him, I think it's safe to say that he would have gone much sooner in the first round if teams didn't have any "character" concerns with him.

Replacing Tim Tebow

Now that Tim Tebow will be suiting up in a Denver Broncos uniform, the obvious question at Florida is, "How will John Brantley fare as UF's new starting QB?" I think the biggest concern moving forward for Florida will be how John Brantley handles the obvious physical risks in Urban Meyer's spread offense. CBS analyst Gary Danielson accurately noted that Brantley can't afford to take the same physical beating that Tebow withstood during his college career. One theory that I've heard thrown around is that UF will employ one of their two freshmen in a two-quarterback system to help keep Brantley healthy.

If anyone can pull this off, it's Urban Meyer. Meyer was successful in using this system to win the 2006 National Title while employing both then-senior QB Chris Leak and then-freshman QB Tim Tebow. Overall, though, I don't think rotating QBs will work for UF this season. I'm a believer in the saying "if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks." The dual-QB system worked for Meyer in 2006 because Chris Leak was an experienced senior who was well complimented by a once-in-a-generation player in Tebow. The best strategy for Brantley, in my opinion, is for Meyer to rely on UF's talented offensive line to protect their new QB.

Manning Urges Patience with New UT Coach Dooley

Earlier this month, Peyton Manning noted that he had positive first impressions of new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley. Specifically, Manning advocated giving Dooley time to establish his principles and new system.

Dooley, who will be Tennessee's third head coach in three years, deserves the patience Manning advocates. Tennessee is nowhere near ready to compete for an SEC title and will be lucky to make a bowl game this season. If Dooley's regime stabilizes and improves the team over the next few years, recruiting will benefit and Tennessee will be back on the map. While UT fans are understandably bitter about former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's early departure, I can't help but believe that's going to be a good thing in the long run. Kiffin, who has literally accomplished nothing significant as a coach, was a major NCAA sanction waiting to happen.

In other SEC news, Alabama has almost finished their $65,000,000 in upgrades on the south-end zone project for Bryant Denny Stadium. When completed, Alabama's stadium will hold over 101,000 fans. Only Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State have the ability to hold more fans. There is no recession when it comes to the business of SEC football! So just imagine the picture below, but even bigger! (Picture licensed under Creative Commons. Creative Commons does not endorse the opinions in this blog.)

ACC Upswing

The ACC, which has been down for about the past decade, may finally have an impressive year as a conference. Two teams, FSU and Clemson, head into the season with highly-touted experienced quarterbacks (Christian Ponder and Kyle Parker, respectively). Further, ACC teams have winnable big games early in the season, which could help boost their standings on the college football landscape.

While I don't think the ACC will win all these games, I'm glad to see that a lot of ACC teams are playing tough road games early in the season.

SEP4: North Carolina at LSU
I can see North Carolina winning their game against LSU. While it's hard to believe, UNC will have the better defense. Though stats certainly don't say everything, UNC (whose defense should be even better than last year) was able to hold their opponents to 92.8 rush yds and 174.9 passing yds in 2009. If they can overcome what is sure to be a tough atmosphere in Death Valley, this would be a huge win that could set the tone for UNC's season.

SEP6: Virginia Tech vs. Boise State
Virginia Tech should win this game, which is what scares me. Although this game is being played at a "neutral site," it's practically a home game for Virginia Tech. With a talented team that's capable of competing for a national title, there is no reason for Virginia Tech to lose this game. That said, Virginia Tech literally seems to lose every big game they are in. Even though Boise State is an awesome program, if Virginia Tech loses, they should seriously put to bed all hopes of ever winning a national title.

SEP11: Virginia at USC
Although USC's coach is a moron and the school has had one of the worst offseasons of all-time, Virginia is still not winning this game.

SEP11: FSU at Oklahoma
I wrote a post on this earlier, but I really think FSU will win this game. I don't have a whole lot to base this on. Lots of analysts say that Oklahoma is going to be great this year, I just feel that Christian Ponder is going to have a big year.

SEP11: Miami at Ohio State
I'm going with Miami here, I really like where Randy Shannon has the program headed. Additionally, I'm a believer in Miami QB Jacory Harris (2009: 24TD, 17INT, 4 games of over 290yds passing) and not so much of a believer in Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor. I know everyone was excited after his solid performance against Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but if you look at his stats, that's just not something you can consistently expect from him.

Disclosure: As a graduate of an ACC school, you may assume that I am either biased or overly hopeful that the ACC will stop being an embarrassing BCS football conference. In reality, my alma mater (Wake Forest) actually benefits from the depressed state of ACC football because they are more likely to be competitive. Wake Forest will likely have no chance at competing for an ACC title if the ACC is actually as good as I expect them to be. That said, I don't expect them to be a complete embarrassment either, since they have a great coach in Jim Grobe, the 2006 AP Coach of the Year.

She totally deserved it

While I know it's not a college football post, it's kind of sports-related. This is perhaps the best news article ever written. Apparently you can burst you windpipe by blowing on a vuvuzela for too long.

After watching a decent amount of the World Cup, there is no way anyone can say, "she didn't deserve it."

Also, this South African lady may have had the best "that's what she said" moment ever:

"He said I'd ruptured my throat by blowing too hard, and that perhaps I had been doing it all wrong."

The Big 12* Lives!

Well it looks like I was wrong regarding the collapse of the Big 12. While Colorado and Nebraska bolted for other conferences, the big boys (mainly Texas and Oklahoma) appear to have ended their flirtation with the Pac-10. Hopefully this marks the end of conference realignment for the remainder of this offseason.

Probably won't have any significant posts prior to the weekend, but I figured I'd continue the college crime blotter. The SEC is representing!

Arkansas FB Van Stumon was charged with drunken driving after police saw him drive over a curb and into a parking lot.

Florida WR Frankie Hammond Jr. was charged with drunken driving and subsequently suspended from team activities after he was arrested for driving over 45mph in a 20mph zone on the University of Florida campus. In addition to speeding, Hammond Jr. was allegedly swerving and had two open bottles of whiskey in his car.

Law and Order: College Football Style

Short post for me today, but a big day for the mildly threatening NCAA cops. Some schools even decided to take the law into their own hands, just before their "student athletes" managed to embarrass them too much.

Michigan: Denied the Big 10's highest rated recruit, DB Demar Dorsey, entrance into the university at the request of the school's admissions office. Besides being an on-the-field star, Dorsey had the potential to build an all-star "rap sheet" while at Michigan. Demar has already had two felony charges against him, although both were eventually dropped.

Colorado: The NCAA docked Colorado four football scholarships for failing to meet the their "Academic Progress Rate" standards.

Oregon: Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli, who was already suspended for stealing laptops and a guitar from a fraternity, was kicked off the team days after he was arrested for driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana. (I'm not sure why, but it seems like there are a disproportionally high percentage of stud-athletes who are arrested with either an expired or suspended license. I'm not sure whether there is a correlation between the two. I'm probably a sub-par athlete and I've never had an expired or suspended licence, so I'm going to go ahead and assert there is a correlation.)

USC: Received a two-year bowl ban and was docked ten football scholarships over the next three years. While I'm very happy about this, it still sucks that the NCAA really has no way to punish former USC head coach Pete Carroll. For those of you who are new to college football, Pete Carrol was the head coach at USC while all of the infractions occurred. Further, Carroll conveniently found a head coaching job in the NFL as the NCAA's investigation of his program intensified. The USC scandal really deserves a much more in-depth look, especially since it's one of the harshest penalties the NCAA has ever given, but there are so many other writers who can cover it much better than I can.

Who Wants a BCS Title Contender?!

Apparently the Mountain West Conference (MWC) does not. According to AP reporting, the presidents of the Mountain West Conference decided against extending an invitation to Boise State, which is currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Although MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson clarified that his conference's decision was not final and that the MWC was just waiting to see how the greater NCAA conference alignment would play out, I still don't understand the logic in not extending an invitation at the earliest possible moment. What is the downside to having Boise State in your conference? Sure, they play on a ridiculous looking blue artificial turf field, so what? They are a great team, check out their record since joining the WAC in 2002:

2002: 12-1 (8-0 in conference)

2003: 13-1 (8-0)

2004: 11-1 (8-0)

2005: 9-4 (7-1)

2006: 13-0 (8-0)

2007: 10-3 (7-1)

2008: 12-1 (8-0)

2009: 14-0 (8-0)

Beyond their ridiculous dominance of the WAC, Boise State routinely beats bigger conference teams in BIG games. Most recently, Boise State beat the MWC Champion TCU in this year's BCS Fiesta Bowl. Also, don't forget that Boise State used the freaking Statue of Liberty play to beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Think about that, the freaking Statue of Liberty play...even the crappy non-HD youtube version of it is awesome.

If Boise State finds greener (or bluer) grass in another conference, I have a feeling that Craig Thompson and the MWC presidents are going to feel a lot like Arrested Development's Tobias Funke after his failed attempt to land a role with the Blue Man Group.

Time Zone Wars!

I'm not sure if this is some new form of passive-aggressive tactic or just some kind of scheduling anomaly, but Wake Forest will play Stanford on September 18th at 11:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ESPN2. I'm guessing that this is likely payback for last year's Wake Forest-Stanford game, which had Stanford traveling to Winston-Salem, NC for a 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time start.

The Fall of the Big 12

According to the American-Statesman (an Austin, TX-based newspaper), both Missouri and Nebraska have been given an ultimatum to decide whether their respective futures will remain with the Big 12. Both schools have until Friday (June 11) to notify Big 12 officials whether they'll be headed to the Big Ten conference.

If both schools do choose to leave, it's likely that the Big 12 will start to collapse in on itself like a dying star. The Pac-10 already appears to be ready to extend an invitation to Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado. Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, in addition to looking to expand his conference, will reportedly recommend that the Pac-10 start its own television network, which could provide each conference member $20 million in annual payments. According to ESPN, Big 12 teams currently earn between $7 and $10 million annually under their current television contract. As always, if you're looking to find out what's going to happen to your favorite conference, follow the money.

Urban Meyer Health Update

University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyer revealed today that the chest pains he experienced last year were related to esophageal spasms which can be treated through medication. Meyer, who briefly left the UF program last December because of these chest pains, has been taking more time this off season to devote to family time and other non-football activities.

In other SEC news, the SEC meetings kicked off today in beautiful Destin, FL. If you haven't been there, I strongly recommend heading down there when you have a chance. Great golf, fishing*, beaches*, etc.

*Disclaimer: No clue as to how the beaches and the fishing are holding up after the BP oil spill.

2010: An Exciting Year for FSU Fans

Finally transitioning from the Bobby Bowden-era, Florida State Seminoles fans have a number of things to be excited about this year.

Long gone are the days when FSU was a shoe-in for the ACC title. Within the ACC, they'll face strong competition from Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and possibly Clemson. If the Seminoles want to make an early splash on the national scene, they'll have their chance on Sept. 11 when they travel to Norman, OK to face the Oklahoma Sooners.

Senior QB Christian Ponder, a potential Heisman candidate, will likely be the team's strong point leading into 2010 season. Prior to his season ending injury, Ponder put up impressive numbers (14TD, 7INT, 2,717YDS) and it seems likely that he'll continue to do so under Fisher's system. While the rest of the team will be super athletic (they are every year) it remains to be seen if FSU can put everything together for a consistent and successful season. If they do, it's possible they'll be back to a 9-10 win team that is consistently near the top of the ACC.

Realistic or not, I think Fisher will be under a lot of pressure to have FSU back on the national scene this year as FSU fans have to be tired of 7 win seasons (3 out of the last 4 seasons). Bottom line, I believe FSU will be greatly improved and finish the season near 10 wins.

Big Game Prediction: FSU 30, Oklahoma 27